tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154265712634289392024-03-19T14:20:41.172-04:00Witty TitleDIY, beauty, baking, knitting, and random musings: nothing is off-limits as I blog my journey through life.Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.comBlogger201125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-32480808465872915712016-06-24T15:39:00.001-04:002016-06-24T15:40:21.462-04:00Cold Brew Coffee<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFwNKodYr-Mb8E4sL0FeCMEBd0QWfdiWZTMSe5O3q2s8eGxLhG4JT3FWPeB5vCUViippKhsi69nyUwQfws_NdTVcGbh0Uyy4qfYPwFPi8ay3NsN01LTd1W7vssBAxJ1Nvl6d-LM8gCVX7/s1600/IMAG0782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaFwNKodYr-Mb8E4sL0FeCMEBd0QWfdiWZTMSe5O3q2s8eGxLhG4JT3FWPeB5vCUViippKhsi69nyUwQfws_NdTVcGbh0Uyy4qfYPwFPi8ay3NsN01LTd1W7vssBAxJ1Nvl6d-LM8gCVX7/s320/IMAG0782.jpg" width="181" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshley made cold brew :)</td></tr>
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With summer upon us, I've switched from hot tea in the morning to an iced, caffeinated beverage. One option I've been utilizing is to brew tea the night before and then chill it in the fridge overnight. I have also started making myself cold brew coffee as well, though. There are many benefits to cold brew for me. First of all, because it isn't brewed hot, you don't have to wait for it to cool and chill. Another benefit is that there is no smell of brewing coffee, which gives my husband a headache. It also stores and keeps much better than hot brewed coffee. I also think you get a stronger cup of coffee from less beans, so it's also cost efficient. I first tiptoed into the world of cold brew by buying the pre-made stuff from Trader Joe's, which is quite delicious. However, it is much cheaper to buy the beans and make it yourself. I found this to be a very helpful article for the how to: <a href="http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/how-to-cold-brew-coffee-recipe/" target="_blank">Cold Brew Coffee</a>.<br />
<b><u></u></b><br /><b><u></u></b>
<b><u>Cold Brew Coffee</u></b><br />
This is more of a formula than a recipe strictly speaking. I like to make my cold brew in a quart sized Mason jar and then I store it in an old jam jar, that's just slightly smaller than that. So, the quantities I use are based on that. However, the formula for brewing I use is 1/4 cup of coffee grounds to 1 cup of water. So, if you're using a smaller or large container, just stick to that ratio.<br />
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1. Put 3/4 cup ground coffee (coarsely ground is best) and 3 cups of water in a large Mason jar. Stir a few times to make sure the water and coffee are incorporated. Leave in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours. I usually try to prep mine either the night before or in the morning when I use up my last batch of cold brew.<br />
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2. Strain the coffee into a clean, airtight jar for storage. I use a cone drip filter, but you can also use cheesecloth in a strainer or the like. Just make sure it's something that will filter out all the grounds. Store the concentrated coffee in the refrigerator for up to a week.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGgA_kljIsZh6CLW6Ea_rTJ3Q9hOOd1Qhue6KytFT__G5CqQHYsKVzAN1x2y0yxslHGrQPBbVFd_zsHIBwDfvc9nsH-mxU8FS7_hjtSO3-T-kNqYkW_t_m6D_8pLLZEYKzXQoR29jqBp3/s1600/IMAG0789.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGgA_kljIsZh6CLW6Ea_rTJ3Q9hOOd1Qhue6KytFT__G5CqQHYsKVzAN1x2y0yxslHGrQPBbVFd_zsHIBwDfvc9nsH-mxU8FS7_hjtSO3-T-kNqYkW_t_m6D_8pLLZEYKzXQoR29jqBp3/s320/IMAG0789.jpg" width="181" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mixed up and ready to drink!</td></tr>
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3. To make a cup of iced coffee, you need to dilute your cold brew. I do 1 part coffee, 1 part milk, and 1 part water. Depending on how big my cup is and how much of a wake-up call I need, I usually do 1/2 to 3/4 a cup for each "part." Currently, I've been adding in a splash of creamer to sweeten and flavor my coffee, but I've also had great results with sugar and cinnamon. If you like a cup of black coffee, then simply do 1 part coffee to 2 parts water. Or, if you like really creamy coffee, you could always to 1 part coffee to 2 parts milk or the cream equivalent of your choosing. It's much more of an art than a science based on how you like your coffee. You may also find that you want more or less coffee to milk/water based on how strong you take your coffee.<br />
<br />
And that's it! Super simple and ever so rewarding. If you're a fan of iced coffee, I <i>highly</i> recommend trying it at least once. Another pro-tip: Use reusable ice cubes in your coffee so they don't water it down. [I got mine at a discount store, but you can get them off Amazon. Here's a 30 pack of the kind I use for $10.99: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/ChefLand-Reusable-Plastic-Dilute-Drinks/dp/B00D3MGYR0/ref=sr_1_7?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1466797039&sr=1-7&keywords=reusable+ice+cubes" target="_blank">Plastic Reusable Ice Cubes</a>. I use them in all sorts of beverages that I don't want to get watered down- coffee, tea, smoothies, you name it!] If you don't have reusable ice cubes, then I recommend reducing the amount of water you put in initially to compensate for the melting ice cubes.Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-16059012625377317202016-06-21T00:29:00.000-04:002016-06-24T15:40:29.976-04:00Cranberry Coconut Pecan GranolaI love just about everything made it oats- hot oatmeal, cold overnight oats, oatmeal cookies, granola, you name it. Granola is particularly nice to have around as a quick and easy breakfast, especially in the hotter months when hot oatmeal is unappealing, or as a snack. I like to eat it plain, with milk, or over yogurt. When I was in college, the dinning halls made a granola that was AMAZING. It had just the right amount and kind of extras, it was clumpy and crunchy, and was so delicious. I always hate to buy granola, because it's so much more cost effective to make. I'd made a few different kinds that were good, but not great, when I stumbled on this article: <a href="http://food52.com/blog/9384-how-to-make-granola-without-a-recipe" target="_blank">How to Make Granola Without a Recipe</a>. This is a really wonderful blueprint to make any kind of granola you like. I highly recommend giving it a read and making up some recipes. I used this blueprint and some inspiration from a hot oatmeal flavor (Cranberry Pecan Vanilla) to wind up with my new favorite granola.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiROuLBsyHG7269o39iCNvk-YN3dVuHDjfqHK3BCBl3Hk9gUND3jjom46Wmw-rSQgtqWlqb6fAETzWPcBQalUvLP9iuGiKNTGPuE4ZmSbqSuKdy006mko0elDaU9Tazplh9HFI5yy-bg16W/s1600/IMAG0727e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiROuLBsyHG7269o39iCNvk-YN3dVuHDjfqHK3BCBl3Hk9gUND3jjom46Wmw-rSQgtqWlqb6fAETzWPcBQalUvLP9iuGiKNTGPuE4ZmSbqSuKdy006mko0elDaU9Tazplh9HFI5yy-bg16W/s400/IMAG0727e.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cranberry Coconut Pecan Granola</td></tr>
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<b><br /></b>
<u><b>Cranberry Coconut Pecan Granola</b></u><br />
<u><br /></u>
<div>
<span>2 cups oats</span></div>
<div>
<span>1 cup pecans, chopped</span></div>
<div>
<span>3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut</span></div>
<div>
<span>1/4 cup brown sugar</span></div>
<div>
<span>1/2 tsp cardamom</span></div>
<div>
<span>1/2 tsp salt</span></div>
<div>
<span>1 tsp cinnamon</span></div>
<div>
<span>Pinch of fresh nutmeg</span></div>
<div>
<span>1 T honey</span></div>
<div>
<span>2-3 T coconut oil</span></div>
<div>
<span>1 tsp vanilla extract</span></div>
<div>
<span>1/8 tsp coconut extract (optional and to taste- it's strong!)</span></div>
<div>
3/4 cup dried cranberries</div>
<div>
<span><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKoH8kzHymKIFRsJpHd8fygrRmKF3Zin70Ah1rxVGCTaAF8U-6qNnV_bkULvd8JZzGsKP4JbUw7HPFHw5znS28_WcVBLPMMW4V1v2snSWzTMSBxvJpU0YrrsdUvtUYTD_Vrm1X06sekZK0/s1600/IMAG0781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKoH8kzHymKIFRsJpHd8fygrRmKF3Zin70Ah1rxVGCTaAF8U-6qNnV_bkULvd8JZzGsKP4JbUw7HPFHw5znS28_WcVBLPMMW4V1v2snSWzTMSBxvJpU0YrrsdUvtUYTD_Vrm1X06sekZK0/s320/IMAG0781.jpg" width="181" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready for the oven!</td></tr>
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<div>
<span>1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a large baking sheet with coconut oil. I like to put a silicone baking mat down first, as it makes transferring the granola into a container easier.</span></div>
<div>
<span><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span>2. Mix together oats, pecans, coconut, brown sugar, cardamom, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a separate container, melt the coconut oil. Mix the extracts and honey into the oil. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. Mix together thoroughly.</span></div>
<div>
<span><br /></span></div>
<div>
3. Spread the granola onto the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring halfway through the time. </div>
<div>
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<div>
4. Gently stir in the dried cranberries and bake for another 5 minutes. You want the oats, nuts, and coconut to be a golden brown and the cranberries to be softened and glistening.</div>
<div>
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<div>
4. Move baking sheet to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before putting into an airtight container.</div>
<div>
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<div>
<span><b>Tips and tricks:</b></span></div>
<div>
<span>- Mix the granola up with your hands. Really, nothing does as good a job at getting the wet ingredients nice and incorporated into the dry. You want everything to be well coated with the honey and oil.</span></div>
<div>
- Don't stir the granola when it comes out of the oven the last time! You'll want to, because you've already done it a few times, but if you stir it before it cools, you'll break apart any clumps. Now, if you don't like clumps, then stir away. Personally, I like a few in there, especially if I plan on eating the granola on its own. If it's still not clumpy enough for you, up the amount of oil and/or honey.</div>
<div>
- Make it your own! If there's something you don't like, leave it out. If there's something you love, add more. Granola is nothing if not customizable. :)</div>
<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yummy granola cooling after it's been baked.</td></tr>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Super easy! I'm on my third batch of this recipe. Pretty much as soon as I run out, I make more- it's that good. I hope you enjoy it too!</div>
Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-46758178915850332882016-01-10T14:05:00.000-05:002016-01-10T14:05:00.964-05:00Pinterest DIY: Marbelized Makeup Brushes<div style="text-align: right;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRc5tLOKUHdcO3x3RtBJmAFzJVMfYf5nwTMSCEJ97F990fAG9HKnk3u7LEjpTWyKAvQ9RdBuzM9mXeCE48hrc7_BVUnK0flgESd5zqHKV5wiI57P-waW5Iuvg6Mw9Sn_XevRK1b5yr1XC5/s1600/IMAG0282+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRc5tLOKUHdcO3x3RtBJmAFzJVMfYf5nwTMSCEJ97F990fAG9HKnk3u7LEjpTWyKAvQ9RdBuzM9mXeCE48hrc7_BVUnK0flgESd5zqHKV5wiI57P-waW5Iuvg6Mw9Sn_XevRK1b5yr1XC5/s400/IMAG0282+%25281%2529.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished Product!</td></tr>
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Pinterest can be misleading and I often find that what someone will say is a "simple" project, is anything but. However, I decided to give marbelizing a try for one of the Christmas presents I DIYed this year and it turned out to be pretty easy!<br />
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I'd seen marbelizing a few different places, but the tutorial I followed was <a href="http://www.abubblylife.com/2015/08/diy-marbleized-makeup-brushes.html" target="_blank">this one</a> from A Bubbly Life. I found her instructions to be clear and her tips helpful. You may recall my post about <a href="http://wittytitle-sturm.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-care-and-keeping-of-makeup-brushes.html" target="_blank">my five must-have brushes</a>. I picked up one of each from Walmart since they're inexpensive, have a white handle that I figured would make a good canvas for this project, and they're my favorite! The person I was going to give them to was my sister, which is why I decided to go with pink marbling. I could have easily used polish I already owned, but I decided to pick out a pink that was more "her" and then gave the polish to her as part of her gift. Her nails can match her brushes! I used a NYC polish, because they're a bargain at $1. Wet n wild also makes an inexpensive polish that would work great for this project.<br />
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You'll need:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Makeup brushes with a solid color handle (or whatever you intend to marbelize)</li>
<li>Jar, bowl, or cup of warm water (nail polish does stick to it a bit, so don't use anything you don't mind winding up with a bit of polish stuck to it)</li>
<li>Nail polish in color(s) of your choice </li>
<li>Paper product to cover your work surface</li>
<li>Painter's tape (optional, but certainly makes it easier)</li>
<li>Straws to practice with (again, optional, but I found it very helpful)</li>
</ul>
<div>
First, set up your work station. I have loads of extra packing paper from when we moved, so I used that to cover my work surface. This isn't a terribly messy project, but it gave me peace of mind knowing that I didn't have to worry about accidentally getting paint on the coffee table. Fill your container most of the way to the top with warm water. As you can see from the photo below, polish built up a bit on the inside of the jar as I worked. It did come off quite easily with nail polish remover, but I won't be using this jar for food any time soon. Keep that in mind when selecting your container. The other thing I did to prep was I put painter's tape around the farrow of my brushes (the metal part that holds the bristles) to ensure that I could get my marbling all the way to the edge but have it stop where I wanted it to.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKP9dP1UNvY8GCtGPt0H567ZDHPk1rOrs0OdTT1BohgZ2tPozbYY7WFQiuB9um0t0GNl_5fGFKZTzkJUrbmwMBGay2CfSZjzMSuAq8TlH_S1TMnXCxZFCpHKH7bfKhxKDMhcBNJKv2oRt2/s1600/IMAG0272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKP9dP1UNvY8GCtGPt0H567ZDHPk1rOrs0OdTT1BohgZ2tPozbYY7WFQiuB9um0t0GNl_5fGFKZTzkJUrbmwMBGay2CfSZjzMSuAq8TlH_S1TMnXCxZFCpHKH7bfKhxKDMhcBNJKv2oRt2/s400/IMAG0272.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jar of warm water ready to marbelize (this was after a few test runs, hence the polish up the sides).</td></tr>
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Bubbly Life recommends doing a few test runs with a straw (or some other disposable object similar in size and shape to whatever you're marbelizing). I <i>highly</i> recommend doing this. It took me a few tries to get the hang of what I was doing. While it's very easy, there is sort of an art to knowing when to dip your item in, how fast to dip it, and the right amount of swirl to give it. I also used the straws to try out colors. You can use just one color or multiple colors. I settled on just using the one color as I liked how it came out best. I also found it was hard to get more than one color into the jar and swirl before it started to dry too much.<br />
