The Jordana Project

well, hello!

2009-02-25T19:16:00.000-08:00

So, I accidentally took a blogging break. For two months. And a few weeks.

Honestly, I don't know where the time went! We were busy. The house is coming along BEAUTIFULLY and there will be lots of updates on that in the near future.

We went to Paris & Switzerland! You can read about it here, here, here & here. We made a pit stop in North Carolina for New Years and lazed about for three days. It was amazing.

We're buying lots of stuff and finishing lots of stuff and building more stuff. The entire house is covered in saw dust and power tools.

I'm not so much cooking. On top of the being busy part, we tried NutriSystem for a month. The breakfast was decent, the lunch was ick and the dinner was tasty! I didn't lose any weight because I cheated a lot and I didn't go to the gym. Chris did it for a second month, but now that I'm eating yummier food, I think he's going to cheat more often.

Business is AMAZING. I couldn't be happier with my little company. Although working from home is harder than I expected. It's lonley! And sometimes it gets to be 6 pm and I am still wearing my PJ's and glasses with crazy hair. That's happening less frequently as I get accustomed to this new lifestyle.

Anywho, I plan to be back. With pictures! At least once in the next two months. And a few weeks.

Getting the Living Together

2008-12-07T10:05:00.001-08:00

The Formal Living room is really the last room that I should be thinking about. We don't NEED it. But, it's the first room you see when you walk in and architecturally, it's so beautiful. I can't not tend to it!

I've been working on the coffee table situation. Wasn't quite sure what I wanted. Then, landed on a large ottoman. Thought it would be PERFECT. So I searched for weeks. And then a large one in excellent condition popped up on Craig's List. We drove all the way to Covina with a tarp and pulley straps.

And "large" was no.freakin.joke. It's 5'x5'. That's as tall as I am. We strapped it to the top of the car and it hung off each side. It's probably the most enormous ottoman known to man.

It's totally not going to fit for what I want, but it was super cheap and we'll find a use for it. Somewhere.

We've spent the last two nights on it, hanging out in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine and good friends. Last night we even roasted some marshmallows and made some S'mores! We've also fallen asleep on it for the last two nights because we're exhausted old people.

The next addition. The chair. Remember that chair I bought EONS ago? I found someone to reupholster it, then took a bit of time to find the fabric. I found it and called her. She was out of town. Then she was sick. Then we finally found a time to drop it off! Then she was sick again. Then she had to work. Then she broke her ankle. Then she had to go to Vegas. 10 weeks later, after a bit of angry emailing, I got my chair back. Just the way I'd left it. 10 weeks earlier.

So I found a new place! It's done and I love it!

Except that I have to keep it covered with red sheets because my cats have decided it's their new favorite scratching post! And the thin fabric rips.

What to do!?

Boots!

2008-12-07T09:59:00.000-08:00

I've been fighting skinny jeans and boots for years. Loved it, but realized that it wasn't for me. I could never find boots that fit around my abnormally large calves. It never looked right. In fact, it looked downright bad.

Until Diabolina posted about these beauties. She also informed me that they were at Nordstrom for $119. I measured my calves and thought that they might even fit! They did and I bought them!

Then I realized I would have to buy the skinny jeans. Another fight I've been raging with my short stocky legs. But I would have to. It would be the perfect pair for touristy runnings through Paris.

I'm not entirely sure that I love the look on myself, but it's super comfy and I'm glad I surrendered. :-)

WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!

2008-12-05T11:21:00.000-08:00

It was going to happen eventually. I was shooting for March. I was going to book a certain number of weddings, and then I was going to be a one-career girl.

But it came to a point where I had to make a choice. I was either going to book an event in Paris, or continue going to work... day in. day out.

I DECIDED!

We leave for Paris on December 17 :-)

And guess what? I booked my previously decided upon number on Monday!

(I'm giddy!)

I miss you dearest blog...

2008-11-28T19:26:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to start this post about my bad blogging habits, but leave you with a tidbit... it will get better soon. In a few days. Promise :-)

I hope that everyone had a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving. We spent the holiday with good friends and deep fried turkey. I'm still full.

Today, we had a few things to grab. Ventured out on Black Friday. I was saddened to see how empty the parking lots were. A true sign of an economic downturn. Nothing serious for us to buy though. More hangars from Steve & Barry's. They are going out of business and selling unused, still packed in boxes, beautiful wood hangers... for $21.98 for 100. We bought 600. We have a lot of clothes.

We bought so many hangers because Chris started my closet! It's ringing in at 150 square feet of beautiful delicious space. We bought WHITE hardwood floors for it today. The cabinets will be black. I'm trying to convince him to break a hole into the newly nailed drywall for a chandelier, but I don't think he's having it. Dad-In-Law was out for a week and they got so many things done! The chandelier in the living room is a fully functioning piece of amazingness. In other news, my house and husband are covered in dust. Constantly.

On a routine trip to the Empire Center today, we may have accidentally purchased a washer & dryer. See, my husband is a slight dumpster diver. When we moved from the condo, we rented a U-Haul. There was a stacked washer & dryer in the trash room. Chris FORCED me to move the broken/trashy/ickygross washer/dryer unit from the trash into our U-Haul and into our garage. I prayed the entire time that no one would see me hauling trash. Well, Dad-In-Law made it work! So we've been using it for a bit knowing that we would move it to the guest house when the renter moved in (he moves in on Dec 1...wheeee!) So, we thought we'd run through Best Buy, knowing that we should buy something. Soon. Turns out the most beautiful pieces were right there waiting for us. At 50% off.

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving and a fruitful Black Friday :-)

Words to Live By

2008-11-19T13:56:00.001-08:00

This popped up at the top of my gmail page this afternoon.

"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat." - Lily Tomlin

How does Google know who I am?!

Words to Live By

2008-11-17T09:59:00.000-08:00

"Somebody once said, Everything you want in the world is just right outside your comfort zone. Everythingyoucouldpossiblywant!"

-Jennifer Aniston, Vogue, December 2008

Pasadena Flea Market Finds

2008-11-16T09:09:00.000-08:00

I have been a bad bad blogger. Does "I'm so crazy super busy" hold water anymore? :-)

Last Sunday we made it to the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market. I am suddently OBSESSED with all things old/ugly/disgusting/in-need-of-refinishing. It's my new thing.

We bought two things that fit the bill. The first, my new friend, Bill. Bill was all kinds of different colors. Mostly pastels. So I sprayed him white. And now he sits on the mantel in the pool room.

I've been wanting to do this for a LONG time. I found an old picture frame and painted it white. Then cut down a piece masonite to fit and painted it with chalkboard paint. It'll go in my office!

In other news, I walked into the garage to cut the masonite with Chris. It's like a freakin' Home Depot in there! 5 different kinds of saws, clamps, tools, saw horses... all kinds of stuff. Apparently we've been collecting stuff since we moved it... I had no idea. Where have I been!?

Hell & Pigs

2008-10-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hell has frozen over and pigs are flying.

After a two month hiatus, I exercised. And then, I cooked dinner. And yesterday, I spray painted a pumpkin.

Life is beginning to return to normal.

Yippity!

2008-10-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

It's DONE! My new photography blog went live this week :-)

It was such a long process, starting with who I wanted to be. Really putting down into words and images the photographer that I want to become. Then making that look fantastic (Thanks Anne!) and then making it visible to the rest of the world (Thanks Sarah!)

I am BEYOND thrilled with it all.

www.hazelnutphotography.com/blog

... now, on to the next project!

A Tag!

2008-10-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

I got tagged by Anne and must list 6 super random things about myself. (I love tags. A lot.)

1. I am OBSESSED with email. OBSESSED. I love getting it. I love sending it. I check it at least 800ish times a day. On my phone. On the computer. While in traffic. While standing in line. While I should be doing something else...

2. Pumpkin is clearly the best tasting thing on the planet. Pane e Vino has a pumpkin ravioli special every year in October, but the actual week varies. Every Monday in October I call and ask if it will be on the special board that week. When it finally is I make the reservation for as soon in the week as my friend Ani and I can get together. When I ordered last year, the waiter said that they were out. OUT?! I threw a mild tantrum and the chef "found" some. It was delcious. We topped it off with pumpkin cheesecake. Perhaps this is the week :-)

3. I am a planner. I love lists. Writing out lists of plans is heavenly to me. I have at least two To Do Lists going at once. There's always a pad of paper in my purse and a running list on my phone. The thrill of checking off an item is beyond amazing.

4. I grew up in the middle of nowhere North Carolina. I lived down a long dirt road, drove an hour to the nearest movie theater/mall/Wal-Mart/fast food joint, spent many a first date driving through mud puddles and shining spotlights on bears, and left my keys in the car when I went to the grocery store. The county only has one stop light. It's 25 minutes from my house. When we got a temporary second one to deal with some bridge maintenance, it made the front page of the newspaper. When I decided to go away from college people asked me "Why you goin go so far away from you Mama?" And when I decided to move to Los Angeles they thought I was crazy.

5. I was bored in high school, so I tried out for the track team. I hate running! I don't think I ran a single lap in the three days of tryouts and I made the team. (They even cut other people!) I am not a quitter and have never quit anything in my entire life... so I had to stick it out through the year. I spent a lot of time "sick" and "dehydrated" so that I wouldn't have to run the races. I was really really bad and always came in last. But I stuck it out through the entire season. I blame my super short stocky little legs. I am nothing if not stubborn.

6. I have cankles. Chris has amazingly beautiful skinny legs and such a defined strong Achilles tendon. I pray that our children get his leg/ankle/foot combo. I have considered and totally would get cankle surgery.

The "rules" of the game are as follows:
1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post
Now, I tag these folks....

- Diabolina
- Jen
- Mary
- SamEd
- Paola
- You!

Decor: Chandeliers

2008-10-13T22:53:00.000-07:00

Chris has this way with things. He always wins the prizes or somehow gets the most amazing deal. Except when car shopping, but that's a whole different story.

Anywho, I came home last week and was pushed into the kitchen and told that I wasn't allowed into the front room. His mom and dad were here, and the three of them convened in secret meeting in the living room. If my footsteps neared the living room, I was reprimanded.

I was scared. There's absolutely no telling what could occur when the three of them get together. I feared walking into the room that had been repainted with zebra stripes. No joke.

But I walked in to this.

Freakin' awesome chandelier. At the Habitat for Humanity. For $100. The tag retailed it for $3,600.

It's ENORMOUS... at least 4 feet tall and probably five feet wide. It has quickly become the centerpiece of the pool room. I'm thinking of maybe painting it black... umm...

Decor: Desk

2008-10-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

I could potentially open an ick furniture store in my garage.

I had a vision for the desk I wanted in my office. BIG. Wood. Black. Interesting legs.

Found her on Craig's List for $80! Its previous home is just around the corner from the house and the seller even dropped it off for us!

It's the heaviest, most ridiculously solid table. I'm going to refinish it with a black stain and put it in the center of the room. My computer will go on the left side and on the other end, Chris' computer will go on the opposite corner. Then we can stare at each other :-)

Decor: More Chairs

2008-10-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

I'm going to have to change the blog from "The Jordana Project" to the "Buy a Bunch of Junk and Turn it into Something Awesome (Fingers Crossed) Project."

