Renaissance Fair

Mark and I went with our friends Vic and Kerri and their two sweet babies to the Renaissance Fair last weekend. I was going to post about it earlier in the week but we got a new computer (yay!), and it took us a few days to transfer info from the old to the new.

Anyhoo, they have this fair near us every year, but Mark and I had never been before. It was so fun! And apparently people take it very seriously. There were LOTS of non-employees in costume. We didn't go that far.

This chick was in a tree making high-pitched clicking noises. It scared Mark. Awesome.

Joseph had a good old time...

Can you stand it?!

Mark found a game he couldn't resist. Check that look of pure determination. That thing is gonna hit the bell for sure!

"Did I do it?" (The answer is no.)

Second try...and still no. It's safe to say I don't love him for his arm muscles.

I had a chocolate raspberry port that was kinda grody because it was warm, but the guy who poured it threw an Oreo in, so the last sip was pretty amazing...

Boobies!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Emergency Kit

I've had "Make an emergency kit" on my to-do list forever, but it was always getting put off by more pressing matters. But with the many major earthquakes in the past couple of months in Haiti, Chile, Baja, and now China, it felt like time to be serious about it. Living in California, we know it's not a matter of if, but when.

So Mark and I spent a couple of days gathering supplies. We put the kit in two bins so it would be easy to grab and go if we had to evacuate the house for any reason. This kit would work in any emergency...Mark and I weren't even so much picturing an earthquake as we were imagining some unspecified apocalyptic event in which we'd never be able to return home, because ya know, we're dramatic like that.

Our kit includes:

• 2 cases of bottled water
• non-perishable food to last us a week (various canned things, peanut butter, dried fruit, etc.)
• food for Bean
• paper plates and bowls, plastic utensils
• can opener
• paper towels
• small plastic trash bags
• first aid kit (we have a pre-made one just given to us by Mark's mom from Costco or Sam's)
• flashlight with extra batteries
• battery-operated radio with extra batteries
• scissors
• utility knife
• duct tape
• heavy work gloves (2 pairs)
• dust masks (Mark wants to upgrade to respirators soon, because again, it might be the end of the world, people!)
• large plastic drop clothes to cover broken windows (just in case it's only a few broken windows and we don't have to flee the home forever)
• waterproof matches
• a pair of sturdy shoes for each of us
• a change of clothes for each of us
• a pack of socks
• beanies for each of us
• 2 blankets
• toilet paper
• toiletries (soap, deodorant, toothbrushes and paste, wet wipes, feminine supplies, etc.)
• hand sanitizer
• pad of paper and pens/pencils
• list of important phone numbers
• copies of important documents (driver's licenses, insurance policies, bank accounts, etc.)
• cash in small denominations in an envelope

And don't forget supplies for the kiddos if you have them. I also taped a sheet of paper to the outside of one of the bins listing the expiration dates of the food, first aid kit, and batteries so they can be used up and replaced. We're keeping our kit in our guest room closet because there's plenty of room in there and it's easy to get to.

Are you prepared for an emergency, and have we left anything out?

The weekend was...

Dinner for a friend's birthday. We played dress-up and had a grand old time pretending to be fancy. I even wrapped her gift in a tea towel to suit the occasion...

We also finally hung art above our entry table. I saw Irene's work on another blog (can't remember which since it was a couple of months ago), and I loved it immediately. She does beautiful watercolor paintings (originals, not prints) of many different animals. We went with birds cause we love em. You will die when you see how inexpensive they are, but let's not tell her so she doesn't raise the prices, k?

And yesterday we rode our bikes to the farmer's market and did some much needed yard work before the rain came last night. We also finished up a little project that I'll be sharing this week, maybe tomorrow.

New Recipe Wednesday

Nutella Pie

Holy crap, this is a good one. My mom made this for our Easter dessert. She thinks the recipe was from Woman's Day.

Ingredients:

• one prepared chocolate cookie piecrust (such as Oreo)
• 1 8oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup Nutella
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tbs. mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, Nutella, and 1/4 cup sugar.
• Beat until well blended.
• Add egg and 1/4 cup hazelnuts and beat until blended.
• Pour mixture into the pie crust and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove and cool completely.
• Once cooled, beat heavy cream, the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, and the vanilla on high until peaks form. Spread over the pie.
• Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup hazelnuts and mini chocolate chips.

It's super rich, so I'd start with a small piece, but such an easy and yummy dessert.

Target Goods

I don't think I need to extol the virtues of Target since it seems to be universally loved. I avoid Walmart at all costs because it's ugly and crowded and trying to find an employee that knows anything is next to impossible.

But Target calls to me and I can wander the aisles in circles for far longer than I have any business being in there. I was just in there picking up lots of non-pretty things that I'll be sharing with you soon, but I wanted to show you the three little pretties that did make it in my cart.

