My husband asked me to make brownie trays for a client.  He told me to call Lori, one of his office managers.  "Lori's brownie trays are awesome.  She puts that white powdery stuff on the brownies, and has lots of strawberries." 

I wasn't exactly following the idea of strawberries with the brownies, so I emailed Lori for instructions.  She sent me the following picture:

In our house, a chocolate-glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut is considered just about the most delectable (and most guilt-inducing) treat there is.

I only buy them occasionally.  Hubby gets these infamous late-night sweet cravings. We have a wonderful Harris-Teeter grocery store just up the street, which is both a blessing and a curse.  It's a curse occasionally when he begs me to run for a late-night lemon cake for him.  It's happened before.  Which shows what a sucker I am for his charms.

Anyway, when I think he's been especially good, I might buy a box of chocolate-glazed.  Last night, I was perusing the doughnut display, when an Evil, Evil Butcher Man called, "Ma'am!  Ma'am! You buyin' doughnuts?" 

"Ummm, yes..." 

"They put those in that case over there at $1.99 at night."

Ooooohhh, now why did he have to tell me that? I would never have known.

The glass-doored KK display case---the one where you can choose your own fresh doughnuts each day--- well, apparently they box up the remainder at the end of each day, and sell them cheap.  I could have gone my whole life without knowing this. 

I know I will now subconsciously put off my grocery store trips til 8:00 each evening. 

I frowned at the Butcher.  "You are an evil, evil man!  I did not know this!"  I said, as I grabbed the box full of chocolate glazed, which also had a few choc-glazed WITH Halloween sprinkles.

The butcher just laughed, as another Dad with a young kid rushed by my cart, frowning at my KK box, and telling his kid, "Darn, she got the best box...."

...every time we throw a party, that is.  We had a big birthday dinner party for a close girlfriend.  What I learned this time, is that white twinkle lights, strung through trees, can give you the biggest bang you'll ever get for eight bucks.  Four packs of lights at $2 each was all it took to turn our yard from normal to exciting.  We found that the best method was to put a nail in the tree (high up, with a ladder) and use white twist-wire to secure the light cord....poke it through the cord, then tightly twist it around the nail.  This white twisty wire came on each strand of lights.  I cut the long piece in half and used each half for each end.

Since it's getting dark so early, I knew we'd need some additional lighting in our backyard, and this really did the trick.

I was going to copy my sister-in-law's beautiful lights: