Oh my - I am LOVING the latest article from Mark Bittman of The New York Times. 101 Simple Salads - genius!! The link to the entire article is below, but I have copied and pasted a bunch of the ones I plan to try here. I'm usually weird about fruit and veggie combos but a few of these quick toss-togethers have me willing to give it a shot. YUM!
101 Simple Salads - NY Times, Mark Bittman
2. Mix wedges of tomatoes and peaches, add slivers of red onion, a few red-pepper flakes and cilantro. Dress with olive oil and lime or lemon juice. Astonishing.
10. Cook whole grape tomatoes in olive oil over high heat until they brown lightly, sprinkling with curry powder. Cool a bit, then toss with chopped arugula, loads of chopped mint and lime juice.
13. A red salad: Combine tomato wedges with halved strawberries, basil leaves, shaved Parmesan and balsamic vinegar.
14. A classic Moroccan thing: Thinly slice carrots, or grate or shred them (the food processor makes quick work of this). Toss with toasted cumin seeds, olive oil, lemon juice and cilantro. Raisins are good in here, too. There is no better use of raw carrots.
15. Cut cherry or grape tomatoes in half; toss with soy sauce, a bit of dark sesame oil and basil or cilantro. I love this — the tomato juice-soy thing is incredible.
18. Roughly chop cooked or canned chickpeas (you can pulse them, carefully, in a food processor) and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, lots of chopped fresh parsley and mint, and a few chopped tomatoes. Call this chickpea tabbouleh.
40. Slice cucumber and top with capers, olive oil, lots of pepper and little dollops of fresh ricotta. Note: cucumbers, ricotta and oil must all be really good.
41. Halve avocados and scoop out some but not all of their flesh. Roughly chop and toss with black beans, queso fresco, cilantro, chopped tomatillos and lime juice. Serve in the meaty avocado shells.
44. Make a crisp grilled cheese sandwich, with good bread and not too much good cheese. Let it cool, then cut into croutons. Put them on anything, but especially tomato and basil salad. This you will do forever.
62. Dust shrimp with chili powder. Sauté in butter or oil (or a combination) with fresh corn kernels and flavorful cooking greens (bok choy is good, as is watercress). Add halved cherry tomatoes and lime juice at the last minute.
69. Stir-fry small or chopped shrimp in olive or peanut oil with lots of ginger; while still warm, combine with tomato wedges, chopped romaine, cilantro, scallions and lots of lime juice. Good in pita.
71. Combine sliced green tomatoes and sliced fresh mozzarella; top with roughly chopped basil, olive oil, black pepper and crumbled bacon.
75. The Little Italy salad: Chop or julienne salami and prosciutto, then toss with cubed mozzarella, chopped tomato, pepperoncini, oil and wine vinegar.
84. Spring rolls, unrolled: One at a time, soften a few sheets of rice paper in warm water. Drain, pat dry, cut into strips and toss with chopped cucumber, grated carrots, chopped cilantro, bean sprouts, chili flakes and chopped roasted peanuts. Dress with toasted sesame oil, fish sauce or soy sauce, and rice vinegar or lime juice. A few shrimp are a nice addition.
85. Mix lots of arugula with somewhat less cold whole wheat penne, lemon zest, olive oil and Parmesan. The idea is an arugula salad with pasta, not a pasta salad with arugula.
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P.S. - The building portion of our exciting new garage begins bright and early Monday morning!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
"We should have named it" - Manda
Alright people. I know I don't have a slew of readers, and many of the ones I do have already heard this story last night or this morning, since I have found the need to share it with everyone... but I'm here to type it all out anyways. At first, I thought there was NO way I was going to post about this, but then after thinking about it I realized that in five years, when I look back on my "Book-oh-9-oh-6", I will want to remember this and have it documented for days when I need a good laugh. You know, when I'm done feeling like I'm going to puke about it.
We'll start with last weekend, when I noticed a stench on the front porch (which is enclosed and currently houses my papasan chair and our shoes, among other random things). By Sunday night the smell was overwhelming on the porch, and I started to notice it in other random spots in the house, although that could have very well been my paranoia creeping up on me since I had myself absolutely convinced something had died.
Oh, before I go further let me mention that Dan is out of town for this entire thing, which usually means something ridiculous is going to happen and I'll have to figure it out without him, and also means you couldn't pay me to go down in the basement alone and check out possible causes of said reeking.
Monday night I ask my brother to come over and check out the basement, because although having all the snazzy new windows open airs everything out, I eventually have to close the windows back up in the morning when I leave. I figured a mouse had died in the vents or something, so in all honesty I'm not exactly sure what I expected Kevin to do anyways, seeing as the two of us are not exactly skilled air duct workers or anything. Lucky for him, he didn't come over, and by Tuesday night when the rest of my family was returning from Wisconsin I had myself completely worked up about the fact that I was sleeping in a house with a dead SOMETHING laying around somewhere... so I asked my dad to check it out with me instead. I'm starting to think he isn't going to answer the phone when I call anymore, and I can't say I would blame him at this point.
