Forty Twenty Four

Zambia

2012-01-27T00:39:00.001-08:00

I’m headed home today after a full month in Zambia. It’s going to take 24 hours of flying and 6.5 hours of layovers to get home, but nonetheless to get there. Hopefully I won’t be back in Zambia until June; I need some time at home. Here are some shots of Zambia from my September/October trip. Enjoy!

A typical community clinic

A homemade chair made from goat skin and tree branches. It was actually very comfy.

Best means of transport outside the city

Waiting for treatment

Ladies selling cabbage on the roadside

Sewing a laptop bag

Charcoal for cooking and warmth

Typical lunch at the office : collard greens, chicken, eggplant, hibiscus and okra with Nshima

A few million kwacha. I think each stack is worth about $1000.

A strange but typical flower seen everywhere.

Let me know if you have questions about any of these pictures. I have a few from this trip that I will post when I get home.

p.s. All the pictures were taken with my old iphone. Not too bad.

Master Bathroom Progress

2012-01-25T04:40:00.001-08:00

Micah and Dadtractor have been busy working on the master bathroom while I’ve been gone. Before I left, we decided to put in heated tile floors but there wasn’t enough time for me to look at tile. We also finished the cement counter and had it sitting in the garage curing. Over the last week, the floors have been complete and just yesterday (or maybe the day before), the counter was installed. Here’s our progress to date.

Before I left, I told Micah that I thought we should go with something simple, off-white and inexpensive. Micah sent me pictures of the tiles he was considering but the I couldn’t really make a good decision based on the pictures. Micah was left to make the decision, and he went with this which cost us $1.67 a tile (or a sq ft). Not too bad.

I have to admit, when I first saw this picture, I wasn’t excited about it. I didn’t like how the tile looked against the tub. I think it’s the lighting and the angle. I have to say, it’s growing on me. I’m not head over heels in love with it but I definitely like it.

This is the toilet area last week before the sink was reinstalled.

And this week after the installation. It’s amazing what a sink and a little better lighting will do for a space. You can also see the new shelves and paint in the corner. I think we did that around Thanksgiving.

I like the way this turned out. Micah said it’s a little greener in tint but that he talked to a cement expert and was told that over time it will look more grey and less green.

We are definitely not done with the master bathroom. We reinstall the molding, paint the walls, touch up the caulking and clean the sink and other fixtures. I also am trying to decide whether to update the mirror and of course, we’ll need to decorate.

I’m really happy with the progress we’ve made. I think the only thing that I might change about the cement counter is that I might have made it smaller in length and width but thicker. I think it looks good as it is though.

I think Micah and I were both nervous about him making the floor decision solo but I think it worked out fine in the end. I can’t wait to get home and finish up this project!

Gizmo the Bush Baby

2012-01-24T06:11:00.000-08:00

Things are a little hectic here as I have a ton to finish up before I go. That said, I couldn’t wait to share these pictures of Gizmo the Bush Baby. I went out to a lodge just outside of town with my friends Anne, Todd and Morgan on Saturday to visit Gizmo and some orphan elephants. I’ll get to the elephants later this week but for today, let me introduce Gizmo.

Check out his little hands – he has fingers and nails!

He’s very catlike here. I think he was sleepy as he just woke up.

We all got to hold Gizmo. I’m not sure he was that happy about being passed around. Eventually he climbed onto my back.

We’re having a moment before we have to say good-bye. I could have played with Gizmo for hours but Morgan needed to get to the airport and Gizmo needed to get back to his nap.

I didn’t know a bush baby even existed before the trip to the lodge. Did you?

P.S.

A very happy birthday to my sister Cecilia!!

Christmas Shopping in January

2012-01-23T06:50:00.000-08:00

Hello from Zambia (still). I ‘m here though the end of the week. Just 4.5 more work days, 5 more breakfasts, 9 taxi rides and/or 4 more lunches until I head back. Can you tell I’m excited?

Today I decided to spend my morning grabbing some supplies (apples and chocolate) at one of the local shopping areas, Arcades. Every Sunday they have a craft market. I hadn’t been to it in several years. I decided to kill an hour looking around. I had a few things I was looking for but mostly I was just browsing.

For Christmas this year, we gave Micah’s Mom this awesome creche (nativity scene) from Guatemala. As soon as we saw it at the market, we knew we had to buy it. Micah’s Mom liked it so much that she decided (or maybe mentioned) that she might start collecting creches. Last time I was here, I saw one made of tin from pop cans. I was on the hunt for the pop can creche but didn’t find it. Instead, I did find something just as Zambian. This is just a little peak as she does frequent the blog and I want part of it to be surprise.

I also picked up a creche for my parents. I should have gotten them one in Guatemala but didn’t. Micah had a bunch of evening school events he had to be at while I was gone so my parents were great and took Izzy a couple of nights. Actually, I think they took Izzy even when they didn’t have to. I went with a wooden one for the parents. I kind of think the sheep look like hippos.

I was also on the hunt for something I could turn into a Christmas ornament, but came up short. I did find these bracelets. I’ve never seen them here before but My friend Morgan bought a couple last week so I knew to be on the look out for them. I’m going to keep one and the rest will appear in Christmas stocking at the end of the year.

Lastly, I picked up something a little more unusual. I always check local grocery stores for good presents. I usually pick up coffee, local cookies or nuts. This time I grabbed these:

I know, baking powder and baking soda? I really bought them for the metal containers. I really like them and think they will look cute in the kitchen. They are very vintage looking and only cost me $3 total.

As usual, I still don’t have anything for Micah. I was just gifted 2 kilos of coffee from Ethiopia, so were set there. Maybe Zambian soccer jersey? Maybe I’ll just pick something up for him at duty free.

So, has anyone else started their Christmas shopping? I know I’m crazy.

January Brain Dump

2012-01-16T18:10:00.000-08:00

It’s Sunday night here in Zambia and I am watching the Baltimore Ravens vs the Houston Texans NFL playoff game live. It’s just like I’m at home except that it’s snowing in Seattle (it’s 75 here), Micah is there and I’m in a hotel room. Ok, nothing like being at home.

