Category: Random

Work Perk (Food!)

Also Titled, “That time I took a cooking class at Sur La Table”

Cooking at Sur La Table

Yes! It’s true! There is a gigantic kitchen in the back of our store where certified chefs teach classes almost daily. A few weeks ago Doug and I were invited to take part in the Szechuan cooking class!

Now, I love Chinese food but have always been really mystified when it comes to preparing it. In this class we made a peanut glass noodle dish, spicy stir-fried eggplant, hot and sour soup, and pork potstickers. Everything was incredibly delicious!

Szechuan Cooking

I don’t think I will be cooking a lot of Chinese food from scratch at home though, because all the recipes required just a few tablespoons of like six or more different kinds of vinegar, oil, paste, etc. That’s a lot to keep on hand if you’re going to be using them in small doses! I did learn some useful tips like adding sugar and/or vinegar to counteract something too spicy.

The most exciting part for me was folding the potstickers shut. Doug actually got really good at crimping the edges like the potstickers you might buy in the freezer section. I was less successful, and just made sure to seal them shut smoothly (photo above). Making potstickers did seem like something I would be able to make at home sometime!

Here’s the part where I make this post relevant to you. Taking a cooking class like this was so fun! I think that it would make an awesome date or an awesome Christmas gift, if you have a friend that likes to cook. I appreciated learning more about a cuisine that I generally do not make at home.

Check out a list of Sur La Table locations, or for my readers in Kansas, call Apron Strings in Hutchinson and ask if they have any info on their cooking classes! Many smaller kitchen stores (non-chains) have classes so make sure to ask!

[And no, although I do work part-time at SLT, I am not getting paid to write this post. I just felt like it :) ]

Etsy Shopping

Is there any better way to spend a rainy, gray morning than doing online shopping?
Nope, I didn’t think so.

The holidays are here. Time to stretch your brain muscle and come up with the perfect gift for those special people in your life. Etsy makes it really, really easy to find one-of-a-kind items, which are much more personal than yet another scarf, DVD, or other generic present. Something I recently discovered and am now loving are Etsy Treasuries. It’s like a mixtape and Pinterest had a baby. The curator can elaborate on a theme, make it visually gorgeous (like Pinterest), but there are a limited number of slots so it forces one to be selective with their choices (like a mixtape) and brings the best items to the surface!

Click either image below to be taken to the Etsy Treasury…
There is no incentive for me if you visit and buy something from either one of these treasuries. I created them purely for fun!

Here’s my first Treasury, entitled “Red-dy for a Vintage Christmas:”

Red-dy for a Vintage Christmas

And here is “Best of Vintage Glassware:”

Best of Vintage Glassware

The vintage glassware treasury is special to me since I’ve recently learned lots and lots about different kinds of old glass. As I’ve shared on Twitter and Instagram, my mom and I have been setting up shop at a local antique mall in Temecula. Her mother had come into possession of several boxes of vintage (1930s) depression glass many, many years ago and we have a number of pieces up for sale. Any profits will be sent to my grandparents in Oklahoma.

This experience has lent a whole new layer to the antiquing experience for me. I already had a fascination with old items, and now I have a greater understanding of the small business aspect as well as more respect for the history of each item in the antique mall.And it’s so much fun to be surrounded by so many pretty items! I hope someone stumbles across the depression glass collection and will treasure the pieces as much as my grandmother has treasured them!

Here are the pieces as we organized and researched prices for them all. If anything catches your eye shoot me an e-mail and I will see if it’s available ;)

Depression Glass

Do you have an Etsy Store? Feel free to leave the link in the comments! 

Taking On Monday

After a fantastic Thanksgiving break at my parents’ house (and a not-so-stellar three days of retail work), I am feeling energized and ready to take on the week.

This week I’m planning a cool DIY sofa table post for Wednesday (a “fake it till you make it” solution, if you will) and a pretty inspiration board for Friday. I’m also going to get the Christmas Tree out (after weeks of begging Doug to let me put it up, now that Thanksgiving’s over, I can!) and decorate the apartment for Christmas.

And also: This morning I was featured twice! How’s that for starting Monday off on the right foot?

West Elm has featured my old bedroom with its’ Organic Ironwork Duvet cover… I really, really loved that light-filled space. Click here for more photos.

My friend Angela (best friend since 7th Grade, mind you) has revamped and relaunched her photography website, itsjustanji.com, and shared some of the pictures she took of my little family for our Christmas cards.

Ashley over at Yeah. We Bake. (my cousin) shared Thanksgiving with us up at my parents’ house and I can fully vouch for the deliciousness of these 2-tiered chocolate mini cakes. I’m craving one to have with my coffee right now actually….

So I’ll be here resisting the Cyber Monday e-mails I keep getting while listening to my favorite Christmas CD, Christmas With The Rat Pack. Maybe I’ll even bake? Who knows? Ashley makes it seem so easy! Either way, I love that I now live here in So Cal where I can have a Christmas tree up and the sliding glass door open to let the fresh 70-degree air in… Have a great Monday, all! 

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