Last year's resolutions

Taking a look at last year's resolutions, here's how the year went down...

This year I would like to:

• Try out a new restaurant once a month: not so consistent each month but we did try some new places this year
• Visit a new continent:  We explored Europe (London and Paris) this past spring
• Write a letter each month to a friend/family member: uh do emails count?
• Seek out more creative outlets: Started a vintage pop up shop with two of my favorite gal friends
  
• Acquire items I truly love and value, not just because it's on sale: still working on this!  It's difficult to say no to Pyrex :)

And for this blog:

• Improve quality of pictures: Got a new camera, but unfortunately photography skills can't be bought!
• Begin writing travel guides: Putting this on the list for next year!

We will be back to our regular programming...

Sorry for the lack of posts--we've been enjoying our holiday break with friends, family, and general lazing around.  Will be back next week with many vintage treasure discoveries from Missouri!

Vintage Monday: Finel enamel bowl

BK picked out this Finel enamel bowl from my etsy wish list as a surprise for my birthday.  I love the cheery yellow flower print!

Happy holidays!

Safe travels

And happy holidays!

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: For Him

Clockwise:
Whiskey stones - these help chill your drink without watering it down
Yumnuts - honey cashews make the perfect snack!
Bose Soundlink - a wireless mobile speaker that BK assures me all guys *must* have
Chipotle giftcard - self explanatory

Birthday flowers

Enjoying these lovely flowers, good food, snuggly puppies and bossing BK around today!

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: For babies and kiddos

Clockwise:
Elephant growth chart by giraffesnstuff
Owl family mobile by petitcollage
Tea set by Plan Toys
Security blankets at Land of Nod

Happy Birthday Link!

Link is 7 today!

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: For Her

If you're still looking (and if you're a guy, you've probably only just begun), here are some great gifts for any female on your list!

Clockwise:
Odette arrow cuff - perfection!
Nuxe hand cream - I'm not usually a hand cream fan but this scent is just gorgeous!
Ugg Dakota slippers - heaven in a shoe
Swissco tortoise comb - perfect size to keep in a purse for a quick touch up!

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Home Edition

Some wonderful gift ideas to brighten up your home!

Clockwise:
Tea towel calendar from Cicadastudio - I have one from last year and adore it!
JOY little house village from thelittlereddoor - they also do custom orders for family names and such
Fox cushion from Robinandmould - I have the adorable puppy one and this is next on my list!
Slice of bread board with spreader by newberry - cute board made of white oak, perfect for scones and clotted cream or your favorite cheese

2012 Mini Desk Calendar

These mini desk calendars make great gifts for coworkers.  I give them out every year and everyone seems to like and use them a lot.  Etsy has many wonderful sellers that you can buy them from, prepackaged and ready to go.  Or if you love to DIY, you can purchase templates, print them out and assemble them yourself. 

The template I used this year (and last) is from Lemonade Paperie--I love the little graphics and attention to detail (like the flag on the 4th of July and the four leaf clover on St. Patrick's!)

Williams Sonoma Chocolate Croissants

Amazing gift idea alert!  I wrote about these croissants in my previous holiday gift guide and now I can happily say that I've sampled it and can give it my 100% recommendation!

It all began when I got home from work and BK asked if I had ordered a package that contained dry ice.  Now the UPS man is no stranger to our house, but I think I'd distinctly remember ordering something requiring dry ice.  So what a happy surprise we had when we opened it to find a sweet anniversary note from BK's sister and these amazing chocolate croissants from Williams Sonoma!

We quickly rushed them to the freezer to keep and then this weekend, took some out overnight to let them rise at room temperature.  The next morning, they baked for 20 minutes and our whole house smelled like a French bakery!  The chocolate is dark and delicious and the pastry is so flaky and rich.  It seriously rivals the pain au chocolat we've had in Paris and St Martin!

So thank you Lisa, for your thoughtful gift.  This is the perfect gift to impress foodies, friends, family, your boss, or your favorite person! 

