Kitty Deschanel: A Sexy (Nerd) Lifestyle Blog

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You drink plenty of fluids, always wash your hands, and have already received your annual flu shot. Other than that, there's not much you can do to avoid getting sick this winter, right? It turns out one of your best germ defense might be literally right under your nose, in the form of your mattress and comfy pillow.
In a recent study from Carnegie Mellon ­University, people who slept an average of only 7 hours or fewer per night were almost 3 times (!!!) more likely to develop a cold than their peers clocking the recommended 8. When bogged down with sinus pressure, aches, and worse, you're bound to lose more than an hour per day in productivity - the perfect excuse to sleep in a little later tomorrow. My boss will totally understand.
Okay, maybe it's the perfect excuse to sleep in this weekend…

You know those adorable melting snowman cookies that have been popping up all across the blogosphere lately? The ones with the charming little scarves and glossy icing? These are not *quite* those cookies.


I wanted to make something that would knock the socks off of the girls at work for our cookie exchange. Problem #1? No eggs (and no energy to drive to the grocery store). Unfazed, I found a great shortbread recipe that used powdered sugar, flour, and butter to make an egg-free cookie. I mixed up the dough and started a load of dishes, mixer parts included, while it chilled.
Problem #2? My first 2 pans of cookies were severely undercooked! Why is it that you can't just put doughy cookies back into the oven and have them bake like they'd been undisturbed all along? Fearing that I'd invest the rest of my day decorating cookies that were inedible, I waited for the dishwasher to finish, then mixed up a brand new batch, complete with an additional hour of chilling time.
Proble…

I am a thrifty person. Not cheap, just thrifty. Okay, maybe it would be accurate to say that I'm up along the very border of cheap. Only my toes are over the line. Today I would like to share a story from my college years, when I was working as a Pizza Hut manager, about one of the many times trying to save a few dollars has put me in a stupid situation.

I had a coupon for a free car wash. The regular price was $4.99, so without the coupon there was no way I would ever be getting my car cleaned. My car wasn’t dirty enough to justify using the coupon, so I continued to put off using it until the day before it expired. Although it was the middle of January, I took my Alero through the automatic car wash after leaving work, shortly before midnight. It was the last day before the specials changed at the grocery store, so after the thorough washing, I decided to drive next door to do a little grocery shopping before going home. I zipped inside right before the store closed and came out…

Last week, I was invited as a blogger to a fabulous 9 course dinner at the Casa Rondena Winery, courtesy of Dairy MAX. The menu was created by Chef Caitlin from Cooking with Caitlin, featuring foods made with dairy that can still be enjoyed by people with lactose intolerance. Homemade blue corn blinis, chile rellenos, lavender honey ice cream - everything sounded so yummy, you savored what you were eating while simultaneously counting down to the next item on the menu.

Lucky me, right? Well, fearing unknown and social situations, I nearly chickened out at the last minute. Sexy Nerd was no help. On the drive over, he suggested we skip the 9 course dinner and go to Texas Roadhouse instead!

Me at the beginning of the evening - a socially awkward, super nervous bundle of anxiety.
 The fun times beckoned you in (but I was terrified!)
Sure, there was delicious food on the other side of this wall, but there was also the most scary thing in the world - PEOPLE! Strangers who might want to talk…