It's Project Runway Night!

Thursday is my new favorite day of the week. That's because it's Project Runway night .. and I am so addicted. I don't watch many tv shows, except for this one. And I will go out of my way NOT to miss it.

But of course it comes on right smack in the middle of dinner. So, I've had to get seriously organized, lest I have to run up and down the stairs during commercial breaks putting dinner together, and missing half the fun of watching it in the first place. 

I'm not a chef type, and although I don't mind cooking (it's the cleanup I don't like), it's just not something I get all that excited about. I'm more like a food assembler. I do the shopping, and come up with the meal ideas, and then get in the kitchen and start throwing a bunch of things together. That's why my new favorite meal seemed so ingenious to me. It's all assembly.

It's made things kinda fun around here on Thursdays. Even hubby likes to watch the end of the show. Here's what I did a couple of Thursdays ago, and what I'm making tonight. Papillotes! What I love is that I can put it all together in the morning or afternoon, and then just pop it in the oven when we get ready to eat. 

En papillote means parchment, or in parchment paper. It is so easy to make. (You can watch a video here.) I like using halibut, which I place on top of whatever veggies look good.. zucchini, asparagus, spinach, fresh chopped garlic, and thinly sliced onion. I drizzle some olive oil and a little bit of good white wine over the top, (okay, and a pat of real butter), whatever herbs I want, seal it up, and in about 15 minutes, we are enjoying a delicious meal that caused me no pain whatsoever. And I can get my fashion fix, too. Three cheers for Thursday!

Paris state of mind

I have to pinch myself to believe it ~ we're headed to France again! 

The first time hubby and I went was in 2011, in the Autumn, and it was divine. It's the only stamp I have in my passport.

Lots to explore together, first in Normandy, and then in Paris. I can tell I'm going to be freer this second time around. Less worried about whether I look like a tourist, which I probably will, and more focused on soaking up every minute with the love of my life. 

I'm not going to stress over my grammaire française, when all I really want is to connect with somebody. 

I'm going to focus on the heart in things. I'm pretty sure that's where the good stuff is.

Fluffing and feathering...

I've been at work making our humble little nest here all nice & cozy this week. 

I'm into adding more things with a personal story....

Here's where one of those items slipped in.

That quilt peeking out behind the sofa is a Cathedral Window quilt. My beloved grandmother Veda made that when I was a teenager. I watched her make many quilts over the years, but her Cathedral Window quilt was one of her prized accomplishments. 

I enjoy catching a glimpse of it when I'm lounging in here.

I see it when I come up the stairs. 

I think I'll refold it every so often so different patterns show and it doesn't get a permanent crease.

More of my grandmother's quilts lay folded on an entryway table....

Grandma passed away a long time ago, and I inherited her beautiful works of art. It makes me a little sad that it took me so long to find a good place out in the open for them. But I had that mindset of keeping "precious" items safely tucked away. 

Now I'm into using and enjoying everything that I once called precious or irreplaceable in some cases.

I hauled out our little collection of gold-rimmed crystal that we got for our wedding. Before, I had saved them up for special occasions, like holidays and dinner parties. 

Not any more. We use them every night, and they go in the dishwasher, too. It is such a feeling of relief to be using what we have and remembering where they came from.

It's more here and now. Plus a $9 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc tastes so much better in them. : )

~ shhhhhhhh ~

Okay ... time to use your quiet voice. . . 

That's because...

There are newborn babes in the nest...

{Our Key Lime Sky}

Not only have I been fluffing... I have been enjoying having two newborns around the house.

This is the Key Lime Sky family

with their fresh and tart lime sky with white meringue clouds...

{And Baby Makes 3}

Then there's this adoring couple of blue birds... enjoying their patch of sky

and most of all their brand new baby. . .

who has the cutest turned in little toes. 

Welcome little ones! {shhhhh}