7 years and counting

Seven years ago, we were surrounded by family and friends, laughing and crying
through our vows, and enjoying the best chocolate cake.  Happy anniversary BK!

Starlings

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

This is pretty incredible.  Not super cute like the owl video, but it's still pretty amazing!
The goodness starts at 0:25

2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Food Edition

These are sure to be a hit for your favorite foodie and also make a good hostess gift for the many holiday parties you'll be attending.  I'm putting these at the top of my list for Santa this year!

Clockwise:
Chocolate Croissants from Williams Sonoma
Pistachio and Almond Nougat
Dulce de Leche Alfajores from Dulce Caramel Co.
Foodzie Artisian Beef Jerky Tasting Box

Thanksgiving holiday recap

Lots of good food

Turkey Olympics with family

And more good food

Hope you had a great weekend!

Your cuteness for the day

Best video ever!  Of course owls shouldn't be pets but I just want to pet one!!!

Favorite Friday Recipe: BBQ Pork (Char Siew)

BBQ Pork (also known as Char Siew) is one of my all time favorites.  It's great on its own, in fried rice or noodles and in baked or steamed buns.  We are lucky to have a local Chinese restaurant that makes amazing char siew, but lately B has been itching to try out a recipe using his grill.  He found this great one on Rasa Malaysia and followed it to a T.  I was out of town when B was at the Asian Market getting all the ingredients which ended up being funny because I told him to just get a jar of "char siew" sauce (they have it prepacked and you just add a bit of honey and more spices to your taste).  Instead, I came home and saw all these bottles on the kitchen counter!  Still, the homemade sauce was great.  We're trying to figure out how and where to buy the best pork (the fat/meat ratio has to be just right) but otherwise I think we've got a good thing going here.  More practice to come!

Wishlist Wednesday: Holiday Cards

It's that time of the year to pick out holiday cards!  Here are some of my etsy favorites:

Clockwise: Rudolph the Dachshund; They Don't Like Your Gift; Gingerbread Man; Tessellated Pine

And probably my favorite of all:  Rudolph in a Blizzard

Vintage Monday: Modern Star bowls

Found more Modern Star bowls to add to my collection!  Perfect for dessert or snacks and the upcoming holiday season!

Favorite Friday Recipe: Fried noodles

Fried noodles can probably be more commonly found in Asia than fried rice.  Taking advantage of my mom's visit, I badgered her into making some of my favorite dishes so I could study and learn from her.  Unfortunately my mom isn't into exact ingredients and measuring (like mother like daughter) so I'd turn around and she was throwing in yet another ingredient in an unmeasured quantity into the wok.  It all works though, just like fried rice, where you rummage in your fridge for ingredients and come up with a scrumptious one pot meal.  Here are the directions as best as I can remember them--remember, half the fun is in winging it! :)

Chinese fried noodles

Ingredients:

• Noodles (I prefer Hong Kong style noodles, either frozen or packaged)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
  
• Meat such as shrimp, chicken,  pork or tofu
• Half a head of small cabbage, shredded
• 3-4 carrots, peeled and cut into matchstick pieces
• Lots of beansprouts (absolutely necessary in my opinion)
• Sliced mushrooms
• 3-4 green/spring onions, cut into 2 inch pieces
• Dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt

Directions:

• Boil water and place noodles in there for a few minutes, then rinse in cold water while awaiting frying
• Put oil in your wok and fry garlic till fragrant
• Add your choice of meat and cook till almost done
• Add in carrots and cabbage
• At this point, add in some oyster sauce to taste
• Bean sprouts and mushrooms go in next
• When vegetables are about done, add in noodles and get your arm workout of the day mixing it all up
• Spring/green onions go in last 
• Then add dark soy sauce (2 parts) to soy sauce (1 part) to sesame oil (1/2 a part).  Add salt as well.  Keep adding until you like what you taste and you're done!

