My Funny Little Frog

New crafts

2012-01-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to step up my crafting game lately. It's a lot harder to get stuff done with a baby, especially when you're trying to be creative.

I finished this reversible little wrap dress for my nice. I love how it turned out. It isn't perfect, but it is pretty good.

Our neighbors got a new puppy and I couldn't resist whipping up this little sweater for her. As you can tell, she kinda likes it.

The baby may or may not be teething- either way he is drooling like a damn zombie and so I whipped up a few extra drool bibs.

I also managed to knock out a new pair of baby pants for him that I totally copied from a pair of pants that he has from the Harajuku Mini line. I traced the pants and sewed my own. I can't believe how good they turned out!

a day at the beach

2011-12-29T08:07:00.001-08:00

I am tired

2011-12-29T07:55:00.000-08:00

Lucas started rice cereal. He ate it, but I'm pretty sure he was disappointed he didn't get pureed bacon.

He had his 4 month checkup and he weighs 16 pounds, 1 ounce and is 26 inches long. That's 95th percentile in height and weight for those of you who follow those sorts of things.

I am digging the pixie hat I made him from this book

fin.

More baby stuff

2011-12-05T10:31:00.000-08:00

I know that right now Lucas gets more excited about his hand than any toy sitting under the christmas tree, but that didn't stop me from getting him a few gifts this year.

I really like this teether rattle called a Skywinkle. I think Lucas will be intrigued by it too.

They are a bit advanced for him right now, but these wood stacking blocks shaped like ocean waves are awesome. They are made in Germany by Grimm's Spiel and Holz designs with non-toxic paint. I think my little beach baby will love them.

This little frog rattle from Habra is also made with non-toxic paints.

And of course I had to get him a few cute t-shirts. Threadless was having a sale.

ok, where did the year go?

2011-12-04T07:32:00.000-08:00

I feel like it was just Christmas and was telling my family that I was pregnant. Now I have a 4 month old and it's the holidays again. At least this time I can eat drink and be merry.

This app is the best .99 I have ever spent. behold:

I'm going to remake every photo I've ever taken.

We took a walk on the beach. Lucas had a good time until he fell asleep.

He's totally into his jumper right now. It cracks me up watching him dangle from this thing. His movements are a little frantic and he looks like a puppet on a string.

I can finally post a picture of the little wrap dress I made for Stephanie's little Ginny. I can't wait to see it on her! I am making another one for my niece right now.

whats up

2011-12-02T10:44:00.000-08:00

my baby is crazy cute

I can't believe it's already Christmas

i made grilled lamb with this recipe. it was really good. i left out the mint and parsley.

I took a trip to Rogers Gardens, it was gorgeous

thats all i got.

stuff I have been making

2011-11-27T11:36:00.000-08:00

I made a lot of stuff before the baby was born, with my awesome new sewing machine.

these are the best burp rags. the chenille really holds a lot of liquids.

these pee pee tee pees get a lot of use too.

I am pretty proud of this stroller bag and matching changing pad.

these pants are the shit

and these little fabrics are going to be made into some lovely christmas gifts

Life as we know it

2011-11-26T14:35:00.001-08:00

I can't believe he's already 3 months old.

Its been a while.

2011-09-29T13:16:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, in case anyone is actually reading this. I have been working on my biggest project yet, and it is finally done.

He is awesome and motherhood is awesome and life is awesome. But I'm super slow and I suck at one-armed activities. In fact, it took me two months to write this post. So bear with me while I get my groove back. Please enjoy some pictures of things I have been doing. Click on the photos for details.

green things

2011-01-23T12:02:00.000-08:00

While I wouldn't consider myself someone who dwells often on these sorts of things, I have noticed that there are a number of things that we are doing- mostly for other reasons, that are making a little bit of difference for the planet.

One of the first green things we did when we bought our house was open an account with a water delivery service. We were spending tons of money on bottled water and creating so much waste with all the plastic bottles. At the end of any given week, my car was looking like a landfill. Buying good water in larger quantities just made more sense. At first we were using the old-school Nalgene bottles to hold our water; these were popular with the granola-ey types in the early 2000s. I was never crazy about them- they were ugly looking and the water tasted gross after hours in the plastic container. We got rid of ours when it was discovered that they were made with really nasty chemicals. We switched over to the aluminum Sigg brand bottles, mainly because of the cool designs on the exterior- but then discovered that they were also made with shady materials. Plus, the water in aluminum tasted worse than the plastic bottles.

Finally, I discovered these awesome bottles from Kleen Kanteen. They are made from food-grade stainless steel, are totally safe and leave no yucky taste in the water. Plus they come in super awesome colors and a variety of sizes. We use the 27oz classic and 40oz versions.

Another "green change" that we recently implemented was also out of necessity. The plastic bag situation in my house was out of control. We like to save and reuse plastic grocery bags, as they are handy for disposing of dog poop, kitchen waste and a variety of other purposes. Somehow though, our stash had grown to two cabinet shelves full. Since my kitchen is small and I have a slight Pyrex problem, space is a high commodity. The shelves were packed so tightly with plastic bags, I couldn't fit any more in! I finally decided enough was enough, and we were going to wean our bag collection.

I purchased a bag holder to free up the shelves. It fits nicely under the sink, and keeps the bags tidy. The leftover bags were stashed in the shed for future dog poop duty. To keep from adding to the collection, I purchased some pretty reusable grocery bags from flip and tumble. These bags are really cute, they come in tons of colors and they fold up for easy storage. They also sell reusable produce bags, which I really love. Every time I bring my bags to the grocery store, people ask me about them!

Throw in the pyrex refridgerator dishes and our kitchen garden, and I'd say we doing a pretty good job at being green.

