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Goodbye sweet girl, we love you.

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We’re never ready. And it is unbelievable. The day we bring them home the first time… THIS day feels forever away. Until one day, it’s a day away. It seems impossible. —from my dear friend Kelly

Cuddling with the boys…

I’m so glad we opted to do this at home with Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice. Maggie deserved to be in her own home surrounded by her favorite people being showered with all our love and kisses. It was the kids’ first in-person experience with pet death and it was so very hard but, we thought, necessary.

The vet, Dr. Kylie, was amazing. She was loving and gentle and patient and kind. She gave us privacy to say our goodbyes and made a paw print for us.

Goodbye, sweet girl. We love you more than you could ever know.

We wrapped her and sent her off in one of her blankets.

Tom chose to carry her to the vet’s car.

And then we all cried some more and tried to parse that Maggie was really gone…the house just seemed so quiet and empty.

It’s honestly a blur (writing this 9 days after the fact). I don’t remember what we all did. But I do know that Owen had to get ready to get braces later in the day — I had asked if he wanted to reschedule and he said no.

Ted Lasso biscuits!

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They aren’t in a pretty pink box but we ate Ted Lasso biscuits tonight. Super easy and super tasty. We’ll be making these again!

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
  • 1 ⅓. cup confectioner’s sugar
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 ¾ cup ap flour
  • ½. (scant) teaspoon kosher salt

Step 1: Heat the oven to 315F and pan spray an 8×8” baking dish.

Step 2: In a medium bowl, mix the butter and sugars together vigorously until smooth.

Step 3: Stir in the egg yolks.

Step 4: Add the flour and salt, mix just until the dough comes together. The less you mix the dough, the more posi vibes your biscuits will have.

Step 5: Press dough into an even layer in the pan and bake at 315F for 45 minutes until a thin, golden brown layer forms on top.

Step 6: Cool completely before cutting into 2 even columns and 6 even rows.

ARE YOU HELPING DATA MINERS?!

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Re-re-re-posting this very good advice— please read all of it. It’s looong but very important!

Friends, let’s talk about data mining and identity theft. I learned today that even giving fake answers is not good. I’ve stopped answering all of these on random public Facebook groups and you should, too!

I copied and pasted this from someone else’s post.

Written by Paul Belserene

How account hacking works on facebook:

  1. You see a fun little question pop up in your facebook feed that people answer in the comments. This isn’t a question from one of your facebook friends, it’s from a public account, maybe an account supposedly belonging to a radio station, but not one in your part of the country, where you definitely recognize the station. Maybe it’s from a public account called something cute like “just for laughs” or “no biggie” or “memory lane.” Maybe a facebook friend of yours has already answered the question. It seems harmless and trivial: What food would you never eat? What was the first concert you went to? You answer the question in the comments.
  2. Because of the way facebook’s algorithm is set up, answering this question, or even just giving the post a like means Facebook will show you more content by this facebook poster and more content by other, similar posters. You see more and more little quiz questions by facebook accounts who are not your actual friends.
  3. Also because of the way facebook’s algorithm is set up, your actual facebook friends can see the post you responded to and your answer to the little question. If they respond to your comment, or like your comment, or answer the question themselves, they also begin to see more little quiz questions from this facebook poster and more similar facebook accounts with other little questions.
  4. Some of these questions really are probably harmless, but the more you answer, the more you see, and sooner or later you slip up and answer one or more that help a data miner begin putting together pieces of information that help them steal your identity and get into your bank accounts. “One of these has to go” with a list of four types of candy bars isn’t helpful to anyone, but the more you get used to answering questions, the less carefully you scrutinize the questions. One day you answer one that gives someone your birth year: “how old would you be if the digits in your age were reversed.” A week later you’ve forgotten about that, but the information has been harvested and filed away and you answer another question that gives them your month of birth: “your birth month determines which celebrity you marry, are you happy?” with a bunch of pictures of famous people laid out in a calendar grid. Some questions are straight up complete answers to common security questions: maiden names, grandparents’ names, where you vacationed as a kid, what was your first car, what was your first pet’s name, what was the name of your elementary school.
  5. When the data miner pretending to be a harmless fun facebook account or radio station has enough pieces of the puzzle put together they can either get into your bank account, sell your information to someone else who wants to get into your bank account, or remotely lock your accounts or take over your whole computer or phone and force you to pay a ransom to get access back. They can impersonate you and steal your tax refund. They can commit social security fraud, pretending to be you, and disappear with the check while you are left to prove it wasn’t you.
  6. The worst thing about these social media predators is that the more you comment on these information gathering quizzes, even if you just comment to tell a friend that they have potentially given away the answer to their own security question, the more they spread. All your facebook friends will see more of these quizzes as a result of your comment, and be more likely to comment themselves, and sooner or later one of them will give away important information, even if you never do.
  7. So DO NOT COMMENT. Not even to the ones that really don’t share any important information. They post many innocuous questions for every one that actually gathers information, but even the seemingly benign ones help them figure out what style of questions generate the most responses, work the algorithm to get them on more people’s facebook feeds, and lull you into a false sense of security that this is good clean fun. Do not give it a thumbs up or an angry face. If you see a friend post in response to one, talk to them in person about how these work, or call them, or send them a private message, but don’t reply back to their comment on the actual post. That just helps these things spread.