Less Travel

I’m kind of excited about this as this is my last work trip for at least 4 months (I’m knocking on wood). This was a very last minute trip. I was supposed to be in Zambia the last 2 weeks of January but “volunteered” to go two weeks early (for a total of 4 weeks) because no one else could and our project really need someone to go. In exchange for my flexibility, I negotiated a travel free Spring. Well, no travel for work. I worry a little that I’ll get antsy, but then I realize that I will be home for 4 months and can make plans. It sounds crazy but I’m excited to not travel. I can finally take a few classes I want to take. I can finally start and finish a few projects on my list. We can make snowshoeing and hiking plans. I can spend time with my sister and catch up with friends. Seriously, I’m so excited. I LOVE traveling but the last 6 months have been long. In the last 4.5 months I’ve spent 5 weeks in Zambia, a week in Philadelphia, a week in Santa Barbara and 4 weeks in Zambia (again).

Maui

OK, so there is a little travel in our future. Micah and I are going to Hawaii in mid-February. I’m really excited as I’ve never been to Hawaii. I know, it’s insane that I’ve never been but we’re fixing that. We’re headed to Maui for a week. We rented a condo and a car and are ready to have adventures. I’ve been asking everyone for suggestions, so if you have anything to share, please do. Road to Hana, snorkeling and maybe a luau are on the list. It’s my first time, I have to go to a luau, right?

Running

I finally accepted that I’m never going to be a runner. Over the last 6 months I’ve made myself go running a couple dozen times. I’d go for 40 minutes of pure torture. I want to like running but I just don’t. I’ve finally accepted that. I’ll have to find some cardio that I enjoy that’s easy to get to. In the meantime, I’m excited to finally taking part in the 4 month trail membership at my local Pilates studio. I’ve been taking reformer Pilates on and off for the last 6 months and love it.

Greenhouse Tomatoes?

Last year our tomato plants produced a ridiculous amount of tomatoes. The only problem was that we never got a good stretch of hot, dry weather so the tomatoes would either get moldy or wouldn’t ripen on the vine. I tried ripening them in the house, but it didn’t work. I really love growing my own tomatoes so I’m thinking of getting or building a small greenhouse. Is that crazy?

The Master Bath

While I’m here, Micah and Dadtractor are doing some work to our master bathroom. They are putting in heated floors, laying tile and installing the cement countertop we made. It’s hard being away while the work is being done. Micah is slightly worried about the project because he’s scared I’m not going to like the floor tiles he picked out. I’d say I’m 15% worried I won’t be happy with the bathroom but that means I have an 85% chance of being happy right? I just need to focus on decorating and putting together the finishing touches.

Communications

People are going to think this is very weird but Micah and I only talk to each other once a week when I’m away. We email everyday or every other day but we only talk once a week. It’s not as if we can’t talk more, we just don’t. The first 1.5 years of our relationship were long distance and we only spoke once a week when I was living in Manchester, England and he was in Brooklyn. When I was DC, we still only spoke two or three times a week. I think we’re just used to the limited calls. It’s not about money (work covers the calls), I don’t know what it is. Don’t get me wrong, I miss him tons and sometimes get the urge to just call but then I remember how looking forward to our weekly chat makes the week go by faster. We don’t even text each other during the week. I know, we’re strange.

MLK Day

I have to work on MLK day. It’s weird that I have to work but then it’s not as I’m in another country. I feel bad that I have to work because MLK day is a holiday that means something to me.

So, what’s on you mind this week?

Best of 2011

2012-01-06T18:54:00.001-08:00

I still can’t believe 2011 is over and we’re almost done with the 1st week of 2012. I’d say that 2011 was a medium year for us. We did a lot of traveling but didn’t have as many milestones as previous years (2010 – Izzy, 2009 – wedding and house). It was actually really nice to have a reasonably low key year.

Micah and I were talking about our favorite things about 2011 and sort of came up with a list. Enjoy!

Cooking

I feel like slowly, we’re amassing a good collection of go to recipes we really enjoy. Micah will tell you his favorite recipe of the year is the semi-mastering of Vietnamese Lemongrass chicken. This might be one of his top 5 dishes and when I finally nailed it, he was overjoyed. He asks for it at least once a month.

Other favorites from 2011 are:

Kimchee Fried Rice – Seriously, SO good. We didn’t expect to love it as much as we do.

Homemade Bacon and Smoked Salmon - Crazy good and crazy easy. The bacon is good in the fried rice above.

Pesto Lasagna -- Another of Micah’s frequent requests and one of the first things I pinned on Pinterest.

Braised Beef Short Ribs – I made this for Izzy’s birthday though she didn’t really have any. It was a lot of work but SO worth.

Eating

I think the three meals that blew our minds were at the Corson Building, Staple and Fancy Mercantile and Morimoto. Eggs. I was blown away by scrambled eggs on sautéed greens. If you are in Seattle or going to visit soon, make a reservation at the Corson Building. You won’t regret it.

Travel

We logged some serious miles this year. Tanzania and Zanzibar (Catherine), Arizona (Catherine), Mt Rainier National Park (x2), Guatemala, Geneva (Catherine), London (Catherine), Whistler, Idaho, Utah, Crater Lake National Park, Santa Barbara (x2), Zambia (Catherine) and Philadelphia.

We were talking about our favorite travel moments and we both came up with our day in Tikal (Guatemala) and ATVing in Whistler. We also really enjoyed spending Christmas with the family in Santa Barbara. I think I’d add that we were both surprised by how much we really enjoyed Salt Lake City.

House

It was a year ups and downs at the house. It seemed like as soon a we finished one thing we had another thing that needed our attention. I think the highlights have to be getting the wall built on the slope, the mid century modern Craigslist chair recovered and finally finishing the last section of the floors on our mail floor.

Family

I think it was a pretty big family year despite there not being any weddings or births. My sister moved back to the Seattle/Tacoma area after 5 years away. We got to see Micah family more than we have in years and little Izzy grew up so much. I have to say, when we first got her, I thought we’d never be able to get her into a crate let alone leave in the house alone and free to roam around.

Purchases

Well, Micah got an iPad and loves it. It actually been really great on trips. I think our favorite thing is being able to place board games on it. Micah also bought me a Kindle for my birthday and despite my resistance, I love it particularly now that I can check books out from the library with it. It truly has changed the way I travel. No more lugging around 20lbs of books for my month-long work trips. I think Micah would add his new Keurig and I’m going to say the Bacio61 flats I bought in 2 colors. My daily commute consists of at least 1.5 miles of walking, so I’m always looking for comfy shoes. I haven’t had cute flats this comfortable in years.

