How about a weekly dose of random...
A few months ago I broke up with my iPhone 3G for a new iPhone 4.  Our relationship has been complicated to say the least.  Toxic even. The first phone bit the dust within a week.  Now the replacement just up and self destructed on me without reason, without warning.  In the scheme of things it is not a big deal.  Apple is taking care of it, as well as taking great care of me.  But it happened to die when my husband was out of town, which left me not only without a cell phone, but without a phone at all.  We haven't hooked up our land line since the move and gave away our phone.  Not having one is an extremely weird feeling.  The prospect of spending the entire weekend disconnected was a bit much to handle.  I ended up borrowing a home phone from my parents and downloading the text app for my iPad.  Because to be honest, I missed the opportunity to be a faux teenage texter, more than the actual talking on the phone / ability to call 911 bit.

When Jason is away I like to make meals my that perhaps he might not prefer.  Chicken Spaghetti a la Pioneer Woman is one such dish.  Chock full of onions, cayenne and mushrooms.  Yum to me.  Yuck to him.  But it calls for pimentos.  Which the small market, where I buy my produce, does not carry.  Nor does Trader Joe's.  What are pimentos?  Why are they so stinking hard to find?  How in the world can the Pioneer Woman get them out on her ranch? I resorted to buying this jar of Spanish olives (with pimentos) from Target and carefully sorting out the pimentos.  Seriously, that is commitment.  Worth it, but commitment.

I ordered this adorable movie for myself my kids.  The purchase had absolutely nothing everything to do with a certain musician/ actor involved.

Have you ever seen a prettier batch of dirty dishes?
I am happy to report that the cabinet is still holding strong.

Inspired by this post from Tara Whitney, a set of Target Dollar Spot glow sticks,
became our own little techno rave, night swimming party.

At the beginning of the year I wrote about my plans to document our lives with a picture a day.  Project Life has made that (overwhelmingly scary) task surprisingly simple.  What's great is, it's never too late to start.  Plus, Project Life is on sale this week.  No excuses.  The sheer amount of goodies in the kit will astonish you.  Plus, it ships for free. Go.  Now.

I simply cannot believe that I wrote a whole post about my Havaianas without telling you about the source/ blame for my addiction.  Adorable Kristy from SoSobella Designs is my "dealer".  But now she had to go and add these gorgeous embellished flippies to her radtastic shop.  Wouldn't you know... I don't own metallic brown.  I think I need to remedy that...

Lastly, I came across a recipe that I was certain would join the deliciously addictive category of treats that I affectionately dub "crack".  I was having a group of our student leaders over and it was the perfect occasion to try it out.  But not only try it, photograph each step.  Dumb, dumb, dumb.  It came out of the oven.  Then went into the trash.  Not only was it not worthy of crack status, it wasn't even worthy of eating.  Fail.  Illustrated failure.  Thankfully, I am sharing a recipe from my Betty Crocker adventures, tomorrow as part of Four Flights of Fancy's Blog Relaunch Week.  The best part? It involves one of my desert island ingredients.

That is all for now.  Happy Monday to you.


23 Comments

  1. Totally jealous of your dirty dishes and the glow pics are way cool!!

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  2. Love your random posts! :) Love the Fiesta dishes, glow stick pool pictures, SO CUTE!! And I NEED those flip-flops..It takes care of two of my additions, brown and flip-flops! :)

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  3. Those are the prettiest dirty dishes I have ever seen! And, I LOVE the PW's chicken spaghetti! (Fortunately, Kevin & the girls love it also!) Do you want me to send you some pimentos? And, love the neon glow stick pool party..my girls would love that!

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  4. Aren't pimentos just red peppers? If I don't have them I always substitute roasted red peppers....yummy!

