30 Day Blogging Challenge

Can I do it? Um... maybe... Here's the list:

Day 1 - your favorite song
Day 2 - your favorite movie
Day 3 - your favorite television program
Day 4 - your favorite book
Day 5 - your favorite quote
Day 6 - 20 of my favorite things
Day 7 - a photo that makes you happy
Day 8 - a photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 9 - a photo you took
Day 10 - a photo taken over 10 years ago of you
Day 11 - a photo of you recently
Day 12 - something you are OCD about
Day 13 - a fictional book
Day 14 - a non-fictional book
Day 15 - your dream house
Day 16 - a song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 - an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)
Day 18 - my wedding/future wedding/past wedding
Day 19 - a talent of yours
Day 20 - a hobby of yours
Day 21 - a recipe
Day 22 - a website
Day 23 - a youtube video
Day 24 - where I live
Day 25 - your day, in great detail
Day 26 - your week, in great detail
Day 27 - my worst habit
Day 28 - whats in my handbag/purse
Day 29 - hopes,dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 - a dream for the future

So I think my plan is to start tomorrow. But first I need to find the charger for the battery for my camera.

Wish me luck because I have NO IDEA where to even start looking for it!

Wing Chairs

Hibiscus Wing Chair - Pier 1 - $299 on sale

Hmm... I don't know about patterned chairs quite yet. We bought a new painting at the state fair for the living room. It's mostly gray with some yellows and oranges. It's of Paris at night looking towards the Eiffel Tower (think Impressionism). So, I like gray and yellow, however, I'd like my living room to reflect warm tones so I'd like to keep it bright and airy, but with a warm twist. I guess, I did take one year of interior design classes so I should be able to describe what I want... but that was a few years ago!

And not to mention curtains... that's on my list of things to buy as well. I just need to get inspired!

What? Cats in Ikea? HILARIOUS

Pesto Toast - Sort Of

French bread with fresh pesto and mozzarella cheese all melted in a 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes. It's heaven in your mouth.

As you can tell, I have a TON of basil to use up from the garden. What are your favorite recipes with basil?

Oh, and how the heck do you dry herbs? I've never tried but I think I have enough basil to last me awhile if I can figure out how to dry it!

The Green Omelette

Mmm... Eggs are one of my absolute favorite meals. I can eat eggs for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Omelettes are especially easy - and my new favorite is with just spinach, cheese and a little green onion. YUM. I think I also added green pepper to this one too.

What's the best way to make an omelette?

Use medium-low heat and cook slowly, lifting the edges and letting the still runny egg flow underneath to make sure it's cooking evenly. Then when you close the omelette together, flip at least once get everything all warm and melty, then slide onto a plate. I don't really like my omelettes still runny, so I cook it until it's pretty firm.

And cheese. An omelette is never the same without lots of yummy cheese!

Next Book on my List:

206 Bones by Kathy Reichs. If you've seen the show Bones then you've been introduced to Dr. Temperance Brennan (who happens to write a fictional novel with the fictional character Kathy Reichs). And I'm here to introduce you to the novels! Deja Dead: 10th Anniversary Edition (Temperance Brennan Novels) is the first novel and 206 Bones is the newest.

Yes, my darlings, I do love the Temperance Brennan novels! They are filled with mystery, intrigue and yes, a very hot FBI agent. If you need a good read for traveling, any of these would make a great choice!

So I'm super excited to start this one - and I'm also reading Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, Book 2) so I don't think I'll be able to confuse the two novels.

Happy Labor Day - I hope you have the day off!!

Steak Sauce

Nope, sorry, no picture of the very large T-bone steak that was demolished by Bimmer Man and me yesterday. We ran out of steak sauce though. Oops, so I share with you the recipe that I made - I have to say that I will now always make my own because it tastes so much better than store bought!

Also, if you're in Minneapolis and you buy meat from a farm, could you let me know where you buy it from? I'd like to keep our meat local and organic, but mostly humanely raised. 

Simple Steak Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2  cup  ketchup
• 2 1/2  to 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1  tablespoon  brown sugar
• 4  drops hot pepper sauce
• 1  tablespoon  prepared mustard
• 1  tablespoon  cider vinegar
• Pinch salt
• Pinch pepper

Preparation

In a bowl, whisk together the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, hot pepper sauce, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper.

Tara Bench, Real Simple, SEPTEMBER 2006

Gnocchi with Basil & Chicken

Just like the title says - that's what it is. Perfect for a summer meal or one that you need to whip up in just 15 minutes.

Grill chicken with grill seasoning (like McCormick's or something like that).

Boil the gnocchi.

Julienne the basil.

Melt butter to go over the gnocchi.

Slice up the chicken.

Combine in a bowl and serve with a salad.

Old School MONSTER

Ahh... this was from the first week that we adopted him. Isn't he adorable? He was a MONSTER. Jumping over the back of the couch... needed a 3 - 5 mile run every.single.day and afraid of everything.

Oh, and tall.. so tall! And no gray hair yet! He has a few gray hairs now, and his chest is turning gray... and we think he's only 2 1/2.

And of course, the botch job neuter that he got so he had to wear a shirt for a week. Poor guy, at least it was during Halloween so he looked like he had a costume on for the week. Oh, well. We got through it!

Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella & Basil

Yup, straight from the garden except for the mozzarella. I don't live on a farm. I don't have cows or chickens (though I swear I spotted a chicken coop in my neighbor's yard).

Just layer the tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Then drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and you're good to go! I accidentally picked too much basil, but I love it anyway so I needed to use it up. YUM!!!