What I did on my winter vacation...

2011-01-02T14:22:00.000-08:00

I took a lot of naps.

I knit a few lovelies.

I made marshmallows.

I said good-bye to someone I love dearly.

I watched the rain come. come. come.

Steamed Mussels in Wine

2010-12-19T17:39:00.000-08:00

My friend was kind enough to haul me out of bed a few Sundays ago so that we could go check out the new farmers market. I am glad I went, because the selection was great. In addition to picking up some grocery staples, I found myself standing in front of the Aquaculture stand totally mesmerised. I picked up a 2 pound bag of mussels for ten dollars.

I brought home my mussels and scrubbed them off with a soft bristle brush. Then I placed them into a colander covered with a damp cloth and slipped a bowl underneath to catch the excess water.

I made a broth of butter, thyme, garlic, onions, lemon and white wine, plus a dash of red pepper. Once it was boiling, I threw in the mussels for about 6 minutes.

After the mussels had finished steaming, I threw in some browned andouille and roasted some potatoes into the broth with some parsley.

We sloshed the whole mess into big bowls and scooped up the broth with crispy warm French bread.

Halloween Party

2010-11-21T17:04:00.000-08:00

I totally lagged on getting these up, but the party rocked.

We had tacos, and beer and a bunch of other yummy stuff.

It was our best year yet.

I am already planning next year.

iZombie

2010-11-14T08:07:00.000-08:00

Just another reason to love Long Beach.

Zombie Walk 2010.

Invitation embellishments

2010-10-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

I decided to embellish my store-bought invitations bit before they were sent out. I embossed them with a spider stamp and used the circular labels from Paper Source.

They turned out quite nice.

Creepy wreath

2010-10-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

This was an easy Halloween craft project. As soon as I received the October issue of Living, I knew this was something I had to make. All you need is a grape vine wreath, hot glue gun, some black acrylic and spray paint, spanish moss (optional) and some creepy crawly plastic toys. I purchased everything at Michaels.

I hot glued the moss to the wreath and then spraypainted the whole thing with flat black paint.Then I painted the bugs and spiders with black acrylic paint.

I hot glued the spiders and bugs to the wreath, and wove the snakes in.

I am really happy with the results. I think it is a subtle, yet very creepy decoration for the front door.

It is time...

2010-10-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

The invitations have been ordered:

the decorations are coming out:

creepy crafting has commenced:

IT IS TIME FOR HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

"What flower would you like to be?"

2010-09-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

"I don't know. One of these maybe."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because they're all alike."
"But they're not! Look, see, some are smaller, some are fatter. Some grow to the left, some to the right. Some, even, have lost some petals. All kinds of observable differences. You see, Harold, I feel that much of the world's sorrow comes from people who are this yet, allow themselves to be treated as that."

urban homesteading

2010-08-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been looking again at generations past, for inspiration in functionality and frugality...

I'm using homemade deodorant:

and its the best stuff I have ever used.

I've also been air drying my laundry:

and clearly I am not the only person feeling notstaligc about my clothes line-

from this Washington Post article:

"Sunshine is the single most powerful natural resource we have," one Australian friend said. "Why should we dig up fossil fuels to dry our laundry when we have a renewable source that costs nothing?"

the "right to dry"

up next.... homemade underwear.

Bailey rolls her eyes at me.

2010-08-21T12:19:00.001-07:00

Island fever

2010-08-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

Maybe it is because I really need a vacation, but I have been thinking about Hawaii a lot this past week.

I miss the whales, the rain, and the beaches.

I especially long for the delicious food we ate--I really love Hawaiian cooking. It is such a wonderful blend of so many ethnic flavors. My favorite Hawaiian cookbook is by Sam Choy, which I found at a bookstore. Though I have never eaten at his restaurant, I really like the dishes in the book. They are decadent, but fairly simple to make.

For dinner, I decided to make a plate lunch; one of my favorite meals. The Mister had never had one before our trip to Maui, and now he is a loyal fan.

For our version, we chose to make a dual meal of chicken katsu and teriyaki beef; served with macaroni salad and coconut rice.

it was a nice weekend.

2010-07-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

I found some awesome treasures for me.

and these killer vintage shirts for the Mister.

I tended to my garden.

I read a few chapters from this book.

I roasted a chicken for Saturday supper.
(I didn't take a photo since you know what a roasted chicken looks like. Trust me, it was very tasty.)

caught up on our favorite show.

it was nice. I need another day..

bread and other things.

2010-07-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

Bread has always been one of those things on my culinary list that I really wanted to try. I have made several haphazard attempts to make my own bread and failed every time, so I decided to put that goal on hold for a while...

Then a few weeks ago, I bought this book, after hearing great reviews about it over here. The book's photographs look amazing, and it presents an easy approach to baking your own bread. I was excited to see if this method would produce better results.

I made a batch of the first recipe in the book, known as the Boule or basic dough. Like the book suggests, I bought a large plastic food storage container, and mixed all the ingredients right in the bucket. I let everything rise for a few hours and stuck it in the fridge.

The next day, I was super excited to make a loaf. However, the day got the best of me and somehow I never got around to making the bread. Instead, I flipped through the book and decided to use the dough to make pizza. I flattened a ball onto a peel and topped it with tomato paste, cheese and some veggies.

After 12 minutes, I got this...

smoked mozzarella. caramelized onions. roasted red peppers. bacon.

jesus christ. it was good. After 20 minutes of moaning and licking the plates, we officially declared that homemade pizza is superior to all others. The book has already been worth the purchase- just for that one dinner.

what were eating.

