shiriously?

Shirioke Wedding

2011-11-01T14:41:00.001-07:00

So I haven't felt much like posting these days. Not for any reason other than I just haven't felt like it. Really. Life is great, and married life is even better. To tide you over til I feel like posting about our latest projects, here is the video of the song I re-wrote for our wedding. Enjoy!

Check out our 'Splash

2011-07-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

Another big thing that happened over the 4th of July weekend is that we finally finished the kitchen -and by finished the kitchen, I mean we finally had the backsplash installed. We stuck with the original mood board when it came to the tile selection. In fact, the only things we stuck to on there were the tile, the hood, and the pendants. We ordered our tile from here. Not quite as cheap as some tile stores, but they were nice enough to send us a sample of EVERY shade of green they had -which was close to 30 tiles! In addition, when we ordered a sample 12"x12" sheet, they suggested we send back the sample to swap out for one of the same lot of the final order in the event that the glass color might be slightly off. The green we chose perfectly matches our dining chairs and it really ties the whole room together.

Here is where I admit that I suck at measuring and we ordered WAY too much. The one downside of Susan Jablon Mosaics, is while they accept returns, they charge a 45% restocking fee, plus with shipping something so heavy back, it's just not worth it. -So you might just find some super nice subway tile on CL for a steal of a deal. If anyone's reading this and you're in the market for some dark lime green 1x3" subway tiles, feel free to contact me, and I'll let you know if we still have them. My guess is we have about 15 12x12" sheets, maybe more.

I pledge allegiance to our bathroom

2011-07-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

The room in our house that has had the most amount of time invested in it for the least result is for sure our guest bathroom. First I was determined to make it purplish blue. The first time, that was a monster fail. Mark and I scraped the entire room and I took a second stab at it with oil based primer. That time the paint stuck -but almost two years later, I was so over the purple.

There's something about walking by a room when the door is opened and all of a sudden, BAM! IT'S PURPLE!

We are not in a position to gut the bathroom and redo it entirely, so over this 4th of July weekend, I decided to see what I could do with the shell that we had -a blue tiled shower/tub and an old, severely over-painted vanity.

I first started with the walls and some Killz. It took 2 coats of heavy duty stain blocking primer to block out the purple.

In between coats, I had the brilliant idea of starting to peel off the white paint that I had sloppily applied to the vanity when we first bought the house.

The previous owners must have switched from pulls to knobs, because on each drawer or cabinet, there were 3 holes. The extra holes had been hidden by small white ceramic rings, but I decided just the knobs looked much better and filled the holes with putty.

Cut to 2am on Saturday morning. I was tired and high on paint fumes.

I continued the project on Saturday, with 2 coats of Glidden's Arctic Blue. The color tied perfectly with the tile in the shower and was much more subtle and serene than its purple predecessor, Behr's Endure.

I then redirected my attention to the vanity. I had hand-scraped all that I could. It was time to bust out the hand sander. I sanded the entire thing through who knows how many coats. I didn't ever get down to the wood, but since I knew I was just repainting it, that wasn't necessary. It just had to be smooth.

I applied 2 coats of Killz and then 2 coats of Behr Pure White (Satin Kitchen and Bath). The transformation is remarkable.

While it's definitely not my dream bathroom, it's a bathroom that we can absolutely live with, and doesn't hurt the resale value of our home the way it may have before. Mark has already installed a nice white cabinet above the toilet that adds more dimension (and storage) to the room. Overall it was well worth the weekend of work it took, and I think I'll leave this room alone for a while. :)

DIY Mother of Pearl bracelet

2011-06-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, while Mark was in Vegas for his bachelor weekend, I decided to get in on some DIY action. I was originally inspired by this bracelet, but couldn't find a similar chain at Joann's. This mother of pearl strand of beads however was marked down from $3.99 to $0.97 -cheaper online I'm finding.

So here's what I came up with.

Step 1. I separated embroidery thread into two sections and then took one length of thread and thinned it down to a few strands so it would fit through the beads.

Step 2: I threaded the thinned strand onto a needle and strung 6 of the mother of pearl beads, knotting it at each end.

Step 3: Take one of the sections of embroidery thread and wrap a piece of scotch tape around the end so it's almost like a shoelace and can go through the rectangles easily.

Step 4: Weave through the rectangles.

Step 5: Do the same thing with the other strand, but weave the opposite way. Knot the two sections of thread on each end. Don't pull too tight or the beads will start to bend upwards and zig-zag. Combine the 2 strands and then separate them into three equal sections.

Step 6: Braid the sections.

Step 7: Knot the end with a toggle clasp inside. I affixed my knots with a little bit of epoxy glue to make sure they hold up.

Tadaa! Finished product.

Also in navy...

Closet update

2011-06-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

Behold my organized closet. Before you laugh and say, that's clean?!, let's not forget the before. First of all, I got rid of a TON of stuff. I try to go through my closet a couple of times a year and donate/give away anything I don't think I'll wear, but I'm really bad at parting with things I love. I got rid of so much this time, which, while it sucked in the process, I will say that getting ready in the morning and picking out what to wear in the last couple of days has taken far less time.

So on the right side... I'm not one to organize by sleeve length or color, so don't judge. I've always stored my purses and clutches on the top shelf. I kept them there, however, now all of the clutches and small bags are in the plastic drawer containers. To the right of those are my designer/nicer purses that I keep in the original dust bags.

The shoe solution is not long term. I suck at keeping my shoes organized and need to figure out a better rack system. -or something. The other half of my shoe collection lives in my half of the bedroom closet and in our coat closet.

The right side is mostly sweaters and dresses. On the bottom are a couple larger plastic drawers and a wicker hamper where I put my hand wash/dry clean only clothes. You can't see it too well, but on the top shelf are all of my jeans/cords. Up until this weekend, I hung all of my pants, but in an effort to not smush all of my clothes, I opted to go with folding them.

The rest of the room is much cleaner now too. I still have a couple of mail stacks/magazines to go through, but in the meantime, I'm pretty happy with the results. It's far from my dream closet, but for now, it will do. :)

I know what you're thinking. Wow Shiri. This blog content is so insanely interesting. I know. Pretty lame. Well if you're still reading my blog, (it may be more of a diary at this point,) there will be more updates soon. We finally bought the tile for our kitchen backsplash and will be putting that in soon, which will make our kitchen 100% complete. Plus, we're in the process of planning our backyard rehearsal dinner and I will try to share some of the details on here too.

I'm kind of a slob sometimes...

2011-06-06T09:21:00.000-07:00

A good chunk of my day on Saturday was spent cleaning my closet. While I'm far from a hoarder, I'm perfectly content with a hidden mess. Our house usually stays pretty clean and organized, as long as you stay out of the office (where my closet resides).

Up until this weekend, the office looked like an episode of Hoarders. -And not because I'm a hoarder. I know. First stage is denial, right? Well I seriously am not. I swear. The office had just become an easy dumping ground for all of my crafty wedding stuff (tissue paper, pink wagon, shoes, bridesmaids gifts, the list goes on). Plus all of the mail, magazines, and other need-to-file crap that I thought looked okay as long as it was neatly stacked. Neatly stacked... I wonder how many hoarders say that about their collections. Mark finally deemed an intervention appropriate. It was necessary. He even offered to help and create some overflow temporary storage for all of the wedding stuff.

Well we did it folks. I no longer have to keep the office door closed! Once I was done, the last thing I wanted to do was take an "after" photo. I was burned out. So I'll leave you with a couple of befores. These only show one side of my ridiculous mess, but I assure you the other side was no better. I'll try to post the afters soon.

Mystic Tan is not an editing option in Photoshop

2011-05-16T15:37:00.000-07:00

Tali posted our engagement photos on her blog last week! We absolutely love them! It's amazing how a photographer can suggest a pose that seems so unnatural in the moment and it ends up looking so real and perfect in the end. Tali's talent never ceases to impress me.

Thank goodness my wedding dress will mask my pale legs, as they are blinding...

For more photos with higher resolution, head over to Tali's blog.

Sunshine, fruit kabobs, and rainbows everywhere

2011-04-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

While we were in Austin a couple of weeks ago, Tali and Cliff hosted Dahlia's first birthday party. It was no small feat! There were about 40 attendees including the kids. Tali really went all out with the rainbow theme. There was rainbow food, colorful photo backdrops, and Dahlia even wore a rainbow dress!

Here are some photos captured by Tali, Francis and a few other guests.

The rainbow food spread included fruit kabobs, skittles, baked mac n' cheese cups, rainbow cupcakes, veggies, and more!

Dahlia is asking for her cupcake!

she approves :)

photo bomb

rainbow love

isn't she the cutest? Dahlia's pretty cute too :)

In case you didn't know we were engaged...

2011-04-21T11:20:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos that prove it! ...Actually they totally don't, but they're engagement photos.

Both our wedding photographer Francis Joseph and Tali collaborated on our engagement photo shoot on Saturday.

Mark and I had a blast. We started at the Dripping Springs Founders Day Fair, and then navigated our way deeper into the country and found a nice field.

We are dying to see all of the photos, but Francis and Tali were kind enough to share a few teasers to tide us over.

One.

2011-04-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

A year ago yesterday, something awesome happened. My beautiful niece Dahlia was brought into the world.
I can't even begin to express how happy she has made me. Yes, we may have 1500 miles between us, but the iPhone 4 is awesome, and I get to see her at least a couple of times a week.

Yesterday Tali, Cliff, and the folks celebrated with Dahlia, and she got her first dose of cake!

And her first tutu...

Mark and I are headed to Austin next week for Passover, engagement photos, and most importantly, Dahlia's first birthday party.

I can't wait!

It's not like I hate blogging...

2011-04-05T11:06:00.001-07:00

Really, I don't, and now that my readership consists solely of people who have googled a paint color and my parents, I figure an entry is in order... To entertain all two of you.

I haven't even been that busy to tell you the truth. I just plain haven't felt like it, and by golly, sometimes The Real Housewives take precedent. (Mark is cringing right now, if he by chance is still part of the readership, which would make three in that case.)

A lot has changed with the house though -namely the backyard. We finally bit the bullet and got some landscaping! I'd love to claim we did it ourselves, but then I'd be lying, and no one likes that. We had sod put in, along with 3 trees, flowers, plants and some gravel. All in all it is way cool. Don't believe me? See for yourself.

One of the biggest pluses about having grass, is the dogs don't come inside muddy any more. grass+dogs=clean floors+happy Shiri

Another thing we (Mark) did was put down some cobble stone in the front where there was uneven dirt. This serves as a great place for all of our potted plants. We plan to eventually do it on the other side of the front door too and create a quazi-front porch.

So there you have it folks. I don't hate blogging, I'm just too busy thinking about what I should be doing for the wedding. :)

There will be doors.

2011-01-22T16:26:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted a solid home improvement entry. Hope you're ready for it.

Where to begin? I guess it's worth starting with the fact that Mark and I have been lacking doors... We took the linen closet doors down when we first moved in and thought we'd paint them. Fast forward a year and a half and the closet is still exposed. That would be fine and dandy if I was say, Martha Stewart and had all of my towels neatly folded and cute baskets housing all of the random crap in there. But alas, I'm not... and I don't...
So I took a trip to Lowes and picked up the below supplies.

...and got to sawing. I had the backings cut to size at Lowes and then used our friend Aaron's mitre saw to cut the trim.

Don't I look professional?

Now I just have to sand, prime, and paint...

But no folks, that's not all. We were living with a door-less office as well as a door-less master bathroom. Not to mention the non-fire door we had connecting the house to the garage. Fear not people. Aaron and Mark sanded, shimmed, and installed those too!

The uninstalled fire door

Aaron sands down the office door

Installing the fire door frame

We've got doors!!!

Now we just have to re-trim the fire door and prime and paint the others. All in a day's work...

Lean Mean Wedding Planning Machine...

2011-01-12T10:42:00.000-08:00

That's right folks. If you just chanced upon my blog or are secretly stalking me and don't know me too well, I'm a planner and a doer. I suffer from anxiety and can't rest until things are handled, which in the case of a wedding that's 8 months away, may be difficult. Don't hyperventilate on my behalf though, we're gettin'er done.

