Every day…

For the past week…

I open the back door…

and find THIS waiting for me.

It starts out innocently enough…

I let Miley & Howie out for their morning bathroom break and backyard patrol.

They make the rounds, thoroughly inspecting every square inch of the yard until they’ve made sure no unauthorized visitors have trespassed into their territory during the night.

But at some point… when they think I’m not looking…

They find the Swamp.

You know… that overgrown area of the yard we like to forget about from October to April.

The Swamp is like the Bermuda Triangle for dogs & their toys. It attracts them and sucks them in.

But that’s no problem for Howie.

You have to keep a close eye on the backyard to experience this rare swamp monster sighting.

Miley, of course, is more dainty and attempts to hover over the swamp.

She sticks the landing…

But she misjudged how close that fence was. Doh!

So, when they’re standing at the back door, waiting to be let in, looking post-apocalyptic…

There’s only one thing we can do.

Bath time!

Spring. It’s Miley & Howie’s favorite time of year.

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Or easily amused…

But seeing this little stack-

my favorite jeans, khakis, cords & cargos…

All washed, folded and ready to wear…

gives me a little thrill.

I keep them all folded and stacked just like this in my closet.

♥

Did you know that for most of high school and all of college…

I never, ever wore pants. And definitely not shorts.

Not khakis. Not black dress slacks. And especially not jeans.

I did own nylon running shorts.

♥

I wore flirty skirts and summery sun dresses. All the time. Every day.
All year long.

I often wonder if people who haven’t seen me since then would be surprised to see me in jeans. I never, ever wore jeans.

I remember one time when I was a teenager

and deep within my “I don’t wear pants” phase

I went to visit my cousin. I looked in her closet, and

no lie

She must’ve had 25 pairs of jeans.

Just jeans. All stacked up.

…I think that’s where it started.

♥♥♥

Tell me… What’s inspiring you today?

XOXO

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Not that I’m an expert scarf-wearer or anything.

But today, right here on kevinandamanda.com, I am posting that video.

Before you watch, you should know- yes. I am a dork. A complete, and total dork. There you have it.

So, in conclusion, and in addition to me being a dork, while those certainly aren’t the only ways to tie a scarf (and you probably already knew most of them) they are the 5 ways I most often wear them. They’re quick, they’re easy, they’re relatively pain-free… and the looks could work for either winter or spring.

A couple of questions I meant to answer in the tutorial… but forgot.

How do you store your scarves?

Mine are just wrapped on a regular clothes hanger- tied on just like the first method I showed you in the video. You can kinda get an idea from the picture below- I just took the hanger from my closet and hung it up on the hook on the back of my door to take the pic. I meant to hold up the hanger and show it to you in the video, but I took all the scarves off the hanger first. You know, to make it easier to put them on while taping myself. Oops. Way to plan ahead there. Anyway, one regular-sized hanger holds about 10-12 of my scarves (they’re pretty smooshed on) – and I have about 15 scarves, but at any given time, the other 3 are usually either on me, hanging on the coat rack in the foyer, or strewn somewhere else about the house.

I did see this hanger the other day in The Container Store though. It looks pretty cool for a real scarf collecting enthusiast.

Where do you get your scarves?

The scarves in the video, in order of appearance are from Coach (striped scarf), LOFT (pink & white floral scarf), LOFT (purple paisley scarf) and Old Navy (solid white scarf with poms). All of my other scarves are from either LOFT or Old Navy- except for the pink one I got @ Gloss in Birmingham for Valentine’s Day. :) Now uh, hook a girl up here- where do you get your scarves??

So, I think that’s about it. Oh, and, just so ya know- The making and editing this video had me so flummoxed that at one point, without my knowledge, the webcam on the iMac snapped a picture. This, in all its deer-in-the-headlights glory, is that picture.

And I am a dork.

And I look like I belong in an infomercial for Bumpits.

That is all.

***

Wear a scarf this weekend! :)

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Last weekend it snowed on Valentine’s Day.

