This week on the Joy the Baker podcast, our hard work and relentless Twitter stalking finally pay off!  We talk to the man, the myth, the LEGEND:  TYLER FLORENCE!!!  During our chat we learn some really important facts:  Tyler Florence  is no stranger to the TFlo nickname, Quest Love smells like a million bucks and Oprah is a good hugger.  (The T-Flo goodness starts at around 34min)

If you feel like it, you can drop T-Flo a tweet to thank him for stopping by.

We LOVED all the siren songs you left in the comment section of the last podcast!  Thanks for sharing your weirdness with us!  All this siren song talk reminds Joy of a bucket list item:  to dance in a laundromat like no one is watching.  We need a choreographer.  How can we make this happen!?

Thank you for all your amazing Mother’s Day photos!  Your moms have some amazing hair!  On the real.

Thanks for being a part of this podcast!  We love you like crazy…. totes burrit, NBD.

TYLER FLORENCE!!!!

Tyler Florence Family Meal and Tyler Makes Pancakes.

Breakfast Skillet inspired by Tyler on Joy the Baker.

Tracy’s TFlo inspired Angel Hair Pasta… the pasta that started it all.

Tyler Florence’s Wayfare Tavern.  Must GO!

Tyler Florence The Shop, Mill Valley.

No bigs… (TOTALY bigs).

AND!  We totally learned something majorly important:  Quest Love smells like exactly 1 million dollars.  Amaze.

All Joy wants to do is Dance Like Nobody’s Watching…. in the laundromat!

Let’s make it hapen!

Joy is completely losing it.

Julia!

Sasha!

Sarah Jane!

Rachel!

Patti!

Nicole!

Mary!

Lane!

Katie!

Kara!

Jennifer!

Jennifer!

Forrest!

EatRunDesign

Cindy!

Christina!

Angela!

Andy!

Amanda!

Oh! It’s been a busy week in preparation for EPISODE 100 of The Because Show! So busy, in fact, that I’m combining show notes for Episode 28 and 29 (or 98 and 99 if you are including all our old archived shows since before we joined Homefries). We barely had time to scarf down some dinner before we recorded.

Show Notes Episode 28

Amy and I chew the fat and dish the dirt on this Episode. Much time was spent talking about new fragrances. Nine West has a perfume? Yup. ‘Love Fury’. Gwyneth’s GOOP site has good tips? Yes, flower arranging. Striped sailor shirts for summer? Sure, why not?

And let’s think about eating this cheesecake  called The Chocolate Dilemma Cheesecake. That’s a good kind of dilemma.

Show Notes Episode 29!

A tad bit different sound quality here as we tried out a new recording set up. I think we will return to our normal three microphone deal. So on this episode, we talked:

Clarisonic Opal!

Michael Kors Leg Shine?

The Name That Tune Game! (I’ll make it harder next time, for sure.) Some one tweeted us that we mixed up ‘Hungry Like The Wolf’ with the song ‘Rio’. Did we? Next time, I will pay closer attention as well as making it harder for everyone.

Susan’s take on Starbucks Chocolate Cookie Crumble Frappucino: Meh.

Thanks for listening and thanks for popping over to our Show Notes! Leave us a comment or call us at our voicemail at 818-643-1565. See you next week!

It’s spring everywhere you look here in Southern California and the gentlemen at The Table Set have all sorts of seasonal entertaining planned. It’s the perfect time of year for parties in Palm Springs. It also seems the birthdays of friends just come faster and faster. Keeping these guys on their toes. So we have a new segment debuting this week. It asks the age old question, “Where’s the Party?”

This week Andy’s answer is: “San Diego for the Port Brewing and Lost Abbey’s 6th Anniversary Party“. It promises all the things that make a party rock, including amazing food, great music, and a tap list that’s “the craft beer equivalent of The Avengers”. Whatever that means!

But they do hope to do some entertaining right here in Los Angeles too. The season screams garden and Nathan has a jewel box of a garden, just large enough for a few close friends. So it seems a Garden Party is in the works. But a Garden Party is not exactly a new concept. In fact episode 3 of The Table Set saw the guys gathering for a housewarming in Nathan’s then new garden, and Andy made inter-web history with a honey tasting. Held right where the bees do their work– in the garden. Between the 3 of them, The Table Set has probably thrown a thousand garden parties. All it takes is a pretty place and beautiful spring day, right? Well, yes. But sometimes it’s good to have something a bit more. Which means it’s time to turn once again to The Hot Pot for inspiration.

The Hot Pot is another occasional segment on The Table Set. It’s a melting pot where ideas are thrown randomly together, then drawn one by one from the pot to be discussed for your aural entertainment. Only it’s not really a pot. Thanks to Greg’s impeccable taste it’s a museum quality Jens Quistgaard designed teak salad bowl from the 1960s. I think Don Draper has one. Or did Betty get it in the divorce?

You’re going to have to listen to the episode to learn exactly what bubbled out of the Hot Pot this week. But here’s a hint, it’s going to be one unusual Garden Party. George Jetson is getting an invitation, as long as he likes Pan-Fried Catfish Tacos. Well he could have shrimp tacos too. That is if Salty Seattle doesn’t eat them all. Because there is nobody more suited to a Futuristic SXSW Rock & Roll themed Garden Party than The Table Set‘s salty friend Linda from Seattle. Talk about a girl who understands seasonal fashion and food. Both the fashion and the food are edible! But do you think George Jetson would approve? By the way WTF is chamber rock!?

The Kentucky Derby may have passed The Table Set by this year. But they find bourbon to be inspirational and Nathan is working on a cocktail that references everything he loves about spring. It found it’s inspiration in Derby.

Greg too has been quaffing Kentucky booze. His came in the form of a Louisville Lady. It’s an unusual combination of bourbon and mint ice cream. The version he enjoyed used super herbal homemade spearmint ice cream– as opposed to the mouth freeze of peppermint. It made for a creamy, sophisticated sip. More akin to a good Mint Julep than a sickly sweet Peppermint Patty. He first heard word of this concoction on the Food Blog SmithBites who provided the photo below. But the original source is the new cookbook from Columbus, Ohio’s ice cream mavin Jeni Britton Bauer, and her new cookbook Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home.

Oh, and here’s another hint. You could get an invitation to this intimate affair. Just call us at 1-817-82-FRIES and tell why you should attend. If you have our personal cells numbers, well bully for you, but use the Homefries number anyway. Oh, you have to get your own self to this party. This is not a contest or a freebie. But we’ll feed you once you arrive. This party is during the afternoon of June 23, in the Atwater Village section of Los Angeles. We’re serious. But you have to earn an invitation. So call in.

And speaking of good things that come to those who call in. A listener named Jane called in and asked for non-alcoholic pregatini that still has a bit of The Tablet Set panache. Nobody likes the word mocktail– unless they’re drunk. So it’s hard to know what to call this style of non-alcoholic beverage, but you get the idea of what she’s after, right? Each of the guys sat down and started shaking. Not in fear, no. They started shaking up a mocktail. There’s that word again. But– from Andy’s new fashioned Old-Fashioned, to Greg’s spa-like No Gin Martini, without forgetting Nathan’s artful Garden Party inspired take on the subject– the guys did their best.

This week on the Joy the Baker Podcast, Joy and Tracy discuss the stress of moving… you’ll hear an update on Tyler Florence Gate 2012… we’ll talk to you about our Siren Songs… and we totally want to hear your S.Songs as well!  Lastly… we’ll get into Mother’s Day!  When in doubt, BRUNCH!

Tracy is moving!  She’s starting to document her moving adventures on High Straightenence.  Check it!

Pro-Tip:  HIRE MOVERS!

Hey…

Let’s talk about Trader Joe’s!

Tracy is all about the Trader Joe’s Crumpets.  That’s good breakfasting.

Open at your own risk.

Dip in cookie butter at your own risk. Seriously… they’re that good.

Joy loves the Plain NonFat Yogurt from Trader Joe’s.  She made a Cardamom Rose Water Lassi!

Salty Chocolate Almonds.  Dreams come true!

What’s your Siren Song?

The garbage disposal?  Airplane buttons?  Freeway walls?  Road kill?  Kitten bellies?

It’s all a trap!  It really is…

What are you making for Mother’s Day Brunch?

Angel Food Cake is totally a good idea!  It’s so fluffy and light.  Topped with fruit… it’s perfectly mom-friendly food.

Joy’s Angel Food Cake comes with sweet Vanilla Strawberries.

Tracy’s Black & White Angel Food Cake look just too good!  Look at that chocolate!!

Other stellar brunch ideas are:

Potato Frittata and Strawberry Shortcake.

Happy Mother’s Day!  Look at little Tracy’s knees!

We can’t wait to see pictures of you and your mama!  Tweet us at @joythebaker @shutterbean and @homefries!

We love that you comment and participate!  Thank you so much!

Here’s last week’s homework!  What’s your favorite accessory!  Let’s share!

(We missed some of your accessory pictures!  Please forgive us (or resend!).)

Joy loves her glasses and a borrowed deer scarf.

Nice job, Tracy!  That necklace is major!

What up, Andy!  Nice scarf and hat!  Well played!!

Sweet, Forrest!  That necklace is EVERYTHING!

Hey, Jesi! You clearly know how to work it.  Look at those stripes on stripes, too!

Kari!  So cute in glasses and bangs!

Lala Freeman.  That ring is darling.  Ps.  Who is the cute dude in the background?

I love what is happening here, Nomnivorous!

Ovenloving!  I’m obsessed with this bracelet.  Also… nice use of the red pant!

Perfect.

Sinamon twist!  Work those pearls!

Woot, Ronni!  Love the bracelet and LOOK AT THAT RING!

Andrea!  Your necklace is like math!  Very cool!

The gentlemen are back with tips to freshen up your life this spring!

And yet they “hopped” right over the biggest holiday of the spring, Easter! They may not have talked about it on the ‘cast, but they did take the time to have Easter Dinner at Andy’s apartment. It was full of bright and light springtime fare and great memories of Greg sitting on the floor attempting to make corn tortillas by hand!

The dinner featured plenty of light seafood dishes and what Greg proclaimed were “the best deviled eggs ever,” which were brightened up with some parsley watercress oil.

The Table Set’s Easter Dinner even happened to be accidentally gluten-free, and this wasn’t the first time Andy cooked such a meal.

Do you cleanse? Nathan’s done the Master Cleanse “lemonade diet,” and now is curious about the “Reboot Your Life Cleanse.” Nathan claims that a cleanse will refocus your mind and body on what is right for it to want.

But you don’t need to do a dramatic cleanse to be rejuvenated in the springtime. The Gentlemen discuss some of their favorite springtime produce including fava tendrils, fresh peas, apricots and… loquats?

Andy calls his friend Marty in Puerto Rico to talk about his “living foods” diet. You can totally incorporate raw foods into your daily life and entertaining. Raw food deserts? Yes please! Fresh machete’d coconuts? Totes!

Greg has a raw food chef friend too, Rod Rotondi.  He’s even written a guest post on Sippity Sup! 

Speaking of raw food and desserts, Andy makes “ice cream” out of cashews as instructed by the book Vice Cream, a great way to “lighten up” ice cream.  Or how about a triple berry sorbet?

Andy makes a cheese-less pizza by baking on egg whites, then drizzling the yolks on the hot pizza for a rich, custardy cheese-like experience without the heaviness of dairy.

Brunchify It!

Greg’s favorite springtime brunch dish is Asparagus Mimosa.

Andy once made a simple radish salad with edible flowers for a brunch.

Greg thinks peppery watercress is perfect for spring… especially when it’s in a creamy soup.

With a little imagination you can lighten up anything!  Happy Spring!

THANK YOU so much for your tips for packing on my last post. I really really appreciate your help! I’ve already put some of your tips to good use. We’re still involved with packing and we will be for the next few weeks. This is the sixth time that I’ve moved in my life, and though I’m no expert, I’ve found a few things that have helped me.

I thought it would be good to start in parts. One bite at a time. First step to moving is getting organized! You must lay the foundation to make the transition smoother. I know, I know! It’s easier said that done.

Where to start?

-Figure out your move out date. Find out when you get the keys to your new place. You might get lucky and be able to move in over a longer period of time. But! That shouldn’t mean you should take your time on moving. If you don’t power through and go full steam ahead, you might not be ready when you REALLY have to be out. This has totally happened to me.

-Do a once over in your home and get rid of stuff. What are the essentials? What will definitely not fit in your new house? What would you not want to move?  Make lists of what you would like to keep/sell/donate furniture wise and create a game plan with that. Plan a day to take photos for your items to Ebay/Craigslist! If you can’t sleep at night because you’re thinking too much about this move (ahem, ME) make lists before bed and get things on paper.

-Figure out if you will be moving yourself, renting a truck or asking friends & family to help. If you are renting a truck or getting the help of friends/family, put it on your calendar and coordinate.

-Will you have movers help you? When we moved into our house, we finally splurged and paid a moving company to move us. It was the best money we ever invested!  As much as it’s nice to have friends help you, you won’t necessarily be able to ask your friend to replace something they damaged during the move. Remember: You MUST be ready for them when they come to pick up your stuff. You also have the option of hiring a few organizers to help you pack up your stuff. From what I’ve heard is that they pack everything that’s in one cabinet in one box. So if you had a random toy hanging out in your cabinet full of plates, you’d find it there.

When you’re at the stage when you’re ready to start packing:

-Gather your packing supplies. ALWAYS have enough packing tape & boxes. I can’t stress this ENOUGH! You don’t want to have a reason to have to stop. When you’re on a roll you have to keep going! Also…TAPE GUN?!! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL OF MY LIFE??! For this move, we decided to buy boxes. We don’t have the time to hunt for ones behind grocery stores (there aren’t that many at ours! I looked!). They are pretty inexpensive and if you find ones at Lowe’s they have punch outs on the sides of their boxes so you can hold on to something while you lift up the box. Home Depot boxes are more of a label lovers box. They have a section where you mark which room the box goes to is from and you mark a box if it’s fragile or not. It’s a nice idea, but somehow I ignore all the writing… and the fact that it says Home Depot on it. You also might want to check Craigslist for boxes that people are getting rid of as well as the website Used Cardboard Boxes if you have a little more time before you have to get started.

-Start with one room at a time. I know this sounds impossible but…it will feel less daunting and more productive when you have a whole room done. I’m really struggling with this now because we didn’t do this. I have like 4 rooms in disarray and random stuff hanging out in the most peculiar places. It makes my High Straightenence brain GO NUTS. Part of the problem is that we need to have our essentials still in place so we can live in our house until we have to be out. My kitchen is about 1/4 packed because I’m hoping to do some recipes in my kitchen before we leave. Big sigh!

-Make a bunch of boxes before you start on a room. That way you can go BAM BAM BAM.

-Figure out how you want to label all of your boxes and STICK TO IT. I write the name of the room I packed on top of the box as well as a brief description of what’s in it. I then write the name in the upper right hand corner on all 4 sides and write two words that would help me jog my memory of what’s in it. If a box is full of ESSENTIALS, then I put the word ESSENTIAL on the box. I know people who make spreadsheets of their boxes and they find it super helpful. I think that putting different colored tape on the outside of boxes would help you prioritize too! I saw different color duct tape (including zebra & leopard!) at Home Depot.

-Divide and conquer! After 5 moves with my husband, we realized that I’m better at packing small individual things and organizing boxes while he excels at doing all the labor of moving boxes, making the boxes and figuring out what to get rid of. Every night we check in and figure out what needs to be done for the next day and create a new game plan based on that.

-Some people (ahem, my husband!) will tell you that cleaning and straightening up your house while you’re moving is useless. If it makes you feel better, than you should do it! It’s really hard to go through the process of moving and if you don’t feel like your home feels like home it can be super stressful. Do what you need to! To reduce the clutter, I like to have all of the boxes out of the way after I pack them. Right now our dining room is housing them. It drove me bonkers when there were boxes throughout my kitchen.

-If friends & family offer to help you, TAKE their help. I shouldn’t have to tell you why! You can even throw a party around it. Make things easy and order pizza, supply the drinks and let people go to town. Just remember…your friends & family most likely aren’t professional packers… They need direction and you should be organized with what you need them to do when they show up to your house.

Now I’m off to continue packing! More soon next week. Wish me luck!

Amy’s back! It’s been quite awhile since we’ve recorded together – so we are happy to have all three of us back together again on this episode. We had updates and topics and subjects and anecdotes galore! We talked about sooo many things including some reunions and re-releases that are out in the world:

Good ol’ Soundgarden released a new song  ‘Live To Rise’ from The Avengers movie, released. Welcome back, Chris Cornell!

 Yup. 1997 epic romantic disaster film Titanic remastered in 3-D re-release.

Oh! Black Sabbath has reunited, originally formed in 1970, last album recorded in 1995, set to play this August at Lollapalooza.

AND…SWV (Sisters With Voices), first seen on the scene in 1992 with triple platinum ‘Right Here’, reunites to release ‘I Missed Us’.

p.s. Total Recall is being remade and coming out this summer!  ”When a simple recall session goes awry, Colin Farrel’s character must find a way to recover his memory while running away from the government trying to eliminate him.” Whoah.

This episode of the Joy the Baker podcast is brought to you by Bourbon & Gin!

Joy is on Team Bourbon while Tracy is on team Gin.

Tracy is drinking gin in honor of Joy’s recent trip to London. There’s a gin lesson in this podcast. Pay attention!

Joy is in New Orleans this week. Live from Bourbon Street (not really, but kinda!).

And while you’re at it…

Joy gets real with some jean shorts talk. Can you be in your 30s and wear jean shorts? Inquiring minds want to know.

Drop crotch? It’s a thing. How do we feel about it? Uggh.

Word to the wise….Don’t cut your own bangs OR jean shorts.  Real life real talk.

Tracy goes on a Gin fueled rant about Take 5 candy bars. It’s pretty much the best candy ever (Tracy is totally typing this right now!).

Wait!! What is that 5th ingredient? Is it peanuts? That’s totally cheating.

Have you tried cookie butter? YOU ARE MISSING OUT if you haven’t. It’s AMAZING.

Aaaand! We have homework!

Rock your favorite accessory. Are you into arm candy? wrist candy? finger candy? headbands?

We wanna see!

Tweet us at @homefries @joythebaker @shutterbean

Speaking of tweets:

@ovenloving @joythebaker @shutterbean @homefries <-great podcast. I’ll call in next week. DM me.

— Tyler Florence (@TylerFlorence) April 19, 2012

Maybe T-Flo just needs a little encouragement from you guys…

Don’t forget!!!   Accessory homework Awesometown. Population: YOU!

Thanks for listening!

Yup, bounce houses and birthday parties are just some of the things we’ve been up to in the past few weeks. The Because Show was delayed a bit from our usual weekly recording schedule, but now we’re back with Episode 26! In this show, one of us admits to having read 50 Shades Of Grey, the controversial best-selling book that has swept the nation. It’s kinda like a Lifetime Movie…but with a X-rating!

This is SIMON TRICKSTER: if you hear the sound of this game within an episode henceforth, it is signaling that we have no idea what we are talking about.  Why didn’t we think of this sooner? Note: Special thanks to Matt, who wrote in to tell us of the hot spring trends in the Raleigh, NC area. Neon pops of color are all the rage here in LA too…Do you have a trend we should know about? Call us, write us or just leave a comment – we like to know what’s in the hearts and minds of listeners.

Don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes for automatic downloads and you can like us on facebook or follow us on twitter @thebecauseshow. See ya next week!

You know all of those Organizing Goals I had for 2012? Well….I have to scrap some of those goals because….we’re MOVING!

We are excited to be moving but LORDY it’s A LOT of work to move a house. We’ve never moved a whole house before! We’ve also never moved with a child before. Wowzers.

Right now I’m in the OMG I have too much stuff and I’m packing up my entire life and starting over phase.

It’s stressful. It’s messy and my crazy organizing brain wants to organize boxes and plan this move out thoroughly.  Problem is…I don’t have the time to do all of that (sad trombone!). All of the random piles around the house are driving me CRAZY.  I want things to looks nice & organized! And it probably will be messy until we are completely moved out. I’m having a really hard time accepting that….talk about inner turmoil!

Remember the cabinets I just finished? Well…I’m slowly emptying them. Sigh…

The good news is that I am PURGING a bunch of stuff (ummmm…we filled up a dumpster). Wow! It feels awesome. All of my past organizing projects have prepared me somewhat for this move. I can’t imagine what I would be facing right now if I hadn’t weeded out a bunch of stuff in our house already. It has definitely made this situation less daunting. I’m also looking forward to setting up new organizing systems in our new house so that will be fun!

Next week when I have a moment, I’d like to give you a peek into my crazy packing brain. It’s crazy. It’s tormented. It’s chaos.

It gets worse before it gets better! That’s my mantra right now.

Wish me luck! I’m going back to box packing.

Oh! If you have any tips or tricks on packing, please share! I’d love to hear from you.

Laundry. Oooooh Laundry.

I’m about to air my dirty laundry here. You ready? OK!

So, I only like putting clothes into the washing machine and washing them. I do not like sorting them out to wash, folding them OR putting them away. Buuuuut! The way it works in our household is that I am the laundry doer.  Which means I’m kinda screwed.

Here are the facts: I do an average of 6 loads of laundry a week. Occasionally the husband will step in but I usually don’t like the way he folds things so I get all control freak about it and take over. He’s exceptional at sock sorting so I exploit that strength when we’re watching TV…

This is how it works. I do laundry once a week and it usually takes me 2 days to work my way through it. When the laundry load comes out of the dryer, I dump it out onto my bed to sort. My bed is kind of the designated laundry hub. It’s centrally located between our laundry area & Cooper’s room. I would totally use the laundry area, but it’s usually a mess and it’s right under Cooper’s bedroom. I’d wake him up if I worked there during nap time or bed time.

I’m pretty good at sorting and slightly OK at folding. Although I’m not as good as I want to be at folding I learned early that GOOD ENOUGH is GOOD ENOUGH. Martha Stewart has her linens pristine & styled. I cannot be her. No one can. What are your thoughts on folding undergarments? {Discuss}

Back to sorting…

I like to make piles on my bed while sorting. Here’s what it looks looks like:

My crazy brain takes over and I imagine that I’m an octopus reaching back and forth between piles. I wish I had 8 arms…

I fold things and put them in empty laundry baskets. I only do this for Casey & Cooper’s laundry. If I am working on my own, I immediately put things back in my closet. If I keep stuff in a basket, I never put it away. I just pull items from the basket when I need them and then the basket gets destroyed. I know this about me.

Because my husband is a grown man, I make him put his laundry away. It saves time and I want him to see how much work I’ve done folding his clothes I let him hang up his clothes too!

But Cooper…Cooper can’t put his laundry away (properly). One day I will have him trained, but for now I am the main person who puts laundry away.

This is what Cooper’s laundry situation looks like:

I have a trick for his PJs (which I secretly like folding).

You fold the pants. Then you start to fold the shirt.

You put the folded pants at the edge of the shirt. Then you fold the shirt up.

And you have a little pajama package. The pants are nestled in the shirt and you can stack them.

Does that make sense? I also have a MISSING SOCK trick. It’s changed my life!

I feel the greatest sense of accomplishment when I fold Cooper’s laundry. It’s so small & compact. But it’s sad when there are items I have to put in the “this doesn’t fit anymore” pile. That’s another post I’m working on… Dealing with kid’s clothes!

I put all of his clothes back in a basket. I have a system.

I line the bottom with the underwear, socks & pants and then I fill in the gaps with the PJs and shirts.

I take this basket full of his clothes and put it by the stairs leading up to his room. When we’re putting him to bed at night, I put all the stuff away.

OK now that you’ve seen some parts of My Crazy Laundry Brain, I need YOUR HELP.

How often do you do laundry? Do you save it up for one day or do you do a load every night? GIVE ME YOUR TRICKS because I want to be better at laundry. I’m really not doing so great at keeping on top of it these days.

Thanks in advance!

Tyler Florence... TFlo… We’re comin’ for ya.  This would be a whole lot easier if you weren’t playing so hard to get.  Just sayin’.

This week on the Joy the Baker podcast we sort out all kind of fun things.  We discuss how to approach economical cooking… and convince you to take your Kitchen Aid mixer away to college with you.

First!  A shoutout to our most lovely and loyal listened Joe Friedman.

Joe is a cooool 86 years old, and listens to us ramble about Tyler Florence and nail polish.  He’s a gemstone.

