Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Somewhere over the rainbow it is spring. Or at least over in my shop, because my front lawn still has piles of snow.

Technicolor Pillow $40

Anti-Winter Pillow $27

Spinning Circles Pillow $35

My Big Brother

My brother Mike just launched his new website. Ain't he a talented photographer? I would go on and on here about why his photos are so great using photo phrases like 'depth of field' or 'aperture' but I am an idiot when it comes to photography.

Besides, his photos speak for themselves. And I'm not even that into cars. May God bless you Mike in finding a job! Dang this blasted economy. I just can't help but think if it wasn't for the greed on Wall Street and the greed of many Americans who thought they deserved a 5,000 square foot home and a boat and lots of toys, we wouldn't be in this mess. And neither would decent hard-working folks like my brother. So here's to finding a job better than the last.

P.S. I love that the second photo is in the L.A. aquaduct. Yup, never any water there! Gosh, I miss L.A. and the glorious arid climate that it is.

Mughlai Chicken

I made this chicken dish again tonight. And then I chatted about it with a friend on facebook which makes me think I should just post the recipe. It helps that the recipe comes from my favorite British chef Nigella Lawson. Isn’t curry the national food of England now? I knew those Brits were smart.

I can’t say enough about this dish. I’ve served it at curry parties and it’s always a hit. It’s my comfort food and when you see the ingredients you’ll know why—chicken and cream? Yum!  Don’t be afraid to use powdered spices instead of whole spices if that’s all you have. Personally, I buy my whole spices in bulk here (for cheap!) and keep them in the freezer. Now if I only had a tandoor oven to make naan bread….

In the News

For better or worse, I was featured in The Daily Herald newspaper and then the very next day on KSL Radio. I've decided I hate being interviewed because facts get lost and I get misquoted. Almost makes me feel sorry for celebrities. (almost) The sad part about being in the news is all the negative comments that quickly follow--there are some meanies who commented on the ksl broadcast and sound so bitter you wonder if they suck on lemons all day to keep up such a demeanor. Nonetheless, read or listen to the broadcast if you so desire.

Oh, and buy the way, I do not work 5-6 hours a day. Yikes! More like 2-3 hours.

Treasure Chests

I have decided that if I want to buy my kids toys then the test should be this: throw the toy down onto the floor in my path of walking, and if it looks good there, then buy the toy. Because that’s the only reason my kids have toys—to make me work harder at cleaning up all the crapola. So being the brilliant person that I am, I have put a moratorium on toys, sort of. For Christmas, this was the test: give the children gifts they’ll love and I will love. Tough order to fill.

I think I've mentioned before that I swap my sewing skills for fabulous furniture with Four Chairs furniture in Orem. In an effort to keep the no-toy-rule this last Christmas (yes, I'm behind on blogging about sewing/decorating) I decided to give the girls blanket chests. I told the girls that these were like treasure chests . So only items they love and treasure should be placed inside—i.e., no crapola. They seemed to like that idea and quickly went around their room grabbing special items to carefully stow inside. And because I love color, they had to be painted cute shades of limey green and turquoise. Mission accomplished.