2011 has been a roller coaster of a year for my family and I, one I wish I could have stepped off of before the year began. The year started as a blur, my mind in a complete fog. We buried dad New Year’s Eve and the following months would prove to challenge me in unexpected ways which I’m still dealing with and slowly processing. Mom moved into our “cozy” home, a home my husband and I bought eleven years ago. When we bought this place it was a complete fixer, pink bathroom tile included. It was a seller’s housing market back then and even the dumpiest of homes commanded premium dollars. But we were newly married with a determined vision. Together, we would roll up our sleeves and work on remodeling our house one room every year as our budget allowed. The sweat equity would eventually pay off as years went by. All my cake decorating experience would serve me well when it came to smoothing out drywall puddy. As a contractor friend once told me, if you can frost a cake smooth, smoothing drywall will be a cinch for you.
Slowly but surely our ugly, dumpy home started to transform into something beautiful and permanent. We gutted rooms, opened up walls, designed our kitchen, and added finishing touches like crown molding throughout the house. The process in which our home turned into a butterfly from a lowly caterpillar has been a remarkable journey of perseverance and celebration. This has been the only home my three children have ever known and our plans were to stay here until they were old enough to move out on their own. But sometimes life circumstances have a pesky way of changing plans. [click to continue…]
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Sometimes life and circumstances beyond my control collide in such a way I’m left feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and anxious. This pretty much sums up the last two weeks spilling over to this week, too. Last Tuesday my youngest sister gave birth to her second son and I was busy caring for my nephew for a couple days. Then, my husband with our kids left for Ohio and Michigan for a family reunion while I stayed behind. Initially I stayed behind because of my sister’s pregnancy but then, my sister stationed in Germany was able to fly home and my other sister from Spokane is also arriving soon. This will be the first time my five siblings and I have been altogether since my dad passed away six months ago. For those of you who have been following my journey of having my mom move in with s on Everyday Alice, then you know it’s been a difficult transition for me. And if this week wasn’t already busy enough, we decided to unexpectedly make an offer on a bigger house to accommodate our growing family better. With mom living here now, one bathroom will not do for a family of six people, not to mention we are a bit cramped. As a result I’ve been spending practically zero time on my computer and all my time working on clearing blackberry brambles, laurel bushes, de-cluttering, and cleaning the house. Who knew getting a house ready to sell was so much work!? [click to continue…]
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I’ve never been one to make a cocktail for the reason of “just because.” But today I’m making an exception because there was half a baby watermelon in my fridge which needed to be used up. Instead of eating it I felt like making a drink out of it, and let me tell you what a fine drink it is.
Made with vodka and not gin or vermouth, I’m still calling this cocktail a watermelon mint lime martini because… because I feel like it. And if I sound a little sassy, it’s because I am. Today was a rough day and I’ll just leave it at that.
I wasn’t planning on writing a post about it but after taking a small sip, I changed my mind because you really need to make one this weekend if you’re a cocktail type of person. [click to continue…]
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Fact: I will eat just about any food but my favorite dishes are usually simple to prepare, fresh in flavor, and can be made very quickly. Cooking for me is about being flexible, creative, and resourceful. And I can’t help but be a little proud of myself when I make something so deliciously good with such little amount of effort.
For instance, today’s pasta dish was inspired by Aglio E Olio (warm olive oil and garlic pasta), the bounty of summer cherry tomatoes, fresh basil growing in a tiny plastic pot next to the kitchen window,, and fresh lump Dungeness crab meat to top it all off. The addition of fresh lemon juice brightens everything perfectly. We now have a light summer dinner meal bursting with flavor to delight the palette as well as the stomach. [click to continue…]
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Thank you to whomever reminded “Summer” to finally grace herself in the city of Seattle. C’mon… it’s ridiculous when I’m wearing my down coat and it is the month of July. The Fourth of July was gray, cold, and wet – no surprise there. But imagine how surprised I was to wake up to sunshine yesterday. In fact, the weather rose to 79 degrees! In Seattle, this is considered “unbearably hot”. My husband flipped the switch to our portable air conditioner standing tall in our dining room and the kids spent little time getting their swim suits on to play with the garden hose outside.
I interpreted the sunshine to be an invitation to make a pitcher of coconut mango iced tea. I’m so glad it did because today it’s suppose to be almost 90 degrees and I still have half a pitcher left. [click to continue…]
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