Monday, August 24, 2009

The Space Between Magical Parties and Bread Crumbs

This is where I live.

In the Space Between Magical Parties and Bread Crumbs.
In other words, the space where I look at other people's magical parties with perpetual grass and sunshine and crystal bottles tied with ribbon and cupcakes too perfect to actually eat...
...and the space where I lose my mind over bread crumbs on the floor.
I found myself there this weekend, as I was blog stalking and wistfully transporting myself to a beautiful outdoor family party I was reading about. Everyone was smiling and wearing perfect summer sundresses or polo shirts and drinking from mismatched cups filled with sparkling, fresh-squeezed lemonade. It was that quirky but perfect blend of party, and I wanted to be there.
Instead, I was sick, and I needed to get up and make lunch for an irritable one year old.
So I closed the screen and went into the kitchen and they there were.
The bread crumbs.
From what?
Who did it?
How long have they been there?
I have NO idea.
All I knew was that the last thing I wanted to do right that moment, after just leaving such a wonderful cyber-party, was get down on my hands and knees and clean up bread crumbs.
Normally, I probably would have huffed and puffed and said loudly, to no one but really directly to SOMEONE, "Who didn't clean up their bread crumbs?"
Instead, I made lunch for the A-girl and ignored the bread crumbs, stepping over them multiple times in trips from the fridge to the counter.
I even mistached her sippy cup and lid for a little bit of that quirky party feeling.
And, what do you know? Later on that evening, without so much as a peep of complaining from me, the magical bread crumb cleaning elf had swiped them away.
So that is where I am going to live from now on.
The place where
I don't lose it over bread crumbs
And knowing after that quirky, perfect, candlelit party, someone over at that house probably had bread crumbs to clean up, too.

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Monday, August 17, 2009

A-girl's Room



Here it is- the A-girl's room!
The little sign hanging from the doorknob says, "A-girl...friendly, smart, creative."


Flower decals and a letter A above her crib.



Apparently we like the letter A! Here's a huge "A" from Nana, and the ones on her dresser are book ends. We just need to find her books- they're packed away somewhere!


Large window in the room and her changing table- a converted bookcase that Papa rigged with a changing pad.


Changing table with sign above it that reads, "A baby fills a place in your heart that you never know was empty."
Now that the basics are set in her room, I'm working on a toy chest and a reading corner.
And here's a picture of the little lady last week at the Angels game. Can you tell Daddy dressed his little Angels baby?

Coming next- the kitchen. Minty green goodness.

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BBQ Pork Recipe Deliciousness!!!

I'm no Julia Child.
(Even though I now love her after seeing "Julie and Julia." Before I just thought she was a crazy old bat. Now I can see the determined, vivacious, talented woman that she was.)
I do have to admit that the BBQ pork that I made last week and subsequently enjoyed ALL weekend was pretty fabulous.
And easy.
Seriously easy.
And cheap.
Honestly cheap.
So here is the recipe, and my fav variations.
Try it, and let me know what you think.

Shredded BBQ Pork
4-5lb. Pork Roast- I found a 5 lb. pork roast at Stater’s for $6!
12-18 oz. jar BBQ sauce (your fav)
12 oz can Coke
Place all ingredients in slow cooker on high for 9 hours.

This can become a hundred delicious meals!

And now for my Round 2 Recipe
(how Sandra Lee am I right now? “Can I tell you?”)

