If you love linens

Right now, Williams Sonoma is having an incredible sale on their spring/summer linens. I adore anything having to do with setting a beautiful table. My trick to have nice table cloths and napkins is to constantly check the stores that I love, and when they go on sale, I'm there!! I wondered into Williams Sonoma the other day and found these two gems on sale. I loved them when they came out,and hoped that they would put them on sale. The "Boutis" is a table runner. I have a natural linen table cloth, that I love to put runners on to change the look. The other is a very pretty toile,that I see as part of a nice Easter or even summer table setting. I have quite a collection of table cloths I must say, but I love all of them and use them on a daily basis.
For some women it's clothing,for me it is table ware and everything that goes with it,like glasses and flatware. Do not get me started on all the dishes that I own!
So....If you love linens, go to your nearest Williams Sonoma for a steal of a deal, or go on line. Happy table setting :)

Voila!

Here is the "ciel de lit" finally up
Another view
Detail of the ciel de lit
I bought this etching at the Louvre,and it finally has a home
This is a detail of the bedding that I bought while we lived in France.
Spare room before
Spare room after. Now I have some place to work.
Caitlin's room before
Now she has a nice big bed.


Wow, that was more work than we expected! The beds had to be taken apart to switch them out,so that caused a bit of annoyance,but all ended well.
The ciel de lit has been sitting in our spare room closet for almost two years now,and I finally got sad that we never put it up. We had hopped to get this real pretty bed first, that would match the look I was going for,but we decided that it didn't look so bad with this bed,while we save up to get the other. So, there it is... I was sad to take down the other picture and flower vase hangings,but we had that look for about five years now. The print that was above the bed is special, since I bought it in Florence Italy, after I saw the real deal. It is one of my all time favorite paintings. It was with great trepidation, that I took it down to make room for a new look. The little etching in the center I bought at the Louvre. They have all these antique etchings that they print out. I also have a giant one of Paris in the living room that is pretty cool. This little etching sat tucked away for a few years now, I think it is time that it has its day in the sun. It is a bit of a grand style for such a small room,but oh well, I really like it.
The spare room is now a combination of a computer room and my sewing room. The style is the most different of the house, leaning towards the colors of the Diego Rivera print. Brighter colors and other things that I wouldn't put in the main part of the house, but a fun look for that room. It still isn't exactly the way I would want it, but it works for now.
Caitlin has been wanting the bigger bed for quite sometime now,and she is in heaven having more stretching out room. She hasn't finished tweaking everything in her space yet,so I only took a picture of the bed area.
There you have it, a peek into corners of my home.

Happy Friday

Happy Friday to all my blog pals. This weekend we are doing some switching around of things in the house. The picture is our bedroom as it is right now. This weekend I'm changing what is above our bed. I'll do the big reveal on Monday. We are also changing the the guest room into more of a sewing room for me,that I will have to share with the computer and the giant book collection that we own, but I'm going to carve out a little spot for myself to get some work done. Caitlin will be getting the queen bed that is in the guest room right now, and her day bed will be in the computer/sewing room. I'll do before and afters of the other rooms also.
Hope everyone has a happy weekend.

My newest project

This is an illustration that Caitlin did a while back. I want to embroider it on either natural linen or white linen, I haven't decided yet. Of course black DMC thread. The question is, Perle or stranded. I have to play around with some stitches also for the cage effect on her face. I think it is such a cool illustration.
She did some interesting ones that I transfered onto a t-shirt for Halloween last year, it came out real cute. This drawing has that feel to it also, and when I'm done with it, I think it will look real nice on the couch come Halloween.

Two updates: The first is, that I'm on the second half of the lemon table runner,and I think I may get it done by the end of August for sure, or sooner.
Second one is, on Oliver the puppy. He is still with us and the vets will have to put a liver shunt in him, a $4000.00 operation. I guess that is what was causing most of his health issues,along with a not so great heart. One of the vets took him in, so he is hanging in there.

Caitlin cooks, week two

I hope everyone isn't getting too tired of cooking pictures. Caitlin cooked a chickpea and garlic pasta last night for dinner. Very tasty!! It is nice to be able to not have to shop and not cook on the night she does. I think I could get a little too use to this :) The recipe was once again from Cooking light,and was very flavorful,and zesty with the lemon. Because it has chickpeas(Garbanzo beans) it really tasted like if you made hummus and loosened it up a bit with broth.

Caitlin has been enjoying her cooking adventures. Along with cooking this summer,she is attempting to get her drivers license. She has her permit,and we have now been doing some downtown driving. She is doing real well. Our next adventure will be the freeway! I think we will wait a few more weeks for that.
Last week she was offered a part time job doing some illustrations for a neighbor of Nicole's in the city. She works with children who have autism,and she needs nicely drawn pictures of rules that they need to follow for certain situations. She will start her big commute to the city tomorrow.
This post ended up being all about the Caitlin!! It really is my blog :) and I do promise to have some things up that I will be making soon. Not just food!!!

Warning, lots of pictures of Cold Play concert!