This weekend the weather was sunny and gorgeous.

On Sunday the high was 68 degrees.

I broke out my summer cargo pants and we took Miley and Howie to the nature trail for an afternoon hike.

The nature trail is always fun-

there’s a huge lake with ducks & geese that walk right up to you…

…a covered bridge…

…and a 2-mile walking trail around the lake.

I took these pictures with my Sony H20. It’s a compact point-and-shoot: a “throw it in my purse just in case I run into Orlando Bloom” camera. I love it for hiking- I mean, the big camera’s great and all- but my favorite lens weighs about 400 lbs. It’s nice to be able to grab the camera out of my pocket real quick- and not have to lug around the entire stock of B&H Photo when we’re out in the middle of the woods and already trying to wrangle two insane canines (yes, I’m talking to you, M&H!).

It has an “Easy” mode, which basically means all I have to do is turn it on and press the button. Ahhh. :)

My sweet Howie and his reflection.

♥♥♥

On Saturday, we lounged. We opened the windows, shared the recliner and watched The Breakfast Club.

And ate spicy nacho popcorn.

How was your weekend?

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Getting up at the crack of dawn. Taking a drive. Seeing the snow- beautiful. Morning shopping at the Summit. Being showered with festive Valentine’s cookies, cupcakes and treats in all the stores- just for shopping. Lunch @ The Cheesecake Factory. Yummy, yummy cheesecake.

(Mouseover this image for a cool effect- click on the numbers that pop up!)

On Sunday we slept in, and sometime during the middle of the night- it snowed. When we woke up, everywhere we could see was covered in fresh, white powder.

Kevin went out into the cold and took this picture. I stayed inside in my pajamas. See Miley & Howie? :)

Sunday night, we had reservations for dinner and a movie.

We had reserved seats for the movie too- no waiting in line! :) We sat in a love seat and saw Valentine’s Day. I loved it. They brought us complimentary chocolate covered strawberries. We ate sweet potato fries during the movie.

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when I see them, bright & colorful, hanging in my closet

planning my outfit around a scarf

when I take the entire collection with me, everywhere I go

even if it’s just a 2-day trip…

makes me very, very happy.

I love scarves.

♥♥♥

What about you? Do you love scarves? Or do you have another love- purses? shoes? necklaces? earrings? Yes, please. Don’t mind if I do. Share your loves with me-  I’d love to see. :) Leave me a link in the comments…

Or you can share with me on Flickr, Twitter, & Facebook…

XOXO

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This is part one in a series of tutorials which will cover the very basics of Photoshop. It’s perfect for the beginner Photoshop user- and written in plain English, so it’s simple enough even for someone who has never used Photoshop before! :)

This tutorial, Part 1: Layers, will show you how to give your photos unique, customized enhancements by using actions- but most importantly, how to get the most out of your actions by editing the individual layers generated by those actions.

Start by opening an original, full sized photo (straight from the camera) in Photoshop. I’m using this beautiful photo my friend Cynthia took of her daughter Abby.

The first thing you want to do is make sure you have a few windows open in Photoshop- you’ll need Layers, Actions, and History. They are probably already opened by default and located on the right side of your screen- but if you don’t see them, just look at the top of the screen and click on Window and then Layers, Actions, and/or History.

Now, the first thing I think any photo needs, especially if it’s a photo from a DSLR, is a good sharpening. We are going to jump right in and make our first new layer. Click CTRL-J (*If you are using a Mac, substitute CMD instead of CTRL in this tutorial) to create a duplicate layer- it’ll appear as Layer 1 in your Layers Palette. Then, at the top of your screen, click on Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask.

Change the settings to:

Amount: 150%
Radius: 2
Threshold: 0

And click OK.

Now, for this image, the full amount of sharpening was a little too much. See how it’s looking a little grainy? (It’s kind of hard to convey, since these images have been resized for web, but I’ll do the best I can :)).

But luckily, since you had the foresight to create a new layer, you can easily adjust the amount of sharpening just by changing the Opacity of the sharpened layer, Layer 1.

