Bookplates

Somewhere I stumbled across this cool slideshow of bookplates from the Yale Alumni Magazine.  I was thinking - how cool to have personalized bookplates made, I had never thought about it before.  How cool to think that as books wonder through second hand shops and get given to friends, that your bookplate might provide humor or be interesting to other readers. I particularly liked the little poem that came with the one pictured below.

Photo from the Yale Alumni Magazine

What is your take?  In modern times - is it cool or over the top?

Amy + Michael

Today two good friends are getting married in Napa!  Congratulations to the two of you!

Amy's planning photo book

Since Amy works at Shutterfly, she has documented the wedding planning process on the Shutterfly community blog. Check out her articles:

• My Secret to Easy Wedding Planning
• Wedding Planning - Capture the Fun Moments
• My Engagement Photo Book

Hopefully she will have a post soon on her fabulous honeymoon to Fiji! 

Honeymoon Day 9

On our first full day in Blanket Bay - we took a helicopter ride to Milford Sound.  When we had arrived the previous day, one of the hotel staff suggested that we book the ride for the following day as the weather was supposed to be perfect.  Apparently there are often weeks when the sound is too cloudy to allow for safe flying.  We took her advice - and sure enough - the rest of our trip was too cloudy and no other trips went out.  We were very lucky.

Milford Sound is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the South Island of New Zealand.  Were we to drive there - it would have taken several hours.  We figured that a helicopter ride would be a fun way to see it in a morning.  I worked at a helicopter research lab when I was in undergrad, but I had never actually been in a helicoper!  It was a big day for many reason.

The helicopter picked us up on the front lawn of our hotel!  Seriously!  We got to sit in the front seat with the pilot, and three other passengers sat in the back.  Our first stop was a glacier at the top of a mountain.

My first up close look at a glacier

Stop #2: The Tasman Sea.

The rocky coast of the Tasman Sea

Instead of stopping in Milford Sound, we flew around and traded that stop for another stop at a glacial mountain lake.  I should say that Milford Sound isn't actually a sound - it is a fjord.

Flying through the fjord!

Stop #3: a mountain lake with incredibly cold water

The helicopter perched right to the left of the waterfall on what looks like a tiny little lip! 

This last stop was incredible.  We were so high up!

The high mountain lake

It was an amazing adventure.  When we got back to the hotel - we just couldn't believe this trip!  And all before lunch!  We decided to walk into Glenorchy (about 3 miles away) to have lunch and walk through the marsh on an elevated boardwalk.

Bench on the boardwalk

We ended the night with our complimentary bottle of honeymoon champagne!

African Violets

A lovely wedding gift from my wonderful mentor Leslie.  

She got it for us a few weeks ago and I am very happy to report that it is still happy and healthy looking. What I love most are its furry, yet glossy deep green leaves.  Very beautiful.  I remember my mom growing African Violets when I was a kid.

Have a great weekend!

Honeymoon Day 8

After a quick night in Auckland - we headed to Queenstown, New Zealand.  The first thing that we noticed was the soaring, massive mountains that surround the lake.  The next thing was the reminder that we would be renting a car and driving on the wrong side of the road for almost a week.

The steering wheel is on the wrong side!

We spent the early part of the afternoon walking around Queenstown - enjoying a huge burger and some ice cream by the water.  It was fall in New Zealand, so the air was crispy and cool - a lot like northern California in the fall.

We arrived to our hotel around 3pm or so.  It was about 45 minutes from downtown Queenstown near a small town called Glenorchy.  We were staying at a hotel called Blanket Bay - a truly spectacular place owned by a California couple.   It was incredibly beautiful.

View of the lake from the hotel

View of Blanket Bay from the front lawn

Blanket Bay was named for the fact that back in the day, sheep were sheared here and it was laid out to dry on blankets - thus giving the field the look of one big blanket (or something like that).

There were a lot of sheep

And a lot of stones perfect for skipping

It is a very beautiful property!  We felt so lucky to be staying there!

Taste Test

Last Thursday, my husband and I had some friends over for wine, cheese, and pizza.  Eight of us were planning to go to a local wine bar for mystery wine night - but the strange, rainy California weather forced us indoors.  We spent most of the night drinking wine from paper bags (to disguise their varietal so we could guess) - but then my hubby thought of a blind beer tasting.

The line up

We still had A TON of beer in our fridge from his bachelor party (it is taking forever to get rid of) - so we pulled out 6 kinds and randomly lined them up in the kitchen for the participants to consume in the living room. Of the 4 people that participated - only one person got 3 right not knowing what the six brands were.  Once we revealed the brands at the end and had them re-guess - the highest score was a 4.  Everyone got Blue Moon and Fat Tire - but surprisingly it was very hard to pick between Bud, Bud Light, and Coors Light.  It was really funny in the end - although I think some egos were bruised...

hokey pokey!