Friday night we went to see Cold Play at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. I kind of like this venue because of its cleanliness and nice restaurant,but sometimes the sound quality isn't great. We saw U2 play there back in 2005,and while I love the show, the sound could have been better. That being said, last night was much better and we had a very nice time. There were not any big names that opened for them,but the openers were entertaining nonetheless.
The pictures kind of speak for themselves. the opening was great,with the cool picture in the background and the "Violet Hill" song being the opener. I think Cold Play's concerts are very creative and colorful with lots of lights and imagery that corresponds to each song, like the song "Yellow." Last concert of theirs I went to,when they played this, there was a cascade of yellow balloons dropped from above. Nice touch I thought. This time they had yellow lights flashing and big globes above that were also lit up in yellow. The other thing that Chris Martin tends to do is run out into the audience when you least expect it. He did it last time,and we were lucky that it was right in front of us. This time the whole band ran into the audience,and once again we were lucky enough that he was only a section over and I was able to get shots of him singing. Towards the end they once again dropped something from above,this time millions of tissue butterflies!!! So amazing in real life. Even the most cynical person would have a smile on their face if they were in the audience! After the tissue butterflies had all fallen, the band sang one more song with the word VIVA in the background. It was a very fun night, and I think Chris and the boys have come a long way from the last concert we went to. He seemed more confident as the front man and the band just gelled very well. All the new songs were great live by the way, as you know that doesn't always happen,and you leave a bit disappointed. If you get a chance to see them live on this tour, it is worth it.

Since you asked......

I normally don't post recipes,and just refer to the magazine website or which cookbook I took it from, but since it is a "Cooking Light" recipe, I thought I would post it on here. If you go to their site, you must have a subscription to their magazine to search their site for past and present recipes. So here it is folks. I guess to make it Vegan you would have to use vegan cheese and sour cream.

White Bean Enchiladas

2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream

1 (16oz)can cannellini beans or other white beans,rinsed and drained

1/2 cup (2ounces) preshredded reduced-fat Mexican blend or cheddar cheese, divided

2 tablespoons canned chopped green chiles

1 tablespoon sliced green onions

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce divided

1/4 cup water

6 (6inch) corn tortillas

Cooking spray

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro (optional)


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine the sour cream and beans in a food processor; process until almost smooth. Stir in 1/4 cup cheese, chiles, onions chopped cilantro, and cumin.
3. Combine 1/3 cup enchilada sauce and 1/4 cup water in a small nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Dip on tortilla in the sauce mixture to soften; transfer to plate. Soread 1/4 cup bean mixture down center of tortilla; roll up. Place roll, seam side down, in a 11x7 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas and bean mixture. Add remaining sauce to pan; sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with minced cilantro, if desired. Yield:3 servings( serving size:2 enchiladas)

For UK readers the temperature would be gas mark 4 and I think what we call cilantro you guys know it by either Chinese parsley/ corriander

Since it is Cooking Light, there are always ways to change the recipe. I find that sometimes when they have you cut up a certain vegetable and there is left over, I just toss it in. Sometimes I correct the seasoning because the audience for this magazine have dietary restrictions such as salt. Caitlin made it as is, except she used Monterey Jack cheese, not cheddar. Fairly simple but very tasty! It is a great vegetarian version of its meaty cousin.

Caitlin cooks on Monday

Studying the recipe

White bean filling
Ready for the oven

Yummy!

Did you know I have this cute little chef that cooks us dinner on Mondays? Caitlin has taken Monday night to cook dinner for the three of us, at least for the summer months before she starts college next month. This is the third dinner she has made us and they have all turned out very good. No help from me at all. She took a foods class in her last semester of high school,and has become very confident in the kitchen ever since. She even shops for the nights dinner herself, which, I believe is a big part of becoming a good cook.
The dinner she made this Monday was a vegetarian enchilada recipe called "White bean enchilada." The filling was very good and you didn't even miss the meat. She said, she would maybe not add so much of the sauce next time for a more crispy texture. This is one of those lessons you get while you are learning, and I say that is a good thing.
This summer I may show her how to make a pie. Maybe she can tackle that next week. I'm thinking a peach pie.....stay tuned for more Caitlin cooks on Monday.

My first blog award!

Dawn at The Gahan Girls has given me my first blog award. It is the Brillante Weblog award. Aww shucks, thanks for your very kind description of my blog and for giving me this award!

See below how this award gets passed on to others. I know a few that deserve this also.

Here are the rules:

1.Please put logo on blog

2.Add link to the person who awarded you

3. Nominate 7 fellow bloggers

4. Add links to the recipients

5. Leave a comment so the recipiants know they have received an award.

And the Brillante goes to.....

Cece at All Dolled Up Her blog fits how adorable her personality is and she has very cute things for sale as well. I've met CeCe in person and she is just as charming as she appears on her blog.

Amy at Bura Ellen Amy's blog shows her talents in sewing and cooking. She has two darling children with the cutest names, Lucy and Larkin.

Melissa at Charmed Life Melissa's fun personality shines through her blog, and she makes very cute charm bracelets that she sells. Her unique style spills over to the decorating of her home, where has taken us on a tour of.I have also enjoyed her posts on her collection of pottery.