2010-06-24T21:23:00.000-07:00

In a nutshell, we're kinda eating a lot of the same stuff over and over- not because we are in a funk, but because we have a good mix of recipes and they are pretty tasty.

I have really gotten my hummus making skills down now, so it seems like every weekend there is some dip- either roasted red pepper variety or a cilantro version. It is so damn easy to make and it is delicious the second and third day.

We cannot keep our hands off the guacamole either. The weather is warm and the guacamole just seems to hit the spot lately....

I remade these kick ass ribs. The sauce is delish!

Hopefully this weekend we will be ready for some new recipes!

Happy Friday!

2010-06-18T08:52:00.001-07:00

Dear June, I love you.

2010-06-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

thanks to you,

the garden looks good, despite the insane rabbit problem we are experiencing.

there will be fun at home.

there will be sunday spins in the camaro.

there will be some delicious dinners.

there will be happy.

eight airports in one month

2010-06-05T17:09:00.000-07:00

It was a busy May- more so than the normal busy. We were thrilled to have family come and visit us. Having guests is so much fun. We get to cook and entertain. and show them our favorite local spots. and glamor them with Pyrex. We truly appreciate it when our friends and loved ones make the time to come and visit.

There has also been a lot of travel for work. And although I don't mind the occasional field trip to somewhere new, lately I have been just wanting to stay home and recharge. there was the trip was to Fort Bragg.

and then I traveled to Nevada, for some work in the middle of nowhere. At least the scenery was interesting.

The last weekend of May, I hopped on yet another plane- this time to return the favor and visit an old friend before she moves even further away. Even though I don't get to see her more than a few times a year, I'm gonna miss her dearly. In addition to having some quality time with her and her adorable kids, i took away some awesome souvenirs- particularly these:

Finally there was a lovely Memorial Day bbq to end the month, which involved some good eats. (click on the images for the deets).

not much to say, things are zen.

2010-05-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

Current musings

2010-05-01T23:05:00.000-07:00

this singer. this singer and this singer

these artists.

these cookies. must be made

the puppylovin' happening at my house:

my super awesome new Japanese Maple tree.

this blog is my new fave

adios.

action items

2010-04-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

On the agenda:

enjoy these owl jars

find more refrigerator dishes, because i love them

convert these lemons into something delicious

work on turning this lovely fabric into a new robe

stop and smell the roses. especially this one.

have a lovely weekend. done and done.

have a lovely weekend.

2010-04-02T07:53:00.001-07:00

You have no idea

2010-04-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

How obsessed I am these days with the pyrex....

I'm in deep.

have a lovely weekend.

2010-03-19T05:18:00.001-07:00

weekend report

2010-03-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

it was good.

Carbonnades a la Flamande

2010-03-13T08:53:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday it was finally time to break open my new copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and enter the wonderful world of Julia Child. For our inaugural meal, I wanted to make something that was simple, hearty and of course, delicious.

Last weekend was really cold. And rainy. And while most everyone I know is ready for the clouds to pass, I really needed a few days of staying inside and doing not much of anything. I have been spring cleaning and trying to get some order back in my life. It has not been easy. Some days my brain is drained by the time I get home from work, and I am not prepared to think creatively in the kitchen. Thank goodness for cookbooks during those times.

I decided to go with Julia's recipe for beef and onions braised in beer, because those are three of my favorite things in the whole world.

I braised the beef and onions separately according to the recipe.

and then added everything into the pot along with some beer. I replaced the pilsner suggested by Julia with a bold Chimay Grand Reserve.

Left everything alone (as best as I could, it smelled delicious) for a few hours.

We left the stew a little soupy, because the broth was just as yummy as the meat. For a side dish, I roasted some fingerling potatoes and tossed them in a little butter and fresh parsley, as suggested in the recipe.

enjoyed with a good cab, and a good film.

Happy Friday!

2010-03-12T07:06:00.000-08:00

ongoings

2010-03-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

As usual, I'm up to my ears with tasks, but have only about 20 percent of the time needed to actually accomplish every lofty goal I have for myself. Instead of working off the task list I created last Saturday, I snuck off to the thrift store for a little hunting. A few weekends ago I was left empty handed, so I was eager to try to find some cool shit. After all, the thrift store gods would not let me strike out twice, right? Today I hit my downtown Goodwill, which always seems to be full of goodies, and it didn't disappoint. I found a cute little Hasko tray:

This enormous hobnail milk glass pitcher:

a cute little Fire-King spice bowl:

And some pretty glass trays. I think the long one will be great to serve olives on:

I finally made my way out to the garden to take care of the weeds and see how my winter crops were doing. The broccoli was out of control! I brought home two bags full, along with some kale, butter lettuce and a stalk of celery from one of my neighbors plots.

Now what am I gonna make?

fence adventures.

2010-02-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

who goes there?

something's squirming...

what is it?

friend or foe?

can't quite reach it...

what the....?

hullo!

Back to reality

2010-01-31T16:05:00.000-08:00

I'm blogging again after a much needed break. We spent New Year's Eve weekend in Lake Arrowhead, just relaxing and enjoying friends. Although there was no snow, the scenery was quite spectacular.

The following week we set out for a trip to Maui. It was beautiful of course, and very relaxing. We drove all over the island and got to enjoy some amazing views and delicious food. After 10 days though, we missed our simple little life and our own ocean.

Click on any of the photos to see more from my flickr.

Coming back to not-so-sunny California was quite the contrast. Our little house received almost 5 inches of rain in one week, which for So-Cal is a whole lot. We had some flooding in the backyard, but no major leaks or damage. What a wild 2010 it has been so far!

Hunting

2010-01-31T15:01:00.000-08:00

I've been on a big thrifting bend lately, picking up a bunch of awesome kitchen stuff.

