make a hook out of it!!

my dear sister and brother-in-law had a great time making fun of my inadvertent decorating tendency during a recent visit by walking through the house declaring, "let's put a BIRD on it!" while picking up an item that did indeed have a bird on it.  turns out they were inspired themselves by an episode of 'portlandia':

either way, i had no idea there were so many bird things in our house.

on to other things redundant...coat hooks made from items found at your local home improvement store...we've all seen the ones made out of old doorknobs and hardware...but here's another one. it's a great way to make use of those paint brushes you left in the can of paint while you ran to stop the kids from fighting and one thing led to another and before you knew it, two hours had passed (and so had the brushes).....

ruined paintbrush hooks (the paintbrushes - not the hooks)

keeping the paint theme going - how about this idea:

it's a coat hook AND a cubbie

aren't you just inspired to do some painting this weekend now so you can have the stuff of which to make some of these for yourself?

not even kind of?

this one wasn't bad either

made this recipe from real simple magazine (with a few major tweaks).

mikey helped.

maybe that's why it turned out so good.

lentil fritters with pickled cabbage, tzatziki and cilantro (not shown).

 the tzaziki

 add pickled cabbage

 then the fritter batter (yummy, huh?)

frying said funky fritter batter

assemble with naan, cabbage, tzaziki and cilantro.

consume. 

and make sure everyone you live with consumes some too!

ebay member since 2001

ebay has been good to me. 

we've bought cars (three of them)....

(sadly, this one is no longer with us)

dishes...lots and lots of dishes.

like more jadite than any one person could possibly use in a lifetime (that includes martha).

this giant 13 qt. le creuset dutch oven that you often see on this blog...

tons of stuff for our budget kitchen re-do, including these pendant lamps...

these school chairs...

a beautiful turquoise 3-piece stacking cabinet that came out of a post office somewhere near pittsville, virginia...

and this really cute kid....

(just kidding about the kid)

supper from leftovers

it's why i draw a blank when asked, "so what do you make for supper at night?".

because the truth is, four nights out of seven, i have no idea what's for dinner (i don't care what the beef council says).

i, like most of you (not my sisters, but they don't read this blog) i walk in the door at the end of a work day, open the frig and/or pantry, grab a few items...

(appetizing, huh?)

...and hope for the best.

sometimes we do pretty good. and on those nights, my husband often tells the kids, "enjoy. cuz you'll never see this dish again." which is true. at our house, most suppers are originals.

here's that recipe i was telling you about

for guacamole. found it in new york magazine some years ago.
you should try it. there's no garlic in it (which is where so many guacamole recipes go wrong for me), and plenty of cilantro. cuz cilantro can make even chicken livers taste good. wait. i LIKE chicken livers. i think i meant to say, oatmeal. yes, i bet cilantro could make even oatmeal taste good. you let me know.



The Bar @ Etats-Unis’ Guacamole


4 tablespoons white onion, finely chopped
1 1/4 cups fresh cilantro leaves, cleaned and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon jalapeño, finely chopped (for medium-hot)
Sea salt to taste
3 ripe Hass avocados
Juice of one lime



In a medium-size bowl but preferably a molcajete, mash together the onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and salt to taste into a paste. (1) To pit the avocados, hold 1 in your hand and, using a chef’s knife, cut lengthwise around the seed. Twist the halves to separate. (2) Using a chopping motion, stick the knife firmly into the pit and twist it free from the avocado. (3) Scoop out the avocado flesh with a large spoon and add to the molcajete. Add the lime juice, and crush the avocado with the other ingredients until smooth but slightly lumpy. Serves 4 (or maybe just 1).

reconsidering the "only white paper products" rule....

Renova Bright Yellow, an everlasting sunshine

the last of the tomatoes

goodbye summer. goodbye flavor. goodbye sweetest of vegetables that really isn't one after all.

goodbye tomatoes.

i will always remember our last night together....pancetta, sausage, crushed red pepper, shallots, basil, cream, garlic and parmigiano reggiano....served over tender grilled polenta. 

arrivederci.....