May Favorites

1. Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe emails

Every weekend I plan my meals for the week and write a grocery list. I'd like to say I am just totally organized and in control, but it is mostly out of necessity. Otherwise we'd be eating peanut butter and jelly every night and the kids wouldn't have any milk.

It's not always easy figuring out a week's worth of good, quick, mostly healthy meals, and I try to limit myself to one night of takeout at the most. Lately, Martha Stewart recipes have been a big help. I get an email each day with Everyday Food recipes. The ones that sound good, I pop into a Gmail folder called "Recipes." Then when meal-planning time comes around on Sundays, I open that email folder and print out whatever sounds enticing. Easy. Thanks Martha.

You can sign up here.

2. The trashiness that is the Real Housewives

I like them all, but New Jersey and the OC are especially scandalous. T rolls his eyes every time I turn on an episode. I think I just like how it is mindless fluff, like cotton candy for the brain. Or maybe just because it makes me feel good about myself for not being such a train wreck.

3. Revlon ColorStay makeup

I used to wear MAC makeup every day for work. That was when I needed a good spackling to look good under TV lights, and when I had a monthly hair and makeup budget. Those days are gone. Now I would look like a prostitute if I walked around with the same amount of makeup on as I did then, and my hair and makeup budget consists of what's left over after buying groceries and paying the mortgage.

It felt a little overly extravagant to still spend $30 on MAC foundation, so I went looking for an alternative. Revlon's ColorStay is good stuff. It stays on and covers well. I now use just about all Revlon products from their eye shadow to their lip gloss and am quite pleased. And you don't even have to deal with the annoying makeup counter people.

4. Pineapple

This has to be my favorite fruit, and it is very sweet and cheap right now. I could eat a whole pineapple by myself. We had it mixed with blueberries this month and broiled with salmon. (Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe!) And we still have a pineapple sitting on the counter. Yum! I should have been Hawaiian.

5. Craft scissors

I have a love-hate relationship with scrapbooking. I love to look at the completed product, but I don't generally like the act of actually scrapbooking. It hangs over my head and stresses me out! I just want it to be done! I wish I could hire someone to do it for me! But I am determined that all the kids have nice scrapbooks to commemorate their first tooth and graduation from sixth grade and all that.

Lena's was stressing me out as I had not even started it, so this weekend I promised myself I would get it up to date. I hit up Michael's for the requisite pink patterned paper and baby-themed flair. I also grabbed a three pack of craft scissors to give cool edges to my background paper and labels. It didn't make scrapbooking totally enjoyable, but it was definitely more fun as I admired the crinkly edges of my work.

6. My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

This show on TLC about the extravagant and bizarre world of European gypsy weddings is baffling and fascinating. They dress like whores, yet disallow any sex before marriage. The wedding dress in the picture above was complete with twinkly lights and moving butterflies! It's definitely an intriguing watch. After I finish catch up on The Real Housewives, of course.

(By the way, I do listen to NPR in the morning on the way to work. I am not a complete pop culture moron.)

--MM