Fancy That…Fancy This

I love it when my house looks good.  My problem is that I truly detest spending time to make it look good.  Seriously, I would rather scrub my kitchen floor or practice writing “Ns” with Maya than spend time looking at coffee tables.  If I’m being 100% honest, anything involving too much domesticity kind of freaks me out.  This includes stepping foot in a Home Depot, looking at open houses (we live in a condo and Ali is trying to get me to move to a house), and hearing the words “it’s time to settle down.”  I’m not sure what my problem is but despite the fact I’ve been married forever and have a child, I still don’t consider myself the “settling down” type.  While others dream of the suburbs, white picket fences, a dog, and some apple pie, I am perfectly happy living in a condo in the middle of the city with lots of dust, pollution, and loud sirens to keep me company at night.  Anything more domestic than my current existence sends me into a fit of claustrophobia.

Because of my dislike for home maintenance, even the simplest tasks often take me double the amount of time they should.  Lately though, possibly spurred on by Ali’s purchase of a car after 10 months, I have been a tiny bit more motivated to get things done.  I am proud to say that in the past week I’ve managed to have the long-awaited microwave installed, I’ve met with 2 different companies for window shade estimates (for a total of 5 hours of the most mind-numbing discussions ever), and yesterday Ali and I decided, spur of the moment, to purchase a much-needed sofa and love seat for our living room. 

Our current sofa is in quite a terrible state.  I knew something needed to be done but I finally realized the urgency of the situation when even Ali commented that it looked pretty terrible.  And when Ali notices that something is in a state of disrepair it usually means that particular item needed to be replaced at least 6 months earlier.

This couch has been a thorn in my side since we bought it 8 years ago.  I’ll spare you the details of my attempts to return this shabby sofa.  I won’t tell you the tale of my trip to small claims court to sue the store I bought this from and I won’t bother to tell you about my lecture to the small claims judge that his “thinking was flawed” for giving me the option of a. keeping the crappy sofa or b. getting a refund of 1/3 of what I paid.  But I will tell you that this sofa has seen it’s fair share of Maya’s barf, my dad’s tea spilling antics, chocolate stains caused by yours truly, and more than a few spills of Gatorade caused by someone else living in my house.  I’m not pointing any fingers Ali.

Yesterday I decided enough was enough and at the suggestion of my mom Ali and I battled the rain and traffic and headed down to the lovely city of Fountain Valley and Bassett Furniture.  The great thing about this particular store is that their furniture is manufactured in 30 days or less which means that instead of waiting 3 months for a custom order, we only have to wait a month.  For people like us who need a couch yesterday, this is quite a selling feature.  Bassett’s prices are also very reasonable, and since Ali and I were miraculously able to come to an agreement on something, we ordered a sofa on the spot. 

We bought this same sofa but in a cream colored linen.

This morning I am feeling rather shocked by our reckless behavior.  Who knew that ordering a sofa could feel so liberating?  In any case I am thrilled that I can cross yet another tedious task off my list.  My only problem now is that as soon as the new sofa is delivered I need to find a new area rug to match.  And maybe a new side table.  And probably a lamp to go on it.  This home stuff never seems to end and my pulse is racing from the anxiety of potentially spending yet another Saturday in search of furniture.  With Ali. 

I’m not sure if my health, or our marriage, can survive another weekend of domesticity.

It’s no secret that I have issues comparing myself to others.  I’ve mentioned before how, when I go to a party or even the grocery store, I often feel either over or under dressed, too quiet or too loud, and too tall or too…tall!?  Sometimes I wonder if I am the only one thinking these insecure thoughts because when I glance around at others those issues seem to be the last thing on their mind.  I guess some people just have their stuff together and don’t care what others think, and while I aspire to be one of these people, I have to admit that I also struggle with feeling jealous of them.  That’s why it continues to amaze me that I have been friends, for more than a decade, with a girl who has her act together more than any one else I know.  And instead of being remotely jealous of her, I simply just want to be more like her.  

