And the winner is...

"Daybreak"

I pulled the trigger on this guy last night!  Thank-you to everyone who gave their two cents.

I'll take pics once I have him in place (which will be mid April'ish - since the hubby and I are jetting off on Sunday).

Now - what should I name him?

:)

HELP!

Ever since the hubby and I stayed at Willows Lodge for New Year's Eve, I've been obsessed w/finding a rooster painting for our house.

Why do you ask? (Or, quite frankly, most of you probably ask, "What in the he** is she thinking?  A rooster painting in her steel and concrete pad?  Pishaw!)

Well, I'll tell you why.  At the Willows Lodge, nestled in a nook on the second floor (right above the ice machine if my memory serves me right) is a striking, colorful, vibrant, and mesmerizing painting of a rooster.  One look at it - and I knew it (or a less expensive facsimile) had to be MINE!  What a cheeky and interesting addition to our condo it could be!

This is where you come in.  I've narrowed down the choices, and am def. leaning towards the "Run Chicken Run" painting - but since there have been dissenting voices - I thought I'd put it to a vote.

Help me decide by choosing your favorite!!

From http://www.etsy.com/shop/peacockgarden , paintings by Cari Humphry

"Run, Chicken, Run!"

"Daybreak"

Or from http://www.etsy.com/shop/RozArt, painting by Roz

Polyvore - I "heart" you

I think I'm getting the hang of this "polyvore" thing.

I must admit, looking back on my first attempts I find them pretty dismal...but after a creating a few test sets - I'm feeling a bit brazen!!

The lovely top below (purchased from www.Bluefly.com, link here) will be arriving on my door step in a matter of days - therefore I decided to use my new found Polyvore skills to style it 3 ways (using items I actually have in my wardrobe - otherwise I'm sure the outfits would look way cooler).

(DISCLAIMER: I really have no fashion claim to fame, therefore wearing the outfits below may make me, and possibly you, look stupid.  NOTE: If you click on the pretty pictures - you can see the individual items from the set.)

The Shirt

Styled for Work

One shirt three ways (#1) by calinas3Bs featuring Mulberry bags

Note: I wish I had that lovely tote, but I actually couldn't find a pic for the version I do have - although I did manage to find it on ebay here

Styled for the Weekend (or a Work Day w/no Meetings - yay!)

One Shirt Three Wasy (#2) by calinas3Bs featuring Mulberry bags

Styled for Brunch

One Shirt Three Ways (#3) by calinas3Bs featuring Coach bags

La-la leftovers...

On Monday Ed made Steamed Clams Fagioli (recipe here).  The broth was flavorful and light, the clams were plump and juicy, and the beans provided a little extra fiber and protein oomph.

On Tuesday, the left-over broth (the clams were long gone) become a tasty orzo soup (I added 2/3 c cooked orzo).  Yay leftovers!

Oh - what to do, what to do w/the six egg yolks we had leftover from the coconut cake baking experience on Sunday?

Make aLOT of creme brulee of course!  I'm actually just about ready to dig into one for breakfast.  Yummmm.

Pillow Mania

I thought I'd do a non-food post for a change (although I'm dyyyyiiiing to post pics of the creme brulee Ed made last night...sigh...he's the reason I have to exercise so much).

Anyhoo - I've been in hate with my couch pillows lately.

When I first purchased them, less than a year ago, they were a deep rich brown w/bright silk accents.  The pillows managed to both pull our room together (sometimes even I wonder why we have a dark brown area rug, gray couch, and camel colored chair) and brighten it a bit.  I loved them.

Now, thanks to the sun and our floor to ceiling windows, they're the color of poop.  Yeah - you heard me - POOP. 

Exhibit A: the hated pillows

Yesterday I began the great search for a couple new, bright, modern, and Springy pillows. 

The first site that pulled me in was allmodern.com (sigh, I "heart" you expensive shiny things).  I was THIS close to pulling the trigger on these Thomas Paul Seed pillow - but @ $100.00 each for 2 pillows...it meant I would have had to forgo these lovely tan wedges I've been lusting over (dilema).

Thankfully - today I found the perfect pillow on ww.etsy.com, and after a quick convo w/the owner of ModDiva, she put up a custom post w/two pillows just for me!  At $40 (including shipping) for two pillows...I sure got a great deal!

I also ordered a couple ivory linen pillows (from http://www.potterybarn.com/) to add a little Spring flavor!

And - thanks to all my $$ savings, I was able to get the shoes (Tory Burch "Sally 2" found here)...yipee!!!! 

Fresh Coconut Cake and Mussels w/Creme Fraiche, Jalapenos (...)

I made a very favorable deal w/Ed on Sunday, this being:  if he made the "Fresh Coconut Cake" recipe from the April edition of Cooking Light (drool) - I would make our Sunday dinner (?)!

Without a second thought he jumped right on it (truthfully...I probably mumbled the cake part and shouted the "I'll make dinner" part - so that's about all he heard).

I generally don't have the attention span for cake baking, but since Ed loves complex ingrediants, using kitchen gadgets, and basically fiddling around in the kitchen - I knew he was up for the challange. 

This cake takes a LOT of egg whites, patience, and bowls - but the end product is totally worth it. 

The frosting reminds me of marshmallows, the fresh toasted coconut is WAY better than that bagged crap, and knowing that each slice is only 332 calories and 10.8 g of fat makes you feel a little less guilty when you inhale a third, (umm) I mean second, piece.

So check out the recipe here

Oh - and I did manage to come up with something wonderful yet easy to make for Sunday dinner.  Mussels w/creme fraiche, jalapenos, and cilantro w/garlic toast on the side.  Recipe here

Ah - the sweet life!

Since Ed is away on business for the night, Tasi (the cat) and I are living the bachelorette lifestyle.

This consists of: (1) forgoing my work out in favor of putting on pj's and watching Made of Honor (2) eating dinner, if you can call brie, crackers, and chicken sausage dinner, at 5:30PM (3) making a bowl of chocolate chips and pecans and unabashedly eating it while watching a show on celebrity plastic surgery (4) baking up a batch of cookies while watching Pride and Prejudice.

I made an incredibly modified version of the raspberry thumbprint recipe found here.  I used vanilla extract instead of almond, subsituted one cup wheat flour for one cup white, and used both the peach and raspberry jam I made last summer.  I've also made the executive decision only to drizzle the icing on a couple, since the cookie are awfully sweet.

The cookies are still cooling, but I was forced to eat one that mysteriously fell, therefore I can report they are delic!

Ah - Saturdays!

Since yesterday was a bit chilly and gray,  Ed and I tossed aside any make-believe plans for outdoor activities and instead did a bit of culinary indulging ("what diet?").

First stop was Txori, a Spanish "pinxos" (which basically is a bite-sized portion of deliciousness) place on 2nd & Blanchard in Belltown.  I forgot my iphone, but managed to convince Ed to snap a couple photos for me (I think he took pity on me after I spilled a half glass of cava in my lap while chatting w/the head chef...embarassing but typical).

Txori's delcious tuna

Pork Belly (Ed's fav)

Earlier in the day, Ed had picked up a couple chicken breasts from Fero's, located in Pike's Place Market, which he later seasoned w/salt and pepper, pan seared on the stove top, and then finished off in the oven (until the internal temp reached 350).  He served the deliciously moist chicken on top of pureed parsnips, w/a side of rapini.  Triple-yumm....

I was inspired to dig out some frozen peaches from the fridge, left-over from jam making last summer, to whip up a "healthy" dessert.  Ed was skeptical, especially since I just made up the recipe as I went, but the end product was delicious and didn't induce a sense of guilt from over-indulgence.

   

My Healthy Peach Crisp Recipe

filling:

4 peaches - pitted, skinned and sliced

3-4 tablespoons white sugar (to taste)

topping:

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together peaches and sugar, set aside.

Mix together the topping ingrediants until crumbs the size of small peas form (using a pastry cutter can speed this process along).

Pour the peach/sugar mixture into a 9x9 backing dish.  Top with the crumble mixture.  Bake for 40 - 50 min.

Leftovers make a great breakfast!

This or That?

My friend Joey inspired me to go-a-shopping from some high quality look-a-like items for some high priced lovelies I've been lusting over.  Now the question is: this or that?

This: Kate Spade With a Twist Solid Rosette Top ($95)

buy here

That:  Rosette top @ Boden ($38)

buy here

This: Kate Spade Annapolis Agnes Sweater (on Sale for $172)

buy here

That: Boden Watermelon Strip Bow Cardi ($88)

buy here

This: Orange Vera Wang "Lillian" flat ($195)

buy here

That: Orange flat, Corso Como ($59.50)

buy here

You're My Huckleberry Friend

For me - huckleberries bring to mind summer, bears, Audrey Hepburn, cow bells, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Shawn (Lis' sister-in-law), purple finger tips, cartoons, Mark Twain, canning jars, and the West Seattle Farmer's Market.

This past weekend, I opened up a couple jars of the huckleberries I preserved last summer - and I was transported back to the warm sunny days I spent scouring the farmer's market (specifically the Foraged and Found booth) for the elusive berries.

The berries were still plump, juicy, and slightly sweet.  After sampling a few, I gave myself a pat on the back for a canning job well done :)

The huckleberries soon became the topping for a "Huckleberry Buckle."  I managed to take a pic of the creation before I popped it in the oven, but somehow a couple pieces of the buckle disappeared before I was able to take my "after" shot.  Oh well.

"Before"

"After"

Find the recipe at: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Huckleberry-Buckle-II/Detail.aspx  (Note: I didn't prepare the huckleberries as directed in the recipe.  I simply drained the canned huckleberries, and used them as the topping without any additional processing or sugar)

Obsession (sigh)

I started writing with the intention of crafting a "weekend review" foodie type blog post, since Ed was hard at work in the kitchen this weekend, but I find my mind refuses to stray from my current, quite lovely, obsession.

I am lusting over a billion items at katespade.com (well, a billion may be an exageration since there's probably less than 200 items on the site).

I want to live in Kate Spade's bright, expensive, shiny, happy world that I'm pretty sure only exists at the bottom of a bottle of Prozac.

Every five minutes I hold a mental debate with myself as to whether or not to finally pull the trigger on a pair of flats, or a coat, or a purse...but so far the logical side of me has won every time, b/c frankly I don't really need a $300.00 pair of shoes or a $500 coat....but I sure want them (sigh).

Here's the current lust list:

Bow Flat

Soda Fountain Strip Ivy Car Coat

Tess

Ocean City Jacquard Josie Dress

Connect Four Reina Dress

Kansas City Dolores

Blogging About Blogs

Recently, I've developed a small addiction to cruising blogs. 

Not only does reading about other people's lives and looking at their pics satisfy the voyeur in me, but I've also been finding great recipes and style ideas.

Some of my favorite blogs right now are:

Sweet Tea in Seattle:  http://sparrowsandsparkles.blogspot.com/

Effortless Anthropologie:  http://effortlessanthropologie.blogspot.com/

Smitten Kitchen:  http://www.smittenkitchen.com/

The (chloe) conspiracy:  http://www.thechloeconspiracy.com/


and of course my friend's blog: http://www.mylynwoodlife.com/

There's also Polyvore.com, a site I just discovered but it seems like other people have been on it FOREVER. 

On Polyvore, you can mine the world of internet shopping sites for clothing/acessories/shoes that you can put together into "sets."  You can also peruse the sets other folks have published, and thereby get a gazillion fashon ideas as well as the links to the sites to can buy practically every item from (dangerous).

Check out the "set" I put together for my airplane trip to/from St. Barts (anyone who knows me well knows I'm obsessive about preplanning vacation outfits, since I try to only pack what can fit in a carryon and therefore need to maximize each item of clothing).

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/profile?id=1380397