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Okay- so I know it’s already late on Wednesday but I didn’t get a chance to post about all the fun things that happened LAST weekend, so here goes:  Saturday was a great day of hitting some thrift shops. You see, I’ve been in the market for some old vintage-y pillowcases to make my darling neighbor a pillowcase dress. After several thrift shops I finally found a pillowcase. Vintage? No. Unless Ikea counts as Vintage.  Who knew they were so hard to find? A super-cinch to make- It didn’t take more than 45-minutes. It was nice to be able to start & finish a project in that ammount of time. These dresses have been around for ages. Mom even recalls making them when I was small. After some blog digging, I did find a site with great instructions: here so, off! Go make some dresses! The only thing I would change, is to add a few more inches to the bias tape for the shoulder ties.

By the way- I did find some wonderful treasures on Saturday- some beautiful childrens books from the 30’s & 40’s for Henry as well as a really cool pair of shoes…in just my right size, 10 (that never happens!)

Saturday night, we had the pleasure of having Russ & Heidi over for dinner and "Settlers of Catan". I am proud to annouce that I am the current "Lord of Catan" (the winner, that is) Yes, I’ll admit- I didn’t even try or mean to win- I was just building some roads & before you know it,  I got "the longest road" card which gave me an additional 2 points and edged me right in front of Heidi (who was slayted to win all along) and was I was pronounced "Lord of  Catan".. (I’ll never let them know, though..that really had no clue what I was doing!)

Monday we headed down South to help my 82 year old grammie get her house packed up & ready for the movers who will be coming in a few weeks. She has this beautiful "crazy quilt" in her entrance that her Mother, Ava, made. My great-grandma Ava died about 5 years or so ago. Maybe it wasn’t that long- I can’t remember but I think she was 100..maybe 101? Anyway- can you imagine living to be 100? She made this crazy quilt in the 20’s/30’s and I am totally in love with it and had to restrain my self from slipping it into my car before we left. I simply adore the polka-dots! The red/creme ones are such a wonderful addition to the quilt. All the embroidery/stitching is done by hand. I thought it was beautiful and thought you would, too!

Here’s what was on tonights dinner menu. Cherry Chicken Lettuce Wraps & Coconut Rice. This recipe will serve 2 if you are making it as a main course, or 4 for an appetizer. I can’t remember where I found these recipes (I think allrecipes?) but they are super simple and easy on the eyes (ha ha ha). The meal was ready in about 45 minutes. I prefer to use "Butter Lettuce" when making wraps because they have a great natural curl to them. Also, the recipe calls for fresh cherries, which the local grocery store had but they were over $4 a lb– eekk, so I whipped out my handy dandy dried ranier cherries from Trader Joes and they worked great! Enjoy!

Cherry Chicken Lettuce Wraps

• 2 Tbsp Canola Oil
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger root
• 1 1/4 lbs chicken, cooked & cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
• 2 Tbsp Teryaki Sauce
• 1 Tbsp Honey
• 1 lb dark sweet cherries, pitted & halved
• 1 1/4 C shredded carrots
• 1/2 C chopped green onion
• 1/3 C toasted & sliced almonds
• 12 leaves of Lettuce

Directions:

• Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil over med-high heat. Add ginger & chicken. Sautee 7-10 minutes. Set aside
• In a large bowl wisk together: 1 Tbsp oil, vinegar, teryaki sauce & honey. Add in chicken, cherries, carrot, green onion & almonds
• Toss together & serve w/ lettuce

Coconut Rice

• 1 (14oz can) coconut milk
• 1 1/4 C Water
• 1 tsp sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 C uncooked jasmine rice (or long grain will work)
• Sweetened coconut

Directions:

• In a saucepan, combine coconut milk, water, sugar and salt. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in Rice. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 18-20 minutes. Serve with sprinkled coconut on top.

Our little ninja baby decided to climb out of his crib on Sunday afternoon, resulting in a broken collarbone. He cried at first but seemed fine, so we thought he was okay. Monday, he wouldn’t crawl or use his right side to do anything and by the end of the day was so fussy we took him to the emergency room. (Yes, we waited 24 hours..eek! We are hoping Child Services doesn’t show up on our doorstep) Our first trip there and hopefully not a sign of things to come. The emergency room experience wasn’t too bad, and Henry even got a purple-popsicle out of it. At the hospital we’d say to Henry "We are so sad you have a busted chicken wing!"…upon hearing the word "chicken" he promptly put his other arm under his armpit and danced like a chicken. A one winged chicken. Sigh.

