My summer (un)vacation

While much of the country enjoys their summer vacation, my business speeds into its busiest time, steamrolling all in its path. In the few spare moments when I haven't been working, here are some of the reasons that I have not been online much for the past several months...

* I'm re-reading. I've been making my way through some of the books I read in high school and college with a wonderful new perspective on and appreciation for them. Right now I'm deeply immersed in The Great Gatsby. And I thought that book couldn't get any better when I was a naive ninth grader. Pshaw.

* I'm paring down my possessions (again). Since we moved two years ago, I've done three cycles of paring down the things we own. Each time I find more things that no longer seem important or simply haven't been used or appreciated since the previous pare-down. Newly inspired by a few courageous souls, beyond just clearing the easy clutter, I've been giving serious thought to why I keep some of the things that I do. And I'm trying to put to real use some of the things that I just can't seem to part with. Right now I'm attacking my cookbook collection, which has avoided scrutiny in all previous pare-downs since I really do love to cook. But I'm finally questioning why I keep so many books on the shelf when I gather the majority of our recipes online or from magazines and rarely make the same recipe more than once. Some of the books have barely been opened since they were added to the collection a decade ago. We're currently vegetarians as I work my way through Moosewood Low Fat Favorites, which has long housed three of my all-time favorite recipes but to which I never paid attention beyond them. Everything we've made so far has been fantastic (not surprising) and I feel like this book has truly earned a spot in my kitchen now. So many more books will be put to the test over the coming months. I'll never be a true minimalist (that's not the life for me, and that's fine), but my goal is to keep only those things that are truly useful, enoyable, beautiful, and/or meaningful in my home. We're really getting there.

* We've been a-travelin'. More trips are on the calendar for late summer and early fall. While the swimming pool has been too cold for more than tiny toe dips, Phee has been enjoying her own private jacuzzi tub on the sidelines.

* I've been crafting. My creative life has become far too digital these days, so I'm returning to my collage-loving roots and I'm working on a real baby book for Phee. I'm trying to avoid the mega-million-dollar-industry, sticker-aisle-at-Target, capital-S-Scrapbook style and have been challenging myself to work creatively with all of the scraps of paper, fabric, and ribbon, and antique flea market doo-dads collected over the years that have been sitting in boxes in my closet. Making a digital photo album would have been more in line with my current talents, but boy does it feel good to make something with your hands after they have been stuck on a keyboard and mouse to make a living all day long.

There have also been walks on hot days and time spent with friends over chamomile lemonade, cucumbers from the garden and baby milestones... this summer has been HOT and busy, but there have been many wonderful stolen moments that have kept me happily occupied.

I imagine once the busyness dies down and the weather turns cool and gray, this blog won't be still long enough to gather a fraction of the dust that's been accumulating this summer.

Yum

Yes, the blog has been sorely neglected for weeks. This is a busy time in my professional life and a busy time in my mommying life as Phee gets more and more active and requires more creative forms of entertainment. And we've been taking some marathon walks lately, discovering new places and getting lost left and right. And it's been hot, which makes me - generally - cranky and unmotivated.

On that note, I wanted to share a delicious recipe. One of the only things that I like about summer is the abundance of fruit (on the short list of other tolerable things is a margarita). I'm probably one of a very small few who just can't stand the heat and humidity of summer. Give me an entire year of fall with a few days of winter thrown in and I'd be in heaven. Summer is something that simply must be suffered through to get to fall in my book. Perhaps if I had central air conditioning I'd be singing a different tune... but alas I have but two pitiful window units to get me through my least favorite months of the year. Anyway, back to the fruit.

Good old Martha. Fruit salad is one of those things, like sandwiches, where I feel embarrassed to admit that I often have to rely on recipes to create something good. This is perhaps my favorite fruit salad, ever. I look forward to it each year when the temps skyrocket and summer fruit appears at the grocery store and farmer's market. I made it a few weekends ago for a friend who recently had a baby and again this past weekend for us to enjoy. It's an absolute delight. And is best enjoyed sitting directly in front of an air conditioner.

{ruby fruit salad, courtesy of Everyday Food}

Menu Review: Week of 5/16

Coming off a week of mostly great weather and mostly great dinner recipes!

Rachael Ray is notorious for (among many other annoying things) creating recipes that - while delicious! - somehow seem to dirty every pot and pan I own. Sometimes I feel like I need four additional hands just to keep on track with getting everything done at once. Two of the recipes I made this past week were no exception... the outcome for the pork chops with balsamic strawberry salad and orzo was worth the extra dish-washing. When I was getting everything together to make this dinner, I realized that I had forgotten to buy orzo, so I had to work with what I had... and that was couscous. So instead of making the orzo as written, I threw the butter (I only used 2 tbsp - it was plenty), cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper in with the water required to make the couscous, boiled, cooked and fluffed, and then folded in the pine nuts. Instead of prosciutto, I used bacon (already had some on hand), and I put it on the salad instead of the orzo couscous. The salad was the best part of the dinner and I definitely plan to make that again (complete with bacon). Everything together was very good, but the salad was the real stand-out of the meal. On the flip side, the fish and pasta recipe, while good overall, wasn't good enough to make up for the extra clean-up. I liked the pasta and may make that again, but everything together was just too much work for a mediocre payoff. Oh, and we didn't put the pasta in "lettuce bowls" as the recipe requests. For real?

I admit that I was skeptical (and maybe a bit confused?) about the use of "no boil" lasagna noodles in the BH&G recipe for Lemon Chicken with Olives & Ricotta, but I decided to give it a try because I always have those around. It was good! I added about a stalk worth of rosemary into the pan with the olives and deglazed the pan with a little chicken broth afterwards, but otherwise I made this as written.

What I especially loved about the Avocado and White Bean Salad was that it didn't require any actual cooking. Sometimes you just want something that comes together easily without using the stove and I think this will be a go-to recipe for those times in the future, especially as the temps continue to rise here. This salad was really good and has to be super healthy with all of those good fats and vitamin-packed veggies. I used baby spinach instead of arugula, but otherwise made it as written.

The pizza was good and interesting but I don't think I'd make it again (I used a roasted chicken breast instead of the rotisserie chicken). The enchiladas are something we've made a few times before, we're fans - just don't use low-fat cheese as listed in the recipe. Ew. And make sure you season your veggies to taste (they don't add any seasoning in the recipe and I think it's lacking without).

-----
What we're eating this week:
Lemon Rhubarb Chicken
Goat Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
Tuna Orzo Salad (a favorite recipe of ours)
Apricot Turkey Burgers (another make-again)
Parmesan Chicken and Greens with Lemon Vinaigrette
Shrimp Cakes with Carrot Slaw

Flashback

Were Tretorn kicks the thing to have in other people's middle school days or just mine? I saved up a lot of babysitting coin to buy some. I proudly sported both the classic white with blue signature "swoosh" and the white-on-white. I wore those puppies into the ground.

So obviously as a tribute to the era of my most embarrassing personal style choices, I'm really needing to get my hands on a pair of these from J.Crew.

Anyone need a babysitter?

Adventures in rice cereal

I've recently discovered that few things are cuter than a baby learning to eat from a spoon.

Phee's verdict was that her thumb was still the tastiest item on the menu.

First Train Home

My first introduction to Imogen Heap as a solo artist (after being a huge fan of her lead vocals for Frou Frou) was in the final episode of Season 2 of The OC (sigh, how I miss that show). Moments after hearing Hide & Seek playing over Caleb's funeral and the final scene where Marissa shoots Ryan's brother, I downloaded the single and happily overplayed it for several months (ok, maybe the rest of 2005) while I anxiously awaited the release of Speak For Yourself. Then I took a bit of an Imogen break. I'm back on the bandwagon now, happily overplaying her latest album released last summer. This song is definitely my favorite.

Jerky

I finally got around to reading the latest issue of Food & Wine last night and now, thanks to Rachel Graville, I'm wanting to make homemade beef jerky.

I'm sure my husband wouldn't protest.

15 yards

Well, hello there, pretty fabric.

You and I have a date with the sewing machine this weekend.

Lunch, Day 11

Yes, I kind of fell off the (chuck) wagon on my lunch challenge. I'm climbing back on this week!

Today I made a slightly modified version (based on what I had at home already) of this Cantaloupe Chicken Salad. Instead of green onions, I used some snipped chives from our garden. Instead of celery, I used half a chopped apple. I wrapped it up in a tortilla instead of putting it in a pita. Normally I'm not a big fan of either tarragon or cantaloupe (so I'm not sure why this sandwich seemed like a good idea to me), but it all came together to make a really delicious wrap! Yum.

Menu Review: Weeks of 5/2 & 5/9

We had a really busy two weeks with visits from both of my parents-in-law (separately) and a trip to Connecticut to spend time with my family, so as house chef I was pretty much on vacation. Over the past two weeks I only cooked four dinners! In addition to the orzo (mostly disappointing) and chicken salad (good, but nothing to write home about), I also made two delicious recipes from Everyday Food...

First, Steamed Cod with Ginger and Scallions. I love recipes that are both simple and delicious and also make me feel healthier. To go with the fish, I cooked some jasmine rice in my rice cooker (which is my favorite kitchen gadget second only to my mini-prep) and added some toasted coconut and lime zest. Definitely look forward to making this again.

