I CANNOT wait for this movie to come out next week! As you may know, I've read the books and seen the Swedish films based on the books. I was very skeptical when I read that an American remake was in the works but I have to tell you, the trailer looks amazing!
The books and movies aren't for the faint of heart though but if you are looking for something intense with interesting characters, you should give it some thought.
Tony Bennett still sounds amazing and Lady Gaga is terrific. I'm looking forward to listening to this Duets albums while drinking a glass of wine. But let's be honest, I'm typically pretty excited about doing anything and drinking wine.
I spent the last few days in Torrey, Utah. The weather was spectacular with clear, sunny skies and warm temperatures. On Monday and Tuesday I hiked to Calf Creek Falls with some friends who had all done the hike before but it was my first time. It's about three miles of mostly flat trail to the falls (six miles round trip).
The road from Torrey through Boulder, Utah was lined with gorgeous aspen trees with near electric yellow leaves.
The hike and the falls were gorgeous and next time I will pack a picnic lunch to eat next to the falls. A few brave souls swam in the freezing cold water but I only waded around in ankle deep water.
Instead, we treated ourselves to fabulous dinners at Cafe Diablo. The sweet potato and black bean empanadas were scrumptious!
It's not what you think, Objectified is a documentary about design and manufactured goods. While it sounds rather dry, the film was very interesting. Best of all, if you dropped your DVD option from Netflix recently, Objectified is available to view instantly.
This year I was fortunate enough to get one of the community garden plots in my condo complex and I've had a great time tending to it this summer. Like most gardeners who plant zucchini I suddenly found myself with more squash than I could possibly eat. Sure, I gave some away, shredded and froze some, but I really wanted to use as much as I could while it was fresh.
I found this scrumptious-looking recipe for zucchini noodles on the excellent food blog, Kitchen Confindante. I even ordered one of those crazy shredding tools mentioned in the blog post to make the noodles. I have a mandolin which would do the job as well but being a bit clumsy I sliced open my thumb using the mandolin and decided my digits would be better served using the $5 tool.
The recipe was very simple and a perfect light meal for a warm summer night. The leftovers were terrific for lunch the next day too.
I read this book in less than 30 hours. It's been a while since I was that engaged in a book. Interesting plot and characters. This is also the first book that I've read on an e-reader. I liked that experience more than I expected.
These adorable little treasures are my latest obsession! Ever since my friend Jodi posted pictures of a few terrariums that she'd made last summer, I have been wanting her to teach me how to make them. Last night that dream was realized.
I'd found a few jars at thrift stores and yard sales and even purchased some awesome apothecary jars online. Jodi brought over the gravel, charcoal, and potting soil. I had also picked up a few small succulents and Jodi brought air plants.
Then, it's just a matter of putting down a layer of gravel followed by charcoal and finally soil. Next you add plants and little found objects like shells, rocks, pieces of glass, miniature items, etc. I was very pleased with the first three terrariums that I put together.
The basil plants that I have in my planter box are, um....thriving. I had to trim it back before it bolted to seed. So, with my bounty of basil I made pesto over the weekend. I used this recipe from Food Network.
But, seriously, how much pesto can one girl eat? Obviously not enough (even if I invite friends over) so I froze the pesto in an ice cube tray.
Last night I popped the pesto cubes out of the tray and put them in labeled freezer bag for future use!
Fascinating read about the married woman that Frank Lloyd Wright fell in love with and the struggles she faced with her family and society as she followed her heart.
I can't help myself from looking around furniture consignment shops and recently I was in the neighborhood of one of my favorites, Elemente. Right inside the front door was this darling tea cart.
The paint was peeling and it had some rusty spots on it but I knew a quick trip to the home improvement store for some naval jelly, primer, and spray paint would have the cart looking great in no time.
I chose a bold orange color which I thought would contrast nicely against the newly painted blue-gray walls of the dining room. I set the cart up as a bar and suddenly feel like having a party!
Here's a shot of the dining now. What do you think?
Last month I had the opportunity to hit the road with a coworker to do some work in southern Utah. In fact, we hit nine counties and drove 700 miles in two days!
