Cookie Swap 2011

Another successful cookies swap has come and gone... and I am just waking up from my cookie coma from eating too many carbs!

Vicky and I had such a fun time hosting our 6th annual cookie swap and we had a delicious and diverse range of cookies this year!  Everyone did such a wonderful job and we had a great time catching up with old and new friends.  Check out the recipes on our Cookie Swap Recipe Blog at bakedfortheholidays.blogspot.com!



As you can see, we had some of our favorite buffet items out to share: red pepper hummus, crostini with prosciutto, goat cheese and fig jam, truffle tremor cheese, lox and cream cheese crostini, fruit salad, and a new vegan dish that got a lot of compliments: Quinoa Salad with Orange-Cumin Vinaigrette!  As requested, we'll post that recipe soon.  Martha also brought over a delicious vegan corn and bean salad (I still need to ask her for the recipe!)

Love all the great food and good friends that make the holidays so wonderful!

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan's Wedding Album

I just finished Ming-Cee and Patrick's wedding album!

I don't usually like purchasing groupons because I'm REALLY bad about using them before they expire so it just seems a waste of money most of the time... but this was a great investment!  A friend suggest that I purchase a groupon for $35 to get $100 worth of products from Picaboo and it worked perfectly.

I was really pleased with the product and, most importantly, Ming-Cee and Patrick were very happy with their album.  Can't believe my baby sister is all grown up and married!

DIY Terrarium: The Perfect Gift!

We were invited to a housewarming party for our friends Matt and Meg this weekend and I thought it would be nice to put together a little terrarium for their new place.

As most people know, I'm never lacking in plants and always more than willing to share my collection (to make room for more plants, of course!)

The only thing I had to pick up at the garden center was the glass container... but I'm an impulsive plant shopper and picked up this little fuzzy green plant  in the back because I thought it was cute.

Terrariums are super easy: layer of pebbles, layer of charcoal, layer of dirt, and then start decorating!  I pinched off some succulents from the mama plants on my windowsill, threw in a miniature african violet that I propagated last year, then put some moss, rocks, marbles, and whatever else I could find to make it look cozy.

I also like to personalize terrariums using a paint pen and/or sharpie pen.  Just makes it a little more special.

Lake Tahoe

Sorry for the lack of posts in the last couple weeks!  I just got back from a beautiful weekend in Lake Tahoe for Ming-Cee's bachelorette party.  The theme was Sunshine & Shananigans... but Mother Nature turned it into Snowflakes & Shananigans.

Needless to say, we didn't unpack our bikinis but the beautiful ladies were troopers and we had a fantastic time.  It's hard not to have fun in GORGEOUS Lake Tahoe snow or shine...

Highlights from Chicago

Aside from Garvey and Sonja's beautiful wedding, the ultimate highlight from our Chicago trip was going to the taping of Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!  Extremely entertaining two hours... highly recommended if you're a fan of the show.

I guess since I was the day-of coordinator and Michael was a groomsman, we somehow ended up with no photos from the wedding.  And so here are some highlights from Millennium Park with Roger and Sweeper...

Classy...

Easter Brunch 2011

Last Sunday, we hosted our largest annual Easter Brunch ever!  Unforunately, I was too busy and totally forgot about taking pictures so all of these are post-brunch photos.

Brunch was especially fun this year because three of my old friends from my hometown joined us to celebrate!  There are about a dozen Campolindo High School alumni living in DC from my graduating class and it's so great to have a little taste of home when you're 3,000 miles away.

But I must say that it was a wonderful success and we even got to use the beautiful three-tiered serving dish that Bill and Pat got us for Christmas (but Mom and Dad Merschat brought it up for the weekend and we opened it up on Easter Eve... what perfect timing!)

We stuck with some tried and true recipes for our brunch menu:
Chocolate Cupcakes (featured above with robin eggs on top)
Strawberry and Rosemary Scones (PERFECT for spring brunch)
Red Pepper Hummus (Michael also made an extra batch sans pepper for Mama Merschat)
Chicken Salad Sandwiches (featured on our beautiful new serving platter)
Lox and Bagels
Mini Quiches
Fruit Salad
Mimosas (of course!)

And the highlight of the afternoon was the Merschat family tradition of Easter Egg "dutzing."  I can't find any reference of "dutzing" (or any other variation on its spelling) via google but I did find this link explaining German Easter Egg Battles.

So you take some beautifully decorated Easter eggs that took hours to decorate and dye...

...and then you pick a partner and smack the eggs together!  One egg will crack, the other will not, and the winner "challenges" another opponent with a non-cracked egg until there is only one winner.  The winner gets good luck all year long... and this year Mama Merschat got all the good luck with her winning mushroom egg.