Second, Cayenne-Rubbed Chicken with Avocado Salsa. Yes, we all know I'm an avocado addict. Normally recipes involving cayenne pepper end up too spicy for me and not spicy enough for my husband (who has happily munched on raw habanero peppers, successfully completed a plate of what is supposedly the hottest curry in the country, and been known to douse everything in this condiment, if that gives you any idea of his passion for spicy food), but this was the perfect level of spicy for me while managing to at least register on my better half's spicy scale. Another simple and delicious dinner to make again.

-----
What we're eating this week:
Lemon Chicken with Olives and Ricotta
Pork Chops with Balsamic Strawberry Salad & Pine Nut Orzo
Chicken, Red Grape and Pesto Pizza
Avocado and White Bean Salad with Feta
Black Bean, Corn and Zucchini Enchiladas*
Spiced Chops with Mango Mint Salsa
Parmesan Crusted Fish with Bowtie Pasta

*we've made this before and it's a hit!

sweet saturday morning

I just devoured the first issue of the new online magazine from one of my favorite bloggers - Sweet Paul - while the sun is streaming into my office, my sheets are in the laundry, and Phee is peacefully napping. I'm now craving this delicious sounding (and gorgeous looking) apple and goat cheese salad...

Soon we're heading off on an adventure to the park, hopefully capped off with some soft-serve ice cream this afternoon...

Fabric, check!

After a few days of temps in the high-80s recently, as I sat sweating in my office, I was scared into making a decision on the fabric for my curtain panels. I've been waffling between the P Kauffman fabric, a more graphic Waverly print (Chippendale Fretwork), and two other no-name fabrics that I stumbled upon... and my final decision? None of those.

I guess considering the fact that the yellow paint color was a spur-of-the-moment, spontaneous decision that I hadn't considered in my lengthy pre-painting deliberations, it makes sense that the main fabric in the room came about in the same way. My original plan of using shades of aqua, green, and blue as accents seems to be out the window (pun intended) now as well.

So I've got 15 yards (as retro as 63" panels seem, I figured I'd be drowning in fabric in this tiny room if I went with full-length ones) of Amy Butler's Optic Blossom in Linen en route as we speak. I hope I made the right decision. Ack!

I Sing I Swim

The house is quiet and I'm trying to catch up after a week of visiting guests and a long weekend away... this song is currently keeping me company while I do.

chop chop

Everything about this photo from the summer Toast catalog makes me want to cut my hair short-short again.

I'll take the outfit too please.

Celebrating!

When I was in the second grade, my class made pin cushion gifts for our moms for Mother's Day (my brother, with the same teacher, made the exact same gift five years later). The project involved spray-painting an empty tuna can and gluing in half of a round styrofoam ball covered with a small square of fabric. In spite of the fact that the styrofoam is nearly disintegrated at this point, my mother still has and uses her two tuna-can pin cushions that my brother and I lovingly crafted for her more than twenty years ago.

Every day with my daughter feels like the best Mother's Day gift ever. But I admit that I can not wait until my daughter makes me a tuna-can pin cushion.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the moms I love -- my own mom, my parents' moms, my friends who are moms to babies and toddlers and older children, my friends who are moms-to-be with bellies of all shapes and sizes, my friends who are moms to pretty pooches and crazy cats. And most especially, to my friends who are "moms in training," as I was on this holiday last year. I'm celebrating all of you today!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Home!

Our house is technically about 90 years old, but just 2 years ago today - after 38,946 signatures at the closing - this house became our first real home.

Our home is a work in progress. My ideas are always bigger than my budget and my expectations are always slightly loftier than my abilities and free-time can deliver on. But the ideas and the expectations and the home itself are all mine. And it just doesn't get any better than that.

For two years I've had the privilege of learning my home's personality and quirks... which floorboards creak the loudest, where the best sunlight streams in at each hour of the day, which radiator makes the most startling bang in the wee hours of a winter morning. This little piece of real estate fills me with pride and happiness, even when there's a little water in the basement or a family of ants infiltrating the dining room.

Many memories, from both ends of the sad to joyful spectrum, have already been made here. I know there will be so many more to come.

While we've never planned for this to be our "forever" home, we couldn't ask for a better home for "right now."

Yes, please

I need another tote like I need a hole in the head.

Yet my willpower weakens...

perfect afternoon

gorgeous weather + an iced chai + a stroll with my girl =
a perfect afternoon

Storeyshop

When Phee was born, my brother and his girlfriend (who is so fun and stylish and wonderful and I hope will someday be my sister-in-law!) sent us the most adorable hand-cut personalized card from Storeyshop on etsy. It currently sits on a little shelf in Phee's room and it makes me smile when I see it.