So, Dad and I head down to the basement - after Manda and I tore through the house looking for at least one of the six flashlights Dan "strategically placed" (read: hid) - and it is immediately clear that yes, something has died, and yes, it is in the basement. Swell. I look around the mess of Christmas decorations and bins of winter clothes and announce that I don't even know where to start, and my dad tells me "Follow your nose"... and turns to the crawl space door (which is directly below the front porch), opens it, and nearly falls over from the horrific muggy rotting something or another smell. I kind of wish I was a copywriter so I could describe it better, but all you really need to know is that it was absolutely disgusting. Shining a flashlight around in there, we couldn't see much of anything (well, except for other unnamed nastiness), so my dad hoisted himself in for a closer look and within seconds found the culprit in the far corner...
...a very large, very smelly, very dead... cat.
Not only did I think I was going to puke, but I wouldn't have been surprised if my dad lost his dinner since he was standing there with the thing just a few feet from his face. But, my Dad is like a modern day superhero of some sort and held it together with just a few swear words and gross descriptions of the cat's face, which was eaten out by bugs and rotting. Oh, dear God. So dad jumps out and Manda and I tear through the house some more hunting down a large box (I'm not kidding, this cat was easily a 25 pounder), heavy duty black garbage bags to line the box with, a fan and extension cord, a face mask, a shovel, and vinegar to attempt to neutralize the odor in the space. My mom promptly lit every candle in the house and opened all of the windows, and then went out to the car for her camera because I insisted on getting a picture to show Dan the spectacle he managed to miss. (I am not posting the picture here, however, because that's just gross). A quick change into old clothes and a few deep breathes (I can do this without fainting, I can do this without fainting...) and I jumped in the space to hold the flashlight while my dad scooped the poor thing up with the shovel and into it's little coffin box. A quick trip to the dumpster out back and the cat is on it's way to kitty heaven... or the landfill, whatever floats your boat. Eww, eww, EWW. I mean really, I did NOT sign up for this when I bought a house.
A little inspecting on the outside of the house made it clear that the cat sqeeeeeezed itself in through a hole about the size of my fist right under the base of the house. Considering there was a pile of fur outside the hole, I think it's safe to say that was how it got in. Some googling later on solidified my dad's assumption that the cat knew it was about to go and just happened to find my house to curl up and head on to it's next life - - apparently it is fairly common for cats to run away and/or hide when they know they are going to die. Who knew.
In the end, I'm thankful we found the cat before my basement hiding space turned into a pet cemetery. Have no fear though friends, CrawlSpaces.com just happens to be based in Chicago and promptly got a phone call from me with only mild urgency, and they will be at the house Friday afternoon to give me an estimate on cleaning the space, securing it so this does not happen again, and possibly adding concrete so it can eventually be used for safe storage.
A BIIIIIIIIG thanks to my dad for doing the dirty work on this one. And a big "sorry" to whoever in my neighborhood happens to be missing a fat orange tabby cat. Hey, we checked for tags, what else were we supposed to do?*
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*According to a coworker of mine, I should make a "FOUND: Orange Cat" poster with the picture and put it up around the neighborhood. I'm sure the toddlers in the daycare at the end of the block would just LOVE that.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
EDIT: August 27, 2009
After several requests to add the picture, I've decided to post it for everyone just itching to see the tabby Manda and I have affectionately named Dead Garfield. That means don't scroll down any further if you have a weak stomach!!
Mr. Lawler, this one's for you... if you want to, you can click on it to look at it nice and big in all it's maggot-covered glory. YUM.
We'll start with last weekend, when I noticed a stench on the front porch (which is enclosed and currently houses my papasan chair and our shoes, among other random things). By Sunday night the smell was overwhelming on the porch, and I started to notice it in other random spots in the house, although that could have very well been my paranoia creeping up on me since I had myself absolutely convinced something had died.
Oh, before I go further let me mention that Dan is out of town for this entire thing, which usually means something ridiculous is going to happen and I'll have to figure it out without him, and also means you couldn't pay me to go down in the basement alone and check out possible causes of said reeking.
Monday night I ask my brother to come over and check out the basement, because although having all the snazzy new windows open airs everything out, I eventually have to close the windows back up in the morning when I leave. I figured a mouse had died in the vents or something, so in all honesty I'm not exactly sure what I expected Kevin to do anyways, seeing as the two of us are not exactly skilled air duct workers or anything. Lucky for him, he didn't come over, and by Tuesday night when the rest of my family was returning from Wisconsin I had myself completely worked up about the fact that I was sleeping in a house with a dead SOMETHING laying around somewhere... so I asked my dad to check it out with me instead. I'm starting to think he isn't going to answer the phone when I call anymore, and I can't say I would blame him at this point.
