silly silhouettes

I absolutely adore silhouettes. More so than usual lately. Normally they seem so prim and proper, but these off the Jonathan Adler website are just so darling. Custom silhouettes with cute little phrases underneath. I especially love the dog silhouette, and the phrase fits perfectly for pebbles. She just hates to poop in the rain. So funny! I think this may just have to be my next art project for the house.

the life of a lawyer...

A paralegal, an associate and a partner of a prestigious law firm are walked on their way lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out in a puff of smoke.

The Genie says, "I usually only grant three wishes, so I'll give each of you one."

"Me first!" says the paralegal. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world."

Poof. He's gone.

"Me next!" says the associate. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of pina coladas and the love of my life."

Poof! She's gone.

"You're next," says the Genie to the Partner.

The partner says, "I want those two back in the library after lunch."

prints & posters i love

vespa silhouette by lepapierstudio on etsy

the anatomy of a gingerbread man by http://web.mac.com/moistproduction/flash/index.html

www.keepcalmgallery.com

couples print from www.shoptwine.com

linocut by tinatarnoff on www.etsy.com

Trip Planning

Michael and I love to travel. That may be an understatement. Love is almost not a strong enough word. When it comes to getting gifts for each other, we live by the belief that there is no better gift than a plane ticket. Who needs diamonds or designer bags, when the only place you've ever taken them to is to the movie theater or the mall in your home town? To understand our passion is to travel with us.

When we were wedding planning everyone asked us what we were getting each other as presents. We laughed and thought that was silly to spend money on separate gifts for each other. To us getting married was enough and our honeymoon was enough of a present. So we went all the way and spent two weeks in Italy and Greece with a weekend in Miami at the end. My 28th birthday was 6 months later, so for our 6 month wedding anniversary and 9 year dating anniversary. We got ourselves a trip to Paris and London. For our 1 year wedding anniversary we went back to Vietnam. Inbetween our trips to Italy/Greece, Paris/London and Vietnam we went to Houston, Dallas, Wyoming, and California.

Well, this year has been a little more disappointing on the travel end. For my birthday I got a purse and shoes and for our 10 year dating anniversary we got an iPad. While those are nice things, they are just things. And in the end not that exciting if they don't get to be used somewhere exciting. But not for long. This year Michael is turning the big 3-0. So our big plan this year - besides our scheduled trips to San Francisco/Yosemite National Park, Kansas City, Chicago and hopefully New York - is a trip to Spain. Ever since I saw the movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona I have been dreaming of Barcelona. We're thinking Madrid, Seville, Granada, and Barcelona. I think may have found the perfect deal for a 9 day trip - RT airfare, hotels in each city, and train tickets to each city all for a fabulous $1500/person. Hopefully the tax man deposits our money quick, so I can book our tickets soon. More details to follow. :-)

Spring Decorating Fix

With Spring comes this need in me to redecorate or start decorating again. So it's time to start planning some painting projects. I realize that I love wallpaper, but since I hate the idea of putting up wallpaper and the possibility of taking down wallpaper, I've found an alternative that I cannot wait to try. I am going to stencil an all over pattern in our bedroom and my craft room (which is not being used and has not been set up yet). Some inspiring photos I found on apartment therapy:




So I went ahead and bought some stencils on etsy from maisondestencil. I am going to use this one in our bedroom on the purple wall. I'm thinking of doing tone on tone with a difference in the finish. The wall is currently a deep flat purple. This will be stenciled on in a purple gloss to give it a subtle but rich look.


Next is my craft room which has yet to be set up. Right now our old apartment living room furniture is sitting in the room. I use the room to store my craft supplies and wrap presents. We painted the walls yellow this summer. So now I'm thinking of stenciling on one of the yellow walls with the pattern below in either a white or gray. I think the contrast will look absolutely lovely. Can't wait.

Now I just have to wait for the mail. So ready to get started. I know Michael is not.

Thanksgiving

Our first turkey. Michael did an incredible job.

The carving station, and in the background our first Christmas tree together. A skinny prelit 9 foot wonder decked out in red, silver and white ornaments.

The sides.

After the meal we (my family and I) all sat and watched the movie Up. But Michael cleaned up instead. By the time the movie was over he had cleaned up as if Thanksgiving had never happened. So wonderful. :-)

countdown to thanksgiving

Michael and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year for my family. People seem to go crazy about the idea of hosting and doing all the cooking, but honestly this seems not to be a terribly big deal right now. Admittedly, we are only cooking for six, but we are still doing a 14 lb bird, 7 sides, and dessert - so it's not like we're skimping. The menu for tomorrow is:

Garlic and Herb Roasted Turkey
Cognac Sweet Potatoes
Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes and Parsnips
Braised Brussel Sprouts
Sweet Corn and Herbs
Orange-Ginger Mint Cranberry Sauce
Turkey Sausage and Apple Stuffing
Bacon Macaroni and Cheese
Fresh Pear Pie

I just finished my pear pie, now on to boiling the potatoes. Unfortunately, we still have to make another trip to Wal-Mart, ugggh.

dinner and dessert

I got home from work late tonight and look what Michael had waiting for me...lamb chops with green beans and rice. Yummy. He's so sweet.