Just click on where it says 100% and change that to any number- or you can click on the blue drop down arrow and use the slider. I changed mine here to 66%.

Just right. Her eyes are nice and crisp, but her hair isn’t too crunchy-looking. Some photos will need the full amount of sharpening- no shame there at all. Some will only need 50%, some less. It’s totally up to the photo, and you- the photographer! :)  And what you think looks best.

When your photo is just right, look at the top of the screen and click Layer > Flatten Image. That merges all your layers to one single layer, just like it was at the beginning. You only want to do this when you’re sure you’re done tweaking. :)

Now, let’s start with our first action. For this tutorial, we will be using the free actions from The Pioneer Woman. You can download sets 1 and 2 here: The Pioneer Woman Actions. Follow her 4 short, easy steps to download, install and play your first action.

This is what the Abby’s photo looked like after I played the action Fresh & Colorful. Not exactly the look I’m going for, but it definitely has potential. Fresh & Colorful is one of my favorite, go-to actions- but I always tweak it before saving the final image.

First let’s start with the Soft Light layer- click on the Soft Light layer in the Layers palette and adjust the opacity to 15%.

For some more color, click on the Hue/Saturation layer and adjust the opacity to 85%.

Finally, for just a little more brightening, click on the Light layer and adjust the opacity to 50%.

And that gives us this. Beautiful. Bright. Fresh & Colorful lives up to its name. :)

Now every photo is different-50% on the Light layer may be too bright- or too dark- for the next photo. 85% on the Hue/Saturation layer may be wayyyyyyyyyyy too saturated. That’s what’s great about layers. You don’t have to do the exact same thing for every single photo, because no two photos are exactly alike. I do almost always at least set the Soft Light layer back to 33% or less though- even if I leave the other two layers alone.

Now what else can we do? I think this photo could be a little warmer… in the Layers palette, click on the Background layer. Now play a new action, from set 2 of The Pioneer Woman actions, called Warmer. When the Warmer layer is at 100%, it’s a little too warm- but change the opacity to 44% and we have this:

Ahhh- Perfect. We’ve lightly highlighted her sweet rosy cheeks, those gorgeous red curls, and her stunning blue eyes- without making it look too fake and over processed.

Now we could certainly stop here, and I do recommend you Save the photo at this point and also create a Snapshot (click on the History tab and then click on the little camera to create a snapshot of your image as it is right now- so that way, no matter what you do to the picture after this, you can always come back to this point, as long as you don’t close the photo.)

But while we’re here, let’s have a little more fun. :) In the Layers palette, click on the little arrow next to the Fresh & Colorful folder to close it. Then, from set 2 of The Pioneer Woman actions, play the Seventies action.

Oh goodness gracious- so sweet! So pink! So Valentiney. Meep. Open up the Fresh & Colorful folder and play around with the layers again. I set the Soft Light layer to 0% here. Click on the Hue/Saturation layer and click CTRL-J for a double saturation boost. Click on the eye next to the layer to hide it if you don’t like it. When you love it, definitely save it and take another snapshot! :)

How about Black & White? In the History tab, go back to the first snapshot you created, Snapshot 1.  Then play PW’s B & W from the first set, adjust the Light layer like it says to do when the window pops up, and then click Play again to finish the action.

Classic. I adjusted the Quick Edge Burn layer to 44% here.

So that’s it! If this was your first time editing a photo in Photoshop, congrats! Thanks for following along! :)

Effectively using layers is one of the most basic, but most important Photoshop tools you can equip yourself with. Actions are great, but without the ability to edit them specifically for your photo- you’re just kinda stuck with the basic, cookie-cutter look- and that may not always work. So now, hopefully, after this tutorial, you can achieve the customized look you want for your photo- everytime! :)

Thanks for looking! :)

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The Best Thing I Ever Ate is especially gut-wrenching because they never post any of the recipes- and it always inevitably makes me want to hop the next red-eye flight to the nearest 3,000 miles away, sophisticated big city where they are and immediately order whatever it is that they are having- the thing that makes one’s life not worth living until you’ve had it.

