The best accessory...

The best accessory a girl can have is a computer that works!  I'm back in business, though!  With Thanksgiving upon us, I really have the urge to dig out my old maternity clothes and prepare for the feast.  Not so attractive.  Fighting that longing was tough, but here is what I decided to wear:

Charcoal tunic by Lole

http://www.lolewomen.com/us/atl-33-10.html#images 

Grey leggings by David Lerner

http://www.dlcollection.com/Product/11293-88129/basic-legging

Naot Illusion boot in black pearl.  The picture doesn't do them justice.  It is an amazing color between black, grey and pewter.  J says I look like I should be in KISS when I wear them.  What does he know?

http://www.zappos.com/naot-footwear-illusion-black-pearl-leather-black-midnight-leather?channel=87&mr:referralID=4f76690e-f7ef-11df-ad8e-001b2166c62d

I just added up the cost of this casual little ensemble. You can do the math your self.  Actually, the boots were an early Hanukkah present from my dad!  Yay!  If I had time, I would run out and try to find this cute scarf to add some color.  Fittingly, I am in charge of the dressing this year...unfortunately it's of the "turkey and " variety.  No time to shop for scarves!  Happy Thanksgiving!  Hope you wear your most stylish stretchy pants!

Perfection in the Kitchen

It's that time of year...I feel like I live in the kitchen these days. This year is different because I finally caved in and bought a bar pan. Only the best invention ever, it makes cooking brownies and bar treats quick and easy! Not to mention perfectly cut :)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

Happy Baking!

Rachel :)

Feeling Good

I know whenever I have on something cute and stylish because when I get dressed in the morning the first thing Mr. T says is, "You look like Marlene today." That's about the biggest compliment I can get. Half of my wardrobe is from Marlene's closet, which I love! However, after her post on layering, I was inspired to put something together on my own. I went to the GAP and here's what I came up with...

of course I also wore these:

and i can't forget this...

So, I was feeling pretty cute....had a few compliments...overall a good day! I'm hardly ever in style, unless Marlene has parted with something prematurely, but I picked these out all by myself (except the jewelry:)) so I was feeling good! Fast forward a week...I had worn my new jean leggings quite a few times and had paired them with some longer tanks and sweaters. I'm into flats these days, so I had worn the new ones almost everyday by now. I was having another cute day when the school called at 11am to let me know Smurfette was sick. After getting her home and settled I spent some time straitening the house and putting things away. As I was doing this I had a thought that went something like this..."My new flats slide all over the hardwood floors..." Random, I know, but it slowly occurred to me that the cute new flats from the GAP I had been sporting all around town weren't flats at all...THEY WERE SLIPPERS!!! And yes, that's how cool I am.

Rachel :)

A grand total of $93.80 (without sales tax)!!!

Early in our friendship, Rachel and I went shopping at Kmart.  I'm not sure what we were shopping for, but we ended up in the women's clothing department.  After looking around, I made the comment, "There is no reason poor people shouldn't dress well!  There are really cute things here!"  Admittedly, I sound like a Paris Hilton-sized snob.  I guess in my naivete`, I was assuming everyone had good taste but just couldn't afford to dress the part.  Ah, sweet youth.  In honor of my youthful outlook on life, I have put together an entire outfit from Wal Mart and Forever 21 for under $100!  And by entire, I mean a sweater, jeans, boots, bracelet, and puffer jacket!
Here is the look:

This sweater has cute and very fashionable studs at the neck and on the sleeves and is $12.99 at Wal mart. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Susie-Rose-Juniors-Studded-Boatneck-Sweater/15026988

I just love skinny jeans.  I don't care if bell bottoms come back in style again.  I'm sticking with the skinnies.  These are $14.00 from Wal Mart. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Op-Juniors-French-Terry-5-Pocket-Skinny-Jeggings/14945529

These boots rock.  They are over the knee with a cute little tie.  They are a whopping $27.00 at Wal Mart. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Women-s-Patty-Over-The-Knee-Sueded-Boots/14892912

 This is one cute puffer jacket.  It has a detachable hood with faux fur trim. 

 How cute and politically correct is that?  It's $27.00.

 http://www.walmart.com/ip/Faded-Glory-Women-s-Faux-Fur-Hooded-Puffer-Coat/14560358

Since this outfit is almost entirely in black, I figured I needed some sparkle.  This bracelet is $10.80 at Forever 21.  I bought one that is almost identical at Madewell for $68.00. 

I've worn it so much that I really do think I've gotten my money out of it.  If I had

paid $10.80 I would feel like I had made money on the deal!