In the 3 weeks since our engagement, Mark and I have picked a date (9.10.11), booked a venue for the ceremony and reception, picked out our menu (with the exception of hors d'oeuvres which we'll pick next month and cake which we still have to taste), booked a photographer (the amazing Francis Joseph who will be flying out from Austin, TX), started our wedding website, found a dress (I think -ordering it today), picked out a color scheme (girls in various shades of purple, guys in grey suits), decided on flowers, and a couple of other things...

The alternative was sleepless nights or xanax, neither of which is a good long term solution. So there you have it. This process is surprisingly fun once you handle some of the bigger pieces. This weekend we will hopefully create our save the dates and perhaps even begin registering...

And the clouds parted

2010-12-27T15:31:00.000-08:00

Shortly after posting my last entry on Weds, the rain finally stopped and the sun peaked through. Mark and I were both home early from work, and after suffering from some major cabin fever for a week, Mark had the brilliant suggestion that we get out of the house and go on a bike ride.

And so we rode. We took a route that's fairly familiar to us that passes through a nice park in our neighborhood, where on nicer days, it's fun to bring our gloves and play catch. Mark suggested we travel through the park rather than go around it. I rode a bit ahead, when suddenly I heard a crashing noise and Mark yelling. Man down. That's not what he said, but I turned around to see him on the ground next to his collapsed bicycle. I turned my bike around and walked it back towards him.

Me: What happened?!

Mark: I slipped.

Me: Let me see your hands

(I expected his hands to be scraped, because that's what I remember of every time I've fallen off of my bike.)

It was at this point that Mark (still on the ground) reached over to my bike, put down the kickstand, and lifted himself onto one knee and pulled a box out of his pocket. He made a beautiful proposal, much of which is a blur, as I was so surprised/confused/shocked at the moment. All I know is I said yes and was giggling uncontrollably out of excitement and happiness.

As we got back on our bikes to ride back to the house, we were greeted with the largest rainbow either of us had ever seen, which I have since learned was a double rainbow. I'm not one for mushy, serendipitous talk, but in that moment, I knew everything had fallen into place just the way it was meant to.

Effin' Rain

2010-12-22T10:10:00.001-08:00

As you can probably guess by the title, I'm so not a fan of the rain, and the week straight of it that we've had here in So-Cal, I could frankly do without. This is not why I moved to California. The view out my window is dismal. Behold exhibit A:

Best Holiday Gift Ever...

2010-12-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that dogs (all of them, not just my own) hold a very special place in my heart. Mark and I have been so lucky with Griffin and Lola, and this time of year especially, I think it's important to remember our furry friends that may not be so lucky.

Both Griffin and Lola came to us from the Baldwin Park Animal Shelter, via Animal Advocates Alliance. The Baldwin Park Animal Shelter receives anywhere from 30 to 100 dogs A DAY, that are either brought in as strays or dumped by their former owners. Unfortunately not all of these dogs make it out, as L.A. County shelters are severely overcrowded, and the dogs (even the adoptable ones) have a very limited time to find their forever homes.

I shudder/cry/dread the thought of what if we had not gotten Lola or Griffin in time? You may think, well they're adorable and well behaved, someone else would have saved them. That's not always the case. Great dogs are euthanized daily at these shelters.

Okay, before you swear off of reading my blog forever because it's just too sad and depressing, I want to share with you the latest networking list of dogs at Baldwin Park. Along with each photo and description, there is a video of the dog. If you are not looking to add to your family, but know someone who might me, please pass the list along.

Latest Networking List

In addition, there will be an adoption event this Sunday, December 12th, at Pan Pacific Park in Hollywood from 11am-4pm.

And please, please, don't shop, adopt!

Where cars go to die...

2010-12-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

So I've been trying to work out at least three days a week during my lunch. Two of the three workouts are organized by a trainer, and the third I just wander around, making sure to include some hills for good measure. I came across these old cars and trams that are likely used as props now, but I thought they were just awesome and worth sharing.

Eating Naked

2010-12-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

Before I tell you where Mark and I went for our anniversary dinner, I'd like to show off some photos.

Appetizer: amuse bouche (single bite) goat cheese-stuffed grape tomato

Salad Course: Mark: Baby green salad with a vegetable springroll, Me: Heirloom tomato salad with cucumbers and prosciutto wrapped melon

Entree: Mark: Fillet Mignon topped with shitake mushrooms, Me: Herb roasted chicken breast

Dessert: Mark and I shared a chocolate lava cake and mango panna cotta

No, there's nothing wrong with my camera... I surprised Mark with a dinner at Opaque. Opaque is a place I had heard and read about, but it wasn't until it was featured on groupon that I took the bait (it's rather expensive otherwise). The concept is unique -the entire dining experience takes place in pitch black darkness and the wait staff are all visually impaired.

The experience was amazing to say the least. Our order was taken in the reception area, and we were quickly greeted by our waitress, Beatrice. Mark and I lined up single file behind her as she led us into the darkness. She mapped out the table for us and explained where each of the items was or would be. There was a lot of nervous laughter -not just from us, but from other diners as well. We quickly acclimated to the darkness -and by that I don't mean that we adjusted, as this was the kind of darkness that you just can't adjust to.

The eating part of the experience was a bit more challenging. First we tried just stabbing at the plate, hoping to pick up some food, but I quickly resorted to using my hands when necessary. The food was delicious. It was hard to tell if I was picking up on more flavor because my senses were heightened, or because the flavors were just plain robust and yummy.

My favorite part of the meal was when Mark commented, "I wish I could eat naked all the time." It was hilarious and the table next to us thought so too. That's just how dark it was. We could have all been naked and no one would have known...

Happy Friday!

Family Portrait

2010-12-01T14:52:00.000-08:00

Mark and I spent Thanksgiving in Austin this year, and it was great! The weather was fantastic, the food was amazing, and we got to spend quality time with the family.

Here are some photos from our family portrait session that Tali took.

This one is just too funny :)

I'm Thankful for the great visit, these lovely photos, and my wonderful family. :)

The way to a girl's heart

2010-12-01T14:02:00.001-08:00

is through Sprinkles' cupcakes...

Mark had these sent to my office today, as it's our three year anniversary, not aninversary. (That was my bad, the NI smushed against the A, so I took it out and put it back upsidedown...). We'll celebrate tonight with sushi -we made sushi on our first date, and then tomorrow,for my gift to Mark, I'm taking us to a very special place for dinner. Shhhh, it's a surprise!

I think I'll go for a walk outside...

2010-11-29T14:16:00.000-08:00

I decided to go for a long walk around the lot today during my lunch. It's amazing how calm and serene it is once you get away from the noise...

These were taken with the Hipstamatic app.

Photos and updates from our Austin Thanksgiving coming soon...

That's a Wrap

2010-11-23T10:50:00.001-08:00

...for my first generation iPhone, that is. Say hello to my little friend, the iPhone 4. Ok, you can't quite see it, but you can see a photo I took with it (with a flash, in the dark). Mark and my anniversary is coming up, and just so happens to fall on the first night of Hanukkah. My phone was starting to act all possessed-like, so I made the reluctant request for a new one. I say reluctant because if it aint broke, why fix it? -and my old iPhone was just possessed, not broken.

Anyhow, I'm in love. With Mark. -and the new phone, well it's awesome. I'm still learning the ins and outs of it, and am not holding my breath for more of my friends to get it so we can video call each other.

This is a photo I took last night of the gallery wrapped canvases I recently ordered. Tali took these great shots of Griffin and Lola back in August, and I'd been waiting (not holding my breath) for Groupon deals for CanvasOnDemand. If you're not sure what Groupon is, run, don't walk. They offer daily deals for cities across the US. Some are city specific, some are online deals.
Tali introduced me to this website that helps you sort through other cities' deals. And as for CanvasOnDemand, they produce the best gallery wrapped photo-canvases.

Magnitude 5.3

2010-11-08T14:04:00.000-08:00

...jackhammering going on...

That's right folks. We're never done. Now that we have the inside at a good temporary stopping point, it's time to divert our attention to the backyard.

Mark's got some sort of aversion to people being able to see into our windows. I just don't get it. The old people need entertainment too! (Kidding...or am I?)

Anyhow, the plan is to plant a living wall of bamboo around the back yard fence to add a few extra feet of height and maximize our privacy. In order to do that, we have to get rid of what appears to be a former dog run (i.e. giant slab of concrete). Once that's done, we (Mark or whomever we hire - as I have an aversion to shovels) will dig and line trenches (line so that the bamboo doesn't take over our yard). Then we (I can be included in this one) will plant the bamboo.

But for now, we're at stage one: get rid of concrete.

To be continued...

P.S. this entry clearly shows that I have no aversion to the word aversion (or parentheticals for that matter)

The Greatest Love of All

2010-11-05T20:56:00.001-07:00

I love that Lola and Griffin love each other... and that they love sleeping on my lap :)

Hannibal Lantern

2010-11-01T10:08:00.000-07:00

My masterpiece

Don't eat me, Hannibal Lantern!

Tribute to the 8bit Nintendo

2010-10-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

Although we lived in our house this time last year, this is the first year we've gotten into any sort of Halloween spirit. Last year, you may remember was Mark's 30th birthday and we spent it in Boston. Thankfully, no disgruntled trick or treaters egged our house. Therefore, we will show our appreciation by giving out candy this year...

We've done some minor (I stress minor) decorating inside and out. Outside, we switched the regular bulb in our entryway light to a black (purple) one. I also (wait for it.... wait for it....) bought a pumpkin! I plan to carve it this weekend -but not sure what I'll carve just yet.

Inside, I just strung up some of that fake spiderwebby stuff, put out a black ceramic pumpkin, some candy corn in a bowl *(I just learned from a friend that combining candy corn in a bowl with peanuts is amazing! If you eat them in the same bite, it totally tastes like a Payday bar. You're welcome.), and a fallish candle.

And of course Halloween isn't Halloween without some costumes! For this Halloween I decided I was going to put together a costume with things I already had. So I'm a duck hunter. Believe it or not, I already had that orange hat with ear flaps. I also have a fake rifle and a stuffed Canadian goose (dog toy). Before you think me super barbaric, hunting Canadian geese prevents overpopulation... and emergency landings in the Hudson. That and my friend Debbie is Mario, so it was only fitting that I be duck hunt. :)
I also took it upon myself to dress up the dogs. Lola aka Lolicious aka Licious is a butterfly. Griffin aka Grifferdoodle aka Puppy is wearing a collar and tie, and a hat which obviously makes him Tony Soprano. Duh!

Happy Halloween!!!

He was doing so well!

2010-10-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

...and then he peed on the carpet. GRRRRRrrrrrriffin!!!

While you were fishing...

2010-10-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Mark went out of town this past weekend on a hiking and fishing trip with his work buddies and much to his surprise (and hopefully not dismay) I made some decor adjustments to the lily pad.

First, I started that family photo gallery I mentioned a few weeks ago. I love it so far. I plan to sprinkle in more objects and add photos over time.

It's hard to see in the photo, but that 8x10 frame is the color version of Mark as a toddler standing next to the grill of a Rolls, with a license plate that reads "MGB WEST" like the one on the lower right. The black and white one is a photo of my Grandmother shortly after the Holocaust and her chopping off her long honey blonde hair. Cliff and Griffin are missing from the wall -I just need to get some photos printed.

The next project I tackled was supposed to be hanging a wooden ledge in our master bath. 5 giant holes, 2 broken wall anchors, 1 broken screw head, and a blood blister later, I was over it. Instead, I relocated some framed photos that Tali took from the hallway to our bathroom. I wish I had done that to begin with. It looks great, and it helps tie in some additional color. The photo above the toilet is also strategically hiding the evidence of my failed attempt.

It's hard to tell, but the towels are a dark eggplant purple.

I also did some seasonal decorating with fake spider webs, a ceramic pumpkin, witch's cauldron, and painted carnations (I got this idea from Young House Love and just so happened to have some still living from an otherwise dead arrangement). Photos of that to come...

