2011 December | whoorl

A Secret Holiday Recipe (Starring the Candy Man!)

December 23, 2011

While searching for photos on an old external hard drive last weekend, I unearthed some precious Ron (also known as Bishop Stu Tu, the Candy Man, and the man with whom I secure hoagies and miracle ham) video footage. It seems I totally forgot about a few videos we shot in 2009 while I was home visiting for the holidays. Ladies and gents, this footage simply can not stay hidden away….no sirree bob, so I put together a little holiday ditty for you all. Let us all experience the Candy Man again, this time sharing his coveted, secret chex mix recipe. I promise, you will never go back to noshing on regular ol’ chex mix again. Happy Holidays!

Studio R Chex Mix

1/4 stick (2 Tbsp) butter or margarine
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
1 tsp garlic powder
5 Tbsp Light Karo Syrup
4 cups Rice Chex
4 cups Corn Chex
2 cups Wheat Chex
1 1/2 cups stick pretzels
1 cup dry roasted peanuts
3/4 cup mixed nuts
1/2 cup pecans
1 cup sesame sticks
cayenne pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees

2. Mix the first 5 ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to boil and then simmer over low-medium heat.

3. Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl.

3. Drizzle sauce over dry ingredients while tossing to coat evenly.

4. Spread mixture over 2 large cookie sheets. Lightly sprinkle with cayenne pepper. (Very lightly!)

5. Cook at 250 degrees for 75 minutes. Halfway through cooking, toss the mixture a little bit so it won’t stick.

Enjoy!!

(Dad, I will be home in 36 hours. Please have chex mix waiting. Love, your wonderful daughter.)

COMMENTS (12)

The National Diaper Network

December 22, 2011

As my year as a Huggies Every Little Bottom ambassador comes to an end, one of the things I learned in regards to diaper drives is that they are all operated independently of one another – such a wonderful endeavor to take on, but not too much cohesion as a nation. That’s why I’m really pleased to announce that The National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN) is a newly formed national nonprofit organization dedicated to providing every child in the United States with the supply of diapers needed to remain clean, dry and healthy, and close the diaper gap in America.

The mission of the NDBN is to raise awareness of diaper need and build capacity of creating a national network of community partners. This is going to be so fantastic in bringing together so many of the awesome organizations working to raise awareness of diaper need in this country. Huggies will serve as the founding sponsor of the NDBN, and will continue to help fight diaper need by pledging to donate 20 million diapers a year for three years. (Woohoo, Huggies!)

As the Founding Sponsor for the National Diaper Bank Network, Huggies Every Little Bottom organized “12 Days of Thanks,” a cross-country tour where the brand donated 12 million diapers in 12 cities over a 12-day period. Some of the markets were New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, Denver, Sacramento, Minneapolis, Detroit and Columbus. I would have loved to be on that tour, you know? To be able to donate 1 million diapers to 12 metropolitan areas is pretty dang amazing. Well done, Huggies. Well done!

Disclosure: I have partnered with the Huggies® brand to help promote the Huggies® Every Little Bottom program. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes writing about it here. However, my opinions are entirely my own.

COMMENTS (0)

Odds and Ends

December 20, 2011

1. Thanks for all of your exercise recs last week. I attended my first spin class in over a decade today, and man, I missed that sweat-dripping, heart-racing, bass-thumping, thigh-burning kind of cardio. I’ve got some barre and mat pilates classes coming up, so hopefully I can find that perfect mix of cardio and toning. I’ll keep you posted!

2. I loved reading your favorite W words on the SAJ giveaway post, and the winner of the W print is #30, Allison! You will receive your W print shortly.

3. I’m having a little Whoorl’s Closet sale right now. Why am I pimping it here, you ask? Well, I’ll probably go into more detail later, but here’s the gist. I have a ridiculously impulsive trigger finger when it comes to online shopping, and it just needs to stop. In 2012, I want to be more mindful of what I purchase. So! My goal for 2012 (in regards to purchasing clothes and accessories for myself) is to only spend the money I have in my Paypal account and/or use store credit. (OMG HAHAHAAAAAA, is that ridiculous? I have $8.60 in it right now, but I also just bought these beauties in black. $100 off on eBay, though! Uh, baby steps?) In a nutshell, I did a massive overhaul on my closet last week, donated the majority of it to Goodwill, but kept a few items to sell on Whoorl’s Closet. The money I receive from those items will go directly into my 2012 clothing fund. Who wants to wager on how long this will last?

4. I’m really digging the turtleneck scarf-tying method this month. You can check out that one and my 5 other favorites at Style United. (p.s. – it looks like a tag is hanging out of the back of my sweater, but it’s actually a tied grosgrain ribbon. Just didn’t want that to bother you, LIKE IT DOES ME.)

5. At my Babble Voices blog, feel free to commiserate with me in regards to my little 17-month-old, second-born rebel. You guys, I weep for the future.

6. And speaking of Babble, I was included in their Top 100 Mom Blogs of 2011 list. What the what? Thanks, Babble! (Although, what is up with the outrageously heinous photo? It’s like gorgeous mommy headshot photos everywhere you look, and then the one with the girl sitting in her bed, unshowered and looking like a crazy hobo. Hot stuff.)

COMMENTS (13)

Santa Diapers Aren’t Just For Fun

December 16, 2011

Hello, I’m Sarah. I’m a plaster-your-baby’s-mug-on-an-online-animation addict. Hello, Sarah.

I can promise you right now that I will never grow tired of these online holiday greetings.

It’s baby Wita Santa!

She’s dancing! She’s adorable! I LOVE HER! I mean, these cards!

Sooo, have you seen the Huggies Santa Diapers? I must admit, they make me smile. However, the main reason I’m smiling is because when you purchase a pack of Huggies Santa Diapers, you are helping to diaper a baby in need, and I can totally get behind that kind of reasoning. Huggies will donate more than 22.5 million diapers to babies in need in 2011, so purchasing a pack of Huggies diapers would be the cherry on top! You can check out the Santa Diapers here, and if you want to join me in the above-mentioned addiction, you can plaster your baby’s mug on an animated Santa here.

p.s. – I might just love you forever if you were to tell me where I could find more plaster-your-baby’s-mug-on-online-animations out there…