It’s The Little Things

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It’s The Little Things: Worldbuilders

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Worldbuilders is one of my favorite charities.

And. Okay. It’s not so little. But I did not know where else to put this post. Time is a tickin’. I also I realize as I type this that this post is weirdly going to be situated between a consumer post and a recipe post that is going up tomorrow. It couldn’t be helped, because I really want to spread the word…

For the approximate price of two mocha frappuccinos and none of the calories, a donation could be made to an awesome charity with a simultaneous entry into a drawing for some amazing prizes.

What?! That’s crazy talk. But it is true…

I love me a bearded man. My husband has a beard and there are so many pluses to this that I cannot go into here. But I love a beard.

And Patrick Rothfuss has a big ol’ beard.

Wasn’t this post supposed to be about charity?

Let’s reel this in.

I have posted about meeting Patrick Rothfuss, my favorite author, previously here and more recently (and more embarrassingly) here. He even came to a book signing near us two weeks ago, but I did not attend because I cannot bear to face him again. I love the words he puts to paper. His powerful verses of threes. They just make me happy.

Worldbuilders is his charity. But I would support this charity even if Patrick Rothfuss had absolutely nothing to do with it. All of the money collected from their fundraiser goes directly to Heiffer International. Heiffer International is a charity that has always been close to my heart. They are the charity that gives people goats, chickens, honey bees, etc. so that they can actually earn money or get more from what is given to them. The chickens will continue to lay eggs. The goat can produce milk. And the honey bees, well, you get it. It helps make generations of people’s lives better. One year our book club bought a goat through Heiffer International together in leu of exchanging Christmas presents with each other.

If you donate to Worldbuilders, you will not only be helping to make the world a better place, you have a chance to win some fabulous prizes. Seriously I would rather win one of the prizes (the favor ring) than win the state lottery, that is how awesome it is. There are fantasy books and games that are in the lottery for anyone to have a chance to win with a $10 donation. The fundraiser ends on December 8th. I wanted to share about this charity and fundraiser, because I think it is so cool that they have a lottery for people who donate and their mission is so pure. My husband and I donate every year to this charity. We have never won anything, but we never expect to. Just knowing that our donation is going to such a good cause is a good enough feeling for us.

Of course, this year Patrick Rothfuss is putting in three of his favor rings into the charity’s lottery. This makes my greedy little heart yearn for one of them. For every $10 donation you make, you are entered one time into the lottery. So if you make a $50 donation, you are entered five times into the prize drawing. I can hear you thinking, Okay, Jenni, I get that. But what the heck is a favor ring? Why, it is just that. You can trade the ring in for a favor from Patrick Rothfuss at any time (you can read more about it here). Last night the one favor ring he had up for auction on eBay went for $12,850 and all of the money went to charity. And all of my jealousy went towards that winning person. Ahem.

I do not know what I would do with that ring…

But I can imagine.

Time to reel it in again.

It’s the little things: making the world a better place. One chicken. One goat. One beard at a time.

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It’s The Little Things: Baguettes

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Am I really going to do a whole post dedicated to baguettes? Oh yes… I am. I happily eat it any opportunity that I can. With butter. Amen.

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I love a good baguette. I am pretty sure I have tried every single baguette offered in our town. I have tried ones shipped from bakeries, ones from local bakeries, and the ones made at all of the grocery stores. None of them have ever compared to the ones by Le Petit Francais that Costco is carrying right now in the freezer section.

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GO GET THEM NOW!

Sorry to shout at you. And on a Saturday, no less. But these baguettes do not last long. They are seasonal. I wish I could show you the box, but I threw away all three of my boxes I have purchased this month. Each box contains ten baguettes. Yes, that means that I purchased thirty baguettes this month.

I am seriously contemplating getting an extra freezer just to store more.

No joke.

It is no secret that I am a food hoarder. My husband plays along but never encourages it. The other day I told him we needed to go buy more baguettes at Costco.

He had the car running in five minutes.

I had a panicky moment when I could not find the boxes of baguettes in the freezer section. I saw my husband coming down the aisle in front of me. He had boxes of baguettes in his cart. It was like those romance scenes in meadows where two people meet, only with a grocery cart. In Costco. With baguette babies.

“I love you!” I exclaimed when I reached my husband’s side.

“I love you, too,” he replied. No need to tell him I was speaking to the boxes in his cart.

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The bread is just the perfect amount of crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside. Everyone in my family agrees they are the best baguettes they have ever had.

