a dress + a forgotten camera

Since getting my fashion mojo back, I've made a conscious decision not to buy just for the sake of buying.  I would go into a shop with some sort of plan, not simply with the hope of acquiring something new (and the subsequent but short lived high that accompanies that.)  I now ask myself the following questions: Where am I going to wear the purchase?  Will it serve multiple purposes?  Do I have shoes or accessories that complement it?  Do I already own one (or 10 as I do white tank tops?) Will I be able to use this purchase to "work my closet?"  Does the new piece work for me, my body type, my lifestyle, my age (or am I trying to pretend I'm someone else which for me is never a success?)  With all this in mind, I started taking quick iPhone pictures of myself in potential wins, with the thought that I would leave the store and come back if I really wanted the item.  Here I am in the dressing room snapping a picture. 

I had a few possible occasions in my mind.  A wedding, a reunion, dinner out.  I could change out the wrap for multiple belts, wear a cardi with it, a blazer, a denim jacket to dress it down, wedges, flat sandals...  Actually the potential was pretty limitless, and because I live in Southern California, this will even work into the winter. So I deemed it a win and bought it!  (I did leave the store, show a friend the picture, and then return a day later...)

This past weekend, I wore the dress (with a skinny gold belt, goldish 4 inch heeled sandals, and gold jewelry) to the wedding of an old boarding school friend of my husband's.  Over the last 15 years, Sparky and I have been to many weddings together. (In 1999 alone, we went to twelve!)  It's hard for me to believe, but this is the first one we've attended that was held at someone's own house and it was awesome--super relaxed and fun.  The mother of the bride's beautiful home has an amazingly LARGE (for California) yard.  There were lights and lanterns hung everywhere.  Couches and comfy chairs were strewn across the back lawn which sits a top a hill that overlooks the entire city.  And I'm understating it when I say the the DJ rocked.  Unfortunately,  these are the only pictures I have because I forgot my camera, but it was truly a magical night for the bride and groom and everyone in attendance.  Thank you Megan and Geoff for including us in your day.  We wish you lots of love and laughter.  

P.S. I'll also tell you that fire dancers and a chipped tooth (mine!) added to the excitement of the wedding.

what.i.am.

Will.i.am on Sesame Street is pretty scrumptious.

magnificent maleficent.

As the mother of two young daughters, I have a lot of Disney princess going on in my house.  For a long time I tried to fight the princess invasion, but soon found that was a futile cause.  It's not that I have a problem with Disneyland per se or the Princesses themselves, and I'm not an ultra modern feminist.  (I am, after all, a stay-at-home-mom in a pretty traditional marriage.)  However, it's really difficult for me to get behind the messages the old school Disney movies send. (I did, after all, grow up knowing I could be and do anything I wanted, graduate Magna Cum Laude from college, have a life before I was married, and rock my own career for quite awhile before retiring to the best non-paid job there is.)   So when I spotted this line of MAC makeup inspired by the Disney villains, I was (secretly) a little excited.  I don't endorse evil or anything, but I actually think my girlies could learn a little from these strong characters. And maybe if Disney mixed the strength, ambition, and hutzpah that these villains possess with the sweetness/goodness of the pretty princesses, I'd be a little more inclined to spend the 89.95 on the gown they're hoping to rip me off with sell me at the Disney Store.  Just sayin'.

Image here.

dinner last night (or i will lose those 6 pounds i gained in nyc AND still eat yummy food!)

I went to NYC in July and gained 6 pounds over the week eating my way through the city.  Let me start by saying it was the best 6 pounds I ever gained (and I've gained my share of 6 pounds.)  But now, well, it's almost 3 months later, and I'm still carrying around that amazing cheese plate from Balthazar, the quatro of paninis I nibbled to completion at Cafe Ino, and the 5 course spectacular I consumed at Gramercy Tavern.

Enjoying dessert (and a bottle of rose') with my friend Kim at Bar Pitti in NYC.

Fall has arrived (and even though we are hitting record temps here!) I'd like to fit back into my skinny jeans. Flowy sundresses and forgiving (although mini) skirts aren't going to to cut it for much longer. But, here's the thing--I pretty much suck at diets.  I like to eat, and eat well.  So I am determined to lose that 6 pounds while at the same time eating good meals.  Since I'm an amazing above average cook =), hopefully this won't be too difficult.

Dinner last night was citrus marinated, spice rubbed, pan roasted chicken with an avocado salsa, spicy white beans, and roasted corn on the cob.  

Citrus Marinade

1/2 cup of OJ

juice from one lemon and the lemon itself, cut in half

salt

pepper

one clove garlic, finely chopped

one onion, sliced

large pour of olive oil

Spice Rub (I used Emeril's Southwest Essense, but I'm sure any will do.)

