I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

Archives for March 2010

A Happy Distraction

I’m back into scrapbooking. It really seems like it has been forever. Granted all of my stuff has been out in the living room and office but with the flood drama and our stuff being stacked up on other things I have been in the mind-set to be creative. Instead we just veg on the sofa and watch Mad Men and Weeds DVD’s and various shows on TV, like LOST! Oh can’t get enough of LOST. Anyway, while watching last night Pricer had to deal with pausing it so I could run back and forth from the living room table to the Cricut in the office to cut out letters. Of course , I was not sure what color to use so I did it twice in different colors so it took twice as long. So scrapbooking is becoming a happy distraction from the rest of the crap I’ll dealing with.

 The layout above is one that I completed before all the chaos but was too forgetful to bring it in to scan it. I made this to highlight our 5th anniversary (1/2). I took an online class from Kelly Purkey called Beginnings, which really influenced this layout. I typically like things straight horizontally and vertically but I loved her layout so I had to steal it for this.

I focused on color for this layout. Picking the paper from the bold colors on the shirts and then coordinating the blocking paper from that.  I think this layout is missing something. Not sure if it needs something in the center or I just don’t like it now it is done so I can’t let it be. I may revisit it later on. It would not be the first time I redo a page. Or it may grow on me.

Ready for Spring-Edamame Salad

Spring is confused in Boston. For one thing it is just about constantly raining. I’m ready for the rain to stop so I can get out in the yard and fix everything that the rain screwed up and prepare things for planting. But instead we have a sunny day in the 70’s, then it drops to the 50’s and is cloudy, then rains for 3 more day and just when you think you can’t take it anymore is snows, but before you drink yourself stupid it’s back in the 70’s 2 days later. That’s New England for you.

Well hoping to get things going in the right direction I made an edamame salad with dinner recently. Price and I live off salads like this in the summer. We mainly eat Horiatiki Salata throughout the summer but this might need to be added into the rotation. We used a 10oz package from Trader Joes, which was very convenient. I’d imagine that the frozen kind would work too, but I would let it thaw naturally or let cool before adding everything else.

The dressing is done to taste. Adjust the quantities to taste. For example I love lemon and lime juice, which might be too much for someone else. The point is to have a starting point to create something that you will enjoy.

Edamame Salad

serves 4 as a side

Ingredients

  • 10 oz of shelled edamame
  • 8 oz of grape tomatoes, halved
  • half of an orange pepper, diced
  • 1 small red ion, diced
  • 2 oz of feta

Dressing:

  • 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
  • 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
  • 2-4 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1/4 extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Process

  1. In a large bowl, combine the chopped ingredients with the shelled edamame. Crumble the feta block into the vegetables.
  2. In a bowl, make the dressing by wisking the mustard and garlic with the vinegar and juice. Once the solids are completely incorporated add the oil.
  3. Gently mix together the salad with the dressing, and salt & pepper to taste.

You’re a Mess

On Friday night, Price and I went over our friend Jovan’s place for a Sangria party. He has been traveling across the country working on farms for this thesis. He was back briefly so he planned a party for people to catch up with him. It was great to see him and catch up. Plus enjoying some wine and sangria didn’t hurt. I got the typical flush. (Jovi is on the left in the first pic)

 

I woke on Saturday morning to 26 degree weather… perfect weather for a bike ride, right? The thing is that I hate the cold and I had not been on a bike since high school (like 7 years). So I figured the Yelp Elite sponsored tour through Urban Adventours would be interesting and a bit scary. Well the saying that riding a bike comes back to you is true, but it does not mean you are a pro. Yep, I fell at the very start. My foot slipped off the pedal so I spazed out, and then fell right over on my right side. Skills. I brushed off and did the rest of the ride with a sore ankle, knee, and palm but the extra pain was worth it because our 3 guides from Urban Adventours were amazing. Since I was scared of falling again and having the rest of the group run me over or fall because of me I stuck to the back so I spent the time talking to the end guide. They were so great and taught us a lot about the city. I’ve been here since Sept 2003 but still can learn so much! Like I walk by the birthplace of Benjamin Franklin every time I go to the Milk Street Post Office.

 

 

After the bike tour I met Price at the Great Masonic Lodge downtown. They were doing an open house and we heard it would be pretty cool to learn about it and get a tour. The different lodge rooms were unbelievable. We went into one and it was beautiful, the detail in the ceiling, trim, furniture- all stunning. Then off to a more stunning room. The craftsmanship was breathtaking. There was a ceiling that really left you in awe. I loved being there. Plus the tour guide said I asked good questions. Teacher’s Pet 🙂 After the tour we stuck aorund to watch this print maker. We saw his table before the tour but did not have a chance to check it out since I arrived just before a tour started. He was so cool telling us how printing making was used then, how to clean things clean, what the ink was made of, what the poweder did, etc. He even let Price use the press and take home the finished piece 🙂

 

   

 

Saturday afternoon became an extended lounge into nap time. Ahh can’t get enough of nap time. The title of this post is exactly what Price said to me after showing him my swollen right ankle. Plus then I started to get all flushed and had a slight fever which Price summed up casually with something like “Well, it’s probably ’cause you were rode a bike over 10 miles in below freezing temps.” Well, duh.

Sunday was Sunday… get the paper, coupons, cleaning, laundry, food shopping, angry rabbits, NASCAR was rained out. Just the day before Monday.

Whole Wheat Waffles

IMG_2016

I describe myself as a morning person. I basically am but when I’m going to bed late during the week from watching tv, movies, cleaning, homework (previously) I tend to be less of a morning person than what my true nature is. Sleeping in on the weekends is about 8.30. I love to be out to in the summer gardening or reading a book in our backyard. I just feel that you are missing the best part of the day.

 IMG_2009 IMG_2007

Yesterday was International Waffle Day so that means the best way to ‘celebrate’ is to enjoy some waffles. Well, even with being a morning person I still could not pull myself together to make waffles for breakfast. I also did go out to Shecky’s on Wednesday and it was the first time that Emily and I actually really drank at this event. Plus I really think that waffles are a special occasion breakfast. It goes against my daily yogurt/muesli/ fruit routine. So waffles at dinner would have to work.

 IMG_2013 IMG_2010

I love the Buttermilk Waffles I typically make and I loved the Bacon Chocolate Chip Waffles too. But the first uses a crazy amount of butter, of course that is what makes them amazing! And the second, bacon + chocolate, ‘nuf said. So I decided to try a healthier approach this time. I used King Arthur’s Recipe for Hearty Whole Wheat Waffles.

IMG_2014

The waffles were really simple to get together and came out well. They were plain and clearly tasted like whole wheat. I think that adding some cinnamon would really enhance this recipe, but it would depend on the taste you want. Or just serve them with fruit or bacon! Price made himself some bacon that we cooked in the oven on a cooling rack on a cookie sheet. Bacon is bacon but this way the fat drips away and cooks evenly from top and bottom. Plus he was happy with this breakfast for dinner idea since it gave him leftovers for breakfast today. Def nice to have when it’s (briefly) snowing out at the end of March!

Whole Wheat Waffles

Makes eight 8″ waffles

Ingrdients

  • 1 1/2 cups King Arthur whole wheat flour,  white whole wheat or traditional
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

Process

  1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and butter or oil.
  3. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.
  4. Cook the waffles as directed in the instructions that came with your waffle iron.

Source: King Arthur Flour Recipe

Magic Garden

 

While visiting my friend Dawn in Philly this past weekend, we went to the Magic Garden. Magic Garden is this indoor and outdoor exhibit that displays the work of Isaiah Zagard. While his work is throughout Philadelphia, this is the most concentrated area. This work and his murals use tiles, mirrors, glass bottles, bicycle pieces, glass, and other odds and ends of discarded materials.

 

The work was beautiful and spectacular. Shimmery reflections of tile. Unique shapes and colors. Intricate patterns and designs. It’s just as important to stand close to the tile and look at the details as it is to step back to see the overall look of the wall and how that one piece fits into everything.

  Magic Garden is pretty cool but I loved how Isaiah’s work creeps out in the neighborhood. Dawn and I walked around looking at the work on buildings and in people’s yards. If you go to Philadelphia you have to check this place out. It was amazing in the day with the sun reflecting off of all the mirrors but I bet it is cool to see at dusk/night since there are strings of lights on some of the work.

row row row your boat

Where to begin?

Maybe Saturday morning when the rain started?

Or Sunday when the rain kept pouring down?

Maybe at the point when I’m just waking up Monday morning  to hear Price yelling,”the apartment is flooding!!!”

Yep, that is a good starting point.

So with those words our Monday began. And what a Monday it was.

6:20– I grab my glasses, or maybe they were already on, whatever, and run out of our room to see Price at the point where the water was in our living room. I run through the water to my scrapbooking paper tote on the floor, in the water, and hoist it up to the chair (yay, saved like $200 worth of paper!). Price is running around trying to figure out what the hell is going on. There is lots of yelling, and grabbing things off the floor.

“Is it coming out the windows? Is the printer ruined?”

“No, it’s not the windows, it’s not the walls.”

“Oh my god!”

“It’s in the office”

“Is the computer okay?”

I run outside, barefoot, in the rain, to the front of the house to get our landlord. Frantic door bell ringing does not work, back in the house to get my phone to call them.

“S, sorry to wake you but the apartment is flooding.”

Back down stairs there is running around in water trying to grab things and move them to higher ground.

6:30– The water was only an inch and a half or so but the area it is effecting was pretty big- whole living room, bathroom, office, closets- and it is spreading and rising (another 1 in the deepest area). With the homeowners witnessing the destruction of their property they got to work quickly helping us move things and figuring out what to do. Mission critical- get a sump pump. Since the basement* has never, ever flooded before they did not have one. It never even crossed their minds that it would happen, otherwise they would have never put hardwood floors in there, which S tells me as she is rolling up her pants. And these are not the pop in place home depot floors, these are the professionally laid, sanded, polished floors.

7.00– Finding a sump pump in a state that has been experiencing wide spread flooding due to rain amounts 8-10 inches in 2 days is nearly impossible. Luckily, G finds one at S’s office building. we can’t find the point of origin for the water. Clearly it is coming up but from where? Most of the water is in the middle of the apartment, but there is not obvious source there- no sub floor piping access.  One of the lowest points is checked, under the tub. Yeah, lots of water there. So the sump pump is put there and the garden hose is shoved in the tub so the water has a place to drain. This poor little pump is working hard to keep things at bay, and it seems like a losing battle as we discover water coming in from the South end of the house. Shit, move the bed! Our box spring is now wet.  Ahhhh! Chaos continues, G manages to get another sump pump one held for him in Worcester- a good 45 minutes away. Plumber is called to come to see if there is anything he can do.

8: 45- Calling work to let me know I’ll be late. Duh.

until 10– Price and I are “cleaning” things up as the 1 sump pump is chugging away. I drive the 3 blocks down(it’s raining!) to the best bakery ever to get breakfast and Price a big coffee. The rabbits have been moved. They are royally pissed because this is normally their out of cage time. Jack is scared/angry and protesting by picking up the castle with his teeth and slamming it back down.

On the bright side, Monday is trash day so I start carrying out some ruined items to the curb. Our living room rug, an otoman, a decorative pillow that became a sponge. The water went into our office closet. The one with all our architectural drawing and model materials. So I’m carrying out wood, large drawing pads, graph paper, and foam core to the trash. Price is wet vac-ing up the living room. We flip out bed up to let the box spring dry.

10: 45– Plumber comes. He does something under the floor where our book cases used to be. I am too distracted to care. (I later learn that he opened up some pipe causing the water to slowly drain directly into the sewer pipe)

11.05– Walking to the train to get to work. When I was first up in the morning I was sans shoes. Price made me get my rain boots on so I would not be in the cold water all morning. Well, I learned that my rain boots had holes in them. Unfreakin’ believable. I don’t even notice the wetness until I am calmed down on the train.

12.45– Price emails me saying that the water is generally gone because of what the plumber did and the 2nd sump pump G got.

4:15– Price leaves late for his 4pm class.

7:30– Price just beats me home since I stayed late to make up some hours from coming in late. He goes over the situation room by room. Our bed is flipped up so the box spring can dry, the office closet has been emptied out into the office, our tub is filthy from water the sump pump has been dumping in there.

8.30ish maybe, kinda a blur- Drinking wine. ServPro FINALLY comes. I get they are busy dealing with the other water damage in the area but thanks for being like 8 hours late. Plus, G had to commit to paying an extra $325 BS emergency fee. Total Servpro- $1525 . S is calling G to get to the house since he doubted they would actually show so he is at Home Depot buying 4 dehumidifiers. ServPro sets up 8 annoying loud fans, 2 huge dehumidifiers. No, wait, 1 keep tripping the fuse so now G sets up 2 of his to take the place of the 1 big dehumidifiers.  I’m busying my self on the phone outside and checking things inside- like the 1 non-plastic box I have of photos and scrapbooks I made during highschool- damp feeling but not ruined.

10:45– I shower. Quickly. I yank as much house out of the shower as possible, rinse out the dirt, and quickly shower.

11.45– After watching (can’t actually hear) the news I crash on The Cos’ (the sofa has a name, Emily named it).

4.45– I wake up. I tip toe around the apartment, load the washer with wet dirty towels, feeding the rabbits, find clothes to wear.

6.00-I move sofa cushions and make Price move over so I can lay next to him. I break down and cry into his shirt for a min. We finally get up at 6.20 with the alarm.

7.00– on my way to work. I get an iced DD coffee and spill some of it on the floor and my leg as I sit down on the train. FML

Now- drinking more wine. Trying to tune out the loud fans. The lights are flickering because 8 huge fans, and 3 dehumidifers are taxing the system. In all about 850 sq feet of our apartment was visibly wet. The floors are buckling/cupping and the doors are expanding so it’s hard to open/close them. The rabbits are out of the apartment because I did not want the fans kicking up dust making them sick and driving them BS crazy.

I can’t wait for Thursday night since I’m driving back to CT to stay over for the night before going on to Philly to spend the weekend with my friend Dawn. My mom is going to watch the rabbits so they are out of this insanity.

*Sure we live in a basement, but it is the most tricked out apartment ever. The place was renovated within the past 8 years- solid oak hardwood floors, amazing paint job, jacuzzi, dishwasher, disposal, washer/dryer, in total about 1200 sq feet. Plus there are legit full windows in the rooms and smaller ones through out so it is not a complete cave.

STOMP out loud

Last night Price and I saw STOMP at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. It was my 5th time seeing this show. Clearly I love it. I started seeing it when I was younger and saw it 4 times within a few years. My Dad saw that STOMP was going to be touring in MA so he got us tickets for our Christmas gift.

I have no rhythm. I can’t keep a beat. Clapping is lost on me. I think that makes me love the show even more. (Plus it feeds into my love on drummers) I am utterly amazed by the show and how they create this stunning music with everyday items. Just 1-7 people performing at a time. It can start with 1 person tapping, then one by one the others come on stage with their “instrument” at a different beat. At times it sounds chaotic and then suddenly it all makes sense and they all hit the same beat with a bang.

The one thing that I completely forgot about was how much audience participation there is. It’s just clapping and stomping but the interaction with the performers is so much fun. Again it reminded me how I have no memory and rhythm. Luckily Price can keep a beat so he did enough clapping and stomping for the both of us. Still so fantastic!

