dollee

The Last Round of Cupcakes in 2011

2011-12-31T16:36:00.000-08:00

I baked way too many cupcakes during the month of December and am totally over it for a little while. The last batches are pictured below. Sorry, no recipes today because it is New Year's Eve and we are in the midst of cooking and cleaning! Peace out 2011, and see you all in 2012.

Red velvet with cream cheese frosting.

Mini dark chocolate cupcakes filled with salted caramel and topped with a dark chocolate frosting.

Dark chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.

Missing My Friend

2011-12-29T01:11:00.001-08:00

One year has gone by, and I am still without words. I do know that I always miss you, Leo. Best of all, I remember your inquisitive self, how impressed I was when you wrote your name on a notepad (which I still have), and I loved watching you think when we peppered you with questions. Thank you for being one of my best memories of the Bay Area.

What 2011 Taught Me

2011-12-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

At the end of every year there are always a multitude of best and worst lists. This is not one of those. Instead, this is a list of what I learned in 2011 because Life decided this should be a year of lessons.

If given nine days, I can pack up my life in cardboard boxes and move out. An amazing feat if you have ever been witness to how much stuff I have in my possession.
I had to eat almost the whole plate of humble pie, but I can ask my friends and family for help in a sticky situation. Even better to know? I did not really have to ask because they all offered their assistance immediately.
For some reason (which I don't quite get) my friends are willing to let me come and stay with them for weeks/months at a time. They are so flipping awesome I always wonder how I got to be so lucky to have these people in my life.
Sometimes you just want to be numb.
It is possible to fake it 'till you make it.
Letting go of control was so, so hard to do, but it was pretty amazing to see the chips fall where they may.
I finally get the owning-a-pet-thing. It is nice to know that there is a dog out there who loves you so much that he leaves you surprise piles of poop just to show you how mad he is that you are leaving for China.

Two Baby Blankets - Divided Squares Pattern

2011-11-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

Both of these blankets were knitted using a pattern called divided boxes. Unfortunately, I do not remember where I found the pattern. It is an easy pattern to follow.

The pattern is done in multiples of five stitches, and I add on additional stitches for the border. I like to make my border in seed stitch. Here is the pattern itself:

Row 1: (Right side) Knit across
Row 2: (K1, P4) across
Rows 3 and 4: (K3, P2) across
Row 5: (K1, P4) across
Rows 6 and 7: Knit across
Repeat Rows 2-7 for pattern

This one was done using a single strand of Bernat Softee Baby in Funny Prints.

This blanket is for one of the two little girls born to my friends this November (there were actually four babies born in November for whom I need blankets). I used two strands of yarn, one is Bernat Softee Baby in Baby Pink Marl, and the other is Red Heart Hunny Yarn in Pink Blush. Two strands are used because the Red Heart yarn is not very stretchy, and I do not care for how it lies on its own. As the Hunny yarn has been discontinued, this is the last of my stash, so lucky Baby A.

I think I have already talked about why I use Softee Baby so much, but in case I have not, it is because the yarn can be washed and dried.

Oh, and if you are wondering about the photo in the background of the picture featuring the pink blanket–it is of the Golden Gate Bridge, and was taken by my sister, Mindy, of Mindy Metivier Photography.

Banana Cupcakes and Honey Cupcakes

2011-11-14T20:54:00.001-08:00

When I made the dark chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, the peanut butter frosting was well-received and a couple of people asked me what other cupcakes might go well with the frosting. I thought about it, and finally settled on a honey cupcake and a banana cupcake. Full disclosure, I love peanut butter toast with honey, and I usually only like bananas with peanut butter.

Today was someone's birthday at work, and since I signed up to make cupcakes, this was the perfect time to experiment. This person at work also happens to be one of the people who really enjoyed the peanut butter frosting.

The honey cupcake recipe came from the Half Baked - The Cake Blog, and the banana cupcake is from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book. I used the ATK peanut butter frosting recipe. However, since I was worried about the banana cupcakes with the peanut butter recipe, I also made Martha's honey and cinnamon frosting.

They turned out pretty good, and everyone at worked really liked them. Phew! It was quite a long afternoon in the kitchen, and I was very worried about how they would be received.

Roasted Banana Cupcakes With Honey and Cinnamon Frosting
From Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
Makes 16 cupcakes

Ingredients
3 ripe bananas, plus 1 to 2 more for garnish
2 cups cake flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners. Place 3 whole, unpeeled banans on a baking sheet and roast 15 minutes (the peels get dark). Sift together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Remove bananas from oven and let cools before peeling. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixture on medium-high, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs yolks, one at a time, beating until each incorporated. Add roasted bananas, and beat to combine. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of sour cream, and beating until just combined after each. Beat in vanilla.

In another mixing bowl, with electric mixer on medium, whisk egg whites to soft peaks. Fold one-third whites into batter to lighten, and gently fold in remaining egg whites in two batches.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool.

Honey-Cinnamon Frosting
2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

With electric mixer on medium, beat all ingredients until smooth. Use immediately, or refrigerate up to five days in airtight container.

Honey Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting
From Lauren Kapeluck on the Half Baked - The Cake Blog
Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

Combine buttermilk, honey, and vanilla.

Cream butter and sugar together with an electric mixer.

Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well.

Add wet and dry ingredients, starting and ending with dry ingredients.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes. Let cupcakes cool for five minutes before removing from tins and placing them on a wire rack to cool.

Peanut Butter Frosting
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 sticks, unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 cup creamy butter (not old-fashioned or natural)

Stir the cream, vanilla, and salt together until the salt dissolves. Beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium-high until smooth, about 30 to 60 seconds. Reduce the speed to medium-low, slowly add the confectioner's sugar, and beat until smooth, two to five minutes. Beat in the cream mixture. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about four to eight minutes. Beat one cup creamy peanut butter.

P Eleven

2011-11-11T14:42:00.000-08:00

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In October I attended a This is Teen event because author Maggie Stiefvater was going to be there. Two other authors also participated, and one of them was Jeff Hirsch, author of The Eleventh Plague. Honestly, I decided to read it because The Hunger Games author, Suzanne Collins is quoted on the book jacket as saying, "The Eleventh Plague hits disturbingly close to home...An excellent, taut debut novel."

If you've read The Hungers Games then you know that Collins is no-joke when it comes to the harsh realities of what our world would be like if it was destroyed by disasters of nature and mankind. Based upon my experience with her books, I felt like Hirsch's book would be worth a try. It turns out, Collins was right. While Hirsch's world isn't as disturbing (no televised fights to the death between children), you will find yourself in an America you recognize.

This time, the US has been decimated by a deadly sickness known as "the Eleventh Plague," and the country is a barren wasteland. Following the plague, was "the Collapse" when the government, businesses, hospitals, and the military fell. Our protagonist is a 15-year-old boy, Stephen, who was born after the Collapse. He and his father have just buried Stephen's grandfather, and they are faced with a choice. Stephen's grandfather ran their trio strictly, and the family kept on the move. Others were not to be trusted, and everything was done with one purpose in mind—survival. Eventually, Stephen finds himself in charge of their destiny; and now is when you should go to a library or bookstore and pick this one up.

For those concerned about exposing young readers to graphic elements, I say don't worry. This is far less violent than The Hunger Games series. What amazed me the most was the way this made me think about human nature and the things we regress to and cling to in dire times. I also loved the imagery Hirsch conjured for me with two of my favorite lines from The Eleventh Plague:

"There was nothing at his back but thirty feet of open air and, beyond that, the bared fangs of a raging river."

"I dug my thumbnail into the soft wood at the edges of the table and wondered if it was true, if she really would come back or if there would be a time when that rubber band stretched as far as it could and would snap, releasing her into the world, never to return."

View all my reviews

Minestrone Soup in the Slow Cooker

2011-11-10T21:01:00.001-08:00

Yes, I love my slow cooker. The only problem is that it makes so much food. Well, it's a problem for me, but not for my co-workers (who sometimes get a container full).

Since it's getting chilly in Southern California, this is a good time of year to bring the slow cooker out and make one of my go-to meals. This time I made minestrone soup. The recipe was blended from a couple of different sources (which I can't accurately recall) years ago.

Ingredients
3 1/2 cup beef broth
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 medium carrots
2 zucchini
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 medium potatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
16 ounce red kidney beans, drained
2 tablespoons parsley flakes
3 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 bay leaf
Optional: 2 oz. pasta

Direction
Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 10 to 16 hours (cook time depends on how large or small the vegetables are chopped). If you wish to add pasta, place it in the slow cooker during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Remove the bay leaf before serving. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

My Notes
I use two cans of beef broth, which is about four cups. This makes a very thick and hearty soup, so the extra half ounce of broth doesn't hurt. Because spices tend to lose their flavor in a slow cooking process I add more of the dried spices towards the end of cook time. If I use low-sodium broth, I add salt as well. Yes, it defeats the purpose.

In Case Anyone Needs a Movie Recommendation

2011-11-08T18:26:00.000-08:00

From the looks of it, a large portion of the general public drank the Netflix haterade, including myself; but I simply modified my subscription. I downsized to one movie at a time (plus streaming), and lately the ones arriving in my mailbox have been pretty good. Specifically, Flipped and Beats, Rhymes, & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest—two very different movies.

Flipped is for anyone who wants something light-hearted. It is about a young boy named Bryce and a young girl named Juli. They first meet when Bryce's family moves into the neighborhood, and for Juli, it is love at first sight. Not so for Bryce. The movie takes place in the late 50s/early 60s, so there is a certain innocence to the entire story. I rarely watch movies for artistry behind the filmmaking (although I can appreciate beautiful cinematography), so I can't comment on this as a film. That being said, I loved it! I enjoyed this so much, the book it was based on (also of the same title) is next on my reading list.

The other movie I thoroughly enjoyed was Michael Rapaport's documentary, Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest. It follows the hip-hop group, a Tribe Called Quest during their 2008 reunion tour. I have to admit, I did not really know much about the group, other than songs like Left My Wallet in El Segundo and albums like Midnight Marauders, but this sounded interesting. Michael Rapaport did not disappoint! It felt like a very honest look at the group, without too much Hollywood-sensationalism. Then there was the music! Like or love hip-hop, put this in your queue, because it is a history worth learning.

Barbecue Chicken in the Slow Cooker

2011-11-07T20:28:00.000-08:00

If I've already posted about this, my apologies. This is an easy recipe for barbecue chicken in the slow cooker, and I always get compliments when I make it. If you're wondering why there's no photo, it's because I don't think my camera skills do the dish any justice.

The recipe comes from allrecipes.com, and it is super easy.

Ingredients
6 frozen, skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 12-oz. bottle of barbecue sauce
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions
Place the chicken in a slow cooker. Combine the barbecue sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce, and pour over the chicken. Cook on high for 3 to 4 hours, or on low for 6 to 8.

My Notes

Most of the barbecue sauce I like comes in an 18 ounce size, and I use the entire bottle. I tend to use Stubb's Original barbecue sauce or the Kansas City barbecue sauce at Trader Joe's.

I use Newman's Own Family Recipe Italian dressing.

I have used both frozen and fresh chicken breasts. My cook time for the frozen ones was about 3.5 hours on high, and I cooked the fresh chicken for 5 hours on low.

At the end of the cooking process, the sauce becomes pretty watery, so I shred the chicken and put it back in the sauce. I don't think using only 12 oz. of barbecue sauce will cut down on the watery-ness. Plus, you might also not have enough sauce at the end if you shred the chicken because a lot of the liquid is soaked up by the chicken.

Normally, like to serve this with a mac and cheese dish, but it's also good on some sort of bread roll, or in a tortilla.

This Year's Halloween Costume Fail

2011-10-31T21:17:00.000-07:00

Contrary to what my interest in Comic-Con might suggest, I am not a huge fan of dressing up and/or Halloween. This year however, I made an effort.

Of course I did not want to be something I thought a lot of other people would be, so I ended up on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Meaning, no one understood my costume. And no, I am not from Star Trek.

I decided to be Minmei from Robotech! Which is kind of weird because I never could stand Minmei. I would much rather have been Lisa, but I could not figure out how to make her uniform. So, Minmei it was. The tricky part was finding a dress pattern with the right neckline, and then finding a yellow turtleneck at the last minute.

For my Minmei costume, I ended up using Simplicity 2062 because it had the right neckline. The problem is that the "V" was created using a contrasting piece of fabric on top of the existing neckline...so no actual "V,"(or maybe I should say "pointy-U"). Not fun to figure out two nights before you need the costume.

