Category — Random

My mother-in-law flew in from Illinois on Friday evening to spend Thanksgiving week with us. We’re all so happy she is here. It’ll be the first Thanksgiving we’ve all celebrated together!

Yesterday, I invited my dad over for dinner, which is usually a Sunday happening. In the late afternoon, we were sitting outside playing cards and there was the strangest and most beautiful sky.

Half of the bright blue sky had scattered little fluffy clouds. The other half looked like a white out.

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This photo was taken during summer cooking classes. Although the two students in the foreground are fabulous – what I want you to focus on is the background. The view through the window behind the kids.

It is the view I’ve looked at every day for the last four years … ever since we did a complete remodel on our backyard.

In 2008 we expanded our backyard, taking down the existing block fence and pushing out to the back and to the west. Putting up a new block fence. In the process, as my neighbors probably recall, there was the unfortunate incident of hitting a gas line and closing down the street for a couple of hours with the fire department on hand. (Good times!)

We dug out the existing kidney-shaped diving pool, filled it in, and put in a new play pool with a spa, waterfall, and a swim-up bar that has you eating and drinking while watching me cooking away in the new sunken outdoor kitchen.

We tore off the existing patio cover and deck, and boarded up the two upstairs doors so that one of us didn’t somehow forget there was no deck to step out onto and fall to our death! Making the back of the house look like a tornado had come through. Then we put up a new patio cover, more than triple in depth.

Oh, and by the way, one very important note here – when I say “we” – I mean that “we” hired FANTASTIC contractors to do all that. (if you need a general contractor, a plumber, a landscape designer, an electrician, or a painter… let me know because I love those guys!) We only lifted a finger to write out the checks. So many checks! I

Here’s a very fuzzy zoomed in shot of what I see out that window. And it’s not the pool I’m focusing on today, it the patio furniture.

This is a photo of the remodeled covered patio, just after it was completed in April 2008.

Dave and I received the patio table and four chairs (along with 2 chaise lounges and a side table) as a wedding shower gift, in 1985.

Yep, the set is 27 years old. I’ve had it repainted and re-strapped twice, so about every 9 years… making it again due for a makeover.

And although it has served us well, it is time for it to move on to another family… along with many other items from my home.

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We had a creative and fun-filled extra long weekend. Our BFF’s from Illinois, Jeff and Jen, flew in on Thursday.

After years of them playing hosts to us at their gorgeous Wisconsin log cabin and at their beautiful home in Illinois, we were finally able to play hosts to them….for the first time EVER!

I know, that’s crazy, isn’t it?  Well, it was an absolute joy and just makes me wish they would come back at least once a month until we could pay them back for their more than a decade of hospitality.  Even at that rate, it would take us a couple of years to catch up!

On Saturday morning, I held the burlap pumpkin class that I threatened to hold in THIS POST … several of you expressed interest.

Thankfully, Jen and Shelia were two of the participants, because those two girls are super artistic and they were able to help the other participants make some really pretty pumpkins.

Peggy and I showed everyone how to put the pumpkins together, but it was Sheila and Jen who really lead the way, helping one lady after another, bling out their fabric squash creations.

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At the suggestion of the Sweet Salvage vendor, I turned the vintage French ephermera I purchased there, into wrapping paper.

Brilliant!

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Four years ago today Barb, Kim, and I were at Rancho la Puerta in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico celebrating the Day of the Dead.

Well, we were actually there because Barb was teaching cooking classes and Kim and I went along to Deborah Szekely’s luxury spa to “assist” Barb with the classes. In all honesty, it was more work for Barb and mostly a getaway week-long retreat for Kim and me that happened to coincide with Day of the Dead.

Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. Gatherings of family and friends come together to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died.

It is specifically celebrated in Mexico, where it is a national holiday. The celebration takes place on November 1, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

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At the July Sweet Salvage Occasional Sale, I bought one of those things you see on the roof of that building above.  Now you may be asking yourself, “Why on earth would she buy a wind turbine?”

Or maybe you’re not asking yourself that. Not if you recall this photo I posted from when Dave, Marissa, and I went to the Alameda Point Antiques Faire in July 2011.  Yes, it took me a year to find one and then another couple of months to make it into my new Wind Turbine Hanging Light!

Before I show you mine, check out these three hanging as pendants in this business.

Via
(check out the link for more cool lights made from a birdcage, baskets, Mason jars, mixing bowls, and more!)