Pendantic

2010-10-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

Forget that there's a Lamps Plus pretty close to where we live. Online shopping was the way to go on Friday -especially since the pendants came with free shipping. Believe it or not, they arrived on Saturday afternoon. Yes! Trip to store averted.

Not so fast. When Mark took the pendants out of their respective boxes, we discovered that one of them was bent. No biggie. Mark called the store, and sure enough they had a couple in inventory, so he shot over there and swapped it. Phew.

And behold.

The pendants are hung! One of these days I'll stop taking crappy grainy photos with my first-gen iPhone, but that day is not today...

It pays to wait!

2010-10-08T10:11:00.000-07:00

It pays approximately $100....

Remember the Capiz Tiffany Style pendants I mentioned wanting to hang on either side of the hood?

source

Well it's a good thing we were ~~broke~~ patient! The pendants are on sale for $99.95 each! That's a savings of $100 for both! There is plenty of great lighting on sale at Lamps Plus right now!

Happy Friday!

We interrupt this regularly scheduled programming to celebrate Dad!

2010-10-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

It all started last Wednesday when I received a call at work from mom -unexpected, but not unheard of. In a calm and collected (stay strong for your daughter) voice, she informed me that dad and her were on a walk on Tuesday, during which he experienced sudden chest pains. He went in to see the doctor, and after multiple tests, learned that he had a 95% blockage in his heart and would need to undergo a triple bypass.

It was shocking to say the least. Dad -the person who doesn't touch fried food with a ten foot pole, the man that eats more fruits and vegetables than a million hungry caterpillars, the man that exercises regularly, the man that is supposed to be invincible- was in need of open heart surgery. I burst into tears. Mom continued to explain that he was in the hospital and that the surgery would take place on Thursday. I immediately booked a ticket to get me to Austin Weds night.

I called Mark and explained what was going on. He rushed home, packed me a suitcase, (did a great job, I might add,) and headed to pick me up from work. When we arrived at LAX, my phone rang. It was dad.

Dad: Is there any chance you can cancel the ticket?

Me: Why?

Dad: I feel fine! If I wasn't stuck in this hospital, I'd be at home gardening!

It was the first time I had laughed in hours.

Me: Dad, I'm coming to Austin. I want to be there.

He accepted my decision and I was Austin bound.

I was unable to see him until Thursday morning. Mom, Tali and I spent Thursday by his bedside until it was time for him to go in.

The doctors and nurses at the Heart Hospital of Austin were amazing. They were in and out of his room, checking his blood pressure, pulse, and all that good stuff every hour. They answered all of our (mostly Tali's) questions and reassured us that all should go smoothly.

And it did! Better than smoothly. Dad was in surgery for less than three hours. We were given constant updates on how he was doing. When we were finally able to see him Thursday night, he was still under the affects of the anesthesia, but come Friday morning, he was good as new. Dad was labeled the star patient there. He only took the pain meds for one day, needed no encouragement to get out of bed and walk around, and grumbled about it not once.

He was able to go home on Monday morning and has been doing great ever since.

This has served as a serious wake-up call for me. This is in my genes. My grandmother underwent a quadruple bypass about fifteen years ago and is still going strong. Now dad. Will a time come when I'll have to have something like this done? Who knows? All we (we being everyone really) can do is take care of ourselves to the best of our ability and take comfort in the fact that medical technology has come a long way, and just hope for the best.

Since I was little, whenever people would come over to my house for the first time, I'd always go around showing them all of the amazing things dad created. Dad has never been one to brag, so I guess I've always taken it upon myself to brag on his behalf. His talent is remarkable, and I want to take this opportunity to share a recent project he just finished.

I don't have much in terms of before shots, but the bathroom was long overdue for an update.

Before: Yellowed "white" cabinets with gold fixtures

After:

The amazing bathtub/plant holder

Window looking out from the shower to the bathtub

Meticulous tile work

Beautiful dark cherry cabinets and detail throughout

My photos don't do this bathroom justice. This is 5-star hotel quality, and dad did it all himself. It may be a little while before he's able to get back to undertaking projects of this magnitude, but unlike the governator, he'll be back for sure.

Relaxin' all cool

2010-09-20T10:49:00.001-07:00

a sneak peak from our vacay... more later!

Shana Tova!

2010-09-09T08:34:00.001-07:00

Playing the shofar circa 1989

Recovering

2010-09-03T11:35:00.001-07:00

The family departed first thing Monday morning. What a weekend! Dahlia had a little bit of a cold, which I and now Mark has subsequently caught. It's amazing how not even feeling under the weather brought Dahlia down from her constant state of happiness.... Unless the bulb booger sucker thing entered the picture -then she was pissed. Here are some photo highlights from the visit. Unfortunately we didn't manage one of the whole family. Hey mom, dad, Tali, Cliff and Dahlia! You guys need to come back pronto so we can get that photo. :)

Mom and her gorgeous new haircut... and Dahlia

Cliff makes us breakfast...

Dahlia in all her cuteness

How I caught Dahlia's cold...

Take 1

Take 2

Take 3

2010 Holiday Card?

Nostalgia...

2010-08-26T08:49:00.001-07:00

The fam comes in today and I can hardly contain myself! Mark and I have been working our hinies off to get the house nice and ready for our incoming guests. Since I've been lazy about taking photos lately that don't involve playing air guitar or the dogs, I'll share a project I'm working on.

I have been wanting to set up a friends and family gallery of sorts in our hallway for a while. I recently asked my parents and Tali to go through old photo albums and scan some goodies. Here are a few of the highlights so far...

Mom & Dad pre-kiddies

Suspenders and a poufy-sleeved turtleneck. No wonder I look troubled...

Tali blows out her candles

Dad turns 40

Outraged over my haircut

...and Mark, looking cute as ever. Sorry, I mean handsome :)

Get'er Done

2010-08-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

We had such a busy weekend! Tons got accomplished (mostly thanks to Mark and our good friend Ryan).

First and foremost, I can no longer refer to our abode as the "Peach Palace" because Mark and Ryan painted the house! It is now painted Dunn Edwards' "Floating Lily Pad." It looks like a completely different house!
Sometime in the next few years, I would like to add a stone facade to the bottom half of the front of the house. Something like this. We also plan to eventually get a new front door. We're thinking a dark wood with wrought iron details.

Next on the list, Ryan helped install some under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen. I call it the "I'm not waiting up for you" light.

We also finally got the mirror back up in our guest bathroom. Remember that snafu we had with the mold behind the mirror that I discovered when I was prepping the mirror for molding? That wasn't the molding I was going for... We fixed all of the problems, but the mirror had been sitting in our hallway for over six months. Well no more! I repainted the new drywall, and Mark and Ryan got the mirror and the molding up, and it looks fantastic! We also finally hung a towel bar and a hook so that towels don't have to be draped over the shower curtain rod.

I also spent some time sanding and painting cabinet doors for the bathroom, Mark installed a nice new medicine cabinet, and let's not forget the lovely new house numbers next to our front door.

There's nothing like hosting visitors to light a fire under our tucheses...

Lola's first trip to Home Depot

Sun-kissed skin so hot it'll melt your popsicle...

2010-08-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, the title has nothing to do with the post, but somehow that song got stuck in my head this morning. What's bizarre is I'm absolutely positive I didn't hear it. How do you come up with a line like that anyway? It doesn't rhyme with anything and it's actually a really weird mental picture. -Jus' sayin' Katy Perry.

Ok, now back to more important things, starting with the kitchen. Phase 1 is complete! The cabinets, counters, and floors are complete, and for the first time in two months, we have a fully functional kitchen! It feels awesome. It's so hot it'll melt your popsicle.

Behold...

Notice I called it phase 1. There is still work to be done. Phase 2 consists of installing the green subway tile backsplash and pendant lights on either side of the hood. But for now, phase 1 will have to do. The kitchen is quite enjoyable as is.

In other insanely awesome news, the family is coming to visit! And when I say the family, I don't mean just my parents, or just my sister. We're talking mom, dad, Tali, Cliff, and....Dahlia!

Tali and my birthday is six days apart, and this is a big one (the big 3-0) for her, so what better way to celebrate? This is also the first time that the whole family (even pre-D) have come to visit at the same time. Just a couple weeks away!!!

To tide you over...

2010-08-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

The granite goes in today and I am over the moon! The kitchen is almost complete! To tide you over until I have some new kitchen photos, here are a few pictures from Tali's recent photo shoot of Dahlia. Can you believe she's almost four months old? I shiriously have the cutest niece in the world. I'm not biased or anything...

And lastly, this one. It's my favorite photo of Dahlia and I. She was a month and a half when this was taken (not sure who captured this), at my mom's 60th birthday party. -Dahlia with her everlasting cuteness, and me with my bangs that are now already a sweep because I can't stand styling them everyday...

My Three Lovies

2010-08-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Does the carpet match the drapes?

2010-08-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

...Or more importantly, do the dogs match the couch?

Griffin and Lola's first time on the couch...

The Star of 30 Rock

2010-07-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

I call this photo Travertina Fey. Ok. That's not as funny as it sounded in my head, but how's about a courtesy laugh?

The travertine is going in as we speak. Mark just took a photo of the progress and I can't resist sharing.

Sink Hole...

2010-07-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

...No, not the scary ones that swallow your house! -The ones that you slide your undermount sink into. Duh!
The kitchen is moving along quite quickly. The cabinets are done! They look better than I ever imagined!

this one looks a tad orange -photo below is more accurate

Our counters were measured for the granite last night, which will be installed early next week and in the meantime, the tile goes in tomorrow and Thurs.

Meanwhile, Mark and I enjoyed a quick one-night vacation in Paso Robles this weekend with our good friends Adrienne and Brian. We did a great job stocking up our wine fridge!

Kitchen Confident Y'all

2010-07-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

So you know how I thought we had two weeks until install? Well having been through many-a-construction projects with quoted timelines that are way optimistic, I thought, eh, we've probably got two and a half, maybe three weeks. Wrong. We got a call from the cabinet maker on Monday (one week into construction), telling us he could install as early as Tuesday (yesterday). So that joke I made about breathing into a paper bag last week wasn't too far from the truth.

While we didn't have to install this week, we figured, having a kitchen is better than not having one, right? So the plan of me miraculously learning how to tape, mud and skim coat drywall quickly flew out the window and we had our handy man come in and do it.

Mark and I then rallied until late last night to prime and paint the areas around the cabinets that will be visible.

Surprise! Mark shaved his head!

this totally brings back memories...

All of this was done because the cabinets are being installed today!!! I waited at home for them to arrive this morning so that I could see them in their uninstalled, unfinished state.

The cabinet above that looks like a speaker box is actually going to house our wine fridge

these are the uppers you don't need rehab for using, but please don't abuse them

I can't wait to see what awaits me when I come home tonight!!!

If these walls could talk

2010-07-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

...they'd say "We're walls!"

That's because up until two days ago, they were just frames. The drywall went up on Tuesday. We still have to tape, mud, skim, and paint them, but it's progress, and progress is good.

All of the electrical is ready to go. You can see on the first photo, the blue circle on the ceiling is where one of the pendant lights will go.

The hood will be just to the right of it, and on the other side there is wiring for another pendant light. I'm still drawn to these ones, but we may have to hold off to keep our budget in check.

In the second photo, on the right wall, the wires poking out are set up for under cabinet lighting. At this point we're not installing anything, but this way, if down the line we want to add another level of lighting, the wiring is ready to go.

So there's plenty to do, and with the cabinet construction having begun on Monday, we are at t minus eleven or so days until they're ready to be installed. That's nota-lota days. Pardon me while I go breathe in a paper bag... -Actually we're totally up for the challenge to get the room ready to go. It will all be worth it when I'm makin' Mark some bacon on a gas stove and admiring the lovely custom utensil drawer. -Oh and don't get me started on the pantry!

Soffit to me

2010-07-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

Mark and I checked a few more kitchen-prep items off our list this weekend! It feels so good to know we're getting closer and closer to the finished product.

