Little Farmhouse in the Big City

Watercolors on a Saturday Crafternoon

2012-02-12T12:00:00.001-06:00

Spent last Saturday playing with watercolor paints and colored pencils with college girlfriends in the basement while watching Downton Abbey.

Felt like a little kid all day, until we had to do the dishes. Oh, dishes... You are not my favorite thing about being a grown-up.

Recent obsessions

2012-01-26T19:27:00.001-06:00

1. Clothes and jewelry in emerald green

2. Words with Friends (find me)

3. Maple and rosemary roasted sweet potato fries. I don't eat them so much as inhale them.

So far as I know, I made them up. So humor me if that's not true :)

Sweet potatoes + olive oil + maple syrup + salt + dried rosemary (ma sends it from her garden in CA)

Make. Eat. Enjoy. You can thank me later.

On the Radio

2012-01-25T21:12:00.001-06:00

Knitting night + state of the union on the radio = lots of chatting and not a lot of listening.

In other news, I heart instagram.

Xoxo

Makeover Alert: Cookbook Corner

2012-01-22T17:29:00.001-06:00

My recipe binders got a makeover recently, and I finished the final details today. No longer do I have to sort through piles of papers clipped from magazines or printed from blogs!

I'm posting this via phone from my cozy spot on the couch, and I don't know how to caption photos... But it was a pretty straightforward transformation. Pretty, matching fabric binders from Office Max. Special section dividers that have pockets for the smaller recipes. Removable/movable section tabs in case I reorganize the sections down the road when I fill up the existing binders. Number stickers for the spines so that I can quickly identify them on the shelf (numbers are key -- this way, I can add more binders easily, and not be tied to categories labeled on the binder. Right now, #1 is breakfast and appetizers, #2 is soups, salads and side dishes, #3 is main courses, #4 is desserts and #5 is drinks and misc. If I need to add a binder and spread out the sections into 1-6, it's all the more simple to do so. At least, here's to hoping...)

How do you organize loose-leaf recipes? Any tips to share?

Bloggers & Beer

2012-01-19T21:19:00.001-06:00

I'm writing this post from (gasp!) a bar. Instead of dealing with a sink of dirty dishes and a pile of tax forms I'm hanging out with some fellow bloggers and digital folk, celebrating the return of Bell's Hop Slam :)

Also of note: I finally got a real smartphone (not a dumb smartphone, aka the blackberry I was hauling around forever). Which means I can instagram and write posts on my phone and all sorts of fun things that are conducive to more blogging than I've been inclined to do lately. Hurrah.

And this is how I'm going to beat away the winter blues.

Xoxo

two recipes you need to try this week!

2012-01-08T14:22:00.000-06:00

I am head over heels for both of these dishes. Bonus: they're both gluten-free, made with everyday pantry stapes, and can be made without dairy (just leave out the cheese in the egg dish -- the soup is already dairy-free).

Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Chickpeas

Adapted from Bon Appetit

1/4 c. olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

2 jalapenos, seeded, finely chopped

1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand, juices reserved

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup coarsely crumbled feta (optional)

eggs

fresh cilantro

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and jalapenos; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Add chickpeas, paprika, and cumin and cook for 2 minutes longer.

2. Add crushed tomatoes and then their juices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. If eating immediately: poach 1-2 eggs per person (90-120 seconds in boiling water). Serve with chickpeas and tomato mixture, plus feta and chopped cilantro if desired. (Or, for a large group, follow the original instructions for poaching the entire dish in the oven.)

4. Tomatoes and chickpeas can be refrigerated or frozen in individual servings, then easily warmed and served with freshly poached eggs.

It's hearty without being heavy ... perfect for breakfast or a quick dinner after work (all you need to do is boil water, poach some eggs and warm up the tomatoes and chickpeas).

Split Pea Soup with Curried Brown Butter

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

5 tbsp. butter (divided)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

5 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups green split peas or green lentils, picked over and rinsed

1 tbsp. curry powder

1/2 cup coconut milk

sea salt

cauliflower (optional)

1. Combine 2 tablespoons butter, plus the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes, in a large soup pot over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the onions soften (a couple minutes).

