Boot Camp Dinner

Well, this is what I get for whining that I need to lose five pounds. My husband has talked me into doing a week of "boot camp" with him while the kids are away. So, for one week, we will work out every day, and we will eat reasonably healthy. (my usual motto is "everything in moderation", including healthy food and exercise - I eat when I'm hungry, and stop when I'm full. I exercise by running and doing yoga for fun. That's it. And I'm going back to it after a week, for the record.) We did have a great time today at our local arts and farmer's market, and I figure, if I'm going to eat healthy, I want fresh, really good food.  This was tonight's dinner.

This dinner can be made in 15 minutes. That's the great part.

Swordfish

marinate in juice of 1 lime and 2 Tbsp soy sauce while grill heats up.

grill steaks 4 mins each side, brush with marinade.

serve with lime slices.

Spicy Veggies

chop and combine fresh broccoli, corn, yellow squash, zucchini

add torn whole peeled tomatoes from can

add a few shakes of crushed red pepper flakes

steam in vegetable broth or water.

Cous Cous

I used boxed Parmesan and garlic cous cous.

so easy, takes 10 minutes.

Dessert Peaches

2 fresh peaches, halved

dot center with butter

fill cavity with honey

(we were able to get local orange blossom honey at the farmer's market: it's amazing)

Place under broiler, 4 in. from heat, about 10-15 mins

Peaches are done when edges turn brown.

So there. I did it. I ate a healthy dinner. It was so good, I have no regrets. Even if I don't lose five pounds.

New Room - part 4 - Beds and Curtains

I was thrilled with the refinishing of the headboards. They took two weeks and a couple trips across town to get, but it was worth it.

I feel like it only takes a few touches to really set a room apart, and I would say for this room, it's the headboards and the pillows. Funny, they were the most reasonably priced elements, too. They just took the most time.

As for the bedding, I knew I wanted white. I ended up buying basic white cotton sheets. I decided to again go with the Shabby Chic collection for the comforter and bed skirt. I think it was a happy mistake that they were out of the twin-sized white dust ruffles. I got the pale pink ones, and I think it turned out even better. The comforter is a very fluffy, ruffly white one with a ruffled sham. I bought body pillows with a turquoise cover for the beds, and Tommy Hilfiger micro fleece blankets for throws. Nothing like a fluffy, white pillow top bed.

I knew all along I wanted monogrammed pillows on the beds, and looked into various places online to order these. I continued to find the cost to be between $30-$100 per pillow. It finally dawned on me that I could take the shams to the local embroidery shop and have it done that way. It was $10 per pillow, and I think it makes the room.

You can see the curtains behind the beds. These are sheers sold individually from the Shabby Chic collection. They have the ability to be bustled using clear rings sewn on the back. It took four panels to cover this large window, two for the valance, and two to hang.

A few hangings for the wall: another unique hook, a drawing of a girl strolling in Paris, and the blue plaque says, "Be your own kind of beautiful".

A small throw rug between the beds for one more touch of color, and that was it. The entire room took only about 2-3 days to throw together, with the exception of the headboards and the monograms. Total cost was about $1500. We did have to buy the two beds and frames ($700), so for decorative items, this entire room was completed for only about $800.

Just for kicks, if I were really going to go all out for a room like this, I would replace the carpet with wood, remove the ceiling fan and replace with an antique white chandelier, paint the walls white, and add picture frame molding from floor to ceiling. Maybe someday.

New Room - Part 3

I always look around the house for what could be re purposed when I decorate a room. In this case, because we were moving the office to a corner in the master bedroom, some items from that area were the first to go. I have had this sturdy white wicker and bamboo dresser for years, got it at a yard sale. I like how it is white, like the headboards, but not too matchy.

The jumbo leaning mirror was also in the master bedroom. It's a perfect full-length for the girls, and takes up a lot of wall space, as well as opening up the room. The lamp was brought in from the bonus room. It came with a set of furniture 2 years ago, and was never used! The Marylin in NYC photo goes with the big city fashion theme, and is also just a great photograph.

Does anyone want to see how the headboards turned out?

New Room - Part 2

 So I set off to put the rest of the girl's room together. I knew I wanted a shared nightstand between the two beds. I have found in the past that nightstands can be surprisingly expensive, and I have often substituted interesting side tables. That idea worked well for this room, as I was wanting a minimalist look anyway. I found this side table at Marshall's, I believe, and I just love the circular cut-out detail. I turned the table sideways between the beds, and I think it looks pretty interesting.