Entertainment

I’d say we agree that Born to Run was our favorite book this year. We told everyone to read it and even gave it to someone as a Christmas gift. If you haven’t read it, you definitely should. I don’t like running and I loved this book. I think it’s safe to say that the tUnE-yArDs show was the best thing we’d seen all year. The singer is AMAZING. Seriously, watch the video below. It’s not even her singing but the way she lays down the track. I think we have different favorite movies. Mine was Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows pt 2. I’ll admit, it was more about nostalgia than anything else but I loved it all the same. We recently went to see The Adventures of Tin Tin which Micah has been talking about for months. He loved TinTin as a kid and thought the movie was better than expected. He was practically giddy walking to the car after the movie. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already pre-ordered the DVD.

via YouTube

What are some of your favor moments, events, meals, etc., from 2011?

WE in 2012

2012-01-05T06:48:00.000-08:00

You’ve seen our house goals, now let me introduce you to our WE goals. We started making WE goals last year and it was pretty successful. As usual, some are fun and some are not as fun. We even carried over couple of goals from last year because we liked them so much. All these activities are ones we’d do together.

1. Do one seasonal activity a month. This could mean snowshoeing in the winter, camping in the summer or carving pumpkins in the fall.

2. Do one outdoor activity every month. I think we managed to get 10 of the 12 months done last year. We really liked this one and decided to carry it over to 2012.

3. No eating meals in front of the TV. We were pretty good about this before but over the last year have been guilty of eating most of our meals on the couch. No more. We have a beautiful dinner table and we’re going to use it. The only exception to this would be popcorn during a movie and eating during TV related events like the Super Bowl.

4. Visit one new place together. Last year we went to Guatemala and we both loved it. It was great exploring somewhere new together. We don’t know where the new place will be but we’re excited to figure it out.

5. Go on an spontaneous trip. When I say spontaneous, I mean go somewhere with less than 1 week advance planning. If you know me, then you know this is spontaneous for me.

6. Attend 6 events. An event could be sports related, a play, a concert or an art opening.

7. Focus on Izzy. Izzy is doing really well. She’s not as hyper as she used to be. She learned a lot of tricks last year and now can be left in the house alone without having any accidents or destroying anything. In general, she’s matured a lot. There are still a few things we need to work on like not jumping on people when they enter, being better on her leash (we took her off the gentle leader) and not trying to steal things off the kitchen counters. She better at the last one but she could still use a little self control. We want to focus on her this year. Teach her some more manners and few more tricks. We also want her get comfortable at the dog park again. She had a few incidents last summer (the victim of unprovoked attacks) that leaves her a little on edge when there is more than 2 dogs in a space.

8. Security funds. We do a pretty good job of saving money but we’d like to have 6 months savings that would cover essential expenses by the end of the year.

9. Come up with a retirement plan for Micah. I have some great retirement benefits with my employer like 401k matching and an automatic retirement plan. I also have an IRA Roth. Micah’s employer doesn’t do matching or provide any type of retirement benefit they contribute to. He’s contributes a small amount to his 401k every month but not as much as he should. We need to sit down and come up with a plan that will set him up for retirement.

10. Work on the blog. We both need to blog more and we have so many updates we keep meaning to make. I’m hoping to devote some time every month just for maintenance.

11. Take on a project together. This year our big project was smoking salmon and giving them away as Christmas gifts to friends and family. It was a fun, non-house related project. We need to do more of that.

12. The Sunday Supper Cuisine Challenge. This might be my favorite of all the goals this year. As most of you know, we do themed Thanksgivings. We pick a cuisine and use it to guide our Thanksgiving menu. We decided to take it one step further and have themed Sunday Suppers. Every month we’d pick a cuisine that would inspire our weekly big Sunday meal. I’m really excited about this.

Something like this:

January/February – ?

March –Moroccan

April –Japanese*

May – West African

June – French*

July – Greek

July – Californian inspired

September – Spanish*

October – Filipino*

November – Sri-Lankan*

December – Thai or Malaysian

I’m not committed to the month/cuisine combination. I just sort of listed them. Then only thing I am committed to is the cuisines that are starred. I’d love recommendations of cuisines you’d add to the list and/or recipes from a specific cuisine. I left out Italian or Mexican because we have those a lot. I would definitely add a regional cuisine from one of those countries if people had some yummy recipe suggestions.

12 Home Project Goals for 2012

2012-01-04T13:51:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone! I know we’re a bit late but the last few weeks have been a whirlwind. We squeezed in two week long trips in December (Philadelphia and Santa Barbara), fit in Christmas and all the fun that comes with it, and both of us had a lot going on with work. We got home from Santa Barbara on the 31st and I left for Zambia on the 2nd. There was more going than that but just thinking about it all makes me tired.

This year feels like it will be just as busy. We have a lot of travel planned as usual, but I’ll talk more about that tomorrow. Today I’m focusing on the house projects we want to complete including the the never ending master bathroom project.

As usual, we’re going with goals this year instead of resolutions. We did pretty well with the resolutions last year except everything thing that has to do with the house. Actually, a couple of our house projects did get finished/started last year like the hanging some wall art (here and here), put together an emergency kit (actually only halfway done), and finishing the guest rooms (almost). Some of our goals for this year are carried over from last year, some of them are new. Hopefully all will get done!

12 house projects in 2012

1. FINISH the master bathroom. See the caps? We’re serious about this. The concrete work is done and we’ve recently decided to go with heated floors. If you are wondering, we did indeed start working on the bathroom in November.

2. FINISH the entry. Caps again because this was on last year’s list too. We started but then never finished. This includes doing something about the closet. Maybe one of our goals should be to finish a project straight through.

3. Sort out lighting in the house. We have a lot of lamps in the house that need some attention like a paint job, new lamp shades. I also want to change out a few fixtures in the house without spending a ton of money.

4. Clean up and decorate the decks. The decks are nice but the main one is very cluttered and the top one has nothing going on.

5. Create a pretty laundry area. I’d love to organize it and make it look pretty as well. Nothing fancy, just something put together.

6. Reorganize the garage. We’ve purchased a lot of things to organize the garage but somehow didn’t set them up right. There isn’t room to work when the car is in the garage. Also, we have a lot of supplies from building the house that needs labeling.

7. Grow something new. Maybe garlic? Actually, I want to come up with schedule for the garden so we can have food growing year round.

8. Finish the windows. I know that sounds weird but there are a lot of little things to do around the windows. A few need window treatments, some of the window sills need painting and they are need to be cleaned both on the inside and out.

9. The slope. Yes, the pesky slope. We had the wall built this year which was a big deal but we need to get stuff growing on that slope. I think part of that project is trimming the tree that shades it.

10. Finishing the doors. Like the windows, we have a lot of door work to do. Some of our doors have been primed but never painted. The front door needs frosting, the deck doors need some maintenance and the back door needs a major scrub down.

