Nesting Like Crazy.....

Oh, I've got it bad.

I just want to buy things.

Like the house where this living room resides:


I WANT IT.

If this photo isn't a good argument for painting my woodwork white? I don't know what is.





And all of these pillows from Pottery Barn:





To go on my newly slipcovered furniture that my Mom is completing even as we speak!! Yay Mom!




And these from Horchow.....but I'd need to sell my child to get the money for them:



.....which is fine because she's getting sassy and heading into those volatile teenage years.



And then I'd need to sell my house and live under a bridge to acquire this planter from Horchow:




It's $1800 dollars. It includes the plant stand, which I don't want.....too cumbersome to move from bridge to bridge in my shopping cart. If I'm lucky enough to acquire a cart.


If I decide to forgo the pillows and plant from Horchow, I'm definitely going to install this pergola:



With one of these:




Somebody help me.

Mean = Hot (part two)

Okay, so now I'm nervous! What if this is a "you had to be there" story? Oh....I kind of think it is. But I'll continue....because you know I always finish what I start (*snort*).

Okay, so we're at the festival and MJ and I are setting up the cooking demonstration area when Amanda shows up and and offers to do anything we want. My memory is a little foggy, but I remember MJ sending her in the Cafe kitchen....probably water or something.

Amanda comes back with a big smile slapped on her face....and I can see it's fake.

So she comes up to me and tells me she has met the offending Chef. He kicked her out of the kitchen after she not only introduced herself, but asked him if there was anything he needed for his demo later in the day.

Kicked her on out, people! To the curb!

Now. I can't tell you what Amanda does for a living, but I can tell you this: she knows a lot of people. And some of them are very famous. And she meets them through her job. Which is one of those jobs with a lot of connections. And Amanda is very good at her job and she's very nice. VERY nice. Like, give-you-the-shirt-off-her-back-nice. So MJ really likes her and goes out to lunch with her and is actually her friend.

So when I went back to work after hearing Amanda's story, and after a while, MJ asked me how my set-up was going.

What choice did I have, but to tell on that troll of a chef? Huh?

So I casually say, "My work is going great, but someone wasn't very nice to Amanda. She got kicked out of the kitchen."

MJ's eyes start snapping and blinking very fast...which is what she does when she's trying to control what is going to come out of her mouth next. So she casually says, "Oh? Who kicked her out?"
So I start to tell her, but before I can finish, MJ's marching off to the kitchen.

'Cause you don't disrespect MJ's friends. She will mess. You. Up.

Neighborhood News....

This little tidbit is in a neighborhood newspaper I picked up at our little neighborhood grocery store 1 town over from us.



It's from the summary of area Police Reports:

Alcohol - A drunk and disoriented woman was removed from a restaurant Aug. 2nd on the xxxx block of Blaine Avenue. She repeatedly asked police where she was. A preliminary breath test registered a blood alcohol level of (holy crap!) .295. The woman was angry police would not take her home, but she also refused to tell them her address. She ended up in Detox instead, but only after declaring she was going to fake an anxiety attack, and then proceeding to do so.



I don't know who writes these little gems, but this is the second time I've picked up this newspaper and I'm going to continue to do so just for this section of the newspaper. I read them out loud to Zuddy and we crack up.

Mean = Hot (part one)

Okay, so I'm telling you this little story because.....well? Because I know you'll think it's funny and will be able to relate.

Because you're all girls.

And I just know if any one of you were with us? You would have felt the same way.

So, MJ is working at a charity event. I'm there to help her, as is Micah - who is the nicest guy in the world and a chef. Micah is a friend of Amanda. And Amanda is super-cool and is running the whole event.

Get it? Here's the cast of characters

Amanda: Super-cool, nice, funny, managing a charity event. MJ's new BFF.

Micah: Friend of Amanda's, super-nice, funny, a chef and - get this - works as a chef in the SOUTH POLE all winter. I kid you not. Isn't that cool?

MJ: Well, come ON! She's MJ! My buddy from work. I met Amanda and Micah through her.

Kirst: Mine and MJ's BFF from work.

Me: Doofus.

Okay. So. We are at a charity event....Amanda's managing the event, MJ is the star chef and Micah and I are helping MJ cook.

We are all in the kitchen. Cooking, laughing, chatting. MJ mentions that she has been trying to coordinate the chef demonstrations for the Minnesota Garlic Festival and one of the chefs she has been in contact with is kind of mean and condescending.

So, of course we instantly hate him.

She replays all of her email exchanges with him and concedes that it's hard to tell what kind of tone someone is using when they're writing an email, giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I still hate him.

So....the charity event is over and 4 days later we're all together again to work at the Garlic Festival. There's a cafe at the festival where local chefs from the most popular restaurants in the Twin Cities cook food from local farmers and sell it: with all the proceeds going to the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota.

So, the chefs aren't all bad...they're donating their time and expertise for the hippie farmers in the area.

MJ has been in touch with these chefs and has recruited them to do cooking demonstrations with her. Kirst and I are in charge of providing all the cooking equipment and Amanda is in charge of escorting the chefs from the cafe to the stage and making sure they have all the ingredients they need. Micah ends up helping in the cafe kitchen when some of the chefs don't bother to show up on time (MJ says getting the chefs to the stage on time for their demonstration is like herding cats).

Do you want me to continue?

Cutzi's Refrieds

I just have to re-post this recipe. I was just reading Ann's blog and she asked for our most cherished recipe.

And OUR most cherished recipe at Elizabeth Hill is Cutzi's refried beans. We ALWAYS have them on hand.

Here's how I like to eat them: Hot beans on a bed of shredded romaine topped with shredded cheese with taco seasoning, finely diced red onion, sliced fresh jalapenos, cilantro leaves, chopped tomato (lots of it) and diced avocado. YUM.

Here's how Zuddy likes to eat them: Hot beans.


I stole the recipe directly from her blog. Stealing is the most sincere form of flattery, you know.

My crockpot is a 4 quart, so I can't fit 16 cups of water with the beans....it really doesn't matter, though, this recipe is tolerant. I just cover the beans with water and it all works out fine. I wait until the end and add 1 tablespoon kosher salt.


'Refried' Beans

In the crock pot add:
2 lbs of pinto beans (rinse them and sort through them to make sure there are no dirt or stones hanging out :)
16 cups water
3-4 slices of bacon cut into small pieces
1/4 - 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced

Cook on high for like 8 hours or on low for about 24 - really, just cook them until they're done and have thickened. You will have to mash them a bit at the end or just before they're done. Add salt to taste. You'll probably have to add more salt than you think.



You're welcome. You can kiss me on the mouth the next time we see each other.

What's your most cherished recipe?

MJ's Week

Gosh.....again. Almost a month since my last post.

And I haven't even been reading my fave blogs. In fact I do believe I have 900-something posts to read.

I hate that.

So much has been going on......yet nothing is happening. You know what I mean? Sure you do.

Well, last week I spent some time with my buddy MJ. 'Memba her?

Man, that girl has been busy.

Last week, she put together a menu for a fundraising event at the Governor's residence and I helped her cook it. It was really really fun. And a screaming success.

Then she was on TV

And I was there with her......riding on her coattails.

And now I'm very very tired.