When life hands you old lemons, make Lemoncello

When life hands you lemons make lemonade; when life hands you old lemons make Lemoncello.  As our great-grandmothers always said, "waste not, want not."  Just because your fruit is aging doesn't mean it's time to throw it out.  In fact, these recipes work better if your fruit is already on the mature side.

"But I think it's a little different in Europe, because 40 is really the best age for a woman. That's when we hit our peak and become this ripe fruit."

--Juliette Binoche

 Lemoncello

1 750 ml bottle of vodka or everclear

15 old zested lemons

3 cups cain sugar

4 cups tap or distilled water

my baby batch of lemoncello

1. zest or skin the lemons and allow the zest to sit in the vodka or everclear for a week
2. Make a syrup out of the sugar and water by combining and allowing them to boil for 15 minutes.  Do not stir this.  Allow to cool to room temp.
3. Stir vodka mixture into syrup and allow to sit for a day.
4. strain, chill, and serve.
Click here for lemoncello cocktails

(And if you don't want to drink the juice from the lemons you can always make furniture polish)

Watermelon, Tomato, Peach, or Pineapple Salsa

2 cups fleshy fruit of choice

1 cup cilantro

3/4 cups red onion

1/4 cup lime juice

(if you use tomatoes add a dash of sugar.  The sugar in the other fruits will be sufficient)

4 jalepenos, deseeded and chopped.

my watermelon salsa

Mix ingredients and allow to sit overnight.  I put mine on fish tacos--yuuuh!!  You can also change the flavor by adding alternative herbs like mint or basil.

3. Berry, Apple, or Peach Crisp 

(sorry!  No photos for this one.)

3 cups fruit, peeled and cut

1 cup brown sugar

a dash of salt

4 pats of butter

2 T flour

1 T cinnamon

Crust:

1. 1 cup flour
2. 1/2 cup white sugar
3. 1/2 cup brown sugar
4. 1 cup cold butter
5. 1 T cinnamon
6. 1. Mix fruit, sugar, salt, butter, flour, and cinnamon.
7. 2. in a food processor process crust ingredients until it is crumbly
8. 3. top fruit mixture with crumbles and bake on 350 for about 30 minutes.

Banana Bread

3 bananas, mashed

1.5 cups brown sugar

1 T water or milk

1 t vanilla

1/2 cup butter or oil--pick your poison (if you'd like to leave this out entirely, you can still achieve a moist loaf by decreasing a bit of flour)

3 eggs

2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

2 cups flour

walnuts (optional)

Perfect for afternoon tea with a friend.

1. Mash bananas and sugar with a potato masher or fork
2. add wet ingredients and mix
3. Add dry ingredients and mix
4 sprinkle with brown sugar or crisp crumbles and bake on 340 for about 30-40 minutes

Aunt Beth's Fruit Jam

This one is straight from the kitchen of Aunt Beth

7 cups of fruit puree (or fruit of choice)

8 cups sugar

2 T butter

2 packets of Certo fruit pectin

1. To make the puree, heat the fruit, then mash them through a sieve.  If you like the seeds or want your jam to be chunky you may skip this part.

2. Bring the puree to a boil, then slowly add the sugar.

3. Bring the sugar and fruit to a boil.  As it begins to rise, remove it from the heat and drop in a "pat" of butter (we determined that a "pat" is about 2 tablespoons of butter). 

4. Lastly, add your packets of Certo fruit pectin.

5. Can your jam and spread on toast!

Lighter Hair and Whiter Whites--a few ways to use the sun this summer

Blonder hair, bronzer skin, and whiter whites?  

Many of us have been incorporating the sun into our beauty regime since we were in Jr. High--lemon juice on our hair to make it blonde while we baked for hours to achieve the perfect bronze.  But did you know that you can use the sun to clean your clothes? And standing in the sun for 15 minutes is more effective than taking vitamin D supplements?  Did you know you can elevate your mood AND make your white's whiter simply by taking a step into the sun?  As temperatures creep into the triple digits this week and you're stuck inside, sipping cold iced tea and working on your blog/inside-project-of-choice, why not let the sun do a little of the extra work for you?




1. Brighten your Whites.

my sun tea

The sun emits ultraviolet rays which have the ability to break down organic stains on fabric (note, the sun will not be effective on inorganic stains such as paint, ink, some food stains etc).    The sun does this by breaking apart the molecular structure on a stain, which, in turn, changes the way light is reflected on the fabric (Heida).   Be careful when putting your colors in the sun as well--it'll bleach those too.