Crumbl!!

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So after seeing Crumbl cornbread cookies mentioned TWICE yesterday on my Facebook feed, when Heidi and I found ourselves right down the street from one (by Costco in Kenosha), we had to try it. Some other choices jumped in the box, too.

First column are sugar cookies, second column are churro, then four cornbread, a chocolate chip, and a chocolate.

Of course we dug into them as soon as we got to the car. And um, holy shit. The cornbread cookies are TO DIE FOR! They suggest eating them warm and I can agree wholeheartedly. The churro was good but REALLY sweet.

I posted on Facebook and guess what? I learned that Gurnee is getting a Crumbl, too! This could be dangerous!!

If anyone wants to check it out, grab the app!

So I finally took pictures of most of the newly redesigned house.

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FYI We have had a few changes since these pics—that teal ottoman and gray loveseat are gone (long and sordid story that ends with us telling you to avoid Roomplace like the plague) and we have a leather loveseat on order. Missing rooms are the dining room and front room because we’ll need to rearrange that furniture again. I finally got around to taking the pics specifically because the ottoman was going away.

My friend Jodi Van Leer (J Van Leer Designs) was amazing in helping us figure out what we wanted, shopping for things, and pulling everything together. We trusted her implicitly and we couldn’t be happier!

Tom got to play woodworker and built:

  • the walnut mantle surrounds
  • the cabinet doors
  • the birch forest (using trees we brought home from my parent’s house in the upper peninsula!)
  • the stacked wood wall in the bar (my Pinterest idea)
  • and new built-in shelves for the liquor in the bar (so now he finally has his “me room” (and not just a me wall!)—which we’ve named Ground Control)!

Other changes include:

We absolutely love everything and when it’s picked up and free of kid shit it’s freaking amazeballs. It was a shit ton of work and expense and we pretty much got it all done in two months to be ready for the big party! But we finally have our forever home that looks put together and adult!!

P.S. Here’s a Before and After!

OMG my hair is to die for.

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I have wanted a Brazilian Blowout for awhile now—it’s been a lot a lot a lot (!) of years since I had one and it just makes drying and straightening my hair so much easier (and it shouldn’t be as frizzy). It’s a lengthy (and therefore expensive) process so it’s not a regular thing…

The process? First a clarifying wash, then putting the solution on, then drying on low heat (not high) so you don’t burn the chemicals off too early (this took close to an hour I think), then a rinse, then a regular high heat blow dry, then going over every tiny bit with a flat iron. Yikes. I was there for just over three hours.

Mid-process.

It’s so unbelievably soft and smooth and silky it’s just dreamy. (Of course when I wash it and style it myself it won’t look quite as good but in the meantime I am enjoying every second of it.)

Before and After

Maggie puppy in watercolor!

