... which has been fun, albeit a bit difficult with this thing on:

After this, I don't understand how my mom got carpal tunnel surgery on BOTH HANDS AT THE SAME TIME.

Wearing my annual Halloween polish and HG orange, OPI Brights Power! I blogged this polish last year, but if you'd like better pics, I can try sometime next week.
I woke up on Friday with intense pain in my right wrist. It was sort of a nightmare because my right hand is my dominant hand and performing the simplest tasks was just ... painful. Unfortunately, that meant the post I had planned for last Friday fell by the wayside, as I had not yet edited swatch pictures. (I have them now, though. I'll backdate and let you know when it's up.) I pumped gas into my car that night and I swear I felt like my hand was going to fall off. I've been wearing this brace mostly at night since Sunday and I'm okay. I still have to be careful when it comes to making twisting motions, and I think my vigorous whisking on Monday night didn't help matters. However, the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies I made turned out pretty well!



Here's the rest of my Sandy times and kitchen experiments because pics or it didn't happen ...






One of my Twitter pals from ONTD was all, "Is that a wire whisk in a nonstick pan?" Yes ... yes, it is ... but only because I didn't have anything else to work with. A new whisk is on my shopping list anyway so I don't have to keep using my roommate's!
The lasagna was a vegetarian recipe that called for zucchini instead of noodles, and I didn't think to bake/drain the zucchini until AFTER we had put it in the oven. As a result, we got super watery lasagna (more like soup), but it was SO GOOD. And the alfredo sauce only took me three tries to get right, but I'd streamlined the process by the last attempt and had some help from my roommate.
I've also been catching up with ABC's new show, "Nashville." I've been excited ever since Connie Britton's casting announcement, but I'm such a die-hard "Friday Night Lights" fan (I rewatched the entire series a few weeks ago) that I wanted to hold out and give myself time to get used to seeing her in another role. A friend of mine keeps sending me links to the songs from each episode on iTunes, so I figured I'd better check it out. I don't know that I LOVE it yet, but I'll be watching every week because Connie Britton is great. Last week's episode ended on an interesting note for those of us lacquerheads: a certain character shoplifted nail polish at a grocery store -- I'm guessing it was a Revlon, but if you have any ideas, you should share. Anyhoo, here are some random thoughts on the cast:
- I can't with Hayden Panettiere's character, although she's a hilarious send-up of the Taylor Swift state of country music. I still see HP as Sheryl Yoast from "Remember the Titans," so the sexy stuff is just ... ew.
CHIPCHARLES ESTEN, hhhhhnnnnnng. (the only time I will ever be attracted to anyone named "Deacon")- Kind of weird to see a Connie Britton character in a "Good Wife"-esque love triangle ... and weirder still to see her on TV and married to someone NOT played by Kyle Chandler
- Jonathan Jackson really peaked at "Tuck Everlasting." I almost didn't recognize him.
- The actress who plays Scarlett is Australian, and the actor who plays Gunnar is British. I love Scarlett. She is so QT.
- Not about the cast, but the songs are honestly not bad. I would listen to all the non-Juliette ones.
Okay, that's all I have for right now because I think it's time for a cup of tea and a "Pushing Daisies" marathon, followed by "Down With Love" (though it's not remotely Halloween-y. BUT I did introduce Tara to "Dead & Breakfast" last night). If you've got any rad Halloween plans tonight, be safe out there and remember that you're probably having more fun than me. --To be fair, watching "Pushing Daisies" and stuffing my face with pumpkin chocolate chip cookies is pretty fun.
Also, if you left a comment on the blog this month and I did not respond to it like I usually do, I will be taking care of that today. I AM SO SORRY. My blogging routine got to be pretty touch-and-go in the past few weeks ... it's hard to be consistent when you're shuffling between two cities every week!
Thanks for putting up with me ... I'll see you next month!