HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW & REFLECTIONS

Well, since I was such a drama queen before I got my hair cut last week, I had Katie take before and afters.  It looks pretty ratty, doesn't it?  That's just washed and dried the night before.  Have I ever told you it takes a village to get my hair to look good?

And here we are minus 7 inches.  Katie also styled it nice and smooth and straight.  I like it a lot and I have barely noticed that so much is gone.  The Husband didn't notice at all, he's just aloof like that.  The same old frizziness came back after I washed it so I just added some curls with the wand and I was fine.  And of course I can let it dry naturally curly or straighten it.  My hair, like Sybil, has 27 personalities.  I think I am going to get 2 more inches off the next time I go...just not sure if it has reached that "chic" level yet.  I want to be chic in my old age.

I mentioned in my last post that I had an old mirror in the garage.  It's been sitting there for a few years.  Emily had a friend throwing it out and said we'd take it.  I had always planned on painting it, but I procrastinated because I just couldn't think of a place to put it.  As you can see, it's a monster.  As tall as my counter (which it is leaning against) and as wide. 

Look at the detail.  And the ugly gold tone.

Here's how it turned out.  I used Pewter Mug by Behr, and I had a can of Annie Sloan clear wax that I rubbed on over two coats of paint.  Sorry for that reflection, I have no idea how to photograph a mirror!  

I started to distress it a bit but the gold gilt underneath started crumbling off so I left it as is.  Now...where to put it.  Well, I have been having second thoughts about a set of art prints I hung in the living room this past spring.  I really and truly love them, but the more I look at them, the more I think they just don't look "right" in this room.  So, the room is very neutral with just a splash of pastels in the sofa, so that's why I painted the mirror gray, I thought it would blend with some of the blues. I'd like to hang it where the prints are. We'll see.  I paid a lot for the prints so I can't just store them away until "whenever".  Hopefully I'll have it hanging somewhere for you to see soon.  Oh, and if you ever have to stand or sit in front of a mirror doing something like this, remember, mirrors don't lie.  I was sitting cross legged in front of it, talking with The Husband and it was like talking to myself.  I was really traumatized!    

I'm going to fly you right through this next topic, but there is a lesson to be learned as well as a great recipe.  Remember when I made those little drumsticks last week?  Well, this recipe was on the same page, I used chicken breasts instead of drumsticks though.  This is another quickie where you mix up a marinade of sorts, and this is the beauty of it all, you can do this as far back as the night before.  When you are ready to make dinner, just pop it in the oven.

This is a combination of 2 T. lime zest, 1/2 c. lime juice,  1/4 c. honey, 1/2 c. chopped cilantro, 1/2 chopped white onion, 1 large seeded, chopped jalapeno, salt and pepper.  Very simple.  Drop your chicken in a zip lock bag, pour the marinade in and work it into the meat  Then let it sit for as little as 20 minutes if you'd like.  In a second I'm going to tell you why this tasted out of this world.  But first...

We have to interrupt this post to pass on some safety measures when following along with Blondie's Cooking Sessions.  Did I mention I bought a fantastic knife sharpener at Target last weekend?  Hmmmm...usually a trip to Target becomes blog fodder.  Well, I was happily preparing this marinade and began to work on the fresh cilantro.  Rather than chop it, you just want to run your knife through it in forward motions.  And I always warn my girls, keep your fingertips tucked under, that way the knife will glide against your knuckles if it gets too close to your hand.  Well, the  index finger wasn't tucked very well, and the knife sheared off half my finger nail and a bit underneath (I'm trying to word this mildly), which was good, it was at an angle.  My finger wasn't bent under enough and I was using a bit more pressure than I needed since I wasn't used to the knife being sharpened.  I have thanked God a thousand times that my finger was bent because it would have taken off whatever it came in contact with.  I am super big on knife safety,  lots of experience and  a class at Sur la Table on it, and I have cautioned my kids so much that up until recently, Emily wouldn't use a chef's knife.  ANYWAY...gosh, I do ramble, This is just a paper towel and some surgical tape on it, I ran to Walgreen's this morning and bought fingertip bandaids.  It hurts, but more than anything I am mad at myself. But this will teach me to slow down and never feel too confident in a situation where you can hurt yourself.

Moving on, bake the chicken breasts at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  If doing the drumsticks, it would be 450 for 35 to 40 minutes.  And remember me saying that there was a reason for the outstanding flavor in this recipe, before I got to the gory part?  It's the honey!!  Lime and honey, imagine that?  The honey gives it a little texture and grabs on to the meat.  It's tart and sweet at the same time.  I think this plate would have been a bit more attractive with the fresh vegetables we usually have, but to be honest, I wasn't interested in much more chopping after my little incident.  So...add these ingredients to your shopping list and toss together a great dinner this week! :)

I have a huge bowl filled with Honeycrisp apples, and a spice candle burning.  The Husband is watching back to back football games all day.  It's 62 degrees out and I'm wearing my first sweatshirt of the season (on which I have already spilled Ben & Jerry's chocolate ice cream, my treat from Walgreen's when I picked up the bandaids...I deserve it, don't I?).  The apples are begging me to make a pie and the tarts I talked about last week.  I have puff pastry and a fresh bag of King Arthur flour.  But my boo boo hurts and you really ought to see the unique typing method I'm using!  I picked up this magazine last week thinking it would be nice to look through in a few weeks, ear mark a few ideas or what have you.  I ended up curling up with it last night and read it cover to cover.  Fall flows into Thanksgiving into Christmas at such a fast pace that I never accomplish what I want to.  I say, "Next year", and sometimes just, "Forget it"!  So I marked a few pages of simple projects and ideas that I can do any time.  Now, you know me, I'm not a craft person, but sometimes I like to think that I'll get the hang of it (or the patience!) someday.  So, my first holiday decoration project is easy.  You will need:

3 clear Mason jars

1 bag of short peppermint sticks

Red ribbon

Place peppermint sticks in jar.  Tie ribbon on.  Arrange attractively somewhere.

I can't wait to get started!  Don't you wish my recipes were this short?!

Joining in with Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday.

XO,

Jane