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A Facebook ad strikes again! I kept seeing the PAWS ad on my feed for awhile now where they take a pet photo and make a watercolor out of it. Yes I know apps can do the same thing but it was only $5 so I thought I’d try it. It is cute and I’d say worth the $5 but it’s nothing super special. But damn Maggie was a cute puppy.

The original, 2005

Reach out to your friends.

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People. Reach out to your friends. You might just have a great time!

I just had the best video call with a college roommate who I literally haven’t heard her voice in 20 or so years. We see each other on Facebook but that’s it.

So tonight we were chatting on messenger and she was like hey we should video chat why have we never done that?! Due to the time difference (she’s in New Zealand) our schedules don’t always mesh, but tonight it worked. So we chatted FOR AN HOUR and it was soooooo great. And we’re going to do it again soon—probably with margaritas if we’re being honest.

So just some advice to reach out to those old friends. You might just have a great time. And we all need more of that these days.

Anyone else do this with lip balm?

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I typically use a mini binder clip but it’s gone missing in the move. You might think I’m being cheap but really I just don’t want to waste a single bit of this “liquid gold”—it’s legit the best balm I’ve ever used. I will even cut it open once I can’t squeeze any more out! No shame in my game, y’all! (Grab yourself some here from my site, or just hit me up! You won’t be sorry!)

Do I look freshly steamed?!

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Here’s my new toy—a facial steamer! I’ve wanted one for awhile now and it went on sale during Prime Day!

I’ve never done that before it was definitely a learning experience. That little machine packs a lot of punch. It was really hot and I had to keep moving my face farther and farther away. They said not to be closer than 25cm but in my mind I was thinking millimeters so yeah…I was too close. And I had sweat dripping down my face after just a minute. And it is no joke when they warn you that the heated washcloth will be burning hot.

It felt really good and my skin felt glowy. I recommend it!

My first batch of easy margaritas!

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So with my love of margaritas, can you believe I’ve never really made any? (Well, I have made a special “beergarita” for parties, but that really isn’t a margarita as most people would think of one.) I even bought the Margaritaville drink machine to make them but never really did anything except use it with premade margaritas.

Enter our new friends Lindsay and Mike, who regularly (and quickly!) make frozen margaritas. Of course I had to ask how they do it… And turns out it’s super simple.

The funny thing is they make completely different ones. He gives her crap about using limeade vs real limes and she gives him crap about taking longer to make his. Both are good but I’m usually lazy so I’ll do the limeade ones!

I did my very first batch—actually in my Vitamix—today. And they were super easy and super delicious.

Trying the Vitamix instead of the Margaritaville blender. It works. But first world problem? We need a bigger freezer in the bar to store the full blender!

I actually got out the margarita machine for the kids to make lemonade slushies! They came and sat at the bar and said “This is like being on the cruise—you just hand them your glass and they refill it!”

The maiden voyage of my Margaritaville machine!

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I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I’ve tried our really good blender before (that’s supposed to be good with ice but… didn’t give you really smooth ice) but wasn’t sure the cost of this would be worth it.

But it is. It sooooo is. 

The only thing at the moment is I don’t have the individual ingredients for margaritas…so I’m just using my ready-to-drink mix. It’s good, but once you mix it with the ice, it tastes diluted. So…I decided to add some extra tequila, some Grand Marnier, and some mashed strawberries from the freezer!

And then this happened. NOOOOO!!!

Yes, don’t worry. I know how to fix it.  After realizing there was no way to get all the cork out…in it went and then I strained it.

DELISH!!

Our cruise shirts are done!

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As soon as I knew we were going on a cruise, I knew I wanted to make personalized T-shirts for all of us…thus begin the search on Amazon and Etsy and eBay… betsy was the winner with the best choices but I knew that I wanted to create my own with our names or initials (or something) and not just buy a generic one. So then I managed to find a friend with a cutting machine who volunteered her machine and her services…

It was actually quite a long drawn out process because she had really not done many T-shirts before and I had never done T-shirts before and it was literally just a comedy of errors but we had a great time working on them together.

So without further ado…

They are all the same on the front but the kids have a warning on the back of theirs and Tom and I have a similar warning on the back of ours. (My dad and stepmom escaped warnings on their shirts.) I figured we are literally only going to be wearing the shirts for a few hours on debarkation day so it really didn’t matter what we put on them…and we thought it was hilarious.

