Til' Monday: 5 Friday Favorites

1. A pop of exterior color!

2. Honoring our new state flower: the poppy.

3.  A herringbone blanket .

4.  A beautiful tunic.

and

5.  children dancing and dancing and dancing.

5 Kitchen Decor Ideas:

Even though I'm becoming one with the kitchen in our home, it's still not the one I dream of.  As I begin imagining a new layout, decorating ideas pop into my head.  Take a look at 5 images that feature details that I'd like to see in our redesigned kitchen (waaay in the future).

Ok, here's the breakdown on the kitchen decor:  lacquered cabinets to offset the wood walls in the house, open shelving to keep the space airy, combining elements for texture and depth, showcasing the natural light and adding pops of color for fun.

What details live in your dream kitchen?

Out And About: Indian Springs, Calistoga

This week's Out And About features a new favorite place to be, Indian Springs in Calistoga. Alex and I soaked in its mineral rich waters over the weekend and hope to do it again soon.  I particularly loved how the historical structures (built in 1812) that make up Indian Springs are accented with contemporary touches, such as Fatboy hammocks, bridging the past into modern day chillaxing.  Take a look at some images from our stay:

Many thanks to Alex's mom (Babik) for watching the kids so that we could spend time alone reacquainting ourselves with just one of California's many natural wonders.  Next time we're all going!

Off The Counter: Fried Eggplant Parmesan

This week's Off The Counter features my somewhat famous Eggplant Parmesan.   Preparing this  labor intensive, and, at times messy recipe, is a sure sign that I'm becoming one with our new kitchen.   With a little help from Zoe, lots of seasoned breadcrumbs and a combination of cheeses, our first homemade melanzana dish (ingredients and instructions below) was a huge success.  Take a look at how it came together:

I'm not sure what I enjoyed more, the view from the kitchen or the eggplant extravaganza...

Ingredients:

2-3 egglants, 3-4 eggs, 1-1 1/2 cups milk, panko and italian breadcrumbs, canola oil, salt, pepper, tomato sauce, fresh ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, brown paper bags, and a sprig or two of basil.

Instructions:

Peel and slice the eggplants to about 1/4" thickness and salt them.  Beat the eggs and add them to the milk in a flat bowl or pyrex dish.   Combine the bread crumbs in another similar bowl.  Dip the sliced eggplant in the egg/milk mix and then coat it with the breadcrumbs.  Fry to golden brown.  Allow the  fried eggplant to drain the excess oil onto the brown paper bags.  Layer the fried slices with your tomato sauce and the cheeses.   Put in the oven for 10 minutes or so at 200 degrees to blend the flavors.  Enjoy!

Get Your Quilt On

With all the recent hoopla about quilts here and here, I thought I'd share recent pictures of  little Zoe's bed.  Using a quilt given to us as a wedding gift by Alex's grandparents (hand-stitched by Babushka),  Zoe's room takes on a nostalgic yet very current look.   Take a peek at a few of my favorite designs below:

Kantha quilts seem to be getting all the attention at the moment, but introducing any traditional quilts into modern settings can evoke feelings of nostalgia, warmth and coziness.

1.  Triangle Quilt

2. Vintage Double Wedding Ring Quilt

3. Beekeepers Quilt

4. Patchwork Star Flower