Movember. Round Three.

Oh yeah - it's THAT time of year again! The time when Ben grows a mustache for charity and I stop kissing him because it's just...ew. Anyway, for those who aren't familiar with it, Movember is a great charity that helps raise awareness of men's health issues (and prostate cancer in particular).

Stolen from here

For the last two years, Ben has thrown himself at the mercy of my blog readers and allowed you guys to pick the style he's going to attempt to grow for the entire month of November. This year I've also awarded each mustache somewhat arbitrary points in three categories: Level of Difficulty (how hard it is to grow or maintain), Style Points (pretty much what it sounds like) and Awesome Points (since some hideous soup strainers are still kind of awesome).

Here are your contenders...

THE DARRYL

Michael Caton has THE iconic Australian mustache - ever since The Castle was released, this is the go to soup strainer for any guy on TV who wants to come across as a true Aussie bloke.
Level of Difficulty: 2 - it's hideously similar to styles Ben has sported in previous years
Style Points: -10 (oh come on, that thing is ugly)
Awesome Points: 10 if you're Australian, 1 if you're anyone else

THE WORF

Nerds of the world, bow down! 'Nuff said.
Level of Difficulty: 6 - those long thin bits take time to grow, not to mention maintaining the shaved areas on the chin
Style Points: 5
Awesome Points: 9

THE ERROL

Everyone's favorite Robin Hood (or as my Nana always calls him, The Poor Man's Clark Gable), Errol Flynn had a pencil thin 'stache plus a bit of chin scruff.
Level of Difficulty: 6 - I suspect keeping a mustache that thin and tidy is relatively difficult
Style Points: 6
Awesome Points: 2

THE HERCULE

David Suchet as Agatha Christie's Poirot has what is quite possibly the prissiest little lip sweater I've ever seen.
Level of Difficulty: 7 - look how sleek that bad boy is!
Style Points: 8
Awesome Points: 3

THE WOLVERINE

Aka the friendly mutton chops, this is Ben's personal favorite, so vote for this to earn his eternal gratitude. (Muscles optional.)
Level of Difficulty: 5 - there's a lot of hair there, but it's not exactly well groomed
Style Points: 3
Awesome Points: 9

Picked your favorite? Vote now! *If you're viewing this in an RSS feed, you may need to click through to see the poll.

poll by twiigs.com

I have invented something magnificent

You all remember how my sister brought s'more fixings with her when she visited me earlier this year? And how I introduced them to my Australian friends (all of whom, by the way, are lamenting their sad, s'more-less childhoods)?

Sadly, my days of the Authentic American S'more have come to an end, because although I still have a good supply of graham crackers and half a bag of marshmallows, the Hershey's bars are gone, largely thanks to a chocolate thief who shall remain anonymous...although his name might start with B and end in -enjamin.  Ahem.

Anyway, tonight I was sadly surveying the remains of my s'more ingredients and mulling over what to do with the remaining items. There are enough graham crackers to do a few nice pie crusts, but what of the marshmallows?

And then it hit me.

Mere mortals, bow before the awesome glory of the FLUFFERNUTTER S'MORE:

Not for the faint of heart. Or anyone who doesn't like actually feeling themselves getting fatter while they eat.

Graham cracker. Marshmallow. Peanut butter.

And let me tell you - it was good.

Really.

Freaking.

Good.

It might have been improved with the addition of a little chocolate, or perhaps even (OMGOMGOMG!) Nutella. But I think we have the start of something beautiful. Try one now - you can thank me later.

P.S. If this has already been invented and is well known outside my sad little life, please don't kill my dream. It would be like clubbing kittens.

Three things

I
I'm returning to work this Wednesday. Yep, three days from now. When I went on maternity leave in February, it seemed like an eternity - now it feels like it passed too quickly. I can't decide whether I'm sad to leave my little ones, or happy at the prospect of adult conversation and regular food and bathroom breaks. Perhaps a bit of both?

II
Can an American foodie out there tell me exactly what pommes frites are? They seem to be the trendy thing at restaurants right now (at least judging by the foodie blogs I read), but they look like shoestring fries to me. Are they actually different? Or just a fancy way of saying, "I'd like fries with that"?