Max made her way into this shot. The room itself is very difficult to photograph due to the large window that back-lights the entire space. It's a beautiful effect in the room, but it doesn't make for great photography.

Next, I decided to put a coat rack into the room. I have one in my bathroom, and I love it for design and practicality. This one was nice and tall, and I noticed that the girls naturally began to use it to hang various items, so that's a good thing.

Also here is one of the pieces of wall art I found for the room. I know it's a little pre-fab, but time is an issue, so not everything in the room could be wonderfully original. Besides, the picture tied in the wall color, the turquoise and the dark brown. By now, based on the items I had collected for the room, I decided on a cosmopolitan-fashion theme. I found these wall decals on the clearance rack in Target, and the "London" sign had been in the room when it was our office.

That's the London and NYC skylines above the closets. Certainly they don't scream "little girl's room!", but that's just the way a room puts itself together. You can see the towel-hook between the doors. I happened to find this distressed hook with a glass knob and it was a nice touch. As for the giant tassel, I tend to just throw tassels on things. Knobs, banisters, vases...I just like it. Next up, dressers, mirrors and curtains.

A New Room for the Girls - part 1

I was so excited for the opportunity to do a girl's room for my two step-daughters. We decided to downsize and merge the office into our bedroom in order to give the girls their own space. I have always wanted to do the side-by-side twin bed arrangement, so that was my starting point.  I always default to white, especially in a bedroom, and my step-daughter requested either light blue or light green as well. I love the "Tiffany box" or "robin's egg" blue, and I like that it was a little more unconventional than pink. So I set out to find some white beds and bedding and one decorative piece to build around.

I found this blue vase at a discount store, and thought it was the right color and a perfect accent for the nightstand. The silk roses were found on the clearance rack at Kirkland's. 

As for the beds, I knew they would be the focal point of the room. I found a lady who refinishes furniture, and set out to find two matching beds or headboards that could be distressed in white. Enter good old Craigslist.

I found these antique circa 1940's headboards on a week-old Craigslist ad. They were still available, and I trekked across Jacksonville to pick them up. They were more beautiful than the pictures portrayed, and extremely heavy.

After I dropped off the headboards to be refinished in white, I had a better idea in my head of the direction I wanted to take the entire room. Time to shop the stores and the house for everything else. More on that coming up.

The Best Tasting Healthy Thing I Know How to Make

This is my Chicken Stir-Fry recipe. It has been perfected over the years with trial and error, and it is always a big hit. I just realized how healthy this dish is, with the exception of the sodium. I also just broke down and bought a rice-cooker. I will say, it really does make better rice than I could ever make on the stove. I resisted because I hate storing large kitchen gadgets, but I think this one is worth the trouble.

Ingredients:
1/2 to 1 lb. chicken breast, cut into 1/2" cubes
Soy Sauce
Cornstarch
Ginger (dried)
water
sugar
salad oil
any combination of:
carrots
onion
zucchini
snow peas

cooked rice

Cube chicken and slice carrots, onions and zucchini. The thicker you slice the vegetables, the longer the cooking time. At this point, heat your wok to medium.

Mix with cubed chicken: 2 Tbsp. soy, 2 tsp. cornstarch and 1/2 tsp ginger. Toss well. Double this amount if using closer to 2 lbs of chicken. Any more than that and your ingredients will not fit in a standard wok. I really push it as it is cooking for 4-6 people in 1 wok. Stir fry needs room to be, well,... stirred. You really cannot mess up the measurements on this recipe. Just guesstimate. I promise, it will turn out fine.

In a small bowl, mix 6 Tbsp soy, 1 cup water, 1 Tbsp sugar, and 2 Tbsp. cornstarch. Set aside.

Heat 2 Tbsp salad oil in wok. Add chicken. Stir fry until browned, but not fully cooked, about 3-5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in wok and add carrots and onions to wok. Cook until onions become translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add zucchini and snow peas. Cook 2-5 minutes more.

Return chicken to wok. Whisk soy mix in small bowl (cornstarch will settle to the bottom), and add to wok.

Cook until mixture thickens. Serve with rice.

I made this particular meal without carrots, only because I ran out. Once the actual cooking begins, this meal takes only about 15 minutes to make. The work is actually cutting the chicken and veggies, which I recommend doing with jazz music, your honey and a glass of wine. Also, I've learned to use foil or wax paper to lay out cut veggies and chicken. No need to dirty every bowl in your kitchen.

