Oysters and Cool White Wine

We ended our two weeks of Fat Flushing [see below] on Thursday, but we didn't celebrate until Friday evening. Being that we live on the Prairie, we had to order our oysters ahead of time, which we did through our local grocer. There was some concern that somehow the hurricanes might affect one's ability to obtain raw oysters that were safe to eat. Nevertheless, on Friday we left work early and picked up two dozen East Coast Bluepoint oysters on ice. Earlier in the week we bought wine from our local wineshop, and we stopped in the bakery for a fresh boule. Armed with a Hendricks martini for me and a Manhattan for my husband, we started shucking.

I used our sole oyster knife (which has, before now, been used annually when my husband prepares Oysters Rockefeller on Christmas Eve) and my husband used a screwdriver and a butter knife, both with great effect. :-P I don't generally touch food, except to eat it (i.e., I don't cook), and my husband was amazed by my native shucking ability. Finally, all was ready:
Here I am sucking the marrow out of life:
DH adds some tabasco to his oyster:
All washed down with Muscadet:
Finis:

Fat Flush

Since the Friday before Labor Day Weekend, my husband and I have been on the Fat Flush Plan. It's a two-week diet "Boot Camp" that allows one to lose weight and simultaneously flush one's system. We've done it a handful of times during the last five years and it really works. I'm not overweight*, but I am over forty which means the "creep": three pounds becomes five pounds, then seven... Anyway, we like to take care of the extra poundage every so often and this Plan is really effective. My husband has lost 12 lbs and I've lost 8 thus far. And the real beauty of the program is that the fat, not only pounds, truly comes off: my husband has his six-pack back. :-)

This is not to say it's easy. Here's what you can't eat: carbs (read: bread and things made from white sugar), certain spices (salt and a number of others), nor can you drink coffee or wine/liquor (uncivilized, huh?). In fact all we can drink is Cran-water (a mixture of undiluted Cranberry juice and water) and , uh, water. The meals aren't bad, but the cravings are KILLING me. Luckily I have only four days to go.

My liver is SO SO happy right now: cleansed of toxins, flushing out all the bad stuff...

Sadly, we'll probably undo all this hard work this weekend. For starters, I am planning on having a Hendricks martini, followed by a plate of oysters (IF we can get them given the hurricanes), rustic bread with, naturally, butter, and a bottle of cold wine wine. And cheesecake, perhaps, for dessert.

*I read online that Cindy Crawford is 5'9" and weighs 130lbs. I am only 5'7" and I don't weigh anywhere near 130 lbs. So what I mean is that I am not overweight in the American Midwest; in Malibu it would be a different story.

Bedside Books

At the risk of appearing shallow, I give to you my bedside reading shelf. These aren't the books I'm currently reading, but rather serve as "comfort" books: if I've nothing else to read, or am feeling sad/stressed, or simply want something to pick up and browse through until I feel sleepy, these books are what I turn to.
You'll see a few different categories. At the top, books on writing and girly beauty books (I just bought Nina Garcia's The One Hundred...not in the shelf yet 'cause I'm still reading it). The Preppy Handbook and its modern twin, The Filthy Rich Handbook. A couple of journals and The Artist's Way. Alot of Alexandra Stoddard; I first found her book Living a Beautiful Life browsing at my college's bookstore and she's been my authorial lifestyle mentor ever since. I think I have almost all of her books; not shown is her Book of Color.
Then we get to the Beauty and Fashion section, which includes a number of books about French style. Another life-changing book for me was Susan Sommer's French Chic. I bought it my last semester in college and it pretty much became my bible for dressing in the working world. It's responsible too, for creating my obsession with Hermès scarves.

Finally, the French language shelf. I've been trying to improve my French speaking and listening skills and I keep these reference books nearby to remind me to study! Also on this shelf are two random books, Victoria Intimate Home (it's just a beautiful little book) and A Reader's Guide to Writer's Britain (earlier this year I was obsessed with British literature/landscape connections and, as I couldn't be there, this book was the next best thing). Then there are the reference essentials: a dictionary and a thesaurus.

The Ladurée bag was given to me by my son, from a trip to Paris while he was studying in Europe. (I've never been there; how does he get to go when I haven't?! I stayed home and earned his tuition [eye roll].)