2. Add the chicken or vegetable broth and peas or lentils and simmer, covered, until tender. (Anywhere from 20-50 minutes).

3. In the meantime, warm the 3 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and let it brown. When it starts to smell nutty and fragrant, stir in the curry powder and saute until the spices are fragrant, less than a minute.

4. When the lentils/peas are finished cooking, remove from the heat and stir in the coconut milk.

5. Puree in batches in a blender, then stir in the spiced butter and salt to taste.

6. If you like cauliflower, add a half-cup of roasted cauliflower to each bowl.

It's a little bit spicy and oh-so delicious. I added the cauliflower on a whim after eating it plain a few times, and it might be good with other vegetables as well (Heidi of 101 Cookbooks recommends small cubes of pan-fried paneer, too).

the winter of no snow

2012-01-07T18:15:00.000-06:00

Weirdest winter weather ever. Which was sort of true last year, too... except instead of too much snow, this year we have none at all. I'm not really complaining about the mid-40s and 50s January days, but somewhere between three feet of snow and none at all might be nice one of these days.

December 2010:

tonight:

I swim in it as a sea

2012-01-01T22:02:00.000-06:00

"And there's a hand, my trusty friend

And give us hand of thine

And we'll take a right good-will draught

for auld lang syne."

That's one of the verses of Auld Lang Syne you never seem to hear on New Year's Eve. Beautiful, isn't it? My friends Kelin and Mike got married on Friday, and we spent the last three days of 2011 celebrating (and singing all the verses of Auld Lang Syne with full brass and bridal chorus ... so fun.) So much celebrating that I stayed in my pj's on the couch all day today, drinking tea from the adorable cups my brother got me for Christmas, which was a delightful way to start the new year :)

Last night, a friend of Kelin and Mike's read this from Walt Whitman's "I Sing the Body Electric":

I have perceiv'd that to be with those I like is enough,
To stop in company with the rest at evening is enough,
To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough,
To pass among them or touch any one, or rest my arm ever so lightly round his or her neck for a moment, what is this then?
I do not ask any more delight, I swim in it as in a sea.

That is my wish for you in 2012. Swim in the delight of friends as in a sea. And to the friends reading this, let that be our 2012 and beyond. Love you all. Come over for dinner soon ;)

brunch for twelve and a costco christmas tree

2011-12-24T00:47:00.001-06:00

It might be almost Christmas, but I'm still catching up from Thanksgiving-time. The highlight of which was discovering that my house can accommodate exactly twelve people, maximum, for a sit-down meal.

If momma hadn't invited half the family for Thanksgiving brunch, I never would have tried it. Seemed like a crazy idea to me. But it worked! We moved the big dining room table toward the stairs, and set up the folding table near the window. I had to move the side table out of the window nook to make room, but it came in handy as a beverage station behind the couch.

Just two days later, the main floor went through another transformation. I wasn't sure I was going to go all-out decorating for Christmas this year, since I'm sort of in and out a lot these days. But, we found a great deal on Christmas trees at Costco (8 foot pine for $30!!) so I relented and pulled out the ornaments and lights (and just a few nutcrackers).

When I left Minnesota the other day, there wasn't any snow on the ground. So it didn't make it so hard to come to California for the holiday. I sure hope there's a few inches when I get back, even if it means I have to shovel!

Merry Christmas to you all, wherever you may be.

xoxo
L

what do I know about circuit breakers?

2011-12-04T19:15:00.001-06:00

Not a lot. But today, a lot more than yesterday.

Today has not been my favorite day at the farmhouse. I debated blogging about it (especially since I have a backlog of other posts to finish) since it is not a happy story. But that is life, and this wouldn't be an accurate portrayal of my life as a young, first-time homeowner if I didn't tell you some of the not-so-fun stories. So here goes.

