Thoughts and Stuff

MONSTERS! Get them here....

Currently:May 31, 2002 link

I wish I had a doggie, if only to get a portrait painted by Leigh. Check out her wonderful paintings and buy one!

I am happy it's Friday, but I would be happier if I didn't have to work tomorrow. Blah.

May 29, 2002 link

I saw this crazy thing through a link via Bathtub Junkie. Jelly Bath. Go to "Jelly How 2" under "Product Info" (frames) and click the little quicktime demonstration movie. This stuff is so strange. I want it.

This is how lame I am: I am STILL not made the granola, even though all of the various granola components are waiting patiently in my cupboard. Julie made a batch a while back and had a good experience, so I know that it will be okay. I think I am just lazy. Or perhaps I have such a short attention span that I am already bored with the idea of making granola...I am an Aries you know.

And another thing. You know how sometimes when you want something SO bad that you are afraid to talk about it for fear that you will jinx it, or get your hopes up too high and be utterly crushed when it doesn't happen? Or how about when you keep seeing things on TV, or hear things on the radio or read about them and you think "It's a sign!" They are all signs!" well...Super J has a job interview in a city that I have really wanted to live in for a long time. I don't know much about the whole thing and it's too soon to say either way, but the prospect of living there has pretty much put me into a useless tizzy the last few days. So think good thoughts for me, but don't talk about it or it won't happen, okay?

May 28, 2002 link

The UPS man just dropped off my wacom tablet and I have to say that I am in love. LOVE. Anyone want to guess what I am going to be playing with the rest of the day?

May 24, 2002 link

J and I have decided that sometime next year we are going to Italy. Specifically, The Cinque Terre. " Eighteen kilometers of sheer rocky coastline in northern Italy, terraced hills and vineyards sloping steeply down to the sea. Five little villages are built into the rocks between the beach and the hills. You can hike, swim, drink red wine, and watch blazing Mediterranean sunsets away from the tourist throngs in the Italian cities and the French Riviera. Centuries old footpaths and mule tracks wind about 500 to 1,000 feet above the sea, leading through olive groves and vineyards, orchards and chestnut woods."

He has been obsessed with this place ever since he read about it in an issue of Wine Spectator. Apparently, they are giving free land to any crazy person that wants to tackle trying to grow grapes on the side of a rocky mountain. Check this picture out. Dreamy.

May 22, 2002 link

I got my latest issue of InStyle Magazine in the mail yesterday, and on my first flip-through, I spotted a section that highlighted the purchase of underwear by some new Hollywood Actress. Lomo underwear. You can buy them too. Wow, and on further investigation, you can also buy a Lomo camera to take pictures while wearing your new skivvies. That web-site, Mousseshop.com, has a strange combination of items. A little bit of everything.

May 21, 2002 link

Crazy! Megan posted yesterday that West Elm is actually part of Williams-Sonoma! There is also a link in her comments box from Girl Hacker about this whole West Elm thing including an article that the New York Times wrote about it all. I have to say that I am a tad bit disappointed. In my mind I was trying to imagine who these West Elm people were, and I kept coming up with a hip young person/group of people starting up their own housewares company. Naive? Perhaps. Somehow finding out that it's a Williams-Sonoma venture made me feel dirty. Oh well..I still like it a whole bunch.

On a lighter note...Jenny posted yesterday about Hershey's Cocoa Mulch! Is that the coolest thing ever? I HAD to show Super J because waaaaay back in his high school days (1970's) he used to work at the Hershey plant in Modesto, California. He knows the chocolate secrets, and every time I eat a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup he gives me the same speech: "Do you know how much salt is in those things!? I do...I had to mix the peanut butter. It's disgusting." Yes,...and so very yummy.

May 20, 2002 link

I got an email from Becky this weekend informing me that Elderflower Cordial (see April 22nd entry) can be found at Whole Foods. Good to know! Thanks Becky! J and I make it down to the Whole Foods in La Jolla every so often, I will have to check it out next time I am there.