So, Dad and I head down to the basement - after Manda and I tore through the house looking for at least one of the six flashlights Dan "strategically placed" (read: hid) - and it is immediately clear that yes, something has died, and yes, it is in the basement. Swell. I look around the mess of Christmas decorations and bins of winter clothes and announce that I don't even know where to start, and my dad tells me "Follow your nose"... and turns to the crawl space door (which is directly below the front porch), opens it, and nearly falls over from the horrific muggy rotting something or another smell. I kind of wish I was a copywriter so I could describe it better, but all you really need to know is that it was absolutely disgusting. Shining a flashlight around in there, we couldn't see much of anything (well, except for other unnamed nastiness), so my dad hoisted himself in for a closer look and within seconds found the culprit in the far corner...
...a very large, very smelly, very dead... cat.
Not only did I think I was going to puke, but I wouldn't have been surprised if my dad lost his dinner since he was standing there with the thing just a few feet from his face. But, my Dad is like a modern day superhero of some sort and held it together with just a few swear words and gross descriptions of the cat's face, which was eaten out by bugs and rotting. Oh, dear God. So dad jumps out and Manda and I tear through the house some more hunting down a large box (I'm not kidding, this cat was easily a 25 pounder), heavy duty black garbage bags to line the box with, a fan and extension cord, a face mask, a shovel, and vinegar to attempt to neutralize the odor in the space. My mom promptly lit every candle in the house and opened all of the windows, and then went out to the car for her camera because I insisted on getting a picture to show Dan the spectacle he managed to miss. (I am not posting the picture here, however, because that's just gross). A quick change into old clothes and a few deep breathes (I can do this without fainting, I can do this without fainting...) and I jumped in the space to hold the flashlight while my dad scooped the poor thing up with the shovel and into it's little coffin box. A quick trip to the dumpster out back and the cat is on it's way to kitty heaven... or the landfill, whatever floats your boat. Eww, eww, EWW. I mean really, I did NOT sign up for this when I bought a house.
A little inspecting on the outside of the house made it clear that the cat sqeeeeeezed itself in through a hole about the size of my fist right under the base of the house. Considering there was a pile of fur outside the hole, I think it's safe to say that was how it got in. Some googling later on solidified my dad's assumption that the cat knew it was about to go and just happened to find my house to curl up and head on to it's next life - - apparently it is fairly common for cats to run away and/or hide when they know they are going to die. Who knew.
In the end, I'm thankful we found the cat before my basement hiding space turned into a pet cemetery. Have no fear though friends, CrawlSpaces.com just happens to be based in Chicago and promptly got a phone call from me with only mild urgency, and they will be at the house Friday afternoon to give me an estimate on cleaning the space, securing it so this does not happen again, and possibly adding concrete so it can eventually be used for safe storage.
A BIIIIIIIIG thanks to my dad for doing the dirty work on this one. And a big "sorry" to whoever in my neighborhood happens to be missing a fat orange tabby cat. Hey, we checked for tags, what else were we supposed to do?*
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
*According to a coworker of mine, I should make a "FOUND: Orange Cat" poster with the picture and put it up around the neighborhood. I'm sure the toddlers in the daycare at the end of the block would just LOVE that.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
EDIT: August 27, 2009
After several requests to add the picture, I've decided to post it for everyone just itching to see the tabby Manda and I have affectionately named Dead Garfield. That means don't scroll down any further if you have a weak stomach!!
Mr. Lawler, this one's for you... if you want to, you can click on it to look at it nice and big in all it's maggot-covered glory. YUM.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Leaning towards lighter tones
One good thing about a not-huge house is that we didn't need a ton of new furniture. We did still have to take a couple of financial hits to buy some things, but everything we bought was on sale or off of craigslist (like our amazing dining room set). Either way, I'm partially thankful that it didn't take us long to furnish our new rooms, but also a little bummed that I don't have space for pieces like this:
Or like this...
Part of me thinks one of these could work well on the front porch, but such a light palate in a naturally dusty and dirty space just begs to look dingy in a matter of months.
As mentioned before, the UPS man made my day earlier this week with the delivery of my Pottery Barn rug. Naturally, I jumped over to Young House Love (previously This Young House, which I've mentioned several times here!) for some mood board inspiration. Seeing as I found the rug through one of their boards in the first place, I knew there would be some great eye candy for me to use as I complete the living room.
Here's two boards featuring the rug that I'm loving since both of them use a similar color palate to ours, the same dark wood tones that we have, and the white Ikea curtains I plan to purchase to replace the funky ones that no longer match.
I'm hoping to make it out to ikea this weekend, so hopefully I can complete the living room mini-makeover and post pictures soon!
Or like this...
Part of me thinks one of these could work well on the front porch, but such a light palate in a naturally dusty and dirty space just begs to look dingy in a matter of months.
As mentioned before, the UPS man made my day earlier this week with the delivery of my Pottery Barn rug. Naturally, I jumped over to Young House Love (previously This Young House, which I've mentioned several times here!) for some mood board inspiration. Seeing as I found the rug through one of their boards in the first place, I knew there would be some great eye candy for me to use as I complete the living room.
Here's two boards featuring the rug that I'm loving since both of them use a similar color palate to ours, the same dark wood tones that we have, and the white Ikea curtains I plan to purchase to replace the funky ones that no longer match.
