made using Amy Karols Bend the Rules Sewing.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Oh Harry....
How I've admired you for so long..well before your days on "Will & Grace" when you were crooning words from your album She and your recent performance in New in Town made me fall for you all over again. You've kept entertaining and now you are back with a new album called Your Songs.
Through One to One Network I had a chance to review Harry Connick Jr's latest album as it was released. I popped it in the CD player this past Saturday afternoon as we were having a lazy afternoon at home. I wasn't disappointed. Starting with the Frank Sinatra cover of "All the Way" and ending with a cover of "Mona Lisa" by Nat King Cole the songs had a lot of variety and some surprises. One of my all time favorites is "The Way You Look Tonight" and Harry's smooth voice has moved his version to the top of my play list. Only one song disappointed me on the whole album and made me think "huh, sounds like something in a piano bar" but then I realized it was a cover of Elton John's "Your Song" and realized that it was somewhat fitting (sorry to the Elton lovers our there)! Overall, this is an album that I will keep on hand to pop in during lazy Saturdays, dinner parties or just as I'm whipping something up in the kitchen.
If you'd like to see more Harry - and how can you resist - check out these upcoming television appearances:
9/25 - Oprah "Live Friday"
9/28 - Today Show
9/29 - The View
9/30 - Imus in the Morning
9/30 - Letterman
10/1 - Today Show
Week of 10/5 - Rachael Ray
To have a little Harry with you every day run to your local music store to pick up his latest album. Can't wait? Try here, here or here.
Through One to One Network I had a chance to review Harry Connick Jr's latest album as it was released. I popped it in the CD player this past Saturday afternoon as we were having a lazy afternoon at home. I wasn't disappointed. Starting with the Frank Sinatra cover of "All the Way" and ending with a cover of "Mona Lisa" by Nat King Cole the songs had a lot of variety and some surprises. One of my all time favorites is "The Way You Look Tonight" and Harry's smooth voice has moved his version to the top of my play list. Only one song disappointed me on the whole album and made me think "huh, sounds like something in a piano bar" but then I realized it was a cover of Elton John's "Your Song" and realized that it was somewhat fitting (sorry to the Elton lovers our there)! Overall, this is an album that I will keep on hand to pop in during lazy Saturdays, dinner parties or just as I'm whipping something up in the kitchen.
If you'd like to see more Harry - and how can you resist - check out these upcoming television appearances:
9/25 - Oprah "Live Friday"
9/28 - Today Show
9/29 - The View
9/30 - Imus in the Morning
9/30 - Letterman
10/1 - Today Show
Week of 10/5 - Rachael Ray
To have a little Harry with you every day run to your local music store to pick up his latest album. Can't wait? Try here, here or here.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sweet Basil
Taken from the garden with the fear of a frost last night..went from this
added to these
to make this pesto to store in the freezer. (If you are freezing pesto - be sure to put a layer of oil on the top to keep the basil from turning black).
I used this recipe from Heather Drive. I highly recommend this recipe - I'm not a fan of store bought pesto I also find it too grainy and oily. This was perfect. Hopefully I'll remember to take a photo when we use it this winter.
added to these
to make this pesto to store in the freezer. (If you are freezing pesto - be sure to put a layer of oil on the top to keep the basil from turning black).
I used this recipe from Heather Drive. I highly recommend this recipe - I'm not a fan of store bought pesto I also find it too grainy and oily. This was perfect. Hopefully I'll remember to take a photo when we use it this winter.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Happy Birthday Peter!
So I had fully intended to do a post about the long Labor Day weekend and all the great relaxing fun we had, but that will have to wait until we download our camera!
But what better reason to post than to wish my brother Pete a very happy birthday! Pete turns 35 today (the gray hairs through people off)! Peter if you are reading this - I wish you all the best this next year and the coming years. We love you!
Now, on to the Day 10 update...a little late due to the long weekend. So Days 1-5 I was very consistent and then I went downhill over the long weekend. But this is why it's a 45 day challenge!