11. Updating the master bedroom. We like it and I don’t think we need to do any construction work to it, but I think the layout and art could use a few changes. Maybe actually putting stuff on our night stand is a good start.

12. Creating a home shopping list. We have a lot of things we need to replace this year like sheets, bath towels and Tupperware. We also have things we’ve never had but need to buy like an emergency ladder, quality shower curtain for the guest bath, a set of quality screwdrivers or a rug for one of the guest rooms. I think putting together a list that we can both access (maybe on the blog) will help us prioritize purchases and allow us to take advantage of good deals when we see them.

We have some ongoing goals (ones with no end dates) we’re working on like the purging. We’ve been really good about getting rid of stuff. We’ve both gone through our closets several times and got rid of stuff. I spent a week going through our kitchen getting rid of things we didn’t need like the mini food processor (we have a 3 in 1 hand blender that does the same thing), Tupperware with no lids and pantry items we haven’t touched in years. We’ve also been cleaning out the fridge and pantry pretty regularly. I can’t tell you how good it felt to get out mug/cup collection down to 8 from 25. We got rid of ones we didn’t like and put the ones we did but can’t use right now in storage. Why do 2 people need 25 mugs at once? We actually have empty shelves on our bookcases because of all the books we got rid of. Micah is working on his music collection and I’ve been going through the crafting supplies I haven’t touched in years. I also want to sell some of the building supplies we have and didn’t use.

We’re really excited about (some) of our projects. I think getting these done, particularly the master bathroom, will make us feel like we’re making progress on the house. We’re trying to help ourselves get organized by prioritizing goals, making detailed to do lists and creating inspirations boards (via pinterest) to help us get everything done.

What are you home project goals for 2011?

Blog Sale!

2011-12-14T07:29:00.001-08:00

Tell ya friends, tell ya wife. It's a huge blog sale! Hosted by The Fix-Its, Bien Living, and Forty Twenty Four!

If you're interested in any of the items below, e-mail: thefixitsblog@gmail.com and give the item number. An invoice will be generated to the e-mail address you send from via PayPal. Also, all prices INCLUDE shipping! Contact thefixitsblog@gmail.com if you have any questions too!

1. Patagonia Women's R4 Jacket. Size Large. Black. $40.
This is a great, warm and fuzzy fleece jacket. It's gotten a little wear, but is still in good condition. Originally $225.

2. Stuart Weitzman Kitten Heels. Size 10. $40.
Very comfortable and wearable black heels. I'd keep them if they fit properly - I really needed an 11! They run true to size, and have been out on the town a few times. Still in good condition.

3. Tory Burch Purse. Bold Pink. $100.
It's a perfect catch-all bag! The hobo style is fantastic for daily use, and the pink color is super fun.

4. Seven "A Pocket" Jeans. Size 32. $75.
Excellent Jeans! Straight leg/boot cut. Medium wash. Worn 2 or 3 times.

5. Longchamp 'Le Pliage - Small' Shoulder Tote. Purple. $50.
Love this bag! The color is adorable, and it's a great size for errands - it's not the standard "big" Longchamp. Retails for $125.

6. Coach Scarf. Black and White, $15.
I have no idea where I acquired this scarf, but it's never been worn!

7. Justin Cowboy Boots. Size 10. $50.
These are the perfect cowboy boots! But, like the Stuart Weitzmans, I should have bought an 11. They run true to size and are quite comfortable. Worn maybe 4 times.

8. Banana Republic Purse. Brown Leather. $40.
Cute bag from banana, and the quality is quite nice.

9. Kelly Moore B-Hobo Camera Bag. Teal. $125.
This bag is AWESOME! I don't have a good reason for selling it, other than the fact that I like to try new things. It's in like-new condition with a shoulder strap and messenger strap included.

10. Marc by Marc Jacobs Aviator Glasses. Amber/Brown. $50.
They're oversized and cute.

11. Versace Sunglasses. Black. $50.
I purchased these in St. Thomas a while ago. They're super classic looking and a bit oversized. Really great basic black shades.

12. Chanel Sunglasses. Black. $50.
These are more of a wrap-around style with large "Chanel" insignia on the side. You know you like the bling!

13. Hobo International Wallet/Clutch. Ivory. $40.
This is the handiest bag for going out. It doubles as a wallet and a clutch and holds a shocking amount of stuff!

14. Burberry Nova Check Earmuffs. $100.
These earmuffs are adorable & a perfect gift. They are brand new with all tags attached & retail for $225, if you can find them (not in stores any more!). They are one size fits all, but I have a big head and they were a little too short for me. So, if you have a normal sized head or if you're buying them for a younger person, they will be fine.

15. Benetton Wool Sweater. Size Medium. Red. $10

100% wool, v-neck sweater. I have this sweater in almost every color & have multiples of some, including red. I love it!

16. Banana Republic Trouser Jeans. Size 2L. $20.

I have worn these 2 or 3 times. I am just under 6' tall and they are the perfect length with flats or a small heel. Also, the hem is such that it will be easy to tailor if you need to shorten them.

17. Angela Adams bag. $70.

It's black wool and patent leather with silver and teal trim. It's been used a hand full of times. I bought it as a present for myself when we were moving back to Seattle but then realized after we got here that wool and Seattle rain don't mix. It's a great bag and pretty much new.

18. Weston Wear dress from Anthropologie. Size 8. $40.
Purchased 2 Christmas' ago. I wore it to a holiday party and haven't touched it since. The skirt is puffier than it looks as it's got tulle under.

19. Deletta top from Anthropologie. Size M. $15.
I bought it less than 2 years ago. I've worn it twice. I have so many that look similar that I tend to overlook this one.

20. Banana Republic Wool Cream Dress. Size 8P. $40
I bought this dress when I first moved back to Seattle wear to business meetings. We don't really have meetings at work that you can't wear jeans to. I've worn this once.

21. Joe's Jean provocateur style size 28. $60.
These still have the tags on them I got these at Nordstrom Rack with a groupon and made the mistake of not trying them on before I bought them. I have others in the same size and style that fit but for some reason these don't. I lost the receipt months ago.

22. Grey and Cream dress by Juma. This is a size L and fits like a 6/8. $55.
An online buy that didn't work out. Again, tulip style bottom that doesn't work with my hips. Dresses by Juma retail for more but I'm pretty sure I got a pretty good deal on this when I bought it. http://jumastudio.com/online-shopping/women/dresses/all

23. Edme & Esylle skirt from Anthropologie. Size 8. $30.

Remember:

Christmas Pinteresting

2011-12-13T11:33:00.001-08:00

It’s been too long since we’ve posted anything. Things are busy, busy, busy around here. The bathroom is almost done, work is surprisingly crazy and we were just in Philadelphia (for work). I did manage to spend one night in my hotel room crafting. I was exhausted from all the meetings and needed a break.

