The Great Valentine's Fire of 2013

...well, it wasn't that great, but entirely laughable and now I can be mocked for all eternity.

And so the story goes:

I like to light a candle on my bathroom counter while I get ready in the morning to "set the mood" for the day -- you know, good juju and stuff.  SO, there's a candle lit... I remember suddenly to go get Nick's Valentine's card to take with me so I can fill it out during the day because after work we're doing our Valentine's Day gift trade.  Upon grabbing the plastic grocery bag storing the card and a classy pack of new underwear, I set it on the bathroom counter so I would remember to take it with me.  Then I head back to the bedroom to battle the great debate of my everyday - what to wear to work.  I'm already running late [shocker!] so the pressure to pick out my outfit is on... and that's when the smell hits me, burning plastic.  At first, I think nothing of it and then slowly the realization sets in and I think to myself, "Self?  You should probably go see what that smell is."  So I head urgently back to the bathroom, only to see that I set a small, so-small-it's-almost-not-even-worth-telling-you-about, fire.

The plastic bag, or what remains of it, is melted and still on fire all over the bathroom counter.  It's melted on and in the candle.  It's melted all the way to the enveloped Valentine's card inside.  It's melted down and still burning... and now the underwear is on fire.  [Besides a camp fire, it's the first fire I've ever set that was not on purpose, so, I'm not entirely reacting yet.]  I decide to blow on it.  That did nothing.  Though it's small, all the fire safety tips you learned in Girl Scouts in 1993 run through your mind, but they don't register.  I contemplate 'stop, drop & roll', but I'm not on fire my bathroom counter is.  Finally [duh!] water and bye-bye fire.

Burned pack of undies?  Trash.  Burned bag particles?  Trash.  Burned card and envelope?  Trash... BUT then I get to thinking, you know, this is almost too good to pass up - SO I trash the envelope, it's burned beyond recognition anyways, but the actual card is salvageable and full of memories! ...and depicted below.

The card is blank inside and I've filled it with awesome cliche love sayings that have to do with fire.

-My heart burns only for you.
-You light up my life.
-Our love is too hot for words.
-You melt me.
-My loins are on fire.  [This one, slightly inapropro, BUT it applies because I literally set my underwear (pack) on fire. HA!]

Nick, my boyfriend, since you don't know, loves a good, sarcastic, cheesy joke.  SO I can't wait to give him this card.  I already told him about what happened to which he replied by singing: 'Caitlyn started the fire!' sung to the tune of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire".  He'll definitely get a kick out of this!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, 2013!

Lemon-Burst Cookies

Hello all.  I've seriously missed you, but I'm back, and hopefully for a long time.

I've shared this recipe with some of you and even some of the actual cookies.  If you, too, have a secret love affair with lemon and cookies, then this is the perfect cookie for you.

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[Photo credit: LDS Living]

Lemon-Burst Cookies:
[Adapted from: Lemon Crinkle Cookies, found on Pinterest]
Makes 2-3 dozen

Ingredients:
1/2 cups butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 lemon...
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from the lemon)
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoons baking soda
1&1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray, set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar (not the powdered sugar) together until light and fluffy.  Whip in vanilla, lemon extract, egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice. (SAVE the remaining lemon for more use later in recipe!)  After you've mixed once, repeat mixing a second time.  Excluding the powdered sugar, stir in all dry ingredients until combined and mix again.  Roll a generous teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll it into the unused powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough.

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottom edges begin to barely brown (golden-like) and cookies look matte, not shiny.  Remove from oven, leave on the baking sheet for 3 minutes then transfer them to the cooling rack.

After cooling, lightly re-dust with powdered sugar and squeeze your remaining lemon over the cookies for little flavor bursts of lemon in each bite.

*I use dark baking sheets, baking them for exactly 9 minutes was perfect.

[Are you a fan of pink?  UM, yeah!?  Why wouldn't you be?... if so, you can add a touch pink food coloring and (voila!) PINK-Lemonade cookies.  I know, mind blown.]
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I can officially tell you these cookies are:  boyfriend, best friend, church-goer, mother, father, sister, and co-worker tested & approved.  SO, go ahead and make a batch of these!  AND if you're on a diet, they have fresh fruit in them, so it's justifiable... ok, a bit of a stretch, but I'm always here to help you with your strict diets. (PSH!)

So, enjoy... the whole batch in one sitting... because if you actually made these, then I know you ate them all.  It's impossible not to.

Come back soon because I'll be featuring "The Importance of Having Eyebrows" post...
"UM, that sounds weird, Caiti." Yeah, I know, but it's true... it'll be an eyebrow maintenance DIY.
And for your viewing pleasure and excitement, enjoy this photo-outtake from the DIY.

If this doesn't get you to come back, then you're on your own.  Holla!

the new love of my life...

