Avery Garrett

Blogged Down

2011-11-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

So I wanted to start blogging and making tarts and candles and have a good ole time in general the way I used to when I blogged Cheaper By the Half Dozen. The problem is that I just can't get back into it. What was it back then that made blogging so appealing? It seemed that everywhere I went someone or something was offering up the best of the best blogging material.

I'm not sure how to break out of this lull. I don't even bother trying to drive traffic to my blog because, quite frankly, I'm not writing anything for anyone to read! Lately my wants are simple, I want a giraffe. Of course, to those who know me, that is nothing new.

It's funny that my great grandmother loved giraffes as well. Take her to the zoo and park her by the giraffes...she was sure to stay out of trouble that way. Yes, my great grandmother was a handful. Quick witted and mischievous defined her. She was born in 1893 and, of course, has been gone for several years now. I wonder how Heaven is faring. *blank stare*

I really do want to get my blog going again. I want readers and comments and I want to read and comment as well. Maybe it's the World of Warcraft that keeps me busy. Or, maybe it's the zillion companies we run that keeps me busy. Or, maybe, just maybe, I'm truly happy and all I see at this point is my snuggly man. :-)

Aqua - Cartoon Heros

2011-10-28T09:29:00.001-07:00

For Allison... :-D I seriously hope you can view this.

Thank Goodness for the Back Up Post-Its!

2011-10-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

First of all, I must mention that this blog has morphed...or, have I morphed? At any rate, this blog is no longer a work of fiction. Avery Garrett has taken over and now, this blog reflects MY life...or Avery's? Or our life? Should I seek professional help? To be honest, Avery is the woman I've always wanted to be. I'm not sure if I've ever heard of The Better Voice actually taking over someone's body and totally changing their lives...but, this has happened to me. I've even considered changing my name to Avery! LOL But, I won't..for one thing, it would be a slap in the face to the parents that named me and I'm too lazy to do the paperwork.

So anyway... Juan (real name, not a voice in someone's head) and I were in Corpus for the past two weeks. I failed to blog even once. Obviously. On September 28, 2011, as we watched a movie, something nudged me in the back of my head (I think it's The Voice that Knows Things) and I said to myself (inside my head because we were watching a movie and it would be rude to yell it) "Crap...they just stole my purse." Now when someone has such a realization you would assume that they would get up and leave the theater to check the truck. Nope..I kept right on watching The Abduction. Not only did I fail to leave the theater, I didn't even bother to look under the back seat where my purse had been hidden...until Juan reached for it and it was gone once we got back to our hotel. Happy birthday to me.

Shamelessly stolen from www.post-it.com Please
friend them on Facebook.

Along with my purse that held everything, they got my wallet with two bank cards (the others were on the desk along with $60 in cash that I had failed to put back into my wallet when I cleaned it out earlier), my driver's license (someone remind me to get a new one please), my social security card (yes, I've reported it all and filled out the appropriate forms) and...are you ready? Sit down!!! My iPod!!!! *GASP* My music is gone..oh..and my camera.. and my glasses. And my brain. Yes..my organizer that had all of my lists and lists of lists and my beautiful and prized Post-Its. :-( My Post-Its.

And that is why I titled the blog as I did. Because as I was looking for a paper clip so that Juan could poke at the smoke detector that kept us awake for two nights straight, (Okay, it kept HIM awake for one night and me for two... Why? Because on the first night I woke him up and said, "What is that noise?" Once he was awake, it drove him insane. He told me not to wake him up again for annoying noises... Hmmm...)...where was I? Oh yeah.... *copying last line* Because as I was looking for a paper clip so that Juan could poke at the smoke detector that kept us awake for two nights straight, I happened upon one last yellow stack of Post-Its!!! They had been stashed away in my box that my parents brought back from Mexico. Oh glorious Post-Its!!!!

Now all I have to do is get my brain back in order. I have to replace everything. While making the police report I told the woman with an awesome southern accent (people in Corpus Christi are so nice..except the thieves.. they can bite me) that they had taken my iPod... she had jotted down everything else even the fact that my social security card was missing..but as I told her about my iPod, she gasped and said, "Oh sh*t."

*And, as always, I don't proof read until weeks later when I blush and scramble to make a correction. Have a lovely day. :-D

Candles

2011-09-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

I'm experiencing the same thing with my tart business that I experienced the last time. People want candles. The problem is that shipping candles isn't all that easy...it costs money. People don't want to pay money. So, I'm trying to decide how to go about introducing the candles into my store. I prefer to sell locally with pick up/drop off delivery. For those of you who want to pay the shipping, I'll make your candles too. Just let me know. Like I said, I'm working now to think of a way to deal with this "problem." I love making candles and I use them in my own home frequently. So, if you just have to have candles, yes, I will make them.

I Love October!

2011-09-09T06:31:00.000-07:00

October is my absolutely favorite month of the year! Not only do we get cooler weather here in Texas, we get Halloween!!!! Yummy, chocolatey HALLOWEEN!!! So, of course, I have to add some new oils to my list! These are the two that I've decided on:

Bite Me - Fresh citrus notes of lime and orange sparkle with effervescent highlights as they lead to a luscious blend of berry and cherry in this playful scent. Leafy green accents add intensity as a base of vanilla creates sweet tones for the fragrance.

Black Magic - A magical blend of earthy sandalwood & ylang ylang, with a quick top note of patchouli. Base notes of baby powder and vanilla.

I have an order fora batch of Raspberry Chocolate Drizzle tarts that I need to make today. I'll post a pick later since they'll be scalloped!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T06:09:00.000-07:00

What A Mess!

2011-08-29T11:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was crazy in that we slept until noon, ate breakfast at 1:00 pm and then dashed off to Academy to get my track star some running shoes. Fun, fun, fun! Considering we left the mess from the scrambled egg, bacon, grits and cinnamon toast breakfast all over the kitchen, guess who gets to clean it this morning? Yep..

So I was hoping to use the watermelon in the fridge to make some watermelon milkshakes later. Unfortunately, we have no ice cream. I also just found out that my much anticipated return to Corpus Christi won't happen just yet. But, we'll figure out something to do for Labor Day I'm sure! Perhaps a nice watermelon milkshake then!

Okay! So my thoughts for dinner tonight are pork chops cooked in cream of mushroom soup. Yes, I realize it's easy, but it's sooo good! And I got a little protest from The Man when I mentioned green beans. His nose turned up a little so now I'm under pressure to make them taste good. I blanched some green beans the other day and now they're thawing. Also, I saved those bacon drippins' (had to mention that here for Angelika) who also saves such things.

So ideas tend to pop into my head when it comes to cooking. I intend to take the bacon drippins' and put them in a pan, heat said pan and dump the green beans into it. Give them a few stirs to heat them up and then resume cooking them and their greasy bacon coating until I achieve the desired doneness. <-----I hate it when I get a red squiggly line under words that I make up. I made the word up..therefore, it's now a word. @@ Plunging green beans into flavorless water isn't my plan. Being raised in the south, my green beans were always a bit sweet. So, a little sugar is called for.

And to finish up the meal, I happen to have three ears of Sin Corn left. Throw those on the side and hopefully, HOPEFULLY, The Man will be happy. Cross your fingers, green beans must make a good impression!

Pictures coming soon...

I must also mention my latest idea to pop into my head. Around here we cook a combination of soul food and Mexican food. We love cooking and I keep asking for a restaurant. Since that isn't likely to happen and I have zero training other than "I love to cook statements," I'm probably better off just sharing my cooking ideas on this blog. If I had a restaurant, I would name it, The Perfect Blend. So, I'll tag all cooking posts with The Perfect Blend.

Sweet Potatoes in the Crock Pot

2011-08-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love to grocery shop with my guy. He gets so excited on every aisle and proceeds to load up the shopping cart (or buggy as my mom always said) with whatever it is that makes him happy. A few days ago, four big fat sweet potatoes suited his fancy as he leaned across the russets to fill his bag.

The great thing about all of this is that I adore sweet potatoes. I have been known to grab a cooked sweet potato and eat it like an apple. Today I have coated all four of them in butter and sprinkled them with Kosher salt and pepper. They're snuggled in foil and warming to sheer yumminess in the crock pot.

With the sweet potatoes we'll have some pan seared pork chops (even though I am a firm believer that all meat should be cooked outside) and Sin Corn. What is Sin Corn you ask? Well, it's a dish that my sister invented on a whim...we do these things. Basically, and I hope she'll read this and catch any mistakes, you start with corn.

Sin Corn

Corn on the cob (enough for everyone)
Garlic
Butter (of course)
Pepper (cracked is best but I don't have any at the moment...why is that?)

Start by shucking the corn and removing all of the silk. Donate silk to Cabbage Patch Kids who have no hair. I have in the past used frozen ears of corn but today I'm taking advantage of the beautiful ears I found at the store. For that, I'll boil the corn first to get it cloer to doneness. (No, doneness is NOT a word...please don't repeat half of the stuff you see me write on this blog.) Also, boiling the corn will remove those annoying silky thingies that you just can't seem to get off otherwise.

Melt a stick of butter and mince a clove of garlic into it. Mix it up. Place the corn in a baking dish and ~~load with~~ garlic butter...err... drizzle all over the corn. Loading the corn with butter sounds fattening and not healthy. Wait...it is called Sin Corn. Anyway...after you've drizzled the corn with the garlic butter (garlic is good for the heart, right?) crack pepper all over the top. If you're lacking your pepper mill like me, just shake some pepper on top.

Now cover the corn with foil and back in the oven. I'm guessing 350 degrees for umm... 45 minutes. Can you tell I cook on a whim most days? I don't think I've actually had sin corn since 2006 or so. I'll let you know how it turns out.

This dinner will be completed with a nice cold glass of Horchata which is nice and chilled in a gallon jug in the fridge.

So, maybe for November I'll carry some Sweet Potato tarts...no... maybe Sweet Potato Pie tarts? We'll see... And, as always, I don't proof read... :-D

The Finished Product

Okay, so it didn't turn out as pretty as I would have hoped, but the flavor was awesome! Here's a pic and now, I'm off to pick up my daughter. :-D

Tarts and Music!

2011-08-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

So...a nice turquoise-haired young man has introduced me to some new music because I'm sure he knew it was right up my alley! And, he was right. I'll share a video with you in a minute.

For now, let me say that I have made my first two batches of tarts in the new and oh-so-fun clam shells!!!! Heeee!!!!!! So now that I've seen these things and touched these things, I want to put everything in a clam shell! Like, could I freeze pudding cubes or something? Ice cream... Never mind..

You can purchase some in my store (see link to the left or click here ) and you'll see how much fun they are. Of course, something could be wrong with me and that's why I'm so thrilled with plastic containers. *crickets*

Anyway!! Here's the new music that I probably should have known about but didn't but do now.

Have fun! I'm dancing away...

New Scents Arriving Soon!

2011-08-03T07:06:00.000-07:00

So I’m home today since The Man is working out of the house. While I have time to actually blog and catch up on my tart making, it’s annoyingly lonely. So, that makes me itch to buy new things. Okay, not really…I’m not a big spender. However, while bored I do find things to spend money on that I normally wouldn’t. So in order to avoid the buyer’s remorse that always crawls inside my gut and drives me insane, I headed online to purchase two new scents to add to my tarts instead!

Peach Margarita – “Fresh and sweet succulent Peaches combined with sparkling notes of lime, lemon, and orange rinds makes this the perfect Party Drink!”

Lick Me All Over – “A wonderful exotic fragrance with base notes of raspberry, cantaloupe, and watermelon, middle notes of jasmine and violet, and fresh top notes of grapefruit and kumquat. “

No, I won’t be changing the name for Lick Me All Over. I like it. *GRIN* You can look at the scents list to see the old oils. I’ll get my shopping cart working soon so that you can buy all the tarts you want..in convenient clam shell packaging!

Avery Garrett

2011-07-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

I started blogging for Avery back in 2006 when I noticed that she as the loudest voice that lived in my head. How many other people do you know who give the voices in their head their own blog? As far as I could tell, my friends and family actually liked her! So I kept blogging for a while and you’ll find her old posts on the archives page (coming soon). Avery and I have gotten to know each other quite well and she even takes over every now and then. Since she’s much better business-minded than I am, I’ve decided not only to let her blog, but to take full control of my tart business. If you remember, it had been called Scentsable Yum! Now, thanks to Avery, I plan to get those tarts up and running again.

A few things will change about both Avery and the tarts. For starters, Avery has decided to quit her job as a book editor and work full time on her blog and tarts. Since she’s devoting so much of her time, it’s only fair that the business carry her name…Avery’s Tarts! So, now you can melt up some yummy scents while reading Avery’s blog.