It’s The Little Things: Wondra

20140312-135025.jpg

I am about to share somethin’ kind of embarrassing.

I know.

Shocking.

And the thing I am going to say won’t be very shocking either.

I hoard food.

And when I find something new I like, well, I buy as much as I can of the stuff.

Just in case,

You never know.

They could stop making it.

Or, um, there could be a zombie apocalypse.

Just so you know, each of those sentences caused a tightness in my chest.

I first bought some Wondra to add to my Momma’s Goin’ Out Crockpot Chicken that I make for my family. Wondra is a special type of flour that does not clump when added to a recipe. It is very fine. This makes it perfect for gravies.

I had never heard of it before last year. And I really cannot remember how I first heard of it. But if I were to guess, I would guess my best friend t.v.

I found it, of all places, on Walmart.com. And I assumed since I had never heard of it, well, they must not carry it at any of my local grocery stores. Of course, I did not check. Because when you are online shopping, everything is justifiable.

Everything.

So, I bought five containers of it.

As one does.

When they are a hoarder.

Or watch too much “Walking Dead.” Because if there was a zombie apocalypse, the first thing one would seek out would be non-clumping flour.

I wanted free shipping with that order, so I added some snack items to the mix to make my food order come to $50.

And I waited.

And Walmart shipped my small food order in four different huge boxes.

And my husband thought I was crazy.

More than usual.

As my food. From. Walmart. Arrived. In several boxes at the door.

I do have a point, I swear.

20140312-135255.jpg

Anyhoo, the other day I was making chocolate chip cookies from this recipe. And I ran out of regular flour. I guess my hoarder side did not recognize that this was a possibility. The shame. I ran out of flour right as I needed it to add to my cookie recipe.

20140312-135333.jpg

So, I checked my pantry. And I saw my Wondra.

I added 1 1/3 cup of Wondra and 1 cup of regular flour (all that remained of my stash).

And I baked my cookies.

The cookies were good. I could not tell the difference.

Until…

The next day, when I pulled a cookie from the cookie platter I usually keep them in. And the cookie… It was still soft! My dears, this never happens! My cookies always get hard overnight.

The next day… Still soft!

I made the cookies again. And it was the same occurrence. By substituting a little over half of the real flour with Wondra, my cookies kept their original fresh-out-of-the-oven texture!

It is a miracle.

I had to share.

It’s The Little Things: Soft Cookies!

Have you heard of Wondra? Have you tried it? In cookies? Who knew?

My cookie recipe available in the link above uses 2 1/3 cups of flour. I tried the Wondra trick a few days later substituting 1 cup of Wondra and using 1 1/3 cup real flour. The cookies were still softer than usual, but you definitely need the first ratio of 1 1/3 cup Wondra and 1 cup regular flour. Although, if you like your cookies really flat, than the one cup of Wondra was a perfect amount. They just were not as soft the next day.

The cookies made using the Wondra flour also seem to take less time to bake. So make sure you watch them so they do not burn.

And just so you know, the other day my husband and I were shopping together at the grocery store. He nudged me and said, “Hey! Isn’t that Wondra? The Wondra that you said was only available online? And now we have a whole shelf filled with it?”

I ignored the question. I ignored the little blue containers staring accusingly at me from the shelf. I ignored the other accusing stare as well.

But…

Yea. You can probably find this in your grocery store. And you probably don’t need to hoard it.

Probably.

20140312-135508.jpg

* this post is not affiliated with or sponsored by Wondra. I just like to write about products that I enjoy using. As with any product I review, your experience with it might vary. : )

Passionate For Popbacks

The majority of my closet is full of popbacks or sale finds.

You know.

The way a hoarder’s closet should be.

And is.

What’s a popback? If you are asking this question, then I need to explain my favorite store, Anthropologie. And their system. A popback is simply a term used to describe something that was sold out and then someone returns it or they find an extra one in a store or warehouse and it…pops back in stock. This can happen even if the item has been sold out for years.

On Anthropologie’s website, I created a wishlist. This wishlist holds around 725 items, some of them years old. I usually ignore the new items after I add the ones I want to my list. I watch them sell out. Then restock. Then hit first cuts and sell out again. And I just sit patiently. I am after the deep cuts. Usually I can get them. Sometimes I am out of luck. Actually, quite often I am out of luck. And that is just the nature of the game. But since I very, very rarely pay full price or even first cuts (half off) for an item, I know it is a risk I am usually willing to take.

I only add items to my wishlist that I really want.

If I feel something is unusually unique, then I will buy it right when it hits sale.

Some items never get deeply cut. I like to save a lot of Christmas decorations in case one day one pops back for $2 (fyi, this has never happened). Sometimes I just like the look of something but I know I will never buy it. Or I fantasize that the $600 leather bag or $500 boots will one day be 90% off (um, this has never happened for me either). My point being, no, I do not own 725 items. And I hope never to own that many items. But it is fun to look at. My list is 15 pages long and I own 1 and a 1/2 of those pages.

