"Besides mortar and marble and wood-work had followed upon it..." ~ Jane Eyre

I open the new door that is so new it has yet to be stained into the kitchen's foyer, and immediately my eyes are blinded to the new details of the kitchen and focus only on him.

He is in a tight black t-shirt that has splashes of dried grey compound on it and jeans with splatters of mustard-colored paint. However, the true accessory to his outfit is: the tool belt.

The Husky tool belt.

He is talking to me and I have no idea what he is saying. I am all about the belt, and how attractive it looks around his waist.

"HONEY?"

I snap out of it and then share with him how much I love this look of his. I start to pout, though. The Prince has worked on my car, he has installed a deadbolt on my door, and he has even done other work with his power tools...not once has he worn the belt. Humph. I start complaining and he says we dont have time and lets get to the store.

Tonight's store excursion has become a favorite of mine: The Home Depot.

There is nothing more adorable than watching the Prince in Home Depot. Its like a little kid in a candy store. Re-doing the kitchen has given us opportunities to go, and each time we make a run, we have to designate an hour at least. There is no such thing as running in and out with him. Every trip always includes at least ten minutes in his favorite place: the tool corral.

Ah, the tool corral. I get handed hammers and he asks, "Now isnt that a great grip?" I am shown power tools he wants and pretend like I know what the function of the tool is. He stares at the huge tool drawers with a twinkle in his eye, and I hope one day to surprise him with them for his workspace. He talks to me about the difference between Husky tools and others, and points out various models of DeWalt drills. I nod and smile, not really paying attention to the details but paying full attention to how cute he is when he explains. I love it, love it, love it.

Tonight we need a triangle (I have no idea what it is for but apparently its only found in the bathroom tile aisle) and we venture down there. He then tells me that the next project after the kitchen is the bathroom, and that he wants me to pick out the tile. Readers, this is because one day it will be the bathroom we share. I smile inwardly and then he tells me he wants to do it himself. I tell him that I am insisting on being his "helper" for the entire project and that it is a joint venture. No readers, it is not because I am passionate about DIY projects...I will learn and assist him, but the selfish reason for my assistance is because I can look at him wear a tool belt all day.

After a brief discussion about dual sinks and recessing the medicine cabinet, I then realize that since I am assisting, I also need my own toolbelt. I tell him this a day later on the phone. I want a pink one...and I cant wait to wear it.

http://www.pinktoolbelts.com/

"Good fortune opens the hand as well as the heart wonderfully..." ~ Jane Eyre



I have decided to start a new Monday tradition - Good Things. I will post for the next few Mondays during this season of sharing of what I think are good things and hope you will experience them as well!

1) A Good Blog: A close and dear friend of mine, whom I have known since fifth grade when we rode the school bus together, has started a new blog: http://senseandsensibilites.blogspot.com/ I am enjoying a side of him I never knew, even after all these years: his writing! Its a good thing, and I am tagging him (and all you other bloggers) to post your own "good things" this week on your blogs!

2) A Good Eat: My dear sister Missy knows my sweet tooth all too well, and she bought me a favorite goodie around Christmastime: Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark! Its definitely a lovely item to serve after Christmas dinner, paired with a hot chocolate bar, of course! http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/fd471/index.cfm

3) A Good Bargain: I am a fan of the dollar store around this time of year. They have quality gift bags and plenty of good wrapping - there is no need to spend a lot on trimmings, and I find that the wine gift bags at my local dollar store are so lovely - they look like velvet covers. I even bought a few decorations for outdoors (I will post photos in another entry). A good website to help stay frugal in these times is here...I read it daily:http://www.walletpop.com/

4) A Good Cause: It is wonderful that so many people donate to charities this time of year. Sadly, so many are hurting because corporate sponsorship is down. I am still advocating donating to sarcoma research in hopes of a cure to this terrible form of cancer. You can donate here: http://www.curesarcoma.org/

5) A Good Read: I have been reading many food essays lately, and my favorite collection is something you will want for your collection. I devoured this book last month during my commute to and from the city each day. It is called Alone in the Kitchen with Eggplant. The essays are all about dining alone. http://www.aloneinthekitchen.com/ Oh, there are some great recipes for nights you are home alone, too!

6) A Good Article: Being Armenian, it is important to always remember the struggle of my ancestors. This is a great article from yesterday's New York Times Magazine by an Armenian-American author I admire and whose works I have read, Peter Balakian. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/magazine/07lives-t.html?_r=3&ref=magazine

7) A Good Song: Lately I have been downloading some classical Indian music. Dating the Prince has opened me up to a gorgeous culture, and the music is as intoxicating as his aura. You can do some of your own listening here...performed by American college students at Wesleyan! It is as perfect as any Indian musical performance! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwdDm3UO5WM What these students have accomplished is mind blowing (make sure you read the lovely comments).