I'm hoping to make it out to ikea this weekend, so hopefully I can complete the living room mini-makeover and post pictures soon!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Don't mess with a timeline if you're talking to me
Well, more than enough time has gone by since I posted about the garage demo, so I'm sure at least one person out there was wondering when I'd actually be posting about some progress with this enormous undertaking. If I'm being honest, I have been extremely frustrated with the entire project, having expected it to move along much quicker than it has been. But, as Manda pointed out - it will get me nowhere to stress out over it. She's insightful for a 12 year old.
One minor holdup was the fact that although the demo company was able to remove one of the stumps in the space, we had to hire someone else to come in and get rid of the rest. We could have done it ourselves but it turns out hiring a local guy was cheaper than it would have been to rent the machine! The holdup happened when the guy didn't show the Friday he was supposed to, and then by Tuesday I was flipping out about it so Dan called only to be told that "there's dirt in the way that you have to move before I can remove the stumps"... to which I flipped out about even MORE. Dirt in the way? Seriously?? It's a backyard, what do you expect?! Fuming mad about it and unsure of what to do with Dan out of town, I did what I always do when I have NO clue about something house related - I called my dad... who proceeded to go to my house while I was at work and spend 2 hours moving said dirt out of the way for the stump guy. Go ahead and applaud, cause I have a really great dad.
Finally, the guy showed up that evening and promptly pointed out several other stumps that my dad had found, and I was too frustrated to even argue the dirt issue so I wrote him a check and he did his thing.
Minor holdup number 2 came when the concrete company didn't know we had the stumps removed (even though Dan had assured them we would take care of it), so they also did not show up when they were supposed to. And yes, I flipped out a little again. Maybe I was over reacting, but a $12,000 project isn't really the kind of thing I want a contractor to putz around about. Dan called again and they promised they would come to excavate Monday bright and early, and have the inspector sign off immediately so they could pour the concrete same-day.
Guess what happened Monday morning? NOTHING.
So, Dan called again, and they informed us that the inspector had canceled his appointment with them for that morning, so they figured they didn't need to show up as early. At this point I was about ready to call them and tell them to shove our contract up their over-promising rear ends because I am just not that patient and I eat, sleep, and breathe timelines and deadlines and expect others to uphold the same standards... but I didn't, Dan stayed calm enough for the both of us, and they showed up a bit later on Monday to get the land all ready.
The inspector still didn't come until Tuesday, which for one reason or another pushed the pouring to today, but I digress. We have concrete, and I think the fact that we are clearly about to get a new garage and that old eyesore 1-car is gone is making all of our neighbors secretly want to jump for joy. In fact, in the last picture below you can catch our neighbor across the alley checking it all out before getting in his van. Ha!
Since I eventually had to leave for work and missed the end of everything, Dan was sure to write our initials for me in the corner inside the doorway after the workers left, which I'm pretty certain will make me smile every time I walk into the garage for as long as we live here.
The concrete has to sit for 7-10 days, and then it's building time!
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
In other news... the beloved Pottery Barn rug has finally arrived and I am loving it more than I thought I would. I'll be posting a picture as soon as I put the finishing touches on the living room, which I'm hoping to do this weekend.
I'm also (gasp) quickly tiring of the turquoise bathroom that I just had to have. In my own defense, when I did it the color was still fresh and difficult to find, but it has since become wildly popular and I'm finding myself wanting objects in it instead of an entire room. It's such a perfect accent color, and I plan to use it as such... and let's be honest, Dan despises the bright bathroom, so it wasn't difficult to talk him into repainting in the next couple of months. There are already patches that need paint anyways since they were done after Dez and I originally tackled the walls, so at least I'm not taking a perfectly fine room and changing my mind about it. Manda has urged me to paint a green, to match the brown and white shower curtain we bought at Target tonight (which I'll post a picture of soon). Considering my color palate in the room is currently turquoise, with green and brown as accents, I love the idea of just switching the green to the wall color and using turquoise as an accent so I can still utilize things we already have - such as great brown towels and these Ikea vases in turquoise that I scored for 10 cents each:
One minor holdup was the fact that although the demo company was able to remove one of the stumps in the space, we had to hire someone else to come in and get rid of the rest. We could have done it ourselves but it turns out hiring a local guy was cheaper than it would have been to rent the machine! The holdup happened when the guy didn't show the Friday he was supposed to, and then by Tuesday I was flipping out about it so Dan called only to be told that "there's dirt in the way that you have to move before I can remove the stumps"... to which I flipped out about even MORE. Dirt in the way? Seriously?? It's a backyard, what do you expect?! Fuming mad about it and unsure of what to do with Dan out of town, I did what I always do when I have NO clue about something house related - I called my dad... who proceeded to go to my house while I was at work and spend 2 hours moving said dirt out of the way for the stump guy. Go ahead and applaud, cause I have a really great dad.
Finally, the guy showed up that evening and promptly pointed out several other stumps that my dad had found, and I was too frustrated to even argue the dirt issue so I wrote him a check and he did his thing.
