i have set up several pertaining to wedding planning (duh) and ultimately will have some home decor, diy projects, and fashion ones too. you can “repin” other pictures people have found and also grab your own images off websites. i am not sure if you can upload your own pictures, but i am still lurking around the site trying to figure out how to use it most effectively. like twitter and facebook you can “like” or “follow” people to see what they are pinning. it seems like a great community that i am excited to now be a part of!

i have attached a “follow me on pinterest” link at the top of my sidebar if you are interested in seeing what inspires me right now!

holy shit.

i went with a few good friends from law school to run the nike women’s marathon in san francisco…it was a blast! so many women! ~22,000 women and like ~500 guys! (photo credits, shannon quigley).

i finished in a little over 2.5 hours, which seemed slow, but all i wanted to do was complete it. success!

at the starting line...at 5:45am

my bib!

good motivation

finally a bit of humor to sum up how i felt that day:

so. true.

after all the craziness, i vowed to never do another one, but i think i might do it again next year…i’m definitely glad i did it, and although the training took a while, it made me a lot more comfortable with “middle distance” (like 5-7 miles) which, when i started out, seemed impossibly far to this former sprinter i still am seriously slow at the longer distances, but i can do them. for now im sticking with shorter races, but im hoping to continue doing races…they keep me motivated to run, and maybe i’ll even get faster!

the tricker treater’s were ADORABLE. we got so many cute kids, and it definitely brought back memories of the excitement of halloween, getting to dress up and have an excuse to eat a buttload of candy.

in the past we have resorted to store-bought costumes (my parents would be so sad…as kids we prided ourselves on our creative home-made costumes). this year, ideas about some group theme costumes had been bandied about and later rejected: a hunting party (too hard to find the red coats and to train marleau to hunt foxes), an airplane flight (replete with a pilot, flight attendants, air marshals, etc). Then the idea of various permutations of lady gaga was suggested, and it stuck with me. quite cliche, and perhaps even “so two years ago” but i thought it would be a cheap fun and covered-up costume idea.

i wanted to do a version of this costume (one of her less-known ones):

one of her fancy costumes

i had some of the requisite pieces already: black lace tights, black gloves, and black shoes. The others i figured would be fairly easy to procure or make. Found a lace leotard at american apparel. this i can definitely wear again, so i didn’t mind the purchase. next, i needed a mask, and some sort of headpiece.

so i headed to michaels. i can spend HOURS in that store, dreaming of all the paintings i could create, jewelry i could fashion, memories i could preserve in scrapbooks, and scarves i could knit.

alas.

i browsed for a while and filled my basket with beads, wire ribbon, a plain black mask, feathers, flat backed jewels and sequins. then i crafted:

i took pictures only while making the mask…i macgyvered my headpiece just hours before my first debut and forgot to take pictures of the creation process. derp.

here is the finished mask:

and here is the finished costume:

lady gaga

power couple: lady gaga + her boyfriend rapper. (idk, fiance wanted to wear that shirt!)

here are some funny pictures from our dinner party: costumes include emma & mr. schue from glee, knights (and their hobby horses!) rachel  maddow, lady gaga, danny mcbride’s character from pineapple express, & minnie mouse.

everyone trying to be in character

we're all adorable

and there you have it: halloween 2011 successfully celebrated!

oh and the food was bomb too: homemade tortilla soup à la rick bayless, a curried butternut squash risotto, moroccan-spiced hummus, cheese plate, and of course, candy. and bevs.

at 6:30am.

yayyyyy!

but seriously, we enlisted the help of a few friends, and got it all stacked up in our new log holder alongside the garage.

all stacked up pretty

now we can enjoy a warm fire in these super chilly California winters

and marleau enjoys them too:

i think he looks happy...

now curl up and enjoy the blustery weather!

apparently old habits die hard.

i guess now i have a pretty decent excuse that works for everything from blog-silence to dirty dishes in the sink: law school.

i am now in the throes of my final year and i’m stunned as to where the time has gone. to ease myself into reentry into the blogosphere, i thought a brief recap a la the-first-minute-of-a-glee-episode would be apropos.

here is what i have failed to post about in the almost year and a half since i last wrote.

the rest of 2010: ~finished first year of law school~sf giants won the world series~we adopted a french bulldog named marleau…best dog in the world~celebrated thanksgiving with boyfriend’s entirely family~finally decorated our house appropriately for christmas~rang in the new year determined to make 2011 even better.

the best dog in the world

2011 thus far: ~i competed in my first triathlon~finished second year of law school~added new raised beds to the garden~created better entertainment areas in the yard~enjoyed life as dog owners~traveled to australia to visit my sister in cairns~worked our butts off~traveled to vienna, tuscany, venice & london…and in venice, boyfriend proposed!!!~started third year as an engaged couple trying to balance law school, home improvement, dog-ownership, eating healthy, and WEDDING PLANNING~i finished my first half marathon and have vowed to keep running.

he asked...

and i said yes!!!

i hope to create posts with more detailed updates about each of these events, but…don’t hold your breath

now that the blur of the last few months has passed and reality has set in, i’m hoping that this will serve as a forum for me to stay sane, keep everything in perspective, and share my view on the new journey upon which future hubby and are embarking. i know we have been together a long time, but the ring on my finger is more than just a pretty piece of jewelry…it’s tangible commitment, a sign that yes, we are in this for the long haul.

