this is life.

pork with corn & avocado salad

2013-08-25T19:36:00.001-04:00

This dish has become a new summer favorite of ours.

Chili-Lime Pork Chops with Corn & Avocado Salad
to serve 2 you will need:

2 pork chops (0.3 to 0.5 pounds each, depending how hungry you are!)
1 jalapeño, diced
4 bunches green onion, chopped
1 handful cilantro, chopped
2 limes, cut into wedges
2 cans corn, drained
1 avocado, sliced
olive oil
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
paprika
salt and pepper

In a mixing bowl combine olive oil, chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper to taste. Add pork chops and turn until coated. Cook in a skillet or grill pan over medium high heat.

Combine corn and jalapeño in a skillet over low heat, stirring occasionally until warm. In a mixing bowl, combine green onion, cilantro, and the juice of 1 lime. Add corn mixture and avocado. Salt to taste.

Serve pork with corn and avocado salad, garnished with extra lime wedges.

Note: inspired by a recipe found in Martha's Everyday Food

tweaked

2013-08-22T20:14:00.000-04:00

Just after writing my last post I decided to get moving with hanging some frames with the thought of creating a gallery wall in the bedroom. But once I cleared off the top of the dresser I realized I like it better that way. Simple and uncluttered. So I just tweaked things. There's something so satisfying about keeping that spot clear and pretty.

living things

2013-07-24T20:16:00.002-04:00

Adam very sweetly got me some flowers...

...which reminded me of my goal to bring more color into the home. I haven't quite done that in a permanent way, but there is certainly a lot more greenery! For a few months we have had cuttings in the bedroom, which is otherwise still largely untouched project-wise.

And the window sill in the living room is now home to this season's basil. Last year we bought a pot of basil from TJ's, but this time around I picked up one of the packages of fresh sprigs and just stuck it in some water. I wasn't sure if anything would come of it but I had read that they would root and do quite well. It seems that's true!

Lastly, remember how I was hoping to keep this orchid alive?

Well, after a few months it looked like this

Womp. Advice: don't trust the people who say you can water your orchid with ice cubes. The truth is you will freeze it's roots, its buds will fall off before they bloom, and it will slowly shed its leaves and die (or something like that).

BUT! if you stop treating it like a cocktail and water it normally, it juuuust might show signs of regrowth.

Happy.

From the above basil photo you may have noticed how beat up our window sills are looking. I'm hoping to get on that this summer.

warm pasta salad

2013-06-19T20:07:00.002-04:00

I haven't been good about posting lately, partly because I have been busy with some life / schedule changes (new job - yay), and partly because there's a new (hand-me-down) camera in the mix yet no more Photoshop. All in all it's thrown off the rhythm I was trying to get into. I'm also in the midst of a few home projects, none of which are finished or ready to share. But we haven't missed a beat in terms of trying new recipes! Here's one we made last night:

Warm Pasta Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Poached Eggs
to serve 2-3 you will need:

1/2 lb pasta, we used bowties
3-4 genrous handfuls of arugula or other wilt-able green like spinach
3 medium tomatoes, roasted
1-2 eggs per person, poached
fresh cheese, we used Parmesan
olive oil
salt and pepper

This is pretty simple. Roast the tomatoes first, since this takes the most time (see how here) using a little extra olive oil. Cook pasta according to instructions, drain, and set aside to cool slightly. When tomatoes are done, drizzle olive oil goodness over the pasta and toss with greens and cheese. Poach the eggs*. Serve the pasta topped with tomatoes, eggs, and some extra pepper.

*I tried poaching eggs for the first time last week. It's a lot easier than I thought. If you don't know how, these instructions worked for me.

sitges & barcelona {photodiary}

2013-05-16T18:11:00.002-04:00

I know I'm so late with this, but finally getting some warmer weather in Boston has me thinking of our trip to Sitges and Barcelona back in September. I even wrote most of this back in September, just never got around to posting. Well here it is:

One of the perks of having been a consultant is the travel. Not the weekly boring stuff, but the global trainings in Europe. Work has sent me to Nice, Prague, and now Sitges for training, and I have taken full advantage by tacking on vacations following each - Cinque Terre and Rome after Nice, Venice after Prague, and most recently a few days in Barcelona.

Day 1 of vacation - Friday

Training finished around 4pm and after rounds of goodbyes it was officially vacation time! Adam had flown out to join me, and after a day at the pool was showered and ready to party. I smuggled some final snacks from training (leftovers) and we headed off into Sitges to explore the beach, the city, and find some good food!

Sitges is a beautiful little beach town with an interesting mix of architecture - some houses were very Mediterranean feeling while others felt somewhat Asian influenced and others sort of retro modern, looking like cruise ships. We walked along the beach to the center of town and found a grocery store where we got a few lemonade beers and some wine to enjoy after dinner.

It was apparently a festival time of year and a large group of children drummers were putting on some sort of performance. We grabbed a tapas dinner at El Pou, a highly rated spot known for putting out interesting twists on more traditional tapas. We had a bottle of wine, bravas (starting our obsession), artichokes, wagyu beef burger, wagyu carpaccio, and Catalan style bread which is served with an olive oil and tomato spread. Soooo delicious! We were brave and walked back to the hotel, which involved scrambling up some sketchy dirt path, but we made it unscathed. We finished off the evening with wine on the balcony.

Day 2 - Saturday

I had originally planned to spend the first full day of vacation in Sitges, but since we got an early start on Friday we didn't feel the need to explore town again. We took the lazy vacationer approach and gorged ourselves at the breakfast buffet. After sufficiently over eating, we tried to rehydrate and lounged by the pool, taking full advantage of late checkout.

