Friday Fancies: leaping for joy

(pictures taken during our trip here)

We are leaping for joy in our neck of woods. First of all, I am beaming with pride for my students from last year, because they contributed to the record number of sophomores in the Los Angeles Unified School District who passed the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE)! Second, we have been so encouraged throughout this week by dear friends with whom we were able to have dinner dates. It is so refreshing to mull over our similar seasons of life. We are thoroughly thankful for the community God has granted to us. Third, it just came to our attention that it is Labor Day weekend. A symbolic end to summertime, and a tribute to all you hardworking folks (since we are supposedly the most overworked developed nation in the world), which equals an extra day of rest. We haven't out-of-town plans or anything, but I shall be making a pie, and we are cooking up other ways to make the most of the long weekend. Hoping you will all enjoy, dear friends!

Picturesque enclaves

It was an unforeseen treat to end up in the hillsides and shorelines of Sausalito. We took the opportunity to roam about after Irene & Brian's wedding rehearsal dinner, and it was an absolutely swell time. Live jazz trumpeted from the shoreline while families danced and swayed to the complimentary tunes set against the sunset's mesmerizing purple and pink background . There weren't many nomads left on the docks at that time of evening, so we sauntered around like precocious residents of the bougie houseboats resting on the waters. We wrapped up the evening swinging our feet from a bench, eating mile-high ice cream cones, watching the lights glimmer from the Golden Gate Bridge across the bay, and reflecting on the Lord's exceeding kindness in our lives.

Peanut butter cup cookies with sea salt

I love peanut buttery desserts. And I love Trader Joe's. So there's something beautiful about Trader Joe's Mini Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. Good when sampled by their lonesome, but particularly tasty when featured as the star ingredient in peanut butter cup cookies with sea salt. I would like to thank the fancy person who thought of topping sweet treats with sea salt...so genius! I adapted a simple peanut butter cookie recipe from here by throwing in loads of teeny melt-in-your-mouth peanut butter cups and generous sprinkles of sea salt to produce a perfectly decadent, soft cookie that is one of our very favorites. So scrumptious, especially when paired with a glass of soymilk or when sandwiching creamy vanilla bean ice cream.






Peanut Butter Cup Cookies with Sea Salt (adapted from this book)

Ingredients:
3/4 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
Pinch sea salt plus extra for topping cookies
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups Trader Joe's Mini Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. With an electric mixer, beat butter with peanut butter until light, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the granulated and brown sugar and beat to combine well. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix well.
3. With a rubber spatula, stir in flour, a pinch of sea salt, and baking soda until just combined. Add the mini peanut butter cups and stir gently to distribute them well in the batter.
4. Drop by spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden, about 10 minutes.
5. Upon retrieving tray from oven, immediately sprinkle sea salt upon freshly-baked cookies. Cool before serving (with an icy glass of milk or dollop of vanilla ice cream).






I also propose that these irresistible cookies make a sweet gift, especially when packaged prettily. To dress up the freshly baked treat, I used a cardboard box, feedsack, thinly cut fabric strips, a message scrawled on a notebook page scrap, and a vintage apothecary bottle that I uncovered here. The end product is a lovely wrapped package with a fun message in a bottle!

The valley that beckons our return

We are not wine connoisseurs. I know next to nothing about wines and may even be allergic to alcohol, but that didn't hinder us from gallivanting over to Wine Country during our jaunt up north. I hadn't been there for three years, and I was once again struck by Napa Valley's idiosyncratic charm. Its Mediterranean climate and endless rows of tranquil vineyards that day was a welcome change from San Francisco's perpetual foggy haze and congested metropolis. Since we are amateur sommeliers, we dropped by a couple of wineries recommended by lovely friends. We got to cavort in dense vineyards surrounding a Tuscan-style castle at the Castello di Amorosa and picnic beneath shady flora at V. Sattui. Wine tasting was top notch even though I don't know how to appreciate wine (why do people swish the stuff around the glass?). I think wine tasting that afternoon confirmed a higher probability of my alcohol allergy, but the fresh sandwiches, smoked Gouda, dry salami, and feta-stuffed olives underneath grand oaks afterward made the relaxing day completely worthwhile of a returning sojourn. Cheers!

To my brother

Dear brother,

The picture above is from your first birthday, and I know I am off by twenty-two years, but I like to think that it symbolizes the fact that you are now another year older and wiser. Apparently, I wasn't looking at the camera and was instead glaring at you because I was so jealous of all the attention you were getting on your first birthday, and because of the fact that you were such a cute baby. Thanks for granting me a dosage of humility that way. In all honesty, thanks that even though you are my younger brother, you have taken on the role of a protective older brother over the years. It's nice to have a six-foot-plus tall brother for that reason. It's also nice to have a brother who is the only other person on this earth who can relate to how wacky our parentals can be. Okay, I confess - it's nice to have a brother for many reasons, and I am glad you are mine. Happy 23rd birthday! Cheers to another year of adventuring and making your mark on this world. Come over for a brother dinner soon.

Love,
Your favorite sister

P.S. I just realized that I am currently the same age as Mom was in the photograph. That's nuts!

Friday Francies: potential in scraps

When it comes to scouring for vintage treasures, I habitually adopt time-honored items for their decorating and/or crafting potential, even if they may not possess much value or charm at first glance. It is immensely titillating and fun to imagine the possibilities for their use, wouldn't you agree? These days, I have to brainstorm quickly and convince the husband quite a bit regarding an old goodie's potential purpose in order to acquire it - haha! When a sweet friend told me about a creative reuse warehouse dedicated to selling scraps for their repurposing in crafty projects, I was immediately captivated. I love the idea of people donating their junk and others finding treasures in them; I wish LA had a reuse center like the Bay's Scrap. When we got there, I was bombarded by the crafter's/teacher's/vintage junkie's paradise. I had an absolute ball patiently sifting through the mounds of used materials, and I gleefully walked away with some nifty knick knacks for a plethora of creative possibilities: a vintage hatbox, aged maps, lace tablecloths, yellowed string, vintage stamps, wooden spools of thread, embroidery hoops, glass beakers, and apothecary bottles. They are currently the newest additions to Craftheopolis, and are awaiting to reach their potential, much like we all are, no matter our condition of wear and tear from the world, don't you think? Cheers to a lovely weekend, all!

Teatime aesthetics

The Mister told me about a conversation he had with a man friend during which they attempted to analyze how (the) girls (in their lives) gravitate towards purchasing pretty things, with a secondary regard for their practicality. I had to refrain from retorting defensively. God created us with a deep-seated appreciation for beauty, did He not? However, their statement rings ever true. I fancy all things aesthetically pleasing, and there is little daintier and more eye-pleasing than high tea, where we were instructed to don a frothy frock for light teatime fare in an estrogen-laced parlor with the then bride-to-be. When the husband heard about our afternoon affair, he said, "You girls go have your girl tea. The boys are going to have man tea." Apparently, man tea equaled wolfing down meaty dim sum in a rancorous restaurant with the then groom-to-be. The preferential differences between menfolk and womenfolk shall always prove puzzling, yet thoroughly amusing.