"Mommy Time" is good for everyone

(l-r) Sienna, Grandma Bruna, and Sophie

Last Saturday my wonderful husband gave me the day off.  He took our twins to visit their grandma in Cape Cod, which left me with 6.5 hours to do whatever I wanted.  What I did with my time is somewhat mundane (yoga class, shopping downtown, dry cleaning, lunch, shower, and housecleaning), but it felt like he'd taken them away for a week.  It wasn't until he sent me this photo of the girls, pants rolled up, walking on the beach with his mother that I realized that this day-cation was a great thing for all of us, not just me.

I'm not trying to make y'all jealous, but the day trip was followed by hugs and kisses from girls, and then a date night with my husband and some great friends.  Did I hit the lottery?

Live What You Love

I saw this on an interior designer's blog fairly recently, and decided that I should get it.  The desinger was having a "yellow" moment, but I like the message.  What do you think? 

The site MadebyGirl.com has some other cool prints, cards, and silkscreens at very reasonable prices. http://www.madebygirl.com/http://www.madebygirl.com/

Panzanella Salad, yummmmmm

If you've read my blog then you're fully aware of my unwavering admiration for Barefoot Contessa recipes.  In all honestly, I only cook the easy ones, and here's one of my all time faves: Panzanella Salad.  What's not to like about a salad that doesn't have a single leaf of lettuce, but instead uses baguette? As of last Saturday, many of these ingredientswere available at our farmer's market, so stock up on the ingredients tomorrow, and have yourself a rustic yet fabulous dinner tomorrow night.  It scarcely matters if you don't have all the ingredients, which works for me since I always forget something.  I also have served it with a herb-marinated pork loin (also Ina's recipe), and I'll include that recipe as well.  Bon appetit!

PANZANELLA

Ingredients:

Good olive oil
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
Kosher salt
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, large diced
1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced in half rounds
1/2 pound feta cheese, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted
For the vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil


Directions
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Add more olive oil as needed.


Place the cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.
For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a small bowl. While still whisking, add the olive oil and make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives and bread cubes and mix together lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.

HERB-MARINATED PORK LOINS
Ingredients:
1 lemon, zest grated
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 to 6 lemons)
Good olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Kosher salt
3 pork tenderloins (about 1 pound each)
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, mustard, and 2 teaspoons salt in a sturdy 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the pork tenderloins and turn to coat with the marinade. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. Marinate the pork in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.


Remove the tenderloins from the marinade and discard the marinade but leave the herbs that cling to the meat. Sprinkle the tenderloins generously with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large oven-proof saute pan over medium-high heat. Sear the pork tenderloins on all sides until golden brown. Place the saute pan in the oven and roast the tenderloins for 10 to 15 minutes or until the meat registers 137 degrees F at the thickest part. Transfer the tenderloins to a platter and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carve in 1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices. The thickest part of the tenderloin will be quite pink (it's just fine!) and the thinnest part will be well done. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm, or at room temperature with the juices that collect in the platter.
Clearly if you're on a diet, you may want to save these recipes (esp. the Panzanella) for another time.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/greek-panzanella-recipe/index.html
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/herb-marinated-pork-tenderloins-recipe/index.html

Hello & Goodbye

So I just said "goodbye" to that lovely house we'd finally finished renovating, which is why it's been over a month since I've written on this little blog.  It's given me virtually no time to do things like contemplate many of life's big questions like why "Maria" on Sesame Street doesn't go by here real name (Sonya), whether or not she's really married to Luis (probably not) or whether Gabby's her real daughter.  I haven't had much time to be doing anything too lush (or even to be a lush).  Moving is serious business, but even more serious with little kids. 

Amazingly we had an offer on our house within days of putting it on the market, which forced us quickly out of reveling in our real estate afterglow and into moving mode.  Temporarily,we're living in my husband's old bachelor pad in the city.  It's a 3rd floor walk-up, so I'm getting lots of exercise (I could use it), my girls have stopped asking when they're going home (so sad) and now are loving the four parks within walking distance, and my husband's getting a 5 minute walk as a commute.

I'm enjoying our closeness.  Did I forget to mention it's a one-bedroom loft?  I'm not sure exactly how long we'll be here, so we're all embracing our digs, at least for the time being.

My House Before & After

I just found some pictures that my husband took, when we were contemplating buying our house. Just a little over two years we flew back home to Metrowest from Chapel Hill, NC to buy a house in a weekend. I know people who relocate for jobs do that type of thing all the time, but we never had done anything quite so fast. The twins arrival was quickly approaching, and I was getting bigger by the minute, so we had to act fast: we needed to come home to our family.

There didn't seem like there was too much inventory, but that didn't stop us. We found a house with only one previous owner. A house with a good vibe, albeit not the best aesthetic, but we believed it had "good bones." Somehow we were able to see through all the pink ceramic tile and laminate to what would become our home.

Hall Before

Hall After

Kitchen Before: The giant TV came with the house, but so did the columns, all the shelving, and blue counter top.

After

After

After

In the kitchen we removed all the shelving, visual equipment, track lighting, etc.  Next my husband (with the help of some awesome friends) removed all the ceramic tile and a flooring company matched the oak in the living and dining rooms, sanded and stained it in Jacobean.  We replaced the laminate cabinets and island with painted custom cabinets and carrera marble counter tops, moved the refrigerator, and replaced the appliances.

Master Bedroom Before

 

After

One of the strangest things to contend with was the vanity and sink in the middle of the master bedroom.  I think most home buyers would have probably just walked out upon seeing it.  Luckily my husband had a quick solution: take it all out, and drywall.  We replaced carpet, patched, painted, and added a new ceiling fan.

Living Room Before

Living Room After

Peak into Nursery Bathroom Before

Peak into Nursery Bathroom After

For the months while I was on bed rest with twins (exactly this time two years ago) my husband spent every day at work and every night working on getting this house ready for us.  He lived in the basement while I stayed with my parents (one mile away) so that they could feed me my 3 meals, 2 snacks, 1 dessert, numerous decaf Arnold Palmer's every day, and make sure I wasn't walking around.  I'm quite pleased with the outcome of Phase I of our little renovation.

Too much time on my hands

Is it possible that I have too much time on my hands?  It certainly doesn't feel that way to me, but why then, for example, do I have enough time to search Giada Laurentis' art choices for her home  or go through slide shows of other people's houses when my girls are taking frequently interrupted naps? It sounds so trivial, but let's face it, no one's coming to me for a solution to stop the oil spill in the Gulf (it looks like the only solution is to do as the Russians did and detonate a small subterranean nuclear explosion....what?!).

I was struck by the "Amore" acrylic on canvas in Giada's kitchen and I wondered where it came from which led me to a really cool story about the artist, Darren Quinn.  He created the original "Amore" as a wedding gift for Giada and her husband. An original can cost between $3500 to $400.  Quinn is a talented artist but also happens to be a fearless Quadriplegic who created a board so that he could still windsurf!  http://www.darrenquinn.com/index.html

Then I was really mesmerized by the simplicity of the design of one of the featured house tours on apartmenttherapy.com.  This site is one of my favorite ways to waste hours viewing other folks' design choices.

The Conwallisville, NY house is really lesson in restraint and embracing the old.  The house's owners took 5 years to find the house and another 2 stripping away layers of paint and wallpaper, and whitewashing the interior.  As you can see it's stone house with a barn now used as a pottery studio.

I love that there's no Viking stove or a Sub Zero fridge.

The veranda and stairs in the library that go nowhere.  I love it!

A wood stove as the focal point of the room, a cozy guest room, and peeling paint on a bathroom  wall just became charming.

Outdoor bath or horse trough?  Who cares?

Next time: Musings on children's TV characters. 

The Best Age

Not biting or pinching each other, so it looks like a good day!

Despite the fact that one of my daughters handed me a poopy diaper that she had covertly removed (sadly, we've entered the diaper self-removal stage), I just realized that my girls are at a very cute age. They're talking a lot, just like little parrots, and they really let me know what they want (and they want a lot).

Things they love:

• their BFF Maya (and her little brother Tino)
• Mummy
• Daddy
• Grandmummy & Abuelito
• 'beats (this is Sophie & Sienna-speak for the Fresh Beat Band on Nick Jr.)
• the hose
• dancing (They have a clear preference for Latin music.)
• maracas (Sienna) & drums (Sophie)
• pops (orange juice popsicles)
• swings
• climbing into the car themselves
• Grandma Bruna's meatballs

Things they don't like:

• anyone's dirty shoes
• band aids (= boo boos)
• riding in the cart part of a shopping cart
• the baby pool
• waking up from naps
• most food other than hot dogs, pops, or grandma Bruna's meatballs
• mowers (they shout "no mow")

This morning: waffles & art.

The clinginess has decreased and now I actually can prepare a meal without a child attached to my leg. I took a shower AND blow dried my hair STRAIGHT today (although there was a diaper removal incident during the blow drying).

Are these the faces of angels or what?

My mommy obsessed girls are becoming more and more independent (sassy) and I have to admit that I get a bit of a kick out of it. It takes a lot not to laugh when Sophie doesn't just tell me "no" but instead says "no way." A friend's son of the same age says "never" which I think is hilarious.

Don't drop the drumsticks!

I love that they're quite willing to share with other children, and when one twin is upset, the other can usually be counted on to bring her a pacifier or toy to cheer her up.

Loving (kind of)

To top it off it looks like they also adore the beach, so it looks like it might be a great summer.