A few weeks back I repinned this fabulous orb thing on Pinterest.

from Pinterest via How About Orange

I decided that I was going to use the cards we got from out wedding and the Holiday cards we received last year to make a couple of these. Thankfully, Jessica over at How About Orange made a template so all I had to do was cut.

The large orb is made of last year’s Holiday cards and the smaller one is made of some of the cards from our wedding 2.5 years ago. I’m such a hoarder.

I turned a second wedding card orb into an ornament for our tree. Making a wedding ornament was the real reason I kept the cards – I just didn’t know what to make.

The only real piece of advice I have around making these is to use at least medium weight paper. It has give but isn’t easily torn. Also, I tried using the cards printed on photo paper and that didn’t really work for me. Maybe once I’m a pro at this I’ll be able to use photo paper.

I’m really loving these little orbs. Micah actually likes them too. I can’t wait to make an ornament for 2012. I might also make an orb or two to keep around the house all year long. I have a box of postcards from my early 20’s which would work nicely. See…hoarder.

So, are you a hoarder like me and keep Christmas cards for future crafting?

Interior Design Bingo : His and Hers with a few extras

2011-11-30T12:54:00.001-08:00

I’m still so behind on the bingo challenge but here are a few more squares to ponder: His & Hers, Technology, and Storage.

His w/technology:

Hers w/unusual storage:

We are fortunate to have A LOT of space in our house so we can each have a room (I share mine with Izzy) where we can tend to our hobbies. Actually, Micah shares his room too. Most of the technology in the house have to do with music. I wanted something different to organize everyday items like rulers and scissors.

One things I’d do differently if I had the chance would be to make the master bathroom a little bigger so Micah and I could have our own distinct space. Something like this:

from pinterest via Pink Wall Paper

This space lacks storage so I’d have to add something like this to the his and her bathroom:

from Pinterest via Kohler Talk

I love this musical “his” space. This could become a “we” space very easily.

from pinterest via Home in Harmonia

How do you and your significant other carve out your own area within your home?

Interior Design Bingo : Family and Holiday Decor

2011-11-28T06:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas is officially here Forty20Four. The busted out the Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving. I truly LOVE Christmas. I love picking out presents for other people. I love seeing both our families and spending time with them. I love all the lights and the décor.

Since we’ve spent a lot of time this weekend decorating, I thought I’d know a few bingo squares out with our holiday décor.

We decided to put the Christmas tree this year in our family room. We spend a lot of time on the main floor but it’s really our family/tv room where we all unwind and spend the most time during the week.

In the picture, note the holy family in the knitted nativity scene. Micah’s Mom made it for us a few years ago. We love it. Actually, most people love it. Here’s a close-up from a few years ago.

For the most part, I feel like we’re almost there with our Christmas décor. We had so many ornaments we decided to skip the standard glass balls this year. We added 5 new ornaments from our travels this year. We pick up an ornament from every place we visit together. It’s “our” souvenir. I’d like some kind of garland maybe, and definitely a tree skirt. We NEED a tree skirt. I’m thinking of making something like this:

image from Pinterest via sixoneseven

I love our nativity scene and would NEVER replace it but I could see adding a wooden version on the holy family to our holiday décor. Something like this?

from Pinterest via Etsy seller bunnywithatoolbelt

I love our tree/nativity set-up this year. Every single ornament has a story. I can remember where we got it or who we got it from. And I can go on and on about the nativity. What’s your favorite holiday decor item? Do you love it because it’s pretty or does it have a deeper meaning for you?

Interior Design Bingo : Nursery with a Cool Ceiling

2011-11-21T08:37:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I felt like we got a lot done despite being tired and feeling under the weather. Today’s bingo picks are interesting because we have neither interesting ceilings or a nursery in the house. If I had to do together in one space, I think I’d go for something similar to this.

image from Pinterest via Living in Andyland

I like that this room is gender neutral and has some great details that could transition in to big kid room easily later – assuming the kid likes yellow.

Happy Monday and here’s to a short week (if you’re in the US).

Interior Design Bingo : A Cozy, Red Place

2011-11-18T12:01:00.001-08:00

I couldn’t decide on a Cozy Place for this square. I feel like there are so many options in our home. I decided to go with the place where the most snuggling happens – the family room. At least 5 nights a week, you can find Micah and I relaxing on the couch with Izzy snuggled up against one of us. I’m actually sitting on the couch now with Izzy’s head resting on my lap. A great night involves us watching a movie, enjoying popcorn and all three of us cozy on the couch.

This room also has a lot of red going on. I have no idea why we decided on red in the room. It just happened. Actually the design and colors came together with very little planning. We went with a rich red for the curtains and pulled together art we already had that had red in them.

As usual, the improvements I want to make to this room are minor and include throw pillows. Our picture ledge also needs a little work. I’d like our couch area to look more like this:

Image from Pinterest via 2 bp blogspot

I like the red curtains and probably won’t change them. I do like the black contrasting with the red and think I work a little more black into the room. The black accent wall in this room really makes the art pop.

Image from Pinterest via Apartment Therapy

I’m a little behind on my Bingo board but I’m getting there!

Happy Friday Everyone! I hope you have a chance to enjoy your Cozy Space this weekend!

Interior Design Bingo : Repurposing in the Bathroom

2011-11-16T15:33:00.001-08:00

I’m knocking two squares off today with the bathroom on the main floor of our house. I really love this bathroom. It might be my favorite in the house. We didn’t try to do too much here which is key. The color scheme is similar to the kitchen – just red, white and cork with hints of black.

The flooring is cork as is the tile in the shower. We loved the cork tile but it was expensive so we decided to go with just the floor of the shower.

For some reason, the bathroom took on a “New York” theme. We had a bunch of pictures from when Micah lived there and it all just came together. I kind of want a New York City snow globe to put on the shelf by the sink.

Can you see the repurposed item? The vanity/sink thing is actually our old Ikea dining table. We had it for years and even traveled back to Seattle from DC with me. We really liked how this bathroom came out which is surprising since we spent so little time designing it.