<br />
The actual marbelizing is quite simple. Put a few drops of polish into your jar. I generally used 3ish for my brushes. Again, that's something you can test with your straws. Bubbly Life tells you to "gently swirl the bowl." I found that to be unnecessary and result in the paint all over the jar (as you can see in the earlier photo). What I did was put the polish in and give it a couple seconds to spread. You don't want it to look like individual drops in the water, you want it to look more like a grease film spreading over the surface. Once the polish has spread, dip the brush in making a sort of swirling, corkscrew motion as you go down. If you dip straight down, it all sort of globs on the end of it. Sort of think of trying to hit the film of paint in different locations as you dunk it. Almost like when they put the cotton candy onto the paper cones. It's weird and sort of hard to describe, which is why testing it out with the straws is so helpful. You can dial in how much paint you like to use, how long you can wait before it dries to much, and how to get the motion down just right. The biggest thing to keep in mind that the polish will dry pretty quickly. If you wait too long after dropping it in the water, you'll end up with clumps instead of a nice thin film of paint.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikzyuYtOj7oxh0ni0b5PlsO-i4aX6vjh6cb_LvXRVA2_nQN4hgqVN0wIwjaVuYhfpNjUZjkDNUceElp0d7pPoL4QcgclvpsHU_CIgPRfIaIqBH1EzRrX25aK43NCrb6lskoHXJgutgZmjU/s1600/IMAG0275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikzyuYtOj7oxh0ni0b5PlsO-i4aX6vjh6cb_LvXRVA2_nQN4hgqVN0wIwjaVuYhfpNjUZjkDNUceElp0d7pPoL4QcgclvpsHU_CIgPRfIaIqBH1EzRrX25aK43NCrb6lskoHXJgutgZmjU/s400/IMAG0275.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brushes drying just after having dipped them.</td></tr>
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Once I'd dipped the brushes, I set them on a straw to start drying. The polish is only tacky at best once they're out of the water, so it won't stick to the straw, but I was afraid that setting them straight onto the paper might be a bad plan. Once I'd finished dipping them all and cleaned up everything, I used clothespins to hang them from a wire hanger, bristle sides up (so the opposite of how you'd dry them if you'd just washed them). I let them dry over night to make sure they were completely dry and then removed the painter's tape.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglh41MW_blb-LCHluhGxjuK-otEE6GQUeSckrsCTRGtRkiStVn8pbHMZuLK8dHbs8kKpNRtzYeg63gvPcVgA4XTXCjBwVif0JhYifOtDuLojeI7ANfLD_Y7ZtwrgFb7p0-v0ps4-2AXKKt/s1600/IMAG0284.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglh41MW_blb-LCHluhGxjuK-otEE6GQUeSckrsCTRGtRkiStVn8pbHMZuLK8dHbs8kKpNRtzYeg63gvPcVgA4XTXCjBwVif0JhYifOtDuLojeI7ANfLD_Y7ZtwrgFb7p0-v0ps4-2AXKKt/s400/IMAG0284.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished product! This was the one I thought came out the best.</td></tr>
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And that's it! Pretty simple and the results are gorgeous. I liked how some brushes came out better than others, but they all came out nice enough to be gifts.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijhzQrxbnlEFz7lIv4V-ogsLC7LQUdIvU6j2oNOb6Qt18XxXS7ZaW-ckEMcqMJFJrCuLHZgAi3K9xS3JgaJD3aa81CFjH7mcNvpccpOvvO45AFUbKxLWVBOjQbHpNYfyBsuT8NtztgImn8/s1600/IMAG0285.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijhzQrxbnlEFz7lIv4V-ogsLC7LQUdIvU6j2oNOb6Qt18XxXS7ZaW-ckEMcqMJFJrCuLHZgAi3K9xS3JgaJD3aa81CFjH7mcNvpccpOvvO45AFUbKxLWVBOjQbHpNYfyBsuT8NtztgImn8/s400/IMAG0285.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marbelized and back in their original packaging.</td></tr>
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Before I wrapped them up, I put them back in their original plastic packaging. You'd almost think I bought them that way! This is certainly a Pinterest DIY that I'd highly recommend. It's simple, quick, not too messy, and the results are fabulous.<br />
<br />Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-75242243868223152572016-01-06T22:00:00.000-05:002016-01-06T22:00:00.832-05:00Fall and Christmas KnittingI caught the knitting bug in a big way this fall and have been knitting like crazy. It all started when I realized that the shows I was working on were slow enough that I could knit while calling them (in other words, the cues were far enough apart, that I could actually pick up my knitting and do more than a handful of stitches before I'd have to put it down again). Because of the time of year, much of what I ended up knitting were presents, which is one of the reasons I haven't posted any of these yet. (And in fact I'm putting a delay on this post until I give my brother his present on Tuesday). My biggest accomplishment by far was finishing the pair of socks that I'd started <i>last</i> fall. While I did have to put quite a bit of time into them, the main reason it took that long was because I simply put them down for many months. To put it into perspective, while it took me almost exactly a year to knit the first sock, it only took me about a month and a half to do the second one (and there was a break in there to knit a birthday present). Anyways, here are my first pair of socks!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjS2y05ddKvNnL_HYU0orTFlxx-V6-EGOigX6LLxvGTI9snseBPw54gc5BdAbpxcR9Axi-PORNyp33Glg8XQ4Ov2qQEA7EtR061i4FvC2K5Y5VtuLnxs_W8JUYsqQrDRjxRaJ0DSlqKdYb/s1600/IMAG0135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjS2y05ddKvNnL_HYU0orTFlxx-V6-EGOigX6LLxvGTI9snseBPw54gc5BdAbpxcR9Axi-PORNyp33Glg8XQ4Ov2qQEA7EtR061i4FvC2K5Y5VtuLnxs_W8JUYsqQrDRjxRaJ0DSlqKdYb/s640/IMAG0135.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first every pair of socks! Link to the Ravelry project <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/a-nice-ribbed-sock" target="_blank">here</a>.</td></tr>
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They were very daunting before I started and while I was making the first one, but once I started the second one, it because much less terrifying. I'm actually looking forward to making more socks in the future.</div>
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I mentioned pausing the socks to knit a present. The present in question was for my Mum's birthday. I made her covers for candle jars.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images4-d.ravelrycache.com/uploads/goosey1019/336175427/20151109_174633_medium2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images4-d.ravelrycache.com/uploads/goosey1019/336175427/20151109_174633_medium2.jpg" height="225" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shown here with candles lit in them. Ravelry project <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/a-burst-of-light-tealight-cosy" target="_blank">here</a>.</td></tr>
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The other big present I knit was for my brother, Thomas. He's recently moved to the east coast, so I've been using his birthday and Christmas as opportunities to ply him with warm weather gear. Last Christmas I knit him a hat. This year, I knit him a scarf, similar to the one's Mike and I have. They're all made out of three skeins of an alpaca/acrylic blend that's nice and toasty. The pattern I used for his scarf involved knitting rectangles of varying lengths. The person who made the pattern had just done their lengths at random. I decided to have some fun and determined the length of the rectangles by pi. So the first is 3 inches, the next is 1 inch, then next is 4 inches, and so on. I ended up with pi all the way to the 16th decimal place.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBO1y6NO1r0My31lM0Wk7tMVx_mTnCXTTqEZE06HOzr_y5jPmAlOHYZIy8bWv4my3iMvJnueA1AMSqx0u7FZ6irXgMgHlOG1-StrZcgm5BD6x1lQeDg23LWeTdF5V468BLVEc1XGpR8nEQ/s1600/IMAG0199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBO1y6NO1r0My31lM0Wk7tMVx_mTnCXTTqEZE06HOzr_y5jPmAlOHYZIy8bWv4my3iMvJnueA1AMSqx0u7FZ6irXgMgHlOG1-StrZcgm5BD6x1lQeDg23LWeTdF5V468BLVEc1XGpR8nEQ/s400/IMAG0199.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the best picture, but it gives you the idea. Ravelry project <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/grandpas-simple-scarf" target="_blank">here</a>.</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
One of the only other non-gift items were these legwarmers. I had favorited a pattern a long time ago and decided to make it out of some yarn I'd gotten on clearance. These knit up really quick. I finished them in under a week.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbRGVqz7SeXJMRskd_f-chiNev4YNCY1Os655tT-Snq-ePSHDWWPAuqPSeWa9mvD619WF8fFUAEACS_V4aiIBm6d1rxNXNxIVUATlrMhdCHwc2BmTODTfXPQxBZdB-2OiykCPKbXehZkW/s1600/IMAG0146+e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsbRGVqz7SeXJMRskd_f-chiNev4YNCY1Os655tT-Snq-ePSHDWWPAuqPSeWa9mvD619WF8fFUAEACS_V4aiIBm6d1rxNXNxIVUATlrMhdCHwc2BmTODTfXPQxBZdB-2OiykCPKbXehZkW/s400/IMAG0146+e.jpg" width="331" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quick and easy legwarmers! Ravelry project <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/slouchy-ankle-warmers" target="_blank">here</a>.</td></tr>
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I wound up making four hats. The first was a baby hat I knit in a couple hours for the Christmas show. Disaster struck while I was making that hat when I broke one of my interchangable needles. I should have known better than to knit bulky yarn with wooden needles, but it all worked out in the end because I got a replacement pair for Christmas. The second was a hat that I made for one of the girls in the box office. It was fun having her pick out a pattern and yarn. The pattern turned out to be super simple, which meant it knit up really quickly. Also a really quick knit were the other two hats I made, both from the same pattern with the same brand of yarn, just in different colors. The red one was for my Secret Santa and the blue one is for the Stoneham Theatre Yankee Swap. I made the blue one a little longer so that you could fold up the brim more comfortably.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmR7wlfzomDrZ4fthgmpPI9fhPo8-Sl1TinDLziyz8R3C_0yORN3C7gJc6SAAmtLV4enMCg-4f99ZbHK5QJ5bgeYGHp7FlUwASUyJ-iS2pIHOFmHO7uZIFUk35V6i0pV1KRrXi4HE7Zm_/s1600/IMAG0196e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkmR7wlfzomDrZ4fthgmpPI9fhPo8-Sl1TinDLziyz8R3C_0yORN3C7gJc6SAAmtLV4enMCg-4f99ZbHK5QJ5bgeYGHp7FlUwASUyJ-iS2pIHOFmHO7uZIFUk35V6i0pV1KRrXi4HE7Zm_/s320/IMAG0196e.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/chunky-baby-hat" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">Baby hat</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38irY-LLl8rElsQdrO1hxN9abKgOukF9kEZzKTvueNtaOKXoTvYqs9BcaFU2z9mmGTLnMoLG6tjC4NCeknn833P5Vb_zxF_UobJPeXP-vWOUylOoarS-8Es1_T7d1RKY0aBC4z-AubC42/s1600/IMAG0219E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38irY-LLl8rElsQdrO1hxN9abKgOukF9kEZzKTvueNtaOKXoTvYqs9BcaFU2z9mmGTLnMoLG6tjC4NCeknn833P5Vb_zxF_UobJPeXP-vWOUylOoarS-8Es1_T7d1RKY0aBC4z-AubC42/s320/IMAG0219E.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/chrysanthemum-hat" target="_blank">Erin's hat</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hgS-u6YVKu0QZeQIElyGlIQm55BhdzDNloscEEQWUD1-nPBuW-KLQ8JbISHCz3s1_ltkpQMwpa3avhlLuMLFYmtPfIYw16RphPDwsr4zbdr-E5d0OmGg55lVQf_n0MbL3JlpV2tmMc8R/s1600/IMAG0259e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hgS-u6YVKu0QZeQIElyGlIQm55BhdzDNloscEEQWUD1-nPBuW-KLQ8JbISHCz3s1_ltkpQMwpa3avhlLuMLFYmtPfIYw16RphPDwsr4zbdr-E5d0OmGg55lVQf_n0MbL3JlpV2tmMc8R/s320/IMAG0259e.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/last-minute-hat" style="font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank">Secret Santa Hat</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihKxd4ltXz-HUePQv35r4xy7KmnY7bqGNmEyB-sfdQrnT_64oz2zTQf845dYTrtVOPJHrOJCeIY7KmaZ-STNmy8VjxzeV7W9wMVhFv2_XE7UJQT-OPnRsMhZtnGHIOvj11JhS1oaumQ0zm/s1600/IMAG0426e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihKxd4ltXz-HUePQv35r4xy7KmnY7bqGNmEyB-sfdQrnT_64oz2zTQf845dYTrtVOPJHrOJCeIY7KmaZ-STNmy8VjxzeV7W9wMVhFv2_XE7UJQT-OPnRsMhZtnGHIOvj11JhS1oaumQ0zm/s320/IMAG0426e.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/last-minute-hat-2" target="_blank">Yankee Swap Hat</a></td></tr>
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So many hats! Another thing I made multiples of were star ornaments. All the parents and grandparents got a framed photo of Mike and me (we actually got professional photos taken and everything) and a knit star ornament. I tried out three different star patterns. The first one was the one I ended up liking the best. The cream, red, and purple star are all made using <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/knit-star-ornaments" target="_blank">this</a> pattern. I liked it the best because it was simple, it came out looking like a star, and it was pretty easy to make it look tidy. The second pattern was <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/knit-stars" target="_blank">this</a> one, which I made the green star out of. I didn't like this one as much because it looked too much like a flower or leaf to me. I also wound up liking this one the least because of the contrasting colored edging, which I felt like it needed so it wouldn't blend into the tree. The last pattern I tried was <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/knitted-christmas-star" target="_blank">this</a> one, which made the blue, sparkly star. This star wound up being the smallest and most difficult because of the kind of increases it called for. I also felt like the product just wasn't quite as tidy.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim_4jRBSIhdsoq033kqBP_U0TI6sTs5BLqbVaevqPaHYTlQ2mbQeVVTPuhRG1ac_cY5rdENWmDAnjiCHdMqkKC71KSuNdjtXHNTbDmnZmKOl9-Oeb1-MH4byfNZAjuArjBQBNGPL_HB2_r/s1600/IMAG0299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim_4jRBSIhdsoq033kqBP_U0TI6sTs5BLqbVaevqPaHYTlQ2mbQeVVTPuhRG1ac_cY5rdENWmDAnjiCHdMqkKC71KSuNdjtXHNTbDmnZmKOl9-Oeb1-MH4byfNZAjuArjBQBNGPL_HB2_r/s640/IMAG0299.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the star ornaments together!</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
It was definitely a few months of quick knits. The stars were each only a day or two, the bulky hats all took me only a few hours of knitting each, and the next item took me only one performance to complete. I knit a cup cozy for my Production Assistant Sarah. She's a big coffee drinker and she's a Slytherin, which is why I chose that particular color scheme.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQONvdeAX8wFaTuGziEfRkElo-5K3m3oqYvYkO6annV5LemlKM3CLS4buMo5Olbv5fm1QsIAC04y1FuyIWVJGGFdrlVHfwtntKHARoLxlljTiB_zcs01yerK3KltBRihvhSDl-7nz6o91/s1600/IMAG0244.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQONvdeAX8wFaTuGziEfRkElo-5K3m3oqYvYkO6annV5LemlKM3CLS4buMo5Olbv5fm1QsIAC04y1FuyIWVJGGFdrlVHfwtntKHARoLxlljTiB_zcs01yerK3KltBRihvhSDl-7nz6o91/s320/IMAG0244.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slytherin cup cozy. Ravelry project <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/quick-and-basic-coffee-cozy" target="_blank">here</a>.</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
