Monday, October 31, 2011

happy halloween



the cox's are ready for halloween.
i finished my luminaries and they made their debut last night.
i did 14 total, but i think i could have used more like 20 and gone up the sidewalk.





here's to black, orange, and purple.
costumes.
candy.
jack-o-lanturns.
and
trick-or-treaters.

have a fun holiday!

Friday, October 28, 2011

household helpers


i saw all these tips online today and thought i should share.
now i just have to remember them all so i can use them.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold.
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat.
To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a minty frosting.
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic, and at the end of the recipe if you want a stronger taste of garlic.
Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy.
Easy Deviled Eggs: Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
Expanding Frosting: When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.
Reheating refrigerated bread: To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
Newspaper weeds away: Plant your plants in the ground, work the nutrients in your soil. Then wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go, cover with mulch, and forget about weeds.
Broken Glass: Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.
No More Mosquitoes: Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.
Flexible vacuum: To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip to eliminate static cling. It works; you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing pantyhose. Place pin in seam of slacks.
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.
De-fog your windshield: Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car When the windows fog, rub with the eraser.
Re-opening envelopes: If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. It unseals easily.
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.
Goodbye Fruit Flies: To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. flies are drawn to the cup and gone forever.
Wash your dryer filter: dryer sheets cause a film over filter that will burn out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. The best way to keep your dryer working for a long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take the filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush at least every six months.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

cheeseburgers for kids

ronnie's mom and grandma are in town babysitting their grandchildren (our niece and nephew) while my sister/brother-in-law are on vacation.  a four year old and a seven year old are a little tiring for two grandmas to handle.
so last night i invited them over to the house so they could rest and ronnie and i could take over the kids.


for dinner i made this and it was a big hit:

Pinned Image

just brown some hamburger with onion.
add ketchup and mustard to taste.
put crescent rolls around the outer ring of a pizza pan.
put a slice of cheese in each crescent roll.
spoon the burger into each roll and fold over.
(i left out the pickles b/c no one in the family likes them)
bake at 375 for 10 minutes.
cut up lettuce and tomatoes.
i served with corn and pineapple.

it was so easy and big hit.
both kids had seconds.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

a look at last night


i always blog the night before.
that way i'm not taking total advantage of work, sitting at a computer all day doing whatever i want.
so here i am, (7pm last night)
my parents just took ronzo and i out for dinner
i am too full of chicken nachos to edit and upload all the pictures i have from the pumpkin patch this weekend.  not to mention that my computer time is cut short because ronnie just got the estimate back from lowe's for the new carpet and we are being charged for 300 extra square feet because of the leftovers off the role. 
ain't that a bitch.
so instead of vegging out in front of the tv and blogging about my weekend...
i'm headed to lowe's to see if i can find another carpet that would fit better in the basement so we don't get charged for all that waste.

waste not, want not.
can i get an amen?
and maybe a boost of energy.
going to lowe's right now sounds absolutely hideous.


*** update: lowe's had the wrong carpet written down and my original pick would not include that much waste.  it has to do with measurements and the length that the carpet comes in.  i won't bore you with details, but i'm glad i get to keep my first choice. ***


Tuesday, October 25, 2011

i'm no hair expert

okay, so i tried two new things with the ol' hair last week.
one was good.
the other... needs work.

first, i found a new way to do the "carrie bradshaw" bun.
i thought she always got that big bun from a hair piece (which she might) but i found a way to make my bun pretty big on it's own.
first, i put my hair in a high ponytail and instead of pulling it all the way through, i left a tiny bun on top with the rest of my hair hanging.

then, i split the ends in two pieces.

i wrapped the first piece around the base of the bun and tucked it in the hairband. 


with the second section i wrapped it around in the opposite direction and secured it in the hairband

the tiny bun plus two sections of hair make the final bun bigger - -
which i prefer.

 carrie bradshaw, yes?
well, kind of.

 the second thing i tried was picture my friend sent me:
the upside down french braid.
i didn't think this looked easy, but i thought i could figure it out.
Pinned Image

so i flipped my head over and started braiding.

once i got to the crown on my head, i stopped braiding.

i flipped my hair back and put it in a bun.

and it looked like shit.
damn.
so i ended my hair experiment with one success and one... not so much.
but i think i'll try this one again because it's so cute.
 hopefully it will be better the second time.

practice makes perfect.

Monday, October 24, 2011

out of the 20's

a friend of mine, dana, turned 30 last week - she handled it gracefully and grandly. to celebrate, her husband invited all her friends out to a wine bar downtown kc.  it's nice to get dressed up and go out.
not to mention that i got to be with most of my besties while ronald and dana's uncle were off in corner having a laugh of their own.  (i can't go into the details but ronnie and said uncle are like two peas in a dirty pod.)

here is the birthday girl as we belt out the happy birthday song.

some favorite friends



cupcakes, beer and wine.
we're good.


my outfit inspiration and probably one of the most famous pinned outfits online.
Pinned Image

however...
i cannot pull off a gray cardigan sweater with an army jacket over top and a scarf without looking like i'm bundling up for a blizzard instead of a "cute fall" ensemble. so instead i pulled on a gray long-sleeve with a black tunic over top.  the rest was her.

but i liked how it turned out.