Minor holdup number 2 came when the concrete company didn't know we had the stumps removed (even though Dan had assured them we would take care of it), so they also did not show up when they were supposed to. And yes, I flipped out a little again. Maybe I was over reacting, but a $12,000 project isn't really the kind of thing I want a contractor to putz around about. Dan called again and they promised they would come to excavate Monday bright and early, and have the inspector sign off immediately so they could pour the concrete same-day.
Guess what happened Monday morning? NOTHING.
So, Dan called again, and they informed us that the inspector had canceled his appointment with them for that morning, so they figured they didn't need to show up as early. At this point I was about ready to call them and tell them to shove our contract up their over-promising rear ends because I am just not that patient and I eat, sleep, and breathe timelines and deadlines and expect others to uphold the same standards... but I didn't, Dan stayed calm enough for the both of us, and they showed up a bit later on Monday to get the land all ready.
The inspector still didn't come until Tuesday, which for one reason or another pushed the pouring to today, but I digress. We have concrete, and I think the fact that we are clearly about to get a new garage and that old eyesore 1-car is gone is making all of our neighbors secretly want to jump for joy. In fact, in the last picture below you can catch our neighbor across the alley checking it all out before getting in his van. Ha!
Since I eventually had to leave for work and missed the end of everything, Dan was sure to write our initials for me in the corner inside the doorway after the workers left, which I'm pretty certain will make me smile every time I walk into the garage for as long as we live here.
The concrete has to sit for 7-10 days, and then it's building time!
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
In other news... the beloved Pottery Barn rug has finally arrived and I am loving it more than I thought I would. I'll be posting a picture as soon as I put the finishing touches on the living room, which I'm hoping to do this weekend.
I'm also (gasp) quickly tiring of the turquoise bathroom that I just had to have. In my own defense, when I did it the color was still fresh and difficult to find, but it has since become wildly popular and I'm finding myself wanting objects in it instead of an entire room. It's such a perfect accent color, and I plan to use it as such... and let's be honest, Dan despises the bright bathroom, so it wasn't difficult to talk him into repainting in the next couple of months. There are already patches that need paint anyways since they were done after Dez and I originally tackled the walls, so at least I'm not taking a perfectly fine room and changing my mind about it. Manda has urged me to paint a green, to match the brown and white shower curtain we bought at Target tonight (which I'll post a picture of soon). Considering my color palate in the room is currently turquoise, with green and brown as accents, I love the idea of just switching the green to the wall color and using turquoise as an accent so I can still utilize things we already have - such as great brown towels and these Ikea vases in turquoise that I scored for 10 cents each:
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Publish Me
Thanks to selective advertising on Facebook, I've been getting a lot of sidebar ads on my page for Blog2Print, which is exactly what it sounds like - a site where they will take your blog, and print it into a book! The cool thing about this site is how absolutely simple it is... you type in your blog address, let it do it's thing, and just a couple minutes later you can click through and see the pages of your book complete with a title page and table of contents.
Here's a couple screen grabs of what 9-oh-6 would look like in book format (click to enlarge)-
Pretty cool, huh? However, thanks to the length of 9-oh-6 thus far, I am nowhere near falling into the $14.95 category (20-pages or less) advertised on their homepage. Already, my book would be just over 100 pages... and therefore already costing more than $50.
Although a little pricey, I'm certain this would be a really great keepsake to invest in later this year to celebrate our one year anniversary in the house. We moved in on Halloween, so our moving day is an easy one to remember. I'm thinking I'll have to post something that day about our first year, and then I would love to turn the entire blog to date into a book!
While Blog2Print is easy and simple, I think if I'm going to make the investment in having a blog book, it may as well be amazing right? That's where Blurb comes in. Not much pricier than the other site, Blurb lets you format your entire book page by page (if you wish), and has options for several different book sizes such as a compact 7"x7" square or a coffee-table-worthy 13"x11" large landscape. My favorite feature has to be that for just a few dollars more you can choose to have an image wraparound hardcover rather than a dust jacket for your book - something I feel would give the finished product a really classic, professional feel.
This is just screaming Christmas present to myself, don't you think?
Here's a couple screen grabs of what 9-oh-6 would look like in book format (click to enlarge)-
Pretty cool, huh? However, thanks to the length of 9-oh-6 thus far, I am nowhere near falling into the $14.95 category (20-pages or less) advertised on their homepage. Already, my book would be just over 100 pages... and therefore already costing more than $50.
Although a little pricey, I'm certain this would be a really great keepsake to invest in later this year to celebrate our one year anniversary in the house. We moved in on Halloween, so our moving day is an easy one to remember. I'm thinking I'll have to post something that day about our first year, and then I would love to turn the entire blog to date into a book!
While Blog2Print is easy and simple, I think if I'm going to make the investment in having a blog book, it may as well be amazing right? That's where Blurb comes in. Not much pricier than the other site, Blurb lets you format your entire book page by page (if you wish), and has options for several different book sizes such as a compact 7"x7" square or a coffee-table-worthy 13"x11" large landscape. My favorite feature has to be that for just a few dollars more you can choose to have an image wraparound hardcover rather than a dust jacket for your book - something I feel would give the finished product a really classic, professional feel.