Lavender-Scented Pillowcases

I may have mentioned that I am obsessed with ironing. I iron my pillowcases and the tops of the flat sheet (no I do not iron the entire sheet set--I do have a job afterall), and I first spray them with lavender water. Mine comes from World Market, but I've seen it many places. If you prefer, there are other scents--rose and verbena, for example--but I can't bring myself to leave lavender.
While I was in Portland, I stopped in L'Occitane and discovered a new Lavender Pillow mist that I of course had to buy. Here is it next to my bed. (Blue Bottle)

This verse is pinned inside my linen closet, on an old envelope from Cambridge Beaches in Bermuda. It used to have a spring of lavender attached by a ribbon, but it fell and was trampled by one of my sons.Our first house had a lavender plant that thrived; I haven't been able to replicate that since we moved further south, although I do have a potted one sitting on our wrought-iron table out on the patio. This bottle holds dried lavender blossoms from the bush at my former home; it's also (obviously) where I store some of my bracelets:

One More Garden Post

In my garden:
And in the house:
And the house smells divine.

**I'm currently listening to Bitter:Sweet's new CD, Drama, and I highly recommend it. Check out Bitter:Sweet's debut album, too; perfect with a perfectly dry martini.

July Garden and General Busyness

When I last left off, I had just planted sweetpea and delphinium seed indoors and was drinking a Bloody Mary. Let me catch you up to the present time, as I sit, once again, at the dining room table and sip yet another Bloody Mary; yet today is a sultry summer day and it's been a busy few months...

First, an update on the seedlings. They grew to look like this:But soon after I planted them in the ground, in May,
they faltered. The Sweetpeas rallied for a bit,
but they never bloomed and I think they were hindered by the squirrels' unrelenting attention. Not to worry, however. Here I am in my garden, this afternoon after returning from a lovely brunch at the neighbor's (Mango Bellinis, and espresso in their new Illy Espresso Machine):










As you can see I am a LiberalPrep: I pair my Lilly with pearls and Birkinstocks.

Here I am, three years ago at the Wauwinet in Nantucket, in the same dress, longer hair and sandals, not Birks:

This past spring, my oldest son graduated from college. We had planned a garden party for 50 people, but cold, rainy weather forced us indoors. Our house is small and it was a bit crowded, but we had plenty of wine and food and no one seemed to mind.
Tomorrow I'm flying to Los Angeles with my husband and youngest son for my son's college freshman orientation. I used to live in Santa Monica, so am looking forward to getting back for a few days. I miss the sun, the palm trees, the beach and the shopping. (Last weekend I was in Portland, Oregon--GREAT city, BTW--and everybody was asking where I got my clothes. When I said, "LA," everyone nodded their head knowingly. Yeah, of course LA. Not Portland, not the Midwest Prairie.) I've already made my list of stores that I plan to hit on Montana Avenue.

Sweet Peas and a Bloody Mary

Wow, today the temperature moved above 60 deg. How fabulous to go outside and feel the breeze gently touch one's cheek--not impale it.

Here's what I did this morning:
Note the Bloody Mary in the background: I highly recommended poking about in peat pots with a nice tall vodka-n-tomato juice at hand.

It will be awhile before these wanna-be Sweet Peas and Delphiniums land in my garden. Here's what it looks like now:

I love sweet peas but haven't been terribly successful with them in the past. I was inspired by the beautiful gardens in the March/April issue of Cottage Living, and so I'm giving them another shot. I know that spring is still far away, but on a day like today I can't help but look forward! Other plans: My youngest son is keen to try tomatoes, too this year, and I am considered buying Himalayan poppies--so gorgeous but unlikely to survive in this gardening zone. Hmm.

The directions on the Seed Starter say to put the tray, for now, in a warm place away from direct sunlight. So for now my little Sweet Peas-to-be are living under my buffet.

Before I sign out, I wanted to share a great drink I discovered in the March 2006 issue of Domino, but just tried for the first time recently--My husband and I love it. Here' how: infuse a teabag of Jasmine Green tea in a bottle of vodka for 24-48 hours (I normally drink Ketel One but for this we used a cheaper vodka, and it turned out fine). Remove teabag and chill bottle in freezer. When chilled, serve straight up in a martini glass with honey and a lemon twist. My husband drizzles the honey in a swirly design on the sides of the glass before he pours in the infused vodka; otherwise it sinks to the bottom and doesn't add much to the drink.