May 2013
17 posts
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lovely tuesday: a BHLDN garden party
whenever i draw couples, i can’t hardly wait to compare their photographs to my finished illustration. it’s a creative moment that i cherish and rarely share with anyone other than michael. but today you get a peek of the process thanks to megan (of greetings from texas), her husband danny, and a team that included awake and BHLDN. isn’t meg’s dress beautiful? i...
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delicious monday: southeast asian sprouts
when i posted my first brussels sprouts recipe, i joked that you would never find the vegetable in asian kitchens. well, mark me wrong— we ate asian-inspired brussels sprouts at the monterey, one of our favorite local restaurants. i liked the dish so much i hacked the recipe i.e. i asked the waitress nicely for the ingredients and figured out the rest. ideally i would sauté the sprouts...
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lovely tuesday: october or bust
guess what? michael and i set our wedding date. in october, we will get married and celebrate with the best bunch of our family and friends.
wedding planning hasn’t been a cake walk. several venues fell through or flaked out. i cried many times in frustration. i even pretended to write a book called love in the time of pinterest (inspired by an email to tania).
i’ve realized now...
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delicious monday: compact caprese
whenever we have guests, i think of two appetizers: potstickers (dumplings) and caprese. i don’t serve them together; they’re just terribly easy to make. michael and i usually make caprese the traditional way with large tomato slices. on friday, we changed it up with bocconcini because i saw some photo on pinterest. are you on pinterest? of course you are. i am, too. i’m sure...
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dearest thursday: silk sophisticates
every couple of months, i receive emails from readers inquiring about silk blouses. when i moved to texas, i began buying more silk and cotton tops to help with the summer heat. as fashion editors say, natural fibers breathe. i wear them to school with skirts and on weekends with shorts or jeans. my favorite blouses are equipment shirts, but at full-price, they are true investment pieces....
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lovely tuesday: porch suppers
it took a long time— almost three years to be exact— for michael and i to pick out furniture for our deck. everything we liked cost the same as “real” furniture so we finally settled on a classic wooden picnic table and an outdoor rug from lowe’s. every warm weekend, we look forward to porch suppers. i cover the table with a neutral tablecloth and table runner, move...
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delicious monday: kale soup
my parents eat kale and other dark, scary greens regularly. in elementary school, the cafeteria served steamed, chopped kale and i couldn’t bear taking a bite. now i don’t mind it for two reasons: soup makes it less bitter, and if you roast it, it supposedly resembles japanese seaweed. i haven’t roasted any yet (i’d rather eat seaweed) but i like kale soup. i’m not...
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April 2013
27 posts
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delicious monday: shrimp bake
sometimes michael and i crave foods from different cities we’ve visited or inhabited. last saturday, we got chicago style hot dogs and cheese fries for dinner. two days later, we went northeastern and had a shrimp bake at home.
i call it a shrimp bake as a play on the traditional clam bake. a shrimp bake is easier to manage when you’re serving a small family and lacking beach front...
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dearest thursday: flat out
sometimes friends back east ask (sarcastically) if i wear boots in the spring and summer in texas. i usually reply with an indignant “no!” then “yeah” then “sometimes.” but the majority of my warm weather days are spent in flats— flat sandals to be exact. this year, they’re showing up with simple ankle straps and darling details on the toes. you...
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lovely tuesday: living it up
when my parents visited us last year, my mom was surprised that we— i use we loosely because y’all know i wear the decorating pants in our family— chose grey for the living room. i love white space (the blog is a prime example) but white plays a smaller role at home. the previous owners painted the walls green and bright yellow and i immediately wanted to tone things down. we...
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delicious monday: beef pho (noodle soup)
i’ve been eating pho (southeast asian noodle soup) for most of my life. whenever we had company, my mom cooked pho or curry in large steel pots. she bought noodles in armfuls and kept condiments on a tray; there were too many kinds of chili sauces to count. you can find most of these ingredients at asian grocery stores. if you live in a small town, the meatballs and condiments may be...
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“the best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.”
– linus pauling
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delicious monday: shrimp risotto with asparagus
whenever i cook risotto i pretend to make a potion in professor snape’s class. being at hogwarts makes the constant stirring less monotonous and more delicious. one of our favorite risotto recipes hails from epicurious. i’ve memorized it by heart and i never mess it up. don’t forget to use fresh lemons! MATERIALS my ingredients differ slightly from the original recipe.
1 bunch...
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lovely tuesday: menu planning
sophie’s favorite room in the house is the kitchen. pugs love food, and lucky for her, we cook often. as a family choice, we cook the majority of our meals at home. on sunday mornings, we sit over coffee and plan dinner for the week; i jot down 3-4 meal ideas on a perpetual calendar. i organize our recipes in a scrapbook and three-ring binder. the binder holds sheet protectors— if...
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delicious monday: chicken posole
chicken posole is a beautiful name for a spicy southwestern veggie soup. you can find posole on many menus in texas. if you’re not a local gal, it’s cool— posole is no-fuss soup to recreate at home. last monday, i made a big batch and ate it for lunch the rest of the week. MATERIALS
1 medium onion, chopped
3 poblano peppers, chopped and seeded
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can...
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dearest thursday: rekindled
i spent most friday afternoons of my childhood at the public library. my mom drove us there after school, and we were permitted to check out as many books as possible. i lived for fridays— we owned very few books in addition to an outdated set of encyclopedias and various dictionaries. borrowing library books felt like going on a great adventure.
my favorite authors included j.r.r....
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lovely tuesday: never stop growing
american media glamorizes eternal youth. women are perpetually twenty with glistening skin, perfect hair, and feet that never hurt in heels. no one ever goes grey or gets cellulite. no one ever admits to spoiling dinner with a handful (or three) of cheese puffs. in college, i dreaded growing older. with age came responsibility. with responsibility came the future and everyone knew the future was...
March 2013
36 posts
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“love, having no geography, knows no boundaries.”
– truman capote
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dearest thursday: more wishes
this week i celebrated my birthday and michael asked for a small wishlist. i love wishes— my friends and i used to play the genie wishing game at school. it involved one simple question: if a genie gave you three wishes, what would you wish for? of course we replied, “more wishes!” as an adult i still wish. we all should. of course, not every wish comes true. life...
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