This is just screaming Christmas present to myself, don't you think?
Friday, July 10, 2009
America's Next Top Cupcake Models
I wish I were clever enough to have come up with this posting title, but alas, I am not. Ok, I have my moments, but really - this was was all Tom, who just happens to be Lauren's fiancee and another work buddy of mine. Tom and Lauren have a new blog together, and seeing as he is a genius copywriter and she is witty as they come, their postings so far have managed to crack me up more than a few times.
Now, (if you haven't clicked over to their blog yet) you may be wondering how this all has anything to do with cupcakes... and modeling. WELL, the other day on Twitter I see that Foiled Cupcakes is looking for cupcake models to pose with their little mini cakes made of bites of heaven... and you'd better believe I immediately saw the need to be a part of that. I passed it on to Lauren and a couple of survey questions later we were both chosen to be a part of the fun this coming Monday! While this is all exciting, my favorite part of the entire process so far has been reading Tom's thoughts about our "audition", which he posted on said blog and I am pasting for you right here with hopes that you laugh just as hard as I did at it:
"Today, Patty tried out for America's Next Top Cupcake Model. Kelly tried out, too. I imagine the next few days at work may be interesting—like watching an episode of the Real World all hopped up on sugar-filled dreams of stardom with estrogen sprinkles on top. Sub-plot: the current state of the economy and the rising cost of cupcakes at designer boutiques."
HA! Seeing as Lauren and I did literally squeal at my desk when we checked my email this morning and realized we'd both been picked, I would have to say Tom's predictions were dead on.
Keep an eye on Foiled Cupcakes over the next few weeks to spot Lauren and I on the flavors page, along with 18 other cupcake models whom I'm excited to make friends with!
Happy weekend!
Now, (if you haven't clicked over to their blog yet) you may be wondering how this all has anything to do with cupcakes... and modeling. WELL, the other day on Twitter I see that Foiled Cupcakes is looking for cupcake models to pose with their little mini cakes made of bites of heaven... and you'd better believe I immediately saw the need to be a part of that. I passed it on to Lauren and a couple of survey questions later we were both chosen to be a part of the fun this coming Monday! While this is all exciting, my favorite part of the entire process so far has been reading Tom's thoughts about our "audition", which he posted on said blog and I am pasting for you right here with hopes that you laugh just as hard as I did at it:
"Today, Patty tried out for America's Next Top Cupcake Model. Kelly tried out, too. I imagine the next few days at work may be interesting—like watching an episode of the Real World all hopped up on sugar-filled dreams of stardom with estrogen sprinkles on top. Sub-plot: the current state of the economy and the rising cost of cupcakes at designer boutiques."
HA! Seeing as Lauren and I did literally squeal at my desk when we checked my email this morning and realized we'd both been picked, I would have to say Tom's predictions were dead on.
Keep an eye on Foiled Cupcakes over the next few weeks to spot Lauren and I on the flavors page, along with 18 other cupcake models whom I'm excited to make friends with!
Happy weekend!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
I'm sorry shack, we had some good times
In an effort to beautify the outside of our property, catch up to the rest of the neighborhood aesthetically, and mostly - have somewhere that both of our cars can go... we're getting a new garage! This is the most expensive project we've done at the house so far, so I'm more anxious than usual to see it all finished and start getting our money's worth out of it.
All of the permits got approved last week, so the long process began today with my favorite part of every project - demo! Unfortunately I missed seeing it live, but Dan took some great pictures for the blog.
Now if you haven't seen our garage, be forewarned... Although structurally sound, I liked to refer to it more often as "a scary shack just large enough for my little car". It had no electricity, which means no automatic door and no light. The roof was flat, making it look even more like just a box with siding. I could go on and on... but instead I'll just show you the before pictures!
(It did have a door on the front, it was just opened already in these pictures from this morning)
In between the garage and our neighbor's house were what we refer to as "weed-trees" - weeds so large they are essentially small trees. Here's a couple pictures of Dan up on the garage roof cutting some of them down a couple weeks ago to prepare for the demo -
And finally, pictures from this morning's demo! Look - the whole front half of the garage is gone in this picture -
And there goes the roof...
And a whole wall!...
Time to get rid of the concrete...
GONE...
They yanked this out of the ground... this was a WEED!
So, tomorrow there is a tree removal company coming to get rid of the last couple tree stumps that the bobcat couldn't get out, and next up is the new concrete. Once it's all down, it takes 7-10 days to set, which is sure to be quite a test of my patience... but then the new garage will go up and my dad says I'll be shocked at how fast that happens. I'll continue posting pictures as everything moves forward!
All of the permits got approved last week, so the long process began today with my favorite part of every project - demo! Unfortunately I missed seeing it live, but Dan took some great pictures for the blog.
Now if you haven't seen our garage, be forewarned... Although structurally sound, I liked to refer to it more often as "a scary shack just large enough for my little car". It had no electricity, which means no automatic door and no light. The roof was flat, making it look even more like just a box with siding. I could go on and on... but instead I'll just show you the before pictures!