The final thing I completed recently (the same day I composed this post in fact) I'm actually going to wait to post as it's also present-like in nature and won't be opened until later this month. I'm currently working on a pair of arm warmers for myself that I'm really excited about. It's a fun stitch pattern and I'm pretty happy with how they're coming out.</div>
Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-9480812500478977292016-01-03T20:46:00.001-05:002016-01-03T20:47:03.740-05:00Take a deep breath- the holidays are over!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijY_EUYh3K_llrSVKwN2lZJKyW8vPwRRv4uuDQfyH8UJ9mKql-bdsbck5RvwQp-X4bRAqugjLUqmsfiZu6yPSFDlSiuk-8-sYXfC_cPqRfDGL55Jhd_akvCILnQ0m7GOwqzPs1ZaTH6ISy/s1600/IMAG0371.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijY_EUYh3K_llrSVKwN2lZJKyW8vPwRRv4uuDQfyH8UJ9mKql-bdsbck5RvwQp-X4bRAqugjLUqmsfiZu6yPSFDlSiuk-8-sYXfC_cPqRfDGL55Jhd_akvCILnQ0m7GOwqzPs1ZaTH6ISy/s400/IMAG0371.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Army of sugar cookies</td></tr>
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I have been woefully absent from my blog of late. Fall and the holidays are always a busy time for me at work, but it was compounded this year by me having my most ambitious Christmas ever. I kept my self very, very busy. I'm going to do my best over the next week or so to blog about the highlights. But here's a quick list of all the things I did since the beginning of November:<br />
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Knit 13 projects from start to finish, completed my socks, and got over halfway through my arm warmers.<br />
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Sewed four Christmas presents- <a href="http://wittytitle-sturm.blogspot.com/2015/01/diy-hand-warmers.html" target="_blank">hand warmers</a> for my Secret Santa (just like the one's I made last year), two guinea pig beds for the boys, and one cat bed for Slinky Cat. I also sewed the draft stopped I posted about.<br />
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Baked three pumpkin pies (two with regular crust, one with gingersnap crust), apple pie crescent roll bites, <a href="http://wittytitle-sturm.blogspot.com/2013/05/chocolate-chip-scones.html" target="_blank">chocolate chip scones</a>, snicker doodles, bourbon balls, <a href="http://wittytitle-sturm.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-day-after.html" target="_blank">sugar cookies</a> (made a double batch of over 100), homemade hot chocolate, and [drumroll please] a Yule Log complete with meringue mushrooms. I also made Thanksgiving dinner for Mike, Thomas, and myself, as well as all the day to day cooking.<br />
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I did all my usual Christmas decorating and tree trimming. Tons of shopping and wrapping. Made one Pinterest inspired project as a present for my sister. Organized the Guinea Lynx Christmas card exchange. I did a photo shoot with the pigs and sent out almost 50 piggy adorned Christmas cards. And I'm sure lots more I'm not remembering at the moment.<br />
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Like I said, I kept myself very busy.Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-24320342289623804492015-12-03T13:01:00.000-05:002015-12-03T13:01:28.146-05:00Quick and Easy Draft Stopper<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2Cdq8iR8tL_7_KRvjBiTdG5HMa8UPUgeCkasRPS3jgfMdEQl6lDcvXUNqLFeN0YZN87A0aO4giRnTVzNCy5wW48ZQNNt-omIURd10uIOV1P2gxhe3e0b2HSnN-VLC_gb2A47_Iq18N_J/s1600/IMAG0207E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2Cdq8iR8tL_7_KRvjBiTdG5HMa8UPUgeCkasRPS3jgfMdEQl6lDcvXUNqLFeN0YZN87A0aO4giRnTVzNCy5wW48ZQNNt-omIURd10uIOV1P2gxhe3e0b2HSnN-VLC_gb2A47_Iq18N_J/s640/IMAG0207E.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quick DIY draft stopper (shown here in the hallway).</td></tr>
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We've been having a problem lately with the neighbor's cigarette smoke drifting into our kitchen. We're hoping that by making a draft stopper for that door, we might lessen the stale cigarette smell. I looked up a few online DIY's for draft stoppers. They're all very similar and super simple. Make a tube, fill it up, and sew it closed! I'm a bit of a fabric hoarder, considering how often I actually sew, so I knew I could find some scraps to make into a quick draft stopper.<br />
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When I opened my tub of fabric, I stumbled on one of my husband's old shirts that I'd set aside to be used for something. It's from our days interning at <a href="http://www.massmoca.org/" target="_blank">MASS MoCA</a>. He was going to toss it, as it had gotten too small and holey, but I grabbed it with the thought of somehow re-purposing it (at the very least as a rag). This seemed like the perfect use for it!<br />
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I intended to cut the strips 8 1/2 inches tall by however long the door is (plus seam allowances). I was distracted when measuring, however, so I ended up with pieces 6 1/2 inches tall. It's a little thinner than I'd wanted, but I'm sure it will still work just fine. I sewed together my three sections so I had one long strip, then sewed up one end and made it into a tube. After turning it right side out, I filled mine with a mix of dry beans and rice. Once it was full, I hand stitched the open end closed. And that's it! Took me less than an hour from start to finish, and a lot of that was spent trying not to spill rice all over the floor while I filled it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close up of the graphics from the T-shirt.</td></tr>
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Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-4009184121992355742015-11-16T16:53:00.000-05:002015-11-16T16:53:33.499-05:00Review: Starbucks Gingerbread Tea LatteWARNING: This post is going to be filled with me oversharing about coffee and tea. If you just want the review of the beverage I tried today, skip to the last paragraph. :)<br />
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It is important for this review to know that at my core, I am a tea person. And I really mean I am a TEA person. I regularly drink loose leaf tea (I have over 10 different varieties in the house at the moment) and both Mike and I have our special tea strainers. [Seriously, if you drink loose leaf tea, you MUST get one of these- <a href="http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html" target="_blank">IngenuiTEA</a>.] We also have more kinds of bag tea than I can count, some leftover from before we converted and some because there are bag teas we haven't found a suitable loose leaf alternative for. Also, bag tea is much easier to tote around, something we both do.</div>
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Every since I was little, I've always been a tea person. On rare occasions, I'd do coffee, but it's always been tea for me. The only exception to this rule used to be Starbucks' holiday beverages. My two favorites are the Gingerbread Latte and the Chestnut Praline Latte. The molasses on the top of the gingerbread makes it absolutely amazing and I love the sweet nuttiness of the chestnut praline. I usually splurge each holiday season and get each kind at least once. This year, I've already had a Gingerbread Latte. </div>
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Usually, though, if I'm going to splurge on a drink at Starbucks, I'll get a Chai Latte (with soy milk! no dairy please!). It's one of my standard drink orders for any cafe, really. I LOVE chai. This past year, I discovered dirty chai lattes, which is when you get a shot of espresso in a chai latte. Ever since this discovery, I've usually allowed myself one of these during tech. They're a great, early morning punch of caffeine. It's all the goodness of chai with the strong presence of espresso. You know I'm tired if you every hear me order, "Hot, grande, Chai Latte with soy milk and a single shot of espresso."</div>
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Even more recently than my discovery of the dirty chai, I've started drinking coffee much more frequently. The switch mainly occurred this summer when I was working at North Shore Music Theatre. The 9am call plus hot and ready coffee in the building made it entirely too easy to add a cup of coffee to my morning routine. Then, my first director back at Stoneham Theatre was very much a coffee person, so we bought good coffee for rehearsal and tech. Finally, my mum came to visit and I made her coffee every morning. All that together and I've been drinking significantly more coffee than I used to (more during tech than show runs, though). </div>
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Because I've been drinking it more on the regular, I've discovered a few things. You can't always get lattes (they're expensive!) but I apparently really like hazelnut flavored coffee. Both HoneyDew and Dunkin Donuts have hazelnut coffee. My best find, though, was the 99 cent coffee at Cumberland Farms. There's one about 10 minutes away from Stoneham (same distance as the nearest Starbucks) and any size coffee, hot or iced, will be $1.06 after tax. You make it yourself and they have a ton of flavor and non-dairy creamer options. I usually double up on the hazelnut flavor and creamer. It makes for a delicious coffee!</div>
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I've been trying not to drink coffee when I don't really need that extra caffeine, though, because I want to maintain a caffeine tolerance such that a coffee or an espresso still is more than my body is used to in the morning and I can turn to it when I need that extra jolt.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntTgHEwK_AAQgp2dt4SK1QkSEAYLsSGw7WLo5XLJ8SJbb_dJ6cLAJLRBRzPE0L1DKKVMs90I4Z-8X5yQ_NxsitiaT_RHiMhPgMYem-Azo6QI1G_o7e2XZAi0kYk-7_SuQ2s9s-CvXbPpV/s1600/IMAG0154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntTgHEwK_AAQgp2dt4SK1QkSEAYLsSGw7WLo5XLJ8SJbb_dJ6cLAJLRBRzPE0L1DKKVMs90I4Z-8X5yQ_NxsitiaT_RHiMhPgMYem-Azo6QI1G_o7e2XZAi0kYk-7_SuQ2s9s-CvXbPpV/s320/IMAG0154.jpg" width="181" /></a>All that in mind, today I tried the Gingerbread Tea Latte at Starbucks. I really wanted to like this, because it would be a delicious way to get my holiday fix without the caffeine punch of espresso. And since I'm inherently a tea person, it seemed like it would be a win-win. Unfortunately, it was quite disappointing. I've never been a huge fan of Teavana's black teas and whatever they picked, I believe it's their English Breakfast Tea, just didn't blend well with the Gingerbread flavors. It also seemed like they dialed back the gingerbread-y-ness of the latte. I'm used to much more spices and especially much more molasses in the regular Gingerbread Latte. That's the main reason I love it! This beverage failed for me on both the gingerbread and tea fronts, which meant it really had no redeeming qualities. In addition to the disappointing taste, it also took a long time for my order (despite the barista being fairly speedy) because the first time he made it for me, he made it with regular milk. Luckily, I saw him do it and asked him if it was soy when he tried to give it to me. He quickly made another, but it meant it just took that much longer. And, to top it off, I'm pretty sure that as a Starbucks Gold Card member, I was supposed to get another holiday beverage free because I bought one holiday beverage today at 3:30p. All in all, a sad, sad day in Starbucks land.</div>
Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-9345002170046694612015-09-28T12:51:00.000-04:002015-09-28T12:51:17.685-04:00Total Eclipse of the Supermoon!I spent a good portion of my evening yesterday looking up how to take pictures of the moon and then trying to execute those instructions. Turns out, I can take a pretty decent picture of the moon with my camera. The sad thing was, without a tripod, I was not able to hold the camera still enough to take a clear picture of the moon once it was in the total eclipse. (It gets so much darker that you need a long exposure to pick it up, and no one is steady handed enough for that.) I took all these photos with my Nikon D500 from my backyard in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Courtesty of a blanket, mint tea, and a book on tape, here are my pictures of the September 2015 Lunar Eclipse of the Supermoon.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The eclipse has begun!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1cdGAzomuoBgx7Aap7xn2cY0KLykx_KUjTEQfV6spbhClx_Y3REkAJyRtWoIzmsb5FbSaZqRash0JyMYH9pAhVDE6ZQADXYjH-NzJdIDWoD8T1em4AGh2plJox43zs9PhxPasPLMc0nG/s1600/DSC_0077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1cdGAzomuoBgx7Aap7xn2cY0KLykx_KUjTEQfV6spbhClx_Y3REkAJyRtWoIzmsb5FbSaZqRash0JyMYH9pAhVDE6ZQADXYjH-NzJdIDWoD8T1em4AGh2plJox43zs9PhxPasPLMc0nG/s640/DSC_0077.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The moon has almost been totally eclipsed, just the tiniest sliver is still visible.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Rwl-oRvjmrEfMIzb70O5ld3rr2w-n6lhDlIVAGcz2mL9GIBj0JYecvTAf6LjzdO9aDsbwOMx5xWhw8YRvtzztMuFx9TJCtOm5EHzRLxo2FojcDPTLJedLhyphenhyphenCc7QUCx9h5upfJ7oJ6PbZ/s1600/DSC_0111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Rwl-oRvjmrEfMIzb70O5ld3rr2w-n6lhDlIVAGcz2mL9GIBj0JYecvTAf6LjzdO9aDsbwOMx5xWhw8YRvtzztMuFx9TJCtOm5EHzRLxo2FojcDPTLJedLhyphenhyphenCc7QUCx9h5upfJ7oJ6PbZ/s640/DSC_0111.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was during the beginning of the total eclipse. The moon is just barely visible taken with the same settings as when it was fully visible.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The closest thing I have to a clear shot of the total eclipse. It was truly this orange in person.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzdu9f_KebGaIUtw0ryPIs0UuLTvZmsEjV8YHqNgwmqaVyJWmOBXszMwZNlYxcYqNHw935P-Y-TfG55fz86_bIrWGLd9D1VpVbcdv94Sr4bbPl-lC7w8ESRSHuAIzPHYwLqi9qVaNRVrk/s1600/DSC_0121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzdu9f_KebGaIUtw0ryPIs0UuLTvZmsEjV8YHqNgwmqaVyJWmOBXszMwZNlYxcYqNHw935P-Y-TfG55fz86_bIrWGLd9D1VpVbcdv94Sr4bbPl-lC7w8ESRSHuAIzPHYwLqi9qVaNRVrk/s640/DSC_0121.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My stillest close-up of the eclipsed moon. I was lying on my back with the camera on top of me and literally held my breath to take this.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not quite as still, but the top moon almost looks good in this photo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_wtmWZcK2XqVVeaJEd27RTWHKrj8OTyuXHUntwWrvfRHLwY23PxbyvmY2gvS3u5FpNt-rREqtwRGS7XJfBmhVsuauhB8rqZsMYEXeUD2p8wbdUmkUfaEIVIFKDPos6h3YDrqPK0CwXEm_/s1600/DSC_0145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_wtmWZcK2XqVVeaJEd27RTWHKrj8OTyuXHUntwWrvfRHLwY23PxbyvmY2gvS3u5FpNt-rREqtwRGS7XJfBmhVsuauhB8rqZsMYEXeUD2p8wbdUmkUfaEIVIFKDPos6h3YDrqPK0CwXEm_/s640/DSC_0145.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beginning of the end.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost half of the moon is visible again.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two thirds of a moon!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1mbteHPvDy67ggFnXee6HaXxPkHCrN3buASWTZLKGtLtYO_6nLqFxmwdMk7tekoQLqfsIsCa2ujjuaNMJH9OwrMR-tR4SxJtRW84wikffK21yfnuZeduOV1yMlz1yKXDPlCgq-dw2vAc/s1600/DSC_0212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1mbteHPvDy67ggFnXee6HaXxPkHCrN3buASWTZLKGtLtYO_6nLqFxmwdMk7tekoQLqfsIsCa2ujjuaNMJH9OwrMR-tR4SxJtRW84wikffK21yfnuZeduOV1yMlz1yKXDPlCgq-dw2vAc/s640/DSC_0212.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'd thought the eclipse was over, but the camera shows there's still a hint of a shadow.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57oVNkttFATMbVSJit3Hp3C60pga-lk1mkJm-MI1SODZpZ-fhfZdhETTRGyYxeRb98oxvnrt-2HEqcYCC3-h3vj4Be3HvtGKzUzNLxSbiYXSIe4H02FlLAIAP4f6ACEdXvarYHEE0h6LU/s1600/DSC_0220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57oVNkttFATMbVSJit3Hp3C60pga-lk1mkJm-MI1SODZpZ-fhfZdhETTRGyYxeRb98oxvnrt-2HEqcYCC3-h3vj4Be3HvtGKzUzNLxSbiYXSIe4H02FlLAIAP4f6ACEdXvarYHEE0h6LU/s640/DSC_0220.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Supermoon in all it's glory after the eclipse was truly over.</td></tr>
