Latest Quilts

I finally finished the first quilt that we plan on keeping - a Minnesota Vikings Quilt. It looks great but I haven't gotten around to taking pictures yet.

But besides that one, these are the two latest - The Chicago Bears quilt is for my dad - he says my mom has the house so cold that he needed a flannel quilt! So here it is!







And my dear friend Molly had a beautiful baby girl on October 26. Lilah Raine got her very own quilt, too:




My mother-in-law told me about these cool tag quilts that apparently babies love - so I added just a couple on Lilah's quilt. Just different ribbons in different sizes and textures sewn in a loop for them to hold on to or suck on or whatever it is those little munchkins do!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope all of you are stuffed full and recovering from your tryptophan overdose!

Our Thanksgiving was low-key, as usual, but we had a blast watching football, the parade and the national dog show, & of course, going through TONS of Black Friday fliers!

We normally have Cornish Game Hens on Thanksgiving and this year was no different; however, I did find a new recipe and it was THE BEST! So delicious that I had to share!

Savory Garlic Rosemary Cornish Game Hens



(this is for 2 servings - double everything for 4)
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

* 2 Cornish game hens
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/2 lemon, quartered
* 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
* 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
* 12 cloves garlic (yes- it seemed like a lot to me, too, but it's great!)
* 3 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons white wine
* 4 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons low-sodium chicken broth
* 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, for garnish
* 2 tablespoons butter


1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Rub hens with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Lightly season hens with salt and pepper. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 sprig rosemary in cavity of each hen. Arrange in a large, heavy roasting pan, and arrange garlic cloves around/under hens. Roast in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth, and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil; pour over hens. Place a slab of butter on each hen (it will melt into the juices.) Continue roasting about 25 minutes longer, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.
4. Transfer hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices into the roasting pan. Tent hens with aluminum foil to keep warm. Transfer pan juices and garlic cloves to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a sauce consistency, about 6 minutes. I ended up adding a little bit of corn starch to thicken it up a bit quicker. Spoon sauce and garlic around hens. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, and serve.


Pretty easy and SO unbelievably delicious. We served ours with mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie!

WEAR SUNSCREEN!!!

I spent 7 hours on Monday attending a wonderful skincare seminar with a huge emphasis on anti-aging. I feel that it is my professional and personal responsibility to write this post.
Boring? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely. Please humor me and give it a quick read! If you do, I promise I will not mention Skin Cancer!

There are TONS of misconceptions about anti-aging and sunscreens out there. Let's try to debunk some of the myths, shall we?

UVA vs UVB

There are several ultra violet wavelengths but the two we are concerned with are UVA & UVB.

UVB rays are responsible for BURNING (think uvB) and only affect the outermost layer of your skin. These are the ones responsible for sunburns and tans. Only about 5% of these rays make it to our skin. They are blocked by clouds, glass, clothes - just about everything. In reality...these rays aren't that big of a deal but they are the ones that we seem to be SO obsessed with!
The real danger lies in the UVA
UVA rays are responsible for a whole mess of nastyness including AGING (think uvA). These rays penetrate deep into our skin but don't give us any immediate warning signs. However, years down the road you will be blessed with wrinkles, dark spots, sagging skin, dull/sallow looking skin and possibly the cursed C word that I promised I wouldn't say!
These rays penetrate glass, clothes, clouds, even sunscreen and 95% of the suns rays are UVA! These are the ones you have to watch out for!

MYTHS
"My Makeup/Moisturizer has SPF in it so I don't need a separate one"
Yes, you do. We want our makeup & moisturizer IN our skin but we want our sunscreen ON our skin. Apply your sunscreen - compress it into your skin by patting it until it disappears. Wait a couple minutes and then apply your makeup. Of course there is always a quality mineral makeup powder you can use. (Which I'm a HUGE fan of) but you must apply a full coverage and reapply throughout the day.

"Sunscreen makes me breakout"
I can't tell you how often I hear this one. Some sunscreens can cause breakouts...but 9 out of 10X it's because they are of a lesser quality. Look around, experiment, ask the counters in the mall for samples - find one that doesn't make you break out.

I NEED my vitamin D! I have to be in the sun!
If you want your vitamin D with a side of fine lines and sun spots - go right ahead. Better yet, have an 8 oz glass of milk or maybe a vegetable or two. If you must get your Vit. D from the sun - cover up your face and hands - your arms and legs can soak up all the D you need without contributing to the aging process.

I use spf 60 which is WAY better than spf 30!
Nope - Spf doesn't work that way. Double the spf doesn't give you double the protection. The difference between 30 and 60 spf is about 1.7%. Spf 3o is the most you need.

• I see the most sun damage on the face, decollete(chest), neck, top of hands, and top of head.
• A shot glass or golf ball size is enough for the exposed part of your body in the summer (chest, neck, arms and legs). We normally apply 1/4 of that which if we were applying spf 30 would bring it down to an spf 3.
  
• Extend your index and middle finger together. Cover all of that area and that's enough sunscreen for your face, neck and decollete.
• Use a BROAD SPECTRUM sunscreen that says it blocks both UVA and UVB rays
• Good ole Zinc Oxide is the safest ingredient in the cosmetic industry and the best sunscreen out there. It's molecular size is too large to fully penetrate the skin so it doesn't need to be reapplied nearly as often but can occasionally leave you looking a little paste-y. Find a 'cosmetically elegant' zinc oxide to avoid this.
• Spray sunscreens are great but not if they are swept away in the wind. Spray close enough and long enough to create a film on your skin.
  
