Today is Invent A New Sandwich Day. Which begs the question...

...is there a sandwich you enjoy which is uniquely of your own creation?

AND/OR...

What's your favorite sandwich?

I can't lay claim to creating a new sandwich variety. The sandwiches I make at home are pretty run-of-the-mill.

Oh, I might throw on some sweet peppers to make it interesting, or slap it on my George Foreman grill for an instant panini. I've been known to get creative about what I put in my tuna salad--I like pretty much everything but the kitchen sink in there, to the consternation of my daughter, who wants some Miracle Whip thrown in and nothing else.

However, I CAN tell you what my favorite sandwich is, currently, and has been for some time.

The Door County Melt.

The Door County Melt is from an amazing little restaurant we have here called Egg Harbor. (The name is misleading; there is oh so much more than eggs at this charming eatery.)

Here's a description of the sandwich, from the restaurant's own menu:

"Our famous all white- meat chicken salad blended with dried cranberries, toasted pecans and crisp diced apples grilled on multi-grain bread with Jack and Cheddar cheeses and ripe tomato."

To quote Ferris Bueller: "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

My husband Doug and son Justin at Egg Harbor recently

So, have you invented a sandwich? If not, do you have a favorite? Let me know in the comments!

My favorite beauty guru, Emily Eddington, talks about ELF

I admit it. I love make-up. I never met a cosmetics counter I didn't like.

I eschew the "natural look," because I think that's the domain of young girls who still have flawless complexions and rosy lips and cheeks

Being a woman of "a certain age," I employ such tricks and tools that are at my disposal to help me look my very best.

That's kind of how I got started on YouTube beauty tutorials. One of my favorite YouTube beauty gurus is Emily Eddington, whose Beauty Broadcast usually focuses on the more affordable beauty items that can be found in drugstores, at Target, Wal-Mart, etc. (Read my 2-part interview with Emily here and here.)

I think it was through Emily that I found out about ELF (eyes lips face) cosmetics, and they have become a staple in my budget-conscious make-up collection.

Many ELF products cost only a dollar--ONE DOLLAR!--and I've been very pleased with the majority of products I've bought.

But I'm going to let Emily tell you all about them, because she's really good at doing it!



Be sure and check out all the helpful videos on Emily's YouTube channel!

Life Made Lovely: Lovely Vintage

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In case you hadn't noticed, vintage fashions are more popular than ever--and movies like "The Help," set in 1962, just add to the trend. Bloggers like Fleur of Diary of a Vintage Girl and Amber of Mrs Amber Apple dress almost exclusively in either vintage or new clothes in the vintage style, and look adorable doing so.

For your enjoyment: some lovely vintage fashions!

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Linking up today with Life Made Lovely Monday!

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Pink and Green Thursday: Kelly Green the hot new color for fall

According to PureWow, the hot new color for fall is Kelly green:

Often written off as the requisite color of Izod fans and Nantucket vacation-goers, Kelly green is now the most elegant hue for fall. Not only does it add an unexpected pop of color, it's also the ideal summer-to-fall-transition shade.

And Christine Suppes writes at fashionlines.com:

Just back from New York where the color of the moment is kelly green, from camisoles seen at Downtown Cipriani to handbags at the Metropolitan Museum...

Below, some of the prettiest Kelly green looks I've found on the internet.

I'm participating today in Pink and Green Thursday, hosted by Pink Preppy Lilly Lover!





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Today is Permanent Press Day. Which begs the question...

...do you iron?

I do. Oh, yeah, I've been known to pull things out of the dryer and hang them up immediately before they get a chance to get wrinkled.

But by and large, clothes get ironed at our house. Our ironing board pretty much stays up, and spray starch is a regular expenditure.

My husband is one of the best ironers (is that a word?) that I've ever known. He can iron a crease on a pair of pants that you could cut your finger on.

Some clothes are just meant to be worn crisply ironed.

But ironing hasn't always been easy!

