Made Monday: bacon chocolate chip cookies

Who turns 30 in four days? (Hint: whose writing are you reading?)

For my birthday, The Man and I are going to go catch Eddie Izzard performing at the Hollywood Bowl. If you've never been to the Bowl, it's a fantastic amphitheater, and one of the groovy parts of attending a show there is that you can bring in a picnic and eat it as you watch.

No picnic is complete without chocolate chip cookies. And the only way you could POSSIBLY improve on nature's most perfect food? Add bacon. I know it sounds completely gross, but it's actually quite good. If you've ever accidentally dipped your bacon in your maple syrup at breakfast, it's a bit like that. The salty and sweet are quite tasty together.





INGREDIENTS
2 sticks softened unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 12-oz bag semisweet chocolate chips
6 strips bacon

DIRECTIONS
1) Preheat oven to 350˚F. Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Place on paper towels to drain.

2) In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla.

3) In another bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

4) Combine the wet and dry ingredients; stir in the chocolate chips.

5) Chop or crush bacon into small pieces and stir into batter.

6) Using a tablespoon, drop dough portions onto ungreased cookie sheet. You should be able to fit about a dozen on each sheet.

7) Bake for 9-10 minutes or until the edges are light brown. They will look underdone when you take them out of the oven. That's okay! They continue to cook while they cool.

A brief grammar lesson for organization bloggers

I have been reading since I was three years old, and I haven't stopped since I was able to get through Go Dog Go on my own. However, it is becoming increasingly clear to me that many bloggers are not like me. They write, but they probably don't do a lot of reading.

How do I know this? Because when you read constantly (and read good writing), you generally see proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. You see it over and over and over, because that's an editor's job -- to make sure that the book in your hand is grammatically understandable. Therefore, if your own writing is a mess of misspelled words, bizarre punctuation choices, and horribly fragmented sentences...well, either you don't read much, or you don't LEARN much from what you read. Either way, shame on you.

I've compiled a little list of common mistakes that I see, especially in organizing/decluttering/minimalism blogs. This handy-dandy guide should make your blogwriting just a little bit easier. And even if it doesn't, getting it off my chest makes me feel better.


PEAL vs. PEEL
peel, v.: to remove the outer layer -- peel, n.: the outer layer of something
peal: the loud ringing of bells
The faces he made trying to PEEL the superglued gummy bear off his ass sent us into PEALS of laughter.

EVERYDAY vs. EVERY DAY
every day (two words), meaning "each day" -- ex. I go to the grocery store EVERY DAY.
everyday (one word), an adjective meaning something that happens each day -- ex. I go to this grocery store for their EVERYDAY low prices.
HINT: if you can't trade the word "ridiculous" in the same place of where you are trying to use "everyday," you need to use "every day". "Everyday" as one word is an ADJECTIVE.

PARE vs. PAIR
pare: to cut or trim, reduce
pair: to have two of the same thing.
Every time I go to PARE down my possessions, I notice that I have too many PAIRS of socks.

PEAK vs. PEEK
peak: a point, or coming to a point, like a mountain
peek: to look at something, usually secretively
She climbed to the top of Pike's PEAK. Once she finished her journey, she decided to sneak a PEEK over the edge of the mountain.


PEDDLE vs. PEDAL vs. PETAL
peddle: to sell
pedal: to make a bicycle move
petal: part of a flower
She PEDALed her bicycle into the center of town. Once there, she set up shop and began to PEDDLE her wares. At one point, a man admired the stitched PETALS on a flowered pillow she was selling.


I'm not even going to go into the nonsense of "alot," because Allie Brosh has done that in a post that is way funnier than anything I could ever crank out. Also, The Oatmeal has a fantastic comic on The Semicolon. Learn it, use it, love it. Or, alternately, don't use it at all, because you look like a moron when it's done incorrectly.

Made Monday: Greek Lemonade

Greek lemonade is not only a different taste, but a slightly different technique. Not too sweet, and absolutely delicious!

