Fixin' Leaks and Leeks

Feeling drained? So’s Renfield! But he’s not bugging out. In the movie starring Nicholas Cage as Dracula, Renfield stands up for himself as a result of joining a co-dependency support group. As a member of the support group, he can secretly identify victims to feed to his master: all the horrific partners the group members… Continue reading A Date for Renfield

If I want to pull off that effortless wrecking-ball-hit-my-kitchen look, I’ll just whip up a pie or two. And then I’ll be out of flour because I always think I need more, and that’s how I end up with dough all over the floor and a pie crust that’s crumbly, but not in a good… Continue reading I Went to a Pie and Wine Bar and Now I Want to Live There

Desperate to warn me of impending doom, the kitchen faucet went on the fritz. I’d turn it on, struggle with the sprayer, and shut it off—but it would continue to drip. To solve the problem, I’d just whack it a little harder when shutting it off the first time. Problem solved. Nate, on the other… Continue reading That Sinking Feeling

Spring a splatter of color on your home décor—but warn the members of your family first. That’s what the craft alarm is for. Today, it went off the minute I saw a re-run of Mama’s Family. Vicki Lawrence’s hats were simply off-the-hook amazing: little flowered numbers that fit snuggly right into her gray curls—like they… Continue reading Craft Alert: Things Are Getting Eggciting

Last night’s steak stuck around for an encore aroma performance, and it was being very sneaky about it. Even after cleaning the range and the glass on the kitchen hood above the oven range—and liberally spraying with Lysol and lighting perfumed candles and opening windows—we just couldn’t get that meaty smell out of the air.… Continue reading Clean Under the Hood

What’s shrimpy, spicy, saucy, and sassy all over? The “spicy shrimp plate” at Bongos restaurant in the Phinney Ridge area near Seattle. It seriously slaps. I can’t get it off my mind, ever, and I’m determined to make it at home. This restaurant is within walking distance of the Woodland Park Zoo. It’s a bit… Continue reading Mystery Shrimp

Leprechauns have been getting grabby with the furniture on St. Patrick’s Day. If it’s not covered in green, they pinch it. How do we know? Late at night, it pops and cracks in such a way that I believe it’s saying, “quit pinching me.” So, from now on, any furniture in the house that is… Continue reading Just a Pinch of Green

Where are my keys? Where’s that whale I’m hoping to see? Who has the duct tape? All the answers to life’s burning questions are now in one spot: my scavenger hunt journal. I just open it up and find the things I’m usually missing. The idea for a scavenger hunt journal startled me in the… Continue reading Craft Alert: Scavenger Hunt Journal

Nutmeg is quite the hero of the spice drawer. You never know when you’re going to need it for a recipe—or why—but it’s always there, and the container is never empty. It’s not like you’ll ever go bonkers with nutmeg—stuffing it into a rotary cheese grater and taking it from table to table like they… Continue reading Nutmeg to the Rescue!

When the breakfast bars saw the key lime pie Alex baked, they did the only thing a breakfast bar could do in that situation: They flung themselves at the kids waiting for the school bus outside. Unfortunately, they only made it as far as the top of the organizing bin I put them in, before… Continue reading Slice Up Some Breakfast: Key Lime Pie