I bought more chairs. And a table.

I've been searching for these chairs for WEEEEEEKS! Trolling all kinds of sites day after day hoping for something junky that I could refinish and turn into all kinds of amazingness. Still in it's ick stage, my new most favorite office chairs.

How close to what I was looking for?! I think I even like them better than the other version. They are beyond fantastic and I can't wait to sit behind my new desk in this fabulous chair, with the amazing fabric I bought weeks ago with the perfect vision in mind. Ahhhh!

We went down to the Santa Monica Flea Market to take a look on Sunday. And in the back corner, just when I thought it was a total waste to drive all the way down there, I spot these. And I think, "They're going to be AT LEAST $80 a piece and it's sooo not worth it." So I ask. $20 A PIECE!!! ACK!

And one of them is broken, so I tell her I will only pay $15 for it. She's fine with that. EEK!

There's also a table. All kinds of broken. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it but I kind of love it. I'm thinking about painting it all black and having glass or wood cut to fit the top. Or maybe something off the wall like stainless steel or concrete.

I'll have to go to town with the wood glue. And perhaps never put anything of value on it should it collapse into a million and a half pieces.

Decor: Chairs, Chairs Everywhere

2008-10-05T09:29:00.000-07:00

I am currently obsessed with antique chairs of the Louis variety. Obsessed.

I found this one on Craig's List and picked it up on Friday. It's not going to work for my office because it's too small, but I'm thinking now for the living room. Painting it black and then reupholstering it with something fantatsic. Maybe white. Or maybe a print. Or maybe I'll leave it a bit until I reorganize my brain.

Decor: Photo Wall in the Pool Room

2008-10-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

Remember the smurf blue living room? Well, it has been renamed the pool room and Chris wants to hang chlorine tablets from the ceiling. The color and the rounded walls into the ceiling do feel pretty much like an upside down pool. Kind of like floating at the top and looking down at the bottom. Perhaps we will repaint at some point in the future, but I'm tired of painting. And I don't want to. Chris' father suggested hanging 3ft, 6ft, 12ft signs on the walls. I suggested hanging them upside down. It's kind of funny :-)

(the green in the dining room was not my choice. It will be changed as

soon as I drum up the energy to put my painting clothes on again.)

But we're here for the photo wall! I'm so freakin' excited about this wall. I've wanted a giant wall that I can with as I please FOREVER. But I've just never had the space. Now I have more walls than I know what to do with and I knew exactly what it would be. An entire wall of black and whites. It's absolutely heavenly and I adore it. I think it needs a bit of rearranging and a few more photos, but it's almost there!

eekkkkk! A Photography Feature!

2008-10-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

Over at Elizabeth Anne Designs! Go check it out.

You're probably going to be sooo over me blabbering on and on about how amazingly blessed I feel these days. This little thing I started is growing and becoming so big! I am overwhelmed with how supportive every single person in my life has been. Beyond amazing.

The Perils of DIY Handiwork

2008-09-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

Chris and I are DIY people. We like to get in there and get dirty. Well, in everything except cleaning and plumbing. The former because we hate it and the latter because that's just something that should be left to the professionals.

Last night we had our first disaster. And I'm down to nine toenails.

The moral of the story... pick up boxes MUCH higher than you think you need to. A box housing new kitchen cabinets slid across my right foot last night and took my nail with it.

The good - my nail polish was a nice red anyway, so sans bandaid, you can't even really tell that the nail is missing.

The bad - the internet tells me it could take a year to grow back... if it even does grow back. WTF!?

Do they make fake toenails?

My Life in Bullet Points

2008-09-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

Too busy. WOOO!

- Auntie was in town a few weeks ago. Whenever she's here we eat like rock stars. There was Tower Bar (the most beautiful atmosphere), The Ivy (where we saw Shauna Sand, but thought she was a porn star, until I was clicking through channels and she was on TMZ. She super skinny and looks like a porn star. Is she a porn star?), CUT (by far, the most fantastic meal I think I've EVER had. Mr. Puck came out to introduce himself and see how our meal was. I think I may have gawked a bit) and topped it all of with an old favorite, Il Sole.

- I have the most amazing husband ever. He strips, he builds, he paints and he's doing most of it without me! I'm working all week and shooting all weekend and editing all night. Adore him. A lot.

- The plumbers have come and gone. The dry wall has gone back up. The ceiling has been depopcorned. The flooring is nearing completion. Nearly all the walls have been painted. That place looks fantastic. Would it be wrong to live in the rental unit of my house and rent out the house part?!

- Chris' parents are coming in October. I keep thinking we have so much time to get out of the boxes, but then I realize that October is next week. Holy shit.

- Photography is the best thing that ever happened to me. More on that soon.

- Attended a wedding show with Paola complete with blue martinis and pistachio cake (really the best part of wedding shows). We followed it up with dinner at The Abbey. There was a show and it was fabulous. Realized that I should get out of the house more often.

- The gym has not been graced with my presence in nearly a month. Seriously. I should go back there soon. I'm a poufy jiggly mess.

- I haven't cooked in over a month. Now that the house kitchen has been cleaned I feel safe using it until we can completely rip it out. But I haven't. Most times I ask Chris to cook and then give him a really big kiss and hug and tell him how good he does it. He is a fantastic cook. But mostly I just don't want to do it.

- A lot of my plants are dead. Moving traumatized them. (Or perhaps lack of water murdered them.)

- Bingley and Jack love the new house. But Bingley was chased by a dog and Jack fell off the roof. Both boys are fine. I am totally going to be an overprotective mother that follows her daughter to the movie theater on her first date, sits in the back with wig and Jackie O sunglasses and spies with bincoculars. It's going to be bad. Should probably work on that now.

I PROMISE pictures soon. I JUST downloaded the pictures from the first day I broke in to "Guerilla Move."

House: More Demo

2008-09-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Super crazy busy busy weekend at the new house!

There are three parts to our house. The original house, the kitchen/living addition and then a later Mother-in-Law Addition. The last part completely closes off to the rest of the house, has its own entrance and is about 600 square feet. So, we decided to tear it apart, build it back up and rent it to some friendly/quiet/nice folks. One problem... it's ugly as hell.

So, I learned how to break up and tear out tile this weekend!

Lots and lots of angry aggression came out of my body, through the hammer and into the ugly floor. It's now out in the back yard! WOOO!

Chris took on some heavier things... the closet! We ripped out the closet and are putting in a kitchen/living area.

The backyard is currently a disgusting disaster area. We've cut some trees and ripped out carpets and torn down walls... and it's all on the ground in the backyard. We figured that if we're going to hire someone to come haul it all away, we were going to make it worth their while :-)

Please note another stupid previous owner move. See that wire behind Chris' shoulder? It's strung throughout the backyard just like that. From a post. To the corner of the house. To the ground. Yeah, it's the water feed for the sprinkler system. Apparently burying it like normal people was a bit too tough. Nice, eh?

House: Ahhh the Joys of Homeownership

2008-09-18T10:03:00.001-07:00

Chris just sent this to me from his iPhone.

The subject - "First House Boo Boo"

I think there is no electricity at the current moment. F.

Ahhh Marketing...

2008-09-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

I really like marketing. I think it's quite interesting the various ways in which companies try to reach us.

Today, we received a fax. At work.

This is my favorite.

House: The Demo

2008-09-16T06:50:00.000-07:00

A portion of my house looks like this...

It's amazing to see how incredibly stupid some people are. A lot of the tile in the house is rickity. I just figured it was old. Nope! It's because the previous owners just put it down over linoleum. Just threw it down there on top. Smart.

House: The Fridge!

2008-09-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

I think it could be inappropriate how incredibly much I love this refrigerator.

The french doors are amazing. Everything fits so nicely without pulling, giggling, moving, pushing, etc. There is a potential for a lack of drawer storage space, but I'm sure I'll find a work around. If the doors aren't closed exactly right, it beeps at me. Fantastic.

The pull out freezer drawer is GENIUS!

OK, this part is a bit weird... I hate when something is fashioned exactly for one thing. What if I want to use this space for something else? Can't... perfectly formed for cans. Nothing else.

Chris moved over the important stuff :-) Seriously, we have no condiments, and no staple items, but we have Prosecco and Champagne.

Holy Crap

2008-09-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

It's been 10 days since my last post!

My entire life has been turned upside down with the new house and there's stuff EVERYWHERE. For serious. For the first three days that I had to get dressed for work at the new house I had to find my underwear in the formal living room, my pants in the bedroom, shirts in the dining room, shoes in the kitchen... it was rough.

Things are coming together and there will be pictures soon!

But right now I need some help. I found some FABULOUS fabric for office chairs and want to find a cheapo version of this...

image from Brocade Home via Design Sponge

But what would you call this style of chair? I'm searching Craigs List and Ebay and plan on hitting some estate sales. Any other thoughts on where to find it?

An All WOOOOOOOOOOOO day!

2008-09-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

Some days are woo/boo days. Some more woo than boo, some more boo than woo. Yesterday was all woooooooooooooooooooooo!

Woo - we closed! Freakin' finally. But since I had been breaking and entering for the past week or so, it didn't feel quite as awesome as I had expected. More like the same ole same ole, except this time I took the keys home with me instead of leaving them in the lock box. And I didn't get the guilty panic that I was doing something wrong and bad by breaking/entering/cleaning/painting. (All in all, I thought, what are they going to do!? Sue me for making the place more awesome? I was paying to own it, thought I should use it.) I was going to guerilla move on Saturday anyway. (Anne came up with the fantastic term, not me. I like it. So I stole it.) But now it can be totally official.

Woo - We have hardwood! Most of the house is hardwood. The formal living room, dining room and office are original. The living room is some crazy ass mountain shit that they renovated. the bedrooms are carpet. But the upstairs was icky gross carpet. The stairs and the whole open top floor (the master bedroom). Disgusting, icky, stained, gross, disgustingness. But I thought the stairs MIGHT be hardwood because of the curve under the carpet. Didn't know if they were original or not though. Didn't think that the upstairs was, and really, I kind of like carpet in the bedroom... cozier. But it's ALL original hardwood! Well, original, with stain, under the paint, poked with tons of staples, and padding, and carpet. But Chris' new job is to bring them back :-)

Woo - we got a renter for the condo! His office is two blocks away and wants to be able to walk to work. He loves the space. No animals. Super nice older guy. No raging parties. He seems competent with basic household repairs. Super awesome. Adore him.

Woo - our office is nearly painted! But I ran out of paint (ok, a boo.) It's a purpley-grey and it's soft and beautiful and awesome.

Woo - Apparently the closet upstairs backs up to the attic. Which is dead space. The totally super ghetto plywood is going to get ripped out and the ENTIRE ATTIC will be my new CLOSET!!! Seriously, A.W.E.S.O.M.E. I get teary eyed just thinking about the fantasticness that will occur when Chris and his Dad start the demolition up there. I'm imagining something L shaped, with hardwood shelving units. And drawers. And built in shoe racks. And more hanging space then I will ever need. We may never move out of this house. Chills & Tears of Joy.