A trip to the zoo was in order and so we went yesterday. It was a great (and hot) day here in LA but so nice to get out as a family. Because Henry can’t crawl, he’s being forced to walk and therefore is getting really good at it. I thought he wouldn’t have the balance but he is getting along great. (Aren’t the plaid shoes to die for?) I overheard another kid look at us and say "Look! That little boy doesn’t have an arm!"

Sorry for no recipe posting this week. Will be sure to post a new one on Sunday!

Hope you have a wonderful (and accident free) weekend!

I came across this on another blog and knew it had to be passed along. This site is hilarious. You upload a photo of yourself & it tells you what celebrity you look like. We did Henry a few times and each time, it came up with these old men (whom we had never heard of) I think it’s because he has no real hair yet. I did a few different photos of me – one came up as Sally Field…Sally Field? Yes, its’ true. Who do you look like?  Have a good weekend.

Edited to say,  I just found this– so so funny. It gave me a GOOD Laugh!

Monday was a bit of a crazy & stressful day. I have decided that now is going to be a time for me to determine how to best use my skills and talents to focus my energy on doing something that is creatively fufilling. I have so many thoughts & ideas, but it feels like there’s never the time… so I am dedicating the next few months to making time! In the chaos of things, it’s always reassuring to know that I’ve got this sweet mug staring back at me. How can I not feel at ease with all the craziness in our lives when I look at this guy? It just makes me realize that alot of things in life change, but we have family and good health and those are the things that really matter. Somehow we manage to get through the rest, right?

Monday was the last night of my sewing class (by the way I did make out with a sweet Viking on Saturday- Thank you Russell!!). I am so excited to take Russells next class in the Fall and learn all the complex sewing techniques like how do to sleeves (ok I am sure they aren’t that complex). I’ve been busy sewing a few things and will post those later this week.

Her:

… I am LOVING her… Madeleine Peyroux she has been compared to the likes of Billie Holiday and she has an amazing sound (I think I was born in the wrong decade- I am such a lush for this kind of music) You can take a listen to "Don’t Wait Too Long" here. Lucky for me, I noticed she is playing at UCLA in October. It’s been too long since I’ve been to a good show and I am excited to see her live.

Also, I have decided to open a little shop here on the blog… stay tuned- I’m hoping to have it up and running in the next few months.

We had the lovely & fantastic Betsey & Richard over for dinner tonight.  It has been so hot and I was feeling in the mood for something lighter, something that I didn’t have to spend hours in a hot kitchen making.  I originally got this recipe from my Mom and it’s probably one of my most favorite salads ever (next to the ever simple, and my all-time favorite Wedge Salad). It’s a big hit for any men in your life too because it’s a hearty salad full of chicken, bacon & cheese (among other yummy things)…back me up, Richard…am I right or am I right? We served it with corn on the cobb and crescent rolls.

Now when it comes to rolls, I consider myself  BPC (Bread Product Challenged). I can make just about any food… unless it’s in the bread family. I don’t know what my problem is. The countless & countless batches of rolls that I have tried to make…don’t even get me started. I decided to give it another try tonight. I said, "Chris, I’m going to make rolls" "Good for you for not giving up" he says. "Well, I don’t actually know if they are going to turn out so don’t get your hopes up." To which he replied "Oh, don’t worry I’m not".  The pressure was off, since a certain someone didn’t have high hopes for the rolls working out anyway- and I must admit neither did I. It was time to turn to Jennie’s "’FOOLPROOF CRESCENT ROLLS". Foolproof? Does said Jennie know that I am BPC? Apparently not and what a disaster it would be if even I couldn’t get the "foolproof" rolls to work. Talk about pressure… I get sweaty palms just thinking about it.

We’ll I am happy to announce I had my first successful batch of rolls turn out tonight…we’ll sort of. A certain amateur roll maker didn’t tuck the ends of the crescent rolls down under the roll so they just puffed up into little ferret looking animals peeking over wood logs. Come on- admit it- that one on the bottom right looks just like a little ferret. At least we all (okay mostly just me) got a good laugh. They tasted great and I’m so glad they worked out. Phew!

For dessert, we had a warm Triple Berry Crisp with Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream. It was the perfect summer dessert and there was even some extra that made it’s way up to Mick & Emily (I should not be left alone with a pan of that stuff!)

