The Nursery

We finally started working on the nursery and I am so excited! We had the painters, carpenter and electrician here last week and they did an amazing job making the room look exactly like I envisioned it!

Here is a picture of my Maura Daniels light fixture:








We had a chair rail installed and then hung paintable Graham & Brown Damask wallpaper underneath. Then, they painted the top half Benjamin Moore Lavender Ice and the bottom half Benjamin Moore Blue Orchid. I chose the colors to coordinate with my Land of Nod lavender bedding set.

Before:


After:








The detail of the wallpaper:













Today Gene is building the crib, hanging the blinds and valance and hanging a clothes rod in the closet. I will be managing the project (aka nagging). I'll try to post more pics as the room comes together bit by bit!

Sun Pickles

Here is a fun project to try if you love pickles. You can pickle your own cucumbers, all you need is a few simple ingredients and some sunshine! The pickles are not going to taste exactly like your typical store-bought ones, but it is fun to make and I love the taste (although it is a somewhat acquired taste).

There are a lot of variations: you can add things to the mix, like jalapenos if you like them spicy, or use other spices that you like other than the garlic the recipe calls for. This recipe is for one jar of pickles, so double it to make 2...but unless you eat a ton of pickles I wouldn’t suggest making for than 2 jars at a time! Also, these pickles aren’t usually crunchy…if you like crunchy pickles I read somewhere online to use grape leaves, but I never tried that (or even know where to buy grape leaves!)

Ingredients:

6-8 Kirby cucumbers
Kosher salt
peppercorns, small handful
3 Garlic cloves
Fresh dill (one bunch)
Rye or wheat bread, toasted (1 slice)

Use 6-8 Kirby cucumbers to a glass jar (I use a half-gallon mason jar, you can buy at a craft store)

Use 2 tablespoons kosher salt to 1 quart of water (4 tbs for a half gallon). Bring water to a boil. Cool slightly before putting into glass jars!

Put 2 or 3 smashed garlic cloves in a jar and add a few whole peppercorns. Cut cucumbers down almost through, and again (so they are intact, but look like pickle spears).

Put some dill in jar, then pickles, you can add some more dill in between pickles.



Top with a piece of toasted rye or whole wheat bread.

Pour hot salted water over, so everything is covered. The bread will be soaked through. Cover with saucer or top of jar.



Put in sun and it should be done in 3 days. If it gets cloudy or rainy, add an extra day.

To store, rinse pickles and keep in refrigerator. You can strain the brine and add some to the pickles in refrigerator. Keeps for a week or so in fridge.

July 2010

I haven't been posting too much lately...summer has been a whirlwind! Work is keeping me busy and active. I just hired my first (unrelated) employee to work for me and I have been training her. So far, so good! My clients love her and I love having someone responsible to rely on.
Not much has changed with Gia. She's still active and kicking up a storm in there. She had the hiccups for the first time last week. It was very cute. Gene didn't believe me. Then the next day he read it in a magazine that the baby can get hiccups at this point, and he believed the magazine. I love how he never thinks I am right! For once, I was :) I took some more belly pics at 29 weeks, but there is not much of a difference from the previous month. My doctor says my belly has grown 2 cm, which isn't much. Of course my butt and thighs have probably grown a few inches! I've gained about 25 pounds now. It is hard to believe since I can still fit in most of my clothes. Not comfortably, but I fit, and I am too cheap to buy a whole new wardrobe for the couple months of what is left of summer!
Our pool party at the end of the month was fun! It was nice to get together with friends we don't get to see often enough. I was sick with a bad cold (which lasted the entire month of July) but I still managed to have a great time--tissue box close at hand.

Grandma's Cheese Pound Cake

Here is the "secret family recipe" that is too good not to be shared! I promise to bake one soon and add a picture!