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  5. oh, dear! that *is* committment! i don't even know what pimentos are besides them being in olives...and julie, i met PW this weekend! it's all in my last post :)
    love your fiesta dishes in the dishwasher -- GORGEous!
    and, love your little girls decked out in glowsticks...they're ready for a {child-friendly} rave! wait, do those even exist?
    and also, that movie is great. even better? the book. isn't that always the case? i love all of kate dicamillo's books, especially the miraculous journey of edward tulane. so beautiful.
    okay, that's all. :)

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  6. JoY! love your blog.
    About the no land-line thingie....just get a prepay or on Tmobile they have add a line for 5$ a month, and put it in a drawer(charged) for emergency (no cell phone)calls dilemma! ")

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  7. Did you try looking for the pimientos near the pickles? That is where they are in my grocery store, but I also live in the Atlanta area, so it is probably an unwritten rule somewhere that pimientos must be readily available. On another note, if you have never had a pimiento cheese sandwich, you must try one, especially grilled. So yummy!

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  8. Wow, that is commitment to get the pimentos out of the green olives. Heart you for it. Did you try it with carmelized onions?

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  9. wow-pimentos-amazing! i am sad to hear your iphone died not once but twice and I would freak if I didn't have a way to speak to my fiance while away. Does that make me codependent? nah-I call it love;) haha.

    and those glow sticks with the kiddos in the pool look like a great time:) invite me over next time for the festivities:):) :)
    smiles,
    gina

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  10. I found your blog through Edie at Life in Grace and feel like I've found a kindred spirit since I wear flip flops pretty much year round, Fiesta makes me happy--even in the dishwasher, and believe Chicken Spaghetti should be its own food group.

    I never realized pimentos were regional, what a pity. Sorry you had extra labor.

    My daughter was thrilled with those neon glow sticks too thanks to the $ spot at TarJay. I'm a fan of cheap fun.

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  11. I just love random! And I adore your new dishes...the colors are heaven!
    BTW you are the sweetest, most adorable woman! I hope we meet someday....

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  12. i can't believe you did the glow stick thing! i tooootally want to do that! i saw her blog a while ago too and got the sticks at michaels, but then it got cold.....but then....my car thermameter told me it was 116 degrees here today! is that true Julie? was it 116 degrees!!!??? i am bustin' our my glow sticks, cause it is NOT too late for a summer swim rave! thanks for the reminder!

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  13. Pimentos are usually by the olives. Small glass jar like a baby food jar but wider and squatty. You are dedicated! Love your fun dishes.

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  14. Oooh! I want to have swimming rager! :) I hate when you take all the time to make something and it goes to the trash. That happened to me last year with apple cider doughnuts . . . baking FAIL! I'm excited for your Betty Crocker recipe.

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  15. I seriously heart your dishes and love the glow stick pictures. And PW's Chicken Spaghetti is one of our favorites.

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  16. For future recipes pimentos are roasted red peppers. It would be faster to roast 'em than take them out of olives. Any recipe that would make a person go to such committed lengths must be amazing. Will try.

    And yes, your dishes are amazing!

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  17. look how Kristy got a pedi before that flippy pic! cute shoes...fairly certain I need them. Need.

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  18. i'm so glad that you phone sitch is getting take care of. i love those flippies and need to get a pair for myself. kristy's stuff is so darn cute! your dishes, fab. that table cloth under the disaster dessert, fab.
    and how is that for a completely random comment. :)

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  19. Lies.

    You know the main reason you sat through Because of Winn Dixie is the same reason I did.

    Our mutual boyfriend.
    (he loves me more)

    So there. :P

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  20. We could be friends for the following reasons 1) I have hair color like yours and roots like Whitneys 2) I have a hubby who won't eat PW chicken spaghetti and I make it when he's not home 3) I find pimentos mysterious and recently went thru the same process for the same recipe 4) My family & I love $1 glow jewelry from Target. However, I am loyal to Teva flip flops. The End.

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  21. Totally with you on DM in Winn Dixie. The part in the pet shop when he sits down on the floor and starts playing the guitar and singing to get the animals to chill is the best part of the movie. That sweet, smoky voice. Ahh. I heart DM.

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  22. I seriously love your dishes! Where did you get them?

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