Beach Bay

Last week I had a Bay day at Doreen's cabin with Melinda and her guys. Doreen raised the flag and served Triple Berry Dortini's, or something like that.

Marc, Jordan and Dylan collected rocks of a certain shape and color for me. I need them for Garden Party. Garden party is this weekend. Hubby and I have a plan, we have main course this year, we have a lot to do, we are a little nervous about our recipes. I'll keep you posted.

Good thing I had a Bay day last week as I'm a little busy this week. Garden Party, work, and next week the Northwest Washington Fair.

And we all know what that means, Max is kicking the dog, um I mean his mama.

Wish me luck!

My Poor Feet

I had some pretty shoes for the wedding. Shelly did too. That's me on the right and Shell on the left.
I did my ironing while wearing them on Saturday morning, just to break them in a bit and practice walking in them.
Miss Manners says, always leave the party before you have to take off your shoes. Shelly and I are sticklers for Miss Manners.
I almost made it to the car when without another thought I took those babies off and walked barefoot the rest of the way to the car. Technically, I had left the party. And obviously, Miss Manners has never worn hooker shoes.

Don't judge me.

My feet were killing me.

Josh and Kristin's Wedding

Yes, it rained. But really I don't think I would have changed a thing. Stunning bride, handsome groom and so in love, makes for a storybook wedding. Then add a gorgeous setting, delicious food, good wine, flowers and lighting done to perfection. It made for a beautiful evening, I don't think my attempt at writing can really tell the story. And to top it off the entire evening was based on faith and family.










Yes, the paparazzi hovered over the reception, eventually leaving us alone to dine, dance, and visit the night away. Happily ever after...

Here We Go

It's all coming together.
Max came home yesterday, he caught a ride on a hay truck. I made him his favorite enchiladas for dinner last night. I went to Safeway yesterday to prepare for homecomings. Sam is coming home for a visit in September. I was just going to the Green Barn, buying some fruit and salad goodies and calling it good. That's over.

Hubby flies home from Texas tonight. I made a chicken lasagna for dinner tonight. I am trying to make up for leaving all my shopping in Dallas for him to take home. He's not a happy camper.

Our remodel/addition plans are finished. Hope to apply for permits on Monday.

Hubby and I are going to a wedding this weekend that I know will be beautiful and fun.

I am going to the beach this afternoon. Resting up for everyone's return.

Alaska Airlines now has direct flights to Honolulu. And I have made reservations.

Here comes the Fair, FFA and school for Max and routine for me. Maybe not routine, as the Stone House will be a construction zone. Ready or NoT!

Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookies

Uh what? Momowho? When I first saw the name of this cookie I thought possibly someone was using bad language and needed their mouth washed out with soap. Obviously, I live under a rock.

Momofuku Milk Bar is a restaurant in New York City and this is my attempt at their cookie.

Urban legend or true story I don't know but I've heard that Regis and Kelly were the ones to get the recipe from chef David Chang. If so, thanks Kelly and Regis!
I have seen several recipes for these "compost cookies" and had been wanting to try them.

Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookie

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (two sticks)
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsps Kosher salt
1 to 1 2/2 cups chocolate chips( I used a mix of milk, mini semisweet and white chips
1 1/2 cups your favorite baking ingredients/junk food (ie pretzels, goldfish, twix, rolos, potato chips) I used broken pretzels, potato chips and peanuts

Directions:

1. To the bowl of an electric mixer add butter, granulated & brown sugar as well as the corn syrup. With the paddle attachment beat on medium speed until well incorporated and creamed together. Appx. 3 minutes.
2. Reducing the speed a notch or two, add eggs (one a time, until incorporated about 30 seconds after each egg), and vanilla. Scrape down the sides to ensure everything is incorporating well.
3. Here comes the long haul! Increase speed to medium/high, set your kitchen timer for 10 minutes, and walk away. At the end of this time the mixture should become a very pale yellow, nearly white, double in volume and will be quite shiny. Seriously.
4. When ten minutes are up, decrease speed to low and add in flour/baking soda/powder/salt, and mix until just combined (do not over mix). Once the dry has mixed well with the wet, on the same low speed, add your 'junk food' or 'compost' mix until just incorporated, you don't want to over-mix the cookie dough).
5. Using a scoop, scoop equal amounts of dough onto cookie sheet. Then refrigerate cookies for at least one hour (apparently, because of the light dough, skipping this step will result in a mess of cookie goop on your baking sheet). Yesterday was very warm and so I should have chilled for over an hour.

6. Once they've chilled, bake cookies in hot 400 degree oven and bake for 9-11 minutes. They may look a little doughy in the middle, this is ok, once you take them out they will continue to cook on the hot sheet.

Kathi and Janice came over to scrapbook so they were the taste testers. We all liked them, we all like salty/sweet taste combination. The recipe calls for 2 tsp. of salt so if you don't like the salty/sweet combination you may want to to use less salt, unless your "compost" isn't salty.

Otherwise pour yourself a big glass of milk and enjoy!

Dallas, Texas

Whew. I'm back. I had a whirlwind trip to Texas this past weekend. It's hot in Texas. Real hot. Therefore, Hubby and I didn't go and do everything on the list. We pretty much found the best air conditioning systems and stayed.

The malls have good systems and at the Galleria we discovered an art exhibit. The Red Bull Art Show started during our visit. Very clever and we didn't feel like we had to get to the Dallas Art Museum. Which meant that we didn't have to walk outdoors and get in our hot car.

On Monday morning I had coffee with my sweet friend Eloise. We are blog buddies. She has been in the fire this summer. Her daughter Vivian spent 32 days in ICU. The good news is that Vivian is recuperating. It was nice to meet Eloise IRL and to meet Vivian. Even though Vivian wasn't having a great morning, I could see her gentle, sweet spirit.

American Girl has a store in Dallas. Hubby and I visited and found something for Emilyn's doll, Emily. While in Dallas I had a phone message from Ryan asking if Emilyn could visit. It was too bad she wasn't in Dallas with me. We could have had a lot of fun at American Girl.


My Dallas summary:
*It is hot in Dallas.
*A steak in Fort Worth is worth the trip.
*The people of Dallas are so charming and pleasant, I wanted to take them home with me.
*I wanted to take Hubby home with me too but he has one more week.
*Crawfish are delicious. I hadn't eaten crawfish before and now that I have I will miss them until we meet again.
*My whole trip was one BiG BaD HAIR Day. The humidity is not a good thing on me.
*Everyone called me ma'am in Texas. I liked it.
*There are tons of highways in Dallas, and between the tolls and the spurs I was confused. Thankfully, U-turns are legal. By Monday I had it figured out and had to go home.
*Hubby and I worked on Garden Party while in Dallas. Tasting and shopping for our table.
*Baby, It's HoT outside.
*I have always told my guys that they are not allowed to meet internet friends in real life. So happy I broke that rule and met Eloise IRL.
*The homes are beautiful in Dallas and everyone has a Stone House. Made me laugh, there are lots of ladies in the stone house in Texas.
*I love, love, love my new black skinny pants from the Gap. Good little travelers.
*Hobby Lobby! I found my December Daily album for 2010, 50% OFF! And FFA paper and stickers too. It was a good day at Hobby Lobby.
*While we were in Dallas Sam returned from Iraq. Safe and sound. We are so thankful for all of the prayers for Sam. He is at Fort Bragg, N.C. and hopes have some leave in September.