The sidenote to this whole story is that Tom and I are now the proud owners of a Cricut Maker and a crap ton of accessories. I had thought about getting one of these machines in the past but knew I would literally go down a huge rabbit hole of projects and expenses so I always passed. So when this came up Tom asked me again if I wanted to get one because he wouldn’t mind having one in the future for some of his projects…so many hours of research later (and YouTube videos and reviews watched and debating the merits of the different machines and getting input from friends)… we decided on one. So stay tuned for many projects!!

A game changer for those of us always cold!

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Friends, if you know me, you know I am pretty much ALWAYS cold. And I am a baseball mom who often has to sit outside in chilly weather. Plus I loooove technology. So when I saw a heated blanket that is powered by an external power bank? And can be turned into a cape? Y’ALL…I’M TOTALLY IN. So if you’re anything like me, I figured you’d want one for yourself. And there’s still a bunch of time left in this campaign for you to grab one… You’re welcome. ❤️

Inaugural movie night!

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Thanks to Amazon Vine, we have an amazing LED HD projector. Just add in a $30 projection screen, $40 worth of PVC pipe, and a Bluetooth speaker…and you get an awesome movie night with some neighbors.

We made popcorn, did sparklers and a few fireworks, then watched some music videos. All in all a good inaugural movie night!

If you had asked me this morning, I’d say I was a damn fun person.

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I love laughing and having fun and doing crazy things (have you ever flown across the country to meet a bunch of internet strangers?). Right?!

And then I started reading this book: HAVE MORE FUN

It’s like I was meant to read this book. 😂

And now I know things need to change. If my life ended tomorrow would I regret the 300 unread emails? The clothes still in the dryer? The boxes still packed from our last move? Hell no. I’d regret not playing in the rain with my kids, not taking that cruise with the family, and not spending as much time with friends as we can before we move again.

Don’t get me wrong, the kids are still going to have to do their reading and workbook pages, but I’m going to make a concerted effort for us all to have more fun.

Anniversary day in Chicago: a foodie adventure!

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Since the kids were away at grandparent’s camp, we decided to take advantage and go to Chicago for some foodie experiences to celebrate our anniversary a bit early. Of course I hadn’t thought far enough ahead about making reservations so the one place I really wanted to go had nothing available until September so we planned on walking in and hoping to eat at the bar (friends had done that so we knew it was possible).

Stop 1: Frontera Grill by Rick Bayless

We got there about 10 minutes before they opened and there was a line of about 10 people. By the time they opened there were probably 30 people waiting. We had a reservation and they sat us in the bar area at some reserved tables.

The menu wasn’t what I’d been looking at…I had downloaded the lunch menu, not paying attention that weekends had a brunch menu. (Rookie mistake!) So of course the two dishes I’d previously decided on weren’t available. I did ask if I could still get the dish I really wanted (one of their three ceviches) and he checked and said no. Dang. So it took me quite some time to pick what I wanted.

We started with drinks. Tom had a Chupacabra and of course I had a margarita. I really liked his and I’d order that above my margarita.

CHUPACABRA
Milagro blanco tequila, fresh and roasted vegetables (tomatoes, tomatillos, cucumber, celery, garlic, onion), fresh lime, Worcestershire and chipotle.

TOPOLO MARGARITA
Milagro reposado, Royal Combier, housemade limonada, shaken tableside.

FRONTERA CEVICHE
Hawaiian albacore, tomatoes, olives, cilantro, green chile. Crispy tostaditas.

The ceviche was amazing. It was a tie for my favorite dish of the entire day. I would eat that every day for the rest of my life. And it was one of the three ceviches they had that I didn’t think I’d like because I don’t like olives. But I’d never have known there was olives in it. I’m drooling now just remembering it. The tostadas were amazing—they stayed wonderfully crispy even with all that juicy ceviche on it.

I opted for two starters as my lunch:

GRILL ROASTED ELOTE CORN
Serrano mayo, cilantro, and fresh cheese

I had recently had Mexican corn at a farmers market and it came in a cup. I totally didn’t think this would come on a cob. LOL So it was messy but yummy!

