The Queen B

Is This Getting Old Yet?

On to another of my favorite things...

Candles.

What's the latest & greatest?

What's your all-time fave?

Are there other smell good things that you love that I need to know about?

I'm kind of in a candle rut.

I've been burning this one.  I love the smell.  I just don't love the packaging.

I never said I was easy to please.

This is a good fragrance, too.

I like this.  

And this and this.  

The end.

More of My Silly Little Game

Well that was fun for me.

I hope that you also found some ideas for new cookbooks to try.

I'm thinking our next category will be...

Facial Cleansers/Serums/Potions.

I am needing something to fix my wrinkles and my pimples.

Both of which really tick me off.

I have no good suggestion for this.  I think I've tried it all.

And I still have wrinkles and pimples.

And dull skin.

With big pores.

I'm desperate.

Bring it on.

You Know How Sandwiches Taste Better When Someone Else Makes Them?

Well.  

Now that I think about it, that title has nothing to do with this post.  

It made sense to me for a minute...

I think I was going with how other people can make the plain stuff seem fancier?

Or something like that.

Basically I was hoping y'all would tell me some of your favorite stuff.

So I thought that over the next week-ish, I might ask for your favorites in assorted categories.

And at the end of this silly little game, I will give a prize to a randomly drawn commenter.

Let's start with cookbooks.

Tell me your all-time favorite cookbook.

I have several. It's hard for me to choose.  Definitely this one.  This one.  And this.

Thanks for playing.

Spillin' It

Thank you so much for all of your questions the other day when I was desperate.  You asked some great stuff.

I will answer a few at a time, so as not to bore you to death.

Instead, I'll just bore you to near-death.

Ok.  The first question is from Jenny.  She asked what my ideal job would be.

My dream job would be to own a little homespun bakery.  It would be the cutest bakery you've ever seen.  And it would smell divine.  I would bake what I wanted and display it beautifully.  When I ran out of what I made for the day, I would close.  

However.

Apparently you have to get up at, like, 4 a.m. to have a bakery.  

And I'm not down with that.

My more realistic ideal job would be in marketing.  My favorite type of work has been figuring out how to get a certain product to captivate a certain audience.  I would love to change it up a bit and work in sports marketing.  I would help athletes market themselves by defining their image and then we'd sell it to the fans.

That would so rock.

(I bet that surprised you a bit.)

(I am a complex girl.)  

But this is not all about me.  I want to know your ideal job! Either leave it in the comments or blog about it.  

Now I'm going to go bake some cookies and watch a little NASCAR.

Nesting Envy

Ok. I admit it.

I'm addicted to the decorating blogs.

My name is QB and I'm addicted to the decorating blogs.

So addicted, in fact, that I marched myself down to Hobby Lobby this weekend to try to do something crafty.

I decided to spray paint a mirror.

And I was going to post about it.

But I forgot to take the "before" pictures.

Typical.

So then I decided that I wanted to do one of the fall decorating posts.

But this is all I've done for fall...

I hung this towel from my oven...

...stuck these guest towels in the bathroom towel holder thingy (which are upside down but I'm too lazy to change the picture), and...

...planted these in my pots.

I am not sure that qualifies as decorating for fall.

So. I decided to show you my favorite room in my house.

It is a strange room to love.

It is my downstairs bathroom.

Here is a peek from the door.

Now, I must warn you. If you come to my house to use the potty, you might not want to lock the door.

The doorknob gets stuck.

We've locked many a guest in that room. One lady from book club was flat on the floor when we finally got the door open.

The chest of drawers was my great-grandmother's. I love it in this space because it covers the vent. And it fits perfectly. And I love having a wooden piece in the bathroom.

I love my window shade. It is a bit crooked today. Hmmm. I wonder why?

Oh, I know. It is because guests go to the trouble of closing it when they potty.

Please hear this: A person would have to be in my fenced backyard, on a 10 foot ladder precariously hanging over the pool equipment and air conditioning unit to get a peek at somebody going tinkle.

Leave the window treatment alone.