I Decoupaged My Bike

In a rare fit of craftiness, I came up with the idea to decoupage my green beach cruiser. I really think someone is going to take this idea and get rich off it, but hey. It has always amazed me how some people seemingly get to make a living by throwing pixie dust in the air (jealous). As for me, I think I will continue flogging myself by doing it the hard way. Anyway, the bike.

Supplies

foam brushes
Mod Podge (from craft store)
sharp scissors
clear polyurethane spray

You may want a Popsicle stick to smooth the paper, but I just use my fingers. First thing's first. I used a stack of magazines I was ready to throw away and decided on a floral theme. I advise taking some Motrin for back and hand  pain if you plan to do all the cutting in one marathon sitting. Seriously, it's tedious. I recommend doing it over a few sittings, like a puzzle. Covering a bike takes quite a lot of cut-outs depending on how much overlap you want. Tip: do not try to print pictures from the computer. The ink will bleed.

OK, Mod Podge is a glue and a lacquer. Begin to glue under and over each cut-out and place them one by one on the bike. Smooth out any wrinkles. Another tip, because a bike has very few flat surfaces, the larger the cutout, the more challenging it will be to get it to lay smooth and stick well. Continue to glue and lacquer with the foam brush until the bike is covered. The glue will dry clear.

The bike now needs to cure for about a month. Yes, a month. (Oh, come on, you don't ride it that often anyway). After that, if you want to make it rain-safe and durable, you can spray the bike with a polyurethane coat. Here are my new wheels:

Can you believe I found a "Petal to the Metal" quote??

If you go to all the trouble of doing this, send me a picture. If you get rich doing this, never tell me.

Back to Reality: Non-Fiction Picks

As my last post on my favorite books, I thought I would list some non-fiction selections.

It's Always Something by Gilda Radner. I bought this book for my grandmother for Christmas when I was around 13 years old. I remember sitting on my bedroom floor wrapping gifts and I started reading this book. Well, I read the entire thing before I wrapped it and gave it to her, and I still remember so much about this book. (It could be the book, or it could be that my mind was sharper...also, there is no way I could read OR wrap gifts sitting on the floor anymore). This is a memoir of Gilda's battle with cancer and her life with husband Gene Wilder. A 20th anniversary edition came out last year.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. This autobiography is unbelievable. This MSNBC journalist details her upbringing in complete squalor. She now lives in NYC and sometimes sees her mother walking the street, homeless. No more using your childhood as an excuse after reading this one.

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt. This book is very refreshing. The author puts his theories out there and I'm sure he received plenty of letters. Check out his theory on why the US violent crime rate dropped so drastically in the 1990's. Sometimes the truth is ugly.

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose. A liberal Brown student goes undercover at Liberty University for a semester and gives his objective view of this cultural bubble. Maybe my fascination with this book is a little heavy because I went to Liberty, but I think my entire liberal-to-conservative spectrum of readers and friends would eat this book up.

Warning: These Books Contain High Levels of Estrogen

There are those times.... when I need reminding that I am actually female. What happened to a good cry? Sisterhood? The color pink? Between being the boss at work, going to meetings with middle-aged men, living in a house with men, and pumping my own gas, I can't even conjure femininity sometimes. In fact, if one of my step-daughters utters "Pinky Pie's Pretty Playhouse" or squeals over a picture of a Twilight boy, I almost get a cavity. I know my uterus is still in there somewhere, and I believe in the maternal instinct. These books bring it back out. They are all-girl.

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian. This book follows a home birth midwife through a desperate emergency C-section at home in a snowstorm and the ensuing drama after the bad outcome. I must've read this 10 years ago, and I still remember some of the descriptive lines.

 

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Did you know that in Old Testament times, menstruating women had to stay in a segregated tent? Did you ever think about not having dentistry?  A great read especially if you have any prior knowledge of Old Testament history as a frame of reference.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. I have to recommend this. I'm not too cool. It is such a fun book. Pull this emergency cord next time you find yourself drowning in the testosterone ocean.

Ubiqui-lit.

I know it makes me un-hip and unoriginal to love some of these books that have been made into movies, or are probably used for your mama's book club, but I enjoyed them anyway. So there.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Just a great crisis-read, and the suspense builds towards the end. There is a lot in the book that was not used for the movie. Worth the time.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. This is a great mature read, and was also made into a movie, which I've never seen. If you like fiction set in other countries or times, you will love this. A young German boy has an affair with a mysterious older woman, and ... I can't tell you any more. It would spoil the surprises.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Must give this book a few chapters until you get into the characters and their voices. Like "The Help", the author writes from a different character's perspective for each chapter. Most genius is the voice of Adah, the hemiplegic, mute sister who is actually very intelligent. Breathtaking novel.

