...a explanation (sort of).

Wow, 2 months with nothing to say. I sit here now, looking a blank page, trying to find a photo appropriate for this post, and an explanation for being away so long. No excuses really...I guess I just didn't feel "it". What is "it" you ask? Oh, I guess you could say creative, or inspired, or moved. About anything really. I suppose some call it being in a funk. I told myself that no one will notice if I don't post for a day, or the week, or even the month. Sure, things happened that I could have written about. I was rear ended in a car accident, and am still recovering from whiplash (Oh how I hate the over used word that really doesn't do the experience justice). I turned 50. Spent the day in a limo headed for the wine country with great friends. Pretty big milestone...could have written about that. Celebrated a few milestone birthdays of those close to me...60,85,90! All with photos of the big events...could have written about that. But I just couldn't really get myself to sit down and share. All the while I would get e-mail updates showing how many visitors stopped by. Amazing! People were reading even though I wasn't writing. Well, thank you to all those who visited in my absence. And to those of you reading this...I'm back. New photos, new projects, and a renewed sense of creativity. So to get back to the photo...I'm poking my head back out into the blog world with a vengeance and flying out the door of my creative funk!

...lemon bars on a stormy day.

I quietly keep repeating the phrase..."April showers bring May flowers" trying to convince myself that there will be a wonderful reward for all this rain, but frankly I'm kind of tired of it. After a week of beautiful sunny days viewed from my window at work...I want a sunny weekend! I guess Mother Nature has other plans. And so must I. So...I baked up some sun in my kitchen. Sweet, tart, buttery, and flaky, these are truly a mouthful of spring.

For the Crust
1/2 pound unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp. kosher salt

For the Filling
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4-6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and sale and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the filling is set. let cool to room temperature.

Cut into bars or triangles and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Compliments of The Barefoot Contessa Parties!

...Easter Sunday.

"Twas Easter- Sunday.
The full blossomed trees filled the air with fragrance and with joy."
- Henry Wadwsorth Longfellow

...Sunday in the garden.

Mom worked in the garden all day, pulling weeds...
and I helped.

...a prelude to spring.

What a beautiful day! The sun was shining, a few billowy white clouds graced the sky, and birds were singing a sigh of relief to have a much needed break from the rain. This is the best kind of day to be out in the garden. The air is sweet with the promise of spring and the ground, soft from days of rain, makes the usual chore of pulling weeds almost a pleasure! Once cleared away, long forgotten shoots of soon to be spring flowers, reached for the sun, thankful for the chance to breath. I took a break just long enough to take a look around the yard and capture a few glances of the season to come. The rain is returning this week and the garden gloves will have to return to bin they live in, but today was a wonderful prelude to what is blooming just around the corner.

...change the world, one card at a time.

Here is a quick glance at some of my new work.

Come on over to lulalina for a closer look!

..the No Guilt (Cook) book club does "The Fig".

Hard to believe a month has gone by since we sat down and indulged with Miss Julie Child, but here we are sitting down to another afternoon of "please pass the cream and butter". This month was my pick, and I choose Sondra Bernsteins' labor of love...The Girl and the Fig. I was asked why this particular cookbook? The answer was simple... ever since a dear friend introduced me to Sondra's Sonoma restaurant of the same name, I was hooked. I had first tried her Pearl Couscous and French Olives at the Annual Sonoma Olive Festival, and as I do with all dishes that I love, I tried to figure out how to recreate it at home. On a whim I sent off an email asking if she would divulge her recipe(pre-cookbook). Never expecting to hear back, what a surprise it was the next day to find it in my inbox. What graciousness! I have since, over the years, spent many a special occasion in this gem of a wine country bistro, have never been disappointed, and have re-created at home some of my favorites from the pages of her cookbook with a gastronomic passion.
It is with that passion that we all sat down to:
Cauliflower & Gruyere Soup
Endive Salad with Pears and Blue Cheese and Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Grilled Salmon with Lavender Beurre Rouge
Apple-Yam Gratin (I'm eating the leftovers as I type this)
Vanilla Ice Cream with Wildflower Honey and Biscotti
We managed, once again to create an amazing afternoon feast with little consultation. It really is a wonderful way to try new dishes and compare notes. We left the table filled with butter, cream, and wine, promising in the spring to break bread at the actual the girl and the Fig restaurant.
I love field trips!
Next month we will be stirring our way through the pages of the Barefoot Contessa...do I see a trip to the Hamptons in store?