This lovely fondue set came mint in box, with the original ca.1960s wedding card still attached. Thank goodness for registries.

I found this trio of blue snowflake pyrex bowls at goodwill. The largest 4th bowl is missing, but I can forgive that, considering I paid next to nothing for these. Q: Can you ever have enough pyrex? A: Not really.

Cathrineholm pots, to replace some of our boring old aluminum pots.

Yellow pyrex, actually not thrifted but a gift from a friend. I hear this is the bottom of a casserole dish, the pattern is called "desert dawn".

I don't think I'll ever stop loving old stuff. I'd take something vintage over something new every time (except for underwear or toothbrushes...).

Hi.

2009-12-30T08:35:00.000-08:00

Who are you? If you read my blog, can you leave a message? I'd love to know who is out there on the internets having a look. Thanks! and more to come in the new year.

Twas the night...

2009-12-24T20:11:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night.

Coq au vin

2009-12-23T18:42:00.000-08:00

My cooking obsession has progressed to the point where I now cook things I cannot pronounce.

I think it shows I'm no longer intimidated by recipes with long ingredient lists or multiple hours of prep time. I knew this recipe is called "chicken in red wine" and that is considered a classic, popular French dish. However, I wasn't sure how it was pronounced as I took Spanish in school, and cannot "parle vu francais."

Fortunately speaking the language isnt a requirement for making the dish, and though I bastardized the recipe name all evening while it was prepared, it turned out quite nice.

It's quite a time muncher this dish. The chicken is easy enough to get cooking- and the le cruset dutch oven was a dream to cook with. But getting the red wine/stock broth to reduce took a bit longer than expected. Adding the mushrooms reduced the broth quite a bit.

I made some green peas, cooked in bacon fat, and some roasted fingerling potatoes smothered in garlic butter as side dishes. Husband was a bit concerned about the purple-ness of the chicken, but it was quite delicious.

no rest for the wicked.

2009-12-20T14:14:00.000-08:00

So here is a photo summary of what's the happs round these parts. (Click on the photo for info).

As of late

2009-12-05T09:05:00.001-08:00

I've been super busy with work, and life and haven't had much time to cook or craft, let alone write.

Thanksgiving was good. The food was all delicious and there was plenty to go around. We had crab dip, and cheese appetizers. Dinner included a pear and Roquefort salad (i forgot to photograph), scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole (forgot too) and of course the bird. Desert was a traditional New York cheesecake which turned out beautiful, only a little cracking.

Other adventures included a dinner here. It was divine.

And I am 2 months behind on a birthday scarf for a friend. Here it is in progress:

everything looks better

2009-11-14T15:15:00.001-08:00

through a fisheye lens.

Sausage and mustache party

2009-11-09T20:18:00.001-08:00

Oktoberfest party with a selection of delicious sausages from this place.

we picked up: Bratwurst, Chicken Apple, Austin Blues, Louisiana Hotlink, Duck and Bacon, Apple Sage, Rattlesnake and Rabbit.

Sausages were first boiled in a broth of beer and onions

Then charcoal grilled. (Dog for scale)

Served with sauerkraut, german noodles and potato salad.

And of course, lots of Oktoberfest beer.

Oh and a lot of mustaches, for good measure.

More Hallows Eve

2009-11-01T09:32:00.000-08:00

On Halloween, Long Beach has its annual Haute Dog Halloween Parade. Every year this event grows in size and gets better and better. I am always amused and amazed at how creative people can be.

There were pirates

Bounty Hunters

Pitbulls in Tutus

Dogs dressed as dwarfs wearing sunglasses

Kentucky Derby Dogs

A 3 Headed Hellbeast Chihuahua

Down the rabbit hole

the metamorphosis

and then there were the tributes to Michael Jackson, this one was complete with professional security (from Sgt. Jim Dangle?) and umbrella holder

and this one, which was just brilliant

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T17:26:00.001-07:00

I had planned on posting a ton of pictures and ideas this month leading all the way up to Halloween, but time got the best of of me and I didn't have the time or energy to photograph all the crafting I did for the party. So alas, here's a long pictorial of the October festivities that have led up to Hallows Eve.

Halloween has begun!

2009-10-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

More Halloween

2009-09-19T15:55:00.001-07:00

Halloween has officially arrived at the stores, and I must say some store displays and merchandise selection are beyond creative and others just didn't hit the mark. Stats of course looked great, and Cost Plus was impressive too (sorry for the crappy iphone pics):

I hit Target last weekend and was incredibly disappointed. Michaels was not that great either.... I am hoping they are going to step it up at the end of September and bring some new stuff in, cause right now they are booor-ing!

Have a gorgeous friday.

2009-09-11T08:18:00.000-07:00

image from here.

food this weekend

2009-08-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

from the top; roasted eggplant with goat cheese, grilled fillet mignon, risotto from Pioneer Woman.

morning sky

2009-08-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

it was beautiful today.

that's all. you can go about your business now.

thrift score

2009-08-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

Twelve bucks later...

fab-u-less.

Halloween preparations

2009-08-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

I am getting started on my Halloween festivities, and decided to take a trip to Stats to check out their displays. If you haven't been there before, it is definitely worth a visit. They have the most fantastic party supplies and decorations, especially for Halloween and Christmas. This year's selection of decorations did not disappoint.

I cannot wait to begin my crafts.

Dinner for one

2009-08-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

Husband is away for the week visiting family, so it has been a series of solo dinners.

Tonight I pan grilled some shrimp.

I sliced some cabbage, made some pico de gallo from the garden, and whipped up some baja sauce.

A little cilantro for oomph. yum.