First, we had someone come and build out a couple of soffits. In case you're unfamiliar with what a soffit is, here is the wikipedia definition (see bullet #4). In our formerly known as the kitchen, kitchen, the cabinets over the refrigerator only came out 15", however our refrigerator is 30"+ deep. That makes for lots of climbing on cabinets and step ladders to reach paper towels. The new soffit will span the depth of the refrigerator to accommodate deeper cabinets.

framework for the soffit

finished soffit

The other soffit was just a 1" addition to the existing soffit to allow for nice crown molding at the top of our cabinets.

In other adventures, there was some stucco patching, flashing (not the arrestable offense kind, the waterproofing your house kind), granite scouting, and stain sampling.

We made a trip to a local stone yard where we took a few samples of slabs we like. Currently, pistachio is a front runner for us, with desert sand as a close (cheaper) second.

at the stone yard...

pistachio, our front runner

Lastly, we paid a visit to Jimmy, our cabinet maker to check out some stain samples. Both Mark and I are in love with the distressed look, but it is a little cost prohibitive (cabinet #1). We will most likely be going with a chocolatey walnut look (cabinets #2 + #3, but in the shaker style of #1).

It was super cool to see our plans all laid out.

our future kitchen

Oh! And my niece, Dahlia, just turned 3 months... Are those not the most pinchable cheeks you've ever seen?!

Blank Canvas or Pup Playroom?

2010-07-01T12:56:00.001-07:00

The demo is complete! Our kitchen is an empty shell, and boy does it look good!
-The dogs think so at least.

They have taken it upon themselves to scatter all of their toys across what is now their playroom. Griffin is loving it because he's not getting crated during the day -there's really nothing for him to destroy.

Yesterday our cabinet guy Jimmy came by to take final measurements and our trusty demo-er/electrician/plumber/friend Yaya laid out plans for electrical/plumbing.

We've ordered the hood and sink too! Now it's just a matter of figuring out the granite for the counters. We want it to be on the lighter side since our cabinets will be a chocolate brown. I like this, this, this and this too! We're open to suggestions!

Honey, I think we need a new kitchen.

2010-06-29T13:17:00.001-07:00

word.

Good Riddance Kitchen...

2010-06-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

Mark and I spent the greater part of this weekend prepping for the demolition that will ensue on Tuesday. That's right, friends, our kitchen goes bye-bye come this Tuesday.

I focused on clearing out and packing the kitchen, while Mark worked on clearing out the garage to make room for our temporary kitchen/kitchen storage.

Sometimes you don't realize how much cookware you have until you have to pack it all up. I packed up six, yes that's right SIX pyrex dishes. Granted, a few are different sizes, but lemme tell you, if you're having a lasagna & kugel potluck, I'm your gal. Really.

We also took the opportunity to get organized in the garage and get some racks and shelves to store our tools.

Come Tuesday, Lola and Griffin are headed to Doggie Day Care and our kitchen is getting done-torn-up like nobody's business. The cabinets - gone. Floors- say goodbye. And that hood! -serious tears of joy with that farewell...

We have gotten a great deal on custom cabinetry and will be going with a shaker style cabinet in a chocolate brown stain. We decided to go a little bit lighter than the original espresso, because we don't want the space to feel small.

Stay tuned for more photos of the demo and kitchen in progress!

What-the-what?!

2010-06-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

I'm baaaack! I think. Who knows for how long. It's been months. ages. eons. I'm still alive and kickin! In case anyone is wondering, or still reading for that matter, the main reason for my hiatus is I took on a new role at work which is more challenging than what I was doing before. I spend all day in front of my computer and the last thing I want to do is go home and be on my computer again. I love my new job though, and hopefully as I get more settled, the gaps between posts will be smaller and smaller.

Let's see. In the time I've been gone,

we got grass!

Lola got a brother! -Meet Griffin.

Griffin graduated puppy school!

...and Dahlia Jane, my adorable niece turned two months old.

So much more has happened. We grated the back yard (de-weeded and leveled), got a ping pong table, and have been getting closer and closer to starting the kitchen.

We've been out of town most weekends for weddings, camping, etc, but we'll be here this weekend, and hopefully make time to replant some hydrangeas and clear out the garage so we can relocate the kitchen in there. Stay tuned!

The Doting Aunt and another hiatus

2010-04-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

I'm an Aunt!!! It's official! And I'll admit, it's turned me into a monster. All of those annoying people that have a new family member born and insist on showing everyone baby pictures, yeah, that's me. I can't help it though! She is honestly the cutest baby I've ever seen!

Her name is Dahlia Jane, and she was born last Weds, 4/7 at 6:02PM. Believe it or not, Dahlia came out of an online Anagram finder when Tali and Cliff entered my name, my mom's name, and Cliff's mom and sister's names. How cool is that?! And to make it even cooler, when Cliff googled "Dahlia Wildman," they discovered that the "Wildman" is actually a type of Dahlia!

Ok, you get it, I'm smitten, and I frankly have been insaaaaanely busy, and will continue to be, so I leave you with photos. Pretty much everyone who reads my blog has already seen photos, because, yeah, I'm that aunt. Remember?

I'll try to be back soon with some house (*ehem* baby) updates. :)

spending time with mommy

spending time with Auntie

The battle of the bench

2010-04-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

The age-old battle of bench vs. chair has come to a close! Allow me to explain. Mark's gorgeous dining table has two matching benches that I have nagged him about since the day we moved them into our house. They're beautiful, don't get me wrong, but having to climb over someone to get out, or scoot the whole bench in and out just isn't for me.

My other argument against the benches was that together with the table, the look is very rustic, and since we are going for a slightly more contemporary kitchen, I wanted to tie the whole thing together with some fun chairs.

And friends, yesterday my wish was granted! I found these gorgeous chairs at World Market that were on sale, and get this, GREEN! In case you don't recall, we're tying green into our kitchen with a green glass backsplash, so I saw this as a perfect opportunity to connect the dining and kitchen areas. I quickly called to see if the chairs were available in-store so we could avoid the shipping charges and test one out before diving right in and getting six. They had them! I placed six of them on hold and Mark went and checked them out yesterday after work and as luck would have it, he LOVED them!!! Not only were they super comfortable and on sale, but the friendly sales person allowed Mark to make six separate transactions with a coupon for an additional $10 off!

Now let's not forget the benches. They won't be going too far. Mark and I have looked into how to properly weather treat them and they will be making their next appearance in our backyard.

Back From the Dead

2010-03-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

If anyone is still reading my blog, I apologize for my lengthy absence. Between devoting time to this blog/project for work, having friends in town, and just keeping busy, I just haven't had it in me to blog (here).

Rest assured, I'll be back with plenty to share soon. I have already begun the chair makeover, our stucco is complete, and we are getting closer to making our dream kitchen a reality.

But in the meantime, I'm happy to share that Lola graduated tonight! She will embark on an intermediate class next week. I told you we had a valedictorian on our hands!

A Star is Born!!!!

2010-03-09T12:18:00.000-08:00

No, Wildbaby hasn't arrived yet -that was just the theme of the shower we had for Tali last weekend.

We honestly didn't plan the theme around Oscar weekend, that was purely coincidental. The theme was just fitting, with Cliff working in film, Tali being a photographer, plus the fact that Tali loves all things starry.

There was no Joan Rivers, no Charlize in a boobified gown, but there WAS a red carpet! (red felt yardage)...

Tali only made two requests for her shower. One was a onesie decorating station, and the other was cake pops. She asked and we delivered!

not quite at Bakerella's skill level, but they sure tasted great!

this was the onesie I decorated for Wildgirl

We even made a starrified cocktail (with a virgin option, of course), that contained OJ, rum, triple sec, sprite and sliced starfruit for garnish. Sooooo delicious!

Nadia, one of the hostesses and a photographer, set up a star-studded photo booth for guests to glam it up with the guest(s) of honor.

Overall the shower was a blast (I think Tali and Wildbaby would agree). :)

the proud parents

Tali with Alison and Carolyn (two of the hostesses)

Sisterly love :)

Tali & Nadia (photographer and hostess)

with mah ladies Rachel & Martha

wifey!!!

it aint easy being so glamorous...

and of course one for Grandma :)

All photobooth photos courtesy of Nadia Caffesse, Full Tilt Photography

Meant to be...

2010-03-03T20:30:00.000-08:00

For anyone who doesn't know me, I'm a little bit obsessed with fortune cookies. I save all of my fortunes...

I was feeling a little down on my luck tonight. Things have been a little nuts at work lately, (all good things,) but I'd be lying if I said I haven't been losing sleep. Mark had the perfect solution to make me feel better tonight.

"I know you think you could use a little luck, so just pick one..."

I'm a lucky girl.

The chair up there

2010-03-01T21:19:00.000-08:00

Exhibit A: $5.99 pricetag

Exhibit B: chair pad, batting, and green zebra fabric

Exhibit C: hideous chair in serious need of a makeover

It can't get any worse, right?

She's joking, right?

2010-03-01T08:28:00.000-08:00

Over the past couple of rainy weekends, I have taken advantage of being stuck inside and purged a good 50lbs+. (Of clothes! duh!) I cleaned out the office closet, or at least started. This closet houses all of my overflow. There were items in there that I haven't worn in years.

Mark's advice was, "If you haven't worn it in six months, get rid of it." I can't quite abide by that logic seeing as how I'm a pretty finicky dresser and tend to return to clothing items that were once forgotten. But I did get rid of 1 suitcase full, 3 trash bags full, and 1 Loehman's bag full of clothing. That's a lot for me. I wish I had gotten a photo of everything before it was gone.

At least I know that my candidacy for the show Hoarders is no longer looming. I loaded up my car and went to our local Goodwill. After unloading all of the goods, I decided to go into the store and check out the chair selection.

I found a perfect specimen! It was only $5.99 -solid wood, hideous seat cushion in serious need of reupholstery. This project will include sanding down the chair, staining it in a dark espresso finish, and repadding and recovering the seat in lime green zebra print.

Wait a minute. Did she just say "lime green zebra print"????! What is this chick smoking???

That's what I said! It's okay, Mark thinks I'm crazy too. -But the green isn't a neon lime. It perfectly matches our drapes and accent pillows, and at a sale price of $6.30 a yard for upholstery fabric, I couldn't turn it down.

The beauty of this project is, a) if the fabric looks horrible once the chair is done, it's a quick and easy fix, since this chair just needs the seat covered and it will require no sewing, and b) if the whole chair looks like crap, well, it cost me about $25 for the chair and all of the materials, so I think I can live with that. But have faith, ye of little faith! I do! I'm pretty sure if I can ever get this project started and uhhh finished, it will look great!

*photos of the chair coming soon*

Staring contest

2010-02-24T09:19:00.000-08:00

Lola wins!!!

**Doesn't she remind you of the Sphinx?

Case and point

2010-02-23T19:52:00.001-08:00

Lola has fantastic doggie dental hygiene...

Crazy Dog Lady

2010-02-18T20:31:00.000-08:00

I know this blog started out as a home improvement thing, but it's clearly evolving into a blog about a certain dog whose owners, ok well just one of them, is a tad bit obsessed with her. I promise, we'll get back to the joys of home improvement soon, but honestly, isn't watching Lola explore, play, and learn new tricks way more fun?

Puppy Love

2010-02-15T16:35:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Valentines Day!!!

Mark and I kept it mellow with a nice home-cooked meal. We started out with my favorite cheese fondue. Our dippers consisted of pumpernickel bread, baby carrots and granny smith apples.

I then followed this recipe to make a relatively healthy chicken cordon bleu. I substituted light jarlsburg swiss for the laughing cow cheese. It was absolutely delicious and super easy to make. I paired it with the crash hot potatoes.

Then we enjoyed these customized m&ms for dessert. :)

I also took advantage of the beautiful weather to experiment with Mark's SLR and take some photos of the Lolabear.

It was a fantastic, love-filled day!!!

Pil-OWWW-tes

2010-02-12T08:16:00.000-08:00

Mark and I tried pilates for the first time last night. Our dear friend Adrienne has been doing it for quite some time now and after admiring her tone and definition *in as minimally a creepy way as possible* Mark and I finally accepted her referral to her pilates instructor.

