December 31st, 2011

I have been experimenting lately with oranges and canning. Here is a latest creation - blood orange sauce.

A new year! Project 365 - January 1st through January 8th

January 1st - We went to Ben and Rachel's house for NYE and Ben lit this off to celebrate at midnight.


January 2nd - My new very hot shoes I managed to get at a great price.


January 3rd - Our cards finally stopped coming in...thank you so much everyone for thinking of us.


January 4th - Our wonderful new shelves in the living room.


January 5th - Reorganizing all of the Christmas decor.


January 6th - Taking down my tree ornaments.


January 7th - Post pedicures and manicures with Danelle.


January 8th - After midnight at Heidi's birthday party and the booze is still flowing.


Robert trying to take a photo of me trying to take a photo of Ben trying to take a photo of the desktop taking shots every few seconds through out the night.

Project 365: November 21st through November 27th

November 21st: My livingroom...I wanted to show off my new amaryllis which I could not resist getting due to the awesome vase with pretty black rocks it came with. It will make a beautiful coffee table centerpiece this holiday season.


November 22nd: Autumn in Portland...and there is the Steel Bridge.


November 23rd: The night before Thanksgiving. I made my Dutch Apple pie (shown here) and lemon meringue while Patrick made his twin pumpkin pies.


November 24th: And our epic cook fest began with Heidi and Rob bringing over their pumpkin soup and a lovely bottle of Sangiovese. Here you see our cooking lists and the basket full of root veggies all set to start peeling and cutting.


And the spread...from left to right we made Green Beans with Bacon and Stone Ground Mustard Vinaigrette; Homemade Jellied Cranberry Sauce; Roasted Turkey; Mashed Rutabaga; Mashed Potatoes; Roasted Onions with Balsamic Glaze; Homestyle Dinner Rolls (from Scratch); Pepper, Onion and Cranberry Stuffing (two bowls - one cooked in turkey and one out); Spiced Sweet Potatoes and Yams Roasted with Orange and Pecans; Mashed Hubbard Squash; Roasted Carrots and Parsnips with Cumin; and Deep Fried Turkey (which for the record is quite tasty).


November 25th: The opening of Beaverton Civic Theater's presentation of Happy Hollandaise! What a fun evening - the play-write and Beaverton's Mayor were both in attendance. I also discovered a former co worker was one of the stars! It was lovely to catch up with the Mayor and Aaron!


November 26th: Dinner at Urban Fondue with my beautiful friend Katy. While allowing our dinners to settle we opted for The Wild Elderberry Martinis. They were amazing...


November 27th: Me and my friend Jenna ran over to the Love Craft Bar for their craft bazaar. I saw quite a few friends which was lovely. I also bought some wonderful essential oils for my hair and got a hand massage from my friend M. I did not even realize how tense my hands were until that goddess worked her usual magic.

November 10th, 2011 Lemon Ginger Marmalade

A few weeks ago I made some of my lemon ginger marmalade.


Skinning the lemons and being careful to avoid the pith.


Slicing up the zest.


Cutting the pith off the fruit and removing the seeds.


Cutting up the fruit.


Peeling the ginger.


And then cutting up the ginger.


Boiling the lemon and ginger.


Mmmmm marmalade...


Labeling the jars...

Project 365: November 14th through 20th

November 14th: I bought this watercolor in Seattle - it looks perfect on my dining room wall.


November 15th: Helping my friend Eva paint...her kitty loves me.


November 16th: Hanging out at the hotline writing out my grocery list for Thanksgiving.


November 17th: Picking up my fliers from the printer...finally....


November 18th: Me and Patrick at OMSI for the Bodyworlds and the Brain exhibit.


November 19th: Meeting with Hutch at the Bossanova to finalize my event plans.


November 20th: Mmmm my favorite - crumpets and jam...

October 15, 2011 The Portland Nursery Apple Festival

My husband and I made a trip to the Portland Nursery for their apple festival last month which I recommend to anyone! I make apple pie filling each year and can it for Thanksgiving and Christmas pies plus a few crisps along the way.

Project 365: October 7th through October 13th

October 7th: Neighborhood Association Meeting for the month...


October 8th: Making dinner which was cod with tomato caper salsa, salad and bake broccoli and zucchini with pine nuts and parmessan.


October 9th: Grocery shopping - Canning jars, lettuce, lemons, bell pepper, green onion, tomatoes and French Vinaigrette by Brianna's.


October 10th: Making Lemon Ginger Marmalade - isn't it pretty!!??


October 11th: Evil Dead the Musical in Seattle with Ben, Rachel, Alexis, Nick, Kevin, Kandice, Patrick, Heidi and Robert (the birthday boy!).


October 12th: Walking to dinner with Heidi and Rachel to the Pink Door.


October 24th: I came across this ivy in my Halloween decorations which I bought for a particular party at Joe's several years ago.