Hi, Joe!!  We love you!

Tracy made Dick Clark’s Corn Fritters.

Dick Clark was a man on his blaze.  We’ll miss you!

We’re reading An Everlasting Meal.  It’s teaching us how to save our onions and boil our water.

It’s quietly revolutionary.

In other awesome news, Tracy is doing awesome things on High Straightenence:  How to Stay Organized in the Kitchen.

We’re About to Be Friends with Tsh Oxenreider from Simple Mom will be up this week!  She talks about business, love, and her ultimate dinner party.

We blaze like no other!

Thank you so much for playing Blazer homework with us!  You wore your blazers out last Friday!  Big love to you!

Next weeks homework:  tell us your favorite moment from the last year of podcasting!!  Leave us a comment and spill it!  Can’t think of a favorite moment…?  Catch up on all the podcasts on itunes!

]]> http://homefries.com/show/the-joy-the-baker-podcast/tiers-of-tears/feed/ 153 joy the baker, food, blogging, girl talk, advice, lady, Tyler Florence... stop playing so hard to get. Geeez! This week on the Joy the Baker podcast we sort out all kind of fun things. We discuss how to approac economical cooking... and convince you to take your Kitchen Aid mixer away to college with you. no 52:01 http://homefries.com/show/the-table-set/living-in-a-food-world/ http://homefries.com/show/the-table-set/living-in-a-food-world/#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:58:43 +0000 Andy http://homefries.com/show/the-table-set/living-in-a-food-world/

This week the gentlemen discuss their “Culinary Muses.”  Where do they look to for ideas?!?

Well, they all love Martha Stewart.  Duh.  And Thomas Keller.

Of course they all inspire each other too.  Remember the You inspire me dinner! that inspired this whole podcast?
In the age of the internet, inspiration is omnipresent.  The gentlemen love browsing “food porn” from sites like Tastespotting and Food Gawker.  It’s a great way to absorb ideas and recipes for later use.

Andy likes taking classic ideas and twisting them on their heads.  Like with the dinner where he made Coq au Vin Chilaquiles…

… and Mac ‘n’ Cheese stuffed raviolo with butter-poached lobster and lobster “cream.”

Have you ever killed a lobster before?  Scary business?  Greg says “NO BIG DEAL!”

Greg takes inspiration from his Mother, who was a great cook.  And apparently Greg was a pretty cute kid!

Check out some of Greg’s Mom’s recipes:

Twice Baked Potatoes

Baked Pear and Gorgonzola Salad

Artichoke Clafouti

Lemon Cake Pie

In Nathan’s Family, his Grandmother held the family recipes, like her peach dumplings.

Andy meanwhile is inspired more by his old vegetarian days, looking to cookbooks like The Real Food Daily Cookbook and the Moosewood Cookbook.

Now Andy’s past his vegetarian phase making dishes like mussels in tortilla soup.

And to pair with this exciting dish, Nathan made a cocktail inspired by his hometown of Tucson, AZ.

What’s in Nathan’s liquor cabinet?

Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth!  Drink it on the rocks or try it in this classy cocktail:

Vieux Carré Cocktail

1 ounce rye whiskey

1 ounce Cognac

1 ounce Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth

1 teaspoon Bénédictine D.O.M.

2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Mix all ingredients in a double Old Fashioned glass over ice; stir.

Who/what inspires you?  Let us know in the comments!

It’s easy to get distracted while working in the kitchen, and before you know it you have a HUGE mess to clean up.

Today I’m going to give you my tips & tricks on how to stay organized while cooking & baking!

Before you start working on a recipe, start with a clean kitchen!  Your baking/cooking mess will be greatly reduced. The task of cleaning up won’t be as daunting if you’re starting from square one. It’s just common sense.

A clean kitchen also helps you get your head in the game.

Make sure your work surfaces are clean & clutter free. It’s soo necessary! You’ll prevent a lot of accidents this way.

If you don’t want to mess up your freshly cleaned counter top, put down a dishtowel. It’s really nice to have when you’re measuring things like flour because the mess is well contained.

Before you get started on a dish, it’s SO IMPORTANT to re-read the recipe because you might forget an important step, preparation or ingredient. I almost always make the mistake of forgetting that something might need to be chilled in the fridge for hours and I’m totally thrown off time-wise. It’s important to know what steps, ingredients & tools are involved. So read, re-read and READ your recipe AGAIN. Really think about what has to be done from start to finish.

After reading the recipe, layout your tools. Be prepared! If you’re reaching for something you need in a drawer with sticky hands, you are most definitely going to make a mess.

Gather your ingredients! Look at the ingredients list and take time to measure things out in advance (if you can). It’s easier to follow along with a recipe if you’re prepared.

Also, SEPARATE ingredients. For example, I may have one area/station on a counter designated for all of my cake ingredients and another area/station set up for the frosting. If you have things mixed together, it’s easy to misplace the items you need.

When I’m in the kitchen I like to use an empty baking sheet as a surface where I put everything that needs to be put away.  In my kitchen I keep it on the center island so I can pivot around and place things on that baking sheet. When I’m done with a recipe and ready to clean the kitchen, I go right to the baking sheet and sort out the items that need to be put away. It’s all contained on one place.

I learned this tip a looooooooong time ago while watching Rachael Ray. Have a junk bowl on hand! Keep a large bowl at your workstation where you can toss your garbage/compost scraps. It’s not always easy to access the garbage can, so this prevents messes and is a huge time saver.

Timing is EVERYTHING. Take note of any baking/cooking times and set your timer accordingly. I usually use my phone because it doesn’t leave my side (sadly) so if I’m getting distracted in the other room I won’t miss hearing the timer. Like I said above, it’s important to know how long things are going to take. You also know how much time you have to clean up your mess. Which brings me to the next rule…

CLEAN AS YOU GO! This rule is ESSENTIAL. I can’t stress this enough. Use the increments of time in between steps to cleanup dishes/bowls/surfaces. Always exploit your cooking & baking time to clean up your mess. You will feel completely overwhelmed if you leave all the cleaning to the very end. You might not even have a clean surface to put your finished product on!

When I start working on a recipe, I like to get a little tub of soapy water ready in my sink so I can soak items that might require extra elbow grease.

I also like to play a little game with myself to see how much I can get cleaned while something bakes in the oven. It’s a good challenge and the reward is a clean kitchen.

Good luck in the kitchen! Remember to have fun!

Do you have any good tips to add? Let’s discuss.

In this episode, Tsh talks to Dr. Corey Allan, the creator of SimpleMarriage.net.  Corey is also a husband, father, author, and Marriage and Family Therapist.

Here’s Corey’s popular guest  post about having ‘the talk’ with your children.

Here are two books by Corey:

Other books referred to in the show:

And don’t miss Corey’s podcast:

Sexy Marriage Radio

Welcome to another Joy the Baker podcast with Tracy from Shutterbean!  This week Joy and Tracy discuss project T-Flo, wherein they try to annoy the heck out of Tyler Florence.  Joy and Tracy also discuss the difference between getting back on the horse, and getting back on the bike… as well as a little well crafted advice for a young lady with a much older gentleman caller.  All your answers are…. totally not here… but please listen anyway!

Project T-Flo… where we tweet the heck out of Tyler Florence was a great success!  Just look at his Twitter timeline!  Sadly, T-Flo did not respond to any of these tweets… so Joy owes Tracy $50.  It will be delivered in savings bonds… no biggie.

This Friday is Blazer Love Friday!  Sport that blazer and feel fiiiiine!

Blazers make you feel like a super competent, incredibly stylish lady.  It’s totally the move.  #BlazerLove.

Joy can’t wait to take the blazer super casual with boat shoes and cut off shorts.  Seriously… it can happen.  It WILL happen.  Trust.

Tracy’s Lemon Layer Cake with her brother’s face on it!

Joy is just smitten with this pink ombre cake from Cupcakes and Cashmere.  You could totally make this pink happen with beets.  Remember that Chocolate Beet Cake!?

You did your homework!

Two weeks ago Tracy assigned everyone a homework assignment.  Photograph and blog about 5 things that you love!  What are your five favorite things?  Your homework is wonderful!  There’s coffee, chocolate, rose hip oil, and a bonkers amount of nail polish!  Such success!  Check out all these beautiful entries!!

If we somehow missed your entry… oh no!  Please forgive us!  Just leave a link in the comments and will fix that right up!

Don’t forget!  This Friday is all about #BlazerLove… So tweet us, Facebook us, let us see a photo of you in all your blazer glory!

Thank you Thank you for being a part of Homefries and the Joy the Baker Podcast!  We’re excited when you’re excited!  We seriously heart you… that’s the truth.

Things My Roommate Makes-  Nice view and molecular model kit!

A Family’s Life-  We love chocolate and Instagram too!

Yep Indeed-  That’s some fine yogurt and Meyer’s is a total favorite around these parts!

The Dirty Oven-  Aaahh the stuff you love!  So happy you like your Enjoy gift!  Joy is kinda obsessed with all your husband’s bikes.  Major! Tapatio Love!

Saturdays with Maggy-  Whoa!  What is bread fruit?  Jacaranda trees are so beautiful!

Gretta Bell-  Wait… chocolate chip cookie pudding?  And tell me more about this cuticle pen!

Clean White Paper-  Joy needs to start watching Up All Night.  Nice post!  Very cute!

College Helping Hand-  Tracy… Erica called you TFS (Tracy from Shutterbean!)…. amazing.  We love candy and beaches too.

Cooking College Chick-  Whaaat is going on with that Peanut Butter Brownie!?  Also… your puppy is too precious.

Cake Sharing-  We love Toms too!

Crafty Bake Oven-  Your dog is wearing glasses.

Chocolate and Ginger-  Joy is obsessed with your fashion stylings… and a good red lip really does go a long way.

The Little Bite-  Joy loves your art and your sweet kittybear!

The Larderer-  Chocolate Beet Cake and good good podcasts.

Deb in Memphis-  Wait… Choffee?  Guilt free hot chocolate with a kick!?  We need to know more.

Whitfield Awesome-  Joy is an INFJ as well! Wait! So is Tracy!

Just a Titch-  Amy…. what is this beauty blender and why don’t I have one?

Pure Sweet-   So hilarious!  Shoot the gun face is amazing!  Your community group set up is also pretty great!

Food Snob StL-  Tracy, one day we’ll be able to braid.

Hanna R-  mimosas, quick bread, and good music.

Corvallis Foodie-  Wait… what is this gin!?  Nice branding.  You’re in Clarisonic nation too!

Rather Be Baking-  Cookie butter and nail color.  What more do you need?

PlanetBryn- You are so sweet!  Your nails look major and we WANT those rhubarb squares!

I Heart Big Flavour-  Your view of the world is lovely… and Glownola!?  Whoa.

Everyday Food Lovers-  Nail polish and cute kitty, sunshine, and online shopping.

Merveilleuse-  Peepton Abby!?!?

Third Row Seat-  Cakes and puppies and a beautiful vase.

A Glass of Milk-  Waffles and pretty stationary!

The Nerdy Baker-  The most darling video, and a new set of headphones that drown out crazy kids.

Take a Mega Bite-  Bando and chevron!  Just really lovely things!

Betalaloo-  Good mail and good technology.

Andreaisasi-  Lovely photos!  Coconut milk and awesome maps and an instant camera!!

Snow White Baker- bags and nail color!

Voraciousvander-  What is this rose hip oil, and coconut flakes are the best!  Joy is all for new oils.. Rose Hip!

The NonPariel Baker-  Wonder Years and Clear Makeup (?).

Kalijan-  Look at that kitty and that bike!

Fork You… No, Fork You!- Brunch and Coffee…. you know.

Lyssie-Lou-  Love the shoes!

You guys! I’m almost done with my cabinets! I just have to sort out my dishes & glasses and we can move onto something else. I can’t tell you how much these little improvements have impacted my life. It’s crazy.

This week I decided to tackle 4 different cabinets. All of these cabinets suffer from me not taking the time to put things away properly. I also realized in this process that I didn’t make good use of these cabinets, but we’ll get back to that shortly.

First up- The cabinet to the right of my stove. This cabinet has never really served a good purpose. I most recently put all my salt, pepper & oil for stove use in there as well as my vitamin loot. When I had a moth infestation problem, I put things in plastic bags and shoved them at the top of this cabinet. Slick move, huh? Ughh. This cabinet frustrates me.

Like any organizing project, I sorted first. I got rid of a bunch of stuff. STALE CRACKERS are the worst. Right?

I had some extra room so I brought over all of my cereal boxes from the pantry into this cabinet. It’s great because Cooper can’t get into the cereal now because he can’t reach!

When I put all of my miscellaneous condiments back I made sure to put EVERYTHING within eyesight. That way I can see what’s in there and a quick glance can tell me what I might need to pick up at the store. I also put all of my vitamins into a tupperware container so I could easily pull it out when I need to. It helps to create a divider in the cabinet. Easy fix!

Here’s the before of Cooper’s cabinet. It’s where I keep all of his snacks & extra wine glasses.

I am so lazy with this cabinet.

Not anymore! I sorted through stuff and put things back nicely. I also had some extra room so I put some bowls & plates in there for snack needs.

I re-purposed a few of my ceramic containers that were doing nothing and made them holders for oatmeal & bars. Pretty organizing!

Above the stove cabinet…this was a QUICK fix and boy did it make an impact.

Turns out JAMMING things back into the cupboard will lead to a disorganized space. Hmmm.

And my prop closet…it already appears pretty organized, but I have a hard time accessing a few things because I can’t see them.

That changed! I also decided to get rid of a few things (donate or future yard sale material) because I’ve outgrown them.

It feels really good to have extra room in that cabinet. Plus all my polka dot mugs are in plain sight! I love it.

I wouldn’t be able to do all of this stacking if it wasn’t for these shelves! They are perfect. I picked them up at The Container Store 6 years ago.

It maximizes your space like nobody’s bizness.

Now I just have to weed out a few of my dishes & cups and we’ll be all set!

This week on the Joy the Baker podcast, Joy and Tracy dive into their Frequently Asked Questions from readers and listeners!  Let’s get nosey.

Also… poor Cooper is sick, Tracy eats old (but good!) cookies, and Joy needs a smoothie, stat!

Joy finished up her book tour at the bonkers Brooklyn Kitchen!

Tracy has had a sick little Cooper all week.  Poor pumpkin!

FAQ:   Tracy!  With a small child, husband, house, and job… how do you find balance!?

FAQ:  Joy!  How do you stay skinny when you make cakes and cookies everyday?

A balance of Chocolate Chip Cookies and Kale Smoothies.  That’s the deal!

Life Changing Vegan Thumbprint cookies. Life changing…as in they last 2 weeks in your car!

Angel Hair Pasta with Chile, Lemon & Arugula.  A T-Flo Recipe!

We should totally tweet the heck out of our friend T-Flo.  @TylerFlorence… let’s go!

And fonts!!! I think one of those fonts is Pistilli Roman.  Tracy is obsessed with that one!

Twenty cookies.  That’s all you get!  Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Tracy.

Tracy would be my bridesmaid if, and only if, she could wear this dress.  Duh.   Cute wedding!

Tracy and Joy both want to be Jack Donaghy.  But whyyy?  Joy is in it for the blazer.  Tracy is in it for the last word.

Andy has an itch to throw an old school multi-course dinner party. So the gentlemen discuss dinner parties (but don’t they every week?!?) to help inspire the menu.

Spoiler alert: the dinner was a big success!

Host gifts! Rather than a random bottle of wine, how about a classy wooden spoon? Or a fancy wine tote?

Of course, hipster Andy would love some dinner party music on vinyl as a host gift. During his dinner party, he had new release “Room’s Filled With Light” by Fanfarlo spinning on his record player. Lovely.

Inspired by the idea of fresh baked cookies the gentlemen discussed in the ‘Party of Two‘ Episode, Andy decides to make fresh-bake brioche for dessert. Warm, buttery, flakey brioche, fresh and aromatic, spread with rich, cream brie and unique, floral honeys.

Andy discusses how he wants to make Coq au Vin with an actual rooster. Well, that much didn’t happen, but he did get inspired and put the Coq au Vin on duck fat corn chips to make chilaquiles. Bam!

Duck fat chips aren’t the only way to get beyond potatoes with your meat. Greg makes a tasty rutabaga puree.

What would a dinner party be without wine? Our friend Whitney from The Crush did the pairings for Andy’s dinner. A different wine with every course! Fun!

What’s in Nathan’s Liquor Cabinet? Thanks to Andy, Becherovka!

Andy may have had more than his fill of this Czech liquor while visiting Prague in November, but Nathan’s creative cocktail suggestions may change his mind.

A secret mix of herbs and sweet spices, Becherovka tastes a bit like Christmas and though often sipped or shot on its own works well in a number of cocktails. Try a classic Prague cocktail the Beton (Czech for “concrete”) – Pour a shot of Becherovka over ice and top with tonic and a lemon wedge. Find more cocktail recipes at Becherovka USA on Facebook. Na Zdravi!

Meanwhile at Andy’s dinner, carb-stuffed carbs happened. That’s right, Mac ‘n’ Cheese Stuffed Ravioli… with lobster on top!

We love calls from listeners! Jennifer called us with a question about edible container parties.

Make ahead Martha Stewart ice cream waffle bowls would be a fun dinner party piece.

Andy likes hummus served in cucumber cups. Greg even suggests serving gazpacho in cucumber cups.

And for those who want to go all out, try these plates that are edible.

We’d love to hear from you too! Leave us a voicemail anytime at 817-82-FRIES. Cheers!

Tsh is joined by Lisa-Jo Baker.  She writes about life lived in between countries, callings & kids at her highly popular blog, The Gypsy Mama.

Lisa-Jo has 3 kids under the age of 6 and believes motherhood should come with its own superhero cape, that social media can change the world for good, and loves her current gig as the social media manager for DaySpring and community manager for their website (in)courage, where women are welcome just as they are.

Here’s the cover of the Gypsy Mama’s upcoming ebook -

you can have it free in May if you’re subscribed to her blog -Subscribe here

Lisa-Jo has blogged for Compassion International and in April is helping lead a world wide meetup of (in)courage readers called (in)real life.  Check out the trailer for the event:

That video was produced by www.brysonmoore.com

Follow Lisa-Jo on Twitter:  @thegypsymama – she’d love to tell you how awesome you are.

I decided to tackle TWO cabinets this week–UNDER THE SINK & ABOVE THE FRIDGE.

Here we go!

I’ve been dreading these two because they required a lot of work. Buuuuuuut somehow this lady powered through. I will say at one point I looked at all the piles of stuff around my kitchen and wondered how I would ever get it done. That’s when you just gotta GO FOR IT. The end result is always worth it. ALWAYS.

Here’s the under the sink BEFORE.  Garbage on the left, recycling on the right….but it all just looks like GARBAGE, doesn’t it?

I waited until Cooper went to bed to tackle this project. BTW- This project was fueled by The Because Show! I listened to the NERD OUT podcast while I nerded out with my organizing. Almost dropped a few things from laughing too much. I like to listen to Simple Mom when I’m folding laundry. But that’s a whole other post I’ll save for another day.

I digress…

I took everything out from under the sink & sorted what didn’t really belong there. There are a few things that will make their way into the garage because I don’t need them often enough to warrant precious under the sink space.

I paired everything down to the ESSENTIALS and put all of the bottles in a metal/mesh container so I can take it in and out from under the sink if I need to. Before they were all just hanging out there and they’d get knocked over if I was being to aggressive with putting things back.

Sooooooo…under the sink? Gross!!! Would you believe that I swept out and scrubbed the bottom of this cabinet in this picture? And it still looked like that! It actually looked like this when we moved in. Nasty.

That’s where CONTACT paper comes in handy. I bought a roll of it at Target. Black and white….go figure…

In less than 10 minutes I had a new lining for the cabinet. Folks! This makes a HUGE difference.

The best part is that this pattern is SUPER forgiving. There are a few creases but they get lost in the pattern.

I started putting things back. Those big containers go in the back with the dust pan & broom.

The recycling bin & the container of all the goods goes next to it.

And there’s the garbage bin in there—with room to spare! SCORE.

I love looking down and putting something away in the garbage because it means that I get to see a little peep of the contact paper.

It’s the little things…Let me just nerd out for a second!

And we work our way to the dreaded ABOVE THE FRIDGE CABINET.  This is the GOT SOMETHING BIG? SHOVE IT IN HERE, cabinet.

I took everything out…cleaned the insides…sorted…

I had one Tupperware full of all my baking stuff and split it up because it was a MESS.

Baking things in one container & cupcake stuff in another. Boom boom pow.

This is the AFTER!

This is how I sorted everything. There’s a place for stuff! I love the cake stand/serving platter section. This cabinet was MADE for things like that.

Aaaaaaaand the best part is that I was able to weed out a few things I didn’t need!

And while I started pulling things out to sell, I headed over to this cabinet and did some rearranging & purging.

In all, this project took about 2.5 hours. It was well worth it!

Still some other cabinets left to do…stay tuned!

Susan and I were joined by Ritzy P. and Lisa B., the hosts of ‘The Nerd Out‘ podcast this past Thursday. Steampunk, designer con, bent con, zapocalypse, cosplay…these ladies know it all.

Do you like to nerd out? Everybody likes to nerd out about something, right? If you want to congregate with like minded nerds, you might want to go to one of these:

• Bent con
• Comic con
• Designer Con

Susan has been a longtime lover of Comic Con, she likes the stormtroopers!

Or you may just enjoy flying solo and nerding out to ‘Game Of Thrones’ or ‘Dirty Dancing’, whatever your thing might be. It’s all good! As long as it’s not a remake of ‘Steel Magnolias’. To follow the ladies of ‘The Nerd Out’, you can subscribe in iTunes, follow them on twitter or visit them on facebook.  Ritzy even has another podcast you can listen to called ‘Ya Heard’. Catch y’all on the next episode!

Pull on your lady blazer… it’s time for another Joy the Baker podcast!  This week, Joy and Tracy discuss social networks,  bonkers book tour shenanigans, and how they’re invading everyday lives.  We’re on your first date with you!  …that’s incredible!

Listen up, yo!

Tracy and Joy are on instagram at @tracyshutterbean and @joythebaker.

Apparently Tracy is OVER Draw Something.

Joy the Baker on Great Day, St. Louis.  The awkward leading the awkward.  And… Ghost.  The movie.

Oh Lordy.

Hello, St. Louis!  You were lovely!

What’s up, Chicago!  Daaang, you know how to fill a bookstore!  So major!

Joy and listener Abby!  We love you Abby!  It was so great to meet you!  For real.

Lauren did her homework!  She made two recipes, photographed them, and put them up on her blog!  There was also bourbon and champagne… such a lovely idea.  You deserve a blazer!  #blazerlove.

Homefries U Back to School.  Sign up for the mailing list to get information first!!

See you in Brooklyn on 3/31!

THANK YOU for letting us invade your everyday lives!  Thank you Laura for the email and phone call!  Go Pinterest go!  Thank you Lauren, for letting us try and guess your husband’s voice.  Thank you Dayna for sharing your date story with us.  Wait… did we pronounce your name wrong?  It’s possible.  Forgive us!

Thank you.. YOU, for coming here, listening, and leaving comments.  We love you most sincerely!

Let me introduce you to a few drawers in my kitchen that drive me BONKERS. Haha. Bonkers. I totally typed that word.

First up. This “equipment” cabinet/drawer situation up there. It’s a cabinet that has two pull out drawers and I always JAM it with things instead of putting things back properly. The problem is that there’s too many things in those shelves that don’t belong. SORTING TIME!

Here’s the grand BEFORE. This is the top pull out drawer. Yikes.

I took everything out. Cleaned the drawers…OF COURSE. Then I analyzed what was in there and decided to move stuff around and free up space.

Here’s the after of the top shelf. Having negative space around the items is KEY. That way when I go to put something back I know where it came from in the drawer. One of the big changes I made was relocating my juicer to the lazy susan cabinet to the right. It fits in there perfectly. The problem was that I had to disassemble it to fit in this drawer so it wasted too much space. Now that it’s gone I can see things clearly.

This is the bottom part…

I made this section the food processor section. My big one and little one fit perfectly in here. I have a bunch of parts and operator’s manuals that were all over the place. I put everything in a freezer bag and it’s stored in the back of this drawer.

To the right (below the tea drawer from last week’s post) I had 2 drawers to go through.