The other night the show was titled “Snack Attack.” Oh man, was that the wrong show to be watching at midnight.

The founder of Sprinkle’s Cupcakes was on, and she was talking about her favorite “Snack Attack”- Doughnut Muffins. Muffins, which really taste more like a sweet doughnut cupcake, flavored with just a hint of freshly ground nutmeg, and when fresh out of the oven, brushed all over in warm, melted butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar. I just about fainted on the spot.

Instead, I threw back the covers, leapt from the bed, ran to the office and immediately started Googling doughnut muffin recipes. It was the right thing to do. The next morning, I had these:

Oh man. They were so light and fluffy. So sweet and airy. So buttery and rich. Yes. Buttery and rich. But light and fluffy. I don’t know how they did it. But oh, that muffin top. I love, love loved the crackly, crispy top.

And then, when I brushed the entire muffin with melted butter, and covered them all over in a crispy, cinnamon sugary crust…  It was like eating that best part of a muffin, the muffin top- but allllll over. Then biting into the most decadent doughnut cupcake you’ve ever eaten.

If you wanted to be extremely indulgent, you could swirl on a little of my favorite glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp melted butter, and 1-2 tbsp milk, whisked to combine.

Just like a doughnut.

Perfect, perfect, perfect for a cozy, weekend brunch- and for sharing with friends! :D

Doughnut Muffin Recipe
*I also found this article on Doughnut Muffins helpful! :)

♥♥♥

And now, If I haven’t sent you over the edge yet… I’ve posted about these Blondies before- I’m kind of obsessed with them. They’re easily one of my Top 5, all-time favorite desserts. Give me a choice of cookies, brownies or blondies and I’ll pick these Blondies, hands down, every single time.

I usually make Blondies just plain- I am in love with this simple, original Blondie recipe- I want to marry it. But today I decided to add in a little extra chocolatety and hazelnutty goodness- yes, I am talking about those creamy, delightful swirls of Nutella. *swoon*

I posted about them today, over on my recipe blog.

Nutella Swirl Blondies Recipe

♥♥♥

Okay. One last thing. I promise.

*Photo by Jenny Flake

Make these. Cinnamon Bun Sugar Cookies. Right now. You’ll thank me.

Cinnamon Bun Cookies Recipe

♥♥♥

Thanks for looking! :D

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Today we are excited to offer a giveaway from Express The Moment, a monthly scrapbook club that delivers pre-coordinated scrapbooking kits right to your door.

One lucky winner will receive Express The Moment’s February 2010 kit.

Time’s Up! We have a winner!

(more…)

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We had these Spicy Pulled Pork Nachos yesterday for the SuperBowl- a delicious twist on the classic haltime snack. And they’re also a *great* way to use up your leftovers. You could make these with leftover BBQ, chicken, and yes, perfect pulled pork.

You’ll need some nacho chips:

And please, please, please, please, for the love of all that is good and perfect in this world, try making these homemade tortilla chips. They’re so golden and buttery, crispy on the outside, flakey on the inside and so all around delicious- how can you resist? They couldn’t be easier to make. You’ll love them. You’ll hate me. You’ll be addicted. Instantly. Make extra to make up for the 20 or 30 that get eaten before any make it to the plate.

Top the chips with your leftover pulled pork- straight from the fridge is fine!

Sprinkle on a little extra spice rub (leftover from the pulled pork recipe), if you like.

Top with plenty of freshly grated, smoked cheddar cheese. You can find this in blocks in the deli. It’s worth it. Trust me on this.

Then pop into a 350 degree oven for 5-10 mins, until everything is hot, melted, and bubbly.

Careful when getting them out of the oven, the plate will be very hot. You can transfer the chips to a new plate, or just let it cool for about 5 mins.

Delicious! Fun, family-friendly, and frugal too. Dig in! :)

♥♥♥

Thanks for looking! :)

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