Lizzard Loves Blue Sky Snow Covered Vail

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Fondue!

I love fondue.

Yummmmm.Cheese.
I love going to Gejas (gejascafe.com) to sit in their dark basement, drink a bunch of wine, and eat delicious fondue!

We did a dipping sauce extravaganza!!
What I didn't realize until our belated Valentine's Day celebration: I love making & eating fondue at home even more! Chris gave me an electric fondue pot for Christmas (thanks honey) and we used it for the first time to celebrate Valentine's Day.

Chris enjoying our first course
Delicious cheese fondue (with apples, grapes, bread & crackers) and ridiculously good oil fondue (with beef tenderloin, shrimp, & chicken.....plus veggies galore!) made for a dinner to remember.
Vegetable & protein choices
The only problem: we did not leave enough room for chocolate fondue.......there's always next time!

Handwritten notes

I love handwritten notes.
There is something so right about receiving a card or note in the regular mail. Don't get me wrong, I text, email, blog...(obviously), post on Facebook & occasionally Twitter, but none of those modes of communication have the ability to excite me anywhere near as much as a piece of actual mail.
I received this letter in the mail last week & I love so many things about it. We hosted our friends for brunch, and we got a thank you note! I love thank you notes. The best part is though, our friends have a little baby girl, are in the process of packing/moving, and they both work full time......needless to say they have their hands FULL.
All of that busy-ness did not prevent our friend from sending a note! Her cards & stationery were all packed, so she used what she had. I love the sentiment. I love the notebook paper. I love mail.

In case you are wondering; yes, this is hanging on our fridge!


Sunday, February 19, 2012

Positive words cards

I love making cards.
It stems from the fact that I love paper mail. I love sending cards & I absolutely love recieving them. I've been having a really relaxed and happy weekend so when I sat down last night to make some cards, these are what I came up with.....using all of my "positive word" stamps!
Close up so you can see the words
Pictured below are the new ink colors I used on this project. I love the tiny little ink pads with the fleur de lis on the lids. It was a good weekend!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Beautiful veggies

I love beautiful veggies.
I was struck yesterday by how pretty fresh vegetables are! I also love helping my friends & family. My sister in law is hosting a brunch on Saturday and is swamped at work, so she could use a hand with the prep work. I was more than happy to oblige. Red, yellow & orange bell peppers, broccoli, and dill, parsley & scallions........yum.

Don't get freaked out. The veggies are to be roasted & the fresh herbs for are for this recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/slow-cooked-scrambled-eggs-with-green-herbs-recipe/index.html I also love Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa). I love that she reminds me of my Mom, I love her simple, delicious recipes, and I love that virtually any home cook can try them out (without needing crazy equipment or ingredients). I hope these brightly colored veggies are some nice eye candy for you!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Fresh flowers

I love fresh flowers. I love the way they brighten up our home (especially when it is dreary & rainy.....it really should be snow this time of year!) I love flowers as gifts from friends, family & Chris. We happen to be pretty much at capacity for fresh flowers in our condo........which is a most excellent problem to have! I hope the photos brighten your winter day!
A lovely hostess gift from Jeff & Holly (just for having them for brunch!)

I bought these for us...did I mention I love fresh flowers?

Really cool stripey roses Chris gave me for Valentine's

Hostess gift from my Mom- a nice treat (especially because she also brought the appetizer & dessert!)

Gerber daisies rocking out as my Valentine's centerpiece!

Biscotti & Scones

I love baking. This much is likely already clear if you've been reading my blog! I also love biscotti & scones (both the baking & eating!)
Scones at the back, biscotti photographed pre-dipping!

I tried baking biscotti for the first time around Christmas 2011....and was thrilled with how easy it was! It is time consuming; but so worth it.
So, last Friday- in anticipation of Valentine's Day- I baked 2 batches! I did semisweet chocolate with hazelnuts (dipped in melted dark chocolate) and white chocolate pistachio (dipped in melted white chocolate). 
Chris & I hosted some friends for brunch over the weekend, so I also baked a batch of orange chocolate scones. I first tried baking scones in 2007 and it has been a slight obsession of mine since then! When I became the proud owner of a Cuisinart, it made cutting the butter into the flour mixture infinitely easier! Although, lets be honest- you don't need the heavy kitchen equipment! I was baking scones in earnest for 3 years before I was given a Cuisinart!
Please leave a comment if you would like either recipe! Happy Baking!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Our new (to us) kitchen island

I love to cook. I love it when my friends and family want to hang out in my kitchen when I cook. Alas, until this weekend, I couldn't offer them a place to sit down & have a cocktail (or a cup of coffee as the hour of the day may dictate).
I am SO thrilled to report; Chris & I are the proud owners of a kitchen island with stools! My Dad did 95% of the work on this project - he is the best! The cabinet was improved with the bead board sides and a fresh coat of paint. The top is bowling alley wood (long story where it came from :) and matches our kitchen so well! 
I love that we were able to use furniture we already had & modify it for our current needs. Here are some photos:


Thursday, February 2, 2012

Making old stuff new again

I love making old (sometimes yucky) stuff new again. 
This often directly involves my Dad....because he is a lot more of a handyman than I ever will be. I also love spending time with my Dad. Here are the before (actually its in the middle- we had to take the stool apart to replace the seat) & after photos of a stool we worked on for my kitchen! I'll post with some photos of the whole set up (new kitchen island & 2 stools) when its all done!
This is the before....very rusty, some old green paint still there
This is the after!! I tried to get the blue as close to my KitchenAid mixer & Le Cruset pans as possible.
Thanks Daddy for doing the vast majority of the work on this, it looks awesome!