There was NO rhyme or reason to these drawers. They are pretty shallow so it was hard for me to figure out what to do with them. I put placemats, juicing filters and other random things in them.

I decided to make this drawer a napkin drawer. I have cocktail napkins, paper napkins & napkin rings stored in here now.

And this drawer had lots some odds & ends in it too….

I decided to put all of my little bowls/plates that I use prop-wise in this drawer.

Pretty proud of this beauty! I normally stack everything in my prop cabinet, but it’s always hard to see what I have in my arsenal because I stack things too high.

Let’s look at it from the side. Uh huh. You know it.

OK! Part 2 is done!

WHAT’S LEFT?

• under sink cabinet (totes scary)
• cabinet where I keep the cutting boards (legit mess)
• prop cabinet (not tooooo bad, but needs sorting)
• cabinet above the fridge (I dread this one…)
• straighten up the cabinets with the dishes/glasses (easy stuff)
• cabinet with the mugs…..oh boy….
• cabinet with the crackers & stuff
• cabinet where we store booze (major sorting needed)

I’m hoping one day to do a little kitchen tour on my blog so I’ll use this as motivation to power through!

Such a fun time when Nathan Hazard joined us as our guest this past Thursday to record. He even made drinks for us! He poured glasses of IPA (india pale ale) and added a shot of Campari to each one. Absolutely scrumptious, not too sweet, not too bitter!

He had stopped by a local brewery not too far from my house to pick up a ‘growler’. I never even knew this was a thing, but it is. And it was really good.

After drinks were poured, we got down to podcasting and picking Nathan’s brain about new music. And having him explain ‘A&R’ to us. He also made some savvy recommendations for bands that we might like, including:

• Iron and Wine
• Kimbra
• The Shins  
• Jasmine Ash
• Geographer

Anyhoo, we also chatted about the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook, the gluten-free Babycakes cookbook and even my old 1970′s Playboy Host and Bar Book that has about 59,000 obscure drink recipes in it.

This week, Joy and Tracy play the time-honored game Would You Rather…?

Would you rather have no fingers, or all thumbs?

Would you rather find true love or a truly large amount of money?

Would you rather be a tree or live in a tree?  Wait… what?  Do people actually want to be trees?

Joy and Tracy get to the nitty gritty.  Real life.  Real talk.  As always.

Joy the Baker at CakeSpy Shop in Seattle.  Three book tour days in Seattle were GREAT!

Joy signed ballet slippers.  Ooooh.  If only they were podcast listeners.

Joy and Jesse from CakeSpy at Cakespy shop!

Cute!

Joy between two dudes.  Why was this so hard?  Why was this so awkward?

Ugh… I dunno.

Also.  Why is Joy’s hand as big as her face.  That’s almost embarrassing.

Post-signing cocktail!  Boom Boom Pow!

Tracy and Michael are obsessed with Draw Something.

It’s like Pictionary… in real-time… with strangers.

The Lorax… that’s dang clever.

]]> http://homefries.com/show/the-joy-the-baker-podcast/would-you-rather/feed/ 48 joy the baker, food blogging, food, photography, shutterbean, girl talk, would you rather, be a tree or live in a tree? is that really a choice. This week, Joy and Tracy play the time-honored game Would You Rather...? Would you rather have no fingers, or all thumbs? Would you rather find true love and a truly large amount of money? Would you rather be a tree or live in a tree? Wait... what? Do people actually want to be trees? Joy and Tracy get to the nitty gritty. Real life. Real talk. As always. no 43:21 http://homefries.com/show/the-simple-mom-podcast/starting-small/ http://homefries.com/show/the-simple-mom-podcast/starting-small/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 23:09:31 +0000 michael http://homefries.com/show/the-simple-mom-podcast/starting-small/

In this episode of The Simple Mom Podcast, Tsh talks to Nicole Bennett, editor of Simple Organic.  They answer questions you posted on Facebook about  open adoption, local vs. organic eating and overcoming the fear of making changes by ‘starting small.’   Speaking of changes, there’s a big announcement that you won’t want to miss!

Here are the links discussed in this episode:

I was going over my list of Organizing Goals for 2012 and thought I’d start on the kitchen drawer cleanup. This is going to take a few parts to accomplish, so let’s get started!

I have A LOT of drawers in my kitchen and they’re are all pretty much a mess because I’m too focused on creating stuff in the kitchen rather than putting things away.
Instead of attacking it all at once, I decided to give myself a challenge of getting the equipment drawer done today. I secretly knew that I couldn’t stop at just ONE drawer…

Here’s the BEFORE:

SIDE VIEW:

DUMPED OUT.

CLEAN UP!

Putting everything in little piles and evaluating what I need and what I don’t.

Starting to put things back…

AFTER:

I could stare at this all day.

It feels good to know that everything has a place now. And I don’t have things hidden waaaaaay back of the drawer like I used to!

Phew.

Why stop at just ONE drawer? Full steam ahead!
Here’s my utensil drawer. The container that holds all of the utensils has been really gross for awhile. So much so that I cringe everytime I see a guest reach into that drawer. I secretly pray that don’t see the crumbs that are in it. I can rest easy now. It’s done!

So I took everything out.

Washed the separators.

Sorted/got rid of things we didn’t need. Like chopsticks that don’t match & itty bitty baby spoons…

I didn’t know all that stuff was in there!

And then I put everything back.

So after I did those two drawers I decided to go ahead and work on the drawer to the right of my oven. This is where I keep oven mitts, toothpicks to test the done-ness of baked goods and a whole bunch of RANDOM things. This is half junk drawer half baking drawer. It is now just BAKING drawer with a few knife sharpeners.
BEFORE:

AFTER:

Then I got to thinking about junk drawers. Everyone has to have one. I used to have one…

This drawer used to be our junk drawer. I knew where to look if I wanted batteries……

But then my husband turned it into the beverage drawer when we got our espresso machine. It was nicely merchandised for awhile and I liked it, but I don’t think we need to use that much space for our tea stash. Let’s get functional!

I grabbed all the random bits from other drawers and created this Junk Drawer!

It has Casey’s wine opening stuff, kitchen appliance manuals, a lint roller…my camera batteries…tape…

You know….JUNK.

This drawer is where I found most of my stuff for the junk drawer. I decided to re-purpose it as the tea drawer!

Old tea drawer becomes junk drawer and now we have a smaller tea drawer.

TADA!

With both drawers open…MUCH BETTER.

So organizing one drawer turned into organizing 5 drawers. This whole project took about 2 hours. I’m glad I got my organizing mojo going.

All of the top drawers in my kitchen are organized! Now I just have to make my way down…and then tackle the ones up top.

STAY TUNED!

It’s all about random acts of kindness and senseless beauty this week!

Well, maybe it turned out a little more random and senseless than I had expected. It’s okay though, we recorded a nice long Episode 23 for you, despite everything. Some of the things mentioned in this episode:

Andy from The Table Set podcast threw a party last Saturday night and it was super fun.

Around town, it’s evident that ‘The Hunger Games’ marketing mania has begun! Have you read the books? Will you see the movie? But more importantly…

…will you buy the cookbook? Believe it or not, it’s supposed to be good, groosling and all. What else did we talk about on this show? The debate over whether we should continue reading our iTunes reviews at the end of each show surfaced. We’ve got two ‘Yays’ and one ‘Meh’ at this point, so we wonder if the listeners will weigh in on one side or the other.  We always like to hear feedback from our audience: what your favorite topics are and which ones are less appealing to your ears. Oh, and there were a few more things discussed:

Illamasqua. Fancy British cult makeup for your alter ego!

Ooh! Nameless artisan nail polish from strangebeautiful.

De-cluttering? See Tracy’s High Straightenance column for inspiration!

Susan has done gone gluten-free. And finished her book, complete with illustrations:

If you like what you’re hearing on The Because Show, do us a favor and tell a podcast-lovin’ friend about our show. We love when the word is spread. Leave us a comment, question or feedback here or on our facebook page. Clearly, there are plenty of ways to get in touch with us – you can always shoot us an email at thebecauseshow@gmail.com if you like. See you on the next episode!

p.s. I didn’t win the Megamillions lotto. But it is fun being in charge of the lotto pool at work.

xo,

jerilyn

Joy and Tracy are back with some chatter!  Today they discuss the continuing Joy the Baker book tour, a few of their recent obsessions, and what kind of silly things go down in a hot air balloon.  Why are those balloons so crowded!?  This answer and more… sorta.

What’s up, Portland!  You know how to represent!

Thank you to each and every one of you for coming out to the Joy the Baker book signing.  You are amazing souls!  Truly!!!!!

Why did no one have Joy sign a cop of Crafting with Cat Hair?

Yikes…

Everyone signed the poster!!!!  So awesome.  Like… the best yearbook ever!

One of Joy’s favorite new things is this hand cream from Savannah Bee Company.

this NARS Matte Lipstick is obsess-worthy.  Major!!

Joy and Tracy are both obsessed with blazers!  Totally the move!  Zara is blazer great!

Tracy is having Clarisonic Mia Sonic Skin Cleansing System success!  She’s obsessed.

Tracy made Raw Chocolate Milk, and now she wants to add frozen strawberries and malt powder!  Amazing.

ENJOY! gift subscriptions!  Get into it!

Wilton Disposable Piping Bags!

Just a few kitchen fancies:

KitchenAid KP26M1PSL Professional 600 Series 6-Quart Stand Mixer

Cuisinart DLC-2009CHB Prep 9 9-Cup Food Processor

Kyocera Double Edged Mandolin Slicer

Lauren!  You’re major!  Thanks for coming out to the book signing!  We’ve got a project for you!

Get in the kitchen and get going!  We’ve got two recipes for you… and you should photograph them and send us your results!

Two recipes.  Two weeks.  Four photos each!  Aaaand go!

Tracy wants you to make soup and Joy wants you to make brownies!

Pasta Fagioli Soup.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies.

We love you, Lauren!  Go for it!  Have fun!!

I’ve never been exceptional at meal planning. Just when I think I have a good system in place, something throws off my routine and I’m out of the zone! There are SEVERAL different ways to meal plan, but I’ve been eying this technique from my friend Helen Jane (aka my meal planning guru) and thought I’d give it a go. I like that it’s pretty simple and makes a BIG impact!  The trick is…sticking with it! But we’ll talk about that later.

STEP 1:  Compile a list of all of your tried & true meals.  Bonus points for healthy/easy meals that you can use as leftovers for a new meal the following day!

Get the input of your family to see what they’re craving during the week. This can be dangerous.

STEP 2: Survey your fridge & freezer. See what’s in there! Figure out what day you will grocery shop for the week and meal plan around that.

Go through the pantry/cupboards to see what you have in there too. I keep a post-it notepad on the wall of my pantry so I can write down what I need for groceries the next time I go shopping. It’s handy!

The pantry is where I find all my “filler” for weeknight meals. Pasta, rice, spices, canned goods, soups etc.  It’s nice to see what you can use as a base for your dinners or as a meal accessories.

STEP 3:  Get our your planning sheet!

Create a template on your computer of all of the days of the week. I just used Microsoft Word and one of my favorite fonts to make it look cool. You could totally write it out by hand…I just feel like having a template makes it more legit. It helps get me in the organizing zone.

STEP 5: MEAL PLAN!

WHAT TO THINK OF WHILE MEAL PLANNING:

-What events are happening this week? Will you be out for dinner?

-What fruits & vegetables needs to be used ASAP?

-What day of the week do you go grocery shopping?

-Which days of the week will you NEED to make an easy meal?  Mondays are hard.

-Which days of the week do you have more time to enjoy cooking? Sundays are fun!

-What do you already have in your fridge/freezer to access?

-How long can items last in the fridge to use for another recipe?

-How can you use leftovers for your next meal?

When I was planning out my grocery shopping for this particular week, I wanted to use a bunch of things I already had in our freezer. I highlighted everything that needed to be defrosted in pink. It lets me know what I need to do for the next day.

Now make your grocery shopping list (another post entirely!) and get to shopping.

I followed this particular meal plan for a week.

How did it go??!

Not too bad! I still could use some work. 

MY THOUGHTS:

-It’s going to take a lot of practice! The activity of meal planning isn’t necessarily easy and it requires some time. I need to carve out a good half hour to figure out meals/grocery planning each week. Last week was super busy and I wasn’t home much for dinner so I didn’t really meal plan. I could see how much my life was affected by not having a meal plan!

 
-If I don’t make something I intend to make on the night I intended to make it, it’s OK. The world won’t end.
Life is busy and things come up, so I can’t stress out if things don’t go according to planned. If I end up making something else on a different night, who cares! As long as I’m not wasting food, that’s all that matters.

-Having an outline of the week is WAAAAAY better than not having an outline.

Do you meal plan? Do you have any tips or tricks? Let’s discuss!

The Table Set is never one to skimp on a holiday. An excuse to party is reason enough to celebrate!
While to many St. Patrick’s Day is a bar holiday, for Nathan it was always first and foremost his big sister Megan’s birthday. Embracing the day, every year meant a corned beef & cabbage feast, but once in junior high school also Kool-Aid-dyed green hair (don’t recommend it – rubs off on clothing, but tastes great!)

If there’s one thing you can’t do March 17th without, the guys agree 100% it’s BEER. Andy unveiled his newest home brew Fraggle Bock, with plans to debut it alongside a fresh batch of Lucky Charms Ice Cream this St. Patty’s.

Green Beer. What is it? Is it safe?? Andy takes it organic with a shot of fresh wheat grass juice. While the color is a healthier shade of green, the brew tasted more grassy than wheat beer. Consider it a work in progress… Unless you can think of other better ways to go green??
Nathan prefers to celebrate with an Irish Coffee, a strong concoction of Irish Whiskey, hot coffee, sugar, and a thin crown of whipping cream. The Buena Vista in San Francisco makes the best one in the states, and even shares their secret recipe.

Of course Irish Cream is an apropos tipple, but try it DIY – the recipe is so easy you’ll probably never buy a bottle again.
You have probably had a Black and Tan – a tasty tandem of Guinness Irish Stout and Bass Pale Ale, but have you had a Black Velvet? Replace that ale with sparkling wine poured carefully over a spoon back and you have one elegant, layered spectacle. On air, Andy broke out some bottles of his favorite porter and stout to try with some bubbly, including Hangar 24′s Chocolate Porter. Though all delicious, Guinness maintains the best separation due to its weighty mass. Just do it!

Andy also likes to eat his Irish stout, baked into this ethereal cake. While his Avocado Chocolate Stout Cake may be famous for its clover green avocado frosting, it starts with the unmistakable rich stout flavor.

Dessert and beer are great, but we have to eat something! No matter the menu, a loaf of Irish Soda Bread is a classic staple. Throwing caution to the wind, Greg suggests Green Eggs and Ham – No, really! Modernist Cuisine queen Salty Seattle makes it a reality with her whimsical recipe. Crazy!

Corned Beef is a no-brainer, but Bar Agricole in San Francisco reimagines it for brunch in this tasty hash with poached eggs and mustard hollandaise. Greg enjoys an Irish breakfast as well, but prefers his eggs baked with rashers & bangers!

Andy likes beer-steamed mussels as a savory starter, made better with a fragrant IPA. For a hearty main consider this Porter-Braised Pot Roast. Greg’s Green Mashed Potatoes and Braised Greens round out the plate nicely.

Potatoes. We can’t forget the potatoes! But have you ever had them for dessert? Greg tried his hand at Daniel Boulud’s Potato Almond Cake. Potatoes add a fluffy texture to this lightweight cake, glazed with vanilla syrup and topped with a chicory-coffee-chocolate whipped cream. In a word: delicious.
Feeling lucky yet?

Entertaining questions? Need help? Call The Table Set! 1-817-82-FRIES

It’s utter Lynnsanity! Lynn Chen is back! Not only is she an actress and a food blogger, she is also a podcast-lover! Lynn has been on our show twice before, on Episodes #28 and #57 at the old iTunes feed. We were delighted to have her join us on this week’s show. She even brought the new flavor of Girl Scout cookies ‘Savannah Smiles’ to review. And we also had a new book sent to us for review called ‘The Power Of Habit’ by Charles Duhigg. Interesting stuff!

Lynn is a busy gal! She’s got three movies out this year, including ‘Nice Girls Crew’…

… and ‘Yes, We’re Open’

…and ‘Daylight Savings’ too!

You can search for her on Netflix to watch her other films. Of course, the conversation wandered into some other directions. Some of the things mentioned in this episode were:

• Not just a mascara, it’s a lash treatment: Chantecaille
• The Strange Case of the Leroy 18, read the whole article here.
• Room 237, the documentary on interpretations of The Shining movie.
• Viral buzz with erotic novel  ”50 Shades of Gray“.

You can find Lynn at her blog The Actor’s Diet and follow her acting work at lynnchen.com. On twitter, you can tweet her @MsLynnChen or of course, find her on fb.

Thanks for listening! See you at the next episode!

This week Tsh talks with Jamie Martin of Simple Homeschool and Steady Mom.  Tsh and Jamie answer all of your Facebook submitted questions about homeschooling and beyond!

Jamie’s book.  Mindset for Moms.

Simple Homeschool, A Day in the Life.

Tsh’s book.  Organized Simplicity.

Chore sticks.

Dance Blissdom!

Free Range Learning

Holt International

Adoption at SteadyMom.

Hello! Wow, I can’t believe we are almost at Episode 100! Our first 7o shows that you can find here, and we will be recording #100 later this spring! When I approached Amy in 2010 with the idea of recording a ‘podcast’, I had no idea we would still be doing it today, really. After testing out a few initial episodes, Amy and I knew we needed to bring in a ‘wild card’ which is how Susan joined us. Starting on this project, we didn’t know each other well – now we know the most intimate details of each other’s lives! For the three of us, it’s been really fun to do this thing and even better since we’ve found our spot on HomeFries.

Anyhoo, we talked about a lot of things in this Episode 21 and here are some of the links for what was mentioned:

• The Nest learning thermostat
• The Watching Dead podcast
• More Hip Than Hippie podcast
• BZRK by Michael Grant
• Mark Ronson joins with Coca-Cola to celebrate the Olympics.

To leave us feedback, you can leave a comment here or shoot an email to thebecauseshow@gmail.com. Of course you can also follow us on twitter @thebecauseshow. If you want to call us, call our voicemail line at 818-643-1565 – we look forward  to hearing from you! Have a great week!

This week on the Joy the Baker Podcast, Tracy  gets the low down on Joy’s FIRST book signing in Pasadena.

Joy just had her first Book BABY!  Sadly, there was no mesh underwear involved.

3 different sharpies were christened at this event. Which one is Joy using at this point?

I spy a black sharpie…

Joy made people laugh! Maybe she’s teaching them about blog math??? Doubtful.

Maybe she was talking about the dude who sat in the baby chair? Most likely!

The next day, Joy was at the Kitchen Aid event hosted by Todd Porter & Diane Cu of White on Rice Couple.

Look at that fancy blazer! Business lady attire.

Photo from:  ThoughtfullySimple

Joy & Tracy also ask each other some nosy questions in this podcast.

We won’t spoil it, but here are some reference images for you:

Of course the picture Tracy finds has Michelle Rodriguez in a leg brace. It’s totally leg candy!

Legs for days…except for that brace…

Pre Tom Cruise? Maybe?

Did you forget about Chris O’Donnell? Tracy hasn’t.

If you didn’t already know… Joy is a Sugar Freak. Chow says so.

Aaaaaaand Tracy podcasts for the first time with sunglasses on.

Thanks for listening!

I got an email a few days ago from a reader asking how things are going with my organized spaces. Let’s check up on things with a progress report, shall we?

FRIDGE:

It’s been a week since I cleaned out my fridge. Things are going well! I started meal planning last week so it’s been making fridge management pretty easy.

I’m dedicated to keeping it up. It’s refreshing opening up an organized fridge because I can see exactly what’s in there! I’m also teaching myself the beauty of an empty fridge and have adopted the idea of only going to the grocery store when I really NEED to.  To keep it in order, I’ve been more thoughtful about putting things away properly and make sure that everything that goes back in the fridge is free of gunk. As a result, it’s still pretty clean inside.

More on meal planning next week!

KID’S TOYS:

It’s been two weeks since I organized Cooper’s toys.

Things are looking good!

We ALL remember to put the books back after we read them so they don’t pile up around the room.

After Cooper’s bath at night we read a few stories  and now we’ve added the act of putting away his toys before he gets in bed to our routine. I’m hoping that he understands how nice it is to go to bed in a clean room. I’ve also been really good about enforcing the rule of one activity/toy out at a time. He can’t play with the trains until he puts all of his construction toys away. He’s starting to pick up on this now and I can see him making a better effort not to take too much out at once.

I hope to get proper laminated labels on his boxes soon because one night of the humidifier made some of the making tape labels peel off. Lesson learned!

BATHROOM SHELVES:

It’s been three weeks since I cleaned out my shelves and it’s going REALLY well. Sometimes I look over at my shelves and don’t recognize them.

There were a few small things I did when I organized (like moving shelves and adding that extra stack of storage containers) that made a HUGE impact on my life. There’s really no excuse to not to keep things organized.

I still have to find a place for my Clarisonic. Gotta make some room!

It’s also so refreshing to know exactly where to look when I need to find something.

THE PANTRY:

Every time I go into my pantry I make sure things look right. Things have been going really well because I’m taking my time putting things away properly. I’m also trying to use up items in the pantry so I don’t run out and buy things I already have. I like that feeling of “grocery shopping” in my own pantry.

MY DESK:

Since I cleaned up my desk/office area I’ve done quite a few projects. It’s really nice to have extra desk space when I’m working so whenever things start to get a little unkempt, I quickly tidy things up. I also find that when I’m started to get stressed out while working I take a break and put things away that don’t belong on my desk

There’s a stack of books sitting on my desk that need to go downstairs on my bookshelf, but other than that my desk is pretty clean.

The drawers next to my desk are still pretty tidy! Cooper isn’t allow in this drawer, which is why it’s still clean!

When I’m working on something and need to put something away in this drawer, I’m very deliberate about where things go back. It’s working.

This tupperware of all of my nail polish has been EXCELLENT. Whenever I paint my nails I’ve been really good about putting everything back  in the container.

I also decided that most of my nail painting should take place at my desk so I don’t have an opportunity to leave polish throughout the house.

The shelves above my desk are still organized. I don’t look at them as a place to put stuff where Cooper can’t reach!

PAPER STATION:

The paper sation has changed my life!! We have significantly less paper littered throughout our house as a result!

It’s made a fantastic difference. Cooper’s art drawer is piling up, which means I have to go through that soon, but other than that we’re good.

The recycling bin right next to the paper station has also been a wonderful addition. When I enter the house through the garage, I bring all the paper/plastic that needs to be recycled right to the bin. It doesn’t even ENTER our house. I love that.

MEDICINE CABINET:

Still going strong! We’ve added a few products and things are constantly changing in this cabinet but it’s going really well.

When I’m brusing my teeth, I usually open up the cabinet and straighten things up.

That’s how I keep it up!

So there you have it. That’s my progress report. I’m still doing a pretty good job on keeping my PURSE ORGANIZED. I make a point to clean it out every Sunday to get ready for work on Monday.

If you are having a hard time maintaining your freshly organized space:

-Share your accomplishments with others!  It will help hold you accountable for your actions.  I know that I’m working hard at this because I have other people looking at my projects. How could I give people advice if I don’t practice what I preach?

Take pictures. Post it to your blog or facebook. When other people are watching you’re way more motivated.

-Have company over. It will help motivate you to keep things clean. Most of my friends are familiar with what I’m doing on High Straightenence. And even if they aren’t, I pretend like they’re going to look through my stuff when they get to my house. This helps keep me on my toes. I want to prove to them & myself that I’m dedicated.

-Be thoughtful & don’t hurry. Things have really approved around my house because I’m not trying to do too many things at once. When I set out to put something away I really THINK about what I am doing and as a result I don’t make lazy decisions.

-Don’t get discouraged! If you start slipping and start falling into bad habits, take it easy on yourself. Get back on it and maintain! You have to remember that it will take some time to make your new behavior apart of your routine.

And remember:

Alrighty!  Another week, another happy podcast coming your way!

This week on the Joy the Baker Podcast, Joy and Tracy open up about their ‘unplugged Sunday’.  How did they fare without Twitter, Facebook, text messages, and email?   It was Joy’s big idea to unplug, but did she even do it!?….  this could get awkward.

