barb's b-day

Today, March 31, is my friend's birthday.

I went to Rochester on Tuesday to spend my day with her. We didn't do much and still had a great time. We spent the morning drinking Champagne at her house and talking and copying recipes. Too much of anything is bad, but too much champagne is just right.


inside of Nick's

Then out for a drive along Lake Ontario with a stop at Nick's Sea Breeze Inn for lunch.


the things I gave her for her birthday

And more driving along the lake and a stop at Charlotte (char lot)Beach where we took a long cold windy walk down the pier. But I knew once we made it to the end that the walk back would have the wind at our back. May the wind be always at your back.

On the way back to her house we stopped at Dollop, a cupcake store. They won the Cupcake Wars on TV. I ordered a brown sugar cupcake with chocolate ganache and vanilla icing. Barb ordered a brown sugar cupcake with Boston Creme filling an chocolate icing. we took them back to her house and had them on cute plates along with a cup of hot tea. And then sadly my time was up and I had to head home in order to be on time to go to a ballet of Cinderella.

We had so much to talk about. It had been awhile since we were last together.

Happy Birthday my friend!

a little stir fry

Once I had a wok. I tried to find a place to store it for years, but finally I got rid of it. I'm not a China restaurant and a pan works just as well. I've tried lots of bottled stir-fry sauces but I still come back to making stir-fry the way I have done since forever.

The veggies that need a tad extra cooking like carrots and broccoli, I microwave for a minute. The ones that need only heating like bean sprouts, bok choy, mushrooms and so forth go directly in the pan with a tad of chicken broth and sesame oil. My sauce is chicken broth mixed with a tablespoon or so of each soy sauce and corn starch. It's still my favorite. I added fresh corn cut from the cob to this and a generous sprinkle of salted cashews.

a breath of spring

I ended up making fourteen paper birdhouses. I gave away ten as gifts and used four to decorate my fireplace mantel for spring.

Is there something wrong with a woman who enjoys sitting at home all day making paper birdhouses and baking cookies? I hope not!

the roycroft inn

This is what the Roycroft Inn website has to say about the Inn.

The Roycroft Campus, the Roycroft way of life and its story began in 1897 with Elbert Hubbard a legendary man of vision who founded the American Arts and Crafts Movement in East Aurora NY. For more than 20 years, the Roycroft Campus was a center of entrepreneurship, creativity and learning. It was a hub of activity with over five hundred working artisans and craftsmen and drew visitors from faraway places.

In 1905 the Roycroft Inn was opened to accommodate visitors and artisans looking to experience this emerging community and style. The Inn became a center of activity for this community. In 1986, The Roycroft Inn, as part of the Roycroft Campus, received National Historic Landmark status. Over a nine year period, with support from the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, The Inn meticulously underwent an $8 million dollar restoration to return it to its original splendor. It was re-opened for guests in 1995.

Today, The Roycroft Inn continues to welcome visitors and be the center of the many community activities. It offers its guests a beautiful destination for an overnight stay, a special dining experience or both.

From the moment you enter the Campus and arrive at the Inn, you are immersed in the beauty and unique style of the Roycroft artisans. As you step through the grand doors "time still seems to stand still", at least for a minute. In the Salon you are surrounded by the beautifully restored murals created by Alexis Jean Fournier, an original Roycroft artist. Sit in an original Roycroft Morris chair, read a book by a handcrafted lamp or just wander through the series of exquisitely restored rooms and breathe in the history of this Historic Inn.

So The Roycroft was where the Arts and Crafts movement began. It is a decorating style that seems timeless. I've taken guests to the Roycroft for lunch several times but I had never experienced dinner or an overnight there. B surprised me for our anniversary by arranging for us to do both. We spent St Patrick's Day in East Aurora visiting all the shops on Main Street.

Our room at the Inn was awesome.


