I used to subscribe to Everyday Food Magazine, but then quit when I was trying to rein in my magazine consumption (which I am never successful at!). Then I found out I could subscribe to it online, and they would email me a recipe every weekday. It's awesome, you should go sign up. I print out the ones I like, try them when I can, and if they're a family success, they go in a binder.

I think I received this one back in February;tried it, liked it and made it again two nights ago. It's so easy because you use a whole roasted chicken that you buy at the store, and there is minimal stove top time. It's perfect to enjoy on the patio, or in the garden, with guacamole and of course, ice cold beer. Chicken Chilaquiles - and the recipe is right here - enjoy! [note: it is a bit spicy; you can probably tone down the chiles, but that's what the ice cold beer is for.]

Alternatively titled, "Just take a Deep Breath and finish the Damn Sweater!" Beki has put me to shame,finishing this sweater even though she started it after me, and has worked on tons of other craft projects at the same time (She made hers short sleeve; mine is long. That would have made it easier for me, but I wouldn't have worn it much).

After ripping it back and adding some rows to the upper torso, I've been working on it bit by bit (obviously not enough). I sit down to knit a few rows on that arm, do about 10, and then put it down for a few days. It's a terribly boring knit, but I love simplicity, and I know I will love the sweater when it's finished.

Yesterday I finally tried it on (sorry for the crappy bathroom lighting), and was happy to discover that I only have a couple of inches to go to finish that left arm.

I'm trying to decide how I'm going to finish the sleeves and torso bottom. I'm not sure I want to do the same stitch as the neckline, I'd like it a little looser and casual. I thought of just binding off and letting it curl naturally, but that might be too casual. Another idea I had was to get to the bottom, do 1 row of purl and then 2 rows of knit, so it would have the curl, but not so much.

Any other ideas? Has anyone tried what I'm thinking of doing? How has it worked out? I'd love to know!

Hope you all had a wonderfully relaxing holiday weekend! We did very little. It was perfect.

After Colin came back from filming the City Hall's July 4th Celebration, we decided to head into the city to the old Farmer's Market. At first I was questioning the decision, being that it was a holiday, but then thought maybe traffic wouldn't be too bad. Maybe people were hanging out at the beach, or having barbecues, or stalking Neverland Ranch.

Alas, there was no traffic. It was amazing.

I think Scott and I could hang out at the Famer's Market for hours. The kids, not so much. There are still a few vendors selling fresh produce and meats, but it's mostly food vendors from all over the world.

The place is a total throwback; they haven't changed a thing. We were guessing this woman was original to the market. I'm totally serious.

[mmmm, fresh peanut butter!]

There's no arguing about what to eat here, everyone doesn't have to agree. We found a table and made ourselves comfortable, and doled out bills - Colin & Dylan had Russian Pizza; Scott found mighty Jambalaya; Drew found the Hot Sauce Store and I couldn't make up my mind.

We walked the adjacet Grove for a bit, but wandered back to the Farmer's Market for another quick go-thru before heading out. It was really perfect.

P.S. Kitty is making herself at home quite nicely! She goes to the vet today for her first visit. And she has been named. She is known as Commissioner Molly. But you can call her Molly for short. :)

We seem to have finally broken out of our June Gloom and had some wonderfully sunny skies this past weekend (although, it's socked in foggy right now)! I spent so much time outside, just sitting on the patio reading, knitting (deep breath sweater lives!) and just plain day-dreaming.

Saturday afternoon, we headed down to Redondo Beach and walked the Riviera Village Summer Festival, which I've participated in the last 3 years, but decided to pass on this year. It's never been hugely successful for me, and walking around Saturday I noticed that the crowd was more medium-sized, but they didn't appear to be shopping (evident by the lack of bags). Part of me was sad to not be doing a show, but a larger part of me was so happy to be walking it instead of working it.

Sunday, Scott and I hit the Old Torrance Antique Street Fair that they have on the 4th Sunday of every month. It had been a couple of years since we last visited, and it's grown immensely in that time.

It used to only be down one of the streets, but now it has lots of offshoots down other streets. It was very fun to walk through, but I noticed the prices of goods had really skyrocketed.

I'm always on the lookout for vintage jewelry here, but so much of it was out of my price range (most rhinestone earrings and brooches were over $20).

It's still fun to look though. And I'm so lucky to have a shopping buddy that actually likes this stuff.

While I go for the vintage jewelry and old china, Scott is drawn to World War II memorabilia and old photos. They even have a WWII storefront that I can always count on losing him in for a good long time.

This is by no means an Army Surplus store, it's an actual store that has tons of old uniforms, flags, and a huge selection of Life Magazines from the 1940's. He loves that stuff.

So what did I find? A pink quilted glove box and small velvet-lined cowhide jewelry box.

And just a few vintage rhinestone buttons and cluster earrings; I left a happy camper.

Scott was a happy camper too - old pictures of fighter jets.

A good haul for both of us. :)

We've been in this house for 9 years this month. While it was a fixer-upper, it wasn't a tear down fixer. Just a needs-updating fixer, which is the best kind of fixer in my opinion. To me, it means the bones are there, and just a little cosmetic help is necessary. All we did to move in was pull the shag, re-carpet, paint, scrap the ceilings and install plantation shutters & wood blinds. Easy. Cost effective too. A year later we remodeled the kitchen and downstairs bath. Inside was initially more important than outside, and since we are huge DIY'ers, we move slow.

In neighborhood standards, we have a pretty spacious backyard. Our house is located on a small uphill bend in the road, so we have a sort of pie-shaped lot. The backyard, while neat, has a large concrete patio (that I hate), good size lawn area and a slope bordered by a stone wall. The slope was covered in ivy and junipers that had grown out of control. It was so ugly. I can't find any pictures on my computer to show you, so you'll just have to take my word for it. (believe me. ugly.)

Last year, we finally tackled the backyard. We had all the ivy ripped out and removed the ghastly junipers. Then we were left with a huge pile of dirt.

And the fence was falling down. I took these pictures when we were trying to figure out what to plant and how much space we had.

We wanted low maintenance, drought tolerant plants and they had to be pretty, because I like to look at pretty things. Scott decided to rebuild the fence himself, after we got a few astronomical estimates.

We planted a few ornamental plum trees, because I love their purple leaves and pink flowers in the spring, as well as some grasses and iceberg roses, lavender, rosemary and jasmine. All the grasses died, we can't figure out why because they are also planted in our front yard which gets the same amount of sun and water.

I think the first year of a garden is difficult. I'm so impatient - I want it to be lush and full immediately. I thought it would take years to fill  in. But yesterday, I was throwing the ball for the girls and noticed how beautiful it was beginning to look.

This is the same angle as above! I've added agapanthus and some trailing geranium. And before you start thinking about how awesome that fence looks, let me step back so you can see the whole picture.

It's been a year. I think he sank a few more posts into the ground a month ago. We're waiting for the cement to set. *cough*amonthago*cough*

Wait. What's that up there?

Has that been there for a month? How about we hike up there and just check on things?

It's probably going to level itself, right?

P.S. I am totally going to catch shit for this post. It was going so well too...