(It did have a door on the front, it was just opened already in these pictures from this morning)In between the garage and our neighbor's house were what we refer to as "weed-trees" - weeds so large they are essentially small trees. Here's a couple pictures of Dan up on the garage roof cutting some of them down a couple weeks ago to prepare for the demo -
And finally, pictures from this morning's demo! Look - the whole front half of the garage is gone in this picture -
And there goes the roof...
And a whole wall!...
Time to get rid of the concrete...
GONE...
They yanked this out of the ground... this was a WEED!
So, tomorrow there is a tree removal company coming to get rid of the last couple tree stumps that the bobcat couldn't get out, and next up is the new concrete. Once it's all down, it takes 7-10 days to set, which is sure to be quite a test of my patience... but then the new garage will go up and my dad says I'll be shocked at how fast that happens. I'll continue posting pictures as everything moves forward!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Oh, happy day
So if you read this blog at all regularly, you know that I previously had a slight obsession with this rug from Pottery Barn...
...but by the time I talked myself into spending the money on it, it had sold out. I went to several stores, called corporate, scoured craigslist... no luck. Eventually, I moved on and decided to focus on curtains instead, so I bought these...
...and while they are a near perfect match to the colors of the living room, dining room, and our furniture, they are much heavier than I was expecting and don't bunch up to the sides anything like shown in the picture, which leaves me unable to really open them to let the daylight in.
Cue the three and a half minutes I had to breathe all day at work yesterday and I decided to jump online to check out the new Crate & Barrel stuff I got a glimpse of in the Fall Preview catalog. This type of browsing almost always leads me from one website to another, and I found myself checking out the sale section at Pottery Barn. And then all of a sudden there it was - my rug, back in stock, on sale, and absolutely begging me to just buy it already and not putz around and let it go out of stock again. Poor Dan has had to endure me looking for another rug and never liking anything as much, so when I called him thrilled about this being available again and saying that I just had to buy it... he said "ok". He's so wonderful.
So that's that! The rug is ordered and it should be delivered next week sometime, and I will be sure to post a picture right away.
AAAAAAND... the garage is being demolished TOMORROW! The timing is working out perfectly - they're coming early and I am working out of the office tomorrow and starting a bit later than usual so I'll be home in the morning to watch and take pictures!
I. Can't. Wait.
...but by the time I talked myself into spending the money on it, it had sold out. I went to several stores, called corporate, scoured craigslist... no luck. Eventually, I moved on and decided to focus on curtains instead, so I bought these...
...and while they are a near perfect match to the colors of the living room, dining room, and our furniture, they are much heavier than I was expecting and don't bunch up to the sides anything like shown in the picture, which leaves me unable to really open them to let the daylight in.
Cue the three and a half minutes I had to breathe all day at work yesterday and I decided to jump online to check out the new Crate & Barrel stuff I got a glimpse of in the Fall Preview catalog. This type of browsing almost always leads me from one website to another, and I found myself checking out the sale section at Pottery Barn. And then all of a sudden there it was - my rug, back in stock, on sale, and absolutely begging me to just buy it already and not putz around and let it go out of stock again. Poor Dan has had to endure me looking for another rug and never liking anything as much, so when I called him thrilled about this being available again and saying that I just had to buy it... he said "ok". He's so wonderful.
So that's that! The rug is ordered and it should be delivered next week sometime, and I will be sure to post a picture right away.
AAAAAAND... the garage is being demolished TOMORROW! The timing is working out perfectly - they're coming early and I am working out of the office tomorrow and starting a bit later than usual so I'll be home in the morning to watch and take pictures!
I. Can't. Wait.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Making Friends in the Blogosphere
Earlier this summer, I stumbled across a (new to me) photographer's website and instantly went into that mode I get in when I'm looking at something that honestly takes my breath away and makes me wonder how I ever lived without the eye candy that is whatever I happen to be gaping at. Unfortunately for me, I found this one while I was at work (it was a slow day, give me a break), so I'm sure at least two people walked past me wondering why the heck I was staring at my screen eyes wide and jaw dropped wide open.
So being the little blog fanatic that I have turned into, I decide to post a comment on this random website I happened to come across just to tell them how freaking amazing I think they are. And faster than I can even bookmark the page guess what happens? I get an EMAIL back from the guy telling me that HE checked out MY blog and aren't I just so flattering for taking the time to tell them how incredible they are... and so it began. I write back, he writes back, we chit chat about how we should totally meet the next time they're in Chicago, his wife (and other half of the undeniable talent) gets home and SHE takes the time to write me as well (!!!), and next thing you know I have plans to meet them just a couple weeks later for afternoon coffee in the city.
(Take a minute to picture me literally shrieking at my computer about all of this, because that is EXACTLY what I did)
Thankfully, I have Lauren at work, who is recently engaged and happens to love beautiful images and funky blogs just as much as I do... so I called her over (like 4 times) and she shrieked a little right along with me. This is why I have friends like Lauren, you know, to make me feel better about my ability to spaz out (in a good way) over something like finding a new blog to follow.