Woo - Chris came home at 8:45 last night and today is his last day! Tonight is the wrap party and he planned on getting super drunk at the end of his miserable August. But, I told him he can't because...

WOOO - we move tomorrow! We're picking up a truck at 8 am and moving all our crap from the condo to the house. I moved the first set of boxes last night before the painting shenanigans began and the rest will be heading over tomorrow. Not sure when to bring the kitties. They would LOVE to go playing in my purpley-grey paint and then traipse through the house with sticky little paws.

House: Refrigerator

2008-09-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

Refrigerator shopping is AWFUL. Disgusting. And Awful.

Last week we tried a scratch-and-dent place in Chatsworth. Some pretty decent stuff, but the pricing wasn't as low as you expect for a giant warehouse with no air condition full of stuff that's been dinged. Or fell off a truck.

Then there was Lowe's. Mostly, I was just tired of shopping already and didn't care and didn't think that we would need one so quickly. My oh my how time flies when you're having fun.

Yesterday we started the shopping again as I realized that we're moving on Saturday and we don't have anything to chill the multiple beers that Chris will need to consume as I put him into manual slave labor mode.

Sears was the first stop. I.Hate.Them. Firstly, there are 6 sales folk in the TV section standing around picking their noses. They don't know about/can't sell/don't want to sell refrigerators. There is one guy in the refrigerator section who is stuck with a couple asking a bajillion questions. So, we looked. And we waited. And we looked. And finally one of the stove guys came over to help us. He picked one that we liked. Here's where I get REALLY angry. All of the fridges have prices on them. There are black and white and stainless fridges and they all have prices. Put not until you actually put your nose onto the tag and get really really close to read the itty bitty teeny tiny print do you realize that all of the prices are for the white version of that fridge. The stainless version is obviously $400 more. Bastards. AND all this "Next Day Delivery" stuff is crap. They can't deliver it for almost two weeks! What's with this pay and wait crap!? That's when I stormed out. I was tired, and cranky, and angry.

But we had to push through. We need a beer chiller. So, to Home Depot we went. Big selection, helpful folk, lower prices. And a chair that I could sit in. The chair was important I think. Oh, and cell reception. Why don't warehouse stores have cell recpetion? We were able to pull up reviews and comparisons on our iPhones and decide on our giant purchase with somewhat of an education. Well, really, I mostly decided that I liked rounded handles, pull out freezers, french door fridge, a top drawer in the freezer that pops out when the whole drawer is opened, lots of little drawers in the fridge, doors that close without being physically pushed shut and water in the door. Chris liked that one of them had a long shallow drawer... he called it the beer drawer. Perfect for lots of bottles laying down. But, then the sales lady called it a cake drawer. Perfect for giant sheet cakes. And then I knew we had to have it.

And it was the last day of their 10% off, free delivery sales promotion from labor day! Still a week on the delivery, but I guess we can get by with an old school cooler for a bit.

YAAAH for checks of the list!

Random Bits of Updates

2008-09-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

- House - We do not officially own the house. Yet, we are making payments on it. It's kind of like standing at the cash register at Target waiting for someone to grab your new purchases from the back warehouse. For five days. However, I have the lockbox combination and have been allowing myself in for cleaning (well, for letting the cleaning lady in) and painting. Lots and lots of painting. Seriously, the walls are sucking down paint like thirsty hyenas. Three gallons for the living room. Painted it blue... but it came out a bit more smurf than I would have liked. But I was already in it, so I pressed through. Hopefully some photos on the wall will bring down the smurfness.

- Body - I've been bad. Lost another pound last week, but have eaten like a crazy person all week and avoided the gym due to a massive amount of painting needing to be done. Probably have gained it all back. However, ceiling painting is an awesome workout and my arms/back feel like they've been through the ringer!

- Visits - My good friend WTF and her husband were in town for a wedding. YAH! As always, excellent to see them! Aunt Jill is in town next week, which means lots and lots of shopping and even more eating. There will also be no working out, so I expect to buy up a pant size for next week.

- Husband - Only two more days before I get to really see him again! He's been coming home pretty early for the last week, rolling in not too much after midnight. That brings him down to 16 hour days. Poor kid. It's weird, he's here, but not really here. I rattled on and on about Sarah the other night, failing to remember that he had no idea who Sarah was. He didn't know that I had hired a web designer to build a new blog/website for the photography. Forgot to mention that. Odd how major things fall away when you don't have idle time for chit chat.

So, I've been a bad blogger... but that's mostly because there's not that much to be interesting about. Work, Paint, Edit, Sleep, Repeat. I could use a nap...

An Open Letter

2008-08-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

Dearest Escrow Company,

I hate your stinking guts. You make me sick.

Your job is to make my life easy. You're supposed to gather and organize. You're supposed to know your shit. This does not include calling me 20 minutes before I'm scheduled to arrive at your office and suggest that maybe we sign on another day. This does not include calling me at 12:30 in a mad panic to get paperwork signed (that you forgot to include in the original signing, so it's your fault really) by 4:00 and then never emailing it or returning my multiple phone calls. This does not include forgetting to get the deed from the seller until the day before we close, thusly pushing closing back to the next business day which is essentially four days due to a holiday weekend.

I hate you.

Jordana

Baking: Scones

2008-08-26T22:01:00.001-07:00

I don't think there is anything I love more than scones. They're so freakin' good. And to be completely honest, a fairly new discovery for me. We were doing a Tea Tasting for work and this little bit of heaven passed through my lips. And I'm not much of a breakfast sweets kind of girl. But I could eat these for breakfast every day.

I've eaten them many times since that day, but I've never made them! So, I went directly to Smitten Kitchen and searched for scones. There was only one entry, and I was heartbroken to begin reading that she HATED the recipe. But I kept reading... there had to be a "but..." And there was! Another recipe that was perfection. At it was.

Technically, this is the second time that I've made this recipe. The first was for Janices' bridal shower. I cut them out of the dough cookie cutter style with a shot glass. Tiny little round goodness. But I forgot to take pictures of them.

I had some leftover heavy cream, so I whipped some up on Monday morning. For the first time in nearly three weeks, Chris and I had an entire day off together. It was a beautiful day full of refrigerator shopping, termite work inspecting and reconnecting. We REALLY needed it and it was perfect! (In other news, did you know how expensive refrigerators are?!) Back to the point... I wanted to make a nice little breakfast to start the day. Scones & fried eggs. Excellent.

These are FANTASTIC! Seriously, go make them. Now.

We Signed!

2008-08-23T13:23:00.001-07:00

(holy crap)

Yesterday was the loan doc signing day! Chris got a Power of Attorney notarized so that I could sign for him. Apparently leaving the set for an hour to buy a house is looked down upon (kidding Chris. I love you.) He's working absolutely crazy hours. Coming home at 3 am, leaving by 8 am. And that's if he even comes home! I leave at 6:45 for work these days... so we're kind of just sharing a bed for a few hours a night. sad.

Anywho, by some miracle of God he had Friday off! His first day in almost three weeks! Which was awesome for me because apparently it's not as simple as signing my name and then signing his name. It's signing my name and then some ridiculously long sentence about who I am and who he is and why I'm signing for him. On every page.

Seems like there were fewer pages for these loan documents than the last time. But honestly, we are both such exhausted human beings at this point, we could have potentially bought the Empire State Building and not realized it.

Last time I took pictures, and this time I forgot. I had the camera and everything. And I forgot. I was somewhat stunned that the Notary was sharing all kinds of information with us about the births of her four children. And what birth control she was on when she got pregnant. And how she got her tubes tied. And what it's like when you're in labor. And that we should have four kids too. Why is that when you get married every person on the planet feels the need to give me a little punch in the arm and ask when the kids are coming with a big goofy smile?! My usually excuse is "We live in 667 square feet! Where the hell would I put it?!" But now we have 2,600 square feet... that's probably enough space for a kid. New excuse "I have two mortgages. If a kid costs more than $10 a month, I'm not going to be able to afford it."

So, closing on August 29 :-)

(holy crap)

The Most Ridiculous Extravaganza

2008-08-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

So, last Friday the sales staff had a bit of training in the morning. I was feeling ick, so in an attempt to turn my frown upside down, I threw on my favorite Louboutain wedding shoes (totally not fit for the new dress code, but there hasn't been a formal memo yet, so I'm toeing the line.) I haven't worn them since the wedding and they just needed to come off the shelf.

Photo by Rob Holley

Anywho, our training was all about having fun at work, choosing to be happy that we're here, and being a team. We watched a video that profiled the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle where they throw the fish at each other in an effort to keep it light and fun and happy. And honestly, watching them have fun lightened my mood a bit.

At the end of the discussion, my Director of Sales handed out aprons and gloves... can you imagine where I'm going with this!?

The three of us moved out to the parking lot while our DoS disappeared into the kitchen. We're standing there. Heels, skirts, pearls, plastic apron and gloves. She walks out. With a tray of whole Tilapia. For real!? Then, we proceeded to throw gutted fish at each other. In the parking lot. Outside my office. I was barefoot. In a suit.

Christian sat far away from the debacle and looked at me in disgust/fear.

However, it was kind of fun in a weird way. Team solidarity in the face of ridiculous experiences.

Body: La Di Da Di

2008-08-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

I was so super good last week. This week, eh, a bit here and a bit there. But I'm feeling less jiggly so that's always a good sign! I think I did some sort of work out 4 times last week. But I pulled a double class on one of the days and that felt awesome. I hit a pilates class and a yoga class... I forgot how much I missed those classes. How amazing the simple relaxing/breathing can feel after pushing my body through triangles and circles and planks. I haven't really stretched like that in a very long time and I felt leaner, longer and stronger. Should work that into my regimen.

I went through lots and lots of technology errors last week with my photography blog, so I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with Go Daddy instead of at the gym. I must say, their customer support department is beyond phenomenal. I think I called every single night, for at least an hour a night and they were the most helpful people I've ever dealt with (except the two guys on Saturday night who were pricks. And I hate them.)

Another slight issue... I'm shooting. A lot. So, I'm out a lot in the evenings, or driving home late at night. And I've gotten into a slight habit of fast food dinner. bad bad bad bad bad. Most of the time I'll just get a hamburger and a diet coke. No fries (being healthy and whatnot.) They taste so freakin' good. DEEEEEElicious! But this is going to be a bad habit... last week, I had three! (lots of shooting = good. lots of fast food = bad.)

But, I'm down another one! Slow and steady wins the race, no?

Weight: 127

Goal: 120

Weekly Change: -1

Polaroid Camera

2008-08-17T12:29:00.001-07:00

How freakin' cool are polaroid cameras!?

My Photography Blog Moved!

2008-08-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

Don't worry! It's still there... it's just here now instead :-)

Update your readers!

And because I hate posts without photos... and little snapshot of the beautiful sky last night on my way home from the gym. I kind of miss the clouds and rain and thunderstorms back on the east coast. Only kind of though. When I remember the many afternoons trekking home in the pouring rain, I remember how fantastic seasonless weather can be. Then I remember those cute galoshes I have sitting in the back of my closet getting no play for the last three years... ahhh... memories.