The pillow and the canister are from the Liberty of London line because I'm pretty sure there was a law passed that if you have a blog, you had to buy some L of L stuff. Those two items plus the watering can are what really caught my eye from the line. But I didn't let myself get the watering can because I have three already and I don't even need that many.

And the bird house I just LOVE. We haven't done it yet at this house, but we had a haven for birds at our old house, with lots of feeders and bird baths. I can't wait to hang this new house in a tree and watch the birdies find it.

The weekend was...

Going through magazines that have been piling up....

Babysitting a couple of munchkins so our friends could have a night out...

The living room was spotless when they got here, and it looked like this an hour later...

Finally sweet, sweet quiet...

And Easter was breakfast with Mark's mom and dinner with my family. We told my mom no candy, but we each had one of these waiting for us...

and nobody was mad about it. Hope you had a great weekend!

New Recipe Wednesday

I got this recipe from my mom. I don't know where it's from originally. So easy to make, and sooo good.

Leek and Bacon Quiche

Ingredients:

• 9 inch pie crust
• butter or olive oil
• 1 leek, thinly sliced
• 4 slices of bacon, chopped
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbs. dijon mustard
• 1 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 5 tbs. heavy cream

Instructions:

• Saute the bacon and leeks in a little butter or olive oil. (Start the bacon first so it gets a bit browned and the leeks don't burn.)

• Whisk eggs, mustard, cream. Add cheese.
• Add bacon and leeks to mixture and pour into pie shell. (I put my pie crust into a quiche pan with a removable bottom for easy removal, but any pie dish would be fine.)
• Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Is anyone out there?

via

I kinda fell off the blogging map for a minute there, didn't I? I've been blogging pretty consistently for a little over a year, and knowing myself like I do, it's a wonder it took this long for me to lose interest. I usually quit things much sooner!

I won't bore you with the kooky workings of my brain...I'll just say I was having a moment where the computer was the last place I wanted to be (I wasn't even reading blogs. I'm so behind!). And I'm not even sure I feel ready to fully commit again, but after some reflection I decided I need this blog for my sanity.



Random things while I've been away:

• Bean has lost his damn mind. He attacks his tail all of a sudden, and almost constantly. We're taking him to the vet on Monday, but I've been Googling like a mad woman, and I've already diagnosed him with cat schizophrenia.


• We've had the most beautiful weather the past couple of weeks with temps in the 70s and 80s. And the air smells like jasmine. I feel fortunate not to have allergies, because I can imagine they're a bitch this time of year.


• How could Alex Lambert (Carol Brady hair) not have made the Top 12 on American Idol? I'm still watching while fast-forwarding through most of it, but I don't really care who wins because I kind of hate them all. What a craptastic season.


• My city is having a 5K in May, and I'm gonna do it. It's a run/walk, but my goal is to run most of it. It's only 3 miles. I should be able to work up to that in a month and half, right?

P.S. How hilarious is that photo above? The person was too bored to even finish writing how bored they were!

Oscar Fashion...my humble opinion

I didn't like most of the dresses this year, and I didn't think there was one stand-out, wow dress. But there were a lot I liked. Again, this is strictly the opinion of someone who has no credentials to judge fashion and watched from home in a stained sweatshirt, while eating like a pig.

The Good:

Elizabeth Banks

Sandra Bullock - loved

Demi Moore

Cameron Diaz

This one pains me because she is so off-the-charts irritating, but I loved the whole look...

Miley Cyrus

Another one...good grief I hate Kristin Stewart, but she looked beautiful...

Meryl Streep - I think the best she ever looked

Vera Farmiga - this is a wacky one, but I loved it

And I think I am completely alone in the world on this one ( I was definitley alone at the Oscar party), but I like it...

Charlize Theron - yes the rosette thingies make you look straight at her boobies (someone said it looked like her dress was getting to second base with her - ha!), but I love the color on her and the silouette. And her hair and makeup-flawless.

What the Fizz:

SJP-she doesn't usually disappoint, but this sack dress with whatever the hell is going on at her neckline is awful

Diane Kruger-me no likey

Kate Winslet-boring, prom dress-y, not particularly flattering, color washed her out

Zoe Saldana-there were just gasps of horror when this thing came on the screen.

Jennifer Lopez-I think she has a fantastic body, but when you have a larger butt and wider hips, why oh why add another five feet to them?

Kathryn Bigelow-no, no, a thousand times no. I was really happy that a woman director won for the first time, though! Yay woman...even if you are in an ugly, ill-fitting dress from Windsor!

Suzy Amis-I really don't want to be too mean (believe me, there were texts flying about this one yesterday), but really. The dress itself is okay, and someone living may have pulled it off, but in this scenario, it's a no-go.

Thoughts anyone?