I can remember, as a little girl, opening the refrigerator door to find a bunch of damp clothes inside. Before the advent of said Permanent Press, apparently a lot of clothes were made of 100 per cent cotton, and that can be murder to iron. Keeping the damp clothes in the fridge kept them from souring before Mom could get to them, and apparently eased the pressing process.

I can remember also my mom teaching me to iron by having me iron pillowcases and my dad's handkerchiefs. Wow, is this showing my advanced age, or what? Ironing PILLOWCASES?! and who carries handkerchiefs, or "hankies," as my dad used to call them, anymore?

According to halife.com, Permanent Press Day is " a day proudly to wear polyester and keep the iron unplugged."

Please don't even get me started on leisure suits. Those polyester-filled monstrosities will still be sitting in landfills hundreds of years from now!

How about you? Got any ironing memories? And do you still grace the ironing board from time to time? Do tell!


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Home Again After a Wonderful Vacation

With my husband Doug, celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary while on vacation in Texas

If you happened to notice that my blogging has been a bit sparse in the past couple of weeks, you'd be right! I was gone for two weeks to one of the hottest, driest places in the country--central Texas, the Austin area.

No matter what the weather is, that area draws me like a magnet because there are a lot of people I love there--including my two sons and daughter-in-law, my two little grandsons, my mother, my sister and her family, and my brother's family (he is currently out of the country.)

While there, my husband and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary surrounded by loved ones. We ate at an amazing BBQ place called The Salt Lick, then had cake and ice cream at my mom's house.

I thought I'd share a few pics from our visit to the Lone Star State--one of my favorite places in the world!

My daughter Elizabeth (l) and niece Katie at the Hula Hut in Austin--AWESOME restaurant!

My grandsons, Payton and Josiah, enjoying a splash park--a fun way to beat the heat!

My plate at The Salt Lick in Round Rock. I wish I had this in front of me RIGHT NOW!

My wonderful sister Lisa and her husband David with Doug and me at The Salt Lick. My sisters are my best friends!

Can you stand another foodie pic? This was my stuffed avocado at The Hula Hut in Austin--words fail to adequately describe its scrumptuosness!

My son Justin and his nephew, my little grandson Payton--they're great buddies!

My husband with our precious little grandsons, Josiah and Payton. They. Are. My. HEART.

What Today Is: National Relaxation Day and National Lemon Meringue Pie Day

Yep, according to halife.com, today in National Relaxation Day and National Lemon Meringue Pie Day.

Can I make a confession here? I have never made a lemon meringue pie....or anything involving meringue.

Meringue pies aren't even my favorite, although I have enjoyed a slice in my day.

According to Food Timeline (a pretty fascinating site, by the way!), lemon meringue pie has been around since medieval times, and was popular in early America:

"Lemon-meringue pie, made with lemon curd and topped with meringue, has been a favorite American dessert since the nineteenth century."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 182)

Elizabeth Coane Goodfellow (1767-1851) is credited for introducing lemon meringue pie to America in her Philadelphia shops [The Larder Invaded: Reflections on Three Centuries of Philadelphia Food and Drink, Mary Anne Hines, Gordon Marshall & William Woys Weaver, Historical Society of Philadelphia, Philadelphia 1987 (p. 66)

If you'd like to try your hand at making one, here are a bunch of recipes for the tasty treat.

Today is also National Relaxation Day

Relaxing is something I've been doing a lot of (one reason why I haven't been blogging much lately!) as I'm on vacation with my family in central Texas.

National Relaxation Day is billed as "an excuse for every overworked, underpaid person to do what they'd rather be doing."

What would YOU rather be doing?

My idea of the ultimate in relaxation

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From the Archives: My challenge to the makers of nasty comedies

(Originally posted Oct. 3, 2008)

1972's "What's Up, Doc?"--not a nasty comedy

Yes, you, Judd Apatow and all the other film makers of your ilk. Here's my challenge:

Make a comedy--just ONE comedy--that doesn't rely on vulgarity, sex, and profane language to get a laugh. Think you could do that?