Wishlist Wednesday: Baby Giraffe

How could you resist this little fella?

Vintage Monday: Linen folk print tablecloth

Picked up this brightly colored tablecloth while in Cincinnati.  Love the primary colors and the folk print makes me laugh.  I want B to help me reenact the couple holding the pot full of flowers.  We just have to find a willing rooster next...

Favorite Friday Recipe: Tuna burger

Like canceled tv shows, B and I seem to have a talent for choosing favorite restaurants that then close (also friends that will eventually move out of town so if you're a friend of ours right now, watch out!).  Fuegos (RIP) was one of B's favorite California-Mexican restaurants and their best item was their tuna burger.  Recently, we tried to recreate it, and with surprising success!  It was pretty simple to put together--B grilled the tuna steak, and then we added it to a bun topped with tomatoes and spourts.  The secret ingredient is fresh tarter sauce spiked with some freshly chopped jalapenos.  Enjoy!

Wishlist Wednesday: Blue birds

Via etsy: (clockwise) 

Wool felt blue bird

Porcelain pair of bluebirds

Baby blue crochet bird

Stuffed blue bird

Vintage Monday: McCoy planter

Picked up this little McCoy planter at an estate sale a few weeks ago.  This is my favorite shade of green, can't wait to get a little yellow flower for it.  Pansies maybe?

on a break...

We've got family in town this week so I'll be taking a little blogging break.  Lots of baking, cooking, shopping, watching movies and puppy kisses to catch up on!

Vintage Monday: Zebra sequin top

Sorry about the late Vintage Monday!  Here's one of my favorite pieces we sold at the shop this past weekend.  It was found by Sydney in the great Midwest and is such a special vintage piece!

Austin Restaurant Week: Uchiko

Here are some belated pictures from a delicious meal at Uchiko during Austin Restaurant Week.  You can check out the menu here.  Suz and I shared two appetizers, chose the same main course and then had two amazingly decadent desserts. Two must have items that I highly recommend: the crispy brussels sprouts and sweet corn dessert!

Wishlist Wednesday: Penguin sweaters

I really wish I knew how to knit!!  A current oil spill in New Zealand has affected the blue penguin population and rather than traumatizing the penguins more by scrubbing and cleaning them immediately, the rescuers are putting little wool sweaters on them so they won't try to groom themselves and inadvertently swallow the toxic oil.  Skeinz yarn has provided detailed instructions and a mailing address where you can send the sweaters to be used in the rescue effort. We had the opportunity to see the little blue penguins during our visit to Phillip Island in Australia and I hope that this mess can get cleaned up quickly and that these little penguins stay warm in their wool sweaters!

Original story and picture here

Vintage Monday: Pyrex jars

Reason #572 why I love Pyrex: their jars are perfect for storing your favorite treats!

Tasting menu at Perilla NYC

Sorry for the lag in blog posts, I'm currently in Cinci-tucky visiting family.  Thought I'd post some belated pictures of one of the highlights of my NYC trip last month--dinner at Perilla.  I had a wonderful time with my hosts as we sampled the delicious seven course tasting menu. 

I missed the first two dishes because we were too busy raving over them  (both seafood dishes).  Then came:

Sweetbreads (even if you fry them, they're still sweetbreads)

My favorite dish: fresh ravioli in brocolli cream sauce with shaved truffles.
I LOVE truffles and have never had such large pieces of them before--heaven!
(sorry this didn't photograph well, but look at the size of the shaved truffles!)

Duck breast with pate (this was so rich and decadent)

Served along with a duck meatball for some duck overload goodness!

At this point, our palatte cleanser, which was a refreshing sherbert with lemon curd

could have been our dessert and I would have been perfectly happy

But of course, dessert was presented and we enjoyed a minature version of

Perilla's famous chocolate souffle along with coffee cream and a freshly baked hazelnut biscotti

Delicious food and wonderful company made for a memorable evening.  Thank you Tara and Chad!