2. Disinfect and Freshen your linens 
In addition to bleaching your fabrics, the sun's ultra violet rays can also disinfect and freshen your linens.  That's right, put your stinky, musty, and mildewed items in the sun and let 'em bake.

3. Make sun tea.
So, I grew up drinking this stuff and have never become ill from sun tea.  Apparently, if you don't make sun tea the correct way it can grow bacteria which is harmful, so proceed cautiously.  In a large glass jar, place sprigs of mint leaves, lemons, sugar or honey, and black tea (make sure the tea is caffeinated, as the caffeine will help stave off bacteria that may grow in luke-warm water).  Let it sit in the sun for 3-4 hours.

4. Soak up some D's.  
Step outside for at least 15 minutes to get your daily dose of vitamin D.  A healthy dose of vitamin D will not only reduce your chances of developing certain diseases, but it will also put you into a better mood and help regulate your immune system.

Unique Gift Giving on a Budget

“The good guest is almost invisible, enjoying him- or herself, communing with fellow guests, and, most of all, enjoying the generous hospitality of the hosts.”--Emily Post

When in doubt, ask Emily.  It is an honour to see a bride and groom, who are well suited for each other, pledge their lives to one another.  As a guest, I am there to say that I believe in what they are doing, that I am a witness to the goodness of this day, and that I will help in whatever way I am able.  With that said, I can't tell you how many weddings I have decided not to attend simply because I could not afford a gift.

Though it is no longer customary to give a gift that equals the amount the bride's parents will spend on you as a guest at the wedding, it is still customary to bring a gift (Thank you, Peggy Post for amending that rule of your mother's).  If you are able, by all means, stick to the registry.  However, just because you don't have a lot of money or you spent all of your gift money on traveling to the wedding, doesn't mean you can't give the bride and groom something lovely.   

The difference between spending a lot of money and looking like you spent a lot of money is creativity.  Thankfully, for those of us who don't have a lot of money to spend, our favorite stores like Anthropologie and Restoration Hardware have taken things which are beautiful and simple and have made them elegant and luxurious.  

Following are 4 beautiful and simple gifts, which will cost less than $10.  

1. Vintage Tea Linens

Find old hankies at antique stores, flea markets, and ebay.  I bought these for $1 each at The Madison Flea, which is an antique store with flea market prices.  Compare these to Anthropologie's Chit and Chat napkins, which are $8 each.  Add a personal touch with a recipe for English Scones.  If you still have a little left over cash in your budget, a nice additive to this gift would be Emily Post's book on Entertaining, which you can buy used on Amazon for 1 cent--or new for $20.

2. Vintage Apron
If you buy actual vintage aprons they'll run between $3 and $12 (compare that to Anthropologie's aprons, which look like vintage aprons and cost between $30 and $40).  I found this apron at The Madison Flea for $5 and paired it with this sweet yellow spatula.  For a personal touch I included a few of my favorite recipes.  Should you have a little more cash left over in your gift budget you can pair this gift with Bought, Borrowed, Stolen by Allegra McEvedy, Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, or The Fanny Farmer Cookbook by Fanny Farmer

3. A Framed Invitation
 If you're going to the wedding I'm guessing you got the invitation.  Find a lovely old frame.  I bought this vintage metal frame at Music City Thrift for $2.  Choose a complimentary fabric or paper and use it as the background.  I used this lovely old hankie I purchased at Madison Flea for $1.

4. A Jar full of Knobs
Ignore the name and just walk in--Hobby Lobby has an aisle full of cool knobs, all priced from $1.50-$6.00 (compared to Anthropologies knobs, which run $6-$12 each).  This is a collection of 12 porcelain knobs in a Ball Canning jar.  I bought them for $1.50 each (ok, ok, if you buy 12 then it's going to be $20 instead of $10.  So, just buy 6 if you need it to stay under $10).

You Asked For It! Aunt Beth's Blackberry Jam Recipe!!

Aunt Beth, being fancy and awesome in the 70's

You guys asked for it and here it is: Aunt Beth's homemade jam recipe.  I found out it is actually my Deedee's homemade jam recipe, which, as it turns out, is actually my Grand-Deedee's homemade jam recipe.  What I'm saying is this thing is 3 generations good. 

When I asked Aunt Beth how to make the jam her response was, "Just mix your fruit, sugar, and butter together, then boil and add pectin."  I asked her how much of each and she replied, "A lot."  So, here is the recipe (we think) for a  giant batch of blackberry wedding jam.