The story starts a few weeks ago. I got home from a trip and the internet wasn't working. Four days later, inconvenient turned into "what the heck is happening" when the cable guy showed up and pointed out that my neighbor's tree had a fallen branch that was leaning on my cable and power cords. (If that doesn't sound good to you, you're smart -- it's not). The nice cable guy rerouted my cable line around the tree branch so I could get back online, and I proceeded to work with my neighbor to figure out how to fix the rest of the tree situation.

A week or so later, a friend and I were having dinner when the power started flickering. The energy company paid a visit, and quickly decided it was related to the broken tree branch. No other tests or investigating possible causes. File that away, please.

This morning, on the 12th day of my parents' visit from California, we were getting ready for a quiet day of projects and relaxing when half the power went out. Just half -- all the lights in the basement and main floor, and some of the upstairs outlets (the downstairs outlets still worked). So, we called the energy company ... they sent someone out ... blah blah blah, "it's probably the tree branch but let's just check a few more things"...

When the energy company guy pulled off the cover of the main box on the back side of the house, it was obvious even to me that something was really, really wrong. One of the four lugs (that'd be the technical term) was blackened and the insulation on the wire leading up to it was burned away.

I quickly learned two things: that I was lucky to have escaped a fire, and that this was not going to be a cheap fix. Oh, and the furnace was connected to the side of the line that wasn't working. And it was getting kind of chilly in the house...

So often I have to deal with these things alone -- and although I'm sure my parents would have rather not spent our last day of their visit calling electricians and sitting around without power, I was so grateful to have them here. It was not my happiest day and it was a lot nicer to have them here to help me figure out what to do.

Also, nice to have people to laugh with when the flashlight broke, and the carbon monoxide alarms started going off, and the security company called to "make sure everything was okay" (although tempting not to, I told her it was.)

Eventually, we tracked down an honest-sounding electrician who had the parts in stock to replace the main electric box and wiring today. I'm sure they had fun working out in the snow all afternoon.

They replaced the entire box that connects the power line to the circuit box in the basement, plus the wiring just to be safe. It now has a fancy bypass switch (and apparently this is a big deal? Who knew.) And while they had the power off, dad helped me hang some twinkle lights on the front porch. So now that the power is back on, it looks like this:

My wallet might be a little lighter, but the house is safe and the heat is back on. So that's a wrap on today. I'm going to eat a pint of ice cream or something now...

garden: ready for snow

2011-11-12T17:06:00.001-06:00

This time last year, I was running around like a crazy person trying to figure out how to "get the yard ready for winter."

This year it didn't take much to convince me to hire it out. My thought process went something like this:

I don't want to rake the leaves.
What am I thinking, I don't have time to rake the leaves. Or mow the lawn. Or clean up the garden.
You could make time if you wanted to, Lauren.
No, I really couldn't -- I am traveling too much.
Oh, and what's that? Another work trip to New York? Okay ...
If it snows before the leaves are raked I'm going to lose all my grass to snow mold over the winter ... all the grass that didn't die in the drought this summer, that is ...
What the hell is going on with my perennials? (the pictures would just have made you sad, like me)
Where am I going to borrow a mulcher from this year? And an edger? Why don't I just buy a fancy lawnmower? Can't it wait until spring?
This is ridiculous. I'm not dealing with this anymore.

Best $150 I've spent all year. Thank you, Earthworm Lawn Care.

(I love the leaf line between my yard and the neighbor's!)

Believe you me, I took copious pictures of the way they hacked my perennials to the ground (i.e. last photo above) so that I can do it myself again next year. Probably. Maybe...

house crashing: boston (part 2)

2011-11-10T19:53:00.000-06:00

A few days before my trip to Boston, the girls emailed me a list of vegetables they had on-hand from their farm share. My job was to bring recipe ideas for a gourmet cooking event on Friday night.

The ingredients:

Hen of the woods mushrooms
Turnips
Shell beans
Potatoes
Carrots
Butternut squash
Buttercup squash
Pumpkin
Parsley
Apples

And cook we did. Four recipes from Bon Appetit magazine, as a matter of fact. I think that's a personal record for one night (and not likely to happen again soon.) Totally, completely worth it, however.

