Logan by Ashley

We've been in the market for a new sofa and loveseat for a while now...we just didn't want to admit it to ourselves.

I've had the old sofa and loveseat for over ten years, and yuck, you could totally tell, but it was just so comfy I never wanted to let it go. So, we headed out to a few different places over the past two days to see what we could find. There were a few different qualities this furniture had to have in order for us to even consider it. It needed to be dark in color to hide unruly pet hair and muddy paws. We're not dirty people by any means, but if you have pets you know what they can do to make even the nicest furniture look like crap. So yeah, dark upholstery was a must. We also wanted a sofa with back cushions that were not attached to the frame. The cat likes to sleep on the back of our furniture, and her big butt tears the cushions away from the frame. And besides, I've always loved the look of pillow-back couches anyway.

Our house is just a tiny little bungalow, so size was also something we had to take into consideration. I love sectionals, and I'd absolutely go for something of that size for our home, especially considering the amount of entertaining we do. But it just doesn't work in our living room, and I've come to the conclusion that it never will.

Luck must have been on our side last night because we fell in love with, and then purchased, a three piece living room set...sofa, loveseat (or "chair and a half", as the maker refers to it) and oversized ottoman from the clearance section of the store for a whopping $899.00 for the entire set. How lucky is that??? This was the last model they had in the store so we had to act fast. We got it home and set it up last night and it's perfect for us. I took the back cushions off while lounging in front of the television, and it seats both me and a sprawling spacehog of a dog comfortably. No more crammed space and too much body heat on a summer's night. No more oversized furniture jammed into a too small living space. No more stinky, outdated furniture to scowl about. This stuff = love. And the best part? The body can be cleaned with a damp, soapy towel, and the seat cushions and back pillows can be recovered by yours truly when they've seen their share of wear and tear.

The photos I've included in this post show the same model as the one we bought, only our cushions are covered in a chocolate brown microsuede. I have plans to recover two of the back pillows with a sweet little calico or some sort of graphic fabric that will just make the furniture pop.

And of course, now the gears are grinding in my head about changing the curtains in that room, and maybe the paint color...again. We shall see. Home improvement is such a never ending (yet fun!) process, don't you agree?

venturing out

Please feel free to tell me if you think I'm completely nuts, but after several requests from customers, and suggestions from family and friends, I'm seriously considering writing a cookbook. It'll be a small run, of course, 100-150 copies at the very most, but I think it might be fun. I managed to put together a cookbook for my mother-in-law a few years back and I enjoyed every single minute of it. I'd like to take it to the next level, though, and do something a little more serious than that.

Do you have any experience with writing a book? I'm open for any and all pointers because aside from doing this myself out of my house, I have no clue what I'm really doing.

Am I totally crazy for even considering this? I have a small stockpile of my own recipes, ones I've created over the years, certainly enough for a book. The complete strangers who eat the food I've prepared (every Troy Night Out) suggest that I do something professional with it. I'm in no position to open a restaurant, although that is a dream of mine, so this just seems like the next logical step. I know this is going to be a lot of work, and I'm totally prepared for that. When I cook I mainly eyeball ingredients and cook to taste, rather than measuring everything out. That's going to have to change for this book.

Help! Pointers?

P.S. Those of you in the area will be thrilled because I'm going to need lots and lots of guinea pigs when I test out recipes. Get your eatin' pants on!

could it really be?

Some interesting stuff here. But how do you prove something like that?

Sunday

I came pretty darn close to begging Ben to come with me to Pottery Fest this year, and as always, he agreed to join me. I'm so lucky to be married to a man who is totally willing to do things like this, even when he had a zillion other things he'd rather be doing instead. So, we headed out to the Shaker Historic Site in Albany for some pottery shopping and some really neat demonstrations. The festival itself seemed much bigger this year than in the past and I must have picked up and put down several dozen pieces that I wanted. So many amazing things. I scored some sweet little magnets from Mud Slipper and Ben bought me a little bird box (which is actually an incense burner) from another seller whose name escapes me right now.

We left the main barn area and headed to the main field area to watch two potters demonstrate raku firing. We timed it perfectly because several pieces were coming out of the fire to cool when we arrived.