Valerie of un arc en ciel dans le lavabo Valerie's blog is in French, but the very talented girl can also write in perfect English! She is an amazing seamstress and crochet artist. Even if you can't read French, her blog is worth a visit. She has beautiful photos of where she lives and you can take a mini trip to France through her blog.

Linnea at Linnea Paulina Linnea's blog is packed with eye catching cooking adventures and charming sewing projects. Her sweet personality comes through, as you read about her family and her jaunts to visit her boyfriend in California.

Jen at The Fabled Needle If you love to crochet and sew, you must visit Jen's blog! She sells her crochet patterns as well as her beautiful jewelry. I love the look of her blog and being a fellow seamstress of apparel, I really enjoy her vintage sewing posts.

Andrea at Under A Blue Moon Andrea has a way around a camera and shows her talents in many forms. She crafts,cooks and sews,and embroiders. She has a beautiful home here in California that is fun to peek at when she shares corners of it through her posts.

I pray I did all the links correctly, and if I did not, all of these very talented women are on my side bar. Thanks again Dawn, I love your blog a whole bunch too!
Sorry I have been missing in action for a few days here. I have some fun things I'm working on that I will be sharing soon.

Has anyone used this book yet?

I just bought this book the other day, and I got so excited to try and duplicate some of these very cute aprons. That is until I looked in the back at the patterns and realized that you have to copy them at 400%. Has anyone had luck doing this at a local Kinkos? Sure I could get my lazy self to our local Kinkos and see what they can do, but I thought I'd ask my fellow bloggers out there for their advice. Has anyone bought this book and made an apron from it? They are so darn cute,and I really want to try some of the great patterns in it.......So, help me out here and let me know if anyone has had luck enlarging patterns that huge.
Thanks in advance.

The fourth and Frida

Saturday we went to the Frida Kahlo Show at the SFMOMA. This is my favorite picture of her
Happy Fourth of July!
Our Fourth feast
But first there was chopping....
Salad making
Pastry rolling...
Tossing of the strawberry and rhubarb....
Assembling of pie...
Ready to eat!

Fun weekend with friends and family. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.
We had family friends over for the fourth and I had the opportunity to make one of my favorite pies...strawberry rhubarb. I have been making pies since I was about 17 or 18,and I find it so relaxing and fun to make them. I'm always a bit puzzled why people get worked up with making pastry. It really isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be. My favorite crust is a pate brisse, It is an all butter crust, no shortening. It always tastes like shortbread cookies. I found a strawberry rhubarb recipe in a cookbook that my brother in law gave me 20 years ago, called "The American Country Inn and Bed&Breakfast Cookbook." The recipe is from an inn in Wyoming. The reason I love it so much is that it has more rhubarb to strawberry ratio, so it is a bit more tart,which I love. Then I made my tried and true potato salad that I watched my mom and grandmother make many times. Basic and yummy. Since we aren't masters of the grill, we kept it simple and grilled some nice sausage and hot dogs. We managed to find brioche hot dog buns,and that made the hot dogs a bit more special. After dinner,we headed into the city,like we do every year, and watched the fireworks,at least we tried to watch the fireworks. The city by the bay was socked in with fog, so we saw nothing by flashing of some colors. Since this was a bit of a let down,we went back to Nicole and Pierre's apartment and hung out with their friends. They had a floor party and we roamed in and out of all the apartments. That was fun and entertaining. We did however get home very late!
Saturday we went to the MOMA to see the Frida Kahlo show. LOVED it!! She is my favorite female painter hands down. Her life is so interesting,and her style is so beautiful. Everyone in the Bay Area must go see this show. I walked out of there inspired. My dear husband treated me to three books, one on her clothing,one on her life and paintings,and last but not least, a cookbook written by Diego Rivera's daughter. All the recipes were from her memories of living with her father(Diego Rivera) and Frida. After leaving the show, of course we then had to have Mexican food. We went to Tacubaya in Berkeley Ca. This is the sister restaurant to Dona Tomas in Oakland that I have posted on before. Very fun filled day,and now this post is turning out to be epic. So, I'll sign off for today......

Tatin Aux Aubergines et Aux Pignons

A little bit of an arugula salad and dinner is complete!

First off, hoots and cheers that I survived June! Yesterday I decided to make this eggplant tatin recipe from Marie Claire Idees from 2003. The first time I make this was when I was living in France,so it has been a while. It came out wonderful the first time and I was hoping that I would get good results with American ingredients this time. Proof that it is a good recipe,since it turned out wonderful.
The first thing you have to do is get all the water out of the eggplant by sprinkling it with Kosher salt. I didn't use Kosher salt the first time and it was a tad bit salty. After about 30 minutes, you then scrape away the salt and begin to saute the eggplant in olive oil garlic and lemon juice. Let them cool. In a tart pan spread a bit of olive oil on the bottom then sprinkle a tablespoon of brown sugar. Sprinkle the pine nuts and arrange the sun dried tomatoes and a few sprigs of lemon thyme. Put the eggplant in by overlapping them in a circle. Cover with puff pastry and cook until the puff pastry is golden brown. We had an arugula salad that complimented the dish very well.
We have one slice left for lunch today.
Happy July 1st!!!