You'll need:

7 cups of Blackberry puree (or fruit of choice)

8 cups sugar

2 T butter

2 packets of Certo fruit pectin

1. To make the puree, heat the blackberries, then mash them through a sieve.  If you like the seeds you may skip this part.

2. Bring the blackberry puree to a boil, then slowly add the sugar.

3. Bring the sugar and berries to a boil.  As it begins to rise, remove it from the heat and drop in a "pat" of butter (we determined that a "pat" is about 2 tablespoons of butter). 

4. Lastly, add your packets of Certo fruit pectin.

5. Can your jam.  Watch this video for effective canning: click here

Everyone, repeat after me, "Thank you, Aunt Beth!!"

iPhone, youPhone: 6 ways to Smart-Phone

Amelita Galli-Curci on her smart phone

I feel silly admitting this, but my iPhone changed my life.  It's like the personal assistant I've never been able to afford.  From calendars, to everything-trackers, to coupons, to reminders, to books, to the sounds I wake up to in the morning, my iPhone does it all.

With a fancy phone, fancy case (OtterBox Defender--you can barely even tell there's an iPhone in there), and fancy phone plan, I've made a commitment to making my iPhone work for me since I have worked so hard to have it.

Following are a few free apps which have saved me a lovely amount of money and have made the larger phone payment worth it's weight in dollars.

Scout Mob
Scout Mob offers the same outrageous discounts that Groupon does, only you don't have to purchase the Scout Mob up front.  You merely show up, enjoy the offered goodies, and, upon check out, reveal your Scout Mob.  Scout Mob's target demographic is a little more narrow than Groupon's as well, which means they feature a lot of local eateries and boutiques as opposed to items that look as if they belong on an infomercial (Sorry, Groupon).

Shop Savvy
Shop Savvy is a sweet little app that can help you find the best deal on your groceries.  Simply scan the barcode with your camera.  This app will bring up the item in every store within your area, telling you the price and how far away the store is.  So far I've found Shop Savvy to be about 90% accurate.  This app is especially useful when purchasing large quantities of one item.

Drink Owl
I appreciate a good happy hour.  Drink Owl is a sweet little happy hour tracker.  Complete with map, you don't even need to search for the location of the restaurant because it is all wrapped up into one little app.  $5 drink and a $5 pizza?  I'm cool with that.

Push Pins
Let your iPhone coupon clip for you.  Simply scan the barcode of the items in your shopping cart with your iPhone camera and Push Pins will bring up all of the online coupons pertaining to that item.  Upon checkout you can show them to the cashier.

I Love Free Things
I love free things!  This app just keeps giving and giving.  I Love Free Things will stay abreast of the newest samplings and free offers and tell you how to get them.

Gas Buddy
Now, driving across town to get cheaper gas is counter-productive.  However, if I can drive 2 more blocks and find cheaper gas, then by all means, I'll drive 2 blocks to save a buck.  In addition, Gas Buddy awards a $250 gift certificate for gas to one person every week.

The Mean Reds Never Looked So Good

The most expensive dresses I own are the ones I never wear.

Coco Chanel's "Ford" dress

Brandon and I attended a cocktail party at a swanky club last night.  My grand dilemma?  I hadn't purchased a cocktail dress since 2007.  And now it's 2011.  And even though my dress wasn't that outdated, the hemline was all wrong.  Then I remembered a story I had heard my grandmother tell.  The year was 1937.  The United States was just climbing out of the great depression when another recession happened.  That was the same year my grandmother had one of her major recitals (she was a classical Soprano).  My great grandmother was faced with an important night and nothing to wear.  So what did she do?  She found her old velvet dress that, by this time, was worn in the places dresses tend to wear on women.  She took it apart, turned the material inside out, adjusted the sleeves to the fashions of 1937 and put it back together. Then she attended her daughter's recital as a prim, proper, and stylish lady.  No one had the slightest idea that she was wearing her dress inside out.

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel introduced her "Ford" line of simple, black dresses to Vogue in the 1920's.  Before the 1920's black was reserved for women in mourning.  After the 1920's black was for the tasteful, sensual woman.  And, luckily, for those of us who attend a cocktail party every 2 years, the little black dress maintains it's shape, while the hemline and sleeves go up and down, out and back in.

So, instead of buying a new little black dress every 2 years so you can wear it once, consider taking your old little black dress to your tailor and having her lift the hemline, cut off the sleeves, and adjust the waist.  Look at it this way: Would you rather pay $20 or $200?