Grandma's Cheese Pound Cake

6 eggs, separated
1/2 lb. unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
3/4 lb. cream cheese, softened (one 8 oz. and one 3 oz. package)
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups Presto cake flour, sifted

Beat egg whites until stiff (about 10 minutes) and set in refrigerator.
In a large bowl, mix butter, sugar and cream cheese with beaters on low speed until smooth.
Add vanilla to egg yolks and lightly mix.
Add egg yolk mixture to cream cheese mixture and beat until light and creamy.
Add Presto cake flour, 1/3 at a time and beat until smooth.
Fold in egg whites. Pour into a greased and floured 10 inch tube (bundt) pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
Let cool, then dust with confectioner's sugar or frost with icing before serving.
Store in refrigerator.

R.I.P. Grandma

My Grandma passed away on Tuesday, at the age of 93. I can only hope to live that many years and to be half the woman that she was! She was a wonderful Grandma and role model. I hope to think that my hard-working nature and maybe my green thumb came from her. And my love of baking! In honor of her life and all my fond memories of her, here are some of my favorite "Grandma" moments from my life:

Playing card games with her and my sister at her house. Our favorites were Old Maid and Go Fish. She always ended up being the "old maid." I wonder if she let us win all those times :)

Eating cream cheese and crackers in front of her tv, watching Golden Girls and Married with Children.

Being scared out of my mind watching Michael Jackson's Thriller video for the first time at her house. I would run into the bedroom screaming!

Sleepovers! My Care Bears sleeping bag, the mickey mouse radio that played "it's a small world", my hello kitty toothbrush. Staying up "late" and waking up early to play.

Her baking, especially her cream cheese pound cake. I would specially request it for my birthday and it would never disappoint!

Her greeting cards: She would always label the girl on the card "Lauren" and the dog "Hercules."

Always having leftovers from her house. We would joke about her wrapping techniques: rubber bands, toothpicks, an entire roll of saran wrap....but nothing tasted better the next day after excavating the food from its wrapping!

Her tomato plants and garden. When I smell the vine of a tomato, it brings me right back to Grandma's backyard.

Gossip! We could always count on Grandma to tell us all the neighborhood goings-on. She loved to talk and tell stories!

Easter: she would hide chocolates (I think she made them) all over her house and my sister and I would go on a scavenger hunt to find them.

Halloween: Trick-or-Treating on her street after school

Thanksgiving: Always catching Santa Claus at the end of the Macy's Parade on her TV before starting our big feast!

Pets: She reluctantly pet-sit for our guinea pig, Tara, who she called a "rat." But boy did she love her "grandson" Hercules! And he loved her. She would always give him treats and he knew how to get more out of her. He would recognize her street at we pulled in and get so excited to see his "great grandma."

There are so many more wonderful memories that will make her live on in my heart forever. Rest in peace, Grandma, and watch over all of us. We'll never forget you.

Watermelon Crab Salad

Here is my recipe adapted from my recent trip to Novelli in Wayne:

Watermelon Crab Salad



1 package cubed seedless watermelon
1 package crabmeat (or surimi/imitation crab)
1 carton of cherry or grape tomatoes
1 small red onion, sliced
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
2 tbs. white balsamic vinegar
salt

Pour watermelon chunks in a glass bowl/container.
Slice tomatoes in half. Slice onion in half and into thin strips. Chop basil. Cut or tear crabmeat into small chunks. Toss tomatoes, onion, basil and crab with watermelon. Lightly salt with sea salt or kosher salt. Top with balsamic vinegar (add more if desired). Serve cold. You can add lettuce to the bottom to make it more of a green salad.

My ever-expanding waistline

Last week I officially removed my belly button ring after having worn this particular one since my wedding day (it was my "something blue") and having had it pierced for 12 years. I don't recognize my belly button. I liked having it covered up! But now it is even more unattractive than usual because it has popped, like the timer in a turkey. It will pop even more as time goes on, but as you can see, my ring is pretty much standing at attention if I try to wear it. Hopefully I can go back to wearing it after the birth because I really don't like belly buttons especially my own.

Here are also some more pictures taken at what I believe is the beginning of week 24. I still can't figure out what week or month I am in. I think it is week 24 and somewhere around the beginning of month 6.



We can now see Gia moving around from the outside. Pretty cool stuff. We'll be watching TV at night and I find I've missed most of the show because I am just staring at my belly. Or my dog. Both which I selfishly proclaim are the cutest things ever.