Tracy got a Clarisonic.  It’s a sonic boom to the face… in a good, clean way!

This week we talk about dreams!  Dreams.  Nightmares.  Hopes and goals.  Tracy dreams of a vacation home with a shed.  Joy dreams of a working in her very own photo studio like White on Rice Couple.

And!  Online dating!

When it comes to online dating profiles, keep it real.  Be honest about who you are and what you’re looking for.  If you see your friends on a dating site… run and hide.  If you want to meet a quality man, aol and Third Eye Blind worked wonders for Tracy.  Remember… Sexy in.  Sexy out!

You can always tell how busy/lazy I’ve been if you look in my fridge. I had company over a few weeks ago and when I opened the fridge while we were all hanging out in the kitchen, a few things fell out while I was in mid conversation. Woops! Sign I need to get a grip and handle my fridge business? YES.

On Sunday Joy & I unplugged from the internet/computer/phone. It was tough and what really helped through the unplugging process was cleaning my fridge out. I had no idea how emotional I would get during this project. I spent half the time sorting and cleaning and the other half evaluating my habits & behavior. Why do I fall behind on cleaning out the fridge when food is so important to me? Why don’t I look at what I have in my fridge before I add more items in there? I had a bunch of deep thoughts and we’ll get to that soon. But first!

THE BEFORE:

It’s kinda like a big game of JENGA. I haven’t had a good system in place for awhile. There are a general AREAS where I keep food, but the past few months I’ve been using the JAM IT WHERE IT FITS system. It’s totally not sustainable. Nope.

First item of business. Take everything out! I started one row at a time, cuz you know…things still need to be kept cold. Everything that was on top got pulled out and sorted.

Kinda like this. Wait. Exactly like this.

If it had mold or expired obviously it was GONE. If it was almost finished, I evaluated if it was worth wasting space in my fridge.

I emptied stuff out and recycled. My recycling bin filled up FAST.

And while I was sorting, I cleaned out all of the shelves with hot soapy water.

I dried each shelf and put them back. Before I put ANYTHING back in the clean fridge, I made sure each item was clean and clear of any gunk. My jam jars were a disaster and my hot sauce containers were pretty cruddy.

I also cleaned the inside of the fridge with warm soapy water and took out all the bins and washed those too.

It’s amazing what cruds up your bins!

So let’s talk about bins for a second…this one was a nightmare. This is a very large pullout drawer we have. I keep Cooper’s stuff in it but because I didn’t have an organized shelving system in place, things that didn’t fit in the upper half of the fridge ended up in this drawer.

Here’s the before:

This is what it looks like now. Now I know EXACTLY where to find what I’m looking for. It’s easier for me to look at this drawer when I do my grocery shopping for his foods because I know what’s missing.

This is the deli drawer before.

This is it afterward. I can see everything I have and there’s a system! Meats on the left, cheese on the right and anything that’s in a tub gets stacked in the bottom right hand corner.

My unruly produce drawer got a makeover too. Things that need to be used right away go on top.

Pro tip: It’s much easier organizing a drawer when it’s not in the fridge.

Another Pro tip: Exploit containers.

I had some rogue bags that took up too much wasted space in my fridge.

I put them all in a container and now I know where to access them.

Also- I have a very deep fridge and it’s really hard to know what’s hiding out in there. It’s also a pain in the butt to have to move 5 things to get to the item I want. Now I have all of the stuff that gets in the way in one place. If I want maple syrup all I have to do is pull out the bin, grab it and put it back when I’m done. It’s such a simple trick and it makes a big impact.

Playing around with the shelves…before I put everything back…

http://pinterest.com/shutterbean/k-i-d-z/

I have designated shelves now AND I decided to take out a shelf and make more room for my leftover area.

I realized that it’s important for me to have room for bigger dishes & storage containers of leftovers. That’s usually what throws off my organization because I don’t want to take the time to pull everything out so my containers will fit in there.

Here’s another thing I thought of. I thought that I HAD to use all of the shelves. Like…maybe I wasn’t going to maximize the potential of this fridge. What I realized is that you have to find how YOU use your fridge and make it work for you. Having one less shelf and moving the rest of the shelves around to suit my needs has made a HUGE difference. Don’t assume that the factory placement is the right way to exploit your fridge’s space.

I also made a system for my shelves on the right.

Most used items are at eye level.

Here are the shelves to the left. We have to keep honey in my fridge. Ants…sigh…

Now that that’s done, let’s get to my emotional experience.

It was really hard to throw away all of the rotten food. I felt ashamed for letting my fridge get so messy that I couldn’t see what I had in there. I realize that I’ve been living like this for awhile because I don’t MEAL PLAN. I don’t shop smart and I don’t always use up what I have before I go out and buy more food.

So the day after I cleaned out my fridge I was anxious to go grocery shopping and I decided that I was going to use everything that was in my fridge to make a meal. Let me tell you that it felt great. So not only did I finish this project with a clean slate, I realized some of my bad habits that I want to correct and I challenged myself to start meal planning (I’ll talk about that more next week). Having a clean fridge feels like I’ve hit a really good RESET button in my life. I’m really ready to make some good changes.

Hi guys! Welcome to Show Notes for Episode #20. Is it ‘What Comes Around, Goes Around’! Or ‘What Goes Around, Comes Around’?  Whichever way you say it, this episode is all about things that have been gone forever and have somehow made a comeback!  Not only that, we have a crash course in the Snickers Candy Bar history, a little ‘Snickers 101′ if you will, about every limited edition flanker European edition that you never knew existed. Canadians are able to enjoy  ’Snickers Maple’? We like it.

At The Because Show podcast, we are devoted to providing not only amusing entertainment for your ears,  but also useful info for your brain! With Wikipedia as our source, we discover that a myriad of Snickers have been unleashed over the last decade. For example:

• 2001: Snickers Cruncher bar (rebranded Snickers Munch in some markets, still sold as “Cruncher” in Germany, Romania, Egypt, Poland, Latvia, Austria, Slovakia, Israel, Sweden, The Netherlands and Bosnia)
• 2002: Snickers Almond bar
• 2002: Cookies & Snickers
• 2004: Snickers Marathon energy bars
• 2006: Snickers Duo
• 2006: Snickers Xtreme (5 grams (0.18 oz) of protein per serving, lack of nougat)
• 2007: Snickers Dark (dark chocolate)
• 2008: Snickers Charged (limited edition, contains caffeine, taurine and B vitamins)
• 2008: Snickers The Lot (Crispy pieces in a thick cream, caramel, sprinkled with a large amount of nuts, covered in chocolate (Australia and New Zealand))
• 2009: Snickers Fudge
• 2010: Snickers Maximus, a limited edition with only caramel & peanut in the centre.
• 2010: More Nuts, a limited edition featuring 10% higher nut content
• 2010: Snickers Almond
• 2011: Snickers Peanut Butter
• 2011: Snickers Squared

If you listened to the entirety of Episode 20, you heard the amazing story of Fast Eddie, the news of the upcoming tour of Van Halen and Peter Frampton and the new single from Brandi/Monica ‘It All Belongs To Me’. It’s been 14 years since Bronica dropped a single, 14 years since Van Halen toured and 35 years since Peter Frampton released ‘Frampton Comes Alive’. Do you remember when that Brandy/Monica song came out? Did you used to listen (or still listen) to Van Halen? Would you rat out your meanie father-in-law if you discovered he was a notorious bank robber? Do you believe that Peter Frampton was reunited with his beloved guitar 32 years after it was lost in a plane crash?

It’s not all news & commentary though -there are personal stories to throw down.  Perhaps you have a funny story or salacious tale you would like to share with us? Shoot us an email at thebecauseshow@gmail.com and we’ll read it on an upcoming episode. Perhaps you just want to give a shout-out to something you’ve noticed that has gone around and come around? Go for it!

Soooooo, we’re pretty much at the end of our Show Notes. This is where we wrap it up and say goodbye until the next episode. And where we say ‘if you have questions, thoughts or feedback, leave us a comment.  Better yet, call us and leave a message at 818.643.1565…Maybe you have a topic suggestion or book recommendation for us? Don’t be shy!’

p.s.  iTunes reviews. Love ‘em.

It’s a happy day when a friend says “bring octopus” and it can only mean one thing. Potluck. This week the gents have decided to re-address the Potluck Party. Because it should be more about a communal gathering of good friends than a gathering of more just for the plain sake of just plain more. Whether it’s in your home or you’re taking it on the road. Make your choices count.

The guys like to take a call (1-817-82-FRIES) from a listener every now and again just to get the ball rolling. This week Liz calls in from the big island of Hawaii, asking for fresh ideas for her weekly beach-side potlucks in paradise. Of course Grilled Pineapple seems logical. But perhaps Liz could get creative with some homemade community condiments too. Because hand-made mustard, out of the ordinary ketchup, and this Trio of Salsa can enliven even the deadest of meat! In fact Andy makes a Chimichurri that he serves with tempeh, but it’s suitable for carnivores too.

If you’ve ever been to a potluck then you know one of the challenges is bringing food that will not only be delicious, but will travel well and stay good after hours of sitting on the buffet line. Slaw is always a crowd pleaser. It has real staying power too. Besides there are so many creative ways to shred vegetables. Try kale, Greg makes a garlicky raw slaw with the nubbly variety known as lacinato or dinosaur kale. Andy’s shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad features pomegranate and hazel nuts. It would be a lucky addition to any buffet. Certain fruits make great slaw too. Try apples, mangoes, even papaya (either green or ripe). A little heat goes a long way in making these sweet slaws sing. Speaking of spice, I bet Liz and the rest of our Hawaiian potluckers would be pleased to have Greg’s Asian spiced Ogo Seaweed Slaw show up at their weekly get-togethers.

But why not give your Potluck Party a theme? I am sure we are all familiar with the Salad Bar. It would make a great rallying cry to a Potluck Party, and put Sunday night at Sizzler to shame. Imagine all sorts of fresh goodness from your local Farmers Market gathered together and prepped among friends. The sky’s the limit when it comes to building a big salad. Guests can get creative and personal, building it their own way. Everyone will be happy (and healthy).

The Salad Bar as a Potluck Party is a great time to bring out all those delicious pickled things. Nathan’s Pickled Okra would find a great place on the salad plate or even standing proud on top the best damn Bloody Mary known to man. Greg likes to pickle sweet and spicy peppers by the pound, which is way better than the peck! But you needn’t know canning to bring quality pickled produce to the party. There are plenty of places in your community, and online, where quality products may be purchased. The guys like Aunt Nellie’s, Phickles, and Rick’s Pics. But I am sure you have your favorites too.

A Bring Your Own Toppings Pizza Party seems like a winner. Though there may be a gentlemanly disagreement on just how good a home baked pizza can be. But there is no disagreement when it comes to Pizza Potlucks, there is fun to be had and a quality pizza stone is an essential element. Greg likes this one from King Arthur flour. It’s big and thick and square. Making it suitable for more than just pizza of the round variety (of which Nathan throws a mean pie).

Potlucks are a great time to show off your splendid taste in dinnerware. You can go chic with designer goods, or minimalist, requiring your guests to bring all-white serving pieces– as Greg does when he asks folks to drop in with a dish. There is also the vintage path that Nathan prefers. Sites like Etsy and Ebay can appease your prime place-setting obsession. Because potlucks were born for the High Brow/Low Brow treatment. They offer a terrific opportunity to bring some much needed makeover to the common casserole. Greg has some good ideas with two healthier versions of the ubiquitous Green Bean Casserole, plus a trumped up, truffled up Mac N Cheese Pie. But sometimes you want the Low Brow original, so check out Nathan’s Gala Parfait “church lady basement style” casserole cook-off, which includes a recipe for Glorified Rice that should catch your attention.

When it comes to Potlucks there’s no reason to limit your choices to food. A bottle of something is always appreciated. Especially when it has a story attached. Andy has discovered a red wine from the central coast’s Field Recordings called Fiction. It is produced in small quantities by a 29-year old winemaker whose “day job” is planting grapes for wineries all over California. It has given him access to sites and grapes “that are unknown or under-appreciated but hold enormous untapped potential”. The unusually beautiful label is imprinted with photographs of starlings in flight in “natural, un-staged patterns that can never be repeated nor replicated”, much like the highly personal wine inside. This wine is available at Domaine L.A. and K&L Wine Merchants. Of course you can always “bring beer”. But don’t get caught walking in the door with canned crap from the “Big Three”. Craft beers are becoming more and more accessible. Still, many of the most interesting brews are available only on-tap, making it a bit difficult to bring along to a Potluck. But even that dilemma is starting to change in some places. Because growler culture is growing. A growler is a refillable glass bottle that lets you take the best of the tap to-go. It’s really caught on in New York, and here in Los Angeles innovative brewers are following suit. Golden Road and Eagle Rock Brewery are bringing out their own refillable to-go bottles.

Do you ever wonder just how The Table Set came to be a podcast? Well it was a true potluck! Not too long ago The Table Set got together and threw a party. They invited inspiring food bloggers and asked them to each bring one course in one elegant sit down meal. Not all potlucks are buffets you know. A little help from talented friends can make even the most elegant of meals so much easier to pull off. Joy The Baker was one of those invited. She brought a sophisticated Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Pineapple Poppy Seed Vinaigrette. Between the crunch of macadamia and the laughter of good friends, The Table Set was born. Little did these gents know they were auditioning. Be sure and watch the video of the planning and execution of this event. It features the guys, the guests, the food. Oh, and Salty Seattle as a sexy fortune teller.

This week on the Joy the Baker podcast, Joy and Tracy get down with some RealLifeRealTalk.  Tracy has a cold and Joy is scared of a book tour.  Will anyone show up?  Are there M&Ms in the green room?   Wait…. is there even a green room?

They also discuss Valentine’s Day, shucking, cards, and unplugging… unplugging for real.  Why is unplugging so hard?  We need to get a grip.

Tracy’s cold remedy involves ginger, garlic, butter, and bread.

Sooo yum.

A Hot Toddy will help too.  Stay hydrated!

Joy is nervous about her mini book tour.

Seriously.  There’s no fancy green rooms.  Only Southwest flights and Sharpie markers.

And YOU!  You’re totally the best part.

Come say Hi!  Book tour information is here!

Valentine’s Day was an utter success!  Tracy got a card and had fancy lunch.

On Valentine’s Day, Joy learned how to shuck.  No biggie.

This is about where the shucking jokes get outta control.

We’re About to Be Friends with Sarah Gim of Tastespotting!

Also… Joy and Tracy are reluctantly unplugging.  It’s our challenge for the week.

Sunday there’s no texting, no twitter, no facebook, no instagram, no blogging, no email.  NONE OF IT!

We’ve been inspired by Shauna, and The Joy of Quiet.

…let’s see how this goes.

We’ll let you know next week.

Maybe you want to play unplug along with us!  Alanis style.

Organizing Goal of 2012 : sort thru Cooper’s toys & clothes that he’s outgrown=1/2 DONE!

When I was pregnant with Cooper, I had the foresight to buy this IKEA bookshelf & a bunch of sturdy brown storage bins from Target (they were from the dorm section!) because I knew that with kids comes clutter. If only I knew what a pain in the butt it would be keep on top of organizing my kid’s toys! I’ve been hiding most of the chaos under those bins for awhile. Now it’s time to get motivated and sort through it all!

Yesterday morning I set a timer for an hour to see how much I could accomplish.  After the hour was up, I KEPT GOING and after two total hours I had a lot to show for it. Hooray for perseverance!

So you can see above what the shelves looked like. A mess! I HATE it when books aren’t displayed nicely. It drives me CRAZY. Because we’re busy parents we don’t always get around to putting the books back nicely, hopefully will be better about that now that we have a clean slate.

Here’s a corner of stuff. There’s really no rhyme or reason for it. I already spy 3 things that Cooper doesn’t play with.

I took all the bins off of the bookshelves and surveyed the situation.

The toys are concealed but you can never find what you are looking for!

So I put some music on and started sorting. I made little piles of things, sat in the middle and just went to town going through each of the bins.

Examples of piles: GADGETS, BLOCKS, ROGUE PARTS, BALLS, PEOPLE TOYS, ETC.

Ahh the letter/magnet/block situation. These things LITTER MY HOUSE. Hopefully now I’ll be able to reign them in.

The second I find one in the house, I’m bringing it directly upstairs.

When I was sorting the train/train track situation, I decided to put all the trains in a small pouch so we can easily find all the parts when we’re playing trains.

After about 40 minutes, I came up with a plan of how I was going to use each bin.

I also decided to put all the blocks/letter cards/magnets in one easy to access bin.

On the top part of the bookshelf, I have a little caddy where I put all of Cooper’s toiletry items.

Meds, hair brushes, thermometer…etc. It’s been FOREVER since I went through this.

I got rid of a bunch of expired/unnecessary items (we don’t need butt cream anymore) and found a surplus of a few things.

This is the worst part of organizing. Finding out that your disorganization meant that you bought multiples because you had no idea what you had in your house! I hate that.

Ahh nice & neat! Now I know where to find what I’m looking for in a pinch.

And this little bookshelf we have…it was such a mess inside so I decided to go through it and get rid of a bunch of books.

Cooper has outgrown a bunch of them. Although it’s sad to say goodbye, I know that some other child will enjoy them just as much as he did.

OK so here’s my BIG TIP.

I really wanted to take a picture of what was inside each bin, have the picture laminated and stick it on the outside of each bin so that it would be obvious what was inside. I thought that it would help Cooper with the whole sorting process. BUT I realized that my dream was keeping me from actually starting the project. I let that task hang me up. So I bit the bullet and labeled the outside of the bins with masking tape & a sharpie. It doesn’t look that bad!

Here’s the AFTER!!!!

Wait. Let’s have the BEFORE for you to see:

I put Cooper’s Fire Station on the top of the bookshelf.  It’s out of his reach on purpose. The fire station has been in my office since he got it for Christmas and he has a habit of taking all of the furniture and parts out and spreading them throughout the house. Now I’m the one who is in charge! I just spared SOO many future messes with that trick.

The masking tape isn’t such a big deal, right?

The books are nicely organized now. That makes me feel much better.

Over near his bed, I fixed up the tool bench.

There’s some function to each shelf. Hopefully we can keep in clean.

This is what I’m left with. A bag to donate, one for trash & a collection of stuff to sell.

This is just the start. We have more stuff in the basement to deal with & his clothes to sort out (which is another post entirely).

But here’s one thing I’m trying to deal with. We have a bunch of stuffed animals that all have sentimental value. I am the one who wants to keep them BUT Cooper is totally not a stuffed animal kid (except for his Curious Georges).

That’s something I have yet to figure out….but for now, they are all contained in this corner bin.

So that’s it. That gives us a good start on keeping his room cleaned & organized. When he came home from preschool this afternoon he was super excited. He loved all of the labels and asked me what each one of them said. We made a point to put everything back where it belonged before he went to bed so hopefully he’ll learn these good habits.

I should note that I put some of his toys in his closet so I can rotate them into play a few weeks from now. It keeps him less bored!

With VALENTINE’S DAY right around the corner, we thought it would be a good idea to have Susan’s husband John Mathot co-host with us on this Episode 19. As a longtime supporter of The Because Show, John has joined us previously in July of 2011 on Episode 65 and way back on Episode 38 in November 2010!  On this week’s show, John & Susan not only take us for a romantic stroll down memory lane but also provide intimate glimpses into their domestic life.  We’re talking serious domestic life, like making your own think tank with your sweetie while washing the dishes.

Yes, we answer some questions, we ponder some ideas and most importantly, we talk about the fairytale-esque proposal situation John planned out for Susan. John and Susan regale us with the “he said/she said” tale of their wedding and honeymoon! Aaaaaand now let’s get into the pictures!

Classic honeymoon spot: Niagara Falls!

Newlywed helicopter ride!

To follow John you can find him at horriblemovienight and on twitter @OrdinarySW. To leave us feedback, you can leave a comment here or shoot an email to thebecauseshow@gmail.com. Of course you can also follow us on twitter @thebecauseshow. Oh! We adore the reviews on iTunes. Write us one when you have a chance, please?  If you want to call us, we are totally down with that. You just go ahead and call our voicemail line at 818-643-1565 – we love to hear from you! Perhaps you have an idea or suggestion for an upcoming show topic. Don’t be shy, tell us! We don’t judge. Obvs. Whatever idea or suggestion it is, we’ll probably do it.

Sarah Gim runs the super popular food site Tastespotting.com.

Tastespotting is the spot to find beautiful collections of food from all over the internet.  It’s links, it’s community.  It’s completely drool worthy.

Tastespotting is always filled with new, pretty food!

The Delicious Life is Sarah’s personal recipe ad restaurant blog that I’ve been stalking since 2007.

Awesome recipes.  Totally relevant restaurant reviews.  A tiny little chihuahua dog.. and once, a video that I totally stalked the heck out of.

Sarah Gim loves things like:

MattBites

White on Rice Couple

Steamy Kitchen

and Gourmet Live.

 photographs from Los Angeles Times, I Am Koream, The Delicious Life, and Tastespotting.

This week on the podcast, Joy & Tracy discuss the good, the bad & the ugly sides of FRIENDSHIP!

We get real… and no one gets angry and we only pretend to breakup.

Joy surprises friends with pictures in the mail by using Postagram.

We’re friends. Let’s celebrate.

The Table Set has a crush.

So they invited her to record with them! Kristin “The Cuisinerd” is one glitter-obsessed guest not to be messed with. And she sure knows how to bring it for Valentine’s Day. Like with barbecued oysters and kitchen karaoke with her hubby.

For an adventure Kristin suggests shucking oysters fresh at home with your date this V Day. (You can do it!) Paired with bubbly and Greg’s Red Mignonette, you’ll have one festive aphrodisiac!

Everyone is in agreement to avoid amateur night on the restaurant circuit and cook up a special meal from the heart at home. Add Greg’s tart heart-like Pickled Rhubarb to enliven a salad, and for a light eye-catching entree consider pop-art Red Beet Fusilli with Balsamic, Poppy Seeds & Mint.

Dessert is essential! Replace boxed chocolates with these Heart-Shaped Hibiscus Shortbread Cookies. A fresh Triple Berry Sorbet serves as an elegant cherry on top.

Or skip dinner altogether! For Valentine’s Nathan prefers a kitschy risqué romp with friends that is quintessentially LA – An evening of masked luchadores and burlesque at the world-famous Lucha VaVoom.

Of course all Party of Two rules apply for a holiday about affection. Platonic love is a beautiful thing too! Andy invited new Homefries friends The Because Show over for a culinary love letter brunch, complete with sweet meyer lemon curd covered rosemary olive oil polenta cake, rosy blood orange mimosas, and Nathan’s fiery bloody marys.

Keep the love flowing with Greg’s beet-kissed Jamaican Red Storm cocktail or Andy’s Strawberry Sangria. Nathan decided this affair was worth whipping up something special and new, a jewel of a cocktail just for you and your boo.

Ruby Sipper

1 1/2 oz gin
1 oz fresh-squeezed red grapefruit
1/2 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
1/2 oz Ruby Port
Dash of Peychauds bitters

Build in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with a wild hibiscus blossom (they are gorgeous and delicious!)

All this romance is fine and good, but Andy is taking it back to [old] school with handmade collaged valentine cards (and chocolate!) for all of his bestest buds. What better day to tell your chosen family that you appreciate them?

For you un-crafty, fear not! Multi-talented Portland artist Brooke Weeber makes these adorbs mixed valentine packs, with a little something for everyone!

Of course holidays are always a great time to think outside of ourselves. Make a feel-good date helping others on V day! Kristin and Nathan had a blast cooking dinner for the Downtown Women’s Center at Thanksgiving time, and their volunteer cooking club is year-round.

Or find other fun food-related ways to get involved with the community. Volunteer for Project Angel Food, Feeding America, a local community garden in your area, or a program such as the Bay Area’s Sprouts Cooking Club for teaching kids to cook!

You may just get a big pink paper heart thanking you for spreading the love. XOXO!

Organizing Goal of 2012 COMPLETED:

get rid of unnecessary items in the bathroom & organize!

You saw me organize the medicine cabinet in my bathroom, now it’s time to organize my bathroom shelves.

Here’s the deal. We have a master bathroom but there’s nothing master about it. It’s actually pretty small! We have a pedestal sink (means no storage), a medicine cabinet and this little section of shelving next to the door. It’s kinda cramped! We totally want to re-do our bathroom some day but for now we have to live with it! I thought about covering the shelves with a curtain, but it’s too narrow. So basically it’s always EXPOSED! This is the main reason why I keep guests out of my bathroom

This is the BEFORE. There was absolutely no styling involved in this mess.