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. Never saw this movie either, but, if you are in the mood for a quick vacation or beach read, I would steer you toward this one. The story moves along nicely, and again, if you like to read book set in other times, this will be a good choice.

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. Oprah's book club. As long as it doesn't depress you read about depressed people, go for it. Great character development in this book. You know you're having a bad day when you buy an entire block of lunch meat and eat it all in one sitting. Yikes.

Favorite Reads

This is a common topic amongst my friends, and since a friend of mine asked me for a list of my favorite books, I thought I'd make it a blog. After all, I hate reading so-so books, because I donate hours of my valuable time to a book! It had better be good! So, I love to get books on personal recommendation before I read them. In fact, someone pretty much has to rave about a book to get me to pick it up. Here are my raves:

The Help is a new one - I love how the author writes in different character "voices" for each chapter. Based on the attitude of these Junior Leaguers to their "Help", you would think it was 1900, not 1960! This one I could not put down, and really gets you rooting for the heroine.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. What a fabulous piece of historic fiction. I cannot imagine the amount of research that went into this writing, and I also cannot believe it's written by a man. I really can't explain why, I just felt like it was written by a female while I was reading, and had paid no attention to the name of the author. I was shocked to find the female voice in my mind was none other than Arthur Golden, who, if memory serves, is a 40-something professor.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I may have a higher appreciation of this book because of my background in psychiatric nursing, but....The first chapter is THE funniest thing I have ever read. I laughed out loud so much that I finally just broke down and read the entire chapter out loud to my husband, who thought it was totally brilliant. Recommended to me by my NYC cousin, Nicole, it was definitely up my alley.

Out of time for today. Good Reads, the Sequel coming up...

Fun Cakes for Kids

If you are anything like me, and enjoy going to great lengths to amuse or please your family, you might like these fun cakes for kids. These are both variations of examples on http://familyfun.go.com/. They have some great ideas for kid stuff.

I will give myself away here and mention that the first time I tried the castle cake, I did it princess-style for my little god-daughter. Well, let me just say, my husband and I were in stitches as the cake collapsed all over the place and the end result was not fit for a princess. Yes, a picture does exist. No, I will not post it.

My son made this "sandcastle" cake for his Odyssey of the Mind meeting (a great learning competition for kids) http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/ . I actually bought bakery cakes from the grocery store rather than making the cake itself from scratch. Kids don't care about that part. Make sure you use sturdy, dense cake for any layering. Cut 2 circles, one large, one small, out of a one-layer cake. Place on the bottom cake and use vanilla icing to frost. Have your kiddo smash up 25 vanilla wafer in a Ziploc bag. Press crumbs into cake. Make spires by frosting cake cones and sugar cones together. Try to make a little dent in the cake as you place the towers on, and add a little icing around the bottom to stabilize. Then, the kiddos can add cookies or graham cracker sticks for decoration. My son had a lot of fun, and the sandcastle was a hit!

My little son had so much fun with this "french fry" cake. He put the plate on the table at dinner as a surprise for his little sister. It was pretty cute. This one is really easy.  You can use a bakery or Sarah Lee pound cake. Cut off browned edges. Slice loaf into narrow strips. Arrange on cookie sheet. Place under broiler and lightly toast all 4 sides of the "fries". Just watch out, because once the cake starts to brown, you have about 15 seconds before brown turns to black. Not that I got distracted watching Spongebob from the kitchen and burnt one side of the fries or anything, I just heard that's what could happen. Anyway, I bought red decorating icing for "ketchup", and that was it. Try it with your little ones. I got the Mom of the Year Award. Yesterday. For 5 minutes.

Obscure Things I Can't Live Without

I have realized that, at least in my world, there are some very under-rated products out there. There are just certain things I use every day that I maintain should be as popular as sliced bread (like unsliced bread). So I thought I would compile a blog about a few of these items just in case someone might discover their next can't live without possession.

First, my coat rack outside the shower. It never fails that every time I visit a home or a hotel, there is a general lack of places to hang a wet towel. I have always had this iron coat rack in my bathroom, and it is perfect! It usually holds my towel, my husband's towel, and my robe, and the towels have more air around them to dry nicely.

