Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

What's for dinner?

It's chicken Bouillabaisse.

It's very time consuming, but the rewards are ohhhhhh so good!

If you want the recipe it's from Ina Garten and can be found here.


I've been searching Ina's recipes and picked out the top 4 most interesting and most difficult and decided to challenge myself to make one each week.

Next week.....it's jury duty but the week after it's Beef Bourguignon!

Monday, November 10th, 2008

October update

I know, I'm a little late but it's been a very busy October this year. 

Here's a re-cap of the month:





1)  The divorce
(I hope this answers all the questions I have been getting via email lately, I sincerely appreciate your concern and thanks for your warm wishes)

The negotiations are still in progress.  The only roadblock is my husband's refusal to provide a financial affidavit listing our assets and debts. 

It sounds simple I know, and it really is simple according to the standard form that is part of all divorces for the state we live in. 

The reason for my husband's refusal is just as simple. My husband does not want ANYONE (especially his parents) to know just how much of a MESS he has made of our finances especially when this is the THIRD time he has done so over the last 6 years. 

A financial affidavit is not only part of the divorce filing, but it becomes part of the final divorce decree and is often used to determine child support, alimony and equitable division of assets.  If it is not submitted as part of the divorce filing it can be viewed as an attempt to conceal information or possibly sway the courts to favor one party over the other.

I wish I could help move this issue along but you see my husband has refused to give me access to ANY of our joint accounts, ANY of our joint money nor see ANY of our joint debts.  In fact, since we have been married (6 years) I have NEVER been able to see any of our accounts!  So all financial decisions and all financial expenditures have gone through my husband exclusively including the monthly allowance he has been giving me for the last 3 1/2 years since I stopped working to move oversees with his job and start a family. 

2) Halloween - Unfortunately it was a bust this year because my son got the flu and was in bed resting during all the celebrations here in the neighborhood.

3)  Preschool - My son has been accepted to preschool!  It's the #1 preschool for musically inclined children which my son is without a doubt.

There was a very long waiting list initially, but after my husband and I toured the school, filled out the application and gave the deposit sure enough (just 2 months later) we got the call saying there was an opening!

I'm so glad that with all the divorce stuff going on, my son will be happily settled in a preschool that will cater to his unique musical talents.  He starts this week too!

4)  Jury duty - I have jury duty next week!  Like everyone else I watch those court shows and wonder about what it would be like to be on an actual jury.  Well, now I have the chance.  I'll let you know what kind of trial it will be.

5)  Cables - I've ventured into cables!  I've been drooling over all those beautiful holiday sweaters and vests with wonderfully intricate cables but thought there was no way I could master the technique.  Well, I'm happy to say...I taught myself and have begun my first holiday cable vest for my son.  I'll post a photo of it when it's complete.

Monday, September 29th, 2008

Monkey Business!


Here they are, the pants that inspired all of mine.

I tucked in the shirt to avoid the waistband getting itchy since they are 100% merino wool. But the fit is perfect.
 
My son loves monkeys so much he stands in his playroom in front of the full length mirror looking at his bum and saying "monkey!"

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

Pirates!


The minute I saw this sweater from the Adorable Knits for Tiny Tots book by Zoe Mellor, I knew I had to make it for my son.

Maybe it was because the boy in the picture looks kinda like my son and I just knew it would be totally adorable.






Although I kept the shape the same as the original pattern, I thought the striped sleeves were a little overwhelming for a 2 year old plus I wanted to use more "fall" like colors.
 
I used Rowan handknit cotton in chocolate brown, scarlet red and cream.





I loved how it turned out....now if only it would start getting cold here!

Monday, September 8th, 2008

Wonderful surprise

Over the weekend I received a wonderful delivery from my older brother.

First a little history:  About 8 years ago my beloved father Pierre passed away from a rare brain tumor. 

For a long time I was in a state of denial or maybe just plain depression and kind of "checked out" when it came time to clean out my father's things.  

I guess I thought as long as I avoided seeing it all, I could still hold onto the memories the way I remembered them not as they were being loaded into a truck and taken away.

So after his death, my brother's selected what items they wanted to keep and what items would be put into storage for me to look at a later date.

Since I was living in a small loft at the time, there was no way for me to take any real furniture or other large items.  As the years passed and I got married and moved over sees the storage unit remained.

Well now that I am back in the U.S., it seemed time to do a little digging into that storage unit. 

I really had no idea what would arrive as I never actually looked at most of the items that were put into storage so when I saw my Dad's office chairs I was over the moon!

My father LOVED these chairs and always had them in his home office.  I can still remember sitting in those chairs when I needed to have serious discussions with my Dad.

The chairs are original circa 1950's Knoll Wassily chocolate brown and chrome. Due to being in storage for so many years they were a little worse for wear, but after a little TLC, I am sure they will be good as new.


The second big surprise were the 5 boxes marked with my name and "china".

As I opened the first box and unwrapped each item, I instantly had flashbacks of my father's amazing talent....cooking!

Although my father was a doctor by trade, his true love was French food and wine...passed down from his side of the family who still live in the Normandy region of France.


I can still remember eating the most over the top meals on these beautiful plates. 

From Beef Bourguignon to Coq Au Vin, my father exposed my brothers and I to the world of culinary gems at an early age.

I am smiling as I type this remembering how I was the only kid in the 5th grade who not only brought their lunch to school, but had homemade pate' with Brie, crackers and grapes packed in parchment paper with a little note from my Dad. 

Of course at the time I was not very happy to be "different" from my friends who got to eat the pizza, burgers and fries from the cafeteria, but looking back, I realise how much time and love went into each and every lunch.

I am hopeful that this Thanksgiving holiday, I will be able to continue his tradition and cook an equally amazing meal for my son, my brother's and their families.

Friday, September 5th, 2008

Top 5 for Friday

As we go into the weekend I thought I'd let you in on the top 5 songs on my iPod.

1)  Fix You - Coldplay
2)  I'm Leavin' - Jesse McCarthy
3)   Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
4) The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani
5) Do It For Love - Hall & Oates