So as I said a couple entries ago, I had to make two cakes this weekend, my famous Chocolate Guinness Cake ala Nigella Lawson (but I modified her recipe to suit my taste) with delicious whipped almond cream frosting and a German Chocolate Cake. I made the cakes so that Michael's boss' wife could taste them and choose which to order for her dad's birthday. She chose the Chocolate Guinness.

It is Michael's favorite. He loves my whipped frosting. The perfect balance of sweetness and lightness. :-)

The German Chocolate Cake was surprisingly tasty though. The topping and filling is a toasted coconut and pecan mixture and the frosting is similar to a chocolate ganache. Michael was surprised that it wasn't sickeningly sweet, and oh so moist. It is definitely a recipe to add to my recipe book. Thank you, David Liebovitz.

So Wednesday I will be making another Chocolate Guiness Cake, and I think I will test a new recipe this week...either carrot cake or an apple galette. I'm leaning towards the latter.

happy halloween

i'm baaack!

So it's been a long time since I've posted anything...mainly because I lost interest in keeping up with this blog. What's the point, right? Well, I decided it doesn't really matter if there is a point. As of lately, I've been starting to feel a little blah, like I have no purpose. So I have had to invent small purposes. Work is often all consuming. No one said being an attorney, and although I love my job, I don't really want to be defined by it. I want to be known for more than that. So I've given myself other things to do and accomplish outside of daily work tasks.

1. Complete a marathon: This has been a bit troublesome. First, because I hate running. Second, because I got injured recently. But I'm determined to check this off my list if it kills me. I will probably push my marathon date to April, but either way it's happening. No matter what. Call me crazy, but hey I am, right? I'm a lawyer, and you have to be a little crazy to want to be a lawyer. :-) So I'm running with a purpose...the purpose is to accomplish something I thought was impossible - something I didn't even like. And along the way hope to discover something myself I didn't know. Although I can't say I love to run, I can say it does provide me a lot of opportunity to think and dream. There is something really solitary about running that is nice. But for right now what I'm discovering is that that I'm very susceptible to shin splits.
   
2. Compile a set of tried and true recipes: I love to bake. And I think I'm pretty good at it. I mean Michael has pretty discriminating tastes, but when I put one of my cakes in front of him he's like a fat kid....it's funny...the whole thing is gone. Before I just baked when I was bored or when I had an occasion to make something. Now I bake with a purpose. I bake to compile a set of recipes in my book. A book of my baking standards that I can come to whenever I need to make something. A book of things that people request and long for and lick their lips thinking about. Basics like chocolate cake, apple pie, red velvet cake, etc. I hand write my recipes in my book, and I imagine some day my kids or grandkids will look at my book and it will bring back tasty memories. Tonight I'm testing a german chocolate cake recipe because Michael's boss' wife made a request for a cake for her father's birthday on Thursday.
   
3. Read for fun: I love to read. Sometimes I forget how much I love to read. When I was a kid I used to read three or four books a week. Remember, that Sequoyah Book List - well, I had to read all those books. And I had to be the first to read them all. Well, now I read depositions and briefs. I read things that are arguably thought provoking, but they are not always enjoyable. So I decided to read with a purpose. I joined a book club - Books & Brunch and am picking up my first book tonight - The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. And my new list of books to complete is the New York Times Best Book of the Year Lists. There's about 10 books named a year, so not that many really. I'm starting with 1997 and working my way up. I'm thinking of starting with Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer or maybe American Pastoral by Philip Roth. Nonfiction or fiction, that is the question.
   

Now I just have to wait for Michael to come home so we can pick up everything so I can get started on my next cake. Interestingly, I don't really have a sweet tooth. I don't even crave any of the sweets I make. It's enough that other people do. And I suppose it's a good thing I don't, because otherwise I might be 300 lbs already.

teal + gray

We have been painting our new house and I have to say that I selected some bold colors. This is highly uncharacteristic of me. That is especially so I find with Asians in general. Walk into your typical Asian home and you will find neutrals everywhere, multiple shades of white and off whites on the wall with white crown molding. Very blah if you ask me. I need to feel inspired at home. So with that mindset I have been on a journey of color. We have a red/gray office now with a high gloss white conference style table and black and white chairs. A master bedroom with three pale pale gray walls and an accent wall behind the bed that is deep bold purple. The room is currently accented by whites and silvers. I will add touches of black, gray and pops of yellow. And now we're working on the teal/gray guest room and my yellow studio/craft room. Above are some of my inspirations for the guest room so you get the idea. We just painted the walls, and I am adjusting to the drastic color change. We painted the top half of the wall gray and the bottom half teal and there will be a white stripe across the center dividing the two colors. Can't wait to get furniture in the room and start decorating it up. I will post pics of the other rooms we've done in our home soon. :-)

playing for change

song in my head

fast forward

June has been a crazy month. Went to Houston for a wedding. Closed on a new house. Went to Jackson Hole for a wedding. Still slowly packing/unpacking, purchasing, painting and rearranging. And heading off to Vietnam in a few days. Jackson Hole was amazing! Best wedding ever. So beautiful and so much fun. And met some really awesome people. I'm hoping Paul has some great pics to share. I will have to scan in our crazy polaroids from the the reception. They were too funny.

