{from my kitchen} homemade pasta

Can there be anything wrong with homemade pasta? I didn’t think so and my latest kitchen experiment, thankfully, proves I’m right. What started out as a few eggs, some flour, salt, and a bit of water turned into the silkiest, most delicious pasta I’ve had in a long time. Maybe ever.

I tossed all that glorious pasta in a simple sauce of prosciutto, orange, and cream and found myself near heaven. As I melted into my first bite I couldn’t help but think of it as the ultra-sophisticated cousin of an alfredo, but even that sells it a bit short. I have to admit I am feeling pretty smug about the perfection of this meal.

Go, Granny, Go

Remember waaaay back when I fell in love with a granny square afghan? I attempted to find some decent, I mean dead simple, instructions on the internet. And they had to be dead simple since I was, and still am, a complete crochet novice. Luckily, Posie came to my rescue and wrote a simple pattern for me. Except it wasn’t quite easy enough for someone who had never read a crochet pattern before. I’d only made it up as I went along before.

That’s what yarn shops are for though. They happily take a rather small bit of money and help you through your pattern reading troubles. After my first “class” with a group of terribly fun, and funny, ladies I was well on my way to creating my very own granny square afghan. (It also greatly helped when the instructor pointed out my crochet hook was crap and with the simple spending of $4 I was crocheting like I knew what I was doing.)

Posie’s pattern is baby sized so I’m upsizing it for an adult, something I can hide underneath while sprawled out on the couch for some movie watching. When I did some math to figure out how many squares that would be I started hyperventilating. It’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 – 200 squares. With one here and one there though I already find myself with 96 centers done. I’m saving up all the gray borders for when I need a project while travelling. Taking one ball of yarn is so much easier than 9 balls!

Best of Charleston

My mom and I met up for a girls’ weekend in Charleston recently. I highly recommend you plan a trip to Charleston as well. The city, which is surrounded by water, is pedestrian friendly and very European in feeling. The spring weather is phenomenal, the locals friendly, and the food amazing. As to what to do, Charleston is filled with historical sites, old plantations and homes, and tours galore. We spent five days but could have easily spent five weeks.

As we sat at the airport waiting for our respective flights home we played a little game of “Name Your Favorite”. But we quickly had to sub-categorize and re-categorize in order to give due recognition to all the things we loved in Charleston. Without further ado, our best of Charleston list.

Best Hotel: Fulton Lane Inn
True, we only stayed at one inn during our stay, but this was top notch without costing top dollar. Continental breakfast is delivered to your door, the rooms are clean, and staff is wonderful.

Best Breakfast: Toast! Of Charleston
Go for the Eggs Meeting Street which is a fried green tomato topped with a crab cake topped with a poached egg. Served on the side were the obligatory grits and biscuit.

Best Lunch: Hominy Grill
A very popular restaurant but turnover is quick and service is great. Be sure to check the specials board which is where we found our soft shell crab po’boys. You must save room for the coconut cake.

Best Dinner Overall: Cru Cafe
Don’t judge the exterior of this restaurant or you will miss a real gem. Each and every course was spot on.

Best Standout Main Course: 39 rue de Jean’s lamb shank
This is course that my mom dreams of and will be talking about for years to come.

Best Restaurant Vibe: Husk
Each and every ingredient right down to the salt and olive oil is sourced in the south. The menu varies each day depending on what is available. They have also turned the old kitchen building into a fantastic bar. We suggest you start your evening there.

Best Historic House: The Nathaniel Russell House
You will not believe the amount of detail put into this house when it was built. The whole house is wonderful but the staircase and music room are amazing. The story of the man who built this house is also pretty great too and is fantastically told by the knowledgeable tour guides.

Best Tour: Ghosts and Graveyards
A rich and colorful storyteller guides you through graveyards at night. It will send shivers up and down your spine. By the end of the night you will believe in ghosts.

Best “Get your Bearings” Tour: Charleston Strolls
Start your trip with this tour. It is the perfect way to see the city on foot and figure out where everything is.

Best Gardens: Magnolia Plantation
Located 10 miles outside of Charleston this former rice plantation is rightly known for their gardens. Azaleas were plentiful and in full bloom. Also plentiful was wildlife including alligators, snakes and birds.

Best Way to See the Water: Sailing on Schooner Pride
If forced to pick only one highlight from Charleston it would be our 2 hour sail. Beginning on the Cooper River you head to wherever the winds take you. We ended up on the Atlantic before returning to dock. Sun, wind, and water, it was a perfect combination.

More Pictures of Charleston: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, and Day 5

We all scream for ice cream

When I first bought the ice cream dress pattern I was really only interested in making the blouse. (I have to admit I thought the dress with the pockets and contrasting yoke and hem band looked a little like an old lady’s housecoat.) But as I finished my first blouse I kept thinking how cute the dress, as view B, would be done in bands of solid.

As I bounced my idea off my favorite partner in sewing crime, we veered off in the direction of using what is already in the fabric stash. I already had white and pink solids. Being an excellent enabler she pointed out that all I would have to do is buy a bit of brown and I could make a Neapolitan dress. Get it? An ice cream dress done as Neapolitan! I loved it!

So I made two. One for Little Miss Lou and one for her partner in crime, Little Miss Bee. I cannot wait to get my hands on some pictures of these girls side-by-side in their ice cream dresses. And in that picture I think they should be eating ice cream cones. Neapolitan, of course.

A Birthday Recap

Birthdays are the best. It’s the one day of the year that belongs completely to you. You get to spend it however you want. And that’s what I did on my recent birthday, exactly what I wanted.

It started with a laid back morning on the couch with a stack of interior design books and a breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, and smoked salmon. Oh, and a mimosa, an absolute must on any birthday.

From there it was a Mediterranean inspired salad with roasted shrimp, peppers, cucumbers, olives and feta before I headed out for a massage and facial.

A quick stop at home after the spa gave just enough time to change into my party clothes for a night on the town. We started the evening with some browsing time at the ICA, the first time either of us had visited that museum. I’m not sure it was really my kind of art but I’m glad we gave it a try.

As if the day couldn’t get any better we walked the few short blocks to Drink, my favorite cocktail bar, for a pre-dinner libation. And dinner, holy cow, was at Menton. We dined from the 4 course menu but with all the wonderful offerings they seamlessly deliver to your table between courses it was more like 8 or 9 courses. After 3 hours of fine dining we were stuffed and completely satisfied. I fell asleep on the ride back home and by the time we got there it was no longer my birthday, which is exactly when you should get home from a birthday celebration.

It was the best birthday yet.

A Contender

One of the items on the nest list is finding a super cool new (or not so new) china cabinet/pantry for my kitchen. The one above fits all my criteria: closed on the bottom, glass on the top, lots of adjustable wood shelves, and the doors slide to open. Best of all it would fill the intended space perfectly. Now if only it were 20% off, no sales tax, and free delivery.

(image from Crate & Barrel)

Rainbow Bright

Rainbow colored pencils all lined up in a row makes me happy.

A finished pencil roll makes me very happy.

It's the middle bits of this story where the sad part lies. It was being stooped over my kitchen table for what felt like hours and hours cutting 60 – 1.5” wide strips after ironing 20 bits of carefully chosen fabric that had me feeling sad. Then on top of that there were the pockets, the pocket linings, the exteriors, and the flannel linings. So perhaps it was my insane decision to make three pencil rolls at once that contributed to my unhappiness. My reasoning was that if I was going to suffer through all that cutting I might as well have three items to show for it.

I know I can’t be the only sewer out there who suffers from this logic, right?