... the OWOH winner.

First a huge thank you to all who stopped by and left such lovely comments. The response was overwhelming and I tried to visit all of you and journey through your blogs. It is truly amazing the talent and inspiration alive in "Blogland".
The winner of my Thank You note card set is...
Chris from Maple Ridge Vintage.
Congratulations, Chris!
Once I receive your address your cards will be on their way.

...be mine.

Happy Valentines Day!
May you spend the day filled with love.

...raindrops on roses.

Today is a rain day. A day to be at home, drink tea, be creative, stay in your PJ's and wistfully wish for spring. The sun peeks out every so often, but not enough to motivate me to get out into the rush of the weekend. I am trying to immerse myself in the concept of cleaning. The phrase "get organized" keeps popping up in some far off corner of my brain, but I continue to ignore it, and instead I'm traveling through past photos and waiting for the creative juices to flow.

I share with you these images of rain on petals, as a reminder of what glorious color is just around the corner as a result of a few simple rain days.

...Lexie's Birthday.

Today is Miss Lexie's birthday! She is 6 years old and has been with me since she was 3. I'm sure she woke up this morning with no idea that this was her special day. For her it's just another day in the cycle of "feed me...love me... play with me... feed me some more... throw the ball... can I have another biscuit... love me... play with me, and feed me some more!! Her day will be filled, as usual, with all that she loves and enjoys, for our pets live in the moment (or so they say), which is probably something we should all try and practice in our own lives. For me, this day marks another wonderful year with her by my side. In the scheme of life, it is cruelly unfair that our pets live such short lives. Having lost my first dog, Tyler and the early age of 9, it reinforces to me how precious each day is with our furry friends. There is a poem on my bulletin board that says it all:

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.

You are his life, his love, his leader.

He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.

You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion. - Anonymous

So whether or not today is your pets special day, take the time to give them an extra kiss, hug, pat, biscuit or that special place on the sofa. You will be rewarded for that love ten times over.

...One World, One Heart.

Come on board and grab a ticket to the journey of wonderful bloggers around the world. This is an event I have wanted to be involved with last year and luckily hopped on board this time before it was too late. Yes, this is a give away, but more than that it is a chance to visit other lands through the words, pictures, and creativity of others. It is still incredible to me how small our world is and how connected we are with the touch of a button.
There is amazing power to be had in the connectivity of us all.
Now for what I have chosen to give away... 8 custom made Lulalina thank you cards, each with a matching lined envelope and embellished with a small gemstone, all held in a fabric lined portfolio case.
The rules are simple... leave a comment on this post, making sure I have a way to link back to you, or an e-mail address in case you win. The journey ends Feb. 15th and I will be announcing the winner on that day. You can click on the icon on my side bar or the first photo above for more information on how you can become part of a very special ride. As of this morning there are over 800 participants and a countless number of passengers on board. Come join the journey and become part of One World One Heart.

...lulalina on Etsy!

I did it!! I designed, stamped, glittered, and jeweled my way into Etsy! It's been a long road to get this far, but after months (more that I can admit) of pushing, and nudging, and well sometime downright nagging, by my most wonderful and most supportive friend Ms. Coleen ...here I am. It's a small start but it comes with grand ideas and direction.
Just click on the photo above to stop by and take a look.
Speaking of the female dog whisperer (my tag for Ms. Coleen), stop by and visit her new web-site. It's another project I've been working on. My first out of the gate try at a real dot com site.
Next is Lulalina.com...in the mean time, I'm off to conquering the world
one card at a time.

...an afternoon with Julia and "The Book Club".

I belong to "The No Guilt Book Club". We started 3 years ago. 2 attorneys, 1 attorney/teacher, a computer tech guru, the dog whisperer, and myself. The rules were simple...pick a book and meet once a month to discuss. No guilt if you couldn't finish...or start...or even buy the book...just meet to discuss. And discuss we did, over margaritas, nachos, Thai food, Moroccan, Italian, cheese and wine, just wine, and once a lovely balsamic tasting (luscious over strawberries and vanilla ice cream). We read fiction, non-fiction, historical fiction, and biographies. Sharing our views we often found ourselves wondering if we all had read the same book. Our conversations would drift to movies, current affairs, travel, and always end up on food and personal restaurant reviews. So, as we start 2010, what better books to digest than cookbooks, and what better place to start than at the very top with Madame Julie Child.
"Le c'est magnifique!!"
Armed with our assignment, we each prepared a dish from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Not bothering to consult each other on our choices was both unintentional and risky. But what a wonderful surprise is was when we all sat down to:

Black bean soup
Butter lettuce with herb vinigrette
Quiche aux Asperges
Stuffed roasted red peppers
Coq au Vin
Puree de Pommes de Terre a l'ail (garlic mashed potatoes)
Haricots Verts a la Maitre d Hotel (Buttered green beans w/lemon and Parsley
and a sumptuous mixed fruit tart.

Something wonderful happens as you sit and linger over a good meal...stories unfold of favorite childhood dishes, mom in the kitchen (or not), who was the best chef, cafeteria classics, and how we first learned to cook. Three bottles of wine later the one subject we could all agree on was our mutual love of anything gastronomic.
So here is a toast to the 2010 No Guilt (pass the butter please) Cookbook Club!!
Bon Appetite!!

...Nightie Nights.

I realize it's the New Year,time for all those healthy resolutions, and the last thing any of us need right now is another sweet holiday treat... but I just couldn't resist sharing my favorite new cookie...Nightie Nights. After all, how bad can a bit of egg white, chocolate and nuts be. There is plenty of time later for carrot sticks and the like! Thinking ahead these could be great Valentines gifts, a wonderful Easter treat, or just something simple with an afternoon cup of Earl Grey. They are also the absolute simplest cookie to make.

2 egg whites
2/3 c. white sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup good quality chocolate bits

Set oven to 350 degrees. With wire whip or beater, ship egg whites until foamy. Than adding sugar a little at a time, beat until stiff. Fold in vanilla, chocolate bits and nuts.
Line a large ungreased cookie sheet with aluminum foil. DO NOT GREASE. Place spoonfuls of cookie batter on foil fairly close together (they will not grow).
Place in oven on 2nd rack from top and than shut oven off. DO NOT PEAK
Leave in overnight. In morning remove from oven. Store in air tight container.

Enjoy, and oh... "Nightie Night"!!

...Happy New Year.

"We will open the book. It's pages are blank.
We are going to put words on them ourselves.
The book is called Opportunity and it's first chapter is New Years Day."
- Edith Lovejoy Pierce

...snippets of December.

December came and went much too quickly. So much to do and savor and create that I let my time tick away without sitting and sharing.
It is truly amazing how much can be stuffed into one month.
Here is a small look at all I've been up to during my favorite time of year.
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season spent with family, friends and those you love.

...Thanksgiving.

Almost everything has been chopped, sliced, diced, stuffed, and baked,the turkey is in the oven and I have a moment to sit and wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving. Of all the holidays, this one brings us together to celebrate the love of family and friends.
To you and to those who are gracing your table today...Happy Thanksgiving.

...November.

"Fallen leaves laying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than

the daffodils."

- Cyril Connolly 1903-1974

...a Happy Halloween.

"I've survived 2 Halloweens so far with Mom, and she promised she
would NEVER make me wear a costume...but my Uncle Greg is visiting and well...you can see for yourself what position I'm in.
I have never been so embarrassed!!" - Lexie

I know I will be apologizing for this with extra treats and biscuits for days to come.
Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween. - Pat