We Have Grapes!!

 

About 1 week old........

We were told by our new landlords that our back fence will be covered with grapes in a couple of months. From the looks of it, we are already well on our way!

There are 3 old vines (variety unknown) that were planted over 30 years ago, and they say the grapes are incredibly delicious. But what I want to know is, how do you make wine out of grapes? 

It's time for some research........

Time To Move Again!

As if getting married and planning a wedding wasn't enough, we just signed a lease on a new house the other day, we are moving in a little over a week. What am I doing?

Even though we are just moving a little over a mile away, our current neighborhood and the new one, are like night and day.  In the new house we will have a garage, indoor washer and dryer, a cute yard (with grape and jasmine plants!), better street parking, and there are great restaurants and shops within walking distance, all for the same rent we pay now.

University Heights is known for some great eats. We found Soltan Banoo a long time ago and it is still one of our favorite Mediterranean restaurants in San Diego. There is also the Ethiopian restaurant that we want to try but the wait is always too long, Muzita Bistro. El Zarape is always good for inexpensive Mexican food, and Small Bar is our new favorite bar within walking distance. I'm sure once we get moved and settled in I will get out and find more great places, so stay tuned!

Now, what did I do with that packing tape........

The Crazy Quilt

I am the grateful recipient of one of the worlds most amazing gifts ever made. Much more than just a Christmas gift, this will be a family heirloom forever.

My incredibly talented Mom started this quilt over a year ago. Why she decided to make ME a "crazy quilt" is a mystery to me......
The amount of time and effort that went into making this quilt is astonishing. Here, I did some questions and answers, straight from the artists mouth keyboard!

• How many hours would you estimate it took you to complete? 14 months! Approximately 700 hours!  Gosh, at even $5.00 and hour…. The quilt would cost $3,500…. Not including the material, thread, embroidery thread, batting and the sheet for the underside of the quilt! 

• What was the average amount of time that you worked on it per week? Around 10 hours, usually 2 hours a night, for 5 nights a week.

• What was the most challenging part of making this quilt? Trying to not do too many “flower” stitches and putting colors next to each other that looked ok.

• What step did you enjoy the most?  The embroidery work on the top.

• How long did each square take to complete?  Some squares were finished in one evening and some took a week.

• Percentage wise, how much work was done by hand, how much by machine? The only machine stitching was sewing the squares together and then sewing the top, middle and bottom together.

• Have you started the next quilt yet?   I’m thinking about starting a baby quilt!  I would also love to do a Christmas Quilt…..

Sharon Boucher is a multi-talented artist and entrepreneur. After a few years of living in the Carolinas to perfect her southern charm, she is finally back in California. Her artistry ranges from acrylic tole painting to water painting, quilting, cooking, home decorating and entertaining. When she is not doing all of that, she loves being in the garden with her husband Mike. She is currently working on her own blog.....



Love my quilt, love my Mom!!

The Ring!

Since I work in the jewelry industry, I know a thing or two about jewelry. I also know that I am not your traditional diamond ring kind of girl.

But all of the sudden, I find myself engaged......... and picking out rings for myself, (wtf?)

I knew the first time I saw the picture below that I wanted an Alexandrite center stone.

The thing that I love about this stone is the changing colors. Depending on the type of light it is in, it changes color from light pink, to purple, to blue to turquoise to green, it is so awesome!! It kind of reminds me the popular "mood rings" of the 70's, only this is way better!

Not only is it gorgeous, but it is also incredibly symbolic. Known as a healing stone, alexandrite is specifically associated with balancing the mind and helping to achieve calmness, emotional balance, and to bring about change, happiness, and success.

So, with the center stone determined, the next part was deciding on a mounting. I wanted a low profile, not something that will stick out too high and get caught on everything. This is the one we chose.......

By Elma Gil

  And so, if you put the two together......you get this!

 

I know that this ring, like this commitment, is for the rest of my life.  I hope the ring will continue to inspire us to grow and change for the better as a couple, as well as individuals....... we are incredibly lucky to know so much love!

BIG Announcement!

It's official, Mark and I are officially engaged to be married!!!

Mark and I first  met on a street corner in Little Italy, San Diego in August 2008. It's a long story, but if it weren't for my cousin Krista, her friend Shannon, Slow Travel and Radiohead, we probably never would have met.

He was so nervous, not because he worried I wouldn't accept his proposal, but he wanted it to be special.

The final destination, after several "tease locations", (yes, I was anticipating his proposal), was the Zoro Garden in Balboa Park.