Nope. It’s au naturale!

I once thought I was being all neat with these gray bins for organizing.

After a few years of use & abuse, they’re full of CRAP.

I recently went on two trips and suddenly there are 4 travel bags littering my shelves…

Miss Lazybones didn’t feel like unpacking!

My makeup section? I don’t want to talk about it. Oooh! That’s where those Angry Birds Band aids are!

I spent about 3 1/2 hours working on this project over the weekend. Let me walk you through it.

My main goal was to GET RID OF STUFF I DON’T WANT/NEED/USE.

STEP 1: CLEAR OFF SHELVES (and clean them!)

STEP 2: SORTING (I secretly love this part until I get overwhelmed).

I started with the hardest part first. I knew that if I was gonna commit, I was gonna CAH-MIT.

I couldn’t leave this on my bathroom floor all night, now could I?

I started with my makeup drawer and found a bunch of Halloween makeup from over 3 years ago. BUH-BYE.

There were also a few eye shadows that were waaaaay past their prime and some things I would never wear.

Oh! There’s nail polish in there. Nail polish belongs in my nail polish container!

I paired down my makeup drawer to this!

The great JEWELRY sort! This one took me awhile.

In the end, I was able to figure out what it is I need/don’t need. Why should I organize things I’m never going to wear?

PURGE! I could stare at this all day.

And here’s what all three of those drawers look like on the inside.

STEP 3: PUT EVERYTHING BACK & START ON ANOTHER SHELF!

I moved onto the makeup shelf/section. The hub of clutter!

I had thrown a lot of stuff in this area because I’ve been in too much of a hurry to bother.

That’s really why we get so disorganized in the first place, isn’t it?

If you don’t put stuff back where it belongs, it piles up and then things gets OUT OF CONTROL.

After I got the makeup section organized, I went up another shelf and hit up one of those gray bins.

It was full of cold meds, q-tips, shampoo & pills! It was totally overflowing!

Time to SORT/PURGE/ORGANIZE.

Now it looks like this inside. I can totally manage that. The husband knows where to find things now…

I also put the travel bags away in the linen closet upstairs (another organizing project to do!)

Why was I wasting soooo much room? Pure laziness.

When I was almost done, I had a bunch of items leftover with NO PLACE TO GO. I re-purposed another one of my Tupperware bins and stacked it on top. I HAVE SIX DRAWERS NOW!

I made a whole drawer for hairbrushes! You have no idea how much this excites me.

While I was at it, I decided to bust out my label maker. Why yes! My label maker IS labeled!

And here’s what that stack looks like now! All I had to do was move the shelf up a little and TADA!

A thing of beauty…

Drawers for: MAKEUP, JEWELRY, SPA STUFF, TRAVEL STUFF, REFILLS & HAIRBRUSHES

Let’s look at the overview now:

Let me just stare at it for a moment…

So that makeup section…

It’s all neat & organized now. I got rid of a few things and put stuff away. I cleaned out my brushes while I was at it.

I’m totally going to keep like this. NO EXCUSES.

The top shelf used to house a bin full of cleaning supplies. I moved them to our laundry room for safekeeping.

THAT SHELF IS PRIME REAL ESTATE.

I also re-purposed three bins I had in other parts of my house.

The floral bin holds my hair dryer & flat iron (they used to be shoved somewhere in between the Tupperware drawers).

The blue bin holds soap refills & the white bin holds dental stuff. They’re labeled!

The bottom shelf holds our towels & our scale.

Even if the master bathroom doesn’t look the way we want it to, it’s looking fresh with a new organizing system!

Soo worth the effort.

Zero boundaries? No thanks. A few boundaries are a very good thing. Boundaries prevent you from dropping by your friend’s place unannounced. Boundaries stop you from eating your roommate’s food in the fridge. Boundaries keep you from phoning your ex at midnight. However, when you mix zero boundaries with zero emissions, all rules go straight out the window.  In this episode, we talked about a myriad of topics, in fact it was a veritable plethora. Zero limitations, even.  We introduced a new segment called ‘The Secret Lives of Teenagers’ with the help of our teenage correspondent Matt. Thank you, Matt! We answered a voicemail question called in by an Australian listener.  We heard Amy’s karaoke in Koreatown story.  We also mentioned that:

Ryan Reynolds is selling his house.

Outasight sings ‘Tonight’s The Night’.

A tourist in LA may want to visit here.

If you can’t wait for The Hunger Games movie, rent Battle Royale!

On February 10th, the movie Safe House opens at a theater near you.

Nice  iTunes reviews are very much appreciated.

Lotus birth. I won’t link to anything here, because I just saw a picture of it and it is best not to link.

Thanks for popping by to check in on our show notes!  Were you looking for something specific? Tell us and we can point you in the right direction as the show notes only address a sampling of what is mentioned in each episode. Really, we love hearing from the listening audience whether it is here on homefries or on our facebook page.  Or the homefries-facebook page. Or on our voicemail line at 818.643.1565.  Do you perhaps have an idea for an interesting segment or a fun topic we should address? Don’t hesitate to suggest! And lest you forget, Public Sleeping Day is February 28th – don’t miss out on this opportunity to nap in the public eye.

This week on the Simple Mom Podcast, Tsh speaks with Mandi Ehman of LifeYourWay.net.  Tsh answers all of the questions you have asked on Facebook and Twitter.  How do Mandi and Tsh do it all?  From supportive spouses to organizing tips, Tsh and Mandi get real about how they handle big families and successful blogs.

Answers and tips, now!

Our co-op: classicalconversations.com

Heidi’s post (mentioned briefly): Mt. Hope Academy.

Nester’s drawers:  laundry lifestyling.

How to have your cake and eat it, too:

Day in the life of Tsh!  So real and so encouraging.
Jon Acuff on Stuff Christians Like.

Yes… it’s already time to talk Valentine’s Day.  Tracy’s married, loving holiday celebrations vs. Joy’s single, awkward conversation holiday celebration.

We’ll talk about how to have a Valentine’s Day celebration with two babies at home, and how to send a big bunch of flowers (or edible underwear)to your friend’s office job.

Tracy tries to order Joy a Joe the Baker stripper, and Joy tries to order Tracy a mime stripper.

Believe it or not, it’s even more ridiculous that it sounds.

Heart Dipped Krispie Treats.  Easy love bites!

Homemade Almond Joys.  Want now!

Chocolate cake! With a Heart on it!   Sweetheart!

Shop at Best Made Co.

Axes are TOTALLY COOL!

Joy is obsessed with Marlies Dekkers bras… no biggie.

Ooooh boy.  Here we go.

Big, Happy Valentine’s Day!

I’m tackling my Organization Goals 2012 list!  I’m starting with this item:

CLEAN OUT MY PURSE MORE OFTEN

Let’s get started! This is my fantastic Kelly Moore purse/camera bag that I’ve been using over 6 months (that’s a long time for me!).  What I like about this purse is that it has PLENTY of pockets. I always like that in a purse; it draws me in! The problem is…there might be TOO many pockets!  Crazy, right?Because I never set guidelines for myself of what goes into each pocket, I lose things CONSTANTLY. Quick! Ask me where my cellphone is! I couldn’t tell you. Oh wait…it’s prolly at the bottom of my bag because I’m too lazy to put it in the same compartment EVERY TIME.

Not only am I going to clean out my purse today, I’m going to give myself some rules for organizing!

Watch me.

I started by dumping out the contents of my purse on my coffee table and SORTING.

This is basically what I’ve been carrying around with me. Looks like a junk pile, huh?

We start with the paper…I kinda let it get out of hand lately. It’s because I’m in too much of a hurry when I’m leaving stores.

I just JAM the receipt in my bag instead of thoughtfully taking care of it.

In the process I figured out that I only need one receipt. Look at all that paper going to recycling!

Then I took care of the rogue change & that little stack of moola in my purse.

Fact: Wallet organizing is one of my favorite things to do.

Strange, huh?

In the process I uncovered a pocket full of jewelry! Leftovers from traveling a few weeks ago, buh-bye!

Hmmm. These two things sure don’t belong…

Ahhh makeup! In reality, I should only carry like one lip gloss but I CAN’T HELP but carry like 5.

I’m a girl!

I decided what my essentials are for my makeup bag and I’m sticking to it:

Perfume, lotion, lip stuff, hair clips, toothpicks, tweezers & a nail file. Must add my compact w/mirror in there!

Out of the makeup-y stuff I got rid of this. Oh and teabags! Why do I have those in there?

After all my sorting, I put together a visual list of all my essentials!

I also decided to put it in writing. GAME PLAN:

Then I gave myself a foundation for pocket usage:

Oh! One more thing. This is my pro tip! I always buy purses that have rings on the straps so I can attach my keys with a Carabiner Hook.

It means I never have to worry about losing my keys somewhere in my bag.

The trick is that you have to HOOK it onto your purse! Sometimes I forget to do that. I don’t like it when that happens.

So that’s it. I cleaned out my purse.

I hope to spend about 15 minutes a week (prolly during Sunday night TV time) cleaning out my bag.

I WILL NOT BE LAZY. I WILL KEEP THIS UP.

Wish me luck!

It’s Awards Season. The Super Bowl is coming. And you know you have to catch up with Don Draper at a Mad Men Marathon before the new season starts. So get off the couch and into the spirit. Turn on the tube, throw a party, and invite some friends– because The Table Set wants you and your guests to tune in and turn up your TV party’s volume.

When it comes to Award Shows the super-duper-über-mightiest of all is The Academy Awards. Greg has walked the red carpet more than once and can tell you firsthand that the best parts are (of course) the after-parties and the limo rides. Imagine yourself creeping along in the limo line, masses of adoring fans waving and screaming at you. Of course they have no idea who’s traveling behind those darkened windows. So everyone’s a star. Wouldn’t you have a little fun with the fans?

But Greg’s not the only one with a so called glamorous life. Nathan knows how to live too. How about a party to honor the one and only season of your favorite TV show? You know– My So Called Life. And while you’re at it, make it a waffle party. In your pajamas. Yeah that makes sense.

If you’ve read this far we’re assuming you aren’t one of those people who frowns at the idea of eating in front of the TV. Well neither is Andy. He likes to throw regular Mad Men viewing parties where the meal is every bit as enticing as the drama. Costumes encouraged. Good food and drink guaranteed. But in true Andy style he merely takes his inspiration from the onscreen hijinks and presents a meal more suited to a modern palate. I bet his bloody Steak a la Betty Draper with roasted baby heirloom tomatoes would raise a few meticulously manicured mid-century eyebrows.

But let’s face it. The TV party of the year has nothing to do with Hollywood. Unless you count the commercials. I’m talking about The Super Bowl. People take their game day eats super seriously. The Table Set is no exception. Except these guys like to rev it up a notch bringing their signature High Brow/Low Brow front and center. For example Nathan’s Hip Dip, it takes the rather low brow mainstay Chip and Dip and turns it into a robust spread that is a refreshingly light and zesty take on the standard guacamole. He uses plenty of edamame.

Which opens the door to an entire Super Bowl menu that takes the expected to the highest of high brow heights. Without losing its sporty low brow appeal.

 Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Buffalo Dipping Sauce  

Soy & Maple Roasted Almonds

 The Super Bowl in no ordinary game and this is no ordinary Hoagie. Watch your guests dig into this Pork Belly and Braised Endive Sandwich.

Thai Bird Chili Wings 

Americano Cocktail

Pine Nut Cookies with Rosemary & Olive Oil

Despite these gents’ love of the high brow/low brow hybrid, Nathan knows what these parties are all about. Glamour! So break out the punch bowl and give his Gilded Cava Punch a go. It’s guaranteed to make your party golden!

Photo of Andy by: heatherkincaid​.com/blog.

Traveling can be totally fun or completely fussy. How the heck do we stay together, emotionally or physically, during an age where all our essential needs have to fit into a tiny 22″ x 14″ space? And don’t get me started on 6 hour flights next to that heavily breathing dude. Or the inevitable post-flight triple threat: baggy-eyes, dry-skin, sleep-deprivation. We’ve all been there. How do we stay comfy and cozy on the plane? What travel essentials do we really need (that don’t take up a lotta space)?

Let’s start with the travel bit first, shall we? What you need to start with is some kind of cozy defense from the havoc of the plane situation.  A hug (and not from the weirdo in seat 14A). A soft and pretty cocoon. A warm (but not overheating), slightly oversized  sweater that you can wrap yourself in with ease. Enter the waffle-knit cocoon sweater. Softly blush hued. Perfect to get cozy during those long flights. Pair them with some soft, textured joggers.  Leave your Hanes sweatpants at home because thats just not how you roll. These joggers by Topshop have a high-end look to them, perfect for wanting to feel like you’re at home on the couch, but with a presentable style. Kick off your boots and slip on these cashmere ballet slippers by Soma. Curl up. Have a drink.

That girl in Seat 12D is totally envious of your whole situation. But then again, it’s kind of her fault for wearing those crunchy jeans.

Now it’s time to relax. Take a nap and arrive at your destination well-rested. Nothing is going to help you more than a little beauty sleep. Invest in some noise cancelling headphones (these go for $48) as they will drown out all the hums and buzzes of the airplane. The ambient chatter suddenly seems so far away. And the best part is that the creepy guy next to you is going to stop commenting on every page of his in-flight magazine and expecting you to respond to his nonsense. Also…keep some moisturizer handy, as the dry plane air is sure to dry out your hands before it even leaves the tarmac. Try this CLEAN shower fresh anti-bacterial hand moisturizer. Germ-free, worry-free hands are the only way to travel!

Now the question is: how does one look impossibly fresh on the day that you land? Do we avoid dinner reservations and friends to deal with our baggy-eye situation? Rest assured, it’s only going to take you 15 minutes to fake an 8-hr nap! This triple oxygen instant energizing eye mask carries it’s ingredients in separate, air-tight compartments, such that you get freshly activated marine collagen working to de-puff, brighten, and hydrate your eyes in a snap!

You’re ready. You’re jet-set. Now go!

So what do you really need for your destination? Of course, this depends on the location and season of your destination. But for the most part, you need a perfect dress. A versatile dress that you can change up easily with a belt, opaque tights, or that cool scarf that you just found at the street market. A comfy dres that you can run around in, but also dress up with black heels and some bright gems for dinner at the cool new brazilian cafe. Try on this high-low dress (only 35$ at Zara), as it makes your legs look much longer from the front, while keeping a conservative back hemline. Match it with a lightweight trench that you can easily roll up in your tote. This tab-sleeved trench coat by Old Navy is only $49 and features an optional full length or 3/4 length sleeve.  It has the perfect balance of length (not so long it will be impossible to fold up into your bag) with a hint of film noir in the collar. Flip up the collar when you want to go incognito down the streets (cuz that’s why you’re here, for secret agent missions, right???) Don’t forget your perfect coral lipstick, for those nights that you need to step it up a notch. Designed by the lipstick queen herself, Poppy King, this hue is understated and polished, with a hint of glam.

Now let’s talk accessories… its time to get utilitarian-chic!

This leather market tote is perfect for throwing everything into a bag and running out the door. With a scalloped trim and reviews that boast heavy-duty capacity, this perfectly chic-utilitarian bag will carry all your cool travel finds, from vintage cookbooks to local artwork. This timex watch by J. crew is also oh-so-utilitarian-chic. Inspired by the classic Timex Diver’s Watch, this accessory will keep you on time for all your appointments (including those underwater secret missions). Okay so maybe you’re not a secret agent, but at least you have everyone intrigued. Hide your ipad or Kindle inside these vintage-patterned dodocases, which seem like a simple journal to the untrained eye. The covers fold back and double as bookstands. Fashion forward and tech savvy!

We wanna hear about your favorite travel essentials! What travel must-haves can you not live without?

Hearts,

YFS

On this episode of the Joy the Baker Podcast, Joy and Tracy are talking about LISTS (not lisps)!  We’re talking about how we deal, and all the lists we make.  Food lists.  Cookbook lists.  Music playlists (see below).

We also go on a major tangent about leg candy, large bread products, and The Bachelor.  It’s everything and nothing you ever asked for.

Joy has endless amounts of paper and card lists.

Tracy uses Evernote!   List technology.

Joy’s Playlist - where Fleetwood Mac meets Kanye West and The Cults.  It’s weird and awesome.  Welcome to my world.

Tracy’s Playlist – The Yeah Yeah Yeahs meet Ladytron!  Get motivated!

Joy’s Book List:

Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe.

Tender

The Mozza Cookbook 

Tracy’s Book List:

 Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food

Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating

Tyler Florence Family Meals

Joy’s Single Girl Melty Chocolate Cake recipe in Sunset magazine.

Tracy wants to add Homemade Amaretto!

Also!  Breakfast Cookies!!

We talk for waaaay too long about The Bachelor.  Side boob!

Leg Candy!… Ok, so it’s not candy… sometimes it’s a batard.

Tracy may not like it… but Joy wants IN!

Betsy Johnson Legwear-  ok… some of this stuff is straight craaaazy.

Urban Outfitters Legwear-  keep it cool and classic with a bit of edge.

Anthropologie Legwear-  as classic as it gets.

Apparently I dress like Punky Brewster.  Whatever!

Ps.  Don’t get locked in the fridge.

Pps.  Thanks for the leg inspiration Andrea.

I was sitting on an airplane last week for over two hours while we waited in line to get de-iced. My good books were in my suitcase because I figured the brief flight home from SLC to SFO wouldn’t warrant enough time for serious reading. I closed my eyes to try to get some sleep (I can never sleep on an airplane!) and started mapping out all of rooms in my house in my head, visualizing my clutter. Deep in thought, I had an epiphany:

I already knew this, but for some reason with nothing else to clutter my mind, I realized this is why I’ve been so annoyed with the lack of balance in my life. I HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF. To evaluate my goals, I started to make a list of what I want to accomplish this year. Can you believe with all of these posts that I do that I don’t have a concrete game plan of how I want to tackle the clutter & reorganize my life? For the past two months I’ve been running on this notion: I have the time to do this, what can I get done in this time and post about.

All of the projects I’ve tackled thus far have helped greatly, but there are soo many more to go! So this is my course of action for 2012. Let’s start with the BIG list.

• clean out/organize the basement
• clean out the inside of my car
• scrub/clean/organize the fridge & freezer
• clean out/organize my crafts (and get rid of what I don’t use!)
• organize/purge kitchen cabinets
• fancy up the laundry room so I will actually enjoy the space
• sort through Cooper’s toys & clothes that he’s outgrown
• figure out an efficient way to grocery shop and stick to it
• manage my online life better (calendar, blog, information, ALL OF IT)
• get rid of unnecessary files on my computer and tidy up my folders & desktop
• go through my Aperture library and delete photos I don’t need (huge challenge!)
• sort through the linen closet
• get rid of books I don’t need anymore
• get rid of unnecessary items in the bathroom & organize!
• go through my closet and get rid of clothes I don’t wear

Then I realized that there are several things I can do on a daily basis to help reduce the stress I feel of being disorganized & clutter. So here they are:

• spend 10 minutes before bed every night straightening up the house.
• keep a list of things to pack & bring for work/preschool
• clean out my purse more often
• clean up my mess in the kitchen before starting something new
• be smart with my time spent on the computer (only surf if I have the time to!)
• make Cooper’s lunch the night before school. Even if I’m tired, I must do it.
• don’t buy new things unless I’m ready to get rid of something I don’t need.
• check the pantry before grocery shopping. Shopping smart means less waste.
• hang up clothes immediately when I get home
• take the time to sort things from the car so it doesn’t end up looking like another closet

One of the reasons why I love working on this High Straightenence column is that it holds me accountable each week. I have you watching my progress and it’s inspiring YOU to organize too.

A few of you readers/listeners have sent me twitter pics & emails of your organized cabinets & pantries and I want to say THANK YOU! Check out this post from Shana of Folks Gotta Eat!  Amazing, RIGHT?!!

I’d love to show your hard work to all of my readers. Leave a comment with any links or tweet me on twitter! (@shutterbean)

Let’s get organized together!

We had such fun recording with Andy of The Table Set podcast! He’s great, huh?

We reminisce about the amazing brunch we had last Sunday, hosted by Greg, Andy and Nathan. Everything was so delish, I’m kicking myself now that I didn’t take any pictures of the food – I only managed to snap these two picts of the table, because we were so busy chatting and drinking blood orange mimosas!

In this episode we mentioned a few other things and here are some links:

• The French Laundry restaurant in Yountville, CA north of San Francisco.
• Starry Kitchen,  a formerly underground kitchen gone legit.
• Silent events, 1500 people quiet-dancing and the flip side of that, Boombox Parties….
• Shots of wheatgrass juice!
• Sour beer is a thing.

Do you have a comment for us? Feel very free to tell us what’s on your mind (we don’t judge). You can definitely call us at 818-643-1565 and leave a voicemail, Or perhaps write us an email at thebecauseshow@gmail.com. Or leave a comment here at Homefries. However you want to do it is just fine by us! Thnx for listening.

xo,

jerilyn

If you’ve got the post-holiday blues, The Table Set has a solution for you. Mardi Gras isn’t just one day in February, the party lasts for weeks. To get you up on all things Mardi Gras, the Gents bring in a Mardi Gras veteran, Lisa of the podcast The Nerd Out: Girls Gone Nerd.

You know you’ve got a first-rate holiday when it comes with its own special cake. King Cake: the cake with a plastic “Baby J” inside. Lisa reccomends Manny Randazzo’s or Sucre’s King cakes. Or maybe you could bake your own!

King Cake isn’t the only sweet thing we’ve got going on. Fried dough covered with mountains of powdered sugar? Sounds like a recipe for fun! Or a recipe for powdered sugar all over the floor.

Beignets can be a part of your home Mardi Gras too, set up a block of time at your party for fresh-fried delights. Greg shows you how!

Soup is great for winter parties, so stew up a giant pot of Gumbo for a quintessential Mardi Gras treat.

The next best thing to a crawfish boil, Creole-style BBQ shrimp, or pickled shrimp.

Now that you’ve got the food covered, how about some NOLA drinks?!? The Sazerac is the classic, the Pimm’s Cup (below) claims NOLA’s Napoleon House as its second home, and The Hurricane is kitschy rum-packed red punch fun! (Bookmark Chuck Taggart’s blog for all things NOLA, especially the cocktails!)

Lisa votes for NOLA beer at your home party. Abita is distributed to many parts of the country and they even make a beer called “Andygator.”

The last day of Mardi Gras is Fat Tuesday. Andy tells us about how in Polish tradition, Fat Tuesday is also know as Pączki Day. Pączkis are jelly donuts! Nathan tells about the time he searched LA to find them and ended up at a Nursing Home.

High-brow/low-brow or low-brow/low-brow? Decorate for your Mardi Gras party with colored beads, or maybe class it up and use the purple-green-gold combo with flowers instead.

Yeah, we’re into the cheesy Mardi Gras beads.

Finally, what would your party be without music. Lisa has made us a Zydeco playlist that will make you want to “climb the walls.”

In my opinion, an essential skill for the proper man is knowing how to prepare a darn good cocktail.
I will cover the basics in this column, and to kick it off decided to start the most complex of them all.

The Bloody Mary.

She’s spicy, complicated, and nourishing. She’ll cure your hangover, and put hair on your chest.
Unfortunately for you corner-cutters, the only way to do it right is from scratch. Unlike most classic cocktails, the recipe is hazy and often improvised. While a benefit, that can also cause anxiety if you don’t know how to do it right.

I’ve come to appreciate my first serving job in college most for requiring me to make the scratch bloody mix every Sunday morning before brunch shift. I became the go-to guy because my mix was fiery and robust. I never used a measure, as the bloody is all about taste. Once you have a truly balanced bloody, you’ll forever know when another is not up to par.

So, gentlemen, let’s go over the basic ingredients you’ll need on hand to whip up an impressive four star breakfast cocktail on the fly. My rule of thumb: Start with a few dashes. Taste. Add a little more. Taste. Add a little more!

Booze.
Vodka is fine, but I prefer gin. Hendrick’s adds a pleasant herbal kick. Tequila also stands up nicely to the mix for a bloody with a smoky backbone. Pick your poison.

Tomato juice.
I don’t think homemade juice is entirely necessary here, albeit next level. A bottle, can or carton of good quality 100% tomato juice will suffice. You’ll want roughly equal parts tomato juice and booze. Combine over ice.

