Bridal Shower Gift

Our friends are getting married at the end of March and yesterday I went to the bridal shower. Thankfully, it was only about 5 minutes away. They like to cook and bake, so I bought them my all time favorite baking book, Baking: From My Home to Yours and a 9x13 pan. I wrapped the gift in some Christmas-masquerading-as-wedding-paper and instead of a tag or ribbon which wasn't working for me, I used some scrapbooking stuff to decorate the front. I figured all the gifts were for the same person and I inscribed the front cover of the book, so I didn't need a gift tag anyways. She tore the front of the paper out and saved it, so I think I did pretty well.

It's Do-o-one!

It's done. Before Valentine's Day. Before the end of January even.



And here is the sofa modeling:



Things I really like about this quilt:

• All the fabrics really coordinate well.
  
• The binding is not only striped, it's striped on the diagonal and it's green on the corners, which line up perfectly. I'm so impressed with myself.
• It's the first quilt I've labeled other than by embroidering the recipient's intials.
• I figured out how to use the blanket stitch on my machine and it looks really nice on the label.

Meme

I got this from a friend today, so I thought I'd post it here.

1. What is your occupation right now? Boss Jr.
2. What color are your socks right now? black. with pink pajamas. sexy, I know.

3. What are you listening to right now? the dog's tags clinking in the water dish
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Market Day fish and chips. Ugh. Shameful.

5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yep. Learned to drive on one.
6. Last person spoke to on the phone? The doctor's office
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yep.

8. How old are you today? A lady never tells. What? I'm not very lady like? Ok. 35.

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Hmm. World's Strongest Man? Magnus ver Magnusson.

10. What is your favorite drink? What don't I drink? Dr. Pepper. Blech.
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yep.

12. Favorite food? I have to pick one? Can't do it.
13. What is the last movie you watched? Will Ferrell's basketball movie, I think.
14.Favorite day of the year? Graduation day.

15. How do you vent anger? With biting humor and not a little bit of yelling ARRRRGHHH. Just ask my board.

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Hmm. I have childhood amnesia.

17. What is your favorite season? Summer
18. Cherries or Blueberries? Yes.

19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Yes

20. Who is the most likely to respond?
21. Who is least likely to respond?

22. Living arrangements? House

23. When was the last time you cried? Jan 19

24. What is on the floor of your closet? Just cleaned it up. Nothing but dust.

25. Who is the friend you had the longest that you are sending to? Dunno.

26. What did you do last night ? Spent time with a friend outside of school
27. What are you most afraid of? Losing control. Not resolving this ongoing medical issue.

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Cheese, please. And bacon.

29. Favorite dog breed? Pugs, of course. Except for Quincy on bad days. Like right now. He's eating the blanket.
30. Favorite day of the week? Definitely NOT Wednesday. Saturday, I guess.
31. How many states have you lived in? 3

32. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds
33. What is your favorite flower? I like flowers that are made up of lots of little flowers, like hydrangeas.

Who's next?

Weekend Cooking

In addition to the Chicken and Kale this weekend, I've made:

Fig Vodka to recreate the cocktail I had at Lola over Christmas



Buttermilk Scones with currents from 150 Best Recipes (all the pictures came out blurry).

Bacon and eggs and toast with a yummy dish of broiled Honeybells and grapefruit. I microwaved the juices in the bowl after slicing with a bit of sugar, then poured it over the fruit which was layered in a shallow gratin dish. Sprinkled a bit of brown sugar over and broiled until hot. It was a bit wet, but delicious and I poured the juices left in the dish into a small glass and drank them. Citrus is unexpectedly good warm.

Alsatian Apple Tart from Baking: From My Home to Yours which I think must be my all time favorite go to baking book. You parbake the crust, slice the apples and arrange in the shell, then pour over a bit of cream, eggs, vanilla and sugar blended together. It's not enough to be a custard pie, but it's enough to be a bit creamy and to hold the apples together. I think I like the Normandy Tart better, but LBK would chose this one, I think. Maybe a side by side is in order.

The Clementine Cake from Smittenkitchen, still in the oven



I also resisted, again, making cinnamon rolls. Maybe this week. I'm trying not to, so I don't eat the whole pan. This very limited drinking plan has caused me to lose 4 lbs, and I haven't had much of an appetite the past two weeks or so, except for very specific things. Side benefit of stress, I guess.

Chicken and Kale - again, and again, and again

For dinner, we made the Chicken and Kale from Food & Wine yet again. We first made it over the holidays when we visited friends we see only once a year or so. While we love them, when you see someone so infrequently, coming together again can be awkward at first. Since food has become a large part of the ties that bind our group together, and we have been not only eating and drinking together but cooking together, LBK suggested we take some groceries over and cook dinner together as a way to break the ice. They have a great space for it - a just big enough house set back in the woods that's warm and cozy.

The requirements for the meal: not turkey or ham, nothing too heavy, and something that would not add to the holiday leftovers crammed into their fridge. With December Food & Wine magazine's 1 Hour Impromptu Party menu at hand, we offered up Roasted Chicken Legs with Potato and Kale. Since then, we have made for New Year's Eve and for dinner twice.

Ikea Quilt - Craftster Hot New Project

Whoo hoo. I finished my Ikea quilt and posted it on Craftster.org. I have posted a variety of other projects and tried to improve my photos to get into the Hot New Projects section, even if it's just the category one - usually quilting, where there are tons of new projects posted all the time. But I finished this quilt:





and posted it. And I'm the the Hot New Projects section on the front page! My quilt has been viewed almost 1000 times since I posted it and I've received lots of nice comments.

I am going to kill this fucking dog.
He won't stop tearing things up or trying to pull my clothes.
Seriously, fucking annoying.
And ouchy. Sometimes he gets ME and not my
pjs, yoga pants, sweater, coat scarf, dress pants.
Fucker.


It's a good thing he's so damn cute. And a good snuggler.

In medical related news: my ass hurts.

For dinner: chicken strip salad, lemon madeleines for dessert

Merry Christmas

Christmas Dinner:
Zuni Cafe Chicken with Bread Salad



Followed by Chocolate Souffles and Coffee. And presents. Almost all our gifts to each other were food or drink related. Hmm. Maybe we should branch out a bit next year.

For LBK, a cocktail shaker, a "Marvin" sugar caddy from one of the restaurants we go to occasionally. We have been looking for one and last time we ate there found out they sell them. A Reidel wine carafe, Toblerone chocolates, which is a stocking tradition, a crumb catcher and a sweatshirt to replace the one he gave me because it was from Target and shrunk.

For me, a muddler and bar spoon, French press timer, madeleine pan, subscription to Food & Wine magazine!, Chicago Cooks cookbook by Les Dames d'Escoffier, 8 cup French press, bringing our coffee making device count to a rather embarressing number, and a very nice Cross pen.
____________________________________________________________________
There is also a Christmas theme developing with our medical issues. I started meds on Christmas Day 12/25, and had my next appointment today, 1/7, also Christmas Day. I hope that's a good omen. I'm cleared to start the next set of meds tomorrow. I have to do 2 injections in the morning and 3 at night. LBK will be doing part of them. He's been practicing on the easier ones and doing a great job. He's a trooper. I go back Monday to make sure everything is going smoothly.