Beautiful Blondies

Another poker night, another treat for the guys. I was struggling coming up with something for the guys for the bi-weekly poker game. Cake is kinda hard to juggle with a beverage, cards, and a cigar. While they won’t turn down (free) cake they like cookies, brownies, and squares for ease of inhaling them. So I turned to food blog browsing for some ideas. I was thinking of lemon squares but when I saw blondies posted on Fake Ginger I knew I had to go with them. Something new to try and it will quickly be out of the house so I can’t indulge.

 

We spent the afternoon of watching Syracuse lose their basketball game at a bar down town so Price had to go one way to get to poker on time and I went the other to bake. Once the blondies were done I grabbed them and threw them into the back seat- okay gently placed them, but off we were. I heard they really enjoyed them since they were still hot.

 

The blondies were really easy to make. I use my stand mixer for everything but you can easily use a hand mixer to cream the butter and sugars and do the rest by hand with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Our evil little “oven” look soo long to bake the blondies. Maybe it is breaking again?  I’m assuming that they normally do take 40 minutes and my hour was due to our oven’s need to act like an Easy Bake Oven.

I’m sure you could make some substitutions with what kind of chips or nuts you use but I really think this recipe is spot on with the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, pecans, and shredded coconut.

Blondies

from Fake Ginger

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened coconut

Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 325. Butter a 9 x 13 baking pan and put on a baking sheet.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add both sugars and beat for another 3 minutes, or until well incorporated. Add the eggs 1 by 1, beating for 1 minutes after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the chips, nuts, and coconut. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and use the spatula to even the top as best as you can.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the blondies come out clean. The blondies should pull away from the sides of the pan a little and the top should be a nice honey brown. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes before turning the blondies out onto another rack. Invert onto a rack and cool the blondies to room temperature right side up.

Cut into 32 bars, each roughly 2 1/4 x 2 1/2 inches.

feeling inspired

I just took an online scrapbooking class from Kelly Purkey. This class has really helped me refocus on scrapbooking and finding inspiration every where I look. You really can find inspiration from magazines, advertisements, catalogs, printed materials, home decor, clothing, and much more. You really just need to open up and see what it is telling you, what jumps out at you- the colors, the organization, the feel, etc.

I don’t subscribe to many magazines, just Creating Keepsakes, Martha Stewart Living, Bon Appetite, and Every day with Rachel Ray. I can refer to design magazines at work or at school so I decided to save my money on those but for some reason I get Architecture Boston. It’s free so I didn’t mind its surprise arrival. n fact I used the cover of the current issue to inspire me to create a layout.

I start every new scrapbook with a ‘title’ page. My yearly scrapbooks have something that either describes the year, a goal, my resolutions, or a collage that I create at the end of the year. This year I made my page based upon the cover of Architecture Boston and it showcased my word for the year: Better. I wanted to feel better about myself, get better at the things I already do, have a better outlook on things, and generally make this year better than any before.

The Great Outdoors Layout

I will conquer my photos and they will all be scrapbooked and neatly organized one day. So this leads me to digging out photos that have been printed, for let’s say 2 years, and scrapbooking them. Things are a bit chaotic how since I’m doing photos from last week and 2 years ago but it is still fun to be crossing things off my to do list.

So I got through some photos that were from a weekend in New Hampshire. Price and I went up there for some kayaking on the Conway River but the recent rain raised the water level and made the river too fast for kayakers. While our original plans changed we still had a great time. I think that the revised plans were just as good because we got to explore more of Franconia Notch State Park because we had more free time.

One of the things I love about New Hampshire is the White Mountains and the Franconia Notch State Park. It is a fantastic spend a day. There is no cell service (at least for AT&T) so it is a great way of taking a break from everything.