INGREDIENTS

- five large lemons

- about 1 1/2 - 2 cups sugar

- orange blossom water

- mint leaves

DIRECTIONS

1) Wash the lemons thoroughly, and wash your hands. Slice the lemons into thin slices (mine in the picture weren't really thin enough, I don't think). Put the lemon slices in a colander, and put the colander over a mixing bowl. Pour about half the sugar over the lemons, and stick your hands in the colander. Start smooshing the lemons up -- pulp, seeds, rinds and all. Do this until all the liquid has gone, and you're left with a bunch of lemon peels in the bowl.

2) Run a little bit of water over the lemons, and smoosh a bit more. Then add the rest of the sugar, and keep smooshing. If the lemon rinds start coming apart and shredding, that's a good thing! Do this until all the liquid is gone, rinse with a little more water, and discard the lemon peels.

3) In your mixing bowl, you should essentially have a lemonade concentrate -- juice heavy with sugar. Pour into a pitcher, and add water to taste. You probably won't need to add more sugar, but if you want to, now would be the time.

4) Next, take a half-dozen mint leaves, and crush them to release the oils. Throw the mint in the lemonade, and add about a capful of orange blossom water (this stuff is POTENT). Mix with a wooden spoon and serve over ice.

Fireworks!

Happy Independence Day to you American types!

The Man and I are going to be hanging out by ourselves today, firing up some brats on the barbecue (clearly, TNT: Vegetarianism is over). We may catch fireworks, or we may be content with what we can see of the Queen Mary's display from our house. Either way, I plan on knocking out a couple of photos for 43 Things' July Jamboree Scavenger Hunt.

Have a safe 4th, Amurricans -- especially those of you who live in areas where you're actually allowed to set off your own fireworks. Everyone else, enjoy your Monday!

TNT: Project 333

If you're unfamiliar with Project 333, it was an experiment started by Courtney over at Be More With Less, a simplicity/minimalism blog that I read regularly. Courtney's challenge is to live for three months wearing only 33 items of clothing, to include accessories. And now with the summer here and me not having to work, I'm going to take her up on that challenge.

A few things are exempt from the "33 Things" rule: underwear/socks, workout clothes (as long as you only wear them to work out), and jewelry that you wear every day (which is how I'm classifying all my body jewelry, since I never take it out). Outside of all that, however, the idea is to streamline your wardrobe to only the stuff you really love, the stuff that looks great, the stuff that works together.

And as I was going through my wardrobe to select my 33 things, I've noticed that I pretty much do that already. There are few things in my closet that I don't wear on a regular basis, and most everything goes with something else I already have. I'm a big fan of dresses, because I don't have to buy two pieces of clothing. Mix-and-match be damned.

CLOSET BEFORE

CLOSET AFTER

So here's my list of 33 Things for the next three months of July, August and September:

- black sunglasses

- black lowtop Chuck Taylors

- 1 pair jeans

- purple shirt

- gray t-shirt

- red tank

- gray tank

- brown polkadot dress

- black dress

- navy polkadot dress

- black cardigan

- brown cardigan

- blue/brown dress

- turquoise sheer skirt

- brown shirt

- brown/gold skirt

- teal/brown skirt

- white polkadot flower dress

- black polkadot dress

- black/white stripe dress

- turquoise camisole

- red camisole

- red necklace

- silver necklace

- black flipflops

- brown flipflops

- black ballet flats

- black heels

- brown heels

- red heels

- red purse

- black purse

And really, the only reason I'm putting a few of those items in there is because I expect to be going on job interviews over the summer, so I'll need my "interview clothes." But I know that I'll be able to get by juuuust fine with the clothes that I'll be using.

Now, I know that I'm incredibly fortunate to be living in SoCal, where I don't need a new wardrobe for each season. (Note that I don't have a jacket in there anywhere.) And I know there are a few things I'm not including that I will be missing quite a bit at the end of the 3 months. Would I be able to do this during the school year, when I have high-school-age people looking at me every day? I don't know. But in much the same way that wearing a uniform to work makes life easier because you don't have to choose your own clothes, so I'm undertaking Project 333 for at least this summer. Fewer choices = fewer things to think about during the day.