Lemon juice.
A citrus tang is important, however in moderation. An overly-lemony bloody is actually my least favorite kind. For this definitely use a squeeze of fresh fruit.

Hot Pepper Sauce.
Tabasco is the traditional choice, but I like to shake it up. Sriracha is a newfangled favorite, though generally I tend to prefer Louisiana hot sauces, Crystal being my favorite.

Horseradish.
Grated fresh horseradish root makes the most delicious bloodies, but in a pinch prepared horseradish from the jar will do (note: NOT horseradish cream). A little spoonful goes a long way. Make sure your guests can handle it.

Worcestershire.
Super important. The Worcestershire sauce is what lends the meaty bite. It’s the umami. That said, for a Bloody Maria I’ve successfully substituted Chipotle hot sauce. If you’re going for an Asian twist with Sriracha, maybe try soy sauce in place of the Worcestershire.

Black pepper.
Yep, lots of it. Ground fresh.

Celery salt.
A blend of celery seed and salt, it’s the signature finish. Sprinkle generously on top.

Garnish.
A celery stalk is classic, though I find it terribly distracting and cumbersome. This is a good time to raid those jars in the back of the fridge for a pickled assortment. Olives, cornichons, cocktail onions, dilly beans, okra, green tomatoes… it all works! Skewer on a bamboo kabob stick, add to glass, serve, and get ready for a “wow!”

Alright, lesson over. So how do you like yours?

This week on the Joy the Baker Podcast, Joy and Tracy are talking fact or fiction.  Is it Joy or Tracy that  had a hippie-raver phase?  Who went through a deep goth phase?  Someone lived with a stripper?  Wait… who had their face pierced?  Joy and Tracy also have a good cry… or at least talk about having a good cry.  From kids to movies… what makes you cry and why why why is it always the movie Beaches that makes us ball like babies?

If you’ve come here in search of pictures of Joy and Tracy in their hippie-raver and goth days… well, luckily those were the days before digital cameras (at least that’s what we’re telling ourselves).  We could draw you stick figures of raver pants and lip rings, and black hair and ear/navel rings.  Would that help?  No… sorry.

Mondays are haaard, so we should all just watch The Bachelor and feel better.  Hey… sometimes it works.  Let’s just not try to make ourselve feel better my labeling ourselves ‘smart’ before we watch such nonsense.  That’s just silly.

Let’s have a good cry.  Beaches anyone?

What makes us cry?  Tracy’s darling child is just too precious.  Mom cryfest.  Bring on the Pampers commercials.

Football makes dudes cry.  It’s just a known fact.

Pretty things make us cry.  Anger makes us cry.

Watching Flight of the Concords makes us laugh cry.

Clearly, Steel Magnolias makes us cry.

Thank you for listening to the Joy the Baker podcast.  Thank you for listening in your car.  Thank you for listening while you work out.  Thank you for enjoying cocktails in the shower.  It’s a good life!  We’re so glad you’re in it with us!

On this week’s episode of Food Hoarders, Tracy tackles her kitchen pantry. What better way to spend a Saturday night than cleaning out a kitchen pantry for 4 hours?

I shouldn’t kid, hoarding is a big problem. I’m not necessarily a hoarder; I just buy food because I think I need it. Turns out I already have those items but I can’t see them because my pantry is so disorganized. Wait? Is this a hoarding show or an organizing show? I’m confused.

The last time I cleaned out my pantry was probably 6 months ago when I had a serious moth infestation from buying bulk food items. As some semblance of a resolution for 2012, I’m trying to get my head in the zone and keep things in my kitchen organized. The first step starts with my kitchen pantry. Besides the fridge, it’s one of the main hubs in my kitchen. My kitchen pantry easily falls into a disorganized state because I’m rushing around doing things and not devoting time once a week to tidy things up a bit. After grocery shopping with a 3 year old and emptying the items that need to be refrigerated from the grocery store, I always get a bit lazy/overwhelmed with putting things away in the pantry.  In 2012, I’m hoping to be a little more thoughtful with how I organize/take care of my pantry so I can avoid things like:

• buying items I already have
• wasting precious space with expired items
• multiple items opened at the same time
• not knowing what my options are food wise because I can’t see them

Today I show the world (deep breath!) just how disorganized I’ve been.  Don’t worry there’s a SUCCESS story at the end and I’m pretty darn proud of it.

And so it begins…

Let’s do a little inspection…We begin with the top shelf of chaos. The baking section. I see 8 things that don’t belong.

This is the middle. This is what I see at eye level and it stresses me out. All the items in front are covering up the items in back.

You can also see how well I stack items on top of other items. Whoa.

This kind of stresses me out.

The last shelf…can you believe there are sweet potatoes somewhere in there? The cereals are blocking them.

And here’s the floor…if you can even see it. Also my spice rack is in a crazy state! Cinnamon spilled on the bottom rack and I need to clean it up!

First step. SORT. I worked from the top down and used my kitchen table as my sorting station.

Since I started with the top section (the BAKING section) I weeded out all of the items that didn’t belong there.

You can imagine how excited Cooper was to see a bunch of sugar, chocolate & marshmallows on our kitchen table. Keeping him from getting into my stuff was probably the most difficult challenge of this project! I took a break and continued after he went to bed.

Because all of the chocolate for baking was shaped differently, I organized them in a tupperware for safe keeping.

During this process, I had a few bags designated for recycling, one for garbage and one for composting.

I kept reminding myself that I’d eventually get through! I kept at it.

This metal bin here was something I designated a long time ago as my nut/dried fruit bin. Obviously it’s been heavily neglected.

In the process I found TWO packages of almonds & dried white peaches that were already opened. UGH.

I solved the problem by taking one of these plastic caddies I bought a few months ago at IKEA and re- purposed it for nuts & dried fruits.

Now I can pull out the caddy & carry it to my kitchen counter when I’m making something in the kitchen and I can easily see what’s in it.

When I finally finished sorting & putting everything back, I put all of the items that didn’t belong in the pantry on my kitchen table for sorting. All this stuff was wasting precious space in my pantry. No wonder I couldn’t see anything.

After 4+ hours of work, we have the AFTER!! I stood at the pantry the next morning just staring.

I’m THRILLED with the results.

Here’s the top shelf. The BAKING SHELF. There were items stored IN my kitchen mixer bowl. Shameful!

I know that Frank’s Red Hot sauce doesn’t belong, but it fit on the shelf so nicely!

And we look at the second shelf down. The MIDDLE!

You can see I found THREE bottles of apple cider vinegar in the process!

I love seeing all my soups & stocks lined up. It’s easy to grab one now.

To the left there’s more organization. Different sections for different needs.

And we work our way down to the bottom shelf. What a breath of fresh air!

You can see my nuts/dried fruits section now. Two caddies in action!

And here’s the FLOOR! You can see it! I have designated bins. I’m glad I know what I have now.

While I was at it, I organized the spice shelves.

I threw out old spices & condensed a few.

And here’s shelf dedicated to vinegars & oils.

The best part? I can see it ALL!

Now the next step? Putting a LOCK on my pantry door because someone gets into it CONSTANTLY.

Hope this helps inspire you to tackle your own kitchen pantry organizing project!

REMEMBER: How can you go grocery shopping if you can’t see what you have?!

YFS,

I work in an office where I am free to dress up or dress down as I please. I try to look presentable but when I’m in a rush in the morning, I often default to a slacks+blouse+cardigan look, mostly because my office is FREEZING! My office is in LA, though, so warm attire is usually unnecessary outdoors but just in my office. Can you break me from boring cardigan look without being totally overdressed (in the warmth sense) when I go to lunch? I’m open to having a versatile, leave-it-at-the-office sweater. It’s so cold in our office our receptionist has resorted to just keeping a sweatshirt at work!

-Karen

Picture by Shopbop

Karen,

FREEZING WORKPLACES ARE NO GOOD. NO GOOD AT ALL.  I am always hunting for thermostats in the workplace, but they are like decoy toys attached to the wall to trick us into thinking we have some control. EVIL!!! At least our wardrobes are something we DO have control over and there is indeed hope for a cardigan alternative world.

Enter the perfect work blazer. Soft. Structured. Versatile. And oh-so-pretty. None of those crunchy tight blazers that prevent you from typing (unless you enjoy the straight-arm Frankenstein typing method). Try this Zara Blazer with Contrast Piping for an effortless piece that you can dress up and dress down with ease.  Check out all the blazers on sale at Zara right now!   It is a clean alternative to the cardigan that will go with jeans and some nice loafers, a sheath dress, a silk shell top with tailored pants and some classic pumps, or even a clean jersey shirt with a pencil skirt (as seen above). Win. The only problem left is that you might not want to take it off even when it warms up!

NOW LETS HAVE SOME FUN.

While it is great to have that one great go-to blazer for all your needs, sometimes you just need a few key pieces to express your changing moods.

THE PREPPY BLAZER

For the days that you have ideas worth listening to.  You will look smart and say smart things. This blazer hints “Ivy League” but when paired with a more casual top, such as this striped sweater, you will be effortless chic and not Thurston Howell the 3rd. Go subtle with the nailpolish, using only this blush hued “Caviar” topcoat and keep the accessories to a minimum- like …. no bling, no rocks dangling from your ears. Remember, today is the day you have things to do! Ideas to spread! Documents to sign (like with this really pretty lacquered brass space pen). And you will FINALLY wear a pencil skirt …one that is conservative in length but chic in design. Of course you should never settle for matronly shoes, so slip into these grey leather heel shoes by Topshop, it has perfectly understated details, such as a clean elastic band in front and a single stud in the back.

THE CASUAL BLAZER

Casual Friday? What about for those of us that go casual every day? (Wikipedia says 43% of us do!) Im talking nice jeans and an easy blazer. Sometimes the best ideas come when you are at ease and happy/stress-free. What is easier than a draped tee? What makes you happier than suede poppy-hued ballet flats? (Maybe suede poppy-toed heels do.) And what about accessories? Try this square encased ring (which also comes in navy) and clasp coin purse (which also comes in a Marie-Antoinette baby blue) and call it done already! Go ahead and take a long lunch, cuz you deserve it.

THE CLASSY BLAZER

For those confident days where you have no choice but to GO HARD, then GO ALL THE WAY! Chew off more than you can bite…. THEN CHEW IT!!!

Advice the first: You don’t need a pantsuit to come out on top.

#2. Don’t stop at the tweed blazer, don’t stop at the chiffon placket shirt, don’t stop at the black horn buttoned taper trousers, but maybe stop after the chic killer heels!

#3. Accessorize lightly. Use some restraint to keep your look sharp and well-edited. Save the bright manicure and stacked bangles for another day. If you’re going to a lunch meeting, these perfectly graded Lacoste aviators are the perfect companion. And don’t forget your black & gold leather Ipad case, cuz you really aren’t the kind of person that uses nylon casing, right? RIGHHTT!?!?

Hearts,

YFS

This week on the Joy the Baker podcast, Joy and Tracy talk about juggling.  We’re not talking clown business… we’re talking about our busy schedules and how we toss in short cuts to make it all come together.  They also discuss phones from the 90′s, the fine art of Internet stalking, and Tracy’s criminal mind.  Do you steal things just because people tell you to?  Yes… just yes.

Quick time blog shortcut?  Use a content roundup.  Gather season recipes like Tracy’s Fall recipe roundup.  It’s a great way to expose new readers to old content… and save yourself some time if you don’t have any super fresh content.

Joy’s Dad got an iPhone, and immediately went all in on texting.  This is lunch.  This is technology!

Nothing makes it past Tracy’s paper station.  Not even cards from Mom.  It’s true!

Tracy also has major travel and packing tips.  She’s good!

Tracy totally stole this… but it’s cool, because some dude said she could.  These things happen.

I love traveling. I do! But the packing and thought process put into actually getting to my destination can stress me out! I get hypersensitive about over- packing and always try to create a challenge of packing minimally. I think it’s because one of my brothers scoffed at how heavy my suitcase was once and it did some major mental damage. I almost always end up UNDER packing but at least it means I have room for purchases on my trip (I never forget the essentials, though!).

A few weeks ago, I went with my family on a cruise and took pictures of my packing process so you could see what goes on in my crazy brain!

My goal is always to pack SMART! I have to use my brain even more because I have to pack for a kid now.

A FEW DAYS BEFORE A TRIP, I MAKE LISTS:

-TRACY (that’s me!)

-COOPER (the hardest list!)

-DON’T FORGET (things I would be sad/upset to miss)

-AROUND THE HOUSE (what needs to be done before we leave. Like…cleaning the cat litter, watering plants, etc.)

-ELECTRONICS (cameras, laptop, baby monitor, battery chargers, ipod, etc.)

-CARRY ON BAG (the most important bag of all)

-CASEY (had his own list in his head)

MY STEPS TO PACKING:

-DO LAUNDRY There’s nothing more annoying to me than waiting for clothes to finish drying so I can pack my suitcase. I try my hardest to get laundry done before I start packing to avoid this. Also, it’s important to find all of the clothes you want to pack!

-FOLD LAUNDRY and play around with outfits and come up with a game plan. I lay everything out on my bed for this purpose.

-SORT LAUNDRY

I forgot about shoes! Oh shoes! These are the shoes I ended up packing on my trip.

Take away one pair and you take away a few different outfits. It’s all about finding outfits that work well with shoes. There were two dresses I ditched because it meant I would have to bring two extra pairs of shoes. Instead, I picked dresses that could easily be jazzed up with accessories since they take up little space. Think black jersey knit dresses! They’re like traveling gold. So versatile and pretty much wrinkle free!

I always have high hopes for exercising while on vacation and my sneakers ALWAYS take up a serious amount of space. Maybe I should just resolve that working out & vacations don’t mix for me? I could have brought a cute pair of shoes instead!

ALWAYS bring flip-flops even if the weather is bad. They’re great “slippers” for yucky hotel carpets.

-PUT ITEMS IN A LAUNDRY BASKET

All of the items get put in a laundry basket for safe keeping until I’m ready to load up my suitcase.

This is also a good way to keep my cats from freaking out. The second the suitcase comes out, they get STRESSED OUT and then one of them craps on the floor. Real life!

I should also note that on this trip we decided to use duffel bags because they collapse easily under the bed in our room on the cruise ship.

Because they don’t have tons of pockets, I used little bags to contain items. It’s a great way to keep track of things.

This one contains Cooper’s pull-ups & wipes!

I also have a small bag for: bathing suit stuff, underwear/bras/socks as well as electronics (which travels in my carry on!).

They’re great because you can pull out exactly what you need if you’re at the airport.

NOW WE PACK!

When the bag is close to done, I add a note on top of what needs to be added. There’s always stuff I’m waiting on…

Since we went on a cruise, I have a few tips for you!

My sister-in-law saw on a few cruise review websites that people highly recommended an Over-the- Door Organizer for the teeny bathrooms on the boat. I picked one up at Target for the trip.

Let me tell you, it was a DREAM! There’s limited counter space in the bathroom, so things would have been super cramped if I didn’t attach this to our bathroom door!

We were also told that we could bring a small bag full of booze on the boat. We wanted to save some money and I had a bunch of gin & bourbon at home so I tucked a few of these “RUM SMUGGLERS” in my suitcase in addition to the half case of wine Casey shipped to the hotel we were staying at.

If you have children, you already know how important the snack bag is!

Heck, it’s important for adults too! Our snack bag stays in our carry-on suitcase.

Cooper loves a Wild Berry Kid’s Super Food drink mix so I brought those with. It’s a perfect way to mask the taste of yucky hotel/cruise ship water.

I brought some healthier snacks from home so Cooper had something to eat on the airplane.

Snacks help prevent public lack-of-food-induced-tantrums. TRUST!

I had a really nice passport case but it didn’t fit all of my documents and I became obsessed with using/not using the pockets. At the very last minute, I threw everything in one of my favorite plastic document envelopes so I could easily see where everything was. It was so nice to be able to grab it out of my carry on when needed.

When we flew with Cooper for the first time, we got one of these Go Go Babyz Travel Mate Car Seat attachments.

You can see it in the bag there. It’s basically like a dolly that attaches to your car seat so you can wheel your child around the airport.

It’s a lifesaver! If your child insists on walking, well throw your purse on it and wheel it around!

On our trip we took 3 bags (to be checked) a car seat, my purse & a carry-on bag.

Not too bad for 7 days away, right?

OTHER IMPORTANT TIPS:

-keep an extra fold up bag in your suitcase (comes in handy if you need to carry home a purchase)

-keep a few plastic bags in your luggage for shoes or containing items that may leak

-use the front pocket of your suitcase for dirty clothes

-always keep your phone charger/camera charger in your carry-on!

-give your family/friends your contact information for when you’re gone

-don’t underpay your pet sitter (ha!)

Do you have any packing tips? DO SHARE!

Do you have any resolutions this year? I bet you do. Is it as interesting as Amy’s resolution to become more orgasmic during sex?  Or as mundane as my resolution to avoid spending money at Starbucks? Or perhaps somewhere in between? In this episode we talk about different ways to ‘get there’ whether it’s travel or umm…other things.

One really great resolution is: no more running out of gas. See the strandedness of my car as my family traveled out of California into Arizona.

 Thank goodness for AAA and portable DVD players, that’s all I can say.

Brunch! We’ve been invited to brunch by Andy of The Table Set  podcast and of course, we are excited! What do you wear to a casual brunch in January in Los Angeles? This sounds like a good question for Andrea of Your Fashion Story.  Maybe I’ll get in touch with Whitney of The Crush to ask her what wine to bring to a brunch. Brunch! It’s one of those combo words that just makes sense.

On a different side of ‘getting there’ – wouldn’t be nice to travel a teensy bit more? To squeeze in at least one family vacation in 2012?  I think so.  One of my resolutions is to make a family vacation happen this year. Maybe to NYC?  Not sure yet, but I found a few websites to help me get there.

Yapta.com Will track price fare fluctuations for you and notify when is best time to buy your tickets. Also will send an email alert if your price fare goes down allowing you to get a refund! Why wouldn’t you use this site?

Kayak.com Will search hundreds of travel sites and aggregate the results to tell you the best travel deals. So you don’t have to go back and forth and check them yourself.

Yipit.com Another aggregator site that will collect all the group on/living social/coupony discounts into one perfect email tailored to your individual preferences. This ain’t solely a travel site, it will search for travel packages but also services, meals and other daily deals. A penny saved is a penny earned, right?

Thanks for all the great iTunes reviews! We like it.

We’re looking forward to bringing you more episodes to stick in your ears throughout 2012!

And I’ll leave you with a picture of Amy shopping it out in honor of her new job.

The Joy the Baker podcast is back (and we’re totally better than ever)!  This week Joy and Tracy discuss life on a Disney cruise, Tracy’s glass ceiling, New Year’s non-resolutions, and eat days… oooh eat day.  It’s a new year.  It’s a new you!  let’s get into it!

Welcome to your home for a week!

These are your new friends!

This must be the adult cove!

The ice cream is the best part.

Tracy rang in the new year in super Disney stylings.

Joy wore gemstones and danced in a living room with friends.

Homefries U is on its way to Palm Springs at the end of April.  We’ve got loads of fun packed into the weekend… including a secret guest speaker!  Be the first to know about it.  Sign up for the mailing list!

Happy New Year!  Let’s make it major together!

It’s New Year’s Resolution Time!

Do you have any resolutions? I’m still trying to figure out mine, but I know WORK HARD and PLAY HARD are both on the list. But then again, when isn’t it?

The biggest challenge of making resolutions is staying motivated. With all of life’s distractions, it’s pretty easy to get off track.

I find a good way to stay motivated is to have little reminders around my house/on my computer/phone wallpaper that help me remember what’s important and what I’m working towards. Today I put together a little roundup of inspiration posters I found on Etsy that will help you stay motivated whatever your resolution might be. I’ve got my eyes on a few of these, now I just need to come up with the wall space!

Hang an inspirational print in your office, next to your front door, in your bathroom, or wherever you are able to easily see it. The point is to stop, read one of these mantras and STAY ON TRACK. If you’re in a pinch and need a temporary reminder, a post-it on your bathroom mirror works wonders!

Make Every Day Count by GraphicAnthology

Take a Big Deep Breath by evajuliet

Everyday is an Adventure by GraphicAnthology

Playing It Safe by thebigharumph

Today is the Day by thebigharumph

Follow Your Dreams by YellowBrickGraphics

Remember Why You Kept Holding On   by happydeliveries

Let it Be by handz

Be You by yumalum

 IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:

• Be kind to yourself
• Set obtainable/realistic goals
• Have Faith
• Don’t give up!

The holiday season is easily the best time of year for the everyday gentleman to flaunt his refinement. Back-to-back holiday parties invite a little semi-formal flair, and as recent years have shown, appropriated antiquated men’s formal wear is on the rise. Waistcoats, suspenders, brogue Oxfords, and bow ties have not only made their way back into modern dress, but even casual wear. Hence the proper man has little excuse not to polish up the cuff links for a special occasion and impress. A fitting starting point I think is the bow tie. No, not the clip-on. The real kind.

I first donned a bow tie for my uncle’s wedding when I was a youngster. Yeah, it was the tux store pre-tied variety, but it felt classy to me all the same. And that was hardly the last time. I’ve come to be most likely the only guy in the room wearing a bow tie, not that I mind. Over-dressed will always trump under-dressed, and makes a statement of panache.
Of course there’s the issue of how to tie a bow tie. Hit up the next yard sale you pass or vintage shop and grab a bow tie, then follow these simple steps. You’ll be dashing in no time.

Flip up that collar. Position the bow tie so it hangs longer on one side.

Cross the longer side over the shorter.

Holding the shorter side at a taught diagonal, tuck the longer end up behind and pull straight upwards.

Maintaining the longer end perpendicular, fold the shorter end in half so it makes a bow shape over the knot.

Drop the longer end of the tie down over the bow and grasp both with one hand.

With your other hand, pull the long tab up behind the doubled end of the bow in such a way that it’s folded into three equal parts.

Insert the resulting loop through the knot behind doubled bow carefully.

Lightly adjust knot, bow and tabs until even.

Voilà! With a little practice it becomes simpler than a Windsor knot.

Ring in the new year right, with mad swagger.

Going to the library and need some recommendations? Well, we’re here to help! These aren’t book that have been recently published, so you can probably find any of these at your local library. Except for Susan’s desk calendar.

Jerilyn’s picks:

• The Leftovers by Tom Perotta
• The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer
• Endless Love by Scott Spencer

Amy’s picks:

• Everything Matters! by Ron Currie Jr.
• I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith
• Joy School by Elizabeth Berg
• Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susana Clarke

Susan’s picks:

• A Vintage Affair by Phoebe Swift
• Mail Order Mysteries: Real Stuff from Old Comic Books by Kirk Demarais
• Sharks And Other Creatures Of The Deep by DK Publishing
• Her desk calendar.

The Because Show Listeners have suggested some great reads to us throughout the year.

Gotta book we should read?  Tell us.

On our Voicemail Line: 818-643-1565!

Or leave a comment here. We love your recommendations!

Thanks for stopping by to check out our Show Notes! We can also be found on facebook, and say hello to us on Twitter to jerilyn or amy or susan @thebecauseshow, @amyforstadt or @stormtroopermom. You can leave us an iTunes review when you have a minute.

Happy New Year! Here’s to a happy wonderful 2012!

It’s that time of year again: the end of the year.  It’s a time to celebrate all the good that happened over the last year.  And naturally, it’s a time to party.

Perhaps you aren’t so into the New Years Eve party.  Yes, sometimes it sounds nicer to stay home and have a party of two or maybe even a party of one.

Never fear,the Table Set gents are here to make sure your New Years party plans festive and fun!

Nathan talks about how his parents used New Years every year to have a reunion with their “Goose Crew” college friends. We ❤ the 80s.

Remember the magic of NYE when you were a kid? The one time per year when you had to stay up ’til midnight? Playing games with all the other kids?

Even grown ups need a way to pass the time before midnight.  Last year Andy partook in a drinking game that involved goofy illustration.  This Cher-odactyl was born from that game.

And speaking of drinking, would it be New Years without bubbly?  You don’t have to spend a fortune to have something enjoyable.