 Supplies: Green solid paper from an unknown kit; Patterned paper, solid papers, brads, journaling pen, punches from Stampin’ Up!; Cricut cartridges Graphically Speaking and Street Signs; stickers from SRM stickers

gettin’ lectured

Last night Price and I went to lecture about City Center, MGM’s latest project in Vegas, at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design (GSD). I was interested in this lecture because Gensler was the executive architect for the project. It was a huge collaborative effort, that Gensler managed, between several large famous architectural firms, landscape design firms, interior designers, and consultants. This was a HUGE project~ 18 million square feet and $8.5 million dollars~ so I wanted to hear about the design process and how it came together.

 

This really is a turning point in Vegas. City Center is not the typical kitch that you see in vegas- no pyramid, no eiffe tower, no statue of liberty, no volcano with shooting flames. This is a beautiful center that can redefine what Vegas architecture will be.

Aside from Gensler’s participation, I wanted to see the lecture because of the panel of architects there. Umm anyone heard of Daniel Libeskind? Even if you don’t recognize the name, you can recognize the work from the Jewish Museum Berlin in Berlin, Germany, the latest addition to the Royal Onterio Musuem in Toronto, ON. I could not miss a lecture with Libeskind, Clarke, Gonzalez-Paulido, Kohn, and Lin. This is a who’s who of famous firm founders/partners. Sure, they are just regular people, but famous architect people. It’s like getting coffee when Art Gensler (a founder of Gensler) is also in the pantry during a visit and the only thing I can think of is ” Don’t spill! Don’t trip!!” (I have fallen while carrying coffee before- I tore up my knee pretty well too).

 

So Price and I settled in for the 2 hour lecture about how it was to design, work, and collaborate on City Center. It was interesting to have the client and the architects there so you could hear what the client really wanted and how the architect filled their needs. MGM had a pretty clear idea of what they wanted and with master planning finalized the program and spaces to then work with architects to design each of these pieces, from the casino and hotel of Aria, high-end boutique (400 room) hotel of the Mardarin Oriental, and the high-end shopping center called Cyrstals, etc.

I think that the lecture went well but I think that there could have been some plans to show the scale or the overall spaces. The renderings were great but there is something about a line drawing that can also tell you a lot. The panel discussed some pretty in depth things, like Francisco Gonzalez-Pulido answered questions regarding the use of curtain wall systems. While all the projects are different materiality they are similar and Gonzalez- Pulido explained how the projects using curtain wall systems allows this to happen. When they were designing Veer, a condo towers, they turned to the curtain wall systems because of their efficiency, which would help them obtain the LEED Gold they were striving for.

 

Overall questions and comments from the audience were positive there was 1 GSD student who had a holier than thou complex and started to ask if they feel as architects they should create spaces that are improving the human condition, instead of creating a space that emphasizes capitalism and commercialism. I think that they handled the question well by explaining they were designing for their audience- the touristy person who is coming for an escape. Sure they can’t afford the pricey Louis Vuitton bag they can still enjoy the space they are in.

In all it was fun to go to because it was interesting to heard about the program, process, design intent, materials, and to hear from these world-class architects.

Sorry for some crummy photos- I’m an idiot who could not find her camera in her purse because it was in my coat pocket that I was carrying around. So I used my iphone and ended up finding my camera at the end. So dumb.

The Harvard GSD lecture schedule can be found HERE.

Lecture:

A ‘CityCenter’ for the Strip: A Discussion with Fred Clarke, Francisco Gonzalez-Pulido, A. Eugene Kohn, Daniel Libeskind, Sven Van Assche, Rafael Vinoly, and Christine Williams
Client:
Sven Van Assche
Christine Williams
 
Panel:
Fred Clarke, Senior Principal, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
Francisco Gonzalez-Pulido, Partner and Vice President, Murphy/Jahn Architects
A. Eugene Kohn, Chairman, Kohn Pederson Fox Associates
Daniel Libeskind, Studio Daniel Libeskind
Chan-li Lin, Director, Rafael Vinoly Architects
Moderated by Alex Krieger, Chan Krieger Sieniewicz and Professor in Practice and Interim Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Design, Harvard GSD