We finally said goodbye to Sitges and the beautiful hotel and jumped in a cab to Barcelona. We got into the city around 3 and set up shop in our new home for the next few days, Hotel Cram. It's a cute modern spot with very compact but well designed rooms which maximize space well, using built-ins, lots of mirrors, and a unique round bathroom.

Without much of a plan, we ventured out into the city, heading towards the water. We checked out the Placa Catalunya, which is essentially in the center of the city and the main transit hub. From here we took Las Ramblas all the way down to the water, taking it all in - the locals who sit and people watch, the guys selling annoying noise makers, and loads of tourists. Right at the water is a monument to Christopher Columbus. Some of this area seems to be newer construction, including a floating dock, a shopping center, and all sorts of stuff.

Who sees us in the above photo?

Heading back north again, we cut into the older part of town and essentially wandered wherever looked interesting.

Dinner was at Rubi, a bar / tapas place owned and operated by some expats - two British guys and an Argentinian server. They just recently made #3 Barcelona restaurant on tripadvisor and were in the midst of adjusting to an uptick in business. Tapas were Asian fusion and really good. We had mojitos, spring rolls, a cheese plate, Thai chicken, and pork. The Argentinian guy gave us some great tips on what to do, since it turns out we were in Barcelona for one of the big annual festivals, Merce.

Day 3 - Sunday

We were super lazy and slept in pretty late, but finally made it out to see the castelleres, essentially human castles. This was so incredible to watch. Basically a whole bunch of people would stand on each other, stacking up to a few floors in height with smaller and smaller kids towards the top. These little 5 year olds would shimmy up this structure of people, pause to wave from the top, and then it would all come back down just as quickly. I guess groups from the region all come to Barcelona to compete for who can stack the highest. Crazy!

After we were sufficiently impressed, we wandered off to check out some fancy shops and grab a bite to eat. We ended up getting some pizzas and a completely overpriced lemon soda but I was famished so it was worth it. We were going to try to make it up to Guell Park but decided to reroute and go to La Sagrada instead. We didn't get tickets to take the tour or anything, but it was certainly an impressive sight. I'm not sure how much I like Gaudi's style, but its worth seeing. Kinda looked like it was melting. And was a bit dark and ominous while historically beautiful.

We decided to head back to the hotel to rest, but made a pit stop at Starbucks because we are such Americans. I realized how different basic behaviors of Americans and Barcelonetas are - we wander around staring at iPhones holding Starbucks cups, hile they just walk and talk and.. just be. Everyone was staring at us haha. Oh well no shame.

That evening there was a fireworks parade running down towards the beach, where there was a fireworks display. (First photo from earlier in the day)

We saw a lot of the parade and headed down towards the water but decided we would rather eat a good meal than watch fireworks and get stuck in the crowd. So we went to Tapeo for dinner and had an amazing time.

The steak was sooo amazing, again inspiring our home cooking shortly after returning home.

Day 4 - Monday

We set out to walk to Guell Park for real this time, which was about a 45 min walk from the hotel, up a gradual incline. The plan was to go to the market off of Las Ramblas to grab the makings of a picnic then go on our merry way, but because of the holiday it was closed. Boo! We looped back to a bakery we had spotted a few days earlier and grabbed a loaf of Catalonia bread and an apple pastry. At our local convenience store we got assorted cheeses and a package of chorizo.

It was quite the walk but I liked taking it all in and seeing some of the less touristy parts of the city. Coming up to Guell, we were filled with lots of anticipation, always feeling like we were reaching the peak, but then it would continue to climb. Views of the city were amazing, but the park itself was much more dirt path and cactus than the grassy expanses I had imagined.

It was hot and we were hungry so we found a picnic bench and had our meal. With the exception of some unwanted visitor bees, it was sooooo good. That pastry was to die for. And if you know me, that much meat and cheese = bliss. Simple pleasures.

We explored the park for an hour or 2 then headed back to the hotel. This walk back seemed so much shorter and easier, probably because it was downhill. I enjoyed the doors inside doors and graffiti art.

We sat on the roof of the hotel armed with iPads, drinks, and some olive pretzel sticks.

We set off with a bit of a plan for dinner, only to find most places closed, again because of the holiday. We stumbled up one a place I recognized from tripadvisor and went with it since the fixed menu sounded good and we could sit outside. Bellies full and a bottle of local wine in hand, we went back to the hotel happy with our trip.

Day 5 - Tuesday

Last day! We slept in and didn't try to do anything in the morning really. We showered and checked out, heading to Placa Catalonia to grab the airport bus. We stopped by the same bakery to grab some snacks on the way - a ham and cheese croissant, which - again - was to die for, and a prosciutto and tomato sandwich. We happily ate on the bus and took our time in the airport.