My solution? Trim an additional one-half inch off the neckline (not the rounded collar part) and finish it with red double-fold bias tape for the entire neckline. I probably should have trimmed at least one-inch, but I erred on the side of caution because it is really difficult to correct a cutting of mistake. Why double-fold bias tape? Because I figured I could do the outside corners (located at the top, where a collar might be) like I would when I do mitered binding on a blanket; and I could do the inside corners in the square neckline style. It worked!

The dress pattern is not very fitted (Minmei's is), or short (Minmei's is not), but I think using knit fabric helped. It also meant that I did not have to worry about frayed edges or sew a zipper into the dress. Other things I did to make this pattern work me included not attaching a contrast band around the hemline; cut the sleeves to what I think is the elbow line on the pattern; and used gray single-fold bias tape for the detail. As far as the body of the dress goes, I held up the dress front, and pinned the bias tape to the dress, and took measurements to make it somewhat even on the other side.

As I said earlier, one of the hardest things was finding a yellow, long-sleeve turtleneck. If I had thought about this earlier, I probably could have found one a lot easier. I settled for a mustard yellow turtleneck from American Apparel.

Minus the Star Trek thing, I am pretty happy with the way this turned out. And while it did not work for Halloween on the Hermosa Pier, I am ready for Comic-Con...if I ever decide to go again and dress in costume (something I have never done).

By the way, in case you do not know Robotech, here is a picture of Lynn Minmei.

Dark Chocolate Cupcake with Peanut Butter Frosting

2011-10-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

This was my first attempt to bake cupcakes from scratch. The recipes for the dark chocolate cupcakes and the peanut butter frosting are from America's Test Kitchen, and of course the cupcakes needed one cup of Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder. I figured I should not try and substitute this time. Thus began a ridiculous search for the stuff.

If you live in Southern California like I do, I would like to save you some time in your search for Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder. Go to Gelson's, the only grocery store I found that carried it. It was not to be found at Williams-Sonoma (where I had a disappointing retail experience), Sur la Table, or any regular grocery store. I have been told that it can be found at Penzeys, but that was too far for me on this particular night.

This is a very chocolatey cupcake, and I especially liked the frosting. Hopefully my guinea pigs enjoyed them!

Fun with a Favorite Author

2011-10-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

I know I have said this before, but I love author events. They tell you a little something about themselves and their work, they answer questions (which are generally intelligent and/or thoughtful),they hold autograph sessions, and they clearly love their readers.

Yesterday turned out to be one of these author days. My Sunday was supposed to be lazy. I planned on a leisurely morning, and then lunch with my best friend. The rest of the day was going to involve me slowly making my way home back up the 405. My first look at Facebook changed those plans...as it turned out, Maggie Stiefvater was in town, and it was the very last West Coast event of the year for her! So, I texted my friend from high school, the Hippofairy herself (a.ka. Mrs. O.), and she wanted to make the drive out to Redondo Beach to see Maggie.

I should confess right now that I had second thoughts about going to the event while I waited to hear back from Mrs. O. It has been no-life-busy at work, and I could seriously use down time, but I told myself I would only skip it if Mrs. O. was not interested. Thankfully she was, because I really would have regretted giving in to my exhaustion.

Back to the event.

The event actually featured two other authors, Cecil Castelluci and Jeff Hirsch, and now I have even more reading. For some reason, there was a serious lack of questions (um...I found out about this too late to think of something intelligent). In other words, the autograph portion started relatively quickly.

This was the highlight of my experience. When it was my turn to have Maggie sign my book, I mentioned to her that I had been at another one of her events about a year ago. She remembered that it was July 2010, in the San Francisco Bay Area! Holy crow, I thought that was so cool of her to remember. I tried to play it cool, and hopefully I did because on the inside I was one giddy little girl. Not only did Maggie sign my book, but she doodled in it this time.

The funny thing is that I was wearing a plaid shirt yesterday, like I was the last time I met Maggie. The funnier thing is that when I packed my shirt to take with me to my friends' place, I thought about how I wore a plaid shirt when I met Maggie Stiefvater. It seems like the Universe likes to give me little hints now and again.

By the way, the event was put on by Mysterious Galaxy Books as a part of the This is Teen experience. And, if you have not ever attended an author event, you are missing out! Look at your library calendar, or follow your favorite author who most likely blogs, tweets, or facebooks. They need our support, and many of these experiences are free to attend, and it is great for your brain!

Baby Girl Blanket

2011-10-20T21:50:00.001-07:00

It's been the Year of the Boy among my friends having babies, so I really appreciate when I have the chance to make something pink. There are two baby girls who will probably be born within weeks of each other, and I'm ready for one of them! I am working on the second blanket, and I would be done with it by now if I hadn't taken it apart so many times.

This blanket was made with Vanna's Choice Baby in Pink Poodle. Another yarn that can be washed and dried, but I still like Bernat Softee Baby better for feel...although, Vanna's is much quicker to work with because it's thicker.

Baby Boy Blanket

2011-10-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

Yikes it's been almost a month since I last posted! Work has been really busy, and I should be doing some of it right now, but I'm giving my brain a break. This blanket is for the son of my friends Mr. and Mrs. L. He was born in August, and I still haven't met him...something I plan to remedy that shortly. Hopefully they still can use this blanket. It was made with Bernat Softee Baby in Funny Prints, a yarn I like to use for baby blankets because it's soft and can be thrown in the washer and dryer.

I Got Nothing

2011-09-21T22:17:00.000-07:00

Actually, I just finished a baby blanket for my friends' new son, but I've been too busy to take a picture of it. Plus my brain is toast after a long day of work. If I can muster the energy I will finish up another baby blanket soon for one of the two baby girls that two of my other friends are expecting. Somehow, I have got to squeeze in a run. At least 3 miles. I would skip the running, but I am silly a signed up for a half marathon when I very well knew that this is one of my busiest times of the year at work.

To bed!

I Don't Get It

2011-09-20T22:37:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I read an email that showed up in my inbox from a "Reed Hastings, Co-Founder" with a subject of "An Explanation and Some Reflections." Huh?

I thought it was SPAM. However, the email made it through the junk filter, so I figured the chances of it being legitimate were pretty good. Turns out it was legit, and it was junk. Rather, it made me feel junk about Netflix.

I was pretty much over the 60% rate increase thing, even if I do miss having two DVDs out at a time, but this email offended me. It's not even about the money or the shock of the rate increase. It's that I felt like Mr. Hastings and his team think I'm stupid enough not to know the difference between "Netflix" and "Qwikster." Sorry, but changing your name and dividing yourself into two different businesses is not going to fix things. You actually just made this whole thing worse.

Now, I can't help but wonder what kind of research or marketing strategy was in place here. Your new name is not appealing, and your communication plan is just not working. This is so frustrating as a customer!

Didn't Netflix help push Blockbuster out of business? Weren't you making money off my friends with kids who hold onto their DVDs for months at a time? I don't get it. Sorry Mr. Hastings, but I really liked getting my DVDs thru a mail order system and the pretty lame streaming option felt like added value. I didn't even mind when I noticed the weeks-long wait period for new releases. You had a good hold on the market there, but who knows what it looks like now.

In case you aren't a Netflix subscriber, you can read the emailed "explanation" and "reflections" below.

Dear [insert Netflix customer name here],

I messed up. I owe you an explanation.

It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. Let me explain what we are doing.

For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn't make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us). So we moved quickly into streaming, but I should have personally given you a full explanation of why we are splitting the services and thereby increasing prices. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do.

So here is what we are doing and why.

Many members love our DVD service, as I do, because nearly every movie ever made is published on DVD. DVD is a great option for those who want the huge and comprehensive selection of movies.

I also love our streaming service because it is integrated into my TV, and I can watch anytime I want. The benefits of our streaming service are really quite different from the benefits of DVD by mail. We need to focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolves, without maintaining compatibility with our DVD by mail service.

So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are really becoming two different businesses, with very different cost structures, that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently.

It’s hard to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to “Qwikster”. We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name “Netflix” for streaming.

Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to access their DVD queues and choose movies. One improvement we will make at launch is to add a video games upgrade option, similar to our upgrade option for Blu-ray, for those who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Members have been asking for video games for many years, but now that DVD by mail has its own team, we are finally getting it done. Other improvements will follow. A negative of the renaming and separation is that the Qwikster.com and Netflix.com websites will not be integrated.

There are no pricing changes (we’re done with that!). If you subscribe to both services you will have two entries on your credit card statement, one for Qwikster and one for Netflix. The total will be the same as your current charges. We will let you know in a few weeks when the Qwikster.com website is up and ready.

For me the Netflix red envelope has always been a source of joy. The new envelope is still that lovely red, but now it will have a Qwikster logo. I know that logo will grow on me over time, but still, it is hard. I imagine it will be similar for many of you.

I want to acknowledge and thank you for sticking with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly.

Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions.

Respectfully yours,

-Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO, Netflix

p.s. I have a slightly longer explanation along with a video posted on our blog, where you can also post comments.

Rememberance

2011-09-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

It was dark o'clock in the morning on September 11, 2001 as I got ready for work. My radio was tuned to KROQ as it always was in those days, and Ralph Garman, who normally did the entertainment news, said something that did not quite register. In my sleepy-brain haze, I wondered if they were doing a War of the Worlds bit. Then Ralph said to turn on the TV because this was not a joke. I stumbled to the living room and turned on the news. I either saw the Pentagon on fire, or one of the World Trade Center tours on fire, but I know for sure that I saw the second plane hit, and I saw the towers fall. It was surreal and it gave me chicken skin.

I went to work that day. At that time, I worked in Sherman Oaks and lived in Whittier, so it was about 35 miles one-way. We cancelled a work event that night, and the freeways were eerily empty for Los Angeles. My friend's dad told her to tell me to drive straight home after work. Pretty common sense right? Well, it was scary because he would know that something very serious was going on even if the rest of us were still unsure of what exactly was happening to our world.

A lot of time has passed, but I still remember that morning even better than I do this one. It was such a sad and uncertain day. I feel like only a *sigh* can properly express my thoughts and feelings about 9/11. At the same time, I have much gratitude for the brave men and women who fight for our freedom, especially for the ones I know personally.

Rosemary Bread Rolls

2011-08-29T21:04:00.000-07:00

Peeta Melark never has to worry about competition from me as a bread baker. Yesterday I posted about my jalapeno cheese "rolls" and so you know those were not my best looking work. I wanted to try and make actual rolls, so I decided to make ATK's rustic bread recipe, and added fresh rosemary.

These bread rolls were a lot better looking, and were pretty tasty. I think they would have been better served warm, but I took them to work for a birthday potluck. Turns out, they go really well with olive oil and vinegar.

Rosemary Bread Rolls
adapted from America's Test Kitchen's Rustic White Bread

2 cups bread flour*
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) rapid-rise yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 cups water, warm
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary

Pulse the bread flour, 2 cups of all-purpose flour, yeast, and salt in a food processor to combine. While the processor is running, add the water and honey and process until a rough ball forms, about 30 to 40 seconds. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then process for 30 more seconds. Turn the dough out onto a clean counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball, about five minutes, adding the remaining 1/4 cup of flour as needed to prevent sticking. Add the rosemary, little by little, during this time. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until nearly doubled in size and springs back slowly when indented with a finger, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Pinch the dough down, and pinch off small portions (about 1/3 cup), roll into balls. Arrange on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover loosely with a lightly oiled piece of plastic wrap and let rise again until touching, about 45 to 60 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the rolls with water before putting in the oven; spray again every minute for the first 3 minutes. Bake until rolls are brown and cooked through, about 40 minutes.

*I used unbleached bread flour because I had it on-hand.

Jalapeno Cheese Rolls

2011-08-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite foods as a kid was a cheese roll my grandma would get from the bakery by Times Supermarket. These are pretty easy to find in the mainland, and here they come with jalapenos. So, when a co-worker brought me a bag of jalapenos from her garden, I thought jalapeno cheese rolls would be the best way to share with the rest of the office.

Unfortunately there were not many roll recipes, so I sort of blended two recipes. One I found online wanted me to use eight (yes eight) cups of flour, and I felt like that was just too much. So, I used the rustic white bread recipe from ATK, but added cheddar and jalapenos, and then baked according to the online recipe instructions.

And...I overproofed my dough, so everything kind of rose together and made one big piece of bread. It was not pretty, but it tasted good. I decided that next time I would watch my dough raise and then also bake on a cookie sheet rather than in a 9x13 pan.