SOPECITOS RANCHEROS
Crispy corn masa “boats,” braised beef shoulder, roasted tomato-serrano sauce, avocado, queso fresco.

Sooooo good. Unbelievably good.

Tom went way outside his box and got a vegetarian dish! I am not a huge mushroom fan so I’d never order it but it was good. (I forgot to get a pic once he unwrapped it and dug in.)

MUSHROOM MIXIOTE
Shiitake, maitake and oyster mushrooms, dark pasilla chile sauce, potatoes, chayote & local greens cooked in a parchment package. Creamy goat cheese, sunflower shoots.

And then dessert. We weren’t going to get any because we knew we had to eat again at 4:30 but…screw it. We both immediately went to this:

DOS, TRES, QUATRO CAKE
Dos candied nuts, tres leches, cuatro chocolates (chocolate-infused tres leches cake, house-ground chocolate ice cream, chocolate cookies, hot fudge), candied almonds & pecans.

We both love tres leches but weren’t huge fans of this. It was okay but we apparently like less fancy versions of this dessert (we joked give us your 9×13 pan instead of this crazy thing).

Stop 2: Chicago’s Original Architectural Tour by Wendella

We had asked friends for recommendations of things to do in the few hours between restaurants and this river tour was highly recommended. It was a quick walk from Frontera so seemed perfect. However, we hadn’t anticipated the hot and humid weather (it was probably 93° with 80% humidity) and we both decided there was NO way we’d enjoy any of it sitting topside in the blazing sun…so we each had a drink in the bar for most of the tour (they had margaritas so it seemed like fate). We will go back again with the kids when it’s cooler.

Stop 3: Hubbard State Cigar Shop

Because it was on the way back toward the car and Tom needed new cigars.

Stop 4: Firecakes Donuts

Because donuts. And it was right on the way.

From top: Espresso something or other, Pistachio old fashioned, Cherry fritter, Malted milk ball, Strawberry marscapone, Chocolate cake, PB cup, Creme brulee, vanilla with coconut

Stop 5: Three Dots and a Dash tiki bar

This bar was named one of The World’s 50 Best Bars so imagine the coincidence that it was ALSO on the way. It was only accessible via the alley—they had tiki torches outside (you can see them behind us).

Then it was down into the dark, cool depths of a basement bar.

The drinks were amazing…but expensive as hell. We only had one each. Tom said he has found his retirement job.

Stop 6: Girl & The Goat by Stephanie Izard (Winner of Top Chef)

So we got to Girl & The Goat way early. We wasted some time at a nearby coffeehouse since it was still like 90° and humid. At about 4:10 we walked down. The doors were locked but the revolving door was open so I walked in and asked the first employee I saw if it would be okay to sit at the bar until they opened since we’d just driven a long way and it was so hot out. He said he didn’t think legally we could do that and then suggested we sit in the waiting area. Okay, that was fine with me.

But my anxiety started kicking in as more people started lining up outside and then trying to come in (at one point a huge gaggle of like 20 people came in). You could see the manager getting irritated with people wanting to come in and wait but they obviously weren’t open yet. And the people looked at us sitting there like why did we think we were so special. I’m a rule follower at heart so I was torn between going to wait outside with the rest of the herd and keeping my seat (which no one was telling us we had to move…). I really wanted those first seats and we had been there first but I was getting paranoid that something was going to prevent it. Tom said he was ready to make a dash to the seats if need be. I know it’s just food and it would have been okay if we ended up needing to wait a bit, but I was still anxious.

Fast forward to 4:30 and a lady came over to us and asked if we had a reservation and we said no, we wanted to eat at the bar…and she said to go grab seats. Yay! So we were seated before anyone from outside even walked in. Phew!

That’s a goat topiary behind us.

And of course another margarita because why not?

I’d perused the menu ahead of time—as well as all the dishes our friends had ordered—so I had a good idea of what I wanted. I told the bartender that friends had been there and sat at the bar and had an amazing experience and he said he’d try to live up to the expectation!