On the flight to Zurich I was disappointed not to get my turkey and cheese sandwich like the flight over, but we got some cute single serving ice creams. And on the long haul flight we witnessed some arguments over who deserves to sit in an empty row of seats, watched movies, drank a lot of wine, had some chicken, then took a cab home and made some late night rice with soy sauce and sesame oil. Happy.

april 16th

2013-04-16T22:25:00.001-04:00

A day after the Marathon and all the events that came with it, both happy and tragic, I awoke unsure whether to go to work. After seeing Adam off and receiving notice that my office would be open, I decided to avoid taking the T. While I love to stroll home from the office when it's warm out, I had never before walked to work. On any other April 16th it would have been extremely pleasant - warm enough to unbutton my coat, sun shining through the just-budding trees, a mail carrier feeding the birds, construction workers lifting wood into a 4th floor apartment for some apparent renovations. But today, glancing towards Copley along the cross streets, I could see the area blocked off, filled with news cameras and flashing lights. Nearing the Commons I waited at the crosswalk as a Special Ops truck pulled in front of me, turning onto Comm Ave followed by two buses full of what appeared to be military personnel. SWAT trucks on the Commons, and all sorts of security and law enforcement officials at the street corners in the Financial District. Amidst all of this, people seem to be going about their lives, walking dogs, getting coffee, going to work or taking a walk - a cautious 'business as usual'. But sitting in my office I'm reminded of yesterday's events as helicopters circle the area and the occasional medevac helicopter flies by. I still don't know how to feel about all of it. I am saddened that so many innocent people were affected, confused not really knowing what happened, yet encouraged to hear stories of how Boston's people reached out to all the runners, bystanders, and visitors in the city. While the overwhelming outreach is heartwarming to witness, I can only hope that Boston's people don't forget this compassion as the months and years pass. All too often we react to the immediate presence of an event, and in the aftermath, continually relive both the sad and the uplifting moments thanks to various incarnations of the media. I can't help but feel like this is a dramatization that we've all been pulled into. What happens as we move on?

Never intending to stay beyond college, Boston has sneakily found a way into my heart and over the years has become my home. I would like to see the 2013 Marathon remain present for all of us without drama or bravado. I hope that the injured heal, families of the victims find peace, and that all of us can remember to cherish each moment and look out for one another as we go about our lives.

sad day boston

2013-04-15T22:29:00.002-04:00

Adam and I took the day off today to enjoy the Boston Marathon. Although I have lived in the area for years and often cheered on runners and friends along Commonwealth Ave, I had never been to watch at the finish line. I took this photo at Boylston & Exeter just before 1pm today, within a block of the two explosions. We didn't stay for long, moving on to take a walk through the city. On our way home we decided to avoid the crowds and stayed closer to the Charles. We were crossing over Exeter when we heard the explosions. It sounded as if a large dumpster had been dropped on the ground, but so much louder that we could feel it. There were sirens, but we had been hearing them all day. When we made it to Fairfield we were met with a flood of people running towards us and on towards the river in panic, crying and yelling to get out of the city. It was surreal. I felt as if we were in a movie, but the fear and confusion around us was very real. We are safely at home. Thanks to everyone who has checked in on us. It's so shocking, scary, and sad how dramatically that scene at the finish line shifted from the positive energy we experienced at that very spot to complete fear just two hours later.

white pizza {bacon, pear, blue cheese // 3 cheese + spinach}

2013-03-31T13:11:00.002-04:00

I don't think I've really written about it yet, but Adam and I got a pizza stone as a Christmas gift. It has really changed our weekly cooking routine since it's easy and quick and allows for a lot of experimentation. It's a lot of fun too, now that we have the technique down. We started out by recreating some of our old favorites, but have recently gotten into making 2 smaller pizzas rather than one large one. We like the crust better this way (crispy and thin) and the variety is fun!

Since this week's dinner lineup has a lot of tomatoes, we went for white pizzas last night.

Bacon, pear, and blue cheese on one and 3 cheeses and spinach on the other. We use Trader Joe's premade dough since it's easy and inexpensive, but you could of course make your own.

Bacon, Pear, and Blue Cheese Pizza
pizza dough
5 slices bacon
1 pear, thinly sliced (you prob won't need an entire pear)
crumbled blue cheese or Gorgonzola
ricotta
balsamic vinaigrette*
olive oil
salt + pepper

Cook bacon until crispy. Set aside to drain on paper towels, and break into bite-sized pieces when cool. Roll out dough. Thinly coat with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt. Add layers of ricotta, blue cheese, bacon, and pear*. Bake at 450-500 until crust is golden.
*We didn't do this, but next time I'd coat the pears in balsamic vinaigrette to add a bit of acid (as they say on all the cooking shows) and to get a bit of caramelization on the pears. Yum.

Three Cheese + Spinach Pizza
pizza dough
baby spinach
1/2 white onion, diced
1-3 garlic cloves, minced (we used 3, and it was super garlicky)
grated Parmesan cheese
ricotta
mozzarella (fresh or shredded)
olive oil
salt + pepper

In a skillet cook diced onion in olive oil until tender. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and spinach, stirring until spinach is wilted. Stir in enough Parmesan cheese to gain a slightly creamy appearance. Set aside.
Roll out dough. Thinly coat with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt. Bake dough alone at 450-500 for a few minutes until crust is slightly browned. Top with layers of ricotta, mozzarella, and spinach mixture. Bake a few more minutes until mozzarella is melted and crust is golden brown.

paris {photodiary}

2013-03-12T15:05:00.002-04:00

I was so good about getting the London photodiary up, but I have completely slacked on posting the end of the trip: Paris!

It's been a while (4 months) so I honestly don't remember all the details of what we did. I know we ate tons of yummy food (mostly sandwiches, pastries, and crepes), drank lots of delicious and inexpensive wine, and walked around a whole lot. Exactly what I wanted!

//Saturday
We arrived in Paris via Eurostar and made our way to our new digs via subway. We booked a room at the First Hotel in the 15th arrondissement, which I think was a great location at a great price. Plus we had a view of the Eiffel from the room!

