Board Games and Mini Pizzas

Roomy and I had a gaggle of friends over last weekend for a board game night. We played Taboo and Mad Gab and Roomy's new favorite, Quelf.

Quelf was really good for my friends (and especially Roomy) because it's not really competitive.  The description states that Quelf "gives random a new name," and that is certainly accurate!  There are quiz cards and category cards, but the best are the action cards.  My personal favorite actions from game night included having to toast "to ancient times and distant music" every time we drank and when one of my friends had to pretend he was a cowboy riding an ostrich around a beached whale, giving a monologue.  Hilarity ensued!

Of course, it would not have been a womanly party at my house without food.  A while ago, I saw this caramelized onion and prosciutto pizza made by my hero, Pioneer Woman.  I knew it needed to be in my mouth!  It gave me a brilliant idea for party food, mini pizzas!  I knew most of my friends would not be interested in high-brow toppings, like caramelized onions, so I provided lots of different topping options and let people make their own pizzas.

I was so proud of my whimsical tags!  I don't think Roomy thought I was as cute as I thought I was, but she was secretly pretty impressed.

I was leery of Pioneer Woman's dough because there was no kneading involved and in a trial run, her crust turned out really average.  It killed me to do it and it felt like a betrayal, but I went with Alton Brown's Pizza Crust.  I'm glad I did because it turned out great.  (I'm sorry, PW, can you ever forgive me for not being in love with everything you do?)

Would you forgive me if I tell you that this pizza was just about perfect?  The balance of the sweet and salty, the flavor of both parmesan and mozzarella cheese....Delectable!

Accessories

Please allow me to begin my rant today by sharing this blog post that made me laugh out loud this morning! (I'm pretty sure Ruth Krauss is A.) a lunatic, B.) my new favorite author and C.) an untapped crafting gold mine!)  I found this gem of a book on Lane Smith's blog, Curious Pages: Recommended Inappropriate Books for Kids. 

In case you're not convinced to take a look at Lane's post, please admire the sheer kookery of this project:

But, this is a blog about womanly things, NOT children's literature, so let's (reluctantly) say good bye to Lane and move on to Accessories!

As I look thru my favorite blogs, I often find pictures of rooms that I think are amazing! They are sweet and put together and FULL of beautiful accessories!

Accessories like the Nester's WOMANLY apothecary jars.

Or this beautiful dresser-scape also from the Nester.

Or this WOMALY apothecary jar and *groan* antique scale from Miss Mustard Seed's guest bathroom.

And this WOMALY dining room table top from the Lettered Cottage. (Do you see those green eggs that match the green apples that match the green tulip stems?!)

Pictures like these make me weak in the knees!  I dream about my big, old house full of perfect children and perfect pets, immaculately clean and chalk full of accessories like these.  Then I wake up and I remember that I CAN'T stand clutter or nick-nacks in my house!  The top of my book case: empty!  My coffee table: empty!  My breakfast bar that is too shallow for stools: empty. The fairy tale me is very into shabby chic with accessories all over the place. The real me is almost modern with funky framed fabric from Ikea and not a nick-nack in sight.  I think the WOMANLY me should somehow negotiate a compromise between the two. So that all three of us can live happily ever after!

Sorry, I just had to share one more oddity!  Thanks for sharing, Lane!

Goofus and Gallant

Disclaimer: I ADORE my roommate!  She's beautiful and smart and really good with people and definitely way more womanly than me in all kinds of ways.  However....

Do you remember Goofus and Gallant from Highlights magazine?  Goofus is the lovable slacker who's always messing up and Gallant is the total brown noser who pretty much just existed to make all the rest of us feel like failures.  Here are a few examples of their respective behaviors:

1944: "Goofus opens a package that is meant for Grandma; Gallant carries Mother's package, unopened, to her."

1955: "Goofus doesn't remove his cap at a playmate's home; Gallant removes his hat."

1960: "Goofus turns on the television when there are guests; whenever guests arrive, Gallant turns off the television at once."
1979: " 'I'll copy this poem and send it in,' says Goofus; Gallant writes his own story."

I think most people like Goofus much more than the up-tight Gallant.  If you 're one of those people, prepare your nerves to be grated upon because in this post, I get to be Gallant!

When I started a load of laundry today, I noticed there was a bunch of dried, crusted detergent on the agitator.  I pointed it out to my roommate, who had no idea that you're supposed to put powdered detergent in the bottom of the washer, and showed her the proper way to do it.  Then, I opened the silverware drawer - which is less than 4 feet from our junk drawer - where I discovered a carabiner.  "What's this?" I asked.
"I wanted to keep it," she replied.
"In the silverware drawer?  It probably isn't very clean."  I'm not really a germ-o-phobe, but eating off a utensil that has been sitting next to a key chain doesn't sound very hygienic.
"Ok, you can toss it. I don't really need it." 
She's pretty easy to live with, but really?  The silverware drawer? 

Roomy is pretty good natured about my (not so) gentle womanly lessons.  In fact, one of her goals while living with me is to grow into more of a woman, especially in the kitchen.  It's a good goal for her.  When I was out of town at Christmas, she tried to mix cookie dough with my immersion blender and ended up with egg and butter in her hair.  Last week, she used a steak knife sitting by the sink to make a PB&J sandwich.  It was the same knife that I'd just used to make guacamole, so her PB&J had the added flavor of onion.  These are not isolated incidents.  In fact, odd things frequently happen when Roomy spends time in the kitchen.

Goofus (Roomy) melts spatulas when making scrambled eggs; Gallant (me) always uses heat-safe utensils.
Goofus breaks wooden spoon handles; Gallant holds the spoon close to the top for proper leverage.
Goofus makes PBJ & onion sandwiches; Gallant always uses a clean knife.
Goofus puts groceries away wherever they happen to fit; Gallant organizes the fridge and cupboards as she unloads grocery bags.

Goofus has a messy room; Gallant...hang on a minute....that's definitely my room...

Oh well, we can't all be as perfect as Gallant.  That's why I'm a woman in training!