BBQ Pork Quesadillas
Shredded BBQ pork- can be warm or cold
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Can of corn- drained
Green onions or red onions- chopped
Cilantro- chopped
Tortillas (we use whole wheat)
Mix shredded BBQ pork (enough for as many quesadillas as you’re making- eyeball it) with corn and onions. Butter each tortilla on one side AND spray pan with non-stick cooking spray. Turn heat on medium-high and wait to place down the first tortilla until the pan is warm-hot. Place tortilla buttered side down. Immediately top with a layer of cheese, a layer of BBQ pork mixture, a light sprinkling of cilantro, another layer of cheese, and the second tortilla, buttered side up. SECRET: Place the LID on the pan! I know this seems weird, but solves my main quesadilla issue: the bottom tortilla burns before the cheese has melted and it’s ready to flip. By placing the lid on, it heats up the insides of the quesadilla and everything sticks together when you flip it. Once the bottom quesadilla has a nice brown to it and the inside cheese is melting (about 1-3 minutes), flip it carefully. You can replace the lid for the last minute or two of cooking, but it’s not necessary.
I let the quesadilla rest for a minute (usually while I prep the next one) and after it’s slightly cooled and the cheese is not oozing, I slice it with a pizza cutter into quarters of sixths. Serve with sour cream or ranch dressing mixed with a bit of BBQ sauce for dipping, and/or avocados or guacamole- sliced or mushed on top.

Round 3 Recipe
(Which is really just the Round 2 recipe with a pita instead of a tortilla, but humor me.)
BBQ Pulled Pork
Green Onions- chopped
Cilantro- chopped
Ranch Dressing
BBQ Sauce
Romaine Lettuce- shredded
Shredded Cheese- we use Monterey Jack
Your favorite pita bread- we can’t get enough of the pitas from the Laguna Hills Friday Farmer’s Market. They are yummy and soft and perfection.
Mix BBQ Pork with green onions and cilantro. Warm pitas in the microwave until hot, then fold like a taco. After they’ve cooled and held their taco shape, fill each pita with BBQ pork, shredded cheese, and romaine. Mix together equal amounts ranch dressing and BBQ sauce, and drizzle onto lettuce-cheese-pork mixture. Fold pita and ENJOY! This is probably my favorite of the recipes, and so easy.

This is a great basic staple that fed my family for DAYS without getting bored. Hope you enjoy!

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Monday, August 10, 2009

Master Bedroom!!!

Rather than dilute you with pictures of the new condo, I thought' I'd take it room by room.

)This may or may not have anything to do with the fact that we are SLOW at finishing projects, and we've barely done anything beyond get most of our stuff out. There are still a few cardboard boxes laying around that need some loving, unidvided attention, which I'm running short on these days.)
And I promise to not wait until each room is finished to post.
We start with...
(imaginary drum roll...)
... the Master Bedroom!
Finishing this room first was a big deal to me. In the old condo, we shared a room with A-girl, and as much as we love her, it was time for her to have her own room a long while ago. So we made the decision to focus on creating an oasis for us.
We bought our first set of real, grown-up bedroom furniture- so exciting! No more metal bedframe! Even though I liked the light khaki color in the room before we moved in, I decided that we would paint the room to make it totally and completely our own. As you'll see below, it's a medium tan with a dark brown chestnut accent wall behind the bed. Our linens are brown and light blue, and the curtains are a billowy, light blue as well. I like a little light to come in and greet me in the morning, so I didn't want anything too heavy on the windows. I know this is a silly small detail, but I LOVE the curtain rods! Not sure if it translates in the picture, but they have beautiful crystal balls on the ends of them, called Crystal Pumpkins. Reminds me of Cinderella.
The room also has a small alcove opposite the bed, just large enough for our old family room couch and a dresser, which right now holds nothing more than our computers! I think someday the alcove space will make a nice little nursery (but not for a LONG while!)
Hope you enjoy!


And a little taste of what's to come...
A Green Kitchen (I'm not a fan of the color- too minty!)
Large Family Room with pass-through to the kitchen
A-girl's PINK room
Our Angels-themed guest bathroom
More soon!!!

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Friday, August 7, 2009

Right now, I'm...

...watching my husband through our new pass-through between the family room and kitchen as he does dishes.
AND promising myself (and you all!) that I'm going to search for the camera cord so I can download all the pics I took of our new casa and share.
Stay tuned... and be excited!

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