Jalapeno Cheese Rolls
adapted from America's Test Kitchen's Rustic White Bread and a recipe found on Just a Pinch

2 cups bread flour*
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) rapid-rise yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 cups water, warm
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese,shredded
1/2 cup fresh jalapenos, sliced*

Pulse the bread flour, 2 cups of all-purpose flour, yeast, and salt in a food processor to combine. While the processor is running, add the water and honey and process until a rough ball forms, about 30 to 40 seconds. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then process for 30 more seconds. Turn the dough out onto a clean counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball, about five minutes, adding the remaining 1/4 cup of flour as needed to prevent sticking. Add the 1 cup of the cheese and all the jalapenos, little by little, during this time. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until nearly doubled in size and springs back slowly when indented with a finger, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Pinch the dough down, and pinch off small portions (about 1/3 cup), roll into balls. Arrange close together in well-greased 9x13 pan. Cover and let rise again until doubled, about 45 to 60 minutes. Sprinkle the dough with the remaining cheese.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake until rolls are brown and cooked through, about 40 minutes (the recipe says 1 hour). Transfer to rack, cool 10 minutes. Cool 1 hour before serving.

*I used unbleached bread flour because I had it on-hand. Depending on the type of jalapenos you use, this can get spicy (although mine wasn't), so if you really don't like spicy, de-vein and de-seed the jalapenos.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

2011-08-24T23:25:00.001-07:00

A co-worker gave me a rug to use and to thank her, I baked her these chocolate oatmeal cookies. The recipe came out of an ATK special magazine for holiday cookies.

They were a big hit. Yay!

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from the America's Test Kitchen Holiday Cookies magazine

1 3/4 cups old-fashioned oats*
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar*
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 ounces milk chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped*

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Process one cup oats in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl and stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and brown sugar until smooth, about one minute. Add egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Add melted chocolate and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Add remaining oats, chocolate chips, and nuts.

Roll two tablespoons of dough into balls and space two inches apart on baking sheets. Bake about 14 to 18 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. Cool five minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

*I used quick-cooking oats, dark brown sugar, and walnuts.

German Chocolate Brownies

2011-08-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

A former co-worker and friend visited last week, and she loves food, so I made her my guinea pig for German Chocolate Brownies. Big surprise, it's another ATK recipe. Basically, you make brownies, and right when they come out of the oven, you sprinkle 6 ounces of butterscotch chips over them and let them soften. Then you smooth the chips evenly over the top of the brownies, and sprinkle half a cup of toasted coconut. The steps are the same as the fudge brownies I posted yesterday, but the chocolate-butter mixture consists of 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter and 3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate. You bake the brownies for 22 to 27 minutes at 350 degrees.

This is a very sweet brownie recipe, but something a little bit different. I have to try to toast the coconut more evenly next time, but I was concerned that it would burn, hence the uneven color.

Now, about that song challenge...

Day 09 - a Song That You Can Dance to
Admittedly, I'm a pretty pathetic dancer as I am too self-conscious, but one that always makes me feel like dancing is Beyonce's Single Ladies. I blame it on Glee.

Superfudgebrownie

2011-08-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

London is burning and equities are sinking. There's a lot of fear and panic out there, but I have to tell you about these "ultimate fudgy brownies" from America's Test Kitchen. This brownie recipe uses two types of chocolate, in addition to cocoa powder, so if you are one of those chocolate-loving people, I think you will like it. I made it for a couple of friends, and I think they liked it...I'm not a chocolate expert in any way whatsoever, so I couldn't tell you if this is good or not.

The one thing is that you have to use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. This is hard stuff to find unless you want to pay $15 at Williams-Sonoma. I went to five different stores before I gave up and used a "substitute." Actually, I added 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda to natural cocoa powder. Of course, the next day I found the $15 can from Williams-Sonoma.

Superfudgebrownie
adapted from America's Test Kitchen

5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder (or 3 T natural, cococa powder + 1/8 t baking soda)
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

1. Put the oven rack in the middle position and heat the oven to 350.

2. Melt the chocolates, butter, and cocoa in the microwave, stirring often, 1 to 3 minutes. Let the mixture cool a little.

3. Whisk the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt together until combined. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in the flour until no streaks remain.

4. Scrape the batter into an 8x8 pan and smooth. Bake about 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs.

5. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about two hours.

*The cookbook recommends that you line the pan with foil so that you can easily lift the baked brownie out. Basically, you fold foil to fit into the pan so that you have some left over on both sides. Then you fold another piece of foil to fit into the pan so that there is left over foil on the other sides. Lightly coat with vegetable oil spray.

I haven't forgotten about the song thing!

Day 08 - a Song That You Know All the Words to
This Land is Your Land

This Song Reminds of Me of a Sad Event From a Longtime Ago

2011-07-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

I blame the song hiatus on Comic-Con. More on that later.

Day 07 - a Song That Reminds You of a Certain Event

Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum

Granola and Another Song

2011-07-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

It has been about six months, and I am finally reunited swith my cooking stuff! The first thing I made was granola. This granola is not good for you. At all. But it is tasty, so who can help themselves? If you like sweet granola, I recommend that you be heavy handed with the honey and coconut.

Granola

1 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1/2 cup slivered almonds
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons good honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine. Place on a sheet pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Shake the pan every so often. Let the granola cool, and stir once.

Now for the song. Oops, I am only on Day 06.

Day 06 - a Song That Reminds You of Somewhere
Home in the Islands by The Brothers Cazimero

A Song That Reminds Me of Someone

2011-07-15T22:41:00.000-07:00

Day 05 - a Song That Reminds You of Someone
Wake Up by Arcade Fire

This is kind of random because I don't know this particular person. I just love the Dan Patrick Show, and this song is played every Friday. So, the song reminds me of Dan Patrick.

Day 04 of 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-07-14T23:29:00.000-07:00

Day 04 - a Song That Makes You Sad
Hurt by Johnny Cash

No explanation needed.

Day 03 of 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-07-13T23:52:00.001-07:00

Day 03 - a Song That Makes You Happy
Solid as a Rock by Ocean 11

Ska is always some good happy music.

There's another song too that comes to mind, but I can't figure out who performs it as it is a cover of Sugar Sugar.

Baby Hat and 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-07-12T23:06:00.000-07:00

Just finished this hat for Mindy Metivier Photography. It was made using Aracuania yarn in Rehue Solid Color 1. This particular yarn is hand dyed in Chile.

Fiber content on this yarn is 75% baby alpaca, 18% silk and 7% polyamide. It is quite soft.

Day 02 - Your Least Favorite Song
My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas

It's not the beat, it's the lyrics.

USC Baby Blanket and 30 Day Song Challenge

2011-07-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

Super random, I know. It is just that life has been busy, and so I am behind.

The blanket is for my friends and their new son, who is obviously USC's lastest little fan. The yarn is Vanna's Choice in cranberry by Lion Brand, and the pattern is from Simple Knits for Cherished Babies.

As for "the 30 Day Song Challenge," well, I got that from my friend of the hippofairy blog. Basically, you are supposed to post a different song each day. The "rules" are below. And I will say now that I will struggle with picking just one song.

Day 01 - Your Favorite Song
Barnacled Warship by Johnny Flynn

30 Day Song Challenges Rules
day 01 - your favorite song
day 02 - your least favorite song
day 03 - a song that makes you happy
day 04 - a song that makes you sad
day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone
day 06 - a song that reminds you of somewhere
day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event
day 08 - a song that you know all the words to
day 09 - a song that you can dance to
day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep
day 11 - a song from your favorite band
day 12 - a song from a band you hate
day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure
day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love
day 15 - a song that describes you
day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate
day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio
day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio
day 19 - a song from your favorite album
day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry
day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy
day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad
day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding
day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral
day 25 - a song that makes you laugh
day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument
day 27 - a song that you wish you could play
day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty
day 29 - a song from your childhood
day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year

Neil Gaiman Came to Town

2011-06-29T00:06:00.001-07:00

Twice I have thought, "He is really cool." The first time while watching It Might Get Loud as Jimmy Page played his guitar. The second time tonight, during Neil Gaiman's appearance at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills.

Yes, a cool, smart, English writer dude. He is brilliant. His body of work includes comic books, children's books, adult books, scripts, and more. And then there is Neil himself. This is the second time I have sat in one of his audiences, and between these appearances and his online persona, I think he is a genuinely nice guy. One who I would enjoy having conversation with over a beer.

What I appreciate most is his connection to his fans. If you follow Neil Gaiman on Twitter, you will see how he answers his fans, shares their news and just appreciates them. Today he signed about 800 books for fans who pre-purchased the tenth anniversary edition of American Gods. Which is much more than I can say for another author who stamped books for an appearance.

If you ever need book recommendations, Mr. Gaiman's are great. Thanks to him I found my way to Robin McKinley (Sunshine is a new favorite), Gene Wolfe, Diana Wynne Jones, and Robert Holdstock.

About the event. It was wonderful. Once it got started. The show should have started at 8:00 p.m., but at the appointed hour we were still standing in a line that wrapped around the Saban, along Hamilton Drive. My guess is that the long wait occurred because all tickets were will call, as well as signed books to be picked up inside. Thankfully the show did not start until most of the audience was seated, somewhere around 9:00 p.m.

Patton Oswalt was the moderator/interviewer. Funny, funny guy. I saw him do something similar at Comic-Con two years ago, but this was better. Like us audience members, Mr. Oswalt is a big fan, and that went a long way. The evening included a hilarious book reading by Neil himself, Mr. Oswalt and Zelda Williams, as well as some extra tidbits on what the lot of us might soon expect. The future's looking good for American Gods Two; a musical set in 1920s Paris; non-fiction work; a children's book called Chu's Day; and American Gods, the TV show. One of the best things about the night besides Neil Gaiman? The fact that there were about 1,500 people in the Saban Theatre to see an author.

I highly encourage you to go see Neil Gaiman is he is ever in your town for an appearance. He does not disappoint. Plus, your vocabulary may grow.

In Case of Zombie Attack

2011-06-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

There was talk of zombies at work today, and that immediately reminded me of one of the funniest NPR programs I have ever heard.

In 2003, I was stuck somewhere in a Southern California freeway when NPR's Talk of the Nation went into its final segment about zombies. It was a segment about how people should prepare to defend themselves against zombie attack. The host interviews author of The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead, Max Brooks.

If you ever need a good case of the sillies, you should definitely listen to the October 30, 2003 edition of Talk of the Nation.

I hope NPR never takes this off their website, or never archives it in some password and money-protected place.

And remember, as Max Brooks says, "If a zombie's coming after you with its arms up and its mouth open and its biting, and gnawing, and moaning don't worry about brain and the flesh. Just get out of there."

DC Has a New Green Lantern Fan

2011-06-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

In brightest day, in blackest night,
no evil shall escape my sight,
Let those who worship evil's might,
Beware my power...Green Lantern's light!

That is one great superhero oath. The first time I heard it was at the 2010 Comic-Con in San Diego, during the Green Lantern session. The cutest little kid asked Ryan Reynolds, "What does it feel like to say the Green Lantern oath?" He was so cute standing up there in his Green Lantern t-shirt that Ryan Reynolds had to say it for all of us in the audience. Ever since then I have been anxiously waiting for the release of this movie.

For some reason I thought it was supposed to come out in March, but I'm glad it was released in June because life was a little goofy in the Spring. Since I was so impatient, I saw this movie on opening weekend.

It was different.

If you just go based upon the trailers and you haven't followed the comic book, then you have no idea that so much of this movie takes place in space. I get the marketing angle, after all, you do want as much of the general populace to go see Ryan Reynolds as the Green Lantern. But, I wonder if this is what turns a lot of people off about the movie?

Nah, its also a bit confusing (somehow Hal Jordan just knows that the pulse of his ring means something's up) and its a little choppy, but as far as summer popcorn movies go, it's just fine. I enjoyed it (and yes, the eye candy is fantastic). I even texted my comic-book-expert friend right away to find out just which Green Lantern comic book I should read first. He recommended Green Lantern: Secret Origin.

So now I know that the ring alerts Hal Jordan to "extraterrestrial incidents" in which he should intervene.

Obviously, I'm hooked. Not majorly hooked, but enough that I've got some new summer reading. I think it's the idea of willpower being the force behind the Green Lantern Corps' power. That, and the oath.

The Mighty Mites

2011-06-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football by Jim Dent

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The idiom says, "Don't just a book by it's cover." What about the book jacket?