TNT: Vegetarianism

I'm going to make a stab at being vegetarian for a week. One week of completely meatless eating shouldn't be too difficult. And if I discover I like it, I may continue with this for a while.

I am not going into my week-long experiment with vegetarianism in order to piss anyone off or make a statement. What I'm doing isn't earth-shattering of life-changing. I am simply curious about the meatless options available to me, as someone who normally has meat at nearly every dinner. I figured this would be a good time to do it, since in the upcoming week, The Man is not going to be around much. This way, I don't have to cook two different meals.

Also, not gonna lie: I'm hoping that maybe this will help me lose weight. I'm all stocked up on fruits, vegetables, rice and beans :)

My younger sister decided to become a vegetarian a while ago. I think the impetus for her conversion was that Skinny Bitch book that was all over the media a while back. Among other things, those ladies don't believe in eating meat. My parents keep harassing her about it and telling her that she'll "grow out of it"; I, on the other hand, I bought my sister a year's subscription to Vegetarian Times Magazine and took her to a vegan restaurant down in South OC. Because really, what you want to eat -- or not eat -- is nobody's business but your own.

I think part of the reason my parents react so negatively to my sister's vegetarian choice is that they feel like she is rejecting her upbringing, and rejecting their lifestyle. And in a sense, yes, that's what she's doing. But it's not done with the sense of "You eat meat, and that makes you bad people." I think it's normal to feel like our own lifestyle choices are being attacked when we encounter someone who has chosen to do something differently from the way we do -- often something we don't feel we would ever be able to do, in many cases. Leo Babauta of Zen Habits has an excellent post on this topic: When Being Who You Are Challenges the Norm.

Regardless: I'm not telling The Man he can't eat meat just because we share a kitchen, and I'm not telling you that you shouldn't. I'm just attempting to live without it for a week.

Baby Got Back, Pt. 3: UNDERTHINGS

Pear-shaped ladies are small on top and larger on the bottom. If you're equally curvy in the boobage as you are in the butt, then you're an hourglass and should go here instead of reading this article. However, if you're a true pear shape like myself, stick around, because today we're talking about underthings that are best suited to this body type.

PANTIES

Let it be known right out of the gate that I despise the word "panties." However, if I first said "chonies" (which is a Mexican term for "underpants" that you hear a lot in southern California), most people would be confused :)

As a woman who is larger on the bottom than on the top, your first instinct might be to head straight for the underpants (and swimsuits) with more coverage. However, I've found that pulling on the granny panties or even hiphuggers often just serves to exacerbate the problem -- it emphasizes the very part we're trying to draw attention away from! But not to worry if you're not the type of girl who can wear a thong all day long; there are definitely full-coverage options that will make your bum look sexy.

A bikini brief that is high cut with a low rise will draw the eye to the legs and torso, rather than drawing attention to the hips -- good deal. Jockey makes a "no panty lines" version that looks quite nice and comes in simple neutrals. A sexier version of this look can be found at Lavinia Lingerie and with the Victoria's Secret Angels bikini panties.

Victoria's Secret Angels bikini panties

The tanga panty has less coverage than a bikini, but more coverage than a thong. I am not a fan of tanga panties on babes with booties, because they tend to look like your chonies are too small and that's why you're hanging out of them. And if you get the kind with elastic trim, they leave a very unflattering line. Either stick with a bikini, or go whole hog to a thong.

Maidenform tanga panty - wear at your own risk.

For those of you who are a bit more adventurous, thongs can be a great way to show off that bum! However, there's a good way and a bad way to show it off. I highly advise against the traditional g-string:

Frederick's of Hollywood Brazilian Lace g-string

There was a time when I was a huge proponent of g-strings, because I find the lack of material in the back to actually be more comfortable than a traditional thong. But a g-string has to fit REALLY well, or else you end up with the "string" part of it cutting into the flesh, especially at the sides of your hips. This leads to a lumpy look, particularly under clingy fabrics. Really, anything with skinny straps at the sides is not going to feel and look good on any woman with more than 2% body fat if the fit is even a tiny bit off.

