We had our friends, Steve and Tram, over for dinner on Sunday. Well, golf and dinner for the boys and antiquing and dinner for Tram and me.  As an added bonus, Marissa arrived home at about 5:00, just in time for dinner. She had been in Tucson for UofA’s Homecoming and was able to drop in on Scottsdale for a whirlwind 22 hours.

Tram the Reporter (writing down the recipe for me), Steve the Chef, and Marissa the Photographer

This was a new sort of dinner party for us, I had a co-chef in the kitchen! Steve is a fabulous cook and he actually ended up making more dishes than I did. Plus he and Tram provided the main ingredient – halibut – that they caught themselves, in Alaska last summer. So Good! Steve and I each took half of the halibut and cooked it our own way.

To top off the perfect day, Tram brought THE MOST gorgeous and delicious angel food cake that I have ever seen or have had the pleasure of eating. She made it from a recipe recently given to her by her mother-in-law. It was divine! If she decides to share it with me (I didn’t even ask yet – I mean she just got it from her MIL!), and if she gives me permission, I will share it with you. Until then just drool over that picture above! Oh my!

Today I am sharing with you Steve’s recipe for halibut with limoncello sauce. If you were smart enough to make the homemade limoncello I taught you how to make last year, then you are ready to crank this out. If not, purchased limoncello is perfectly wonderful to use too.

Thank you, Tram and Steve! xoxo

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Before your tip of the week… a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my “birthday sister”, Laura Dileen Galloway Heffron! Laura and I have been friends since high school when we discovered our birthdays were only one day apart. Laura was my maid-of-honor 26 years ago and is Marissa’s godmother. I was a bridesmaid at her wedding and I am godmother to 2 of her 3 sons. Happy Birthday, Laura! I love you!

This picture is of Laura and me visiting my Aunt Beverly in Del Mar, CA back in the summer of ’78 or ’79. Laura and I were just high school girls standing there all awkward – while Bev poses all sexy… too funny! Bev’s birthday is Sunday, so I’ll take this opportunity to say Happy Birthday, Aunt Bev, I love you too!

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It’s no secret, I love my birthday. Do you know that person who complains that they are another year older? Yeah, I am the complete opposite of that person. Birthdays are a gift unto themselves.

I love October. I love the 27th. I love that I was born in a year ending with zero. What can I say? I just love my birthday. In fact, when I schedule posts in advance on this very blog, I set them up to post at 10:27 AM. So there you go, now you know.

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On Sunday night, Peggy and I attended a wonderful event at a fun new venue called The Accidental Yard, in Old Town Scottsdale. Doesn’t she look so pretty standing in front of the door that is the address of The Accidental Yard? Although I’m not actually certain that the door opens or if it really leads anywhere… since we followed the cute signs and walked around the corner to the entrance.

The property is between the Cavalliere Blacksmith Shop (est. 1910) and the Mission Restaurant and Lounge on Brown Avenue and Second Street. The Accidental Yard will encompass about 10,000 square feet on the L-shaped property that includes the two buildings and a yard that stretches to an area behind the blacksmith shop. The property had been vacant for years. It is being renovated by co-owners and founders, Joe and Kelly Garcia, into an urban garden that will soon have an attached coffeehouse, bakery, and restaurant. Joe and Kelly, are long-time vendors at the Old Town Farmer’s Market and Kelly owns Butter & Me Cupcakery.

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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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Except for the very discouraging fact that our AZ Diamondbacks dropped the first two games of the National League Division Series and our AZ Cardinals lost their third (3rd!!!!) game in a row – we had a great weekend. The third game in a row!!! Ouch!

On Saturday night, Dave and I dined at our friends, Mario and Ginger Vincitorio’s, a restaurant in Tempe… called VinciTorio’s Restaurant.  The evening was extra special because we went with my dear friend, Tram Mai, and her adorable husband Steve.

Not only is Tram the host of EVB Live on NBC channel 12, but she and Steve own Press Coffee Roasters, with locations at CityNorth and the Scottsdale Quarter… and another opening at Sky Harbor airport in spring 2012!

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I was searching for something sweet and quick to put together today for not only this post but to bring along to a lunch date I have this afternoon. I’m meeting up with my kids’ 1st grade teacher and her daughter and two granddaughters. We’ve stayed in touch all these years later, thanks in part to Facebook and this blog. Mrs. Tunheim (Ginger, to me) was both Marissa and Connor’s favorite teacher. In fact, Connor had her three times; 1st grade, 3rd grade, and during high school he went back and was a teacher’s aide in her class for a semester… yup we all love Mrs. T! Her beautiful daughter, Kim, assisted me one summer of cooking classes back when she was a single college girl.  Kim is now married with two adorable little girls of her own, so I’m bringing along these sweets to share with them.

I also want to take this opportunity to extend exuberant, hearty, and heartfelt congratulations to my friend and colleague, Gwen Walters, and her wonderful Pen & Fork, for winning Best Food Blog 2011 award given by Phoenix New Times!  Yay Gwen!!!  You can always check out Pen & Fork by just clicking on the link over there on the right side of this very page… it is AWESOME!

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I want to say thank you to each and every one of you who left me such kind, loving, and compassionate comments – not only here on the blog – but also on Facebook, by phone, and by email. So many of you have reached out and it means more than you will ever know.

And thank you to my sweet neighbors who brought me flowers and my friends who sent sympathy cards. A special thank you to my gorgeous BFF who came by yesterday to help ease my pain and who will help me later today at the reception, held here at the house, after the service. I am truly blessed with wonderful friends and family, I am beyond grateful.

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