Subject: A Clam Bake...Minus the Sand

Happy Friday!!  As you read this, I'm actually probably on my way to the airport, headed to Florida for a baby shower for one of my long-time friends.  When I mentioned my friends visiting over the 4th of July, I remembered I never wrote you about our Sunday night feast.

After slaving away in the kitchen....

...we ended up with quite the feast!

Here's an up close picture...

We had corn, sweet potatoes, Giada's Linguini with Sun-Dried Tomatoes (modified by yours truly), a lobster stuffing, salad and the star of the show... Ina's Kitchen Clambake.  It was delish and easy to do.  Here's the recipe thanks to Food Network!

Total Time: 1 hr 0 min

Prep:  30 min

Cook:  30 min

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Level:  Intermediate

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds kielbasa
• 3 cups chopped yellow onions (2 large onions)
• 2 cups chopped leeks, well cleaned (2 leeks, white parts only)
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds small potatoes (red or white)
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
• 2 dozen steamer clams, scrubbed
• 2 pounds mussels, cleaned and debearded
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, in the shell
• 3 (1 1/2 pound) lobsters
• 2 cups good dry white wine

Directions

Slice the kielbasa diagonally into 1-inch thick slices. Set aside. Saute the onions and leeks in the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed 16 to 20 quart stockpot over medium heat for 15 minutes, until the onions start to brown.

Layer the ingredients on top of the onions in the stockpot in this order: first the potatoes, salt, and pepper; then the kielbasa, little neck clams, steamer clams, mussels, shrimp, and lobsters. Pour in the white wine. Cover the pot tightly and cook over medium-high heat until steam just begins to escape from the lid, about 15 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and cook another 15 minutes. The clambake should be done. Test to be sure the potatoes are tender, the lobsters are cooked, and the clams and mussels are open. Remove the lobsters to a wooden board, cut them up, and crack the claws. With large slotted spoons, remove the seafood, potatoes, and sausages to a large bowl and top with the lobsters. Season the broth in the pot to taste, and ladle over the seafood, being very careful to avoid any sand in the bottom.

We eliminated the kielbasa and also the lobster, since we had the lobster stuffing.  It was really amazing though and fun to eat and then throw the shells on the newspaper.  I highly recommend you give this one a try!  Enjoy your weekend!

xxx

Subject: A Banner Day

Melissa!

Okay, finally - time to tell you about Suz's birthday party. As you know, the theme of the party was "It's a Banner Day," which I announced in the invitations. I also showed you a few of the decorations I'd completed the week before the party. The hat and flag sculptures were courtesy of Jordan's instructions and the drink stirrers and pennants were my own creations.

We had a tea party for the afternoon party, but this is Florida so we opted against hot tea. Plus, hot tea just seemed really formal and fussy and not really our style. So I had several pitchers of iced tea and a tray full of tea condiments, including lemons, simple sugar syrup, mint leaves and raspberry syrup. The condiments were served in little creamers from my mom and my collection, and rested on a vintage silver platter of my mom's. I love how everywhere there are very traditional pieces that were used in a playful, fresh way. I also had lemonade in a big old-fashioned-looking glass urn thing and some iced water in my favorite silver pitcher. The glasses were both mine and my mom's, which we combined for an eclectic combination.

The food table included a three-tier plate stand with various traditional tea sandwiches (cheddar & chutney, cucumber & cream cheese and chicken salad), puff pastry bread twists, chocolate dipped strawberries, spinach & artichoke dip, homemade crackers and Pink Lemonade Cupcakes (lemon cupcakes with lemon icing dyed pink).

My mom and I combined our China salad and dessert plates for another eclectic collection and she brought several of her teapots to use as decoration around on the drink and food tables. The flowers are camellias I got from my friend Holly's yard and were significant because, when Suz was born, Holly came over to my house and filled every room with camellias which was such a touching surprise and, thanks to my postpartum hormones, made me cry! We used tea cups and saucers to display the flowers.

For Suz's cake, I originally had the plan to make my own cake using natural ingredients. I found a recipe online that used baby food in the ingredients and it actually tasted really good (Suz sampled some with her dinner the night before and loved it), but when it came time to ice it the whole thing just fell apart. So we called Publix a few hours before the party and they happily iced a tiny cake for us. I decided to keep it really simple with just Suz's monogram on top, which I thought was perfect. Suz apparently thought it was too perfect to eat, because she didn't really want to touch the cake, and when she did, she wouldn't eat any of it. So glad I stressed about the cake!

I used the windows to display pictures and outfits of Suz's early days, like her going-home-from-the-hospital-outfit and one of the little T-shirts she practically lived in in the beginning. I used our large front window to display all of Suz's monthly pictures (background here) that I took in the same chair each month, with little banner indicating the month. So really, I have been planning this party for an entire year.

Probably the best idea I had relating to this party was the fact that I hired my friend, Annie McElhaney, to take pictures throughout the party and then family pictures afterwards. It was so nice to not have to think about taking pictures of everything and allowed everyone to enjoy the party without having to worry about documenting everything. The party began just as Suz's afternoon nap was ending, so Annie even joined Mr. Lass and me getting Suz out of bed and getting her dressed for the party. Here is information about Suz's dress, and the monogrammed bloomers were a gift from a friend of mine following her birth. They were perfect for the party because, whenever Suz had her cake (but did not eat it too), I stripped her down to just her bloomers, so they were cute to have on under her dress.

Phew - I think covered everything! It really was such a fun, exciting day that centered around family and Suz was the star. I was so grateful to all the family who made a special trip into town to attend the party. The whole party was a lot of work and preparation, but it was completely worth it. Is it too early to start planning for next year???

Xoxo,

Kara

Subject: Royal Dinner Party UPDATE

Hi friend!

What a fun weekend! The dinner party was a smashing success - one friend even wore a hat! It was just a fun excuse to get together with a bunch of my girlfriends and eat girlie food and just talk. Afterwards I received emails or texts from all of them saying it was so nice to get together, etc., which means one thing: we need to come up with a reason for another dinner party ASAP!

Here is the table scheme I ended up going with:

And another look:

The fabric is from Joann's and I didn't even hem it - I just used that iron-on adhesive hem tape to give the edges a finished look. The chargers are from Wal Mart, of all places. They were $3 each, which seemed like a great price and they're something I can continue to use. (And yes, that is my new table underneath, which I will fully reveal tomorrow.)

Now, on to your comments about Kate Middleton's dress. On Thursday I wrote an email to one of my friends coming to the party and said this: I want to go on record as saying I am imagining it to have lace sleeves...maybe something Princess Grace Kelly-ish. Maybe a collar? I'm not really sure. So when she stepped out of the Goring Hotel and we got the first glimpse of her in the car, I almost fell off the couch. Then, when she got to the Abbey, one of the commentators actually compared it to Grace Kelly's dress, and I nearly died. I could not believe how dead-on my prediction was!

And I know Grace Kelly's dress almost better than my own because I have been obsessed with it for quite a long time. In fact, for most of college I had a picture of her in her wedding dress on the desktop of my computer. So really, it almost felt like everything had come full circle: the girl marrying the Prince my peers and I always thought we (one of us, not all of us) would marry wore a dress like the one I have loved for so long.

I loved my wedding dress, but I got married in 2005 before all these awesome wedding blogs came on the scene, so I feel like I didn't have any kind of real vision for the whole celebration other than what I was getting from Martha Stewart Wedding magazines. Not that they aren't a great resource, but there are so many more awesome ideas now that it kind of makes me wistful.

Okay - I can't wait to tell you all about my new table (finally!) tomorrow!

Toodles,

Kara

Subject: Checking In

Hall-ooooo!

So we are, like, less than 24 hours away from someone else's big day. Actually, we're less than 12 if you're on British time, which I have been (mentally) all week. (Do you think I'll be jet-lagged on Saturday when it's all over?) I am dy-ing. I love all the pomp and pageantry and especially love how all those Brits, with the traditional stiff-upper-lip, turn out to line the streets for someone else's wedding! I just really appreciate that. Mostly, though I'm so excited for my dinner party!

As a little game, this is what I have made:

I used pictures of Royal brides and grooms and my guests will have to match which princess goes with which prince (or toad, as the case is sometimes). I've decided on a table scheme (my new alternative to 'table scape') and the menu is going to be scrumptious. So, yeah - I'm just ready to get it all under way. I've decided that it's so much fun to turn ordinary things into events, because it makes them seem fun and exciting, even if you're not the person involved. Plus, it's just a great excuse to throw a party! I just Suz were a little older and then I would totally take advantage of these.

Okay, so next week I promise to write a ton more. I have to show you pictures from Suz's party (sorry for stringing you along for so many weeks!) and I've completed a few projects as well that I need to show you.

Just to get you excited, here are the 'before' shots:

Yikes, right? The 'after' photos will show you the transformation.

Also this week, I decided to spruce up my entry lamp. (You remember my new lamp, right?) Here it is before:

Not bad, but kind of ho-hum. After a quick trip to the craft store and some grosgrain ribbon and double-sided tape, here is the after:

Not a huge transformation. But still, I think it looks more polished and 'done.'

See you back here next week...hope you have a smashing weekend, dah-ling!

Cheerio,

Kara

Re: A Royal Dinner Party

Hi Kara - Like always, I am SWAMPED with work!!  (Insert British Accent Here)  Just wanted to pop in and tell you how absolutely delightful your Royal Dinner Party sounds.  The menu sounds wonderful and I'm hoping the dessert that your guest brings goes well with a spot of tea, so you and the other royal watchers can drink with pinkies in the air.  (End British Accent...didn't want you to keep talking to yourself with a ridiculous accent)

And why of course other people are equally as obsessed with the very-soon-to-be Princess Catherine and the entire royal family.  I wonder if we will see the Queen crack a smile for the joyous occassion?  She's like the Devil Wears Prada except way older and way less fashionable.  I am anxiously Catherine's choice of a wedding dress and whether she will wear her hair up or down.  Wondering if we should make a royal wager on that??

Did you watch the Lifetime move William & Kate?  Pretty riduclously good - on the Lifetime movie level of course.  I don't expect an Emmy Awards will be won.

Alright, back to the grind.  I'll leave you with my garbage find....more on that soon.

Subject: A Royal Dinner Party

Peach -

Confession Time: I am a major Royal Watcher. Like, borderline obsessive. I just find the whole family incredibly fascinating and we have nothing stateside to compare the whole monarchy to, which just adds to the fascination. Needless to say, I am pumped about the upcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

In order to celebrate, I have decided to throw a dinner party for several friends who are also excited and/or love any excuse to get together just us girls. I'm so glad the bride and groom decided to get married on a Friday, because it really works out well for me and my dinner party! Here is the invitation. You'll notice it looks similar to Suz's birthday invitation. Yes, I called on Kinko's again:

It's going to be all girls - six of us total - so I am excited to cook food that Mr. Lass would ask, "Where's the meat?" but I know these ladies will fully appreciate. I'm hoping I can finish my table in time because I think it will really great with the table scape I have in mind. (Is 'table scape' even a real word? And is it one word, or two? I feel like the only person I've ever heard use it is Sandra Lee, so I'm not sure if it's even a word I like repeating...)

On the menu I am doing all Ina Garten dishes (shocker) that I have long-admired in her cookbooks, but have been reluctant to prepare because of the aforementioned Husband. I'm going to start things off with a Roasted Pear with Blue Cheese & Walnuts salad that looks divine. And I feel like the blue cheese (maybe I'll even spring for real Stilton) and the walnuts are a nod to England. The main course is going to be Ina's Spring Green Risotto, which I'll serve alongside bread. I'm actually going to serve everything all at once, since it will be ready all at the same time and you pretty much need to serve risotto right away, right?

I know risotto isn't the most ideal item to serve when you're having people over to eat, but since it's all women we'll all be in the kitchen anyway and I am putting someone else in charge of bring an hors devours for everyone to munch, and I may ask another person to bring a cocktail for us to sip while we take turns stirring. Then I have asked someone else to bring dessert and the only direction I gave was for it be spring-ish and light, so maybe something with berries. If it were me making something, I might use Ina's recipe for Eton Mess, since we all know that the groom graduated from Eton College before going on to St. Andrews University. (That is common knowledge, right?)

I'm still working on what I will do for the table - tablecloth vs. place mats, and what kind of cloth napkins (I do not feel the impulse to make any this time) to use. I am definitely breaking out the China, though, because when else do you get to use it? And I'll do some pretty centerpiece, maybe pink roses, since that is spring-ish and girly and wedding-y. I'm not sure what we will do at this dinner party, other than eat. Obviously we will talk about the wedding, and maybe even watch some highlights of it once we're done with dinner.

I just think it will be fun to get together with five of my good friends, and this wedding was the perfect excuse for us to all share a meal. Incidentally, having a girls-only dinner party was one of my goals for 2011. (I've decided that I am only going to reveal to you my goals as I am in the process of completing them.)

Cheerio,

Kara

P.S. The rest of your Pesach dinner sounded delicious. So many home-cooked favorites using family recipes makes for a perfect evening. I would be honored to join you and your family one year! I love your blue and white dishes by the way. Where are they from?

Subject: Catching Up

Melissa! My long-lost friend!

I am so, SO sorry for my silence. Last week I literally needed a few days to recover from the big party (which was perfect, BTW, and I cannot wait to share pictures when I get them!) and then on Wednesday I got hit with a head cold/sinus funk thing thanks to every tree and flower in town bearing pollen! So that carried me into the weekend, and now this week Suz has decided she no longer needs her morning nap. I don't know how I am going to deal with this! Good thing I painted my kitchen and stained my grout when I had the chance! So now I am figuring out life with a once-a-day napper. It's a new experience and season for us, but I'm kind of excited about it too. I'm also banking on a really long afternoon nap now, which hopefully will afford me enough to time get everything done that I can't do when she's up and crawling around in the morning. So, yeah. Here I am - finally!

First, I love your new bedside tables! They are exactly what you were looking for! Ours also have a drawer with a little shelf underneath. It's nice because you can hide stuff you don't want people to see in the drawers, and then do a nice display of books or boxes or whatever below. Excellent choice! I'm not looking to get anything new for our room anytime soon, but if I was, I would consider these night stands from Pottery Barn:



I think they look really light (vs. the black wood we have now) and would reflect so much light. Of course, from a purely practical standpoint, they would be impossible to keep clean. Suz is way into seeing herself in the mirror right now, so I am picturing all the baby handprints on them!

Your curtains are perfect too! I am thinking about doing curtain panels in my room as well and have been trying to locate some fabric with gray in it - or bed sheets, per Jenny's suggestion. I will show you pictures soon of everything I am talking about one day, but I am still concentrating on my downstairs until June, so nothing until then!

Also, your laundry room turned out amazing! I just saw the episode of Sarah's House where she created her laundry room. She used a tray to corral all the detergent and soap bottles. It's hard to see from this picture, but here is the 'after':

Maybe you could find a low basket or something for your detergent and other bottles? Maybe a wicker tray? Or something clear? Just a thought. I also loved your art selection. I love pictures that elevate everyday homemaking chores into something beautiful and artistic. It makes me feel like the mundane task I am doing is actually really beautiful...which I guess in a way it is? Have you ever seen the prints on Smitten Kitchen? They do the same thing with cooking and everyday ingredients.

And lastly, I love your new bedding inspiration. Describing it as something you found at a market in another country is the perfect way to describe that fabric! Let me ask you: is this your house, or a picture of the bedding from the Internet?

Whatever it is, I love the composition of pictures above the bed! I am trying to figure out something to so above our bed (not 'til June!) and pictures like that would be an interesting idea. I have also thought about doing different sizes of plates and platters in varying shades of white and cream, but I haven't really looked at all, so that is a discussion for the summer!

Okay, I think I am all caught up. Look forward to a post from me tomorrow with all the treasures I found at one of our favorite craft stores!

'Til then,

Kara

Subject: Party Peek

Melissa,

Hi-eee! I am coming you from the front lines of Party Central! We are approximately 50 or so hours away from Suz's birthday party! Aren't you excited? Me too. You'll remember that I told you about the theme of the party and shared with you the invitation, so I have been making decorations to carry that theme through. For the food table, I made ten of these little pennants to divide and put into two vases flanking the food:

I love them! I bought three sheets of felt from Joann Fabrics (they were $.29/each) and wooden dowels that I cut in half. Then I used my rotary cutter and a straight edge and went to town making these little guys. No measuring, just a lot of angled cutting, because I like the look of homemade-ness and a little imperfection to make it seem more whimsical and fun. (You'll also notice that I'm giving you a sneak peek of the new fabric on my dining chairs!)

For the tea station, I whipped up these drink stirrers using wooden skewers that I trimmed down, ribbon from my stash and some hot glue:

I also created this party hat using Jordan's template and a sheet of scrapbook paper from Michael's:

I am IN LOVE with this hat (if it's possible to be in love with a party hat). I think it is so, so adorable and, while Suz will probably not allow me to actually put it on her (based on her reaction when I was measuring out the ribbon ties), it will still be really cute to look at. The only thing I didn't do was use heavy cardstock paper, but it seemed to work out okay, so no worries.

Finally, for the yard, I made Jordan's flag sculptures. Instead of hanging them to dry in the garage as recommended, I hung them along our fence in the backyard. We are planning to replace this fence sometime this spring, so I wasn't overly concerned with a little glue dripping on them. Here you go:

And a closer look:

Being outside and in the sun, they took about five hours to dry versus the recommended 12 hours in a garage, so I was grateful for that quick turnaround (being into instant gratification and all). My only other change was that when I got home I realized I did not have enough glue - I had purchased a 4-ounce bottle because I didn't want a ton left over, but when I mixed it with water it just seemed really watery and I was doubting whether it would give me the desired effect. So I mentally ran through my list of craft supplies that I could add to the mixture and realized Modge Podge might have the same properties as the Elmer's glue, so I mixed some of that in and it worked like a charm. Here is my finished result:

I know some of the flags look white...they're actually a creamy background with orange circle, but I realize it's hard to see. I used fabric quarters from Joann Fabrics for the pink and also the orange fabric I just mentioned, and then the yellow was part of my fabric stash. I am planning on putting these in the front yard to line the driveway and sidewalk as an alternative to balloons on the mailbox. Fingers crossed it's not a windy day!

My mom is coming bright and early tomorrow morning so we can get to work baking and cleaning in anticipation for the big day. I can't wait to report back to you on how it goes!

Have an awesome weekend!!
Kara

Re: An Oy Vey Project

Hi friend!

I cannot believe it's already Friday! I need to apologize for being so MIA this week. Here is my excuse: Mr. Lass was home sick from work on Monday and Tuesday, so it felt like a four-day weekend to me. For whatever reason, whenever he is home I never get anything done. Whether I'm watching a movie with him in the middle of a Monday because he's sick on the couch or not being able to clean the bathroom because he's napping in our room...it is totally unproductive. So when he finally went back to work on Wednesday, it really felt like my Monday, which would make today my Wednesday? But tomorrow is Saturday because he'll be home again...ugh! So anyway, I feel like I've been cramming in the last three days what I normally have a week to get done, and of course on Wednesday I didn't feel like doing anything because I'd had four days "off." So, yeah...it's weird how days lose their "feeling" when you don't go into an office, you know? Every day kind of feels the same in a weird way, but the weekends are definitely a highlight still, even if I'm not working full time away from home (because at home I feel like I'm working at least two jobs!).

Okay, let me first say that I love your chairs. They turned out a-mazing. I don't know that I saw the 'before' on them, but the 'after' is stunning. White lacquer was the way to go. And the fabric...I just love it. It was the perfect choice. They look so elegant and sophisticated, but totally warm and inviting too. I know they were a pain, but you must feel so accomplished now that they're done! And whenever I finish a really awful project like that I just remind myself that I never have to do it again (hopefully!). And if the time ever comes where you do decide you want them a different color, you'll have forgotten how much of a pain it was to paint them originally. (That's also what people say about childbirth, by the way!) I also worked on a chair project this week. The before:

We inherited the big chairs from some friends that were moving out of state and didn't want to haul these along. The small chair is from my parents for little Suz. It kind of bothered me they didn't all match, so of course I decided to paint them! (My question: what can't paint fix???)

Here was my inspiration:

And a close-up:

This is my father-in-law's neighbors' front yard in Dallas, where we visited in the fall of 2009. Hubby and I went on a walk through the neighborhood and I took my camera...it was in the middle of the day and no one was home, so I didn't feel as weird taking pictures of strangers' homes, but still...I got a few looks from passing cars. Anyway, I loved the red chairs against the gray house. Incidentally, while we were in Dallas we went by this garden shop that was going out of business and they had a red wooden double Adirondack chair on clearance for less than $100. I died. But there was no way we could get it home on an airplane. I kept asking my FIL if he had plans to drive to Florida at any point in the future and he kept saying no. So, fast forward to this Christmas, when he DROVE from TEXAS to FLORIDA. Ugh! When I heard he was driving one of the first things I said was, "He could have brought me that chair!" It took Hubby a second to realize what I was referring to and then I think he was either impressed or disturbed that I was still thinking about that chair. Seriously, it pained me to leave it in the store. Lesson: always buy it, even if you don't have a way to get it home but you have a free place to store it, which is a lesson I applied when purchasing a dining table off the Atlanta Craigslist (thanks again!).

Of course, my inherited chairs aren't wood but plastic, but no matter. Here was my weapon of choice for this project:

And actually, multiply that picture by two. Yes, four cans of spray paint at $5.99 each. Maybe not the most economical project, but as I pointed out to Mr. Lass: the chairs were free, so if I have to spend $25-ish to get them to match, I think that's reasonable. He grudgingly agreed. But we both love them now:


I need to do a few more touch-ups, but all in all, I'm very happy with the result. The little chair came out the best, probably because it was a lighter color to begin with. I love the three together - it reminds me of The Three Bears and a chair for Mama, Papa and Baby Bear. Of course, they're starting to take on an orange tinge because of the pollen that is quickly coating everything outdoors. But it's done and I think they will look great in the yard we are envisioning creating this spring.

Final plans for the birthday party are coming together. I asked a friend of mine to come and take pictures, so I feel extra pressure/incentive to really go for it in terms of decorations. I was starting to feel a little lazy about making everything I originally talked about, but now I feel a new burst of energy. I told her I want pictures of all the food and decorations, in addition to candid shots of family members. I'll let you know for sure once it's over, but I think designating someone to take pictures at a party could be one of the smartest decisions I ever made: it will free me to enjoy myself and not feel pressure to capture everything on film on my own. Plus, I might even be in some of the pictures! And for you it means lots of great pictures to look at once the party is over.

Here is Suz's 'party dress' that I ordered from Etsy:

I think it will double as her Easter dress too. So hopefully it gets here on time and hopefully it's warm in the afternoon next Saturday! Thanks for your suggestion with displaying the monthly pictures. I think I am going to take your advice and use bunting to show off the pictures in some way. I also had another idea: we have lots of what I'm calling "baby artifacts" that I would also like to show off. For instance, the little hospital cap she practically lived in her first few weeks at home now looks like a baby Yamulke when I put it on her. We have a picture of her in our going-home-from-the-hospital outfit, so I was going to put the outfit out somewhere. Plus I was going to take a picture of her in her car seat now and have another picture on display of her as a newborn in it. And a picture of Hubby cradling her as a newborn when her feet barely reached his hand, and then now where her legs spill over the side of his arm. Maybe I will use the mantle for all that kind of stuff. So those are all things I'm working on deciding now too, as I make a list of all the things I need to pick up at Michael's and Joann's over the weekend.

Whew - who knew I had so much to say? I guess it has been a week! Tomorrow I am going to a big neighborhood-wide garage sale that apparently is the creme de la creme of all garage sales. I'm not much of a garage sale-r, usually sticking to antique shops and estate sales, but I'm going to give this one a shot since I've heard so many good things about it. I'll let you know if I pick up any treasures! Anything you want me to look for for you???

Have a great weekend!
Kara