Image via Pinterst (if this is your image, please let me know so I can give proper credit)

I like this bathroom because it’s simple but has some great features (read storage) which I feel like we don’t have enough of. I also love the use of the ladder in the bathroom. I know it’s not repurposed per se but it feels like it is by just being in the room.

What item do you have repurposed in your home. Did you transform it completely or does it still serve it’s original function in a different way?

Sunday Suppers : Saturday’s Smoked Salmon

2011-11-15T09:13:00.001-08:00

OK, this isn’t a true Sunday Suppers post as all the prep too place on Friday and Saturday but we definitely enjoyed the fruits of our weekend labor on Sunday. When I was coming up with our themed Thanksgiving meal, I decided Salmon HAD to be involved. It was either going to be an appetizer of smoked salmon and crackers or salmon chowder.

Micah liked the idea of smoked salmon so I started searching for recipes. We have actually have a smoker that Micah got a few years back on craigslist. It was new and only $30. One our best Craigslist scores ever. Turns out smoking salmon is actually fairly easy and cheap. All I needed was brown sugar, white sugar, pepper, salt and salmon. I picked up some salmon for relatively cheap at our local Filipino seafood store.

It took 15 minutes to put the cure rub together and get the salmon set in the fridge. I mixed 1 cup of kosher salt, 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 and about 4 tbsp. of cracked black pepper in a bowl. I cut two large pieces of salmon (so they are the same size), pulled out any pin bones and patted the fish dry. I set out a large piece of plastic wrap where I put a third of my curing rub down, my salmon skin side down and another third of the rub. I then topped my first piece of salmon with my second piece, flesh side down. Lastly, I covered the top with the remaining rub and wrapped my salmon up tightly in the plastic wrap. I wrapped the salmon parcel in aluminum foil, placed it on a old cookie sheet, weighed it down with two heavy books and put it in the fridge to cure.

I let it sit for 9 hours on one side before turning it over. Once 18 or so hours had passed, I rinsed off the salmon and let it sit in a cool, dry place (not the fridge) for a couple hours until it looked shiny and had a matte like texture. We then smoked it for a couple hours. We read that the smoker should be no more than 200 degrees which is hard to gauge in our smoker. We waited until the heat died down before we put the salmon in there. We ran out of heat before the salmon was fully cooked so we finished it in the oven. We cooked it at 200 degrees until the thickest part of the salmon registered at 160 degrees.

And that’s it. It’s that easy. I’m not trying to toot our own horns but the salmon is GOOD. Like really good. Like the best smoked salmon we’ve ever had. It’s flakey but moist and it melts in your mouth. I thought it was a little salty at first but it mellowed out by the second day. This may be one of our most successful projects yet.

We didn’t add any preservatives so it only keeps for 3 days unless you freeze it. We gave some of it to our friend Darik who traded us for bacon he recently cured and smoked at our house (that post is coming). The salmon is really versatile. We’ve had it on sandwiches, in a Salmon hash for breakfast and on it’s own. Really, it’s so tasty. We’ve got plans to make more salmon, package it with Momager’s food sealer and give it out as Christmas gifts.

So what do you think? Would give smoking salmon a try?

Interior Design Bingo - Green

2011-11-09T14:53:00.001-08:00

Not too long ago we made what we hope is our last chair purchase for the house. We picked up a really comfy olive green for our living room. Is it possible? Are we done with the main floor of the house? Just about. At some point, I’d like something to use as a plant stand. Anyway, the green chair:

We picked this chair up for almost 60% off it’s normal price. I was going to pick a chair up from Craigslist and redo it but for the cost of the chair, new materials and time, we got this instead. The olive green is weird but it goes with the carpet and in a strange way, it matches the other green chair we have. The velvety chair we got from a house my Dad was cleaning out and remodeling. You can’t beat free. I was going to paint the wood white but now it goes with the dark wood of the Kasala chair. Recovering the chair is out of the question. It’s Izzy’s favorite chair. She has NO interest in any other seat in our living room. Just this chair.

The chairs paired with the fire make for a nice little entertaining space which we actually use. My parents had a formal living room people only used during parties. I like that our space is functional.

My inspiration picture is more modern than our living room. I love all the details and the large photo in the back. Again, it’s another example of great accessories. We’ll get there one day!

Image via Interior Design Ideas

What do you guys think of the large picture? I want to put a few large pictures up in our house. I’ve got a few photos from some of our travels I want to use. Big picture too much?

Interior Design Bingo : Vintage Vignettes

2011-11-08T10:08:00.001-08:00

A Vignette. I actually wasn’t sure what this was in relation to interior design. At work, we have vignettes we publish every few months about aspects of our work. I knew what that type of vignette was. Once I found out what an interior design vignette was, I realized I was really bad at putting them together. Here are two examples from our house that aren’t completely terrible.

This first one is a favorite of mine – a Vintage Vignette. Micah majored in History at UW (go Huskies!) and focused on the American West, particularly to migration of people to California from the East Coast, South and Mid-West. I think part of his fascination is that his own family settled in California from Tennessee and Texas a few generations back. The bookend in the picture is the brand from Micah’s grandparents’ cattle ranch that was in Santa Maria. Many of the books here are from Micah’s Dad. I was looking through the copy of Cannery Row and noticed that this particular edition was printed in 1945. Other books in his American West collection are much newer. I like this particular vignette because it tells a story. I also like it because it’s vintage rustic look adds a little something to our mostly modern house.

The second vignette is also from the study. Please excuse the blurry picture. It’s of the “Russia Shelf” in our study. All books about something having to do with Russia. The political Matroshka dolls are from when I was a student in St. Petersburg 13 years ago. Has it really been that long? The vintage Russian mailbox is from Micah’s Dad. Micah lived in Russia too. Actually, it was the Soviet Union. Don’t ask him about it though. You’ll hear tales of marching, cabbage and Babushkas yelling at him.

As usual, my inspiration vignettes are from Pinterest. I love this first vignette. It’s more a collection of vignettes. This is what I want our study to look like one day. Maybe this can be our big project for next year.

Pinterest via decor8

The second I love because it’s a little different. It’s how I’d decorate the bandroom if I was allowed to restyle it. A keyboard, a mid-century modern inspired art and few vintage dishes = perfection.

Pinterest via Handz on Etsy

I’m slowly catching up on bingo. We hope to have some actual news to share about our bathroom this week. We had to special order cement and are hoping it comes in this week.

So are you a vignette assembling master or more of an amateur like me?

Interior Design Bingo : Mid-Century Modern

2011-11-07T06:39:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a really great weekend. Izzy had a sleepover Friday night, and Micah and I managed to get quite a bit done Saturday and Sunday. I’m starting the week out with the Mid-Century Modern square on the bingo board.

