Carvin'

 

Hello Pooh Bear!

I'm thinking this no carve idea... 

and a monogram on my pumpkins this year.  

 

The farm will be getting pumpkins in anytime now.  Yipee.  Halloween fun and yummy pumpkin soups are on their way!

oh la la

A turquoise carousel in Paris.  C'mon, this is too awesome.  If I ever make it to Paris, I call first dibs on that pink horse.

Roasted Salmon Nicoise Platter Recipe : Ina Garten : Food Network

I need to make sure to make this Salad Nicoise again before all of Frank's tomatoes are gone for the year. I saw the recipe when I was on vacation this Summer.

I love you Ina.

 

{image}

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 4 lemons, zested and juiced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 pounds skin-on fresh salmon fillets
• 3 pounds small Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 1/2 pounds haricots verts, stems removed
• 3 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges (6 small tomatoes)
• 12 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut in 1/2
• 1 bunch watercress or arugula
• 1/2 pound large green olives, pitted
• 1 can anchovies, optional

Vinaigrette:

nocoupons

• 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup good olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

For the marinade, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, mustard, garlic, 1 1/2 tablespoons salt and 1/2 tablespoon pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

Place the salmon on a sheet pan that has been covered in aluminum foil, and drizzle the marinade over the salmon. Allow the salmon to sit for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot off the heat and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Leave the potatoes to steam for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender but firm. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice them in thick slices and set aside.

Place the salmon in the oven and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until it is almost cooked through.

Remove to a plate and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Remove the skin and break into large pieces.

Blanch the haricots verts in a large pot of boiling salted water for 1 1/2 minutes only. Drain immediately and immerse in a bowl of ice water. Drain again and set aside.

For the vinaigrette, combine the vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Set aside.

Arrange the salmon, potatoes, haricots verts, tomatoes, eggs, watercress, olives and anchovies, if used, on a large flat platter. Drizzle some vinaigrette over the fish and vegetables and serve the rest in a pitcher on the side.

Found this at Found

 

I spotted this at Found on my first trip out there a few months ago.  It wasn't there anymore as of this weekend.  Oh well.  It's a darling little locker shelving unit.  I'd love to fill it with my grouped odds and ends around the house...and my gumball collection, of course. {smile}

Hope this motivates me to finish filing/sorting all my paperwork on my desk.

Weekend fun

This weekend while the boys {Sean and Patrick} went to see the new owl movie Saturday morning, Gretchen and I gassed and washed the car and headed out to Mesa {listening to my Mayer Hawthorne Pandora station via iphone}.  There was a great little anniversary party of the beautiful little retail shops Found and Domestic Bliss. We got to meet the darling Jess of Today Show and ReClaimed Marketplace fame. We picked up my second bow/flower head wrap for Gretchen {don't worry sweetie, it's not an obsession, really - I just think they're sweet} and we made it back to Northwest Phoenix for lunch with the rest of Sean's family.

 

{I picked up the one on the left from the picture above}

Below is a picture of an outdoor chair I saw at the basement of Domestic Bliss/Found. I have this exact chair at home on my back patio {I spray painted mine black tho'}.  I noticed that this one has some clever cushioning. I'm making a note of this in case I want to bring that chair indoors and swap out my vinyl ones for these burlap cuties. 

 

Sunday we had some neighbors over for dinner to get a Babysitting Coop started.  I made crockpot make-your-own meatball subs. So so easy for a crowd.  I'm a little sad to admit that I just married some TJ's meatballs and some TJ's marinara in the crock pot and turned it on.  No cooking for me Sunday.  Sometimes I just don't have it in me.  I wanted to focus on the folks.  I did and I'm glad for it.

xoxo

jen

I imagine my daughter...

wearing this to school if we lived in France in the 50's.

I just discovered Bonpoint.  Waaaaay too cute.

Identification Charts Doube Duty Wall Art

{apartment therapy}

Kids Punkins

Patrick has really started to enjoy making things.  I'm not super duper crafty in the paper arts division.  Here's an easy one we're going to try:

http://makeminelime.blogspot.com/2010/09/fall-pumpkin-tutorial.html

I found this from the One Pretty Thing blog.  It's a great resource for all things crafty and printable on the interweb.

A Vibrant Fireplace

Such a small world.  I've been following Absolutely Beautiful Things (in Australia) for quite a while now and she just posted a pic from one of my new/old friends from grade school.  So cool.  Such a small world.

http://absolutelybeautifulthings.blogspot.com/2010/09/vibrant-fireplace.html

DIY : Chevron Desk

What a fun diy project.  I'd love to do a zig zag pattern on one of my desks.

