World's Biggest, Most Deelishous Popover

Last weekend I drove up to Costa Mesa to visit with my bud, Michele. We had a really fun day cruisin' through the stores at Fashion Island. We kicked it all off at the Neiman Marcus cafe, Mariposa. Their claim to fame is popovers which are delivered piping hot from the oven to your table as part of every meal. They come with this darling little pat of strawberry butter (which darn it, darn it, darn it didn't make it into the picture!) . Needless to say there was nothing left of either my popover or butter pat at the end of the meal. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves. They always start the meal with this cute little demitasse cup of warm chicken broth. Then you order, and then come the popovers. And then, you are in official popover heaven. Do I sound obsessed with the popovers? Um. I am.














We also ordered these yummy cocktails that were made with champagne, chambord liqueur, and pineapple juice. Dah-lishous.














This is a macro shot of the cavernousness of the popover. Okay, now even I think I have a problem. I'm guessing you already think I have one! HA!














After lunch we strolled through Neiman's and some of the things they had in their home section were incredible. Lalique buddah anyone?















Maybe a little Mackenzie-Childs? Perhaps just after robbing a bank, I could stop in and pick up a few pieces. Honestly, it's so ornate and colorful that I probably wouldn't ever own any. But there's something about it that is so pretty and feminine in a country, Victorian kind of way.

Recuperating Nicely

Oh, I'm a mother hen. Just snapped this photo of Katie dear snoozing on my robe (we call it the Momma Cat robe) on the bed. So sweet.

Katie-Cat is A.O.K.!

We got home with Kate at around 5:15 p.m. and she is just fine. Of course, she then proceeded to pull with all her might on her stitches without success, thankfully. That only lasted a few hours - with me pretty much watching her EVERY second. She is now peaceful and calm, but I think today she's sore. Poor little girl. I'm so glad this little chapter is finished.

Little Katie becomes Kate Spayed today

Let's all send collective good thoughts to Harmony Animal Hospital as the capable hands of Dr. Candy Lewis performs Kate's spay procedure today. We dropped the little girlie off this morning. She was very good in the car - not a peep. We've been joking that once this is done she will officially be Kate Spade. I told her all the girls are doing it and that it will be no big deal.

I took this picture at Fashion Island on Sunday. I went to visit my friend Michele for the day. She's here for work and we spent the day shopping and lunching. A post on that, including a picture of the world's biggest popover, is forthcoming.

Fingers crossed for Katie!

Feeling Grateful

“Silent gratitude isn’t very much to anyone.”
-Gertrude Stein

Today, my bud Sherri and I went to the Rules Committee (of the San Diego City Council) to show our support for Yes on Prop. 2 which requires farmers to give animals like chickens, pigs, and cows enough room to turn around in their cages. Not a lot to ask, yet there were opponents. It passed the first rung of its journey and is on to the full Council soon, and then I assume we vote and the changes will be made.

I am grateful for the people today who stood up - and showed up - to represent the innocent beings of our planet. The chickens. The pigs. The cows. Because they can't speak for themselves or give PowerPoint presentations about how bad their conditions are. Jer, of the Jeff and Jer show, was outstanding in his presentation. The man is a hero in my eyes for having the courage, intelligence, and compassion to say what he did.

Image Credit: Konrad Busslinger, "Happy Chicken"

Little e. is Getting Married

My dear, sweet niece is getting hitched! I can hardly believe it is all happening, and so fast! I can't focus on it too hard or I'll cry (she is as close as I'll ever get to my own little girl!). It seems like just yesterday she was in high school, then just heading to Stetson, then to FSU (her Auntie's alma mater, I might add), and then to graduation. And, now, we're having wedding showers!? That's "e." standing in the center. Her devoted Mom hosted a great lingerie shower at BluSushi in Fort Myers! The wedding party girls showed up in a limo - tres chic - and then we all had sushi and opened presents in this neat little private room which was decorated with pink roses and feather boas and lots of fun table decor.















The next morning, Kimby, a long-time friend of Sheri's (Erin's Mom) hosted a wonderful household-gifts-themed shower. Her beautiful house was the perfect setting with plenty of places to sit, tons of great food and friends, and last but not least, a darling Labrador. This is Kimby and Winston.














Party favors: cookie mix with a tiny whisk attached with a pink ribbon. How cute! They thought of everything.








And then, when I - nor my camera - could take one more ounce of perfection either of my niece's flawless face and hair, Sheri's gorgeous dress, or Kimby's lovely home, I asked that everyone please, please, dear God, please, make a funny face for me! And they delivered! :-) That's Kimby's son in the center - he's getting ready to take his LSAT and follow in his father's footsteps! Hope he did great!

Celebrating Tasha Today

Today is Tasha Tudor's birthday - her first since she went back to her beloved 1800s. Last night before going to sleep I read the August section of Tasha's GARDEN book. The August title is "Lilies and Berries to Spare." I hoped before I dozed off that I'd dream about stopping by one day, like one of her regular visitors, and that I would say inside her doorway, "Gee, something smells good in here!" and she would invite me in for one of her wonderful pies. Perhaps a corgi or two would run to the door (making that little paddle step they make when they walk). What a blessed life she lead in her Vermont haven (the 1740 farmhouse look-alike). 250 acres of plants, fruit trees, and so many other delights that were part of the way she made her life. I unfortunately didn't dream of this idyllic scene, but instead it was filled with work scenes, but, what a wonderful surprise today when I woke up to the email that I'd won the Tasha Tudor's Dollhouse book giveaway at The Pink Gate!! I'm so looking forward to reading more, learning more, and pouring over the wonderful pictures. Thanks so much to Louise!