III
I secretly want a garden gnome to put by my front door. Preferably one with a red hat. I can't exactly say why I want a gnome...I think I may be losing my mind. Or at least my good taste.

For Sale: One Baby

Answers to the name of William.

Low mileage, only taken out to the grocery store once a week. Cute smile, very charming personality (except when he hasn't let you sleep for three days straight, as in the case of the current owner). Will throw in matching younger brother for free.

Will consider all reasonable offers, especially if they involve trips to the Caribbean and fruity rum based drinks.

The Man Den - Episode III

You've seen the Before shots...

...now check out the Afters:

 

 

 

 

 

Eagle eyed readers might recognize the rocking chair from the Pirates' nursery - it's only there as a placeholder for these photos and will eventually be replaced with something a bit more suited to the room. I have my eye on this beanbag chair - thoughts?

I'd also like to cover up the rat's nest of cabling under the desk - some of the electrical plugs are too big to fit in the cable shelf that's built into the desk. Ideas?

The Goods
Desk - Fredrik from Ikea
Chair - from Harvey Norman
Bookshelf - eBay, painted with Red Alert (British Paints)
Artwork - propaganda style arcade gaming posters by the very talented Steve Thomas, whacked in some Ikea Saxnäs frames
Light fixture - Fillsta (35cm size) from Ikea

The Man Den - Episode II

When I started redecorating Ben's Man Den, the most difficult task by far was finding a bookshelf to fit the space. That room is SMALL - barring the weensy entry space and the closet, the entire room is only slightly larger than a king sized bed - so any furniture I moved into the space needed to fit perfectly.

I toyed with the idea of installing track shelving, but the cost was prohibitive (like everything else, shelving is insanely expensive in Australia). Finally, while browsing eBay, I came across this little beauty:

That's my grubby shed that it's sitting in, by the way. Pay no attention to that crap all over the floor

It's technically the upper half of a dining hutch, not a bookshelf, but the dimensions were what attracted me - it's a bit over four feet high and the length is perfect for the short wall it will be placed against. And at $30, the price was right!

Obviously, it needed a little help -  there was no bottom shelf, and since it was designed to be viewed above eye level, the top wasn't finished. Those problems were quickly solved with a little mdf board, wood glue, and nails; I'd normally have chosen something sturdier than mdf for shelving, but the bottom shelf rests directly on the floor since there aren't any feet on the case, and I'm confident that between the existing struts and the ones I added, the top board will stand up anything Ben would normally place there:

 

I briefly considered filling in the wooden panelling but decided against it - not just because it's a shitload of work, but because I liked the interest it added to the back of the case. And several coats of bright red paint later, the Man Den Bookshelf is done:

 

That's British Paint's Red Alert, if anyone is interested.

I'm really pleased with the final result, and it looks good in the room!

The Man Den - Episode I

I've spent the last several weeks in decorating mode, transforming one room into a play area for the Pirates (it's about half done, so no photos yet) and taking Ben's Man Den from "poor college student dorm room" to "awesome nerdvana".

I only have one photo of the room from when we moved in nearly a year ago, but this was the general decorating scheme:

Manly. 

I wish I had a photo of the light fixture, a dazzling arrangement of purple, blue and pink plastic jewels. Every 5-year-old girl's dream, but not so fabulous for a 34-year-old man.

Anyway, we repainted the room and removed the curtains earlier this year, at the same time that we decorated the nursery, and for the last six months or so, the space has looked more or less like this:

 

Yes, that lonely red paint swatch comes into play.

Fairly depressing, no? Especially since that light fixture hasn't worked since I accidentally broke it by whacking the temporary lampshade a few weeks ago. It's also the one thing that's holding up the official "after" photos, since we have to get an electrician in to install the replacement fixture (in Australia it's illegal to do it yourself). That's happening later today, so the after photos will be posted soon!

Blue + green

Firstborn:

Secondborn:

I think these may be my very favorite photos of the Pirates to date!