Day 1 - Shred Level 1
Day 2 - Shred Level 1
Day 3 - Yoga
Day 4 - Run/Walk
Day 5 - Shred Level 1
Day 6 and 7 - N/A
Day 8 - Walk
Day 9 - N/A
Day 10 - Shred Level 1
In the first 10 days my stats have remained the same but I've noticed some changes. My endurance for the Shred is higher today than it was on Day 1. I also felt much better about myself and energy level when I worked out all those days. Having the feeling of power as my push ups get stronger is definitely worth the sore muscles.
But what better reason to post than to wish my brother Pete a very happy birthday! Pete turns 35 today (the gray hairs through people off)! Peter if you are reading this - I wish you all the best this next year and the coming years. We love you!
Now, on to the Day 10 update...a little late due to the long weekend. So Days 1-5 I was very consistent and then I went downhill over the long weekend. But this is why it's a 45 day challenge!
Day 1 - Shred Level 1
Day 2 - Shred Level 1
Day 3 - Yoga
Day 4 - Run/Walk
Day 5 - Shred Level 1
Day 6 and 7 - N/A
Day 8 - Walk
Day 9 - N/A
Day 10 - Shred Level 1
In the first 10 days my stats have remained the same but I've noticed some changes. My endurance for the Shred is higher today than it was on Day 1. I also felt much better about myself and energy level when I worked out all those days. Having the feeling of power as my push ups get stronger is definitely worth the sore muscles.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The 45 day Challenge....
...to myself. So I need a little (okay a lot) of motivation to keep up on working out. I do okay most of the time but not great. Lately my average has been two to three days a week. It's just not cutting it.
About a month ago I really started to notice my clothes not fitting as well...pants getting tighter and a lot of my summer clothes from last year just do not look great (in my own opinion). This is when I started to get concerned. I knew over the past three years I've put on a few pounds. A couple pounds here and there really adds up over three years. Three summers ago I weighed 152. Last week I weighed myself and I was 172. TWENTY POUNDS. 20. Veinte. Vingt. Zwanzig.
It's not easy for me to put the fact that I gained twenty pounds out in the public eye(or rather the five people that look at this blog). In fact, its really emotional to do so but I have to have more accountability.
Although in the past three years I've also become more athletic - running a lot more and have more endurance. Before you say it could be muscle...maybe some of it but believe there is a lot there that isn't muscle.
So they say (whoever 'they' are) that it takes twenty days to build a habit. I'm going to go with 45...starting today Sunday August 30th.
The challenge: Complete Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred in 45 days.
Why 45 days: In between doing the Shred I also have to keep up on doing my weekly yoga and running. On September 20th I'm running in the Trails to Ale 10K. And I'm a realist knowing some days I may not have time/energy to run and Shred.
Why the 30 Day Shred? Well, I've done the workout before although only a couple of times. It's quick and its effective. And if you have ever seen The Biggest Loser Jillian is tough. Although in this video I like her honesty and encouragement. It keeps me going during all those push-ups.
The Stats (posted weekly for accountability as well as a recap of the week):
Weight: 172
Height: 5' 11"
Waist: 33.5"
Hips: 40.5"
Bust: 38"
Thighs: 23.5"
Arms: 11"
Day 1: Completed
About a month ago I really started to notice my clothes not fitting as well...pants getting tighter and a lot of my summer clothes from last year just do not look great (in my own opinion). This is when I started to get concerned. I knew over the past three years I've put on a few pounds. A couple pounds here and there really adds up over three years. Three summers ago I weighed 152. Last week I weighed myself and I was 172. TWENTY POUNDS. 20. Veinte. Vingt. Zwanzig.
It's not easy for me to put the fact that I gained twenty pounds out in the public eye(or rather the five people that look at this blog). In fact, its really emotional to do so but I have to have more accountability.
Although in the past three years I've also become more athletic - running a lot more and have more endurance. Before you say it could be muscle...maybe some of it but believe there is a lot there that isn't muscle.
So they say (whoever 'they' are) that it takes twenty days to build a habit. I'm going to go with 45...starting today Sunday August 30th.
The challenge: Complete Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred in 45 days.
Why 45 days: In between doing the Shred I also have to keep up on doing my weekly yoga and running. On September 20th I'm running in the Trails to Ale 10K. And I'm a realist knowing some days I may not have time/energy to run and Shred.
Why the 30 Day Shred? Well, I've done the workout before although only a couple of times. It's quick and its effective. And if you have ever seen The Biggest Loser Jillian is tough. Although in this video I like her honesty and encouragement. It keeps me going during all those push-ups.
The Stats (posted weekly for accountability as well as a recap of the week):
Weight: 172
Height: 5' 11"
Waist: 33.5"
Hips: 40.5"
Bust: 38"
Thighs: 23.5"
Arms: 11"
Day 1: Completed
Monday, August 24, 2009
Eat - Die - Indiana
Wow! It has been a while since I've posted here - so many things have been going on this summer it's hard to know where to start. I have so many photos I want to share from our summer, but seeing as how I just spent the weekend in Rockland, Maine with Valori, Shalimar and Anita I'll start with the highlight of the trip and the inspiration for the title of this post!
Robert Indiana. I'm officially obsessed with the artist right now. Heading up to Rockland Shalimar had provided an article that talked about his EAT piece but it wasn't until we were at the Farnsworth Museum on Sunday that I really delved into his art work. Maybe I was brought in by the Indiana/Maine connection - but the stories behind his painting and sculptures really moved me...and I'm not normally a person that art moves. If anyone gets a chance to go to a Robert Indiana exhibit I highly recommend attending!
LOVE sculpture created for a MOMA Christmas card and now found worldwide.
EAT famous for being at the Worlds Fair in NY - had to be taken down because people thought it was a restaurant. The real story is here.
Myself, Valori, Shalimar and Anita at the Breakpoint Lighthouse - we didn't have time to walk all the way to the lighthouse which is about a mile but I've added it to my to do list.
Robert Indiana. I'm officially obsessed with the artist right now. Heading up to Rockland Shalimar had provided an article that talked about his EAT piece but it wasn't until we were at the Farnsworth Museum on Sunday that I really delved into his art work. Maybe I was brought in by the Indiana/Maine connection - but the stories behind his painting and sculptures really moved me...and I'm not normally a person that art moves. If anyone gets a chance to go to a Robert Indiana exhibit I highly recommend attending!
LOVE sculpture created for a MOMA Christmas card and now found worldwide.
EAT famous for being at the Worlds Fair in NY - had to be taken down because people thought it was a restaurant. The real story is here.
Myself, Valori, Shalimar and Anita at the Breakpoint Lighthouse - we didn't have time to walk all the way to the lighthouse which is about a mile but I've added it to my to do list.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
No-Knead Bread
I've tried my hand at making homemade bread a couple of times. The last time I was going for a whole wheat bread and spent the better part of a Sunday kneading and waiting. When it was finally ready at 9:00 pm as soon as I picked up the pans I knew....they weighed a good 10 plus pounds it seemed a piece. A sturdy bread knife was no match for these loaves. Since then I haven't attempted a yeast bread..until now.
This recipe was in the New York Times a while ago and I tried it. This particular recipe is your standard white bread but I'm going to work on adding some herbs in and purchase a sour dough starter from King Arthur (which is the best flour for baking in my opinion).
Enjoy!!
No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery (via the Times)
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
cornmeal as needed *I skipped this and just used flour*
1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
This recipe was in the New York Times a while ago and I tried it. This particular recipe is your standard white bread but I'm going to work on adding some herbs in and purchase a sour dough starter from King Arthur (which is the best flour for baking in my opinion).
Enjoy!!
No-Knead Bread
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery (via the Times)
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
cornmeal as needed *I skipped this and just used flour*
1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Things I love right now...
- Whole Foods Italian Soda - specifically the Cranberry (although it is the only flavor I have tried so it wins by default).
- The paint color in our bathroom. I was unsure at first but Chris put the first coat on today and I love it.
- That it is almost gardening time. We have some stuff in the ground already - but I've been starting seedlings indoors too. This picture is of some Okra we're adding to the garden for our friend George.
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I picked this for my hosting month for the book group I'm in. I loved this book - it was so vivid and descriptive.
- Our fur-baby. She is just the best. We recently spent a weekend fencing in our entire backyard. It has made such a difference to be able to let her run freely. And our back yard looks amazing.
- The paint color in our bathroom. I was unsure at first but Chris put the first coat on today and I love it.
- That it is almost gardening time. We have some stuff in the ground already - but I've been starting seedlings indoors too. This picture is of some Okra we're adding to the garden for our friend George.
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I picked this for my hosting month for the book group I'm in. I loved this book - it was so vivid and descriptive.
- Our fur-baby. She is just the best. We recently spent a weekend fencing in our entire backyard. It has made such a difference to be able to let her run freely. And our back yard looks amazing.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Sunday Musings
So it's been a long time since I wrote a real post. I'm going to take after some other bloggers and do many bullet points (some with photos!)
- The first big news is GP HomeWorks! Chris is officially in business. So if you are in the area and need some work done - please call the best! Seriously, this is very exciting for us - especially in this economy starting a business is difficult but the timing seemed to work out that is was something that needed to be done.
- If you have a couple minutes check out this video. We had our six months of being married on Friday March 13th and Chris made this for me. I thought it was very appropriate!
- The other news is our bathroom renovation is in effect. We (and by we I mean Chris) are midway through and should be finishing within the next week or two. Here are some photos of the transformation. When it's all complete I'll post a full montage of before and afters.
Before:
During Tile:
Tile Complete with New Sink:
- The weather is finally getting to be somewhat nicer out, although we are expecting rain this week. I spent part of this morning outside raking - which is really unheard of for me. I'm not a big fan of yard work but for some reason all week I just wanted to be outside raking.
- The attic. I'm about to go spend an hour in our attic. It's a crazy mess and it's all because of me. Chris had organized it to perfection a little over a year ago. Then between the holidays and the wedding planning I have destroyed it. I've thrown so much stuff up there. We're planning on having a big yard sale next month so my job is to organize the stuff up in the attic. It will also help Chris when he's up there to start renovating and finishing the upstairs so its livable space.
- I just started reading Water for Elephants. I'm not that far in, but I love it so far. I heard really good things about the book and chose it for my book group pick this month. Has anyone out there read it?
- And I'll close with a couple of dog photos!
- The first big news is GP HomeWorks! Chris is officially in business. So if you are in the area and need some work done - please call the best! Seriously, this is very exciting for us - especially in this economy starting a business is difficult but the timing seemed to work out that is was something that needed to be done.
- If you have a couple minutes check out this video. We had our six months of being married on Friday March 13th and Chris made this for me. I thought it was very appropriate!
- The other news is our bathroom renovation is in effect. We (and by we I mean Chris) are midway through and should be finishing within the next week or two. Here are some photos of the transformation. When it's all complete I'll post a full montage of before and afters.
Before:
During Tile:
Tile Complete with New Sink:
- The weather is finally getting to be somewhat nicer out, although we are expecting rain this week. I spent part of this morning outside raking - which is really unheard of for me. I'm not a big fan of yard work but for some reason all week I just wanted to be outside raking.
- The attic. I'm about to go spend an hour in our attic. It's a crazy mess and it's all because of me. Chris had organized it to perfection a little over a year ago. Then between the holidays and the wedding planning I have destroyed it. I've thrown so much stuff up there. We're planning on having a big yard sale next month so my job is to organize the stuff up in the attic. It will also help Chris when he's up there to start renovating and finishing the upstairs so its livable space.
- I just started reading Water for Elephants. I'm not that far in, but I love it so far. I heard really good things about the book and chose it for my book group pick this month. Has anyone out there read it?
- And I'll close with a couple of dog photos!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Takin' a break
I've taken quite the blogging break, but I'm working on a post with what has been going on lately. In the meantime - our sweet doggie!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Our new floor
Chris was hard at work last week putting in the new flooring in the kitchen and the hallway much to my surprise...here are the photos.
Chris midway through the project.
The finished result - facing the office!
The kitchen side.
Chris midway through the project.
The finished result - facing the office!
The kitchen side.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Yummy Brownies
A friend passed this recipe along that she got from an issue of Glamour magazine awhile ago...I made them today for Chris to take to his poker game and they are great! One change I made was that I baked them for 30 minutes instead of 50 and they came out perfect - slightly less cooked in the center which is how I like them.
Recipe:
14T Butter
2T EVOO
8 1 oz squares of bittersweet chocolate
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2T vanilla
1 cup flour
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a double boiler (I don't have one so I just stacked pans and it worked just fine) melt butter, chocolate and EVOO.
In a separate bigger bowl - whisk the eggs. Add the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix well.
Add the melter chocolate mixture and mix well. Fold in the flour. Transfer to a 9x13 pan and bake for 30 minutes. Edges should be slightly crisp with a soft center. Enjoy!
Recipe:
14T Butter
2T EVOO
8 1 oz squares of bittersweet chocolate
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2T vanilla
1 cup flour
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a double boiler (I don't have one so I just stacked pans and it worked just fine) melt butter, chocolate and EVOO.
In a separate bigger bowl - whisk the eggs. Add the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix well.
Add the melter chocolate mixture and mix well. Fold in the flour. Transfer to a 9x13 pan and bake for 30 minutes. Edges should be slightly crisp with a soft center. Enjoy!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Hello Again
It's officially been too long since we've posted anything and the holidays have come and gone. December and the first part of January actually seemed like it lasted forever for me personally. The sickness that everyone seems to have here in Portland caught up with Chris first and then lingered for quite a while with me. The past week is the first week I've truly felt 100%.
The biggest news and best present we could have received was from my brother Peter who brought to us a new member of our family. Peter got married on December 26h to a wonderful woman named Chie (pronounced Chee-a - long a).Here is a photo of the happy newlyweds!
So first some Christmas photos:
This was our tree with the amazing tree skirt that my mom made us for Christmas (we exchanged gifts while we were home for Thanksgiving). As you can see Katana enjoyed a few presents underneath the tree...
These are our little families stockings...the littlest one is for our turtle Red - as soon as his new filter system comes in we'll take an updated photo of him (one of the power outages killed his old one).
Our friends George and Rusty brought over a little present so we could turn Katana into one of Santa's helpers!
And this somewhat blurry photo I just love...mostly because my love is in it :-)
Here is the face you get when you put peanut butter on your dog's nose - we had a slow Friday night a week ago!
And this photo is just too cute!
Hope everyone is staying warm in these freezing temps that have seemed to grip much of the northern part of the United States!
The biggest news and best present we could have received was from my brother Peter who brought to us a new member of our family. Peter got married on December 26h to a wonderful woman named Chie (pronounced Chee-a - long a).Here is a photo of the happy newlyweds!
So first some Christmas photos:
This was our tree with the amazing tree skirt that my mom made us for Christmas (we exchanged gifts while we were home for Thanksgiving). As you can see Katana enjoyed a few presents underneath the tree...
These are our little families stockings...the littlest one is for our turtle Red - as soon as his new filter system comes in we'll take an updated photo of him (one of the power outages killed his old one).
Our friends George and Rusty brought over a little present so we could turn Katana into one of Santa's helpers!
And this somewhat blurry photo I just love...mostly because my love is in it :-)
Here is the face you get when you put peanut butter on your dog's nose - we had a slow Friday night a week ago!
And this photo is just too cute!
Hope everyone is staying warm in these freezing temps that have seemed to grip much of the northern part of the United States!
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