This is the restaurant.


the bedroom part of the room


the sitting area


more sitting area



I was particularly impressed by the bathroom



really impressed by the bathroom



Like I said....I really liked the bathroom

the night circus

I am reading a fantastic book right now called The Night Circus. The Night Circus is completely black and white. The tents are black and white striped. I think this outfit that I wore on a date with myself today would be perfect to wear to The Night Circus.

I had an excellent day. A five mile walk, the final sanding of my table before the final coat of poly and then I went to see The Hunger Games all by myself. Followed by an excellent dinner at JoJo's all by myself. And now paper crafting and listening to my favorite songs on Spotify. An enchanted day....kind of like an enchanted circus.

another birdhouse

I made this birdhouse for a friend. I'm planning on making one for another friend and I need to make two more to decorate my mantel for spring. Then on to something else.



I shredded colored newsprint and added a few snips of ribbon and yarn such as a real bird may do when building a nest. And three chocolate hazelnut eggs for a little surprise when the roof is removed.

anniversary dinner

The first day of spring and our wedding anniversary. I wanted to set a colorful table. Wegmans had tulips today for $6 per bunch. B likes bright colors so I went with orange.



My aim was for a colorful low calorie meal. Simple but flavorful and a little bit different. We started with baguette and dipping oil made with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Parmesan cheese and garlic herb mix that Bill's sister gave us for Christmas. A gift that she purchased in Europe.




The salad....Thin sliced English cucumber and red pepper marinated in 1/4 cup of rice vinegar with 2 teaspoons of sugar added.



Main course-Pork meatballs with raisins and pine nuts served on Swiss Chard mix cooked with yellow squash in a bit of chicken broth. I added the leftover bread dip to flavor.

Meatballs are made with 1 pound of lean ground pork, 1/4 c chopped golden raisins, 1/4 c toasted pine nuts, 1/3 t cinnamon, 1 egg, 1/4 c Panko bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Cook on stove top in a tiny bit of olive oil.



Dessert was fresh apple slices tossed in a few drops of lemon juice so as not to discolor. The dip for the apples was equal parts of caramel and mascarpone cheese.



All cleaned up. I left the candles burning while we watched one of our all time favorite movies....Amadeus.

eatin' o the green

We had our corned beef and cabbage dinner on the 15th this year. I always make it every year. But on Friday we have burgers and fries and on Saturday we were going to be having dinner and spending the night at the Roycroft Inn to celebrate our anniversary. So on the 15th I made it in the crockpot and it was one of the most delicious briskets we've ever had.

oil or plastic

So here is my table after I've applied a coat of dark mahogany stain. It literally glows and I could not be happier with the outcome. But now I have to decide on the finishing coat. I am leaning toward tung oil. B thinks that would be a mistake. He is an advocate of polyurethane. I am terrified that I won't be able to get it right...leaving brush strokes, bubbles or drips.

woody woodworker

B is on spring break and so I am so to speak. And what do people do when they are on spring break? Oh that's right, they go to Florida. But what do people like B and I do on spring break? We work! We are painting the dining room this week and shopping for drapery rods which is just a downright scary endeavor. All that hardware talk boggles my mind and just when you think you found a solution, they price it out. I would prefer to let my windows go bare than spend $3000 to $4000 on drapery rods and that doesn't even include the draperies. I think we are going to get single traverse decorative rods and rehang our sheers. No fancy side panels for us.


getting started

So while the dining room is emptied of furniture, I decided to take on the project of refinishing the dining room table top. A mahogany Duncan Phyfe style table in bad need of refinishing. I'm just doing the top. The rest of the table is in okay shape.


one drop leaf down

B got me set up in the garage with the sander and 100 grit paper. I swore I would finish it even if it killed me.


half-way there

So here I am halfway there. I finished yesterday with the 100 grit.