Speaking of robes, my white Bath and Body Works bathrobe. This is the softest, most amazing robe ever made. Enough said.

Next up, brow gel. Or actually, the applicator brush for brow gel. This is one of my stranded-on-a-desert- island items. I just use the brush from an old brow gel (actual gel tube long gone), and spray it with gel or hairspray and brush my brows into place. How do some girls live without this? I would look like Albert Einstein without this thing! Maybe it's just me. I'm only showing the handle (with me reflected in it) as the rest of the brush is no longer fit for human viewing.

My tiny whisk. OK, I stole this from a children's kitchen set when my son was about 3 years old. It's genius! Full size whisks are a pain to store and get bent in the dishwasher. And so many things that need to be whisked don't need anything but this little guy. He is responsible for all the scrambled eggs, gravy, and sauces made in my kitchen. I've even insisted that he be but away in a particular spot in the utensil drawer so I can always find him. (Thanks, honey)

The french press. This is the new thing added to the list this year that I cannot live without...unfortunately. I say unfortunately because I now know that french pressed coffee stains your teeth!! It was not enough to make me give it up, though. But I now brush my teeth right after my coffee and use "wisps" on my teeth if I'm at the office. The good thing is that the coffee tastes amazing, and you only use about 1/4 the amount of grinds you would use on a drip coffeemaker. We only drink Starbucks beans, so that's a big savings. Unless, of course, you count the $350 bleaching system for my teeth...

Goya Salad and Vegetable Seasoning. Can be hard to find in stores, but on top of salads or tomatoes, along with oil and vinegar, it's so good. It does contain MSG, I admit. I try to use it sparingly. OK, no I don't. I'm going to take some flack for this one.

Frozen Edemame. (no photo) I find these soybeans in the pod in the frozen foods aisle at WalMart. They steam in the microwave in about 4 minutes. I pour them into a bowl and toss with Kosher salt. My boys will eat the whole bag for a snack.

There's a starter list. I'll probably think of 3 more things as soon as I post. There may be a part two at some point. What unusual item can't you live without?

Asian Pear Mojito

In honor of my recent vacation, I decided to share my husband's famous Mojito recipe. We enjoyed the Asian Pear Mojito so much one day at PF Chang's that we decided to search for a comparable recipe and try to perfect it. According to all our friends, he has done just that. We even grow our own mint on our patio just for the occasional concoction. Fair warning: this cocktail has been called a little "too drinkable" and can sneak up on you quickly, so easy does it!

The muddler (left) and the citrus reamer (right)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon superfine sugar (hard to find, you can substitute regular sugar if you must)

1/2 of a lime

5 leaves mint

1 ounce sour apple pucker

1 1/2 ounces Bacardi Limon

1 ounce pineapple juice

club soda

ice

Directions

1-Ream the lime. Set rind aside. Muddle (mash) the lime, sugar and mint leaves together.

2-Add the Sour Apple Pucker, Limon Rum, & Pineapple Juice and shake with ice.

3-Pour into a  glass, top off with the club soda and lime rind or a fresh lime if desired. Enjoy.

Garage Sale Finds: Speed Tour

My husband and I went to our neighborhood garage sale this weekend, and I was reminded of how many good finds I've had over the years. I decided to allow myself a speed tour through the house, finding random items procured through garage sales. Here is a sampling based on what caught my eye:

Linen-covered box that I use for makeup. I like it because it's got a compartment for smaller tools that get lost.

Antique metal flower-arranging base from Japan. It has two iron "frogs" in the bottom to hold flowers in a sparse arrangement. This floral arranging is called "ikebana".

One of my best grabs ever. I originally bought these thinking I might try them on but would probably give them to my step-daughter. When I got home and looked them over more carefully, I realized that they were Ralph Lauren Black Label, dry clean only. When I looked them up online, they were still on sale and retailed for over $400.00. The best part is, they fit like a glove. My favorites.

My 10 year old son's desk - I found this old desk about 7 years ago and refinished it. You won't find me taking the time to do that anymore, but the desk has been very useful. The drawers smell like old creosote when you open them.

My go-to sweatshirt. Oh, how I love my zip-up sweatshirts in the morning! It says "Lake Tahoe" on the front. I've never been.

Cute oil and vinegar from Pottery Barn. I probably wouldn't go for things like this at full price, but for 25 cents, my condiments can get dressed up.

I've had this for many years. It's not a good luck charm, it travelled with me through a divorce. But it's a good reminder. I may hold it up when the next TV remote-related scuffle breaks out.