Hmmm...I'm hearing crickets. Not only are Judd and the others not listening, but even if they were, there's zero chance they would ever take anyone up on that challenge. I honestly don't think there's any way they could make an entire movie like that, and furthermore, I don't think they would want to.

What brought all this up?

Well, several days ago the 1972 movie, "What's Up, Doc?" aired on cable. I taped it for later viewing with my 21-year-old daughter, who had never seen it.

Now, I don't think I had seen the movie since the seventies, so I was curious as to how it would hold up. Actually, it holds up VERY well. The humor is still fresh and clever, the actors truly fun to watch, the dialogue snappy, the slapstick really funny (and I'm not usually a big fan of slapstick, but this is done very well).

The bottom line, it makes you laugh...and without resorting to filth.

After we watched it, my daughter bemoaned the fact that there are so few movies like that anymore. Even the milder, less offensive ones tend to fall back on sexual situations and bad language. What happened to good, clean, classy, LAUGH OUT LOUD comedies?

Watch "What's Up, Doc?" and tell me if you miss the degrading, cesspool humor. Tell me if you thought, "Drat it, I sure could have used a way-too-much information sex scene or a million F-words. It would have made the movie SO much funnier..."

Am I the only one who feels this way? If you're with me on this, movie-maker Kevin Smith thinks you and I are in the minority. Smith recently said: "[Profanity] turns some people off, but that's how mostly everybody I know speaks. It's kind of strange. Whenever somebody goes, 'That offends me,' I'm like, wow, what kind of weird, opposite, bizarro frame of mind do you live in? Cursing is just so second nature, you don't even think of it as cursing anymore. It's just your lexicon."

Smith, by the way, is the producer of an upcoming new movie about two friends who kill some time by making a porn movie.

So, any suggestions?

Got any recommendations for movies that are funny AND relatively clean? Even if they're old ones, let me know in my comments section!

(Originally posted Oct. 3, 2008)

From the Archives: Part 2 of My Interview with YouTube Beauty Guru Emily Eddington

"I've gotten emails that have brought me to tears. From the teenager who said her mother was fighting cancer and they used my videos as an escape-- to the overworked mom who said a new makeup look she tried brought about the first compliment from her husband in years.... this is big stuff."-Emily Eddington, Beauty Broadcast

26-year-old Emily Eddington is a TV news anchorwoman in southern Illinois, but her YouTube beauty tutorials may be what really brings her fame! She recently marked the 50-thousandth subscriber to her Beauty Broadcast YouTube channel, and her Facebook page and blog draw thousands too.

In Part 1 of my interview with Emily, we talked about how she became so interested in cosmetics, and her philosophy of beauty--there's a real connection between looking good and feeling good.

Here's Part 2...

CINDY: One thing people love about Beauty Broadcast is that you usually feature very affordable make-up. I know it's trial and error, but do you find the less expensive products are sometimes just as good as the really expensive ones?

EMILY: Absolutely! When I first started watching YouTube videos, I didn't see a lot of people offering budget-friendly advice. That was a void I felt I could fill by posting reviews about all the great inexpensive products I had tried. Sure- that $35 prestigious foundation from the department store might be great- but what's the fun in discovering that? I am practically addicted to the act of going into a drugstore, finding products, trying them out, and reporting on an unexpectedly AWESOME piece of makeup. I love seeing others get excited about the affordable options I recommend. Still, I do like to try out high end items here and there to have a frame of reference for how the cheaper things stack up.



CINDY: Have you always been a bargain hunter?

EMILY: I think so. When mom saw my interest in makeup steadily grow throughout high school, I don't think she would've wanted to get me near a department store makeup counter! She tolerated my interest in makeup, but considering that she was funding this obsession- she wasn't going to let it leave the walls of the drugstore. I was always happy spending a good half hour in the aisles of Wal-Mart, picking out a new item or two every now and then. It was basically all I knew-- my mom always wore drugstore makeup brands and looked great... so why couldn't I?

