jess from scratch

an anthro sunday

2011-06-26T15:22:00.005-04:00

So I did something absolutely stupid this morning. I cleaned my bathroom sink wearing one of my nice shirts. I don't know what I was thinking. It was one of those "let me just wipe down the sink really quick", not a thorough scrub down. Well it came back to bite me in my shirt because sure enough there were not one, not two, but five very nasty bleach stained spots on the front of my shirt :( One was the size of a quarter and the rest were little spots at various points. Needless to say I was very upset at myself. This was one of my fave loose tops that I bought at anthropologie a couple months ago.

After my initial screams of seeing the bleach, the hubby of course ran upstairs to see what all the fuss was about. He was actually in shock as well by my cleaning blunder and he was like "we have to go to anthropologie and get a new one right now!" Isn't he sweet? So that's what we did hahaha

I rummaged through the sales racks and found this cute floral tank. I tried on half a dozen other tops, but resigned to getting just one top this time ;) BUT, I did find these oh-so soft leather boat shoes. I've been looking for some summer flats, but didn't want anything with a lot of embelishment and that also has some arch support! For some reason so many cute flats just are hell on my arch. But these loafers are so comfortable and I think the color (rose red) is great for summer and into fall. So my deciding to clean the bathroom, a task I normally loathe, turned into a good thing :)

Highs & Lows Tank

Muted Shades Loafers

Finally at home

2011-06-23T20:48:00.005-04:00

It's officially summertime, and I'm feeling the urge to reenter the blogging world. Oh how long since I've keyed some thoughts or happenings. First, I was silly busy with settling on the house, which we did back in March :) It was a super exciting time, but also really stressful with the move, furniture arranging (and rearranging), and just the overall process of getting used to the fact that I am now a homeowner, that every house problem is certifiably my problem now. No more landlord to call. But I can't complain too much, it's been great and I really love the place, especially the wooded backyard. Though right now everything is super grown over and it looks like this dark, dense jungle. There's so much wildlife too, with deer, foxes, turtles, possums, racoons, all kinds of birds. Though right now there's this swarm of ravens that has decided my backyard as their home for the summer. Sometimes the cawing is freakishly straight from The Birds movie....yikes.

As far as home maintenance, now I understand why people travel in hoards to the hardware store on the weekends, even for a new home, there's seemingly always something to fix or improve! I suppose our upcoming projects for the house will be the landscaping and decorating a couple more rooms. We also have an unfinished utility room that we're already discussing turning into an office, but that's just us fantasizing about putting-up drywall and laying down flooring hehe

But now that the moving dust has settled, I'm looking forward to an upbeat summer, to jumpstart some of my hobbies, and also discover some new ones. I know I want to take some enrichment courses this summer, well first of all because it's too bloody hot and humid to do too many thing outdoors so sitting in an air-conditioned class a couple times a week doesn't sound too bad ;) In general it's time to relax! I think the past couple years (yes I said years) I was getting more and more uptight and stressed-out about all sorts of things, big and small. Unfortunately emotional stress can lead to physical stress and I was just getting so sick of it, I partly blame my aging hahaha At least I can laugh about it now :)

Remedies for a restless Jess

2011-01-27T17:11:00.005-05:00

My first cold of the winter season! I've been home today trying to get better, but as usual I am having a difficult time to relax. I feel like sh** and have been popping tylenols since yesterday afternoon, I thought I was starting to feel better and could just walk around the house, make some food, sofa tv coma, clean-up a bit, and then bam...I have an energy crash and regret that I didn't just lay in bed and force myself to sleep! Last night was the worst though when I was battling a fever. Then I was totally in bed with body aches with my juice and cranky moans...I apologize to the hubby!

The next couple days should be a challenge while I will myself to get better. At least my fever has subsided and now I'm dealing with an on again off again relationship with my earache, and sinus congestion that is struggling to emerge (that annoying, tingling, burning sensation in my sinuses!) The weekend is fast approaching so I hope I get over this quickly or else I'll see myself having a very unproductive weekend. For now I'm loading-up on tea, juice, homeopathic zinc tablets (I'll try anything at this point), hot soup, and forcing myself to sit still on the sofa or in bed!

We have walls...well sorta

2011-01-23T16:36:00.003-05:00

View from future living room to future kitchen

Since the new year we've been busy, busy, busy with the house building and meeting with the contractor/builder. Everything is in full speed so we can move-in around beginning April :) It's really surreal to see our future home from dirt to house and pick-out the nitty gritty details like flooring, knobs, bathroom fixtures...too many choices! The contractor is really good with explaining things, but I'm glad that watching all those DIY shows on HGTV wasn't a total waste of time hehe It's all a bit overwhelming, but once we move I'm looking forward to just doing nothing! I don't want to get carried away with unpacking, decorating, or buying junk to fill the space. But I'm definitely ready for home, sweet home...

Christmas Puzzle...Done!

2010-12-23T12:27:00.006-05:00

1000 Pieces. 1 Day to complete most of it, but 3 days for the tree, wreath, and garland...

Tis the construction season

2010-12-22T21:22:00.004-05:00

Finally! Construction started a few weeks ago on the new house, but unfortunately now there is a weather delay with the cold temps and snow. In the above photo you can see the snow dusting in our future wooded backyard. But at least the plumbing was laid and some dirt was pushed around...progress! Our project manager assures us that the concrete pouring and framing will go super fast once the weather is favorable. Better for them (and us) to wait and do it right! At this rate we hope construction will be done around April. At least it will be warmer weather for the move!

With all the house business, we haven't really gotten into any sort of Christmas mood. We decided not to put up much decorations and actually we gave away our little fake lighted tree and decorations from last year, plus with those gone it is less things to move! Also, we've just had such annoyance with that tree and our little cat. Last year she actually tried to climb it and succeeded in toppling it over. Of all the ornaments on the tree she managed to break the one ornament that actually had some sentimental value. So this year, no tree! We do have a small display of Christmas houses with the Xmas cards, so we aren't totally bah, humbug! ;)

But with the upcoming holiday, what we're most looking forward to is some vacation time! This will be the first time the hubby and I have had a week long vacation together since 2008! I know that's a long time. We've had a few 3-day weekends here and there, but a week off work and together...it's been that long! The best part is we aren't going anywhere, so I suppose it is more a staycation. We just want to spend some quality time together at home, with some real rest & relaxation. I know some people say you have to get away from your daily environment in order to really get away and reenergize, but I don't travel that way. When I'm on holiday I feel like I'm still working, with organizing day activities or visiting friends and/or family. But with the staycation, we can just be without a schedule, without any social obligations, or feel the need we should get the most out of a trip since we paid for it, etc. We basically just want to be lazy, but lazy together haha!

Views from home

2010-11-13T19:24:00.002-05:00

Views of Afton (above) and the Shenandoah Valley (below)

Taken at Raven's Roost Overlook, BRP

The weather this November has been absolutely great so far. This Fall has been full of crisp mornings, warm afternoons, and brisk evenings. Today we decided to take advantage of this gorgeous Fall day and go on a short drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's only a short half hour drive from town and a great way to get some super fresh air and take-in some wonderful scenery. Unfortunately we missed the peak season for the changing of the leaves, but there is also something very beautiful about a nearly barren mountainside with still a few late trees of bright red and orange leaves. It's times like this when I feel I should take more advantage of what's around my own home town and not just when we have visitors. So glad we made this impromptu morning drive into the mountains.

Holidays Countdown

2010-11-05T19:30:00.006-04:00

Iconic Rosie and the 70's Cop

Alas, Halloween season is over. I can't believe we are already into November of 2010?!?! This is usually a very busy time of year for me and the hubby as the year winds down. We easily can let ourselves go with less sleep, unhealthy eating of whatever's more convenient, etc. So this time around I have my 'preemptive weight gain plan'. For the last few weeks I've stepped-up some gym sessions and tried to really watch what I've been eating. So this year with all the holiday hustle & bustle, those extra pounds won't sneak-up. I'll hopefully just plateau to my pre-holiday weight :) Bring-on the Turkey!

Getting into the Halloween spirit

2010-10-24T12:07:00.004-04:00

I'm finally getting into the Halloween spirit. I wasn't sure if I was going to celebrate this year considering we hardly get any children coming to our door for trick-or-treating and there was no mention of a costume party to attend to as of a week or so ago. But we passed this gorgeous display of pumpkins outside of Whole Foods and decided it was time to celebrate Halloween :) We have a pumpkin all ready to carve sometime this week and I'm wondering if I should bake pumpkin scones or a pumpkin cheesecake with the leftover filling. Let the fall baking season begin!

The candy corn addition is definitely the hubby's cravings. I'm not so big on candy, but year after year he loves to pick-up a bag of this stuff at the grocery store check-out and devour it as soon as he gets home. I think this is his third bag this month haha He blames years of being deprived of this seasonal candy back in Holland... Of course I sneak in 1 or 2 candy corns myself ;) But I get such a sugar rush that I undoubtedly have my candy corn eating guilt, all the while the hubby is bouncing off the walls.

So for our actual Halloween plans next Sunday, we plan to attend a costume party of one of my co-workers. I tried to think of a "couple's costume", however, that isn't going to happen. We browsed through the costume store last night and the hubby excitedly found his so I'm left to come-up with something else. But that's ok, I definitely have something else in mind and I have already bought some of the items needed to assemble it. My costume requires unpacking my sewing machine though. It's nothing difficult that needs to be sewn, but since I only seem to break-out that machine during Halloween it is a yearly review on how to use it! The costume making process is to be continued...

Shopping Cures

2010-10-21T07:22:00.002-04:00

Ok, I'm officially stressed. This whole home-buying-building project is taking a toll on my nerves, more than I thought they would. I try to tell myself this should be a happy experience and there's no need to worry, but that's obviously not working because I think I need an outlet to release all this stress haha. We haven't broke ground yet on the construction, but we have had meetings with the project manager, flooring, kitchen, and electrical people. I suppose this should be a fun experience, but I soon found-out that I don't really have much enthusiasm for looking over carpet swatches or kitchen cabinets and knobs. I am definitely not an interior designer and unfortunately neither is the hubby so our color combinations and selections might be interesting for some people haha I'll have more info/photos about the place as more things come along, but in general it is a three story townhouse with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. We're slated to start construction in mid-November so with all this waiting, I've sort of found a stress outlet...clothes shopping. So far I've bought some new suede boots, a couple sweaters, a few tops, and some dress pants. All on sale of course ;) But I was never one for going out to the stores, going into the dreaded fitting room and assembling an outfit. I am usually the 'fragmented shopper'...I'd buy a piece of clothing that I liked, only to go home and realize that I don't have anything that matches or goes with it. With the new items I bought, they really complement my current wardrobe. I feel like I'm finally tapping into some hidden clothes shopping skills :) So for those couple hours spent perusing clothing racks and shelves, I didn't think about waiting for the house to be built.

If they build it, we will come...

2010-09-30T20:22:00.000-04:00

We did it. We officially went under contract for a house last month! AND it is a new construction so in a few months time we will be able to move into our first home together. We didn't expect to move into a new home, yet alone see it be built. We were looking into well established neighborhoods, but we came across this new development and absolutely fell in love with the location. So after researching the builder/developer and a few more specs, we dived in and went under contract. With it being a buyer's market and historically low interest rates, we feel it's something that wouldn't have been possible for us until now.

It will be nice to move into a move-in ready home and not have to worry about fixing anything for the first few years. We should be breaking ground in the next couple weeks. It's very exciting, but also quite nerve-racking. Day after day we are ready to just move already, but since we're at the beginning stages it's still pretty much a dirt lot at this point. So for now, we just wait...

Life Plans

2010-08-15T18:35:00.003-04:00

My seasonal update, since I seem to be averaging one post to the blog only once a season ;) The summer has been going by so fast and I can't believe it is already mid-August. Well things have been very low key for the most part. The hubby and I have been enjoying doing things at home and around town, like music concerts, time at the beach and pool, and enjoying the company of good friends. I do have to mention that we were in a World Cup frenzy for several weeks and then had to recover from our depression after Holland lost, a-boo-hoo. But now we're over it hehe

Onto bigger and brighter plans. We have started the process to hunt for our first home together *scream* In the next few weeks I'm hoping we can go under contract for a place because finally we feel we are ready. But we are not in any rush so we'll see how everything goes. I never owned a house before, but the hubby did own a condo back in the NL so at least one of us has done the whole home buying routine before. It terrifies me to bits and I keep watching hours of HGTV and reading resource after resource on the internet to learn as much as I can about the entire process. It has become somewhat of my new o.c.d haha At least the hubby is the more relaxed one and reminds me to have fun and remember to enjoy the experience :)

So that's the latest (major) news. Oh and in the spring I did sign-up for another running road race for later this month but I've been terrible with the training because of all the house hunting and lazy summer days/heatwave! But the few times I did go running, it has been the best way to reset and clear the mind. If I don't get to the race that's ok, at least my registration fee goes to a wonderful local charity. There's always the next race to train for!

Funny how with age I really am setting time to doing one thing at a time and not think or feel pressured to do everything all at once. I think in my 20s I wanted everything and right then and there, like with a relationship, a house, school, kids, career, hobbies, social life, etc. etc. Of course many of things came my way, but life also took some very odd turns. As the saying goes "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans". It is so true, at least in my life.

In Bloom

2010-05-27T18:52:00.003-04:00

I'm coming-out of a slump. I've been zombie-eyed day in and day out with the daily grind and now I feel like I'm waking-up from a very long hibernation. Time to let some creative juices flow and learn to relax again and enjoy life's simple pleasures. Stay tuned...

Friendly Tiramisu Recipe

2010-03-30T20:45:00.011-04:00

Now, for the tiramisu purists out there, this recipe does not use raw eggs. I have made tiramisu before using eggs, the double-boiler, etc. But I wanted a quick and friendly recipe that didn't use raw eggs. Sometimes I get nervous serving raw eggs, especially when other people will be eating it. I'd hate to have someone get sick from something I cooked, or in this case, didn't cook. So here is a quick recipe for tiramisu that I think is just as rich and yummy, and it's super fast to make too!

Ingredients

1 cup Heavy whipping cream

1 cup Mascarpone cheese

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 package ladyfinger cookies (approx. 24)

Amaretto liqueur

10 oz strong coffee

Hazelnuts

Chocolate shavings or cocoa powder

1. Whip the heavy cream in a mixer with the sugar. Add the mascarpone and continue to mix. Add a splash of amaretto to the batter, roughly 2 tablespoons.

2. Prepare the strong coffee and add a splash of amaretto.

3. Line the bottom of a 9x5 loaf pan with ladyfingers. Add the spoonfuls of the coffee liquer to the ladyfingers until they are just moist, but not drenched.

4. Cover the layer of cookies with a layer of the cream mixture.

5. Alternate cookies with coffee liquer and cream. Approx. 3 layers of cookies. Top layer will be cream.

6. Add rough chopped hazelnuts and shaved good chocolate to the top. Refrigerate for several hours to overnight, the longer the better!

Pasta of the fresh-cut kind

2010-03-28T20:00:00.004-04:00

Roasted Garlic Fettucine with Mushroom Sauce

A few weeks ago I experienced a gem that was right in my own backyard. It was one of those stores that I always knew was there, but somehow never bothered to step foot in it. I went to other stores and restaurants in its vicinity, but guess I've gotten into such a shopping routine that guess I need to start exploring more what's in my own neighborhood!

Mona Lisa Pasta is a local Italian specialty food store and they have such yummy fresh cut-to-order pasta and homemade sauces, in addition to imported Italian foodstuffs, wines, cheeses, desserts, etc. I had a coupon for buy a homemade sauce, and get a pound of pasta for free lingering in my wallet so I decided one weekend to give them a try. Before jumping into ordering, I took some time to peruse their shelves of imported items and to go over their extensive menu for pastas and sauces. The gentleman behind the front counter was very helpful to show which pastas were available fresh that day and also suggested which sauces would go well with them.

They have several different flavored pastas, from spinach to lemon-pepper to black squid ink, and you can have it cut your way. After some going back and forth, I finally ended-up ordering the roasted garlic fettucine, to go along with their recommended pairing of the meatless mushroom sauce. After the superfast meal-prepping at home (90 seconds to cook fresh pasta!), I was totally hooked. The smell and taste of the sauce was so delish and nothing beats fresh-cut pasta, the texture and taste was well...fresh! I've gone back to Mona Lisa Pasta a couple more times and tried their egg rigatoni and lemon-pepper spaghetti and since then, I've given-up on dried pasta haha I love the sauces I've tried from them thus far, but I also like to cook my own homemade sauces as well. So being able to add fresh pasta now is a great bonus. Buon appetito!

Sham Rock On

2010-03-27T07:50:00.000-04:00

Shamrock Sportsfest, Virginia Beach

Running in an 8km road race is off my checklist for things to do in 2010. The Shamrock Sportsfest 8km in Virginia Beach was last weekend and it was absolute gorgeous running conditions. A crisp morning at the starting line, full-on sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean for three of the five mile course that was along the oceanfront, and 7,000 runners stomping along for the same overall reason, to cross that finish line. My chip time was 48:46, which was below my goal of 50mins.

The hubby was great at coaching me along and he ran with me for most of the way, falling back several times to keep a pace for me. I tried the best I could to take my 5'3 shuffle and match his 6'2 stride haha. Running alongside the hubby worked for me for about 4 miles, but I kept falling behind and I was getting pretty spent of energy trying to keep-up to him. So I just told him to go ahead. That's when he took off like the energizer rabbit. I realized then that he really was going to leave me pretty far behind haha I pretty much drew a blank for the rest of the race, I can only recall making the turn to the final half-mile straightaway to the finish line and I was just in this zone of staring at the word FINISH in big green letters.

After crossing the finish line, my initial thoughts were of "Ouch! my legs hurt", I was really happy to have completed my first 8km race. It was a big rush of adrenaline to finish and I had my own personal Rocky moment hehe But even during the race, there's such positive energy flowing while running with a mass of people all huffing and puffing along together. And I know I told myself when I started training that 8km was the upper distance limit for any races I was going to do, well I lied hehe I think I want to do a 10km race as well. What's one more mile and a bit? But not anytime soon ;)

Happy Bday to Moi :)

2010-03-25T18:22:00.003-04:00

Last week I quietly sneaked into my 30s ;) I didn't want to make a big hoopla about turning 3-0, so I ended-up taking a half-day at work, having a relaxing dinner/evening at home with the hubby, and then splitting a piece of birthday (chocolate ganache) cake :P Of course I had a mini-moment of self-reflection, looking back on my 20s. It was a decade full of personal growth and 'finding myself'. So I'm really looking positively at being Jess Version 3.0 and can only hope it's as sweet and comforting as the cake I had hehe

Mountain Films Galore!

2010-03-14T19:54:00.004-04:00

We just came back from attending the Charlottesville leg of the 2010 Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, a screening of several selected short films from this year's festival. There was a wonderful array of inspirational films that reflect mountain culture, from adrenaline sports to huge feats for seemingly ordinary people. This is a must attend for anyone interested in the outdoors and/or adventure sports. The festival was brought to us by the Banff Centre and locally sponsored by Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, our source for any and all outdoor gear and info for local mountain excursions. Check-out the Banff website to see the tour near you! After tonight's festivities and seeing all this breathtaking scenery, I'm really looking forward to the few upcoming hikes that are planned for this Spring! We'll leave the mountain speed flying and free solo rock-climbing to the big screen ;)

Homemade Granola

2010-03-08T21:13:00.008-05:00

I had a go at a new recipe for some homemade granola squares and they turned out really chewy and filling. Perfect energy food during a hike or just for an afternoon boost at work (an alternative to the coffee jolt break ;)

I picked a recipe from smittenkitchen.com, another food blog I've been following. The SK recipe gives a lot of leeway, but they give a basic recipe that you can just adjust to your taste. After a run to my neighborhood natural foods store, I came home with bags upon bags of ingredients for the granola squares. In the end, my granola mix was comprised of rolled oats, whole almonds, shredded coconut, dried cranberries, ground flaxseed and to bind, I opted for a maple syrup and raw wildflower honey mix. In the end, I had 16 gooey squares from the oven. They are a bit difficult to get out of the baking dish, but the recipe has a parchment paper tip and after some fuss the squares survived.

I'm thinking next time, chocolate chips, dried sour cherries, almond butter and honey are going into my next batch of granola squares! How would you do your granola?

Spinning music knowledge

2010-02-23T20:08:00.007-05:00

So I've kept up the routine to attend a weekly spinning class. ok, so maybe I missed one or two classes, but I'm still running regularly for the 8K training so that makes up for the absences hehe. But anyhow, spinning is the most intense exercising I've been doing so far and it's kicking my butt...in a good way :) It's 60 minutes long of intense cardio and at the end of a work day I feel like it's a great way to detox and sweat-out any stress or tension.

My regular instructor does a great job with her music playlist and creates a program that matches well with all the up and down hills, sprints, and getting off the saddle. I've learned that music selection makes a huge difference for your spinning experience, as I found out by taking some of the alternative classes by other instructors, and I just didn't care for their music. Too much hip-hop or dance, music didn't coordinate well with what the instructor wanted us to do, etc. Now I'm super bad with music knowledge, like names of artists, songs, albums. And forget about new-new music. Once in a while I pass the VH-1 channel and everything seems new to me. Then I hear the music my 14-year old nephew is listening to and wow do I feel old haha. I have my own music library of classics :)

So during my first spinning class the instructor was yapping about Lady Gaga and she fit one of her songs into that class's program. At this point, I never even heard of her and if I had I wouldn't know it was someone named Lady Gaga. I inquired about this a bit more with some of my co-workers and to no surprise but, they seem to know about her too haha. Guess I don't keep up with pop culture as much as I could. Well now I know who Lady Gaga is...thanks to spin class ;)

Riding on a food writing wave

2010-02-21T08:19:00.016-05:00

Since we've been having such a real winter in Virginia with weekly snowfall, I have been pretty much homebound. In anticipation of the last upcoming big snowstorm, I did a quick order of some food writing books from Amazon to keep myself occupied during these snowy days. Cooking and eating seems to be the best way to endure this long, cold winter, but I suppose reading about cooking and eating carries less of a calorie load ;) A few weeks ago I stumbled upon Heidi Swanson's award-winning food blog while looking for a new chewy, chunky, chocolate chip cookie recipe. I immediately took to the recipes she suggests from her extensive cookbook collection and from her own recipes. I just love her passion for sharing food! So ever since finding 101 cookbooks, I've been riding on this wave of food writing. So the books I ordered arrived just in time before the house was barricaded behind a couple feet of snow. For one long weekend I cozied-up on my sofa and read away, being inspired by culinary tales and the various shared recipes I wanted to attempt. I suppose I had my Julie/Julia moments, but not of the quarter-life crisis kind hehe

After I finished reading the first book in my mini-stack, The Sweet Life In Paris by David Lebovitz, I was set to try a Madeleine recipe. The sweet, delectable scallop designed French cakes became a baking mission. But I was first in need of a Madeleine mold baking tray. I first searched some local stores, from the Bed, Bath, & Beyond and the baking section of Michael's, but I suppose these trays are too much of a novelty to find in any big box stores. So I next moved onto Charlottesville's specialty cooking store, The Happy Cook. Just my luck, but they were sold-out of the metal trays and only had the mini Madeleine silicon molds in stock. I've never baked using a silicon mold so I didn't want to go there just yet. My mission to bake Madeleines was postponed for a few more days as I had to order the mold online. Funny, but in those days I was waiting for the mold to arrive, I took notice of these cakes more at various food stores, and I was in total shock of their price. A few more searches online revealed that they are not the cheapest little sweets, sometimes along the same price lines as gourmet chocolates. I just didn't get it... Probably because they are marketed as these handcrafted French treats.

Next, the task at hand was to find which recipe to use. Of course the initial inspiration for an attempt at Madeleines came from Lebovitz's book, but the true scientist in me calls for looking at different recipe protocols and then deciphering which one makes the most sense to me. I had his recipe, one from Ina Garten, a basic recipe from the mold package (it arrived!), and of course one tested and tried by Heidi Swanson from 101 Cookbooks. All the recipes had slight variations in the ratio of eggs, flour, butter, and sugar, and even little details in whether to use granulated versus powdered sugar. In my experiences with baking, it is more an exact science than say making a stew where you can add a little bit of this and that while cooking until it is just right. With baking, once you mix certain proportions, you are committed and the chemical process has begun! One technique that caught my eye was in the 101 Cookbooks Madeleine recipe, which called for brown butter, and after reading-up a bit more on Beurre noisette, I thought what the hey, let's brown some butter!

Madeleine molds with strained brown butter

I followed the recipe as closely as possible (Heidi is very good at giving you the nitty gritty details for the method, which really helps!). The recipe makes two dozen large cakes, but unfortunately I only had one tray so I baked the batter in two batches. I found by accident that if you let the batter rest for a bit after combining the last ingredients that the cakes are bit more dense and spongy because the second batch were definitely thicker. For some reason the first batch was thinner and didn't plump as much. Looking back on reviews for the 101 recipe, other testers also recommend letting the batter rest before baking.

Golden-browned Madeleines

My husband and I taste-tested quite a few from the first and second batches and they are definitely a winner! I don't know if it is the brown butter, but they are so moist and delicious. I look forward to making variations of this recipe, with chocolate, coconut, nuts....endless possibilities for Madeleines. Now I'm just waiting for the second mold I ordered online, with two trays I want to be able to make this recipe in one go.

Road Racing

2010-01-18T07:39:00.001-05:00

New year, new Livestrong kicks

2010 - I've declared a year of fitness. I've gotten back into a regular work-out routine and I'm hoping to recondition myself after all the winter/holiday hibernating :-/ I've always liked going to the gym to clear my head and destress, but soon I'll be approaching the 3-0 this year and I want to set some clear health and fitness goals. So far I've been doing some morning runs and hitting the gym a couple times a week with regular cardio and a spin class, all part of my preparation to run an 8K race in March. Yes, I registered for another race and upped the distance from the 4-miler I completed last summer. This in principle shouldn't be a problem with one more mile in the recipe, but this time I'm also running with KJ. So with him running beside me I'm hoping to improve my pace time.

I think after the 8K training and race is done, this will be 'it' as far as the road race category. I'm not one to strive for a half-marathon or marathon. I don't think my bones can keep hitting the pavement to that level. I know my limits. But I think finishing an 8K road race would be a great way to start off my 30s :)

Saw It. Love It

2010-01-02T20:13:00.004-05:00

New Year's Day and a new year, so we tried something 'different' and went to the movie theater. In 2009 we hardly went to the cinema, maybe twice? With our Netflix subscription, Xbox Live movie streaming, and free movies from the library, we were pretty much set with home movie entertainment, so no need to fuss with lines, crowded theaters, and the $10 ticket. But KJ was interested in seeing Avatar in 3D so we endured the new year's day mob at the theater to watch this blockbuster, and I absolutely loved it. I don't know if it was the 3D, but I thought it was visually stunning, despite it being CGI and motion capture imaging, the scenes just blew me away. The story itself was an 'all element' kind of film, with some action/adventure, sci-fi, romance, and comic relief. The story was something like a Lord of the Rings meets Braveheart meets Aliens meets Last of the Mohicans lol I was thoroughly entertained for the almost three hours. All in all, I was glad to see this movie in the theater and not wait until DVD. And with all the 3D movie previews that were shown before the movie, I think this really is the way of the future in cinema. Alice In Wonderland in 3D...next on my list.

Winter Wassail

2009-12-27T12:22:00.004-05:00

Need something to warm your insides during the cold, winter season? How about some hot-spiced Wassail. The mix of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg with hot apple cider(ale) together with a warm slice of cranberry-almond loaf. My substitute for a lack of a fireplace on a chilly Sunday afternoon at home hehe. Happy Wassailing!

Inspiration from Decor by Color

2009-12-26T16:51:00.003-05:00

I stumbled upon this website while looking for more decorating ideas for my living room. They've basically created a mini-blog for products in different color schemes. Now my living room is a hodgepodge of many different colors (ongoing problem), but it's slowly leaning towards the chocolate browns and deeper blues as I replace and rearrange items. It was interesting to peruse around a color blog and get some inspiration for decorating ideas. I actually saw one of the furniture pieces I purchased was highlighted on their blog. The items they feature are a range in affordability and styles, but a great way to see the decorating possiblities in the color(s) that you prefer. So head over to Decor By Color, pick a hue, and see if you tap into your inner decorator.

Happy Holidays from jessfromscratch

2009-12-25T19:29:00.005-05:00

Department 56 - Christmas In The City Village

merry x-mas to me...well sorta

2009-12-22T20:51:00.004-05:00

I am now of the smartphone generation. I actually bought this phone for myself a couple months ago. KJ and I dismantled our basic phone family plan when he got a Blackberry through his work. So why must I not have an upgraded gadget to play with as well? I don't have the luxury of my work providing me with a phone so I shopped around for the best plan and phone for myself. Actually, my boss has this same phone and he pretty much sold me on the Palm Pre...I guess we are now 'phone buddies'. I never thought I would use it so much and was apprehensive at first, but so far I'm getting so much use out of it. From using it to listen to morning podcasts every day, to my electronic agenda (I stopped using my little red agenda that I've had forever!), as a mobile GPS while driving, and of course for the traditional uses as an actual phone haha I'm not to the Crackberry point as my husband, but then again he uses his smartphone for work, so there's no need to keep my email on a constant refresh rate haha Anyhow, I'm quite pleased with the purchase and I think I've filled my gadget purchase quota for now. Though I know KJ has been eyeing a Kindle/Nook...

Snowy Christmas Season

2009-12-20T09:03:00.005-05:00

Me hiking down the street in my hardshell, ski pants, and boots

KJ and the blustery snowfall...brrrrr

We were snowed-in this weekend with Winter's welcome and a giant snow system that moved up the entire U.S. east coast. After the stormstorm was said and done, the final tally was 21 inches in town and up to 30 inches in the surrounding mountains. More than either of us have seen in quite some time. It truly made for a magical winter wonderland right outside our front door :) So what to do during the snowstorm? Well of course KJ and I ventured out into the snow and walked around our neighborhood. It was so magical and serene with everything covered in a thick blanket of snow. After an hour or so of wandering about, we did start to get cold, so it was time to warm-up inside and drink some hot coffee and tea.

It had been several weeks since we both had a weekend off together. KJ has been working ridiculously in Q4 (10-14 hours a day for 7 days a week) so we took this time together as pure gold. We listened to Christmas music, watched movies, baked cookies together, and just relaxed! I am finally getting into the holiday spirit :) I'm still not finished with present shopping and with only a few days left, I'm not sure how I'm going to accomplish this hehe Anyhow, the snow is expected to stay on the ground until Christmas with a 'winter mix' coming on Christmas Eve. So all this pretty snow just might make for a White Christmas...or a slushy mess :(

Oatmeal-Cranberry-Walnut Cookies and Holiday Planning Tips

Mexican Radio

2009-11-24T18:01:00.002-05:00

This has been the year of not eating-out so much. I used to love going out and trying different cuisines and restaurants, but over time I've pretty much tried all the restaurants I want to try in my town and don't keep up with the new ones that open every now and then. Lately I've preferred the cozy atmosphere of my dining room with home cooked meals or at friends' places. When you are traveling though you have no choice, but to explore and experiment the local restaurant culture.

While visiting NYC with my in-laws a few weeks ago, we came across this Mexican restaurant in NoLiTa and I really loved it. I normally don't have a real taste for Mexican food and it was more my in-laws food choice for the evening. So we looked-up on our phones the nearest Mexican restaurant and ta-da...there was one only a few blocks from our current location. I was pleasantly surprised :)

Mexican Radio has a super, great atmosphere with vibrant colors for decor, lots of lighted candles, excellent waitstaff, and very yummy food. Their mole sauce is to die for! I couldn't believe how much I could eat either...after starter nachos and my main entree, I still had enough room to have their award-winning flan for dessert. I didn't imbibe any of their pretty looking margaritas (I don't normally go for margaritas anyways), but KJ sampled a bit from their extensive tequila list and I didn't hear any complaints from him haha This restaurant is definitely going on my list for all my NYC trips!

Autumn in New York

2009-10-28T07:45:00.007-04:00

I feel like the next few posts to the blog will be slightly out of order...but let's start with returning from a four-day weekend in NYC. My in-laws are visiting from the Netherlands and they decided to land in JFK Airport, tour the city for a few days, then rent a car and drive down to our place in Virginia after stopping at various points of interests along the way. So KJ and I thought it would be a great idea to make a mini-holiday for ourselves and take the train up there and meet them for the weekend.

The city was bustling as usual, but we made our lives even more bustling by packing-in as much friend visits as we could while we were there, on top of being the official city guides for mom and dad. It was wonderful to see old friends who now live in the city and we endured doing the more touristy site-seeing.

I have a so-so relationship with the City. Maybe because I lived there as a teenager and also in other large cities during my early twenties that now I really love and prefer to live in a smaller town and closer to nature and the outdoors. Right now as I type this in the office room, the windows are open and there's the fresh, crisp autumn air breezing in, bright orange and red-leafed trees right in my view, and the sound of birds chirping. It's good to be back home...

Fall Cold

2009-10-16T08:56:00.002-04:00

I've been home with a cold for the last couple of days. I don't have a fever, but my head is so heavy with sinus congestion and pressure. I think it was a combination of things that led to my cold...weather change, staying-up late over the weekend, going to a party with a lot of kids in attendance (kids = cold carriers hehe), and a bit of stress that shot my immune system.

I tried to fight off this cold with some echinacea, neti-potting, and saltwater gargles, but the full blown cold eventually emerged. At least it is during the latter part of the week so I only missed a couple days of work. I'm looking forward to taking this weekend to rest some more and not think about the work I am missing.

So what have I been doing all day in my cold boredom? Not much. The usual routine of forced fluids, soup, and resting on the sofa. Yesterday I actually watched a marathon of The Real Housewives of Atlanta on the Bravo channel. It was my first time to watch that show and it is pretty crazy with all the drama and diva hoopla, but I was actually entertained during my sofa coma haha

Anyhow, back to planting myself on the sofa and decongesting. At least I have the cat to keep my company.

Enjoy your weekend!

Double-breasted sweater

2009-10-04T16:57:00.007-04:00

After a few evenings after work and one rainy Saturday, I finished another knitting project. This time I knitted for my soon-to-be nephew from my brother and his wife. They are expecting a boy in November so I knitted this double-breasted sweater using a soft cotton blend yarn and finished with matte blue buttons. This is the first time I've tried a woven basketweave pattern and the texture feels and looks great.

So many friends and family members are expecting this year and next. We just found out that KJ's sister is also expecting. She is due around March 2010 so still plenty of time to knit a piece for another niece or nephew :) We will have a total of seven nieces and nephews by then!

Time to give all this baby knitting a break. I think I want to knit something for myself now hehe

This pattern comes from Easy Baby Knits by Claire Montgomerie.

Start of the Fall Season

2009-09-20T15:14:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow is the start of the Fall season, my favorite time of the year. A time of warm days and cool nights in Charlottesville. Also, the changing of the leaves will start soon, which will make for spectacular sights during hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

This weekend we got a headstart on Fall activities and headed over to Carter Mountain Orchard, which is only a 5-10 minute drive from our house. We strolled around the very serene orchards, working-up an appetite before indulging in some apple cider donuts =p. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning. They have a ton of different varieties available for picking and we'll be sure to get our weekly apples from them as the different types come into peak picking this Fall. Time to dig into some apple baking recipes. Any suggestions?

Hooded Sweater Jacket

2009-09-10T20:47:00.007-04:00

I picked-up some momentum with my knitting the last couple of weekends and tonight I completed the finishing of this piece. This is always my least favorite part, the blocking, the steaming, the sewing of all the seams and loose ends, but the end product always brings a relieved smile. I am giving this sweater as a gift to a friend couple who are expecting their first child at the end of this month. The sex of the baby is a secret so I thought this light gray colored yarn was a nice unisex option. I also had some extra leather buttons that I bought last year that I could use for the one button closure, so that was an afterthought that seemed to fit nicely.

This is the first time I am trying this pattern and I'm rather pleased with the results. It will be filed away as a definite pattern to use in the future. The most tedious part I found was sewing the hood to the neck with equal fullness distributed all along the edge, but it worked-out quite well in the end. Now, time to get this little sweater wrapped-up and mailed off...just in time for baby's first Fall :)

Knitting in progress / Hood work

Front & Back

Leather Button Closure

Labor Day Weekend Wine Trail

2009-09-06T17:58:00.004-04:00

Since we have a mini-break from work with the Labor Day holiday weekend, what better leisure activity than to visit a winery. There are several wine trails to choose from in the Central Virginia region, (yes, we have a wine region) and we went on a short drive this Sunday afternoon to a pretty vineyard just 30 minutes from home called Barboursville Vineyard. In addition to the winery, the estate itself is rich in Jeffersonian and early American history. They offer weekend tours of their winery and for $4 you can enjoy a tasting and go home with a complementary Barboursville wineglass. Also, their grounds are quite enjoyable to walk around on a not-so-hot, end of summer day.

Barboursville Ruins

Located across from the main buildings, on a tree-lined grassy knoll, are the Barboursville Ruins. It's a short hike uphill and a very pleasant and serene place to sit on a bench and read, or have a picnic on the grass. We didn't do any of those things though hehe We just continued to walk around the grounds and take some snapshots and soak-up the silence of being in the countryside.

There are several other vineyards a very short drive from our house and many we haven't seen yet. One forgets the places close to home that are worth taking the time to visit, even if for an hour or so.

More photos from our afternoon stroll: Barboursville Vineyards

Race Day

2009-09-05T17:32:00.008-04:00

Before the 4-mile race

This morning the alarm buzzed at 6AM so I could wake-up, get ready, and beat the traffic to the race site by 7AM. The road was to be closed at 7:30AM for the race and I wanted to make sure we had enough time to get there and we definitely did. It was a 'hurry up so we can wait' situation.

The race site/course was absolutely gorgeous. Morning mist was hovering over the landscape, picturesque rolling hills with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the backdrop. The course itself was 4miles of Virginia countryside flanked by horse farms and country estates. There were only two or so baby hills to run but for the most part it

was flat as could be.

Early morning at Foxfield race site

Walking to the starting line

The staging of the runners was the most tedious and nerve-racking part because you are literally standing around and waiting until they decide to move 3300 women to the starting line. But I remained patient and once the race started at 8AM sharp, I was in my own zone for the next 40 minutes. I beat my personal goal of finishing in under 44min and not stopping during the race. It was really great to run and have random strangers cheer for you. It was that extra boost throughout the race and for the final push at the end. It's an out and back course so along the way you pass the 6-minute mile runners after the turnaround and all the runners cheer them on...sooooo much positive energy, it was brilliant!

I'm really glad I completed my first road race, a race that celebrates women and for a wonderful cause, the UVA Breast Cancer Center. I also ran for personal reasons unrelated to breast cancer, but another disease that my older and only sister lost her battle with, called lupus. It's an autoimmune disease that affects mostly women for which there is no cure. She passed away four years ago and I ran every mile for her!

Training Days

2009-08-23T18:27:00.005-04:00

Sunday Sushi Treat

My weekend didn't all go quite as planned. There were a few events I had penned into my agenda, but nothing seemed to go into motion. First we missed our volunteer orientation at our local animal shelter because of a very slow morning on our part. Since I've been training for this upcoming road race, we've been getting-up at the buttcrack of dawn (even on Saturday mornings) to go for a training run. It's always refreshing and detoxing, at first, but then after our cooldown, rehydrating, and breakfast, it's very easy to become lazy and lounge around the house for the rest of the morning :) Oh well, there are more volunteer orientations scheduled for the upcoming weeks. We're hoping to help-out by being cat socializers and dog walkers, maybe even find that special dog that we'll take home :)

Anyhow, the weather also had a great deal to do with our plans not going through. There was an outdoor music festival we were interested in going to, but with afternoon torrential downpours, that plan was axed in no time. Some friends who did brave the early thunderstorms texted us that the skies were starting to clear at the festival site, but we figured we would save our $20 each entry fee since we already missed half of the bands and it was still a 45min to hour drive away. With that said, we pretty much were homebodies on Saturday. It was very easy to just sit drinking hot tea while looking outside at the falling rain...

Sunday has been much better as far as productivity. We started the day off with an awesome 4-mile run. This is the third 4-mile run I've completed in my training schedule, but this time I didn't stop to rest so it was one of those Rocky moments for me. There are three major hills on the route we ran, ranging in 10-20% elevation gains. Normally they kick me in the butt and I have to rest at the top of each one, but this time I really wanted to pace myself and take each of the hills slow and steady. That actually works haha. It's only a couple more weeks until the race and I'm getting slightly nervous. I have a tremendous knack for psyching myself-out and even though I've already completed the race distance in my training, I still feel I'm 'not there yet'...

Anyhow, my body is not used to logging in all this running mileage and I could really feel it today. After running some errands in the afternoon and going into work for a bit, my legs were pretty much spent. So what better way to spend the Sunday evening than to not cook, but instead have take-out sushi, pop in a dvd, and enjoy what's left of the weekend *sigh* Oh and more running scheduled for tomorrow...yay!

Spoils of Summer

2009-08-19T18:02:00.004-04:00

Is it just me, but is summer flying by very quickly? I can't believe it is already mid-August! This has been a pretty low-key summer for me. While my co-workers have been enjoying their weeklong vacations to and fro some exotic and not so exotic places, I

've been enjoying a quiet, relaxed summer in town. There's only been the occasional daytrip to either DC or Virginia Beach to visit my parents. But I've been a local hermit for the most part, taking enjoyment in the simple pleasures of summertime...

Park close to home that I've been strolling along this summer (when it's not bloody hot). Hard to imagine only half a year ago this was THE sledding spot during winter snowfalls.

I found this superb honey one weekend on a local honey hunt. Scoured a few health food stores & farmers' markets before coming across this gem. Hopefully it helps with my allergies.

Tomato harvesting galore. From the markets, my parents garden, to the share from friends and co-workers...we've been fully stocked this summer.

Cold Noodle Bowl

2009-08-08T21:55:00.005-04:00

I love me a yummy, noodle bowl. There is a noodle and dumpling shop downtown, but not worth the time to go there for every noodle bowl craving. There's always the option for a prefab bowl of the just add water kind, complete with a packet of powdery spices and rehydrated veggies to be added before microwaving.

Today, I attempted to replicate the downtown noodle bowl with a quick healthier noodle substitution and I'm quite pleased with the result. Lunch is served!

Ingredients

Soba - Japanese Buckwheat Noodles with Wild Yam (served cold)

homemade peanut sauce (peanut butter, peanuts, water, skim milk, tamari, chili powder)

toasted sesame seeds

cucumber sticks

Summer County Fairs

2009-08-07T18:33:00.008-04:00

Albemarle County Fair

(with political campaigners, of course)

The smell of funnel cakes, cotton candy, candy apples, pulled-pork bbq (KJ's favorite). Ribbons for the best grown fruits, vegetables, pies, home brewed beer, and wine. Livestock shows complete with cattle, pigs, chickens, llamas, and the cutest baby chicks you can pick-up and pet. A music tent where you can hear Appalachian roots, bluegrass, country blues, and rock. It's county fair season!

Pretty much every weekend til the end of summer there is a surrounding county that will be hosting their fair. They are such a great way to get outside and see various groups come together and celebrate your local offerings. One great aspect of our county fair we just went to was the contributions from Backyard Revolution, which set-up numerous tents with workshops and seminars pertaining to the cultural and agricultural heritage of Central Virginia, anything from maple syrup making to composting to growing heirloom tomatoes to making your own cider to needle crafting...so much to learn! Not bad for a mere $7 entry fee!

Staying cool under their tent

KJ getting his pork bbq fix

More pics from the Albemarle County Fair

Smithsonian Renwick Gallery

2009-08-03T21:15:00.001-04:00

A few weekends ago, we had our annual trip to Washington D.C. This turned into a tradition to celebrate KJ's birthday a few years ago, so every summer around the same time we make the two and a half hour drive there and stay for the weekend. There's always so much to see and do in DC, especially with the free admission to all museums and exhibitions associated with the Smithsonian Institute. So if you pack your own lunch, you can have a full day of free American history, art, culture, science, etc, which we have done in the past for mini daytrips. However, hotels are normally ridiculously expensive when Congress is in session and dining-out and entertainment aren't lagging far behind in price. But in the summer, when much of political DC is also on vacation, you can find some great hotel deals.

One of our fave places to visit every summer is the National Gallery of Art, where you can meander through one of many galleries and buildings. However, as with any large art museum there are the crowds to deal with. We noticed that on this particular summer weekend, it was much more crowded than past summers, most likely due to Obama now being president.

Renwick Gallery Facade

On this trip we were pleased to discover for ourselves a new fave, the Smithsonian Renwick Gallery. It's tucked a bit away from the National Mall and almost across the street from the White House. You can easily miss it as most of the attention on this street IS on the White House. The museum houses 19th century to present American art and the building itself is from and decorated inside with 19th century period furniture. One of the finest features is their Grand Salon, which gives you the feeling you're in the home of a 19th century art collector's house. I couldn't get the right picture on my digital camera that captured the grandeur and scale of this room, but the link above shows the feel a bit. I found the Salon definitely a place I could sit for hours, read a book, and relax. I don't think the museum staff would necessarily mind either, the receptionist and security were so friendly and it wasn't crowded at all! We look forward to visiting again when they finish the special exhibitions that were closed off this time :(

The early bird gets the bagel

2009-07-18T08:23:00.003-04:00

KJ and I rolled ourselves out of bed and went for a 3mile run this morning. It's all part of my training for the race, but KJ is being a sport and being my pacekeeper. It was rather humid for 7am, but we endured ;) It was quite pleasant though to pass other morning joggers and dog walkers, everyone was so friendly and chipper!

Now to 'treat' ourselves and replenish lost calories, we're off to get a yummy breakfast bagel from our local bagel gurus, Bodo's. KJ loves their egg, sausage, and cheese bagel sandwiches with a side of piping hot BoJoe. I'm in the mood for hummus and red onion on a whole wheat everything bagel...it seems kind of early for red onion, but that's my craving so I'm gonna happily satisfy it haha

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday...we're off on a mini roadtrip to visit the fam this weekend. :D

Puff Pastried Out

2009-07-12T12:25:00.004-04:00

Saturday afternoon was spent making three dozen puff pastry triangles filled with a mixture of spinach, feta, ricotta, parmesan, and minced onion. This was a joint project with one of my friends and our contribution to a potluck for later in the evening. It was quite the process of test-tasting for just the right balance of cheeses and spices. We definitely diverted from the orignal recipe we found online. In the end, we were fairly pleased and the guests at the potluck gave us a thumbs up so the three hours of prep and cooking were well worth it. I think I've had my share of working with puff pastry for a while :)

Ingredients

1/2 lb frozen spinach

Half medium vidalia onion

Half medium red onion

1 cup ricotta

1/2 cup crumbled feta

1 cup freshly grated parmesan

Half squeezed lemon

1/4tsp lemon zest

Dash of nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 package thawed puff pastry

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375F

1. Sautee minced onions in extra virgin olive oil. Thaw spinach and drain as much water as possible. Add to onions and cook until most of water is gone. Allow mixture to cool.

2. Mix together cheeses, fold-in spinach/onion mixture. Add nutmeg, salt, pepper, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

3. Prepare puff pastry sheets on a floured surface. Use a rolling pin to cut and prepare 3x3inch squares. (This is the most time consuming process!).

4. Place a tablespoon of the filling in the center of the square. Rub a bit of water around the edges and fold diagonally into a triangle. Use a fork to press and seal the edges.

5. Brush some egg wash on the top and bake at 375C for 25min or until golden brown and edges are puffed.

Four years and four miles

2009-07-08T19:37:00.009-04:00

This morning I resumed my training for what will be my first running road race in September. I had been sick last week and pretty much a coughing couch potato, so I wanted to ease into cardio and ended-up doing a light jog for 15 minutes. I've always liked to have running in my regular cardio work-outs, but it was my cardio vice. Thirty minutes on a bike or elliptical trainer was not a problem, but when it came to running, it just took my breath away and I felt like I was hauling a ton of bricks with every foot stomp. It's taken me quite some time to build-up to my current pace and running endurance.

About four years ago I started regular work-outs and a better diet as part of a plan to drop the 20 or so pounds I had gained while living in the Netherlands. Really bad eating didn't do me any favors while I was living there and I was under the false impression that I was exercising because I was biking every day to and from work. But my daily biking didn't seem to counterbalance all the fries with mayo, cheese, butter, milk, Dutch desserts, and bread I was consuming. So after only a couple years of living on a Dutch diet I was tipping the scales at 5'4 and 160lbs. I've never been super skinny, but this was a lot of weight gain for myself in a short time. I was not very happy about it when I returned to the States and I felt like how could I let this creep-up on me? So then I decided to do something about it!

Changing the diet was actually the easier and instant part, I was living alone again and could moderate all the dairy and bread consumption. No more appelflaps, oude Amsterdam cheese cubes, or kaas souffles to tempt me. As for exercise, I started on cardio training. I was most comfortable on the elliptical machines, but I really wanted to get into running. There was the benefit of higher calorie burn in less amount of time and plus I knew it would be a hurdle for me to jump. In the beginning, I was barely jogging along at 5mph and usually ended-up doing a run/walk for 15-20 minutes. Gradually, from month to month I increased my pace and tried to run straight without stopping. Now I can run at a pace of 6mph for 25-30 minutes. I never thought I would be running at this pace so for myself this has been an achievement. Also, the weight loss came with all these lifestyle adjustments and I did finally drop all the Dutch poundage, but I'm more proud that I can run and enjoy it!

Now for a new challenge, I've signed-up for this short road race as an extra push to motivate me into the 9 minute-mile category. Hopefully I can complete the four mile race at this pace. The thing I'm most worried about is the hill. Cville is very hilly and I mostly run on a treadmill at the gym because I dread the hills outside. Since this upcoming race is outdoors I do need to train more on the tarmac, but the fresh air will be nice. I have looked at the race map and the course is relatively flat, except for this gradual uphill segment between mile markers 2 and 3 so that should be interesting.

I want to give it a shot, my first road race, and set my personal running goal. In any case, I'll also be running for a great cause because all the fees and donations from the race go towards the University Cancer Center.

If anyone is interested in starting to run, these sites helped me with my running woes.

www.coolrunning.com - Has great training schedules to help you build-up to a race, from 5K races to a marathon.

www.mapmyrun.com - Best nifty online tool to chart a running course in your neighborhood that provides information on distance, elevation gain, etc. Also, you can log your mileage and it calculates how many calories you burn, etc.

Happy running!

Book review: Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs

2009-07-04T22:32:00.001-04:00

My summer reading list is moving along. Not that I have a particular book list that I sat down and penned, but the last time I was in Barnes & Nobles I pretty much stormed the fave fiction table and gathered a few titles to keep myself busy, at least through the start of summer. I'm pacing at about a book a week.

I just completed "Comfort Food" by Kate Jacobs. I grabbed this particular one because I had read her other novel "The Friday Night Knitting Club" last year so I was familiar with some of her work. I figured it would be a light read with just enough drama and humor. The main premise of the book is about a primed cooking channel tv show host, named Augusta "Gus", who is on the verge of either falling off the foodie star map or making a huge comeback after all these new, and younger stars are rising with their latest tv show gimmicks. It's somewhat about a mid-life crisis for a food celebrity type.

I had a difficult time relating to any of the characters in this book. Most of them were involved in this bubble of upperclass, noveau riche, Manhattanites with certain problems that just did not touch base with me. On the other hand, there are elements of looking back to how you thought your life would turn and having ultimate fulfillment in life. Typical mid-life crisis theme. I had a better connection with the characters in Jacob's "Friday...Club" and they seemed more down to earth. So I was a bit disappointed with "Comfort Food" in that the main and secondary characters were not real enough to me.

In short, if you're a fan of the FoodTV network, then imagine the behind the scenes drama of these perfectly produced cooking shows, because that's what this book was basically about.

Next bind to crack... French translated literature from Muriel Barbery ,"The Elegance of the Hedgehog". I've read such great reviews of this book so I'm looking forward to starting it and sharing my thoughts. What are your lastest book recommendations?

Independence Menu

2009-07-04T19:10:00.001-04:00

I'm not a big ground beef eater, but sometimes I just want a nice burger and what better day than a summer holiday to get in the grilled burger spirit. We actually don't own an outdoor grill, but our stovetop gas range and awesome grill pan are good enough hehe

So I made some patties of ground turkey, feta and red onion on a whole wheat bun and garnished with tomato, cucumber, and homemade garlic-basil-lemon mayo (can use nayonaisse substitute if you don't like mayo). The burger just kind of evolved into a mediterranean burger. For a side dish, I made some sweet potato oven fries which I thought would be a healthier alternative to the spud sticks (and a lot tastier in my opinion). Together with a light, crisp white wine, this meal makes for a full and happy belly :)

For dessert, we simply had fresh watermelon and lime sorbet pops. It's the best way to clear the palate after a feta, red onion, and garlic explosion haha.

Now it's countdown to sunset and a Charlottesvile fireworks spectacular :)

4th of july kick-off

2009-07-02T21:32:00.000-04:00

Tonight is the kick-off of the 4th of July holiday weekend. Well since I've been sick I've been on my own sort of 'holiday', but that doesn't count. I'm almost back to 100% and next week I'll be able to return to my work. Another good thing is the hubby has a four-day weekend so we can spend all that time together :)

We don't have anything in particular planned, but that's perfectly fine. We'll just do things on the fly and see how we feel...absolute free time. I'm also still trying to get my energy level back-up after this darn cold. It's hard to believe that last week I was running on a treadmill and today I could hardly walk around the grocery store without getting winded, sad. I always get a bit worried after getting a bad cold, like how come I feel so weak for so many days? I am not one for a speedy recovery. But I am the worst relaxer when I am sick. Sure I can have bedrest and force fluids, but whenever I start to feel an inkling better, I overdo it and start doing some serious house chores and then I feel winded and woozy again. I need to just slow down and recover!

Tonight was a relaxing evening though. We watched He's Just Not That Into You. What a great romantic-comedy. One of the better ones in a long time. Lately I've been a bit disappointed with some of the ro-co's I've seen (i.e. I saw Made of Honor yesterday...save your hour and a half!). But "He's....You" was more clever and funnier. The movie looked into all kinds of relationships from married couples, longterm boyfriend-girlfriend, a desperate single girl looking for Mr. Right, etc. There were definitely a lot of awwww moments :) The movie is based on the same titled book about the rules of relationships, at least that's what it sounds like. The couples were casted pretty well, and despite the insane number of people and situations in this movie, the stories all meshed together in the end.

Anyhow, it's been a nice start to this extended weekend with a good movie night. I'm hoping though to get outside more since I've been stuck in the house all week.

If you're in the US, enjoy the 4th and the fireworks. I heard a rumor this might be my city's last year for fworks...budget cuts :( Everyone else over yonder...have a great weekend!

Sneeze...Ravelry!

2009-06-30T13:49:00.000-04:00

I've been sniffling and sneezing for the last few days. What started as a sinus headache turned into a full blown cold. I blame partly my ceiling fan and cat dander build-up (thanks to her constant shedding!) because it left me with morning congestion for a few days in a row. I must have caught a cold bug in the meantime. I'm left with heavy congestion and by the end of the day my head is so blown-up from all the nose blowing. This was my weekend...not pretty.

For the most part I feel fine now, but not well enough to return to work where I would be blowing my nose every five minutes. Hopefully all of this will clear in the next couple days.

Anyhow, after days of bedrest and being homebound, I've become bored. Last night I started my account on Ravelry.com. I had heard of it before, but never took the time to create an account and look around. What an awesome forum for knitters (and crocheters)! It's a great way to keep your projects in order, find patterns, and get some inspiration. So I have a couple ideas in mind for what I want to knit next.

Keen for my Keens

2009-06-23T18:31:00.000-04:00

I've been breaking in my new summer, everyday shoes and they are just so comfy and practical. They are a hybrid style from Keen, a cross between a MaryJane and a clog. I can just slip them on and just go in the morning. They are suitable for my work too because since I work in a research lab I want to be comfortable as I'm walking around all over the place throughout the day. Plus they are "lab safe" because often in the summer I want to wear open-toed shoes or my flip-flops, but they are a biosafety no-no. They are made of soft leather so my feet can still breathe and they have a thick rubber sole for lots of support. Sometimes I wish I could wear cuter shoes to my work, but it just does not mesh with a laboratory environment. In this case, I've settled for comfort...they are cute in their own outdoorsy/active kinda way ;)

Book review: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

2009-06-22T17:16:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I completed "Olive Kitteridge" by Elizabeth Strout, the 2009 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It was an absolutely superb piece of work. It is actually a collection of 13 short stories, each story about a different character who either directly or indirectly has a connection to Olive Kitteridge, a retired school teacher. The stories are set in a seemingly quiet New England coastal town, but I was completely consumed in the lives of these characters. Many of the stories are heart-wrenching and touch on the ups and downs of life that you only hope you don't have to experience. Or maybe it's ok to experience such life dilemmas because clearly it's what makes these characters who they are.

The appearance of Olive in the stories is sometimes subtle, often as a bystander and onlooker, but at times she is centerstage. As I read the book, I was not sure whether or not I was a fan of Olive, but as her role unfolded in the lives of the different people she encountered, I started to connect with her. Her sympathy and compassion towards some people often clashed with her stubborn, critical behavior towards others, it all depended on the situation. I'm definitely glad to add this book to my shelf.

a new interior

2009-06-19T23:02:00.000-04:00

Tonight I found this light blue velvet chair that was just too good to pass-up. It was half off its original price so I just "had to" buy it. Only problem is it doesn't go quite well with my current decor. Right now I am in the midst of an interior design identity crisis. My living room furniture is from a mix of styles. I made my first furniture purchases back when I started my first real job, with the idea of having a contemporary, sleek, clean design. But along the way I shifted towards antique and classic pieces and well being in the South I even started to lean a bit towards some country crock. See the dilemma here? I'm so bad with interior decorating, despite my watching HGTV. In any case, my living room is in need of an enema and be completely redone.

So I bought this reading chair and pillow that is in the direction I would like to go. Best I can describe it is as a countryside cottage feel? Not even sure if the pros on HGTV would describe it that way haha. Problem is what to do with the furniture I've already invested in. I was never into matchy match furniture where everything looks like it came from a complete collection out of a Pottery Barn catalog. I want somehow to have an eclectic mix of pieces that somehow seem to all go together, but I have no clue how to achieve this haha. I guess I can replace a few things to go along with my desired theme, but I can't afford to replace my sofa , which is a bright red modern one. In the next few months we plan to slowly move this redecorating process along. Until then, I'll be continuing to scan through home decor magazines and scour the internet for ideas. I only hope to stumble upon those great finds that can complete my ever evolving vision for a living room *sigh*.

herbs and new loungers

2009-06-15T08:11:00.001-04:00

This weekend was perfect weather for some backyard patio gardening. I grow everything in pots because the few patches of earth I actually have are completely shaded. So perfect for growing moss and mushrooms, but not much else. The hubby and I went to the gardening center and bought a few shady blooms like begonias and miniature dahlias to plant. We also bought some wonderfully smelling herbs, like lemon verbena, sweet basil, and rosemary. I eventually want to get some more, but these are enough to start.

After beautifying our patio, of course we wanted to sit back and enjoy it. We have the black metal (hard!) chairs with cushions that we purchased last year. They look great, but after sitting for a long period of time they can be quite backbreaking. So as a splurge, we bought these awesome reclining loungers for a really great price. We've looked around here and there the last couple days, but since it isn't even the start of summer most patio furniture isn't on clearance. But our local BBB had an insane amount of these reclining loungers in stock, on "sale", and with our extra percentage off coupon we just had to buy them ;) They are heavy duty metal with a nice 'bouncy' thin cushion...kind of like trampoline material?

With a good book in hand to read, fresh brewed peppermint iced tea, and comfy patio chairs...we're officially ready for summer.

back to blogging

2009-06-13T20:32:00.000-04:00

After a few months blogging hiatus I have a new and improved blogging home. And a home of my own. I tried for a year and a half or so to do a joint blog with the hubby. It was mostly about our travels, his assimilation into the U.S. as a Dutchie, and daily life in Cville. We've had a blog divorce so to speak. I ended-up as the main contributor to the blog and it slowly turned into all about me and my junk. But he'll still be making an appearance once in a blue moon on jess from scratch, though as an honorable mention :)

But for the most part I want to focus on ever-evolving baking recipes, my continuing attempts to knit beyond mini-clothes (i.e. kids clothes), and anything else interesting that may pop-up.

This is jess from scratch. Let the blogging begin!