Friday, July 30, 2010

join me in the parlour

Comfy House is a small ranch style house where, when you walk in the front door, you are in the living room. No foyer or grand entrance for Comfy House. When you step into the living room, here is what you first see...



This red chair is where I relax with my laptop or a good book...


Now if you walk through the living room, towards the kitchen and happen to turn around, you will see the front door that you just walked through...and, oh - there's Mr. Zippo lazing about on the couch. You can sit next to him, but don't take his spot!








I change the vingette on the buffet quite often. Right now I'm going with a bird theme. I made the bird picture that's propped up against the wall.


Thanks for your visit - come back soon!

Friday, July 16, 2010

friday morning in the garden of comfy house

This little guy was the first thing I saw this morning as I opened my living room blinds. How cute is it that he has his stash of food - corn kernels! - on the fence post right next to him?


Purple Cone Flower - AKA Echinacea


Purple phlox, ooh la la


Brown-eyed Susan


Hostas in bloom along with a pot o' flowers



Saturday, July 10, 2010

food!

The hubby and I took a trip into Chicago yesterday. We stopped for lunch at the new Superdawg location in Wheeling. Superdawg has been a Chicago icon since 1948 (original location on Milwaukee and Devon in Chicago). I spent quite a few teenage summer nights at the Chicago location, hanging out with friends, so Superdawg has always had a special place in my heart. There's something about the lure of a classic Chicago dog - crunchy skin, kinda garlicky, fixings of mustard (never ketchup!), chopped onion, neon-green relish, kosher dill pickle, and sport peppers on a steamed poppy seed bun - that's even better at Superdawg. Maybe because this dawg is nestled in its own little box of just-right french fries.


Menu...


We chose to eat inside instead of outside in our car, where you can drive up to the call box and order. That's hubby waving hello...


Then there was dinner. We're fans of Guy Fieri's show, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. He  recently featured a Peruvian restaurant in Chicago called Taste of Peru. We've never had Peruvian food, it looked good, and we're adventurous eaters, sooo...off we went.


I had the Seco de Carne, which is beef in cilantro sauce with rice and beans. I know it doesn't look particularly appetizing in the photo, but it was delicious. The beef was fork tender and gently flavored. The rice was fluffy and perfect and the beans a nice complement to the dish.


Hubby had shrimp in a walnut cream sauce. I don't care for seafood, so I didn't try the shrimp, but I tasted the sauce. Yum!


After all that heavy eating yesterday, we ate healthy and light tonight at home. I made salads with greens from our garden, radishes, peppers, carrots, cucumber (garden), tomatoes (garden), blueberries, toasted almonds, and marinated fresh mozzarella. So fresh and flavorful, this beautiful salad doesn't even need dressing. We just sprinkled it with a little aged balsamic vinegar.

Monday, July 5, 2010

the little red table

It started out like this. A skinny, ugly brown, unassuming side table. Found at Goodwill for $2.99.


But after some sanding and a few coats of red spray paint, the table was now transformed into a thing of beauty.




At first, the little red table was going to be used in the backyard as the base for a homemade bird bath.




But instead, the little red table found its way inside, into the kitchen. Will it stay there? Or will it end up somewhere else tomorrow? No matter where the little red table ends up, it will always bring a bit of cheer to those who gaze upon it. After all, red is the color of beauty in many languages.