Growing Mushrooms

...well, not quite the Alice in Wonderland mushrooms that will make you grow taller and shorter... but equally as awesome!

Carl and Holley are growing shiitake mushrooms!  They inoculated the logs last weekend and I couldn't contain myself so I had to post photos:

Shiitake mushrooms have some great health benefits so we're definitely going to look for some delicious recipes when these little babies are harvested!

And last but not least, Ernie helped too...

Garden Party & Bonfire 2011

Let us know if you want to join us in Barnardsville for Independence Day weekend!  We'd love to see you!

Our New Car!

We knew this day would come.  It was time to retire Michael's beloved 1995 Nissan Maxima SE with 192,000+ miles.  Yes, it was time.

We went into this car shopping business with our hearts set on a Subaru but after test driving the Subaru Outback, Subaru Forrester, Mitsubishi Outlander and Hyundai Santa Fe... the Santa Fe was the clear winner.

Look at all that room!  This is Michael and my first non-sedan car and I still need to get used to driving the taller and wider car.

Now we did need to purchase the "Limited" model to get the sunroof so we ended up spending more than if we were to get a Subaru Forrester, but look at all the fancy gadgets we got!  We love it.  And of course, the sunroof...

Having car payments is not going to be fun but I definitely think it's worth it.  Michael got everything he could out of his Maxima (we called it the "Ma_i_a" because the letters were falling off the back of the car) and even traded it in for a whoppin' $500!

Goodbye ol' gal.  It was a good, long ride and we'll miss you...

Happy New Year!

Any year that starts with 1-1-11 must be a special year, right?

We just got back from my step cousin's house (I think that's what he's called) down in Richmond, Va., to see my Aunt Mary Alice, Uncle Sam, cousin Karen, cousin Kevin, second cousin Kelly, and step cousin Bill and his family.  Dinner was fantastic and it was so great to catch up with family to kick off the new year.  I love the holidays.

Yesterday, we ended 2010 by going to see the Spielberg and Lucas private collections of Norman Rockwell paintings at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  Our favorite was The Connoisseur.

It was a really neat exhibit and we're so glad we caught it just before it closed.

Hope you have a happy and healthy new year!

Our Souvenirs

The last couple weeks have been super busy so I'm sorry for not updating the blog for a bit.  And although I had to work today, I am thankful that I have this Thanksgiving weekend to catch up with stuff!

Most of you know that Michael and I did not purchase formal china for our place settings.  We decided to collect place settings from our vacations so each of our guests could share a little memory and a little story at our dinner parties!

This place setting was purchased at Astier de Villatte.

Astier de Villatte ceramics are entirely handmade in Paris, France. Made of black terracotta clay, the pieces are extremely durable yet surprisingly light to the touch making them perfect for everyday use. The namesake tableware collection is inspired by 18th and 19th century designs and is glazed to create a milky white finish.

We LOVE it.  But unfortunately for us, we apparently have expensive taste and were not happy with any of the other place settings we saw at other stores in Paris.  Isn't it so unique and refined?  So pretty!  Can't wait to put it to use.

Ok, enough about the place setting.  We also got something much more practical for everyday use: Peugeot salt and pepper mills!  Rue de Rennes has fabulous little boutiques and we got a great deal on this salt and pepper mills.  Michael put them to use as soon as we got home!

And last but not least, we brought home a tub of Edmond Fallot mustard.  That's right... a TUB!  Mmmm... that's delicious mustard.  It's really THAT good... cross my heart.

So you've probably figured out by now that this will not be our last trip to Paris.  Can't wait to go back!

The Little Tercel That Could

This weekend, my car hit 100,000 miles and she's still going strong.

It was Easter weekend 1997 when my parents bought my cute, 2-door, silver Toyota Tercel.  It was a last-minute purchase to replace the beige/brown, hand-me-down 1984 Toyota Corolla, which was parked in front of our house and totalled by a drunk driver who had his license suspended (prior DUI), a concealed weapon in his car, and no car insurance (of course).  Fortunately, no one was hurt and I got a new car!

Since high school, me and my little Tercel have lived in 3 states and the District of Columbia; we've driven cross country with daddy from Moraga to Chapel Hill; and shared so many memories together.

She's not fancy and a little rough around the edges.  She doesn't have power locks, windows, or ANYTHING actually; she doesn't have cruise control; she accelerates best when you turn off the A/C button; she's missing a front right hubcap; and I have to replace the bulb in the back middle brake light... but it's what's on the inside that makes her so special to me.

She's the little engine that could... and I hope to be blogging when she makes it to her 200,000 mile marker... I think she can, I think she can, I think she can...

First Day of My Fourth Decade

The day is finally here.  I'm 30.

We're just about to head over to dinner at Nora's and I'm sporting my beautiful new earrings Michael got me.  He has such good taste - I'm a lucky girl.

Overall, today has been a wonderful and low-key birthday.  Let's hope that sets the tone for the beginning of my fourth decade.

Chopped!

It's official!  I have short hair!  Here's a comparison. 

Before (April 2010):

After (October 2010):



Pretty drastic but I love it!  And thank goodness Michael loves it too!  I'm calling it my 30-year-old hair style.  I think it makes me look at tad more sophisticated (aka "older"). 

So are you wondering what I did with the 10+ inches of hair I chopped off?  Donated it, of course!  Locks of Love makes wigs for kids that have lost hair because of medical issues (i.e. cancer) and can't afford hairpieces. 

It's an awesome new hair style and helps sick kids feel a little happier... what's not to like about that?

R.I.P. Curly

One of of our black skirt tetras, Curly, was found unresponsive on Tuesday night under his favorite plastic fake plant after he did not come up to the top of the tank to eat his flakes.  He could not be revived.  His brothers Moe and Larry, and his tankmate Bud, a zebra danio, were questioned.  His sudden and untimely death remain a mystery but no foul play is suspected.

A brief service was performed last night and his tank has been decommissioned.  Moe, Larry, and Bud have been transferred into Mary Kate and Ashley's tank (also zebra danios).  All parties seem to be getting along and the move has helped the boys cope with the loss.



R.I.P. Curly... we'll miss you... at least for a little bit.

And just because we're doing pet updates, Skeletor is doing quite well and is happy that he just got his tank cleaned!

Hot Town, Summer in the City

It's hot.  Really hot.  The kind of hot that makes you wonder how people live without air conditioning.

Today's a little cooler than yesterday.  Right now it's only 97 degrees with a heat index of 105 degrees.  Refreshing!

But the good thing about all this hot, humid, and record-setting summer weather is the great storms we've been getting in the evenings.  The photo above was taken on our balcony and, as you can see, the storm was isolated on top of the Nathional Cathedral with a little rainbow separating the gray and blue skies!  This scene literally only lasted about 30 seconds so I'm glad we had our camera handy.

We only stepped out on a balcony for 5 minutes today to water the plants and pick tomatoes and that was enough for me.  Now it's time to make a salad!

Bugs Bite

It's the time of year again... and I'm a mosquito magnet.  Well, I'm actually an equal opportunity bug bite magnet... if there's an insect that bites, it will be on my body.

So it's not surprising that I'm always looking for remedies to fight the itch!  This article in apartment therapy claims bar soap works!  Hmmm... who knew?  But the comments are a treasure trove of good suggestions!  Nail polish, ice, and vitamin B... I've heard of those remedies and they haven't worked well for me, but I'm interested to try onions, wilted cabbage or ammonia!

It's Not All Downhill After 30

July has been a whirlwind month so I'm sorry for the lack in blog posts.  We've been down in North Carolina trying to help out with Mama Merschat and we're very happy to hear she'll be coming home today (whew!).

So on a MUCH MUCH lighter note, I've been totally dreading my 30th birthday in a few months and was relieved when I stumbled across this article claiming women are 'at their most beautiful' at 31!

You have to love these British studies!

Women in their late 20s and early 30s are considered more attractive than fresh-faced eighteen and nineteen year olds, researchers found.

The findings, from a survey of the opinions of over 2,000 men and women, found that beauty was as much rooted in personality as appearance.

Celebrities currently at the prime age of 31 include TV presenter Christine Bleakley, Strictly Come Dancing judge Alesha Dixon and Danielle Lineker.

The average British woman is already married with children by her thirties.

When asked when women are at their most attractive, more people picked 31 than any other age.

Beauty was defined as being confident by 70 per cent of respondents, having good looks by 67 per cent and being stylish by 47 per cent.

This makes the upcoming 3-0 a little more tolerable!!

Already Daydreaming About Wine Country

You can't visit northern California and not spend at least one day in wine country!

Fortunately, Michael's good friend "Schieffer" works just north of Napa at a family-owned winery in Rutherford named Honig.  We've heard great things about this winery and are really looking forward to the V.I.P. tour and tasting.

Also, Ming-Cee and Pat will be getting married in Sonoma next May and so we must to stop by the wedding location at Larson Family Winery.  Michael and I haven't seen the place yet and it's our duty to taste the wine before the wedding, right?

And if we have time, we'd love to stop by Schramsberg again.  Our good friends Jen and Drew went wine tasting with us a couple years ago and this was my favorite.  Mmmm... sipping sparkling wine in the summertime is so refreshing and fun!  Can't wait!