I got the most FABULOUS catalog in the mail this weekend. West Elm. Awesome, awesome stuff. Right up my alley, and best of all, not obscenely expensive. They manage to make those horrid seventies colors like brown, orange and avocado look extremely hip.

I did not make granola this weekend. (I know, I know...I am all talk.) I DID make the "health muffins" featured in this current issue of Martha Stewart Living. They are very good. Not as good as say a butter laced blueberry muffin with streusel topping, but good nonetheless.

In a lot of the blogs I read, I keep seeing the word "link" at the end of an entry, usually next to a comments box link. I never knew what they were for until Malika of Nobody's Fool talked about adding permalinks to her site (now of course I cannot find that entry to link to) . Ah-ha! That's what those things are for! I have clicked those little link words always expecting something grand...now that I know what they are for, I decided to add them to my site. I aways wondered how certain blogs could link to a specific area on their page. Now I know.

May 17, 2002 link

Happy Friday everybody!!

I have been wanting to make Granola for a long time now, and I decided that today is going to be the day. I am going to use this recipe from Martha as well as one I cut out of a magazine a few years ago. I think it's from the Sundance Resort. It says "Sundance Granola" and I think it was from a Sunset magazine:

1/2 cup whole almonds, chopped
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
6 tablespoons wheat germ
2 1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons honey
8 tablespoons maple syrup
2 1/4 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups black raisins or other dried fruit

Heat Oven to 275 degrees
Combine the first seven ingredients and mix well
Combine honey, maple syrup, molasses and vegetable oil in a pot and warm through. Add to dry ingredients and mix well.
Turn out mixture onto sheet pans and bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so. Allow to cool, then add raisins or other dried fruit. (Granola may be stored in an air tight container for a few days.
Serve with low-fat vanilla yogurt and fresh berries. Or over ice cream. Or with vanilla rice/soy milk.

I am going to omit the dried fruit because I hate dried fruit, and I am going to add shredded coconut. I saw an episode of Good Eats that had a granola recipe also. Granola everywhere.

May 16, 2002

Thanks to all of you who gave Wacom advice! I bought one! It's the 6x8 size...not too big, but big enough. I am pretty darn excited.

Last night J and I went to a baseball game. The Padres vs. the Expos. It wasn't until I saw the enormous stuffed Monk walking around that I realized the mascot of the Padres is indeed, a Monk. Or Padre. It makes sense,...I guess... I never really thought about it before last night. Anyway,...we grilled hot-dogs in the parking lot and drank wine out of travel mugs. It was fun, and the game was exciting only until the thrill of "never being to a baseball game before" wore off. Which was pretty quickly. We left in the 7th inning, which reminds me..Did you all know that the "7th inning stretch" actually means you get up and stretch? J announced "It's the 7th inning stretch!" and jumped out of his seat like everyone else in the crowd and they all start groaning and stretching and bending in all directions. Here's me: "Are you kidding?". I don't really know what I thought the 7th inning stretch was, but I can guarantee you it wasn't that. The Padres won 2-1.

May 15, 2002

I stumbled onto this "Chocolate Garden" on Red Envelope this morning and my first thought was "Wow! Growing a cocoa plant?!" No,...it's a variety of seeds for growing flowers such as bittersweet William, chocolate flower, chocolate clusters, chocolate soldiers columbine, chocolate nasturtium and chocolate drop rudbeckia. Not quite as cool as growing your own cocoa beans, but still pretty damn snazzy.

May 14, 2002

A few years ago I read an article in a Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine about an artist that made lampshades. Her name is Jil Smith, and her lampshades are so wonderful. She uses handmade papers and her designs remind me of the fifties, mid-century design that I like so much. Whenever I make it up to Seattle, I am going to see if I can't pop in to her studio and take a look. I originally saved the article because I thought that they would be fairly easy to make and whenever I am someplace that carries handmade paper I always think "Lampshades." If you haven't noticed by now, I don't get much further than thinking. Action is the hard part for me. Anyway...here is a great article about Jil Smith and her fabulous lampshades.