• Sunscreen is a filter - not a 100% pass to play in the sun. A good antioxidant serum will help to neutralize the rays that make it pass the sunscreen. The best is L-Ascorbic Acid (a Vitamin C derivative)

Other great tips:

• Cover up - wide brimmed hats, long sleeves, a shade tree
• Tint your car windows
• ALWAYS wear sunglasses

And of course...wear sunscreen - And use a lot of it.

Any questions, let me know. Also let me know if I can recommend any products for you!

My Latest Craft Projects

Lately, I just can't get enough! Here are my two latest projects and one really cool soup.

As some of you already know, I've become obsessed with owls lately - so damn cute. I threw some scraps together and made this little pillow yesterday in about 30 minutes.

This quilt is for my mom - It's a total BUDGET quilt.

I found some spare fabric and purchased some yellows & blues on clearance. I totally did not expect it to be anything wonderful since it was such a mismatch but I love how it turned out. And it is so unbelievable soft and snuggly! The front is different cotton blocks & patches and the back is cozy flannel. Personally, I think it's my favorite piece so far.

I'm sure my mom will love it too...now if I can just convince her to USE it instead of packing it away and "SAVING" it!

MMMmmm! 15 Bean Soup!
It FINALLY rained here this week. Southern California hasn't seen rain in 6 months!
NOT ONE DROP!
So when the clouds finally opened up; it was a perfect soup day.

While rinsing the beans, I thought this looked so cool!

Madeline's Quilt

Logan's Quilt

Our nephew, Logan, had his 3rd Birthday party on Sunday! Among a pirate ship, water gun & a spaceship - he also got a handmade quilt from Uncle Micah & Aunt Kim.

A HUGE undertaking but well worth it.
Here's some pictures of how it turned out!

Final Dimensions: 75" X 90"














Packaged up and ready to be sent to Colorado!

Breaking into Hollywood

Just a little insight into how a writer gets started in Hollywood.

First things first... Writing a spec script

So what the hell is that! Here's the literal definition courtesy of Wikipedia:

"A spec script is a "speculative" screenplay shopped or sold on the open market , as opposed to one commissioned by a studio or production company." The process of 'going out' with a spec script can be an extremely tense and nerve-wracking one for a writer. If the writer has an agent or manager, the agent will identify a number of prospective buyers who may range from small independent producers to executives working in the major studios, and attempt to build up 'heat' under the script. The script is sent out simultaneously to all the prospective buyers, usually to be read over the weekend, in the hope of attracting a bidding war. "

Here is a staggering statistics: Of the screenplays out there that even get an opportunity to see the light of day (aka - 'going out' to producers/studios, etc) only 6% or those will actually sell.

Depressed for us yet? Sound like we're crazy? We're not! Promise! Micah has prepared himself in all the best possible ways. It's still a tough sell - especially in this economy. But we both feel confident that good things are right around the corner.

Micah finished his latest spec script, "A Good Hunter". His mentor and manager are thrilled with it. So what now? His manager is currently helping out with the 'heating up' part of the plan. Next, the script will be sent to a couple agencies in the next week or two and then out 'on the town' a week or so after that. (& hopefully a bidding war will ensue!)

So keep your fingers crossed, wish us luck and send out any spare good energy you have that he will join the ranks of the 6% of the successful writers! We'll keep ya' posted.

We survived the Station Fire

Last Thursday the Station Fire was started by an arsonist in the Angeles National Forest just outside of Los Angeles.  

We live pretty darn close to the foothills and had some real good views.  It is mostly under control, but not out yet. 

As of today, 2 firefighters were killed and at least 60 homes were completely destroyed. 

Over 157,000 acres  have burnt so far.  The expect to have it out completely within another week or so. 

I've had a consistent sore throat and burning eyes for the past week.  It felt like we just hung out by a real big bonfire! And every morning we woke up with ash on our car. 

To give you the idea of it's size - here are some comparisons: 

New Lenox, IL: 10 sq. mi.

Joliet, IL: 38 sq mi.

Viking, MN: .5 sq mi (yes, that's 1/2 mile!)

Thief River Falls, MN: 5 sq mi.

Entire city of Chicago:  234 sq mi

The station fire currently is 245 square miles and still is only 51% contained.  It's huge - here's some great pics: 

Happy Birthday LA

Happy 228th Birthday, Los Angeles!

My First Quilt

My favorite new (& very expensive) hobby is quilting. Am I good at it? Absolutely not. Do I love it and daydream about fabrics? Yes.

The Pink/Green one was my very first and definitely had its share of challenges. The other went a little smoother.
Forgive the wrinkles - I have yet to wash them & to be honest...I'm kind of afraid to - What if they unravel or something!

Moving Out West

I just realized that most of you probably haven't seen the photos of us moving out here.

It was an experience to say the least! Over 2,000 miles in 3 days with a dog & a very unhappy cat!

It starts with everything we own in that little cube in Tallahassee to our brand new (teeny-tiny) home.

So it's a little overdue, but here ya' go:

All packed up & ready to leave Florida at about 4am!
Texas was (very) surprisingly beautiful. Of course we went in January...I'm sure August is a whole different story

Mandatory Stop where everyone gets screened


Finally in our new spot in LA - LA Land!



Finally - Jakes favorite thing...The yard!