Problem, solution

2009-08-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

Problem? This area of the side yard, which has become the de facto litter box for the neighbors cat collection.

Solution? A healthy sprinkling of cayenne pepper, topped with gravel. Finished with some potted bamboo. An attractive yet effective deterrent, I hope.

The nursery only had two of the black pots, so I'll have to add the third pot in a few weeks.

Have a nice weekend.

2009-08-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

Food weekend

2009-08-02T15:48:00.001-07:00

Meals are focused around the garden these days. I've been making a lot of salsa, guacamole and sides using all the tomatoes, peppers, onions and limes coming out of the garden. It is quite satisfying to know that I can make an entire dish using fresh ingredients that I grew myself.

From the top: breakfast, grilled tilapia with mango salsa, roasted eggplant, cilantro hummus, and grilled chicken and corn with garden salad.

Growing pains

2009-08-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

It has been about a year now since I seriously took up gardening as a hobby, and I have recently begun to reflect on what I have learned from the soil. There is no doubt that gardening is a labor of love. The sweat, tears and blood (yes there has been some), that go into growing your own food come with great rewards. The tomatoes I grew at the community garden this summer were a significant improvement over the ones I grew in my backyard last year. In addition to tasting one thousand percent better than anything I have ever bought at a grocery store, they were bigger, juicer and totally organic.

However, success did come with some failures. Several of my tomato plants were diseased and had to be removed before they infected the others. While some just never grew properly, other plants grew tall and bushy and looked really healthy- only to end up with blossom rot.

Unfortunately most of the diseased plants came up from the local horticulture club, something other gardeners commented on too. With so many hands touching different plants viruses and diseases quickly spread from plant to plant. Once transplanted into a dense environment like the garden, it is almost impossible to keep sick plants from infecting other healthy plants. As I mentioned a month or so ago, my squash also became diseased, and had to be pulled out of the ground, leaving me squash-less the entire summer. While there are many things you can do to prevent disease, one thing that seems the most important is to grow your own crops from seed rather than buying starters.

I have also learned some valuable lessons about what to plant, where to plant it and how to take care of it. For example, onions take forever to grow. The package said they take about four months, but mine are still growing at six. I think from now on, instead of giving the onions a whole section of one of the garden beds, I am going to plant them in the corners and edges of other beds so that they don’t take up too much space.

I have also learned that it is rather stupid to plant what you won’t eat. I know duh, right? But when I first got my plot, I was so excited to just get something in the ground I grabbed a bunch of starter plants. Since it was the dead of winter (for California anyway) that meant the only available started crops were a lot of greens, including collards, mustard and Swiss chard. Well it turns out, I am not a fan of any of these crops and I ended up with a shitload of each. Plus the collard roots are massive, and I nearly pulled out my back trying to rip them out of the ground.

Timing is also a key issue. Space out your plantings. I planted 10 broccoli plants at the same time and had it coming out my ears. While I am always pleased to share my garden success with others, spreading out the seedlings over the growing period ensures that you'll always have fresh crops. Over planting leads to overproduction- and having to give away the food that you grew because you grew too much just really sucks.

I'll leave my lessons at that for now. Despite some setbacks, I am still in love with gardening and can see that it will be a lifelong passion for me. I am curious to see how the winter gardens are going to be this year, since many people are already saying that that we are going to experience another El Nino this season.

I heart.

2009-07-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

Have a lovely Friday.

Signs

2009-07-25T15:01:00.001-07:00

A few years ago, I began photographing old signs. These photos serve as little souvenirs of my travels.

My occupation often takes me to strange and out of the way places, and I get to see some fabulous examples of architecture that might not be appreciated otherwise.

I find the old motel and liquor store signs particularly charming. The buildings they represent are often in shambles or horribly altered, and the signs are the last vestiges of a period when design and style was incorporated into everything.

Buffy will always win

2009-07-21T21:07:00.001-07:00

Happy Friday!

2009-07-17T08:04:00.001-07:00

Have a happy and safe July 4th!

2009-07-04T07:26:00.001-07:00

Just add sunshine

2009-07-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

What a difference a few days of sunshine can make in the garden. Everything seems to be coming alive finally.

eggplants

serranos peppers

fresno peppers

peppers and tomatillos

today's harvest

Is it too early for halloween?

2009-06-29T10:00:00.001-07:00

Because I am ready to get spooky.

And these sites are inspiring the hell out of me.

First harvest

2009-06-28T11:07:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting some ripe summer veggies to enjoy.

The first ripe tomatoes are the Stupice variety, a small Czech tomato.

Japanese eggplants are coming in full force.

My Brandywines and San Marzanos are looking very nice.

I can't believe I grew these lovely zinnias from seed.

I see some delicious summer meals in our future.

Saturdaze

2009-06-27T13:18:00.001-07:00

Dog days of summer

tiki awesomeness.

modern doors

And there is this, which makes me want to hug strangers:

Recharging the batteries

2009-06-20T20:32:00.001-07:00

It has been a much needed and deserved weekend at the frog ranch house. Cooking has been sporadic lately due to a lack of time and energy. I managed to pull it together and make a kick ass dinner on Saturday night. We started with some chips and guacamole, using this recipe- which is oh-my-god yummy. I added red onions to the recipe, because you can never have have enough onions.

Seriously, is this food porn or what?

We worked our way up to a nice slow cooked dinner of baby back ribs slathered in barbeque sauce. Ribs were served with smashed potatoes, boiled then roasted and topped with salt, pepper and rosemary. Grilled corn coated in a compound butter of chili pepper and lime completed the dish. Recipes here, here and here.

