A Daydream Believer

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A Daydream Believer

We used to pass through Petaluma on our way to go wine tasting in Sonoma and the Russian River. It's one of those towns that you daydream about moving to, with it's lovely downtown, historical homes and proximity to everything that makes California the geographic paradise that it is. Just on the outskirts of town to the west you find dairy cows grazing on grassy hills, beyond that the craggy coastline of the Pacific ocean. To the East you have the Sonoma and Napa Valley wine regions, to the north the Mendocino forest, and to the south, the most beautiful city in the world, San Francisco, and my beloved, ever-evolving Oakland.

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The Lounge Act

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The Lounge Act

We are a family of loungers. Busy bodies when we have to be, at the end of the day, or on a lucky weekend we can be found lazying around on our bellies reading magazines (or Star Wars books), stretched out on our backs across the couch watching television, or in a lounge chair, and now our hammock, doing nothing but staring at the trees. When our extended family comes to visit they lounge too. Loungers I tell you. For this reason we require, and acquire a lot of pillows. When we moved, I packed two XL boxes full of throw pillows and 2 over-sized bags of bed pillows, with no assigned beds. I was about to donate most of these guys, when it occurred to me that they would make perfectly good stuffing for floor pillows. 

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Rosemary Garlic Brined Chicken

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Rosemary Garlic Brined Chicken

My amazing real estate agent brought me a whole grocery bag full of rosemary clippings from her garden last week, with a little note that suggested we could roast a chicken?  Seriously, is your agent that good? Okay Tina, you're on. I'm going to do several posts over the next few weeks that will creatively feature the wonderful, aromatic herb, starting out with a rosemary brine for roasted chicken. 

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Food and Flowers

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Food and Flowers

Every week I pick up flowers at the market. Just as I would replenish the fruit bowl, I make a fresh arrangement for our table.  Right now I am loving proteas.  They are beautiful, weird, and they come in the colors of summer, something that I am really looking forward to.  I thought I might start an occasional series that pairs food with fresh flowers- starting this week with a little Cinco De Mayo flair, because Mexican food goes so well with pretty flowers. For this week's recipe I give you spicy sausage tacos with a simple slaw. This recipe is very flavorful, and so quick to prepare, making it perfect for a week night meal or party food. Happy Weekend!

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Class Is In Session

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Class Is In Session

Today I will teach my third Indie Craft Lab class! I settled on a paper and string theme for this semester to test the waters working with 4th-6th graders on a variety of Poppy Haus inspired projects. The end goal is for each girl to have several handmade pieces to fancy up their bedrooms. So far we've made the cupcake paper lantern, a striped drinking straw sunburst mirror, and this week we dive into string art. I'm amassing a collection of tiny hammers and brightly colored glue guns, and I'm learning how to pace the class, and how to best present a project to a group of eager crafting tweens. Honestly, it's pretty awesome.  

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