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Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-50145788502013894892015-09-21T23:01:00.003-04:002015-09-21T23:01:58.980-04:00Knitting ProjectsI love knitting, but I secretly hate blocking my projects. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing when I block an item. I have put off sharing a hat I made last spring because I still have yet to block it. After finishing two other projects in the last couple weeks, I decided just to photograph it anyways.<br />
<br />
First thing I knit was another <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/tea-toters-2" target="_blank">tea tote</a>. I'd sadly lost the blue one I made several years ago (with lots of tea inside it!). I kept hoping it would turn up, but it has not, so I big the bullet and made a new one.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAq9UKawUdWa25IQ6YcHIb1S4K7noLfh_dkZecaHkHVpdRRN_TfyIsCzIW_3fOXDBnaJdY8XMA3ZLCM3OgTzzVsMTLx1Sm0uZr5n042xJcJnqBw81R5L9h-Gl6YtuRQD5qhLOBkIRzzYV-/s1600/IMAG0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAq9UKawUdWa25IQ6YcHIb1S4K7noLfh_dkZecaHkHVpdRRN_TfyIsCzIW_3fOXDBnaJdY8XMA3ZLCM3OgTzzVsMTLx1Sm0uZr5n042xJcJnqBw81R5L9h-Gl6YtuRQD5qhLOBkIRzzYV-/s320/IMAG0005.jpg" width="181" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Posing with a tea bag.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaJFqkXjx7Oo0S_A-BeGtizQDag00sHewAzxs4vehUGW1QBqFQg7DFUE0Ik9bKYmlfD5qvGe0SvYVCMrgOXvqt-SLxJ_B49LBQ9LZqW4Ynq5VNvK4-QUnesfZsLP_W7LtsrliUuTBrU8K/s1600/IMAG0006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaJFqkXjx7Oo0S_A-BeGtizQDag00sHewAzxs4vehUGW1QBqFQg7DFUE0Ik9bKYmlfD5qvGe0SvYVCMrgOXvqt-SLxJ_B49LBQ9LZqW4Ynq5VNvK4-QUnesfZsLP_W7LtsrliUuTBrU8K/s320/IMAG0006.jpg" width="181" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few tea bags stuffed inside. This bag could have used some blocking, but I knew I was going to overfill it, so there didn't seem much point.</td></tr>
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Next up is the hat I made last spring, which needs to be blocked so that the pattern really pops. Knowing me, I'll probably just wear it like this anyways. Ravelry page for it is <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/meret-mystery-beret" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNri52LmzOA4P6EsA8BMoWTsND4uvCOefkhZa4dHaWaw40hsqpSGy3laVZdrqcF-KnE9pS4ydUREyfs7mMVA-ravom5jzmQ9Itd5IHt2NsDCINxUkp722E7EuUBYwFkpeBD87qzCB2USj/s1600/IMAG0012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqNri52LmzOA4P6EsA8BMoWTsND4uvCOefkhZa4dHaWaw40hsqpSGy3laVZdrqcF-KnE9pS4ydUREyfs7mMVA-ravom5jzmQ9Itd5IHt2NsDCINxUkp722E7EuUBYwFkpeBD87qzCB2USj/s320/IMAG0012.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It has a lovely pointy almost floral pattern to it.</td></tr>
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Front and side views of the hat:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66iFK6YRty0kgjY0yOao4tm2Y8NxoA_BNWVCbazudMs1w7H1D5tc7qr8GfjkKif-1baIx53m9hto6vAhAFnIIk-sj6toJhS5vR3ZVyNCumL9AO0IjI8Yn8s-HYkP2VljjRcouyIDWr7af/s1600/IMAG0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh66iFK6YRty0kgjY0yOao4tm2Y8NxoA_BNWVCbazudMs1w7H1D5tc7qr8GfjkKif-1baIx53m9hto6vAhAFnIIk-sj6toJhS5vR3ZVyNCumL9AO0IjI8Yn8s-HYkP2VljjRcouyIDWr7af/s320/IMAG0008.jpg" width="181" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW5k44DiPXDCHBnZxjumRFJzkJPPl6dwTQIcoO-H-zL6xuF5fiFNi9wUotDy0FNXJLAfTKkofaoZLg5CtztBotlDUcn7-_OMIJRsd76Z6oiduc1tayYtQZUv2ON-rgwebggK1jsybEMgao/s1600/IMAG0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW5k44DiPXDCHBnZxjumRFJzkJPPl6dwTQIcoO-H-zL6xuF5fiFNi9wUotDy0FNXJLAfTKkofaoZLg5CtztBotlDUcn7-_OMIJRsd76Z6oiduc1tayYtQZUv2ON-rgwebggK1jsybEMgao/s320/IMAG0010.jpg" width="181" /></a></div>
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Finally, I decided to whip up a nice big, <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/cariad" target="_blank">chunky cowl</a> from some yarn Maggie had given me. Sadly, the two skeins I had weren't enough and I had to hunt down a third. As you can see, the colorway of the third skein was not at all the same. But, I decided I could live with it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-u1wKJNXsHt1m2m70HCtJ0eA2l1wQ3lC2-rD99UGnf7LwbjA8j-RKIGkx8aLCxDOqTm7P7O3mzmnF2q5OpLpUD5-dhCCmp52sVUJWwj-IKbhiWlUuvbaddAbIy26EpvJ6RHZFQ-vy8My/s1600/IMAG0014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-u1wKJNXsHt1m2m70HCtJ0eA2l1wQ3lC2-rD99UGnf7LwbjA8j-RKIGkx8aLCxDOqTm7P7O3mzmnF2q5OpLpUD5-dhCCmp52sVUJWwj-IKbhiWlUuvbaddAbIy26EpvJ6RHZFQ-vy8My/s320/IMAG0014.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of the reasons I chose this pattern in particular is that it's supposed to be the right size/shape to comfortably wear as a hood/snood. This was sort of a trial run to see if I like having a cowl with a hood, as there's one or two patterns I'd really like to make, but I wanted to make sure I'd actually wear them before I put the effort into making them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtB4phK2EFuVBypllZEpYqXjiIgNrpwFNJ3-mFB7Oabc6Yq0cyRVZOyxKJOA7T9wKPkrAyIXbrZeLBZ_iuhTokWmG5f0LtaV8coKZeqP5IqrlCgn5lvKiJBDIiZMaj25yc203IfUTRNMoR/s1600/IMAG0017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtB4phK2EFuVBypllZEpYqXjiIgNrpwFNJ3-mFB7Oabc6Yq0cyRVZOyxKJOA7T9wKPkrAyIXbrZeLBZ_iuhTokWmG5f0LtaV8coKZeqP5IqrlCgn5lvKiJBDIiZMaj25yc203IfUTRNMoR/s320/IMAG0017.jpg" width="181" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTN17qIMwJ3E6q7GdHkDTZF0zKdfeF6j-TRxt8dv-FBzEyJaiDLUVJBiLzjMNqACqoOmENEugPWHHRdW8-UmXr8r685Dnkpv1TMGFMN2zsMhzrNg4NIOmAz6ypxt2tv-s9fyBX0jk4F-i/s1600/IMAG0020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTN17qIMwJ3E6q7GdHkDTZF0zKdfeF6j-TRxt8dv-FBzEyJaiDLUVJBiLzjMNqACqoOmENEugPWHHRdW8-UmXr8r685Dnkpv1TMGFMN2zsMhzrNg4NIOmAz6ypxt2tv-s9fyBX0jk4F-i/s320/IMAG0020.jpg" width="181" /></a></div>
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So that's what has been going on in my knitting world. Right now I'm trying to plug away at my socks and ignore the siren call of mittens and leg warmers.Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-70274820984767016752015-09-15T17:13:00.000-04:002015-09-15T17:13:45.927-04:00Fruit and Coconut PopsiclesThere's nothing more wonderful on a hot day than a frozen treat. This has been a particularly hot summer (that is regrettably still not over yet!) so I've been eating a lot of ice cream and popsicles. After going through my second box of fruity popsicles from Trader Joe's, it occurred to me that I could probably make my own pretty easily. One of the reasons I'd been eating popsicles in particular is that there tend to be more non-dairy options. I love me some ice cream, but my lactose intolerance does not. I dug through my Evernote stash of recipes and found two that both used coconut milk and frozen fruit. Then I picked up a couple of popsicle molds from the dollar store and went to work!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvo_ZOIlDOY_ZGHUHIkdHrPPdLRMstqNh8D3YdtZ9dcWvQXGn-EhFDKvJksR2zS_X8B5_Yb1i3DSgpEMzlONTGhz2lCFnS2Lz4_pVDSGsFG4kd7Sk7FPEFSnhaW9QYvvs9hvgkjRk7iPQr/s1600/popsicle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvo_ZOIlDOY_ZGHUHIkdHrPPdLRMstqNh8D3YdtZ9dcWvQXGn-EhFDKvJksR2zS_X8B5_Yb1i3DSgpEMzlONTGhz2lCFnS2Lz4_pVDSGsFG4kd7Sk7FPEFSnhaW9QYvvs9hvgkjRk7iPQr/s320/popsicle.jpg" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fruit and Coconut Popsicle ready for consumption!</td></tr>
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The combination of the coconut milk and fruit is delightful because you not only get a sweet, fruity pop, but the coconut milk adds a lovely creaminess and texture. My first batch of pops I made following the instructions from this recipe exactly: <a href="http://simplyrealhealth.com/2015/07/09/fruit-coconut-creamsicles/" target="_blank">Frozen Coconut Creamsicles</a>. I did as they suggested and blended the coconut milk and fruit together so they didn't look as pretty, but they tasted great. The next time I made them, I also referenced this recipe: <a href="http://www.thenest.com/Recipes/164885/detailview.aspx?type=7&id=164885" target="_blank">Berry Coconut Milk Ice Pops</a>. The addition of the spices was a good idea, I thought. So, after a bit of taste testing, here is my perfected recipe for Fruit and Coconut Popsicles!<br />
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<u>Fruit and Coconut Popsicles</u><br />
<i>Makes 8 popsicles</i><br />
1 can coconut milk<br />
2 cups fresh or frozen fruit (I've stuck to berries with good results)<br />
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract<br />
3 tablespoons honey<br />
dash of cardamom (to taste)<br />
dash of cinnamon (to taste)<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NgxQdtPBgrmU3qdeYiiZnwE6iP8ZPTLXBtZwEPjX8k4EzC5nk1sLrD8vbucpTRYQBB-EXEwwvzEl3M5RSClbL7s3VUlR-x5wdIfFZcDMqTTCrTu0kbe46DqadaZNNvTGHvOpG1bclPv1/s1600/2015-08-24+19.59.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1NgxQdtPBgrmU3qdeYiiZnwE6iP8ZPTLXBtZwEPjX8k4EzC5nk1sLrD8vbucpTRYQBB-EXEwwvzEl3M5RSClbL7s3VUlR-x5wdIfFZcDMqTTCrTu0kbe46DqadaZNNvTGHvOpG1bclPv1/s400/2015-08-24+19.59.22.jpg" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Popsicle mix ready to go into the freezer.</td></tr>
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1. If you're using frozen fruit, measure it and let it sit until it defrosts and comes closer to room temperature. This makes it easier to blend into everything else.<br />
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2. Put the coconut milk, vanilla, honey, and spices in a blender. Blend until combined and a little frothy.<br />
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3. Add fruit to the blender. Blend well. You don't want any big berry chunks.<br />
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4. Pour into popsicle molds. If you don't have molds, dixie cups with popsicle sticks will always work.<br />
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5. Let freeze for at least four hours.<br />
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6. Enjoy!<br />
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They're super easy to make and oh so delicious. I learned the hard way the first time not to try and blend the honey with the fruit, because the cold just makes it gloop up and not blend. I do like the blender only method though because it's quicker and less of a mess than heating up the berries and sugar on the stove top.<br />
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Hope you like these popsicles as much as I do!<br />
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<span id="goog_962672421"></span><span id="goog_962672422"></span><br />
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<br />Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-24735653513535335832015-09-15T13:14:00.000-04:002015-09-15T13:14:02.007-04:00Opening Night Make-up LookOpening night for a show is always a chance to dress up, which usually means it's also a chance to do something fun with my make-up. The show I just opened is Sondheim's <i>A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to The Forum</i>, a farcical musical comedy. In our version, we've highlighted the wealthiest character as always wearing gold and also having gold coins all over his house. I used this as the inspiration for my eye make-up.<br />
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Since it had to get me through the whole day, I started off by doing a something a little more subtle. I did a base of <a href="http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod4950093" target="_blank">Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tatoo Metal 24hr Eyeshadow</a> in 65 Gold Rush, with a bit of gold powder eye shadow, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wet-Wild-Shimmer-C303-Golddigger/dp/B009JTW1HS" target="_blank">wet n wild Color Icon Shimmer Eyeshadow</a> in C30 Golddigger and <a href="http://www.sephora.com/colorful-eyeshadow-shimmer-P377296?skuId=1425099" target="_blank">Sephora Collection Colorful Eyeshadow</a> in No 72 Movie popcorn, on top to set it. I then lined my upper lids with <a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/eyes/eyeliner/expert_liquid_liner" target="_blank">e.l.f. Essential Expert Liquid Liner</a> in #4210 Copper. I smudged a tiny bit of a black-brown liner on my lower lids just to define them, and topped it all off with some mascara.<br />
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After the performances, but before the opening night reception, I quickly added some black wings with the <a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/eyes/eyeliner/expert_liquid_liner" target="_blank">e.l.f. Essential Expert Liquid Liner</a> in #21706 Charcoal and highlighted the inner corner of my eyes with <a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/eyes/eyeshadow/jumbo_eyeshadow_stick" target="_blank">e.l.f. Essential Jumbo Eyeshadow Stick</a> in #21631 Little Miss Thing. It turned out to be a nice dramatic look that was pretty simple to accomplish.<br />
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Here are a couple photos of the finished look I snapped when I got home:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIN8CQn_aA-Ps_Zkxfi-7dRwT42xp0nv1G6JUJJFu5Q_iDo0YGRTYMdske3h6Sr04etg2YTdACLabe-DsXFtZY4KYNYcCXwAzu2gaufx9U2eAtJBIxw8eyGZ1enumQL_ws1gZAIK4xHiG/s1600/eye+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIN8CQn_aA-Ps_Zkxfi-7dRwT42xp0nv1G6JUJJFu5Q_iDo0YGRTYMdske3h6Sr04etg2YTdACLabe-DsXFtZY4KYNYcCXwAzu2gaufx9U2eAtJBIxw8eyGZ1enumQL_ws1gZAIK4xHiG/s400/eye+close+up.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close-up of the eyes. The camera washed out the look a little bit.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9WEsG09WBLwSPaYu2a1Y7N6-yDzqTL7Ul2k2wwd-dYRfvPFo2WkQNRP9bNHZK1roQB9qblDGDC2CqA-2aDMk5s1drDbeadcEWiWIpWKJqYQUWnikeXkBG_QvNj1GR4Oa1ZSKZnMpzNS_/s1600/full+head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9WEsG09WBLwSPaYu2a1Y7N6-yDzqTL7Ul2k2wwd-dYRfvPFo2WkQNRP9bNHZK1roQB9qblDGDC2CqA-2aDMk5s1drDbeadcEWiWIpWKJqYQUWnikeXkBG_QvNj1GR4Oa1ZSKZnMpzNS_/s400/full+head.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look of the full face (lipstick is gone in this photo).</td></tr>