Sunday, we spent the afternoon strolling around the Long Beach Flea Market. I am thrilled to see that it has grown larger in the past 6 months, and that there are so many people walking up and down the aisles. I managed to pick up a few things, including a black depression glass bowl for my Halloween collection, and a few pretty silver-plate platters. It is never too early to get ready for Halloween!!

We lunched at beachwood bbq. If you have not been here yet, go. Now. Seriously, right now.

The weekend ended with a very sweet and beautiful gift from my mother: a lovely set of the glassware- the same kind that is served at the Ritz Carlton. We went to the Ritz for mother's day tea, and I completely fell in love with their stemware. If I hadn't been carrying a clutch...

Luckily, now I have my own to cherish and enjoy! Thanks again mom, these are amazing.

All work and no play makes jack a dull frog

2009-06-13T10:15:00.001-07:00

My posts have been infrequent recently, thanks to some insane work deadlines and a general feeling of exhaustion. I had a few posts started and never published, but I've decided to go ahead anyway and just finish them. I'll try and make up for lost time and post some lovely things I have seen and done recently.

The community garden is in full swing. In addition to all the wonderful corn, tomatoes, peppers and basil that is growing, there is an abundance of lovely flowers in bloom including sunflowers, dahlias, and zinnias.

Unfortunately there was a plague that swept through the garden and gave every one's squash a nasty disease. I came out to my plot to find a bright red flier attached to one of my tomato cages. The scarlet letter indicated that I had to rip out all my squash plants immediately, in order to ensure that the soil does not become diseased. I am learning that the community garden is the plant equivalent of a brothel. If there is something icky going around, everybody is most likely going to get it!

So no zucchini, no pumpkins and no spaghetti squash for now. I might replant some pumpkins, but I'm going to wait a few weeks to make sure this virus is gone for good. Luckily the tomatoes are healthy and looking good, as well as the rest of the garden crops. I am fascinated by the tomatillo plants. They look like little paper lanterns while they are growing:

In other news, work has recently taken me to San Luis Obispo. Had a wonderful solo meal at this lovely restaurant. On the way home, I stopped off a rest area just north of Santa Barbara and snapped a few photo with my Nikon:

It has been a busy few months, but I cannot complain.

How I am feeling...

2009-05-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

Like busting out into Indian song and dance. Seriously- if there was a Bollywood dance class at my gym, I would be 95 pounds right now.

And have a lovely Friday.

i heart this song

2009-05-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

isnt zooey deschanel just scrumptious?

Have a lovely weekend.

2009-05-08T07:44:00.001-07:00

weekend musings.

2009-05-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

been thinking about becoming a vegetarian again. I quit the veg scene when I was about 23- but now at 31, I understand nutrition better and the whole industrial agriculture machine sickens me. The health payoff is definitely worth it, and it makes sense. i guess i'm going to have to add juicer and food dehydrator to the list of culinary tools i need to buy.

been on an ebay shopping spree lately. picked up a few little pots to plant succulents in, and a nice milk glass platter. it is time to start filling this house up with useless, decorative, crap.

3. this beer is dangerous.

4. Bailey had her first trip to the dog park. How did she do? Awesome.

5. This almost made me barf.

I Hope you are having a great weekend too.

The plot thickens

2009-05-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

My summer garden is just about fully planted now. I am pretty sure with 9 tomato plants, I am just about pushing my limit at the community plot. I have basil (from seed) interplanted between the tomato plants and I also planted some zinnia and sunflower seeds along the edges of the outer beds. I also directly sowed some pumpkin, lettuce, beet and carrot seeds. Someone told me that Long Beach gets too hot in the summer to grow carrots, but all my garden books are telling me to go for it, so I am.

Zukes and peppers are starting to do their thing:

I planted a tomatillo plant, and it is doing really well. I am sure I have probably eaten one in salsa before, but I am still somewhat mystified by this tomato cousin. It will be interesting to see what this plant yields.

I keep pulling beautiful large carrots out from the patch. I still can't get over the fact that a fresh-pulled carrot smells so fragrant. They have an almost perfume quality to them! I have to say, so far all my purchases from Baker Creek Seeds have brought the biggest payoff. The rocky top lettuce blend has performed very well, and it is a lovely salad blend. The carrots are the chantenay red core and tonda di parigi heirloom varieties. And the herbs! they are just beautiful. The cilantro is out of control. I am collecting new recipes this week. How does cucumber and cilantro salad sound?

Yes, this basil smells as good as it looks. I have to keep slapping my own hands to stop from picking it while it is still small:

I can't wait to start having tomato basil salads!!!

Weekend musings.

2009-04-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

roasted veggies. made them for the week's lunch- so yum!

my garden carrots!
this blog: "IF YOU DO NOT LOVE CILANTRO WITH ALL YOUR HEART I WILL FIGHT YOU."

this:

am totally making this for 4th of July.

wontons. so genius! I fried up some stuffed with goats cheese, carmelized onions and jalapenos. For a second appetizer, I fried some more up, to use as a "nacho" for some shrimp ceviche:

There and back again.

2009-04-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

A lovely weekend so far, and it isn't over yet. I spent Friday and Saturday in Ramona, with a very dear, old friend. The views from her home were spectacular:

After relaxing around the house all evening and morning, we went into the "town" to take in the tourist attractions. Of course we hit up the antique shop, where I managed to score this killer ashtray, which I think will be my new spoon rest:

This very cute little soap dish, which husband immediately placed in the bathroom:

And this beautiful scallop pottery vase:

Next stop was the tack and feed shops. I was hoping to find a reasonably-sized galvanized steel bucket that could be re purposed as a beer pail, but their feed troughs were enormous! Instead, I evaluated whether or not I could seriously keep chickens in my backyard:

So cute! And they had baby turkeys too!