One thing that is not going so well is my marathon training, with all the stuff going on. But I managed to run this morning so maybe things are going to start looking up.

What's funny is it is exactly one year since we moved into our apartment, now we're moving to a new house. It's crazy to think about how much has happened this year. The trips, the dinner parties, and all the lazy Sunday afternoons. It has definitely been an interesting year.

embarrassing addiction

summer time

Summer time has come a lot faster than I expected. It's already June. We're going to Dallas, Houston then Jackson, Wyoming this month. We're closing on our new house and moving in this month. Next month we're going to Vietnam and picking up our new dog. And then August is our 1 year anniversary and hopefully we'll be done with our house so that we can have a housewarming/anniversary party.

my baby

Also this month, Pebbles is turning 7. I can't believe it, my baby is getting so old. I can still remember when I brought her home from the shelter. She was just 7 weeks old and 3 lbs. I could hold her with one hand. Fortunately she still acts as spunky as ever. :-)

Because Pebbles is getting older and we're buying a new house, it's time for a new dog. We are adopting a dog through an affenpinscher rescue. His name is Max, he is two years old, and he is the one the middle with the super cheesy smile. We went to Kansas City over memorial day weekend so Pebbles and Max could meet. They had a super fun time.

Little Max.

After Pebbles, we really fell in love with affenpinschers. They are really smart and super inquisitive. They have a real mind of their own. They are monkey dogs. They can walk on their back legs like little monkeys. And they have little gorilla faces. Affens are also super friendly. Nothing phases affens. They come up to anything and everything - big dog or small dog - all ready to play. I can't wait to take our new dog home. :-)

must have: living room rug

After careful consideration I have decided on a rug for our new living room.  What do you think? We wanted something that would really pop in the room, and I really think this may be the one. With this graphic print and color we can easily design the room around it.  We're planning on a deep velvety soft mocha brown sofa from cB2, and I'm in still in search of two white chairs.  I found some amazing ones from Horchow, but they were way out of our price range.   

quick recap: homemade dinners

lemon pasta with chicken (dinner with Steven/Mindy's family)

stuffed pork chops with lemon pasta (dinner with Jed/Christine)
obviously made the same week...had left over supplies so we made the same pasta.

Our homemade version of a Qdoba classic

One of my absolute favorites. Grilled flank steak with a diced garlic wine sauce. That stuff on the steak...it's garlic. :-) (Dinner with the Muckalas)

A lazy Saturday lunch at home....marsala wine, garlic and caper chicken with pan fried sticky rice and arugula salad. We had to use up the chicken and arugula.

back to basics: cubed flank steak stir fry with broccoli and rice. yum!

point of no return

We finished up negotiations on repairs with the seller on our house, and unless the appraisal doesn't go well there is no turning back at this point. We are pretty much locked in. It's scaring me a little bit. Buying a house is so official. And while I know that I love it, I will definitely miss our high rise apartment overlooking the city. It's just so wonderful to wake up to so much natural light. I will definitely miss the gym and indoor pool downstairs. Training for my marathon is going to be rough when I have to drive to a gym to do my cross training.

Confusion

Recently, on the Today Show they put a dollar figure to how much a stay at home mom should make a year should you put a dollar value to her work. Now shows do this all the time, and frankly I'm confused. I'm confused as to what it is that is so amazing and hard about the work of a stay at home mom. Now I mean no offense to my stay at home mom friends, many of which are honestly up to their eyeballs in work that I could not imagine doing - like my friend who is the mother of 4 month old triplets. But for others it is just that I have a hard time understanding. You see I come from a different place, a place with a different set of expectations and examples. My mom worked. And because of what I know about her, about how hard she worked, about how tired I am when I get home and I don't have three kids to deal with....

Growing up my mom did everything. She worked a full time job. Cooked from scratch dinners at night four out of five nights a week. Washed the dishes and never left a single dish in the sink before she went to bed. On Fridays we went out to eat as a family to give her a break. On Saturdays she woke up at 6am. Cleaned the bathrooms. Cleaned the kitchen. Did laundry for 5 people. Cooked a bigger meal than usual, one that would take hours to prepare. Changed the sheets. Mopped the floors. Vacuumed. Even went to church and went grocery shopping. On Sundays she would make us breakfast and relax the rest of the day watching movies or taking us shopping and then make a big Sunday dinner.

So you see, you can't fault me for not understanding the plight of a stay at a home mom. My mom did all the things a stay at home mom did and more often then not she did it better. She didn't complain. She didn't talk about how hard it was to be a mom or how exhausted she was with everything she had to do. She simply did it. So when I hear stay at home moms complain about how busy they are or how tired they are, when they don't cook or wash the dishes the every night I'm confused. I'm confused not only because I had to work all day - sometimes until 8 or 9pm and still wash the dishes and do my laundry - but really confused because I saw my mom do all that and more with three kids and a husband. :-)