Saturday, September 27, 2008

Birthday Garland





Yesterday, my beautiful mother turned 50...50! She possesses that grace and beauty you read about, but rarely see up close - making 50 an age to aspire to. I hope I can do the same.

With a little help from a friend at work, we had a garden garland and handmade card waiting in her office when she arrived.

I love you Mom! Happy Birthday!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Upcycled Art Easel

This is such a great idea. I'll have to log this away in my memory for a few years.

















Click here for the full post.

P.S. Read this and think of us on Thursday.

Monday, September 22, 2008

You, Me, and Squash Makes Three

With today being the official day of Autumn, I thought it only appropriate to post about squash...es (?). Is that plural? Squash, squashes...you know what I mean. I've love the look of these, well most of them. Some look like witch faces. But for the most part, they're nice and festive. Being the daredevil that I am, I went one step beyond looking at them, and actually ate them. So far we've tried spaghetti squash and acorn squash. They are so easy and way less intimidating than I thought. (Plus there's usually a cheat-sheet sticker on the side with general baking directions.)

Spaghetti Squash:
•Cut in half, scoop out seeds with spoon and lay it skin up in a glass baking dish. (It helps to jab it with a fork and microwave it first for 2 minutes - they are hard!)
•Bake at 350˚ for 40-45 minutes.
•Put a little butter, salt, and pepper in them and allow to cool a little.
•Hold with a pot holder and use a fork to scrape out the "spaghetti" - weird.

(I also added Italian seasonings and parmesan to it.)














Acorn Squash:
•Cut in half, scoop out seeds with spoon and lay it skin side up in a baking dish with an inch of water.
•Bake at 350˚ for 40 minutes, then put a little butter and about a tablespoon(ish) of brown sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon in the cavity and put back in the oven for 10 more minutes.
•Use a spoon and fork to mix up all the baked part and sugary part all inside the skin, then serve.
This one was surprisingly good. But what isn't when you smother it with butter and sugar? Judah even ate it. You can also stuff it with sausage apparently, like a bell pepper(?).

I don't let myself buy pumpkins until October 1st, so these will have to suffice in the Fall Festivities department until then. I'm trying to refrain from buying any of those repulsively delicious candy corn pumpkin things all together this year. I don't know how long I'll last. Do they make an "all natural" version?

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

"You Are Here" Onesie

I'm really diggin' felt - as you will see in the coming weeks and months. I did this for Judah in case he gets lost.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

As Promised: Pics of the New Place

For the very very few of you who are interested...

We love our new little place! It's a great deal smaller that our last home, but that's a plus for us. We love tiny, cozy spaces - and it's less for me to clean! We have great neighbors, and can walk pretty much anywhere. Unfortunately, we are only under a 9-12 month sublease and will be doing this all over again in the Spring/Summer. Ugh!
But until then...

1 - Bedroom
2 - Bedroom again; my mom's dresser from when she was little!
3 - Our bathroom; look at all my counter space! No more setting the hair dryer in the sink.
4 - Judah's room
5 - Judah's room again; he gets his own couch!
6 - The living room
7 - My favorite little nook in the kitchen


Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Pasta Salad
















Another easy one! No measurements, just add the amounts that suit you.

- Veggie noodles (cooked, obviously)
- Chopped marinated artichoke hearts (drained, but not rinsed)
- Diced tomatoes (although next time I'm using sun-dried. Hot tomato peel gives me the heeby-jeebies)
- Sliced black olives
- We had chicken, sun-dried tomato and provolone sausage on hand, but grilled chicken would be good too...or no meat at all.

• Toss all together, then add fresh chopped spinach.
• Drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and a dash of salt and pepper.
• Top with feta cheese just before serving.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Playtime!

No new creations...I've been using all my work time to make stuff for the store. I'll post some previews soon. That's not all the way true, though. Judah and I have been playing a lot...a lot. I get sidetracked! We've been going to museums and gardens, and at home it's even worse. He's walking now, which is perfect entertainment. We learned to do somersaults yesterday, and today I turned the corner and found him in Albie's kennel. It's always something. I'll get motivated tomorrow. Until then, here are a few of my favorite distraction:




























































Click here for more!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

My Secret Ingredient

Okay, I've debated whether or not to tell on myself...this is embarrassing and completely disqualifies me as any sort of cook or recommender of recipes. But here it goes...
While I was staying at Melinda's a few weeks ago, she made us a batch of curry chicken salad. I was inspired and wanted to create my own version a few weeks ago. I walked to Whole Foods, bought my curry, added a few of my own ingredients (water chestnuts, cucumber, and golden raisins) and mixed it all up. We ate the whole batch...on crackers, on pitas, all of it - gone. I briefly questioned why mine wasn't quite as yellow as Melinda's, but "oh well!" I said, and kept stuffing my face proudly.
It wasn't until a good week after the last bite had been eaten that I glanced in the pantry and saw "cumin" written on the side of my little organic spice jar. WHAT!? What is wrong with me!? I swear that said "curry" in the store. Just like "cumin" has a tendency to look like "cinnamon"...remember this? I will be storing my cumin in a lock box with some sort of safe-guard check-out system from now on.
Here it is, in all it's cuminified glory:




















I'm going to make up a batch, for real, with actual curry, and let you know how it is. Here's the ingredients if you want to give it a go yourself. Just read labels carefully!

1 1/2 cups chicken
mayo
soy and lemon (equal parts)
itty bitty bit salt and pepper
golden raisins
equal part water chestnuts and cucumber
CURRY
pecans, walnuts or cashews - if desired
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