Really Neat Featured in Cincy Chic!

A while back I posted about my friend, Neysa, including me in an article spotlighting our work together in her home office. Hot off the presses (or cyberlinks, or whatever it is we say now...)
you can click here to read all about it!

Really Neat in Cincy Chic!

Thanks Mom

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his. ~Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895
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Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children. ~Charles R. Swindoll, The Strong Family
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There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it. ~Chinese Proverb
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Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories. ~John Wilmot
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To all the beautiful & inspiring mothers I know: Happy, Happy, Mother's Day

The Run for the Roses

Yesterday we had the pleasure of attending our very first Kentucky Derby. What a day! So much excitement, pageantry & tradition. We didn't come up big winners at the track - our 50-1 horse came in dead last, unlike the other 50-1 horse who was the eventual winner! Just our luck. Grandpa had Pioneer of the Nile across the board though, so he pocketed a cool $14.80 for the day. It was so much fun to spend the day decked out in our finest track attire - such great people watching! Wayne & Amber, Scott & Shawn - thanks for a fantastic weekend & Derby experience.

Easy Crustless Quiche

This is a super easy quiche from The Joy of Cooking that I often throw together on Sunday mornings. I made it for the first time about 5 years ago when I had a house full of guests and only 5 eggs in the fridge! And I like the fact that I don't have to mess with a fussy crust. It's great right out of the oven, but the leftovers might be my favorite part. They make a wonderfully quick, protein-packed breakfast I can eat by hand as I'm dashing around trying to get myself & an 8-month old out the door. Maybe that's just me though....Daddy can't stand the idea of cold quiche. If you're like him, the leftovers heat nicely in the microwave too!

Crustless Quiche

Pre-heat oven to 400. Butter 10" glass or ceramic pie plate.

Custard
Beat together until well combined:
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups light cream (I often use 1/2 milk & 1/2 Half n' Half)
1 T chopped fresh herbs, or 1 t. dried (optional)
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly grated or ground nutmeg
Ground black pepper to taste

Filling
Totally up to you! I often saute spinach & onions or fry up some bacon or ham for the filling. Leftover salad greens are great too. If adding cheese, toss with a tablespoon or so of flour first. This will keep the cheese suspended in the custard during baking instead of it sinking to the bottom of the pie plate.

Stir filling ingredients into custard mixture & poor into prepared pie plate. Bake until set, puffed & golden - about 30 minutes. A knife inserted in the middle should come out clean when done. Let rest for 10 minutes, slice & serve.

Quilting Party

My mom is an avid quilter, so as you can imagine, Charlie has lots of fun floor quilts to play on. Grandma was visiting last week to help with Charlie while his sitter was on a much-deserved tropical cruise (thanks Grandma!), so I got to help her build a new quilt for him. We picked out the fabrics last summer (before we even knew about our little guy!) and Grandma got to work cutting and cutting and cutting! I had seen a quilt at a show with mom many years ago that had all of these little puffed-up, stuffed squares sewn together. I always had that in mind as the quilt I'd ask my mom to make when we had a baby.


Mom (btw, mom & grandma are the same person...just depends on what I'm feeling like calling her at any given moment!) brought her old sewing machine & showed me how to wind the bobbin & load up the thread & all that good stuff. I had so much fun sewing all the little squares into strips. I don't think I've used a sewing machine since 8th grade home-ec class, so it took me a while to get the hang of it. As we started to build the strips, I realized that I liked the texture of the pleated squares all by themselves with no stuffing at all. That's the great thing about making your own stuff. The creative process kicks in and things just kind of evolve into what you want it to be. I can see why my mom loves quilting so much. It's awesome to see the pieces come together to form something great. (I love this picture, because calculators come in very handy when you're designing quilts - who knew?!).

Grandma packed up the goods (minus the old sewing machine - I get to keep that. She has a much fancier, experienced-quilter-type jobbie she uses) and is working to finish things up back at her house. I can't wait to post the final result once it's done!

Spring in California

We're enjoying our last day in California visiting friends & family. Charlie has loved getting to see GG & Nay Nay, his cousins Mason, Ryann & Landon, Uncle Cade & Aunt Chelsey, Grammy Bonz and so many others! He did great on the plane ride out and has officially adjusted to the new time zone - which should make the next few days back on EDT fun! The weather has been great - lots of clear blue skies offering beautiful views of Mt. Shasta & Mt. Lassen. Definitely a change of pace from the flat lands and rolling hills we're more accustomed to. We're headed to Chico today to have lunch at the Sierra Nevada brewery before heading back to pack and hit the road back to SFO around 5am tomorrow!

Sweet Surprises

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Aesop

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I was treated to the most pleasant surprise today. My friend, Neysa, included me in an article about our work together at her house for an upcoming issue of Cincy Chic. I typically count myself a generally happy person, but I find that I'm smiling even more than normal today from such a simple act of kindness. Go spread your own kindness today - it's contagious.