All it took was reading the book jacket, and I was a goner for Jim Dent's Twelve Mighty Orphans. Then again, maybe I should have judged this book by it's cover because the rest of the title is "the Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football"—what's not to love?

The book covers the story of the Masonic Home Mighty Mites during the 1930s and 1940s, when America was in the dark depths of the Great Depression. For hundreds of children, the Masonic Home was the place you came to when one or both of your parents died or because they could simply not afford to care for you. Life at the Home may not have been the most comfortable (no shoes for orphans between April 1 and October 1) or nurturing (the deans wielded paddles and a heavy hand), but it was a place of lasting friendships and education.

Enter Coach Rusty Russell. Coach Russell himself possessed a tenacious and determined spirit. During the Big War he was devastatingly injured when a canister of mustard gas landed nearby and blinded him. He eventually regained his eyesight, but was forced to wear thick glasses in order to see. Once back in the U.S., doctors instructed him to give up football, but he wore his glasses and was selected to the all-conference teams for football and basketball. The man gave up a good job at Temple High School in Texas, where he had a 20-3 record and took his team to the 1925 state-semifinal. He walked away from Temple to the Masonic Home where he would be faced with always-undersized players, an old blue Dodge for transportation, and uniforms made from t-shirts and spray paint.

I haven't even got to the orphans yet. But really, what's the point? Jim Dent tells their story so wonderfully, and I wouldn't want to cheat anyone from this experience. Just go get the book. Even if you don't love football, surely you love the underdog. After all, the Mighty Mites were playing at the same time Seabiscuit was racing and James "Cinderella Man" Braddock was fighting; and their story is just as movie-worthy.

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June Baby Blanket

2011-06-09T19:21:00.001-07:00

A blanket for a baby boy. I have a lot of projects to knit for all the boys-to-be-born this year to my friends. This blanket was made from two strands of Bernat Softee Baby, one in chiffon, and one in denim marl. I like to use this yarn for babies because it's soft and can be easily washed and dried.

Got It Right This Time

2011-06-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

Here's the hat my sister was hoping for last time. The pattern is from the String Or Nothing blog, and the yarn is the Brown Sheep Company's Lamb's Pride in Jaded Dreams. Since the yarn is 85% wool and 15% mohair, it is pretty stiff, and the top of the hat sits up on its own.

Maybe it will appear in a photo by Mindy Metivier Photography.

Oops

2011-06-07T21:46:00.001-07:00

I thought I was finally so smart with my knitting. It turns out, not so much. I made a mistake with this baby hat. The i-cord should have tapered more instead of looking like a little piggy tail.

The tail is in fact so long that you can make a kind of double knot on the top.

Two Words

2011-06-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

Where have all the thank-yous gone?

There seems to be a glaring lack of "thank you" in retail settings as of late. Too often I find myself thanking a cashier or sales person for helping me, only to receive a "You're welcome," in response. What happened to thanking me for coming in and spending money in your establishment?

I think I'm going to start sending emails to companies when their employees neglect to say "thank you" to a customer. And, I may just stop shopping at stores who forget to express their appreciation to the people who keep them in business. After all, I do have many choices, and next time I need to take some sweets over to a friend's house, I won't be stopping at a certain bakery in Irvine. On the other hand, when I'm thirsting for an Arnold Palmer, I will definitely patron Nordstrom's e-bar, because they always say "thank you."

Baby Hat in Organic Cotton

2011-05-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

Surprise, surprise, this newborn-sized hat is for Mindy Metivier Photography. It's made out of Lion Brand's Nature's Choice Organic Cotton Yarn in pistachio, using size 6 (16-inch circular) and size 5 (double-pointed) needles. The i-cord tie is only about three inches, and next time I will make it longer.

The hat with the brim rolled up.

My pattern:

Cast on 60 stitches. Join in the round, and work 6 rows of K3 P3 ribbing.

From row 7 on, knit until hat measures 4.5", including the ribbing.

Row 1 of decrease: *K4, K2tog; repeat from * until end (50 stitches remain).

Rows 2 and 3: Knit all stitches.

Row 4: *K3, K2tog; repeat from * until end (40 stitches remain).

Rows 5 and 6: Knit all stitches.

Row 7: *K2, K2tog; repeat from * until end (30 stitches remain).

Row 8: Knit all stitches.

Row 9: *K1; K2tog; repeat from * until end (20 stitches remain).

Row 10: *K2tog; repeat from *until end (10 stitches remain).

Row 11; *K2tog; repeat from * to end of round (5 stitches remain).

Knit the five remaining stitches, but do not turn; instead slide the stitches to the opposite end of the needle (from left side to the right). The yarn will be on the left, but pull it around the back so it's on the right, and knit each stitch again. Repeat until i-cord measures desired length. As you pull the yarn from left to right, behind the knitted piece, the i-cord will close on itself.

Bind off and weave in ends.

USC Baby Hat and Matching Booties

2011-05-20T23:39:00.000-07:00

Friends of mine are expecting their first baby, and they are big USC fans, so I made them a matching hat and bootie set.

The yarn is Brown Sheep Nature Spun, so it is going to require more care (hand wash, flat dry) than I would like for a baby gift, but it couldn't be helped this time. I'm not sure what the exact color name is for the yarn I used as my version of USC Cardinal, but it might be Bordeaux; the USC Gold is represented by Nature Spun's Sunburst Gold (308).

Baby Hat and Matching Booties

2011-05-17T21:50:00.001-07:00

I have finally ventured away from blankets and made a pair of booties! There is also a matching hat.

The yarn is a nylon-acrylic blend from Thomas B. Ramsden & Co. It is from the company's Peter Pan Double Knit line, and is light blue with flecks of yellow, lavender and aqua. I don't think it's available anymore—if memory serves me correctly, I found this several years ago at the Slipt Stitch in El Segundo.

The bootie pattern can be found in Erika Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies.

How the Internet Helps Me Knit

2011-05-16T20:07:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I can't remember how I ever got by without the internet. Well, I remember, but I just can't get over how wonderful the internet is for my life.

When I was in elementary school, we learned how to use the Dewey Decimal system, and I am pretty sure that my college (Whittier) still used a card catalog in 1996. That same year, I know I had a "whittier.edu" email address, but snail mail was still popular. And then the internet just blew up. Now, I use the internet for everything.

At the moment I am most thankful for the internet because it helps me to figure out my knitting projects. I just Google things like "sew seam knitting stockinette" and I find some useful sites that get me through the rather loose instructions I get from the patterns and books. Here are the sites that have been most useful as of late:

To pick up and knit stitches—theshizknit.com

To sew seams—knitty.com

Another example of how to sew seams—lanagrossa.com

Don't you just love how easy it is to find answers now?

Last Night's Film

2011-05-10T23:29:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched Rabbit Hole. It is one of those heavy films you have to be in the mood to see.

In case you have never heard of it, Rabbit Hole is the heart-wrenching story of a couple's life after their young child dies in an accident. Yikes. Just writing the simplest synopsis of the movie's plot is tough. I was hesitant to watch this because it was a little too close to real-life, but I am glad I did.

Despite the weight of the movie and its subject matter, I thought it was a great film. Great because it captured all the raw emotions and struggles of what happens when a couple loses a child. Great because you saw how easily things change and spin out of control. But most of all—spoiler alert—great because in the end there was hope. It was not false hope either; just plain, old hope that maybe, just maybe things would be okay.

Knitted Baby Blanket: Patchwork Pleaser

2011-05-09T23:50:00.000-07:00

Yet another late baby blanket for a friend's baby. Little Mr. H. was born at the end of January, and by the time the blanket gets to him, he will be nearly five months old!

The blanket was knit using two strands of Bernat Softee Baby—one in baby denim marl and one in chiffon print. The pattern is called "Patchwork Pleaser" and is from Leisure Arts' Our Best Knit Baby Afghans.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2011-05-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to my Dad! Hope you get to eat that yummy, yummy lemon crunch cake from Diamond Head Market & Grill.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

2011-04-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

I should have gone to bed earlier last night. Then I could have watched the live coverage of the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Instead I went to bed so late that if I tried to wake up at 3:00 a.m., I would have only four hours of sleep—a bad thing for my extremely long commute this morning.

This is one time I wish I wasn't such a night owl. My inability to go to bed at a reasonable hour means I missed a truly happy moment in world history.

Oh well, at least I saw the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge riding in their carriage to Buckingham Palace. Although, I can't really say that I saw their first kiss on the balcony of the Palace because I wasn't exactly looking at the screen for that mega-quick peck. Fittingly, I saw their second kiss.

Ah well, it was all so, so very beautiful; and thanks to 24-hour news coverage, I get to watch the whole ceremony right now, and listen to the wonderful music and bells that make one's heart soar.

It is such a delightful thing to see two people looking so happy.

Kristin Cashore's Fire

2011-04-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

Fire by Kristin Cashore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Initially I was a little wary of Kristin Cashore's Fire. I read her first book, Graceling in February, and it just didn't satisfy me. So why did I read Fire? Well, I already had a copy of it.

What a lovely surprise this was for me! The story follows the book's namesake, Fire, as she grows to accept her incredible power. For some reasons unexplained, she was a character I could relate to; not because I wield any sort of power, but in part because her struggle seemed more human, even if her abilities did not.

It is worth the read, even if you have not read Graceling. Fire is a companion book, and a character from Graceling plays a role in the story, but is not the central focus.

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Heart Hat and Blanket Square

2011-04-25T23:52:00.000-07:00

Here are two knitting projects I recently completed. The first is a newborn beanie in red, with a duplicate stitched pink heart. I used Stitch Nation Bamboo Ewe yarn.

And here is a purple blanket square, made with Sensations Angel Hair yarn.

Both items may soon appear in photos by Mindy Metivier Photography.

Cleo in Hollywood

2011-04-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I did something I rarely ever do in Los Angeles. I went to Hollywood.

What? I know. It's just that I used to live in El Segundo, and now I'm holed up in the OC, so I tend to favor places off the 405, or by the beach. Hollywood can be a bit of a trek. But, friends were in town from the Bay Area, and so we met for drinks at AOC on 3rd; which then turned into a late dinner at Cleo in Hollywood.

This is all about Cleo.

Cleo was amazing. Located in the Redbury Hotel, on Vine Street, this is one Mediterranean restaurant that I would classify as definitely trendy. But who cares? It's in Hollywood. It should be trendy.

It's all small plates, so you get to try a lot of different things; and I think we made our way through the menu pretty well. The food comes out as it's prepared, so there's no traditional appetizers-salad-entree order to your meal. There's also a fun libations list.

Mezzes

Lebaneh with feta—a yogurt cheese dip for this wonderful bread which comes in a brown paper bag. It was tangy, and so yummy. I would get this again.

Dolmades—Cleo's version of dolmas. I'm not a fan of dolmas, so I can't really comment here.

Chicken kebab—yum. What can I say? It's a kebab. The chicken was cooked perfectly, and tasted...well, yum.

Salads

Pumpkin—one of the best and more interesting salads I have ever had. There is a little bit of a kick to the salad thanks to the spiced pepitas. The rest of the salad consists of roasted pumpkin, shaved parmesan and hazelnut vinaigrette. I'm pretty sure there were also pomegranates, and I forget what type of lettuce was served.

Vegetables

Brussel Sprouts—our waitress told us that the brussel sprouts taste like potato chips, and she did not lie. I may have mixed up what part of the menu the brussel sprouts are from, as there are some that you can order under "mezzes." Just ask for the ones that taste like potato chips. They actually resemble chips because someone in the Cleo kitchen to the time to take the brussel sprout leaves apart. Thank you to whoever does that job because this dish is amazing!

Meats

Lamb Shawarma—another delicious dish. Not gamey at all, and tender.

Flatbreads

Seasonal Mushroom—this came out at the very end, and it did not disappoint. It was similar to a flatbread pizza, and the remains of the lebaneh with feta was a good compliment.

Seafood

Grilled Octopus—normally I am not a fan of octopus as I have had too much of the rubbery stuff, but this was delicious and not at all like I have had before.

Mussel Tagine—these mussels come in a broth of saffron, tomato, chickpeas and spinach. Another tasty dish.

Dessert

Sticky Toffee Pudding—this was described as a toffee pudding with a bread pudding-like consistency. It came out exactly as described, and it was so, so good. I actually voted for this over baklava (which I love).

Mindy Metivier Photography Casting Call for Newborns

2011-04-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

My sister, Mindy, just went to Texas for a photo-mentoring session, and she learned some new baby posing and soothing techniques. So that she can put these new lessons to practice, she is offering free photo sessions for five to twelve-day old newborns.

Visit the Mindy Metivier Photography website for more details and photos from her mentoring session.

Hooked on TV Recaps

2011-04-18T23:12:00.000-07:00

I blame my minor addiction to reading TV recaps on my [former] co-worker, Mrs. G.

It started last summer. We realized that we both religiously watched Mad Men, and probably could be classified as Maddicts. Every week, we puzzled over Don's behavior, the fate of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and guessed at the show's next move. At one point Mrs. G. told me about these TV recaps she reads on the Entertainment Weekly website. And then she had to go and send me the link.

Now I have yet another website to visit on a regular basis.

The thing about these TV recaps is that they are so cleverly written. And the recappers catch so many things I miss—I can't even begin to tell you about the level of detail that is caught and discussed after an episode of Mad Men. Truth be told, I am not a simultaneous TV watcher and analyzer, so I immensely appreciate that someone else does this and writes about it. The other thing (and this is the biggest "thing" for me) is that reading these recaps allows me to enjoy just a little bit more of my favorite shows.

I am enabled by TV recaps. Enabled to obsess further over characters like Eric Northman and Damon Salvatore. Enabled to dig out more hilarity from shows like The Big Bang Theory. Enabled to think that maybe my TV watching habits aren't that bad if I read some analysis afterward.

Twisted Knits

2011-04-14T23:42:00.000-07:00

If you're a knitter who knits the traditional way, I'm sure when you look at the picture above, you think what I first thought, "That looks a little off..."

It took me forever to figure out, but what threw me off was that the stitches were twisted—on purpose. Once I had my little aha-moment, it was time for a search on the internet. It took some digging, but I finally found the Freia and the Knitwhit Blog, complete with pictures and tips on dealing with and/or accepting twisted stitches.

For the look above, you wrap the yarn around the knitting needle clockwise for every knit and purl stitch. It is actually quite a nice look for Lionbrand's Thick and Quick yarn.

I love the internet.

Pain in the Ear(s)

2011-04-13T23:51:00.000-07:00

There are few worse things than flying while you are sick. If you have any sort of sinus related issue, it just gets more horrible. Then there's having an ear infection while flying. It's just not fun.

I have been flying quite often as of late, and in one week, I was on a plane five different times. Four of those times, I also suffered from an ear infection. The pain was awful. In addition to the pain, my ears were completely stuffed up and everything was muffled. This lasted for two and a half days. I was beyond uncomfortable, and really bothered by my hearing.

On the day of my fifth flight, I could hear a little better, and there was significantly less pain, but I was highly worried about flying again. Luckily, I had read somewhere online about special ear plugs that you can purchase for about $7 at the airport.

This was the best $7 I have ever spent. This got me a pair of special ear plugs, known asnEarPlanes.

While I could still feel a change in pressure, my discomfort was significantly less, and my plugged up ears didn't fill up even more. I followed the directions on the box, and since my flight was only one hour, I put them in just before takeoff, and kept them in until after we landed and the cabin door opened.

I just wonder why my doctor didn't tell me about the EarPlanes. She knew I was flying, and all she recommended was that I take Sudafed (to help dry up the fluid) and Motrin (for the pain) 30 to 45 minutes before my flight.

Bye Bye Bay

2011-04-12T17:21:00.001-07:00

There have been some massive changes afoot, and one of them is that I recently relocated from the San Francisco Bay Area back to Southern California.

Just over four years ago I made the trek from El Segundo to Walnut Creek, and now I'm back. I can't honestly say that I loved living up in the Bay, but I did enjoy my time there, and I will miss my Walnut Creek life.

I know I should be talking about the wonderful people I left behind, but that's just too sad. Instead I'm going to talk about places to go and food to eat because others can easily enjoy those same things.

Wait, there is one person I want to talk about. My lovely hairstylist, Priscilla. She works at Tribez in Danville, and I love her. She almost never overbooks, she always accomodated my need to come in after work, and she cut my hair wonderfully. If you are in need of a hairstylist, go see her. The salon is fun and trendy, and Priscilla is a very calm person amidst the chaos of a hairstylists, clients and various personal care professionals. Just know that you need cash or a check.

Onto the other stuff I love:

Nordstrom Rack, San Leandro—maybe one of the best Racks I have been patroned, it's off the Marina (East) exit from the 880.

Wooden Gate Quilts, Danville—I am so sad I went here only once! Initially, I found this place online when I was looking for a quilting shop between work and home, but they were closed for renovation. When my mom visited in October, we stopped by. Wooden Gate Quilts was wonderful. I'll make it a point to visit when I'm next in the Bay...if I can manage to lower my fabric stash by then.

Lafayette Library and Learning Center—this place is brand new, and it's like being in someone's big, beautiful home. There's a used bookstore (operated by the Friends of the Lafayette Library) just outside of the parking garage, and you can get a used hardcover for $1. In fact, I finally found a copy of Katherine Neville's the Eight there (and I have been looking for this book for years). The Lafayette Library is open on Sundays, and a wonderful place to spend an afternoon.

People in the Bay Area take their food seriously, so food deserves it's own little section today.

Zachary's Chicago Pizza—I love and will eat all kinds of pizza, but this place is a favorite. I'm not sure how it rates against the real thing in Chicago, but I love Zachary's. I like the San Ramon location because there is parking, but I think the one in Oakland is the original.

Lococo's, Piedmont—What you see on the menu, is what you get when you order, so please do not try and add chicken to a dish without chicken. I can't help but love my favorite little Italian place, Lococo's in Piedmont. You can bring your own wine, and please bring cash or a personal check (no credit cards). My go-to selections are the tortellini con sugo (tortellini stuffed with prosciutto and chicken) and Gilberto's Special pizza (all meat). Yum. I miss it already.

Cha Cha Cha—I get my tapas and sangria fix here. It's all good, so I'm not even going to bother telling you what to get at Cha Cha Cha. The Haight Street location is the original, and has a totally different vibe from the one in the Mission, but both are fun. If you're on the Peninsula, there's also a new location in San Mateo, on Second Street, I believe.

Saroor Indian Cuisine—Great samosas here! I drove by Saroor quite often, and finally decided to try it. I'm so glad I did because they are generous with the portions for takeout, and it's a nice little neighborhood spot on North Main in Walnut Creek.

Hubcaps—I know it's a diner, but this is my favorite breakfast spot in Walnut Creek. It's my favorite because I love the eggs benedict at Hubcaps.

Swiss Delices, Castro Valley—What a wonderful place for baked goods, coffee and lunch! Swiss Delices is a European bakery with locations in Hayward and Castro Valley, but I only know the one in CV. Everytime I went in, I pretty much always left with one or two of the following: an apricot or raspberry bird nest (macarron with jam); an apricot or raspberry humentachen; an Italian danish; and almost always, a peanut butter cookie.

There's actually a lot more that I love and like about the Bay Area, but that's for another time and future visits.

This Tree Grows in Redwood City

2011-04-11T23:17:00.000-07:00

I am struggling to find any sort of words to say, but I am stuck. All I can process is that after Saturday, ginkgo trees have special meaning for me. Particularly, a young ginkgo tree recently planted in Redwood City. You see, it was planted for and dedicated to the little guy I wrote about in January.

Thank you to all the wonderful people who got together to make sure the tree was planted so that we could all gather together for the dedication.

Happy Birthday Kristie

2011-03-30T22:53:00.001-07:00

On this day, 20-some-odd-years-ago, the youngest of us sisters was born. Happy birthday to Kristie!

Happy Birthday M-O-M

2011-03-28T22:05:00.003-07:00

It's my mom's birthday today. Happy birthday to her!

Things I Heart About Japan

2011-03-15T23:12:00.000-07:00

Right now, so much of the focus on Japan is about the enormous disasters that have gone on over the past several days. Rightfully so. It has been a most awful time for the Land of the Rising Sun, and it hurts my heart every time I watch or read the latest news.

Instead of all the chaos and destruction, I want to think about the things I love about Japan. Here goes:

Anpan—a sweet bread filled with an, which I guess is a red bean paste.

Robotech—only my favorite cartoon and the first anime I ever saw.

Mugicha—barley tea; I first had this when I spent a short bit of my summer, right around 5th grade in Fukuoka.

Kuri manju— it's manju, but the outside is more of a baked bread than pounded-out-rice. Just go to your local Marukai or Nijiya and ask for it.

Miyazaki Films like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, etc.
Obento—the best box-lunch ever.

Okay, so I realize this centers mostly around food and media. But, these will be important in the weeks and months to come as Japan struggles to recover. I wish I could do something more tangible to help, but I think buying Japanese products will go a long way.

I do love other things about Japan and its people. It is such an orderly and considerate society. One in which you care about how your actions affect those around you; and this is so ingrained that you see the culture shining through in the simplest of photos. Here is the the picture that warms my heart the most (open it in a new window so you can see a larger version:

Notice how many of them are sitting or laying on some kind of paper or mat so that they are not directly touching the floor? And do you see how some of them have taken off their shoes and lined them up just-so? It's so Japanese. I love it.

In Thanks

2011-03-11T22:52:00.000-08:00

So I've been sitting on this blog topic for a little bit, and every time I think I want to write about it, I change my mind. Between the earthquake in Japan and the resulting tsunami activity of the past 24-ish hours, I changed my mind again.

It's time I say how thankful I am for my friends and family. I never say it enough to my family, but I do appreciate them—more than they could ever imagine. But really, I want to "talk" about my friends today.

My friends freaking rock. I pretty much have always known that, but lately...well, lately they have really gone the extra 5,280 feet for me. The most tangible example I can give you is that I need more than two hands to count the number of friends who have opened their home to me. And I don't mean for a short visit.

And that's really all I can say on this right now.

That, and thank you, thank you, thank you.

Happy Girls' Day!

2011-03-03T22:18:00.000-08:00

March 3rd is a day known as Girls' Day in Hawaii, or Hinamatsuri in Japan. Culturally, I can't tell you much about it, but we celebrated it in Hawaii when I was growing up. Mainly that entailed having the boys put up all the girls' chairs at the end of the school day. Now that's something from the hanabata days.

Nowadays I don't do anything at all to celebrate Girls' Day except for make some sort of status update on Facebook. Some years I have been known to call up my mom and lament the fact that she didn't send me a Girls' Day present. This year I did no such thing as I am just being grateful.

Who You Got?

2011-02-24T23:31:00.001-08:00

It's about to be one of my favorite Sunday's of the year. No, not the Super Bowl or anything sports related. This time it's about movies—February 27 is Oscar Sunday, and it's so fun trying to guess which way the Academy will go.

Here are my picks for the "big" stuff:

Best Picture: The King's Speech
Best Actor: Colin Firth in The King's Speech
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale in The Fighter (although I am cheering for Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech
Best Actress: Natalie Portman in Black Swan
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo in The Fighter (personally, I loved Helena Bonham Carter in The King's Speech

I have not seen all the Best Picture nominees, but at least there is a clear winner this year. Last year I didn't really feel like any of the nominees were a "best" of the year, but this year I fell in love with The King's Speech. If something else wins that I have not yet seen, it had better be amazing, because The King's Speech was the best movie of this awards season. I don't think it will win for Best Director, but I don't really know what will.

Oh, and just for kicks, I'm taking Inception for Film Editing, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing; Toy Story 3 for Animated Feature (it's way too tough to unseat Pixar, but How to Train Your Dragon was great); and Alice in Wonderland for Art Direction and Costume Design.

Happy Birthday to My Grandma

2011-02-23T22:44:00.000-08:00

Today is my Grandma's birthday. She rocks. Some tidbits about her:

She taught me how to sew and iron.
She also used to pick my sisters and me up everyday from school.
When she picked us up from school, my grandma always had some sort of ice cold drink for us. Mostly I remember that it was Tang.
She can't sit still!
She made dinner every night, packed it up, and sent it home with us when my mom picked us up on the way home.

Happy birthday, Grandma! You are the best person I know in this world, and I hope I can some day be as patient and kind as you.

By the way, the picture above is slightly old (circa 2006 I think), but I love this picture of my grandma and her girls.

Graced Characters. Graced Book?

2011-02-21T08:30:00.000-08:00

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In Kristin Cashore's Graceling, people live in a world where some humans have been graced by a particular skill or ability. It can be as amazing as the ability to read minds to extraordinary fightling capabilities to the perceived useless ability to climb trees or talk backwards. These individuals are marked by their "grace" by their eyes, which are always two different colors.

Interesting, right?

Unfortunately I couldn't get into this book until I reached the halfway point. Finally, there was something about the book that kept my attention. I'm in though, I'll give book two a go.

View all my reviews

My Hyundai Headache

2011-02-09T23:33:00.000-08:00

Guess what. The hissing noise is back.

I didn't even mess around, and called the Hyundai dealership right away. The car went in the shop today, and of course they could not replicate the noise. But, they did determine that the A/C system had been overcharged and that my car was without a cabin air filter. No cabin air filter? What?!

My response was "Either it was never installed, or it was removed and not replaced at some point last year when the car was with you guys." They installed one. And, they recharged the system properly. We'll see how this goes...

Happy Birthday

2011-01-19T19:06:00.000-08:00

Can't say that I remember when this happened, but my sister, Mindy, was born on this day, 30-something years ago.

Happy birthday, Min! Did you have your spaghetti dinner?

In my family, you get to pick your birthday dinner, and it's been many years since Mindy's had anything else but my mom's spaghetti. If I was at home, I would make her some cupcakes. Next time, next time. Hope you enjoy your annual subscription renewal to National Geographic Traveler, and a new addition to your photo props inventory (obviously, it's not a secret).

How Today is About Football and My Sister

2011-01-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

I'm a little distracted by the BCS Championship, so about all I can manage right now is to talk about two things: 1) the BCS; and 2) Mindy Metivier Photography gift certificates.

The BCS. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I always want to watch the national championship. This year especially (for reasons unknown even to me), I wanted someone to take down the SEC. Maybe it's because I have lived in California since 1996, or maybe it's because I've been brainwashed by all my Trojan and Bruin friends and I cheer for the Pac-10 when my Bows aren't in it (they're never in it). Whatever. I was pulling for the Ducks.

So much so, that the neighbors probably think I'm nuts.

Yes, I yell at the TV.

Well, the yelling is over. The Ducks lost. Ugh.

Silver lining. Silver lining.

Oops, sorry, it's something I've been hearing a lot lately.

So today's silver lining is that soon you will be able to buy gift certificates to Mindy Metivier Photography. How is it silver-lining? Well, even though Oregon lost the BCS today, it is also the same day that my sister announced that she will soon have gift certificates available for purchase. That's good for her, so by extension, I'm thinking it's good for me.

Silver lining. Right.

Eating With the Angry Korean Lady

2011-01-06T22:37:00.001-08:00

Last week I went home for Christmas and New Year's, and enjoyed one of my most interesting dining experiences, thanks to my neighbor J, and the Angry Korean Lady.

J and I grew up next to one another, and he's like an older brother to me. Of course, now that we're grown and I live in the mainland, I rarely see either of the T-brothers, so I asked if we could meet up for drinks. For some reason we didn't think about food until a few hours before, and decided to get some Korean food instead.

Lucky me, J suggested Ah-Lang.

Located in the Imperial Plaza at 725 Kapiolani Boulevard, you will find a small Korean restaurant, operated by one woman. She calls herself "the Angry Korean Lady" and on the tables are notes that explain that she is "a one-woman show." Seriously. She does all the cooking, busing, etc. so she has no problem with you filling out your own order and bringing it in the back.

Feeling hungry? Becareful. If she feels like you ordered too much food, she'll come out and tell you that she's changing your order. Think you can handle a spicy rating of 10? You better be able to, because she will come out and tell you to scale it back. There's even more to the story, but I think you should experience it for yourself. One last thing...

Don't go here if you're in a rush. The service happens as its own pace; after all, there's just one person cooking. But, you can bring your own beverages (you gotta love Hawaii) and enjoy a leisurely meal.

In case you're wondering, we ordered kalbi and soon do bu. It was so yummy and affordable!

Great, now I'm hungry.

There's No Place Like Home

2011-01-05T21:10:00.000-08:00

Akemashite Omedetoo Gozaimasu.

In case you're wondering about the photo above, that's how we celebrate the New Year in Hawaii. Culturally, we pop firecrackers to chase the bad spirits away; pop-culturally we do it for the fire and explosions.

If you have never spent a New Year's Eve in Hawaii, you are missing out. The food is great and there are firecrackers galore (until 2011 becomes 2012). I think I would feel totally discombobulated without all the noise and smoke.

Other New Year's traditions include cleaning the house (again, to get rid of all the bad spirits), pounding mochi, and eating ozoni and kuromame.

The mailbox has been through quite a lot over the years. This is how it looked in the first few minutes of 2011.

The Last Baby Blanket of 2010

2011-01-04T21:33:00.000-08:00

Here's a blanket, made by special-request! It was a little weird making a blanket with two different football teams (this was for a two-team household), but that is mostly because I struggled with matching the fabric. It seems to have turned out okay though.

An up-close view so you can see the hand-quilting I did, and so you can see my team, the Colts.

This is just so you can see a bench that has appeared in photo shoots by Mindy Metivier Photography. By the way, this blanket was made in California and Hawaii.

Until We Meet Again

2011-01-02T23:08:00.000-08:00

Aloha 'oe to you, my sweet, inquisitive, little friend. The opportunity to know you is one of the best things about my life in the Bay Area.

Here we are in the summer of 2008 at a concert in the park.

And here you are on the first day we got to meet you. I think you're sleeping in the blanket I knitted for you.

I've been looking for something that best sums up the sadness I feel, and I found what Alfred Tennyson wrote:

Gone-flitted away,
Taken the stars from the night and the sun from the day!
Gone, and a cloud in my heart...

the Bitter and the Sweet

2010-12-29T19:48:00.000-08:00

At the end of a year, you mostly find a lot of reflection. Sorry, but you won't get that here. With just two days left, I would like to say "so long" to the year that is 2010. Sure, there was a lot of great, along with a sprinkling of wonderful.

And then there was the other stuff. For some reason, this year seems to have been filled with the other stuff. And I mean filled, from Day 1 to Day 29.

In response I will:

Clean house (my parents' and mine) with extra vigor;

Find a way to pop some firecrackers in the mainland;

Appreciate more;

Take for granted less;

Find some patience.

Mac and Cheese With Bread and Ham

2010-12-14T20:16:00.000-08:00

The recipe is actually called Croque Monsieur Mac and Cheese. Basically, it is mac and cheese (gruyere and parmesan)with diced bread and ham. Hence, the use of "croque," which translates to "crumbs," or "crunch." But I have no idea what "monsieur" means other than "mister," or "master."

This is yet another yummy recipe for people who love a slightly fancier version of mac and cheese like I do. It's also easy.

I do have a few adjustments:

I would do is melt butter over medium low heat, rather than high. At this point in the recipe, you are pretty much making a bechamel sauce, and Giada's way has worked better for me. In other words, I don't burn my saucepan with her way like I did by following the recipe's directions.
The recipe calls for freshly grated nutmeg, and I totally missed "freshly grated" and used my regular nutmeg.
I added the garlic after the onion had browned because minced garlic cooks so quickly.

As for the "deli-boiled ham", this is something you can find at the deli counter. I worried that Safeway would not have it, but they did! The lady behind the counter even knew what I was talking about.

Enjoy all the cheesy goodness, and don't forget a bottle of wine!

Croque Monsieur Mac and Cheese
by Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

1/2 pound ziti
2 C milk
2 C coarsely grated gruyere cheese
1 C finely grated parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
3 slices white sandwich bread, roughly diced
2 T unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 T all-purpose flour
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 t freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt
8 oz. thinly sliced deli-boiled ham

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ziti and cook until al dente, about six minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl; toss with 1/4 cup of milk.

Meanwhile, combine both cheeses in a bowl. Beat 1/4 cup milk and the eggs in another bowl; fold in the bread and add half of the cheese.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over high heat. Add the onion and garlic, cook, stirring until just brown, about two minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, cayenne, nutmeg and one teaspoon Kosher salt; cook, stirring, about two minutes. Slowly add 3/4 cup water and the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk; bring to a boil; stirring until thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk to cool slightly. Whisk in the remaining cheese, then add the pasta and toss.

Butter a shallow casserole dish. Add half of the pasta, top with some of the ham and cover with remaining pasta. Top with the remaining ham, then cover with the bread mixture. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Let rest a few minutes before serving.

Yikes December is Here

2010-12-10T20:07:00.000-08:00

Here I sit, on December 10, 2010, and I realize that I have neglected the blog. Oops. I blame December.

This month is always crazy, and I think one of these years I may go on mental vacation and not give into the nuttiness that has become "the Holidays." This is not the year for my hiatus. I have so much to do, and on the long list of to-dos is to [finally] knit something for Seth and me.

As you can see, I have taken care of me. It had to be for me since this was my first attempt. Believe me, Seth does not want his name on the Version 1.0 (conveniently, this photo does not show the project in its entirety). He wants Version 1.2, the one where some bugs are worked out.

Near Focaccia Disaster

2010-11-29T22:28:00.000-08:00

I would have taken a picture of the focaccia I made tonight, but I'm too irritated with the results. Three hours of kitchen time on a work night, and I seriously thought about tossing the bread and pan in the trash.

The recipe came from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook, and it involved using a russet potato and making the dough from scratch. The dough was quite sticky and a little difficult to work with, but everything smelled right while it was in the oven. Then I pulled it out of the oven after 20 minutes of baking time.

It was stuck to the pan.

Well, not all of it was stuck, but certainly the sides and edges were. The middle part was fine, and so I realize that either I should use a smaller baking pan or take it out earlier.

Turns out that it tasted good, so a complete and total disaster was averted.

Another Baby Blanket

2010-11-28T18:24:00.000-08:00

My friends had a baby boy four months ago, and as usual, I lagged on the gift. The "inspiration" I needed to make the blanket came when I found out that they would be in the Bay Area during Thanksgiving weekend.

Here is a full view of the blanket. I love the blue and brown together.

My First Bunny Hat

2010-11-22T21:46:00.000-08:00

I finally made a bunny hat! It was made using Dark Horse FA-30 Hot Pink Yarn. This was my first go-around with this brand of yarn, which is 50% Nylon and 50% Acrylic.

The Dark Horse Fantasy yarn line is quite soft, which make it quite nice; but it's also quite slippery.

The ears aren't perfect, but I don't think that rabbit's have perfectly symmetrical ears in real-life...hopefully my sister doesn't mind. We'll see how they do in a photo shoot.

Baby Pods (Formerly Known as Cocoons)

2010-11-19T17:11:00.000-08:00

In case you are interested in seeing what my baby pods (a.k.a. "cocoons") look like with a baby in them, visit my sister's blog to see them in a photo shoot. You can see more of them if you view the slide show!

Hopefully these will begin making an appearance on my very own Etsy page sometime in the near future. If I only I could find the time to build up inventory!

For now, just check out Mindy Metivier Photography online.

Gumbo for Sunday Dinner

2010-11-16T19:50:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I tried making jambalaya. It was not so good. I then realized that I really wanted to make gumbo. Really, I've been wanting the gumbo at The Kingfish Cafe in Seattle, but that's just too far away. It was time to give it a go in my own kitchen.

The recipe I used came from Paula Dean. Seth liked it, as did my co-worker, but I'm not quite sure how I felt about it. The one at The Kingfish Cafe is just so good.

The recipe itself was pretty easy; although it is time consuming. It makes for some tasty comfort food. A couple of notes on the ingredients:

Instead of smoked sausage, I used Louisiana hot links, but if you like spicy, go for Andouille sausage.

The recipe calls for margarine, but I only had butter. It turned out fine with butter

One more thing, the picture above lacks the shrimp. I did not add the shrimp until the last moment because I didn't want to mix it into the gumbo itself. The recipe makes way too many servings (eight to ten) for the two of us to eat before shrimp goes bad.

Gumbo
by Paula Dean

INGREDIENTS

3 large boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Salt and pepper

1/4 C vegetable oil

1 lb. smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices

1/2 C all-purpose flour

5 T margarine

1 large onion, chopped

8 cloves garlic, minced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1/4 C Worcestershire sauce

1/4 bunch flat leaf parsley, stems and leaves, coarsely chopped, plus chopped leaves for garnish

4 C hot water

5 beef bouillon cubes

1 (14-oz.) can stewed tomatoes, with juice

2 C frozen sliced okra

4 green onions, sliced, white and green parts

1/2 lb. small shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked

DIRECTIONS
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken until browned on both sides and remove. Add the sausage and cook until browned, then remove. Sprinkle the flour over the oil, add 2 T margarine and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until brown, about 10 minutes. Let the roux cool.

Return the Dutch oven to low heat and melt the remaining 3 T margarine. Add the onion, garlic, green pepper and celery and cook for 10 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, to taste and 1/4 bunch parsley. Cook, while stirring frequently for 10 minutes. Add 4 C hot water and bouillon cubes, whisking constantly. Add the chicken and sausage. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Add tomatoes and okra. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Just before serving, add the green onions, shrimp and chopped parsley.

The Host

2010-11-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Take those four stars with a grain of salt. The grain of salt being that I would have given this three and a half stars if I could have, but that is not an option, so I rounded up.

BTW, SPOILER ALERT.

Stephenie Meyer's The Host intrigued me to the point where I did block out time to read, but then the story wrapped up too cleanly. This is coming from a person who happens to like happy endings, and seeks escape when reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of the story—aliens, a.k.a. "souls" have taken over most of Earth. There is of course, a pocket of resistance, but it's really the human spirit that prevails. My problems entirely lie with the very neat dénouement. The conflict resolution can be summed up as everyone, and I mean everyone had their own happy-ever-after.

It was just too clean! I kept waiting for the Seeker to find them, but she just ended up being captured by the human rebels. And then they saved her?! I find it all to be a little incredulous.

But, it was an interesting read, and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I have actually had this book in my possession for at least a year, and I dragged my feet on reading it. After all, this book is Ms. Meyer's follow-up to my beloved Twilight Saga, and I was quite worried that I would hate it. It turns out that I did not hate or dislike The Host in the least bit. In fact, I liked that she spent so much time focused on the life Wanda/Mel. I just wish there had been a little bit more conflict.

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Baby Quilt

2010-11-09T20:28:00.001-08:00

There's also been some sewing going on lately, and here is a baby blanket I recently finished. I even hand-quilted it.

Most of the fabric is from Jo-Ann Fabrics & Craft, but the football print is from Bolt's End in Castro Valley.

Johnny Flynn Came to San Francisco

2010-11-08T19:01:00.001-08:00

In the four-plus years that Seth and I have been together, there has been exactly one artist that I played for him that he: A)Didn't know about; and B)Really liked. That artist is Johnny Flynn, a British musician of the folk rock/indie rock genre; and frontman of the band Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit.

Last night, Seth and I finally got to see Johnny Flynn perform live, and it was so very cool. He played a solo show at The Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco. As the headliner, he didn't go on until 11:00 p.m., after Cheyenne Marie Mize and Goh Nakamura. It was a bit tough getting motivated to get there on a Sunday night, but it was worth every sleepy moment I dragged through today.

The venue was perfect. As one of my friends said, The Rickshaw Stop is "very hipster" and it provided just the right atmosphere. It is an 18 and over place, but that made for a pretty empty bar scene, and it was quite easy to get a pint of Speak Easy IPA. In such a relaxed, intimate atmosphere, with a British musician about to take the stage, how can you get anything but a pint of beer? By the way, there is also a full bar.

The opening acts were easy on the ears, and I really enjoyed Cheyenne Mize's performance. Her voice is quite nice, but not unique to me. Then she broke out the violin and the banjo. I was sold.

Just before Cheyenne's performance I decided to go downstairs and find the bathroom. It was a good thing I did, because when I walked by the bar I noticed that a young blond man was selling stuff. The young blond man was Johnny Flynn himself, hawking is own CDs and t-shirts. Of course I jumped in line before I headed back upstairs, and Seth joined me so that we could buy the new CD, Been Listening, get it autographed and take a quick picture.

Johnny Flynn is such a nice guy. Okay, and he's good looking. He was patient with all the fans—even the girl who locked onto his arm and gushed "Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm touching you!" She looked like she might gobble him up right there.

All right on to the performance.

It was amazing. Seth and I didn't quite know what to expect because part of what makes the A Larum album so good is the band, and we knew they wouldn't be there. I'm glad we got to see Johnny Flynn perform on his own. He has such a rich voice for someone of smallish stature (he's not super tiny, but he's not a big guy either), and he is fantastic on the guitar. Cheyenne Mize performed with him at one point, but most of the songs were done by Johnny on his own. He sang stuff from the new album, and he did my favorite song, Brown Trout Blues. Unfortunately for Seth, there was no guitar-only rendition of Leftovers, but we understood that perhaps there's just too much of the band in in that one.

I hope that one of these days we can see the whole band perform, but I think we might need to go to Europe for that kind of show.

Sewing Questions Not Yet Answered

2010-11-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

A little over a year ago, I blogged about the struggles I had with using using double fold bias tape to make a square neckline. Included were some tutorial-type photos because I could not find step-by-step instructions on the internet.

You have no idea how pleased I have been to see that it's been helpful for other sewers.

Sorry, I just had to say that because I appreciate all the comments people have left for me. Which leads me to today's post.

The following two comments were left for me in October:

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to respond, but I've been a bit busy lately, and I also haven't really been able to come up with what I think is a suitable answer to either question.

In answer to the "funny wrinkles" and "corners without getting scrunchy" questions—I have another question. Do you have any photos of these wrinkles and scrunches? It would help me if you could send me photos (please reference the blog in your subject line). I don't think it was the material you were using since both are made out of cotton. My guess is that you somehow pinched the fabric under the bias tape, or that fabric was pinched at the "v" part.

And now we've arrived at how to thread a serger.

How did you know that it's been more than a decade since I've actually used a serger? We had a serger at my grandma's house, and I remember failing miserably at trying to re-thread it. The first place I learned to use a serger was in Mrs. Iki's sewing class, and we never changed the thread without just tying the two colors together and letting the machine stitch until the new color was threaded all the way through. The best I can do is share with you two Google finds:

Diane Bossom's Serger Place Serging Guidelines—this one has a lot of tips and has an improvement on the method I used in Mrs. Iki's class

eHow.com has a video, but I can't make any comments on how informative it is.

Thanks for asking the questions. I do wish I could give you better answers, but send me some photos and I'll see if any of my resources can provide more help. And you know, my photographer of a sister was actually the one who was better with a sewing machine. Yes, that's right before there was Mindy Metivier Photography, there was a seamstress who made a lot of clothes.

I've Been Knitting

2010-11-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a bunch of stuff I recently finished for my sister. Most of the pieces are cocoons, and hopefully they work for her photo shoots, and the babies are snug. There is one blanket square mixed in.

A cocoon in pumpkin.

A cocoon in yellow.

A cocoon in fig. In person, the yarn looks a little darker than it does in this photo.

The blanket square. This one is already in Hawaii. The other pieces will soon be on their way.

My Kind of Hallowe'en

2010-10-31T19:55:00.000-07:00

For some reason that I don't quite get, people love Halloween. I have never really been into it, and don't really enjoy the dressing up part. It might be because it's always so cold and Halloween costumes for women tend to leave little to the imagination, but I think it's also because my costume ideas tend to just become a a big pile of FAIL.

This year I was sort of saved from Halloween because my mom was visiting. Even though she left on Halloween, and left me time for some fun, I am just too tired. Plus I didn't have time to even think about a costume.

So, for Halloween, I put on my The Graveyard Book t-shirt and I wrote a short review on Charlaine Harris' Club Dead. Lame? Yes. But it's better than nothing. After all, Neil Gaiman wrote The Graveyard Book, and he recently proposed that we should all give each other scary books for Halloween; and Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series is about vampires.

Oh, and thinking it would be scary, we watched Let the Right One In to start off the Halloween weekend. It was not scary at all, but it was a good foreign film, and a very interesting portrayal of a vampire.

Who am I kidding? My Halloween "celebration" was less than half-hearted. At any rate, Happy Halloween! There's still time to go out and find a scary book to give. I recommend Mr. Gaiman's Coraline. The Other Mother is spooky-ooky no matter how old you are.

Wooden Gate Quilts

2010-10-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my mom and I were challenged to control our fabric-shopping impulses at Wooden Gate Quilts in Danville, California. It was my first time in the store, and I might already heart the place.

Wooden Gate is a cute little shop on Railroad Avenue, and it has the best fabric selection I have seen yet. They even have a good sized sale section (30% off of selected fabric) with some neat finds.

I don't really follow fabric designers, so I can't really tell you who they carry, other than from the cuts I purchased. The yellow flower print is by Tina Givens, the green one is by Amy Butler, and I also picked up something by Moda. Sorry, no sample of the Moda fabric as it is a surprise for someone.

If you are ever on the East Bay and are a fabric lover, I highly suggest you stop by the shop. The ladies who helped my mom and I were just the kind of friendly retailers I like, they merchandise really well, the shop is cute and the fabric selection is so hard to pass up.

When I Had a Bad Day

2010-10-21T23:05:00.001-07:00

Sometimes Seth and I don't make proper use of our Netflix account, and movies sit at our house a little too long. There have been times when I have given up on ever watching the movie, and just returned it. Then there are other times when someone out there in the universe must have known that I needed to wait for just the right moment.

The right moment for us to watch Temple Grandin came last week. I had a particularly bad day, and was just not happy. It was an evening to park it on the couch, and just veg; so we put Temple Grandin and gave into the laze.

Not only was that one of the better movies we have seen in a longtime, but it was just the right feel-good movie for me at that particular moment.

Temple Grandin is one cool woman.

I don't want to ruin the story for anyone, but in case you have no idea who she is, Temple Grandin is a 63-year-old woman with high-functioning autism. If you want to know more, rent the movie. I know I want to know more about her, and so I will be looking for a book about her at the library.

Breaking News Worth Watching

2010-10-12T21:12:00.001-07:00

Did you have a bad day today? Then watch these Chilean miners be rescued. It is one of the most unbelievable things I have ever seen.

I just watched Miner #2 come up from from more than 2,000 feet underground. He was so exuberant after 69 days of trapped life in a collapsed mine. I feel for Miner #33, and the last rescuers.

Thank goodness for tenacity. Thank goodness for technology. Thank goodness for humanity.

On Overload

2010-10-11T20:22:00.001-07:00

Lately, everything seems to be broken or a mess. From the car to the cell phone to ear phones...it never ends. It's got me a little discombobulated.

On top of that I haven't had much home-time recently, and I've got a project that I want to finish before my mom gets here. She gets here in about a week. The project is still in pieces. Some of them have been sewn together, but some of them have not. It still counts as being in pieces.

And then I want to clean the house before my mom gets here (it's really embarrassing for "guests" to see how we really live). This is something I would normally do over the weekend, but this weekend also happens to be one of the only weekends for us to go tailgating in SoCal. So, we're tailgating in SoCal. There will be no cleaning of the house this weekend.

On top of all this, I am still grasping onto my books. Yes, I must read. I need something to occupy my mental hamster. It's too bad I'm struggling with the book. So now I'm reading two.

This makes no sense. But, sometimes, this is how I roll through the mess. Burn the candle at both its proverbial ends.

Seattle in September

2010-10-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, Seth and I were in my favorite city-to-visit, Seattle, Washington. We were there for a wedding, and unfortunately couldn't stay for very long because of my work schedule. However, we made the most of it, and enjoyed our weekend in the Pacific Northwest.

One of the most memorable parts of our trip was the dinner we had on our first night. Thanks to a last minute recommendation we headed to The Kingfish Cafe for some Southern food. I will admit that we were starving, but I have had plenty of unsatisfying meals while hungry. This dinner was de-li-cious! Seth got the gumbo and I got the buttermilk fried chicken. They were both yummy, and the chicken was cooked perfectly. Then there were the mashed potatoes and collard greens. Yum.

After dinner we had the red velvet cake (at the recommendation of our server). This cake was amazing. This extremely large piece of cake was served on a dinner plate, with three dollops of whipped cream, strawberries, and drizzled in some sort of butterscotch heaven. The cream cheese frosting was divine. Seriously, if you're in Seattle, look this place up. The atmosphere was relaxed and hip, and it's not a touristy spot. And save room for the cake.

Oops, almost forgot about the rest of the trip. On a beautiful and sunny Saturday we walked down to Pike Place Market and stumbled upon the Artisan Food Festival and a wine and beer garden. Then we traipsed over to the Fox Sports Grill in time to see UCLA hook those Horns. Sunday ended up being totally overcast, but we walked to the International District for dim sum at Honey Court; stood outside of Qwest Field and debated trying to get tickets and watch Seahawks vs. Chargers; and took the Seattle Underground Tour.

All of a sudden it was time to go back to the Bay. And I didn't even get to drag Seth to Forks.

My Grandma. In Her White Car.

2010-09-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my dear friend, author of the Footprints blog, shared a story about the car her dad drove. This immediately reminded me of my most embarrassing moment with my grandma, and this is something Mrs. S. wants me to share.

My story also involves an oh-so-shame car.

Let me start with this: my grandma is freaking awesome. She is one of the nicest, kindest, most generous people I have ever known. My grandma epitomizes the word, "grandma." From elementary through the early parts of high school, she picked us up from school everyday in her white 1960s Plymouth.

The embarrassing moment came on one of those days, in that car.

So the car was this huge, white, 1960s American behemoth. As a kid, it was embarrassing because it was so old. On top of that, my grandma drove extremely slow (she got her license late in life, after my grandpa's incapacitating stroke, and she never drove on the freeways). I always felt bad for the people behind us. Of course, my grandma was oblivious.

Then one day, someone did something that made her mad, and out the window she yelled, "DAAAMMNN YOU!!!" She may have shaken her fist out the window.

Are you sinking down a little in your chair for me? Maybe covering your eyes? I know I did. After all, she was driving so slow that you could see all the people on the sidewalks turn and look.

Can you even imagine my sweet grandma bellowing those words out the window of her car? Well, she did.

Come On People

2010-09-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

There are days when all I can do is roll my eyes, sigh and angrily grumble, "People suck." Unfortunately, it feels like these days happen on a much-too-frequent basis.

Yesterday was a "People Suck Day" after I read a high school friend's status update on Facebook. Some people broke into her grandma's house and robbed it. Included among the stolen items was the urn containing her grandpa's ashes; which also happens to be the one and only thing they want back. Their story is making it's way through the news reports in Hawaii, and hopefully the thieves see the story and the message sinks in. Just give back the ashes and the urn.

It is awful enough to be robbed. Not only are you missing things of value, you are left with a tumbling mass of helpless frustration, anger and emptiness. It would be infinitely worse to have something of such great sentimental value stolen. People really need to start thinking about other people and how they would feel if the roles were reversed.

Mindy Metivier Photography

2010-09-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

My sister posted her first blog last week, and I neglected to mention it. I blame it on a hectic work schedule (we were in week-before-event-mode) and a throw quilt project that I had to finish in time for a September 25 wedding. Excuses, excuses, I know.

At any rate, the Mindy Metivier blog is running, so please check it out. She is posting some of her work, as well as telling you a little bit about herself. What I like best is that her blog is so Mindy. From her "!!!" (she is enthusiastic and dedicated) to her post about her prior life as a teacher, you truly get to know my sister.

She is doing what I think we all want to do &mdash work that we love. And Mindy undoubtedly loves babies, kids and photography.

And It Only Took 42 Hours

2010-09-24T01:16:00.000-07:00

Truly, I have embraced the art of "just-in-time" manufacturing when it comes to making quilts for wedding gifts. This particular quilt is for a wedding in Seattle, and let's just say it's very soon. It took about 42 hours, but I finished.

Just in time.

This is actually the first time I have ever timed myself making a throw-size quilt. I am still a little amazed at the amount of time it took. There were some glitches along the way, but the big one occurred when I struggled with quilting the border. If only I had figured that out sooner, I would have finished this last night. After trying variations of circles and then hearts, I finally settled on making leaf-like shapes using a circle template. Since most of the fabric patterns contain plants or flowers, I felt like a leaf or vine motif would complement this best.

Since the quilting was all done by hand, I had to draw directly on the fabric with a disappearing ink pen. On the purple border I tried out the white marking pen by Clover (the ink disappears when you iron the fabric). It was a bit pricey at $6.99, but with a 40% off coupon from JoAnn, it was a great investment. The pen worked out well--the ink did not rub off, and it disappeared just fine with the use of my iron.

All-in-all, I am pretty happy with this project. Which is pretty amazing considering that I was very worried when I cut the squares. I was not pleased with my fabric selections (the black background fabric had more green in it when cut down to a 6 1/2" square). I am still not loving the fabric, but basting the quilt top with the batting and backing went well, and because of that, so did the hand-quilting. The basting and quilting are what I am most satisfied with...well, other than finishing it.

By the way, the wedding colors are green and purple, so that explains the color scheme. The fabric came from The Cotton Patch in Lafayette, JoAnn stores in the Bay Area and Bolt's End in Castro Valley.

So What's the Penalty? Excessive Blocking.

2010-09-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For three months I sat on my library's wait list for Michael Lewis' The Blind Side. To say it was "worth the wait" does not sufficiently describe how I feel about this book.

It is one of the best sports-related books I have ever read, and I am quite dazed by Mr. Lewis. My first thought while reading this was that any football fan should read it. But now that I am done with the book, I think everyone should read it.

For football fans, Mr. Lewis did the incredible job of researching and telling readers about the "Evolution of a Game" (the book's tagline). His story takes you through the changes football went through during the 1980s, and the arrival of Lawrence Taylor, a linebacker for the New York Giants. Mr. Lewis ties his historical analysis to the personal story of Michael Oher.

For me, it was magic. I have always been a fan of football and the passing game. While watching the University of Hawaii as a child, I could never understand why they would ever run the ball. Maybe UH had a poor running game; I do not really remember. What I remember is Garrett Gabriel, the UH quarterback who led them to a win--a win after a 15-year drought--over then-arch-rival, BYU in 1989.

Garrett Gabriel could throw the ball, and he was a hero in Hawaii for beating BYU, so I grew up on the passing game. What a shock it was for me, 21 years after that win, to read that not only was the pass an illegal play until 1906, but a bias against the pass lasted through the 1960s.

Intermixed with all the football history is Michael Oher's amazing story. It was so amazing, that I will seek out a Baltimore Ravens game this season, just to see this man play in his second NFL season. It was so amazing, that I think anyone who has seen the movie, should read also read the book. Michael Oher, and his Tuohy family are the kind of people that give you hope for people and for this country. Times may be bad, and there maybe a lot of negativity in this world, but it all gets a little brighter when you read The Blind Side.

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Car Watch 2010: Two Weeks, Post-Fax

2010-09-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Oh look, it's been two whole seeks since I complained about my wretched car.

Today is not about complaints. It is about updates. On Friday, September 10, Ms. H. (the woman from the Western Region Consumer Affairs department) left me a message at home. Since I picked up the message after 4:00 p.m. (she works from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), I had to wait until today to call her.

I'll admit it. There was a little bit of hope in my fingers as I dialed the phone today. Those miniscule molecules were easily squashed when Ms. H. answered. She just had questions for me because she wasn't clear on what was going on with my case.

Huh?

I thought I was pretty clear in the letter I sent to them. The short version of it is that I seek a "goodwill" gesture from the corporate office and seek repayment for the cost of the condenser and crankshaft sensor repair work. Of course these questions made me a little incensed, so I proceeded to explain everything to her that has occurred since March.

Ms. H. could not get me off the phone quick enough.

She did apologize for the slow process. That was nice of her. Then she said she needed to speak with the district manager about my case and said she would call me back.

I was so close. It felt pretty hopeless at that point.

Amazingly, she called me back right away. It may have taken her less than an hour. I have been offered partial compensation.

It's better than nothing.

It will take four to six weeks.

It's better than nothing.

Happy Birthday

2010-09-10T22:29:00.001-07:00

Today is Seth's birthday! Two or three years ago I decided to start making him breakfast on his birthday (I am not a morning person, so breakfast in this house is an every-man-for-himself kind of meal). So far he has had muffins and pancakes, but I decided to make something a little more involved this year because we were not going to be having birthday dinner together. This year's birthday breakfast was sticky buns.

And what a baking adventure it was. First, I had to warm buttermilk in order to get the dough to properly, and this required the use of an instant-read thermometer. This happens to be a cooking tool I do not have. Nor have I ever warmed buttermilk on the stove. It was a little weird because the buttermilk started to separate and I had no idea if things were going right. Still, I plodded along.

Then I realized the dough had to rise for two to two and one-half hours. It was already after 9:30 p.m.

Before I knew it, the clock was closing in on 1:00 a.m. I have never rolled dough before, and it was a little difficult. I also used too much flour on the counter, so it was tough to pinch the rolled dough closed.

I woke up at 6:00 a.m. to take the unbaked dough out of the fridge and let it rise. Unfortunately, I did not follow my instinct and warm the oven at 200 degrees for 10 minutes so that the dough could properly rise. Let's just say I waited for an hour before finally realizing that I should have used the warm oven technique.

In the end, they came out pretty tasty, but the pecan topping was a little hard to eat after the buns cooled down. Frustrating time in the kitchen, but good practice. And I learned my lesson. Complicated birthday baking should only be done on the weekends. Otherwise it's muffins or pancakes for birthday breakfast!

Radiant Shadows

2010-09-09T23:49:00.000-07:00

Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For some reason I held off on reading Melissa Marr's Radiant Shadows. It was published in April, and I know I was really looking forward to it...I blame it on the huge pile of library books I had to get through. That and the fact that I have been trying to read outside of the Young Adult fiction genre once in awhile.

How silly of me to wait. I enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed the other books in the Wicked Lovely series. But, I need to say that I am always a little disappointed.

No, not because the writing is bad or the story is predictable. Rather it is because the main characters change with each book. I always want to know more about these characters, but by the time the next book comes around, the story changes focus onto someone else. So, while there is the disappointment, I do find myself really enjoying these "new" main characters.

Come to think of it, it is a really interesting way of writing a series. Lately I have not been into long book series, but it works for Wicked Lovely.

I'm really looking forward to February 11, 2011. Otherwise known as the scheduled release date for Darkest Mercy.

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Baked Manapua

2010-09-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

One of the things I miss about home is the food, and that includes manapua. Of course I can find manapua here in the mainland, but usually only at Dim Sum (and then it's called char siu bao).

Needless to say, I was pretty excited to see this recipe for baked manapua on the My Food Affair blog. It seemed manageable enough, so I tried it out tonight. Oh my goodness was it yummy. This is the first Chinese food I have made that actually tastes right.

As far as the recipe goes, I had a little bit of a hard time with the dough since it was so sticky. It probably should have been mixed more in the bowl...guess I am too used to using a food processor to make pizza dough. And then I had a little bit of a hard time with stuffing the char siu filling into the dough and making nice little bao. Tip for anyone else trying to make this recipe: don't worry too much about making the manapua perfect because the dough smooths out a bit when you let it rise for 30 minutes before putting it in the oven.

I did not know what is in an egg wash, so I checked the internet and found several examples. I used an egg wash of one egg yolk and one teaspoon of water; a mixture that I found on The Pie Maven blog. Finally, I was concerned about making the char siu tough/dry since it's already been cooked but the five minute saute was perfect and the filling turned out just fine.

I'm not posting this recipe, but you can find it on the My Food Affair blog.

Welcome Back College Football

2010-09-02T22:58:00.000-07:00

Today is September 2, 2010 and it's also the beginning of one of my favorite times of year: the college football season. To top it off, my team, the University of Hawaii, is playing on national TV. Then to top it off again, UH is playing the most competitive game I have ever seen them play against USC.

I am liking what I see of this UH team, and I hope Bryant Moniz stays healthy. He looks super quick and he's got a gun for an arm.

Go Bows!

And yes, I know they are the Warriors now, but they will always be the Bows to me, dressed in Kelly green.

For the Littlest Angels Baseball Fan I Know

2010-08-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

Here's another very late 1st birthday present for my college friend's daughter. This happens to be a big baseball family--my friend, Mrs. G. is an Angels fan, while her husband, Mr. G., is a Dodger fan. I do have fabric for both teams, but since I love the Angels, their daughter gets an Angels blanket. Sorry Mr. G.

The pattern is a Single Irish Chain Block, with four-inch blocks. It's pretty easy and quick to make.

The Car

2010-08-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

On Saturday my car went back to the dealership to have its crankshaft sensor replaced. They took care of the work in just over half-a-day, so I got my car back on the same day.

It is driving better; and by "better" I mean that the rough idle has lessened (although it still does not idle as smoothly when the AC is running). So far there have been no points where the idle runs low to the point of stalling. Unfortunately I am still scared that my car will stall, and I experience slight moments of panic whenever I am turning in an intersection. I am also maniacally turning down the radio to listen for any hissing noises coming from the AC.

There is no update on anything from the car company's Consumer Affairs department. I called them back as instructed now that the crankshaft sensor work has been completed, and they asked me to go through the same process of submitting paperwork. However, they are not sure if they received the fax I sent on the morning of Friday, August 27. Ugh.