In New Zealand - I fell in love.  I fell in love with hokey pokey ice cream.  Hokey Pokey is a candy that many people seem to know as honeycomb (although it doesn't contain any honey).  It is also what is in a Cadbury Crunchie bar for those of you who have had that.  Anyway, Hokey Pokey ice cream is vanilla ice cream with bits of broken hokey pokey candy mixed in.

While we were in Blanket Bay, I had it several nights for dessert.  By the end of our stay, they shared their recipe which I was all to happy to accept.  However, I noticed an unfamiliar ingredient - golden syrup.  Turns out we don't really have anything like it in the states.  It is like a caramel thick simple syrup, made from sugar (not corn syrup).  Anyway, on our last day - the staff at Blanket Bay presented us with a bottle of the real New Zealand stuff - it was SO sweet.

To make the candy...

The recipe calls for ingredients by weight rather than volume!
Thanks to the Teetzel's for this scale!  We use it ALL the time.  

We put sugar and golden syrup in a big pot with light corn syrup (the recipe calls for liquid glucose, but they don't sell that in the states).  Thanks to Katie for the cool spatula!

Getting started

 Once the sugar is bubbling, you add in the baking soda and it fizzes and foams and doubles in volume.  If it weren't for the boiling sugar aspect of this - I would say it would be really fun for kids.

It is like a science experiment!

Then you pour it out on a cooking sheet (thanks to Emma for the silpat liner and the Bullock's for the half sheet pan).  As you can tell - we are definitely putting our wedding gifts to good use!!   When you pick up the hardened piece of hokey pokey and tap it against the pan - it shatters like glass.  It is very cool.

We then made ice cream using the Blanket Bay recipe (although we cut it in half because our ice cream maker is smaller - thanks to Peggy for the ice cream maker)!

Ice cream in process

 We then mixed in the pieces and voila!!

It was soooo delicious!  We have since made it a couple times and have yet to be disappointed.  It sort of tastes like a caramel ice cream, but there is also something a little bit reminiscent of a golden graham or a graham cracker.  It was is very fun to make and even more fun to eat with friends!

Honeymoon Day 7

After 5 nights in Fiji, it was time to move on.  

So hard to say goodbye

We packed up our bathing suits, hats, sunscreen, and books. 

Straw hat on the move

We said goodbye to our private pool, outdoor shower, daybed, and sous vide lamb and headed to Auckland, New Zealand via boat, car, and airplane.

Goodbye Liku Liku

By the way, I should mention that flying Air New Zealand was a very nice experience.  They come highly recommended.

Honeymoon Day 6

The food at Liku Liku was very good - much better than you would expect from a place where all the food was included in the price.  During our stay, we got the chance to meet some of the resort staff at a little cocktail party hosted in honor of the resort's third birthday.  The chefs were a husband and wife team from Australia.  

Coconut milk for breakfast

Example of a lunchtime dessert (coconut jello)

Dinnertime at a table on the beach

When I asked the chefs how they were able to so perfectly cook their lamb - they responded that they used sous vide on all the meat served.  I thought it was really impressive that sous vide had made it to Fiji.  I had just learned what sous vide was by watching a talk by Thomas Keller while on a book tour to promote his new sous vide cookbook.  I was impressed that any home cook would even consider buying an $80 sous vide cookbook that they would likely never use - but that is an aside....

My husband was even so bold to try some traditional Fiji drink one night when they had the Fijian equivalent of the luau - which I believe that they called a Kava Ceremony.  Multiple people drank out of that common bowl - which just isn't my thing - but he passed along what it tasted like.

Gustavo Dudamel

If you have a minute - definitely watch this video featuring Gustavo Dudamel, the youngest music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  Amazing. 

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Deepwater Horizon

Last night we were sitting down with our Chipotle and happened to notice 60 Minutes was about the Gulf oil spill.  We proceeded to watch the entire show - stunned all over again by the images and stories.  My brother who is an engineer at Exxon had explained some of this to me, but the videos and first person testimony make it much easier to understand the proposed timeline of events.  There is also a pretty incredible video clip of what the oil in the water looks like - almost like a floating mat of thick caramel or something.  Definitely worth the 25 minutes or so to watch (first video is about 14 minutes and the second is about 11 minutes).

Video Part 1

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Video Part 2

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Congratulations!

Today two very special friends get married!  

Congratulations!!

Have a great weekend!

Honeymoon Day 5

On the 5th day of our honeymoon (our 4th day at Liku Liku), we signed up to have a picnic on a remote, uninhabited sandbar island.

Approaching the sandbar

The resort packed a lunch for us and a boat took us out there.

The picnic lunch

It is apparently a popular dive site and there was a ton of coral and fish to check out.  Although I will say that I was less comfortable swimming in deep open ocean water than the new husband - I feel a little bit like prey when I am in such deep water.

Going out for a second look at the coral

It was beautiful and the 2 hours went by WAY too fast!  It was sort of a surreal experience.  I definitely walked the entire way around in about 5 minutes.  At high tide, the island almost disappears  - kind of wild.

Cheers!

A few weeks ago, in honor of the Kentucky Derby, my husband (!!!) made mint juleps for friends coming over for dinner.  His trick is blending the ice with the mint and then packing the glass full before adding simple syrup and then whiskey.  Although the crushed mint would later clog our garbage disposal - it was definitely worth it.  Thanks to Tracy for the very beautiful fleur de lis glasses. 

mint juleps in the making...

Enjoy your weekend!  Cheers to Lindsey and Tyler!  

Honeymoon Day 4

On day 4 we switched from an overwater bure, to an on-land bure.  We had booked 2 nights in the overwater and 3 nights on land because each place offered something different.  The overwater rooms had a beautiful deck with access to coral reefs, but the on-land bure had a private plunge pool, a shaded daybed, and an outdoor private shower.

View from our front porch

The plunge pool was surprisingly deep!  

This picture isn't great (blurry), but you can see how sweet the daybed is 

There was really no need to leave the bure except to eat and to kayak/swim/snorkel!  It was really like heaven.  I don't think it would be impossible to go back... California to Fiji is like New York to Hawaii and people seem to do that all the time!

bike to work day 2010!

Today is bike to work day!  I made the 6.5 mile trip on my trusty steed Paolo. Acquired in the late 90's by my brother from the New Orleans paper's classified section.  I took over ownership around 2005.  The bike is from sometime in the mid-80's according to people who know these things because of the elliptical gears (apparently a fad for a number of years).

Paolo makes the trip!

When I got Paolo (named for the frame manufacturer Paolo Guerciotti), I gave my hybrid bike to my brother Johnny to ride in SF (paying it forward sort of).  Although, that bike was promptly stolen in SF - the memory lives on.   

Honeymoon Day 3

Right across the water from our resort was this smaller island (photographed at sunset below).  Apparently on the other side there is a resort called Castaway (we were very close to where Tom Hanks filmed Castaway).  We kayaked over there at some point and it was awesome.

Sunset from our bure

I should probably say that we didn't do much while we were in Fiji - so there isn't much to say!  We snorkeled, read our books, and ate delicious food.  Our room came with a free couples massage that we used on this day, and that was pretty amazing.   I must say that we didn't talk much to other people, or make any new friends - which was just fine with us.  

spring cleaning

I returned from the honeymoon with lots of energy - and the first thing that I wanted to tackle was a major spring cleaning of the house and my wardrobe.  I hate to admit it, but a significant fraction of my current wardrobe was also in my drawers when I was in college.  It is time to say goodbye.  I would like to step outside my jeans, flats, and a cotton t-shirt routine and explore some new things.

Here are some of the items I would like to look for this spring/summer (obviously cheaper versions):

1. the classic Burberry double breasted trench coat from Saks.com

2. a beautiful, simple black leather very high heel (this one by Christian Louboutin)

3. a classic work appropriate dress in a pretty abstract print (Marsha dress from Tory Burch)

4. a bright scarf made by Ethiopian weavers for J. Crew, Lemlem Omo Scarf

5. a summer sundress in a dusky lavender (this one from J. Crew)
(imagine this with a brown leather belt and brown strappy sandals)

6. a strappy brown summer flat (Steve Madden)
(I sort of can't tell if I like these...
I really like the top view but not sure I like the back zipper)

So there are just a few of the wardrobe items I am thinking about.   I need more practical wardrobe and would like to have fewer items that were more functional and higher quality. I am trying not to buy more distressed/embellished cotton t-shirts, party shoes,  and party dresses...

Honeymoon Day 2

We arrived in Nadi, Fiji at 5am on the Tuesday following our wedding.  After waiting at the dock for a few hours, we took a boat to Liku Liku Lagoon Resort on Malolo Island.  We then checked into our overwater Bure (like a hut/bungalow).  It was absolutely beautiful.  The bures were built along the edge of a reef which you can see a little bit in the picture below.

View from our overwater Bure at Liku Liku

From the hut they had a ladder down to the water which made snorkeling so easy. 

Our ladder into the water

They also had clear glass panels inside the bure so that you could see fish (and your new husband) swimming by.  It was so cool. 

Fish watching

Oh no! Oh yeah!

When I was in college at the University of Maryland, there was at one point a car accident that left a giant hole in the brick wall flanking the main entrance to campus.  The University invested in a big sign that showed Testudo (our mascot) busting through the wall that would cover the hole until it could be repaired. 

Testudo at a football game in November 09

Then one night the expensive sign disappeared and this cardboard Koolaid man was left in its place.  It was SO funny at the time (although the University demanded its original sign back which it never received).  Yesterday an alumni mailing list was created where I work and this was one of the first photos sent around.  It brought back lots of college memories. 

UMD prank

Ah college.  UMD was a great place to go to school.  :)