Thursday, September 16, 2010

Johnny's Sweater

This is Johnny's Christmas Sweater. He's very excited about it, but of course he should be. He picked the color and the pattern. I'm 7.5 inches in and it's going so well so far!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

We are way too in love with our dog.

Work has been rough for the last year, but my husband has found a way to make it all better. He's started sending me emails titled 'What's Dots doing now?'

Let's see. What did Dottie do today?
First she took a nap. 

 Then she played with her fox.

 Are you talking about me?

 Lastly she watched a little TV.

Boy oh boy, she's going to be tired today! What a busy little girl. 

Oh, and we're officially that couple. We know.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

New cookbook!


We're taking a break from my favorite cookbook ever to try a recipe out of this bad boy! Curried Lentil Soup tonight! I hope it's good!

I bought this book back in April when we moved in and we haven't made a thing from it. So sad. Tonight we fix this situation!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Felted!

Once upon a time I knit a beautiful sweater. It was shade of purple with a nice open pattern. I made it in worsted weight wool which was a big mistake, but still I loved its beauty even if I almost never wore it because it made me sweat profusely. You see I made it to wear in spring and fall when the temperatures of LA drop all the way into the 70s. I should have made it for winter, but I was naive.

And then I washed it...

I put it in the washer with my other wool sweater (the one I made from washable wool) as an experiment to see if I could in fact wash the sweater in the machine. I put in on the hand wash/drip dry setting. What came out was a very beautiful toddler sized creation.

Consider this lesson learned. You CAN felt a wool sweater in a front loading washer even on the hand wash setting.

Tear...

Monday, August 30, 2010

New Pointe Shoes!

Oh how pretty! Now that summer is in full effect her in Los Angeles I had to bite the bullet and by new pointe shoes. I started wearing the wonderful Bloch European Balance Shoes about 4 months ago and I like them very much. I started back on pointe about one year ago after several years of break time. I figured I should try it now before I got to old and busy to really give it my full attention. These shoes help my feet stretch in a way I have trouble achieving on my own. I always liked Bloch shoes and I'm in love with the way it feels dancing on pointe again!

Poor Dottie!

Poor Dottie! She go so sick last week!

Her first day of puppy day care she was so good. She left no messes in the kitchen before her pet sitter could collect her. Then the second day, disaster!

Little Dottie ate turkey jerky (the kind designed for dogs). She ate a lot of it. Like 3 breasts worth in a 24 hour period of time. Then her body rejected it at 2am. Oh it was gross and Dottie got rushed to the emergency pet doctor and rang up an unbelievable bill in 4 hours.

Then we took her to her regular vet for follow up where they were sweet as can be. Continued treating Dottie for the next 2 days and now she's back to her normal self.

The above picture is Dottie when I brought her home finally. She ran around the house like a crazed dog jumping on and off all the furniture before relaxing by my feet in the kitchen. I think she missed us, and we missed her too!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The importance of Parasols

Because it's over 100 degrees outside today I'd like to take a moment to thank the person who created the first parasol. I don't know who you are, but I love you. It's my summer time saver of my skin. Someday I hope to receive one with that cool UV fabric so I'll be extra protected. Hint, hint.


Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Kale, how I love thee!

6 months ago I'd never heard of Kale. If I had heard it I blocked it from my thoughts as one of those weird foods hippies eat. Not for me, nope no way. 


I was so very wrong.

I've now eaten kale three days in a row. Let me introduce you to the recipe that is rocking my world. 

Have I mentioned how much I love this book? Seriously like the best cookbook I've ever purchased because the recipes are quick and delicious, plus many are very adaptable and only use a few ingredients. Hooray!

This is not exactly the recipe, but has been adapted from Real Simple Best Recipes: Easy, Delicious Meals

Bean and Chicken Sausage Stew

3/4 lb. chicken sausage
2 cloves garlic (sliced)
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomotoes
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1 bunch kale (torn into 2 inch pieces)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook or reheat the sausage in a bit of oil in a dutch oven. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add beans tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Add kale and cook until wilted. Season to taste. 