And now for the reveal…

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What a lovely sentiment about having a lovely day. Seems like a nice way to begin today’s post.

On to the matters at hand…

Aside from when we’ve been out of town and I haven’t had a kitchen to cook in, I am in the middle of the longest span of time that I have not cooked a meal.

Four of the last 8 days we were dining out and the other 4 days, we were eating leftovers. Quite honestly, I have not felt like cooking. Yes, it happens to me too.

One of those “nights out” was Sunday night when Connor, my dad, Dave, and I went to Noca for the sold-out “Fried Chicken Throw Down” between Noca and FnB.

Boy, did we enjoy some amazing fried chicken! At the time we did not know which chicken was cooked by which chef.

It has since been revealed that the crunchy fried chicken on the far side of the plate with the “hot sides” of tomato gravy served with mashed potatoes, haricots vert, and a honey-butter biscuit, belonged to Noca.

On the near side is FnB’s crispy buttermilk-brined fried chicken with the “cold sides” of pickled corn on the cob niblet, kale slaw, and a baking powder biscuit ladled with creamy giblet gravy.

Both were exceptional, and next to the fried chicken itself, the best thing on the plate was that honey-butter biscuit!

Here is how Dave, my dad, and I voted.

The three of us preferred the chicken with cold sides (FnB).

Connor, on the other hand, voted for the chicken with hot sides (Noca). The winner was posted on Facebook on Monday and later that day, the event was written about on the Chow Bella blog. Read all about it HERE.

Believe it or not, Noca won by 1 (ONE!) vote.

Curse you, Connor, you made the difference in the end result. Solid proof that every vote counts!!  This seems like the perfect opportunity to remind you to vote, two weeks from today, on Tuesday, November 6th!!!

OK, let me get back on topic … the drought…

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Our trip to California last weekend wasn’t all that we expected it to be. Several of the vendors we hoped to see were not there, including “the boys” Dustin and Christian who own Uber Chic Home, and Martin and Trinidad of Atelier de Campagne. Turns out they were at the Three Speckled Hens Antiques Show in Paso Robles. In addition to that, it was HOT! You know how I hate to travel away from hot Arizona to where it should be cooler and end up still being HOT somewhere else!

Although the Rose Bowl Flea Market was a bit of a disappointment this time around, Sheila and I still came home with plenty of happy finds. Some were found at the Rose Bowl, others at various shops along Main Street in Ocean Beach. Where, by the way, you can also find this sketchy Hippy Hostel, just in case you are looking for lodging,

On to the Happy Finds… (plus a fun bonus at the end of the post)

Four seriously awesome antique English crocks. These things are all the rage and often very expensive. Mine was a steal. The vendor told me that he has a guy who digs them up out of the River Thames. Seriously, it’s common practice. Read THIS little blog post to learn more.

I purposely picked out the most aged and crackly ones he had.

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I’ve linked my blog to a new “Top Food Blog” site.

To help get things going, I have an itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny little favor to ask of you.

It will take you all of 1 minute.

See this logo over there on the right side of this page?

Near the top…there it is.

Now, if you would so kindly just click on it.

It will take you to the “Top Food Blogs” site. If you would then type “Les Petites Gourmettes” into the search bar at the top of their page and click search.  That will take you to the recipes I have listed there. Click on any one of those recipes and it will bring you back here.

That’s it. That’s all I ask from you today. That really was itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny – wasn’t it? But it means a lot to me. You are the best!

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There is this quotation I subscribe to –

The quote is often credited to the late great John Lennon. Upon further research, I discovered it actually belongs to the early 1900 author, Marthe Troly-Curtin. No matter, it is true.

While “wasting time” on Pinterest, I found this fantastic site. Blogger, Kristi of creativekristi.com, is a proud Military wife and mother of two, living in Maine.

Because of and thanks to Kristi’s help, you can now have your very own Les Petites Gourmettes “app” on your iPhone or iPad and it will take you directly to my website. OK, it’s not really an app.

You don’t download it from the App Store. Instead, it’s really just a bookmark, but it looks like a little app icon, with a sweet picture of a whisk (an actual photo I chose from my blog photos).  It looks clearer on your phone than it does here. 🙂

To get it – follow these 4 quick and easy steps: (quick – as in – less than a minute and easy – as in – my husband could do it! I’m not being mean, he’s seriously tech challenged – ask our kids!)

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