This chair is one we’ve spent a lot of time on. We scored the chair off Craigslist last year. We loved it’s structure but hated the library print material of the cushions. It took us months to decide on fabric, source it and then get it covered. We love the way it turned out and how it rounds out our living room.

I picked this second picture because I love how it mixes classic Mid-Century modern pieces with ethnic pieces, bright colors and dogs. We love Mid-Century pieces but we’re not trying to recreate the set of Mad Men in our house. Don’t get me wrong, we’d love to have SO much from the show but we want to incorporate our personalities into it.

image via Pinterest

I can’t wait until our place starts to look THIS put together. Happy Monday!

Interior Design Bingo - Kitchen

2011-11-03T13:08:00.001-07:00

The next square I’m covering on my bingo board is the kitchen. I’ve been spending a lot of time organizing our kitchen. I decided to tackle organizing our house room by room starting with the kitchen. Last night I tackled the area under the sink. I found cleaning supplies we’ve had for over 5 years! Ridiculous. I managed to get rid of a lot of stuff we don’t use like an espresso machine we inherited from Micah’s parents, a hand mixer (we have a counter one) and a small food processor. Oh, the space! I also realized we are in desperate need of new dish towels and could use a few more OXO Pop containers to sort out our pantry which is tonight’s task.

This is an older picture of our kitchen but not much has changed since I first posted it.

I love this kitchen. Yes, I wish it was a little bigger but for the most part, it’s perfect. We wanted it to be bright but we wanted to stick with a design and colors we’d love in 40 years. We decided on red because my Kitchen Aid mixer is red and so are all our Le Cruset pots. I know, a silly reason to have picked red but the pots and mixer were an investment that we aren’t going to replace anytime soon (or ever).

The one thing I think our kitchen lacks is personality. I think it’s nice but I do think it could use a few things to warm it up a bit. My first pick is of a kitchen that to me feels completely lived in. I love all the personal accessories and furniture. The space is modern and clean but really warm and personal.

From Pinterest via Design Sponge

My second pick is something crazy and over the top. Love the legos in the kitchen. I don’t know that I could ever do it, but it’s so awesome. How could you not want it?

From Pinterest via imgfave

It’s only day three and I’m already behind! I might have to do a double post tomorrow to catch up!

Interior Design Bingo – Accessories

2011-11-02T10:41:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine, Ali of His Birdie’s Nest, decided to put together a little bingo game for bloggers to post about throughout the month of November. Ali has laid out 30 interior design terms on a bingo board and the idea is that bloggers would post about all of them over the course of the month. I needed some inspiration to get myself going again and this seemed like the best way to start. I decided that I’d also add something to my BINGO posts by trying to find the design elements we currently have in our house and examples of what I’d like to see in our house.

First up, ACCESSORIES! I went straight to our master bedroom for this element as we have a lot of accessories that bring the black, white, yellow and grey theme all together. The cactus trio and pots are from Ikea and the amazing little letterpressed calendar is from Orange Beautiful. The grey pillow with the ruffles is from Target and the long Alexander Girard pillow was on sale at Urban Outfitters for $7! We have more pictures of our master bedroom which I’m hoping to update with a few new accessories and artwork.

What we need (desperately) in our house are throw pillows. Seriously, whole rooms would finally come together if I could just get some throw pillows made. We have some in our bedroom but that’s it. I think there may be one in the family room. I’d love to see something more like this on our couches - lots of color, shapes and texture that brings everything together.

From Pinterest via My Home Ideas

That’s one done, twenty nine to go!

If you are interested in the Interior Design Bingo challenge, please visit His Birdie’s Nest for more details and a list of participants. I can wait to see what everyone else comes up with!

The Bathroom Project

2011-10-31T10:50:00.001-07:00

We did something crazy last week. In a fit of frustration and maybe a little rage (ok, not rage) we pulled the sink out of our master bathroom, disassembled our vanity area and pulled out a little tile from our shower. I think we (Micah, Dadtractor and I) were suffering from a fit of temporary insanity. The tile thing can be explained. We have a leak. We thought it was in the corners and had to do with bad tiling but it was the door. The leak was so tiny that we didn’t notice it. I think we both thought it was condensation and not a leak. We learned slowly that it was a leak when we got the dreaded water marks on our wood floor in the bathroom. While it is a pain to replace, this may justify wood floors in a bathroom. With wood, you know when there is an itty bitty leak going on. With a little help from Lowes and silicone caulking, we think we’ve solved the leak problem. We’re taking trial showers to make sure there are no more leaks. We hope to get the tile we pulled out replaced in the next few days.

There was no good reason for us to pull out the vanity and sink area except that it looked cheap and was SO ugly. We spent all that time on the shower and bath surround and neglected the half the bathroom. I don’t have before pictures. I should have taken them but could bring myself to do it. So with no plan, we took apart half our bathroom. The sink was laying on the floor and the makeshift vanity taken apart.

It took us a week to come up with a plan. Our plan was (note the past tense) to install built-in shelves behind the toilet and cut into the half walk for additional by the sink storage, replace the mirror and finally keep the sink but rest it on a floating grey quartz slab. Dadtractor we’d be able to find a remnant for about $60 which working perfectly with our $100 budget. We went around to several places looking for a remnant and everyone said they had remnants but not in the color we wanted. We could have a piece cut but it would be at least $159 plus tax.

After lots of pouting (by me) Micah decided we needed to take things into our own hands – literally. If we couldn’t find the grey slab in our price range, we’d make it. So that’s what we are going to do, make out own slab out of concrete. We’ve found so many online tutorials for diy-er that have been really helpful. We think we can do it ourselves as we only need a 1.5 thick piece that is 36 inches by 23 inches. We’ve already bought the material to build our form and we hope to have it built over the next two nights. Micah is very confident we can get this thing made. Dadtractor is skeptical but I’m very OK with that. Dadtractor was skeptical about wood floor on the stairs, the ikea table in the main floor bathroom, cork floors and white counters. Now he loves all those elements in the house and has on occasion taken credit for them.

This is sort of what we’re going for

image via Wheat Ridge 80033

Our current problem is the cement. Some people have used a general, ready to use Quikrete concrete mix. We’ve been doing our research and it looks like Quikrete makes a mix specifically for counters. None of our local hardware stores have the counter mix in stock but one said he could get it easily and would call me back with a price. The general, ready to use concrete would cost us about $4 a bag and we only need one. I think the countertop mix would be $14 a bag. Anyone have experience with either or both? Also, we’re seeing mixed recommendations for using a mold release. Some people use it and others don’t. Any other advice for first time concrete counter diy-ers?