Nathan’s picks:

NV Gaston Chiquet Brut Tradition

NV German Gilabert Brut Nature Reserva Brut Cava

Sommariva Prosecco Superiore di Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG Brut, Veneto, Italy

NV Francois Pinon Vouvray Non-Dose Brut, Loire, France

NV Cristalino Cava Brut (*value*)

Straight up bubbly isn’t your only holiday spritzer options.  Greg talks about the classic champagne cocktail.  Or play it up even more with liqueur-stained sugar cubes using colorful like Campari, Chambord, Blue Curaçao, and Midori.

Andy will tell you the simple joys of the champagne float. That’s right, ice cream in bubbly. Simple, festive, fun and tasty!

Or skip the sparkling wine all together.  How about a cider?  Nathan loves the Bonny Doon 2010 ¿Querry?, an apple/pear/quince hard sparkling cider.

Wherever drinking is involve, make sure someone is sober for designated driving.  For a fun non-alcoholic option, how about “sparkling wine” soda? Or perhaps you can just stay the night.

Wouldn’t it be easier if nobody had to drive at all?  How about a NYE slumber party right into New Years Day brunch?

Brunch is why we like NYD better than NYE.  Seriously, you remember how much The Table Set loves brunch, right?

Nathan likes to ring in the New Year with the traditional good luck black eyed peas and collard greens. Meanwhile Andy will be having pizza for breakfast.  Breakfast pizza!  Put an egg on it!

Welcome to this week’s episode of The Because Show! So much ground to cover, where to begin?

Well, we explored the concept of the ‘Rock Cruise’. Have you heard about this? A rock cruise. Does this sound like hell on earth or a slice of paradise? If you have been on one, please call us (818-643-1565) and let us know how it was!

• Rick Springfield Cruise
• Lynyrd Skynrd and .38 Special Cruise
• The Weezer Cruise 
• Monsters of Rock Cruise with Tesla, Y&T and Cinderella
• R.Kelly Love Letter Cruise

And we discussed The American Dialect Society  choices for the woty! Yep, the ‘word of the year’. What do you think it should be? Some of the past words are so awesome, we definitely need to revisit this subject and talk about ‘moofing’, ‘prehabs’ and ‘googlegangers’.

Evidently the frontrunner is ‘Occupy’ with ‘Humblebrag’ coming in a as a close second. ‘Awkward’ is trailing behind, with ‘Winning’ bringing up the rear. We will certainly keep you updated when they announce the word in January. *Personally, my 2011 woty is ‘sworts‘ aka sweater-shorts, like these ones I spotted while I was standing in line at J.Crew:

Thank you to everyone,  whether you are a teenager or a senior, a boy or girl, a dad or mom, thank you to everyone who has written an iTunes review.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Iliza Shlesinger is the season 6 winner of Last Comic Standing.  She’s got her own Comedy Central Presents special.  She’s host of a hilarious dating show called Excused, has an internet show called The Weakly News, and she’s a touring comic.  Recently, Iliza has been on Jimmy Fallon and The Rachael Ray Show.

I love Iliza because she’s a super smart, and wonderfully talented lady.  It also doesn’t hurt that she always has me in stitches.  She’s a lady on her game.  She also has a dog named Blanche that she sneaks onto airplanes.  What’s not to love about that?   On this episode of We’re About to be Friends, Iliza and I talk about the comedy business, nerves, weird dad jokes, and fried olives.

Oooh Blanche.  You make the perfect Santa.

Find Iliza Shlesinger at iliza.com.  She can also be found on Excusedtv, and say hello to her on Twitter @iliza.

Throw that mistletoe on the ground and put on your lady jersey! It’s game time! This week on the Joy the Baker podcast, Joy and Tracy tackle New Years! From New Years Eve tips, to resolution, and New Year’s brunch.  Also… what happens when Joy dates a dude that’s into football, and why is predictive text so dang hilarious!?

Happy New Year to YOU!

Tracy’s Homemade Limoncello might be just the ticket for New Year’s Eve.  Limoncello!!!!

Joy’s Creme Fraiche Quiche.  Make ahead and assemble and bake the day New Years morning for brunch.  Easy!

Joy’s Banana Nut Waffles are delicious as waffles or pancakes.  Brunch versatility!

Tracy’s Panettone French Toast looks like a fine brunch indeed!

Homefries U:  Back to School was featured in The Atlantic.  You’ll definitely want to stay close for Homefries U: Spring Break announcements.  April 2012!  Get ready!

We’re About to be Friends with Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl.

This week you’ll also hear a We’re About to be Friends with Iliza Shlesinger.  She’s a smart and funny lady comic.  You’ll really like this!

Thanks for listening!

We love you! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I have nothing to wear! How many times do you think you’ve said that in your life? I’m guilty of saying it CONSTANTLY, but it’s not true. I have plenty to wear! It’s just that I always feel so uninspired by what’s in my closet AND I’m not always able to see what’s hiding in there!

I’m currently in the process of figuring out what to pack for an upcoming trip and I realized that I have a great tip for you!

TAKE PICTURES OF YOURSELF IN YOUR FAVORITE OUTFITS!

A couple years ago, I started taking pictures of my outfits in the bathroom mirror at work with my cellphone.

I started doing it to stay inspired and challenge myself to come up with different outfits. A few months later I had over 50 outfits documented! It has proven to be a really good way to help remind me what’s in my closet.

It also really helps my crazy planning brain. Look! I’ve already figured out what dresses I’m packing for my trip:

HERE’S WHAT I DO:

-Get dressed (duh)

-Take a picture of my outfit on my phone

-Save it to a designated folder on my phone

-Upload it to my flickr account (that way I can browse it from afar on a computer)

OTHER USES:

-Take photos of your hairstyles/haircuts (this can be useful when you’re going to a new stylist and you want to show them how you like your hair)

-Take pictures of your shoes & accessories

-Take pictures of clothes your trying on in the store. You can figure out if you want to go back and buy them.

-See how much your style has changed throughout the year!

-Track weight loss!

It’s kind of addictive.

This week on the Simple Mom Podcast, Tsh speaks with Megan from SortaCrunchy.  They talk about the challenges of minimalist living.  Do small closets really help?  The two also talk about the upcoming holiday season and how they deal with well-meaning gift givers when it comes to little kids, eager grandparents, and toys.

Truth in the Tinsel

Jesse Tree

One Thousand Gifts

Consumer Detox

Walking on Water

Post on Well-Meaning Gift Givers at Simple Mom.  (photo from Simple Mom)

Art of Rebekka Seale (photo by the artist)

Olive oil cleansing method: on Sorta Crunchy, and Simple Mom.

Dear YFS,

I am going to Germany with my boyfriend to celebrate the holidays. I have been before, but only in warmer months. The roads are cobblestone and/or brick and we walk/bike everywhere so flats are a necessity. Since I will be there for the holidays, I want something a little nicer than sneakers. However, I am short with larger calfs, so I don’t do the high boots/jeans/leggings look.
Any thoughts on how I can look stylish and be comfortable and warm?
Thanks!

Picture by Shopbop

You are about to brave the cobblestone roads of Germany. AT 30 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT!!! I hope that there will be many warm taverns, ale-by-the-firesides, and cozy hugs in your journey, my friend!! And I must confess that I totally, totally have short legs and large calves myself, so I get it. But don’t worry, you have many options to scatter your journey with fashionable finds, mixed with some tricks-of-the-trade to give you that height that we both totally got robbed of. Its true that the high-boots + jeans combo can make one look shorter, especially if the boot ends right near your knees, which reveals the halfway point of your total leg height. The trick is to give the appearance of a taller leg by rocking the high-waisted look, such as with these High Waist Extra Long Leggings (reviewers boast that they work casual to glam) and wearing some wedged booties that start low in the front & give you the height from the back, providing the appearance of natural height (especially from the front, which is how you’re gonna take all those holiday vacation photos, right??). For example,slip into these sherpa booties, which are not only snow-bunny cute, but reviewers are saying that they are amazingly comfortable and handles uneven roads like a pro! You’ll be making long strides on those cobblestone roads like its a fashion runway. Another trick is to cheat the other halfway point that reveals your height: your waist. Shimmy that belt up a little higher around a cozy wrap cardigan, like with this soft pink & gray cardi combo. Suddenly your legs look a mile-high and passerbyers will be none-the-wiser and oh-so-envious.

Now let’s talk about being cozy and travel-perfect! Accessorize with this soft, blush-hued scarf to help give you that natural glow around your face. Keep your hair photo-perfect with this value-priced kit by Living Proof and stay moisturized with Moisture Surge by Clinique, which will be sure to keep you soft even in the harshest winds (I’d put some on my hands too, before slipping them into some mittens).

Good luck, stay warm, and Happy New Year!

Hearts,

YFS

Here are a few other options for the high-waisted, long-cardigan look:

PINK DREAMS: Free People “Yesterday’s Smile Cardigan + Topshop “Gold Buckle Leather Belt”

CELADON ‘N STRIPES: Sabine “Tulip Hem Sweater”  + Topshop “Green Soft Skinny Leather Belt”

CAT CLASSIC: Free People “Ribbed up Cardi” + Topshop “Leopard Leather Contrast Belt”

Picture by Shopbop

Here are a few other options for cozy bike-riding shoes…

SAFE (If you want to stick with flats): Mia “Tracey”, Minnetonka Moccasin “Tramper Ankle Boot”,  Lucky Brand “Angeles”.

ADVENTUROUS (If you can handle a little heel + pedal action): White Mountain “Ingle”, Steve Madden “Alpsss”, Steve Madden “Firefly”.

It’s Thursday! Thursday night is the night we record! Thursdays nights are crazy but fun.  I leave work and hightail it home through the horrible LA traffic.

Finally, I’m home! Now Susan and Amy arrive with their kids and one spouse in tow. We all have a quick bite to eat.

There’s time for a little non-podcast related chit chat while I throw together my kid’s lunches.

Bob and John get kids set up in front of the tv when we are ready to start recording. What could be better than pizza on the couch while watching ‘A Christmas Story’?

Once we retreat to the bedroom, Amy and Susan have a chance to look over some notes I’ve printed up.

(But really, they don’t need to review notes! They  roll with whatever topic comes up.) Now we’re ready to get started:

On this show we talk about a smattering of subjects both holiday and non-holiday, including:

• The She and Him Xmas album, maybe a nice addition to your holiday music collection?
• El Camino by The Black Keys, one of the Best Albums of 2011.
• Perhaps a gift for yourself? The Clarisonic sonic face brush.
• The Love Life Skin luxurious skincare line.
• Betsey Johnson makes jewelry.
• SUPER NICE iTunes reviews lately, thanks guys!

Whew! That was fun. Now put kids to bed, clean up some dirty dishes and  call it a night. Gotta get to back on my routine in the morning, hustle kids to school, drive myself to work for another day of making cartoons. And hmmmm….time to start thinking about next week’s episode!

This week on We’re About to be Friends, Joy speaks with Shauna James Ahern of the immensly popular blog Gluten-Free Girl.  Shauna is a wife, mother, island dweller, belly laugher, food appreciator, former teacher, and beautiful writer.  She’s an appreciator of the world and it’s inspiring just to talk to her about writing, cookbooks, and monkey minds.  Listen up!

Shauna’s Gluten-Free Coffee Cake made from Thomas Keller’s new Gluten-Free Flour.

Shauna mentioned writing as ‘wild mind’ from Natalie Goldberg’s Writing to the Bones.

Shauna, Danny, and Lucy… just being a beautiful family in Washington.  No biggie.

Gluten-Free English Muffins.  Please and thank you!

Shauna talks about her love for Brene Brown.   One of my favorite Brene Brown talks is on vulnerability.

Joy talks about her 10 Real Life Blogging Tips.

Two lovely cookbooks. Gluten-Free Girl and Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef.

Shauna James Ahern can be found at glutenfreegirl.com and on twitter @glutenfreegirl.  Please be sure to say hello!

Joy and Tracy realize it’s a crazy and hectic month.  There’s holiday shopping, holiday travel, holiday parties, gift wrapping, and work on top of work.  Tack a family Disney cruise and you’ve got the makings of one stressful month.  Joy and Tracy say… take it easy!  From shower cocktails to glitter nail polish top coats, they’ve got all (ok… some) of the tips you need to power through December!

Tracy just wanted to say log a lot.  No biggie.  Sun Dried Tomato & Goat Cheese Log 

Fruit baskets and ranch dressing.  Really Joy?  These are your holiday suggestions.  Hm… maybe the stress really is getting to you.

How about a pretty pretty Cranberry Pavlova?

Perhaps you’d like to destress with a cocktail in the shower like @dauria and @lilveggiepatch.  Joy and Tracy, however, forbid driving after said luxury… and you should also be cautious of any shower dance moves.  Safety first.  Duh.

We found this carrot facial on PetitElephant.  It could be a de-stress winner! (photo from PetitElephant)

Perhaps you’ll consider taking it easy with a festive cat-in-a-scarf sweater?

Tracy’s High Straitenence Gift Guide.  Zap out those last minute gifts!

If this Table Set Christmas photo were any more perfect… Santa would fly into a jealous rage.

‘Tis the season, and The Table Set is having a holiday party. You’d be invited… but it already happened.

But regardless, these Gentlemen have the ideas (and outfits) to put you in the holiday party spirit!

Tired of the dull old cookie swap or decorating party? How about a brittle making party?

Think beyond the typical peanuts and such. Nathan makes brittle with saltine crackers!

Rather than an ordinary mulled wine, Greg and Nathan are dreaming of something more old school, like a Smoking Bishop.

Let’s talk about pomanders. We’re talkin’ oranges studded with whole cloves. They make any punch look fancy. Nathan had them floating around a beautiful ice mold in the punch he made for The Table Set party.

Double fancy!

Even more fancy is egg nog. Real egg nog. From scratch.

Nathan swears by Jeffery Morgenthaler’s recipe. I think our guests would agree.

But really, does anything say “Happy Holiday’s” more than Greg’s kitchen sink filled with bubbly?!?

What about the non-drinkers, you say? Nathan will point you to a primer on how to make a shrub. We’re not talking about a plant in your yard.

Or try slipping some sorbet into soda. Andy loves the combination of raspberries and persimmons at the holidays.

And in case your confused about different persimmons (or what a persimmon is), read up kids!

With all this sugar and alcohol around, we should really balance things out with some savory snacks.

Andy will put in a pitch for something light: Red Pepper Hummus in Cucumber Cups.

Look! Red and green! They are practically made for the holidays.

Nathan makes a festive salad that is even more colorful.

Yes. That’s totally funfetti action on that salad.

And the guys won’t stop talking about the Tomato Fig Ketchup that Greg made for Andy’s birthday months ago. It would be perfect for the holidays… or most any day.

Enough talk. It’s time to party!

Greg made two turkeys. 100% devoured. Gone.

If we had an award for best dressed, these two would have tied for first place.

A real serious recycling pile. A clear sign of a successful party.

Is there a High Straightenence person in your life that you need to shop for? Are you waiting til the last minute? Don’t do that! Are you a High Straightenence person who desperately wishes there was a list full of geeky organizing items to give your friends/family/loved ones direction on what to get you this year? Let these lists be your guide! Because we’re getting close to the Xmas, I’ve hand-picked some awesome gifts from Amazon. They ship fast. Now….GET ON IT!

1. Zojirushi Classic Bento Vacuum Jar Lunch Box
Make organizing your lunch easier with this bento box set. The little containers will totally help you be more creative with your work lunches. Bonus: It comes with a spork!

2. Dymo Letra Tag Plus Personal Label Maker
It’s easy to go label crazy. Now you have an excuse…to go crazy…

3. NeatReceipts Portable Scanner
Feel like you’re holding onto too many receipts? Collect them, scan them, file them, recycle them! Be done with them!

4. Kindle Fire
Take the Kindle Fire into the kitchen with you. Load a recipe on the screen and get to work! You can check your mail, listen to a podcast and even send a tweet while you’re doing so. It’s the ultimate multi-tasker.

5. Desktop Cradle Kit for Apple iPhone
Can’t find your iPhone? Oh wait! It’s in the cradle on your clean desk.

6. Torre Tagus Retro Clock
The High Straightenence person loves numbers. This clock will please them. Trust me.

7.  Scotch Thermal Laminator Roller System
Think of all the possibilities!! This has been on my wishlist for YEARS. I fear that if I have one, I’ll laminate EVERYTHING. But hey, is that really a bad thing? First project to make? PLACE MATS. You think I’m kidding? I’m not kidding.

8. Wee Gallery Mobile, by Kikkerland
Have photos to display, but no wall space or surfaces to do so? Make a hanging mobile! It could also pose as a reminder mobile or a fantastic cat toy.

1. The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin
The Happiness Project starts with a resolution to de-clutter your life. This book is a game changer! It’s changing my game.

2. Fine Point Sharpies
High Straightenence people loooove their Sharpies. It’s cuz we take the art of handwriting seriously. Sharpies are perfect for list making, card writing, note taking, address labeling, YOU NAME IT!

3. Listography Calendar
A calendar that encourages list-making! Track your year with lists! Hallelujah!

4. Fellowes Powershred Cross-Cut Paper Shredder
The paper lover needs a shredder; it’s a given. It’s a good way to balance it all out. This one cross cuts for extra security. Neat!

5. Moleskine Weekly Calendar
This is my most favorite kind of calendar. Even though I have high hopes of doing my calendar managing online, I still seem to go back to a paper calendar EVERY YEAR. I’m a paper lover…what can I say?

6. Smead Poly Color Envelopes
I can’t tell you how handy these are. If I’m working on a project, I throw everything in one of these envelopes & take it on the go. The best part is that they’re clear and colored. You can designate certain colors to specific projects so you know what to grab easily.

7. Small Object Labels & Stickers
Cute stickers & labels make the world go round. Am I right?

8. Moleskine Classic Ruled Notebook
Perfect for list making on the go. I always keep one in my purse because you never know when you’ll feel inspired.

9. Sukie Sticky Notes
Need to make a note? Try these Sukie Sticky Notes. I feel like a task on a sticky seems less daunting when there’s a cute squirrel chilling on it.

10. ALL OUT OF Notepad
This notepad saved my life in 2011. You can mark all the grocery items you need & bring it with you while you’re shopping. I always keep a few blank sheets in my bag for when I need to make a grocery list on the fly.

11. The Book of Awesome, by Neil Pasricha
Life can be rough. This book will help remind you of the awesome things in life, like popping bubble wrap & the other side of the pillow. It’s funny. It’s true. You’ll like it.

12. Organizing Plain & Simple, by Donna Smallin
If you’re looking to get organized & simplify, here’s a great book. Visual clarity? Mental clarity? De-cluttering strategies? This book has it covered!

13. Kam Kam Magnetic Cat Paper Clip Organizer
Corral those paperclips! This cat puts the FUN in functional.

14. Scotch Precision Ultra Scissors
FACT: The paper lover loves scissors. The paper lover can never have ENOUGH scissors.

15. Lotta Jansdotter File Collection
Get organized & make your files pretty at the same time. Make that your goal for 2012.

This week on the Simple Mom Podcast, Tsh speaks with Stephanie from  KeeperoftheHome.org. What’s it like to prepare for a new baby when you have three at home?  Pajama days and homeschooling.  How do we get ready for the day.  And how do you balance the challenges of an entrepreneurial family?

Stephanie’s post of purging.  When less is really more.

Tsh’s book Organized Simplicity.

The Well-Trained Mind.  Classical Conversations.

Hard Lotion, too!

Writer, performer, mom, rockwife: Jillian Lauren joins us on this episode of The Because Show! Her memoir Some Girls is the best book you’ll ever read about life in a harem. And now her novel Pretty has been published.  ”A young woman coming to terms with her boyfriend’s death and her rocky journey to sobriety. Bebe is an ex-everything: ex-stripper, ex-Christian, ex-drug addict, ex-pretty girl. It’s been one year since the car accident that killed her boyfriend left her scarred and shaken. Flanked by an eccentric posse of friends, she is serving out a self-imposed sentence at a halfway house, while trying to finish cosmetology school. Amid the rampant diagnoses, over-medication, compulsive eating, and acrylic nails of Los Angeles, Bebe looks for something to believe in before something – her past, the dangerously magnetic men in her life, her own bad choices – knocks her off course again” says the synopsis on Amazon.

Jillian is completely honest, engaging and frank in our conversation. We love that.

Susan and Jillian share some history with their recollections of working as strippers in NYC. Evidently, the shoes one wears up on stage on the first night are not the shoes one will wear on the second night.

Dancing at Billy’s nightclub eventually led to working as an escort which led to partying in the Prince of Brunei’s compound. What’s it like to be the second favorite girlfriend of The Prince? Is that even a good thing? And would you expect to find the same kind of petty girl fights and jealousy  in a harem that you would see in any Junior High? Is heroin withdrawal worse that Boy George says? Jillian answers all these questions for us. Oh, and what’s it like when Barbara Walters gets all judge-y on you? Jillian answers that too.

You can keep up with Jillian on her blog and follow her on twitter @jillylauren. Oh! Jillian also mentions her friend Jerry Stahl, the guy who wrote the definitive addiction memoir Permanent Midnight.  *Jerilyn read it, it’s great and funny and dark and even better than the movie that was made out of it. Stahl has written a ton of other good stuff, make a brain note to find him next time you are at the bookstore or library. 

You can leave a voicemail for The Because Show at 818-643-1565. We’ve loved hearing from everyone who has found us recently. Welcome aboard!

Oh… you just invented a whole food trend?

Oh… you started a blog, and three months later you’re baking with Martha on the Martha Stewart show?

Oh… you have one of the best selling cookbooks of 2010 called Cakepops?

Oh… you can turn a ball of baked cake into a sugar Muppet?

Oh… you’re also just the sweetest lady to talk to also!?

It’s all just too much!

This week Joy speaks with Angie Dudley, the creator of cakepops and author of the uber popular book Cakepops.  Joy and Angie talk about the innocent invention of the cakepops, and what it’s like to show Martha Stewart a thing or two.  Whether she’d like to admit it or not, Angie has created a food phemomenon!  She’s majorly talented and has just the slightest Southern accent.  Charm and talent for days.  Give a listen!

Angie makes Muppet Cakepops, BullseyeCakepops for Target, and perfect little Gingerbread heads.

How is everything so seamlessly cute?

Check out Angie schooling (ok… just teaching) Martha Stewart how to make Cakepops.  Martha and Bakerella!

I got to hang out with Angie at one of her Southern California book signings this year.  No biggie.  (total biggie!!!!)

Angie Dudley can be found making Cakepops and other delicious treats at Bakerella.com. Her book Cakepops is an awesome treat!  Check out the Cakepop Kits too!  Majorly cool.  You can also say hello to her on Twitter @bakerella!

This week on the Joy the Baker Podcast, Joy and Tracy talk gift giving.  Yep.  We’re in the full holiday swing.  There’s just no denying it!  Let’s talk about who to give what this year.  Yes… there’s booze involved.  There always is.

And!  Since Oprah has retired her Favorite Things from television, Joy and Tracy and picking up her slack here.  There are far less screaming women though… like none, really.  Phew.

1.  Tracy’s magic Hope in a Jar.

2.  Moroccan Oil hair treatment.  Fancy treats!

3.  Joy thinks make-up brushes are totes snazzy.

4.  It smells like Christmas at Tracy’s house thanks to Meyer’s Soy Candles.

5.  Joy is obsessed with Truffle Salt.  It makes popcorn and scrambled eggs taste real fancy.

6.  Because every girl can dream.  Le Creuset Pots.

7.  Tracy goes for the Truffle Oil.

8.  Fancy aged balsamic vinegar.  Worth every penny!

There’s also Nathan’s gift guide with stainless steel ice cubes!

Tracy’s Christmas tree is just so lovely!

I love when a lady can enjoy a cold beer in a hot shower.  Mega Tracy!!

Also.. keep an eye out for Your Fashion Story Football edition.  It’s helping me through the next two months… for sure.

Thank you for listening!  We’re so glad you’re here!

Guess what? I finished cleaning my desk a week before I expected to!

I was on a roll this weekend and COULD NOT BE STOPPED. Thanks to an understanding husband, I was able to work over 8 hours this weekend on my hot mess of a desk. Dang, it feels good.

All of my dolls are organized and my shelves are sparkling clean!

They serve a purpose again! They’re not catchalls for things Cooper shouldn’t get into anymore.

I hung up the word SIMPLIFY on the shelf as a constant reminder of my goal.

Remember that pile of garbage on the right? GONE! My scanner is put away (I don’t use it that often) and my broken-beyond- repair printer that I loaded things on top of is ready to be e-cycled.