I just wanted to pass the idea along incase anyone is looking for a cute personalized keepsake for a new baby, some newlyweds, or anyone else you'd like to remind that you love.

And Phee is 16 weeks old today - gah! Why is my baby growing up so fast?

Happy Tuesday

The humidity is gone, it's a lovely morning, the babe is napping, our water is coming directly from the tap again, and I've got a new song du jour.

Lemonade

When life gives you a boil water order and gross muggy weather, er, I mean, lemons...

... make ginger lemonade!

-----
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 quart water
3/4 cup sugar
1" peeled fresh ginger root, sliced

Boil water, sugar and ginger together, then remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Let cool for 20 minutes, strain out the ginger.

Serve over ice (made with boiled water, if you're also under orders) in a very tall glass. Pretend you are somewhere cooler. :)

Menu Review: Week of 4/25

We're currently under a "boil water order" here. Boiling anything when it's 85+ degrees outside is not fun.

Everything was good this week, but here were the stand-out, make-again recipes...

First, the risotto. I admit, I've never met a risotto I didn't want to marry and have babies with. But this was a particularly good risotto. I didn't use the "good" olive oil and I used boxed organic chicken broth and it was still a delight. The fact that it was full of yummy spring veggies even made me feel like I was eating something healthy. Swap out the chicken stock for veg and it's vegetarian-friendly. Yes, make this.

The pistachio-crusted chicken with carrots was a really great dinner as well. The carrots were especially delicious. I just used regular (toasted) sesame seeds instead of black. I know this recipe is from a fitness magazine, so this would kind of defeat the purpose, but I feel like the crust on the chicken would have been even better if there was a little oil drizzled on there before baking. I plan to do that when making this recipe again.

I've actually never had General Tso's Chicken before - when it comes to fattening Chinese take-out, my heart belongs to kung pao - but it's my husband's favorite, so when I came across the Everyday Food recipe for Lighter General Tso's Chicken I had to give it a try. I had nothing to compare it to (thought it was very good!) so I defer to my husband's review which was two enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Bonus recipe! This weekend we had the treat of visiting some friends on the South Shore for lunch. One of the items served was this incredibly delicious Israeli Couscous Salad which I can't wait to make very soon at home. Highly recommended! As a side note, we brought cupcakes from Sweet for dessert and I am now head-over-heels in love with their cheesecake cupcake. It is not an exaggeration that it is one of the best sweet treats I have ever eaten. I wish I had a whole box of them right now actually... ;)

-----
What we're eating this week:
(a very light week for cooking with family visits aplenty on the calendar)
Toasted Orzo with Olives and Lemon
Chicken Salad with Green Beans, Almonds and Dried Cherries

song du jour

For all of the various things that I love, music is probably the only thing that I can really define using the word obsession. I pretty much can't do anything without music being involved. I cook and do dishes to the local oldies station (no other music will do for the kitchen, trust me). A train or bus ride always has a carefully thought-out soundtrack (and, while listening, I often drift into a daze where I imagine myself as being in a movie, with the music in my iPod [formerly discman, formerly walkman] playing over one of those pivotal-to-the-plot travel scenes). I was a teenager who communicated almost exclusively in the language of mix tape (and as an adult, I now often communicate in iTunes playlist). So many songs are forever bound to specific moments, experiences and people in my life. I still have some of my old mix tapes from grade school, high school, and college, complete with cleverly collaged covers... even though I no longer own the technology needed to play a cassette. I just can't part with them. Pandora was one of the greatest inventions ever for someone like me.

While I have a long-standing list of true favorite songs (and it's tough for a new song to make it onto that list), my "favorite" song changes on a near-daily basis. I get giddy when I hear a new (or at least new to me - unfortunately I'm lacking that sixth sense for sniffing out great new bands ahead of the curve) tune that tickles my ear just so, and I'll go on to play that song on repeat for a short period of time before I'll move on to the next new thing. After hearing the same notes drifting out of my office for the umpteenth time, my husband will roll his eyes and ask "song du jour?"... Indeed. :)

Here's the current song du jour:

Chic Pair

I'm smitten with this outfit from Club Monaco's spring lookbook. I admit that I'm even smitten with the matching outfit on the guy.

Of course, I'd have to slip my husband roofies to get him to ever wear anything like that.

Starting line

{source}

A very inspirational quote...

even if right now it makes me think of laundry.

Lunch, Day 10

Whenever I'm traveling, I try to seek out an Au Bon Pain so that I can get one of their Thai Chicken wrap sandwiches. I'm a big fan. So today for lunch I decided to try and make my own Thai chicken wrap...

I started by thinning a spoonful of peanut butter with a little hot water and a squeeze of lime juice and added some salt and pepper and tiny bit of chili paste. I spread this on part of a tortilla and then added some thinly sliced veggies (red bell pepper, carrot, red onion, green cabbage), and a shredded poached chicken breast. It's not the same as the ABP version, but it was really good (and probably much healthier)!

Style Inspiration

I've been doing some spring cleaning lately using small chunks of time to thoroughly clean out small spaces - a junk drawer, one shelf in a closet, a designated corner of a room, etc. It makes me feel really accomplished to know that something - even a very small something - is more orderly and containing only the things I really love, want, or need. My most recent conquest was my file drawer in my desk. This was actually a multi-chunk project since the file folders in there ranged from old bank statements to every single piece of paper ever associated with any form of insurance to inspirational odds and ends in every imaginable category. Some of the folders hadn't been opened in a few years, confirming that most of the stuff I had originally thought I couldn't live without ended up being not so important afterall. I'm trying to go digital in small stages - scanning important documents that have to be saved, recycling or shredding ones that don't, and just reducing the amount of space that paper-based clutter takes up in my life.

One file folder that I found particularly interesting was labeled "style inspiration." Inside were tear-outs from various magazines, mainly old issues of Lucky, showing outfits or looks that I at one time found particularly inspiring. It was interesting to flip through the images.

I guess my style hasn't changed all that much, since I'd still wear most of the looks in the folder (and my style is actually very similar to many of the looks... naturally evolving to this over time). Does that mean I'm drawn to a timeless style instead of fast-fading trends? Or that I'm boring and lazy and behind-the-times? I'm not entirely sure... it probably depends on who you ask.

What I wonder is this: was I drawn to these looks because they fit the style that I already had in my head, like a little seedling waiting for the right conditions to sprout? Or did my current style evolve from the images like these that I was drawn to? Chicken or egg.

I scanned some of the images and put them in a new folder (on my computer, natch). Looking at all of them in a virtual inspiration board, I can see certain components repeated throughout --

slim cropped pants and wide-legged trousers...

a-line skirts...

shirt dresses...

jeans with flats and boots...

great jackets...

scarves...

and other statement accessories (those tights! swoon)...

a little vintage-inspired...

a little euro-inspired...

a little preppy...

Lots of layering, lots of color, mostly safe, very comfortable... chicken or egg, that's where my style is today.

Dressing my windows

After reviewing an absurd number of fabrics, I think I just may have found the winner for the curtain panels in my home office. Try as I might to go more modern, the stand-out fabric is... wait for it... a floral. Sigh.

Granted, it's a large-scale floral (the repeat is more than 2 feet) and it includes some brighter, more modern colors like lime green, teal, aqua, and bright pink, but it's still a floral... and I had hoped for something more geometric. I'm so predictable.

The biggest selling point of this floral is that it comes across very light, with a substantial portion of the background ivory visible in the pattern. The main issues I've had with some of the more modern, geometric fabrics in my desired color palette were designs being too small-scale and not having enough white showing to prevent the fabric from darkening the room.

So I'm going to make a trip out to one more fabric store in a final hunt for the perfect modern fabric before sealing the deal, but as of right now it seems like P Kauffman's Brissac Jewel is the winner. I have a small square swatch taped to my window frame for now (you can see part of the swatch flower in the upper right corner of the repeat posted above) and I'm really happy with how the teal and green colors in the swatch work with the yellow walls. It's always tough to really visualize how a pattern will look once it's center stage in a room, but I'm almost ready to take that leap of faith and get these windows dressed for the party.

Lunch, Day 9

Continuing to pull from my stash of canned tuna, today's lunch was the Tuscan Tuna courtesy of Cooking Light. I didn't have capers and just put mine on toasted whole wheat bread. Still very good. And much healthier than my old-standby mayo-based tuna salad.

I feel lame enough already needing to rely on recipes to come up with new sandwich ideas for lunch, so accept my apologies, Cooking Light, for drawing the line at following your instructions to "cut each sandwich in half diagonally." :)

Menu Review: Week of 4/18

Unfortunately it was a week of mediocre dinners... nothing bad, but nothing I'm planning to make again.
-----
What we're eating this week:
Spiced Pistachio-Crusted Chicken + Glazed Carrots
Spring Green Risotto
Orzo Stuffed Peppers
Barbecue Apricot Chicken
Black Bean Burgers
Lighter General Tso's Chicken

Good Reads

A few inspirational things I read online this week...

