Weekend snap: making Christmas memories

Santa dropped off this shiny new bike for Emerson. Lucky girl. She went for two wobbly rides yesterday and another one this afternoon and with every block she gets faster and more courageous. It's really something to see. I swear 20 minutes ago I was swaddling that little bird and resting her in a pile of warm laundry, fresh from the dryer. Now she's white-knuckling it down our driveway - a flurry of purple and pink. Life is happening at lightening speed it seems.

Wishing you all a peaceful week. Posting will likely be light but I'll be popping in here and there between bike rides and puzzle making. Happy holidays, friends. 

Sunset makes my Christmas merry

Gah, you guys...did you see it? My little ol' blog quoted in Sunset Magazine. I'm seriously over the moon with delight. On Monday night I started getting sweet comments on Twitter about this and yet, I had no idea what they were talking about. It turns out my blog is on someone radar at Sunset and this quote landed on page 10 of the January issue. I bought two copies and I'm framing one because I am a Sunset super fan and this is pretty huge in my world.

Did anyone notice that the cover is a white bean and kale soup? And do we all remember what Soup Monday was THIS WEEK? White bean and kale. Awesome synergy if you ask me.

Want to know a funny story? When I was about two years out of college and working in corporate America it occurred to me that I couldn't possibly spend my life writing press releases, editing newsletters and wearing Ann Taylor suits so I started scouring the want ads for jobs related to my college major - journalism. I applied for the food editor job at Sunset. It's funny now. I welcome you all to laugh along with me, or at me. I totally deserve that. They were so kind and gently explained to me that I was not-yet-ready to edit but of course, they'd keep my CV on file. This is all to say that I've been dreaming of being a part of Sunset for more than a decade and look, there I am.

O.k. thanks for letting me share. Happy Christmas, friends. I really hope your holidays are filled with laughter and love and all the fixings that make this time of year so very special.

P.S. I was included in DesignMom's Design Mom Asks feature today and I'm thrilled to be sharing one of my favorite gift-receiving experiences. Check it out if you have a chance. It's a pretty special memory for me.

Original art for Emerson

Nearly a year ago, we painted Emerson's room a soft yellow and never got around to hanging any of the paintings and prints from her nursery. They sat on the floor, leaning against walls and dressers mostly because I couldn't wrap my head or heart around this new stage of her life. Babyhood is long gone, toddler days are flying by and it's hard to imagine how the visuals in her rabidly expanding world will help shape her imagination, her curiosity and her dreams. So much pressure. What if I get it all wrong? That sort of self talk tends to stifle one's creativity, yes?

So I threw caution to the wind and finally indulged one of my own little dreams - to commission a painting from Marisa at Creative Thursday. I adore her painting style and when Emerson was a baby I couldn't help picturing her chubby little being as one of Marisa's iconic characters. I had the pleasure of meeting Marisa (and Sean) in person down in L.A. in October. It was a thrill. She's just as charming, kind and engaging as she appears on her blog. We talked about Emerson and I shared a few of my recent favorite mama memories, along with some photos and Marisa took it from there. A few weeks later, I received this magical painting of Emerson and her two constant companions - lion and elephant. These guys are everything to her and her dad and I wanted to capture this time in her life.

We let Marisa's painting ground the gallery wall and added special photos of Emerson, along with a print by Edie of Edie Art that I purchased from the artist on the street during our most recent trip to New York City and prints of an elephant and a lion because, you know, her guys. The other tiny print is a special iphone photo of balloons in Brooklyn I had printed on a bamboo block through Paper Culture.

So her room is a cacophony of happy color and images. It's officially my favorite room in the house. I hope it's hers too. Do you have a favorite memory from your childhood room? Something that made it special and yours? I'd love to hear.

"Emerson's and her Guys" - Original commissioned painting by Marisa Cummings of Creative Thursday. 

DailyBuzz Style 9x9: Homemade nutella

We are a nutella loving household - stuffed in a crepe with sliced banana, oozing out of aebelskivers on Christmas morning or straight from the jar late a night - we take it however we can get it. I never really considered it a problem until I read the ingredients on the packaging and decided to take things into my own hands. It's pretty easy to make, is well-worth the extra effort and a perfect little stocking stuffer or hostess gift. Next batch I'll be adding some cinnamon and cayenne for a little kick.

Inspired by Liz at Sophisticated Pie, I whipped up a batch and made just a few adjustments. You'll need a few mason jars, a quick trip to the grocery store and a food processor and you'll be all set.

Homemade Nutella
Adapted from Sophisticated Pie and the LA Times

1 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon hazelnut oil (I added much more for desired consistency)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

Toast hazelnuts in a saute pan over a medium high heat. Shaking pan frequently to distribute heat. Skins will start to separate from the hazelnuts and your kitchen will smell toasty. This should just take a few minutes. I ended up transferring all the nuts to a damp towel, aggressively rubbed them together to release the remaining skins. Then I did my best to peal the remaining skins. I'm not going to lie, this was the least fun part of the process.