I’m including the recipes for the Westwood Salad & the Triple Berry Crisp (unless anyone wants a recipe that makes your bread products look like little animals).

Happy Cooking!

The Westwood Salad- Serves 10

• 3-4 Cooked Chicken Breasts cut into cubes
• 1/2 lb Turkey Bacon (or you can use regular bacon), cooked & sliced
• 1/2 C Craisins (if you live near a Trader Joes- get the Orange Flavored Craisins)
• 1/2 C Nuts (any kind will do- we used Almonds tonight- but use whatever you have)
• 1 C Mozarella Cheese, grated (again, you can use a different cheese if you want)
• Mixed Greens (I usually use a combination of Romain & one of the European Blends)

Dressing

• 1/4 Bermuda Onion
• 1/2 C Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 C Sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Dry Mustard

Blend the dressing in a food processor until smooth. Add to the mixed salad. You will not use all of the dressing- just add a little at a time until it feels right to you.

Tripple Berry Crisp

• 6 Cups of Fruit (I used a combination of blueberries, raspberries & strawberries but you could do all blueberries or whatever combination you like)
• 4 Tbsp  Sugar

Mix the fruit & the sugar in a bowl & set aside

• 2 C Flour
• 2 C Oats
• 1 1/2 C Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Apple Pie Spice mix (or a combo of cinnamon & nutmeg)
• 1  C Butter

Combine all of the ingredients & cut in the butter with a pastry knife or put it in a food processor. Press 1/2 of the Oat mixture into the bottom of a 9"x13" pan. Put the fruit mixture on top & sprinkle the remaining oat mixture on top. Cook at 350 for 45 minutes, or until crisp & bubbly.

I’ve desperately been feeling the need to "create" something this week, and I don’t know what the latest fascination with flowers is, but I was happy to sit down & make this while vegging out on the couch and catching up on some quality TiVo. This paper flower is huge (just the way I like them) at about 5" across.  I wonder, would I look too kooky having this thing pinned to me that rivals the circumference of my head? It may have to sit happily pinned to a bag of some sorts.

I’m thrilled that it’s  Friday- it’s been a very stressful few weeks. Chris & I are going out on a date tonight (Thank you Mick & Emily for watching Henry!) and are hoping to hit the Flower District on Saturday. Maybe, just maybe, pick up the newest addition to our family… little Miss Viking from The Sewing Arts Center… Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

I’ve been thinking of adding a column to my blog that will feature a new recipe every week. I’m always on the look-out for new things to make for dinner- so I thought I’d share what we had for dinner tonight. I made this recipe up, so it doesn’t have a name, hmm maybe I should think of one? We’ll call it "SUNDAY PASTA" since this is a quick -dish we have made on many Sundays (so unoriginal I know!)

I hope I am not missing any key steps or ingredients! This recipe is very forgiving, so measurements don’t have to be exact. If you want to scale back on the butter and oil- you can, it’s still good, but don’t omit both- the combination of the two is really good!! I hope you enjoy!!

SUNDAY PASTA

Recipe serves 6

• 1 1/2 lbs of Pasta (we usually use spaghetti, but you can use whatever you have on hand)
• 4-6 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
• 4-6 Tbsp Oil (use the oil that the sun-dried tomatos are packed in)
• 4-5 Chicken Breasts (raw), cut into cubes
• 3 Tbsp Minced Garlic
• 1/4- 1/2 C Lemon Juice
• 1 C Olives (Kalmata or Black), chopped or sliced
• 1 C Sun-dried tomatoes packed in Oil, sliced
• 1/2 C chopped parsley
• Parmesan Cheese

Directions:  Cook pasta according to package directions. In a large sautee pan, melt the butter & olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken & cook 3-4 minutes or until done.  Add the garlic & cook for 1 minute (any more than that and it will burn). Add the lemon juice, olives & sun-dried tomatos. When the pasta is done cooking, drain & add to mixture. Toss well. Add parsley & parmesan just before serving.

I’ve just realized that every photo I have with Emily pretty much looks like this. She always holds the camera because she said the has the "long arm" which is true. If you ever meet Emily in real life, you’ll see what I am talking about.  Her left arm is about a foot longer than her right. It’s simply amazing. I think it just may be the 8th wonder of the world.