I love this framed picture. And if my photography skills didn't reek, you would love it, too.

I added the same fringe that is on the shade to the bottom of the towels.

Well. That is not exactly true. My decorating friend told me to do it and then did it for me.

Because I am not good.

But forget about that right now, because I am being a pretend decorating blogger.

And about those towels... let's not use them, ok?

I am providing a nice little towel holder thingy with new fall towels placed right by the sink for your convenience.

The real towels are just pretty.

Not practical.

I also have a set of the pretties on my tub.

While we're on the topic of things not practical...I've never used that tub.

In 8 years.

See, there are no bedrooms downstairs. I play like this is a half bath.

And I don't want to clean that stinkin' glass.

So, um, not only do I ask that you not lower the shade or use the towels...please don't acknowledge that tub.

Ok. I feel better.

This is the view of the vanity.

And nobody ask where I'm sitting, ok?

This is the other wall.

And, finally (is anyone still here?), this is the cabinet over the toilet.

Those towels are just for looks, too.

But I'm guessing you figured that out.

Thank you for visiting my, um, bathroom.

I promise that I really do like to have company.

And I will let you use anything else in my house.

Just be careful in that bathroom. Do your business and get on out of there.

(Guess who wants to be part of the fall decor...)

Of Course They're Durable

So I'm not usually into coveting appliances.

I would, most certainly, love a beautiful 5 star range.

And I'd not turn down Shaw's Original Fireclay Sink if someone offered to buy me one.

But really? Not that into the appliances.

Except for these:

I really, really like these.

I am pretty sure I need these.

They were quite possibly designed with me in mind.

There are two things that stand between me and those lovelies.

My good old Maytags.

I've had them since 1994.

I keep thinking that they will begin to decline.

The dryer has had to have a few little things tweaked over the years.

The washer has never had a problem.

Until last week.

When a load was finished, the clothes were still sitting in water.

And I have to say I was kind of excited.

I called The King to tell him of my washing woes and he told me to call the Maytag Man.

I began looking online for the best price for the dynamic duo.

I began considering paint colors to really make the laundry room rock.

Then the Maytag Man came over.

Unfortunately Fortunately, only the timer had gone out. I had to buy a new timer and they were good to go.

I asked the Maytag Man how much life the pair had left.

And I kind of asked all pitiful-like. You know, like I couldn't bear to see them fade.

That's when I got the good news.

I am the proud owner of the Most Durable Maytags Ever Made.

He said I should easily get 15 more years out of them.

FIFTEEN MORE YEARS OUT OF THEM.

Good-bye Orange Lovelies. We could have been so good together.

(Please, please, please nobody comment and tell me that I should be grateful to have a washer and dryer. I know that. I am grateful. I realize the luxury of home laundering. I just thought it might be even more fun with the orange delights.)

Because I Need You To Love What I Love

I have a new obsession.

It is serious.

I have enjoyed it 3 times this week.

And that will lead to severe and undesirable consequences.

Banana Caramel Crunch.

From Cold Stone Creamery.

It is incredible.

The creamy vanilla with the silky caramel and the salty pecans with the yummy goodness of banana.

My own little perfect place.

And I want you to have your own little perfect place.

So I am giving away a $20 Cold Stone Creamery gift card.

You can take the kids (who are most certainly bored already) at about 3 pm when everyone is grouchy and it will make the world a better place.

If you don't have a Cold Stone Creamery, I am truly sorry.

I hope you find a similar, though less fulfilling, perfect place.

Leave a comment and a way to contact you and I'll pick someone at random on Monday.

Hurry and Check This Out!!

My mother-in-law has this awesome serving bowl that she uses every time we eat at her house. It is divided into four squares and is great for tacos, salads and chili. She has used it for dessert toppings, too.

It is a Food Network dish, and they are sold at Kohl's. So I went online to find one today...guess what!!! All of the Food Network serving dishes are buy one get one free!! And through today, the shipping is 99 cents!!

I may actually, for the first time in my whole entire life, buy Christmas presents early.

Go check it out!!