...We. Are. Sore. It was a fantastic experience though, and we plan to work it into our really busy workout schedule. Okay, that's a lie. It's not really busy, but we're committing to doing this at least once a week, while peppering in (yeah I just said peppering in...) some cardio and resistance training throughout the week.

Unlike mat pilates, which I've tried on Exercise on Demand before, Linda uses pilates equipment in her studio. We got to experience the reformer... -Am I the only person that hears/says/reads the word "reformer" and wants to bust out in Snow's Informah, you know skibopidoodlie down the laaane, a liki boomboom down? That's just how I roll.

The Reformer

Following our intense pilates lesson, Mark and I welcomed dinner of a South of the Border salad from Stonefire and three Advil. each.

Nobody said it was easy...

For the love of potatoes

2010-02-09T08:03:00.000-08:00

If you are unfamiliar with The Pioneer Woman, I think it's about time you get real familiar. Tali introduced me to this blog as well as the Tasty Kitchen which is a food community that the Pioneer Woman created. Both are fun to follow, and the recipes, don't get me started! Okay, do get me started...

I tried Ree's recipe for Crash Hot Potatoes yesterday, and MAN! It's like french fries, with none of the guilt and way more flavor. (That's a huge compliment coming from me.)

I switched up the recipe just a smidge because I didn't have the patience to boil the potatoes. I nuked the potatoes instead. I also added a little garlic powder and since I didn't have fresh rosemary on hand, I chopped up the dry variety.

We paired these with some grilled chicken that Mark has perfected *slow and steady is the name of the game* and some corn and peas.

This one gets 5 mitts (that's a Tasty Kitchen two thumbs up) from me and will surely be revisited! SOON!

Doggie floss

2010-02-08T20:29:00.000-08:00

Lola had her first puppy training class this Saturday. She's totally a valedictorian in the making. Our homework was to practice "watch me" with her. She's got it down like nobody's business.

In the video, you also get a glimpse of her favorite toy, which I now refer to as "doggie floss". What used to look like this now looks like a mangled ball of thread -and that's how she likes it...

Thrice bitten

2010-02-08T11:59:00.000-08:00

I’m sure you’d like me to believe that you have better things to do with your time than read about my bug-bitten finger, but I don’t believe you. Poor Mark has had to listen to me complain about three bug bites I have (2 on my left forearm and one on my right ring finger) all weekend, trying not to laugh when I refer to them as “my mosquito bites,” so I’m going to give him a break. Mark, if you’re reading this, now’s your cue to stop.

All my life I have been the victim of mosquito bites, regardless of the time of year, climate, time of day, or layers of clothing I happen to be wearing. I believe my sister shares this problem, but I may be mistaken. Mark always asks, “how come you’re the only one getting bitten?,” to which I reply *as if I know what I’m talking about,* “I have sweet blood!” I’m pretty confident that I’m getting bitten in my sleep, because I have mad-mosquito-swatting-ninja-skills when I’m conscious…

The most likely cause of these bites can be traced back to our new windows. –By no means that it was their fault; in fact I should actually blame the old ones. Had they not sucked so bad, we wouldn’t have had the need to replace them. When replacing windows, there is an unavoidable period of time where a gaping hole resides in the wall. Whether it is for 30 seconds or 15 minutes, those damn mosquitoes will find their way in, because they obviously smell my sweet blood…

Now as soon as the swelling of my finger goes down, I pray to have no more reminders of the windows that were.

In the meantime, I will continue to dream about the kitchen that will be. Now that we’ve taken care of our windows, and we’re fixin’ to file our taxes, we’ve started talking about the impending kitchen overhaul. Here is what we’re thinking so far…

And on a parting note, if anyone’s got a good exterminator in the Valley that specializes in mosquito eradication, please share!

Windows 7

2010-02-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

Actually we had 8 windows replaced... But my new and early Valentine's Day present runs Windows 7. I know it's a silly reference, but I'm really excited about it. I've had my laptop for almost four years and it's gotten slower and more troublesome over time.

When Tali was here over MLK day weekend, she brought along her new Netbook and Mark and I were all about it! -Let's not fail to mention the hype of the iPad in the last week or two... Anyhow, I convinced myself and Mark that a Netbook would be a win for the both of us and the world... It takes up less space in our house, I would blog more, and we could take it on vacations with us and barely make a dent in our carry on luggage...

So now we've got Windows 7 and Windows 8. Our new windows (the 8 variety) are a dream-come-true! We have been basking in the glory of our new windows for the past week.

Prior to the window overhaul not only did we rely heavily on our central heating, but more importantly, we prayed for outdoor silence, whether it be from our neighbors' playing children or barking dogs... -But this past Sunday, Mark ran inside from walking Lola around 8am, exclaiming, "look out the window!" I quickly did, only to discover about twenty boys between the ages of 9 and 13 gathered in the middle of the street, just yards away from our window. Now unless these children are students of the local mimery, they were likely talking and laughing, exchanges that would have typically led Mark and I to complete and utter insanity on any given Sunday morning... But not last Sunday! Thanks to our friend Mike and our newly installed windows, these paintballin' birthday celebratin' boys didn't as much as jostle us from our peaceful slumber. Amen!

In other news, you may have noticed the new layout. I know, I love it too... Thanks Tali!!! Head over to her blog and check out the completed baby bedding. She did an amazing job!

Surviving on Cabbage Soup

2010-01-29T09:45:00.000-08:00

I'm baaaaack! Sort of... Sometimes the motivation to sit and blog just escapes me, and this week it has escaped me a lot! Mark and I were inspired by a couple of friends to take on the cabbage soup cleansing diet. Crazy, I know. We have eaten nothing but fruits, vegetables and cabbage soup for 4+ days now. Today is day 5 of 7 and we finally get to weave protein back in, and I am stoked! We have gone to bed super early all week, which has helped us get through this insane diet. I can't say I'm really suffering. I feel fairly energized and I know that this is helping Mark and I prove to ourselves that we can eat healthy if we put our minds to it. After this week, we'll surely abandon some of the insanity of this diet, but I plan to keep loading up on fruits and veggies which I didn't do enough of before.

But the bigger more exciting news is we get our windows tomorrow!!! We actually already have them -they're all lined up in our garage- but tomorrow is installation day! The thought of not hearing distant sirens and nearby motorcycles as if they're right outside our window... ahhhhhhhhh.

I will definitely be including some before and afters, so stay tuned.

In other news, Tali and Cliff are working diligently on the nursery. Cliff did the painting while Tali was here a couple of weeks ago, and the bedding is well underway. You can see photos of the nursery-in-progress here.

They were kind enough to video tape the unveiling of the first baby room accessory received -the doxie lamp!

first baby furniture! ptii from Cliff Wildman on Vimeo.

Happy Friday!!!

I'm still alive!

2010-01-21T16:17:00.001-08:00

I know! It's hard to believe, but I'm alive and well and haven't floated off into the Pacific with this week's never-ending torrential downpour.

I promise there will be updates coming, I've just had too much going on to make the blog a priority.

To tide you over, I'll share one of many photos that Tali took while she was here visiting last weekend. Who knew Lola was so ticklish?! You can see a couple more from her shoot on her blog.

Stay dry Los Angeles...

Behind these leaky pipes

2010-01-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

-or rather 'behind that moldy wall'... I heard Kelly Clarkson's Behind These Hazel Eyes on the elevator this morning and it's been in my head ever since. Leaky pipes -well not anymore! As you may recall we had a few leaks fixed a week and a half ago and then discovered mold behind our guest bath mirror. What I haven't shared, was that there was yet another leak going on that we discovered in the wall. It's like in the cartoons when the character sticks his finger in a leak to stop it, the water just pops out somewhere else. -But no more! Our shower is back in working order, sans leaks!

In better news, Ryan, whom you may remember from the BoP eradication post not long ago, came back into town to stay with us and help us with the house. He and Mark took on another project last night but I'm not quite ready to share it. I'll give you a hint though...

Lola learns a new trick!

2010-01-06T20:13:00.000-08:00

In just a couple of weeks, Lola has mastered "sit" and has just caught on to "shake"!!!

When I sago

2010-01-03T18:09:00.000-08:00

...Oy... We spent the last couple of hours at the emergency vet with Lola. She got into a pile of our yard clippings that included some sago palm frawns which are highly poisonous to dogs (and people). I found a chewed up frawn on her outside doggie bed and called animal poison control. The vet said that since we don't know what she actually ingested, we had to take it seriously no matter what. The toxin in sago palms is known to cause liver failure. The vet induced vomit and gave her some active charcoal, which sucks up any lingering toxins. She was happy before and after and never showed any signs of sickness, but typical symptoms of liver problems may not show up for 2-3 days, so we'd rather not take any chances...***Update*** It's been four hours since we returned from the vet and Lola is doing great.

The morning was filled with Mark working on a second B.o.P. root bush, taking down our Hanukkah lights, weed wacking, and I worked on the guest bath. I had my protective gear on, just to be safe.

I first cut a 4"x 4" where the mold was at the top of the mirror. The back of the drywall was looking good and dry. I then realized that there was trouble at the bottom of the mirror, where we had seen just a tiny bit of mold. The drywall was wet all the way through. Mark helped me saw out the damaged goods which was another 4"x 10" or so.

I then stuck my camera in the opening to take some pictures and see if I could see more signs of trouble. It looks all clear. The stud that was backing the drywall is still damp, so we are leaving the opening for a few days to make sure the entire area can dry out before we seal it up.

You've got mold...

2010-01-02T19:16:00.000-08:00

Today we bid farewell to Allie, Ryan and Danika. Mark and Ryan successfully fixed three plumbing issues and ripped out the bird of paradise. My not feeling bad about ripping out the plant was reaffirmed when I was told that B.o.P's symbolize lingering dead spirits... Yeah, good riddance.

I decided today was a perfect day to attempt framing our guest bathroom mirror. I bought 21 linear feet of moulding at Home Depot and went to town with our mitre box saw. Ryan suggested Liquid Nails to attach the moulding since the pressure from hammering or nail gunning is likely to crack a mirror. He also explained that we should remove the little brackets from the mirror and if the mirror isn't affixed to the wall, to use the liquid nails to attach it.

I did this, only to discover...mold. Umm gross. We quickly took down the mirror and I began cleaning. After much discussion, research, and concern that the mold may be lingering deeper in the drywall, we have decided to cut out the drywall that has the mold on it (it's only a couple of square feet. Even though it looks like it's just on the surface and was probably caused by someone splashing/spraying the top of the mirror and it dripping behind, this is the only way we can be sure that it won't come back. Last thing we need is to put the mirror back up and not know that something's growing back there.

The drywall cutting/patching will begin tomorrow...

Bird is the word

2009-12-31T16:28:00.000-08:00

Today Mark and Ryan took on the task of uprooting the bird of paradise plant that has plagued the front of our house for months. It may not seem so bad, but trust me, it was overgrown and just not the look we were going for. After a couple of failed attempts to get someone to come take it off of our hands on Craigslist, we'd had enough.

It took two men, shovels, a jackhammer-type tool, and a Scion equipped with a tow hook to get it out.

Before you think us horrible people for killing this plant, understand that these grow like weeds around here... and I'm not sorry...

Last bird standing...

Happy New Year!!!

Year in review

2009-12-31T10:21:00.001-08:00

What a year it's been!!!

Mark and I have a huge sense of accomplishment with all that we've done this year. Here's a quick re-cap...

We...

...bought our first home!!!
...demolished, and rebuilt our master bath.
... cleaned the crap out of the shower, tore up the floor, tiled, painted, and repainted in the guest bath -and we're not done...
...installed new french doors... twice.
...got rid of that stinkin' awful blue carpet.
...began stucco work, installed a new ceiling fan, learned how to make matzah ball soup, and more, with the help of my folks.
...celebrated our two year anniversary.
...added a new member to the family.

Our dear friends Allie, Ryan, and their daughter Danika are visiting us this week from Sacramento. Today, we will probably be able to add "...tore out overgrown bird of paradise," "...fixed master bath plumbing," and maaaaybe "...sledge hammered the $*&% out of smoker" to the list.