Thanksgiving – A Forty20Four Tradition

2011-10-24T10:38:00.001-07:00

Hi! Yes, we’re still here. Things have been a little crazy for us and it took me longer than expected to feel like I was back from Zambia. We’ve been busy refinancing our home loan, gutting our master bathroom (OK, not gutting – it just feels that way) and making some big-ish decisions. All will be revealed in time. Right now, we’re back in the swing of things by planning for Micah’s FAVORITE holiday – Thanksgiving.

I know, it seems like it’s too soon to be thinking about Thanksgiving as Halloween is still a week away, but it takes time to finalize a themed menu. For all our new readers out there, we do a themed Thanksgiving every year. We’ve done Chesapeake Bay (Maryland/Virginia area), Hawaiian, Chinese, New Orleans and Cuban. I was hoping for a Thai inspired Thanksgiving but the winner is a Pacific Northwest themed menu. The idea is to use flavors our region is known for and ingredients we can find locally. Thai is next year for sure.

I think PNW menu is hard because it’s hard to think of a flavor profile that this area is known for. When I think about food from here, I think of apples, salmon, Penn Cove mussels and apples. Did I say apples?

This year, we’ve decided Micah is in charge of the turkey. My original idea was an Alder smoked turkey but unfortunately I hear Alder makes the turkey taste sappy. Micah has a co-worker that smoke, grills and fried up the most amazing meats. He thinks that between the two of them, they can come up with something good.

I have the task of settling the rest of the menu. I also had a little help. A friend of ours, Jeremy, works in produce distribution. I went straight to him to figure out what to serve and what produce I could get that is Washington grown. He said onions, potatoes, apples, mint and hops. Probably pears too. That’s not a ton to work with but I think I’ve come up with some idea. Here is what I’ve got so far:

Menu:

Smoked salmon on crackers

Green beans served with caramelized Washington Sweets onions

Washington Yukon Golds with beer (local) gravy

Smoked oysters and bacon stuffing

Beecher’s mac and cheese

Turkey w/ blackberry sauce

Washington Apple pie and Pumpkin Pie

Served with local beer, Washington wines and fresh cider.

The menu isn’t set in stone. Some variations I’m thinking about are instead of mashed potatoes, doing a warm potato salad with bacon (which I’d cure myself) and apple cider dressing. If I did that, I wouldn’t do the blackberry sauce for the turkey but serve it with the beer gravy instead. I’m also thinking about a Salmon bisque instead of smoked salmon. If I do the smoked salmon, I’d definitely want to smoke it myself. I know, I’m being ambitious. I wouldn’t smoke the oysters for the stuffing. I found a place that sells smoked local mussels that are delicious. Which makes me think that an option could be to serve smoked salmon and smoked oysters as an appetizer and then do an apple and bacon stuffing. To make it easier to digest, here are the options I’m thinking about.

Menu:

Appetizer :

1. Smoked Salmon on crackers

2. Smoked Salmon and Oysters on crackers

3. Salmon Bisque

Vegetable:

1. Green Beans topped with caramelized Washington Sweets onions

2. Some sort of green salad with apples

Potatoes

1. Mashed Washington Yukons served with Beer (local) gravy

2. Washington fingerling potato salad with bacon, Washington red onions and apple cider vinegar dressing

Stuffing

1. Smoked oyster and bacon stuffing

2. Smoked Penn Cove mussels (if I can find them) and bacon stuffing

3. Bacon and apple stuffing

Other Starch

1. Beecher’s Mac and Cheese – I have no other option because this stuff is AMAZING!

Turkey Gravy

1. Mt. Vernon blackberry sauce

2. Beer gravy

Pies – Think we’d probably do both Apple and Pumpkin, maybe

I think the beverage part will be easy as will the musical selections for the night. I think I can leave it to Micah to handle both of those items.

I’m not 100% committed to anything, so I’m open to suggestions. I don’t have rolls listed as I couldn’t think of anything. Seriously, we’d love recipe recommendations. I’d also love to hear which dishes you’d prefer from all the options.

Lunch In Zambia

2011-10-03T06:36:00.000-07:00

Last week I had something new for lunch, hibiscus leaves. I didn’t know you could even eat them. They were OK. I think I would have liked them a lot more if okra wasn’t involved. I am not a fan of the sliminess of okra.

What we have here from left to right is : greens cooked with tomato and onion, a piece of fried chicken (not breaded, just fried), eggplant cooked with tomato and onion, and hibiscus leaves with ground nut and okra. The white stuff is n’shima. I love the eggplant dish. If I had my way at lunch, I’d just eat the eggplant.

I kind of love lunch at work (in Zambia). Violet, the kitchen master, is a wonderful cook. The relishes (any side dish without meat) are so good which is amazing since she uses no spices – just salt. I also really like that almost everyone eats together and is friendly despite any office politics. Doesn’t matter if you are the Country Director, the driver or the receptionist – you all eat together at the same kitchen table. I don’t know why I am surprised, kitchens are always a place of warm and comfort. I’m going to miss lunching in the kitchen when I go back.

Does anyone in the states have an office with a potluck style lunch hour?

Sunday Suppers : The Harvest Meal

2011-09-28T05:42:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago (more like a month ago), our garden was overflowing with patty pan squash. I couldn’t use them fast enough. I decided that one way to use the bigger squash (and make a dent in our supply) was to stuff them.

The recipe is easy. Mix together ground pork (or any other meat), onions, garlic, seasoning of your choice, breadcrumbs (a meatball mix) and some of the squash. Hollow out the squash and stuff it with the meat mixture. Brush the squash with olive oil and pop it in the oven. Done.

Besides patty pan, we had lots of these little lemon cucumbers ready to harvest. I’d never had one before we planted them.

They look more like plums than lemons but look and taste like traditional cucumbers. Well, maybe they are a little sweeter. I made my Mom’s cucumber salad to go with the stuffed squash. All it is sliced cucumbers, a splash of white vinegar, a teaspoon of sugar and couple shakes of pepper. That’s it. It’s very light and refreshing.

Serve the meal with a little bread and your done. The whole thing took about 10 minutes of prep and about 30 minutes in the oven for the squash. The meal was really good and I’m thinking I’d do stuffed patty pan squash again. I do think that next time I might try stuffing the squash with couscous. Yum!

Anyone else have a healthy garden harvest this summer?