Once we were settled we were pretty hungry but it wasn't quite dinner time. The concierge recommended walking over to the local Mono Prix, where we grabbed a baguette, a wheel of brie, and some wine to hold us over. We basically just wandered the area, half sight seeing and half looking for a place to grab dinner.

Little did we know most restaurants are closed on Saturday. But luckily we found a brasserie where we grabbed some delicious cafe food: one croque madame, one croque provençal, one bottle of wine.

//Sunday
On our first full day in Paris, we headed through the 6th and 5th to check out things like the Luxembourg Garden and some of the Latin Quarter. We brought snacks.

Then we headed towards the Siene to check out Notre Dame. No interest in going in, just hung around feeling French.

Leaving the Left Bank, we headed into the 1st to walk along the Siene and check out the outside of the Louvre. Super long lines - not going in today!

This brought us to the Jardin de Tulieres, which became one of our most frequented spots on our very short stay in Paris.

We grabbed a sandwich, washed down with some cheap vodka. Just kidding - but isn't our hotel water bottle hilarious? We had wandered just up to the end of the Champs-Elysées and turned back towards the Left Bank and the 7th.

We went into this museum because it was free and I had to pee.

We walked by Les Invalides to say what's up to Napoleon...

...and then headed back to home base.

I think we just grabbed some sandwiches and pastries for dinner from our favorite corner bakery. I don't really remember what they were except delicious. I think one had walnuts and goat cheese and other was a simple ham and cheese - except super yum because it's French. We ate by the fountains at the Trocadero and dodged the guys trying to sell mini Eiffels and those flying spinny glow things. Leave the tourists alone!

//Monday
We started the day back at our favorite bakery, this time leaving with a quiche and some mysteriously delicious breakfast pizza type thing. While eating by the Eiffel, we noticed a ton of people were gathered at the Trocadero, and there was an angry sounding guy yelling in French.

I dismissed it as some sort of rally or something, but then Adam insisted he heard Gangnam Style playing. Sure enough, "Hello Paris! Do you know who I am?!" He sang the song twice. And taught the dance. Good seeing you, PSY.

Leaving the only Asians in Paris behind, we made our way towards the Arc and then down the Champs-Elysées, ducking into stores here and there to hide from cloudbursts.

We ended up at the Louvre, where we spent just a few hours checking it out. Not by any means enough time to really see much, but I liked at least being there and taking a peek at Ms. Mona in person.

The walk back to the hotel was really beautiful with some great stormy clouds.

Then we had crepes for dinner! Adam found 142 Crêperie Contemporaine and it was so. good.

//Tuesday
We got up an said goodbye to our home of just a few days. Paris, I hope it's not too long until we meet again!

baby steps {part 2}

2013-02-24T22:32:00.002-05:00

Boom. New microwave installed.

Keeping an OTR microwave wasn't my #1 choice especially because of how low it hangs, but it's what made the most sense for now. Even though I'm not a big fan of temporary solutions, I'm glad we did this. That old guy was made in 1989 and was probably slowly poisoning us every time we turned it on. RIP buddy. Here's the before and after (sorry about wonky white balance):

Cara was in town this weekend. She imparted some family wisdom: to expect projects to be more "2 stones for one bird" than "2 birds with one stone". Killing this one took 8 stones.

baby steps

2013-02-23T22:19:00.001-05:00

Step 1, phase 1 of kitchen renovation complete. The dead microwave is gone.

I'm loving how open it feels. Also took off the edging strip for the cabinet on the right. I think it looks so much better. Creamy carrot & grape soup on the stove (sounds strange, but was super good!). New installation tomorrow!

kitchen inspiration {microwaves & hoods}

2013-02-04T13:29:00.000-05:00

Last week I unexpectedly returned to kitchen planning and looking for inspiration when our over-the-range microwave broke. Just completely dead. We don't really use the microwave much, but I use the exhaust function daily when I cook. So I immediately began looking for replacements, only to find that most standard OTR microwaves are about 17" tall, while our broken one is about 14". Wouldn't be a big deal to swap one out quickly, except ours already hangs down below the cabinets, quite close to the cook top. So of course I tried to research what we'd ultimately like to have there.. and am still undecided. But here's a mix of what I'm thinking and a collection of inspiration photos.

The original thought was to have a range hood on a blank wall or between floating shelves, and then a separate microwave. A bunch of inspiration photos are shown here, but here's another few:

via

I also like the white fridge in the first photo - a thought instead of stainless? In our tiny kitchen with limited prep surfaces, a stand-alone range hood would require a creative place for a small microwave, perhaps on a floating shelf like this:

via

Except I'm thinking the shelf goes under some cabinets - sort of like this (on the right, but deeper of course):

via

But then as I played around with layouts I forced myself to consider the fact that we may need to stay with the OTR microwave configuration. This offers the benefits of space savings - very important here - as well as $ savings. I think our existing one looks so heavy. Here it is, from before I moved in:

I had to believe there was a way to make this look good, so I dug around for pictures of OTR microwaves. This may be obvious to you from the above photo, but I didn't realize that our microwave dropped so low below the cabinets, contributing to the heavy and claustrophobic feel. In the kitchens were the OTR microwaves look good, the bottom of the microwave is either flush with cabinets or slightly above.

via

Granted, mounting an OTR microwave up higher may present an issue around ease of access, but again we don't use it much and aren't that vertically challenged, so maybe it won't be too much of a problem.