The dishes:

Salad: Arugula with goat cheese, golden raisins and red wine vinaigrette (a variation on this recipe)
Entree: Wild Mushroom Risotto
Side: Skillet Turnips and Potatoes with Bacon
Dessert: Old-Fashioned Mixed-Apple Pie

The finished products (please excuse me forgetting to change the white balance between living room and kitchen):

The process (a box of red wine from Trader Joe's may have been involved):

Surprisingly, the potatoes might have been the biggest hit (other than the pie). But everything was delicious and these recipes are absolutely going into my regular rotation.

Also: who knew that you could (slash, should) put tapioca in a pie? I had never heard of this before, but apparently it's "a thing." My new best trick.

house crashing: boston (part 1)

2011-11-09T18:20:00.000-06:00

A few weekends ago, I ran away to Boston for some long-overdue R&R with dear friends Bethany, Alissa and Megan.

We've known each other for ages (I moved to their town in elementary school, and they've known each other much longer). Alissa and Bethany and I spent three months wandering around Europe about five years ago, and I still miss them every day.

The lucky three get to live together in a cute house in Boston, chock-full of personality and charming details. Here are a few of my favorite bits and pieces.

PS: The game pictured above, Bang!, is amazing. I haven't had so much fun playing a game in ages. Don't pick it up if you don't like lots of rules, though :)

thank you, Mr. Squirrel

2011-10-26T19:00:00.000-05:00

... for carving my pumpkin for me.

the big reveal...

2011-10-23T21:12:00.000-05:00

OK, so I meant to post this on Tuesday but my internet has been down all week. Le sigh.

The good news is this: my house has a brand spankin' new roof!

Taking before and after pictures wasn't really worth it, since it looks exactly the same (luckily). But here are some of the in-between mess:

It all started last spring, with a hailstorm that led my insurance company to declaring the roof "totaled." And then a summer of back-and-forth with the roofing company. And then a long line of other roofs for them to fix. But finally, it was my turn. And two days after they arrived, waking me up at sunrise with ladders against my window, they pulled the last pile of shingles and tarps off the front lawn and I have a new roof on my house.

Ta-da. Major "someday" project = checked off the list.

summer travels, lonely house

2011-10-18T20:18:00.000-05:00

These days when someone asks me "how is the house," the answer is usually "I haven't seen it in a while." Not to mention working on house or garden projects. Since mid-May, I've:

been to 10 weddings
changed jobs (yeah, I probably forgot to mention that)
traveled (for work or for weddings) to Omaha, Northern California, Atlanta, New York City (twice), North Carolina and Washington D.C.

Truth: Fun for me but not so fun for keeping up with this place.

October is turning out to be just as hectic as the summer was, but I'm finding more efficient ways to keep up with the cleaning and lawn care on the days in between trips. It's a challenge, but I do like having this place to come home to ... so I think I'll keep it :)

In honor of a truly amazing summer, and to give you a glimpse of my life outside the house, here are some of my favorite moments from the last four months:

The stunning sunset at the wedding of this amazing lady and her fantastic husband

A rare photo-op with 12 of the 17 cousins at Rachel and Mark's wedding in Omaha (the first of three cousin weddings this summer!)

Grade-school girlfriends at Carolyn's wedding in Half Moon Bay, California

One of many Lake Minnetonka days with my family

Reminiscing with Kelli about our childhood days in Texas on one of my two trips to New York City, where she now lives (and blogs!)

College roommates! Nancy was the first of the Plum House girls to tie the knot

Catching up with more college friends in Washington D.C. in September

Dancing with Stephen, my like-a-brother friend that I've known since 5th grade, at his wedding in Napa Valley in May

Nate, Care, Sugi, me and Newman at, you guessed it, another wedding

Johnny and Maria's wedding in Minneapolis (more cousins!)

Twins win! One of the best comebacks in baseball history.

