Waiting ... waiting ... waiting...

I know I have been a little slow on the blog posts last week.  The reason is that I have been waiting to show you my BIG PROJECT of the month.

I used wood putty, I sanded, I primed, and I painted, and painted, and painted.  Then it all had to dry.

Now my big project is dry but I have ONE BIG PROBLEM:  The drawers won't fit back in the dresser I made.  You see, I painted the drawers in the basement.  The basement that is damp, dark, and musty smelling (but it is getting better now that we have the dehumidifier working).  Nonetheless, the drawers expanded in the wet basement.  The body of the dresser did not.  It was up in the dining room.  It was too heavy and bulky to take all the way to the basement.  Ah the trials and tribulations of wood furniture.

So although it is done (and looks amazing) I can't actually get all the drawers back into the dresser.  I will just have to wait a bit longer to show it off.

Instead I will leave you with a little hint of what is to come.

Notice the hardware I polished here?

My friend who came over thought it was a brand new piece of furniture!!!  If that is not a compliment I don't know what is.

Please think dry thoughts in my house, and maybe I can get this piece back together before the end of the week.

"Brass" New Hardware

Ok it's not new at all, but it looks new. I'm so excited about how the hardware looks after I polished it up.

This is what I started out with:

The hardware looked almost black it was so dark. 

At first I tried a technique I found online and hoped would work....
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I bolied it in ketchup.

It got some of the gook off, but they were not "shining" as the website said.

So I turned to good old Brasso. Geez, did it stink.  I rubbed, and I scrubbed and I got sick from the smell, but in the end it was worth it.  

 The hardware looks really amazing.

Just so you can really appreciate the transformation here is the before and after. 

Before

After

I realized I like to keep the original hardware, especially when it is so beautiful and ornate.  I just love it.  I'm so glad this worked and I can use it now. 

I love the Brasso so much that I'm thinking of polishing up my other metals...the bathtub faucet, the door handles, and any other metal I can find.  I just love the stuff (even if it is stinky).

Come back next week for the dresser (which we debated the color to paint here) all finished.  I'm so excited to show you all!

Where I party:

A Walk Through Saratoga

I had the opportunity to visit a friend in Saratoga last weekend.  Not only did I get to spend time with a good friend, but I got to see a very nice city.

I have lived south of Saratoga for most of my life, but have never gotten up there.  The city is known for the race tracks, but there were not open (and I'm not really a gambler).  Instead I got to walk around the city, see the sights and shops, and best of all, the beautiful park. 

 

We walked through the park.

I like ducks.  I love the way their heads shine.

I also like roses.

We saw a couple of nice fountains.

These two guys are called the "Spit and Spat" statues.

They are spitting on each other...how silly.

I also love the old regal buildings.  

I was a bit shy about taking pictures of other people's houses, but snuck some in. 

I also love this trolly.  The driver waved too. :)

I also discovered Cold Stone.  I know this is not special to Saratoga, but I never knew quite how it worked, what a brilliant ice cream shop.  Yum.  I enjoyed my "kid scoop."

We went to the state park and sampled some of the springs.

I made the mistake of trying the mineral springs, yuck, OMG that is some nasty water (but I hear it is really good for you).  My friend spent a good five minutes laughing at the face I made when I tasted it.

I can't leave you without a little peek at the two of us on these adventures. 

I have been to Saratoga for the concerts, but I have never discovered what a nice little city it really was.  The night life was fun, the shops were great, the food was very good.  I will defiantly be back. 

You know, I often think I have to travel to another country or even another state to see something new.  This trip has taught me that I can travel just a couple of hours away, in my own state, and still have a great time, see new things and, best of all, see freinds too.

Magic Picnic

There is a place near my house that is my favorite spot for a picnic and true to its name it is really magical.  That spot is called Magic Meadow.

This is one my favorite times to go to this meadow because the Mountain Laurel is in bloom. Mountain Laurel is not something I ever see in nurseries, and they are a protected plan in New York.  I feel that if I get a chance to see them it is a privilege. 

