Grains, I'd like to learn more about thee!

I feel like cooking today. Have been browsing through recipes all morning and cannot decide what I want to make. Something sweet is always great but I'm trying to eat healthily after so much splurging. A compomise would be good: a healthy cake, does one exist? I read a muffin recipe calling for wheatberry, which I am pretty sure is not really a berry at all! I must learn more about grains and yummy ways to make them.

So here's a mental note to myself to (as soon as time permits) learn about (and cook with) more whole grains.

My study list so far:

quinoa
wheatberry
buckwheat
barley
bulgar
dinkel (is it called spelt in English?)
millet
lentils
etc.

Who wants to study with me?


This is a saad I made earlier this year featuring quinoa, apples, pecans and arugula. Yum.

Closing open leg pants

Ever since I got my open leg diaper pants from Cole (she bought them for me in Thailand) I have been wanting to make a pair. I call them diaper pants because you put them on kind of like you put on a diaper. They seemed so super easy. This was my big undertaking at our big sewing day the other day!

I used this cool 1960's plaid fabric in 100% polyester I found a while ago at a garage sale. When I began to cut the fabric, using the existing pants as a pattern, I realized I would not have enough fabric.

But I went on and made them anyway, and when I tried them on I was just revealing too much UPPER THIGH skin.

So I decided to stitch up the sides. It worked out fine. The give in the fabric means I could stitch up the sides almost all the way. I sewed the ribbon on the top of the fabric to use as ties, first in the back and then in the front.

It was a fun project but -- like all sewing projects -- was very time consuming. Still, I'm glad I did it. Other projects during the sewing day were pajama pants (Emma) and leggings (Tati). It was a productive day and I learned a lot. Tati taught me how to sew on a zipper (though I have not tried it yet).

Lucky rest in peace

I forgot to tell you weeks ago when I first blogged about Cathy & Andy's new puppy that their little beagle Max's name had been changed to Lucky. Everyone liked this name better.

I got some sad news today: Lucky died this past weekend of a freak accident. Lucky was special - he managed to charm the dickens out of everyone who met him. It seems strangely unlucky to die so young. But in Lucky's short life he was really loved. And any way you look at it -- heck, that is lucky.

Rest in peace little guy.

The best tennis dress ever

This is the cutest tennis dress; I'd wear it in a second if it really existed, especially if my legs were really that skinny! It's designed and drawn during a coffee date ("fika!") earlier this summer by my enormously talented friend Susan, visiting from Sweden. She doodled this sketch of me on a napkin in about 30 seconds. She is always dreaming up cute stuff. I wish she were here to have coffee with me every day! I wish she would start blogging so we could see what she's dreaming up next.


Back to me and this blog. I have many lists awaiting in my head to be blogged. I've been gone so long I think because I've been feeling sorry for myself. Lame, I know! Stay tuned!


And all those wanting to come to a sewing craft day, raise your hands please!

20 reasons to treat yourself

These are my feet and those of my friend Debbie after our pedicures the other day. (Hers are on the left.) Debbie is the ultimate do-it-all woman. She manages her family, work and social life with the ease most of us just pray for--and makes it all look so natural. (But she is a true expert on work-life balance so I guess it would be odd if it were any other way. Read an recent article in Forbes where she is quoted giving sage advice to soon-to-be moms with a career).

She called me to see if I wanted to get a pedicure with her so we could catch up--we haven't seen each other in quite a while. She wanted/needed a pedicure before her trip to Amsterdam. She likes the idea of pairing something "necessary" with something social.

We sat side-by-side in our massage chairs and enjoyed an hour of chit-chat--what a treat!