As for 2010, we have a lot in store, including all new energy efficient windows next month and a kitchen renovation post-tax return. Oh, to think! I seriously or shiriously cannot wait!

In the mean time, Happy New Year to all, and to all a good 2010!!!!

Pup playdate

2009-12-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

Today we had Booie, Adrienne, and Brian over for Lola's first at-home playdate. The dogs had such a blast together!!! It wasn't more than five minutes after Booie left that Lola passed out. Lola is so happy to have found a new bff!!!

Her name was Lola...

2009-12-20T09:13:00.000-08:00

Scratch that, her name is Lola! The newest addition to Chez Braffe. She's part corgi, part terrier, and all love.
Mark and I have been talking about getting a dog for a little while, and went to a couple of adoption events yesterday. We found Lola at an adoption event that our friend Jana was volunteering at.

At first we didn't even think to get to know Lola, because we had been in search of a medium sized (30-50lbs) dog, and Lola probably comes in at about 20lbs when she's soaked... But Lola wasn't having that. She was the happiest dog in the bunch, and was hardly flustered when the German shepherd nearby started a ruckus with a cocker spaniel and had all the dogs around going bonkers. She just wagged her tail, and in that moment, we knew she was the dog for us.

We originally planned on waiting until we returned from Vegas (next Sunday) to bring a pup into our home, but knowing that Lola would be headed back to the shelter if she didn't come home with us, made us change our minds. Plus, we received a generous offer from one of the volunteers to watch her while we're gone.

We'll have to go through some training with her, because at 1-2yrs old (the shelter's estimate -they don't have much information on her, as she was brought in as a stray), she is unfamiliar with any commands. But she's a happy dog, loves people, other doggies, and life! -and we love her.

Quilty as charged

2009-12-15T14:36:00.000-08:00

Ok. Wow. I will admit that one sounded way funnier/catchier in my head, but it's stickin'.

So last night I almost finished my first (baby) blanket. I just have to hand stitch one side closed. I was worried about getting the batting to lay flat if I didn't have the whole opening to work with, but after giving it a go, I think next time I'd be okay with half of a side open to get it in there flat. After I stitch it, I will get some colored embroidery thread and sew little knots in the corners of the squares. I'm really happy with the outcome so far. The entire blanket is about 3'x3', so not very big, and it's definitely not very neat, but my future niece isn't referred to as Neatbaby, now is she?! She'll surely appreciate the wildness of this one. I didn't use any pattern, just a square candle holder to cut out the squares and a blue fabric pencil...
I probably won't be completely finished with the blanket until the weekend or next week. This week I am immersed with MEND stuff. MEND is the largest food bank in the San Fernando Valley, and every year, my work teams up with them to adopt families in need, to give them a Christmas that they would otherwise not have the means to provide/enjoy. This week will be spent shopping, wrapping, (not rapping, yo), and coordinating the details with my coworkers to make this a holiday to remember for my department's adopted family.

For more information or to get involved with MEND, please check out their website. It's a fantastic organization that provides various programs and services year round.

Rain, rain, go away

2009-12-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know, Southern California really needs this rain, what with the whole draught and all -but on the weekend? Really??

Mark and I had grand plans to work on the stucco this weekend, which hasn't been touched since my dad's departure last month. You can't apply stucco in the rain... Aw shucks, guess we'll have to put it off again!

Instead, I think I will continue to sew this weekend. I have a couple projects in mind. First, of course, some more burpies for Tali. I also started experimenting on a baby blanket. *Chenille is 50% off at Joann's this weekend*

I also want to work on our living room a bit. I've been talking about it forever. We still want to paint a plum-ish accent wall and I'm itching to cover our console table. We have this marble top console table in our living room that sits just beneath the sole piece of art in there. It's actually pretty nice as is, but it *mysteriously * got scratched (read: keyed) all over, and the overall design doesn't work too well in the space. So here's my inspiration...

photo: house beautiful

I saw this photo in my House Beautiful magazine this month, and I love the idea. I want something that's fitted, with clean lines, but that I can lift the flaps up to store things underneath. I also like the idea of a bar tray sitting on top with some bar tools on it. We could also use the beneath as storage for liquor if we get some sort of shelves under there. Hiding your booze in an unsuspecting spot is never a bad idea... As for the fabric, I'm not sure what would be best. We've already added the plum/burgundy shade and our couch is gold-ish. I think maybe a dark brown with a muted pattern of sorts could be nice... Maybe something like this fabric or this, if Mark agrees to something flower-like.

What do you think?

Happy Friday!!!

Burping Cloths

2009-12-07T08:38:00.000-08:00

At the fabric store yesterday, I found this great fabric that I thought matched the colors Tali was going for really well. I immediately snapped a photo and texted it to her. I didn't have the time/patience to wait for an answer, and seeing that it was on sale from $6.99/yd all the way down to $3.19, I bought what they had left -about 3.5 yards. I also bought some off-white striped chenille.
I cut out 2 rectangles of each fabric, measuring 9"x22". I then took a circular vase that has about a 5" diameter and centered it on the length of the rectangle, and half way in from the edge and traced a semi-circle. I did this on the other side as well.

I then pinned the chenille to the patterned fabric with the right sides facing in. I sewed around the perimeter, leaving a 2" opening, through which I reversed the fabric. I hand stitched the opening shut.

I'm all about winging it with these sorts of things. They're definitely not perfect, but for the fact that the sole purpose of these will be to collect spit up, I think they'll do...

Now just another 3 yards of that fabric to go...

Wine Bag

2009-12-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

After sewing on 60 circle rosettes for my prototype pillow, I decided I could easily incorporate the rosettes into a winebag for the holiday party Mark and I will be attending next weekend.

This time I purchased felt sheets that measure 9"x12". They're less than 30 cents a pop and the entire project only took 3 of them and some elastic to make. I cut two of the sheets down to 6"x12" rectangles. I cut out six 3" circles from the third sheet.

For the bag, I stitched the two large rectangles together on the two 12" sides. I left about two inches unsewn at the bottom so I could attempt to figure out how to make the bottom. I couldn't decide if I wanted a rectangular gusset or to try to make it round. I compromised and cut out football shaped piece of felt from the remainder of the piece I cut the circles out of. I would probably do this a little differently next time...

I then folded the brim over (still insideout) and stitched all the way around about 3/4" down, leaving a 1" opening for me to thread the elastic through. I threaded it through and then hand stitched the opening shut.

For the rosette, I folded each circle in half and then half again, pinched the base and then hand stitched them all together, one at a time. I then affixed the big rosette to the wine bag.

This was a super easy project that I completed in less than an hour.

Really Kidville?

2009-12-04T18:39:00.000-08:00

Warning...This may get really long winded and this is based solely on my opinion.

As you may or may not know, just over two years ago, I was introduced by my father to a new franchise opportunity out of New York. He had seen the Kidville founders on Donny Deutsch's The Big Idea. I quickly went to their website and after exploring the site and concept, requested more information about franchising. What's not to love? The business in itself is a fantastic concept -"everything under one roof for children age five and under," was how they put it.

My father and I quickly embarked on a journey that involved phone conversations, a visit to New York, research, business analysis, prospectus reading, and ultimately recognizing that the prospect of raising over $1M to get the business off of the ground was grim. It was disappointing.

Fast forward 6-8 months when the economy started to tank. I was relieved. Had we been fortunate enough to have secured the investment to start the business, we would surely have seen difficult times in a business that is built on discretionary spending.

It wasn't long before emails from the franchisor started to come out saying franchising requirements had changed. Commitment to franchise no longer required a hub location and multiple annex locations. Franchisees could now commit to a smaller business of just annex locations. A sign of the times? This wasn't surprising, for the same reason not all McDonald's have a Playplace. To make a business available on a smaller scale to those who see potential in their respective areas is wise. It's good business.

Now to change gears... In the past few months, it's been no mystery that Dubai has felt the impact of this global recession. The place labeled as "adult Disneyland" is not immune. This week, Dubai has only been beat out in the news by Tiger Woods, and that's a little sad in itself. My dad forwarded me this article recently, and I suggest you read it from beginning to end. While it's the experience of just one journalist, it paints a pretty clear picture *from back in April* that should leave few people surprised about the situation Dubai is in today.

So what does Kidville have to do with Dubai? Well following the newsflash early this week of the impending crisis in Dubai, came a poorly timed (read: late) press release from Kidville that they have eleven (yes, you read that right) ELEVEN locations set to open in the United Arab Emirates, with the first to be in Dubai in spring of 2010. Are you crazy? Have you not learned from Starbucks?! Not one, not two, but ELEVEN? Okay, excuse my rant regarding the absurdity of the amount of Kidvilles in question here, but to break it down, there are a total of eight Kidville locations in the United States right now *granted there are pending franchises*. But let's do the math. In 2008 the UAE had an estimated population of 4.5M. It's not 2008 anymore, and chances are, this number has declined as people try to get back to reality. New York City has a population of over 8M and has only six locations.

Perhaps this press release was intended to send the message that not all hope is lost in Dubai or the UAE. The moving building may not be completed this lifetime, but you can still check your stroller in at the valet of one of eleven Kidville locations. I may be totally wrong here, which I hope, and all of these locations will be blessed with success, but the headlines lead me to believe otherwise.

So why would Kidville sell eleven franchises to a country that is now at risk of major financial meltdown? It's bad business if you ask me. (Read: Greed.) Franchises require large amounts of capital to start, and tens of thousands of dollars for each location are necessary up front as a franchise fee. This fee is in most cases non-refundable. On top of that, if these franchises are successful, Kidville stands to bring in lofty royalties. So what does Kidville have to lose if this partnership fails in this situation? Just their reputation...

That's weird...

2009-12-04T08:43:00.000-08:00

So I'm a self-professed sleep talker... I was unaware of this until my college roommate freshman year told me I spoke Hebrew or possibly gibberish in my sleep. On nights when Mark goes to bed after I'm already asleep, he's mentioned the next day that I mumble a whole bunch when he makes any noise. Of course I'm completely oblivious of this. Usually.

Well in the middle of the night last night, I decided to speak a little more coherently.

Here's how it went:

Me: That's weird
Mark wakes up from my announcement.
Mark: What's weird?
Me: Huh? sdkjhfks huh?
Mark: What's weird?
Me: Bed pans.

I then rolled over and immediately fell back asleep.

I explained my dream to him this morning. I was in a hospital room with a group of people, none of whom I knew, standing around an elderly man's bed. He was opening gifts. He unwrapped one to find a tie-dyed bedpan. Apparently, even in my sleep, I recognized how weird that was. Perhaps I've chanced upon my million dollar idea.

image

Happy Friday!

Then and Now - two years strong

2009-12-01T14:38:00.000-08:00

Today is Mark and my second anniversary together. It feels like I've known Mark forever. I feel lucky to have found such a loving, caring, funny, delicious man to call my own.

Thanksgiving 2007

Thanksgiving 2009

May we have many more Thanksgivings together!!! (we celebrated 2008 together too, but I don't have any photos on hand)

Wildbaby Crazy

2009-11-24T20:02:00.000-08:00

We'll be leaving tomorrow morning, and by morning I mean 5am, for Arizona with Debbie and Joe. That's four full-sized adults, 2 dogs, and enough luggage for 5 days for all, crammed into a Prius. We made it work two years ago, so I can't imagine it will be much different this time around...

But for some reason packing this time seems way harder. I've set out to work on this project on the road. I cut out all 60 circles last night and plan to hand sew them in place in the car. We'll see how that works. This is really just a test run though. I want to make the real deal for future Wildbaby *who is now determined to be a GIRL!!!* with wool felt. Joann's wool felt selection is dismal, abysmal, really any 'mal you can think of... So I will be ordering the felt online. I want to make sure I can complete the project first before splurging on good fabric though.
I have been hounding Tali like crazy about the baby's name. She won't budge... Well correction, she would maybe, possibly, but not necessarily budge if I swore on my life, the baby's life, everyone I love's life that I wouldn't tell a soul... I just can't do that though. So tormented I shall remain... We have talked colors though. She has drawn inspiration from a blog called "Me and Wee." Not only do I love baby Paige's room, I find her mother/the blog's author to be really inspirational. I think the nursery is just fantastic. It's got the right amount of baby-ness to it, but is something any child could grow into. -And the doxie lamp!!!! I may be looking into this for a future present Tali, so if you find out you're getting it or have already gotten it, let me know!