On top of my cabinet, I have a little section for papers & pens now. I recovered the pen container that Cooper drew all over with a new piece of paper. It made me feel good that it has a “fresh start.” All of my notepads, stickies & post-its are within arms reach now and there’s also a dedicated section for where I charge my cellphone and I’m super happy about that.

Let’s take a look at the insides of the cabinet. They’re dramatic!

Here’s DRAWER 1:

And what’s inside of it? OFFICE SUPPLIES. I know where everything is now. Post-its, paperclips, paper, stapler, YOU NAME IT. Let’s see if I can fend off the grubby hands of a super curious 3 year old boy… He’s already gotten into this drawer twice!

Here’s DRAWER 2:

Nail polish in tupperware, batteries, important cables, blank cds & dvds live in this drawer.

Here’s DRAWER 3:

Cooper’s drawer! Filled with art supplies and activities for us to work on in the future.

So how did I get to this point? A LOT OF WORK.

This is how I “organized” myself:

I tackled one thing at a time.

I went through every little part of my office and sorted things into piles:

-THINGS THAT DON’T BELONG IN HERE

-TO FIND A PLACE FOR

-TO DONATE

-TO RECYCLE

-PENS/PENCILS & ART SUPPLIES

-JEWELRY THAT NEEDS TO BE PUT AWAY

-COOKBOOKS TO RETURN TO THE BOOKSHELF

-TRASH

-TO ASK MY HUSBAND ABOUT(everything went in a box for him to look through)

During my sorting I looked at the One Bite at a Time e-book  I downloaded from Simple Mom and was relieved when I saw this quote. It was exactly what I needed while I was looking through piles of buttons, pens, papers and office supplies.

While I was taking a break after hour 5 of working, I saw this:

Gretchen Rubin (writer of The Happiness Project) also kept me going with her tweet!

I was DEEP in mess by the afternoon.

One of the most OVERDUE chores was sorting through my pens. Many of them don’t work anymore because SOMEONE forgets to put the caps back on… It was good to reduce the stress of using pens that don’t work. This is a big deal, believe me.

Let me tell you…IT WASN’T pretty. Many times I wanted to just walk away and shut the door.

I almost thought about stopping and picking up another day but I powered through. I had to!

Now I have this clean desk and life is good! No clutter with a lot less paper.

I was even able to do a craft project (which I quickly cleaned up) on my desk today.

There you have it. The beauty of a clean desk. It makes such a difference, doesn’t it?

Dear YFS,

This winter I’ll be down in Texas visiting my fiance’s family. My fiance is really into football, so as a treat my fiance’s brother and sister-in-law are taking us to a Houston Texans game. Problem is I’m not really the jersey and jeans type. What’s a cute outfit that I can wear to the game where I can show my team spirit but still be stylish?

-Srimoyee

photo from Victoria’s Secret NFL Collection.  

Dear Srimoyee~

Texas Winter. Football Fashion. I feel like these are all oxymorons! This is definitely a complex situation! At least the words TEAM SPIRIT are something I can understand. I feel like team spirit comes from so much more than what you wear, its also about what you DON’T wear. Avoid other team colors at ALL COSTS. If the Green Bay Packers are your opponent, take off your lucky charm, no matter HOW charming it is! The last thing you need is some unruly fan pecking popcorn your way. Or better yet, hide it under a Houston Texans logo! Nothing says team spirit like actual team merchandise. However, there’s no need to go overboard if that’s simply not your style. Settle for something you know you’ll use again, like this soft hoodie from Victoria’s Secret. Leave the longhorn-emblazoned glitz watches for another day (ooorr maybe never!). There are so many subtle ways you can show your loyalties, like wearing nailpolish to match one of the team colors: Deep Steel Blue & Battle Red. For example, try these vibrant Blue Satin & Diabolic vernis colours by Chanel. You can also find a part of the logo, like the star on the longhorn, and run with that! Accessorize with stars in a simple and sophisticated way, like with this Gorjana star necklace, and while you’re at it, slip on a pair of matching ballet flats (these are less than 20$!) that have padded insoles and can last you through the day. Finish off your look with some team-colored hues, like with these Supersoft skinny jeans and this cool burgundy/red pleated top. And last, but not least, there’s no better way to get into the team spirit than dreaming about your team nabbing the championship while wearing some seriously cute Houston Texans undies and pajamas!

Hearts (and stars),

YFS

Why are so many songs about rainbows? And what’s on the other side? We did not ask those questions on this week’s episode of The Because Show, but we asked plenty of other questions. Like, did you know The Muppet Movie has it’s own nail polish collection?

Awesome. The colors are gorgeous and the names are hilarious. Who wouldn’t want to wear ‘Excuse Moi’ or ‘Fresh Frog Of Bel Air’ on their nails? Seriously. There’s a super-sparkly glittery one called “Rainbow Connection’.

 Nail polish talk was just a smidge of Episode #10′s topics, there were many more things on the podcast agenda. Jerilyn shares a story about a recent celebrity sighting she had.  Can you guess who it was? Here’s a picture of him.

Actually you don’t have to guess. Just listen to this week’s episode if you don’t already know who it is.  And once we got going, we also talked about good books and movies coming out at the end of the year. Have you heard about the new NC-17 movie ‘Shame’? It sounds great. And the new Stephen King book 11/22/63 that we mentioned in the last episode? Oh, it’s just one of the 10 Best Books of 2011 according to The New York Times.

Jerilyn agrees. She just finished reading 11//22/63 and it’s good.  Some other books were mentioned, including the listener recommendation for ‘Flat-Out Love’ by Jessica Park. We love to hear what you’ve been reading, keep those book suggestions coming!

Making some sort of home-made gifts to give during the holidays? It’s imperative to get started early. It’s already December, time to get on it! Susan and Amy seem to like the attempts at chocolate dipped cookies that Jerilyn has made for this year’s holiday gift-giving. Really, these taste much better than they look. Currently  in the ‘Still Experimenting’ phase here.

You know, these show notes are really just a sliver of what was mentioned in an episode. Are you looking for a link to something specific that we mentioned? Leave us a comment here and we can point in you in the right direction, no problem. Thank you to the listeners who took the time to leave us iTunes reviews. We totally appreciate that you took the time to reach out to us and say keep-on-keepin-on.  And don’t forget about our ol’ voicemail line, another great way to reach out to us. That number is 818-643-1565. If you don’t want to call, then drop us a line here. As we mentioned in the show, we really would like to know what topics you like/don’t like to hear about- so don’t be shy!

Not sure what to get that special man in your life? (Secretly wish he was a little more dash and a little less dull?) Leave it to me to squash both birds with one whiskey stone. I give you the Proper Man holiday gift guide, fit for any civilized gent! Give him what he doesn’t know he wants yet.

FOR THE EPICUREAN MAN

A. The Hot Knives Vegetarian Cookbook: Salad Daze
Los Angeles chef duo Alex Brown and Evan George’s new cookbook pairs Vegetarian dishes with craft beer and soundtracks. (AKA Hardcore babe training). $25
Get it from Powell’s

B. Lucky Peach Subscription
This new McSweeney’s quarterly journal takes a decidedly masculine approach to the food writing world. Recommended if he goes all Bourdain in the kitchen. (New subscriptions begin with Issue 3). $28 for four
Get it from McSweeney’s

C. Rogue Voodoo Doughnut Bacon Maple Ale
The originator of the bacon maple bar teamed up with fellow Portlander Rogue Ales to concoct a brew in its likeness. Some serious 300-level lunacy. $13 for 750ml
Get it from Rogue

D. “Big Jug” of Pure Organic Maple Syrup
For the man who has everything? A sexy jug of pure organic maple syrup directly from the source. And instructions for breakfast. $68 for 64 fl oz
Get it from Best Made Co.

E. Two Dudes, One Pan: Maximum Flavor from a Minimalist Kitchen
As guy as it gets. The tried and true one-pan cooking bible from Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, the dudes behind Los Angeles’ meat haven Animal. $17
Get it from Amazon

FOR THE ENTERTAINING MAN

A. Stainless Steel Ice Cubes
Whiskey stones are so two years ago. Blow his mind with these reusable ice cubes that are made of stainless steel. $25 for four
Get them from KegWorks

B. Glass Mesh Soda Siphon
Let’s be honest, who doesn’t kind of want a Sodastream? But let’s class it up with an old school glass mesh soda siphon. Slick O.G. $100
Get it from Williams-Sonoma

C. Thor Bjørklund cheese tools
Cheese service 101: Use a proper blade. Behold the original cheese slicer invented by Thor Bjørklund in 1925. Beech handle / stainless steel. Made in Norway. $15
Get them from Mjolk

D. Seamless Yarai Mixing Glass
Bond was a fool. Pure spirits should always be stirred. The benchmark glass is this gem from Yarai. For the serious barman. $53
Get it from Cocktail Kingdom

E. Bittermens Elemakule Tiki Cocktail Bitters
Specialty Tiki Bitters. Need I say more? $19 for 4oz
Get them from Cask

F. Bar Keeper Cocktail Gift Boxes
Curate the whole enchilada, with a little help. Available in two categories, Mixologist and Classic, all gift boxes come in a vintage-style hat box and include spirits, bitters, tools, recipes, and glassware. $100
Get them from Bar Keeper

FOR THE KEMPT MAN

A. Concrete Shaving Kit
Because wood would be too easy. The kit includes a shaving dish made from soft concrete, shaving soap, and a traditional beech brush with badger hair bristles. $98
Get it from Mjolk

B. Monocle Laurel by Comme des Garçons
The signature scent from the most cultivated men’s journal in the world. A collaborative effort, the Monocle Laurel from Comme des Garçons features notes of pepper, incense, and amber. $120 for 50ml
Get it from Opening Ceremony

C. The “Original Cowboy Comb”
Because Movember might extend into Dudecember. “The Original Cowboy Comb” comes packaged in a cardboard matchbook style case. $7
Get it from Cowboy Comb

D. Sabon “Gentleman” olive oil soap
Yes, there is actually a soap in a hatched box labeled “Gentleman.” And it’s fantastic. Olive oil based, this delicious and nutritious gentleman’s bar nurtures, keeping skin flexible and PH balanced. Recommended for all skin types. $7
Get it from Sabon

E. Natural Dominica Bay Rum aftershave
This is the original, subtly scented skin tonic that refined gentlemen have used since the early 1900s. Fresh and completely natural, with no artificial ingredients. Imported. $19 for 10oz
Get it from Orvis

FOR THE DAPPER MAN

A. Comme des Garçons Tartan Half Zip-around Wallet
The most reliable (unisex!) wallet you didn’t know you couldn’t live without, now in tartan plaid. $95
Get it from Opening Ceremony

B. Espadrille Slip On by Soludos
Salvador Dali wandered Barcelona in them. I threw out my flip-flops when I got them. The Mediterranean Jute-soled house shoe that Tom’s ripped off. For the beach, city, home, and everywhere in-between. $26
Get them from Steven Alan

C. 1950′s era Farm Feedsack Weekend Bag
Every man needs a ruggedly elegant weekend bag. Because backpacks are for school. $170
Get it from Forestbound

D. Double Sided Tweed Bow Tie by Gitman Brothers Vintage
It’s holiday season. Join me, mates. Don a bow tie. $70
Get it from Mohawk General Store

E. Currie Socks by Vanishing Elephant
I used to think good shoes made the man. I stand corrected, it’s his socks. $24
Get them from Wasteland

You can find us at our new website and also on our new iTunes page (resubscribe to this for new episodes!). There’s a brand new episode waiting for you! Oh- and say hi to us on Facebook why don’t ya?

Thanks, as always, for listening!

Cheers,

Whitney & Christina

It’s time to think about the holidays! This week on the Joy the Baker podcast, Joy and Tracy get real about work holiday parties, awkward cousins, and egg nog. Kwanza sweaters? Champagne buckets? You’ll want to give this gem a listen. Happy December!

Tracy is not shy about her affection for nuts.  Spicy Cocktail Nuts!

Mmmmm!  Spicy Maple Glazed Walnuts!

Joy’s Spicy Roasted Pumpkin and Sunflower Seeds.

Obsession worthy caramels!  Fleur De Sel Caramels!

How much are we going to talk about childhood dolls!?  My Buddy.  Kid Sister.  American Girl Molly and Samantha.

We’re weird.

Eggnog without Eggnog Pancakes!

Get into all the newness at Homefries!

Tracy’s new column, High Straightenence and Joy’s new podcast, We’re About to Be Friends.

Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan is a modern lady icon.  She’s founding editor of TheKitchn, and cofounder of Apartment Therapy with her husband, Maxwell.  Sara Kate is also author of The Greyston Bakery Cookbook, and most recently Good Food to Share.  Sara Kate has impeccable taste, an amazing eye for photography, and she knows how to make a mean birthday cake.

Sara Kate’s Quatro Leches birthday cake for Ursula’s 5th birthday.

Sara Kate is author of The Greyston Bakery Cookbook and Good Food to Share.

Sara Kate can be found at TheKitchn, and on Twitter @sarakategr.

photos courtesy of thekitchn.com and amazon.com

Once upon a time I had a clean desk. Everything had its place and everything was superbly organized. I would only have to spend a maximum of 15 minutes per week to straighten things up that were disheveled. Then came a baby and it all went to hell. When my son started to stand, he’d constantly pull things out of the drawers and scatter stuff around the house. I would tidy things up but it always felt like I was constantly treading water and making no headway. At one point I decided to let it go and wait a few YEARS to do a office revamp because I realized what’s the point? If you have kids, you know exactly what I mean. So, I easily let my desk go…

Cooper is now 3 and I finally feel like THIS IS THE TIME I can motivate and clean my act up. It will get trashed no doubt, but sitting at this desk writing this post is STRESSING ME OUT. There are soo many things out of place/don’t belong in here. I feel like I easily end up in creative blocks and can’t focus because I’m sitting in a pit of clutter. It seriously makes my blood pressure rise.

So, this is where I am sitting right now. This is my “work area.” I see an empty glasses case, a rando roll of tape, a sample of Barkeeper’s Friend (what?!) a rogue nail polish bottle, some business cards and look what’s hiding under my screen- a little tub of almonds! None of this belongs there.

To the left I see this. Where’s my desk? Who knows? It’s filled with papers and cookbooks and all the random things I have to leftovers I have to put away from the my Paper Station project.

I have shelves above my desk. They were organized once, but now this particular shelf is a place to shove all the things Cooper shouldn’t get into (pens, scissors, gum, weapons, etc.)

One day he’s going to stand on the desk and have full access to this. I just know it. Also- do you see that I haven’t changed my calendar since July? Sigh.

I have a Blythe doll collection. They suffer the most from my cluttered ways.

And to my right, this is what I see. A clock that needs to be plugged in, a tupperware full of nailpolish, an empty box that needs to be recycled, a printer that doesn’t work and a scanner that is being used as a surface to rest things on. Oh! I also see two kid’s books that don’t belong there as well as a hot glue gun.

All that chaos sits on top of this dresser. This dresser is THE GREAT CHAOS HIDER. What’s in it, you ask?

A whole lotta nothing! CDs& a baby book that I need to work on (ahem, 3 year old)

Random papers in this drawer and an empty filing folder that I had grandiose ideas for. What a waste of a perfectly good drawer.

Some magazines and more chaos. UGH.

Oh and here’s what happens when you take your eyes away from a 3 year old for 2 minutes

I’m giving myself two weeks to complete this project. I really have to evaluate what I use this space for and sort through all of the things that don’t belong here.

To get started, I made two lists so I could wrap my head around this endeavor:

1. WHAT DO I WANT OUT OF THIS SPACE?

• A place where I can easily find a pen, paper & any other office supply I might need
• A place free of clutter
• A place where I can be creative, surrounded by things that inspire me
• A place that has organized kid’s art supplies so they don’t spill out into my work space
• A CLEAN DESK!

2. WHAT DO I USE THIS SPACE?

• working on my website
• podcasting
• a catch-all for papers
• a place to put clutter piles from the rest of the house (ie: where we hide stuff from company!)
• surfing the web
• writing emails
• wrapping presents (if there’s even space)
• making art with my son
• crafting

I suppose that once it’s all done, I will have another list of RULES for using this space.

Alright folks, I’m going in. Say a prayer for me!

Next week we’ll be discussing the organization of holiday wrapping. Stay tuned!

Dear YFS,

I’ve got a question. I have lots of great work clothes. Kind of a sleek, professional look. I wear lots of great heels with them, some are somewhat subdued for a more professional look and occasionally a flashy or taller platform shoe. I would wear a higher, flashier shoe most days, but they do, honest-to-goodness, kill my feet.

Do you have any shoe ideas that are stylish and professional without looking frumpy and most of all comfortable?

-JenMarie

JenMarie-

Comfortable AND cute work shoes are indeed hard to find! There have been days where I seriously considered wearing Dr. Scholl’s-brand clogs (yes, really) before I snapped out of my blister-induced delirium. But there certainly is hope, especially since menswear-inspired flats and slippers have become the biggest (and most welcomed) trend of the year! You can still have your flashy shoe and wear it too! Never before have I seen so many colors and variations of the famous “smoking slipper,” but for WOMEN. If you like sleek & sophisticated, try these gold-trimmed suede slippers that will look great with some skinny tailored pants and a feminine silk top, the perfect ensemble for your big presentation. Want to add some edge, but don’t want to go overboard? Slip into some these grey-leopard loafers that aren’t as loud as their bright yellow cheetah counterpart. Pair them with a simple black sheath dress and accessorize with a great watch to get that edgy-but-polished look. You’ll strike the right balance between “individualist” and “down-to-business.”

Use a little DIY-shoe stretch, which works absolute wonders. Here’s how you do it:

1. Find a spray bottle and add equal parts of rubbing alcohol & water.

2. Wear two layers of socks and slip on your loafers, while spraying generously with your DIY Shoe Stretch.

3. Walk around and let them stretch naturally to your feet as they move.

4. Repeat until you are ready to do jumping jacks all the way to work & back in your new custom-fit loafers!

For days that you can’t live without some height, opt for the oh-so-forgiving suede version of your favorite heel. Forget about that stubborn and stiff patent leather stiletto! In fact, save the stilettos for date night and find some wedges or chunky heels to give you the support you need to make an impromptu coffee run or dash to the printers before they close for the night. Keep your heels from slipping out of your shoe with these “Heavenly Heels” cushions, which will help you to avoid a Cinderella moment (unless of course, the handsome heir to an empire might return your shoe). Also, keep an eye out for hidden platforms within the shoe, as they really help to minimize the slope of your stance. Trust me, your toes will thank you!

PS. Enter code YOURGIFT to get 25% off the grey leopard loafers and persimmon suede wedges at Jcrew.com between now and November 27th!

Hearts,

YFS

Top photo via: Claudio Matsuoka

This week Joy talks with Aarti Sequeira!  Aarti is the season 6 winner of The Next Food Network Star, and host of The Food Network’s Aarti Party.

Aarti is bubbly and warm, and has traveled an interesting path that has led to her own television show.  Aarti lives in Los Angeles… and she now knows a thing or two about the red carpet.

Aarti wins season 6 of The Next Food Network Star.  A total big deal, right?

Aarti running a cooking demonstration in Los Angeles.  Once you’ve got your own show, aaannnddd you get to stand under the cooking demo mirror, you’ve pretty much made it big.  True story.

Aarti Sequeira can be found on The Food Network’s Aarti Party, on aartipaarti.com, and on Twitter @aartipaarti

photos courtesy of foodnetwork.com

This week Joy talks with Jessie Oleson from CakeSpy.com.  Jessie is an illustrator, baker, and creator off every one of these sweet treat personalities.  Jessie lives in Seattle with her cast of dessert characters, her husband, and two unruly pugs.  Jessie is an art and food all star.  Major.  

Unicorns definitely eat bananas and robots are definitely excited about pie.

Jessie’s famous S’moreo: a toasted marshmallow, double chocolate, Oreo cookie creation.

Eat your heart out summer camp s’mores.  You just got an upgrade.

Jessie’s book CakeSpy Presents: Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life is full of bonkers dessert recipes.  She somehow transforms salad into dessert… that’s no small miracle.

Jessie at her store CakeSpy Shop in Seattle. Jessie can also be found at cakespy.com and on Twitter at @cakespy.  Go say hello!

The rumors are true!  It’s Thanksgiving!  This week on the Joy the Baker podcast, Joy and Tracy explore Vegan Thanksgiving poems…. on t-shirts, kitchen drawers full of shame, Black Friday, and what not to get Joy for Christmas.  Get ready for some real-talk-turkey-talk.  It’ll be delicious.

Stories of the ER and Pear and Cranberry Crumble.

Tracy’s Pumpkin Cream Pie!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash & Cranberries

Joy’s Cranberry Sauce and Tracy’s Last Minute Thanksgiving.

Check out Tracy’s new column here on Homefries:  High Straightenence, a new column celebrating the neat freak in all of us.

Nathan now writes The Proper Man.  A column for and about the stylish man.

We’d also like to introduce Andrea and Your Fashion Story.  She takes your situational fashion problems and solves em up pretty!

Last week you may have seen my Tackling Paper & Piles post; I have a LOT of paper piles scattered throughout our house. What’s my biggest dump zone? THE KITCHEN TABLE.  It’s where I immediately dump stacks of mail & papers when I enter our house through the garage. My goal this past week was to rid our kitchen table of my paper piles by creating a paper station IN our garage. Realistically, some paper will enter the house, but it doesn’t have to be the cluttered mess it’s turned into.

I decided to re-purpose this dresser I’ve had since college for our paper station. It takes up a big chunk of space in our garage and it’s about time I put it to good use. But! I don’t like that shade of wood. I want my paper station to be bold & pretty. Cue the spray paint!

Here’s the before:

STEP 1:

CLEAN! I took everything out of the cabinet and cleaned it inside & out.

STEP TWO:

PRIMER!

I sprayed two coats of gray primer spray paint (1 can total) on the cabinet and let it dry.

STEP THREE:

PAINT. It took about 2-3 coats (2 cans total) to finish.

And here’s the end result after the paint dried.

I setup the paper station immediately and lived with it for about 4 days so I could see what worked & did not work.

This is what we have now! As you can see I have a place to put my keys (the coat rack was already there). I also hung a bag on the coat rack so I can put aside papers that need shredding. I have designated sections for catalogs, bills & important papers as well as a small area where I will put things to mail.

The most important section of the paper station is the RECYCLING bin. We now stop unwanted papers dead in their tracks!

If you open up the first two drawers of the cabinet, you’ll find a section for magazines & toddler art. When I pick Cooper up from school I always have a handful of new artwork and it always gets scattered throughout the kitchen. Having these two drawers will prove useful because I can conceal & sort when I have the time to do so.

The trick is to not let these drawers get out of control!

The rest of the drawers serve other purposes. Finally I’m getting organized!

While I was at it, I decided to organize my collection of napkins & tea towels I use on my blog. For awhile I had them hung over the main clothes rack and it was a pain to get to the napkin I wanted to use. I re-purposed skirt hangers from IKEA and separated all of the napkins by color. It is now incredibly easy to find what I am looking for.

Finally…I can SEE MY KITCHEN TABLE. Project Paper Station is totally working!

ORGANIZING TIPS:

When you are embarking on a de-cluttering/organizing project, make a list of what’s important to you in your space and get started. Live with your adjustments for a few days and then evaluate your placement. Keep moving things around and you’ll have your area primed for your specific needs. It’s also a great idea to re-purpose stuff you already have. That way you aren’t bringing MORE items into your house that you’ll have to deal with later.

Next week we’ll tackle the bottomless pit (aka my desk!).

This week Whitney and Christina tackle Thanksgiving wine pairings (you know they just had to), reveal some ugly truths about Beaujolais Nouveau, and try to understand why New Zealand would want to make a drink from palm trees. And Carmen Grape-iago is off to a very interesting location with vineyards that look like the surface of the moon!

Fresh Press: New Zealand decided to make a “national” drink out of….torquay palm trees (above). Yeah.

Lou Amdur from Lou on Vine in Los Angeles waxes non-poetical about Beaujolais Nouveau. And Jon Bonne from the San Francisco Chronicle tells you about some BN that you SHOULD be drinking this Thanksgiving.

What the What word of the day? Pigeage. Here’s a video of punching down the cap. Whitney has done this and it’s quite a workout! Wanna see Alice Feiring doing some piegeage a pied? Also-