If you are not familiar with the Zoro Garden, it is a secluded area that was originally designed as a nudist retreat back in the 1930's. These days, it is a beautiful grotto garden lined with plants and trees that create a habitat essential for the life cycle of butterflies.

I couldn't have imagined anything more sweet or more beautiful. Mark on his knee, the garden, the butterflies, the insanely gorgeous December day in San Diego. There were a lot of emotions and a lot of tears, and of course I said yes!

Marks gravel encrusted knee!

Check back later to find out all about my non-traditional but incredibly awesome engagement ring!

New Blog!

I know, I can barely keep up with this one, I must be insane!

I started working on this new venture about a month ago and I am really happy with where it's going. Of course it will evolve and change a million times before I am satisfied, or maybe never, but I sure enjoy the process.
http://idontcookbutmyboyfrienddoes.blogspot.com/

This blog is very much a combination of Mark's love of cooking and my love of blogging, he cooks and I write about it. We hope that you will find it entertaining, inspiring and maybe even get a good recipe out of it.

Please don't be shy, leave a comment if you like something or hate something or just want to say hi! Also, if you click on "subscribe" you will a notification every time I post something new, don't worry, I won't flood your inbox!

Thanks for reading!

Looking for Shady

I usually say goodnight to the cats when I go to bed, give them each a scratch and an air kiss. One night last week, I bid Lilly goodnight but I could not find Shady anywhere. She has really morphed into MY cat so it was odd that she wasn't close by.



I don't know if you can tell from this poorly shot photo, (I really need to take a photography class) but Shady was eventually found.....UNDER Lilly! She was hiding her the whole time. Cute, huh?

Dia de los Muertos

It's Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead. I have posted about this before, but this is really the fist time I have created my own "shrine".

Our shrine combines a mix of both Mark's and mine friends and relatives, and some of or favorite people such as Jerry Garcia and Stanley Mouse.

We have tried to represent as many of our family and loved ones as possible with small tokens of remembrance; photos, candles, colorful flowers, fruits & gourds, favorite beverages and food offerings.

Used as the foundation of our shrine, is the old antique Philco given to Mark by his Grandfather, someday we will get that baby running....

Idyllwild

Mark and I spent the weekend up in Idyllwild for my birthday.

Tucked in the rural San Jacinto Mountains, it's an easy 2 hour drive north east of San Diego. At about 5,000 ft. and a population of just over 3,000 it's a great mountain escape, especially if you can only get away for a few days. We could all use a little fresh air!


We stayed at the Strawberry Creek Bunkhouse. Cute place, and our hostess Kathleen was awesome. We even got upgraded to a more spacious room with a loft and an air purifier, which we later discovered was a huge bonus. In the morning, we found outside our door a cute basket filled with breakfast provisions such as fresh fruit, juice, oatmeal and warm scones with this amazing jam.... it was the perfect touch!

The small town of Idyllwild is filled with hundreds of cute little shops and restaurants. I picked up a couple of treasures in a charming little boutique called Himalayan Treasures. We also checked out many of the towns eateries and watering spots, some with better service than others, but I guess we can't expect the best of everything, right? The beer selection and the "Polenta Pie" at Aroma Cafe deserves a "let's come back" with 3.5 stars.

For us, the main objective was to get out on some of the hundreds of miles of hiking trails. Perhaps the most popular attraction, for the more advanced climbers, is San Jacinto Peak, Tahquitz or Suicide Rock.

We did a grueling hike that I didn't think I would survive, Deer Springs Trail to Suicide Rock, kicked my ass, but it was awesome! Seeing all the trees changing colors, that amazing blue sky, squirrels, lizards, we even saw a garter snake. I was on the look out for a mountain lion, but no luck this time.

The hardest part of the hike was the 2,000 elevation gain, altogether over 7,500 ft. That's hard work for our sea level native lungs!





I love the manzanita, that red bark is mesmerizing!



Here's the ">whole slideshow!

My List

Doesn’t everyone have one? A list of things that you HAVE to do before you die, or before you turn 40, 50, 60 etc. etc..

I can say that in my almost 39 years I have done and seen a lot of things. I've traveled a bit, tried para-sailing, white water rafting and surfing. I've stage dived into the mosh pit, and I've seen most of the bands that I have wanted to see.

But, with one year left to 40, there are a few things I need to cross off my list.

Here we go.

See the Grand Canyon

Hike Cowels Mtn.

Hike in Yosemite

Try yoga, for real

Create a piece of art that I love, and keep it for myself

Take a class, maybe photography

Re-learn golf

Go to the San Diego Wild Animal Park again

Overcome my road-rage

Get my teeth fixed

Surprise myself

Make a pie from scratch, even the crust

Finish reading The Grapes of Wrath

Go to Disneyland again!