My best friend Nadia isn’t just super-model gorgeous, but she is also kind, generous, a fabulous mother of 2.5, an understanding wife, and a great friend.  Every time I see her she makes me feel like a million bucks.  For example, I told her only recently about this blog and not only has she been reading it every day, but she posts the most supportive comments (you can’t miss her…she’s the one who signs off with all the XOXO’s – love it!), and tells everyone she knows how great she thinks my writing is.  

Among her many other talents, Nadia is a fantastic cook and is the best at presentation.  I’ve already mentioned what a challenge presentation is for me.  When she comes over I throw something together and we sit in the kitchen and serve ourselves from the stove.  If I’m feeling particularly hostess-y I will hand her a separate salad bowl to go along with her dinner plate.  But that doesn’t happen often because I’m usually calculating how much extra space that bowl will take up in the dishwasher, which equals an additional 2 minutes of standing over the dishwasher, which equals 4 minutes if I use a bowl as well, which equals too much time for me to commit to offering her that extra bowl.  But when I go to her house, as I did last night, she not only cooks up a storm but serves it up beautifully and clean up is the furthest thing on her mind.  

Appetizers:  

Skewers of fresh mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, and basil.

One of these skewers rolled onto the carpet when she was serving them to me and Nadia didn’t blink an eye.  She just calmly washed it off and proceeded to eat.  If it had been my carpet?  I would have dashed into the kitchen, dropped the plate on the counter, located the Resolve spray, and scrubbed until I wore a hole in the carpet.  

Olive bread with gorgonzola and honey.

I almost risked a horrible stomach ache to try this amazing combination but at the last minute I managed to refrain.  Instead I had bits of the cheese with honey and let me tell you, this combination is a keeper.  

Dinner:  

Caesar salad with homemade dressing.

Sauteed mushrooms and tomatoes, oven baked potatoes.

Baked salmon with onions, capers, and potatoes.

 

While the salmon was easily the highlight of the evening, every single thing Nadia served was delicious and in proper serving plates.  I felt like I was eating a 3-course-meal at the Peninsula Hotel. 

Afterwards we had some of the Oatmeal Balls that I made yesterday and a new cookie recipe that I tried but that ended up tasting like a rubbery Larabar.  Trust me, you don’t want this recipe. 

Oatmeal Balls (oatmeal, rice cereal, peanut butter, dried cranberries, and chocolate chips).

 

We had these along with a cup of tea and some great conversation.   

Thank you Nadia for a great dinner and for being such an amazingly supportive, nice friend.   

Love you lots!   XOXOXOX 

Who needs the Geek Squad…

When you live with a PC nerd who is so proud of his free computer swag that he actually volunteered to show if off on his wife’s blog?

Who needs the beach…

When you can set up your Dora blanket, a beach bag, a beach ball, an umbrella, your sunglasses, reading material, several photos to remind you of home, and a pet giraffe, complete with a robe for sun protection and several necklaces to give him a bit of ”L.A. style,” right in your very own temperature controlled bedroom?

Who needs the stove….

When you finally, finally, finally find  a microwave that fits a hole that apparently held the most bizarrely sized microwave ever manufactured?  Sure it took 8 months to find, it cost an arm, a leg, a kidney, and half a certain 4-year-old’s college fund, but the fact that you can make oatmeal in less than 2 minutes again?  Worth every penny.

Who needs Average Oatmeal Balls….

When you can make the real thing?  Adapted from Martha Stewart’s recipe, found here.

Makes 10

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup natural peanut or almond butter
1 tablespoon salted butter
1 cup brown rice cereal
1 cup oats
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chocolate chips

In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir honey, peanut butter, and butter until smooth, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cereal, oats, chocolate chips, and dried fruit.  Drop mixture into cupcake liners (I used silicone cupcake liners). Place on a rimmed baking sheet, and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Try these, I promise you will LOVE them.

And who needs to suffer through another dinner of scrambled eggs….

When you can enjoy some great salmon at your best friend’s house instead? 

I am off to take advantage of my beautiful friend Nadia’s amazing culinary abilities.  Have a good night everyone!