The whole trip was amazing.  In truth picnics are my favorite pastime.  What could be better than nature, food and my hubby all together on a beautiful day, right?  I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves.

Jeff walking in with our basket.

You have to cross a little stream and climb a little hill.

When I was little this was just a couple of stones to step across.

The views are quite amazing.

I love this little picnic basket. 

A meal of cheese, baguette, and berries.

Jeff as my model again.

I had to get at least one of us both.

What a wonderful picnic. 

What kinds of picnics do you like?  Where do you go?  What food do you take with you?

What I Ate...in the past two weeks.

Every week I am very good .. at the beginning of the week or day.  By the end of the day I forget.  For that reason I have a million pictures of breakfast, fewer lunch shots and very seldom do I get dinner shots. 


In place of a traditional WIAW I just going to show you the stuff I managed to get photos of over the last two weeks.

Breakfast:

I DO NOT wake up without my cut of tea.

I drink this every day.

Quinoa with coconut, soy milk and peanut-butter.

Egg on a roll (a good breakfast to go)

Lunch:

Shot of espresso.

Eggplant sandwich.

Tomato with goat cheese and rosemary.

Indian leftovers.

Dinner:

What was once black beans, rice and steamed veggies.

See what I mean about not many shots of dinner?

That's what I ate at some moments in the past two weeks.  

It is actually pretty good food I must say.  

Let me know if you want a recipe.

Muscles!!!

I love muscles.  No, not body-builder muscles, the sea food! (Body builders have too many muscles.)  They are the reason I am no longer a vegan (I lasted about two months), and they have been consuming my thoughts for weeks now.

I remember the first time I ever had them.  I was in a small cafe in Paris.  My father ordered them and let me try one.  I was about twenty.  It was amazing.  It was moist and a little chewy and it melted in my mouth.  The muscles were cooked in a white wine sauce.  Ever since then, I like to have muscles every chance I get.  As my hubby knows very well if there are muscles or goat cheese on the menu I will order it. 

I finally got a night when I knew I was only cooking for one, me, so I made some muscles.  This is the first time I ever made them and they were amazing.

Another great perk about making muscles is that I have an open bottle of wine that needs to be finished at the end of this recipe (nice perk).

Muscles in White Wine Sauce*

Bottle of white wine
2 tablespoons butter
Two green onions,diced
Two cloves garlic, minced
One plum tomato, diced
One lb muscles, washed, debearded,
Mustard powder
Large piece of crusty bread (to sop-up all the juices)

Wash and de-beard your muscles.  Do this first, I didn't and it messed up the whole process, learn from my mistakes.  Wash the outside of the muscles with a vegetable scrubby brush.  Then grab the beard (you will see it and know) and pull hard.  This will make sense when you see them. 

Put all clean unopened muscles (if they open or are open throw them away) in some water with a teaspoon or so of the mustard powder.  This is a great trick I learned to make them "spit" the dirt out.  Although I do feel a bit bad for the poor tortured muscles (but not enough to NOT eat them, gees).  It really works, I only had one sandy muscle. 

In a separate pot, (I used a big belly pot) melt butter in a hot pan and add onion and garlic.  Cook until soft, about two minutes.  Add tomatoes and cook another minute or two.  Add muscles and wine.  Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 4-6 minutes or until muscles open.

Poor muscles and broth into a large bowl and serve with bread on the side.  Pour a glass of wine and enjoy your dinner for one (it could actually serve two if you don't have a giant appetite like me, or you do have more muscles).  Use the bread to get some of that great broth.  It has all the flavors of the muscles and garlic.  I go so far as to drink the broth with a spoon, I love it. 

I just loved this meal.  Don't fear the muscles they are amazing.  My husband said they "freaked" him out (his word not mine).  That is crazy to me they are so good, who cares if they look weird?

Do you like muscles?  Do shell fish scare you?  What do you think?


*I'm not a chief I just like to eat.  Hope this recipe works for you too.