the museum experience

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I took the kids to Bellevue Art Museum yesterday.  And we had a blast!

I feel a lot of different emotions when I visit an art museum but the resounding one is LUCK or GOOD FORTUNE for being able to experience art at that moment... when most people are driving, texting, tapping away mindlessly at a boring job.  What a privilege it is to peek into an artist's world and see, or better yet, EXPERIENCE a time-consuming, detailed (maybe therapeutic?) piece.

This is Chris Antemann's work.  The piece below was my favorite, Feast of Impropriety,... super lustful and gluttonous... but still sort of playful and light-hearted.  Loved it!

what to wear, what to wear...

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Hmmm, oh, I know!!!!  My Barbie shoe necklace!

  I don't know where I found this picture.  But it's WONDERFUL!  Please make one for me, too.

Collecting Resolutions

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I have a gut feeling this will be the year of BIG things in my life.  *MY* year, if you will.  See, I love ELEVENS.  It's kinda MY number.  So, with that in mind I am consciously collecting my dreams, resolutions, and prayers for 2011 and throwing them all together to make this best year of my life yet.

What are your resolutions for the new year?

Still in my jammies

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Merry Christmas, friends!  The presents are opened, the families have been Skyped, the standing rib roast is being prepared, the potatoes and brussels have been cut and peeled, and I am still in my jammies.  Life is good.

I need a recipe for grapefruit dressing... maybe I'll make one up.  (Oh, blogging! How indulgent writing out my every thought!)

xoxo

Velvet

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Velvet isn't very fashionable at the moment.  And I'm not sure why.  It's soft, luxurious, and begs to be touched. 

And you know what?  I'm wearing it today.  I can rock it and it will be back in fashion next year. 

Happy Holidays! Wear something that  feels lovely on your skin! 

Look at this fabulous JPG velvet "jacket"!

Feelin’ It

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I think I am going to give blogging another try.  I was into it for a while there.  Sharing every little creation, gabbing about moving and being ever so insightful.  I guess I was feeling a little sorry for myself.  That I had no audience.  That no one wanted to see my crappy homemade valentines.  Now I am throwing my fragile ego to the wind!  I’m back… we’ll see how long it lasts.  (And that, my dear friends, is butter pecan shortbread.)

An Apron Story

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My MIL gave me this simple cut, sew and go apron for Christmas.  Finally got around to doing it.  Pretty cute!  Aprons are fun.  I should dig up my vintage apron collection.  I have some adorable ones to share!

Dog Bite

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I was taking a walk last Sunday morning and was bit by a crazed dog.  He was off his leash and his owners were trying to get control of him.  He was scared and angry.  The frantic guy made a beeline to me, sat beside me briefly, jumped up and bit my arm and then bit me on the behind.  That is a picture of my buttbite.  It was a pretty scary experience.  I'm just happy I didn't have my baby in her stroller... it might have been her.  Phew. 

Cherry Blossoms

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pale pink everywhere.  it's heaven, i'm sure.

Feelin' Lucky Bread

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Isn't this super pretty?  Made this deliciousness a couple days ago.

Did you miss Chintzy Couture Week?

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Just for the challenge of it, I forced myself to wear something homemade almost every day last week.  4 days was pretty good for me.  Thanks to my 4 1/2 year old home photographer we got some very artistic shots.  Can't wait for some skin-baring weather...

xo.

xoxoxo

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Happy Valentine's Day!

Homemade Valentines

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They are not finished.  The notes of love and adoration are still swirling around in my head.  I think it would be nice to get one of these in the mail though.  Don't be anti-Valentine's Day.  It's a sweet holiday.  I love hearts!

I'm Sorry Bread

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I was a jerk on Saturday.  And to make it up to my poor husband I made bread on Sunday.  2 loaves.  Deliciously dense and pretty darn good for my first go at white bread. 

• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions 

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, salt, eggs, oil and 3 cups of flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Divide in half and shape into loaves. Place in two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks.

Sea Monkey Nerd

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I'm thinking that Seamonkeys seem like they're gonna be way cooler than they really are to a 4 year old.  But man, *I* love watching them!  They don't really look like monkeys and their itty bitty faces are really hard to see but their crazy Seamonkey lovefest is fascinating to watch.  The two in the photo have been going at it for days.  They are the last surviving Seamonkeys of the original family.  I need to do more research on them.  I love it.

sprouts

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Look at these guys.  Heirloom lettuce.  They're my first babies to sprout and they are growing so fast in their egg carton.  Chives, coriander, basil and oregano have popped through the dirt but are not quite as spectacular as these.  More photos next week. 

primroses on the balcony

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The first planting I've done since summertime.  And it feels good.  I hope we don't get some random freeze.  Oh, I've been thinking and reading about global warming.  I didn't realize there were people who don't "believe" in it.  I didn't realize it was like a philosophy or some idea scientists were throwing around.  I guess I have more research to do.    

Naan

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Inspired by my husband's desire for homemade bread this week, I made some garlic naan.  It's not your everyday loafy type bread but it is bread.  And the plan was some some kind of curry dish for dinner... so naan was the perfect complement.  I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and was super pleased with the results.  The curry dish was my own creation of cabbage, red peppers, onions, coconut milk, curry, turmeric... pretty simple and very yummy as well.

Keep your eyes peeled for my bread endeavors in the coming days.  xo

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.                              And...... YUM!
   

101 posts

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I forgot to celebrate my 100th post.  Darn it.  Well, I kind of feel I am back where I was when I first started my blog.  We're on the move again.  Our lease is up.  We could buy the townhouse we are living in for a decent price and continue living in this un-savory neighborhood or we could move a few streets away and rent a house and have Henry got to a better school.  Or we could move to Bellevue, live in an old apartment and send Henry to a school in a great school district.  So many things to think about.  We are feeling so much pressure right now.  I like West Seattle.  I know my way around.  It's pretty.  There's lots to do.  I have met lots of nice people.  Argh.  I am curling up with another episode of Big Love Season 3.  Don't bother me.