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January 31, 2008
Hmm..
What on Earth would a die hard Jets fan be doing with a hunk of Patriots fabric on the eve of the Super Bowl?
Guess you'll just have to stick around and find out...
Posted by Sarah at 10:01 PM | Comments (4)
January 28, 2008
Getting Busy with SteveKam
No, you dirty birds! I am not going to blog about that kind of getting busy*! Well, not today anyway...
SteveKam the HandyMan recently finished a remodel of his half bath...
Firstly... this guy decides on the two-tone green stripe for the walls all on his own. Isn't it beautiful?? I am honestly shocked by his good taste. (It's not something I am used to in a man. But, I am growing accustomed - and fast!)
Also... note the lovely hardwood floor... yep, he installed that himself. And that ain't Pergo, friends! Such talent.
When he had these items finished up, he started looking for a cabinet and sink top for the wee terlit parlor. He enlisted my help and we set off to Home Depot. Well - we were out of luck. Everything was pretty ugly. There was one cabinet that was appealing and they were out of stock. It was a white little cabinet with wainscotting on the sides and the doors. It seemed kind of "beach cottagey" to me, which I thought would look really smart against those green striped walls.
We looked at Lowe's. We looked online. But, you know... I really thought he would be missing out on something without that little white cabinet. So, I made a very Sarah suggestion. "Couldn't you just make one?" Wouldn't you know it? He could make one!
This looks JUST like the one we saw, only a million times nicer because it is handmade.
Then, on to the sink top! Back to Home Depot.... Lowes.... nothing! It's a very teeny little bathroom, so the cabinet had to be small... so subsequently, the sink top had to be small. Not too easy to find. So, I queried, "Couldn't we just make one?" :) I had just finished that mosaic table, so I was in the mood - and he went for my kooky idea! We hunted high and low and found tiny little river rocks and he built the top and mortared away and grouted the rocks onto the top (they were already attached to mesh, so that made the whole process a lot easier). He bought a round sink and a perty little faucet and a mirror and a new light fixture... and....
I mean... this could be in an issue of Martha Stewart Living! For reals!
VOILA!
My man is one crafty bitch. :)
*There is another reason why the term "getting busy" makes me giggle. It's what SteveKam says to Kyra when he is coaxing her to poop when he takes her for a walk. "Come on Kyra! Get busy!" Hee hee hee hee hee.
Posted by Sarah at 9:23 PM | Comments (8)
January 27, 2008
The Barefoot Scissorina
I awoke yesterday with an inexplicable desire to spend the entire day in my kitchen. I had originally planned to sew a few items up for my new (yet to be opened) Etsy shop, but there was no denying my urge to try out some recipes from one of the cookbooks I received for Christmas... Barefoot Contessa at Home! I told SteveKam to plan on coming to my place that night for dinner and I set out to plan my menu.
I've been dying to make some bread and just haven't gotten around to it yet this Winter. (The smell of fresh baked bread rivals that of the finest French perfume - my personal opinion...) SO, when I saw there was a recipe for a simple, honey white bread in the BC cookbook, I immediately decided it would be a good warm up.
I made 2 loaves and they came out deeeeeelish! SteveKam took one home with him.
Next up? Time to placate my sweet tooth. I went with Ina's recipe for Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars. (The entire time I worked on these, I was singing "it's peanut butter jelly bars! peanut butter jelly bars!". Who could resist?) The dough for these was irresistible even before making it to the oven. Soooo yummy. The finished product was quite tasty! One change I will make next time (because you know there will be a next time, bitches!) will be to contain the jelly a little bit. Because I spread across the entire bottom layer of dough, it bubbled out the sides and hardened up. Easily fixed after the fact - just trim it back like you are cutting off the crusts! But, I'm always up for improvement....
We haunch-haunch-haunched these down after dinner! Time for Sarah to get a gym membership...
Next up? Dinnertime! I went with "Eli's Asian Salmon" and "Broccoli Rabe & Garlic" (there was no broccoli rabe at the market, so I went with plain ol broccoli). I also fixed up a blend of basmati, brown and wild rice... The result?