End of the day, I still think I want to go with the range hood and separate microwave tucked away somewhere, so that's what I've been working off of. It helps that we recently donated a bunch of unused kitchen stuff so we can focus on how much storage space we actually need.

cauliflower soup w bacon & parmesan

2013-01-29T14:49:00.000-05:00

Check me out! Already posting a new recipe for the month. We've tried a few others too, which I'll add if they make it into regular rotation. This one is for sure going to be repeated. Soooooo good!

Cauliflower Soup with Bacon & Parmesan
Serves 2 (probably actually 4 servings)

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
3 tbsp olive oil
4 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper
4 strips bacon
Parmesan cheese, grated

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened but not browned, about 10 minutes. Add 3 cups broth and cauliflower and increase heat slightly to bring to a boil. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is tender and breaks apart easily, about 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut bacon into 1/2 inch pieces and cook in a skillet until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
Add remaining cup chicken broth to the cauliflower mixture and remove from heat. Puree until smooth using a hand held / immersion blender (which you may have been lucky enough to get as a Christmas gift). Stir in salt, pepper, and parmesan to taste. Serve warm, topped with freshly cracked pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and the bacon.

But wait, there's more!

We also made a roasted tomato salad, something I made once before and have been meaning to replicate ever since. This is something I learned from my cousin Sarah when I visited her in Rome many years ago.

Roasted Tomatoes
Tomatoes (any kind really), cut in half
Olive oil
Sea salt
Garlic (optional)

Simply cut tomatoes in half and add to an oven safe baking dish with enough olive oil to coat the bottom plus sea salt and crushed garlic. I used 2 cloves garlic for 4 smallish tomatoes. Coat tomatoes in oil and bake cut side up for 30-40 minutes at 400 (or longer over lower heat if you have the time).
If you intend to use as a dressing or sauce, flip the tomatoes cut side down after 20 minutes, allowing the delicious tomatoey-ness to infuse into the oil.
Serve over greens with a cheese of your choosing. We did feta but I'd highly recommend goat cheese as well. Yum!

oh, january

2013-01-24T18:29:00.000-05:00

I had all these great intentions of writing a Happy New Year post full of positivity and good intentions for 2013, but that just didn't happen. And then I thought I could turn it into a happy birthday to me or things to do before I'm 30 post, but I missed that too. (We did have a lovely dinner at Deuxave though.)

If I had written either of those posts, I would have made some sort of commitment to writing more often. I'm glad that I wrote nearly twice as much in 2012 as in 2011, and I'd like to continue that trend. Without writing nonsense, of course. I know some of you are still checking in (I see the pageviews!) so I will continue to write. I appreciate your stopping in, I do!

So let's make that some sort of a not-quite-new-year's resolution. Here are some more / my 2013 to do list:

Write more. Make it good.
Take better photos.
Try at least one new dinner recipe each month. (We made chickpea soup last night - already accomplished for January!)
Bring a guest contributor on board. (Shhh it's a surprise! More details to come)
Keep that orchid alive.*
Finally actually post about Barcelona and Paris.
Try rearranging the bedroom sometime this year.
Bring more color into our home.
Spend more time with family.

I know a lot of that is ambiguous and relative, but I'm ok with that.

Good news: I already have a leg up on #7 - trip next month to Calgary / Banff to visit my sister! Wee!

*This lovely orchid was a surprise from Adam in early December. It's doing well so far but I think I was watering it too often. If you're super perceptive maybe you noticed the print in the background on the left actually moved up to the entry. The print on the right took its place. A less-official #10 (or spin on #8): Hang more art!

oslo

2012-12-08T19:52:00.000-05:00

Remember how I was agonizing over what to do with the entry? Agonize no more. Meet Oslo:

We spent months going to Crate & Barrel and petting this Oslo Bar Cabinet. The dimensions were pretty much spot on for what we were looking for and the closed storage was perfect. This thing was never going to go on sale, but there was finally a Black Friday / Cyber Monday deal, plus we scored some free shipping thanks to the lovely saleslady (and a little bit playing we are young and poor but have expensive taste).

Oslo finally arrived this morning and we eagerly stuffed it with things we need to grab on the way out the door - umbrellas, gloves, sunglasses, etc. - plus stuff that just needs to live somewhere like batteries and my sewing kit.

Remember how it used to look like this?

I sold that table last weekend. Craigslist tip: always post quality photos. Even though it never looked like this in real life, these are some of the staged photos I posted:

Wanna know a secret? I bought that table off of Craigslist 2 years ago for $65, and it was delivered to me. I sold it last weekend for $100. I think I actually could have gotten more, but was just happy to have it out of the way because our new friend was coming in.

Look how pretty now!

I borrowed the framed print from the dining nook (there's something else in the works for art there) and the horse was gifted by my mom. Thanks Mommy!

a christmas time of year

2012-12-06T01:02:00.000-05:00

I gave in. We have a real tree this year.

I will admit it looks nicer than last year's, although the headache factor of getting it all set up was much higher (needles everywhere, sawing off sappy branches, automatic water-er leaking on the floor, etc.)

But we had a lot of fun with DIY ornaments! Pulling inspiration from Sherry at YHL, we grabbed some plain glass ornaments from Michael's plus glitter, feathers, paint, and ribbon. I also made some origami stars. Check it out!

We also grabbed some furry friends from Crate & Barrel to join in the fun:

london {photodiary}

2012-11-26T18:19:00.000-05:00

I've finally sorted through pictures from London! This is some blend of a photodiary and a (too detailed) account of what we did - maybe it will be interesting to you, but mostly it's so I don't forget what we did. I hadn't been to London since a family trip around 1999, so it was certainly a treat to explore once again. Overall it was wonderful. I got rained on some and wasn't quite prepared for the cold, but loved it nonetheless.

//Sunday - Tuesday
As I mentioned a few weeks back, I had a few days of work to put in and then had 2 days to play on my own while Adam finished up work stuff. So for both of us, these days were work during the day + dinner and wandering at night.

A certain favorite was Byron Hamburgers, recommended by my brother and his wifey, who used to live in London.

Tues night I was done with work (!!) and walked out to meet Adam at the Eye. The walk took me through a few parks, catching a glimpse of Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and all that, and across the Westminster Bridge. Cold but beautiful.

I spent the rest of Tues night planning my 3 remaining days in London. While I usually resort to more typical resources for trip planning (TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet, Frommers, etc.), I largely planned through a combination of recommendations made to Anna from Door Sixteen combined with some fancy Google Maps action to see what was a reasonable walkable distance from the hotel.

//Wednesday
On my first day of freedom, I slept in a little, rolling out of bed at 9:30. After going through the shower and grabbing a lazy (free!) breakfast of grilled portobello mushrooms and tomatoes, chicken sausage, scrambled eggs, whole grain roll with brie, smoked salmon, and some amazing tea, I headed out just around 11am. I spent about an hour wandering around Hyde Park, checking out the locals, the tourists, the wildlife, some mounted guards (?), and ended up at the Albert Memorial.

From there I made my way down Exhibition Rd, where I first popped into the Science Museum to thaw and hide from pending rain. There were too many flocks of small children so I turned back to go to the Natural History Museum, but there was a crazy long line. So around the corner I went to the V&A.

I spent about 2 hours there, only in select exhibits. I quickly went through their collection of Korean ceramics and chests, then checked out some award-winning British photography. But the majority of the time I spent in the Fashion and Jewelry exhibits, which both showed an evolution of styles, fashions, etc. over the years.

I got in trouble for taking pictures in the Jewelry exhibit, but got a few good shots anyway.

Aren't those Egyptian snake arm bands amazing? From 700AD! And that bra necklace is so great / funny.

Feeling thoroughly museum-ed out, I cut up Brompton Rd, doing some window shopping along the way. My next destination was the Saatchi Gallery, but I intentionally meandered, taking a longer route. I couldn't resist stopping in Skandium to check out some luxurious and pricey Scandinavian housewares. I walked around slowly and petted things longingly, but resisted the urge to spend thousands on a handful of pieces. Actually those price tags are sufficient deterrents so it wasn't difficult at all, but they still are just so pretty. And soft. And nice. I want to go back and live in the store.

When I finally got around to trying, I had some trouble actually finding the Saatchi Gallery, largely because the map provided by the hotel showed the wrong location. I almost gave up, but am so so so glad I didn't because I absolutely loved the Saatchi. It reminded me a bit of the Hirshhorn in DC, filled with contemporary, provocative and beautiful photography, sculpture, and installations.

When I was in the area I started seeing all these people carrying rolled up poster tubes, and in increasing frequency as I neared the Saatchi. This made me think there was something inside that was either super amazing enough for literally every person to purchase, or something that was free. Turns out it was something super amazing AND free!

On the top floor was a photographic exhibition dedicated to Karl Lagerfeld's latest photographic book, The Little Black Jacket: CHANEL's classic revisited. These black and white photos depicted many familiar and famous faces, with each individual sporting a uniquely-styled yet identical black CHANEL jacket. I was so excited to get my hands on some free posters that it took me a while to figure out just what the exhibition was, but I loved it. More photos and info can be found here.

This also extended into a photo installation dedicated to Yoko Ono, as well as a video of her doing some sort of interpretive dance of her life I'm guessing. And of course, wearing the little black jacket.

Other highlights included Jon Rafman's The Nine Eyes of Google Street View (more photos can be seen here) and an exhibit of meticulously-cut paper art.

At this point I was feeling like quite the old lady (sore back, dehydrated, tired) so I did my best to powerwalk back to the hotel. I gave Adam a hug, checked some email, and then ran out again to grab some wine from around the corner and pizzas from Ask Italian. We had a classy dinner in the room.

//Thursday
For my last day on my own, I figured I would spend more time outside than in museums and basically just wander. My walk took me past some monuments which marked the tight ties between the UK and US (9/11 Memorial and FDR statue), I checked out some shops and markets, and hung out at Trafalgar Square, where I got caught in a sudden cloudburst, followed by some wonderfully warm sun.

I swung by Covent Garden, then cut south along the Thames, walking all the way down to Lambeth Bridge. The sky was super dramatic post-rain.

I walked along the South Bank until I felt pooped and headed back to the hotel via Soho, where I stopped at Hummus Bros for take away. Although it came highly recommended, I had no idea what I was in for. This is some delicious hummus - I got mine with guac and chicken, plus a free small lemonade. The whole meal seriously made my day. Hummus Bros please come to Boston!!!

I took a nap to recharge and popped out for some more shopping, then met Adam and his work buddies for a drink. Also discovered Aston Martin makes a smart car, the Cygnet.

//Friday
We moved hotels in the morning, and explored our new neighborhood along Piccadilly looking for a meal. The concierge pointed us towards Shepherd Market which had a lot of small restaurants and pubs. We spotted a small local joint which was buzzing with activity and chose it for some sandwiches. Adam had bacon & brie with cranberry and I had chicken with mozzarella, basil, and roasted veggies. Both were super yum, and we enjoyed them thoroughly in the park - except for when we got rained on. Bellies full, we headed over to the Buckingham Palace, through St. James's Lake Park, by Westminster Abbey and Big Ben, and walked all along the South Bank. All familiar territory at this point.

