Pizza Night

A new recipe! It was so tasty, I only have one picture as evidence.



Potato Rosemary Pizza
1 pizza crust- 9 inch roundish
olive oil
1 medium potato- diced and cooked
1-2 tablespoons dried rosemary, crushed
1 medium tomato, thinly sliced, optional
garlic, a light shake, powder or 1 small clove fresh, optional
cheese, parmesan and mozzarella or a pizza blend
salt and pepper



Brush the crust with olive oil. Lightly sprinkle parmesan and the rosemary on top. Add tomato slices. Add the potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the garlic. Add the cheese. Bake at 430 degrees for 10-20 minutes.

Enjoy!



Tips:
--I make pizza crust dough in the bread machine that I lightly pre-cook. You can also use frozen dough or a 'Boboli' style crust.
--My favorite kitchen gadget for spices is a mortar and pestle, but you can also use a food processor, blender or chop fresh rosemary by hand.
--Use sea salt or seasoned salt for a little kick.
--Experiment with cheese. Provolone, swiss and feta all taste great with potatoes and rosemary.

Flip Flop Christmas

Thanks to Melissa, Nate, Cole and Chase for hosting a fabulous Christmas celebration this year. Hosting holidays is very courageous and these Southern-based Maz's are pros!

Watching my nephews open presents was hilarious. Chase was quite reserved for the first 2 days and then when the paper came off, he was full throttle!



Nate and Melissa took us to a great park just minutes from their house to shake off some of the Christmas goodies. It was Florida Foliage time



and lots of funky birds came out to play.







Cole mastered the climbing wall at the park.



Aunt and Uncle had to try it out too. Some tough boulder problems on this route and some liebacking required.






Santa brought the kids a 'Dizzy Go Round', but he forgot to include a case of Dramamine!



A trip to Tampa is not complete without an afternoon at the beach.





Several thumbs up to the Flip Flop Christmas. I hope we behaved well-enough for another invite!

Lefty Says...

Cold Comfort for Change: Part 3

Comforter covers are just a bag for your blanket, right? Sew a couple square corners, throw some buttons on the top. Done.

Insert screeching tire sound here. I had a few things working against me on this one. Including myself.

1. Comforter covers are 2 sided right? Note to self: multiply yardage by 2.
2. Fabric store is hour and ½ away. Puchased fabric was from store 4 1/2 hours away. Don’t cry yet.
3. Fabric is 45” wide. Comforter cover is 85 inches wide.
4. Make the pattern and construction really complicated because you don’t have enough problems yet.

I got bailed out by a local quilt shop. The first time I went to High Country Quilting it was in a dark, weird store space with only cotton fabrics and ugly ones at that. I wrote off this store and it’s multiple moves in the last few years. On a Saturday bike ride, I couldn't resist a ‘Fabric Yard Sale’ in front of the store. I dug through moose print flannel and drab holiday prints, then stepped inside.

Armed with my tape, sketch book, swatches and a calculator, I waded through the rooms of bolts. It was still quilting cottons (I do love me an occasional jewel tone dupioni silk and wide wale corduroy), but there was beautiful modern fabrics and delicious colors meticulously folded and tucked.

Mrs. High Country Quilting showed me a loud, aisan-y print that made me cringe at first, but it matched every single stripe in my roman shade and the remaining fabric for the duvet.

My Sherpa returned to haul fabric and I promptly sat down to measure and cut. It was a bit unwieldy to sew such a large amount of fabric (new appreciation for people who sew wedding dresses!) and the button closure required more math than I prefer (mowing the lawn requires more math than I prefer!) and I am happy to say it was worth it. The duvet is totally unique and great anchor of color in the bedroom.

In Stitches: Part 2

Remember how I said I didn’t have enough fabric? Yeah.

Enter bedskirt. I had to get creative, but I had enough yardage to make it around the boxspring, however, I forgot I had to attach it under the mattress somehow. On a random trip to the amazing Jackson Browse and Buy thrift store, I found an unmatching queen bedskirt in perfect condition. Once I took the skirt off, it was a perfect liner size- no cutting or altering. I was relieved not to have to shell out for 5 more yards of liner fabric.

Once all the fabric was cut, I blasted out the seaming and corners in the course of a Patriot’s game.

It's the perfect Sunday project!

In Stitches

In an attempt to finally create an adult bedroom, I wanted to have matching linens- bedspread, a skirt to cover the boxspring and curtains. I was also attempting to de-Copacabana our bedroom, which is a fabulous shade of Pacific Palisade, but needed to be brought far, far away from the beach. If I didn’t do something fast, I feared I might start receiving macramé and shell home accessories.

So I started with a Roman Shade. I was inspired (time number eight thousand three hundred and forty four) by my dear college roommate who whipped out a set for her dining room. I don’t remember her being much of a sewer at the time and I was really impressed. I also remember her saying they weren’t that difficult and I stuck a mental Post-it on my mental project board.