In a food processor, grind the nuts to a smooth butter. This takes about five minutes and I never exactly got a butter consistency, but moved on once the nuts were ground down to a very fine consistency.

Add the cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, salt and oil (and additional spices if you wish) until it's completely combined. I ended up with a very chalky mound of dough and started adding quite a bit more oil (a bit at a time) until the giant chunk of chocolate turned into the creamy nutella I've come to love.

Pour the mixture into mason jars, seal and gift to your favorite people.

P.S. This post will be highlighted on DailyBuzz Style on Thursday with a round up of 9 DIY homemade gift ideas. Be sure to check it out. I'm pretty excited to be included in the special collection.

Soup Monday: progressive party at elleinad spir

Danielle from Elleinadspir has been hosting a progressive party and since today the festivities stops at my place, we're having soup. Check out the recipe for white bean and kale soup. It's hearty, healthy and totally comforting. Everything you would want on a chilly December evening (or morning since I had it for breakfast yesterday). And it's the first time I've ever cooked dry beans - so much better than the canned version.  


Here is the entire party plan in case you missed it:

Monday Dec 12: Michelle of Pinque dressed us for our party

Tuesday Dec 13: Danielle of Domestic Dish tempted us with an appetizer

Wednesday Dec 14: AK of Tipsy Society served up a cocktail

Thursday Dec 15: Katie of Salt and Pine helped us buy our hostess gifts

Monday Dec 19: Estelle of Under A Pink Moon provided our soup course 

Tuesday Dec 20: Emily of Notorious MLE will entice us with a main course
Wednesday Dec 21: Melissa of Pineapple Lily will share her wish list of Holiday Decor

Thursday Dec 22: Carrie of This Free Bird will give us a yummy end to our party

Winter whites

The Alt Summit organizers recently announced we'd be treated to a very festive and fashionable "Winter White" themed party. It all sounds so very chic and romantic and as if I wasn't excited enough to be going to Alt in the first place. Let's face it, the conference pretty much sounds like summer camp for ladies. Don't even get me started on my roommates...Melissa, Michelle and Jeanne.

But I'm a little nervous about my wardrobe. I'm pretty sure my yoga pants will not make the cut with this design-minded crowd. Which is my not-so-subtle segue into LOOK AT MY NEW TUTU! Remember when I was lusting after the Shabby Apple version a few weeks back...well, my girlfriend surprised me with it for an early Christmas gift. She knew I'd never buy it for myself. She was right and now I pretty much want to wear it all day long, everywhere I go. When Emerson saw me try it on for her daddy she insisted to grab her Minikin version so we could dance ballet together. For those of you headed to Alt, what do you think? Appropriate? Too much? I'm curious to know your thoughts.

And if I happen to win the lotto before January 18, I'll scoop up these Lanvin beauties for some back up. You know, a gal needs to have options. All of this to day, I'm pretty much dying for the winter whites this year.

Pretty Clean: hippie power

There's no pretty way to talk about deodorant. It's filled with indisputably toxic ingredients, but most "natural" options are fairly ineffective and leave you feeling sticky, wet and smelly. Now I may have dabbled in a bit of hippie behavior in college, but smelling like the great unwashed has never been cool with me. I've tried a number of clean brands at Whole Foods and I'm currently using Kiss My Face roll on in Sport. The scent in mild (it also come in patchouli scent - no joke) and it's effective in preventing body odor, although, I have to admit I'm not exactly doing any form of exercise these days. So, for my marathon-training friends I'm not sure how this would stand up to a real workout. And my only gripe is that it is quite wet upon application and requires a good few minutes to absorb. But that's a small sacrifice in my world.

Also, I only use a natural deodorant about 50 percent of the time, because there are just certain situations and particular outfits I'd rather now sweat through. But I think any long term reduction in chemical exposure is a better than none at all. Baby steps, right? I've been dying to try Soapwalla's brand. It's getting great buzz from natural beauty experts and Megan just gave it a review that has me ready to place my order. It's high praise coming from someone who sweats away in a professional kitchen, on a yoga mat and while chasing after three little girls. Check out what she has to say and please share with me any experiences you've had going natural in the deodorant aisle.

Party files: the office birthday

Just because the party is happening in the board room doesn't mean the decor has to be buttoned up. Last week, I helped throw a little birthday party for a colleague. We were going for winter wonderland glamour so we filled a conference room with white, clear and silver balloons with extra long ribbons, sprinkled the table with star-shaped confetti made with a punch and draped the cake with a feather boa and silver ribbon.

The gift was a vintage pale pink depression glass cake stand (that I desperately covet), and we served decadent cake and French macarons from this new-to-me Etsy shop, Sparkles Macarons. It was a whimsical escape from the office and a festive celebration of our friend and co-worker.

As a side note, I'm working hard at gifting mostly vintage, handmade or small business this year. So far, so good, accept for my husband. He's a tough one. How's your holiday shopping going?