1930

1951

1961

Yes, the dress was really
lovely when you guys
walked down the aisle
of Kim's wedding.  But,
really,  what are you going
to do with this giant dress?
Simple. Cut it off.

The $20 makeover

Haircut: $11 Eyebrow wax: $7.  a cup of coffee: $2. A day at the beauty school? Priceless.

I can't afford $70 to get my hair done.  As a consequence, I've cut my own hair for years.  Sometimes it's cute, sometimes it's awful.  You never know what you're going to get when you're cutting the back of your hair with a straight razor and have no idea what it looks like.  Then my life changed.  My friend, Amanda, started beauty school.  At first I went to be supportive.  Then I found out that she's good!!

I know.  You think that sounds scary.  But look at it this way: everyone's got to start somewhere.  And either you have it or you don't.  So, the key is to have your hair cut by someone who has it, who is just starting out.

Amanda Rogers, getting ready to chop off my mullet at The Salon Professional Academy.

If you don't know anyone personally at the beauty school, make an appointment for a pedicure.  Think of this as your undercover trip, an investment in the future of you hair.  Let's be honest, you can live with a bad pedicure, but the mop that frames your face had better be lovely.  While you're getting your pedicure, ask your nail girl who gives the cutest cuts and look at the students' hair.  When you find the student with cute hair ask him/her who cut it--chances are it was another student.  When they tell you, make an appointment.  Done.  You have your stylist.

Next stop: massage school.

Below is the menu for The Salon Professional Academy (www.nashvillebeautyschool.com).

• Haircut                               $9
• Child’s Cut (12 and under)$5
• Bang or Beard Trim       $7
• Shampoo & Style              $6
• Special Occasion Updo$19
• Conditioning Service   $6
• Color & Style                   $19
• Highlights                        $29
• Perm                                $39
• Relaxer                           $39

SKIN   STARTING AT:

• Facial                              $19
• Facial with Makeup     $19
• Makeup Application      $9
• Facial Wax                       $9

NAILS   STARTING AT:

• Manicure                         $9
• French Manicure         $14
• Pedicure                        $19
• Polish Change              $5
• Paraffin Dip                     $7
• Nail Art                            $4

Making old boots into new boots.

When I was 20 I found my dream coat.  This thing was amazing.  It was a plaid wool coat from the 60's with fur around the collar that I found for $30 on ebay.  I wore it until it was basically unwearable.  While on a visit some years later my mom made me a proposition, "if you throw that piece of carpet away I will buy you a brand new coat."  At first I said no.  She insisted.  I asked if I could get a new old coat like my ratty old 60's coat.  "No," she said.  "I'm getting you a new coat."  Those of you who have met my mom know there's no use arguing with her--she will win.   I couldn't bare to throw my coat into the trash, so we compromised and decided I would take it to the thrift store.  We drove down to Goodwill.  I ceremoniously placed the coat in the arms of the kind man in the blue vest.  "Be good to it," I said.  Parting with this coat was just like parting with my 1st pair of chucks--after I threw them away I couldn't bare to buy another pair.  I mean, no other pair of shoes would feel like they had been to Europe, Asia, middle and high school, college, rock shows, the Hanson saga, my first performance, my blue hair phase, my red hair phase, my multi-colored hair phase, 1 giant highschool crush, research papers, the mall days, Greek class, school productions, when I discovered music, JNCO's, Miss Angie, Lilith Fair, and, not to mention, puberty.  Or it was like when Friends went off the air--after that I just stopped watching TV all together.  Was this coat my lobster?  Would I, in fact, stop wearing coats?  It doesn't matter how many beautiful new pairs of shoes you buy--you'll always want to slip into those old, ratty shoes that know the shape of your foot.  Silly as it may seem, that is how I felt about this coat.

That was 3 years ago.  Hopeless as it might be I still occasionally peruse the coats at The Goodwill to see if my coat is in there.  And to answer my question, yes, I did stop wearing coats.  For 3 years I have frozen and/or layered my clothing because I haven't found a coat I'd like to wear yet.  I mean, once you've had Jeni's ice-cream, why would you go back to any other ice-cream?

With that said, why throw our good-olds away when they're worn out?  Though this little trick wouldn't have helped my coat, it has helped me keep my leather looking new--or at least not old--as well as giving new life to my Goodwill, flea market, and garage sale finds.  

You'll need: a rag you don't mind throwing away, bee's wax or leather weather guard (Clark's has a good one), and a hair dryer.