And today I sanded it with 220 grit to a satiny finish

I was a little reluctant to post this because I'm considering some kind of design on the table and I might screw it up. Or even if I just stain it with no design, I might still screw it up and you would be left wondering.....I wonder whatever happened with that table she was refinishing?

getting crafty

I kind of like paper crafts. They are fast and fun. In a short period of time you can make something cute that serves no purpose at all. I sat down with my papers and a craft book and decided on a birdhouse for spring. The first thing you need to is enlarge a pattern by 200%. Since I don't have a copier large enough to do this I decided to test my math skills and create a template by hand. After a fair amount of time and much measuring and fractions, I successfully did this. Excuse me a moment while I pat myself on the back.



Next is choosing papers that compliment or contrast one another. This is the funnest part. I chose pinks and greens.



Almost there



And the finished home complete with bird. Slightly off-kilter but I plan to make a couple more to hone my skills. The next time you see this house I'm hoping it will be as part of a spring decorating theme on my fireplace mantel.

this is my prayer

Dear God,

I'm not sure I believe in you. I believe in something and it might be you. I find too many little coincidences in life not to believe that you or someone like you is out there. I have been given a gift. A gift to examine my life and find myself anew. Please don't let me squander it. These are the things I like to do. Cook, bake, exercise, organize my closets and drawers, paint and wallpaper, sew, paper craft, watch movies, blog and write. I like physical labor, working with my hands, being on my feet and moving, talking to people,connecting with people and pleasing people. I like to be with people and I like to be alone. I like animals especially cats, birds and rodents. I like to take long hikes. I love nature. I love sunsets. I love to think about how I would decorate a room. I love color and how colors work together. I like to plan meals and set pretty tables. I love clothing and shoes and putting together outfits. I love music but I'm not musical. I love theater and the arts but I'm not particularly artistic.

I'm not so hot on numbers, managing people or politics. I'm ashamed that I don't care for these things because I feel that they are the things that smart people care about. The things that could get you a good career.

So please help me fashion a life from the things I love. I am searching for a purpose. Searching for work that consumes and soothes my body and soul. Asking for patience and determination. But I am floundering here. Guide me.

Angel of God
My guardian dear
In whom God's love
Entrusts me here
Ever this day be at my side
to light and guard and rule and guide.

frivolous vs frugal me

frivolous....carefree and not serious

frugal.......sparing, thrifty, prudent or economical in the use of consumable resources such as food, time or money

Who am I trying to kid? There is no frugal me.

There is a constant battle in my mind. I want to be frugal but fear that I'm frivolous. Not even fear, I know I am frivolous. I made a vow to myself to stop spending money. I have so much more than I need. I have enough shoes for fifty people to have a nice selection of shoes. And still, after my baby sister posted pics of cute shoes she found at Marshalls....my car seemed somehow to make a trip there. With me in it. I had no control. Against my better judgement, I walked into Marshalls and walked out with three pairs. Three pairs and three tops. After my solemn vow. Okay, I've renewed my vow.

I have been spending less at the grocery store. And today I stopped myself from making a trip to Goodwill and Amvets. But I did have to buy groceries and there were two bins full of very interesting books reduced to $3 each. A wiser person would have walked away. A wiser more frugal person would read some of the many books that she already owns. But frivolous me added eight of these $3 books to her grocery cart. Seven novels and a craft book about knitting and crocheting shawls with beads. A wise and frugal person would know that she would never knit a lovely shawl. A frivolous person can dream.

winsome wednesday

Yes, it was engaging, fetching, charming. A day when I rediscovered myself a little bit. A day when I introduced myself back to some of the things I love.
I awoke at 7 am and spent a bit of time with coffee relaxing in bed reading, Facebooking and Wording with Friends. I had a coffee date with my new friend, Julia, at 10 am. I didn't laze long because I wanted to get a 5 mile walk in before meeting her so I would have the rest of the day to pursue something without exercise thoughts looming in my head. I've been such a good girl these past couple weeks. Trying out yoga, cardio kickbox and a body sculpt class by another instructor. I've been running and walking everyday and not really thinking much about food. I dressed and headed out the door. I timed my walk perfectly. At 10 I arrived at Panera and although Julia and I hadn't seen one another, spoken to one another since last Wednesday when we had agreed to meet again, there she was at Panera at 10.
We ordered bagels and coffee and talked. When I announced that I had better get going, I was shocked to discover that the time on my phone was 1:30. Yes, Julia and I seem to have a lot in common and a lot to talk about.