Fast forward 5 years when I finally have my own house where I can put up any window décor I want and keep it there. For as long as I want. Dust off Post-it note.

I called Amy for some tips, “Oh Eunie, really? Be careful of those dowels. Measure, like, 100 times. Did I mention the dowels? Wow. Good luck.” Dowels?

Enter Fabric Store. I begged Maz to go to a super mega fabric store on a summer trip to Salt Lake City. I gave him a snack, a bottle of water and ensured he had a book. As I walked over the threshold and through the automatic doors, I turned over my shoulder, “This might take a while? Are you okay?” An eye roll silently said “I’ll manage. But behave.”

It wasn’t quick, but I found a delicious set of fabrics that would take Copacabana closer to the mountains. Proceed to cutting table.

Fabric store employee: "Oops! Sorry, there’s not enough here? Do you want to pick something else?"

My silent eyeroll said "Are you joking!?! I’ve been here 2 hours digging through your entire inventory! No I don’t want something else!” But my mouth said:

“No thanks- I’ll make it work.”

Fabric Store Employee: “Oh geez! This one’s short too. I’ll charge you remnant price. You can come back next week when we get more- it’s very popular!”

My silent eyeroll said “I drove 4 ½ hours to this fabric store. I am not coming back next week for fractional yardage!” But my mouth said:

“Great! I’ll see what I can do with what’s there.”

I hired a Sherpa to help me carry all the fabric, thread, drape rings, insulating liner and cording to the car. (By the way, Maz was a complete saint at the fabric store and even helped me find notions and special fabrics. He survives to visit another fabric store- yes!)

I sat down with measuring tape, chalk, ruler, notes, diagram, cutting mat, rotary cutter and patience. As much as I wanted a one-day challenge, I knew this roman shade project might try to get the best of me.

There was a little brain damage trying to make up the extra yardage, to dowel or not to dowel and matching up the stripes, but overall, each step went smoothly. Maz was a big help during the hanging and stringing step, thanks to all his big fancy engineering cred.

Roman Shade!

Puppeteering

Obviously, I can’t reveal the crafty Christmas presents I’ve planned for this year (yet), but I can post about my Puppet Theaters! Last year, I had a blast making puppets and stages for then 3 ish-year old niece, Lucy, and nephew, Chase.

I was inspired by my uber creative friend (who endless talents and ideas inspire me everyday) Amy who made one for her daughters and promptly spent many evenings in the audience enjoying a puppet show. What a perfect way to inspire imagination and performance in my little buddies in DC and Florida.

The theater panel hangs in a doorway on a spring-loaded curtain rod for easy set-up and tear down, then rolls up into a tube. Tuck it into a closet corner and it barely takes away from precious storage space. I also included a dramatic curtain, so backstage preparations stay secret!

The puppets were the best part- I was tempted to make a third set for myself. It was so fun to shove my hand inside the soft felt and assume Mr. Frog voice and Mr. Owl personality. The simple pattern came from here and I embellished their cute faces with pipe cleaner whiskers, puff ball eyes and contrasting felt paws.

Maz and I are headed to Florida in a couple weeks for Christmas- I hope there are still tickets left for the first row at the Puppet Show!

Rituals

Fall in Teton Valley is a flurry of trucks, chainsaws, splitting mauls and 1/4 cord permits on fluorescent paper . This blog would not be complete without an annual post about cutting firewood. I dedicate this post to the only one in this house that has grace with a Husqvarna 440.

MA-NH-ME and points in between.

Maz and I have returned from a nearly epic trip to New England. We were very lucky to experience the fabulous fall foliage and depart right before early season snows.

The Ray and Nicole Show always guarantee a solid night of goofing off.







Fun times with the Codere-Plumers and Stillings.



A quick trip to the ocean.



Jay and Gayle take a canoe on the Exeter River.



and E and Gayle take a hike on Adam's Point.







Too many laughs with Josh and Teresa.





A treat in a little box.



A treat in a little blanket (Welcome Savannah!)




A treat in a little cyclinder:




Thanks to all of our various hosts (H&J., J&T, R&N, GG, J&C, J&L) through out the trip and to everyone for making room in your schedule for lunch and dinner parties!

Round and round trip

I knew it would be a little cuckoo brains when I got back from Chicago and turning around a couple days later for a trip to Boston, but I was determined to Project and enjoy the last days of summer weather in Driggs.

Maz built his first set of stairs on the west side of the house.





This will soon be known as the 'Wood Door' for the next nine months, but right now, it's the 'Sunset Stoop'.


Beautiful construction!



We also wanted to get the front porch stained and protected for the next season, so I busted out the knee pads and hand sander. (Thanks Dad for a GREAT tool!)




Ready for snowdrifts.

The next blog posts will be peppered with photos of Boston and New Hampshire, friends, in-laws, out-laws and new kitty cats. Stay tuned!