Our New Apartment!

We were so thrilled to find our new apartment. It is huge compared to the guest house we were living in and it is unquestionably nicer.

Needless to say - WE LOVE IT!

Here are some pictures we took before we moved in. We are pretty settled in after 2 months & we'll be sure to post pictures of all our new furniture very soon!

I was sold as soon as I opened the front door and saw this beautiful bright space!

Bedroom

1950's O'Keefe & Merritt Oven - SO cool to cook with!

Living Room & Vestibule taken from Dining room. The doorway on the far left wall is Micah's office

The Shirley Building - Our apartment is the lower left above the white trumpet vines.

Farmers Market

**There are 3 new posts - so make sure you take a look at all of them!***


One thing I love about LA are the Farmers Markets.

You can find one every day of the week somewhere in the Los Angeles area 365 days a year! How wonderful it is to have 4 growing seasons a year as opposed to just 1 !

Fresh organic fruits and vegetables at low prices while supporting local farmers - What more could you ask for!?!

Which brings me to my next point...what to do with all this fresh produce? How about some good home cooking!?! We recently signed up for Relish Relish ($20 for 3 months...I think it's a bit pricey but oh so convenient & worth it to me!)

www.relishrelish.com

Every Thursday, a new menu of approximately 15 - 20 recipes is posted. Each one is completed in 30 minutes and comes with a complimenting side dish. Every week there is a theme that is discussed and featured in a handful of the recipes: Parsnips, Things to do with a Bundt Cake pan, SuperFoods (antioxidant rich).
There are also several categories to choose from - Simple Gourmet, Kid Friendly, Budget, Crockpot, Vegetarian, Low Calorie

After going through the menus, you drag them over to your shopping list. Then you simply click how many people you will be serving (awesome for any family that needs less than or more than the traditional 4 servings!) and VOILA! your shopping list is printed out containing exactly what you need for the week along with the recipes (cooking temp and quantities) adjusted for the amount of people you will be serving.

Recently, we've had:
Braised Chicken w. Button Mushrooms and Creamy Polenta
California chopped salad and Parmesan Parsley Biscuits
Slow Cooker Rosemary Stew with Roasted Asparagus

All absolutely delicious and SO easy to make!

Check it out...It's a wonderful way to branch out and try some new recipes!

Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes. A sweet and unique flavor

$1.00 Artichokes! Pass the butter!

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Santa Barbara Wineries

***Disclaimer***
These photos were uploaded in the wrong order - so they start a night's end after WAY too much drinking! They will become less blurry and less embarrassing the further down you go!

Santa Barbara is beautiful. It is about a 90 minute drive northwest of LA.

Once we arrived at the wineries, we purchased a 'tasting'. $10 for a glass with the logo of the vineyard (which we get to keep). Micah and I split a tasting since he was the designated driver and didn't want to drink too much.

We were then served anywhere from 7 - 11 wines (about 1 - 2 ounces each taste). We did the swirling, the sniffing, the tasting - very sophisticated!

We also had a wonderful picnic compliments of Jode: cheeses (lots of cheeses!), meats, breads, grapes, veggies, etc...And of course, a bottle of merlot!

More Family Photos...this time with Kiddos!

Hey Logan, how cool is your Uncle Micah & Auntie Kim?

A Quick Catch-Up!

Sorry it's been so long. Without consistent internet, uploading photos is a big ole' pain! Hopefully this will get you caught up a bit!

Our trip to Denver to FINALLY meet our nephew and niece.


One word- BURRRR!!! Our California blood is NOT used to that kind of weather! And of course, we were not prepared. Had I to do it over again I would have brought -
A 'REAL' winter coat
Boots
something other than jeans and sweatpants
a HEAVY moisturizer!









Yep..That's layers upon layers and I was still NUMB!




Mike & Nicole's Quilt - Nautical Themed. I love the back...Vintage bobbers and crabs!



Dear Dear Friends Lindsey and DLee. Lindsey has one of the BEST blogs...check it out at LindseyBurwell.blogspot.com



Watching the Viking Game before they disappointed! Oh Well, there's always next year!

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!