CINDY: You have thousands of subscribers. How do you feel about having such a huge audience? Any feedback that surprised you, touched you, or otherwise sticks out in your mind?

EMILY: I really can't fathom the amount of people that view my videos. To think that more than 50,000 people have clicked the "Subscribe" button after seeing me sitting in my small extra bedroom rambling about the latest must-have eyeshadow primer is beyond me! YouTube's format is such that feedback can be posted alongside every video. And in the somewhat anonymous world of the internet where an abstract username is your only source of identification- people are very free with their opinions! I'm fortunate to say that the support has been overwhelming. I've gotten emails that have brought me to tears. From the teenager who said her mother was fighting cancer and they used my videos as an escape-- to the overworked mom who said a new makeup look she tried brought about the first compliment from her husband in years.... this is big stuff. It makes any hesitation or fear of a large audience less of a factor, because I know the videos are making a difference.




CINDY: What would you say to encourage someone who has never really used make-up, but wants to learn how?

EMILY: It's never too late to learn, and your routine can be as easy or as complicated as you want it to be. I'm not a big "makeup rules" person. You will probably never see me make a "makeup do's and don'ts" video, because we all have different methods and preferences- and like art- I don't believe there's any one right way to get it done. I like providing suggestions that have worked for me, but I hope people understand that it's not the only way. In this day and age- there are SO many ways to learn about makeup. Books, magazines, online forums, videos, blogs... they offer so much instruction. Start drawing inspiration from the people and the world around you. Start small, practice, and use the beauty resources that are available to you. You'll be glad you did!



(This was originally posted May 3, 2010)

CINDY: How do you envision the future of Beauty Broadcast? (I could see you becoming your own brand, even writing a book!)

EMILY: I would love to expand Beauty Broadcast! Right now my full-time career (anchoring morning news) accounts for a lot of my time, but I would love to one day take what I do in videos- and do it in person. Perhaps some sort of seminar where I could meet the people that have been watching, and really communicate with them face to face. Or what if Beauty Broadcast made it's way to your TV screen? THAT would be awesome :)

From the Archives: She Broadcasts Beauty: My Interview with YouTube Beauty Guru Emily Eddington

I'm a firm believer in the connection between looking good and feeling good on the inside. We all naturally seek acceptance and love from others-- and ourselves. If makeup can be a small tool to bring that out- I think that's great.--Emily Eddington

(This interview was originally posted May 1, 2010).

Emily Eddington is a TV newscaster, but her YouTube beauty tutorials may be what brings her fame

When I recently decided to try using velcro rollers in my hair, I did a Google search for video tutorials on the subject. (By the way, in case you didn't know? You can find a video on how to do just about ANYTHING on YouTube.)

One of the videos I happened upon was a YouTube tutorial on using velcro rollers by "emilynoel83."

I was intrigued by this lovely young woman with her straightforward, down-to-earth approach, so I checked out some of her other YouTube videos--most of them explaining make-up techniques, reviewing beauty products, and showing how to use inexpensive make-up to get a great look.

In no time, I was hooked--and I became one of over 50-thousand people who suscribe to Emily Eddington's YouTube channel, Beauty Broadcast.

A TV newscaster with a penchant for beauty



26-year-old Emily Eddington is a morning news anchor for WSIL-TV in southern Illinois. That fact resonates in her articulate, factual but friendly and approachable manner in her tutorials.

It doesn't hurt that she's downright gorgeous, and that her lovely face is the perfect canvas for the many make-up looks she demonstrates.

So far, Emily has parlayed her tutorials into a popular blog and Facebook page, and I'm thinking the sky's the limit for Beauty Broadcast.

How did a relatively small-town newscaster end up with a YouTube channel that boasts 50-thousand subscribers? I was curious, so I asked Emily to take part in an e-mail interview, and she graciously answered my questions.