8) A Good Laugh: Jack has been watching reruns of the old Muppet Show that my sisters and I watched as kids. This particular montage, "Mahna Mahna" makes him laugh hysterically: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTXyXuqfBLA

9) A Good Burger: Two weeks ago the Prince and I did date night: dinner and a movie. We saw the film Twilight, and beforehand we ate at Five Guys Famous Burger! It was quite indulgent, but a great burger. Hopefully you have one in your area...I do recommend it for date nights! Oh, get the Cajun fries...those are a good thing! http://www.fiveguys.com/home.aspx

10) A Good Look: Commuting in the cold now makes me eye sweaters, but not just any. Not only do I love the Old Navy Sweater commercial from last year with a song that makes me always think of the Prince ("The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson). Check out this good sweater from this season in a great colors: http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/product.do?cid=43069&pid=611846&scid=611846082

"Light from the hearth showed..." ~ Jane Eyre

I have been feeling down these past few days for the obvious reason, so yesterday I decided to sit down and watch some HGTV and indulge myself in some telly and couch time...something I haven't done in a while and was glad to partake in.

It just so happened I turned the television on at the right hour where America's Top Ten Most Amazing Kitchens was on. Did anyone else see this? If not, get on in now. http://www.hgtv.com/dc-design-kitchen/tour-the-top-10-amazing-kitchens/pictures/index.html My favorite was number *seven*.

Basically, it was all kitchen pornography - spreading out ten hot kitchens in the course of one hour. One great aspect to the selections were that they were all different in style and genre - modern, rustic, green, traditional, Tuscan - to name a few! I realized whilst watching kitchen porn that when it comes to the most important room in any home or apartment...my classicism goes right out the door. Forget a classic kitchen - the two I didn't like on the show were designed after French Colonial and Victorian designs. No, thank you. My kitchen needs to look like a kitchen, NOT a museum piece.

So this prompted me to start browsing around the internet for photos of dream kitchens. I am a big fan of red highlights in a kitchen. Cooking is sexy, so red toned environs just add to the culinary experience. I like modern because I suppose in the end it has to do with fantasies of being a chef in a utilitarian kitchen. Still, I didnt want anything too modern or cold to highlight as what would be my ideal kitchen. And then, voila! See the photo above! The floor is classic 50's, the cabinets are uber feng shui, and the classic black countertops are awesome against the hot red paint. This would be an ideal kitchen I would enjoy cooking in, though I would want the island double in size, two stoves, and a custom made spice cabinet by the stove.

The Prince and I discussed kitchens earlier today. He is a fan of the classic, quite the opposite of my desire for modern red splashed kitchens. Still, I think it will not matter what kind of kitchen he and I share one day. As long as there are plenty of nights of me cooking up his favorite dishes and sipping wine, it makes no difference at all. Its the people in the kitchen that matter the most when you cook for loved ones, friends, and family.

Take a peek at the top ten and when you comment, I would love to know your favorite one?

"The world-redeeming creed of Christ...." ~ Jane Eyre

Christmas Present: Stealing a few moments at the computer. The Yule log is on tv. I am still in pajamas after making breakfast for my parents - sunny side up eggs with bacon and toast with lots of coffee. Last night's revelry at my boyfriend's parents' home was lovely: warm, cozy, and festive. I made a stuffed shrimp dish that everyone finished, which made me happy. My favorite gift was the beau's Christmas card to me, even above the teal blue Ipod Nano he gave me, which was an amazing surprise. Robin called from England and was eating the minced pies she made with our family friends. D.R. called from Iraq and is serving dinner to his men today as they celebrate the holiday in Baghdad. Jack called this morning and gave me a "concert" on his new baby grand piano. After that "conversation", I am trying to locate ear plugs for tonight's big dinner. We are having ham, potato gratin, creamed corn, and biscuits. A change from our usual lamb dinner. Dessert is the present cake from Williams Sonoma, a pumpkin cake I just whipped up last minute and is in the oven as I type, peanut butter and jelly cookies I made, and pignoli cookies that the beau and I made. (*All recipes and photos of the dishes will be on epicurean escapades tomorrow*) I am making peppermint hot chocolate and waiting for this cake to finish so I can get ready for another lovely evening celebrating this special, holy day.

Merry Christmas to All!