Put all of the ingredients for the marinade in a large ziplock and smush it around.  Add 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts and smush it around some more.  Then refrigerate for as long as you have (an hour will work, but the longer the better and if you only have 30 minutes, that's good too.)  Pour a bunch of spice rub onto a flat plate and coat both sides of the chicken after it's marinaded.   Saute over med-high heat in olive oil three minutes, flip, and put into a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes until almost done.  Cover each chicken breast with a slice of pepper jack cheese (or plain old jack if you aren't into spicy.)  Return to oven for a minute to melt the cheese. Top chicken with avocado salsa (recipe follows.)

Avocado Salsa

one avocado, diced

jalepeno, seeded and membrane removed, finely chopped

juice from one lime

Toss everything gently and refrigerate for an hour (or five minutes if that's all you've got!)

Spicy (Cheater) Beans
one can great northern white beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 can of Herdez (the best non-fresh, non home made ever) salsa
Dump everything in a pot and heat through.

Roasted Corn on the Cob
Butter corn and wrap completely in foil.
Roast at 400 degrees for 35 minutes (put in 20 minutes before you start to cook chicken.) Generously salt  after roasting.

P.S.  I am completely unhappy with these photographs but am sharing them anyway.  It's really difficult for me to photograph food at dinner time.  I think food network should produce a show starring a mommy putting together a real meal, all while stumbling over an over fed 10 year old lab, negotiating with a five year old, carrying around a two year old (who otherwise would be following her around the kitchen repeating "hold you" over and over,) and counting the minutes until hubby gets home.  Oh, and sipping a glass of cab at the same time.  Now THAT would be impressive!  (Maybe I could be the host???)

I don't add the spice rub to the girlies' chicken.
I also put theirs over brown rice since they aren't
getting the spicy avocado salsa either.

Actually, I could eat this avocado salsa over a
bowl of white beans as a meal in itself.
But that's not quite enough for Sparky.

a popsicle kind of day.

Summer has finally hit us in Newport Beach now that it's officially fall.  It's supposed to be near one hundred degrees today!  When the five year old gets home from school I'll have home made popsicles waiting for her.  I think I just might add a little Ketel One to a few of them for Sparky and me as an after (girlies') bedtime cool down snack.  Did I mention we don't have air conditioning!?

in search of eustace

I don't really remember how I stumbled across this video (you know how it goes... click... click...click...wow, kinda awesome.)  And, I still can't quite pinpoint why it's captivated me so.  Anyway, this is Scottish photographer David Eustace's documentation of a three week road trip he took with his teenage daughter Rachel.




And I'm seriously loving that song by Grant Campbell, it's making me feel all moody and alluring at 9 a.m.  Nice change on a Friday morning.

Have a thought provoking weekend.

let them eat (birthday) cake.

Last week my much older (by three years) brother turned the big four oh, (which did more to make me feel old than it did him.  Go figure.)  Although I cook a lot, I am not much of a baker (anymore*), but to commemorate the special day I made my very first chocolate cake from scratch (and not a Duncan Hines cake mix.)  I also made chocolate buttercream frosting from scratch.  I have to toot my own horn and say they were both delish.  The cake was moist perfection, and given that the dial on my 26 year old oven has only sharpie marks for its temperature settings, I was a bit in shock over it. The five year old happily decorated it.

Happy Birthday Denny!  I love you more than you'll ever know.  

Although there was plenty of frosting to ice the cake, I'll be doubling the recipe the next time I make this; there certainly wasn't enough for the girlies and me to eat big spoonfuls while we watched the cake bake!

(I apologize for the quality of the photos.  Battery was dead on the Canon, and all I had handy was my iPhone.)

Just after "helping" to blow out the candles.  (That's chocolate frosting on the corner of the five year old's mouth.) 

Kathy's Chocolate Cake

1 ¾ cup flour

2 cups sugar

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa

1 ½ teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

½ cup vegetable oil (I use canola oil)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans.  Combine all of the dry ingredients.  Add everything else except the water and beat for 2 minutes.  Stir in the water and then pour into the prepared pans.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.  Cool in pans and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Frost with chocolate buttercream frosting, below (put out butter to soften while making cake).

Chocolate buttercream frosting  (Don't forget to double this, if frosting is your favorite part of cake eating!) 

3 cups powdered sugar

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup butter, softened

Combine all ingredients except the butter, then mix in the butter. 

*The reason I no longer bake is because I have no self control; I eat too much of what I bake,  I get a tummy ache, (gain 5 pounds,) and end up on a sugar detox. :(