I am trying to be not too much of an obnoxious-aunt-to-be, but it's hard! I'm a gazillion miles away, and I am just bouncy-excited-like-no-other for the Wildbaby to be born already!

But back to reality... I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday for reasons mentioned in the past. Tali confessed today that in my honor, she will abstain from making her amazing apple pie, and instead make apple cake. Although I shouldn't care, that made me feel really good. I'm not missing out -except everyone else is. Damnit. That's wrong.

This is just a taste of all the doggie lovin' we'll be getting on the road to AZ. We had a Thanksgiving themed Pilgrims & Indians girl's night at Debbie's this past Sat and it was the first time I'd seen Shebbie and Babu in ages...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Teach a man to fish

2009-11-17T20:35:00.000-08:00

My dad will be leaving first thing in the morning tomorrow and it's truly hard to believe he was here less than a week. What's harder to believe is how much work was completed in that short time.

"Everything I set out to do today got done," was what I heard when I came home today. The base coat of stucco on the garage was completed. Mark and my dad installed trim on the french doors, switches were installed, the tub in the guest bath got its face plate, and hardware was installed in our bathroom... and that's just today.

It was such a great visit with my folks. We got a lot done and managed to have a great time throughout. Here are some photo highlights...

Mom was the cornhole master. She could sink a beanbag like nobody's business...

Testing out my chicken soup

Matzah balls!!!

Dad teaches Mark to lay stucco

The "after" from the photo below...

Mark and Dad install a new ceiling fan

The stopping point from last night

I haven't taken photos today to show more recent updates, but you can see, the work was all over the place, but very thorough. My dad even got stopped by a woman who was driving by and saw him doing the stucco today. She asked if he was taking on other jobs. *He's that good*

Anyhow, while I wasn't involved in the man-work this go-round, Mark "learned to fish." Mark was involved with all of the jobs and really what better way to learn?

Thanks mom and dad for a great long weekend and all of the help with the house!!!

The Peach Palace Gets a Makeover

2009-11-16T15:17:00.000-08:00

What a weekend! Mark and my dad worked diligently yesterday to lay the first layer of stucco on our exterior. It looks so great! Mark also learned how to install a ceiling fan (which was done in our bedroom) -out with the old, ugly, bright brass and white fan, and in with the new, beautiful, silent, brushed nickel and espresso finish fan *with dimmer*.

All the while, I learned how to make chicken soup from scratch and eggplant dip with my mother. The feminist in me is in there somewhere cringing at the cliche 1950s-ness of all of this, but let me tell you, it was a blast. The men were hard at work, the women slaved over a hot stove, and both Mark and I learned some valuable lessons.

I will post photos of everything later, but what I have on hand right now is a photo Mark sent me of the progress of the exterior of our garage. If you recall, there was this hideous architectural element on the facade of our garage, that alternated combed stucco, textured glass that had been painted over, and wood that boarded up some of the broken glass. Say buh-bye. Mark and my dad are hard at work, laying plywood and mesh, and soon to be stucco, over this monstrosity of an eyesore. Once we paint our house, it will all blend in. Oh, I can't wait!!!

Here is how it looks right now...

That time of year

2009-11-13T08:31:00.000-08:00

It's almost Thanksgiving time! There really is no better holiday if you ask me - a day that's all about gratitude, togetherness, and feasting on copious amounts of food.

This year, Mark and I will be driving to Arizona with Debbie and Joe to celebrate with the Singers. The same trip to Arizona was how Mark and I really got to know each other a couple of years ago, on what I consider our five day second date, so it will be fun to do again.

I love going back to Austin for Thanksgiving because the food is amazing and of course, it's home. Tali makes Martha Stewart's apple pie every year and it is just devine. I will miss the feast this year, but having just been back in Austin in October, and my folks being here this weekend, an expensive flight for Mark and I just didn't make sense.

But in the spirit of Thanksgiving cuisine and Martha, I thought I'd share a Martha cookbook that a coworker sent me yesterday. If you go to this link for Martha's Sirius radio show, you can download a copy of her Thanksgiving recipe cookbook for free! Enjoy!!!

If you already own it, it's practically free!

2009-11-10T21:26:00.001-08:00

This mirror was Mark's before I ever met him. It was pretty as its former self (I apologize there are no befores). It was dark wood and crackled silver and just didn't fit in our current decor. Nothing a little white spraypaint couldn't fix. The mirror sits above our little desk/sewing table in our guest room. Mark and I compromised on the height. I wanted it to be vanity height so I could sit at the table and put on makeup. Mark wanted it much higher. So alas, it's all about compromise, right? I'm really happy with it! This project cost us a whopping $7 for a can of Rustoleum Universal in satin white. Pennies in the grand scheme of things... Two blog entries in one day? Dost my eyes deceive me?! Ok, that's all you get. Good night!

Where have I been?!

2009-11-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

Apologies to you, blog, for this unwarranted (yet totally warranted) hiatus. No hard feelings?

So where to begin? Not much house work has taken place at Chez Braffe (or Jafflow, take your pick) as of late. Mark and I rallied this weekend to clean, paint our guest room door, and paint a mirror. We should have the door and mirror complete tonight, so photos will follow soon.

My parents are coming to visit this weekend, and I can hardly contain myself! They have only seen our home through the blog, and it definitely shows better in person if you ask me. They arrive on Friday evening, will stay with us Friday night, then drive up to Santa Barbara on Saturday morning for the day/night. On Sunday morning, they'll be back just in time for my dad to teach Mark (and I) how to re-facade the stucco on our exterior. My mom leaves early on Monday morning, but dad will stick around a couple of extra days to help us with some random projects around the house, which will hopefully include, replacing our kitchen window, installing a new ceiling fan, and fixing the socket in our master bathroom.

If you haven't figured it out already, my dad is super handy. And by super handy, I mean he can do practically anything -like Superman with a tool belt. He even built us new doors for our bathroom cabinets and shipped them to California. *I will be priming and painting them soon.

So back to where we've been... Mark turned the big dirty thirty last week! We decided to make a weekend out of it and went up to Boston, where he had never been before. We ate tons of chowdah, lobstah, drank lots of beeah (with an obligatory visit to the Sam Adams Brewery,) played in the leaves, hung out with old friends, and even went on the Ghosts and Gravestones tour, through the old cemeteries of Boston. Here are some photo highlights from our trip.

Mark playing in the leaves

Mark's birthday lobstah (stuffed)

Mark preparing to eat his birthday lobstah

at the Sam Adams Brewery

Enjoying some Boston Lagah

John Hancock's tomb (a little phallic, no?)

Paul Revere's more humble grave

Living it up with Jillian and Sean at the Black Rose

Enjoying the blustery weather

Hopefully I'll get another update in this week, but I don't want to risk any empty promises, as this week promises to be busy!

A Very Barry Weekend

2009-10-26T13:53:00.001-07:00

This past weekend, Mark and I did something that is rare amongst those in our age range. No, we didn't get a colonoscopy, silly. We went and saw Barry Manilow at the Hollywood Bowl!

Now I know what you're thinking, and it really wasn't as cheesy as you'd expect. Okay, maybe it was extra-super-Velveeta cheese product-cheesy, but it was a super-fun time, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't sing along.

Allow me to back track a little and explain how this all happened. Back in 2008, Mark and I were at Spec's, a liquor and wine store in Austin, when Mark put his arm around a Barry Manilow cardboard cutout, and I snapped his picture. (Barry Manilow apparently has his own wine.)
Mark later explained to me that as a kid, he had gone to a Barry concert with his family, as his mother was a huge fan. He fell asleep before the concert was over, so his parents decided they should head home....before Copa Cabana! No!!! Well Mark's sister was justifiably perturbed about missing Copa, and come on, what young girl wouldn't be?

Fast forward to a couple of months ago when I saw that Barry Manilow was playing at the Hollywood Bowl, and cheap seats were available for a mere $9.95, (make that $19 with service charges -damn you Ticketmaster!). I thought it would make for a great evening of BYOW, (that's bring your own wine,) sing-along, cheesy fun.

We were in the furthest back section of the completely packed bowl, and were fortunate enough to sit in the loud, middle-aged woman section, otherwise known as section W2, although it's entirely possible that the loud middle-aged woman section was all of the Hollywood Bowl. The women behind us kindly shared Barry's history of writing commercials with us. Did you know that he wrote the "I am stuck on Band Aid brand" jingle? There was another big one they told us about too, but it's escaping me now. To our right, a woman insisted on yelling over and over that Mark "is a keeper!!!!" because he applauded and cheered after every song.

Anyhow, we had a great time, and we even stayed awake for Copa Cabana!

(you can't see anything, but let's be real, it's the audio that counts)

On our long walk back to the car, (we parked at Hollywood and Highland), we serendipitously ran into Patrick Gallagher, whom you probably know better as Coach Ken Tanaka from Glee. I have a feeling he was at the Barry show as well, probably singing his heart out and being labeled as a "keeper" in another section. I got giddy and whispered to Mark who he was and Mark told him I was a huge fan of the show. He was super friendly, even though I confessed that I'm embarrassed about how much I like the show. (Not a really nice thing to say, now that I'm sober and think about it.) He mentioned that there's some great/juicy/gossip-worthy things in the works coming up for the show and to stay tuned, but they're unfortunately on a three week hiatus thanks to baseball. Who watches both the World Series and Glee? There are surely more closet Glee fans out there like me, so probably a lot of people...

Sew sue me.

2009-10-17T00:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, don't.

I started and finished my first sewing project tonight! Yep, that's how I chose to spend my Friday evening. I was super inspired by this skirt I saw at Anthropologie and thought maybe I could make something similar, but of course far less intricate. Much like ballet and piano, where as a child I refused to take any sort of direction or read any notes off of a page, I sort of winged it. For a first go, I'm not too disappointed, except for the minor fact, that, oh, I'm not a size 2? The skirt fits, but it's a wee bit snug on the hips.
I initially intended for it to be a high waist skirt that would be worn with a shirt tucked in so the bow is visible, but the bow is removable and in order for me to wear this and not look like a fat peg in a square hole, it will require a sweater or shirt to be untucked. -Or I may just give this one away to one of my few blessed size 2 friends.

The seams are semi-straight, but I really had no idea what I was doing, so I think it's excusable. Plus, I think the messiness is only obvious if someone were to inspect it closely. Hell, I even managed to put in an invisible zipper -although I totally disobeyed every step of the instructions.

For a whopping $6 worth of suiting fabric (which is 40% off at Joann's right now) and a $2 zipper, I think I'm okay with the outcome.

Next up will be a shirt made out of this fun jersey-ish material. Pattern? Nope!

Does the rug match the drapes?

2009-10-15T08:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, sorry, I couldn't resist the title. Mark and I did some shopping on Sunday and thanks to some generous gifts at our housewarming, picked up some rad new things! We got an awesome coffee maker *not Cuisinart,* some fun kitchen tools, which include a cookie dough scooper (melon baller looking thing), silicone oven mini-mits, and a collapsable strainer.
We also picked up two area rugs. One of the rugs is a runner for our entryway. It is a really tightly braided sisal. The second is a large plum 6'x9' and is placed under our coffee table. We were considering going with a pattern, but i think the solid gives us more flexibility with future design decisions. We are still planning on painting an accent wall a similar dark plum color in the living room. Perhaps this weekend will come with a dose of major motivation.

If you are looking for a fun and unique area rug, World Market is having a great sale and rugs are up to 50% off! *Don't forget rug pads for underneath!* I suggest getting the rug pads elsewhere though. We splurged on the rug-on-rug pad for the 6x9 at World Market and it was almost $40. I then found the rug-on-floor pads at home goods for our runner and kitchen mat for $4.99-$7.99. It definitely pays to shop around.

Aight, it's back to work for me! Have an awesome day!