Next we made our way over to an awesome nursery with some great deals. I picked up an avocado tree to replace the one that the puppy destroyed. Avocado tree 2.0 is twice as big, and the same price!! I would have picked up a Meyer lemon too, but they were currently sold out. I also managed to pick up some eggplant starters for only .99 cents!!! With my car loaded up, I headed back home to the city!! Thank you Sheryl for a fun weekend!

Busy in the Backyard

2009-04-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

Plantings for the backyard.

Planted: Corn, sweet peppers, grape vines, basil, chives, and cilantro

I needed these

2009-04-16T21:52:00.000-07:00

Just because.

Springtime in the garden

2009-04-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

Although it rained a bit last week and was kinda cold, it has been a beautiful spring weekend. Yesterday was spent finishing up the summer plantings and making progress in the ongoing weed battle.

On a whim, I spent the morning checking out the Long Beach City College Horticultural Club Annual Plant Sale. First of all, I had no idea our City college had such a wonderful horticultural program. They have their own special area tucked away on the campus which they use for growing plants and teaching.

In addition to hundreds of lovely ornamentals, they had a nice selection of tomatoes, peppers and herbs. I picked up a San Marzano and a Brandywine tomato plant, as well as a pepporccini and a ancho gigante pepper plant.

Since my garden basil is still very small and I am so impatient for fresh basil, I picked up one of their very lovely starter plants. Of course I had to get that thing planted immediately!

And since Husband came along for the trip, he picked up a very healthy looking rosebush for his rose garden.

Once we were stocked up with plants, we headed home for some good food.

Prettying up

2009-04-07T20:13:00.000-07:00

Now that the tax refund has come in and the weather is warming up, we have been thinking a lot about doing some home improvements. One of the first areas we want to do some work is to the exterior of the house.

Our little pink casa fiesta, as she now sits.

When we lived in west LA, I often marveled at how contemporary and cool all the homes by the beach were. I'm not talking about the multi-bazillion dollar ocean-view homes; I'm referring to the simple square-box, post-war tract homes that were scattered throughout Venice, Mar Vista and Santa Monica. It was totally inspiring to see how Angelinos could reinvent entire neighborhoods of ticky-tacky little boxes into very cool modern residences. It is amazing how cosmetic improvements, such as replacing windows and doors, landscaping and a new paint job can truly make a difference. One night while making a shortcut through one neighborhood, I came across this house:

I made Husband come back a few days later so I could take some photographs. I loved the water-conscious landscaping, horizontal slatted wood fence and the concrete patio they added to the front. The cool grey-blue exterior paint also added to the overall look of the home.

While explaining my discovery to a co-worker, she recommended that I take a look at the homes in her Santa Monica neighborhood, as they all featured similar designs and some very cool xeriscaped front yards. Not surprisingly, I was totally inspired. We spent an entire Sunday afternoon driving around photographing homes.

We found some more really cool wood fences.

And amazing water-friendly landscapes.

I love this pergola on the front patio.

I definitely think we can do some of these things to our place.

And just when I thought I couldn't be more inspired- I came across this over the weekend, via Beyond the Lawn.

Check out their website- I am totally going to this!!!

Weekend update

2009-04-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

I know its a bit late, but it was a great weekend and I must share:

The garden is doing great. Nearly all the winter crops have been pulled out and replaced with tasty summer veggies. Unfortunately all my seedlings bit the dust, thanks to the flip-floppy weather we have been experiencing. I ended up cheating and paying a trip to my favorite local nursery, H & H. The place was packed, with tons of other people that were happly to see the beginnings of spring. I ended up going crazy and buying tons of summer veggies, and I actually managed to get most of them in the ground this weekend.

I have 7 tomato plants in the ground so far, and I'm going to probably add another three. Included in the mix are Cherokee Purple, Better Boy, Roma, and Earl Girl. I planted a bunch of peppers too, including Anaheim, Serrano, Jalapeno, Red Bells and banana varieties.

I also managed to get in a few squash plants, cucumbers, a tomatillo plant and some spinach seeds in the ground!

Things were happening in the kitchen too...

From the top, shrimp ceviche, steak tacos, breakfast chilaquiles and an egg muffin.

At the garden

2009-04-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

Everybody was busy at the garden today, including the smaller inhabitants....

Gotta go, there is work to be done.

Nikon D60 Trial Run

2009-03-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

This is art, man.

You can thank me for the recent stock rally

2009-03-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

Because this weekend I bought this:

And this:
And this:
Just doing my part to help the economy! Gotta go play now.

One small step...

2009-03-21T17:44:00.000-07:00

Yay Michelle!!!!! Way to inspire others and bring back the Victory Garden!

From the NY Times:

"Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of the South Lawn on Friday to plant a vegetable garden, the first at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II."

More here. And here. Oh, and here.

Catching up

2009-03-21T08:18:00.001-07:00

This month has passed me by with no chance to lift my head up from what I have been doing. The job change has left me unusually tired with little energy at the end of night. This past week I have rebounded a bit and used that extra fuel to get some things in order for spring. Last weekend was full of activities, including the preparation of two delicious meals. Saturday night I made this recipe for roast chicken, which was very good. I didn't have the cast iron pan that the original recipe called for, so I just used a roaster.

I realize in retrospect that the cast iron would have made this dish perfect, as my bread pieces were a bit harder that they should have been. The chicken however, was perfect as was the fresh steamed broccoli from the garden.

We also ate some of the swiss chard from the garden.

I cut the leaves up, and sauteed them with some garlic and butter, and tossed them with lemon zest.