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There is also now a photo up on Facebook of me looking impossibly tall next to the rest of the stage management team for the show.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0S727Vclwnpb-rgNRwq6TH5LCnmen0g-3yU-c3HSnaWsutcI8Yf9Xy6DERm47F_2DbO6WzE1t9WVmy_DNPStnn2BDem18Nr4JOWgepzq3w6Z1SjbOzQhu59CXgUKCJSIIBzxjNYh4joh/s1600/Forum+SMs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0S727Vclwnpb-rgNRwq6TH5LCnmen0g-3yU-c3HSnaWsutcI8Yf9Xy6DERm47F_2DbO6WzE1t9WVmy_DNPStnn2BDem18Nr4JOWgepzq3w6Z1SjbOzQhu59CXgUKCJSIIBzxjNYh4joh/s640/Forum+SMs.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left to right: PA Chelsea, ASM Maegan, SM Rachel (me!), Sub-SM Lauria, Waredrobe/PA Jess</td></tr>
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Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-71065486797579449672015-08-27T21:04:00.000-04:002015-08-27T21:04:57.257-04:00Outfit of the Day: Black and WhiteI got a lot of compliments on my outfit today and it was particularly fun, so I thought I'd share.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCVwe-n1Q-C8AayGdkgPtQ7qJ_FAX8xWXFZPRBX5kpR2RhNaz528-NDPAFRz8xXyf_PkZgqg2iv8jEVmWw9xaLK1fq-0Fc2XjghfAsbPIf83cO9MtgH7Pv8iiJQO8hGOVZT62XxM862nla/s1600/2015-08-27+15.58.29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCVwe-n1Q-C8AayGdkgPtQ7qJ_FAX8xWXFZPRBX5kpR2RhNaz528-NDPAFRz8xXyf_PkZgqg2iv8jEVmWw9xaLK1fq-0Fc2XjghfAsbPIf83cO9MtgH7Pv8iiJQO8hGOVZT62XxM862nla/s640/2015-08-27+15.58.29.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little blurry, but I think it was because the mirror was dusty.</td></tr>
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I'm wearing my new skeleton leggings (got them <a href="http://www.onlineleggingstore.com/products/skull-print-leggings" target="_blank">here</a>), a shirt dress I've had for so long I no longer remember where I got it, and a bandanna that was a bargain buy from Walmart. I was also wearing my new black boots that you can't see, but which helped finish off the outfit with a tough edge.<br />
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Super comfy and it looked like I actually put some effort into getting dressed, which is always nice. Wearing a bandana like this is one of my new favorite things because it's just the bandanna with the help of two bobby pins and not only does it look cute and get all my hair up, but it also hides third or fourth day hair if I need it to. (Today was third day hair.)<br />
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<br />Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-45960228417812203952015-07-26T11:46:00.000-04:002015-09-15T16:53:28.726-04:00The Care and Keeping of Makeup BrushesDespite the fact that I have been too busy (or sometimes unmotivated) to blog, my page views keep climbing and I have now passed 8,500 views! As someone who mostly blogs for myself, it's really awesomely fantastic to know that there are people out there reading what I wrote. Because I haven't been blogging lately, I have quite the backlog of things I want to write about. But, I decided to do a blog today on something much more current.<br />
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I never used to use makeup brushes much, but then I bought a few e.l.f. brushes and became a convert. I find that my eye shadow looks better when I use a brush and having nice brushes to apply my face powder, blush, and highlighter makes a world of difference. While I own 15 different brushes (plus extras of my favorites), there are five that I use every day.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc3LrRbllqN_8iddy99C0PDMJUzt33t8h0WKLmfTm4EsezyoqZ0BytPcu-YwgJrYRUysFB4KI9JJS5Knqjec0czrhyr8UK7Z0a2Pw1E19Cg7Wj4sma_Ker3Sno92eXQJWXnXBQlGL5p8RJ/s1600/2015-07-26+11.10.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc3LrRbllqN_8iddy99C0PDMJUzt33t8h0WKLmfTm4EsezyoqZ0BytPcu-YwgJrYRUysFB4KI9JJS5Knqjec0czrhyr8UK7Z0a2Pw1E19Cg7Wj4sma_Ker3Sno92eXQJWXnXBQlGL5p8RJ/s320/2015-07-26+11.10.21.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite e.l.f. brushes.</td></tr>
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<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/tools/single-brushes/total_face_brush" target="_blank">e.l.f. Essential Total Face Brush</a> : I use this brush to apply my Physician's Formula pressed powder. It gives me nice, even coverage that is easily buildable. I also use it to help clear away any fallout from my eye shadow.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/tools/single-brushes/bronzing_brush" target="_blank">e.l.f. Essential Bronzing Brush</a> : So it is called a bronzing brush, but I basically use it for everything that goes on my face besides powder. I use it to contour, to highlight, to apply blush, and, if I use it, to apply bronzer. The angle of it makes it great to apply to targeted areas on my face.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/tools/single-brushes/eye_shadow_brush" target="_blank"> e.l.f. Essential Eyeshadow Brush</a> : This is the brush I use to apply shadow to my upper lid. It's great for a subtle wash of color, or for packing on a lot of color on the outer corner. You will never apply shadow with one of those eye shadow applicator sponges once you use this brush.</li>
<li> <a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/tools/single-brushes/blending_eye_brush" target="_blank">e.l.f. Essential Blending Eye Brush</a> : My other favorite shadow brush, I use this one to dust color over my entire lid all the way up to my eye brow. It is also the one I use to get highlight in the inner corner of my eye and it is great at blending.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/tools/single-brushes/concealer_brush" target="_blank">e.l.f. professional Concealer Brush</a> : As someone with constant acne, this brush is a life saver. It does it's job marvelously and applies targeted spots of concealer with ease.</li>
</ol>
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Honorable mention: <a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/tools/single-brushes/smudge_brush" target="_blank">e.l.f. Essential Smudge Brush</a> : I do not use this brush every day, but it is the most used of all the rest of my brushes. I use it to pick up concentrated color and pack it over my liner. Sometimes it's just to reinforce whatever color I put down, other times it's to change it (like putting hunter green over brown).<br />
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There are of course so many different companies that make brushes, in every price range, but I love these because they are so affordable and effective (you can purchase all 6 brushes I mentioned for only $8!). Whatever brushes you choose to use, these shapes/sizes I think are highly useful.<br />
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As a brush owner, you are supposed to keep them nice and clean. First, because you don't want yesterday's product on your face, but also because over time, bacteria will build up on them, and no one wants to put bacteria all over their face. Now, I will confess that I do not clean my brushes as often as I should. After I use them, I always give them a cursory clean on a tissue or towel to remove the excess product, but I rarely remember to deep clean them. The reason I avoided it is because I found it to be so annoying and time consuming to do. Well, no more! I happened to see a "cheap trick" that absolutely works!<br />
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Presenting, <a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/Zote-White-Laundry-Soap-14.1-oz/16935506" target="_blank">Zote</a> soap! It's a Mexican laundry soap and it is AMAZING. You can buy it on Amazon, but go to Walmart- it's only a dollar there! Cleaning your brushes with this is the easiest thing in the world. First, get your brush wet (avoiding the farrow- where the bristles go into the brush). Then swipe it along the soap to get some on the bristles. Swirl it in your hand so that it suds up. You can swipe again if needed. You'll see all the product come out in the suds. Rinse. For my larger brushes, I put a little bit of soapy water in a dish and swirled it in that before getting more soap on the brush and swirling it in my hand. For some of the really, really dirty brushes, I'd swirl, rinse, and swirl again. Once they're clean, gently squeeze the excess water out of the the bristles and let dry. It's best to dry them with the bristles down so that water doesn't get up in the farrow and make the bristles fall out. I solved this by pinning my brushes to a wire hanger with clothes pins. Worked like a charm!<br />
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Isn't that so simple?! Get it wet, get it soapy, rinse, dry. Done.<br />
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I found this so much easier than the oil + dawn method and much more effective than any of the brush cleaners I'd used. You should absolutely go out and buy a bar. It's one dollar and it will last you a very long time.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcqzSTnfIqk27QWU4h-fHgdbJUEAtQCKLNiM2-rl-9Zd8RujPWkIdjEV9qoiG1FVB2RmFtLvutgh-ZRU9TdtciIglSAf3hirtWd7R7Y0hXOEXh_8S3opdASMHFl5U5Lrx7hq6rq4FzrmI/s1600/2015-09-15+15.41.39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihcqzSTnfIqk27QWU4h-fHgdbJUEAtQCKLNiM2-rl-9Zd8RujPWkIdjEV9qoiG1FVB2RmFtLvutgh-ZRU9TdtciIglSAf3hirtWd7R7Y0hXOEXh_8S3opdASMHFl5U5Lrx7hq6rq4FzrmI/s400/2015-09-15+15.41.39.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super fancy hanger + clothespins drying rack. Always dry with bristles down.</td></tr>
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Warning: It does have a very light fragrance, so if you're sensitive to fragrances, you may want to do a spot test with the soap somewhere before you use it. However, my brushes rinsed very clean, so I don't think much soap, if any, remained on the brush anyways, but better safe than sorry when dealing with your face.Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-77220820344209599282015-03-03T00:15:00.000-05:002015-03-03T00:16:02.391-05:00Ruby Red lips that don't move<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_BAxUFGM-ebrUykC-MztuT9TI072YSRjni240oEMCRfk-HHr_VUXkvmmhoXm1OfbyvWoXXLP3aB0pDHaylvXbbrUxatVCX94wsc-jpWQTHs2rUa_NNLN5P-rX3Gee8Tds-91XJZn6F8e/s1600/2015-02-28+23.13.18+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_BAxUFGM-ebrUykC-MztuT9TI072YSRjni240oEMCRfk-HHr_VUXkvmmhoXm1OfbyvWoXXLP3aB0pDHaylvXbbrUxatVCX94wsc-jpWQTHs2rUa_NNLN5P-rX3Gee8Tds-91XJZn6F8e/s1600/2015-02-28+23.13.18+2.jpg" height="400" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All dressed up with somewhere to go.</td></tr>
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Last night I went to my first ever Feb Club. It's a Yale tradition centered around Seniors having parties every night in February. It has since expanded to Feb Club Emeritus, where Yalies across the world get together and have parties throughout February. The Boston Feb Club Emeritus this year was on the last night of February at The Vault, a cool bar downtown that's in an old bank building. I had initially wanted to wear a dress, but I decided it was too cold and not worth freezing my butt off. I still wanted to make a statement, though, and a red lip was an easy addition to my work look that would elevate it. I also wanted to make sure my lip color would last the night and that I wouldn't have to worry about it rubbing off while I drank or ate.<br />
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My solution was to layer two different lipsticks. I started by applying <a href="http://www.covergirl.com/beauty-products/lip-makeup/lipstick/outlast-lip-stain" target="_blank">CoverGirl Outlast Lipstain</a> in Wild Berry Wink 440. I love this lip stain; it's what I wore for my wedding! It is a nice, vibrant red and, once it dries, it <i><b>does not move</b></i> until you take it off with a make-up wipe. Why didn't I just put this on and call it a day? Well, I've found that when my lips aren't super healthy (chapped, dry, etc) it can go on a little patchy. But I had a feeling it would make a great base and help whatever I put on top of it go the distance. I put on two coats of this, letting it dry thoroughly after each coat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6u3MXEib020dERvH8MOrd2dZJJwtl7A9MMNeHRT3Rgj1wHh8BV4FkF8pF2MMnruDmGoLFfMt09dwK8QiY3jlVaMOCWcSclv1klEPke2YNn-H7v_EFcMJ_28vT_W2P-sINHuuTmXz3ZVfM/s1600/2015-03-01+00.17.47+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6u3MXEib020dERvH8MOrd2dZJJwtl7A9MMNeHRT3Rgj1wHh8BV4FkF8pF2MMnruDmGoLFfMt09dwK8QiY3jlVaMOCWcSclv1klEPke2YNn-H7v_EFcMJ_28vT_W2P-sINHuuTmXz3ZVfM/s1600/2015-03-01+00.17.47+2.jpg" height="320" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snuggled in a blanket on the couch.</td></tr>
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On top of the stain, I layered <a href="http://www.lorealparisusa.com/en/Products/Makeup/Lips/Lip-Liner/Colour-Riche-Lip-Liner.aspx?shade=Truly-Burgundy" target="_blank">L'Oreal Colour Riche Lip Liner</a> in Always Red. It is a bit of a deeper and truer red than the lip stain. I've had great luck with this lip pencil's staying power on it's own, which is part of the reason I chose it instead of one of my other lip liners. When I applied the stain, I was very careful to stay within the lines of my lips. With the pencil, I allowed myself to overdraw just the tiniest bit, especially on my top lip (which is quite thin).<br />
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The result was a long lasting, vibrant red! Just for fun, I took a picture after coming home and eating a late-night snack. I paid zero attention to not smudging my lipstick, but it hardly moved at all. Clearly the combo of the lip stain and lip liner is a winner!<br />
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Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-41611923261130428352015-02-14T19:22:00.001-05:002015-02-14T19:22:44.798-05:00Happy (Snowy) Valentines Day!Happy Valentines Day from snowy, snowy New England. I've totally lost count of how many snow storms we've had. Another one just started, and there's a rumor there could be yet another one a few days after this one is over. We were already at around 60 inches of snow for this winter. There is snow EVERYWHERE.<br />
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Anyways, Happy Valentine's Day from my red lips to you! Stay warm, dry, and safe!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgniKmFM6JPKrqRoHIcTTDxO6ckzyLnPOAV_T8UOYfyioIkqse21su-ocrBNt01o0HlUvHlAvd6mh4BkqC2dVf30EeWA0yOlA8hegUBaDIIeiWXUoMlfnKExrEijr7lswgCW5yceUcV9kCN/s1600/2015-02-14+18.54.11+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgniKmFM6JPKrqRoHIcTTDxO6ckzyLnPOAV_T8UOYfyioIkqse21su-ocrBNt01o0HlUvHlAvd6mh4BkqC2dVf30EeWA0yOlA8hegUBaDIIeiWXUoMlfnKExrEijr7lswgCW5yceUcV9kCN/s1600/2015-02-14+18.54.11+2.jpg" height="312" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apologies for the messy hair and blurry photo. My camera phone has not been cooperative lately.</td></tr>
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On my lips:<br />
<a href="http://www.sallybeauty.com/beautique-defining-lip-pencil/BTIQUE12,default,pd.html#q=beautique+lip+liner&start=3" target="_blank">Beautique Lipliner</a> in Real Red 7142002 (Sally Beauty for only $2.19)<br />
