Getting over that cold!

I guess it's that time of year again. That time of year when we get sick. Officially, flu season was actually earlier in the year and when we heard from our workplaces (Will and I are both in healthcare, though we don't work directly with patients) and doctor friends that this year was a particularly bad flu season, we got the vaccine right away.

And so far so good. Until last week. After I was under the weather for a week poor Will, who took such good care of me, got sick too! I remember both of us were sick around this time last year too, despite our best efforts.... but now thankfully, we have both recovered and are pretty much 100% again-- just in time for the weekend!

For the past few weeks we've been having loads of chicken soup and lemon tea around the house. I remembered this super cute idea for get well soon care packages that I saw from Creature Comforts. Great idea for the next time a friend is sick!

Materials for the get well kit:

• Large mug | Target, approximately $4 
• Honey bottle | Grocery store, $4.50
• Fresh lemon | Grocery store, $.40 each 
• Chapstick brand lip balm | Target, $2 
• Tissues | Target, set of 3 for $2 
• Burt's Bees Honey & Lemon Throat Drops | Target, $2 
• Optional - Clear Cellophane Basket Gift Bag | Michael's, set of two small bags for $1
• Free printable gift tag (download from original post here)
• Twine 
• Scissors

How cute is that? And I've always absolutely loved the bear-shaped honey bottles. Thanks Creature Comforts!

Freshing up our home for spring: Ikea Wish List

I think we will probably be taking a trip to Ikea in the near future. Ikea is a lot like Costco for us-- it's touted to be the budget friendly option but actually we always end up spending a lot of money there, often more than we had anticipated. It's probably because we always end up buying a lot more in volume, so it should still end up being a good value...in theory.

Early last year, when we were still furnishing and organizing our new home, it felt like we were going to Ikea almost every other weekend. Sometimes we would be driving down the freeway on our way to somewhere else and just happen to pass by an Ikea....and we would of course detour to just make a "quick stop". It was a theme in the 2012 catalog to utilize space-saving furnishings and accessories in tight spaces, which gave us great ideas for our city condo.

Then came the 2013 catalog. I had anticipated for it to come in the mail for weeks and when we finally got it I was so disappointed. I flipped through the whole thing in maybe 5 minutes and nothing stood out to me, nothing seemed new and exciting, it was very uninspiring. The trips to Ikea tapered off fairly quickly and now its been over 7 months since we last stepped foot in the store.

This past week I have been browsing their items online again and I actually found quite a few things I loved. Just in time for freshening up our home up for spring! Here's my spring Ikea wish list (best of all, every item is under $15!)

1) Pretty graphic print with hearts and skyscrapers! $8

2) Butterfly cutouts give this piece of art a little dimension $12.99

3) This pillow would go perfectly with our brown chaise and world map hanging in our reading nook/library area $12.99

4) Hanging planters by the window saves counter/table space and brightens the house with a little fresh greenery $9.99-$12.99

5) Picture ledges make it easy to create a gallery wall and display photos and art without having to put a bunch of holes in the wall $9.99-$14.99

6) A brightly colored watering can for our houseplants $9.99

It was hard loosing an hour last weekend for spring forward but I'm so happy about having more daylight now in the afternoon and early evenings. Happy Friday!

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Raspberry Sauce

My love affair with Panna Cotta, the delicious Italian pudding dessert, began when Will and I were still students. We discovered Trader Joe's Peach and Blueberry Panna Cotta and fell in love with the sweet creamy goodness. They came frozen, two puddings per package, for a cool $4. It became our easy go-to dessert after homemade dinners together.

Then there was a period of time when we took a hiatus from panna cottas. I have no idea why now because they are so terribly delicious, but when I was recently craving them again, we could never find them at Trader Joe's anymore! I did a little research and to my dismay, found that they have been discontinued!

So for this past Valentine's day, I planned to make a special dinner for Will. I pan-fried dungeness crab cakes, baked off roasted red peppers stuffed with lemon quinoa, and found a recipe for vanilla panna cotta. I was surprised at how easy it was to actually make! There are actually dozens of recipes out there for panna cotta and I found that the only real difference between them was the varying ratios of milk to heavy whipping cream. Too much whipping cream and the fat content and richness will overtake the dessert and become too heavy, but too much plain milk and the panna cotta would loose creaminess.

In the end, I decided to settle on 1 cup nonfat milk and 2 cups heavy whipping cream. I made everything the night before, it only took about 20 minutes, and poured the mixture in ramekins to set in the fridge overnight. The next evening I set out some frozen raspberries to defrost at room temperature while we enjoyed the rest of our dinner and then I mixed in a spoonful of sugar with the defrosted raspberry and the juices and topped off each panna cotta with a big spoonful, easy!

Adapted from allrecipes.com version
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Set Time: overnight

Ingredients

• 1 cup skim milk 
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream 
• 1 envelope (0.25 ounce) of powder unflavored gelatin 
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white sugar

Directions

1. Pour the skim milk in a small bowl and dissolve the packet of gelatin in the milk. Stir and set aside.
2. Heat the heavy whipping cream with the sugar in a saucepan over medium heat stirring occasionally  When the mixture begins to boil pour the gelatin and milk mixture into the pan and reduce the heat slightly. 
3. Stir the mixture constant for one minute and then remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract. 
4. Pour or spoon the mixture into individual ramekins. Cover the top with plastic wrap so that it touches the surface of the liquid. This will prevent a "skin" of milk-fat from forming. 
5. Refrigerate overnight
6. Defrost frozen raspberries at room temperature for half an hour or a few hours in the fridge. 
7. Mix raspberries and liquid with sugar to taste and spoon over the top of the panna cottas. 

Style Files: Dress up with Sperrys

Confession: I feel a little out-of-the-fashion-loop, I didn't know about Sperry Top-Siders until just a few months ago. I happened to spot a pair (in my size! a rare sighting...) for sale recently at Macy's and I also had a gift card that was overdue for spending so I was able to snag my new Sperrys for free! They are a blush pink with a beige trim and a sequin plaid pattern on the side. I loved how girly they were and this version even had a fleece lining (usually they are leather on the inside), like Uggs for springtime!

When I first saw the shoe I did some research on the brand since I've never really seen people in LA wearing Sperrys before. Perhaps it's more of an east coast thing and hasn't quite made its way over to California yet. Or maybe I have just been oblivious and behind on my fashion trends. I learned that Sperrys were first designed back in the 1930s by Paul Sperry in Connecticut (explains the preppy northeastern vibe of the brand) for the very practical purpose of increasing traction on slippery boat decks, and thus became commonly known as boat shoes. 

I love that Sperrys are well-made from quality materials such as leather, suede, and a sturdy non-marking sole that provides good support. The plush lining on the inside is so comfy that it makes me feel like I am wearing slippers all the time. Also, they come in all sorts of fun colors and patterns (glitter, plaid, floral, animal prints...).  But I did have my doubts at first since I never really considered myself a "loafer" kind of girl (my go-to flats are usually more of the ballet slipper variety). I thought for a while how I should wear my Sperrys and these are the style combinations I've settled on. 

1) Great for summer paired with shorts, capris, shirt dresses, or short skirts

2) Would also pair wonderfully with a shirtdress and leather belt or bag that echos the material of the shoe

3) Even works for mild LA winters with skinny jeans

It's a great versatile and comfortable everyday shoes, perfect for running errands, shopping, as a casual weekend slip-on, and even traveling (bonus if there is actually boating involved). I find they don't pair well with many of the dresses in my closet though, the way my ballet flats do, especially dresses with polyester material, sheer fabric, or anything too frilly or formal. They look best paired with cotton or denim clothing for a relaxed but composed look.

Love it when I find great new shoes!

Wayfaring Wine Country: St. Helena

A weekend in Napa Valley and Sonoma Part III

There was no better way to walk off a day of wine tasting than along a short lush trail to a beautiful historic mill in the soft golden glow of the afternoon sunlight. Bale Grist Mill was once the gathering place for early Napa valley settlers who would bring their corn and grain to grind into flour. The Bale Grist Mill, originally built in 1846, was completely water-powered and is still functioning today.

We arrived at the park near closing time and were a bit bummed that the tours and milling demonstrations for the day were already over, but they still let walk around for a self-guided tour. The staff at the mill were dressed in period-costumes and they also sold organic cornmeal, flour, and polenta that were actually ground by the mill. I loved the sound of the water pouring from waterwheel as it turned and the patches of moss growing all around the mill. It was really a unique piece of history in a beautiful setting.

We had planned dinner in St. Helena and had some time to walk around the main street before our reservation. There were lots of cute little boutique shops selling interesting gourmet food items, soaps, and even artwork made from bugs! We enjoyed dinner at Market, which was one of our favorite meals of the trip (but we pretty much didn't have any bad meals, food was just delicious everywhere). The menu was simple but all the courses were done very well with fresh ingredients and were beautifully plated. You know how sometimes you read an item on the menu and it sounds so good but then the actual dish falls short? At Market, the dishes taste exactly how you would expect them to, in good way: perfectly delicious, just the way you had imagined it. We turned in for the evening pretty soon afterwards with blissful food coma....

Change of Plans

Sometimes things just don't go the way you planned. That was this weekend. I certainly didn't plan on being under the weather, or the awful traffic (even more so than usual), or leaving my camera memory card at home when I was looking forward to some shutter time with the beautiful weather this past weekend.

But it was so. And actually the change of plans allowed for a few lovely surprises.

I was looking forward to enjoying abundant sunshine this past weekend in Malibu. I wanted to visit the Adamson House and the Malibu Legacy Park. While we were having brunch at a lovely cafe in Santa Monica, we became aware of the stand-still traffic going north caused by construction and closures on the 405. And then I also realized I had forgotten my camera memory card. We nixed our Malibu adventures and  headed east instead (away from the ridiculous traffic). Will promised me some shopping to reign in my disappointment.

While we were unsuccessfully trying to make our shopping trip productive at the Beverly Center, I suddenly remembered the email I had gotten earlier this weekend about the Etsy Pop-up Shop event being held at the West Elm just down the street. We took the short stroll over and I was delighted to find the event in full swing. They were serving delicious strawberry and ginger drinks decked out with pretty pink sugar on cup rims, perfect for the warm weather. They also had a mini desserts bar filled with bite-sized treats. It was a lot of fun to browse through the small "shops" that Etsy sellers set up around the store. There is so much creative talent in LA! I just love that West Elm is partnering with local artisans and crafters to put on events like this. Definitely a pleasant unexpected surprise!

While I had a mild cold this weekend, I was still able to enjoy a few nice meals out with my hubby and bake some cornbread with the cornmeal we'd bought from Bale Grist Mill in Napa. For a planner like me, unexpected changes can be really disappointing, but I am learning that even "the best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry" (Robert Burns) and to just enjoy the little surprises along the way.

Wayfaring Wine Country: Along the Wine Trail

A weekend in Napa Valley and Sonoma Part II 

There are two main routes that run through the heart of Napa wine country: Highway 29 and Silverado trail. We chose highway 29 because it is closer to the wineries we wanted to visit and the small towns along the way like Yountville and St. Helena. It was also apparently the more popular route with most visitors of Napa as there was actually quite a bit of traffic along the way. Imagine our disappointment given that we were trying to escape from the endless LA traffic back home. There's nothing like being stuck in traffic while on vacation...

But for some reason I didn't mind too much. Maybe it was because I wasn't the one driving (My super-husband drove nearly 1000 miles altogether on this trip), but probably more-so because of the beautiful scenery along the road. I mean, how upset can you be when you are staring at this outside your window?

First, we stopped in Yountville  to grab macarons (my favorite!) from Bouchon Bakery. Yountville is so pretty, clean, and well manicured-- yet retains a quaint rustic charm. Setup like a little resort town for foodies, we spotted a number of Michelin star restaurants all within a couple blocks of each other. Since it was so crowded outside the bakery, we decided to take our little treats over to enjoy out on the lawn of V Marketplace across the street. One unexpected highlight of V Markeyplace, other than the pretty plaza and fountain, were the public restrooms (sadly?). There was one around almost every corner and they were all very nice and clean.

Our first winery stop was at V. Sattui, a family winery with roots in Italian winemaking dating back to San Francisco in the late 1880s. The grounds were lovely but boy, was it crowded. We wanted to picnic on the grounds since they served barbecue out on the lawn every Saturday but the line was crazy! They have two tasting rooms, but we found that the "overflow" tasting room on the upper level of the estate was less crowded and had better ambiance than the busy main tasting room near the marketplace. We chose to split a tasting since the  pours were actually quite generous. In fact, we ended up splitting tastings at every winery we visited on the trip-- it's a great way to save money and taste more wines for "light weight" drinkers like us.  We tasted some of my favorite wines of the trip here (it's no wonder they have been voted Winery of the Year three years in a row!) and I discovered I absolutely adore rosé. We took home a bottle of my favorite rosé that tasted fruity, delicious, with a hint of strawberries! Aside from the wonderful wine, our sommelier was very friendly and knowledgeable with his wine recommendations and offered his tips on food pairing with each wine we sampled. 

Then we headed north to the wine castle, Castillo di Amorosa. We missed the turn-off to the winery on our first pass since you can't actually see the castle from the main road-- you have to enter through a gate and up a steep driveway.The picturesque Italian castle is perched at the top of the hill and surrounded by vineyards. They even had a handful of random livestock roaming the grounds (I counted two roosters, a sheep, and a goat). Of course there were some elements that felt a little cheesy-- like were visiting Napa's Disneyland, but what does one expect from a 13th century Tuscan-style castle built right in the heart of California? The entrance fee, which included wine tasting was $18 a person...a bit steep but we considered it a form of crowd control (it was busy here too but not nearly as crazy as V. Sattui) and made for gorgeous pictures! As we explored the castle's winding towers, hidden chambers, and courtyard there were times when I looked out over the castle's stone walls and felt like I was really in Europe (of course I can only imagine....hopefully later this year I will be able to compare it to the real thing).

With over 400 wineries in Napa Valley, I know we've only barely scratched the surface of Napa's vinicultural scene. A great resource for touring wineries on a budget that I found while researching for this trip is the Napa Tourist Guide Coupons. You can find discounts here for most popular wineries as well as many off-the-beaten-path destinations. I wish we had time to explore them all!