I have issues! Camera issues sleep issues, calendar issues, phone issues, and worst of all… website issues! It must have been the full moon. At least I hope so because the full moon only lasts one day and these issues need to cease! Let us address each issue, one at a time.

Camera – I had complete short-term memory loss on how to work my own camera yesterday morning when I took the photos for tomorrow’s post. A small portion of the problem could have been that it was about 4 AM when they were taken and that was after I had gone to the grocery store to get the coconut I could have sworn I had in my pantry. Obviously another memory loss issue on the coconut! One happy side note…when you shop at 3:30 AM, there is only you, the cleaning people, and the stocking staff in the store… kinda awesome!

Sleep – Already noted above, I cannot sleep! I fall asleep fine, but if something wakes me up, that’s it – I am up! Hate that! I really and truly hate that!!!

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I’m off to tape a television segment today for Channel 3-  Your Life A to Z.  It will air tomorrow, Friday, October 14th, at 10:100 AM.  So, instead of posting a recipe, I have some miscellaneous, fun, and important items to tell you about. 

For the last couple of days I’ve been sharing with you items from my weekend shopping extravaganza with Peggy. Both of us are in love with birdcages and we found the perfect one for Peggy’s house. She had an open corner in her dining room and we decided the birdcage would fit perfectly there. She will change it out throughout the year and create holiday and casual vignettes, using the cage as the canvass.  Above you can see what we did for her Halloween Birdcage Vignette and below is a closeup. Doesn’t that look great?!

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Yesterday I told you about the new trend that has retail stores selling “found” stuff for big bucks.  Well, during my shopping excursion with Peggy last weekend, I found some stuff on my own that has been, or is currently, being offered in Pottery Barn’s “found” section.

One of the very first things I remember PB offering was these soda crates for $24 each. Somehow they’ve sold out of them and they are no longer available in stores or on their website.

I lusted after them, especially when I saw the way they were being used in the dining room at Estate, a gorgeous and delicious restaurant in Sonoma, California. Even so, I wasn’t willing to pay $24 each for old crates.

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Have you noticed the “new” thing in stores and catalogs like Pottery Barn are these “found” items for sale? Sure, I want to buy just about every one I see, but those prices… ouch! Well, I found my own treasure this past weekend while out on a girls’ shopping afternoon with Peggy. This super cool vintage chemistry set! I can only imagine what “finding” it at PB would have cost me… I paid $25 for it. Why I thought I needed a vintage chemistry set, I do not know, but it was one of those things that caught my eye and I could not pass it up. It is perfect for Halloween decor, so at least it has a purpose for the next few weeks.

Since I decided to place it on the living room fireplace hearth, it inspired me to go to town on the mantel. I spent an hour or so this morning at the .99 store looking for cheap stuff to accessorize with.  Another thing that I’ve been admiring at Pottery Barn are these News Text Pillar Candles, but then again, do I really need another candle in this house… the answer is NO… so I made my own text candles.

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Chayote squash is a member of the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, along with melons, cucumbers and squash. Chayote is a good source of amino acids and vitamin C. The pear-shaped green fruit has a thin skin and a flattened pit (seed) that can be eaten but is generally discarded. Chayote may be eaten raw, but is usually cooked as a side dish. You’ll find it in the produce section sold individually in little plastic sleeves or wrapped in tissue paper, which helps protect the thin skin from being pierced or blemished.

Now that you know all about chayote, it’s time to tell you about the coyote. But first, a little history.