i can’t wait. <3

but, the best part about summer is the garden boyfriend and i planted quite a few different varieties of vegetables this year in our backyard. as this is our first year in this house, we call it an experiment year: figuring out what plants do best where and if we can actually grow food that we can eat.

so far so good.

we have had a few issues with the beets; i am not sure if it is too hot where they are growing or if they caught a bug, but one day they just up and shriveled away. good thing we are not relying on our own garden for all of our food

our tomato plants are thriving, herbs are settling into their pots and we are crossing our fingers for the cucumber and the eggplant. carrots and scallions appear to be hanging in there, but the BROCCOLI have been incredible. ginormous big leaves, tightly sprouted heads that we trim often so that more grow. it is so cliche but there is nothing like picking food that you cook THAT DAY. nothing like it.

today we had some friends over for a brunch bbq. one of them is a vegetarian, so i decided to make a quiche while boyfriend grilled up some whiskey/maple/sage sausages for the carnivores (well omnivores). we also made a salad with green goddess dressing (see the recipe here from bon appetit) from our giant lettuce heads. we have been picking leaves off the edges and new growth pops up each day!

i couldn’t really find a recipe i liked for the quiche, so i made one up. i think i cooked it a little too long, but oh well…next time. here is the gist of what i did (note the extremely exact measuring techniques ):

ingredients:

-1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed

-two handfuls of broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces

-1 cup fresh spinach

-1 small shallot, diced

-5 eggs

-two handfuls of grated gryuère cheese

-1/2-3/4 cup of milk

directions

preheat oven to 425. roll out the puff pastry big enough to fill your pie pan. spray the pie pan with non-stick spray or rub with butter….i didn’t do this and the crust definitely stuck to the bottom. line the pie pan with the pastry and use a fork to poke some holes in the bottom.

in a skillet, heat olive or canola oil and add the shallots. sauté until softened, then add the broccoli. cook until bright green and starting to get tender. add in the spinach and cook until wilted. remove from stove to let cool a bit.

in a medium-big bowl, beat the eggs together and add in the cheese, as well as some salt and pepper to taste. add in the milk and the vegetables, and mix until homogeneous. then pour into the shell and put in the oven. i did mine for 25 minutes and that was too long, so next time i would do about 20. thats it! it still came out really well, i just like my quiches a little softer.

since we just moved into the neighborhood, we have been attempting to meet and get to know the neighbors.  the street we live on is small and communal and everyone is really friendly. an apparently EVERYONE is super into christmas. until this past weekend we were the sad dark house on our end of the block. (but thankfully boyfriend’s dad brought over a light-up christmas tree for the front yard so we don’t feel too left out!) so as an apology for being the grinches of our christmas wonderland, and as a friendly gesture of yuletide cheer, boyfriend and i are going to gift small christmas gifts to our neighbors, of course sticking within our law students budget for both money and time . we were going to stick with the always festive and delicious christmas cookies, but decided to be a little adventurous this year.  homemade marshmallows. not only that, but regular AND peppermint ones. crazy huh? boyfriend didn’t even know you could make your own marshmallows! i’ve done some research and found a recipe from Elizabeth LaBau.  when we embark on our marshmallow making adventure i will post the recipe and pictures!!!  oh and pictures of our street (and our brave little christmas tree!)

one of the things im most looking forward to over break is being crafty!!! im hoping to unleash my inner martha stewart and jackson pollack and spend some time working with my hands. just keep swimming, just keep swimming….

Rosemary and Strawberry Scones

Ingredients:

since my food processor is little, i followed the handmade directions, which worked fine. plus the extra arm workout helps balance out the very caloric nature of these delicious flaky treats. but if you are gifted with a large food processor, by all means, use the technology.

1. stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl

2. next chop and mix in the rosemary

3. blend in the chopped up pieces of butter in with either a pastry cutter or a fork until the mixture resembles a crumbly meal

4. gently stir in the cream until the mixture forms a dough

4. roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. cut out shapes as desired…i made circles using a large drinking glass.  (i also forgot to take pictures during this part of the baking because my hands were covered in floury-dough).

5. now giada’s recipe calls for rolling out the scones to 1/2 inch thick, then making an indent on the top of the scone to put the jam in. i wanted the jam to be contained inside the scone, so i rolled out the scones to half the thickness. layed out the bottom layers, and made little indents and filled them with strawberry jam, about 1 teaspoon in each. then i placed another layer of scone on the top and squeezed the edges together to bind them.

6. place scones on a greased baking sheet and bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes until golden brown around the edges.

7. when they are golden brown and smelling delicious, remove from oven and place scones on a wire rack to cool.

these turned out FABULOUSLY! highly recommend this recipe. giada also includes a lemon powdered sugar glaze that i omitted because these are already pretty sweet. but this recipe can be modified to accommodate whatever fruit or spices you have on hand.  happy eating!

moving day dawned gray and drizzly…the worst kind of conditions, even worse than extreme heat according to don and shawn our movers. oh well lets try and get it done as fast as possible, they said.

thanks to everyone who helped move or unpack stuff! this was not a logistically choice time of year to move, but we did it anyway!

tomato and sausage risotto

Tomato and Sausage Risotto
Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food

Serves 4

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bunch flat-leaf spinach (10 to 14 ounces), washed well, tough stems removed, chopped (about 7 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
2 tablespoons butter

1. In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (with their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add sausage and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.
4. Add about 2 cups hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue adding tomato mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes total (you may not have to use all the liquid).
5. Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately (risotto will thicken as it cools), and sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.

YUM. can’t WAIT to try this!