Leftovers: April 2014 Edition

Is it just me or does time craaaaawl during the winter and sprint during any season where the average temperature is above 40 degrees? The closer we get to summer, the faster time seems to fly by. Already, our schedules are filling up with weddings and garage sales, camping trips and vacation. Don’t get me wrong, I love all the activity that summer brings, but I sort of just want to soak it in for a bit…read a book, take a walk, spread out a picnic blanket. So my goal for May is to take some time out to relax and enjoy this far-too-short season. In the meantime, here are my top picks for chillaxin’ in April!

I always intend to write a clever blog post for April Fool’s Day, but always forget until ummm…April 1st. Luckily, there was plenty of tomfoolery on the interwebs for me to enjoy.

>> How to Be The Best Food Blogger of All Time from Joy the Baker (Alternately titled: Kitten Paws Holding A Mason Jar Might Break The Internet).

>> How to Boil Water from Eat the Love

>> Cheeteau by Chester– I think perfume commercials are ridiculous, so it gives me great joy to see them satirized by none other than the cover-you-in-unidentified-orange-powder Cheeto (Cheetoe? Is there a singular version of Cheetos?).

>> I can’t quite decide if this classroom April Fool’s prank is horrifying or awesome. It most definitely was EPIC.

>> This is the best kind of prank. Stuff like this makes me cry like a baby. Greg Benson, the YouTube famous cell phone crasher, teamed up with Prank It Forward to transform a homeless shelter into a Five Star Restaurant and treat its residents to a three course meal, complete with live music. Faith in humanity? Restored.

Alright, a few more non-April Fool’s favs:

>> Both the Mr. and I are loving the new Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and I double loved this piece from The God Article on 6 Things the Church Can Learn From Jimmy Fallon.

>> One Star Book Reviews-I don’t know if this site is incredibly hilarious or incredibly depressing. Either way, it’s worth a pop over just to hear someone describe Ulysses like this: “This book not only ruined a week at the beach but also damaged my self-esteem.”

>> Jen Hatmaker’s If I Were An Advertiser

“Listen, we would prefer you just talked real to us. We might actually believe you if you said, “This product will neither enhance your chakras nor transform all of your troubled relationships, but it might mostly remove the hard water stains in your bathtub. That’s about the most we can do here.” Super. Even better if you cast a tired-looking mom with dirty hair and torn yoga pants scrubbing the tub with an expression that makes sense for the task rather than a coifed lady in ironed linen capri pants smiling at her bathtub like this is the most fascinating moment of her day. I have never one time in my life been delighted while scrubbing my shower. I hope this makes sense to you.”

>> The most helpful post of the month goes to Annalise of Completely Delicious for showing us all How to Bake Flat Cake Layers.

>> I’m just a tad geeked about these cupcake wrappers from Bella Cupcake Couture. Seriously, I want to buy a whole closet of them for my cupcakes. Is that weird?

>> Not the End of the Story from Prism Magazine–By far the best thing I read on Easter this year.

>> Honest Slogans– I’m totally late to the game on this one, but this site definitely made me chuckle. This one is my favorite:

hollister logo

On a more personal note, the bedroom reno is moving along! We have closets(ish) and trim (not on the wall) and an overhead light (or rather, a bare wire hanging from the middle of the ceiling). Hey, progress is progress.

bedroom reno.jpg

I finished Jesus Feminist this month, and guys? It was just so, so good. I expected to find a book of carefully crafted arguments, but instead I found a lady who really, really loves Jesus. So refreshing.

The most popular (new) post on the blog this month was Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake, which basically just proves you all have good taste. That cake is awesome, and you can eat it for breakfast! My reigning most popular post is still How to Make Ultra Smooth Homemade Hummus. Apparently people have ALL THE FEELINGS about this topic. What’s your favorite technique?

As always, you can catch me on Instagram, where you can get a glimpse into the mundane interworkings of the Neighborfood life (and adorable pictures of my dog…let’s be honest).

Oh, and be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you can get posts delivered right to your inbox.

That’s it on my end, folks. What were your top picks in April?

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9 Comments

  1. Love that your Geeked over our Bella Cupcake Couture cupcake wrappers!! Thank you so much for sharing with your readers. Cheeers!

  2. There is so much awesomeness in this editions of Leftovers, Courtney! I read the april fools posts from Joy the Baker and Irvin Lin – they were totally hilarious. Ermagawd I need to read the post about flat cake layers! And uh, yes to the Hollister quote. It’s dark as f*ck in there, and it reeks of cheap perfume. Needless to say, I don’t shop there. I can’t wait to see your bathroom after your renos are done. Renos are seriously the worst. I didn’t even have to do anything during my house renos (Tony took care of everything) but it really sucked coming home to the mess and dirt and dust and not being able to use anything. Are you guys doing the renos yourselves or did you hire someone? Either way, I hope it ends soon!

    1. I am TERRIBLE at getting flat cake layers, so that post was a must have for me! Unfortunately, we’re doing the reno ourselves with a lot of help from my dad. I guess it’s supposed to be more rewarding this way? Yeah…so far I’m not getting it. I’m waiting until we have a small fortune and can hire someone before we do a reno again!

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