You don’t have to search your full list for popbacks. They will show up where your backordered items show up, usually right before all of the items that are sold out. For me, this is page three.

I don’t delete things I have scored, because, like a serial killer, I like to look at my victim’s all clumped together. And smile at my ingenious way that I was able to lure the victims into my closet. They never saw it coming.

Too far?

Okay. Sorry about that.

Most people I know have a budget. I am no exception. Why would I want to spend my monthly budget on two or three items full price when I could score ten or more for the same price? They are still things I really liked, I was just patient for them. They usually also retain either their full popback value or more than what I paid versus paying full price and immediately losing value on the item in case I want to resell it later.

Here are some of my popbacks from recently:

20140301-162400.jpg

My Corca Sweater that originally sold for $148. It popped back and I scored it for $20. The pants are my Pilcro Cords that I patiently waited to hit sale. Original price $98. I paid $37.50. The Zephyr Moto Boots were originally $180 and I scored them on a popback for $50. Those boots were ones I struggled about keeping. I was unsure about them. But I get more comments on those boots when I go out than on any item in my closet. And I have worn them a surprising amount of times.

I love the Echoing Necklace. It is actually an item I paid first cuts for after waiting impatiently for it to hit sale. It can still be found on the link provided as of this posting.

20140301-162437.jpg

This Lace Peplum Hoodie is adorable. I got it for $20. Its original price was $88. The jeans are my Mother Cruiser Jeans I also got on a popback for $40 instead of $220.

20140301-162559.jpg

This Ombra Shift Dress is so versatile! Its original price was $188. I scored it for $30. The rust tights were originally $58 (I still have not discerned why) and I got them for $6 last year.

I never, ever check the sale section on Anthropologie’s website. I do not want to make a rash decision. If it did not make it to my wishlist, I must not have wanted it. If I really want something, I will add it in all of the colors in hopes that one day one of the colors will be returned at an incredible price. This almost always works. I just have to be two things: patient and not picky.

Do you wait for sale? Are popbacks your favorite? Have you ever heard of popbacks? I had not until the awesome Roxy of Effortless Anthropologie tuned me into them. She does a weekly Popback post. It is so helpful, especially if you do not yet have a wishlist of your own. Members of her site will leave the link to an item that has popped back. I highly recommend visiting her site to learn more about shopping at Anthropologie. In addition to the weekly Friday Popback post, every Monday she does a sales post listing new items on sale and sometimes prices on older pieces as well.

P.S. If you want, I can leave links even for things sold out, but I just don’t put them if the item is no longer available. If you would prefer links, please let me know.

Groovin’

20140221-204636.jpg

20140221-204707.jpg

20140221-204815.jpg

Sometimes. Well, sometimes you just have to let go. Give into the music. The peace of the day. On days like that, I like to dress the part.

By the way, the only music playing here was the music in my head.

My soul is groovy, Baby.

20140221-204911.jpg

20140221-204959.jpg

Both of these Free People pieces were obtained from Nordstrom Rack for 66% off. I am not linking to the products (I believe the jeans were called Bali Discharge Flare and the top is the Rave On Tunic), because I think they are sold out. And Dude, I bet you can get them on sale like I did.

Which would leave you more money for actual music.

Of course you are always welcome to tune into the music in my head. Don’t let the voices scare you. They are there to set the mood…

At least that’s what they tell me.

20140221-204542.jpg

Are there days when you just want to dress a part? When you just want peace?

Right on man! I dig it.

* P.S. I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

Shades Of Grey

No. Just a variety of shades of grey. Not a numerical shade of grey.

Ahem.

20140222-154838.jpg

I got this dress from Nordstrom Rack last year in April. It is a good layering piece for the winter, because I think it is too short without tights. Not think. Know. Maybe even too short with tights. I may or may not have tested this theory in the mirror only to discover a massive hole high up in these tights. You never know what you are going to find when you perform that test. It ain’t for the faint of heart.

The turquoise necklace is from the fabulous store Simply Livly on Etsy.

The sweater is Anthropologie’s Matinee sweater that I scored on a popback for $30. It is sold out, but it might popback again or be available in a store by calling customer service. The boots are Anthropologie’s Cultivar boots.

20140222-154923.jpg

Okay, now that that is out of the way, let’s talk hair. I had some girlfriends over to my house this week. What this means is when they arrived on time, I, of course, was running late. I was wearing this outfit. I had not brushed my hair yet. But some of my girlfriends insisted that it looked good.

I believed them.

‘Cause that makes my lazy heart sing.

One less step in the morning? Um, yes please.

20140222-155023.jpg

But do you like my hair better up?

20140222-155057.jpg

Who am I kidding? I still did not brush it for these pictures either. In fact, I left my house with bed head. It felt naughty and fun.

20140222-155651.jpg

So, what’s the verdict? Should I do this again? Or this a strike against the lazy? Don’t worry, I would only do this once in awhile. The next day, I had to brush my hair again. Day two was too much even for this lazy girl. I won’t be burning my hairbrushes just yet.

Have you ever not brushed your hair and left the house? Or dressed entirely in one of your favorite colors?