I'm Back!

It's been a long month.

But, the budget I've been working on non-stop has been submitted to Paris.

So, to celebrate, I went to...

New Jersey!

That's right.

(Believe me, I was just as surprised.)

My original destination was New Hope, PA, in Buck's County, about 90 minutes from New York City.

According to the New Hope Chamber of Commerce, "this sophisticated yet country-casual town provides a much needed break from today′s hectic lifestyle and offers something for everyone".

And, a break from today's hectic lifestyle was definitely must needed.

In addition to the antique shops, art galleries, and winery, it was near New Hope that George Washington famously crossed the Delaware on Christmas night, 1776...


and I was looking forward to seeing the Washington Crossing Historic Park.

However...

I got a late start.

Then I got stuck in traffic.

So, instead, I stopped when I got to Lambertville, NJ (which is, I know, right across the river from New Hope).

But, in Lambertville, I went to the Golden Nugget Antique Market. It was late (about 2pm) so most vendors were packing up. I wandered through the usual old lamps, magazines, and a lot of knives (I mean A LOT. It was weird).

Then I saw a woman, surrounded by racks and tables of clothes - fur coats, cashmere sweaters...

I picked up and put down a few things, then saw something in a grey and white checked fabric that I just had to look at.

"That's expensive" she said, as I reached for it. "Look at the label."

I did, and saw...



BALMAIN?!? At a flea market in New Jersey?

Balmain is known for being feminine, high fashion and very expensive.

"Gorgeous", I said, and started to hang it right back on the rack.

"That would be $40" she said.

I pulled it right back off the rack.

It was a long, fitted jacket and a slim skirt.

It appeared to be my size.

I tried on the jacket, and...

the jacket fit.

I was wearing a long, full skirt - perfect for trying on other skirts underneath without becoming an exhibitionist.

The skirt fit too.

The jacket


A close-up of the fabric


Honestly, I was skeptical - I mean, how can someone sell Balmain for $40?!?

But, when I got home I Googled "Pierre Balmain Paris checked skirt", and a few pages down, I saw this...

It appears to be Marion Cotillard wearing a similar skirt.



I'm still skeptical. But for $40, I can live with not knowing.

Ravioli with Butter and Sage Sauce

Did you notice I dropped the whole "Sunday Supper" thing? You don't have to wait until a Sunday to make this. It's SO easy!

Whenever I go to a restaurant, and see pumpkin ravioli with butter and sage sauce, I know exactly what I'm ordering. I love it. LOVE it!

I thought it would be impossible to make myself but it's actually really easy!

I had some leftover mushroom ravioli, found Mario Batali's recipe on the Food Network, and was lucky enough to be given some fresh sage from a friend's garden.

Butter and Sage Sauce

Ingredients
Pasta, of choice
4 tablespoons butter
8 sage leaves
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions
While your pasta cooks, melt butter in a 12 to 14-inch saute pan and continue cooking until golden brown color ("noisette") appears in the thinnest liquid of the butter. Add sage leaves and remove from heat. Add lemon juice and set aside. Drain the pasta, but leaving some cooking water, and gently pour into saute pan and return to heat. Add the cheese, toss to coat and serve immediately.

Basically, you just brown the butter, add the sage leaves, then CAREFULLY (it splatters!) add some lemon juice.

That's it!!!

It's really quick and really good!!

Try it!

Loving Frank

Not ME!

That's the name of a book about the relationship between Mamah (May-muh, not "Mama") Borthwick Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright.

I always struggle with historical fiction... What parts are "historical" and what parts are "fiction"???

But, even with that constantly in the back of my mind, I really enjoyed this book.

At the time, the relationship created a scandal - both were married, and both had children.

They each made the decision that it was better - for them and their children - to live an honest life, rather than sacrifice their happiness in order to conform to society. Frank Lloyd Wright's family motto was "The Truth Against the World", and that is how he and Mamah lived.

And they had quite a life - they traveled to Paris, Berlin, Japan... eventually settling at Taliesin, the home in Spring Green, Wisconsin that Frank designed for Mamah.

All the while, they struggled "against the world" - friends, family, neighbors, the press - who didn't approve of their choices.

But, they loved each other madly until the very end. And who can argue with that?

You don't have to be a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright to enjoy this book (I'm not, particularly). It's an interesting story about love - between a man and a woman, and between a woman and her children - and about being true to yourself.

Even if none of it were true, I'd still recommend it.

Full Disclosure

Last weekend, I decided to clean out my closet, and had to get rid of a lot of clothes that were just too small. I kept a few favorites, though, hoping that someday I'll fit into them again.

In order to accomplish that, I bought a Wii Fit.

I set it up this morning, and while the initial results were not as bad as I expected, there is definite room for improvement.

Here's where I am today...

BMI = 20.79 (Normal - yay! But still not good.)
Weight - 124.8 (I've gained about 8 pounds in the last 6 years. Can't let that continue!)
Wii Age = 45 (WHAT?!? This is actually 2 years older than I really am!)

I set a goal to lose 5 pounds in 3 months. That should be do-able, between the Wii Fit and the subscription to Cooking Light!