Seriously this took about 15 minutes to make. It was so fast I wasn't prepared to add the kale. My husband took Dottie for her walk and didn't come back for about 30 minutes. So I just let the soup simmer sans kale until he got home. Worked just fine and just made the flavor better. 

I could see so many good ways to change this up. Add different beans, more veggies and this would be an even bigger meal. We had some left over homemade bread from the previous week and I used it to sop up the liquid. Delicious!

As for the sausage, I really think you could use any kind. The soup basically takes on the taste of the sausage itself. We used Basil chicken we picked up at Henry's. Turkey, pork or another chicken sausage would be good too.

The kale, well that was awesome! Adds a great texture. Really add a whole bunch because it cooks down to practically nothing. I could have added more because it was that good. 

The book also listed nutrition at around 300 calories per serving, but I'd imagine that depends on how much you eat and what type of sausage you add.

Freezable, adapable, and awesome. What more can someone ask for? 

It was so good we ate all of it before I could take a picture :)

Dottie's First Day of Puppy Care

Well, it's not her first day at puppy day care, but it is a big day nonetheless. Today marks the first day both me and my husband are working all day. My husband left at 7am and I at 8:15. This is what Dottie looked like when I left..

"Why are you leaving me?"

Sorry Dottie! I have to go to work. I know it sucks. I'd rather play with you all day, but that dog food you eat... it doesn't grow on trees.

So in honor of this day let me thoroughly introduce you to Dottie Josephine Prickle Fur Wrinkle Head Flap Jowls Floopy Ears commonly known as Dottie Jo.

Is all started more than a month ago. On July 2nd I got off work early. After weeks of looking for just the right dog and waiting for rescue agencies to return my calls (none of them did, bastards) I was desperate to find the perfect mutt. So I convinced my husband to make yet another trip to the local pound.

I'd seen this image on the website, but she was labeled as a lab. I thought...6month old lab...no way. We live in a duplex and our landlord admitted she was scared of dogs after we moved in. There was no way we could get a giant lab puppy. Plus, doesn't she look scared? Poor thing. 

As we wandered the aisles I instantly latched onto this little pup not even realizing they were one in the same. She was so tiny and cute. Even in the mass chaos of dogs barking and people she was quiet and curious. Love, instant love. But could she be ours? Would John agree?

We had to go back to the desk and meet with a counselor first. Then we had to see if there was already a waiting list for the puppy. Thankfully the counselor was very nice and recognized we are good people looking to give a dog a loving home. As long as out landlord agreed we could have any dog we wanted. (Our landlord agreed, yay!)

Next up the waiting list. By some miracle we were fist on the waiting list. I think it was fate because most lab puppies have huge waiting lists in hours. How we were first I will never know, but I later found out her list did indeed fill quickly. 

Step 3, wait until she became available for adoption to finally meet her face to face. On Wednesday July 7th she became available and John and I went to the Pasadena Humane Society at 9am sharp. If we weren't there by 9:30am we lost our chance. Dottie was a little nervous, but eventually started to interact with us. We agreed she was the dog for us. 

Step 4, wait while she was spade. This was the hardest waiting of all! She was ours, but when? Like expectant parents we had to ready our house the the new arrival. Plus the cranky ginger woman at the front desk was giving up zero information on her. Drats!

Finally on July 9th Dottie came home with us. She was good, curious, and fun. We love her very much and are so happy she is our puppy. In her honor here are two videos showing Dottie's first experience with a raw hide bone. Enjoy!
Dottie vs. the bone
Dottie vs. the bone II


Hope you make it to 2:30 Dottie! Then you get to play with King!


Monday, August 23, 2010

Book Report: The Market Square

My mother gave me this book to read months ago. I'm pretty sure I was in the middle of planning my wedding, trying frantically to make fabric pom-poms, knit my veil, and trying to finish the 6 books I checked out from the library before they were over due (total fail on that last part). Anyways, I'm sad I waited so long because this little book was darling.