Here we are in the Fashion District, downtown LA. We were both wandering around- wondering why we didn’t make it over there sooner.

It’s kind of overwhelming, the Fashion District- bolts & bolts of fabric, and soo much ribbon- you just don’t even know where to start!

But there was LOTS of ‘sparkly’ stuff and a certain "Russell" should be very proud!

I look like I belong on Dance Fever or something. What are these things? Some leg-warmer project gone horribly wrong? Maybe someone just had a little too much time after the holidays.

So Emily & I made out with some really really great fabric. We went into this place and they had all this linen fabric built up like a log cabin. We wanted to see some bolts that were wedged in the bottom and we were told we’d have to come back in a 1/2 hour so they could ‘de-construct’ said cabin and pull it out. So sad.. but in the end, we were able to get the fabric we wanted, sans any de-construction.

I think this is one of my most favorite purchases of the day.  I love this. I thought it would make such a fantastic table cloth or tote, or who knows. The possibilities are endless. It reminds me so much of a similar tablecloth that I picked up at the Brimfield Antique/Flea Market that used to take place out in Western Massachusetts. I’m sure that those must exist somewhere out here… it’s just a matter of finding it. I hear that the flea markets that happen at the Rose Bowl are to die for.

Today is the 20th and that means that Henry is 14-months old. What is this 14-month old up to? Well, he’s got 14 teeth. These months are flying by. It’s been a little bit of a rough week for this little guy. He climbed out of his highchair when I had my back turned and toppled head-first onto the kitchen floor, the little egg between his eyes seems like it’s starting to disappear. He slipped & hit his mouth on the corner of the coffee table. We thought all was fine until his mouth started to fill with blood. I thought for sure, he knocked out one of his teeth, but he just bit the inside of his lip. Blood on the onesie-  looked like he had just been in a little battle- what a tough guy! He seems like he’s doing okay now. Unfortunately- until he learns to walk…I think this might be happening alot!

Tonight was week #2 in our beginners sewing class. We learned how to read patterns, pinned them down and cut them out. Next week the actual sewing begins!

So this is the fantastic Russell that you have all inquired about. Isn’t he/she fabulous (see photo)? He’s not as big chested in real life-(and I can’t say I’ve ever seen him in a pink & orange bikini) but he can occasionally be seen wearing an orange lei. HA! There is a big quilters thing going on at sewing/fabric stores throughout California & The Sewing Arts Center is participating with a Hawaiian theme…if you couldn’t tell. The entire store is decked out with paper umbrella’s,  tiki torches, grass skirts (which Russell briefly modeled) and this great life-size cut out. If you live in the LA area, it’s definately worth making the trip in.

No, you aren’t in Wham’s 1984 video "Wake Me Up Before You G0-Go" These are Russells shoes. But don’t they make you want to? They make me want to. (Wake Me Up Before you Go-Go, that is) I am not going to lie. At the age of 8, George Michael was my first true love.  Who needs Andrew Ridgeley, when you could have the perfectly tan and dimpled George Michael? He still holds a very special place in my heart.  I remember trying to get my little sister Megan to learn ALL the words to the ever fabulous "Last Christmas" … ah what a classic! (she is still traumatized by it) Everyone knows, I just love George.  I remember being in the 3rd grade and wanting a flourescent sweatshirt with the big numbers & letters on it. JUST like they had in the video. Lucky me, my grandma took me to downtown LA where they had all the great deals and I was able to get some grey boots and and lots of jelly bracelets to go with my smashing new outfit. Those were the good old days. Whoa- sorry for the trip down memory lane… George Michael does that to me (must admit- I LOVE that there is a character in Arrested Development named George Michael)

This is me after Russells class. I do realize that I look cross-eyed. Hey sometimes sewing can do that to you. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. There may even be nights when you end up with a pink paper umbrella in your hair…  you’ve been warned.

For all you that were DYING to see the gynormous needle & thread.. sorry to say that photo (with Russell holding the needle horizontally in his mouth) came out dark & fuzzy- will re-take next week (sorry, Russell!) but I think the top photo more than makes up for it. How did I get to be such a lucky gal??

***edited to say that Chris thinks that while the picture is fuzzy- the picture still should make it on to the blog- so here you go! Russell couldn’t find the other needle- but this one will do.

Looking at this picture..it’s all coming to me… doesn’t Russell remind you of a certain sexy latin singer?

Do you know who I am thinking of???

Post your guesses!