<a href="http://www.cvs.com/shop/beauty/lips/lipstick/n-y-c-ultra-moist-lip-wear-retro-red-skuid-308121" target="_blank">N.Y.C. Ultra Moist Lip Wear</a> in 308 Retro Red (Total steal at only 99 cents from CVS)Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-79366017953338202322015-01-26T18:17:00.000-05:002015-01-26T18:23:08.935-05:00Product Review: Garnier Fructis De-Constructed Move It Manipulating Gel<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.garnierusa.com/~/media/Images/Garnier/Home/Products/Hair/Styling/texturizing/De-Constructed-Move-It-Manipulating-Gel/P0229_packshot.png?h=400&thn=0&w=307" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.garnierusa.com/~/media/Images/Garnier/Home/Products/Hair/Styling/texturizing/De-Constructed-Move-It-Manipulating-Gel/P0229_packshot.png?h=400&thn=0&w=307" height="200" width="153" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look no further for touchable texture!</td></tr>
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This is one of the many reviews that is long overdue. I bought this gel several months ago to try out and have been thoroughly enjoying it. It is pretty much exactly what I was looking for. The <a href="http://www.garnierusa.com/products/styling/texturizing/gel/de-constructed-move-it-manipulating-gel.aspx" target="_blank">Garnier Fructis De-Constructed Move It Manipulating Gel</a> is the perfect product to add texture without making my hair tacky or stiff. It is also super quick and easy to use, which I love. Who has time to individually groom each section of hair?<br />
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I've found that this gel works best on wet or damp hair. Garnier's website says you can use it on dry hair, but for me, I don't find it works as well on dry hair. I usually use it right after I wash my hair. I tend to sit with a towel on my head for roughly fifteen minutes after my shower so it isn't sopping wet. Then I comb through my hair and get my bangs in order. Next I massage a little 100% pure <a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/Fruit-Of-The-Earth-Aloe-Vera-Gel-12-Oz/10314797" target="_blank">Aloe Vera Gel</a> into my scalp and scrunch a little more into my hair. I use the aloe on my scalp to help prevent dandruff and work a little volume into my roots. I scrunch it through the rest of my hair to give it a bit of moisture and shape. Then I take a small amount (roughly a dime sized dollop) of the Move It Manipulating Gel, rub it between my palms, and scrunch that into my hair. The Manipulating Gel really does a good job of helping my hair hold the shape that I made with the aloe vera gel.<br />
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This is what it looks like after applying the Manipulating Gel when my hair is still wet:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LPcERfbLem8tPPo-nigHUD0hVm8fJp7-Kf7a8c5hvcbLUaIPN7kyFSbNG7yxNEZbPxFJAUYx-hvF8pwrpZQnzgw-AhaTT0s7Wgp-W9qZCJ8IUv8a4Ibkr21f9hj81BBDDjxxkOUWRW7s/s1600/2015-01-26+14.55.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9LPcERfbLem8tPPo-nigHUD0hVm8fJp7-Kf7a8c5hvcbLUaIPN7kyFSbNG7yxNEZbPxFJAUYx-hvF8pwrpZQnzgw-AhaTT0s7Wgp-W9qZCJ8IUv8a4Ibkr21f9hj81BBDDjxxkOUWRW7s/s1600/2015-01-26+14.55.11.jpg" height="320" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Got some nice reflected light off of the snow.</td></tr>
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And here is what it looks like a few hours later once my hair has dried:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Cc2cE0EkdADesSvCG1n1pmgDZnHzZ90eK4sQSDuj-mK8qTea7jpTwRMQw05k3yLN1BikH8HZruBSHIxDeZPXvbKnZTXaSTzjDINyQqEI7n77wirMbQT62zD1OLwyfgoSiM9ICRYyuMnx/s1600/2015-01-26+17.52.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Cc2cE0EkdADesSvCG1n1pmgDZnHzZ90eK4sQSDuj-mK8qTea7jpTwRMQw05k3yLN1BikH8HZruBSHIxDeZPXvbKnZTXaSTzjDINyQqEI7n77wirMbQT62zD1OLwyfgoSiM9ICRYyuMnx/s1600/2015-01-26+17.52.15.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Lovely" yellow artificial light</td></tr>
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As you can see, it helps my hair keep a nice wave in it, rather than drying to an unattractive not-quite-straight. After I sleep on it, a lot of the specific waviness is gone, but a little water and some scrunching re-activates it. I've been super happy with this gel and, as a bonus, one tube lasts forever! I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking to inject a bit of tousled texture into their style.Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-72889216062092909262015-01-26T17:47:00.001-05:002015-01-26T17:47:59.396-05:00Product Review: Neutrogena Transparent Facial Bar<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_FnAh7JJIIuCeQClR1rk0fkRnIucpH7UC1yMxD7a6Weeug8ct_P6AakdWX9YOYSrKcRXgbQIIa3W2mWUmR-qR_AWhzm02mhATe2gd8Yt-qxIebEcPXliMt_cJSpf2h5EAaTLmpYVkxd5/s1600/2015-01-26+17.10.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_FnAh7JJIIuCeQClR1rk0fkRnIucpH7UC1yMxD7a6Weeug8ct_P6AakdWX9YOYSrKcRXgbQIIa3W2mWUmR-qR_AWhzm02mhATe2gd8Yt-qxIebEcPXliMt_cJSpf2h5EAaTLmpYVkxd5/s1600/2015-01-26+17.10.25.jpg" height="400" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every day essentials</td></tr>
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When there's a storm coming, most people rush out to buy milk and bread. Me, I go and buy my beauty essentials. Okay, so I also ended up going to the store and buying milk, but that wasn't because of the storm. In any case, these are two products that I absolutely love and use on a regular basis. This post is specifically about the <a href="http://www.cvs.com/shop/skin-care/face/acne-blemishes/neutrogena-facial-bar-acne-prone-skin-formula-skuid-147729" target="_blank">Neutrogena Transparent Facial Bar for acne-prone skin</a> (a review of the dry shampoo is forthcoming, I promise!). I was in luck today too, because it was on sale for $5.29.<br />
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I first purchased this facial bar when I was in Maui. I'd brought along a travel sized container of my usual morning face wash, but I found it was a little too harsh to be using both in the morning and at night. After a bit of browsing, I pulled the travel sized version of the facial bar off the shelves and decided to try it. I've been using it almost nightly ever since!<br />
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This is the first and only facial cleanser I've used that comes in a traditional bar soap form. It actually makes for easy use, since I can just wet my face with a wash cloth, get some soap on the washcloth, scrub my face, and then rinse. It's a very gentle formula that doesn't dry out my skin, a problem I have sometimes with cleansers despite the fact that I have oil/combination skin. And it really does help my acne prone skin. I've been out of it for over a week now and I've noticed more breakouts in that time. I also find that because it is so easy to use, I'm better about properly washing my face at night than when I use a different kind of cleanser, much as I might like them.<br />
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My nightly routine now always includes this cleanser. Depending on how much makeup I'm wearing, I'll use my <a href="http://www.cvs.com/shop/beauty/face/makeup-remover/cvs-oil-free-eye-makeup-remover-skuid-957672" target="_blank">CVS Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover</a> (a knock off of the <a href="http://www.cvs.com/shop/skin-care/face/makeup-remover/neutrogena-oil-free-eye-makeup-remover-skuid-311244" target="_blank">Neutrogena remover</a> of the same name) and a <a href="http://www.cvs.com/shop/skin-care/face/exfoliant/cvs-exfoliating-apricot-towelettes-skuid-853790" target="_blank">CVS Exfoliating Apricot Towelette</a> to get the bulk of my eye makeup and foundation off. Then I use this Neutrogena Facial Bar to really give my face a good wash. I've found that if I'm not wearing heavy makeup, this works just fine on its own to remove makeup and cleanse all in one. After I've finished washing my face with this, I use witch hazel as a toner and top it all off with my favorite night cream- <a href="http://www.cvs.com/shop/skin-care/face/face-moisturizer/neutrogena-naturals-multi-vitamin-nourishing-night-cream-skuid-870355" target="_blank">Neutrogina Naturals Nourishing Night Cream</a> (review of the night cream <a href="http://wittytitle-sturm.blogspot.com/2014/06/beauty-review-neutrogena-naturals-night.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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I cannot say enough about this facial bar! It's simple to use, the scent is very minimal, and it works great. Given that it took me over four months to go through the travel size, it's also a great bang for your buck. And anything that encourages me to wash my face more and cleanses so well is worth every penny, anyways, in my opinion!Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-2243593308523988192015-01-17T18:41:00.002-05:002015-01-17T18:41:35.376-05:00Hair Dye Adventures: Beyond the Zone Color JamzIn my continued quest for vibrant color, I tried out a new kind of dye this month. I wound up with this dye because the particular color I got was on clearance for $5. The dye is <a href="http://www.sallybeauty.com/wild-haircolor/BTZ12,default,pd.html#start=12" target="_blank">Beyone the Zone's Color Jamz</a> in the color Candy Apple Red. Sally Beauty Supply doesn't have this color listed on the site any more, so I suspect it was on clearance is because it's a color they're not carrying anymore. According to the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050QOIHA?ie=UTF8&tag=exalycombo-20" target="_blank">Amazon</a> page, it's supposed to come out a fairly bright red on bleached hair. The dye itself is actually more of a deep fushia. You can sort of see it in this photo:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2STPuG2AeS0WU82U8M86qefiaaQKjyAwYrrJOoVRDn1UTwZMsi-tXe27wqeBVi3xfMR2DvJJAQbTOFt32B4rXvRb048sa2O-7gouJmfrik2HaJ9pihlyeuAWP2ro8rpx2OZEYul0g0LK/s1600/2015-01-17+18.16.52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2STPuG2AeS0WU82U8M86qefiaaQKjyAwYrrJOoVRDn1UTwZMsi-tXe27wqeBVi3xfMR2DvJJAQbTOFt32B4rXvRb048sa2O-7gouJmfrik2HaJ9pihlyeuAWP2ro8rpx2OZEYul0g0LK/s1600/2015-01-17+18.16.52.jpg" height="320" width="181" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Partially used bottle</td></tr>
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One nice thing about this dye was that, like the Manic Panic, I only needed to use about half the dye in the container, meaning I get two dye jobs out of one purchase. Off all the dyes I've tried from Sally's (this, <a href="http://www.sallybeauty.com/manic-panic/MANIC1,default,pd.html#prefn1=brand&prefv1=MANIC&brandLandingPage=true&start=2" target="_blank">Manic Panic</a>, and <a href="http://www.sallybeauty.com/ion-color-brights/ION153,default,pd.html#q=ion+color+brilliance&start=1" target="_blank">Ion Color Brilliance</a>), this may have been one of the messiest. It wasn't too bad as far as the actual dying process and rinsing it out was about on par with the Ion Color Brilliance Brights in Red. However, what it did to my scalp was unprecedented. All of the dyes I've been using lately tell you not to get it on your scalp when you apply it. I have yet to actually find a way to reliably get all my hair dyed and not get dye all over my scalp. I applied this dye with my dye brush in the way I usually do and let it set for the maximum recommended time of 20 minutes. I rinsed it out and applied an after dye conditioner. I was then unpleasantly surprised at how much of it decided to adhere to my scalp. I expect my scalp to be a bit colorful after I first dye my hair, because it pretty much happens with all dyes, but this one took the cake.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFiY4rdZp6dQccFYu7dHy_qK_FJJe05uw_X9DBWd9uQRyPZdRqKWAELDJI3tnqPD3RH0fc77Xkblsn11j417WH3Hu-qBr1ueJFYn4eYayHEaL0PSwJlsVZkDPVMpghDMlecviuxBL9pHWj/s1600/2015-01-06+22.46.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFiY4rdZp6dQccFYu7dHy_qK_FJJe05uw_X9DBWd9uQRyPZdRqKWAELDJI3tnqPD3RH0fc77Xkblsn11j417WH3Hu-qBr1ueJFYn4eYayHEaL0PSwJlsVZkDPVMpghDMlecviuxBL9pHWj/s1600/2015-01-06+22.46.47.jpg" height="361" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello pink dye!</td></tr>
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I was joking with Mike that my hair looked like an Easter egg. It was such a bright color and it was sort of speckled too, which made me think of eggs. And it was everywhere that I'd let the dye sit, so basically all along my hair line was super bright pink. Unfortunately, the dye didn't show up that well on my hair. It's certainly redder than it was before, but as you can see in the photo, it's actually a pretty natural looking color. Now that my scalp is no longer pink, it pretty much just looks like I have auburn hair. And that's fine, but not quite what I was hoping for.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72j9FebRVu3OX6kCRtrifqYbG1hq5b1sPGKdgcmndf2QXMaJXFdSHDSgryMBly5EbChEaxJ1-2itkNIH9ewVjNLvPcScpi0BxhTn31tszfKym3LsUlkjbKLDw8LgVtlMCI8A9BJZaGqCS/s1600/2015-01-13+14.31.29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72j9FebRVu3OX6kCRtrifqYbG1hq5b1sPGKdgcmndf2QXMaJXFdSHDSgryMBly5EbChEaxJ1-2itkNIH9ewVjNLvPcScpi0BxhTn31tszfKym3LsUlkjbKLDw8LgVtlMCI8A9BJZaGqCS/s1600/2015-01-13+14.31.29.jpg" height="400" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terribly back-lit photo.</td></tr>
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As you can see in this photo, it does pop a bit more red when the light hits it. I don't know that I'd buy this dye again so long as I continue to dye over my naturally brown hair, but I think it was worth what I spent on it and I'll certainly use the other half of the bottle at some point.Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-89502897226538310472015-01-04T11:46:00.001-05:002015-01-04T11:46:28.653-05:00DIY Hand WarmersIn addition to knitting quite a bit so far this winter, I've also busted out my sewing machine to do a few simple projects, the first of which was actually a Pinterest DIY. It was for little reusable hand warmers that you make with some rice and fabric scraps. I'd repinned it a while ago and then realized they would make a great, quick Christmas present. I ended up making a pair for my Secret Santa and a pair for my friend Lauria (she is a tour guide at a historical site and is outside in period colonial garb very frequently). The tutorial I used is <a href="http://raeannkelly.com/a-little-cozy-goes-a-long-way-and-a-hand-warmer-diy/" target="_blank">this one</a>. I changed very little from what she did. This is her picture of the hand warmers (I forgot to take pictures of the ones I made before I wrapped them).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://raeannkelly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/hand-warmer-valentines-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://raeannkelly.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/hand-warmer-valentines-10.jpg" height="640" width="433" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; text-align: start;">© 2015 rae ann kelly of <a href="http://raeannkelly.com/">raeannkelly.com</a></span></td></tr>
