$10 Cashmere Sweater from PCC Flea Market

 I found this pretty blue cashmere sweater for 10 bux at the PCC flea market last month. I didn't really look at it too good I guess because when I got it home and hand washed it I found 4 holes in it. Sad because I felt like I had just thrown out $10 but mad at myself because I didn't go over the sweater before buying it. How to save the sweater?  Add a huge patch to the front? Make it a dog sweater? Turn it into a pillow case? Make leg warmers out of the arms? I went thru my embellishment box and found some pink felt flower petals I had cut last Christmas and some leaf ribbon I bought in Cambria last year. I sewed up the holes and went to work....

 I'm quite proud of this :)

Happy New Year! A Dodge Masquerade Party

We had super fun time with our friends at our Masquerade New Year's Eve Party. The masks were all so unique and I really have to thank my friends for playing along.  Some masks were store bought and others were hand made but everyone showed up with one and that was the best, even if we didn't stay in our masks it was just fun to see how silly we could all be. Food and drinks are my favorite part of any of our parties. Chris has been smoking a lot of tasty meats in recent years and one of my faves is his smoked salmon so that's nearly always part of our menu. I really wanted a signature drink for the eve so i decided to go with champagne cocktails and they turned out to be a big hit.  Our hors d'oeuvres were smoked salmon, cheese & charcuterie platter, canapes, deviled eggs and a tasty shrimp dip made by Kim. I served 3 different types of mixers for the champagne cocktails - kir royale, champagne 'rita, amaretto surprise. The mixers I chose to show off in laboratory beakers and the champagne bottle was on ice just ready to mix.   Some pictures from that night.

 oh ya and we showed a movie...

Xmas Sox

Here are my latest Xmas Sox. I'm having a lot of fun with my one of a kind whimsical designs. I've made the Xmas Sox every year since my son Maxwell was born in 2003.  I sell them for $45 and they really are one of a kind and a lot of the work I do by hand. They measure about 24 inches from top left at hanging loop to the lowest part of toe curve.   Hope you enjoy them. 

Fave Little Black Dress

This dress is so perfect and the shoes are pretty great too....the hair? i'd do the do different.

Aprons Are Hip Again

I was collecting pretty aprons for a while there but now I've decided to make 'em. Inspired by an article in yesterdays LA Times I went directly to my fabric pile and came up with something I think is pretty cute. I think I'll make some more and possibly sell them.  Let me know what you think.

City Sip

OK our new favorite wine place is City Sip. While getting a massage at Absolute Zen Bodywork (which is a must) I noticed the wine shop downstairs and asked Adrienne about it and she recommend that I give it a try. So for my birthday Chris invited a few our friends to meet up there and it was so worth it. We've been back many times since. The wine list is extensive, beer list is pleasing and if that isn't a enough there's sake. It's one of those places where the bartender knows you and knows what you like. Seriously, talk to Gretchen she'll hook you up!  Oh and don't forget your massage, Adrienne is magical.

Mashed Potatoes With Kale

I'm really not a big fan of mashed potatoes but I was watching Rachel Ray one eve and she made these yummy mashed potatoes with kale and manchego cheese. Looking at things differently now I decided to make the dish vegan-style so I mashed the potatoes with earths balance butter and soy milk, cooked the kale separately and then mashed in with vegan cheese (really not necessary) and some roasted garlic I had left over from the night before. Salt and pepper to taste and it ended up being a really flavorful dish on it's own but I thought about the look of this dish and how I would have placed a steak or pork chop on top for Chris. Since veggies are the main course now I went for a can of kidney beans and threw those on top. This was a very nice little meal and quite pretty I think :-)

Valentine's Day

How fun is it to decorate for all of the holidays? Well it is! I think as Maxwell is getting older it's fun to get him involved with the crafty parts of decorating. Chris contributed as well with a beautiful heart he painted and put on the mantel. Here are some pictures of our Valentine's Day decorations.

Valentine's Day treats left for Maxwell on his door. Hope he loves 'em :-)

VEGAN TACOS

I'm half Mexican and I'd say I love Mexican food but not like my very white meat eating husband. Chris could eat Mexican food everyday of the week if you let him. He knows all the best taco joints around our area. During the 21 day vegan diet we made vegan tacos. Tacos are a must for Chris weekly but vegan tacos? what the heck!?! Chris has wanted to make fresh tortillas for some time. A good start for the vegan tacos was buying a tortilla press and masa. Making fresh tortillas is so simple and so freakin' awesome that you wonder why you've lived with store bought forever.

tequila sours - tequila, lemon juice and simple syrup

handmade tortillas - masa and water - too simple

soy rizo - you can find this at Trader Joe's

fried corn - take 2 cups of frozen corn place in small frying pan w/ a pat of butter and fry up add s&p to taste

can of black beans

avocado salsa - which is basically all the ingredients for guacamole but chopped instead of mashed.

Cooking with my husband is so romantic. We work really well in the kitchen together and I'd say that's a good way to know you've got a solid relationship.

Chris loves this meal and we'll be making it tonite :-)

Camille + Vegan = WOW

My girlfriend Gina said to me last month "let's do the 21 day vegan challenge" and my answer was sure, why not? Now I'm not exactly sure why that was my answer because I'm a bacon and butter freak and really there are no substitutes to either of these things and I say that even after the vegan challenge but I found some great food along the way.

I asked some vegan and vegetarian friends where to start and it was pretty much the same - make sure you get the vitamins you'll be missing from dairy and meats. Read the label on everything because meat product could be disguising itself in fancy words that don't sound like they would be meat at all. One friend gave me the Happy Cow website and that was a huge help. Another friend recommended a restaurant called Fatty's in Eagle Rock which ended up being our only vegan dining experience and not because we were afraid to go anywhere else or because we loved it so much which we did but because we were so eager to cook.

First vegan market trip.

That chickenless chicken has great texture and color but didn't taste like chicken because it's not. The Earth Balance fake butter was not to my liking so it's still in the fridge with one scoop out of it.

I bought a vegan cookbook but I didn't really use it for cooking but for the info on all things vegan and why we're vegan. I bought SuperFood and drink that every morning.

My favorite meal I really just thru together - brussel sprouts and tofu.

1 lb brussel sprouts chopped

1/2 package of extra firm tofu sliced into 1/2 inch thick pieces

1 Tbspoon olive oil

1 Tbspoon pine nuts

juice from one lemon

1 tspn sesame oil

1 tspn sesame seeds

salt and pepper

in medium high skillet saute brussel sprouts in the olive oil for 2 mins with a pinch of salt and pepper. salt and peper your tofu and add to the pan and let brown about 2 minutes. add pine nuts and let toast a bit. follow up with the lemon juice. turn off heat and add sesame oil and sesame seeds. s&p to taste.

this is my fave dish and I think you can do a lot with it. add ginger or garlic or use almonds instead of pine nuts.

Sharks are everywhere!

My son Maxwell is serious about sharks. This crazy obsession is taking over our house. Every discussion starts off with sharks or ends up about sharks. This boy sees sharks in everything. His dream is to feed sharks and tame them and not just any old shark it has to be a great white shark. If he could watch Jaws everyday he would and there are days he's watched it and asked to watch it a second time and being a very supportive mother I've let him. Until about 8 months ago he was all about trains and travel town but now he's forgotten about trains and his room that's decorated in nothing but trains just isn't cool anymore. We really do love his obsession for sharks but it does make me wonder what the next obsession for him will be...race cars? mountain climbing? tattoos? sky diving? grind core? one could only hope.

.