Our backyard is enclosed by a 6-foot tall solid block wall. Inside that wall live quail, bunnies, ground squirrels, and (gasp) roof rats. I can live with the cute quail and bunnies, even though the quail are stupid and bad parents and they tick me off and the bunnies eat my flowers. I used to think the squirrels were cute until one snuck into my house.  Well, he didn’t actually sneak in, he walked right in through the open door. It was two years ago, and I’m still not over it. Here is what I posted on Facebook that day – October 26, 2009
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Last month my dad was in Colorado visiting friends and shopping for beans. OK, not exactly shopping for beans, but he had offered to pick up some anasazi beans for my cousin, Dennice, and some pinto beans for a friend of his. Dennice was thinking he’d get her a pound or two of beans, but in my dad’s usual style, he brought home a 10-pound bag. Really, who needs 10-pounds of dried beans?  I offered to take three pounds off her hands, at $1.20 a pound, they were a steal. If you haven’t seen anasazi beans before, they are pretty cool looking, but honestly, they taste about the same as a kidney bean, and once cooked, they lose most of their good looks. Plus they are a lot more expensive than plain-Jane kidney beans as you can see from THIS LINK on Amazon.  Anasazi beans have been available commercially only since 1983, check out THIS LINK to learn more about them… and just about every other bean you might be even remotely interested in. So, feel free to substitute kidney beans in this recipe. And if you don’t want to go to the time (overnight soaking) and trouble of starting with dried beans, use three 15-ounce cans of kidney or pinto beans, drained and reserving the liquid. You’ll be adding that liquid (or the cooking liquid from the dried beans) to the chili. If you don’t have a full 3 cups of liquid to add, supplement with either tap water, vegetable broth, or chicken broth.

The thing that makes this chili special is the blend of three pure chile powders; California, ancho, and chipotle. Do me a favor – go pull out the jar or can of McCormick or Shilling chili powder you have in your spice cabinet. Now look at the ingredients; it probably reads something like this – Ingredients: chili peppers, cumin, oregano, salt, garlic, and silicon dioxide. That’s right, plain chili powder is more than just plain. So buy a selection of pure chile powders and you will be able to control the season of things you use chile powder in. If you want to kick it up a bit, add more chipotle chile powder, to taste. Most grocery stores now carry all three of these chile powders, and you can always find them at Cost Plus World Market.

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I’ve been pulling out and putting up the Halloween decorations these past two days and since we were in Canada last Halloween, the storage boxes were literally buried in the shed. It was a chore to get them out of there… I’ve got the cuts and bruises to prove it.

The motivation was our weather. The last couple of days have been gorgeous; the windows are open, the air is off, and life is good! Well, at least for now, because it is going to be 93 degrees on Tuesday, 97 degrees on Wednesday, and 99 on Thursday! What is up with that!?! Ninety-nine degrees on October 13th… that is not right! Not. Right.

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Happy Birthday, Dave!

Have fun golfing today! If there was ever a person who deserved a day off to relax and do the thing he most loves to do… it is you!

You claim you don’t want anything for your birthday, now what am I going to do about that?!? [Read more →]

My sister and niece, Sloane and Raina, had a long-weekend getaway to Portland, Oregon last month. I had the task… I mean the pleasure… of dog-sitting for their pooch, Bubo. When I say that Bubo is a spoiled brat, that is just glancing the tip of the iceberg. Yeah, he’s cute, and that is the only thing that kept me from ringing his little neck. We (as in Dave, my dad, and I) can’t agree if he is deaf, stupid, or just a brat. Bubo will NOT come when you call him; Dave thinks he can’t hear, Dad thinks he doesn’t know his own name – making him an idiot, I know that my sister has just spoiled him to pieces and that Bubo loves to be chased after. Ugg!

I am pretty hardcore when it comes to spoiled brats … Bubo did NOT sleep on our bed as suggested by Sloane, or even in our room for that matter. No – since he is a dog – he slept on his little pillow on the tile in the gated-off area of the breakfast room/kitchen/laundry room, and he was just fine with that… no whining or complaining, just sleeping all night. Although my sister brought over a bagful of various doggie treats, he only received one a day, not one every single time he looked up wistfully at me. He was not allowed to bite at my toes and fingers or tear into my shoes… you get the idea – I straightened him out, but I’m certain he’s back to his old antics… right, Sloane?

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I am completely “committing to the chai” with this French toast. It goes without saying that this is delicious served with the Vanilla Chai Tea Hot Toddy for a perfect fall brunch. Enjoy!

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