We had drinks and picked four dishes. This is the order they came out (they serve them in the best order to eat them):

SWEET CORN PIEROGIS
Charred scallion sour cream, sweet corn-tomaro chimichurri

Everything was good, of course, but this was by far our favorite course of the night. The bite of pierogi with the chimichurri was pure delight.

SQUASH BLOSSOM CRAB RANGOON
Almonds, chive yogurt

We love crab Rangoon so had to try these. They were delicious, of course.

DUCK TONGUES
tuna and black bean poke, crispy won tons, piri piri

Just as delicious as our friend mentioned. (It was a toss up between this and the pierogi for the winning dish but the chimichurri pushed the pierogi over the edge.)

Then they surprised us with a dish, compliments of the chef, for our anniversary (we’d been talking about it with the bartender). It took me by total surprise and I forgot to get a pic. I’d never have ordered them but they were DELICIOUS.

SAUTÉED GREEN BEANS
Fish sauce vinaigrette, cashews

And the final course… We debated between a few and I let Tom pick.

GOAT NECK
Perilla marinated heirlooms, pickled grape tomato, green plums, tahini yogurt, wood fired pita

Mmmm. The meat was so tender and flavorful, the marinated tomatoes were perfect, and I’m not a tahini fan but it worked well together.

Before this dish came out we had discussed that we might need to order one more dish. While we’d had three planned dishes and one surprise dish, it really hadn’t been THAT much food. Did we need more? No. But we’d probably never be back so why not. But after the size of the goat neck, we opted to just go with dessert.

CARAMEL CORN & MALT BALLS
Vanilla malt ice cream, popcorn caramel, chocolate magic shell

When they delivered it (with the lit candle) they wished us a Happy Anniversary, as did all the bartenders behind the bar as they walked by! This was a crazy dessert that totally worked on all levels. Each component was delicious but a bite with everything was sublime. I’d order that again in a heartbeat. (They should really also add chocolate ganache squares to the description.)

We were there for almost two hours and we had a great time interacting with the bartender—I can’t imagine sitting at a table. When the bill came, they hadn’t charged us for the dessert, either, so we left him a huge tip. Overall an awesome meal. Just delicious all around. I highly recommend it…

And a last-minute photo as we were leaving!

It was such a great day and I’m so glad we did it…

Don’t Buy My Kids More Toys. Try This Instead.

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Don’t Buy My Kids More Toys. Try This Instead. From ScaryMommy.

Hallelujah and Amen.

Let me give you some advice of what you can do instead: Just spend time with them. Take them out for ice cream, or a date to the zoo, or even to the park down the street. They will love that more than any toy, I promise. They will remember it longer too.

Our kids just had a birthday party and got lots of gift cards. The plan is to let them but one thing and then trade them experiences for their cards. Would you rather go to Target and get a Barbie or would you rather go to the zoo? A new Lego set or a baseball game? Fingers crossed my plan works.

It’s that time again…Katie has started ABCMouse!

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So, Katie has been doing “homework” lately—we bought her a workbook like Owen gets for his Summer Slide and she has fun with that, plus she also has a few educational iPad apps that she enjoys. She saw a commercial for ABCmouse.com the other day and asked if she could have it on the iPad again.

First, huh? She remembers? It hasn’t been on the iPad for probably two years now!

Second, well, why not? Owen really enjoyed it and if she wants to do it…it certainly can’t hurt! (And in the back of my mind I keep wondering if maybe that’s one of the reasons why Katie is a touch behind as compared to Owen—even though I know I shouldn’t compare the two.)

So the thought was in my mind but on the back burner since we’ve been busy. So imagine my surprise when out of the blue I get an email from someone at ABCMouse saying my site came up as one that linked to them and—long story short—would I want to become a full-fledged official referral source. Well, sure, why not?

So Katie was EXCITED to start her “homework” and she kept asking to do it. Before I knew it, she was 14% done with the pre-k level. Hopefully her excitement continues! And hopefully I make some money off referrals!

Adulting with Jami.

