Better Late Than Never!

Well the topic of this post goes right along with the fact that it has been a while since my last post!  My picture should be next to "procrastinator" in the dictionary.  :)  I would love to say I have been busy and that's why I haven't been posting, but that would not be true.  I have NOT been busy, but that's OK because it's summertime.  Well, summertime's almost over, but let's not dwell on that!  SO, remember that back room that's been full of boxes since we moved in November?  Here's what it has looked like for the past 8 months:

Not too bad, but this is the room where boxes went when I said "I don't know what to do with that right now."  So I decided I needed to tackle this room before the inlaws arrived for our beach trip at the end of July.  Needless to say, it got worse before it got better:

I must admit, it sat like this for a few days.  But after some perseverance (and curtains!) it looks like this:

The moral of the story?  The task is never as tough as I make it out to be and the end result is usually worth the effort.  Just don't look in the closets....   :)

Trial and Error

If there's one thing I've learned from cooking, it's that it doesn't always turn out as planned.  I'm always hoping for that perfect dish, the one that looks like the picture, but I don't think that has ever happened.  I seem to have better luck with baking, but even that doesn't always turn out as planned (my mom and sister would LOVE to tell you about the time I forgot to add water).  So when it comes to the structured messes in the kitchen, I try to learn from the catastrophes: like the first time I made lasagna and put the ground beef in the piping hot pan, thus creating a cloud of smoke and setting off the smoke alarms.  Despite the first less-than-perfect attempts, I keep going back for more and sometimes lemonade forms out of lemons!

This morning I went and picked blueberries at Hawk Hill Farm.  The bushes are HUGE there!  I recommend it to anyone in the area.

So now I am faced with two large bags of blueberries, and lots of possibilities for what to do with them!  Today's structured messes: Whole Wheat Blueberry Streusel Muffins, and Granola.  The muffins turned out alright, but not great (story of my life :) ).  Good thing I have PLENTY of extra berries to keep trying with!  The granola however is excellent and will be delicious with some of the blueberries and yogurt. 

Next up: Blueberry Cobbler for dessert.  Let's hope hubby B has a high blueberry tolerance!

How Sweet It Is

Happy 4th of July to all!  Unfortunately the rain has pushed us inside, but not before we were able to cookout with the neighbors.  The cornhole on the other hand will just have to wait until another day!  I made these s'mores bars to share and they were a big hit.  Sadly I did not get a picture before they were eaten, but here's the recipe if you want to give it a try (they're delicious AND easy to make):

• 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 bag miniature marshmallows
• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine the melted butter, sugar, and graham cracker crumbs and press half the mixture into a greased 13 x 9 pan.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips and marshmallows.  Top with the rest of the graham cracker mixture and press firmly.  Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.  Press top with a spatula.  Cool completely.

*Once the pan cooled completely, I put it in the fridge to firm up more.  Original recipe can be found here: S'Mores Bars


Hope everyone has had an excellent 4th!

Beginnings...

I've decided to join the blog world, for what reason, I'm not sure!  Perhaps it's because it's summertime and I find myself with a bounty of days with where my only plan is to watch Regis and Kelly at 9:00.  Or maybe it's because it will be a good way to connect with friends and family near and far, rather than status updates on Facebook.  But for whatever reason, here I am!

I hate beginnings.  Some people love them for the opportunity they hold.  For someone who likes to control situations and doesn't like the unknown, they are scary.  The first day of school still makes me nervous and twists my stomach in knots, even though I'm now the one in charge!  So while I'm excited to start this blog, I'm also a little scared.  Will I keep up with it, or will it be one of those unfinished projects?  Only time will tell.


The title came to me this past weekend as I was having my hair done for a friend's wedding (congrats fellow captain* :) ).  Now, I should back up and tell you that my hair cooperates for no one.  I fight it on a daily basis and another reason I love summer is that I don't have to do my hair in the mornings (unless I'm venturing out into the world of course).  The stylist this weekend called it "a large amount of fine hair."  The one style that did work was the bun I had to wear for gymastics meets, and that was a success thanks to the tightness which pulled my eyes back and massive amounts of helmet-style hairspray.  The all-star cheerleading curls were doomed from the beginning.  My loving mother would spend sometimes hours the night before a competition pulling my hair into a ponytail, spraying strands of hair with hairspray or gel (whatever was recommended after the previous failure) and tightly wrapping them around sponge curlers.  The curlers would then be covered with a bandanna and I would be sent to bed to "sleep" (not an easy task my friend).  At the competition the next day, everyone would have perfect tight curls.  I would wait until the last minute to take my curlers out and without fail, my hair would be straight by the end of the routine.  It was a hopeless cause (and let's not even talk about nationals in humidity-soaked Florida).  My hair simply does not hold a curl.  SO, as I regaled my stylist with this information, she politely nodded her head and teased my hair into a giant Afro (which I'm sure only made the bride nervous).  As she pulled my hair low and to the side, I watched her try to curl strands and silently prayed she would use a lot of the bobby pins that were at her side.  As she struggled with one curl, she said, "We want it to be 'a structured mess.'" I occurred to me that this was a perfect representation of my life!

I love structure, but as much as I try to fight it, there is always some mess.  Would I like my table to be clear all the time?  Yes!  Would I like the back bedroom to be free of boxes (never mind we moved 7 months ago...)?  Sure!  Would I like the coffee table to be neat and organized?  Absolutely!  Do I want to control our budget and plan out every dollar?  100% yes! But the reality is, there is mail on the table (a pile for the hubby, another for bills, and one of magazines from my mom), the back bedroom still has boxes of stuff I don't know what I'm going to do with (one actually is labeled "junk"), the coffee table is covered with magazines, and there is always that unexpected expense, surprise bill I had forgotten about (car registration!), or "Hey, let's meet for dinner!" text message.  So I go around and straighten the piles so everything is facing the same direction, push the boxes against the wall, hope that next month will be less expensive, and there you have it: a structured mess.

 "A Structured Mess"

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent :)