HELLOmynameisHeather

Purse-tic Surgery

My vintage beaded purse came undone where the handle meets the bag — the thread gave up the ghost. This purse is too darn fabulous to bury though. I'm not sure if I recovered every bead that spilled onto the floor, but I'm going to make it work with what I found.

It's time to dig up the perfect monster thread and rent a decent movie, then set to work bringing her back to life. What good movies are out right now? Was The Vow worth seeing? Or maybe Frankenstein is in order.

Freeze-Dried

We love to cook. Isaac is especially talented at putting together savory recipes. I'm petitioning him to write some of these down so I can share them with you.

One fun product I discovered recently is freeze-dried garlic. When we neglect to replenish our fresh garlic stash, freeze-dried garlic comes to the rescue. When reconstitued, I've found it to be much more flavorful and enjoyable than garlic powder—which really doesn't seem that garlicky to me in the first place. And it stores in the cupboard with the other spices. We have tried keeping packets of fresh garlic in the fridge, but we don't have an easy time remembering that they are there.

Have you ever tried this stuff? Do you have a secret ingredient I need to know about? Almond extract makes magic when added to cherry pie filling and we just started experimenting with Chipotle powder. Along with smoked paprika, lime, and freeze-dried onions, Chipotle powder makes a great base for vegetable dip.