Anyway, sunset. With clouds. Stunning, yes?

(Thank You iPhone!)

Everything Is Illuminated

2008-08-15T11:54:00.001-07:00

You know what I love? Netflix. What a fantastic service!? Love it. We've been watching all kinds of movies lately. I usually fall asleep. Because I'm old and tired like that. But, I get the general gist of things and am really enjoying a departure from the networks.

Chris' sister recommended Green Street Hooligans, so we added it to the list. (It's an excellent movie, and super highly recommended, but that's not what this post is about.) There was a preview for a film I'd never heard of, Everything is Illuminated. It's about a young Jewish collector who travels to the Ukraine to meet a woman in a photograph. The trailer was so hilarious and heart wrenching that I knew I had to see it. It fled up to the top of my Netflix queue.

We watched it last weekend. It was a fantastic film! Of course, I fell asleep. But for the first time in a long time, I NEEDED to see the middle parts that I missed because I was asleep. I knew the end, but I had to experience the middle for myself.

Go. Now. Rent it, buy it, netflix it. You will absolutely laugh, cry and be touched by this amazing experience.

Decor: Chairs

2008-08-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

I've got decor on the mind. I've got all these rooms to decorate as I see fit and I'm beyond excited! The house is quite, errr, eclectic. Like the previous owners watched too many design shows. Then they decorated each room in a totally different manner.

The front bedroom, formal living room and dining room are quite Spanish. Beautifully high rounded ceilings, thin plank light hardwood floors... all delicious! Then, there's the kitchen, which is a totally cluster and I wish we could rip out the day after closing. Seriously, they didn't clean in it at least 3 years. It's ickity ick ick. The living space is off of the kitchen. It has wide plank, knotty, light wood floors. With deep ridges. And a chair rail. And exposed beams that don't quite match up to each other. And it looks like they accidentally bought too many kitchen cabinets and so they placed a set in the living room. For real, it's weird as hell.

So, the decor. I'm starting with chairs. I've been wanting a high backed wing chair for as long as I can remember. But I didn't have the space. OHHHH but I wanted one so bad. I wanted a vintage one. An icky disgustingly upholstered one. One that I could make my very own. But it had to be the right shape. And it had to be solid.

And last weekend, I found it!
This is the Craig's List photo. I would have taken my own, but the chair has been chillin in the back of my car since Sunday. I have no where else to put it! And I'm too tired to go downstairs, pull it out, take a photo and then get stuck not being able to put it back into the car because it weighs a million pounds. So, I apologize for the crapiness of the Craig's List photo quality.

I love love love the rounded seat. The height of the back. The perfect little legs. Sigh... love her! I'm thinking something funky cool but classic for the fabric. A print. Blue, beige, perhaps some yellow. Joanns was sucky. But I've got swatches coming from Mood.

Next step... find an upholsterer. Recommendations!?

House Update

2008-08-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

I'm kind of amazed at how smoothly things are running with the house buying situation we have going on over here. The emotional side of it is a totally freakin' disaster. I work myself up into a tizzy at least every other day. Who do we think we are?! What are we doing?! What are we getting ourselves into!? We're going to lose all of our money and have to live on the street in a giant cardboard box. AHHHHHH! And on the days that I'm not working myself into a crazy hurricane, Chris is.

But the part that's supposed to be the hardest... the inspections and the loan and the paperwork crap has been surprisingly easy. The gathering of the stuff was difficult. But that's over.

We had a termite inspection. The place is nearly 80 years old. And there's lots of wood. Obviously it has termites. But there was a lot of work needed to make it perfect. Two days ago, my Realtor sent me an addendum that required them to pay for it. All of it. All $5,000 worth of wood work and spraying and shiza. And I kind of giggled. There was NO way they were going to pay for that. But, I figured she knows more about buying houses than I do, so I signed it.

And this morning, they signed it. WTF! Why would they do that! I'm psyched beyond belief. Dummies. :-) I'm pissed though... they're not going to paint. (Kidding)

And today, more totally unexpected news. I'm thinking... it's all going to well. The loan bank is going to come back and say "haha, you guys suck. We're not giving you money. That would be dumb!" And then they didn't. Today, we were approved! (Holy Shit)

It still doesn't feel real though. Even though I have our living room and bedroom and my office totally designed in my head. And it's stunningly gorgeous.

We take a lot of walks. And lately, we've planned our walks to the house and back to our condo. It's a good 3-4 mile walk and we have such amazing talks. Anywho, on our Sunday walk to the house, we stood in the driveway and stared at our house. Wow, our house. And Chris pointed to our tree. And a beautiful dove was sitting on one of our branches. Looking at us. Bringing us peace. Peace at our house.

(Holy Shit)

It's Official

2008-08-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

I'm an old married lady with a new last name and a disgusting photo ID.

My old one was an angry poofy haired version of myself. But at least it was exposed properly.

Cooking: Pan-Seared Steak Au Poivre

2008-08-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

Last night was Chris' last night at home before the ridiculousness of production starts. There are lots of 18 hour days in his future and lots of PB&J sandwiches for me!

So, as our last hurrah until September, I thought I'd make something super special. And nothing screams super special like Filet Mignon. I love me some filet and order it at every steak resturant I encounter. It's just so fantastic. And I always thought it would probably be quite difficult to recreate at home. So I thought it was worth the heftier pricetag.

Guess what? It's freakin' not! And it's easy and probably the most awesome dinner I've ever made. Ever.

Another Real Simple miracle! So super easy and simple. One of the most tender and delicious steaks I've ever had. I threw some asparagus in a pan with olive oil and pine nuts and sauteed for a bit. I should have put in some garlic. because, well, it makes everything better. There was also some rice pilaf, but it was too watery at photo shoot time. One of those Near East boxes that are so delicious and are highly recommended!

I'm sure the cooking recipes are going to come to a halt for the next few weeks. I mean, is anyone interested in PB&J and cereal photos? ... Didn't think so!

Body: Getting Back Into the Habit

2008-08-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

Slowly but surely, I'm getting there. I didn't work Monday - Wednesday of last week (and it was amazing) so I hit the gym regularly. Morning, afternoon, no traffic, empty rooms. It was fantastic and I don't want to have my mortgage job anymore (more on that at some point in the future.)

Monday: 24 S.E.T.

Tuesday: Hiking

Wednesday: Zumba

Thursday: 24 L.I.F.T

Sunday: Walking

It was a good workout week... and by Friday I was feeling svelte again. And then I hit my nemisis. Mochi.

It's a problem. I woke up on Saturday CRAVING it. And bounced over to the fridge with frizzy hair and a stupid grin on my face. Ice cream at 9 am! And Chris had eaten the last of it! It was gone. My grin vanished and I was sad.

So I hit Trader Joes for a Strawberry and a Mango box. Somehow, between the two of us, there is no more mochi. Two days, twelve balls. Crapper.

So, no more mochi. Chicken & Vegetables & things that are good for me. Eh, Chris is working production for the next month... 18 hour days. So I'll probably dig into the PB&J and cereal... that's good for me, right?!

Weight: 128

Goal: 120

Weekly Change: -1

Cooking: Pancakes

2008-08-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

I.Love.Pancakes. They're awesome. All kinds of awesome. But I don't make them that much because it's a lot of work for a Saturday morning. I usually use my grandfathers' recipe. He was an amazing cook and it's like a family heirloom. But it's got all kinds of stuff that I didn't have in the house... crisco and whatnot.

So, to the computer I went to google "pancake recipe" and this little one popped up. Easy enough. Followed one of the commenters thoughts and reduced the salt to 3/4 tsp and added a tsp of vanilla.

I used the flat side of this grill aparatus. It covers two burners and get's hot all over. Lots of room for pancake making. I made them tiny for faster cooking and more adorableness.

Topped with some raspberries and ready for eating!

They are delicious! The vanilla adds the perfect bit of scrumptiousness. I would definitely ditch the heirloom for these again.

I just have to add this little contraption. It's a pancake dropper. Honestly, it was a whim registry item. Thank You Thank You Thank You to Miss SamEd for the gift. It's the first time I've use it and it is awesome. Perfect tiny little pancakes and no mess! An excellent addition to your kitchen. Go get it.

Cooking: Fake Fried Chicken and Garlicky Baby Zucchini & Potatoes

2008-08-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm a Southern girl. And I make a damn good fried chicken. But it's bad for you. And oil splatters all over the place. And I need to be less fat.

SOOOOO.... fake fried chicken. It's actually super easy. And tastes pretty awesome.

I had baby zucchini (how cute are they!?) and potatoes, so I found a recipe that would use both. Some of my potatoes were purple. Funky. If I hadn't read recently that those kinds of potatoes exist, I may have thought that they had gone horribly bad. All in all, they taste like regular potatoes.

Chris is working super late these days, it seems rude of me to wait for him to come home and then make him cook. So I've been picking up his slack :-)

Blogiversary!

2008-08-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

My blog is celebrating it's very first birthday :-)

I should have made a cake...

Cooking: Brussels Spouts

2008-08-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

I will try anything once. I was always forced to do it as a kid, and it has served me well in my adult years. However, the only thing I was absolutely positive that would never be put on my plate was brussels sprouts. My step-father, who eats everything, HATED them. And if he hated them, then my mom never made them. (I hated pork chops, but had to eat them all the time.)

So I grew up thinking that brussels sprouts were the devil and bad children were allowed to eat nothing but brussels sprouts and they were disgustingly awful.

But, a few weeks ago, I had dinner with a blogging buddy, Diabolina. She RAVED about the brussels sprouts. At first my nose scrunched. And then I thought, "What the hell!" (Keep in mind, I've never actually eaten brussels sprouts at this point in my life... I've just heard their nasty stories.) These were prepared with bacon and really, everything with bacon is pretty awesome.

And they were F-A-N-TASTIC! Amazing. I have dreams about them.

So, just a few days ago, I'm strolling up the aisle at Farm Boy and spot some adorable little brussels sprouts. For reals, how cute are they!?

I found a roasted brussels sprouts and bacon recipe and went to town.

And it was easy and delicious and I will be making them much more regularly! Maybe even for my step-father... muahahahahaha!

It's a Saturday.

2008-08-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

I'm in the office.

I'm a renegade.

Body: Ickity Ick Ick Ick

2008-08-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

I was like a rockstar before the wedding. Or a socialite. My willpower over food was fantastic. My dedication to the gym was superb. The lifestyle of a lady with a rockin' bod was cleverly integrated into my own!

Now. Ick. Motivation = 0.

I started posting about it as a motivational tool... but then I got slack/lazy/blah and just stopped posting.

I.Gained.Weight.

5 pounds.

bad.bad.bad.

So, I'm back. I'm going to rock it. Because I hate hate hate my jiggliness.

The plan:
Lifting Sessions - 2 per week
Cardio Sessions - 2 per week
Outdoor Workout Sessions - 1 per week
Sit on my bum so I don't burn myself out and gain 10 more pounds - 2 per week

There we go! TKB/Treadmill on Monday & Wednesday, 24 Lift/Self-Motivated-Lifting on Tuesday & Thursday and Hiking on Saturday or Sunday. Maybe even a Friday TKB, but only because I love Shilo so much I might want to have her babies. I don't think I've ever been so excited to attend a gym class as I am when I know she's teaching.