We made it to Borough Market before dark and had some Monmouth Coffee and checked out all the delicious local produce, prepared foods, and beer. Trying to stay warm, we trekked down to London Bridge before deciding to turn back to check out the Tate Modern. Sadly I didn't love it as much as the Saatchi, but it was fun to check out nonetheless.

Finally, we swung by Harrod's just because, and admired their lavish window displays which were Disney princess themed. Dinner was back in Shepherd Market at The Little Square where we both had the chicken burger topped with thick slices of bacon, avocado, and deliciousness.

//Saturday
In the morning we jumped on the tube to St. Pancras, where we were catching the train to Paris! This was such a close call in terms of time - I guess it's obvious if you think about it, but we hadn't planned for full security and customs. It worked out though, and our adventure continued. A Paris post to come soon!

paris!

2012-11-03T14:23:00.001-04:00

We made it to Paris! It's officially vacation for both of us, rather than being in work mode for most of London.

Currently sitting in the hotel room enjoying our view of the Eiffel, with some Rhone wine, a baguette, and brie - so delicious and inexpensive! Good thing we don't have cardiovascular health concerns (although the wine is good for that!)

Time to wander soon. More to come!

london!

2012-10-29T08:17:00.002-04:00

Hello from London! I ended up coming a few days early because of Hurricane Sandy. American Airlines was kind enough to offer a complimentary flight change to get me out of Boston a few days early, so I left Saturday evening rather than Tuesday. I only made the call Sat afternoon, so I ended up having to pack frantically, didn't exactly sleep on the plane, and then spent an agonizing morning trying to stay awake and do work in the lobby of the Grosvenor House (a JW Marriott!) until our room was ready. Turns out the Patriots were here too - as in, staying at the hotel - for their game at Wembley Stadium. We didn't see them, but ran into lots of Pats fans. Kinda felt like we were still in Boston.

I'm in the room doing work today, feeling mostly recovered. I popped out quickly to grab a snack and some wine (for later), and checked out the views along Park Lane. It's nice out today! Hopefully weather will cooperate this week, although I think it plans to rain.

four eyes

2012-10-21T21:53:00.000-04:00

In addition to the sheers and curtain rings, some new glasses were waiting for me when we returned from Barcelona a few weeks back. Since I already have two pairs which I wear regularly, I didn't feel the need to get too spendy with new glasses, but had an allowance through vision insurance. Free money? Yes please.

So I decided to go with Warby Parker since they have frames + anti-reflective lenses for a whopping $95, plus some sweet deal of free shipping, free returns, and home try-on. I had done home try-on a few months back but didn't loove anything. I also checked some out in person when they had a corner in Stel's (which has since closed). Then they came out with their fall collection and I pulled the trigger on the Linwood in striped chestnut.

It's a keeper. They're better quality than some critics claim, but probably not as great compared to the ones Luxottica churns out, or any fancier European ones.

In a moment of indecision I also got the Webb, which I returned (I have big cheeks so tall frames don't work). Of course I also photoshopped my options before making a purchase because that's what I do.

Awesome.. Adam's arm is like 8 feet long! I photoshopped many others too, but they didn't look as cool. If you're interested, above left to right is Linwood in striped chestnut, Linwood in violet magnolia, and Webb in amber from Warby Parker, and Lenox from Eyefly.

Speaking of Eyefly, there are def other options out there for buying glasses on the Interwebs with Warby Parker-esque price points and business models. To my knowledge, decent options include:

Warby Parker of course
Eyefly
Lookmatic
Collins Bridge

I'll be considering those for prescription sunglasses maybe next year. Are there others I've missed?

bathroom art {updates}

2012-10-19T21:38:00.003-04:00

Yes, I'm still struggling to get those last things done to call the bathroom facelift "complete". But we finally have pretty stuff in frames hanging on the wall:

We have had these for months. Finally in early September I took action and made some trusty catalog templates to test out different configurations (like we did with the tv).

Should they both be straight ahead? Or one on each wall? Or both on the left? So many questions!

What would that look like in the mirror? Insert a lot of agonizing and tweaking here.

Ultimately we went with both straight ahead. I like the idea of something on the left, but wanted something above the toilet to keep that wall from looking too bare. Plus we like seeing them from the kitchen, since the doorways are pretty much aligned across the hall. I think they are a little small, but will do for now.

The lady is printed on an 1881 German magazine by this guy I found on Etsy, and I love her. It's hard to tell from the photos, but she's floating between 2 panes of glass in this frame from C&B. The fishies are from Ikea. Thought they were cute so they will do for now.

patatas bravas + skirt steak {barcelona inspiration}

2012-10-08T20:55:00.001-04:00

One of our favorite things from our Barcelona trip (which I will write about soon!) was the food. We had tapas at several places, and an item we tried and loved multiple times was bravas. While we had them in many formats, they were generally some form of potatoes (fries, tots, roasted) with a thick & spicy tomato sauce and an amazing garlic aioli dipping sauce. Another favorite was a simple skirt steak, topped with essentially the same tomato + garlic aioli combo.

So of course we had to try to recreate this deliciousness.