We are not the only ones who feel this way. In looking for these baguettes online, earlier in the year when I ran out of my previous batch, I found a forum with people talking about this sensational bread. I was sad to learn that Costco is the only place that carries these baguettes locally (if you have a Publix near you, I have read they also carry them). And only in certain seasons. Now is the season. You will not find these in the spring and summer at Costco.

The baguettes are actually small in size. About half of the size of a regular sized baguette. This means I bake two for my family of four for a meal. But they are also more compact for easier storage in the freezer. To bake them, you set them on your counter for 15 minutes to defrost and then bake them for ten minutes. Easy peasy.

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It’s the little things: The most amazing bread available from your freezer whenever your heart desires.

Have you tried these baguettes? Aren’t they heaven in your mouth? Oh man! I need more! Now I am panicking that they are going to sell out! Forget I ever said anything. Bread is bad. Bad, I say… I need to go buy another freezer.

this post is not sponsored by or affiliated with Costco or Le Petit Francais. I just wanted to innocently share the love I have for this bread.

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It’s The Little Things: Put A Scarf On It

I have been thinking a lot about scarves lately. I have been seeing them pop up all over Instagram. Yesterday I was at Anthropologie and as I wandered the beautiful store, the scarves seemed to be whispering to me, “Cozy,” they murmured. “Flattering,” they promised. “Unique,” they softly said as they caught my eye and winked.

But I live in California.

Buying an expensive scarf just isn’t practical. For my lifestyle. And my budget.

I guess you could say that I am married to Warm Weather but I don’t mind flirting with Cold Weather’s attractive cousins. temperature trollop I ignored their siren calls and promised them I would be back when they went on sale (especially this temptress).

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I happened to be at a different mall later in the day. And I also found myself at Target. I had actually wanted to go to Target that day to view a scarf after seeing it on myfavoritethings25 Instagram feed (sorry, I do not know how to link to Instagram). My Target store did not have that scarf, but they did have the plaid and other patterned one above. Since plaid and blanket scarves seem to be the trend of the season (and leopard. Leopard. Leopard. Leopard. Put a spot on it), I scooped them up for around $30 for both (most scarves at Target are on 20% off sale through the end of today and buy one get one 50% off online).

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At the mall, I went to Forever 21. They had a wall full of scarves. I did not purchase one.

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But I spotted this blue and black flannel number for less than $10 there and I think it is pretty.

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H&M did not have the scarf selection I was expecting. But they did have two different patterned blanket scarves hidden in the clothing section that were huge. The pattern was pretty. This picture is not them. I did not get a picture of them. I had all ready broken a $2 ring at Forever 21 and guilt-purchased it, I did not want to drop anything else and have to pay for it in reaching for my camera. Aren’t I helpful? But I will share this:

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I will admit that I am clueless about styling scarves. That is why I like to buy infinity scarves. They are easy. I like easy. But most of the scarves I admire lately are not infinity. What is a girl to do? Well, I found this video on You Tube and the tutorial to make a regular scarf look like an infinity scarf was so simple. Most importantly, it works!

Are you a scarf styling genius? I have heard that you can make a scarf into a vest? Do you know how to do that? I’m just happy I managed to get the thing around my neck.

It’s The Little Things: more accessories! I love the cooler seasons! Shhhhh! Don’t tell Warm Weather.

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It’s The Little Things: Quirky Jewelry

I found some pieces of jewelry from the shop UPcycledWorks when she was selling her items at the San Diego Del Mar Fair in June. My daughter and I split the cost of four items. We purchased three rings and a necklace.

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I own two of her Scrabble rings. One in a “C.” My husband and daughter’s names both start with this initial. This makes it easy for my daughter and I to share monogrammed pieces.

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And one in a “Q.” This letter is for my favorite letter in Scrabble.

Please ignore my this model’s creepy veiny hand. I cannot imagine what her face looks like. Shudder.

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I also purchased a Mahjong ring. I cannot believe I have not taken a picture of it on my hand, yet. My husband collects vintage Mahjong sets. We used to play together all of the time, but we have not done so in years. I miss it.

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We bought a telescope necklace that my daughter wore and now I cannot find. Sigh. She is as organized as her mother. But I really want these earrings. I have a thing for semicolons. I kind of love them. I try desperately not to use them because one of my favorite writers once commented that they are obnoxious; they live on in my heart.

Do you own any quirky jewelry? I love it all. I like being able to say something without ever speaking a word. Wasn’t that a song? I have semicolons on the brain; I cannot remember.

It’s the little things: fun little pieces of jewelry.