Updates will be coming on Tuesdays. I'm required to. Forced by myself.

Happy weekend!

A New Facet of the Jordana Project

2008-07-31T22:19:00.001-07:00

I'm a multitasker. I enjoy having lots and lots and lots of things going on. I've got two jobs... a job that pays the mortgage (My Mortgage Job) and a job that I LOOOVE (My Love Job). I've got a new husband. I've got my Jordana Project.

OBVIOUSLY, it's time for a new addition. And I am BEYOND thrilled to introduce our new bundle of joy...

(please note that my front door is located under a spire.)

She weighs in at 4 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms and 2,600 sq. ft. And we are beaming parents!

We happened upon her at the beginning of July, a little bike ride on July 5 on the way to Portos for a bit of breakfast. After a quick look around I KNEW we couldn't afford it, but thought we'd call just to get an idea of what things were going for in this particular hood. Lo and behold, it was bankowned. And on the market for two months. And dropped $200K on July 3. WHAT!?

So, we're in escrow and set to close next month. Banks take F-O-R-EVER. Inspection yesterday went fabulously well. She's got good bones and, while a project house, is in fabulous shape.

Chris knows that he's in charge of... well... pretty much all of it. This girl is busy trying to get a new business off the ground! But I look forward to editing on the floor while he is sanding. And painting. And tearing out walls. And maybe even working on some pipes.

{This is the place where I would normally post a million pictures. But the previous owners bought it, and then forgot that they had to clean it. For reals... it's icky gross. Did you know that dust could form bunnies, and then the dust bunnies could CLIMB the walls. They do. The place is disgusting. But I love her like only a mother could.}

Cocktails!

2008-07-31T22:04:00.001-07:00

I am one freakin' lucky girl. We wrote our own vows for the wedding. And Chris promised to always keep my wine glass full. I've gone ahead and applied this to all glasses though... martini, water, soda, champagne, etc.

And recently, he's been stepping it up a notch! Fresh fruit whipped in the Magic Bullet, mixed with the liquor of the day and a some complementing awesomeness.

A Peach Cocktail. (that ice looks like mold... but it's ice.)

The very first one... A Cucumber Martini. Holy.Crap.This.Is.So.Good. Cucumbers are totally my new favorite thing. I've started adding them to all glasses of water. Makes me feel all spa-y!

But Chris threw in some vodka. And really, vodka makes everything better!

We've also rocked raspberries, strawberries and mango. I feel healthy while being so bad!

Baking: Orange Chocolate Torte

2008-07-31T21:06:00.001-07:00

Real Simple does this thing... Fake it, Don't Make It. I'd never done it because I feel like it's cheating. Go big or go home... yes?

However, after my last time crunch/heat disaster, I thought I should try to do something a bit more quickly. I only had about an hour to shower, change, get dressed, bake and get out the door. Enter the Chocolate Orange Torte.

And yet, I STILL ran out of time! There was no muffin mix, so I went with cake mix instead. It took nearly twice as long to bake! And I remembered the cooling issues of the past, so knew that I needed to leave some time for that. But we were already 20 minutes late to our little dinner/The Closer party. So, I decided to improvise. I skipped over to the bathroom and grabbed... are you ready for it... my hair dryer! It has a cooler setting. I rocked it.

The other slight issue. The sauce. Chris made an executive decision while I was in the shower to reduce the crap out of my sauce. And he made it candy.

But again, like last time, it tasted F-A-N-TASTIC! not so much pretty, but tasty as if it were made from scratch. Perhaps this will be one to perfect :-)

Earthquake

2008-07-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

While I realize that the little 5.4 quake that hit yesterday was measly for the natives, I was freaked.the.f.out. My very first earthquake!

I was in a First Aid/CPR class... perhaps the exact place one would want to be in a situation such as this. I was pretend making a tourniquet for our controller when the entire room started to shake. The chandaliers were dinging. The ceiling was creaking. And the floor was rolling.

I always thought I'd know just what to do. Door jam. Triangle of Life. But I just sat there. My eyes darting all over the place. Head frozen in panic. No one else was panicking... why aren't we PANICKING!?

And then it was over. And we went back to snake bites and grease fire burns.

Cooking: Glazed Cod with Asparagus and Mushrooms

2008-07-29T06:15:00.001-07:00

My second weekend venture: Cod.

I've never cooked much fish, but I'm a big white fish fan. So light and delicate, yet meaty. Fantastic.

Flipped through an old issue of Real Simple (April 2008) to land on this page. DEFINITELY worth a try. Chris even licked his plate. Like, put plate to lips and licked all the way around. Then he licked my plate. It was kind of gross. But also kind of made me happy :-)

The even have the recipe online! I dug some Parmesan couscous out of the pantry and it paired quite nicely. Just the right heaviness.

Cooking: A New Plan

2008-07-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

I am the absolute worst at pulling some things out of the fridge and making something tastilicious. Chris does it amazingly well. I stare at the fridge. Confused. Frustrated. Then make Chris feed me because I'm too hungry to think about it.

I even started buying all kinds of random things at the grocery store so that I'd have lots of options. It made it harder. And I threw out TONS of food that had icky mold. I also threw out the tupperware, because, well, if mold touched it, it's gross.

So, we have a new plan. Chris cooks during the week and I'll take the weekends. This way, I have time to think and plan and shop. And I will be less frustrated. It also helps in that we need to cut WAAAY back on the eating out, which occurs frequently on the weekends. And it's mostly my fault, the eating out. Chris kind of hates going out and would much rather stay in and make chicken and vegetables. (I'm sick of chicken & vegetables.) Now I'll be excited to get some cooking time in on the weekends! And maybe, just maybe, I'll learn enough that I can pull something out on a Tuesday night and whip up something fantastic. (this is the plan.)

So, my first venture. Real Simples' Chicken & Mango Skewers! SUPPPER easy and tasted amazing. And I'm not a huge skewer fan.

(There are no pictures because I was too hungry to run upstairs to grab the camera before eating every single morsel. Sorry. The Real Simple website shot will have to suffice.)

At the store, I originally couldn't find the mangoes... so I started to substitute. Papaya and Peaches. Then I threw in a mango. Was significantly less expensive and more flavorful. Grilled fruit is simple amazing. Should eat more of it.

All around a wonderful summer meal. We ate out by the pool with cocktails. A fabulous summer evening.

Stealing Sandwiches

2008-07-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

Ani and I went to Le Pain Quotidien for brunch last week. I pass the one on Ventura all the time, but had never been before. Mostly because I'm not quite sure how to pronounce it and never suggest it whilst in a group situation. Anybody know?

Anyways, had an INCREDIBLY tastilicious Tomato & Fig Tartine. I ADORE figs. Had them for the first time at a fantastic resturant in Malibu... it's famous... I forget which one... (my mind is a hot mess these days). They were wrapped in prosciutto. AHHHHHMazing.

So, thought I'd try it. Wasn't sure what a tartine was... but knew it should probably be some sort of sandwich.

It was. And it was awesome.

Open faced with Ricotta Cheese, honey, tomato and fig. Fantastic. And simple!

So I mixed up my own version the other night for dinner. Added a little salad with chicken. Didn't really want the chicken, but Chris throws a hissy if there isn't any protein in his meal. So, we added chicken. George Forman style with a Pear Champagne Vinagrette dressing.

The Le Pain version wasn't quite as piled with the tomato and fig, but I really enjoy the piling... so I piled.

For breakfast this morning I made another version. All fruit on a French Bread.

Think I might eat these on a regular basis.

Gardening: WTF?!

2008-07-20T18:01:00.001-07:00

Recently discovered in my potato plant.

Junior wanted to smoke them. Chris wanted to sautée them. I wanted to know what the hell they were doing on my balcony.

Things that Suck: Work Shoes

2008-07-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

I just found out that every pair of shoes I wear to work must conform to the following guidelines:

1. closed toe
2. closed back
3. no more than 2.5" in height

I own approximately zero pairs that conform.

And I was denied a raise for shoes.

F.

Do I Work for Michael Scott?

2008-07-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

My boss just passed on an email from Corporate.

"[The Company] is taking a progressive approach to its yogurt portfolio."

God help me.

Friends: Celebration!

2008-07-14T23:12:00.000-07:00

There's nothing more awesome than celebrating the major events occurring in your friends lives. And tonight was a super awesome one.

There were oysters.
Big fat nasty oysters (I hate them. ick. like big blobs of fishy jelly.)

And crab legs... lots and lots and lots of crab legs. (Those were fabulous!)

And of course champagne. What's a celebration without champagne?!

Because Stephen was premiering on The Closer!

Congratulations 'Mater on your absolutely fabulous work!

(I've never watched this show before and it was pretty excellent. Although, I'm a sucker for shows based in LA because I feel like they're trading inside information just for me!)

The City: Hollywood Forever Cemetery

2008-07-13T12:34:00.000-07:00

How have I NEVER heard of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery Movie Screenings!? I've been here for three years and never heard of them. Then, this summer, I'm hearing about it all over the place! Blogs & Friends & Emails.

Natalie planned a little outing for Golddiggers of 1933 and it was fantastic!

Paola made the most adorable (and fantasticly tasting) cupcakes that ever happened.

Junior is visiting us from NY, so he came along.

Natalie & Greg.

Paola & Eric

Rob & Anne.

Mary Patterson

The gates open at 7:30, but the movie doesn't start until 9:00, so Chris and I took a walk through the cemetery to snap some photos.

I wonder how much it costs to be buried in a house?

Since I started really shooting, I don't like to give up the camera anymore! But Chris asked really really nicely, so I let him play with the camera.

The movie was EXCELLENT! Total 1930s cheesetastic. I thoroughly enjoyed it, except for the last 20 minutes, when I fell asleep. Opps.

I made the Margarita Cookies again, but something was different. Perhaps too much salt. The batter was different. And I used a coarser sugar, but I don't think it was as sweet, so the salt was even more potent. And yet, I keep eating them :-)

4th of July Trifle

2008-07-11T21:00:00.001-07:00

I realize that at this point it is the 11th of July and I am slightly behind in the blogging. Opps. But really, the 4th of July Trifle could occur on any date.

Martha is responsible for this deliciousness. I made a Martha cake for Christmas last year. Some kind of 10 layer gingerbread debacle. 6 hours after I began, I cursed her name and swore that I would never bake her again.

But the trifle was so amazingly super easy. I would link the recipe here, but I can't find it! Apparently Martha does not believe that the 4th of July Trifle could occur on any date.

So I will do my best to remember. There was a store bought Angel Food Cake (Martha told me to STORE BUY!) You cut the cake into pieces. In a pan, simmer some sugar and lemon juice, to a boil and then paint the angel food pieces with it.

Then there was some cream. I'm guessing it was whipping cream.. and.. probably something else. (I suck at this part, but you could just throw together some cream!)

Then there are layers... fruit, cream, cake, etc.

I kept giggling to myself as I remembered that episode of Friends when Rachel makes the Trifle for Thanksgiving dinner. Hers included Lady Fingers, Cream, Chocolate, Peas, Carrots and Hamburger Meat. HA!

