Drift Away

Insane day at work today.  I'm exhausted.  Partly because it used up a lot of brain power, partly because I did a lot of running around and partly because my friend Liz is a bad influence and insisted that we have A glass of wine last night.  Riiiight.

Anyway, one thing I was thinking about when I was driving home from this long day of work was my pretend beach house.  You know, the one I started decorating here.  I don't know when I'll get said house or where it will be but man you better bet with all of these years that I have to plan out my decorating regime, it is gonna look GOOD.

I love when designers use driftwood in design - even if it isn't in a beach house.  Here are a few pieces I've seen recently that I'd love in my pretend beach house.  Or any house for that matter. 

awesome driftwood table with glass top from Pieces Store in Atlanta, GA

Coat and hat rack from Viva Terra

Fish made of driftwood from Outerbanks Trading Company

Driftwood leaf tray from Outerbanks Trading Company

Roasted Asparagus Risotto

I came up with the idea for this little beauty the other day when I was in the grocery store.  I love asparagus but have gotten a little sick of doing them on the grill like we always do.  So, since you can basically make risotto with anything in it, I decided to roast the asparagus and then add them to risotto.  Oh my goodness - YUM!

Roasted Asparagus Risotto

3/4 cup arborio rice
1 yellow onion, chopped fine
2 large cloves of garlic, chopped fine
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup dry white wine
1 bundle fresh asparagus
2 Tbsp olive oil
Approx. 4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cut the hard ends off of the asparagus and then give them a rough chop (I cut mine into thirds).  Cover a baking sheet with alumnimum foil and spread the asparagus out onto the baking tray.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and olive olive oil and roast at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes to get them nice and crunchy! 

Meanwhile, cook the risotto:

Add 1 Tbsp of butter, onion and garlic to a large sautee pan and cook until transluscent.  Season with a little salt and pepper.  Add rice and toast it for a minute or two (careful not to let it burn!). 

Add 1 cup of white wine and stir rice gently until all of the wine is absorbed.  Slowly add the chicken broth (about 1 cup at a time) until the rice has absorbed all of it.

You may need more or less than 4 cups but that is an approximate guess.  When the rice has absorbed the liquid, add last Tbsp of butter, roasted asparagus and romano cheese. 

We had ours with some grilled pork chops last night.

Z Gallerie Prints

I would say I only found out about Z Gallerie a couple of years ago (I know, I am kind of in the dark sometimes).  That said, I am always looking at their catalogs or in the stores at the furniture.  I got an email today with some of their new products and I found myself on their website and randomly was looking at their art.  I mean, duh, with the word "gallery" in your store name, I guess I should've thought of this before.  Love some of their prints.  And very affordable.

Nuff said.

Okay, okay.  I'll quit with the dog pictures but really?  So sweet.

I love how the people are blurry.  There is something magical about this one.

They have this Suzani print in lots of colors.  They could look really cool in a grouping of four.

I've been kind of obsessed with Koi fish for the past couple of years.  I want to do something with koi fabric but haven't figured out what I'm gonna do yet.  Love this picture.

Hello little boy's room.  Do you see the lady bug?  How happy is that green?

Cool colors, cool effect.  Don't love the frame but you could change that out.

They also have different ones of these that you could do in a grouping in an office or study.  Again, I'd probably change the frame.

Like a Woman Posessed

My brother sent me an email yesterday with a subject line that read "Loser" because I had taken up knitting on my lunch break.  I could care less...it's not like he's never called me names before. 

And anyway, I am obsessed with knitting.  My friend Amanda introduced me to a book called Stitch N'Bitch which has easy to follow instructions on basic knitting as well as some starter patterns (like the hat I showed you last week here).   I don't think I could have started it without someone showing me what to do but this book has been really valuable when I get home and get stuck on something. 

Unfortunately, I only know how to make one thing.  A baby hat.  So I'm on my fourth one.  I love the little green one - just like a little baby pea!

Pictures don't do these justice and you can't feel how soft they are.  But the (is it bad that I had to look this up to spell it?) pièce de résistance is the one I made for my friend Reeves' baby to be.  I love it so much it is going to be hard to part with it.  But since I am a knitting fool I can probably do another one. 

Sorry, Reeves, if I ruined the surprise but it is way cuter in person!  I'll mail it soon! 

Obviously with said knitting obsession, I've had to purchase a few tools of the trade over the past couple of weeks.  One of the cutest things I've gotten is this Debbie Bliss book called Booties, Blankets and Bears. 

The only problem is that it is a leeeetle too advanced for me just yet being that I only know how to make a hat and all.  So, just for good measure I ordered the Debbie Bliss beginner book today (do NOT tell my husband or I'm gonna get it - I told him knitting was a cheap hobby).  Hopefully it isn't as complicated.  My coworker and friend, Diana, took one look at the book and bought a copy too.  So, at least we can work on these together in case we get stuck. 

Tuesday Tip: Polishing Silver

This is another tip from my friend Nicole - the one who brought you Squirrel Juice a few weeks ago.  I haven't tried it yet but I plan on it.  Nicole says you can use toothpaste to clean silver.  At first I was thinking this could be hard because a lot of the silver I have are larger dishes, etc. from my grandmother but then she suggested that it works great on silver earrings, bracelets, etc.  She also pointed out how much cheaper it is than industrial cleaner and on top of that (and most importantly in my opinion!) it doesn't stink like the store bought cleaners.  So, give it a try.  What's it gonna hurt...let's hope you already have toothpaste lying around in your house. 

Image via Birdhouse.org.

Barbecue and Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

Trader Joe's had a perfect small sized pork tenderloin that I bought this week for under $5.  We used spices and ingredients that we already had in our pantry along with some fresh baby spinach for a delicious meal for under 10 bucks.

The weather has been gorgeous so slow cooking this pork tenderloin on the charcoal grill was no chore at all.

Spice Rub (if you don't have these exact ingredients, improvise - it'll be worth it!)
4 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp fresh cracked black pepper
1 tsp blackening seasoning
dash cayenne
dash red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp Cavenders Greek Seasoning
1 Tbsp salt

In a small bowl, combine all of the above spices together with a fork and rub generously onto the meat. 

We cooked it on a low heat charcoal grill for about a half an hour.  For the last ten minutes, baste reguarly with barbecue sauce.  Our nice neighbors brought some awesome stuff back from Tennessee when they were visiting there recently.  We like to try out new kinds and experiment a little!

We served it with fresh sauteed spinach and spanish rice which complemented the spices in the rub. 

Progress.

Okay, so if you remember back to a few weeks ago when I was starting to learn how to knit, you'll remember how pathetic it looked. 

Lucky for me, my friend Amanda is the most patient person I know.  She has spent hours over the past couple of weeks on our lunch breaks helping me to knit.  And, all thanks to Amanda, I've finally got something to show for it.

A baby hat!  For my friend before anyone else asks.

It's not perfect and I imagine that it'll look much cuter on an actual baby's head instead of my hand BUT I am really proud of my accomplishment.  And I've turned into a knitting fool.  More to come...