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Since we planned on drinking, we took a Lyft to the restaurant, and since it was a chocolate restaurant (The Chocolate Sanctuary), I obviously had to start with the German Chocolate Cake martini…Vodka, Amaretto, cream of coconut, chocolate, caramel, and toasted coconut. 

Then Jami took over on the pictures.

  • Chicken and Goat Cheese Wrapped in Cocoa-Candied Bacon with Cocoa-cranberry sauce. 
  • Cocoa Pan-Seared Scallops with Zucchini chips, truffle mash potatoes, miso beurre blanc
  • The Sanctuary Chopped Salad: Romaine, field greens, sweet corn, avocado, cocoa-candied bacon, tomatoes, hearts of palm, cheddar cheese, herb-parmesan croutons, chocolate vinaigrette

Elderflower Aperitif: Sparkling Moscato D’Asti, St. Germain, and fresh raspberry

Beignets! Light and airy chocolate filled doughnuts served with mixed berry compote and crème anglaise

We will definitely visit again and bring out of town guests…

HOLY $H!TBALL$ this product is amazing!!

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Ladies, listen up. I’ve discovered a game changer if you straighten your hair—you have GOT to check out the Dafni. I got mine on QVC because at the time it was cheaper than Amazon, but less than a week later Amazon now has it cheaper. This cut my straightening time from 45 minutes (including blow drying with a round brush and then ironing) to 10 minutes (15 tops). I can’t gush about this thing enough: DAFNI The Original Hair Straightening Ceramic Brush.

This result took me TEN minutes:

My review can be found here but here it is. (Sidenote: I learned you can’t say HOLY $H!TBALL$ in a review. LOL)

I have long naturally wavy hair that takes me, on average, 35-40 minutes to blow dry straight and then another 15 minutes or so to touch up with a steam iron (actually a Maxius Maxiglide MX-597 One Step Hair Straightening Iron with Steam Burst Technology). But I am always on the lookout for a revolutionary hair straightener and I’ve tried a bunch of them. I’ve actually been using the Maxiglide for 10+ years because it was so awesome–until now, I would have said it was revolutionary. But this? The Dafni? HOLY SMOKES. This might just be the best money I’ve EVER spent!

I went into the first use with some trepidation as products like these generally have big claims and then generally don’t come through. But what you see in my photos literally took 10 minutes. TEN MINUTES! I then spent another five going over some sections a few more times and trying to get the ends better, but still…15 minutes?! FIFTEEN MINUTES?! ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

Is it perfect? No. Obviously your hairdresser doing a salon blow-out will get it smoother and it will look better, but for an average person doing this at home? Yes. You can recreate your own efforts in a fraction of the time. My after photo with the Dafni is what my hair looks like after I blow it dry with a round brush for 40 minutes!

Also, my arms aren’t tired from holding a blow-drier and/or iron for 40 minutes and I’m not sweating from blowing hot air at my head for 40 minutes. I used to seriously plan ahead when I was going to dry/straighten my hair because it does take so long, but now? I can pretty much do it whenever I have a spare 15 minutes! The longest part of the process for me today was waiting for my hair to dry because I wanted to do it naturally but that’s no big deal because I do that some days anyway.

I am just completely blown away. My first thought once I finished in ten minutes was HOLY COW. This might be the best money I’ve ever spent on a hair product–kicking the Maxiglide to second place.

I get nothing for referrals—I just love this product!

15th Anniversary dinner!

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Our local friend Leslie gave us such a great recommendation for our anniversary dinner last year that we went back to her again. And she knocked it out of the park again with this kinda hole-in-the-wall Modern European/German place called Cosmopolitan Grill (Yelp). Unbeknownst to us when we decided to go there, they were recently voted “as one of 100 Best Bargain Restaurants by the Washingtonian Magazine as well as Young and Hungry’s 50 Best Restaurants by Washington City Paper.”

For the appetizer we had Ćevapčići With Ajvar and Onion (little sausages with a red pepper and garlic relish) and since we knew the portions were huge, we split the Stuffed Veal Schnitzel (Breaded veal schnitzel stuffed with cheese and spicy peppers, served with roasted potato). It was all very, very good and even though we split the dinner we still brought home leftovers!

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