I was surprised at how amazing this was, even on our first try. It was a little labor intensive for just one meal (yes, we ate it all in one sitting) but it was so worth it. In order, here's what we did:

Patatas Bravas
1.5 lb small white potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1" cubes
Olive oil
Sea salt
Pepper
8-10 cloves garlic, washed but unpeeled
Parsley, washed and chopped (garnish)

Place cubed potatoes into a baking dish. We used a 10" square Pyrex and it worked great.
Add olive oil and toss till potatoes are coated. Add sea salt and pepper and toss.
Add unpeeled garlic and bake at 425 until golden and slightly crispy. The garlic will roast to be used in the garlic aioli.. yum! Start making the spicy tomato sauce.
Serve in a large bowl, alternating layers of spicy tomato sauce and roasted potatoes. Top with parsley and garlic aioli.

Spicy Tomato Sauce
2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed
1/2 medium onion, diced
Olive oil
1 can diced tomato, preferably fire roasted
1 small can / 4 heaping tbsp tomato paste
1 chili pepper diced
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
Sea salt to taste

Place diced onion, garlic, and olive oil in a sauce pan and cook until onion is translucent.
Add can of diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chili pepper, white wine vinegar, and salt. Mix to combine.
Cover and simmer over low-med heat, mixing occasionally. Start prepping the skirt steak.

Skirt Steak
~1 lb skirt steak
Sea salt
Pepper
Crushed red pepper
Olive oil

Cut skirt steak into strips 6" long and place in a skillet with olive oil. Season both sides with sea salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste.
Cook on high heat for 4 min each side, or according to instructions. Ours was about 3/4" thick and 4 min per side got us a nice medium rare.
Let "rest" a few minutes prior to serving. Meanwhile, make the garlic aioli. Top the steak with spicy tomato sauce and garlic aioli.

Garlic Aioli
1/3 cup light mayo, or make your own. We weren't that ambitious
Roasted garlic from above

Peel roasted garlic and remove any tough parts. Place in a small bowl and mash with a fork.
Add mayo and mix. Serve atop bravas and skirt steak, with plenty extra on the side for dipping :)

mini house

2012-10-05T11:52:00.000-04:00

Mini House, designed by Swedish architect Jonas Wagell
(image 1: Andy Liffner, image 2: Lars Petter Pettersen)

This is mini-sized prefabricated house so cool! I'm especially loving the horizontal slats and the generously-sized porch. While I don't think it's a realistic primary residence for the majority of people due to size (hey, we just have too. much. stuff.) and durability, it's a really cool concept for a vacation getaway or a guest house.

Even though we can't get it in the U.S., I think this is a great inspiration piece for how small spaces can be utilized. Too bad I don't have a back yard. Or an amazing lake. I wonder how much it costs. And I wish they had photos of the interior..

full article and more photos here

life lessons from gordon dean

2012-10-01T10:35:00.001-04:00

Never lose your capacity for enthusiasm.
Never lose your capacity for indignation.
Never judge people. Don’t type them too quickly. But in a pinch, never first assume that a man is bad; first assume that he is good and that, at worst, he is in the gray area between bad and good.
Never be impressed by wealth alone or thrown by poverty.
If you can’t be generous when it’s hard to be, you won’t be when it’s easy.
The greatest builder of confidence is the ability to do something - almost anything - well.
When confidence comes, then strive for humility; you aren’t as good as all that.
The way to become truly useful is to seek the best that other brains have to offer. Use them to supplement your own, and be prepared to give credit to them when they have helped.
The greatest tragedies in the world and personal events stem from misunderstandings. So communicate!

originally read here

bedroom happenings

2012-09-28T15:07:00.001-04:00

We're back from our Barcelona / Sitges trip! But I haven't gone through all the photos yet so that post will have to wait. While the trip was amazing, I was really excited to come home. And even more excited because I had packages waiting for me! Hello my new friends:

Oh yes, it's time to stop neglecting the bedroom. I've done almost nothing with the bedroom since moving in. Sure, I slapped some paint on the walls and threw furniture in there, but for the most part I haven't really thought about flow or utility or how to maximize storage in the small space. But one thing I did do was hang curtains. And this is how it's looked for 2 years:

Yes, there are 2 floor lamps just sitting there taking up space. Please ignore. I'm trying to figure out what to do with lighting in here.

I decided the curtains look a bit pathetic and don't do the greatest job of easily providing privacy (so. much. work. sliding those things back and forth and I just don't do it). They also aren't the best at hiding the ugly blinds (which will be replaced one day, maybe by super awesome motorized ones!)

So armed with some inexpensive sheers, extra sets of curtain rings, and about 30 minutes (because climbing up there is annoyingly precarious), I created this:

Better? I think so. But I still have to steam them to get the creases out so please don't look too closely. The curtains look more full and the sheers do a good job of hiding ugly blinds and providing some modesty from peeping neighbors while preserving what little light we get in the room. Success!

Here's a close-up of the new layered look:

Since I don't think I've ever really shown the bedroom before (except for the mid-century dresser and a peek at how I redid the closets), here is a mockup of the current layout:

The opening at the bottom goes to the other closet and the bathroom.

An extra musing which I neglected to mention in my post about project A.D.D. is the thought of rearranging the room like this (option 1):

Or like this (option 2):

But I think option 1 is better. The main point of awkwardness will be the window on that top wall, which is large and very off-center.

Solution: I'm thinking I can use the new & fuller curtains to create the illusion of a larger window which is centered on the wall, and thus allowing for a non-awkward-looking centered bed.

One rainy day we'll try shifting furniture around. But for now I'm happy with the curtains.