My coworker grew up in rural Utah and sometimes busts my chops about my 'city girl ways'. He was bound and determined to show me a slice of country life. Here's what I saw.
Here is the demolition derby car that I may or may not drive in the Wayne County demolition derby later this summer.
I was the only one that thought it was strange to be driving around town with a loaded rifle in the front seat of your truck.
I also was the only who thought it was strange to shoot a gun out the kitchen window.
People drive around town in souped up golf carts (apparently they are called rhinos, who knew?)
Even recreational vehicles look different down here.
I learned a few things about interior design.
And fashion design too!
Both of those previous images were taken at a family restaurant. Good times!
Some of you may know that Lauren was selected to participate in this incredibly cool activity at the New York Public Library last month. Five hundred people spent that night at the library and collaboratively wrote a book in one night!
Here's a youtube video describing the game. She had a blast!
Ryan's birthday is early in May so we decided to have a dinner party to celebrate. The theme this month was Italian food. Yum! I made this antipasto platter inspired by my Aunt Jo who makes amazing antipasto platters. I'm so glad that Harmon's carries most of the ingredients necessary to assemble one of these for a get together.
Whitney and Ryan are making fresh pasta to go with the red pepper sauce that I made. The task was a bit arduous but I have a different style pasta maker that I think might be a little more user friendly.
Liz's pups hoping someone would drop some antipasto.
Here's the finished main course. Delish!
Finally, the two goof balls getting ready to devour the coconut cupcakes that Liz made which were amazing!
Whit made Ryan a mix tape for his birthday which may the most adorable thing that I've ever heard. Rumor has it that he may have made one for her too.
Nothing makes me happier than be surrounded by family, friends and delicious food. Over the weekend, my dear friends came over for a Mexican fiesta. These friends are the best kind to have as they are terrific people AND they know their way around the kitchen.Last time we got together we had tapas which were amazeballs.
This time around we decided that Mexican food would be on the menu.I made a fruit platter, pico de gallo, and guacamole. Whit made quesadillas filled with delicious sautéed vegetables and spicy chipolte crema. Liz knocked it out of the park with a tray of cheese enchiladas and a tray of chicken enchiladas. As you can see, I did a much better job of taking pictures of the food than I did the people.Doh!
(Sorry about the messy bowl, I hate that! )
Next month we will be preparing Italian food. I will keep you posted and take more pictures next time.
Also known as, Cancun, Mexico, was the destination last month. We stayed at the Me by Melia resort which has recently converted to an all-inclusive model. We'd been reading the reviews regularly prior to our trip and were a little bit nervous about some of the things being mentioned in the reviews. But, I am thrilled to report that our stay was fantastic! I cannot wait to go back there again. I'm pretty sure that I've found my happy place.
This was the scene that out my window as I drew back the curtain on the first morning.
Good morning to you too!
I have never seen water so incredibly blue before in my life!
I had ceviche for lunch or dinner every day while I was in Mexico and plan to perfect several versions of it this summer at home. Let me know if you'd like to be a recipe tester.
The uber chic Rose Bar where we enjoyed pre-dinner cocktails each evening (sorry the photo is a little crooked, I may have imbibed in said cocktails prior to taking the photo).
Cool breeze at the Rose Bar.
My Bali bed. I wish I had taken a picture of my friend Oliver. He was so sweet and he'd bring me cucumber cocktails and ceviche all day long.
Here was the view from my Bali bed. Yes, I am serious, I took this with my iPhone while laying in the Bali bed. It looks like a frickin' postcard!
In fact, I learned yesterday that Nelly's new music video was recorded at the resort and MY Bali bed is in the video. How awesome is that? We only left the resort once. I mean, seriously, why would we leave the resort? It was incredible but the excursion to Isla Mujeres was pretty terrific too. We took a catamaran to Isla Mujeres to go snorkeling (amazing!), have lunch on the beach (scenic but the food was not so good), and cruise around the little town (quaint).
Needless to say, we had a wonderfully relaxing time and are looking forward to going back later this year or early next year.