Tasha loved primrose. Isn't this one beautiful? She probably grew this kind! It's a barnhaven primrose, called Eugenie. You can read more about it here.

Bugs Beware

Kate. Killer of many-legged things. I can barely admit this in writing, and have since scoured every inch of the counter tops, however...last night a roach made its way in under the kitchen door. They are so vile, and being from Florida, I am no stranger to roaches. Let me just say that NOTHING creepy crawly has a chance once it darkens our door. Kate can hear a spider tap its finger from 50 paces and is ON IT like Zena - Tabby warrior princess. She may look sweet and timid, but she is re-lent-less when it comes to bugs -- okay, and flies. :-) By now my housekeeping skills are in serious question.

Tasha Tudor's Birthday

On August 28th, various folks in blog-land will take some time to celebrate the one and only Tasha Tudor. I bought her book, Tasha Tudor's Garden, and have been loving every page. The photography is beautiful and immersing yourself in the writings on her life is a complete escape from life's hustle and bustle. It's refreshing to read how she dedicated her life to living the 'older ways.' And when you read that she said she would go back to that time when she passed away, you believe her! I know her afterlife is exactly that! It has to be. She's tending her garden, caring for her 'corgyn' (her plural for Corgi), and probably still placing orders for unique plant varieties. Hm? Wonder about that mailing address! :-)
In short, I love the woman. She lived such a simple, busy, beautiful life. Happy early birthday Tasha, and I'll be celebrating you on the 28th.

A detailed obituary that appeared in the NY Times is here. The book pictured here is available still on Amazon.

A Walk at Liberty Station

I am a total Liberty Station fan. The old Naval Training Center was sold to the Corky McMillan Company (I hear for $1 if he spent the money to develop it) by the City of San Diego, and what has sprung up, I think, is a perfect little community. Great homes, beautiful trees and green spaces, stores, shops, restaurants - even the most fantastic Ace Hardware store. I could almost live there, if we were condo-dwellers which I'm not sure I could do but I don't rule out - they're that nice.

We take Saylor down to the path along the water. And of course, there's plenty of grass napping.
















She meets various dog friends...














...and on this day we saw some guys jump off the bridge. I of course had the camera at the ready.















Behind the guys, a couple of dogs and their owner sailed slowly by on their catamaran. Such a nice day.
















Here they are preparing to jump!

To Florida and Back

I'm baaaa-aaaaack. I was in Florida attending a couple of wedding showers for my niece, Erin! Another wedding is on the horizon! Pictures on this event to follow, once my camera is mailed back! This makes the second time I've left it there. We may have a trend going. Oops.

So, I got back last Wednesday. Sometimes going away throws me for a loop in terms of blogging. Takes me a minute to get back into the routine. But when I do, I feel like I need to chronicle events in the order they happened. So... on Aug. 2nd Alana and Danny got married.

It was a really pretty wedding - the colors, I thought, were very nostalgic, almost Victorian. Alana was a beautiful bride and Danny was dashing in his black tux. The wedding was held at the Rancho Santa Fe Country Club. A really nice space, indoors and out. There were about 200 people, but it didn't feel crowded because there was plenty of room to spread out. The weather was really nice, after the initial warm spell during the ceremony. The happy couple left the next day for Cozumel. Sweet. :-)

Tuesday's Tabby Cooking School

So, really Mom, I can read upside down. First, put the olive oil on the sprouted wheat tortillas. Doesn't Real Simple have the best recipes?













These individual pizzas turned out smashingly, and they took no time at all. The recipe is in the Aug. '08 issue of Real Simple - the section is full of easy 20-minute meals. Some people may see this and think, oh gross! a cat near food! I just say, oh well, and . . . you're really going to hate the last picture where Miss Kate is sitting on the table staring at me while I ate! We're very cat-friendly to say the least. It makes Saylor so jealous because Kate can get an obvious 'begging advantage' by actually being ON the table. Ha! Of course, she never wants to eat anything (um, I've tried to give her food and she refuses it). Oh, the whacky dinner time tales at the Hardy residence.

The little pizzas have raw artichokes, red pepper, and tomatoes on them and are then topped with grated cheddar and browned under the broiler. You start by broiling just the tortillas (it called for pita bread, but I used tortillas) with a tablespoon of olive oil on them until they crisp up slightly. Then you add the toppings and put them under the broiler for 5 minutes. The broiling is just enough to make the veggies tender. The artichokes were canned and already soft.

The green bean salad has lemon juice and olive oil, and salt and pepper. The avocado is just plain.















Then, there's this face watching my every bite!

A Bird in the Hand, and One in the House!

We came home the other day after being out for a few hours to find Kate lounging by the sliding glass door, in the sun, looking innocent, NEXT TO A BABY SPARROW! I was slightly panicked thinking she may have injured it beyond repair, because the little sparrow looked so pekid at first. But apparently birdy was just tired. James figured out, the sparrow came down the chimney (thankfully it was alive because for all you superstitious folks: a bird coming down the chimney dead is not the best omen. So! Maybe this was the good-luck bird!?)

We did find a stray feather back in the office (other side of the house) so there was undoubtedly some sort of flapping and shenanigans going on. Meanwhile, Saylor was...sleeping! :-)








James carefully picked birdy up and we put her/him outside on the bench, then in the corner of the courtyard out of sight because we were leaving again. I covered the little corner with a towel so little sparrow could chill for a bit and get its bearings. When we returned, birdy was gone and hopefully just fine!
































Saylor says, who needs a live bird? I have my stuffed one! And it squeaks when I bite it! (Let's hope none of that was going on with the sparrow and Kate!)
















Miss Kate was SO MAD at us for the rest of the day. This is mad face. I think she had other ideas for her and birdy!