1. make your leather warm with your hair dryer

2. massage the bee's wax into your leather.

3. wipe off any excess wax.  Your leather will absorb the rest of the bees wax.  Don't worry--your boots will not be oily forever.

4. allow your leather goods to sit for a day before using them again.

5. Voila!

Should it provide any release, feel free to tell us about the time you threw your first pair of chucks/dream coat away.

Note, do not use this on suede.  Wax may make some leathers darker.  Also, please excuse the sequence of my photos--after 20 minutes of fighting with Blogger I am finished arguing.  It won.

after

before

after

before

Lets Have Some Cake and Eat It, Too: how to save a lot by saving a little.

Say, what would you think if we had some cake and ate it, too, today?"

We often depict penny pinching ladies as shrewish prudes.  This is why I am going to call myself a penny saver and not a penny pincher.  Let's be serious--if I'm going to have cake, then I'm going to eat it too; and I'm going to do this by trimming my outflow without missing a moment of fun.  

Following are 12 simple and painless ways you can save a lot by saving a little at a time:

1. Use web resources. When making online purchases, google the store name and the word "coupon" before making your purchase.  Often, this will lead you to a coupon code, which can save you $3-$20 (whatever you do, don't give the coupon site your e-mail address.  Also, limit your search to 1 minute of looking.  If you haven't found it in 1 minute the coupons have probably expired.  This reminds me.  I just got a coupon from Olive Nation when I received my vanilla beans.  The code is 202011.  Feel free to use it until they won't let us use it anymore).  

2. Take the time to compare prices.  Before purchasing larger items, do a 30 minute search for the best deal. You might be pleasantly surprised when you find your $300 window unit for $25 on craigslist.  Or when Firestone tells you it's going to cost $399 to replace 2 of your tires, take 30 minutes to call around town.  You might find that Discount Tires can give you the same tires for $250 (yes I did. 30 minutes of calling saved me $150).    

3. Become a coupon clipper.  Get a Kroger card and go to www.kroger.com to upload coupons onto your kroger account and visit www.coupons.com.  I know, saving 50 cents on paper towels isn't going to help you that much.  However, if you have multiple coupons you could save as much as $20 or $30 at the register.   

4. Buy in multiples.  Toilet paper is my least favorite purchase in the entire world.  But do yourself a favor and buy toilet paper in 12 packs or more.  I know that buying 1 cheap roll at a time for 99 cents is the less painful way to go.  But you could get really nice toilet paper for 50 cents per roll if you bought 12 at a time.  If you can't bare to spend more than 99 cents at a time, just bite the bullet once, spend $6 on a grown up pack of toilet paper and put 99 cents away every time you use a roll of toilet paper.  Then when you use all of the toilet paper you'll have $11.88 in your toilet paper jar and can buy another 12 pack of premium toilet paper and still have enough to sip on a really expensive latte while doing it (the same thing goes for sandwich bags, paper towels, potatoes, etc, etc). 

6. Have a loose change jar.  Every time Brandon and I have loose change we put it in the jar.  It's money that we'd probably end up losing anyway. Yesterday we emptied the jar and found that we had accumulated $32 in pennies, nickels, quarters, and dimes over the coarse of a month and 1/2.  

7. Be friends with your taylor.  I wear a 0/2.  I recently found a Michael Kors jacket at Music City Thrift, size 8, for 99 cents.  I took it to my taylor, had her sew a few stitches here and there and soon had a custom fit Michael Kors suit jacket for 20.99.  If you're not careful number 8 can be the cause of money lost--not money saved.  

8. Eat and be merry at odd hours.  Instead of going out to dinner, go out to Happy Hour an hour earlier.  

9. Make an extra trip to save money.  When buying veggies, purchase them at the international market or the farmers market rather than buying them at your regular grocery store.  At the international market I can cut my veggie bill in 1/2 (not kidding--I priced it out.  A group of vegetables that would have cost $24 at Kroger cost me a mere $11 at the international market).  And we all know that happy girls eat veggies.

10. Be resourceful.  Instead of buying expensive, organic cleaner, make your own. Instead of buying expensive bath salts, make your own.  Instead of paying someone many dollars to replace your electrical outlet, replace it yourself. 

11. Buy with intention.  Before you go to the grocery store make a grocery list.  If you must impulse buy like yours truly, then be intentional by budgeting for impulse buys (I give myself $25 every month for impulse buys, which saves me from my $200 disasters).  


12. Get free samples from sampleaday.  You might never have to purchase shampoo again.