around the home – Shutterbean

Category: around the home

05 Sep

hello, beautiful

People on the internet:

Say hello to my new camera. She doesn’t have a proper name yet. Once she does, you will be properly introduced. She needs a complicated/devilish name because it wasn’t easy getting her.

I ordered her (or should i say one of her relatives) through Amazon thinking she would come in a few days. I received an email from them saying it was due to ship in October. Blasted! This would not arrive in time for her to make her maiden voyage on our trip to Spain at the end of September. Can you imagine the stress this caused?? My wonderful husband tracked her down at a camera shop in San Francisco.

When I called Amazon to cancel the extended warranty, I made the mistake of telling them I was going to purchase it in person. I bought the camera at a local shop and returned home to cancel the camera order through Amazon. To my surprise, it shipped!!!! What is with that? Did they expedite my order because I threatened to buy it somewhere else? Now, I will have to deal with the returning process. Either way, I’m glad I have her. Stress no more! She will make her maiden voyage soon.

03 Sep

labor day weekend

casey installed our new front porch light:

coffee was the fuel for the weekend:

went out to breakfast:

we had our monogrammed aisle-runner framed from our wedding. It now lives in our dining room:

a paint swatch was contemplated:

caught up on my tv shows with yummy yogurt with almonds, raisins & honey:

we finished painting the deck. here it is in progress:

thought about the wonderful treats of Taste Catering at my parents house for the University of Tennesse Party on Thursday:

-we also ate burritos & saw Jay Mohr perform at Cobb’s Comedy Club in SF

-we bought a mirror that didn’t work out

-we spent time with friends & went to Malibu GP to race cars, play miniature golf and O.D. on skee-ball. Dinner at Safeway’s new Citrine restaurant.

-snuggled with kitties

-red sox rookie pitcher threw a no-hitter

-watched Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus

-prepared lunches for the work week

**not in that particular order**

29 Aug

My Go-to Summer meal

When it’s hot as hell outside and I have no motivation to clean a sink full of dishes I make the following dinner:

Sliced heirloom tomatoes with basil and fresh mozzarella:
I usually chop up a bunch basil leaves, mix in sea salt/ pepper and really good olive oil. Dab on the sliced tomato and top it with the mozzarella slice. Sprinkle some sea salt & fresh ground pepper and dig in. It’s really great paired with a toasty piece of french bread.

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes:
I slice up fingerling potatoes so they are thin. I put them on cookie sheet with lots of olive oil, salt & pepper and sometimes I’ll splash some garlic powder into the mix. That goes in the oven at 425 degrees. It usually takes about 20 minutes total-give or take. I flip them around half way so they don’t get burnt or stick to the pan. I usually save all the crispy ones and devour them, secretly in the kitchen.

We used to fight over the crispiest potato in my family. It’s a habit that I haven’t broke. Sometimes if my husband gets a really crispy one- he puts it on my plate. Now that’s love! To make the potatoes look extra fancy, top with some chopped parsley. I didn’t have any in this picture. Please forgive me.

Grilled Chicken with Lemon: To these two side dishes, I add some grilled chicken. I pound out a couple of chicken breasts, bathe them in olive oil & lemon juice- with a bit of salt & pepper. I occasionally add cayenne if I’m feeling extra spicy. After 15 minutes in the marinade, I grill them on our little b-b-q. Top it off with extra lemon juice & you’ll want seconds.

I usually make a little green salad. This one above is a simple mixed greens with chopped green onions. I add some lemon juice & olive oil to taste. Salt & Pepper that baby up and you are good to go! You could add feta if you’d like. You won’t regret it.

Pair it all up with a Gin & Tonic or a Jack Daniels & Diet Coke with lime (in my case), and it’s a typical summer meal on my back porch.

22 Aug

commuting blows

I spend about 90 minutes in the car every weekday commuting into the city. I love being in the city…but the commute wipes me out! I do like to drive my own car….. and it’s nice to be able to leave when I need to…. So, in order to cure the boredom & the potential road-rage, I’ve been listening to books on CD I check out from the library.

Even though I’ve read the book: Dress Your Family in Courduroy and Denim, by David Sedaris, it’s nice to listen to him in my mornings & afternoons. His voice makes his words much more entertaining.

Here are some of my favorite parts of my commute:

i love looking at that both the orange and buildings against the American Industrial Center

when I’m wizzing through the 280 underpass the shadows are amazing. It also means I’m about to see the SF skyline soon.

I spend some of the commuting time thinking about the type of person who decides to paint their houses these colors. I appreciate their boldness and then I pick out which color I’d live in.

every now and then i get lucky and see a pedestrian walking across. They have no idea that I’m looking at them. I like watching their dark silhouettes move across the bridges.

It’s these small things that make the commute a little sweeter.

****i was NOT driving while i took these shots. i’m not that dumb ****

21 Aug

One Year Older

hello! On Saturday August 18th, I turned a year older. Whooppeeee. Another year closer to 30!

Casey took me to Jack Falstaff in San Francisco for my birthday dinner! It was SOOOO GOOOD! We decided to get the Farmer’s Market Menu- Tomato was the theme. Get ‘em while you can!

Followed by Happy Birthday Donuts at Krispy Kreme in Daly City:

oh YUM. Do they not give free donuts out when you go to Krispy Kreme anymore? The past 3 times they didn’t hand me one while in line. I’m just wondering….It’s not like I NEED that extra donut…. My camera ran out of juice when we sat down. Hence-No pictures of the donuts we ate. This is probably a good thing.

17 Aug

my favorite easy/comforting breakfast

i think about eating this all the time (especially while laying in bed). Finally this morning I had a chance to make it!