Whale tail...even easier to achieve with a g-string.

However, a good thong for us ladies with a little more in the back is something like the Hanky Panky Byzantium Signature Lace Thong: the wider strips of lace at the sides are stretchy and they lie flat, making them unlikely to cut into your skin. The shape of the thong makes use of the high-cut legs -- if you wear your thong down in a flat line across your hips, you lose that sight line.


Loads of lingerie makers sell this style of thong, because it looks good on just about everyone. Express, Maidenform, and most department stores stock them. I've even found them at Target. The key here is that you DON'T want elastic at the waistband, just lace. Lovely, lie-flat, no-squish lace. These are the perfect chonies to wear under a clingier fabric where you don't want to see panty lines, but you're also not necessarily comfortable going without.

BRAS

I don't know about you, but sometimes I like to balance my figure a little by adding some punch up top. Enter the padded or push-up bra. By putting a little extra in the chest, it makes your waist look smaller and can help you wear clothing that fits more proportionally -- a dress that perhaps fits you in the waist and hips but would be a little loose at the chest, like a wiggle dress, can be made to fit better by adding volume to your bust.

push-up bra by Frederick's of Hollywood

Victoria's Secret has made their name by selling lingerie that's supposed to add to what's there naturally -- they have a TON of push-up bras available. And of course, there's the original Wonderbra, with a dozen "levels of lift." A padded bra is just that -- filled and padded with extra material to enhance your bustline. Generally a "padded" bra is uniformly padded all over the cup, even going so far as to add a cup size in some cases. A push-up bra has padding in it also, but it's more toward the sides and bottom, to lift your girls and push them together to make cleavage. If your chest is going to be visible, you'll probably want to go with a push-up bra rather than a simple padded bra.

Another word on bras: many women who are pear-shaped tend to have narrow shoulders. I am one of those women, and unfortunately, when I wear a regular bra, I usually end up having to pull the straps back onto my shoulders a few times a day. Not a huge imposition, but certainly less than classy. This is why I recommend a racerback bra or a convertible bra for those of you with narrow shoulders like myself. Racerback bras feature a crossback or T-back and a front closure, and they STAY PUT, which is glorious.


Something like Le Mystere's Signature Comfort is perfect for wearing under wifebeater-style tanks, because of its smooth t-shirt bra line and T-back -- no more peeking straps, no more pinning your straps together in the back. If you want something a bit less utilitarian-looking, check out the Maidenform Dream Collection racerback, or a cute convertible bra like this one from American Eagle.

The best of both worlds is something like the Maidenform Charmed Push-up Racerback, which is a gem of a bra that I wish came in every color of the rainbow. Victoria's Secret also makes a gel-enhanced racerback.

Maidenform Charmed push-up racerback

But really, the bottom line on any lingerie is that you should be wearing what makes you look and feel good. If you feel slammin' hot in boyshorts, wear them until they fall apart. If you really love bandeau bras, work it. I offer the above guidelines based on what has worked for me, a lady who's been living as a pear shape for about 15 years. Every body is different, and every woman has different tastes. Let yours shine, even if maybe no one else is going to be looking but you!

A word on shapewear: I know that it can perform miracles (lose inches! banish back fat! drop a size!). Honestly, if you can wear it and it doesn't bug you, then go rock it. It can certainly make your clothes look better. However, I have found shapewear to be some of the most uncomfortable and unsexy underthings out there. Wear to work? Sure. But I would not be found wearing shapewear in any situation where someone else is going to see what I'm wearing. If you've got a *ahem* guest that you're dressing for, leave the girdle at home. Trust me, if he's looking at your little bit of belly pooch, he's not worth wasting your time on anyway.