{images Primitive & Proper}

kristina marie by KristinaMarie on Etsy

Cute cute cute stuff.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KristinaMarie#

Oh the places you'll go...

{Cape Grace via Pink to Green}

There are so many places I want to go. I'll take this room in South Africa.  Maybe someday when I get a passport, I'll check this place out.  Beautiful!

Moop - Moop, Handmade Bags for Men, Women and kids! : The Letter Bag in gunmetal gray

{Sigh} What is it with me and bags.  Love them.  Love this.  I want it.  I certainly don't need it.  But, I want it. :)

http://www.moopshop.com/collection/60

Date Night

I'm so loving being a mommy to 2 completely adorable and sweet kids.  I really enjoy being at home and cooking them meals and cuddling up with books or movies.  I'm taking the advice of all the little old ladies who stop me at the store to remind me of how precious my time is with the kids while they're small.  Great advice indeed.

But sometimes I pretend that my husband and I could go out for a show.  This would be one I'd really enjoy:

Party Barging

This thing is unreal.  I first saw it on Mrs. Lilien's.  It's got an outboard, seating for 10, a charcoal grill.  My first thought is that I'd have to find my house on the lake first.  Check out this pretty one in Denmark:

My second thought was...why not just get a boat? 

Cowboy Ciao chopped salad

This salad is everywhere these days.  At least places I frequent.  If you haven't had this salad from Cowboy Ciao, you should.  It's to die for.  Trader Joe's just put something in their refrigerated case just like it.  And Wildflower Bread Company put something similar to it on their Summer menu. 
 
Thank goodness The Arizona Republic has posted the recipe.  So so so delicious! 

Dressing

1/4 cup basil pesto

1/2 shallot, roughly chopped

1/2 cup aioli (see note)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper, to taste

Salad

1/3 cup cooked Israeli couscous

2 ounces chopped arugula

1/3 cup diced Roma tomatoes

1/3 cup diced smoked salmon

1 tablespoon crumbled Asiago cheese

1 tablespoon toasted pepitas

2 tablespoons dried black currants

2 tablespoons super-sweet dried corn

For the dressing: Combine pesto, shallot and aioli in a food processor; blend thoroughly. With motor running, add buttermilk. Add pepper and lemon juice; blend to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

For the salad: Arrange ingredients in separate rows on a large platter. Toss salad at the table, using about half of the batch of dressing. (Refrigerate remaining dressing up to three days.) Makes 2 servings.

Note: Aioli is like garlicky mayonnaise. Look for it in gourmet food stores, or make your own by blending together 1 to 2 finely minced garlic cloves, 1/3 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup mayonnaise.

I found these great images from Culinary Fool.  Awesome pics.

They also posted the picture of the mushroom polenta dish from Cowboy Ciao, which is the other to-die-for menu item not to be missed.  Oh man, my mouth is watering...

Blue Lily's Balloons

I adored this blog post from Stephanie Nielsen.  I must use balloon props for our next family photo shoot.  Beautiful and playful and graphic and sweet and just awesome.  Making mental note...

All photos taken by Wendy Whitaker from BlueLily photography.

Anchors Away Tee perfect birthday present by modernfrills on Etsy

I love this etsy tee.  Coming from a sailing family, I totally love the whole nautical look.  Adorable.

awwww man, had I seen this last year during the mega train phase...

Schools Back!

Les jardins du Champ de Mars, 1944

Patrick starts preschool today for the 3 days a week 3's class.  Yippee!! 

La Mer Watch

I saw this at Frances on Saturday. I really wanted to get it. Cute cute cute. I don't have a habit of buying $100 things for fun being a stay-at-home mom and a husband in law school.  Maybe later. :)

veggie fun

I'm having so much fun taking the kids to the farm, taking pics, playing and eating the food.  I love farming, I love technology, I love eating.

I think oven fried okra is on the menu tonight. Yummy yum.

mayer hawthorne

Adorable video with a happy little song.

Happy Labor Day!

kids birthday parties

some are sort of over-the-top for a little kid.  I think i just don't like the idea of spending soooo much money but I do believe in making them easy and special.

I just found this blog: Hip Hip Hooray.  I think my kids' parties will never be the same.  There are some really great ideas here:

omg, party in a box...