* Earth Day Eating, Every Day

* Living an "Intentional Life"

* On lightening up

* Marta on marriage

* Small changes are better than nothing!
(ps - I also highly recommend reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle)

Lunch, Day 8

I think today's lunch has been my favorite so far during my little challenge. Inspired by a panini I first saw in Food & Wine magazine, I toasted some whole wheat bread and spread it with homemade chutney. Then topped it with a few thin slices of really good ham, vermont cheddar, and shaved Granny Smith apple. Yum, yum, yum.

Home Sweet Home Office

I know, I know. When it comes to home decor, I probably should just focus my efforts whole-heartedly on my dining room wall project. But there are a few different spots in our home that need attention and one of them is a place I spend time every single day - my home office.

My office space used to be in our second bedroom, a spot that has since been converted to Phee's nursery. The former home of my computer desk is now a mecca for dirty diapers:

Last summer, I started the lengthy process of downsizing my office-related possessions and moving into the significantly smaller space of our sunroom. My poor husband's desk and office items were consequently moved from their former home in the sunroom to their current home in a corner of our dining room (see, I told you that room was a catch-all). Thankfully, years ago I invested in modular office furniture which has been reconfigured successfully now three different times to fit in three very different spaces.

I started the process of making the sunroom into my personal office space by painting the walls a pale pink. Then I decided, in a pregnancy-hormone-fueled fit, that I hated the color. On a whim, I picked a medium yellow tone to replace the pink. I'm not 100% happy with the color, but it works for now... especially since I have no desire to repaint the room a third time. The main issue with the sunroom is that it has the traditional/original wood moldings. White moldings are definitely much easier to work around when planning a color scheme for a room (at least for a novice like myself). And I have considered painting the moldings in the sunroom... but the thought of painting the moldings and frames on eight large windows and two glass-paned doors makes me a bit nauseous. So I'm working with the wood trim and the yellow paint color.

Here's a quick snapshot of how things look now (oh the difficulty that is photographing a 5.5' x 12' room...)

Here's what needs to be done in the room --

1. Window treatments
As I mentioned above, there are eight big windows in the room (makes sense, it being a "sun room" and all), currently outfitted with basic horizontal blinds. I don't want to block off the wonderful light that streams into this room, but man does it get HOT in the late spring through early fall. Last summer I resorted to using packing tape to cover the windows with anything I could find - including two old mis-matched curtain panels, an old shower curtain, and three old sheets - just to bring the temperature of the room down to a level that didn't result in excessive sweating and panting. I'd like to avoid that this summer by getting some proper curtain panels up there before the heat hits. And since I'm hoping to add some pizazz in doing so, I'm going to hand-pick a fabric and whip some up myself. So far I've been having a hard time finding a fabric that is a) in the right color palette, b) not too dark or too busy, c) not too traditional... but not so modern that it seems very out of place in the room, and d) not ridiculously expensive, since I need a minimum of 15 yards to outfit all eight windows with 63"-length panels... even more if I decide to go with floor-length. I need just the right something that will break up all of (and hide some of) that brown wood.

2. Concealment
I gave up a decent-sized closet and significant square footage in the move to the sunroom and while I was able to reduce the amount of stuff I brought over to the new space, there is still plenty of stuff that simply has to stay in the room. I have a very organized system of plastic bins and storage boxes in place but I'd really prefer not looking at those. I'm definitely thinking a sort of fabric skirt attached to the work table in the corner would be a great way to bring in another decorative element while concealing stuff that needs to be stored.

3. Details
I'd like to recover my desk chair to better coordinate with the color scheme I have in mind for the room. I'd like to jazz up or replace my current (plain, cork) bulletin board. I'd love to replace the hideous '70s-era (complete with faux stained glass inserts!) ceiling fixture with something from this century. A few carefully selected decorative accents here and there will help make the space more personal and less bland. Since I'm working with this fairly traditional base of wood moldings and yellow walls, I'd really like to bring in some more modern details with the accents in the room.

So this is where this project is starting and some hopes for where it will end up. I've got some fabric swatches en route and I'm starting to pull together some inspiration for the room's overall look... details to come!

I definitely try...

{a nice reminder}

Roll with it

Phee's latest adventure

Lunch, Days 6 & 7

Today's sandwich was courtesy of Everyday Food. A whole wheat wrap spread with hummus, topped with grated carrot, thinly sliced Granny Smith apple, and baby spinach. Meatless, healthy, delish.

I don't have a photo, but I also have to give a shout-out to yesterday's lunch, which was concocted on the fly and was really yummy. I had a serious craving for a burrito. What I had on hand was a Kashi Southwest Style Chicken frozen entree and a large whole wheat tortilla. So I nuked the frozen meal, spilled its contents into the tortilla, wrapped it up - et voila! - a very delicious, filling and pretty darn healthy makeshift burrito.

Menu Review: Week of 4/11

From the past week, three good recipes went into the "make again" binder...

The Chicken Pizza was fast and easy for a weeknight dinner. I put my pizza crust in the oven for a few minutes prior to adding the toppings to help prevent a sogging middle (it was still a bit on the soft side), but otherwise made the recipe as written.

The Roasted Pepper and Potato Tarts were very good, albeit slightly labor-intensive. I think if I were going to make this again (and I probably will since it's a yummy meatless meal) I'd just make it as one tart instead of the individual little tarts. I didn't want to waste money buying pricey sun-dried tomato tapenade, so I just chopped up some oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes that I had in the fridge already (still about 1/4 cup). We also didn't use the olives or basil since it seemed like a good-enough flavor combination without them (and again, they seemed like pricey extras). Instead of slicing the potatoes for layering in the pastry cups, I just mushed up the heated potatoes and put a spoonful in the bottom of each, topped with the cheese mixture, and then added the egg. I don't know who Women's Health is kidding though... one of these does not a meal make. I had three. :) I made a quick salad with romaine lettuce, red grapes, and walnuts with a simple balsamic dressing to round out the meal.

Finally, the Food & Wine Southern Fried-Chicken Supper was really delicious. My parents made a surprise visit yesterday, arms loaded with bags of adorable summer clothes for Phee from the Wrentham Factory Outlets, and I made this chicken with the green beans and potatoes. The only things I did differently were that I used thick-sliced yukon gold potatoes instead of fingerlings since we already had some on-hand for a different recipe and only two jalapenos for the potatoes (and they were plenty spicy with just two!). The chicken was perfectly crispy and I loved the sweet-vinegary coating on the green beans. It was a hit with all four of us.

-----
What we're eating this week:
Sesame Chicken Fingers
Chili-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin
Cilantro Chicken with Peanuts
Chipotle-Rubbed Salmon Tacos

Lunch, Day 5

Really? Only the 5th lunch I've posted in the three weeks since I declared I was putting myself up to this challenge? My lame excuses are plentiful, but I'm going to just pat myself on the back for even making five really good lunches to enjoy. That's five more than I likely would have if I weren't putting any effort in at all.

Anyway. Today's lunch is another delicious sandwich made with things I mostly have on hand all the time (the French bread being the one thing I bought especially for this). Pesto mayonnaise (just some jarred pesto mixed with mayo - I only make fresh pesto when the basil is taking over our garden, basil is too expensive otherwise), roasted turkey, shaved parmesan cheese, romaine lettuce, and dried cranberries on toasted French bread. I like everything about this sandwich from the combination of the crunchy and chewy textures of the bread to the sweet cranberries and crisp lettuce. Enjoyed with a side of some red grapes.

Tackling the Wall, Phase I

I've been thinking more about the empty dining room wall. This past weekend I was down in our basement reorganizing things to both make better use of our space and protect things against future flooding issues and I found a bunch of things that have been sitting down there untouched since we moved.

A stack of frames inlcuding six of these (some of which I had used to frame some vintage napkins in our old apartment and some still in the plastic wrappers), two unfinished wood, and one random black double mat frame from the going out of business sale of our local Linens n Things... the old maps I scored on ebay... a book of really amazing botanical photos that I'd cut up and used in a few old decorating projects... an antique pennant of my husband's and my alma mater that we picked up at an antique shop a few years ago... many, many miscellaneous photos...

I brought all of this stuff upstairs and stared at it. In the interest of frugality and sustainability, I've decided that there certainly must be something I can create using some of this stuff (and other things I have on hand) that will be a stylish fix for our empty wall. So the wheels are turning.

My main quandary now is how to center my installation on the wall.

As you can see in this photo, there is a door to the room that always stays open, so in effect that shifts the "center" of the wall from its true center, halfway between the two corners of the room, to halfway between the edge of the open door and the opposite corner. The dining table is centered in the room, under that chandelier (which I am looking forward to someday replacing). So if I center the art on the wall in its true center, it will be in line with the dining table but it will also look uncentered on the wall because of the open door... this is borderline keeping me up at night, folks. I think some trial and error will be in order. Sigh, the curse of being a perfectionist.

1/4 Year

Happy 3 months, sweet girl.

My crafting runs on Dunkin'

Well, this is pretty much the cutest thing ever.

Menu Review: Week of 4/4

More keeper recipes from this past week...