I have been seriously debating on whether or not to plunk down the cash and get a Wacom Tablet. I need one. I want one. I have used them in the past, and they are awesome. I am hoping that by switching to a Wacom, I will alleviate some of the pain I feel in my arm, by which I can draw and be more productive. I think that I am going to do it...I just hate parting with largish sums of money. I thought about going through eBay, and there were some great deals, but I think I would rather pay the extra money and get a warranty.

May 13, 2002

I need to make a new picture for this page, but I can't think of anything. I am currently in a creative dry spell. I would like to redesign my site also. It's frustrating, only because I feel like I need to get some stuff done in a timely manner, but my brain is like "Nope. I want to watch TV." So be it.

I checked my horoscope this morning and the first sentence I read was this : "A reversal, whether in your personal or professional life, could set you back." What the hell?! Super J lost the fingernail clippers this morning and it's oddly affecting me very deeply. I am obsessed with my uneven, "some-longer-than-others" fingernails, and I cannot do anything about it. So, as the rest of my horoscope advises : "Actually, if you can distance yourself from your initial disappointment, you realize that this information needed to come out. Regroup, and you'll be OK. Don't worry" I guess it is important I was made aware of the fact that the fingernail clippers were missing so I can put them on the Wal-Mart list before a deadly hangnail turns this misfortune into a full-on crisis. Horoscope: "Tonight: Discuss recent events." It is clear to me that Super J and I need to sit down and have a chat about the importance of fingernail clippers to the sanity and well being others in the household. Perhaps we can draft a plan of action, such as purchasing a back-up, "emergency" pair of fingernail clippers to avoid this situation in the future. And no, toenail clippers are not an acceptable substitute.

May 10, 2002

Stuff Julie Likes has slider tins! In five sizes! should be stuff Erica likes...

Malika's entry today on Nobody's Fool about her favorite Santa Cruz breakfast place had made me miss MY favorite Santa Cruz breakfast place. Walnut Ave Cafe. I swear, I have not found a better Eggs Benedict, and believe my I try. Every new place we eat for breakfast that has it on the menu, I order it. Nobody even comes close. Walnut Ave's eggs were never hard, they gave you plenty of sauce, the home fries were yummy, and they garnished with olive slices. It was within walking distance of our apartment and I loved it. So in honor of my beloved Eggs Benedict, J and I are going to attempt a hollandaise sauce and make our own.

I have been thinking lately of making my own yogurt. I was in a bookstore the other day looking at Jamie Oliver's new cookbook "The Naked Chef Takes Off" and he had a homemade yogurt recipe as well as a list of ingredients to add to it. Like rosewater, honey, strawberries.....yum....I bet homemade vanilla yogurt would be SO GOOD!

May 9, 2002

I am feeling bored this week. *sigh* I am in one of those moods where everything sucks, even though it really doesn't. It doesn't help that this week is officially "Flea Season" and I have the bites to prove it. Bastard cat.

Has anyone seen that new decorating show on Discovery called "The Designer Guys"? I love that show. They are pretty funny and a little more classy than Christopher Lowell. Don't get me wrong..I love Christopher, but he can be a little tacky in my opinion.

May 8, 2002

There is a thread on Glitter that has instructions on a way to make the marble, or glass pebble bracelets. The photos give a good idea what they look like. I STILL have yet to make my marble magnets. To add insult to injury..I was playing with my 3/4" punch, pretending that I was punching paper to make magnets, you know....to get the feel of it all...and I dropped it. It is now in a permanent state of "punch". It will not release. I tried dropping it a few more times to see if it would pop back, but it hasn't. It's now in the trash.

May 6, 2002

Sunday was a good TV day. Watched Frontier House, then Blue Planet, which I am going to buy on DVD, and then Six Feet Under. Doesn't get much better...

I got my Loose Ends catalogs in the mail this weekend! I must be psychic, because I had JUST been thinking about how long it had been since I "pre-ordered" them and was wondering if I had been duped.

Ever since Get Crafty posted the Chai recipe, I have been tearing apart my house trying to find an article I ripped out of an Instyle Entertaining magazine last year. Found it.

Here is yet another Chai recipe, This one from Sarah McLachlan and I think it is in her cookbook Plenty.

Serves 4

4 cups water
1 large cinnamon stick or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp whole fennel seeds
2-3 whole cloves
1/3 tsp powdered ginger*
1/3 tsp amchoor/amchur (mango powder)*
4 regular tea bags
1-2 cups whole milk
sugar to taste

* Optional

Mix water and spices in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; add tea bags. Let steep until desired strength. Add milk; simmer. Add sugar and strain into cups. Or serve unsweetend and let each person sweeten to taste. I haven't tired this so I don't know if it is any good. Sounds pretty fancy...

Speaking of Chai...check out this website, Nub Chai. (you need Flash plug-in) I drew most of the graphics for them when I lived in Santa Cruz. I am not sure if they are still in business, but they had good chai.

May 3, 2002

UPDATE: Gael ROCKS!! She sent me the link on the PBS/Frontier House page where you can type your zip code in and find out when they are going to replay the episodes. Looks like I have six hours of tv watching to pencil in for Sunday. Thanks!

Look at these "Soda Syrups" from Uncommon goods. Lavender, Orange Blossom and Vanilla Pear. I am tempted to buy one to see exactly what it's made of...I live for this kind of stuff.

Other items I like:

Glass "Grass" candle votive holders: These are just glass bead strung on what looks to be wire..the aluminum base would be hard to duplicate, but perhaps you could use wood?

Horoscope Tiles: These are funny. I know you can buy the unpainted tiles at craft stores, but I have never used the porcelain paint, could be worth an experiment...I'll have to remember that next time I am looking for a distraction.

What a bummer....Mom informed me last night that PBS aired the other two episodes of "Frontier House" on Tuesday and Wednesday. Here I was waiting them to air on Mondays. Oh well..I am sure it will air again sometime in the future.

I found these garden forums yesterday from a thread on Glitter. I love them! I found a recipe for cacti and succulent potting mix!: 2 parts potting soil, 1 part sand, 1 part perlite, and 1 part 3/8" gravel. I also found out that both thyme and rosemary do not like "wet feet" and that they both like really good drainage. I think that if I am serious about wanting to learn how to garden I need to pay attention to things like this. Who knew?

May 2, 2002

I just realized, as I was beginning to write this entry, that I totally messed up naming my files and yesterday's entry got posted as the April archive. Oops.

Did anyone catch Frontier House on PBS last Monday? It was SO good. Basically it's three families committing to live EXACTLY the way families would live in 1883 in the "Montana Territories". They had to build their own house, pluck their own chickens and survive without modern conveniences. SO good. And too my delight, yesterday I got my new issue of The Smithsonian magazine that has a huge article on the whole thing. (I'll mail it to you when I am done, Mom)

Yesterday we bought the cutest cast iron grill from Cost Plus. I really wish they had a picture of it on their site because it's the cutest damn thing ever! It sort of looks like a wee tiny pot belly stove. I can't wait to start grilling!

May 1,2002

I'm back! Had a GREAT time and did tons of fun stuff. I made a felted purse and one of those leather hair barrettes that are so popular right now, both documented with pictures so I can post them here.....I just need to wait until my mother gets them developed and sent to me. This whole process was a painful reminder that I need a digital camera. The weather was great, warm but windy. It's always windy there so that's no surprise....got caught up on all the gossip on EVERYONE from ex-teachers to ex-boyfriends. Small towns are good for things like that.

I found a new magazine that I love...Country Living. I am NOT a Country kind of decorator, but this magazine is actually pretty hip. Going through all of my mom's magazines and such has gotten me in the mood to do something with my patio. I think that I am going to buy some flats of flowers this weekend, perhaps a hanging basket, or one of those strawberry pots planted with some herbs, or succulents, or a trailing flower. I want to make a striped floor cloth, and go to IKEA's garden department to get this bench,or perhaps this trellis to train jasmine! I want to make these bottle wind lights out of old wine bottles. Those are some big plans...I currently have some herbs I am trying very hard no to kill....everyone says how easy they are, but they always die on me.

Thanks to Lucy and Laura for the fabric suggestions...I will keep you posted!

April 2002-->