Such a quick read! My mom said it should only take a day or two to read all of its 200 pages, but I'm busy and a slow reader, so it took me more than a week. (Oh the shame!) Most nights I've been so tired after being awoken as the ungodly hour of 7am by our puppy, then working all day and exercising at night. Oh and there's those little things called cooking and laundry and stuff to throw in there. Makes me so tired! I'm in trouble when we have kids. How do people work and have kids? I don't know, but I guess I'll find out someday.

Wait, what was I writing about? Oh yeah, the book. It started a little slow for me because I couldn't figure out where it was going. Once I realized that was the point I settled into enjoy the characters. This book is all about the characters. If you enjoy books about small towns, you should certainly check out The Market Square. I hear she wrote a whole series of books like this. Perfect for relaxing and letting yourself go into the world she creates. I don't think many are still in print, but your local library or used book stores might have them.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Best Easy Pasta Sauce Ever!

So I've tried out a lot of pasta sauces in my cooking days. I don't like using the jarred stuff if I can help it, but I hadn't hit on just the right simple quick to make sauce for everyday cooking...until now. My husband sucks this stuff down like none other all the while telling me how much he loves it. That makes me love it too.

(Photo from Real Simple)

Spaghetti with Quick Meat Sauce is so adaptable and simple. I don't remember their exact specifications, but it doesn't matter. What does matter is including these few basic ingredients.


1 onion diced
1 can (28oz.) crushed tomatoes (non-salted or low salt if you can find it)
3 cloves of garlic (minced or crushed)
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1lb. pasta (any kind)

So simple right? Trust me, it's good.

Normally we add meat to the sauce too. Maybe some chicken or turkey Italian sausage. This week we went vegetarian. The recipe tells you to include two carrots which I always do even if I make a meat sauce. Carrots are good for you, pretty, and taste good, 'nough said. I had 3 carrots sitting in the fridge, so I used all 3. I also added a couple zucchini, a package of pre-cut mushrooms, and a small package of baby spinach. The end result was awesome!

Okay, now the steps to making it.
1) Set the water to boil for the pasta. Make the pasta according to the package directions. (I used spinach penne this week. I recommend it)
2) Pour a bit of oil in a separate pan and let is heat up a bit.
3) Add the meat and cook it until browned.
4) Add the onion, carrots, and any other veggies that take a tick longer to cook. Let um go for 5 minutes over medium heat.
5) Add the garlic and any other veggies and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
6) Add the tomatoes, salt ,and pepper.
7) Bring to a boil and then simmer about 10-15 minutes or until all the veggies and meat are cooked.
8) Pour sauce over cooked and drained pasta. Top off with a little Parmesan.

Okay, now I'm hungry. Anyone want to send over a 2nd lunch for me?

The official recipe can be found in Real Simple Best Recipes: Easy, Delicious Meals. I bought this book when John and I first moved in together this past April. We've made several things so far and loved everyone of them. Note: Easy, Delicious meals does not equal cheap or healthy meals. So you have to pick and choose what works for you. That said, the recipes are truly easy and delicious. One of the best features of the book is that it includes nutrition information for all the recipes. That part is really awesome and makes finding the healthier options easier.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

We're totally famous!

Okay, so not really famous. But our wedding was featured on the Blog The Bride's Cafe. How awesome is that!

She share the wonderful little ditty I wrote about our wedding day as well as some of my favorite photos. Here's the direct link.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Another Day...A Different Blog

Welcome to me new blog! I'm here to write about what I love. Ballet, Knitting, Sewing, Cooking, and more. My husband John and I were just married on June 13th...aren't we awesomely perfect in our photos?
We were lucky enough to hire Suthi Picotte for our photography and wow, was she awesome.

Anyways, the rest of our wedding was awesome too. Trust me. I'll provide more photographic proof soon.

So here was are. Two months into our honeymoon period and adjusting to life as a couple. We also added a puppy to the mix. It was the right thing to do.