If you can think of something else that I should do, please leave me a comment!

Mammoth Bluesapalooza

We had a great get-a-way last weekend in Mammoth for the Bluesapalooza festival.

From Mammoth 8-02-09

The clouds and a little bit of rain didn't bother us at all, it was so pretty!

From Mammoth 8-02-09

We had a little bit of time before the festival to take in some of the sights. Can you believe there is STILL snow on those peaks?

From Mammoth 8-02-09

From Mammoth 8-02-09

From Mammoth 8-02-09

There were over 70 craft brewers handing out ALL YOU CAN DRINK tastings! You know we got our moneys worth!

From Mammoth 8-02-09

And there was music too! Eric Sardinas and Big Motor, I liked their style....

From Mammoth 8-02-09

We found a really cool bar, The Tap, a locals only kind of place, but after Rachelle ran the pool table, we fit right in.

From Mammoth 8-02-09

Mark with our friends Rachelle and David that met us up there.

From Mammoth 8-02-09

On the way out of town we stopped by Convict Lake, so peaceful and beautiful.

From Mammoth 8-02-09

Here's a slide show with all of our pictures....

Escondido Punk Rock Reunion 2009

I admit, I was a little bit nervous about the reunion. After 6+ months of anticipation, and the fact that I haven’t seen most of these people in over 20 years, how could I NOT be? I guess I was mostly worried that I wouldn’t recognize anyone and visa versa. There is nothing worse than throwing your arms open ready to embrace someone who has no idea who you are.

And I was a little worried about what might happen in terms of violence or vandalism. Back in the day, there was quite a bit of that going on when this group got together. In fact it happened all the time. Sometimes in large scale. I better shut up now.

The truth is, once we finally got there, it was just like I saw them all last week (and they remembered me!). It was all I could do to throw my arms around each person fast enough. It was just as warm and comfortable as a typical family reunion. In fact, most of them brought their family’s too. It was awesome to meet everyone’s wives, husbands and kids. We actually grew up and became responsible (somewhat) adults.

I heard several times “I can’t believe how normal every one looks”. Gone are the days of spiked mohawks, studded leather jackets, combat boots and crazy makeup, although I must admit there was a lot of body ink going on. Many shared photos and memory books and the most popular start of conversation was “do you remember when......”

A great time was had by all. It was a beautiful day filled with friends, hugs, memories and long overdue re-connections. I have a feeling this will become an annual event that I don’t want to miss!

OB Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off

Saturday was the 30th annual OB Street fair and chili cook off. As you can see from the slide show, there was a good turnout this year.



This year's Ocean Beach Street Fair featured five stages of non-stop music, an artists alley, a community mural project, a bunch of kid's stuff, a beach-side beer garden & liquorland, tons of crafts booths, a skateboard exhibition, a climbing wall, and a raffle (I hope we win!), something for everyone. I look forward to this event every year, and this year did not disappoint!

One highlight of the day was the chili cook-off, a community tradition, this is what it is all about. Shannon, Mark and I shared a tasting, which basically means we got 25 samples of each prized recipe, and we collectively voted which one was best. We each got just enough of a taste to form an opinion, and we made notes as we tried each one. Well, we tried most of them. Some of the lines were crazy long, and Shannon is right, you can only taste so much chili before it all starts tasting the same. We certainly tried a variety, some really boring, some undercooked, overcooked, and some kick ass good stuff. And loved it all!

We ran into and hung out with lots of good friends and heard some great music. We saw a friends band that covers Ramones songs at Winston's, we just missed the Chi Club, but we caught part of Superunloader from a private party on top of South Beach, that was pretty sweet. We also had cocktails and jello shooters on the Sunshine rooftop, more cocktails at Tony's, lunch and more cocktails at the Blue Parrot, and maybe a few other stops.....

Somehow, at the end of a glorious and near perfect day, we dismally discovered that 2 pairs of sunglasses, the keys to my car, the car alarm and the house keys had mysteriously disappeared.

I've never lost any thing in my life, why not start by losing something major? Let's hope this is not a trend.

The obvious thing to do is to re-trace your steps, so that's what we did all day Sunday. We did find 1 pair of sunglasses, but keys, to no avail. So, it looks like calls to a locksmith, the screen replacement co., AAA, a tow company and the dealership are all in my forecast....um, when can I start blaming this stuff on old age???

