gee..thanks...

so umm..apparently the leader of the richest, most powerful country in the world is a crappy gifter. president obama met with prime minister brown this week and had some kind of leader-y summit thing and they gave each other some presents. well, brown gave some really well thought out gifts to the obama's and their children. a cool pen made from the wood from some historical anti-slave ship, plus a commissioned painting of the same ship, and a 7-volume copy of a winston churchill biography (which to me is a little lame b/c if obama is meant to sit around and watch 7 volumes of anything it better be a how-to-fix-our-broke-ass-nation-DVD). but someone (probably mrs. brown) had the wise idea to get little miss sasha and malia some top shop outfits. holla!! hell yeah she did! smart woman. the obama's, on the other hand, took an "oh shit we need gifts for the brown's children too?!??!" approach and gave them what seemed to be a last minute dash for the gift shop gift...two models of the presidential helicopter, marine one!!!!!! WTF?!?! brown received a 25 dvd box set of american movies. LAME-O!! the guy apparently doesn't even watch movies.
oh well...i hope you have a great weekend!

weekend project

nope, not my weekend project..YOUR weekend project. i am calling on all you design savvy bloggers and readers of blogs to help me decide what in tarnation to do with my antique sideboard/buffet. i had posted about it last month. specifically to summerize it or just maybe b/c i feel its too dark and want something a little lighter? the dining room its in is painted benjamin moore's silver satin which is exactly as it sounds. in certain light it looks pale gray and other times it looks white. in the post i showed some of the things i would like to see on it...of course they are not set in stone and am open to any and all ideas. please send pictures too!!

here is something that caught my eye on the lavender fields website

while i don't think the color would work with the walls in my dining room it is the lightness i want i think. it doesn't blow me away either...its pretty.

here is a picture of the sideboard now

i aim to replace the cheapo lamps so don't let those guide you in any way.

thanks friends. have a great weekend...working for me.

sheets as slipcovers

works for me!!

jamie issue 2

well folks- issue #2 of the best cookery magazine out there is on its way to the states. when...? i can't say as i have no idea the protocol of things for when a foreign magazine comes out in its own country to then be shipped to ours (america that is). hopfully soon! its such a great one. firstly its not overflowing with recipes that half of which you will never cook. there are a few well selected, real home cooking type choices. as well as something dedicated to another country's cuisine, at least the first one did-time will tell if this is a regular thing. there is also a cool pull out menu for a weeks worth of dinners. essentially its a big, gorgeous poster full of recipes!! and my favorite bit, is that it has jamie's hand all over it. it is definitely his magazine and if you watch his show and have followed him, as i have, since his beginnings with the naked chef you can see and feel his passion for food. from farm to table he is involved and to me that is what its all about. this magazine is based on that approach to cooking. so if you haven't already seen issue #1, go to your local bookstore and get it (if its not already gone). if not then go and get issue #2 when it comes out. ask the folks who work there to order it for the store if they don't have it.

no...MY french life!

this woman stole something from me and i think you should go here and find out what it is.

and don't just look at the pictures...you must read the text to get the true jist of the crime.

douche

here

we've come a long way

remember when dyeing easter eggs consisted of a few scattered bowls, some "magic" tablets, a little vinegar and a metal wire contraption that never worked? does the name 'paas' ring a bell?

well move over archaic egg coloring techniques...

lookie here-

williams-sonoma has this cute kit. do we get the chicken with it or do we have to make it from an egg?

and here..ukranian egg decorating. pretty. and pretty difficult looking. especially since i still haven't mastered the metal egg dipper. plus i don't think my 4 year old has the patience for these just yet. but still these are quite fancy and lovely.

and this one is from hearth song. not sure what's so special about the kit but i dig the fancy egg tree. i do hate that i never have a place for the egg to dry and thus the egg acquires a weird blob of saturated color. although maybe i could buy this, which as you know i think is just about the cutest thing ever.

i think we will still do the matrix looking tablets and wire thingy this year. we might have to add a dora sticker or ten. but it is afterall the being together that counts most. right?

the end of a snowy day

-calls for a hot soak!



here is my favorite bath salt recipe for relaxing and soothing dried out winter skin.

2 cups coarse-grained salt (kosher, sea, epsom-whatever you have on hand)

1 cup baking soda

1 cup powdered nonfat milk

20 drops lavender essential oil

1/4 cup sweet almond oil

a scoop or two of dried lavender buds and/or chamomile flowers



mix all ingredients together in a glass or porcelain bowl. store in an airtight glass jar/container. scoop out and sprinkle into a bath, mix it all around. i use about 3 scoops (or handfuls). this should last you up to a year.
after a day like today i plan on taking one!

a snowy day

well...it DID snow! and as promised here is a picture taken from our yard into the neighbor's yard (hi jeff!). it is really coming down hard and fast. ginormous flakes too.

after playing in it for five minutes, i am a southern girl after all, it was time to come inside and plan dinner. methinks i shall roast a chicken. with rice for my husband who loves it and sauteed cabbage for me. to me that is ultimately the best kind of food on a cold winters day. homey and full of flavor. a few glasses of wine and a movie after the little one goes to bed and this will have been quite a perfect day.

whereas tomorrow starts day one of my cleansing fast. gads. i am not looking forward to water and lemon instead of coffee and cream, almond and blueberry smoothies instead of eggs and toast, miso soup and water for dinner. sounds miserable doesn't it? well, it is afterall to help my liver clean out all of the gunk. and a bonus is i KNOW my skin will look amazing after a day or two. so i am going to enjoy my buttery roast chicken and wine tonight like its my very last meal ever. for tomorrow i will most likely be unbearably hungry and not someone you want to know. i shall be interested to see what direction this blog goes in for the next coupl'a.

shameless self promotion

last night i did some improv down at the village theatre. it had been quite some time since i had. i helped start an improv company back in '94 ( i was a baby of 24) called whole world theatre. i performed there for 9 years. apart from now those were the best years of my life. i enjoyed many successes there. in 2002 i left to explore other things- one thing i explored was being a big fat pregnant woman and pooping out a kid! well, 7 years later i was ready to get back in it. it seemed logical for me go to village b/c it didn't feel like going back, ya know? nothing against whole world, and in fact i would still do a show there too-but i needed it to feel...new and different and somehow more challenging. well i had a ton of fun and it felt great to get my feet wet again. can't wait for next weeks shows. unlike whole world, village is a very new company...a baby! they don't charge admission, its more a give what you can fee. don't be mislead by that though. the cast is as good as any i have ever worked with (in fact some of them are old students of mine) and i have worked with loads of extremely funny and talented people, some of the best in improv. they could easily charge as much as thier competition. they also don't have their liquor license so its byob (which while not convenient would save money for you in the long run).

anyway...come down and see a show!! i hope to be in this saturday's. click on the village theatre link for more info. hope to see you there!