candy jars filled to the brim . . . with memories

During the holidays I fill our candy jars with cookies and well, candy. . . but then they go back to holding our memories.  The jars are filled with matchbooks, champagne corks,  old keys, foreign coins, subway tokens, ticket stubs. . . 

It's almost impossible to find a restaurant that still gives out matchbooks...they are the perfect little souvenir to remember an evening.  Or tickets...we have saved every ticket to every concert, Broadway show, horse race, baseball game and every sporting event you can think of...Circle Line tickets, The London Eye, the Eiffel Tower, museum buttons...and before you know it all we'll do is show them our smart phone as we enter.  Tickets will become a thing of the past and they already are in many cases.  

I love technology, without it we would not have many things...blogs being on the list, but I'm a little sad when I see our jars filled with things that may become obsolete.  Does this bother anyone else?  I was just wondering.

 

chalkboard paint + thank you notes

We painted a swoosh across the top of card stock cut into note cards leaving enough room for a short, sweet note of thanks.

 our thank you notes are in the mail  . . .

Green Bean Salad + Betty Fussell, #29 of Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers

Betty Fussell's Green Bean Salad with Walnuts

Week #29 of the Gourmet's 50 Women Food Changers is Betty Fussell.  Mary from A Perfect Bite has organized a group of bloggers that choose a dish from the Game Changer of that week.  I have learned a lot about some very talented foodies...The one thing they all share is their love for food and everything that food encompasses.

Photo by Norman Jean Roy for Vogue, Aug '08

The ingredients for the dressing:  Fresh lemon juice, walnut oil and salt and pepper.

These are so good and the recipe says to serve them at room temperature.  These will be on my next menu for a picnic on the beach.  I'm already planning...cold salmon, a quinoa salad and these green beans.  For the complete recipe of Green Beans with Walnuts, go here.

for more ideas and recipes from Betty Fussell, check out these posts today:

  

Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others

Sue - The View from Great Island
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Heather - girlichef
Miranda of Mangoes and Chutney
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Barbara - Movable Feasts
Jeanette - Healthy Living
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda
Linda A - There and Back Again
Martha - Lines from Linderhof
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits,
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Lovely Things
Nancy - Picadillo
Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook

J a n u a r y

January has always been my favorite month...strange, maybe...but it's when things slow down a little, it's quiet in the winter.  The holidays come in like a storm and then are gone before you know it.  I love everything about the holidays, but when January comes around, I'm ready for things to return to normal and routines go back into place for everyone.  The house after Christmas seems very orderly once everything has been put away and I always try to find daisies...not easy...but they are the furthest thing from Christmas...and that's what I love about them. 

"I love daisies.  They're so friendly.  Don't you think that daisies are the friendliest flowers?"  Kathleen Kelly

 

This was taken at about 10am this morning.  The current temperature is 84º at the beach...probably a lot hotter inland.  

 

My resolutions are simple this year.  Be kinder to everyone.  Of course eating healthier is always top on the list.  I made cinnamon water and it makes the house smell divine.  I'm not certain of the health benefits.  I did a little research, but I know one thing for sure...the house smelling like cinnamon is a lot healthier than butter and onions on a regular basis.  One thing I generally do in January is read more.  So I'm going to enjoy the next hour on my patio in the shade with a wonderful book my sister recommended.  Her book group read Halfway to Each Other by Susan Pohlman and she hosted the group in her home last month with the author who now resides in Phoenix, AZ.   Cheers to January, New Year's resolutions and good books.

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This is one of my favorite things...an old bottle stamped with the letters New Canaan, Conn.  A dear friend gave it to us when we first moved to California.  I think Suzanne had one that she put lights in, but it wasn't until a couple of weeks before Christmas when I saw it on Jane's blog that I thought to do the same.  I'm going to enjoy this all through the winter in my kitchen.  There's just something about the glow of twinkle lights that make everything seem brighter...and 2012 is going to be great, right?

The temperatures in Southern California have been unseasonably warm.  We hardly needed a fire but we had one anyway just for atmosphere and for the kids to make s'mores.

Happy New Year from our home to yours and may 2012 be filled with many wonderful surprises.

Lunch on New Years Eve

This time of year there's a lot of discussion in our family about food.  What we'll eat, where we'll eat, where we'll shop for food.  I think it's because we have the time during the holidays and of course, our love for good food.  After a long walk on the beach we came home to a bowl of French Onion Soup.  The only way to make French Onion Soup is Julia Child's way.  Sure the recipe may include 26 steps, but it's worth every step...and #26 is simply...Bon Apetit!

French Onion Soup gives off the most amazing aroma in the kitchen...there's no need to shop at a special market (which I actually love doing), but not necessary for this recipe.  This soup will satisfy the taste buds and the soul...it's that good...and the ingredients probably cost less than $5.  How many amazing things can you make that you can say all this about?

                                                                         Happy New Year!  
                 Will you be cooking on this New Year's Eve or you going out someplace fun?

                                              Linking with:  http://thecorsoncottage.blogspot.com/

Soaking up the December Sun

Next year at this time we will be back on the east coast...so this year, we are soaking up every minute of the warm weather we have been having in Southern California.  Yesterday we met up with our East Coast friends for a little picnic lunch...California style.

Preparing for the picnic...we made Ina Garten's corn chowder and kept it warm by heating a pizza stone and a Le Creuset and then putting the soup cups in the heated pot until we got to the beach. This kept the cups of soup piping hot until we arrived at the beach.  Box lunches included sandwiches, chips and chocolate chip blondies with sea salt wrapped in parchment paper.  We loaded the car with beach chairs, table in a bag, cooler and footballs and had a wonderful afternoon enjoying 75º temperatures.