18 Years of Good Times

Today is the 18th Anniversary of the day that me n' Wendi met. It is really amazing how many milestones Wendi and I have been through together...as we go through life, I always know that Wendi and I will be friends till the end. Thank you for being the wind beneath my wings, Wendi, you are the funniest, kindest, most fun person ever. Happy Anniversary, Girlfriend!

Spider Cake

Cool decorating idea from Country Living. {via SP}

Pour Chocolate Glaze over the top of an un-iced layer cake. Spread the glaze over the cake's edges and smooth the sides. Fill a small piping bag with three to four tablespoons of melted white chocolate, then starting at the center of the top of the cake, pipe the white chocolate in a spiral. Drag a toothpick from the center of the spiral to the cake's edge. Repeat every 1.5 inches to create a web effect.

Our Punkins

Some pumpkin carvin' we did on our deck :)

Scary Houses

People in our neighborhood have really been going all-out with the Halloween decorations, and they look great (except for the super-scary palin house below - yikes). Cool thing about East Coast homes is that they actually get pretty spooky and look like scary haunted houses, vs West Coast haunted "ramblers" (not nearly as spooky).

Lunch at BG, in THE CHAIRS

On list of things to do before dead:

Have lunch at Bergdorf Goodman, in the custom Louis XV-style canopy chairs. No idea how their lunch is, but I pine for the chairs.

Then, purchase modern reproductions to
furnish elegant parlor in mansion.

The Biltmore: Gorgeous Mansion

After Marla's report back from her stay at The Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina, I am sold! NC, here I come! Here are just a few of the beautiful shots Marla took while she was there:

Taken on a walk from the Inn to the winery. The tower is part of the winery and the vineyard is a demonstration vineyard...their real vineyards are elsewhere on the estate.

Chimney Rock. The stairs visible on the picture take you to the top. There are trails from there which you to the point where the remake of Last of the Mohicans's was shot in 1992.

The front of the Biltmore. From the beginning the house had heat, electricity and indoor plumbing...a huge deal in 1885 when the house was opened. It is built of steel, concrete and limestone.

The dining room at the Inn at the Biltmore.

The oldest house on the estate near the inn. It was on the estate when George Vanderbilt bought the property and dates to the Civil War.

The back of the Inn on the Biltmore Estate. At the time the estate was purchased it covered 200 square miles. Most recently the grandsons divided the land in half - one wanted to develop the land since he is a land developer. The other grandson and his sons share Vanderbilt’s desire to make the estate self sufficient and to be stewards of the land—he owns the house, the buildings that supported the house and the Inn.

Our Neighborhood: The Coffee Shop

One of our recent neighborhood discoveries has been Jacob's Coffee House. It's about five blocks away and in addition to being able to check on our potential mansion flip on the way, there are a couple of other cute houses and surprises...

Cool row of colors on the coffee route.

Pretty lace wrought iron.

Delightful Apple Crisp

This is a great easy apple crisp recipe that could be adapted for any other seasonal fruit as well. The only time consuming part is peeling and coring the apples, but you can totally do that while watching TV :) {Apple Crisp Recipe on Recipe Mogul}

Hot Masnse: Lake Union Jewel, $3,300,000

"With its ocher-colored stucco exterior walls, ornate wrought iron railing and round stone columns, the structure would be quite at home along a Venetian canal, but it enjoys a splendid setting unique to the Pacific Northwest, with panoramic views of Seattle, Lake Union and the Olympic Mountains. Double doors at the entry open to elegant interiors with hand-rubbed Venetian plaster walls and Calcutta Carrara marble tile floors. The house has a reverse floor plan, with dayrooms located on the top level. A curved staircase with iron railing and marble risers leads up to a spacious living/dining area, where six sets of French doors bring magical waterfront surroundings in."

Halloween Decorations

How creepy are these "shrunken heads"? You can float them in cider and then ladle one into each glass for your guests. Instructions on Martha, of course. I also really like this easy Halloween wreath. You could just change out the color and adapt this to any season. {directions on TheLongThread}

Renn Faire!

Last weekend Wendi and I went to Renn Faire in Annapolis, MD. It was off the hook with merriment and lore. I highly recommend going if you are ever in MD this time of year. Go early though, because below is a shot of the parking lot. The Renn Faire parking lot was bigger than the Disneyland parking lot. Crazy. People love turkey legs!

Goin' to Baltimore...oodles of fun!

Whenever I visit the Merkles, I always say, "my mom would love your apartment complex", because it doesn't even look like apartments by West Coast standards. They live in Towson, MD, on a little road called "Acorn Circle". This place is a giant complex that looks like a bunch of little colonial houses. This is no Maple Park, Bellingham, WA, people! It is a classy place, I tell ya.

This Chili Rocked

OMG you guys, this seriously was the BEST Chili EVER. Thank you Alicia for sending me that link! I added a few more things to the recipe, and used turkey instead of beef. You could really substitute whatever you wanted - it also made a TON. This recipe is for 10 servings, which will fill a large slow-cooker.


INGREDIENTS
1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (28 ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced green and red peppers
1/2 - 2 cups corn
1-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1 pound spicy sausage
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
1/2 (32 ounce) bottle hickory smoke barbeque sauce
1/4 cup chili powder
2 (15.25 ounce) cans kidney beans, undrained
1 (1 ounce) square unsweetened chocolate, chopped

DIRECTIONS
1. In a large slow-cooker on the "low" setting, combine tomato sauce, tomatoes, onion, peppers, corn and Italian seasoning.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until slightly crisp. Drain and stir into the slow-cooker.

3. In the same skillet over medium heat, cook sausage until brown. Drain and stir into the slow-cooker.

4. In the same skillet over medium heat, cook the beef until brown. Drain and stir into the pot.

5. Stir the barbeque sauce and chili powder into the pot; taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in the kidney beans and chocolate and cook on desired slow-cooker setting until flavors are well blended and you are ready to serve.

AOTD: Magdelena Bors

I'm not sure how to explain this, but it's cool weird art from Magdelena Bors. {via CraftZine}

Ballard Penthouse?

Did anyone know about this Ballard Penthouse? It looks like nothing from the outside, but what a cool place to live! More pics from the Times... {via MyBallard}

More Bacon

Ahhh, at last, "More Ways to Eat Bacon" - hallelujah!
Thanks for the tip, Paula!

More of being a tourist in DC

Keene and I went up to the top of the tower in "The Old Post Office" this last weekend. This is a great little time filler if you're in DC and need something to do between tours/museums. More pictures on my Tourist in DC flickr set...

More Dinner from DC...

Apple Cider Pork with Squash and Golden Raisins - full recipe here.
The butternut squash and apple cider were both from the market - they were great. You can use plain apple juice though instead if you don't have cider on hand.


Chorizo and Mussels - full recipe here. The mussels and chorizo are also fresh from Eastern Market!

AOTD: Neighborhood Art

Art from out and about in my neighborhood, close to Pennsylvania Ave:

The National Museum of Natural History

A quick stop at The National Museum of Natural History to see cool stuff and The Hope Diamond, which I kindof love:

Tourin' the Capital & other stuff

Last week I got to tag along with Molly and Julie as tourists in DC and it was fantastic. I absolutely recommend touring the Capital - especially after their new Visitor's Center opens on December 2nd. We were able to tour the place (before it opens to the public!) and it was a real treat. Here are just a few pics from the Capital tour...

Capital Building looking fine.

The ceiling of the Capital.
































Paintings in the Rotunda - huge!






















The Senate side.

















The exact middle of this city - touch the star with your foot for good luck.