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I thought they were just adorable, and I happend to have two pairs of square fabric scraps from when I made my <a href="http://wittytitle-sturm.blogspot.com/2014/03/knitting-project-bag.html" target="_blank">knitting project bag</a>. So one set ended up the green pattern and one set ended up the grey pattern, which was perfect since my Secret Santa likes green and the grey seemed great for Lauria. Because I was using scraps that were basically already cut for me, I just made sure they were proper squares and called it a day. As a result, instead of the 2 3/4 inches square she suggests, I used 3 1/2 inch squares. I thought they still seemed like a nice size for hands and coat pockets. In any case, they are the easiest things in the world to make and because you can use fabric scraps and there isn't much rice in them, they are very inexpensive as well.<br />
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<h4>
Instructions:</h4>
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1) Cut out two 3 1/2 inch squares of the fabric of your choice for each hand warmer. (You can make your hand warmers larger or smaller, so long as they're squares.)<br />
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2) Put the two squares wrong sides together and sew around with a 1/4 inch seam allowance, leaving an opening about 1 1/2 inches wide. Backstitch both at the beginning and the end.<br />
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3) Fill about 3/4 of the way with rice. For squares that were 3 1/2 inches, I used 30g of rice. (I measured so that I could make sure they were all evenly filled.)<br />
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4) Pin the opening and sew shut.<br />
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5) Use pinking sheers to trim the edges.<br />
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If you don't have pinking sheers (I had to borrow a friend's), instead of sewing wrong sides together, you can sew them right sides together in step 2. Then, before step 3 when you fill it with rice, turn the bag right side out. After you fill it, you'd simply pin the opening and whip stitch it closed.<br />
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To use the hand warmers, all you have to do is pop them in the microwave for about 20 seconds.<br />
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And that's it! Super simple and simply adorable. I think it took me longer to get my machine out than it did to actually make them.Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-57426625702778674812015-01-03T11:54:00.000-05:002015-01-03T11:54:57.037-05:00Christmas KnittingAfter promising myself that I wouldn't try and knit a bunch of things for Christmas, I sort of went and did exactly that. The saving grace was that most of the things I knit, while they were Christmas presents, didn't actually have to be completed until a few days after Christmas.<br />
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The first thing I knit, that wasn't initially a Christmas present, was this red, uneven checked cowl.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAA4Y_-SaQHK-q_yFyH59i91gBY78XJqzO7HP3CR-uH0MDNnVg7J_PFsMua6bRHF9-E23AHNYuINjAAf0POfx3E9kFD3v-bTxfLvSXV2sw9DoVHTFI7IPL-kA3p9eWUjcHIShSgaUQqdnB/s1600/2014-12-28+00.04.57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAA4Y_-SaQHK-q_yFyH59i91gBY78XJqzO7HP3CR-uH0MDNnVg7J_PFsMua6bRHF9-E23AHNYuINjAAf0POfx3E9kFD3v-bTxfLvSXV2sw9DoVHTFI7IPL-kA3p9eWUjcHIShSgaUQqdnB/s1600/2014-12-28+00.04.57.jpg" height="400" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/uneven-checked-cowl" target="_blank">Uneven Checked Cowl</a></td></tr>
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I had started making a blanket using this stitch pattern that was supposed to be mailed off to be part of a giant Christmas stocking. I knit it solely backstage during <i>Meet Me in St. Louis</i> because it was a way to keep my hands busy during the few moments of downtime and it was an easy pattern to keep track of. However, I was over half way through my first skein of yarn and it didn't look like the stocking was actually going to happen, so I just knit until I liked the width, cast off, and joined it to make a cowl. <i>Meet Me in St. Louis</i> was the last show that my Production Assistant, Anna, was doing at that theater with me, so I asked her if she wanted it. I already have too many cowls and I wanted to give her something I'd knit. It worked out for us both because she liked it and happily took it as a Christmas/show present.<br />
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I also knit a cowl for my Secret Santa at work. It was a pattern I'd favorited on <a href="http://ravelry.com/" target="_blank">Ravelry</a> a while ago and it was a good pick for Secret Santa because it used bulky yarn and size US13 needles, so it knit up really quickly.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHvZIPO5NqvQivXioYHVTdEive8hDvj041Z8tAN4f2QLYXXfi3OQwvNFUHC9iuLr3hkLH1oAiJSi8m_qHDpUwJnpssSOVhyphenhyphenTc2Y5gX3INubSGwjFju7MEDg46eFO3tYk_iPEwq-YtqeA6/s1600/2014-12-27+01.21.24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaHvZIPO5NqvQivXioYHVTdEive8hDvj041Z8tAN4f2QLYXXfi3OQwvNFUHC9iuLr3hkLH1oAiJSi8m_qHDpUwJnpssSOVhyphenhyphenTc2Y5gX3INubSGwjFju7MEDg46eFO3tYk_iPEwq-YtqeA6/s1600/2014-12-27+01.21.24.jpg" height="226" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/moebius-basketweave-cowl" target="_blank">Moebius Basketweave Cowl</a></td></tr>
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I actually had a very hard time finding yarn for it. My person's favorite color is green, but being Christmas time, any green yarn was few and far between. Luckily I found this nice grass green. It was unintentional, but I thought it was amusing how similar the stitch patterns were on the two cowls that I made.<br />
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I ended up knitting two things for my Secret Santa. In addition to the cowl, I knit this <i>adorable</i> Tardis mouse.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJ0KOvdKsDfnC9W5njzxH-cY81JUjidXigtwN9oalCoidYPCPJxSS-tDQT5S46-4DXnXm-zd4hh18vAaaOKCPyOaIfjGRJJl_ob-DuKC9VAzU7PPV1cv-RjZDknFoi7EMOJOn6-Vzs1d1/s1600/2014-12-27+01.36.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJ0KOvdKsDfnC9W5njzxH-cY81JUjidXigtwN9oalCoidYPCPJxSS-tDQT5S46-4DXnXm-zd4hh18vAaaOKCPyOaIfjGRJJl_ob-DuKC9VAzU7PPV1cv-RjZDknFoi7EMOJOn6-Vzs1d1/s1600/2014-12-27+01.36.02.jpg" height="226" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/tardis-mouse" target="_blank">TARDIS Mouse</a></td></tr>
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My Secret Santa really likes Doctor Who, so I knew I wanted to make something Doctor Who related. I also didn't want to shoot myself in the foot by picking something too ambitious. The mouse was something I could reasonably finish in the time I had and I already owned the yarn for it, which also helped.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TL-ckapgeLcwjMHMXCBP4Yz3Qh9X9uddTejIIiMD9wvp0Z69nM_-lQWmi7lMwBXLrLoA3KmarOediuLfMNHYc5uYsPvNXmxIILd3JiCMqvo3zqTJ3nsOjeEnoI1aUSys5PLTAlqNfDFJ/s1600/2014-12-27+01.35.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5TL-ckapgeLcwjMHMXCBP4Yz3Qh9X9uddTejIIiMD9wvp0Z69nM_-lQWmi7lMwBXLrLoA3KmarOediuLfMNHYc5uYsPvNXmxIILd3JiCMqvo3zqTJ3nsOjeEnoI1aUSys5PLTAlqNfDFJ/s1600/2014-12-27+01.35.47.jpg" height="400" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The embroidered letters weren't quite as perfect as I would have liked.</td></tr>
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It did knit up pretty fast overall. Piecing it together and doing all the detail work was the most time consuming part. I had initially wanted to do the small crocheted ears, but I'm so rubbish at crochet that I abandoned that idea pretty quick and settled for the knit ears. Overall, I was pretty please with how he came out.<br />
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The final two things I knit this year for Christmas were actually the very first and the very last things I completed. I wanted to knit something for my mum and Joanne (Mike's step-mom), but I didn't really know what to make them. Mum's hard to knit for because she lives in Hawaii and I don't really know Joanne well enough to knit wearables for her. In the end, I knit them these little stuffed guys.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHVmej-XDJ-1djjU4WRMkQ8CLZQndLQuONbjnUNURjZ7QoOlysQPCc7EDoS0OLeWhIOlrw-kP_Q7V_V2ZhQPb0iTqaWDwtrM7q6PRuxTnnfE3ecCXN4KxCn380Nyt-fIFPoF_yo28vbs5p/s1600/2014-12-09+20.16.24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHVmej-XDJ-1djjU4WRMkQ8CLZQndLQuONbjnUNURjZ7QoOlysQPCc7EDoS0OLeWhIOlrw-kP_Q7V_V2ZhQPb0iTqaWDwtrM7q6PRuxTnnfE3ecCXN4KxCn380Nyt-fIFPoF_yo28vbs5p/s1600/2014-12-09+20.16.24.jpg" height="400" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/moogielight-gnome-knitting-pattern-waldorf-inspired" target="_blank">Mum's Stuffed Gnomeman</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SeiHU1TM6PEMUhFB3PrvzbxMtuBStAVxPyBFBnmWNekE22UueA6Bo6fqQTmcuEL8xbqyKZHN13n0Hb9slz5ewOXDASB1i4XwQNC6EFuQNrE2h5TSXkENi-t1OM0-xriZver4PYmJ3QOB/s1600/2014-12-31+11.45.10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_SeiHU1TM6PEMUhFB3PrvzbxMtuBStAVxPyBFBnmWNekE22UueA6Bo6fqQTmcuEL8xbqyKZHN13n0Hb9slz5ewOXDASB1i4XwQNC6EFuQNrE2h5TSXkENi-t1OM0-xriZver4PYmJ3QOB/s1600/2014-12-31+11.45.10.jpg" height="400" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/moogielight-gnome-knitting-pattern-waldorf-inspired-2" target="_blank">Joanne's Christmas Gnomeman</a></td></tr>
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Technically they're gnomes, but because of the colors I used, I really think they look more like snowmen. I've been calling them gnomemen. The one on the left was the one I made for Mum. I picked his hat and scarf colors based on the fact she likes orange. The one on the right is the one I made for Joanne. I went for more Christmas-y colors on him. I also gave him eyes based on Mike's suggestion. I think somehow the red hat ended up smaller, despite the fact that I thought I followed the pattern the same both times. I intentionally made a longer scarf for Mum's. I think I picked up the stitches around the base better the first time. I didn't go far enough back on the red guy, so the stitches want to curl out more. But they're both pretty cute despite all that.<br />
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And now I'm back to slogging along on my first pair of socks. I actually did make some progress on them recently, despite all my Christmas knitting. I just have a few inches and the toe to go, then on to the second sock!<br />
<br />Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-19300729981493376722014-12-12T12:40:00.001-05:002014-12-12T12:40:10.335-05:00Gingerbread BiscottiI have such a backlog of posts, it's not even funny. I have things I need to post from Halloween! I actually think that's part of the reason I haven't posted much lately, I'm so paralyzed by how behind I am. The other reason is that I have a photo album on Facebook I've been using to document the holiday season. But, I made some really awesome biscotti yesterday, and figured that would be any easy way to dive back in to my blog. I found the recipe <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2014/12/gingerbread-biscotti/" target="_blank">here</a> on Smitten Kitchen. I made pretty much no alterations to the recipe.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDW0k3vQHFOGG68-FbOem3McFEkEHXjYEyXqtFg8nIZ3eR4R094o3YMOuCW2qsrWedsqHa0838e24IUTHqoD8obgTgotG-dyEk4gWmDFB0OFPQSWHBfme0RPtGYbMKuEdRP6xxnWCc2UFE/s1600/2014-12-11+22.57.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDW0k3vQHFOGG68-FbOem3McFEkEHXjYEyXqtFg8nIZ3eR4R094o3YMOuCW2qsrWedsqHa0838e24IUTHqoD8obgTgotG-dyEk4gWmDFB0OFPQSWHBfme0RPtGYbMKuEdRP6xxnWCc2UFE/s1600/2014-12-11+22.57.13.jpg" height="226" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biscotti done and cooling.</td></tr>
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<b><u>Gingerbread Biscotti</u></b><br />
2 cups + 2 Tbsp flour<br />
2 tsp baking powder<br />
2 tsp cinnamon<br />
2 tsp ground ginger<br />
1/8 tsp ground cloves<br />
black pepper<br />
1/2 tsp sea salt<br />
1/2 cup packed brown sugar<br />
1/2 cup granulated sugar<br />
7 Tbsp butter, melted and cool<br />
2 eggs<br />
2 tsp vanilla<br />
1 1/3 cup nuts, white chocolate, or dark chocolate (opt.)<br />
1 large egg white<br />
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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line one large or two small baking sheets (I used two) with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.<br />
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2. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients- flour, baking powder, spices, pepper, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, butter, two eggs, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients and any nuts and chocolate to the dry mixture. Stir until thoroughly combined. (I used about 3/4 cup of toasted almond slices and no chocolate in this batch.)<br />
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3. Divide dough in half. Using floured hands, put each half onto the baking sheet and form it into a slightly flattened log about 11 inches by 2 1/2 inches. Whisk the egg white until a little foamy and loose. Brush the egg white over the top and sides of each log.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJYvVah0oAgJ5mdAqUr81Hh7c6dRSxvMMoHc0q_dBsFYeJ-H0XrC9jQXib3oy40iPek0vkbTyi-8h5y3z4WUSVgmhK9pJYsKpz3cvlAoCyi2ALoILHVY5J0dknLMY0XIUp6aJWAJU53wO1/s1600/2014-12-11+13.50.13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJYvVah0oAgJ5mdAqUr81Hh7c6dRSxvMMoHc0q_dBsFYeJ-H0XrC9jQXib3oy40iPek0vkbTyi-8h5y3z4WUSVgmhK9pJYsKpz3cvlAoCyi2ALoILHVY5J0dknLMY0XIUp6aJWAJU53wO1/s1600/2014-12-11+13.50.13.jpg" height="226" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Logs shaped, brushed with egg white, and ready to go in the oven.</td></tr>
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4. Bake logs until golden brown all over, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool about 25 minutes, until lukewarm.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkaj2SMjSgEabjWonYtlxpIGiz5_G_hP2oMIpNhU716Rn2Fr_mDpqlwX-pab8ZcmmbwpoFzb-PmrS-oVozI14IyhTsJx6oVCtvVpDQYGf0wN3kcbqS3NMcTqMQndUCaj1wfnz-h-AIomms/s1600/2014-12-11+14.17.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkaj2SMjSgEabjWonYtlxpIGiz5_G_hP2oMIpNhU716Rn2Fr_mDpqlwX-pab8ZcmmbwpoFzb-PmrS-oVozI14IyhTsJx6oVCtvVpDQYGf0wN3kcbqS3NMcTqMQndUCaj1wfnz-h-AIomms/s1600/2014-12-11+14.17.02.jpg" height="181" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They were definitely most pretty right when they came out of the oven.</td></tr>
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5. Use a sharp serrated knife and cut logs on the diagonal into 1/2 inch wide slices. Arrange the slices, a cut side down, on baking sheet. Bake for another 10-12 minutes, until golden underneath. Turn each biscotti over and bake for another 6-8 minutes. Let cool on a rack.<br />
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6. Enjoy with coffee, tea, or hot chocolate!<br />
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Note from experience: In step 5, when you're baking the individual slices, be warned that it is the <i style="font-weight: bold;">bottom</i> that is browning, not the top. I totally left them in for over 15 minutes because I couldn't see a noticeable color change on top. Little did I know the bottom was cooking away. I almost burnt them! When checking for done-ness in that step, pick it up and take a glance at the bottom.<br />