My mother didn't like the fact that I said "poor people" and wanted me to substitute those words for something kinder.  The fact is, though, that's what I said.  Luckily, I have matured.  I now realize that it's not just "financially challenged" people (that better, Mom?) shopping at Kmart, Wal Mart, or Target.  It's fashion savvy  people who know how to mix high and low and come away with a look that's all their own!

Marlene

Come On In

As promised in an earlier blog, here is an inside peek in my 1950's closet. My family lives in a 60 yr old brick ranch that I absolutely love! I've lived in new houses before and I'll take an old house and its problems any day! We have plaster walls, plaster ceilings and beautiful hardwood floors you can't get today. I love, love, love the character that this house has. This being said, old houses are known for small closets and small bathrooms and this house is no exception! Our master bedroom closet measures a whopping 4 feet deep by 3 1/2 feet wide. Not exactly what someone thinks of when they think of a walk in closet...but I can walk in mine! It helps that Mr. T uses a closet in the hall for all his clothes, so thankfully I have this one all to myself.

A double hook mounted on the inside of the door helps me keep my scarves (for layering of course) in order. I have a 4 inch plastic circle that is big enough for me to hang them on. Keeps them neat, wrinkle free, and makes it super easy for me to find which one I am looking for!

I keep all of my tops together, organized by sleeve length (yes, I was kidding when I said they were organized by color...I'm not that OCD!). I start with spaghetti straps and work my way down to long sleeves...so easy!

Pants, skirts, and jeans are at the bottom. I rotate them depending on the season and keep the current seasons bottoms towards the front.

Shoes that I wear a lot are kept on my shoe rack. Other treasures (like my wonderful Vanellis) are kept in their boxes lined along the bottom of the closet.

This is my favorite! It's a two-plate plate rack that i mounted and use for bags and some jewelry...notice I don't have very much of either...I'm pretty simple!

Have fun making your space more usable!

Rachel:)

Marlene CAN be organized!

Most of my life is organized chaos.  I rarely lose things, but an outsider would probably wonder how I make it out the door with two shoes that match.  About 6 months ago I left the "exciting" world of commercial real estate for the literally exciting world of private jewelry sales. In order to do this our family had to make some lifestyle changes.  I started doing something I've never done before...

CLIPPING AND SAVING COUPONS!  Yes, this is Marlene blogging today, not Rachel.

I happened to have a conversation with a friend (I'm sure it wasn't about clipping coupons or how to save money with a family of four-he's a 27 year old single male) and he told me something life changing.  His mother invented the Card Cubby.  It is this great little wallet/organizer with alphabetized dividers for keeping coupons, gift cards, store credits, whatever!  It organizes all of the things that will cause you to lose money if you lose them!

How many times have you had a store credit that expired because you either couldn't find the reciept or put it in a drawer and forgot about it?  Now that I have my Card Cubby, that doesn't happen.  Anytime I get a coupon in the mail, a gift card, or a receipt with a store credit, it all gets filed in my CC.  The best thing is that when it's time to present my coupon to the clerk and the Munchkins are running in circles around me, all I have to do is reach for my CC, look under T for Target, and VOILA! No digging around my handbag in frustration and then saying, "Oh, just &^%$#*@ forget it, I can't find it".  Cha-ching!

The most thoughtful gift I think I have ever received involved the Card Cubby.   I talked about the Card Cubby until I was blue in the face after my conversation with 27 Year Old Male.  When I left my old company, my co-workers filled my CC as a going away present.  They gave me a gift card or memento for every letter of the alphabet.  A gift card for cupcakes under "C", a certificate for a pedicure under "P", a picture of Nancye and Kate filed under "N" and "K" respectively.  You get the idea. 

This really has been a life saver.  Now I use gift cards and credits down to the last penny.  Have a great weekend!

Marlene

The Best Thanksgiving Accessory

When you get done taking off all of those layers that Marlene has you wearing, throw on an apron and try making one of these to accessorize your Thanksgiving table. I love a good pumpkin roll. I got into them a year ago after a lunch date with a dear friend. It was the Friday before Thanksgiving and we went to our favorite lunch spot down the block. (Whenever you can walk to a restaurant it immediately gets rave reviews!) After lunch we sampled their pumpkin roll...so yummy, but at $45 a roll it didn't exactly work into our lunch budget. It was then I began a quest for the perfect pumpkin roll recipe.

Here it is...



ingredients for Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients

1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 375*. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle towel with powdered sugar.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack with the seam of the roll facing down.

Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until smooth.

Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake.

Reroll cake. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Tomorrow is Freaky Friday...stay tuned for a post from Marlene!

Rachel :)