Soup Monday: Cream of Tomato

I make every attempt to eat locally grown, organic produce. I love my local farmer's market and believe in eating in season so I feel like I have to come clean here and acknowledge that very little in this soup is naturally grown in the winter. 

It can't be helped. A few times a year I get an unrelenting craving for tomato soup. It's so comforting and usually demands a good grilled cheese. But this time I baked up some (frozen) puff pastry in assorted mini cookie cutter shapes. They made the perfect little croutons. How cute would little letters be? A bit homemade alphabet soup for the kiddos. Anywho, I started with Michael Chiarello's recipe but I have a few recommendations and notes on how I will adjust this next time around.  

Cream of Tomato soup adapted from Michael Chiarello

Ingredients

• 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes (I bought a box of 24 ounces of chopped tomatoes)
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 small carrot, diced
• 1 yellow onion, diced (next time I will caramelize the onions for some added flavor)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth (I used two cups of organic veggie broth and will likely use more next time to thin it out a bit)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 1/4 cup of the olive oil and roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth, bay leaf and butter. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add basil and cream, if using. Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth. (Confession: I often use an immersion blender and I appreciate the convenience but when it comes to onion-based soups, they often slide through the holes in the blender base and I just don't like chewing an onion bit. I'm guessing that caramelizing the onions will help break them down a bit, but never the less, I'll probably run this soup through the blender or food mill in the future.)

Special shop introduction: Thru Lisa's Eyes

I'm so excited to introduce you to a new favorite Etsy shop, Thru Lisa's Eyes. It's filled with unique vintage finds and is curated by a lady who truly knows her stuff, my stepmom, Lisa. She's been immersed in the world of antiques for more than 20 years and used to have her own brick and mortar shop.

A visit with her is guaranteed to include a sneak peak at some serious costume jewelry (she got me hooked on sparkly gems ages ago), charming tea towels from the 50s or a great dress suitable for a Mad Men viewing party (I came home with one on my most recent visit). I have always loved delving into her treasures and hearing the history behind long-forgotten but influential jewelry designers or the evolution of table ware through the decades. I'm kind of a junky for this stuff, but if you just like to shop for pretty and special items - check out her site, she's constantly added great new pieces.

As a side note, can we talk for just a moment about the term "stepmom"? I know I'm a little hyper-sensitive. A: Because I am one. And B: Because I have one and Disney isn't doing us any favors in the perception department. Maybe we could all put our collective brain power on the issue and come up with a friendlier label. Lisa has been my parent, my friend and my trusted confidant for the better part of my life. Her presence is ingrained in some of my most significant memories and calling her stepmom just never feels like enough. It just has to be said. But for now, stop by Thru Lisa's Eyes before you wrap up your holiday shopping.


P.S. There's still time to enter the Shabby Apple necklace giveaway until 5 p.m. PST today.

Lazy gal's holiday gift guide (or my Santa letter)

As a rule, I don't read fashion magazines. I lack the ability to appreciate the art direction and photography because I'm too busy managing my plummeting self esteem. The want monster comes out and I'm instantly dissatisfied with every aspect of my material life and questioning how it is I ended up living in the suburbs, driving a station wagon, no less. It's just no good for me.

But the Nordstrom catalogue - well, that's a whole other story. It's just so unassuming and benign at first glance, but before I know it pages have been torn out or folded and I'm piecing together a fabulous new life for myself.

So here's your gift guide if you're shopping for me with a stupid-sized budget, Santa.

Michael Kors Acetate sunglasses, nude, $99
Rebecca Minkoff leather shoulder bag, assorted colors, $195
Marc By Marc Jacobs rose gold-plate watch, $225
Loyalty Spa, midnight, top, $125, skirt, $135 (amazing belt sold separately)

Weekend snap: her first ballet

In the past 72 hours I have left the house exactly once. This plague is hanging on and on and sleep seems to be the strongest medicine. It was a herculean effort to shower, apply make-up, brush hair, change out of jammies and dress Emerson in her finest, but it was totally worth it. There was no way I was missing my girl's first Nutcracker. Her best friend would be there, as would mine. And we'd be honoring Melanie and her fellow San Jose Dance Theatre alumni and their late, beloved teacher and dance company co-founder, Mr. Curtis. This was not a night to miss.

Emerson and Lark twirled in their dresses, giggled in the corner eating sugar cookies and took photos with a real ballerina. I was reminded, once again, how lucky I am to be raising a daughter along side one of the best ladies in my life. Thanks for sharing your special night with us, Melanie.

Wish I were here

But then again, Disneyland is most likely the place I picked up this wicked plague of a cold. I didn't think it was possible but every day this week I've woken up feeling a bit worse than the last. It's been a rough one. Pretty sure that's what I get for riding Dumbo five times with my Emerson and eating a steady diet of churros and beignets. I'm hoping for healthier days ahead because there is fun to be had this weekend. Little girls in party dresses, Nutcracker sightings and birthday celebrations, just to name a few of the shenanigans I don't want to miss out on. Happy weekend, friends.