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Biscotti are a great thing to make around the holidays because they can keep at room temperature in an airtight container for weeks.<br />
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And just for fun, here is a picture of me being the SS Christmas Elf at work. (SS technically stands for Secret Santa, but one of the actors got confused and thought of Nazi's, hence the helmet plus the holiday hat.)<br />
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Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-36304349984569123372014-10-27T19:52:00.000-04:002014-10-27T19:52:02.338-04:00Halloween ShoppingAs usual, I did the grocery shopping today since it was my day off. I also had to pick up a couple things for the theatre. And, since it is Halloween, I also picked up some supplies for the holiday.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5c8DPc2kuSTWFR37D_TUuIt88Yw5auHpsEN7jgls2FSu9gjcvfHdhXthIcE09NAA7GzY6zdWmSUer1YrXcQOOU0DdvVmlB55tR75jndmP7jNgMgz-iDSx0eEUFQtSN6LN_1twYzCkFjI/s1600/2014-10-27+15.38.59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5c8DPc2kuSTWFR37D_TUuIt88Yw5auHpsEN7jgls2FSu9gjcvfHdhXthIcE09NAA7GzY6zdWmSUer1YrXcQOOU0DdvVmlB55tR75jndmP7jNgMgz-iDSx0eEUFQtSN6LN_1twYzCkFjI/s1600/2014-10-27+15.38.59.jpg" height="640" width="361" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boo!</td></tr>
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I got these little guys at Walmart. I usually make cookies around Halloween for the cast, but I only have three fall themed cookie cutters, and they're on the large size. These are a much better size, though I have a feeling the bird will be more trouble than it's worth.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijUpCKw58wkfMXYruaUmyLYcRNTJDkaXEytQPT-Kemz6Vr_25SsXtg6Q0sLZciLlHAhA02iPgzzdNeU9mF0Fdlmov6wlQ3aB3Z6B0oAgvduzKbZzEXCbunJWU9iMIIAcSOJSi3KZXcz7J5/s1600/2014-10-27+15.58.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijUpCKw58wkfMXYruaUmyLYcRNTJDkaXEytQPT-Kemz6Vr_25SsXtg6Q0sLZciLlHAhA02iPgzzdNeU9mF0Fdlmov6wlQ3aB3Z6B0oAgvduzKbZzEXCbunJWU9iMIIAcSOJSi3KZXcz7J5/s1600/2014-10-27+15.58.54.jpg" height="361" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lashes, chalk, and white cream, oh my!</td></tr>
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The little lip balm and hair chalk I got at Sally Beauty Supply on clearance for less than a dollar each. The lashes, white cream make-up, and the foundation brush I picked up at Walmart. I was ecstatic to see that Walmart is now carrying e.l.f. products- it makes my life so much easier! I also was excited to see the cute lashes they had. My plan is to do at least two looks for Halloween this year, a less extreme version for Wednesday and then a full out look for Thursday. There's a costume contest before the show, so I'll fit right in. I haven't decided what I'm doing for the actual day of Halloween yet, but even if I just stay home, I'll probably do something fun just because.<br />
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Lastly, when I got home, I discovered my order from Payless had come in. I've been in desperate need of a pair of black pumps and a nice pair of brown shoes I could wear to work. I got both of these on sale using my birthday money from Bamma.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ITlO4y3ha0rV0JcFpSWVMP6B0ADMzGrvP_tej4InvIrPFbDR7RrxhUtx6nrH1tohmZfo8lG_EssYhLyr2yCfclxcLMQ-z48f4sPjgak66PfC3VYIYdsaIgDnexxwfS604PIhpjn-2P4P/s1600/2014-10-27+16.00.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ITlO4y3ha0rV0JcFpSWVMP6B0ADMzGrvP_tej4InvIrPFbDR7RrxhUtx6nrH1tohmZfo8lG_EssYhLyr2yCfclxcLMQ-z48f4sPjgak66PfC3VYIYdsaIgDnexxwfS604PIhpjn-2P4P/s1600/2014-10-27+16.00.55.jpg" height="361" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black shoes are <a href="http://www.payless.com/womens-kambridge-platform-pump/73646.html?dwvar_73646_color=black#start=21" target="_blank">these</a> and the brown ones are <a href="http://www.payless.com/womens-jorge-oxford/74877.html?dwvar_74877_color=cognac#q=brown+oxford+pumps&start=4" target="_blank">these</a>.</td></tr>
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I think the brown ones will be part of my costume for Thursday. Haven't decided what shoes I'm wearing on Wednesday yet.<br />
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I also got a wig and a dress from Savers and a crafty item from Michaels for my Thursday costume. But I'll wait to share those until the look is all put together!Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-42999275729149917682014-10-24T14:37:00.001-04:002014-10-26T00:57:10.949-04:00Birthday Beauty Haul!I have had quite the birthday this year. I got lots of amazing presents from Mike, my parents, Lilly, and even my friends at work. Rather than show all the amazing stuff I got, I decided just to do a post on the beauty goodies I got. Some of these were presents, some of them I got for free because it was my birthday, and some of them were part of my mini-shopping spree on the day after my birthday.<br />
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To start with, here are the beauty goodies that were in the box I got from my family:<br />
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I got some Clinique staples from Lilly- <a href="http://www.clinique.com/product/1574/26651/3-Step/Step-3-Moisturize/Dramatically-Different-Moisturizing-Lotion" target="_blank">Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion</a>, <a href="http://www.clinique.com/product/1687/20522/Skin-Care/Moisturizers/Moisture-Surge-IntenseSkin-Fortifying-Hydrator" target="_blank">Moisture Surge Intense Skin Hydrator</a>, <a href="http://www.clinique.com/product/1606/5232/Makeup/Mascara/Lash-Doubling-Mascara" target="_blank">Lash Doubling Mascara</a>, <a href="http://www.clinique.com/product/1605/5887/Makeup/Lipsticks/Different-Lipstick" target="_blank">Different Lipstick</a> in Angel Red, and of course a super cute make-up bag. My mum sent me a Bath and Body Works pump soap and two samples of Victoria Secret perfume. The perfume <a href="https://www.victoriassecret.com//beauty/sexy-little-things/tease-eau-de-parfum-sexy-little-things?ProductID=4422&CatalogueType=OLS" target="_blank">Noir Tease</a> has notes of black vanilla, frozen pear, and blooming gardenia. The perfume <a href="https://www.victoriassecret.com//beauty/fragrance/fearless-eau-de-parfum-victorias-secret?ProductID=206245&CatalogueType=OLS" target="_blank">Fearless</a> has notes of black currant, purple diamond iris, and orris. I'm excited to try them both out.<br />
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At Sephora, I bought this awesome liquid liner from the Sephora Collection called <a href="http://www.sephora.com/colorful-waterproof-eyeliner-24-hr-wear-P384877?skuId=1551985" target="_blank">Colorful Waterproof Eyeliner 24hr Wear</a> in 08 Eccentric Diva. It is a lovely bright purple color. I haven't worn it yet, but I've tested it on my hand and it does not move once it dries. It's super smudge and waterproof. I'm going to wear it on Saturday I think and see how it does. The birthday gift this year from Sephora was a two piece set from Make Up For Ever.<br />
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Inside is the <a href="http://www.sephora.com/smoky-extravagant-mascara-P379925?skuId=1520329" target="_blank">Smoky Extravagant Mascara</a> and <a href="http://www.sephora.com/rouge-artist-natural-P307700?skuId=1396795" target="_blank">Rouge Artist Natural</a> lipstick in N9 Copper Pink. Haven't gotten the chance to try either of them just yet, but I'm super excited to. I especially want to see how the mascara compares to the Clinique and Benefit ones I use.<br />
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Sally Beauty Supplies had mailed me an amazing $10 of $20 purchase coupon, so I swung by there to stock up on hair dye. I got this whole pile of things for just over 12 dollars!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPCKzlL6akwX4jHfUQpRE6I44HODkiV4VTTBDRtjqs8X9xhN-pyuuPXIzPmf0DmNk-88aF6FyVS1J90TEaC_yZzB4L1A2SMx0cATuSvQH_8UOib6jvpRgZQMI8x4o3msyB8LxicPoX1Wd6/s1600/2014-10-24+13.52.49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPCKzlL6akwX4jHfUQpRE6I44HODkiV4VTTBDRtjqs8X9xhN-pyuuPXIzPmf0DmNk-88aF6FyVS1J90TEaC_yZzB4L1A2SMx0cATuSvQH_8UOib6jvpRgZQMI8x4o3msyB8LxicPoX1Wd6/s1600/2014-10-24+13.52.49.jpg" height="362" width="640" /></a></div>
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I got three boxes of <a href="http://www.sallybeauty.com/ion-color-brights/ION153,default,pd.html#q=ion+color+brilliance+brights&start=1" target="_blank">Ion Color Brilliance Brights Semi-Permanent Color</a>- my tried and true Red, the Fuschia which I've been wanting to try, and I went out on a limb and got Aqua. I have no idea how well the Fuschia or Aqua will go over my natural color, but I was willing to give it a shot. I also decided to get a <a href="http://www.sallybeauty.com/wild-haircolor/SBS-140376,default,pd.html#q=beyond+the+zone+hair+color&start=4" target="_blank">Beyond the Zone Color Jamz</a> which is another semi-permanent color, because the color Candy Apple Red was on sale (perhaps because they're discontinuing it). I don't know much about it, but figured it was worth trying for under five dollars. I also picked up a minty chapstick and a <a href="http://www.sallybeauty.com/nail-polish/SALGRL04,default,pd.html#q=sally+girl+nail+polish&start=2" target="_blank">Sally Girl Mini Nail Polish</a> in Mint that was on sale for $0.99 to make sure I was over the $20 for my coupon. I could not believe how little I had to pay for all of this. I have enough hair dye for months!<br />
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The last place I went to get some beauty supplies was good old Target for some e.l.f. products. Mostly it was to stock up on some things I'd run out of, but I also grabbed a few new things to try as well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjefUx9258HSSzcXLh3rXDkLmXJzUJSeeGuv6VM7MHDXpmAX1oHNnZ9bBdBVEF1RCLUjPLdzi_GYsFYgn4-dt5P3Y7eJX3hF9nAs6oFCpDqpl8vJkLdFwv0m5Q17d8vvwfDlRgBGCCl7zct/s1600/2014-10-24+13.53.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjefUx9258HSSzcXLh3rXDkLmXJzUJSeeGuv6VM7MHDXpmAX1oHNnZ9bBdBVEF1RCLUjPLdzi_GYsFYgn4-dt5P3Y7eJX3hF9nAs6oFCpDqpl8vJkLdFwv0m5Q17d8vvwfDlRgBGCCl7zct/s1600/2014-10-24+13.53.15.jpg" height="362" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Neutrogena hand cream was something I randomly picked up since it was on clearance for $0.63. I also got two packs of the <a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/tools/accessories/shine_eraser" target="_blank">Shine Eraser</a> blotting sheets as I was completely out. I also got a <a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/face/powder/clarifying__pressed_powder" target="_blank">Clarifying Pressed Powder</a> since they don't always have it in Ivory. The two things I took a chance on was the <a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/face/concealer/tone_correcting_concealer" target="_blank">Tone Correcting Concealer</a> and the <a href="http://www.eyeslipsface.com/elf/eyes/concealers_and_primers/eyelid_primer" target="_blank">Eyelid Primer</a>. I don't have a liquid concealer, so that seemed like a good thing to get, and I'm always willing to try a new, inexpensive eyelid primer. Did I mention that ll the e.l.f. things I got were only a dollar each? I'll report back if I think they're great (or if they turn out to be rubbish).<br />
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Some of the other wonderful birthday presents I got were a flask from Mike with the comedy/tragedy masks on it, also from Mike the full set of buttons from Q2Q comics, a super cute hat and scarf from Lilly, a Jack Skellington shirt from Mum and Sir, and a few stuffed animals from Mum and Sir, one of which I've been carrying around and another which the piggies have adopted (it's a doughnut). Like I said, it was quite the awesome birthday and I'm having so much fun trying out all my new goodies.Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-87469423125585415842014-10-05T20:09:00.000-04:002014-10-05T20:09:12.397-04:00Happy Fall!I know it's technically been fall for a little while already, but it's really been feeling like it lately, and just last week, the leaves started to change.<br />
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I have been decorating inside:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_znt2R_M9Twz4o26sgz4YvvZSviqCE1G_G03Lh-_igw9e_PLKqgQwKxy3eGzYRdtfoib8HU5kWjOlrEoov4YrUnQngHsFroJKX1P5usMzVgjJmnPxAcpf_AHowwvOrR30OZAJ1_BDrYOO/s1600/2014-10-01+15.58.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_znt2R_M9Twz4o26sgz4YvvZSviqCE1G_G03Lh-_igw9e_PLKqgQwKxy3eGzYRdtfoib8HU5kWjOlrEoov4YrUnQngHsFroJKX1P5usMzVgjJmnPxAcpf_AHowwvOrR30OZAJ1_BDrYOO/s1600/2014-10-01+15.58.11.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The chocolate eye balls were a big hit in rehearsal.</td></tr>
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And nature has been decorating outside:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhouD5NOXdjDXoDl4GcYHX6F1RJwf9DOCsnCur9zyc4HHJrz1Cc4Hx8oh_QN82IK2vqeJrtKBdELyvsXOzqjuWpThXFgBaJEWejF0aNSzCrbNt_-rAuwTVlmevQBS2TTvEDhYduLG326P/s1600/2014-10-04+12.34.51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhouD5NOXdjDXoDl4GcYHX6F1RJwf9DOCsnCur9zyc4HHJrz1Cc4Hx8oh_QN82IK2vqeJrtKBdELyvsXOzqjuWpThXFgBaJEWejF0aNSzCrbNt_-rAuwTVlmevQBS2TTvEDhYduLG326P/s1600/2014-10-04+12.34.51.jpg" height="362" width="640" /></a></div>
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All that to say, Happy Fall!Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-215426571263428939.post-31852485212667696492014-10-03T00:03:00.000-04:002014-10-03T00:03:45.465-04:00Outfit of the DayI had fun getting dressed this morning, so I wanted to do an outfit of the day. Sadly, my phone died right as I went to take a picture at the end of work. Therefore, you get the outfit in two parts:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhHy9wmPsNKb8vXw1a8CdkzFCq37xL479-ZbKtVw6Ihd2w7-RIGNn7s-ly4XEXzfO-I9v2MkxA8GJxhMzLvHAA5cKsGg4hX_c3l_84-GIuZvdmgDwLMX7saVOTbRiZlBdI78W8RGfan5B/s1600/2014-10-02+23.03.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhHy9wmPsNKb8vXw1a8CdkzFCq37xL479-ZbKtVw6Ihd2w7-RIGNn7s-ly4XEXzfO-I9v2MkxA8GJxhMzLvHAA5cKsGg4hX_c3l_84-GIuZvdmgDwLMX7saVOTbRiZlBdI78W8RGfan5B/s1600/2014-10-02+23.03.38.jpg" height="400" width="226" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hat and cowl Ravelry pages <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/slouchy-hat" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/projects/goosey1019/yaz-capelet-cowl" target="_blank">here</a>.</td></tr>
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I'm wearing the hat and cowl I knit, the red dress I got from Lilly (you can see the whole dress in <a href="http://wittytitle-sturm.blogspot.com/2014/09/outfits-of-week.html" target="_blank">this post</a>), patterned thigh highs from Victoria Secret, and my black boots from Payless. As it's rather cold, I also wore my leather motorcycle vest and cream wrist warmers when I was outside. I felt very much like I was dressed as my alter ego.Rachel Sturm Policarehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04061192381393877995noreply@blogger.com0