pink nostalgia

this is for george

My step-dad George reads the blog regularly.  And when it's been, say, 10 days since my last blog post, he tells Mom to tell me (since her and I talk almost every day) that it's time for a new post!

Today Mom left me this chat message: "George said last night that it's been too long since your last blog - time for another one!! :)"

Hi, George!  Here is your new blog post!

I think he'd probably like a photo...

Here's half a photo, anyway!

The George-centric caption of this photo would be, "I'll fly if you buy!"  Get it...I'm on a plane?

He always says that to me when I'm visiting and we're ordering Chinese food for dinner.  He pays for it, and I pick it up from the restaurant.

Hey George, can we expand that to vacations?  I'll fly to St. Lucia if you'll buy!

bread winner

I found Jim Lahey's recipe for no-knead bread, and all of the sudden, I had to learn to bake bread.

So I bought a 5.5 quart Cuisinart cast iron Dutch oven.  It feels like the kind of thing every proper kitchen should have, and I want at least one more.  : )  I mixed the dough, didn't knead it, and popped it into a 450* oven.  I set the timer for 30 minutes and went outside to read.

After about 10 minutes, J came outside and said, "Uh, babe?  Is your bread burning?"  I replied, "No, it can't be.  It's only been 10 minutes."  But then I smelled the awful burning of plastic. 

Plastic??

I took the Dutch oven out, and sure enough, the handle to the lid had cracked and was starting to melt.  I checked the specs - the pot is oven-safe to 500*.  The lid is oven-safe to 350*.  Whaaaa??  I put the bread back in the 450* oven without the lid.

And then I burned the bread.

Round two.

J unscrewed the handle to the lid, and I baked the bread per the recipe instructions with the handless-lid ON. 

And it worked!

For me, coating the dough ball in cornmeal works better than flour, it's best the first day, and it makes your whole house smell divine.

throwback thursday: "i can't understand you when you whine"

I had completely forgotten about this until last weekend.

When I was little, my mom had a "no whining" rule.  It went like this:

me: Mo-o-o-o-o-om!  She got more iiiiiiiice creeeeeeam than meeeeee!!
Mom: Angela, I can't understand you when you whine.  If you want to tell me something, you need to speak in a normal tone of voice.
me: Okay.  [deep steadying breath]  Well, she got more ice cream than me and it's juuust not faaaaaiiir...
Mom: Angela Nicole, go to your room until you can talk without whining!
me: Buuuut whyyyyyy...
Mom: Because I said so!

Last weekend, I made a quick trip to League City to work on some tax returns.

me: Okay Mom, I need your prior year tax return.
Mom [digging in a file cabinet]: Okay, it should be...well, it's not heeeeeere!
me: It's not there?
Mom: Awwwww, I don't know wherrrrrrre I puuuuuuut iiiiiit!
me: Mother, I can't understand you when you whine!

happy [surprise] silver

"Lemme esplain...No, there is too much.  Lemme sum up..."

There is likely only one person who will get that quote, so Karen, it's all on you!

About a month before my mom's 50th birthday, George and my aunt JJ began colluding for a birthday surprise for Mom.  Mom, George, and I would go to her "birthday lunch" like we always do.  The surprise - all of her side of the family would waiting at the restaurant.

Fast-forward to the morning of.  I was at Mom and George's house somewhat frantically texting with JJ to work out the timing and details, then texting George (who was downstairs) to fill him in.

Fast-forward again to the parking lot of The Cheesecake Factory.  George purposefully parked across the street to give me time to sprint ahead so I could be ready to take pictures.  As soon as we got out of the car, I started saying that I had to go to the bathroom soooooo baaaaaad and that I would find them in a minute.  Then I started power-walking.  : )

I immediately found my family's table and got my camera out.  Meanwhile, they stopped at the host stand and asked for "Cynthia, party of 3" and since the hostesses were on the up-and-up, Mom and George were escorted to the family.

Here's where Mom first sees me.  I start whispering, "Here she is!  Here she is!"

She even pointed and said something like, "Oh, there's my daughter."

And here's where she sees everyone else (I was on the very end.)

George missed some of her reaction since he was kind enough to stand behind her so as to not block my shots, so I'm really glad I got some good photos!

And here's the money shot!

Here's the only photo I got of the whole table.  From Mom going clockwise, Erin, BB, Papa, Meme, JJ, Kevin, Alan, Rebecca, and Casey. 

Here is Mom recollecting some of the lines we fed her.  : )  "I thought, Huh?"

Our server took it upon herself to make this dessert plate and sing.  She even came over to me and asked if I wanted a picture.  She was really wonderful and excited to help us make it a great surprise for Mom.

Erin is cracking up here because our server just announced to the restaurant that "it's Cynthia's 50th birthday!!!"  Whoopsie!

Very fun.  You can see the after-party gifts + laughing here.

Happy birthday!!

weekend extravagances

Last weekend, I found myself without kiddos and without travel plans. I didn't even have a basketball game to go to.  I kept thinking I was forgetting something - it felt weird to have two whole days of nothing to do.

So I tore through a "girly" list - you know, the things you stumble across on a Friday afternoon at work on blogs and Pinterest, but never find the time to do because as soon as you get home, you have real things to do, like plan meals and go to baseball practice and scrapbook.

It's the kind of luxuries you would have with your college roomies on a regular Tuesday afternoon.  ; )

I whipped up this hair mask (FAIL) while J was doing yardwork for several hours.  Not quite the kind of look you want to show off.  : /  Plus a facial mask, because at this point, why not.  And then I tried this hair style (FAIL) and that feisty red nail polish.

J grilled this London Broil, which I started on Friday night at marinated for 24 hours.  I made this bread once before, but this time it turned out really good.  (More on that later this week.)  Plus perfectly grilled asparagus and my homemade steak sauce.

All in all, exactly what I wanted my Saturday to be.  : )

merry breakfast

Ever since I started keeping up with the Studio Calico project gallery, all I want to do is scrapbook.   The fire is back!

Yesterday, Alex was going around the dinner table asking everyone what they were going to do after dinner.  When he got to me, I made this face (minus the sunglasses, obviously):

He said, "Okay!  I already know!  Scrapbook!!"

Five Nine Things About This Page:

1. I lifted it from Marcy Penner.

2. It's Christmas without being too Christmasy (just like this one). 

3. I love love love that striped paper (also used here).

4. It's made entirely from scraps (here, here). 

5. Those E's were B's that I cut with my paper trimmer.  Uhhhh, yeahhhh!

6. The focus of this page was breakfast and not Alex, and as he will tell you, he's a charmer with that blond hair and blue eyes.  I wanted to include his photo, but I didn't want it to steal the show, so I hid it in a glassine baggie.  One thing I've learned about these Wells boys - they don't really like having their picture taken.  So when they jump in your shot, take the picture.

7. As I was adding the bow at the bottom, I thought, "What did I ever do before these tiny bows??  How did I live without them?  What did I use??  Oh.  Buttons.  Remember when buttons were all the rage?  Lemme find a small yellow button..."

8. I journaled right onto the cardstock but hated it, so I covered it with those Heidi Swapp ledger cards.

9. I accidentally cut the number paper in the wrong spot.  : /  I taped it back together and covered up the seam with the kraft tag and "with love and dreams."

Happy weekend!

the love bench

Tonight when I got home from work:

"Babe, look at this 'love bench' I made for you."   

(Subtext: "Babe, I built a bench from stone with my bare hands because I thought you would like it.")

True story.

cooking angry

Did you ever have one of those afternoons where a few things made you sad in kind of a helpless way which you attempted to convert into nonchalance and when that didn't work you decided that you wanted to angrily cook your whole kitchen because if you could throw amazing dishes together (while also throwing a few dishes, ha, get it?) it would let you clear your head and have a tiny bit of control over that initial helpless sadness?

No?

Well.  Something like that happened to me today.

Apricot-Mustard Baked Chicken from Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstrach, Cooking Light's Smashed Potatoes with Goat Cheese and Chives (sans chives).

I thought they were both just alright, but J had seconds, so...

Homemade Steak Sauce. 

J's face puckered when he taste-tested it.  I'm ready for a plate of London Broil and some soft rolls to sop it all up with.

Rachael Ray's Black-Bottom Cupcakes.

Yum-O (Ha, get it?)!

So now I feel better, plus I knocked four recipes off of my proverbial list.

thought i was having hot flashes this morning...

Everyone was rolling at this huge coffee mug that my aunt gave my mom as a birthday gag gift.

"Thought I was having hot flashes this morning...then I realized my boobs were in my coffee"

It always makes me laugh to see George laughing like this.

It's pretty cool when you take pictures of so many of your loved ones laughing without even getting up off the floor.  : )

how to: sweet & balsamic zucchini

Ethen made spaghetti for dinner the other night (you can read that moment here), and I sauteed some zucchini to eat in lieu of pasta, Charlotte-style.  I had some leftover zucchini (I know.  I, too, was shocked that the boys didn't gobble it up.) that I experimented with last night, halfway hoping that I'd burn it so I wouldn't have to eat it.

But no.  It was delicious.

Here is is from start to finish.

Slice some zucchini and throw it in a big skillet on medium heat with several turns of EVOO.  When the first side is starting to brown, then flip them over.

Chop up 2 cloves of garlic per zucchini and add those to the skillet.  You'll have to start stirring every several seconds so your garlic doesn't burn.

Once the second side is lightly browned, you could call it done.  But then it wouldn't be sweet or balsamic, right?

Okay, so now you're committed.  Add about two turns of balsamic vinegar.  Let that hang out for a few minutes so that the liquid reduces a little.  Oh, and lean back because it will be fragrant.

This is going to seem crazy.  But drizzle on 3 seconds of honey.  I know.  But it won't taste like honey.  It will just take the tartness out of the vinegar.

This is like a deconstructed balsamic reduction, right?  Those reductions are SO HARD to get right!  (Well, the one and only time I tried, it was tasty but sticky and chewy.  I was digging it out of my molars for two days.)

So, this is like that but easier.

After another minute or two and a few more stirs, take it out of the skillet and put it onto your plate right next to the homemade lasagna that the boys claim they could eat 14 pans of.

Enjoy!

P.S. If the sound of lasagna and zucchini sounds good to you, try this.

magic

To me, one thing that makes a family feel established is traditions.  It can be something as common as yelling "Hey heyyyy!" when you get home and "Peace!" when you tuck your son into bed.  It can be as simple as knowing there will be buttermilk pie at Thanksgiving.  It's something you can count on, something to look forward to, and something to get excited about.

It will melt my heart the day Ethen or Alex insist on a tradition by saying, "But we always do that!"

Since last year was our first Christmas together, it was very important to me to make it special and start some traditions.  Namely, setting out homemade cookies for Santa.

Thanks, Mom, for helping and gushing when prompted.  ; )

Chipboard?  Yes!  Book paper?  Yes!  Glitter??  Yes!!

I really really love how all of the colors go so well with the photo.  It's very soft and...magical.  : )  I also really love how you can barely make out the star glowing on the top of the tree.

I lifted this page from Catherine Brancieq.  I barely changed anything, I loved it so much.

Happy Tuesday.   : )