(I hope!)

I'll keep you posted on my progress!

"Sunday" Supper - Quick Crisp Ravioli with Roasted Tomato Sauce

Yes, I know... It's not Sunday.

But, the new issue of Cooking Light magazine came last night and I just couldn't wait!

I have a feeling I'll be trying a lot of recipes from this issue (Chicken Puttanesca with Fettuccine, Sauteed Striped Bass with Lemon-Caper Sauce, Maple Glazed Salmon...), but tonight I made the Quick Crisp Ravioli with Roasted Tomato Sauce.

It's hard to say, but I had very high expectations. I love ravioli, tomatoes, cheese...

What could go wrong?

A lot actually.

But!

Here's the official recipe (with my unofficial comments)...

Quick Crisp Ravioli with Roasted Tomato Sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 (9-ounce) package fresh ravioli (I used mushroom)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 cups grape tomatoes, halved (about 2 pints)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1. Combine 2 tablespoons water and egg in a shallow dish, stirring well
2. Combine panko and cheese in a shallow dish, stirring well with a fork
3. Dip each ravioli in egg mixture; dredge in panko mixture (This doesn't work.)
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in pan; swirl to coat
5. Add half of ravioli to pan in a single layer; saute 1 minute on each side or until golden (Just pile some of the panko mixture on top of the ravioli, flip it into the pan, then pile more on top.)
6. Remove ravioli from pan using a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels; keep warm
7. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and ravioli
8. Wipe skillet with paper towel (With all those yummy, cheesy bread crumbs? No way!)
9. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper to (yummy, cheesy, bread crumby) pan; saute 2 minutes, stirring frequently
10. Add garlic to pan; saute 30 seconds, stirring constantly
11. Divide ravioli evenly among 4 plates; top each serving with 1/2 cup tomato sauce

SO good!!!

Gimme a T!

(Shirt)

No, don't.

I already have 104 of them.

104!

T-shirts!!

It all started with this article in the New York Time last week.

This couple decided to downsize and live a simpler life. They read about the 100 Thing Challenge, which encourages people to commit to living with only 100 personal items.

The challenge is intended for people who feel like they have too much stuff.

That's me.

Now, I have no problem getting rid of stuff. In fact, I kind of like it.

But 100 items seems a little extreme (especially to a girl with over 100 t-shirts alone). I could probably do a "100 Category Challenge" (sweaters, DVDs, dishes...). But 100 items?

Ummm, no.

But I do feel like I have too much stuff.

So, I started with the t-shirts. I knew I had a lot. (But 104? I had no idea.)

I pulled them all out and only put back the ones I actually wear. I still have a lot... about 50. But that's a huge improvement! (And, 10 of them are Iowa t-shirts, and I NEED those. Go Hawks!)

I had planned on just going through the t-shirts, but couldn't stop myself. So, I moved on to pants, skirts, sweaters...

It took the entire weekend, but I've finished sorting though ALL of my clothes.

The one thing I learned is: Don't buy anything you don't love.

I've bought a lot of things I didn't love for a lot of reasons, and these are the things I'm now getting rid of. And, there's a LOT - 6 overflowing large shopping bags.

But, I've always wanted to have a closet where I love everything in it.

And now I do!

Here's how I did it:
1. Pull everything out of your closet or dresser by category (skirts, sweaters...).
2. Put back everything you love and wear regularly.
3. Put everything you know doesn't fit or you don't love into a bag for charity
4. Everything else? Try it on. Does it fit? Do you love it? If not, put it in the bag.
5. If you're not sure, set it aside and look at it later. (Most these ended up in the bag. I mean, if I didn't love it the first time...)
6. I went through the bag one last time. It's ok to take some stuff out. (I did.) Maybe it doesn't quite fit now, but hopefully it will again someday.

But, that's another project...

Living Oprah

I just finished the book Living Oprah: My One-Year Experiment to Walk the Walk of the Queen of Talk, by Robyn Okrant, who spent a year following Oprah’s advice on how to "live your best life".

The author was curious (as was I!) if Oprah’s advice could be followed by an “average” non-media mogul, and if that advice would really cause such an improvement.

So, she watched every episode (even the reruns), read O Magazine cover-to-cover and looked to oprah.com for advice whenever she had a question. She kept track of all the time and money she spent, and wrote a blog about the experience.

The book received an average of 4 stars on Amazon.com, but I thought it was…

boring.

Stop now if you plan to read the book yourself (although I really don’t recommend that.)

The author complained. A lot. Apparently, your “best life” is stressful and exhausting.

But, she did lose weight (Oprah is a big advocate of exercising and eating right), and her home is now organized and nicely decorated.

Surprisingly, Oprah didn’t recommend anything extravagant, unlike some celebrities who recommend taking trips to Marrakesh (I still love you Gwyneth!). The most expensive item Oprah recommended was a Kindle, at $350. And even then she suggested it only “if you can afford it”.

Obviously (?), nobody is going to do everything Oprah suggests (although, I think there are women out there who come close). But ultimately she does have some pretty good suggestions.

The point is to choose what will help you life YOUR “best life”.