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Crab Melts

1 loaf sweet french bread
1/2 cup pesto (roughly–I’ve never measured it)
4 Roma tomatoes thinly sliced
1 lb. lump crab meat
15 slices of Havarti

Pre-heat broiler. Slice french bread into approximately 15 slices. Spread a thin layer of pesto and top with a slice of tomato. Next, mound a small amount of crab and top with cheese. Place under broiler for approximately 4 minutes or until cheese is melted, bubbly and turning brown.

Gingered Carrot Soup

* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
* 4 carrots (about 3/4 pound), grated coarse
* 1/2 teaspoon sugar
* 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh gingerroot
* 3/4 cup chicken broth, or to taste
* 2 cups boiling water
* 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

In a 2-quart microwave-safe dish melt the butter in the microwave at high power (100%) for 15 seconds, stir in the carrots, the sugar, the gingerroot, the broth, and the water, and microwave the mixture at high power for 20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. In a blender purée the mixture with the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste and divide the soup between 2 bowls.

***I doubled this recipe to feed my lot.***

Szechwan Chicken Stir-Fry

5 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2 inch dice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons garlic olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced
one bunch of green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Dredge chicken in the cornstarch. Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken and stir-fry until opaque, about 5 minutes. Add soy mixture and stir-fry 30 more seconds. Add green onions and serve with rice.

This feeds 4—I always double it hoping for left overs. It hasn’t happened yet!

Again, sorry for the lack of photos—I’m having a hard time with this new habit—getting all the pieces put together. There’s always next Sunday!

Last week at the Mom 2.0 summit, I was lucky enough to meet the fine folks at Cambria Cove, a new online shop that carries finds from artisans all over the world.  They had a suite filled with some of the fine goods they sell on their site – from stationary to jewelry to home goods. Often I feel gift sites look pretty online, but my purchases disappoint me when I get the product home. But everything I touched, sampled and felt was exquisite! I was enamored by the variety if home products Cambria Cove carried, many of which would make perfect gifts.  BTW – all products arrive all wrapped up in pretty green boxes – ready for gifting.

A few items caught my eye:

Confetti Rocks Pitcher and Glasses by Rose Ann Hall Designs.  This glassware is all hand blown by artisans in the gorgeous town of San Miguel De Allende, Mexico (One of my dream cities)  The glasses had a nice sturdy weight to them, making them the perfect glass for summertime iced tea or a margarita!  This is perfect for wishing away winter blahs. (Pitcher $50, Set of 4 glasses $50)

I have written before about my little obsession with Gianna Rose Atellier soaps.  I love their whimsical designs, the lovely scents and luxury feel of the soap itself.  They are nice hostess gifts and add a little sparkle to your bathroom.   I love these soaps!   Cambria Cove carries quite a selection.  These perched turtle dove birds come with this bird bath/soap dish ($35) are scented with hyacinth and tulip.  These Robin Egg Soaps would make a sweet Easter gift ($55).

Elegant Front Porch

What to do when you’ve invited 24 girlfriends over for a ”naughty or nice” sit-down dinner party? Call San Jose floral designer Jose Ibarra to come up with special Christmas decor, inside and out.

Pinecones with Pewter Ribbons

He started with the front entrance way of this Willow Glen home — a house he also decorated for Thanksgiving. While most folks feel pretty relieved to get a decent wreath on the door, Jose takes it up a notch by creating a whole natural scene — with a little sparkle — to welcome guests. He started with bare branches arching over the front doorway. With his secret — a $1.99 can of fake snow or flocking from Walgreen’s drug store — he sprayed sugar pine cones (the tall, skinny ones) with just a hint of winter. He tied the cones to the branches with burlap and pewter double satin ribbon. They dangle over the doorway.

“The homeowner wanted elegant,” he said, “but not overstated.”

Inside, he set a long narrow table and cascaded 200 dark red roses — three different kinds — down the center. You’ll find no vases here. Instead, he cut the stems off the roses and effectively tossed them onto the table. He added green orchids as well.

Roses and Orchids

He tried to “reinvent the idea of simple,” he said. “Not over the top, but new and different.”

Here’s the complete slideshow:

Thanksgiving Table

The French-inspired San Jose home has an “antique chic” sensibility with a textured, neutral palette. And that’s all Jose Ibarra needed for inspiration when he decorated the home for Thanksgiving.  You’ll find no bright orange here.

“They’re going to have turkey for dinner and that’s as traditional as they get,” said Jose, a San Jose floral designer.

He started with the things the homeowner loves: a burlap tablecloth topped with mirrored glass. The combination of rustic and glamorous provided the perfect foundation for Jose’s tabletop design.  He  strips of heavy, woven vintage ticking as napkin rings.  The homeowner planned to top each coarse napkin ring with a rhinestone broche – adding star quality to peasant stock.

To complement the homeowner’s love of simplicity, Jose adorned the mirrored table with roses — not in the traditional fall colors, of course. Instead, he cascaded cream-colored roses — Sahara and Quicksand — down the center of the table, dripping pedals and “skeleton leaves” he picked up at the San Francisco Flower Market.

Since the living room was converted to the dining room for Thanksgiving — and the long narrow table positioned in front of the fireplace — Jose also was charged with rearranging the living room furniture throughout the house and adding simple, elegant touches throughout.

Wave of Roses

When it comes to celebrating the seasons with holiday home decor, perhaps no one is more enthusiastic than Rose Garden resident Vicki Petulla. And autumn is one of her favorites as she decorates with the bounty of the season: orange and white pumpkins and wreaths of drying leaves in cast iron urns at her front door and swags of magnolia leaves and trays of persimmons in her living room.

When Lookiloos asked Vicki what she had in mind for Thanksgiving, she not only set anbeautiful vignette for a holiday buffet using all natural foliage from friendly neighbors,  she also shared her tips for creating vintage-inspired party favors. They’re snack cones, actually, she said, that can be filled with popcorn, candy or sweet potato chips that guests can enjoy during the party, then take home as a keepsake.

At upscale boutiques, these kinds of cones can cost upwards of $25 or more a piece. But with a little creativity, a trip to a craft store and a glue gun, Vicki made hers for about $3 a piece. She has made these party favors again and again, for her son’s birthday parties or to enclose a gift card for a wedding present. All she does is change the paper and the trims for each occasion. At Christmas time, she hangs them on doorknobs of her friends.

For Thanksgiving, she made up a dozen of the cones and hung them from madrone branches she lightly spray painted gold.  Vicki shops at Michael’s craft store where she heads to the Martha Stewart scrapbooking section for her supplies. To personalize the cones, she buys printed initials of her guests to affix to each cone.

Here’s her shopping list: A variety of  colorful, patterned 12-inch by 12-inch sheets of paper; assorted trims, pom-poms and fringes to decorate the top edge of the cones; colorful ribbon from which to hang the cones; hole puncher, glue gun, scissors.

Step by Step

1. Roll a sheet of paper on the diagonal into a cone, coming to a point at the bottom and open on top.

2. Fold the outside edge inward for a clean, straight line to glue the paper onto itself.

3. With scissors, cut the top, uneven edge into a straight line for a flat opening.

4. With hole puncher, punch hole about one-inch from top on each side for hanging ribbon.

5.  Dot the top edge with beads of glue, then affix trims or fringes, careful not to cover the punched holes.

6. With length of ribbon, pull through holes on each side and knot.

7. Fill with candy, toys, or nuts. (Vicki loves Cost Plus World Market for vintage candy.)

When floral designer Jose Ibarra stepped into Tina and David Sheffler’s Asian-inspired home, he knew just what he needed to set a smashing dining room table for her. The house was featured on the Rose Garden Homes Tour in October and needed a designer’s touch. As always, you can count on Jose to turn up the creativity a notch.

For the Shefflers’ table, while he celebrated the Asian inspiration by using wooden Geisha statuettes and delicate orchids, he honed in on a  simple yet whimsical concept: Chinese take-out.

“Just because you have a party doesn’t mean it has to be catered,” Jose said. “It can be fun with what you have and at the same time look good.”

Next time you order Chinese takeout with friends and want to make some simple, but special touches, here are some of Jose’s ideas:

1. Use the white take-out containers as vessels for creativity: insert a small cup with water and add red roses; or fill with moss to give a “bok choy” effect. Jose stuck a pair of chopsticks in the moss and crinkled the paper chopsticks wrapper at the top to play with the color and texture. Wrap colored string around the boxes for extra color.

2. Add tall, wispy orchids in clear glass or simple vases to add height.

3. Keep the rest of the table minimalistic to showcase your special touches.

You might also enjoy these stories:

Asian-inspired backyard

Zen-like courtyard on Home Tour

Tract Home Extraordinaire

Leku Eder-A Beautiful Danville Place for Asian Inspiration

Here’s the complete slideshow:

Courtyard Makeover With Wine Bottle Barrel and Vintage Mirror

The front courtyard of the lovely Mediterranean home clearly had potential. A charming gateway led to it from the driveway. Two Spanish-style arches lined it heading to the front door, and a lovely picture window from the dining room framed the space.

Before Makeoever: Overgrown plant blocks window

After: New plantingsfreshen fountain; vintage bust frames window

After:This courtyard is ready for cocktails!

Before: A lonely bench sits empty.

When they do, this courtyard is ready.

I should have known immediately that I was over my head. But we gave it our best shot last weekend.

Our friends, Amy and Parke Young and Julie and Craig Paulsen and my husband, Chris, and I decided on a south of the border theme and called the party “Night of the Iguana,” inspired by the 1962 film classic starring Richard Burton and Eva Gardner.

In the brochure for the auction, along with “Pacific Coastal Cuisine” and “lizard libations,” this is what we promised:

“Feel the sultry summer heat. Sway with the jungle vibe. Taste exotica. Experience Night of the Iguana. Don’t you wanna?”

(That’s the edited version. One step further and we might have violated Catholic school protocol.)

All I can say is, thank God for Amy. As much as I write about great decor and tabletop settings, I still tend to be all thumbs when I try it myself. (Every year, I swear I’ve got the most uninspired Christmas wreath on the block.)

I knew we would fare OK when Amy came over a couple of weeks before the party with the piece that would set the tone for the party: mosquito netting that used to be over her son’s bed. We instantly thought of those grand safaris — you know, where the elephants are stampeding outside, but inside the mosquito netting, a white-linen table cloth is set with silver.

We started by clearing out the screened porch and putting the seating arrangement on the back lawn for cocktail hour. I dragged an old rug I found at a garage sale from the shed (I could never get the musty smell out of it for inside) and put it on the grass. Parke built a bar from salvage plywood. Amy added palapa grass to the umbrella. Parke strung paper lanterns across the back yard and we lit a fire in the chiminea outside and in the fireplace on the porch, and lit tea lights everywhere.

On the porch, we put a long, plywood tabletop on top of my table to seat 12. We hung the mosquito netting above the table, draping and tacking it up — as if we pulled back the mosquito netting for dinner. (We figured it would be difficult to serve and clear through the netting. That lightbulb moment came to me later.)

And with boxes of colorful odds and ends from Amy’s basement, plus some potted palms from their yard, I’d say we made a pretty good effort at a “faraway paradise.”

As it is with any party, the key is that everyone have a good time. And with help from Craig’s “lizard libations” I think everyone did. And just today, I received a thank-you note from the couple who treated their friends to our auctioned off evening: “All our guests commented that they had never been served with such attention and flair.” The atmosphere, the letter said, “was wonderful.”

Job done! Chris even said he might be up for it again next year. Hmmm. Theme anyone? 

To take a look at a video of my screened porch before the party, click here.

To look at some professional tabletops, done by floral designer Jose Ibarra, check out these:
Wabi Sabi: Where the Imperfect is Beautiful

Can Lookiloos Pass Wabi Sabi Test?
Floral Chic Mother’s Day