Macadamia Nut Encrusted Mahi Mahi My Favorite Dish Right Now

Macadamia Nut Encrusted Mahi Mahi.

Take 2 TBLSP Butter and melt in microwavable dish.

Beat 1 egg into melted butter.

Add salt n pepper to taste.

Dip Fish in butter-egg mixture.

Then roll fish in Panko bread crumbs.

Sauté fish in light butter until lightly browned.

In a new pan add healthy amount of whole butter, unsalted, with handful of chopped macadamia nuts.

Sauté on low heat until nuts are browned.

Take a banana and slice in long sticks, add to butter and macadamia nuts.

Bring up heat and deglaze with Frangelico, amaretto or any hazel nut liquor.

Let sauce reduce, until thickened.

Parsley for color, then place bananas crossed over halibut.

Pour sauce over and enjoy!

I like to serve with mashed potatoes or jasmine rice.

Swiss Army Airstream

I was reading one of my trade email newsletters and came across this posting of this new Airstream that Victorinox teamed up with Airtstream to create. Victorinox, felt that the 19' airstream really embodied the Swiss Army brand and was a natural fit. The Airstream is traveling around North America for the 6-9 months.

I love how they retrofitted the Airstream with an in and out door, making for better people flow. I also love the red, dark gray and stainless color palette. However, I think they could of done a cooler job on the exterior of the Airstream. They could have converted into a giant Swiss Army knife with a little red paint or some large format vehicle graphics. How cool would that be to go inside a giant pocket knife? Well look for the airstream at a place near you soon.

Amy Butler's New Bedding

Amy Butler has some great new organic bedding out. I am a sucker for lime so I picked this set Modena & Ravenna to showcase. She has many new sets that have her wonderful fabric designs. I love the embroidered details too. Check out her site here to see all the new wonderful bedding lines. You can purchase the lines from her site or Bed Bath and Beyond. Oh, and I just love the mum prints on the wall behind the bed too...

Shameless Self Promotion | Hi Octane Design Does Blog Templates

I just finished this custom blog template for a friend up in Bainbridge Island, Washington. She is a creative soul, who has a wonderful studio and amazing gardens. She is a fellow crafter and treasure hunter who likes to collect like myself. She also has a son who is one of my favorite artists. Check out her blog when you get a chance.

Love this shot.

fashion - umbrella and swim cap
Originally uploaded by giac1061

My Grandma used to wear flower swim caps like this, I recall hers was blue and white. I love the umbrella and colors..

Tulips in the arch..

P5192225
Originally uploaded by iandjbannerman

Love this beautiful shot from one of my Flickr friends iandjbannerman.

Urban Barn - It's Shabby Chic meets Junk Gypsy

On Friday I discovered Urban Barn in Escondido. Have you been there?

I would describe it as Shabby Chic meets Junk Gypsy.
They have:
Home and garden decor,
Industrial and architectural finds
European furniture and linens
Vintage Chandeliers and handmade jewelry.

They are located 155 W. Crest Street, Escondido, CA 92025. Their hours are Wed - Sat 10am - 5pm. You can find them online at http://www.urbanbarn155.blogspot.com/ This weekend they had a flea market there and one of the vendors had these super cool antique bottles with metal flowers that are soldered in place. I just loved them. The gals at Urban Barn have a classroom space too. They have some great crafting supplies. Go check them out when you get a chance.

Hello Pip Studio

Saw this cool site called Pip Studio posted on the Papaya Blog. Love the web design and super great products. The designs have a modern kitsch collage feel, that I just can't get enough of these days. They are a Dutch company who have lots of wonderful orginal designs. Love the wallpaper, bedding, stationary, school supplies.. Ok all of it.

Summer Fun

A couple cool garden lanai items. I saw these fabulous cushions and futons at Leaping Lotus in Solana Beach. I just the love the fabrics, they look Indian to me. One of the futons fold out to a bed size the other is a large bench size.

I also saw this cool snap together decking from Ikea. I am intrigued with the concept of snap together decking. I love the instant satisifaction of it. Not sure how long it will last at Ikea. But what a cool space you could create with the decking some lanterns and the cushions....

Antler Table Discovery

The other day I was visiting a couple of my local weekly haunts for thrift treasures. And I came across this interesting table. I love the antlers that were attached to the sides and the twig drawer handle. I could really see this piece being a rustic touch in a modern space that works amazingly well. If you interested in the piece it is at Estate Sale Warehouse

Bee-autiful Birthday Theme

My crafty friend Leah created this great theme for her daughter's birthday. She created bee hive cupcakes using Trader Joe's vanilla cake mix and buttercream frosting. For the bees she used yellow and black M&M's and almond slivers for the winds. The cupcakes were very delicious.



Leah also created goody bags from yellow gingham printed vintage wallpaper that she upcycled. She created bags by sewing the bags on her sewing machine. She then folded over the bags and punched holes in the top. Finishing the bags with a cute ribbon bow. She also created matching pinwheels from scrapbook paper.

Leah has a great recycled card company called Peez and Ques. Where she makes greeting cards from recycled mail and paper. Leah is one of the founding members of the Oceanside Craft Mafia.

Murphy Beds

I want to build a murphy bed setup in my sons room. I love the idea of a murphy bed, that they can be put away for more space and that the mattress does not fold. I have been looking at different option of beds that are available. So far I have found a piston hinge system that is available from Rockler woodworking and hardware. I have also found a company called Murphy Bed Hardware. They offer bed packages and a DIY hinge system. Their hinge claims to be superior over the piston setup, which seems to make sense. They also offer install videos.

Murphy beds seems to come with a variety of options. Vertical mounting or horizontal mount. Basically which axis the bed pivots on. Vertically is what I would say is traditional. The bed pivots where you head board would b,e and long end of the bed comes down to make the bed.



For horizontal mounting the bed pivots off the wall from the side of the bed. This method seems to allow for a two bed configuration. So if you wanted to have a bunk bed configuration. This would work well.

Murphy Beds.com also has a nice site and good gallery images.

If you want to read about the history of the Murphy Bed and how William L Murphy invented it, read here.

I think I am going to come up with an Ikea Hack Murphy Bed system... I can't believe Ikea doesn't have a murphy bed system...
More later.