Celebrating mom's 20th anniversary with PartyLite at their National Conference in Minneapolis in July, alongside two of her best friends (amazing women, all of them)

Getting my Michael Cuddyer home run ball signed (I caught it during a game two summers ago) -- definitely a top highlight :)

A weekend at Newman's lake cabin in Wisconsin

An Agnes a Cappella reunion at Kelin's bridal shower

And, the most surreal moment: standing next to Alison, my best friend since we were born, during her beautiful wedding in Atlanta.

My southern roots are showing a little bit more than usual, eh? Did I mention there were hats?

Yes. An amazing, blessed summer.

It's okay if I hibernate in the house all winter, though, right?

xoxo

PS -- I'm back home for a few weeks before a jaunt to Boston ... and tomorrow I'll have photos from a major house upgrade. One where I didn't have to lift a finger. Hooray :)

autumn morning

2011-10-09T22:02:00.000-05:00

It does not feel like fall when it is 80 degrees outside. But it looks like fall...

light change for loose change

2011-10-01T10:05:00.000-05:00

Just a quickie post here ... I did this a few weeks ago, and every time I come home I'm reminded how much easier it makes my life. No more fumbling for keys in the dark (especially now that the days are getting shorter). No more agonizing about whether or not to leave the porch light on.

Because now I have a motion-sensitive light by my front door -- no rewiring required!

We found this at the hardware store for about $10 (pocket change compared to most of my other hardware store trips). It goes between the light socket and the lightbulb, and any time someone enters the front porch or opens the front door, it turns on. It goes off in about two minutes. Perfect!

The downside is that I can't use the covering that was previously on the light:

I'm still on the lookout for a replacement, but in this case, I happily traded function over form and haven't had any regrets.

closet capers

2011-09-22T20:43:00.002-05:00

Closets don't get nearly as much love as they deserve. Think about how many times a day you open closets to get coats, bags, cleaning products and clothes?

Mine were really suffering from too many days of "I'm too busy to put stuff away in its correct place" -- and in some cases, the "correct places" didn't yet exist.

And I'm pretty lucky to have an old house with decent closets on the main level and in the master bedroom. (Of course, the master bedroom closet came at the expense of the closet in the blue bedroom before I bought it, but I'm working on some fun solutions for that...)

First off, here's my newly organized downstairs closet. It's the brown door on the north side of the dining room, by the doorway to the living room.

On the right are everyday jackets and hangers for guests.

On the left, old prom dresses and winter jackets. Far to the left is where I keep the extra dining room chairs, and there's also a handy shelf where I keep extra candles and candleholders.

Front and center are some shoe and sweater holders that I've repurposed for more candles and things I need to grab quickly on a regular basis: chargers for the drill, vacuum cleaner and personal electronics; hats and mittens for winter; umbrellas and extra surge protectors.

Votives, tealights and aroma melts are sorted by season (right now, fall/winter fragrances like spiced cider and cinnamon bayberry are at the top, and spring/summer fragrances like lemongrass and citronella are on the bottom shelves).

Once that closet was conquered, it was much easier to tackle my master bedroom closet.

I started with the seasonal clean-out: shorts, summer dresses and blouses went in the "seasonal box" in the linen closet, and a few fall/winter pieces came back into the closet.

Then I rearranged the layout so that all casual items and work pants are on the top shelf, and business + special occasion clothes are on the bottom and on the far right. I wear skirts and dresses to work most days, and pants less often (hence, relegating them to the top shelf). And casual wear is only for the weekends and trips. So, everything I wear often is right within reach.

The final touch was hanging a curtain rod to match the window treatment. The drapes came from Target last summer, by way of my mom (who bought them when she was redecorating my childhood bedroom in very similar colors last summer - I should probably do a post about that when I'm home over Christmas, eh?)

I love love love the new curtains! And now, when guests are on their way and I don't have time to make the closet look like it should, I can just close the drapes :)

I think I'll probably keep them open most of the time, but I like having the option. They match the sheets perfectly, which works out well.

How about you? Any good tips for keeping closets organized and happy?

last harvest

2011-09-19T19:56:00.006-05:00

The last harvest is always a sad day ... for me, fresh vegetables and herbs from the garden are one of the very best things about summer. And this year was particularly bad for tomatoes -- the squirrels got a few red ones, but I never did.

But here's the last hurrah: lemon cucumbers, kale, basil, green tomatoes, and chiles (jalapeno and habanero). YUM.

And, some majorly delicious zucchini from a few weeks ago:

Stay tuned for some cooking posts ... I finally got to spend a Sunday night in the kitchen for the first time in a long while :)

wedding crafting (*not mine!)

2011-09-18T19:45:00.000-05:00

It was a dreary, drizzly Sunday in Minneapolis today ... so we spent the afternoon working on projects for Danica's wedding.

You probably recognize her from past craft days and parties at the house. She's a great friend I've known since we worked on the magazine together years ago, and now we mostly get to see each other at seasonal clothing swaps and project days. But after the wedding in a few weeks, she's moving into the neighborhood -- yay!

gold, silver and peacock feathers

2011-09-15T19:37:00.001-05:00

I've found some amazing treasures at some antique and vintage stores in South Minneapolis and Uptown this summer.

First, a 30-piece set of silver to add to my collection of various silverware patterns (and, altogether, I only paid $1.73 because of a 20% off sale at Hunt and Gather and a gift certificate from some dear friends who know me very, very well).

Peacock feathers for just three bucks a pop, which you've already seen in the living room (a now-closed antique store on Hennepin and 27th).

And a fantastic gold key that is also destined for the living room (from Rewind Vintage at 48th and Chicago).

Aren't old things just so much prettier than new ones?

sconces + mirrors

2011-09-13T22:04:00.000-05:00

When dad was here last weekend, he helped me hang some things in the yellow bedroom and the living room.

First, the massive frame of painted tiles that mom found in California and that we thought would be perfect for their room. First we tried the wall between the windows:

But it was a little too big. So we tried it on the wall on the other side of the bed.

Perfect!

Then it was on to the mirror, to fill some space on the wall above the dresser.

It was just the thing the room needed -- it fits perfectly between the dresser and the ceiling, and it's great for making the room feel more open.

With the new side tables that mom found, the yellow bedroom is feeling a lot more complete.

Then dad helped me hang some sconces in the living room:

And I rearranged the table in the corner, just for fun. Because you know me ... I can't help it. A disease, I swear :)

family bridal shower

2011-09-11T12:01:00.009-05:00

While we're on the subject of weddings... in July my mom, aunt and cousin and I threw a bridal shower for my cousin Maria. Aside from the housewarming party last summer it's the most people I think I've ever had in my house at once! And it was a great motivator for me to get the living room painted and the couch delivered by the middle of July -- I never could have hosted this many people with the old set-up.

We made it a kitchen-themed shower, and everyone brought recipes on cards that we had printed to match the invitations.

I wanted to decorate the house with fresh flowers, so I made an early morning trip to the Flower Market Annex at the Minneapolis Farmers Market. It's my favorite place to get flowers -- wholesale prices and you can pick them out yourself from a big cooler in the back. Maria's wedding colors were yellow and gray, so I got a selection of yellow flowers and white hydrangeas.

We organized a salad buffet for lunch (my mom, aunt and cousin each brought one) along with a bunch of summery appetizers and drinks. For dessert, I made a pavlova with fresh raspberries.

And of course, Maria opened presents :)

We even managed to get a photo of the entire group.

Maria and Johnny got married in August and it was beautiful. I'm so excited to have them in the neighborhood :)

wedding season

2011-09-10T15:15:00.000-05:00

Bridal showers! Bachelorette parties! Weddings!

That's been my summer in a nutshell. Not even kidding. Eight so far since May, and three more this year. So much fun ... and although I haven't been home very much (hence the garden mess that ma and I had to clean up), I've ended up with a few fun additions to the house

pinwheels and mason jars from Rachel and Mark's wedding in Omaha

tall yellow flowers from Maria and Johnny's wedding in Minneapolis

my bouquet from Alison and Tony's wedding in Atlanta

Soon I hope to update the stairwell photo gallery with lots of wedding photos. I'll post pictures when I do :)