Our neighbor, Kelly (yes, that’s her real name), called a truce today. Or, at the very least, appeased us with cupcakes.
She was kind enough to bring over this six-pack from Sweet Secrets Bakery in Rapid City. As far as peace offerings go, I approve. I had the opportunity to interview the owner earlier this year for a bakery feature that never actually went to print. Taylor’s baked goods are delicious!
I think Kelly might have been a little nervous, because we started putting up lights today. I am still trying to nail down a local company to hang the lights up around our roof, but Tara and I decided to take matters into our own hands and start decorating the yard.
It’s a very early start, but I like what we’ve done so far.
This is only the beginning. My competitive spirit demands we up our game. We plan to buy more lights tomorrow and keep going. And Tara bought a very special yard decoration that will arrive from Amazon in a few days. Can’t wait to show you that!
Tonight, we made cast iron pizzas for dinner. These are surprisingly good. I highly recommend you give them a shot if you’ve got a cast iron skillet. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet…buy one!
Still not sure if I’m writing every day this month…
Mark My Words 
If it stands still, light it!
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I’m thinking of placing a Craigslist ad to hire people to stand around in the yard for a month, strung up with lights. You might say I’m taking this competition a little too seriously.
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I like it. Just be sure to hire a variety of shapes… tall, short, round etc. Better aesthetics that way.
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I have a cast iron skillet. Haven’t made pizza in it yet ..good idea. 🙂
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We’ve done it a few times. It’s pretty easy and always turns out great!
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Do you grease the pan before you put the dough in? Is that necessary?
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Just a drizzle of olive oil. Bake at 425º for 15-20 minutes depending on how thick the dough is. Top with whatever you want. Mine had pepperoni, mushrooms, and pineapple (naturally!).
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Hmmm… cast iron pizza. Interesting. The husband won’t thank you for suggesting yet another style of pizza he’ll have to suffer through, but I will! 🙂
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I’ll put it this way: it’s probably a lot better than those frozen concoctions you were trying out!
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Interesting neighbor.
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Andy does cast iron pizzas! In the summer he does them outside on a pizza stone, but in the winter it is cast iron all the way. He actually bought a second pan and makes 2 of them.
Those cupcakes look amazing. Want.
Some woman in our neighborhood dropped off flyers telling us she’s sponsoring a “Hollywood Riviera” (that’s where we live, and it sounds fancy, but it’s not) house decorating contest. I think she’s trying to make us into a rival for a nearby neighborhood that does amazing Christmas decorations. And they have traffic and trash problems, so LOL, no thanks.
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There’s a neighborhood like that in every town, I swear. In Portland, it’s Peacock Lane. I never bothered going because, like you said, traffic and trash. I’d hate to live in that type of neighborhood because it’s just too much pressure to live up to.
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I was about to say that she’s just showing off her baking skills to you now, but then I saw they were store bought. I say, if you can’t win the light wars, bake some cupcakes yourself and show her up that way. 😉
Can’t wait to see this special yard decor. Giant blow-up flamingo with a wreath around its neck?
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Actually, you’re not so far off with your flamingo guess…
The cupcakes are awesome, by the way!
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Get ready to yell at me . . .
I threw away our cast iron skillet many moons ago. I believe my husband acquired it from a former roommate or something and I was disturbed by the idea that you shouldn’t wash them with soap and water. So, it went bye bye! I have no idea if the soap thing is true, but that was pre-internet, so I had no way to verify the rumor.
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The soap thing IS true. We never wash ours. The trick is to sprinkle kosher salt in there and then rub it in with a rag before wiping clean. Works like a charm every time. I swear, we use our cast iron skillet 3-4 times a week!
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The lights look great as does that pizza. I don’t know about cast iron pizzas and think that I should. Looking forward to the rest of your fabulous light display. There will be flamingoes?
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There will! Err…there were…
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Interesting
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