Friday, October 21, 2011

it's been a year


one year ago today i started blogging.  and although i'll be celebrating another kind of anniversary in couple weeks, i think it's good to stop and see if i've done what i set out to do.
here was my first post:



meet me: brooke michelle turner cox

i've thought about starting a blog before... something witty and fun to read.  i also considered writing about food, working out and my throws with dieting.  then i thought i could try to be as cool as young house love and document all the changes we make as we keep redoing our house.

i think i've decided to be all three.
but who knows, this might end up being something completely different.


so yes, i think i've written
"something witty and fun to read"
"about food"
"about working out and my throws with dieting"
"changes we make to our house"

and a lot more i didn't see coming.
a good first year.
thanks for being a part of it.


Thursday, October 20, 2011

what did YOU do last night?

while most of you were off watching the cardinals play in the world series or tuning into modern family.
i was hanging out with a celebrity.
that's right.
this guy.


wes off the real world.
don't be jealous.

it was for an event i was working (12 hour days rock).
and he showed up.
a little drunk.
and a lot short.
(who knew wes was such a wee little man)

but yeah, does life get any more spectacular?
i mean really.


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

starting over

i'm trying my hardest to make this wreath for my front door.


unfortunately, my tree out front is not producing the amount of acorns i need.
everyday when i take my puppies for a walk a scout out as many as i can.
and then, 
my stash got thrown out.
ronnie didn't know that these were MY acorns.
he thought a weird squirrel was stashing a pile on the front porch.


damn.
it was going to be so cute.
so i'm starting over. 
but now this wreath might not be done in time.
hopefully it will be hanging by thanksgiving, but who knows.
i'm thinking i'll probably spray paint it mustard yellow.
kind of like this lady did with green.


here's her "how to make an acorn wreath" tutorial.
just in case you want to join in on my scavenger hunt.
viva la fall wreath!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

a trip to target

somehow i convinced ronnie i needed to go to target and buy a few things.
without him present.
that's right, people. 
in a store - free to buy what i want.

here's what i picked up:
this scarf - except mine is mustard yellow - which they don't have online.
Merona® Solid Rayon Scarf - Navy

this sweater - except mine is gray - which they also didn't show online.
see a pattern here?
side note:  if you like this sweater and want one too, buy one size smaller than you think.  this thing runs huge. you are welcome.
Mossimo® Women's Poncho Sweater - Assorted Colors

new work out pants - because i'm clearly going to be needing these.
and because they come in "long."  no more high water work outs.
C9 by Champion® Women's Semi Fitted Pants w/Extended Sizes-Assorted Colors

and four new pairs of knee-high socks for boot season.

Merona® Womens 2 Pack - Argyle, Solid - Casual Knee High Socks - One Size - Assorted Colors  Merona® Womens 2 Pack - Argyle, Solid - Casual Knee High Socks - One Size - Assorted Colors

i could have bought a TON more, but it was still fun.

in other news: we had a guy come out to our house last night and measure all our rooms for new carpet.  he's turning in his measurements to lowe's and then the order will go out.  he said it would still be another month before the project would be finished.  counting down...

Monday, October 17, 2011

back in the saddle

the weekend is over. 
blah. i want another day.
we didn't do a whole lot.
went to dinner with a couple of friends on friday
and then ronnie left me at home while he had a "guys night" at the race track.
i watched tv instead.
on saturday we babysat madeline.
she was a doll - it was easy peasy.
and yesterday i sat on my deck for 2 hours and read.
slippers on and book out.
but now i'm back to the daily routine.
up at 5:30
and down to the basement for a little treadmill time.
i am bound and determined exercise everyday.
i'm feeling a little chunky and did the stupidest thing.
i weighed myself.
it was not good.
so for lunch i packed turkey, carrots and an apple.
this is going to suck.
but,
nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.

i wouldn't know, but i heard its true.

 

Friday, October 14, 2011

autumn on the farm

we went to my aunt and uncle's farm for "fall festival family fun" day last saturday. (say THAT five times fast)
the day started out rough with my grandma's dog getting stuck in the dog pin.
we got her out safe and sound, but i love the picture.

poor puppy

my cousin and i took turns riding the zipline.

 while my mom and ronnie enjoyed the nice weather in the hammock.

(uncle) andy started the bonfire.

and hung out with the elk (my aunt and uncle live on an elk farm)

 once everyone was there and had eaten, we started carving pumpkins

and at dusk...

the whole family went on a hayride


 and when we got back, we sat around the fire.

 and lit our pumpkins

 it was a beautiful day.