"Or white bread and new milk..." ~ Jane Eyre

Of course holiday decorating begins in the kitchen. If it were not for the kitchen, there would be no holiday. Decorating fireplace mantles or doors are not nearly as important as decorating the kitchen for Christmas...because all things Christmas begin in the kitchen:

carrots for the noses of snowmen
popcorn balls for the Christmas tree
hot cocoa and cookies for Santa
peppermint bark
mulled cider
gingerbread houses
buche de noel
vanilla extract for cookies
cookie cutters
roasting pans for Christmas dinner
the roast beast and who hash
sprinkles

Even frankincense and myrrh are actually something one can ingest.

Gingerbread is the decor in my kitchen - gingerbread cookies on kitchen towels, trivets, and placemats. I have a gingerbread shaped tier with cookie plates on the table along with print outs of various techniques on how to decorate gingerbread houses, for I plan to make one with Jack. I don't think I have made a gingerbread house since I was a child, so I look forward to going to the market with Jack so he can help me pick out the candy to decorate our house with. I think we are going to cut corners and use graham crackers. He loves barnyards and animals, so in my head I am trying to think about how to incorporate that into the design of the "house."

Already there are potential recipes for Hanukkah, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day which are clipped to my refrigerator: pastry encrusted salmon, sweet potato latkes, gingerbread cookies, potato gratin with Gruyere, green bean salad, jelly roll cake. I have special spices in tea bags for cider that I got up at a farm stand in Carmel, New York, and chocolate covered marshmallows for those nights when plain ones wont cut it for cocoa.

One of the greatest food experiences at holiday time in New York are the chesnuts made by the street vendors. You cannot stand on a corner on fifth avenue without inhaling the scent of them. There have been many times when J.Sarah and I have been looking at the windows at Lord and Taylor and caved in and bought chesnuts because the aroma is just all-incompassing to the senses.

This post has made my sense of taste anxious for breakfast...which will be spent sitting at the table and perusing more cookbooks as I eat in search of the perfect cookie to eat whilst trimming my tree next weekend...

"Having finished my task of picking..." ~ Jane Eyre

This Halloween has been all about pumpkins. Some literal, such as my new affinity of the cheese pumpkin, and some figurative, such as the photo of the pumpkin(s) above. While pumpkin picking this year, I purchased The Pumpkin Lover's Cookbook. There are over 120 pages of amazing recipes. Here is a recipe from that cookbook to make the innards of your carved Jack O'Lanterns a yummy treat! Happy Halloween!

Harvest Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 tbsp wheat germ
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup raisins

Combine flour, oats, coconut, wheat germ, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Cream butter and sugars with an electric mixer. Add egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the pumpkin to the egg/butter/sugar mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop rounded tablespoons onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Spread with metal spatula to 3/8 inch thickness. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on racks. Makes two dozen.

"I will fetch you a candle..." ~ Jane Eyre



As Cassie and I gathered our purses and keys to head to the car this past Thursday afternoon, her fiancee called after us and asked me, "Amy, are you a Christmas Tree Shop virgin?"

Indeed, in that moment I was. Thankfully, two hours later I was fully indoctrinated to the wonder that is the Christmas Tree Shop. I am not one of the fortunate Northereasterners to live close to one; the majority are in Massachusetts. The one I went to is the one pictured in Danbury, Connecticut.

After moving to Carmel, New York, Cassie had mentioned the shop a few times to me. Like she, I assumed it was all Christmas items. Alas, we were both wrong. It is the Disneyworld of Domestic Deals.

Owned by Bed, Bath, and Beyond (I am so obsessed that I had to Wikipedia the history), it carries amazing home and decor goods at prices that just seem too good to be true for the quality that is there. I sound like an advertisement, but I just could not believe this place.

I stayed with Cassie and her fiancee this week after visiting schools in Westchester, and on Thursday afternoon she suggested we go. All I had to do was look at the store from the outside to know that this was going to be one amazing shopping experience. Although Cassie and I walked down aisles together, we were in a zone of our own. I had not seen her put half the items in her basket because I was so focused on my own, so I didn't get to ooo and aaah until we reached the register...which was almost two hours after entering the store.

For twenty five dollars, I purchased a red suede chair cushion for my desk chair, two small crockery bowls so I can make me and my prince onion soup on cold winter day, a snowman making kit for Jack, a desk calendar for 2008 that features wine, a cute metal hanging illustrating a hot dog and cola for my kitchen, a decorative apple for my kitchen counter, tea lights for my potpourri pot, and various flavored coffees like Frangelico and Southern Comfort. Cassie and I also saw party goods on sale for ten cents a piece and stocked up.

As much as I loved the store and wish one were closer to me, I think it is perhaps a good idea that this domestic diva is not in range of targeting one at least twice a week if she could.


http://www.christmastreeshops.com/