ok, where did the year go?

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.

Steamed Mussels in Wine

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

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.

Sausage and mustache party

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.

Happy Halloween

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.

Saturdaze

Dog days of summer



tiki awesomeness.



modern doors



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

Recharging the batteries

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.

Springtime in the garden

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

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!!!