My favorite quick breakfast consists of:

Brown Rice Cakes
Chunky Peanut Butter
Honey
Sliced Bananas

Now pair this with a cup of coffee, a good magazine and sit outside. I guarantee you will enjoy!

13 Aug

happy birthday e.g.

I made these cupcakes for my brother-in-law’s birthday (yes, he deserved the effort)

they are:

-vanilla cupcakes

-blueberry filling (i made with lemon juice, sugar & vanilla extract)

-lemon cream cheese frosting (added lemon oil & grated lemon peel to the frosting)

-topped with coconut flakes (not the original intention)

They tasted good, but I was having a *moment* in the kitchen. Too many air bubbles in the frosting made it spit out it weird motions. Little holes & pockets were on top of the less-than-perfect swirls. I picked the frosting off and re-did EVERY SINGLE ONE. It still happened in round two. Mix that with a time constraint & a list of errands to do before going over to their house!! YIKES!!!!! The perfectionist in me (only when it comes to cupcakes) FREAKED OUT. What am I gonna do???!!!! So I just piled the tops in coconut flakes. Disaster diverted. All is right in my household & we can now carry on all of our errands.

Although….. I think they prolly would have tasted better without the coconut. This was my first attempt at filling a cupcake. Things could have been a lot worse. Thank god I moved to the suburbs and started cooking & baking more. The Tracy from last year would have had no idea how to fix the situation (other than breaking down and buying *yikes* PRE-MADE desserts).

06 Aug

wanted: perfect bag

I’m always on the hunt for the perfect bag. I’ve always loved the prints of Orla Kiely. I took this picture on the streets of New York once… but i have yet to find the corresponding bag. Can you imagine this print as a purse with green straps? I can….

I was looking at bunch Orla Kiely bags in person, but was disappointed that the openings did not expand enough

BAGS ONCE IN ROTATION:

i love this bag (i even have the same one in a different bird print). BUT it’s SOOO deep that it eats the contents and I can’t find anything. I’ve probably spent more than a half hour of my life looking for my keys in bags like these:

This bag is wonderful (such a delightful bargain from Target!). My only gripe is that dark denim rubs off onto this purse—making it look soooo dirrrrrrty. I’ve hand washed it twice. Not only did it fade this nice print, but the denim stain did not clear up. I don’t normally go for bags with short straps like these, but I fell in love with it and got used to it:

This is the bag I had in December. This is the contents. I love this bag. However, if I do not stuff it to the brim, the bag does not stand up on it’s own. It’s floppy and lacks structure. When I put it under my chair at a restaurant contents just spew out. Not good. This bag works well for gym use.

This is my current bag. I normally go for a lively colored bag because I wear black & white A LOT! I was shopping with a friend and found this at Crossroads in SF. It fufills my requirements…I feel so organized using it. I know where everything is!!! But a few days ago I looked down and the strap was about to break. grrrrr. Too good to be true! In the meantime, I just tied it into a knot and it still works….

Perhaps one day I could post all my purses…..but I’m not sure there’s enough space. I’m also afraid that my husband will find out and commit me.

To be my perfect purse you must:

-have a nice color/pattern (something totally funky/unique/bold)

-have lots of pockets inside & out (a huge plus if I find a pocket in you I didn’t know you had!)

-have an equally cute interior (this is a MUST, no EXCEPTIONS-although I’ve been known to let a few slip)

-have a space for my cellphone (although I will never use the right pocket)

-have comfortable handles/straps (as I will fill you to no end and I need something to support the weight)

-have some type of closure–be it zipper, snap, button,etc. (i feel insecure just letting your insides exposed to everyone)

-be able to hold my camera & a sweater (if not, what’s the point?)

-be OK with the fact that you could be replaced by a better, wonderful, perfect bag

Please only apply if you can meet the above criteria! I will not be suckered into buying you (well, who knows?). Life is just too short to carry around a crappy/less-than bag!

06 Aug

cookbook heaven

COOKBOOKS I PINE OVER:

Donna Hay Cookbooks:

Off the Shelf: Cooking From the Pantry

The Instant Cook

Instant Entertaining

Other Cookbooks that I stare at at the library:

Jamie’s Italy

The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

(i already subscribe to the magazine…but somehow I think I NEED this)

I always dream about subscribing to this magazine (i’m always looking for them in the bookstore…)

23 Jul

i am an errand machine

this weekend was busy! Lots of stuff to do…and I randomly got a case of the lazies and spent a few hours doing ABSOLUTELY nothing (well, laying on my bed staring at my backyard is SOMETHING- I suppose).

the productive activities included:

-trip to Daiso (found EXCELLENT hair thinner comb) Here’s part of my loot:

-spent the early part of saturday on a caffiene high- i drank an iced coffee after downing this one:

-container store trip (containers for craft room/travel) I made it out of there in record time!

-trip to hillsdale mall to meet up with a friend (got a cellphone dangle from the Sanrio store)

-i finally found a pair of shoes @ DSW to match my dress-it only took 3 months!:

-had lunch at Falafel’s Drive-In (gyros salad=yum!)

-made my special popcorn & had neighbors over to watch Uncle Buck. (i love that movie!)

popcorn!

-setup my tripod and took a picture of our dining room in progress:

-went out to breakfast at Stacks & had a *somewhat* healthy meal:

-dreamt of getting a new camera for my birthday….

-grilled veggies, while Casey DESTROYED two wasps nests in our backyard

-started the whole laundry process….

-watched John from Cincinnati (what the heck is going on with that show???!!!)

-the end.