They were ok- Husband didnt care for them at all. They had a sharp, bitter taste to them. I wonder if the leaves were too large, and maybe I should have picked them sooner. I have never eaten swiss chard before so I'll give it another try before I give up on it completely. It was still a good meal, all in all.

Sunday was meat night. Husband suggested a steak, with twice-baked potatoes. Since I have never attempted a twice-baked spud, I accepted the challenge. Husband grilled the steaks, this time only rubbing a little salt, pepper and oilve oil onto the meat beforehand. Meanwhile, I made a compound butter for the steaks, with fresh chives and thyme.

The potatoes were were rubbed with olive oil and placed onto the oven rack for a little over an hour. Once baked, the tops were sliced off and the guts were mashed into a bowl with some sourcream, butter, carmelized onions, grated cheddar and chives. Potato mix was thrown back into the potato skin and baked for another 30 minutes.

Once out of the oven, a ridiculous amount of toppings were added to the potatoes, including bacon bits, cheese, chives and red onions.

Some more fresh gown broccoli was cooked, to ensure that we had something green on our plates!

Both were fantastic meals!

Still here!

2009-03-11T20:13:00.000-07:00

Yo!

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. A new job for me and lots of overtime for El Hubo has made our house very chaotic lately. Add a new puppy to the mix and I am sure you get the idea...We did manage to get out into the world last weekend. We had a nice afternoon meal in downtown LA at this place, which was really fun. The food is great and the beer selection is extensive. We shared the rattlesnake-rabbit, duck-bacon, and mozzarella-sun dried tomato sausages. So good!

The garden is doing really well, last weekend was spent doing my required community service hours and weeding my own plot. I cut down all my broccoli heads, givng most to the food bank and keeping a few for myself and friends.

Everything else is buzzing along! more later...

Trader Joes!

2009-02-28T07:19:00.001-08:00

This is for my family in Charlotte, who just got their first Trader Joes. This video pretty much sums up the joy that is TJs.

Happy Friday!

2009-02-27T06:57:00.001-08:00

Quote of the Day

2009-02-24T20:15:00.001-08:00

From Husband:

"If there was a way to turn snot into energy- we'd be Millionaires"

Weekend Musings

2009-02-22T09:50:00.001-08:00

1. I love my neti-pot. I really, really do. It's like an oil change for your nose!

2. Finished the super-easy cowl I have been knitting.

3. We ain't in New Orleans- had to go to three supermarkets to find file powder. Three!

4. In between reading dog training books, I have been reading Mark Bittman's new book, Food Matters. It's a good read that is definitely moving me towards eating more healthy and local foods.

5. Had this song stuck in my head all day:

I knew I had seen this photograph before...

2009-02-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

Bailey, 2009:

Harper, circa 2001:

It appears puppy photography tends to yield the same results, despite changing test subjects.

Rainy days are over

2009-02-20T12:18:00.000-08:00

The recent rains have nourished my garden, bringing lots of growth to my winter crops. Unfortunately the much needed rains also fed the weeds, and so this weekend will be all about the weeding and fertilizing. I drowned a few of my pepper seedlings in the rain so it looks like I am going to be planting some more seeds this weekend too.

I picked some baby leaves of the rocky top lettuce blend.

I also picked up a bunch of volunteer green onions growing in my garden's walk ways.

And pulled up the pak choy, giving most of it to the food bank and leaving a few heads for friends and myself.

The broccoli is looking great.

And the carrots are doing well too. I accidentally picked one while I was weeding. Isn't it cute?

I am also going to get some of my beds cleaned out and plant some spinach and mustard seeds, as well as some herbs. I have planned my spring garden on paper, and I think it is about time I begin planting some of it- because I cannot wait to have fresh tomatoes and peppers growing!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-15T10:15:00.001-08:00

It was a somewhat glamorous affair in the kitchen last night. Food-wise, we decided to go big for V-day- but making everything ourselves, of course! We started slow, with a selection of cheeses, salami and water crackers- sorry no photo. I am sure you can imagine it though..

Next, I made these mushrooms that are stuffed with blue cheese, caramelized onions, garlic and topped with panko flakes.

Dinner came third. Earlier in the day, I picked up one really large lobster tail from our local butcher, as well as a small Fillet Mignon to split. Both were smothered in garlic butter. I broiled the lobster, and pan-grilled the steak, then topped it with mushrooms sauteed in balsamic vinegar. The surf and turf was served with white chocolate mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.

Yum.

And for dessert:

Everything was washed down with a nice Chardonnay.

New Digs

2009-02-14T10:25:00.001-08:00

Life at the frog house these days is puppy-centric.

We're learning to sit...

And stay..

and play well with others.

My patch of backyard onions are a jungle adventure to someone 8 inches tall...

Dibbs on the alligator!

And now we're all tired out.

Be still, my heart

2009-02-07T08:37:00.000-08:00

My mother always told me you should never meet a guy in a bar, and don't you dare think about bringing him home!

However, she said nothing about puppies!

This is Bailey. or Abby. or Beazelbub. depending on the millisecond.

She is the cutest thing since- well, since this thing:

Ugh. I'm melting.

Everyone else is still adjusting.

But I think we'll be fine.

A few good dinners

2009-01-28T09:04:00.000-08:00

I haven't been cooking as much as I usually do, mainly because the husband has been working a lot and my solo meals are just not interesting enough to photograph. But here are a few meals I have made recently...

Grilled salmon, served with proscuitto-wrapped asparagus and crispy roasted potatoes...

Kalua pork cooked in a slow cooker and served shredded over a potato bun. (Photo sans bun....)

And a yummy repeat; Husband's favorite grilled fillet mignon with blue cheese crumble- this time with a stronger blue cheese that was even better!

Oh yeah, and I conquered roasted chicken with delicious results: