One of my favorite things about Southern California is the prevalence of farmers markets. I counted once, and there is a market every day but Wednesday within 2 miles of our home. As a midwestern transplant it amazes me that I can go to a farmers market any time of the year and come home with fresh local produce.
Happy Mother’s Day
Happy Mother’s Day to the woman who taught me just about everything I know. Your creativity, generosity, and kindness continue to inspire me and push me to be better. I love you.
Puppy love
This week Gobi and Imli decided to wear their college gear to support Michelle Obama’s #ReachHigher initiative to encourage young people to go to college. We got the USC shirt because the Hubby is a Trojan, and the Wellesley one because my sister went there. She got us a baby shirt as a “hint hint” but luckily Gobi is baby sized 😉
Puppies, college bound
Goat cheese stuffed sweet peppers
Goat cheese stuffed inside sweet pickled peppers and then topped with chopped pistachios…
The best black bean and corn salsa
This black bean and corn salsa is so delicious and it has such a burst of flavor. It is wonderful as a side, you can put it in a taco or quesadilla, or scramble it into eggs the next morning. You could add chopped bell peppers to add some color or add in chipotle chiles in adobo sauce for an extra kick. It’s the perfect recipe to take to a potluck or a summer picnic, as it doesn’t need to be served cold and it travels well.
Puppy love
DIY stud earring box
Some time ago I was trying to organize my jewelry and realized I was lacking a way to organize my stud earrings. I have a good system to organize my chandelier earrings and my necklaces but my studs were in random dishes and bowls strewn all over the house. I had a jewelery dish by my bed, in the kitchen, in the bathroom, and one by the couch. I looked into buying a jewelery box online and couldn’t seem to find what I wanted. I looked up DIY tutorials, but I couldn’t find anything that didn’t require a trip to the craft store. A few good ones are here, and here…but they weren’t exactly what I wanted. I finally realized that instead of buying supplies I could make it work with things I had around the house. I used an empty jewelry box, some black felt, and a magazine.
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First, I took about 5 pages of the magazine cut them to fit the length of the box, I then rolled them into a tube that was about the diameter of a roll of quarters. I just made sure that all of my rolls were about the same size, and I used duct tape to hold each roll together
I figured that five rolls in the box would give me about as much space as I needed. You can make the rolls skinnier so you can fix more in a box but then you have a smaller space between the rows of earrings you will get.
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Next, cut a square of felt just slightly bigger than what is needed to cover each roll with felt. Then tape the felt on and cut any excess off. Place the felt covered rolls tape-side down into the box. I didn’t glue the rolls into the box or to each other, so this way I can change it out in the future. This little DIY ended up taking less than 20 minutes and it’s exactly what I was looking for!
Cucumber, avocado, and white bean salad
I made the best salad for dinner a couple of nights ago! I started with Smitten Kitchen’s cucumber avocado salad, which is really as obsessively good as she says it is. We had eaten a big afternoon snack and had taken the dogs on a long walk, so we wanted a quick satisfying dinner. I added canneli beans to the salad to give it some protein, and topped it off with a Korean rice seasoning. We had it with some toasted bread from the farmers market topped with Amma’s homemade butter. It was one of the best simple dinners we have had in a while!
Better late than never
I have been thinking about starting a blog for years, but then inertia would kick in. Also, if we are being honest, the thought of putting myself out there is pretty scary. I’ve finally decided to just do it. I imagine this being a place where I can keep track of things I have cooked, crafty projects I have taken on, and life in general. Get ready for lots of puppy pictures!