I love the way the salmon was cooked - panko crusted and then roasted in the oven at 500 degrees! It came out so moist - perfectly cooked. However, SteveKam and I found the panko topping (soaked in a soy based marinade) a bit too strong and salty. We both ultimately scraped off 75% of the topping - a lesson for next time! The broccoli & garlic and the rice (which I infused with toasted sesame oil) both came out perfecto!
So, after a successful day in Cucina de Scissorina, it's time to break out the sewing machine and get back to work. :) I love weekends.
Posted by Sarah at 11:21 AM | Comments (3)
January 24, 2008
Good Times
The gang threw Danny Boy a surprise party last weekend to celebrate his 40th bday :) Of course, I snapped some pics. Good times.
Posted by Sarah at 12:46 PM | Comments (3)
January 16, 2008
Mustache Misgivings
So, my buddy Lauren celebrated her 30th birthday last week. In honor of this spectacular occasion, we gathered at her fab pad for pizza and some gal gab.
The hot topic of the evening? Mustaches.
Query: Does having a mustache mean that you are a child molester?
An amazing percentage of the party guests immediately agreed that mustache = molester. After an evening of lively discussion, we realized that the following familiar characters pose a serious threat to our nation's children:
We also agreed that the following people are exceptions to this rule: Burt Reynolds, Magnum P.I. (please note that we said Magnum P.I. - we make no such claim on Tom Selleck's behalf), and The Swedish Chef.
Lauren's decided to go undercover to investigate. Think she'll pass?
To present a balanced argument, I encourage you to visit this informational website.
Posted by Sarah at 7:46 PM | Comments (0)
January 2, 2008
What's a Vacation?
I don't think I know anymore.
SteveKam and I headed to sunny Florida to celebrate Ecksmas with his folks, then mine. We decided to drive down to save some bucks and as an added bonus, we got to bring little Kyra dog. :) The trip held such promise...
It started out really well... (I am now convinced this will be my epitaph.)
Traffic was ugly. Real ugly. But, we kept our chins up and chugged down 95 like champs.
There are many little stories from this trip that I could regale you all with. But, they all (unfortunately) pale in comparison to the story of this trip. Lordy.
Basically, we got down to SteveKam's parents' house and spent a lovely day on the beach with Kyra:
And ended with a beauty of an evening in St. Augustine:
All seemed well in the world. Sunny skies, happy puppy.... Okay, so we had to spend the night in twin beds... Well, you can't have everything.
The thing is, we woke up the next morning (Ecksmas Eve, that is) and Kyra was limping a little bit. It was pretty slight, so we chalked it up to over exertion from puppy's first visit to the beach and loaded up the truck for our 2 hour drive to Melbourne Beach to see McFamily.
Kyra was very slow moving for the next day. By Ecksmas night, we could see it was something more than a twisted ankle. Her little leg had become swollen and she didn't want to leave her bed lest to do her business or head to the water bowl. :( We decided that we would take her to the vet in the morning.
Morning came... and now Kyra couldn't walk at all. In the car she went and SteveKam and I drove her to the nearby emergency animal hospital. Very scary stuff! We had to leave her at the hospital so they could put her on an IV and run a whole lot of tests.
Long story short (too late, I know), after a day at the hospital, Kyra was released to our care so we could drive home while awaiting the test results. She responded really well to the antibiotics they sent her home with, so she was moving around again - a biiiig relief.
The verdict? Immune mediated polyarthritis triggered by Lyme Disease. Completely treatable. The girl is back up on all fours and acting like the Kyra we know and heart.
Phew.
So... I will pose to you all the same query I aimed at my darling SteveKam. Why do all our vacations end with me crying in a hospital? Ugh.
On the bright side, we won't have this problem in 2008. I just spent the entire vacation fund saving my best friend. :)
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are enjoying the shiny new year!
I leave you with a festive photo of my hero, the ever patient professional shoulder, SteveKam.
Here's to 2008!
Posted by Sarah at 8:30 PM | Comments (7)