A lot of people have been asking how the Murph dog is adjusting to having a new buddy in the house. I'd say he's doing... OK. We haven't had any aggression or behavior issues, but he doesn't seem especially happy about it either. It is a testament to what a good boy he is that his jealousy is manifesting in his being more affectionate and obedient even though he looks at us with a face that plainly says "seriously, why would you do this to me?"

We're being sure to shower Murph with affection, attention and treats, but I think he see's right through our ploy.

He knows what's up, his carefree only-dog days are through.

Check out January's EBcO recipe here.
Check out my recently completed projects here.

Would you believe it took me 5 months to hem the curtains in the sun room? And I only got around to it then because I caught one of the cats "marking" their territory back there? Well, whatever the impetus, I finally hemmed them and tied them back. It made a HUGE difference! The room is lighter and bigger and much more open, and I remember why I so loved it when we first moved in.

The arrival of the curious (and tall) new puppy was all the motivation I needed to finish another project that had been languishing in my never ending queue of started-but-not-quite-completed projects.

Almost a year ago I started a project building a false front for our entertainment cabinet. Just something to cover up our mess of receivers and DVD's and games and remotes... etcetera. I built this prototype ( eh, I'm an engineer) and although I really liked it, that webbing was outrageously expensive. I waited ages for it to go on sale and it never did. I started thinking of some alternative solutions. I had some plywood leftover from these projects so I took it back to the hardware store and had it cut down to size.

I picked up some foam and a few knobs and dug out some gorgeous fabric I've been saving for... something. I was saving it for this I guess. A few staples later and I was finished. It makes me feel a little sheepish that it took me so long to just finish the darn project already.

My last two projects were rush jobs. We needed a couple new beds for the new dog and they are so expensive I wanted to make them myself. I made Murph's bed and it exactly fits our needs.

The first one I made out of a super soft leopard print throw I found on sale at Marshalls. I sewed a zipper in one side and then sewed the other three sides shut. I stuffed it with a comforter I picked up at a thrift store and voila! A super easy, washable crate pad that he can't tear apart.

The second one I made in the same style as Murphy's bed in a coordinating fabric. It's sewn like a pillow sham and stuffed with a thrifted blanket as well. These are really nice because they get so dirty (as you can see in the picture) and they're so easy to throw in the wash when we do laundry. Plus, I like that they cost me about $5, instead of the $75 I would have spent at a pet store and they are rather contemporary and totally devoid of "dog" designs (bones, paws, etc.).

I've never had homemade lemon squares, only the mix and bake from a box. I have to admit I've always been fond of that tacky lemon square texture, but not so much of the taste of the preservatives. It never occurred to me to make lemon squares, and that's one of the things I like about participating in these baking challenges. I might never bake if left to my own devices, and I almost certainly wouldn't bake lemon squares.

I opted to include the pine nuts, I had some in the cupboard and I liked the idea of that extra texture in the crust. I'm so glad I included them; the oily chewy texture of the pignoli really enhanced the crust and added a nice unexpected level of complexity to a very familiar dessert.

This dessert was incredibly easy and would transport very well. The recipe can be found on the EBcO website here.

For some reason I was thinking about my first date with Josh on my way to work this morning. It made me smile and I got lost in that memory until the person in the car behind me honked their horn and jarred me back to reality.

I've told this story a million times. After three dates we decided to move in together. After three weeks we got engaged. After three months we were married. Reading that now it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but it's working out so far.

I think a lot of young girls or young women think that getting married is the end of your love story. I can attest that it's not the case at all- but your love story might look a little different than you think.

What I was remembering this morning, when I was stopped at that red light, was that giddy butterflies in your stomach feeling. I was thinking about how over the course of the night he went from nervous to charming and back to nervous again- right before he kissed me in the street. I was remembering how awkward and adorable he was when he fumbled through some silly ruse, "I just need to grab something..." to get me up to his apartment. My cheeks get just as hot thinking about it now as they did that night, and I loved it.

But I also love when I open my sock drawer to find my socks matched and folded and then I notice all my laundry has been done. I love when I'm steeling myself to take the dogs out into the cold and learn that Josh got up early and already took them out. I love when I make something for dinner that Josh doesn't like and he tries so hard to pretend that he does. I love when I've had a bad day and I get home to find Josh in the kitchen making dinner waiting for me with a glass of wine.

I think that love and romance doesn't look anything like pop-culture teaches us to expect. And I love that too.

Dudes! I forgot to mention it was Josh and my first anniversary last weekend.

We knew we'd be getting the new pup on Sunday, so we went out to celebrate Saturday night.

We got all dolled up (I forgot how nice I look when I shower and blow out my hair) and headed out to Bon-soiree in Bucktown. Bon-soiree catered our wedding, but they're also an amazing creative restaurant- and BYOB to boot! We stopped at Red and White to pick up three of the best bottles of wine I've ever had the pleasure of drinking.

We ran into the puppet show bicycle guy, I've seen his bike/theater closed up all over town, but Saturday was the first time I've ever seen him (her?) performing. Weird. And Lovely. And everything I am starting to love about living in Chicago.

So. Great food. Three bottles of terrific wine... the thing is, three bottles of terrific wine is still three bottles of wine... and we were sauced. We managed to make it home, I think we watched a SNL rerun, and apparently had an impromptu photo shoot. God, I love the silly things I end up doing when I'm drunk.

Morning came too soon- and with it, Murph's last chance to enjoy the perks of being an only dog.

We had to get up and clean the house because the people from Greyhounds Only, the greyhound rescue organization, were bringing Tiber to live with us.

Their visit lasted three hours. The three longest hours I've ever spent trying to pretend I'm not hung-over. I will say that both and Josh and I gave ovation-worthy performances. I'd like to think we came across as responsible adults who just really, really love Gatorade.

I know, I'm amazing. I never thought I'd ever be able to create anything like this. I know it doesn't look exactly like me, but it sure looks a lot like me.

It is remarkable that a four day week could last as long as this one has. Book ended by two awesome weekends (well, expectations for this weekend are high at least) these four days seemed to stretch on into forever.

But. The weekend is so close now it's just teasing us.

We have lovely plans Saturday night, but Sunday we should be getting our new dog, and I am so antsy-in-my-pantsy excited. We've been deliberating for two weeks what we should name him (his racing/kennel name is Rivera, and, just, no) but for the longest time nothing clicked. Every name was, you know, fine, but nothing really felt right. Yesterday I opened the search up and asked my folks if they had any ideas- and my dad, making a joke, sort of blurted out a name that immediately made my mom, Josh and me all exclaim "That's perfect!"

So we have a name. We have a totally huge crate in our living room. We have toys and food and tags and food bowls.

We just need our new little buddy.

P.S. To check out this week's masterpiece from painting class click here.

I missed my painting class on Monday (I was on an airplane) so it had been more than a week since I'd done anything arty when we started a self portrait on Wednesday night. I started the night with a warm up, a nice way to refresh myself on a few techniques I'd learned the week before, and the benefit of being the only student in the class, I can take a half an hour to warm-up and practice before diving in if I want to. My real self portrait in still in-progress, but I thought I'd share my warm-up drawing from this week's class.

It is exactly what I think I'd look like if I was a character in a Sunday morning comic strip.

It is no secret that I love Colorado, and miss it dearly. I miss my friends and family, I miss the mountains, I miss Golden City Brewery, and I miss the burgers at the Cherry Cricket. Specifically a half pound Cricket burger, medium rare with Swiss cheese and chili strips. Drooling. Drooling as I type. Jilly picked me up at the airport Friday night and we went straight to the Cricket for dinner- at 9:30 pm!

It was worth it. Juicy burger + Stone IPA = Heaven

Katie came down and after dinner we headed back to Suz's house where we sipped Limoncello, watched Jersey Shore and chatted until 3:30 in the morning! I don't know the last time I stayed up that late, but we had so much hangin' to do, it didn't even feel that late.

Brunch the next morning was fun- if not a culinary success. Suz says that I curse every restaurant we go to- that a normally great spot will undoubtedly have an off day when I'm among the patronage.

Sunday morning we met for one last meal before I headed over to spend some QT with my folks. I'm sure Ivory would have preferred a child free brunch, but she brought sweet little Emma. The last time I got to spend any time with Emma she was just a little bitty thing, it is amazing watching babies turn into kids.

I love this hazy, out of focus photo. That's exactly how I felt. Hazy and out of focus.

Look at these two- I think they are the most beautiful, photogenic couple on the face of the Earth.

That face! Am I right?

Every year two of my friends, Ivory and Tanya, host a joint birthday party in January. Last year I missed it, but this year I was lucky enough to be in town for the shindig. The party was at a bar in Denver called the Garage; a great place for games, like the ring game and darts- though we only played darts for about five minutes before abandoning the game in favor of the good company.

It was an overwhelming good time- great to see these pretty faces.

This guy's pretty face too! Poor Saquib, I badgered and harassed him into coming out to the bar after a long day of work.

I love how pictures get sillier as people get drunker.

Of course, we can't resist the opportuntiy for a photo shoot.

Aaaannnndddd, it might just kill me to keep my clothes on.

It was so great to get the chance to catch up with so many friends. It made my heart feel so full.

My trip to Denver was absolutely lovely. I have a million pictures to sort through and a ton of work to get to- so the pictures will have to wait. I'll start with this one though- I think it might be the funniest, cheesiest picture I've ever taken. I am smiling so hard that it looks like my face might just split open- I was that happy to be brunching with my girls Jill and Suzie.

P.S. I love the new site design that Josh surreptitiously installed while I was away. It pays to be married to your designer...

Dudes, last night I ditched my art class. I had to, on the list of all the things I need to do before I leave for work on Friday morning, something had to give and last night's class, and tonight's class for that matter are lowest on that particular list.

Tonight will be a whirlwind of laundry, packing, cleaning, and making sure I have amazing hair that will survive a night's sleep and a day at the mill (under a hardhat, yikes!) because tomorrow I leave straight from work to the airport. I'm a little giddy just thinking about it.

Between excitement about seeing my friends and family, obsessively following the news from Haiti and even more obsessively following Prop8 trial coverage (thank you twitter) it's a wonder I can concentrate on work at all. But, that's what they pay me for, so I'll arm myself this morning with as much determination and concentration as possible; and maybe a big cup of coffee.

Apropos of nothing, Josh and I were finishing up Season 2 of Mad Men last night, and were reminded of a funny thing that happened in October when we went to visit my Grandma. Our first morning there, after we woke up we headed downstairs to join the rest of my family in the kitchen. My mom was sitting at the kitchen table doing a crossword puzzle and my grandma was bustling about cleaning and tidying and doing her thing. I grabbed a cup of coffee, and poured Josh a glass of OJ. My grandma asked if we wanted breakfast. I declined, settling for a cup of joe and an anisette biscotti thing that always reminds me of visiting my grandma. Josh, not a big breakfast eater also declined. My grandma, being a grandma, kept pestering him to eat something.

"Do you want some cereal? Some toast? How about a Danish? Maybe a grapefruit?"
"No, no, no thank you, this OJ is just fine, thank you thank you, no."
"Come on, you have to eat something, you're so skinny. How about some lasagna? A pork chop? Maybe just a scrambled egg, you have to eat something."
"Well alright, a scrambled egg then, thank you."
"Thank you for what? Make it yourself!"

So she bullies him into agreeing to some scrambled eggs, and then insists he cook for himself. This look of absolute panic flashes on his face, and he starts stammering about how he's really not hungry, and really he's fine at which point my grandma turns to me and tells me to "make yourself useful would ya, make your husband some breakfast."

Now, explain to me how that happened. All we wanted to do was enjoy our coffee and OJ. Sheesh.

It's actually that easy now.

Text "HAITI" to "90999" to donate $10 to the Red Cross or text "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5 to Yele Haiti.

Our new dog won't be coming to live with us for a few weeks, but we are starting now getting the house- and our lives ready for him.

Murph and I have been together for a long time, and he's such a good boy that I don't really have to worry about obedience with him. Murphy knows who the alpha is in our house- that's me- but that doesn't stop me from babying him a little. He sleeps in the bed. He never works for treats. He eats whenever he wants. He has free rein of the entire house- our apartment and our downstairs neighbor's apartment too. But he also stops and sits before crossing the street. He listens very well, in fact we're convinced he speaks English because he doesn't need commands to sit, stay, lie down, etc. he really just responds to conversation. He waits until we're up in the morning before running around the house and doesn't chase the Kitty.

Murphy is a good boy. But he wasn't always a good boy. He was a hell raiser when he was a puppy; so much so that I'd vowed never to adopt a puppy again. Adult dogs only by god and that's it.

Except we fell in love with the sweetest, youngest dog at the shelter. Not even two yet, and completely naïve to the ways of the world, we've got our work in store for us.

If our circumstances were different I would have seriously thought twice about adopting this guy. As it is we are almost always home; Josh and I go out maybe twice a month, and we're almost always home by ten. Josh works from home a lot and on days when he does leave he's home very early. We won't be introducing a baby into this mix for about 2 years, and Murphy and Kitty are old enough and familiar enough that we mostly know what to expect from them. The big changes all revolve around more structure for the training of a puppy. Inviting this new pup into our lives is going to upset the apple cart for sure, so we're changing Murphy's schedule now, so he doesn't associate this new stricter regime with the new dog.

This week we started working with charcoal. It's really interesting trying out different types of media each week. Before last week I had no idea how many types of pencils there were and how versatile they could be. The same is true about charcoal; we used willow charcoal- literally burnt twigs and sticks. At first when we were practicing using the charcoal on newsprint it gave me an extremely unpleasant fingernails-on-the-chalkboard feeling, but that was mitigated once we switched to a heavier paper.

I had a lot of fun using the charcoal; it was kind of messy, and easy to blend, smear and shade. It was less precise than the pencil, but also easier to make changes. My still life came out a little dark, but I learned how to lift excess shading out with an eraser, and that made for really cool fabric folds.

Life has been busybusybusy ever since I started my art classes. I don't see Josh as much as I used to and I think that's a good thing. If it makes me a bad wife so be it, but I missed having time alone, time for just myself, and as much as I love melting into the couch to watch "our shows" every night, I also love having a part of my life that's just for me.

But it has put a bit of a kink in our routine. Poor Josh (and poor me too) doesn't get a nice, healthy dinner on the table every night. In fact, last night he had ramen noodles. I had pasta and eggs so I wasn't doing much better. But having something to do does keep me from making eating my main activity, and I can't say that's a bad thing. Actually, it's nice that now that's what weekends are for.

Speaking of weekends, last night I asked Josh, "What are you going to do without me this weekend?"
And he replied, "Your Denver trip is this weekend? Already? Well I think I can manage for two days."
"Three days, I'm going for three days."
"Ach! What am I going to do without you for three days?!"

Three whole days, I've been so looking forward to it. It has been way to long since I went for a visit, and this weekend is going to be packed to the gills with visiting.

And of course, like any week with such a shiny prize at the end, I'm swamped at work yet time is still crawling by ever so slowly.

To check out last night's masterpiece from painting class click here.

This weekend Josh and I met the newest member of our family.

When I spoke to the volunteer about how we'd choose which hound to adopt she told me that it probably wouldn't be up to me- that Murphy and the hound would probably pick for us. I couldn't imagine how that could be, but we went up to Wisconsin on Saturday with an open mind.

The first two hounds we met were lovely. We walked them around the property a bit and I got my first introduction to how big and strong they are. They went where I asked, but it took a fair amount of wrangling. They were both sweet and shy and curious. The third hound we met bounded right out of his crate, ran up to me and licked my face- tail wagging. We walked outside and it was as easy as walking Murphy. He ran back and forth between both Josh and me, and he couldn't seem to decide who he wanted to play with. We played outside a bit- but we were instantly smitten.

Now the moment of truth; I went to get Murphy from the car. Murphy has never been a dog interested in other dogs. He'd rather play with people or his stuffed toys, or even sit quietly minding his own business than run outside with other dogs. When Murph and the new guy met Murph was, as expected, uninterested. But when we told Murph to sit, the new guy watched him do it and then sat too- sitting is pretty unusual for greyhounds. After that they sniffed each other out and wherever Murph went so went the new guy. That pretty much made it official.

Now he's off to get fixed and then on to a stay with a foster family who will teach him a few things like how to climb stairs. Racing greyhounds are like brand new puppies. They've never seen anything outside of their crates and the tracks. They have now idea that other dogs are dogs at all, and they've never been for a walk in the park. He'll be coming to live with us sometime in the next three weeks, and we're busy getting prepared for his arrival.

No we just have to break the news to the Murph dog that he's not going to be an only dog anymore. That's going to take some getting used to.

I've written about the painting class I'm taking, but I haven't mentioned the step aerobics class I'm taking too. I haven't written about it because there isn't much to say, and there is no terrible artwork to share.

What there is to say about it is... weird. It's offered at the recreation center in my neighborhood. There are about five of us in the class, and two of us are actually there to work out. That doesn't include the teacher. The teacher is kind of... lazy. She frequently shaves a few reps off and skips ahead, we do everything at ½ speed, and she stops the class every ten minutes or so to stretch or take a "water break."

I put "water break" in quotes because two of the five people in class bring soda to class instead of water. I know that a lot of you find that absolutely shocking, but in a low income neighborhood like ours the widespread misinformation, ignorance and apathy with regard to nutrition is staggering.

I am enrolled in a class for adults only- but there are still two children in our class. One is about 7 I guess, and her parents brought her to class in lieu of a sitter. I can totally respect that, even if I don't love it. I think it's a great example to set for your kids, getting out and exercising as a family. The other kid in class is the family's 13 year old daughter. She probably weighs about 200 pounds and can't make it through five minutes of physical activity with out stopping. It is seriously depressing. So is the fact that her parents have seemingly turned a blind eye to these facts (she's one of the one's with the soda). I'm not here to judge them, I know how hard life is for a lot of people in our neighborhood, but it makes me feel guilty.

I had every privilege growing up; I was safe, educated, loved and paid attention to. My parents sent me to gym class in sweats instead of jeans and made sure I had nutritious snacks. I live in a beautiful apartment, I have a great job, my husband and I can reasonably afford to do whatever we want. When we have kids they'll have all the silly gear they need for their extra curricular activities, and they'll have every opportunity to have an even better life than I have.

It's really easy to look around this city and see the glaring segregation, but it's easy to forget that the south side/north side divide is more than just a black/white thing.

It's an opportunity thing, and that sucks for the people on the wrong side of the divide.

In our living room is a big bay window that looks out onto the street. Beneath this window is a big radiator that heats the room. In front of that radiator is a big comfy chair. You can imagine that combination of heat + view = a favorite place for the cats to sleep the day away.

Phil, the landladies' cat, obviously has seniority and snags the warm spot right on top of the radiator while Kitty snuggles down on the back of the chair. Everyday I come home from work, freezing from spending the day at the mill and I'm so jealous I'm not a cat.

I suppose being a person comes with perks.

(awkward segue)

Click on over to my Eats page for a super simple snack recipe that will make you feel like a real pro.
And check out my progress in painting class over on the Dwell page.

At Graham Elliot instead of bread they give you popcorn at the start of your meal; savory, garlicky popcorn. I am a big popcorn fan- in fact my favorite single girl dinner was a huge bowl of buttery popcorn and a big glass of red wine (and I was thinner then, can you believe it?)

The popcorn at Graham Elliot was so good- but you know what I was thinking- I bet I could make this!

The recipe is simple, and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.

1. I used an air popper to pop my corn, but anything- barring microwave popcorn with that goopy artificial "butter" will do.
2. In a small sauce pan melt butter and very lightly sauté as much minced garlic as you like. I think it goes without saying that I like a lot. Try not to brown the garlic as it will turn bitter.
3. Add a splash of truffle oil and pour over popped corn.
4. Toss in minced parsley and shave a bunch of hard cheese over the top. I used a truffled pecorino I snagged from the odds and ends bin at whole foods, but and fresh parm/ regg/ etc. will do. Bonus! Shave it with your microplane and it is so fine it almost melts onto the popcorn- it'll certainly melt onto your tongue.
5. Sprinkle- sparingly!- with salt and dig in.

I like that this recipe adds more flavor than just butter- so I can use a lot less butter and oil than I normally would.

Next time your Netflix arrives, grab a blanket and a big bowl of this popcorn and you'll feel like such a sneaky gourmet.

So each class is an hour and a half long. When I arrived this week my teacher Jessica informed me that we were going to be doing another pencil drawing, this time working on shadows (she calls the levels, must be fancy art school talk). I agreed but I have to admit that I thought to myself "what are we going to be doing for the other hour?"

Well smack my ass, because I sat down and began at 6:30, and I swear I'd just gotten started and it was already 8 o'clock.

Time flew- I mean flew by. I'd just started working on the vase and I didn't even get to the apples.

I have to tell you, I can't believe I drew that.

This post is a little overdue, but I've been trying to figure out what I wanted to say.

Over the holidays I was thinking a lot about tradition. Last year, my first Christmas away from home I was hell bent on celebrating the same way I always had with my parents; chili and grilled cheese sandwiches on Christmas Eve and then everything else we do on Christmas day. I stuck to the plan, but it turns out, that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't recreate the holiday I was used to. Of course.

This year I wasn't so focused on holding on to the past. I was ready to, well, not turn my back on my old traditions, but I was ready to bend. This year I knew what to expect for Hanukkah so I learned the blessing over candles so I could sing with Josh, we made traditional foods and lit the candles at sundown every night. I supplanted my Christmas Eve tradition with his. It hadn't occurred to me the year before that his 'Christmas Eve' tradition would be as important to him as mine was to me- he's Jewish after all. But now I get it. We met his brother and friends in China Town, we had flaming drinks and lots of food and went shopping drunk (which is how I ended up on the bus with soba noodles, two cans of coconut milk, a big plant and about a dozen bags of exotic candy), and as the afternoon turned into evening we walked around humming Christmas for the Jews and nodding knowingly at other groups of people milling about.

The beauty of all this, was I wasn't the only one trying to meet in the middle. This year Josh watched my favorite Christmas movie White Christmas with me and managed to refrain from ruining it with nasty trivia. Sometime before we woke up on Christmas morning he sneakily stuffed my stocking with knickknacks and treats, and happily skyped with my folks later in the day so we could all open presents together.

It turns out, that as hard as it was saying goodbye to some of my old traditions, we both had meaningful wonderful holidays and began building our own family traditions.

In an effort to get out of the house more and meet some people in my neighborhood I enrolled in a painting class at the Cultural Center. Just my luck that I'm the only person in the class.

Not one to be discouraged I decided to change my perspective. I'm going to think of it this way, I may be alone, but I'm getting 20 private art lessons for just $90. What a steal.

I don't need to remind you that I have next to no artistic ability, but I definitely think I'm going to learn a lot over the next ten weeks. Because I have no shame, I am also going to be sharing the fruits of my labors here.

First up, drawing contour lines with out picking up the pencil.

Next two drawings done without looking at the paper

And finally, my first still life.

Check out those grapes! I'm telling you, think I might be a natural.

Forgive me!

This post is just unabashed, unbridled, unadulterated narcissism.

I had the darndest time opening a bottle of champers on New Years Eve! Josh got all these pictures (and about a dozen more) of me struggling and they've been cracking me up.

Success!

P.S. To read about my painting class adventure click here.

I never thought I'd be the kind of woman to be gripped with this raging baby fever.

It's crazy. This biology, it is some powerful stuff.

I don't know what happened, but one day I woke up and I wanted a baby, like woah.

Or I should say, I , don't want a baby, but my body sure as hell does.

I always thought it was a bit of a myth that your body could so powerfully yearn for something that your brain isn't fully on board with, but I have to tell you, every baby I see, every stupid commercial or movie I watch, or tabloid I sneak a peek at in line for the grocery store fills me with jealousy.

Josh and I have a plan. A Life Plan. And having a baby isn't a part of that plan for at least another year.

I went off the pill last year (due to a raging case of the crazy), but we're careful. My brain is definitely winning the battle.

But still...

There's not really a discrete way to say this, but I'm about two weeks late. I've taken two tests, just to be sure it's a side effect of my wonky system, and it is. Both tests were negative, and while I know I'm supposed to be relieved, I was actually heart broken. How crazy is that?

To be disappointed, crushed, that things are going according to plan; well it's going to be a mighty long year.

And just like that it's a brand new year.

I'm not a real resolution maker, I think it's just too easy to cop out, but I'm making one this year.

My New Year's resolution is to floss every day.

Sexy right?

May 2010 be as sexy as you want it.

Happy New Year Friends.