I think next time I would make it look prettier. Lucky for me, the drunk pool party people didn't really have a thing for aesthetics.

Slow.Down.

2008-07-11T20:52:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I have to remember to slow down. To be a little less busy. To sit on the porch with a bit of bubbly, a guitar and my crooning husband.

Hope your weekend is fantastic!

Blog Whoring

2008-07-08T18:47:00.000-07:00

Anybody want to rent a place in NoHo?

Appreciation All Around

2008-07-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

Darci and I "met" when I stumbled across her blog and realized that we were using the same damask pattern for our weddings. And I am all about the damask. I was kind of a freak about how they all needed to match and I had stamps custom made so that the invitation would match the runners on the table. Perfectionist freak. But Darci not only understood, she appreciated it!

When I posted about my new photography venture, she was as super excited as I was! (I love that!) So I sent some stuff over and she blogged about lil' ole me!

I'm a Sales Manager. In sales it's all about next month. Doesn't matter what you did this month, or the month before. If you surpassed a goal by 20%, well, that's nice... but what's happening tomorrow. No appreciation here.

It's so amazing to have someone else out there appreciate what you are doing! Thank You Darci! I appreciate you for appreciating me!

Go check her out here!

Gardening: Babies

2008-07-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

My basil is growing babies!

Baking: Apricot Crisp. A THANK YOU!

2008-07-04T12:45:00.001-07:00

Thank you thank you thank you thank you to all the comments about my new venture in photography. I am so excited and thrilled and amazingly thankful for how supportive you all are. Thanks!

So, back to our regularly scheduled programming

Smitten Kitchen strikes again. God I love her. Last Saturday I climbed out of bed bright and early and attempted the Breakfast Apricot Crisp. It was fantastic!

And beyond easy. Probably could have done it with my eyes closed!

The rest of the making process was boring... so no photos.

I decided to add some raisins. I added it into the "crisp" on top. And they got burned. Those things blueberry looking things are actually crispy raisins. Note - if you want to add them, add them to the apricot mixture. More moisture. Less crispy.

I picked out most of icky crispy raisins and served it over vanilla yogurt. And it was fantastic!

There was a bit leftover that I ate all by itself the next day and it was even better.

Today I made a strawberry version (red for Fourth of July!) and it was damn good. So good that we ate it before I remembered to take photos.

Where Have I Been?

2008-07-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

I've been working really hard. Deciding what I want to do with my life. And oddly enough, this blog helped me find it!

I've been beyond nervous to share my dream with people. But have decided that I really want to do this and, in order to do that, I have to tell folks.

So, here goes... I want to be a photographer! I've been shooting shooting shooting and spending hours learning, editing, playing and falling in love with what I hope to call a career in the near future. I've been so thrilled with the feedback that I've been getting from the lucky ones who have seen my work so far. Thank you for your encouragement and praise. You've done more for me than you'll ever know!

Here goes... www.hazelnutphotography.com

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Gardening: Maybe I Don't Suck

2008-06-27T07:20:00.000-07:00

It's been two weeks since I replanted the garden and it's actually looking quite fantastic! These photos were taken last week and it's already gotten prettier looking. Well, some plants are prettier, some are more dead looking. But none are all the way dead, so this is a HUGE success for me and my brown thumbs.

I went to Lowe's and asked for plants that could withstand intense heat and an absent waterer. He recommended the potato plant. Unfortunately for me, it doesn't actually grown potatoes. But it does have sweet little purple flowers. There's also some lilac and a fern (that's old... I'm not sure where it came from.)

I have no clue what this is. But it's cute and pink and bushy-esque.

I've had this one for a while. Don't know what it is. But it got real dead for a while. Now it's coming back! It even has little green sprouts! WOOOO.

The basil doesn't look so hot in the afternoon. I think the sun is too much. But in the evening/morning it perks right up and looks fantastic. And this was a week ago. It's much fuller now. I think of pizza when I smell it.

The chocolate mint. It's not doing so hot. Some of it is dead... some of it is still alive. It smells AWESOME! And how adorable is the little metal sign that says "mint"?! Fantastic.

I.Love.This. It's beach grass and it looks so summery and fun.

My little garden :-) I have a bet going with my Sister-in-Law that the garden will still be alive when she goes home (she's here for the summer). I can't lose... too stubborn. Plus, a dollar is a lot of money these days.

Gardening: I Suck

2008-06-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

Gardening was not originally part of the Jordana Project. Mostly because I REALLY suck at it, and it's going to take a LOOOONG time to get good at it. And I don't really care too much. Now, I would love to have a nice lush "garden" on the balcony. But I'm not sure it's in the cards for us.

(A) the space is small
(B) it gets DIRECT afternoon sun. So hot that the candle wax melts, the plants die and it is totally and completely disgusting between 3 and 8 pm.
(C) I have a habit of forgetting to feed things that can't yell at me to be fed.

It's looking so incredibly sad out there, I decided to rip it all out and replant. It was necessary. For the third time this year.

These are the "before" shots. Later, there will be "after" shots. The "after" is much greener. And less sad.

Gardening gets added to the project. I'm hoping to grow fewer dead things :-)

Baking: Bowl Style

2008-06-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

I've been baking on the run recently. Quick, fast & easy is good. But it also has to be fantastic! Like, "I've-Never-Seen-These" fantastic. Smitten Kitchen NEVER dissapoints. I wanted cookies, because they travel well and the website has a search function. Voila! Margarita Cookies.

Holy crap how have I never seen, heard, eaten, fallen in love with, these cookies yet!? They are fantastically delicious and I adore them to pieces and will make them all the time. They're sweet. But salty. FULL of flavor. And delicious.

Go. Make them. Soon!

Cooking: Bowl Style

2008-06-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

There's this place in my hometown that makes the most amazing chicken salad that there ever was on the entire planet. Lots of mayo, moist chicken and dill. I think that's it. You get it on a bagel with melted provolone and it's to.die.for.

Chris makes a yummytastic chicken salad, but I wanted him to try this one. And he did. And it was fabulous.

He also added cucumber, because we were out of celery. And it was awesome because I hate celery. But it added a nice crunchy, but not overpowering flavor. So super summery.

I would add a recipe here, but Chris doesn't do recipe. From what I can gather, it looked like boil chicken. Chill. Add mayo, cucumber, dill. Mix. Chill. Serve.

But then again, it's all just in his head.

Anne's Birthday Extravaganza: Hollywood Bowl Version

2008-06-23T19:58:00.001-07:00

Anne couldn't just have one birthday party! Night two of extravaganza continued at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday night with some groups that I'd never heard of and Thivery Corporation, who I'd barely ever heard of .

Chris and I accidently arrived super super early. Which ended up working to our advantage. We were able to park at the very front of the stack, just off Highland! We took a walk to Starbucks, hung out a bit and had a mini photo shoot.

I saw these shoes mid-photo shoot and had a love/hate relationship with them. So I snapped a photo to remember our little mini-affair.

Then it was go time! We hiked up the hill with our cooler and Annes' bar-in-a-cooler.

Natalie was not so much a fan of the jello shots.

But Chris enjoyed!

It was an excellent evening with some excellent music!

BIRTHDAY GIRL!!!

I believe we all had contact highs as that seems to be the cool kid thing to do at the Bowl and all of our neighbors were cool kids. Funny story - I crashed when we got home. And then I overslept this morning. Like, woke up 2 minutes before I was supposed to be out the door. So got ready in record time, but had to forgo the shower. As I was in the car, I realized that I might smell like pot! (I asked around at the office... I didn't!)

Baking: Vanilla Cake & Anne's Birthday

2008-06-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

I am so amazingly lucky to be surrounded by this group of smart, funny, attractive, ridiculous and fabulous women. To tell the truth, I'm not really a girl's girl. I don't make friends with women that often. And when I do, I'm not crazy close to them. It's an independence thing I guess.

Regardless, this group of women is so amazingly awesome and I am so proud to be able to call myself a part of this circle. I so look forward to our monthly gatherings that I'm thinking they should DEFINITELY be more than monthly. Hell, I'd be thrilled to catch up weekly!

Tonight was a special gathering... it's Anne's birthday! We headed to Camilo's restaurant in Eagle Rock and then to a wine bar next door. The food was excellent, the wine spectacular and the company superb.

How lucky am I?!

Anne is, by far, the nicest person I've ever met on the entire face of the planet. She will go out of her way to help you, just because she knows it will take a load off of your shoulders. She is talented beyond belief. I am super envious of her design skills. Her husband is to die for. She's just all around fantastic and I am thrilled to have her in my life.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNE!

I wanted to bake for her. We bought her some sort of paper cutter machine (one part because she really wanted it and another part because we knew she'd make fabulous things for us!). But EVERYONE needs a homemade fantastic cake on the birthday!

So I ran home from work and whipped up Martha's Yellow Cake. Yeah, I should have reached for the backup box I have in the pantry because I was SOOOOO far behind schedule, but you can't box it for a birthday! Only from scratch for my besties. Then the Vanilla Bake Shop Buttercream Frosting. YUUUUMMY!

Here came the issue. I was out of time. I iced them before they were cooled. BAAD choice when you've got 4 (count 'em. FOUR) sticks of butter and some sugar that you need to stay in place. I decided to chance it. There was some sliding. Opps. Into the car. MORE sliding. By the time I arrived at the restaurant, there was icing everywhere except where it need to be.... on the cake! The Maitre'D was awesome and said they'd fix it. Apparently, by "fix it" he actually meant that they would put some raspberries on top and call it a day. (at least they matched my cake plate... I appreciate that!)

Whateves. When you've got the most supportive ladies behind you, a hot mess of a cake is more hilarious than disastrous. And it's still delicious!

Tagalicious

2008-06-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

My Knottie/Bloggie Buddy Lizy tagged me! Does it make me a complete and total dork that I loved to be tagged!? It's awesome and I love it. I would probably also love all those facebook crap/application things that I get all the time... if I understood them! (For my friends that do that, I don't understand what it is and what I have to do. So I delete out of fear, not hate for you. I love you.)

So, the rules of my most recent tag!

1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 songs you are embarrassed to admit to others you like and tell why.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

In my last tag on quirkiness, I mentioned my all out love for ridiculously old music. Can't help it... love it. This comes at an awesome time because I just burned a CD with 7 songs on it that I love and put on repeat that I don't so much want to admit that I absolutely love.

1. Forever Young, Alphaville - Napoleon Dynamite to the max. (and I love it)

2. Why, Annie Lennox - There was SYTYCD performance to this last year that I ADORED. I rewound and watched it over and over again. I can still see it in my head. It was that good.

3. 4 minutes, Justin & Madonna - Heard it at a bar recently and really enjoy it. Think I should add it to my gym playlist.

4. Friday I'm In Love, The Cure - Wendy introduced me to The Cure, this song was on their wedding website and I, for serious, would keep the website on in the background of my computer and just listen to the song.

5. Make Love in The Club, Usher - There's something about this song that I love.

6. Lonely Night in Georgia, Marc Broussard - I don't know who this person is. Just found in my iTunes library when I was burning the CD. I really like him and am not embarassed for this particular song.

7. I'm Shipping Up to Boston, Dropkick Murphys - Sometimes Chris and I put this song on and pretend we know how to Irish dance all Micheal Flatley style. Well, it only happened once. But it was awesome and I think we should do it again. Soon.

I'm too tired to tag people. But if you are embarassed for your choices, please blog about it. I wanna read it :-)

Horses

2008-06-16T21:14:00.001-07:00

I met this horse in a field this weekend. Well, I was in a field... he was behind a fence. I got one shot. The closing shutter and the click scared her.

I think I should ride again.

Body: Slow & Steady

2008-06-13T14:54:00.001-07:00

Date: Friday June 13
Weight: 124
Progress: 4 pounds to go

I've been good and bad. I've been getting to the gym 3 times a week. Which is good. But I've been eating lots of snickity snacks. Brownies and Cookies and Cake. Oh My. But it is delicious and I love it. The key really is just the balancing act. For every brownie that goes in, there must be some gym time exerted.

I'm feeling svelte which is awesome. There's a huge possibility that they replaced the mirrors at my gym with skinny mirrors. You know, the mirrors that make you look awesome. Subtle fun house mirrors.

It's nice to just have this open goal. Before the wedding there was a timeline. A definite finish line for the hot body race. Now, it's just open... I can be fast or slow and enjoy the cookies/cake/ice cream/etc. and it's awesome.

My friend Jen posted something super interested that she read in Self Magazine. All about a "reasonable" weight. I'm going to have to agree with Jen on most of what she says. Go read it, quite interesting stuff!

Cooking: Cedar Plank Salmon

2008-06-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

Getting food inspiration delivered directly to my inbox has been the most awesome thing ever! My last venture came courtesy of I Shot The Chef. I love her. A lot. Her food is delish and her photos are amazing. Her husband is a professional photographer, so she's super lucky!

This was a big venture in that I'd never used a grill before. Or Cedar planks. Or giant chunks of fish. But I wanted to learn! And the prospect of smoky cedary salmon was so intriguing.

I let the plank soak for an hour. So it doesn't catch on fire.

I'm guessing that I bought waaaaaaay too much. The lady suggest a 1 1/2 pound chunk. But it was a little more around 1.8 pounds. Heavy.

So, Chris came home when it was time for the grill portion of the evening. Which was good, because I couldn't light the damn thing.

It was also good because he wears the grill light. I'm not dorky enough for it. It also has a night vision setting. He feels really super cool when he wears it.

All was going really well. It was smoking (which it is supposed to do.) And it smelled AWESOME! Then I glanced over, and it was on FIRE!

It ended up good, a bit charred on one end. But delicious!

There was some asparagus as well. I just wrapped it in tin foil, squeeze of a lemon and a few shakes of kosher salt. It was a tad limp, but excellent nonetheless.

I Shot the Chef told me I could reuse my plank, but she was a total liar. It is super blackened and super ick.

Holy.Freakin.Crap.

2008-06-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

Rob Holley, my wedding photographer, called yesterday.

Elegant Bride called him.

They're interesting in publishing our wedding!

It Feels Like Summer!

2008-06-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

So, on Friday, I headed out to capture it!

Cooking: Potato Pizza

2008-06-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

The Smitten Kitchen strikes again. This woman really knocks my socks off and I adore every recipe that I steal from her.

Friday night was Jim Lahey's Potato Pizza. I don't know who this Jim Lahey guy is (and by the way she writes about him, I probably should), but his pizza is fabulous! Well, it's more bread and topping than pizza as we all know and love it. Fantastic bread and topping.

I got to use my dough hook for the first time! Didn't think it would be able to do much. But it worked amazingly well.

Made the dough on Thursday because there is much rising involved. Note to self: don't forget to put it away. It sat out all night. And all day. Got slightly crusty and super difficult to work with. A splash of water took care of it. And we didn't all die from food poisoning... so that rocks.

The mandolin made a second appearance and I must say that I.Love.It. How did I slice before her?!

The perfection of each slice kills me.

It was absolutely fantastic. Made two little pizzas and that was more than enough for 3 of us. Tastylicious!

Jim Lahey's Potato Pizza
via Smitten Kitchen

Makes two 8-inch pizzas or one 14-inch pizza

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1 cup cold water
Olive oil, for bowl and pans
1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
2 potatoes, thinly sliced (about 2 cups) [I used Yukon Golds, and I believe this is what Lahey uses as well]
1/2 onion, diced into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh rosemary (optional)

1. Combine flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer, and slowly add 1 cup cold water. Mix on low speed until ingredients begin to combine. Switch to a dough hook and continue to mix for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic and cleanly pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl.

2. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and allow to rest for 2 to 4 hours until it has doubled in size. Split the dough into halves, and form each into a log. Place each log on a generously floured surface, and allow it to rest until the formed dough doubles in size again, at least 1 hour.

3. While the dough rises for the second time, repare the potato topping. Slice potatoes very thin using a knife or a mandoline. Then soak them in several changes of ice water to remove excess starch and prevent discoloration. Drain slices in a colander, toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt, and set aside for 10 minutes. Drain any accumulated water. In a medium bowl, combine potatoes, onions, and 1 tablespoon olive oil, and set aside.

4. Preheat oven to 440 degrees. Prepare two rimmed baking sheets with vegetable oil. Divide dough in half. Place each piece on its own baking sheet. Using the palms of your hands, flatten dough out to the edges of the pan. Evenly spread potatoes over the surface of the dough up to the very edge, or about 1 inch from the edge if you desire a crust on your pizza. Season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary if using.

5. Bake potato pizza until it has shrunk away from the edges of a pan and the bottom is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to cool slightly; slice into pieces, and serve. Potato pizza is also delicious served at room temperature.

Body: Stagnant

2008-06-04T21:33:00.000-07:00

Date: Wednesday June 4
Weight: 125
To Go: 5 pounds

I'm totally f-ing up this whole work out thing.

Actually, down one since last week, so that's excellent! I hit the gym on Monday and met the most fantastic instructor on the freakin' planet. She was so excited to be there that I was excited to be there. I wanted her to throw her best at me. And she did! I don't know if I've ever worked out so hard. I even "WOOOP"ed when she said "How you feelin' Sherman Oaks!?" I hate when people do that. I will be attending every single one of her classes from here on out.

And I have a new structured plan. I must have structure... no running around willy nilly. Luckily for me, I can create my own structure and once I'm in it, I can stick to it. So, for every bad calorie I eat, I'm going to do one crunch. 150 calories on an ice cream snack? 150 crunches! I think this will be excellent.

We've been hiking again. I forgot how much I love it. There's a great trail off Mulholland that goes down into a "rainforest." There used to be a rope swing, but it's now gone. It's about 30 minutes down. You start at the top and it's quite hilly on the way down. So you're not going straight down and then straight up. Each way is a lovely combination. But the last hundred yards will kill you. We did it once last summer with no water. Half way through the last bit I literally thought I would gasp my last breath on the side of that mountain. That last push at the end is so amazingly wonderful. It's all over grown now. It almost feels like the east coast, which I love! Except that I know how poison ivy all over my legs. Sexy. And itchy.

Cooking: BBQ & Potatoes

2008-06-04T21:25:00.001-07:00

I cheated tonight. The other day at the store I thought this BBQ bowl of stuff looked tasty. And excellent in case I needed to throw something together real quick. I was proud of myself because I usually just make Chris do something if there's no time. Prepared!

Tonight was that night. I didn't get home until 8. Chris had to leave by 9 to do some recruiting for work. Quick quick quick.

I bought a mandolin for just this reason. Target didn't have any nice ones, so I went with the crappy one. Works quite well actually. Baked Sweet Potato Chips. Fan-freakin-tastic. I sliced them and then rolled them around in a bowl with some olive oil, nutmeg, cinnamon, all spice and onion powder. Yeah, I grabbed some stuff off the shelf and threw it in.

The chips came out quite nicely! I think next time I will slice them a bitter thiner so they get really crispy. I prefer super crispy.

Dinner was on the table less than 30 minutes after I walked in the door. Not too shabby! The BBQ was a tad bit sweet, but pretty good for something that comes in a plastic tub and just needs to be heated.

Cooking: Skirt Steak

2008-06-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

I am on a freakin' roll! Well, almost. I forgot to make dinner.

I had planned to have dinner ready when Chris came home. But I forgot. I got worked up into something and he came home. Opps.

So I scrambled. I bought some skirt steak yesterday with no plan.

I made Chris walk me through it. No time for fancy recipes. It was late and I was hungry.

Olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder. Rub. Flip. Repeat. Broil for 4 minutes. Flip. Repeat. Done.

Holy crap it was simple.

Green Beans. Olive Oil. Garlic Salt. Almonds. 10 minutes.

And it was fantastic! I'd highly recommend.

Cooking: Crab Cakes

2008-06-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

I didn't know what I wanted to make for dinner last night. Chris isn't coming home until around 8:30 these days, so it seems dumb for me not to make dinner. Good wife and whatnot. But I was stumped. When I got to Howe's I headed for the magazine rack, grabbed a Cooking Light and thumbed through it. Everything looked excellent, but nothing hit the spot. Until I flashed across the crab cake page. There's nothing I love more than crab cakes. I grew up on the coast of North Carolina and we went crabbing for fun. Small town, nothing to do. So, I ate a lot of crab.

Done. Crabcakes. Summer salad. Couscous. Delish.

Crabcakes are surprisingly easy to make. And this was the fancy version! My stepfather does them super simple... freshly picked crab, Old Bay, a few bread crumbs. They're excellent.

I made a few changes. I hate parsley, so I used dill instead. Thought it might be interesting. Couldn't taste it. I also didn't use the red bell pepper. I hate it. We were also out of paprika. So I used some cayenne pepper. I don't know if this is a substitute, but they're both red. And it tasted yummy.

I burned mine a tad... too close to the broiler. Didn't matter though. They were so freakin' tasty.
Crab Cakes (from Cooking Light Magazine)

1 pound lump crabmeat
1/2 cup crushed whole wheat crackers
1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 large egg whites
Cooking Spray
4 lemon wedges

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Mix the first twelve ingredients together in a medium bowl. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping eacch into a 1-inch-thick patty. Place patties on a bakin sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil 3 inches from heat for 10 minutes or until browned. Serve with lemon wedges. Yield: 4 servings

Calories: 280
Fat 10.3 g
Protein 25.2 g
Carb 21.9 g

Baking: Strawberry & Banana Bread

2008-05-31T14:01:00.001-07:00

I'm so bad at eating fruit before it goes bad. But I feel dumb buying one banana. If I have just one, I might want another. And then I won't have it. So I buy four. And they all go bad. I am a genius.

But rotten banana=banana bread! I googled "rotten bananas" to see what would pop up. Some muffins, some cakes, some breads. But this one caught my eye, Banana Bread with Booze and Raisins. Love Banana.Love Bread.Love Booze. Love Raisins. Perfection.

But I had a bunch of strawberries that were on their way out. So I substituted strawberries for raisins.

I also took out the walnuts. Mostly because I don't like them.

It ended in a tasty disaster. I didn't drain the booze because I didn't let it soak for an hour. So it was quite moist. And the strawberries are more moist than the raisins. So, it's almost swimming in moistness. It fell into a pile of disaster when I took it out of the pan. I'm going to call it Bread Pudding.

Cooking: Best Dinner EVER

2008-05-31T13:58:00.001-07:00

Does it count as cooking if I just put some stuff on a cutting board and serve?

Yes, because it was the BEST dinner ever! Brie, smoked cheese, crackers, salami (my new favorite), strawberries, apples and grapes.

I even ate the leftovers the next night. And I hate leftovers with a passion!

Where Did Time Go?

2008-05-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

I moved to LA on a Saturday. And bought a gym membership on Tuesday. I'd never paid for a gym before and this was a whole new thing to wrap my mind around. I always just had one... school, home, etc.

So, I got talked into a three year plan. Pay up front for three years and the cost per month is incredibly low. Plus there were all kinds of extras. I did some math and realized that paying for three years up front was about the same as paying for one year month-to-month. I had a 12 month lease on my fabulous little studio, so I knew I'd be around for at least that long. I wondered if I would actually make it to the end of three years. Would I still be going to the gym? Would I still be in LA? Would Chris and I still be together? Three years seemed like an eternity at the time.

Yesterday, when I handed them my card to check-in, I was reminded that my membership was past due. HOLY CRAP! I didn't even realize that I'd hit the three year mark.

Things have changed a bit... Different job, different home, different gym, different car, different marital status. But they've also kind of stayed the same. Same love, same city, same company.

My mom didn't lie, the older you get the faster time flies.

12:01 am. Friday. May 30.

2008-05-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

SEX & THE CITY! A beautiful treat for this SATC addict. I was introduced to these dear ladies my freshman year of college. I didn't have cable at home, much less HBO and we kind of lived under a rock. So Season 4 hit me hard. I downloaded every episode and watched them on repeat. Absolute adoration for this show.

So, 12:01 am, three girlfriends and I are in the theater waiting for it to hit us. And it was excellent! I won't let it anything slip as everyone I know has plans to see it this weekend.

My one, for-serious!?-how-did-this-happen!? issue, was sloppy editing. This is a major motion picture that stands to make millions and millions of dollars. Could they not hire an editor to take care of the boom mics and lights that fell in to the frame AT LEAST 10 to 15 times. It was disgusting. SJP - how could you approve that!?

A few issues that don't quite make for great cinema, but really, it's SATC, who gives a damn!? It's like asking a parent to seriously critique their childs' dance recital. A fan can't not love it. To see these favorite women back together again, like the last four years didn't happen... perfection!

The New Flowe's

2008-05-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

Flowe is one of Chris' best friends from college. He's one of those guys that you just adore because he's so freakin' awesome. And then he met a super awesome girl. And they were awesome together. And last weekend they had a super awesome wedding in Dallas!

While I adore being witness to the big celebrations of my closest friends, I'm even more excited to reunite with folks from way back when. It was a ridiculous drunken weekend of playing catch up with old friends!

Thank You to the new Flowe's for an absolutely FABULOUS weekend! We couldn't have been more honored to be there on your Super Big Day! Congratulations!

Body: Blah

2008-05-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

Date: Tuesday May 27
Weight: 126
Goal: 6 to go

Yes, I gained weight on my quest to lose weight. Days of drinking and eating will do that to a girl. Or maybe it was the extra piece of wedding cake. Or the 6 glasses of wine. It was red though, so my heart is extra healthy!

My problem is that I am still unmotivated to go to the gym. Or perhaps it's not motivation, perhaps it's exhaustion. I must remind myself that it becomes a vicious cycle and the more I workout the less exhausted I will be!

Turbo Kick Boxing. Tonight. My more-jiggly-than-last-week butt will be there :-)

Wendy & Lior

2008-05-26T14:39:00.000-07:00

I'm going to post backwards... well, post as I empty memory cards!

I often look at Chris and ask "Do you think that all couples are as happy as we are?" I know that we are beyond blessed with each other and can only hope that everyone is as excited as we are to be with each other. I don't often see it in other couples and this makes me sad. However, when Lior looks at Wendy I am overwhelmed with the love they exude for each other. He melts in front of her and she lights up. It makes me giddy. It makes me feel more in love with my own husband!

They are absolute perfection for each other and I'm so thrilled that they are married! It was a stunningly beautiful wedding in Malibu. The weather cleared just as she walked down the aisle. The music was wonderful. The ceremony was beautiful. The food was excellent. The people were amazing. What more could you ask for in a wedding!?

Congratulations Wendy & Lior. We are blessed to know you!

Home Sweet Home

2008-05-26T14:34:00.001-07:00

The last five days were A-W-E-S-O-M-E! I feel so honored to be part of these amazing celebrations of life. These major milestones in the lives of old and new friends. We started with ridiculousness in Vegas with Wendy and 10 of her nearest and dearest. Lots of lewdness that perhaps shall remain in Vegas :-)

Friday morning brought an EARLY morning flight to Dallas where the crankiest Jordana that ever lived spent way too long in a Super Shuttle that was outfitted with it's very on trampoline style seats. Cranky Jordana turned into Angry Jordana as the trip seemed to get longer and longer.

Dallas was more ridiculousness with Chris' college pals. Photos to come in a bit.

Sunday morning was another EARLY morning flight back into Burbank with an enormous nap before ANOTHER evening of fabulousness at the stunning wedding of Wendy and Lior.

Photos and recaps to come as I begin to weed through the massive amounts of photos and memories :-)

While it was an amazing five days of food, wine, no responsibilities and desserts, I'm so excited to be back home and in my bed. Home Sweet Home.

Celebrating!

2008-05-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

It's going to be a massive five days of celebration! I'm so excited to be able to celebrate the major milestones in my dear friends lives! Thank God Monday is a holiday and I will be able to recover outside of my office!

Wednesday-Friday - Celebrating Ms. Wendy's last days of singledom in Vegas.

Friday-Sunday - Celebrating Flowe & Angela's union in Dallas. I've never been to Dallas so I'm super excited.

Photo Credit: Jonilyn Photography

Sunday - More celebrating of Wendy and her fabulous fiance Lior in Malibu.

Me thinks I will be a sleepy girl!

Mushroom Strudel

2008-05-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

Smitten Kitchen inspires me everyday! I love getting the beautiful and hunger inducing emails on a regular basis.

Since Chris is back in the office, I wanted to cook dinner! I'd taken quite the hiatus as of late and Smitten Kitchen dinging my inbox with the most amazing bit of tastiness. I didn't even have to think about what to cook for dinner! Mushroom Strudel it would be.
My Phyllo was pretty easy to work with. It creased and cracked and I threw out at least 45% of it, but the parts that needed to work worked excellently well!

So much easier than I ever expected them to be. And SOOOOOO incredibly tasty. Like tiny bits of mushroom heaven.

The sad part... it's now 11:20 and Chris isn't home yet. Boooooo.

Strawberry White Chocolate Cookies

2008-05-20T23:02:00.000-07:00

Last week at Costco, Chris bought me a strawberry orchard. An entire shelf in our fridge is full of strawberries! So, I had to put them to use!

There was a BBQ this weekend in need of cookies and I felt the need to fulfill! I'd never baked strawberry cookies. Hell, I'd never heard of strawberry cookies! But, a quick little google search pulls up a nice little recipe for me!

It was quick and easy and put a dent in my strawberry problem!

And they were yummiliciously good!

I've been to busy to bake recently, and this makes me sad. It felt so good to be back in the kitchen!

Fizzies

2008-05-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

Costco didn't have my favorite B12 fizzies when Chris went last week. I ordered them from GotBody, but they aren't here yet and yesterday I was DRAGGING. Exhausted. Done. Needed a nap.

So I thought I would try Chris' today. Yes, we are a two brand B12 Fizzie household. And this is why.

It just floated on top of the water! And then blew up like those volcanoes you made in 3rd grade! And they taste like poo. Well, since I lost about 75% of it in the explosion, it's not so ick.

Can I nap at my desk today?

Encouragement

2008-05-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

Henri, a friend of Chris', produced this video and sent it over to me. I literally cried for the last half of the video. I am blown away that there are so many kids out there that are not encouraged to pursue education. And that in spite of this, they are reaching out and begging for knowledge. I'm so proud of them! And proud of Henri for reminding me how lucky am I to be thoroughly encouraged to pursue my every dream by those people around me.

The Video.

2008-05-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

I would totally have been that girl that ditched her friends when she got serious with a new guy. Lucky me, when Chris and I got serious, I was brand new to LA and I had no friends! We spent all of our time together. So now, it's kind of hard to spend time away from him. Hard, but excellently fun with my new group of friends. We just get each other and it makes me so happy to be surrounding myself with such a lovely group of women!

Ali picked a new restaurant I'd never been to before. In Agoura. I'd never been there either! It wasn't as far as I thought it was going to be. I actually enjoy driving in my car. I don't really get to drive much. My commute is 5 minutes, and Chris usually drives when we're together. I hate driving with him in the car because he nitpicks on me and does the slamming on his nonexistent brake and the grabbing of the "oh shit" handle. I remember that there's nothing like flying down the freeway with the windows down and the music blaring. I've rediscovered the Counting Crows and I'd forgotten how much I love them. Anyways...

Heading all the way out to Agoura did confuse my GPS. I ended up at a Hampton Inn and thought Ali was crazy for making me drive all the way out there for a freakin' Hampton Inn. But, I was in the wrong place (sigh of relief).

MOZ Buddha Bar was EXCELLENT! The food was yummy and the company was perfection. How is it that we can discuss everything with each other? The shallow stuff and the deep stuff. I feel so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by these women. Smart, funny, beautiful and driven. Lucky me!

Photography: Assignment 4

2008-05-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

Our fourth class was focused on night shooting with only ambient light. It was amazing to run around the pier and have immediate feed back from someone who really knew what they were talking about!

Unfortunately, the Ferris wheel was in the process of coming down the week we were there! I was looking forward to some moving light action!

Anyways, just a few of my favorites!

Costco

2008-05-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

I sent Chris to Costco to buy two things... My favorite B12 fizzies and pregnancy tests. The fizzies are the best thing EVER and after one of those I'm good all day! We also buy pregnancy tests because we are the most paranoid people on the planet. It helps to buy in bulk.

He is currently on his way home with this:

He sent me iPhone pictures to document his ridiculousness with the subject line "opps". We rarely get through one loaf of bread before it's ick and moldy! The Vodka, Wheat Thins and granola bars won't be an issue. The bag o'veggies isn't going to fit in the freezer. And who can eat that much yogurt!

Photography: Assignment 3

2008-05-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

I was a bad bad student on Assignment 3. It was a crazy busy week and I didn't have time to shoot specifically for the assignment. So I pulled stuff from before.

The Assignment:

"Select words from the list below and illustrate the word with a photograph." Then some gobble gook about exposure and contrast and an immense list of words.

Powerful:
Love:

Loss:

Graceful: Glowing:

Balanced:

Calm:

Aggressive: