WTJ Date Night Outfit

1. boyfriend blazer

2. grandpa watch

3. string of pearls
4. possibly the cutest booties every crafted in the history of cobblering

Date Night: Pasadena

According to every relationship expert, married couples should schedule date nights. My husband and I used to "go out" all the time. I was at home and he has a condensed work schedule that allowed us to spend at least 2 days a week alone (at least until the kids came home). Since I started working we haven't really done anything together, except go grocery shopping and devise plans on how to minimize the amount of food that our two adult sized children eat. In light of their adult size and the beginning of the new school year it is clear that our house will be empty (and our refrigerator full) in a very short amount of time. What will we do? I don't want to stare at him while he watches Sports Center and every sports (or anything else that can be categorized as a sport) game played in the world. I don't need to do everything with him but we should be each others companion and not just parents to our children. Some of my trip and activity posts are ideas (and not so subtle hints) about what I would like us to do together. Pasadena is a place that I love, love, love. I love the Craftsman style houses, the pedestrian friendly neighborhoods, the little mom and pop stores, community activities, the list can go on and on. (uhm....I love it)

Accommodations:
The Westin Pasadena They have a ton of special offers that make the stay very affordable, especially given the quality of the hotel.

Activities:
Laemmle Theatre Built in the 1930's and specializes in showing critically acclaimed, independent feature films. (I have mixed feelings about movies being a date activity, the couple basically sits quietly next to each other. At the very least there needs to be an activity before or after the movie to make the date successful.)

The Ice House Comedy Club Paul Rodriguez and a bunch of other people that I don't know by name but I recognize their faces from comedy specials on tv. I remember laughing and nearly peeing my pants a couple of times, seems very promising.

Last but not least - Food:
Arroyo Chop House USDA Prime, dry aged meat. Boys love meat. No matter how hard it is on their bodies as they age. They love it. Something about the smell of meat awakens something in their d.n.a. I am willing to sacrafice myself and eat a delicious steak. Marriage is about give and take. I am also willing to have a delightful dessert, if it will help the evening along. What a giver.

Il Fornaio An Italian restaurant that explores the cuisine of different Italian regions (using food!!) and was also a 2009 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence recipient. They hearth bake their own bread and make pasta and pizza dough daily, need I say more?

Bag of Tricks

1. orange slouch bag The perfect size to store snacks, a couple of drinks, a few magazines, perhaps a travel pillow and all the other normal stuff.


2. swing jacket It is not so long that it will get in the way when I am sitting on a blanket and not too fitted in case I need to hide the after effects of enjoying the festival food a little too much (plenty of room for emergency expansion).


3. fireflower scarf The pattern will help to distract the eye away from any evidence (i.e. stain, dribble or spot) of my enjoyment of festival food. The scarf is also big enough to be bunched up as a pillow for a nap or to use as a small blanket. Wouldn't that be wonderful? A nap after lunch at a blues concert?

Beach Blanket Blues

I like the beach, except for the sand and my inevitable sun burn. My skin gives the impression that it will tan easily, not so. As for the sand, it's so gritty and gets into everything. Perhaps, like is not an accurate description for my feelings about the beach.

Well, I do like outdoor concerts and as you well know good food. Next weekend (September 5th & 6th)Long Beach will hold its 30th Annual Blues Festival. You can bring a blanket and your own food or you can buy food from a vendor at the festival. Delicious food and music, all while I lay on a blanket, does it get any better than that? Hopefully there aren't too many lip smackers there (or with me) flapping their jaws over the music.

modern mary poppins

1. daisy umbrella
2. road coat

just a spoonful of sugar

Today is the 45th anniversary of the theatrical release of Mary Poppins. I liked Mary Poppins although I never quite understood why she didn't smack those horrible children with her umbrella once in a while. I loved the chalk drawings in the park, wished for the magical cleaning power that could make the items in my room put themselves away and even though I don't like musicals I liked the singing. Really wasn't "a spoonful of sugar" a great song and bit of advice?

say say grey

1. inner wisdom necklace
2. fancy ruffle shirt
3. grey pinstripe trousers

feeling grey

I don't have a favorite anything. I don't have a favorite color, season, place, food, cookie. Nothing. I like everything intensely at one point or another, then I am distracted my some new bit of randomness and I have a new temporary favorite. My new favorite color is grey. I like that grey can be both warm and cold, light and heavy, elegant and everyday. I love it, oh what is that shiny thing over there............(expect an update with my new favorite thing soon)

1. fainting couch
2. mirrored dresser
3. metal tub
4. marie antoinette headboard

lady in the sun

Simple. Summer. Classic.

1. pale fire earrings
2. bungalow dress

Island in the Sun

There are so many films/movies released that don't interest me or are truly terrible. They are all death, evil, apocalyptic, stupid, poorly written, all explosions, full frontal nudity, etc. Yet, when I turn on the Turner Classic Movies Channel, all the movies seem to be well done and interesting.

My latest accidental classic movie favorite is Island in the Sun. I woke up at 2 a.m. on Thursday and it had just started playing on TCM. I went back to sleep but not before setting my dvr to record the rest of the movie. Dorothy Dandridge, Harry Belafonte, Joan Collins, James Mason on a island in the West Indies in the midst of political change, interracial romances (note: this movie was made in 1957) and murder. You have to watch it.

kitschy kitchen

I think "cute" always helps. I don't particularly love cooking, but I enjoy the creative aspects of cooking, watching others enjoy what I have made and (of course) eating. When the things around me are cute it generally makes things more fun. These tools may make my kitchen sufferings less traumatic.

1. measuring spoons
2. measuring cups
3. apron
4. kitchen timer

National Waffle Day

Here's one more national holiday that I can get behind. I am not a fan of breakfast food, mainly because I don't like eggs. But waffles are ok with me. The perfect waffle has a crispy outside and a spongy inside. Waffle toppings are hugely important, fruit and real whipped cream are my preference. I don't like syrup that is too sweet and it must be poured with restraint. Otherwise I feel like I am having syrup with a side of waffle. Also, I don't like butter on my waffles, the taste gets lost under the syrup. If all of my very minor issues can be achieved then waffles are delightful. (Needless to say I don't have waffles that often.)

Here are a few waffle recipes from epicurious.com. Don't get scared away by the titles, the recipes are simple to make and the results are wonderful.

belgian buttermilk waffles with glazed bananas
crispy waffles with salted caramel coulis
lemon-poppy seed waffles with blueberry sauce
spiced waffles with caramelized apples

it's not how well i play the game

My husband bought a set of golf clubs for my birthday three years ago. The plan was, we were going to learn to play together and have a shared hobby. Well, three years later he doesn't have a set (yet) but I started going to the driving range with friends. After my first couple visits it became apparent that I should focus all my effort on my golf outfits, since my golf swing won't work out unless there is a golf course that doesn't require aim or precision.

1. pre-season beret
2. slate & sun jacket
3. wingtip mary jane golf shoes

Cozy Up!

I don't know if anyone has tracked (in pounds) how many disposable coffee cup cozies end up in landfills every year. In any case, these are pretty cute and can only help. The idea I like best are the sock cozies, they are cheap, cute and easily replaced.

1. sock cozy
2. owl cozy
3. knit cozy
4. wallet cozy
5. coffee coat

corny, but in a good way

The weather lately has been strange for the summer season. I have worn a sweater nearly every morning and evening for the last week. I think this soup is a great idea for two reasons. The first is, corn is in season and the second is, soup is great comfort food during cold weather.

Sweet Corn & Parsnip Soup

(Organic Panificio Cafe)

Total time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Servings: 6 to 8
Note: Adapted from the Organic Panificio Cafe.
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced onion
1 stalk celery, chopped
5 cloves garlic, smashed
3 sprigs parsley, plus chopped parsley for garnish, divided
4 sprigs thyme
1/2 bay leaf
3 cups (1 pound) fresh, sweet yellow corn kernels (from 5 to 6 ears)
1/3 pound peeled and trimmed parsnips, coarsely chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon cracked white pepper, plus more to taste
6 to 7 cups milk, more as desired
Raw sugar, to taste if desired
Mascarpone, for garnish

1. In a 4-quart, heavy-bottom soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Saute the onions, celery and garlic along with the parsley sprigs, thyme and bay leaf until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Stir in the corn, parsnips, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and continue to saute until the parsnips are tender, 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Stir in the milk and bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Purée the soup using an immersion blender, or in stages using a standing blender, then strain.
5. Adjust the seasoning to taste and sweeten if desired with raw sugar. This makes about 7 cups soup. 6. Serve warm, with a small dollop of mascarpone and a sprinkling of chopped parsley.

(Refer to the LA Times website for more information and the complete story)

a happy (work)place

One more layer in my very zen office space.....

1. Desktop Japanese Maple

2. BalanceBall Chair

3. A Properly Labeled Filing System

an apple a day

I recently cleaned and organized my home office (or as my friends were kind enough to point out, I really just stacked all my magazines in the corners of my office) and tidied my desk at work. Now that everything is cleaned up and organized I spend more time in my home office and feel more productive at work. It isn't that I am really more productive, but my mind feels clearer and the visual impact of both places doesn't seem as overwhelming or cause me to cry. Productivity is nice but peace and piece of mind is more important to me. (Don't get me wrong I want and like being productive but I don't want it to be a stressful process.) One of the best things about having an Apple computer are all the apps that I can download. There is an app for everything. The two I am interested in for my office computer are Optimism for Mental Health and the Lotus Meditation Timer.


Optimism for Mental Health Description
A quick, easy to use application that is powerful in helping you understand your mental health. It is used for recovering from depression and other illnesses, for maintaining good health, and as a self-help tool. Optimism helps you to be proactive about your health. By monitoring patterns in your life you can identify the triggers that cause a decline in well-being, early warning signs of the decline, and the inputs or activities that benefit you most.

Lotus Meditation Timer Description
Basically the meditation timer will remind me when to meditate every day, play my choice of music or sounds while I meditate and keep track of my meditation time. (It will wake me up, in case I am so relaxed that I fall asleep.)

(link to Happy Apple album)

i (heart) handmade in the u.s.a.

I have decided to start my "cottage registry". I didn't have a fancy bridezillas wedding so I never had a bridal registry. My cottage registry is my "too late to the game" registry effort. The other difference with this registry is that I don't expect anyone to pay attention to my list or purchase anything for me. With that said, perhaps this is really the start of a glorified shopping list.

Dodge Station Pottery is rustic and modern all at once. I love it. I love the soft colors (of my selection, they offer so much more), the soft edges, the kind of handmade look. Nothing fancy or too cutey patooty. Just lovely.

homes that represent how much i like housekeeping

1. tumbleweedhouses.com
These are the cutest little houses. I couldn't live in the same size house as Jay, the founder of Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, 89 square feet. Yeah...there are limits to my wish to live in a "cottage". I saw him on Oprah and his bathroom is some sort of a compost bucket. To each their own but "my own" bathroom doesn't involve any sort of bucket. With that said the home plans go up to 837 sq. feet, a completely doable size. Look how cute the house is. So sweet. I don't know that I need to live in the middle of a pasture. But perhaps a vacant corner in Pasadena, near Old Town......





2. tinytexashouses.com
These are salvage buildings - 99% pure salvage, that means that everything from the doors, floors, windows, lumber, porch posts, glass, door hardware and even the siding has been saved and re-used to create these houses. The houses are also (often) fit with antique cast iron, claw foot bathtubs. I think these houses are really cute, as long as you are a fan of the rustic look.



3. loftcube.net
I highly encourage a visit to this website. The loft cubes are designed for people who live a nomadic lifestyle. The cubes, themselves can be moved with a helicopter or crane to the rooftops of existing buildings. Can you imagine the view? Moving from city to city. London. Paris. New York. Different vacation locations. I think the moving/transportation costs would be quite prohibitive. But a genius idea.

"Ice cream cravings are not to be taken lightly."

Although it has been a very cool summer I am still in the mood for ice cream. (Not that my ice cream mood has anything to do with the seasons, weather or climate.) I have thought about bringing my ice cream maker to work (with pre-chilled ice cream custard) and making ice cream for everyone. It is a good plan in theory. but I don't feel like the follow through on the weekends or evenings. But if I ever do the ice cream, gelato and couple other wonderful summertime dessert options are in the running.

All can be found at epicurious.com.

1. Frozen Lemon Gingersnap Pie
2. Honey and Thyme Ice Cream with Candied Thyme
3. Lemon and Amaretti Semifreddo with Raspberry Sauce
4. Zabaglione Gelato

(title quote by Betsy Cañas Garmon)

date with heat

It has been unseasonably cool the past week. This morning I actually put on a turtleneck sweater, which wouldn't have been weird if it wasn't mid-August. However, I anticipate a heat wave in the next week. It always happens, just when I start to enjoy the cool weather a heat wave reminds me that I live in Southern California. In anticipation of the coming heat wave......(also a cute date outfit)

1. white sundress
2. soulmate belt
3. smokey quartz ring
4. brown stacked heel sandal