Hot House

2009-10-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

So we finally had our long overdue housewarming party this past weekend! What a blast! We are so grateful to all of our friends for coming out to boogie with us! Here are some photo highlights:

Mark's coworker, Joe, made some amazing guacamole that we decided deserved a photo-op.

The Universal Crew!

Jana birthed the party!

Mark's bosses gave us this fantastic chiminea! People stayed warm all night!

And how could we forget Cornhole? Games were played all night. Competition was fierce, and only one bean bag was lost.

Thanks again to everyone for helping make our house feel like a home!

An Open Letter to Cuisinart

2009-09-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

Dear Cuisinart,

I wish your customer service sucked a little less so that I would not have to write off any future purchases of your products.

Allow me to explain. A couple of months ago, I purchased a baking sheet with silicone grips. Not long ago, I was baking with said baking sheet, when my kitchen was suddenly filled with smoke and toxic fumes. I quickly turned off the oven, checked for fire, then wafted the smoke with a towel for a couple of minutes to get the smoke detector to turn off. Following this, I pulled the tray out only to discover that the food wasn't cooked, but the silicone grips were melted and bubbling.

"Wait a minute, I don't think that's supposed to happen," I thought. I followed up with a letter similar to this one, accompanied by these photos to your customer service email. A little over a week later (yesterday), I received a voicemail from customer service, instructing me to call a generic number and that the person assisting me would not be able to read my email, so to have the product number and serial number available. Well that's genius. Apparently the number under the item name on the website is neither of the numbers you asked for, but I digress.
I called the number and spoke to an employee and then a supervisor who both told me I would have to pay for shipping to New Jersey, where your "specialists" would evaluate the damaged item to see if it was in fact defective, because clearly, my photos were insufficient. The process would take around a month and a half

I think this calls for a "REALLY Cuisinart?" You want me to ship my busted baking sheet that almost burned down my house back to you, at my expense, no reimbursement, so that you can destroy the evidence? Oh no. You must think I'm stupid. Not to mention, the cost of shipping from California to New Jersey is what it will cost me to buy a new cookie sheet that doesn't bear your name or threaten to burn down my house. But I decided to give you another chance, wrote another letter, and am currently waiting for you to step up to the plate and do the right thing and just send me a new one that isn't defective.

In my frustration, I randomly found the website Cuisinart Sucks. Dangit! Someone beat me to it! Well I gladly shared my recent experience on there as well. I completely agree with the website's founders. It would do you guys a lot of good to do some reputation management. Like admitting when your products suck, and replacing defective items in good faith.

After getting off the phone with your customer service, I immediately called up my other half and requested that he cancel our pending order of a Cuisinart coffee maker that's been on back order. Forget the pannini/grill/griddle, knives, cookware, and cooking tools that I already have. I'll keep those... But rest assured, as long as this issue goes unresolved, I will not invest a penny, scratch that... I will not spend a penny, (investments, by nature, should have the potential of increasing in value,) on your products.

Regretfully,

Shiri

Isn't it a little early for redecorating?

2009-09-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

Pardon my absence over the past week plus. I've been busy between quarter end, the L.A. Fair, movies, cornhole, and other distractions which have appealed to me way more than blogging. But alas, I return to you, blog, because I know, down the road I will look back and want to know how things progressed in our peach palace.

Over the past couple weeks, Mark and I have made some adjustments to our guest room. I decided that the bed centered on the wall made the already tiny room feel much too cramped, so we added a nice leather headboard and slid the bed up against the wall with the window. We hung up a painting I did back when I first moved to California adjacent to the bed. In moving the bed over, we had to get rid of one nightstand. The remaining one still has to be refinished -I'm thinking white.
On the left, you can see the corner of my former-desk-turned-sewing-table. Just to the left of the table is our new guest room T.V. setup. Mark mounted the television on the wall over the weekend and it is awesome! It swings out, tilts down, and does everything short of a back-hand-spring. OK, I'm exaggerating, but it's fantastic. We got the ladder shelf online at Target to double as a decoration element and a cable box holder (it's on the bottom shelf). We needed something that wouldn't stick out too far, and these tiered shelves are the perfect fit. We still have to get a cover for the cables and dress up the shelves a bit, but the room has come together quite nicely if you ask me.

Lastly, we finally got a piece of art!!! I am so happy with this painting. It really works with the golds and browns in our living room. We still need more flare, but it's a great start.

I will be taking another short hiatus. Mark and I are heading to Austin in a couple of days for Austin City Limits Music Festival. I can't wait! In all of the years that I lived in Austin, the festival never appealed to me, as it was always in early September and waaaay too hot and sticky to spend three days out there. But not this year! They moved it back a month, and we'll still have some heat and rain to deal with, but in exchange, we get Pearl Jam! Interestingly enough, Mark and I call Yellow Ledbetter "our" song. What's stranger, is it's a super depressing song that neither of us knows the words to, but it's so fun to mumble along in gibberish.

Have a great rest of the week/weekend!

I'm Blue'n'daboodeeaboodai

2009-09-20T11:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, I never really knew the words to that song, but it's the only catchy title I could come up with on this lovely Sunday mornin'. I spent the day painting our guest bathroom (again). This time there was no messing around. I painted two coats of Killz (as in the fumes from this stuff killz me) oil based primer. I followed that by two coats of Behr Endure, a lovely purplish blue.
The finished product was much more successful than the first time around. The cabinets will be next. They need to be stripped and repainted as the paint is coming off in sheets. We will also be picking up some white moulding to wrap the mirror with. Woah! Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

This is some of the artwork we picked out for the bath. First is a photo of bluebonnets that Tali gave me when I left my sweet home of Texas for California, and reminded me that the bluebonnets would be waiting for me should I decide to return.

The second is entitled "Shiiiiiiitshark." I bought this gocco print on Etsy from Argyle Whale and thought it was super appropriate. Most people know that Mark and my "couples name" is "Shark." The irony is that I am terrified of sharks...

Today we will be chillin', hitting up Homegoods for some art/accessories, bbqing with our friends, and then I have my last pre-playoffs softball game this evening. Weekends are the best!

Whine Country

2009-09-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

***Note*** I started writing this post a week ago, but for various reasons put off posting it.

Mark and I spent Labor Day weekend with my folks up in wine country. We arrived in San Francisco early Saturday morning and met up with my parents, who had arrived a little while earlier. Mark and Dad got our rental car and we were on our way to....
...yes, Sonoma! The schlepp took forrrrreeeever! As you probably heard on the news, the Bay Bridge had been shut down due to the discovery of a crack, so far more people were taking the Golden Gate Bridge. Combine that with a holiday weekend, and well, you've got the perfect storm for horrrrrrible traffic. We didn't get to our resort in Windsor until the late afternoon.

We made a pit-stop at G.I.Joe's (that's Hebrish for Trader Joe's). My folks don't have Trader Joe's in Austin, so my dad was stumbling for the name and came up with that. It stuck. We chilled for the rest of the evening.

We started early on Sunday, but not before Mark made everyone a fabulous breakfast. My dad had mapped us a rough route that would lead us to both Sonoma and Napa.

We stopped at Ledson Vineyards first. This vineyard was absolutely beautiful and the wine was delicious! *It was the only wine I drank on the whole trip as I was on antibiotics and shouldn't have been drinking at all. Hence: whine.* We continued the route stopping at various wineries and galleries on the way. Below is the house on the Ledson Vineyard property.

Monday, we decided to pack up and leave early. Since the drive to wine country took so long, we decided to give ourselves plenty of time to get back to the city. We drove on Sir Francis Drake towards to most Western pt. in the U.S. We made it almost the whole way, and then dad decided it's just the shore and we should turn around. Awesome.

We checked out the lookout point over the Golden Gate Bridge which was amazing. A great trip overall!

Pants Party!

2009-09-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Mark and I went to both the Salvation Army and Goodwill hunting (ha!) for a good chair specimen for my makeover project. I liked one chair we saw that had cane backing and cushioned seat but Mark was not a fan. I guess this may take time.

What I did find though, was a pair of Banana Republic wool pants from last winter, in my size (or so I thought). I'm pretty consistent with my size at BR, so I didn't think to try them on, and at $6.49 for pants that I tried on when they were almost $100, I was willing to take that chance. Apparently petite was not petite enough for the pants' original owner. They had been shortened and are just a wee bit too high-water for my taste.

Solution? I bought a sewing machine! Okay, okay. That's not why I bought it. I asked my parents for one for my birthday and finally picked it out yesterday. I read through half of the manual last night and look forward to finishing it up and getting started soon.So how am I going to fix pants that are too short with a sewing machine? I'm going to make them shorter! Fall is almost here, so I figure a good pair of wool cropped pants will be a nice addition to my fall collection. And if I screw up? It's a $6.49 mistake and I'm sure there will be plenty to come.

I haven't worked with a sewing machine since my failed attempt at a shirt back in my Gaines Ranch days. It resulted in a stylish camera pouch (don't ask). I figure reading the manual will help. -That and practice. I've already got grand ideas of things I'll make for the Wildbaby, accent pillows for our house, and designer fashion pieces *start small Shiri!*. Stay tuned for progress!

Open letter to Target

2009-09-03T20:33:00.001-07:00

Dear Target,

Would you please consider making a knockoff version of Jonathan Adler's new customizable rugs? Heck, they don't even have to be customizable, you can just use the colors that I chose for my rug.

Thanks!

Shiri
Ok, shiriously though, as much as I'd love to order this baby for under our coffee table or our bedroom, $1050 for a 5'x7' just isn't in our decorating budget right now. But if money was no object, Jonathan Adler would likely have all of my business (and money for that matter). I love this concept. Your own color choice for a fabulous hand loomed rug! There are a handful of patterns to choose from. The new customizable line also boasts pillows and totes for a much cheaper option.

It's fun to at least play with the designs and dream. If anyone knows where I can find a similar geometric patterned rug like the one above for less, please share!

In other news, as promised, Mark and I finally painted around the french door and hung our curtains. I still need to hem the bottoms though. All that's left to do is put some moulding around the door and paint it (it will stay white).

Now I'm off to catch up on True Blood. Good night!

I heart art

2009-09-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

Mark and I started hanging up pictures today and it's clear we're going to have to expand our collection in a serious way. Our art-to-wall ratio is at an all time low.

This one is a photo that Mark took on our second date (a five day trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving). We went on a great hike in Sedona with the Singers, where Mark saw this beautiful tree and captured it with the red rocks in the background. I blew it up and framed it for him for Hanukkah a couple of years ago.
This is a photo of our bicycles somewhere around Manhattan Beach. Mark took this too and adjusted it to sepia tones. Whenever I look at this photo, I miss living by the beach. Granted I wasn't quite a stone's throw from the water, it was still a nice brisk bike ride away. Mark and I invested in a bike rack a few months ago, so we've since been able to get our cruisers back to the coast like the good ol' days (and by "good ol' days," I mean last year).

I know, these posts are getting borrrrring, but have faith, I will have more to share soon. Mark and I are going to meet my folks up in Sonoma for some wine tasting this holiday weekend. Plus, we have plans to paint around our french door and hang curtains over it before we leave. Lastly, next week, I hope to finally repaint our guest bathroom and hang some art that I've been dying to share!

When we're not home improving...

2009-08-31T12:01:00.000-07:00

This last week was hardly spent on any updating, decorating or anything house related, really. The closest we got to home improvement is we were supposed to have our shower door installed on Saturday, but the installer discovered that there was a missing piece and had to re-order. Oh well.

I've been feeling a little under the weather for the past week or so, so we laid low, caught up on Weeds and other DVR programs, and just enjoyed our house, some company, and each other. Yesterday we got out a bit and went to Lake Pyramid with a couple of my co-workers. It was great and Mark got to go waterskiing, which he looooves.
But really the biggest most awesomest news is, we're going to be an auntie/uncle!!!! Tali and Cliff are pregnant!!! Can you tell I'm excited?
I told Tali that the ultrasound (can you believe the baby is less than 2cm big?) looks like Stewie from the family guy. I'm sure Wildbaby will be much nicer though... I can't wait to spoil him/her. This will definitely mean more trips to Austin!