OMG!

some of you may have seen this san francisco toothpick carnival (i'd never even HEARD of toothpick carnivals before this) on apartment therapy today, but here it is in action.

this is one of THE COOLEST things i have ever seen. scott weaver, thank you for your genius.

romper stomper bomper boo!

remember the end of 'romper room' - when we'd all (take hits from our respective bongs and) visit the magic mirror? that b*tch NEVER called my name and said i was "having a super day" - but i watched EVERY SINGLE DAY in the hopes that one day she would.



last night, after a lovely evening of whiskey tasting and new music with two of my favorite boys (hi eric! hi luke!) and miss gina, i looked over at my chalkboard door and noticed that they'd made some new additions. (and i didn't say "cool it now" - ha ha - get it? get it?)

i stood and stared at it for a while, noting all of the good friends who'd added something fun and i started to feel all warm and fuzzy inside (admittedly, the whiskey could have had a wee bit to do with that as well...).

i see heba. i see mike. i see eric. i see luke. i see riin. i see sarah. and the other sarah. i see karen. i see sian. i see nicole. i see larisa. i see chris. i see johannes. i see jess. i see amanda. i see molly. i see valerie. i see debbie. i see gina. i even see charlotte and emily.

i love you all. you make these sunny days even brighter.

jen x

just for fun: top 10 search terms for fog city spakle.

just for giggles, here are my favorite search terms that sent you guys & gals to my blog this year.

1. sparkle damn you sparkle - i love this one for obvious reasons. probably some poor twilighter that ended up in the wrong place, but now i want to say this to everything in my home and wardrobe! (and maybe to my friends.) "good morning, new dress. sparkle, damn you, sparkle!"
   
2. "lovely home" blogspot - why, thank you! *blush* i'm flattered that you think so too!
   
3. do you know what you gotta do 2009 - i know what i gotta do, but do you?
   
4. my colors my honor - well, i'm pretty sure that ice-t would be bummed if he knew that, for a short time, i was the top result on google with this one! but i'm down!
   
5. prettiest lamp in the world - it really might be!
   
6. severe sleep deprivation - well, if this doesn't appropriately describe home renovation, i don't know what else does...
   
7. what comes before part b - guess you ALL know where the party's at now. whoop, whoop!
   
8. damn you ikea - haha. pretty self explanatory!
   
9. hank williams jr family tradition blogspot - another surprise, but i do love this song!
   
10. which areas in the u.s. have little fog - um, hmmm, you'd be barking up the WRONG TREE with this one. sorry!
    

and, apparently, i am now the interwebs' resource for all things sparkly. here are a few more that, as a group, made me laugh out loud:

• sparkly lazy susan
• how to paint a sparkled ceiling
• sparkly couches
• sparkly curtains
• sparkly refrigerator magnets- fair enough, i did make these.
  

keep searchin'!
jen x

sandra and john get engaged.

60 cupcakes, 12 bottles of champagne and more-cheese-than-you-can-shake-a-stick-at consumed - pretty good for a sunday night!

as many of you well know, i love a good (or any, really) reason to throw a party. last night i had the pleasure of co-hosting, with my good friend elaine, an engagement party for two of my favorite people at my home.

i met john when i was involved in "team in training's" san francisco triathlon team. he's incredibly handsome... so i'd assumed he was just another playboy. instead he turned out to be one of the most genuine people i have met in my adult life. he's caring and kind and he's like the little brother i've always hoped for.

sandra i met a couple of years later. while we went to college together, i'd never had the pleasure of meeting her. i finally got the chance when several friends decided to travel to peru to hike the inka trail to machu picchu and she decided to join us. she was instantly lovable - a strong, independent (and half-asian, so gorgeous) girl who has a soft spot for people in need. i was friend-crushing on her immediately.

so, our mutual friend amanda (a sneaky little minx) hatched a plan to fix them up. they were perfect for each other and we would hound and cajole them until they realized it too!

and now, 3 years later, there's a ring on her finger and a brand new puppy to love.

here are a few shots of the decorations for the party we hosted - though i failed to take any of the guests as i was far too busy enjoying myself.

it was a simple affair - cupcakes (carrot for he and yellow with chocolate for she, and chocolate with brown butter or cream cheese for everyone else), champagne cocktails (with elderflower liqueur and fresh peach, blackberry and raspberry puree for mixers), and my favorite french candies for all. oh, and enough cheese to put everyone into a coma.

it was so nice to wake up to 6 dozen roses on my doorstep! thanks, "babe"!

party prep in progress (and yes, all cupcakes and frostings were from scratch!).

fresh flowers, in red and pink, everywhere.

elaine and her doug start pouring for the guests!

sandra and john, may you be incredibly happy and may life bring you all of the blessings you deserve. i love you both!

xoxo jen

P.S. since i was cleaning and making 75 cupcakes already, i decided to make it an even hundred and hosted "rad friend event" #1 at my house on saturday night.

here are a few photos of said rad friends sitting by the tree, watching classic christmas cartoons, with homemade persimmon old-fashioneds (thanks, nicole!).

i <3 korean barbecue.

i'm ethnically chinese/ taiwanese (and bunches of other stuff) but, man, do i love me some korean barbecue. set me in front of a plate piled high with kalbi, kimchi and japchae and i am a happy girl. (you - not so much because, no, i will not share.)

so, i finally taught myself to make kalbi (marinated short ribs) at home - it's so tasty, everyone loves it, and it's easy to make enough for a big group.

this weekend i had a dinner party for 10, so i just bought 10 pounds of korean short ribs to serve. these are beef ribs, cut l.a. style, into flat pieces with small rounds of ribs all across the top. i bought kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage is most common) and japchae (cellophane noodles with vegetables in sesame and soy sauce), but i'm learning those now too!

my sous chefs

here's the recipe:

* 4-6 pounds of korean short-ribs (if you don't have a FAB local korean market like i do, you can ask your local butcher to do this for you)
* 1 1/2 cups soy sauce
* 3/4 to 1 cup white sugar - i go a bit heavier on the sugar for extra caramelization
* 1/4 cup sesame oil
* 5 cloves of garlic, minced
* 3 large green onions, cut into small pieces
* 2 tbl toasted sesame seeds
* 1/2 to 1 tsp of red pepper flakes - again, i go a bit heavier because i like spicy

1. mix all ingredients, except for the meat, in a large bowl.
2. place meat into large freezer bag(s) and cover with marinade.
3. place in refrigerator for several hours (at least 4) or overnight. turn at least once so all of the ribs are well marinated.
4. remove from refrigerator when ready to barbecue.

at this point, i'd suggest pouring the marinade into a saucepan and cooking over medium/ medium-high until reduced. be sure to bring it to a rolling boil at least once to kill any nasty bacteria that might ruin your night.

in the meantime, cook ribs over very hot grill until they are brown and a bit charred/ caramel-y.

when reduced, and when ribs are ready, serve reduced marinade for dipping or drizzling over noodles and ribs.

not the best picture i could have taken, but i was HUNGRY.

honestly, this could not be simpler. and your friends will eat until they are sick (which is good because i like company when i do the same).

enjoy!

happy campers

punkinpatchpunkinpartypunkinpatchpunkinparty

i'm finally starting to feel settled in to the new place - so it felt like a good time to celebrate my favorite season and, equally as important, being able to SLEEP IN on a saturday (!).

this weekend there was to be no painting, no unpacking, no hammering, no laundering, no gardening - nothing but fun with a few of my friends.

on saturday, some of the girls (and dave, who was a total gentleman and very patient with all of our photo taking and general giddiness) joined me on my annual road trip, complete with spiced apple cider, to farmer john's pumpkin patch in half moon bay. (this place is so famous that even martha has visited!)

this is a truly special place. while it is very well known, it is set away from all of the other pumpkin patches in half moon bay - so it is quieter and more relaxed than the craziness of all of the bouncy houses and rides that happen on highway 92.

but, even better is the riot of colors. this place specializes in heirloom pumpkins and squash - so they have every color and shape of pumpkin you could ever dream of. for someone who loves fall as much as i do, this is a dream come true.

just a very few of the species available. can't believe i forgot to take photos of the white stars!

so, we indulged our inner dorks and this happened:
and we got to spend some time with the man himself:

(seriously, WHAT is up with my hair?!)

mineminemine! one of the 3 wagon-loads of pumpkins that made it home with me!

after workin' up some FIERCE appetites huntin' punkins, i took the girls to my absolute favorite seafood resturant-slash-stand in princeton-by-the-sea, barbara's seafood parlor. if you've never been there, do yourself a favor and GET THERE SOON.

barbara's is across the street from the half moon bay brewery - where you pay many more dollars for both mediocre food and service. instead, park at the brewery, grab some cash from their atm, and walk right up to the window at barbara's.

i'm not usually bossy (i lie) but I AM TELLING YOU to order the tempura-fried day boat scallops. they're as big as silver dollars, moist and juicy, with a light and crispy tempura shell.

then steal a picnic table (with amazing views of the marina and the bay), spritz a little lemon on yer scallops and grab a sierra nevada pale ale to wash it down. i mean, seriously, people - LIFE IS GOOD.

...after the lunch, we headed home to prep for the carvin' party.

how could i have a carvin' party without a spooky cake?

and to relax by the fire...
lots of my favorite tricks showed up with their favorite treats (i.e. boyfriends and hubbys), with some fabulous pumpkins in tow (and one very adorable bulldog puppy in a yoda costume).

so, fortified with my "famous" applewood-smoked bacon mac 'n' cheese, we got to carving.

lots o' carvin', in fact...

and there were many jack o'lanterns...

and just general cuteness...

followed by some whiskey with the girls, resulting in some late-night mac 'n' cheese thievery.

good night! hope you all had as much fun as sarah did (ha ha)!

for more photos, click here!

p.s. anyone know how to set picture widths WITHOUT resorting to the html editor?

how on earth??!!

i'm in shock!

just got a message from my friend michelle - she told me to check out sfist.com.

they plugged my blog in their "day around the bay" post.

me. my blog. me. my little blog.

CHECK IT OUT HERE!

thank you, sfist! i'm beyond flattered - what an honor! i would kiss you if i could - and it would be REALLY HOT and there would be A LOT of tongue.

xoxo jennifer

family tradition!

remember that old song by hank williams jr.? i sure do. here it is if you've forgotten...



so, here are a few things that i have inherited from the family to decorate the house with.

the fact that this is appearing on my blog, and in my home, will give my mother something to gloat about for years. wise as she is, she has always maintained that "everything comes back around" in fashion and decor. to my horror, jelly gladiator sandals have indeed re-appeared. however, so has the groovy baroque, hollywood regency vibe that is RIGHT UP MY ALLEY.

i told my mom, for YEARS, to throw this mirror out. "it's hideous" i said. "who would ever want that?!" i cringed.

flash forward to me sheepishly asking, "so, mom, you know that mirror..." she chuckled and said "of course you can have it. i told you so."

people, remember: your mom is ALWAYS RIGHT. (happy, mom? i love you!)

my grandmother's fold-out sewing machine. isn't it gorgeous? and it still works!

and my grandparents' nightstands. i may do these in black laquer, so the lines stand out a bit better. stay tuned on that one...

super dad to the rescue! (and a mini preview of the living room)

as i've mentioned, my dad was in town for 5 days to help with the house. and *bonus*, he brought bonnie as well - who, despite a pinched nerve in her shoulder, did a ton of work too (especially on an antique duncan phyfe i have been holding on to for 15 years - but more on that in another post!).

i took a week off of work for what i thought would be a vacation. it ended up being 12-hours days of manual labor *ugh* - but we got a lot done and had a ton of fun while we were at it.

some of the highlights: countless trips to home depot, 2 trips to ikea (totalling 5+ hours) and hauling about 1000 lbs of furniture, hours putting together said countless ikea products, installing new molding where it was mysteriously absent, installing new thresholds, cleaning and de-vining the exterior, re-finishing that duncan phyfe, fixing the washing machine...

the list goes on and on.














thank you both for the super-human effort (and for the fabulous celebratory dinner at absinthe - i'm still dreaming of that risotto and the '86 diamond creek!).

love you, dad!

trimming the tree!

while it is close to christmas, i don't mean that tree! (between you and me, though, i can't wait! i might even have one in my bedroom this year. *whee!*)

the trees in front, and the vines crawling up the left side, were starting the strangle the house's lovely façade.

so, while dad was in town for 5 days, one of my first priorities was to give it a bit of breathing room. he ripped the vines down (don't worry, the trumpet vine out back is safe!) and trimmed an archway into the trees. he also cut them back from the inside of the house so i don't get those annoying scratchy sounds on my bedroom windows late at night. they were giving me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies!

he also went the extra mile and dealt with the ant "situation" (even killed a bunch by hand!) on the ficus and hand-washed the front of the house.

what a lucky "dottir" i am!

what comes before part b?

partaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. ha! that one just never gets old for me.

i think it's very important, when moving, to put an immediate stamp on your new place. what better way to do so than with a party?

now that i am blessed with my very own yard, i decided i should do some grillin' for the besties. it wasn't fancy (read: we had no dishes yet and no furniture in the house at all - thank god i remembered some t.p. at least!), but it was sure fun.

i have a minor obsession with korean barbecue so i decided to try to make some on my own. it was supposed to be a nice day, sunny and hot, so what better? especially with a bit of kimchi on the side? and ice cream sammies? with lots of chilled bubbly on the side?

i mean, seriously, who would even notice that we don't have furniture?

you'll note from the photos below that the new recipe was a success. but, more importantly, what a great opportunity to share such a major milestone with some of the people i love most.

fire!

wha so funnay?


after the story about kicking a guy's face in on muni i am wary of the look on v's face.


meat


meat gone


auntie jennifer always has the best party favors


my lovely charlotte