The Curried Pork Burgers with Mango Chutney were really good, particularly the chutney. There is really no reason that you have to use pork in this recipe - the meat is basically a blank canvas for the seasoning and chutney, so ground turkey or chicken would work equally well. Instead of using buns, we ate these with a side of whole wheat couscous. That made it feel more like a meal instead of just a sandwich, and it was healthier to boot.

We also really liked the Hoisin Beef & Edamame Noodles. I liked that the sauce wasn't too thick or heavy and that the beef was more of a supporting role than the star of the dish. We just used up about half a box of linguine that was in the pantry as the noodles.

I've been trying to incoporate salad into our diet more frequently, so I've been collecting recipes that offer up something different than our usual basic greens with balsamic vinegar. While it was a bit more involved than the usual "chop and toss" variety, the Asian Snap Pea Salad was still quick and easy, healthy and delicious. I rubbed some chili powder and grill seasoning on some pork chops, threw them on the grill pan, and called it dinner.

The Lemon Chicken Stir-fry was the perfect light springy meal for us to share with our neighbors for a casual weekend supper. The lemon really added something different, a nice change from the typical flavors in a stir-fry. Instead of the mushrooms, I added one thinly sliced yellow bell pepper in with the carrots.
-----
What we're eating this week:
Spicy Lemon-Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
Fusilli with Lentils, Sausage, and Tomatoes
Chicken Pizza with a Kick
Roasted Pepper and Potato Tarts
Southern Fried-Chicken Supper

A New Leaf

When it comes to jewelry, I'm a necklace girl. I got my ears pierced back when I was nine and thoroughly enjoyed wearing earrings in various neon colors at the peak of the terrible late-'80s and early-'90s fashion wave, but let the holes close up shortly thereafter. I've considered getting them repierced as an adult, especially since I tend to wear my hair super-short on occasion, but I've never taken the plunge. So I don't wear earrings. I spend most of my day working at a computer or working with my hands, so bracelets kind of drive me crazy. Aside from my engagement and wedding rings and a pretty basic watch, the only jewelry I own belongs to the necklace family. And I love necklaces.

I like interesting antique and vintage pieces and started my collection of those by scavenging on eBay more than a decade ago. I like beads. I like weird pendants. I like big, statement necklaces. I have several necklaces that actually make my husband roll his eyes. He doesn't understand fashion.

I actually pared down my collection last year to just my favorites (sad). Now that there are days where I don't actually leave the house it seemed silly to have so many necklaces just loitering in my closet. Lately I'd been yearning for something simpler. Something pretty and different, but a bit less in-your-face. Something I could wear every day, even days where I'm not planning to leave the house. After a quick spin on etsy, I found just the right thing. I'm happily smitten with my new delicate leaf necklace, courtsey of Blonde Chick Studio.

Yesterday Phee nearly ripped it off my neck, so I guess the daily wear plan will be put on hold until the "grabby" phase is officially passed... so, like age 12, right?

Lunch, Day 4

Health and fitness query of the day:
Does walking about a half-mile to the grocery store still count as exercise if I went there to get Easter candy at 50% off under the guise of doing a weekly shop? :)

So far I've been enjoying the lunch challenge. It feels good to be putting some effort into the mid-day meal once again and I usually have enough from one day's lunch prep to get me through an extra day or two afterwards (which is the main reason my lunch challenge isn't taking place over 30 consecutive days). And even if I end up scarfing down the sandwich in front of my computer or sneaking in bites while folding laundry, the actual act of preparing the meal provides a nice break in my day. And lunch usually falls around when Phee is napping, so I'm able to enjoy that time for myself.

Today's lunch choice ended up taking quite a bit of time. It was worth it, but I need to start screening recipes for efficiency from now on. Once again I went out in search of something that I had ingredients for already. I found this recipe for Turkey Salad with Amonds and Dried Cherries and it sounded both delicious and different. I believe this is one of the many recipes that pop up in November issues of cooking magazines offering up creative ways to burn through all of that leftover Thanksgiving turkey. I didn't have any turkey on hand, so I opted to roast some turkey breast cutlets and use half for this recipe and half for another lunch this week. So it took a while to cook the turkey and then I had to prep the rest of the ingredients. I made a few adjustments, using things that I already had which I figured would work equally well (e.g. whole raw almonds toasted and chopped instead of pre-sliced almonds; freshly ground ginger instead of whatever jarred product they called for in the recipe) and I added salt, which is notoriously absent (or in too small quantities) in Cooking Light's recipes. My pita didn't hold up very well under the weight of the finished salad, but it was really good nonetheless. This would be equally good with some poached chicken breasts, but I'm definitely filing this one away for when we actually do have leftover turkey to eat our way through come November.