Save a Little Tick Tock, Part 2

Dear B-Reader,

In my rush to get ready this morning, it dawned on me that it has been several months since I offered you some of my time-saving tips (didn’t catch the last snippit? http://katherinechalkley.blogspot.com/2010/12/save-little-tick-tock.html).

 Spend a few minutes reading below, and save boo-coos of time later!

1.       Do you ever mull over your beauty product selections wondering which shadow to use with which lip gloss? Why not purchase your makeup as a prepackaged set?  Most such sets are designed by makeup artists who know what they are doing, have their fingers on the pulse of high fashion, and select a pallet that is neutral and becoming on most skin types and skin shades. With my sensitive skin and abhorrence to fragrance, I turn to Clinique; they offer a complete cosmetic set (mascara, eye liner, gloss, blush, shadow) about once seasonally (unfortunately, there is not one at the moment), which is just about the same time when your stash of beauty treatments is running low or getting cakey. Check out Sephora for a new set by Tarte (http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P290628&categoryId=C19970&shouldPaginate=true) which even includes the latest trend, shimmering powder.

2.       Forget to turn off the water or to move the sprinkler to the next section of lawn? I did, at least once a week, until I stumbled across this beauty by Gilmour at my local Lowes (http://www.lowes.com/pd_99229-306-196SPBGF_4294935944+4294965417_4294937087_?productId=3104489&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_Gilmour_4294935944%2B4294965417_4294937087_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr%7C0%7C%7Cp_product_quantity_sold%7C1%26page%3D1&facetInfo=Gilmour).  It is an adjustable sprinkler that you set to fit the pattern of your lawn. No more overwatering the street and unsuspecting passersby with the spray; all the water now lands perfectly on my plot of land. And the timing couldn’t be easier with any of a variety (we own three types) of programmable timers which attach to your water faucet (hose bib for those of you down with the lingo) on one end and to the hose on the other end. Don’t forget to pick up a male and female attachment for you hose so that you can easily interchange the sprinkler head with a hand sprinkler.

I did this!

3.       I like to try my hand at baking on a fairly regular basis. I double the recipe for pie crust, use half of the dough for the pie for which it was created, and freeze the other half for the next time when I’m pressed for time. My fave pie crust recipe is Martha Stewart’s pate brisee, of course (http://www.marthastewart.com/355359/pate-brisee-make-two-9-inch-single-crust-pies-or-one-double-crust-or-lattice-crust-pie). To prep dough for freezing: make dough into ball, wrap in plastic wrap, insert into plastic ziplock bag designed for the freezer, smoosh out all of the air and flatten dough ball into disk in the process, pop into freezer. To thaw dough for the next flaky masterpiece: remove frozen disk from bag, place dough (still in plastic wrap) atop kitchen counter and allow to thaw at room temperature for up to one hour. Remember, when rolling out dough, you want it to be perfectly chilled.