Midwest meets West! What a success!

This was a pretty spectacular weekend. Our Chicago nieces came out to California for the first time and met their West Coast counterparts. It was a whirlwind of giggles, screams, and ridiculous amounts of fun. Before we forget all the highlights, here are just a few of our favorite moments:


1. Endless amounts of kisses and hugs from our favorite girls
2. "Dads vs. Nieces" soccer smack down at the park
3. Learning how to make friendship bracelets again
4. Responding to endless shouts of "Aunt Mary! Aunt Mary!" from all locations

5. Watching cousins make fast friends at the pool
6. Nightly living room "dance parties" to Justin Bieber
7. Learning that one round of "twinkle, twinkle, little star" is the exact amount of time needed to secure a temporary tattoo

8. Singing rounds and rounds of "You are my sunshine"

9. Finding our missing Jenga piece inside Uncle B's guitar (thanks Kylie!)

10. Having the family all together in our backyard, grilling Italian sausages

Caprese salad

Tomatoes are starting to show up everywhere now and this has long been my favorite way to enjoy them. I don't think there's anything that says summer quite like a caprese. Simple and oh-so-delicious! The best part of course, is snacking on the ingredients while you assemble the salads. 


Caprese salad
A few lusciously ripe heirloom tomatoes
Fresh basil
A hunk of fresh buffalo mozzarella
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste


Slice the tomatoes and the cheese into rounds. Roll and slice the basil leave into ribbons (or tuck whole leaves between the cheese and tomato slices). Give a generous seasoning with salt and freshly cracked pepper and drizzle with the oil and vinegar. 

Snappy medicine cabinet makeover

"after"

We've been running around like crazy people trying to spruce our house up for this year's great family event: our Chicago nieces are meeting our California nieces for the first time at our house. It will probably be madness and mayhem -- but we just can't wait. 

It's funny the things you decide to take on before company comes over. Like redoing the medicine cabinet in our bathroom? Who would've guessed! But when I saw this idea at a local shop it just seemed to easy and too fun. A pretty piece of paper, some glue dots and voilà... cabinet transformed!

"before"

Bees, glorious bees!

B captured this amazing photo in our backyard this morning. I love the flower, but it's the pollen-laden bee that took my breath away. It's a great personal victory for him that the flowers have managed to get this tall. Usually the squirrels come by to snap their heads off one by one. Every. Single. Year.  But not this year. Woo hoo! It just warms my heart -- all the wonderful things he's planted to attract bees and hummingbirds... and we just love watching them flit about doing their thing. Here's to summer!

Sautéed Zucchini with Marjoram

Normally, I'm not a big fan of zucchini - though I always think it looks so tasty at the farmer's market. Last year we had a bumper crop of marjoram in our garden and I was looking for ways to use it when I stumbled upon this recipe in The Art of Simple Food. I'm now a zucchini convert! I think it's the combination of the herbs and the grating that make this recipe a keeper. If you have any leftover, this makes an excellent filling for omelets!

Sauteed Grated Zucchini with Marjoram

(serves 4)

Ingredients

1 pound zucchini (about 5 small squashes)

2 tablespoons olive oil or butter

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh marjoram leaves (or leaves and flowers)

1 garlic clove pounded to a purée

Rinse, dry and trim the ends of the zucchini. Grate them on the large holed grater and layer them into a mixing bowl, salting each layer lightly, and let stand for 20 minutes or so. (Gauge the salt by taste; the zucchini should taste highly seasoned but not salty). 

Drain the zucchini in a sieve or colander, squeezing tightly to remove as much liquid as possible. (I put the zucchini in the center of a clean tea towel, then gather up the edges and twist into a ball, squeezing out the liquid.)

Place a heavy-bottomed sauté pan on medium-high heat. when warm, add the olive oil or butter, and the drained zucchini. Sauté, tossing frequently until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. spread it out in the pan with a wooden spoon to help it brown. When the squash is cooked, take the pan off the heat and stir in the marjoram and garlic. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Stretching a new muscle

"Use it or lose it!" is a phrase I've been thinking about a lot lately. Beyond the usual ideas about health and fitness this saying conjures up, I think about it in terms of my whole life. Trying new things, learning new skills, encouraging the tiniest seeds of an idea are so important and so easy to forget when we're in our usual routines. 


That's why I'm so proud of Pepo. He's been nurturing his creative self slowly and steadily for awhile now - dabbling in acrylics, oil painting and even water colors. Personally, I think he's ridiculously talented but I'm just a little biased since I'm in love with him. His typical comfort zone is small and detailed, but last night he branched out and went big! The inspiration came from a photo he took when we were in Baja earlier this year. This is just the underpainting - but already I can see where he's heading and I love it!

Flea market inspiration

I love the Alameda Flea! It only happens the first Saturday of each month, and I hardly ever get there, but there's always a fun discovery every time. Like these little lavender-filled fabric hearts. Such a cute idea with the different initials and whimsical embroidery. If I get my act together, these would be perfect Christmas gifts to make!

Squares, Ma! Squares!

This has been a slow and steady project, but I'm really loving the sweetness of these squares. The inspiration was a pair of lamps and I'm trying to decide the right balance of pink vs. green and lighter squares vs. darker squares. 

The colors in these photos aren't completely accurate - but you get a sense. I think the fabrics are very sweet. Can't wait to see how it comes together.

Zuni Roast Chicken with Bread Salad

If I had to name a cookbook that had a huge impact on the way I cook and the way I think about seasoning food - it would be The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers. My friend Jenn gave it to me for Christmas one year and I vividly remember that once I cracked it open, I actually sat down and read it. Page by page. It was not only a pleasure to read, but an amazing treasure trove of information.


Zuni is famous for this particular recipe. When you're in the restaurant, it's one of those dishes that make people change their orders if it gets delivered to a neighboring table while folks are perusing the menu. The recipe is pretty long, so forgive me for not posting it. Just trust me and buy the book. So good!

Ticker Tape Quilt

My niece Jacey turned eight on Friday. I figured it only made sense to make her doll Zoey Elizabeth a quilt to match her own. After my friend Emanuela told me about the ticker tape quilting approach, I decided to try it and I'm hooked. Grab a scrap, sew it down. Choose the next one - sew that down, and keep going. No complicated patterns to think about - just grab whatever appeals and go from there. 

I was also excited about having just enough of the backing fabric to make them "twins". The edges of each square will fray gently as it gets washed, worn and loved. This could be my new favorite way to quilt! 


Happy Birthday, Jacey! Sweet dreams to you and Zoey.