I love the look of raku, and the results seem much more immediate than kiln firing, but from my understanding the pieces are not functional and not food safe, and serve more as art than dishware. Am I wrong on this? If I am, would someone please set me straight? I hold off on buying raku because I feel like I can't use it in the kitchen, and much like Alton Brown, I don't like unitaskers. Poo.

The raku people finished up and we headed to the second festival spot in the commons room of the site. Tons of vendors were set up to sell their wares in the hall and we wandered around getting lost in the stacks of bowls and dishes and whatnot, listening to the Pine Hills String Band play while we shopped.

I really hope the folks at the Collar City Clay Guild keep this going every year. It's a small festival that only seems to get better with time, and I hope to keep going every year.

Since Ben agreed to come with me, I asked him to choose something he'd like to do next. We both love bookstores, and The Book Barn in Latham, a smallish used book store, is one of his personal favorites. It must have been my lucky day because I scored a small ton of great finds there, too!

My personal favorite is this book:

I haven't made my way through the entire thing yet but the images are gorgeous and there are tons of great ideas nestled in the pages. Reminded me a lot of this blog. This is a Better Homes and Gardens publication and I'm pretty sure it's out of print. If you can get your hands on a copy, though, go for it.

Another beauty is this little find:
There are tons of great craft ideas in this book and I highly recommend it. The author encourages you to include as many natural touches in your day to day living and suggests that you simply go outside and have a look around when you need a gift for someone. Think outside the box kind of stuff, you know?

This little lady was simply an impulse buy:
I love reading about the historical importance of herbs, their medicinal properties, how to plant them, how to cook with them...the list goes on and on. Sweet little illustrations and inspiring photography make this book one of my new fave kitchen handbooks.

If you love Viva Terra like I do, you'll love this book:

Simple design, shabby chic style, natural touches. Three of my must-haves for comfortable living. I've found so many things in this book that I'd like to try in my own home. Books like this make me want to gut my house and start all over again with a totally new look.

And last but not least, I grabbed this book with the hope that it will help to inspire me with my sewing and jewelry making:

I love combining colors and textures, especially in different combinations than you'd normally see. There were some really interesting combos in this book that I'd never considered and I plan to keep this close by for those times when I'm not feeling very inspired. Hopefully it'll help.

So, I spent less than $50 throughout that entire day and had a total blast. I can't guarantee that Ben had as much fun as I did, but it was so nice to have him along there with me.

How was your Sunday?

in the garden...

And meet Schmilly! The wonderfully talented and amazing Jo sent me a mystery package...

Thanks again, Jo! He's living in the astilbe and columbine now, but when the toad lilies are ready to pop he'll move in with them.

Fiddlehead season!!!

Oh, kids...it's that time of year again! Time for fiddleheads!!!

Ben and I start drooling over the idea of fiddleheads for dinner right about this time of year. And it's time, once again, to head to the farmers' market and buy up everything I can find. If you live in this area and you know of a place selling them, please, please, please share the info! I'll check out the Troy Farmers' Market tomorrow morning, but I know there must be plenty of other markets around here where you can get them.

And, if you have a great fiddlehead recipe you'd like to share, I'm all ears. I blanch mine in a pot of boiling water for a quick minute and then saute them in a pan with sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, red pepper flakes and garlic. Heaven, I tell you.

Oh, and please, if you find some and you're not familiar with these delicious little gems, please don't eat them raw. You'll be sorry.

***

Edit: We found them! One person was selling them from a huge tub for $4.50 / 1/2 pound, so we bought two pounds. I hope she'll be back next week because we'll need much more than that!

The John Hughes stuff

Loved, loved, loved this movie:



But I'll admit that there were a few moments where I seriously pondered what the hell Meg Ryan was thinking when she messed with her face. What's up with all of the plastic surgery, Hollywood? Damn, wrinkles are hot, bald heads are hot, grey hair is hot. It's natural. So there. People should take one look at Michael Jackson and Joan Rivers and think twice before the Botox needle/scalpel breaks the skin. Yikes.

Anyway, I'll end the rant and just say that this movie was sweet and hilarious, and if you need another reason to truly understand why Olympia Dukakis rocks, watch this movie. She cracks me up, and she'll have you rolling with this part. The trailer makes it look more like a love story than anything else, but trust me, it's really not. Great stuff.