So back to the story, which I will shorten up for your reading pleasure. I invite Lauren along for my little shindig with the amazing photogs, fiancee Tom plans to join us, date creeps up quickly, 95% of my department goes on vacation at the same time leaving me insanely busy... and I get stuck at work 3 hours late on our half-day before the long 4th of July weekend which just HAPPENS to be photographer meeting day. Stick a needle in my eye or something, because I was *this* close to crying at work about it.
Now here's where this gets good. I'm sitting at my desk feeling sorry for myself and trying to finish up my work so I can enjoy one of the 4 nice days we've actually had in Chicago so far this summer... and all of a sudden here comes Lauren and Tom walking through our deserted office WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHERS who have walked all the way back to Upshot just to meet little old me. Seriously?
I'm pretty sure I blushed. Actually, I know for a fact I did because not only were they as incredible as I expected, but they brought me a cupcake with a smiley face on it because they felt bad I was stuck at work. And they made sure to get vanilla because they heard I was allergic to chocolate. Really. People this nice really DO exist!!!
So, my friends, without any further rambling about it... please go and check out my very first blogosphere friends... Ben and Mindy Peterson - the absolutely incredible eyes behind Studio 6.23.
(Now that I have linked you to their site I am going to go ahead and assume you are as utterly consumed by their work as I was and will just end this by saying "HI!" to Ben and Mindy, who really and truly are two of the nicest people I have ever met.)
- - - - - - - - - -
House related posts coming soon... if this darned garage ever gets knocked down...
So being the little blog fanatic that I have turned into, I decide to post a comment on this random website I happened to come across just to tell them how freaking amazing I think they are. And faster than I can even bookmark the page guess what happens? I get an EMAIL back from the guy telling me that HE checked out MY blog and aren't I just so flattering for taking the time to tell them how incredible they are... and so it began. I write back, he writes back, we chit chat about how we should totally meet the next time they're in Chicago, his wife (and other half of the undeniable talent) gets home and SHE takes the time to write me as well (!!!), and next thing you know I have plans to meet them just a couple weeks later for afternoon coffee in the city.
(Take a minute to picture me literally shrieking at my computer about all of this, because that is EXACTLY what I did)
Thankfully, I have Lauren at work, who is recently engaged and happens to love beautiful images and funky blogs just as much as I do... so I called her over (like 4 times) and she shrieked a little right along with me. This is why I have friends like Lauren, you know, to make me feel better about my ability to spaz out (in a good way) over something like finding a new blog to follow.
So back to the story, which I will shorten up for your reading pleasure. I invite Lauren along for my little shindig with the amazing photogs, fiancee Tom plans to join us, date creeps up quickly, 95% of my department goes on vacation at the same time leaving me insanely busy... and I get stuck at work 3 hours late on our half-day before the long 4th of July weekend which just HAPPENS to be photographer meeting day. Stick a needle in my eye or something, because I was *this* close to crying at work about it.
Now here's where this gets good. I'm sitting at my desk feeling sorry for myself and trying to finish up my work so I can enjoy one of the 4 nice days we've actually had in Chicago so far this summer... and all of a sudden here comes Lauren and Tom walking through our deserted office WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHERS who have walked all the way back to Upshot just to meet little old me. Seriously?
I'm pretty sure I blushed. Actually, I know for a fact I did because not only were they as incredible as I expected, but they brought me a cupcake with a smiley face on it because they felt bad I was stuck at work. And they made sure to get vanilla because they heard I was allergic to chocolate. Really. People this nice really DO exist!!!
So, my friends, without any further rambling about it... please go and check out my very first blogosphere friends... Ben and Mindy Peterson - the absolutely incredible eyes behind Studio 6.23.
(Now that I have linked you to their site I am going to go ahead and assume you are as utterly consumed by their work as I was and will just end this by saying "HI!" to Ben and Mindy, who really and truly are two of the nicest people I have ever met.)
- - - - - - - - - -
House related posts coming soon... if this darned garage ever gets knocked down...
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Details
I've been writing lately about my hopes for painting and decorating the office with a gray and marigold yellow palette, and realized tonight while thinking about the dining room hutch that I've gravitated towards that same color scheme on more than one occasion in previous inspiration-filled posts. Remember this patterned paper I planned to line the back of the hutch with?
While I still loooove this, I'm thinking I'd rather keep the gray and yellow to the office and instead tweak the hutch with some fun hardware like these knobs from Anthropologie's home collection that I am currently drooling over...
While I still loooove this, I'm thinking I'd rather keep the gray and yellow to the office and instead tweak the hutch with some fun hardware like these knobs from Anthropologie's home collection that I am currently drooling over...
The only problem with these is that there are no drawer pulls to match. While I'd be happy to use all knobs, I think the existing holes from the old hardware may be tough to fill in without them being too noticeable. The hardware that was on the hutch when we got here is silvery and vintage, but some of it was damaged under the layers and layers of paint we removed. Anyone know of other places to get fun matching hardware like the ones above?
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