I should probably say hello, and apologize [like always] for failing to blog more often, but I've so many things to tell you about.

I blame Pinterest for my temporary blogging hiatus [well, and my computer is broken, boooooo!].  Pinterest is the new love of my life, sorry Mr. Duncan [the boyfriend].  It has taken over my computer life and is basically the only thing I do or go to online anymore.  I love it.  [Follow me and we'll pin our faces off together!]  I even got my mom to sign up for it, even though she's only pinning pictures of Brad Pitt - but hey, ain't no shame! [Love yewwww, mommy!]

My list of justifiable reasons why Pinterest is not and will never be a waste of time:

Pinterest can always put a smile on your face:

Pinterest taught me how to make the best enchiladas [<-- recipe!] I've ever put in my mouth-hole.  I make them almost** weekly. Mr. Duncan can also attest they are delish, and my best friend Melanie would probably agree, she's made them as well and her kids wanted seconds.  Sounds like a successful dish to me... just sayin'.

Pinterest inspires my artsy side, like, to-the-max.  I get photography ideas, typography ideas, home/apartment decorating ideas, illustration ideas, DIY craft galore ideas.  Ideas, ideas, ideas.

Pinterest improves my sense of fashion.  More ideas.

Pinterest fulfills my floral obsession in so many ways.

...ok, if you're still reading all of my oh-so-convincing reasons to make Pinterest your top priority, then I give up.  [But just know you're missing something epic... and I hate the word epic, so you know it must really be grand!]  And I also realisee I'm waaaay behind on the Pinterest bandwagon... I waited many infuriating months for my invite directly from Pinterest - only to find out you can join through bleepin' Facebook.  What?!  BUT I'm making up for lost time, and you should, too.

Lastly folks, enjoy the new/old blog tunes.  Nothing like a little Al Green to make ya feel good and pull on your heart strings -- kind of puts me on cloud-9 when I can get Mr. Duncan to dance with me to this.

Also, have a very happy Easter weekend.
[& here's to hoping I'll be back to blog before another 3-4 months pass - I'd like to actually try and update you on the last little bit of my life.  It's been great.]

Ok, bye now.

Hello my babies.

It has been a hot minute. By Urban Dictionary definition: "the words meaning is a long time. if you aint seen someone in a while or if you aint been someplace in a while or done something in a while it will be a hot minute" ... Personally, I think whoever wrote that should probably work for Merriam Webster.  Just sayin'.

But folks, it has been a 'hot minute'.  I'm alive and well -- very well.  One of my main goals this year was to officially fly-the-coop, and I'm here to announce, I have moved out of my parents house!  [Mostly.] I only moved, like, 10-feet away, but it's something.  My parents live two streets over from my grandparents, so clearly, I needed to keep in pattern.  I am loving it so far, Merry Christmas to me!  ...and another discovery upon moving out -- IKEA is amazing.

Gosh, this time of the year makes me so happy.  Christmas music and movies.  Weather changes and smells of winter.  Trees start changing and shed the old.  The beautiful Christmas/holiday lights.  SHOPPING.  Giving gifts to people, who wouldn't be happy?!  Boom.

My favorite Christmas song is playing now [turn up your speakas, yo!], but I also have a plethora of favorite seasonal movies I like to whip out this time of the year.  See if you can name my favorites from the picture collage below.  [Answers underneath.]  FUN!

*CLICK the pic to make it bigger, if you're blind...

Can you figure them all out?

What are YOUR favorite Christmas movies?  Sharing is caring.

[ ANSWERS: 1. Elf; duh.  2. Borrowed Hearts; I believe it was actually a made-for-TV-movie, but it definitely a Christmas gem.  3. A Christmas Story; A Christmas classic.  4. The Santa Clause(s); I friggin' love these movies. So cheesy, and soooo good.  5. Home Alone; And I really just like 1 & 2 of this series... after #33, I lose track of movies.  6. Bad Santa; I assume the majority of you have not seen this, but it's hilarious.  7. The Family Stone; another absolute FAVORITE.  I watch this one year-round ... what am I saying? I watch all of these year-round - yep, I'm that girl. ]

I'm sure I'll write again before the end of the year, but maybe not before Christmas.  So with that, I wish you ALL a very Merry Christmas.  Hope it's fabulous!

Take me now!

Places I want to be right now:

[ Venice ]

[ Chateau de Chillon, Switzerland ]

[ Ulu Danu Temple, Bali ]

[ Cala Dagana, Levanzo, Sicily ]

[ Oia, Santorini ]

I got my passport a few weeks ago!  I'm adding all of these to my list of places I want to go.  [See my 'One Day' list on the right! A new addition of places I hope to visit -- sooner than later!]  HMMMM, where to go first?  I need some recommendations, friends!