Vickie's Birthday Party

We had so much fun at my cousin's 40th birthday party last weekend. They have a fabulous house out in east county which is perfect for hosting such events. Their yard includes an awesome swimming pool and jacuzzi, basketball court, horseshoes, a mini putting green, billiards, not to mention a great place for the band to play and plenty of space for dancing. Even if the weather was less than perfect, a great time was had by all.

The live entertainment of the day was local sensation and sure to keep going places, Da Bears, a great local, young and extremely talented band. Keep an eye out for these guys.

Did I mention how FANTASTIC Vickie is??? She is truly a wonderful woman, mother, daughter, friend and cousin, and I will always love her! I hope you had a great birthday and thanks again for letting us help you celebrate the big 40 with you!



The audio didn't turn out great, but the video is still funny and a little incriminating!

NOT George of the Jungle

Mark in Zion, swinging from a rope and jumping into the water. Sounds easy......



And here is how it is supposed to be done......



He's going to kill me!!!

Our First Krim!

After 8 weeks of patience and caring for our black krim tomato plant, we have finally picked the first fruit of our labor. We have lots of tomatoes on the vine, but this is the first to be picked.

The black krim isn't known for it's beauty, but it's taste is incredible, slightly sweet. I made a toasted pita, goat cheese, fresh basil, and sliced black krim tomato sandwich, perfect combo.



We have a bunch of other stuff in our potted garden. We've already picked two bell peppers, and we're looking forward to trying the hot chili peppers. We use the herbs on a daily basis, they are producing nicely.

Tiffany's Kick Ass Chinese Chicken Salad

Maybe it's because I am preparing myself to be on my own for a week while Mark is camping with his brother in Zion, but I have been in the kitchen lately. Those who know me know that I pretty much avoid the kitchen at all costs. Mark does an excellent job of taking care of all cooking activities. Yes, I am spoiled.

We had a couple of left over barbecued chicken breasts, and I had seen a recipe for Chinese Chicken Salad somewhere weeks ago, so it has been on my mind. Of course today, I could not find that recipe anywhere, so I just made up my own, and it turned out fantastic!

All amounts are approximate

Mix together;

2 cups chopped cooked chicken
3 cups shredded cabbage
3 stocks celery, chopped
1 cup broccoli tops
1/2 cup cilantro
1/4 cup onion (I used green)
1/2 red bell pepper, diced

~Dressing~

In a separate bowl, mix together

1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp. fresh ginger
2 tsp. horseradish
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt & pepper to taste

Mix dressing with all chopped ingredients, cover and refrigerate overnight. I didn't have any on hand, but I thought some sliced almonds would be good too.

I will be taking this to work for lunch several times this week, it's easy!

If you know a youngster that likes books, you should really, really, really get this book written and published by my friend Gina.

Recently released "The Quiet Lion" is a precious story about Timothy the lion cub and his quest to find his "lost voice". Filled with fabulous illustrations and lessons of life, your children will want to read it over and over. Even if you don't have kids, it would make a great gift!

Gina is also a HUGE advocate for the Epilepsy Foundation , so, generously, Gina is donating $5 for every sold copy to the Foundation. Just enter "EFSDC" in the comments section of the on-line order form and you can help support a truly wonderful cause.

Goodbye 2008

I guess I should say thanks to all the people who have been giving me a hard time about not posting lately. It's nice to know some people actually read my blog and notice that I haven't been writing lately. I could list an array of excuses, but lets just say I have been busy enjoying my physical life and spending less time on the computer.

I have really enjoyed Christmas this year. The holidays have been very difficult for me for many years, I used to dread and despise it all. It was great to have my Mom and Mike in town for Christmas, we never have enough time to spend together but we make every minute count. It was also good to see my best friend Michelle and her family a couple of times.

Another highlight for me was Christmas with Mark's family. Being our first Christmas together, we had fun sharing our family traditions with each other as well as starting some of our own. His family makes raviolis (from scratch) every year, click here to see photos of the all day event. To say they taste good would be a gross understatement, they were awesome! Mark also got to indulge in our family traditional German pancakes, yes, he loved them!

As we say farewell to 2008, I want to say how thankful I am for all of my friends and family, near and far, you all mean so much to me and I am blessed to have you in my life. Please forgive me for being a bit distracted and consumed in my happiness and new found love, I wish there was more time...... Life is short, let's make the best of it and have a fantastic 2009!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving I have more things to be grateful for than I have in long time. I have always been blessed with my family, friends, health, a roof over my head, a job, and food on my plate.

This has been an extra good year for me personally, as I have even more love and good friends on my list to be grateful for.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday, may you all be as blessed as I am this year, and thank YOU for being a part of my life!