Here's Part One of our interview:



CINDY: How far back in your life does your interest in make-up, hair, and beauty go?

EMILY: I remember always being somewhat intrigued by my mom's makeup collection, and whatever makeup she was carrying around in her purse. My mom & sister are beautiful ladies- and always seemed to have their hair & makeup looking good (my mom is a former cosmetologist)- so I knew I would one day get involved with makeup as well. I believe that day came in 7th grade when I joined the cheerleading squad and put on some very minor makeup for a game (powder, lip gloss, blush). Magazines like "Teen" and "Seventeen" became my main sources for beauty education, and in high school I reached that phase where I was somewhat of a "collector" of drugstore makeup.

CINDY: Why do you think it's a good thing for a woman to use the tools available to her to try to look her best?

EMILY: I'm a firm believer in the connection between looking good and feeling good on the inside. Makeup is an extremely affordable way to enhance your natural beauty, and put an extra spring in your step. I always hear from viewers who say they tried a particular product I suggested and they got "so many compliments". We all naturally seek acceptance and love from others-- and ourselves. If makeup can be a small tool to bring that out- I think that's great. For those who get especially interested in makeup- it truly does become an art form for expressing your creativity. You don't have to be a professional to have fun with that!

CINDY: Tell me about the evolution of "Beauty Broadcast"...how did your interest in make-up, etc, end up being regular videos on YouTube?

EMILY: Shortly after I began working at the TV station where I currently anchor, I noticed this incredible beauty community on YouTube. I was practically frustrated with myself when I tapped into this vast makeup resource- because it could have been SO useful to me- had I discovered it in college. I remember sitting on the couch one night, randomly looking up some info on a product I wanted to try- and a link to a video came up... about a dozen videos later, I realized- I can do this! I love to talk, and I love makeup... maybe I can contribute to the YouTube world of beauty as well! I consistently started posting videos for a short time, and then work really got busy for me and I took a short hiatus from YouTube. At that point, I didn't think all that many people were watching... so, why bother, right? Well, people were messaging me, saying, "Where did you go? I miss your videos!" At that point I realized- this needs to continue. Well over 300 videos later... I'm still here! :)

CINDY: Do you ever have trouble coming up with ideas for your videos?

EMILY: Thankfully, no. Through emails, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook- subscribers are constantly telling me what they want. With these requests coming from literally *thousands* of different directions- I always have some sort of idea floating around! Plus, new products are always hitting the market, so there's always something for me to review. Makeup offers endless creativity in terms of the looks you can create, so I don't think there's any limit to the types of tutorials I can create.



CINDY: How important to you is the feedback you get from your Beauty Broadcast facebook page?

EMILY: I especially value what people have to say on the Facebook page, because I know these people who are willing to seek me out in numerous forms of social media really care about Beauty Broadcast. A number of times- people on the Facebook page have referred to the group as their "Beauty Broadcast Family". I love that! I get a lot of enjoyment out of seeing people answer each other's questions on the Facebook page. It's like we're all a big bunch of friends on there.

Next time: In Part 2 of our interview, Emily Eddington talks about why it's important to her to show how you can look great on a budget--and what could be in store for Beauty Broadcast in the future

A Look Back at "Lost": Sawyer Reading

No drama in television history has been as literary as “Lost,” with heroic conman Sawyer proving that a man can look sexy reading a book.--Chauncey Mabe

Everyone who knows me knows that my favorite TV shows of all time is "Lost." (If you haven't watched this show, and you love a good story with wonderful characters, I highly recommend it!)

It so happens that one of my favorite characters, Sawyer (played by Josh Holloway) loves to read. And what better thing to pass the time on a deserted island than to read?

Apparently, quite a few books survived the crash, and it was especially nice for Sawyer when he found a pair of reading glasses among the wreckage.

Among the books we saw Sawyer reading: Watership Down by Richard Adams, A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle, and Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. (Go here for more of Sawyer's books.)