Desert Living

So, by now you have probably seen the new J.Crew Spring looks shot at the Kaufmann house, gorgeous. I first became aware of this wonderful home two years ago when I saw the Americana Manhasset Spring 06 look book. I would pour over the images, just staring at them and taking in everything over and over again. Living in the desert never looked so good. So, a bit of trivia, remember that W shoot with Brad and Angelina and the "fake family"? That was shot down the street from the Kaufmann house. And, if you are in the market to buy, and have 15-25 million in spare cash, well then you can be the proud owner of this historic and beautiful home {here is a slide show for you}.

Temple Day

Tuesday we went to the Temple. It was such a lovely day up there, the sky was blue, the blossoms on the trees were blooming, everything smelled so sweet and springy, and best of all you could see out across the bay to the city.

Thank You Ina Garten

So, yesterday I was in a baking mood and made this cake. I made it a few Sundays ago for Elizabeth's birthday, but I did not have any coffee so I used a cup of sour cream to make up for the liquid. I am pretty sure Mike will eat the rest of the cake today, he loves chocolate more than anyone I know. Here is the recipe:




Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Chocolate Buttercream, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Frosting:
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

Totally Bogus

We went night boarding at Bogus when we were visiting my sister in Idaho. I think the last time I went snowboarding was before my mission, so let's see... about 5 years ago. We had a lot of fun though, but MAN were we sore the next day. Here are some really attractive pictures of us. Thanks for letting us borrow the van Elizabeth and Wade.

Turkey

Mike just made me the best turkey sandwich. Love that man.

Pictures

A few people asked how I did the picture on the last post, truth be told I didn't do it, Mike did. I saw something like it and told Mike what I wanted and he figured it out. I have been trying to convince him that he should have his own photo blog, or perhaps post on here about how to do some of the cool tricks he does {some of which are represented in the following pictures}. So, expect that to come.

Here are some pictures Mike took while he was in Poland last week for his Grandma's funeral. While he was there Mike picked up a V-Day gift for me, a beautiful tear shaped amber pendant {I guess Poland is known for it's amber}. Thanks Mike, I am glad you are home.


Mike stitched together 6 or 7 pictures to create this one


Grandpa


this is 6 or 7 pictures layered to get the best out of all of them


old town Warsaw


Mike wearing his Grandpa's coat




Uncle Gregosz and Grandpa


at the cemetery

Whitney

She sure is a darling little trouble maker.

Blame it on Fidel!

We watched this movie a few months ago and really liked it. The little girl who plays Anna is great, just look at that pout!

Fighting in Catan

We played The Settlers of Catan a few times while we were at Elizabeth and Wade's house. After the hour long {snore} instruction intro we had a really fun time playing the game. Just ask anyone, I can be pretty feisty when it comes to games and I have pretty good beginners luck. I hope we get this game soon.



P.S. Not sure how this buxom lass is going to help those settlers, but I have my suspicions.

V-Day

Happy Valentine's Day my dearest, I love you, love you, love you. I miss you too.

Ida-hida-ho

Wednesday we decided to fly to Idaho to visit my sister. It is cold here. United airlines is the worst airline.

Poland

Earlier this week Mike's grandma died So Mike will be going to Poland next Wednesday to attend the funeral. We stayed with Mike's Grandpa when we were in Poland during our honeymoon, and I was really touched by how much love his grandma and grandpa had for one another. Every day Grandpa {who is 92} would take the train and then walk the remaining half mile to the old folks home grandma lived in .He would spend several hours with her moving her joints, massaging her muscles, and walking her around the room. And grandpa would always bring grandma something sweet to eat.

Snip Snip

This morning

This afternoon

Persepolis

I just finished these books yesterday, Persepolis and Persepolis 2, by Marjane Satrpi. I really enjoyed them. {Boarders has a paperback edition that has combined both books.} They are quick reads because the books are graphic novels, which is a very effective medium for telling a story. The movie came out in limited release, has anyone seen it? I can't wait to see it when it comes to DVD. You can see the trailer here.

An Unexpected Comedy

This has got to be one of the worst movies I have seen in a while, truly terrible. Avoid The Invisible at all cost, unless you are into remakes of Ghost without the Whoopi. I think this picture says it all.

Cafe Rio

Apparently this recipe is very close to the BBQ pork they have at cafe rio. I have only had the real thing once a long time ago so I can't vouch for it's authenticity, however I am a huge fan of BBQ and sweet pork and this is a great dish. Make sure you make the green sauce or don't bother making the dish at all.

CAFE RIO PORK

6 lbs. pork (Shoulder)
1 16 oz. bottle of salsa
1 can of coke
2 c. brown sugar

Place pork in crock pot and fill it 1/2 way up the pork with water
Cook on high for 5 hours. Drain off water. Cut pork into thirds. Mix together sauce ingredients and put on top of pork. Cook an additional 3 hours on high. Shred pork with forks. Leave it on low until ready to serve.


CREAMY TOMATILLA SALAD DRESSING

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Dressing
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. mayo
3 tomatillas
2 cloves of garlic
1 c. fresh cilantro
½ tsp cayenne pepper

Blend all ingredients in the blender. Refrigerate.

Just a note on cooking the pork, I did not cook the pork in a crock pot for 8 hours and I skipped the step of cooking the pork in water first. Instead I went straight to cooking the pork with the salsa coke and sugar in a large covered pot in the oven for several hours at 325, till the meat was tender and I could shred it with a fork.

We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet

While I am very sad to say goodbye to our beloved prophet President Hinckley, I can not help but feel happy for him that he is once again with his beloved wife, Marjorie and with our Heavenly Father. Thank you President Hinckley for your happiness, tireless service and Christ like love.

Boys

These guys belong to Jess and Cat. Needless to say Mike and I feel pretty intimidated about producing cute kids.

Miasma

Here is a good word for you.
Miasma:
1. Noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere.
2. A dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere.


the bog of eternal stench

Family Dog

Like many Grandy family favorites {Dunderklumpen any one?} I don't expect that any one outside our family ever saw this show. I remember that we all were really sad when it got canceled, but thanks to You Tube, Family Dog lives on.



P.S. Tim Burton is one of the executive producers, which really make sense, especially when you look at the kid Billy.

Sing Along

When Mike and I went to the Big Island we listened to the Sweeney Todd soundtrack pretty much the entire time... we did a lot of driving. Don't think we know all the songs? Try us. Anyhow, we highly recommend the music.

Wii Will Not Be Purchasing This

Last night we saw Rob and Sharon and their darling kids. While we were there we had the pleasure of seeing how skilled Sharon is at playing Wii tennis, really quite impressive. We all played for a bit and everyone was pretty good, everyone but me that is. I was horrible at everything, but happy that I proved entertaining to watch. Sharon marveled at how unskilled I was. There is a fitness test you can take and apparently my fitness level is that of an 80 year old. I guess I should not be surprised, my hand eye coordination is not great, but I've never heard of anyone not loving Wii and not being good at it. I guess there are exceptions to everything.

The Complete Jane Austen



From January 13th to April 6th PBS is showing new adaptations of all of Austen's novels and a biopic of her life. Last night I watched most of Northanger Abbey, and I thought is was pretty good. I never seem to get sick of Jane Austen, and PBS does a good job of adapting her books. I missed Persuasion, last week, but I am pretty sure they will do reruns. Check out this site for schedules of the upcoming movies.

Metamorphosis

Yesterday I read Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. Last night my dreams were filled with giant insects hanging from the ceiling and spiders littering the floor, which I tried in vain to sweep up and out of my room. When I woke up I thought, well that's one thing I won't miss about Hawaii.

Oh You Pretty Things

I have been salivating over this cardigan since I saw it in the J.Crew catalog several months ago. I also snagged this lovely blouse in Ivory. I guess this is my attempt to banish all scruffy tee shirts from my wardrobe.

Big Island

We had a really nice time on the Big Island, although we did a LOT more driving that I had expected. When we got back to Oahu the nasty weather had disappeared, which made leaving even harder and the last few days even more wonderful and memorable. Here are some pictures of our trip, per your request Sheila. I will try and get a slide show going, or post some more of these on flickr.


North tip of the island, and a port-a john behind the shack {thank goodness}.


I picked a lot of guava on this trip


Place of refuge


By far the BEST snorkeling I have ever experienced anywhere, and happens to be where Capt. Cook was killed .


Volcano National Park crater hike


Yellow church on the trail head a black sand beach


Our hidden beach


Punalu'u black sand beach


Mauna Kea, way too cold for me but Mike loved it

Southern most point on the island, and the US

Open empty space

Stealing from Denny's

We are sitting in the parking lot in front of Denny's in Kona stealing their wireless, as we wait for our very early flight tomorrow. Viva sleeping in a rental car!

V is for Vacation



We are on the Big Island till Monday. See you when we get back.