When I got home I did some organizing and cleaning and had a bit of lunch. What could I do that would have the biggest impact and be noticed the most? Our yard was full of branches and pine cones and the temp was nearly 70 degrees. So I hauled out the garbage cans and the rake and spent 3 hours raking the entire back yard and hauling out the garbage. This was incredibly soothing and healing. I actually love fairly hard physical labor and when I was finished, I could look upon my yard and say....I did this.

Then I made another nice dinner. We repeated the beet salad except I used walnuts this time and a Dijon vinaigrette. I had marinated a butterflied lamb leg in Wegman's lemon salad dressing for a couple hours and I baked this and served along with brown rice cooked in half water, half chicken broth, 1 t curry powder and dried cherries.

After dinner B and I watched Run Lola Run, a movie that we remembered liking the first time we saw it and we wanted to revisit it.

This day charmed me. I felt relaxed and peaceful. I felt a little more like that person I used to be.

halibut for the hellavit

B and I have a tradition of having burgers and fries on Friday nights and renting a movie. I have been wanting to get more fish in our diets. B is not a big fan of fish. So I told him that Wednesday nights would be fish night. He said that he thought maybe he could stand to have it once a week so it is my job to make it tasty. I joked that if he didn't want the fish that he could have Peter Pan on bread. (This is in reference to a big argument we had the night before regarding the brand of peanut butter that I bought. I won't pursue this train of thought any further.) So anyway I think I am losing track of time because it was actually Tuesday night that we had fish. Last night (Wednesday) we had lamb.

So anyhoo we started with this beet salad. B loves beets. My mom makes a beet salad that I have copied. Chopped beets, celery, walnuts, diced Swiss cheese with a vinegar and oil dressing. We love it. This salad was similar. Arugula greens mix, sliced beets, feta, chopped chives, chopped pecans and a honey-lemon vinaigrette.



Our main course was a study in yellow and green. Halibut baked with a dash of butter and capers, potato gnocchi with sour cream and dill, and sliced zucchini and summer squash cooked in a bit of chicken broth and capers.

havarti-stuffed chicken breasts

Cut a 2-inch pocket in the thickest part of chicken breast. Stuff the pocket with dill Havarti cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a T olive oil and a T of butter in in a large skillet over med-high heat. I dusted my chicken with a little Wegman's pan searing flour. Cook the chicken til golden brown on both sides and then turn heat to low and let cook longer for maximum tenderness.

I served this with a mesclun salad containing dried cherries and chickpeas along with a homemade Dijon Vinaigrette.

I had this piece of cauliflower that was a bit past it's prime so I cut off any dark spots, cooked in microwave until soft and then pureed it along with a roasted red pepper, salt, pepper, a dab of butter, a dab of sour cream and a dash of milk. Very pretty and tasty veggie side dish and I didn't have to toss that cauliflower in the garbage.

steak w/ hot checkerboard potato salad

I decided this week to put some of my many cookbooks to use. I selected a Real Simple Dinner Tonight: Done cookbook for inspiration. I rarely make recipes exactly as written. So I selected Steak with Potato Salad and Blue Cheese Vinaigrette. But then I didn't make the Potato Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette. Instead I substituted my own recipe....Hot Checkerboard Potato Salad as the starch dish. I did make the Romaine Salad with Tomatoes and Bacon from the cookbook though.

For two people

half a bag of romaine salad
2 slices of cooked bacon (I made this easy with Wegman's precooked bacon that you heat in the microwave)
as many half cherry tomatoes as you see fit
two or three chopped chives or scallions

Dressing:
1/8 c olive oil
1/8 c grated Parm
1 T sour cream
1 T rice vinegar
salt and pepper



Pan cooked Tenderloin steak medium rare and here is the p salad

Two red potatoes peeled and cubed
2 purple potatoes peeled and cubed
Microwave in a covered dish with a T water until cooked but still firm. Add chopped raw onion and chopped raw celery, a splash of rice vinegar and a splash of olive oil, sea salt and ground black pepper to taste. Cover and let sit a minute or two to warm the raw veggies.



Dessert from the same cookbook

Chocolate-Ricotta Icebox Cake

Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with 2 crisscrossed pieces of parchment paper, spraying between layers and leaving an overhang on both sides.
In food processor, puree the 2 15-ounce containers of ricotta( I used part-skim) with 12 ounces semisweet chocolate ( melted and slightly cooled)until very smooth.
Layer with crushed chocolate wafer cookies, layer of ricotta, layer of cookies, layer of ricotta, layer of cookies, layer of ricotta. Refrigerate at least an hour.

I halved this recipe and use a small loaf pan. I also used a few too many cookies causing it to fall apart. I also suggest freezing instead of refrigerating. If you freeze let it sit out a few minutes to soften for cutting.

defeat vs triumph

I bought these pale pink tulips last weekend. I have been enjoying looking at them but suddenly noticed yesterday that they were bent over and drooping. I failed to provide more water for them during the week. They needed sustenance. I thought it was probably too late to revive them but I provided the sustenance anyway.



Later in the day I saw that they had triumphed. Don't forget to provide the ones you love with sustenance and watch them triumph.

my crushes

I can't let this week go by without a word about Davy Jones, my first serious crush. Or maybe Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits was my first. I think I was a little more in love with Davy though. I love to shop and I would skip shopping trips to Lincoln in order to stay home and watch The Monkees.

David Callum from The Man from Uncle was another crush although I look back now and think he had a melon head.

Then there was this actor in a short-lived TV show with something Blue in the name. I think his name was Frank something that started with a C. He may have ridden a motorcycle. I can't remember. He had curly blond hair and he was another crush. And there was the actor that played the part of Blue in High Chapperal.

Of course, there were a couple boys in my high school class I had big crushes on. I'm not naming names but these crushes lasted well into my adult years.

An unlikely crush was Klaus Maria Brandauer who was in White Fang with Ethan Hawke and also played a villian in Never Say Never Again. I wouldn't say he had classic good looks but he intrigued me.

Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Heath Ledger's cute little lines around his mouth. All of these guys I find truly good-looking. Richard Gere. Daniel Craig, Hayden Christensen, especially in the Star Wars movies. And I can't forget Bruce Willis. I didn't care for him in his early years but ever since The Die Hard Movies and The Fifth Element, I've been kind of crazy about him.

untitled

oscar dinner

And the winner is ......my dinner




I wanted to plan a dinner for Academy Awards night that included a food that represented each of the movies up for an Oscar. That proved a bit much. I couldn't fit in hot dogs and peanuts from Moneyball. So I limited my movies and put together this menu. My main course was Hawaiian Huli Huli chicken so I chose to set the table in a sort of Hawaiian theme.

Appetizers honored The Artist. We had champagne and Rosemary Cheddar Cheese crackers....Old Hollywood style.

First course was Silken Potato & Turnip Soup to honor War Horse. This soup was amazingly good and low-fat. I've had it for lunch almost every day this week.



Second course not too exciting....salad that was left over from the night before but with homemade Dijon Vinaigrette served on fish plates.

Main course - Huli Huli Chicken, brown rice with pea pods and pineapple to honor The Descendants and French Style green beans with crushed Marcona almonds to honor Hugo.

And naturally for dessert, Minny's Chocolate Pie to honor The Help. I don't know what Wegman's puts in it to make it taste so good. Maybe some of that good Mexican vanilla.