Goodnight Moon

Gorgeous moon tonight over O-hi-yo. Greg set off tonight on a business trip, and I feel like this an appropriate sort of sky to feel a bit lonely under. And then "Somewhere Out There" popped into my head and I flashed back to first grade music class.

In other randomness, perhaps this is the post where it comes out that I do my picture taking with a 5+ year old Canon point-'n-shoot that doesn't do so well in low light. But let's pretend that that doesn't have anything to do with the above pic, and that it's actually the product of a neat-o vintage analog. But I do have a birthday coming up, a big one actually, and a new camera of the fancy variety is top of my wish list.

Ok then. Night, night.

♡,

Erin

Before and After (a looooong time in the making): Bar Cabinet

Way, way back in the summer of 2008, I purchased this lovely at The Heritage Co. in Kalamazoo. At that point I had already been dreaming for quite some time of finding a glass-front cabinet to hang over the old dry sink that we use for our bar.

I loved the color too. I thought it had a great patina, just needed a little scrubbing up. Then I started scrubbing, and realized that the patina was actually likely layers and layers of nicotine mixed with other assorted filth. (I surmised that it had last lived in the garage of a smoker. Originally I think it was the top of a hutch.) And it wasn't coming off without a fight. 

So knowing that getting it cleaned up was going to take quite a bit more time and effort than anticipated made me put off tackling the chore. That and trying to do a master's thesis. So there it sat on the living room floor next to the bar, and sat, and sat, and sat until it got packed up and moved to Columbus with all of our other worldly possessions last summer. And then it did some more sitting, again on the living room floor near the bar because I had every intention of getting to it next thing. Then finally in early April my dad came to visit and a small miracle happened. We did get to it! (This was the project I mentioned toiling away on here.)

     

And after the two of us applied much elbow grease, it finally became apparent that my beloved cabinet was never going to come clean enough to place barware in without the application of sand paper and paint.

So plan b was put into action. Off to the Benjamin Moore Store where I picked out St. John's Bay (not too far from what the original color was, me thinks) in their High Gloss Metal and Wood Enamel. Great stuff for painting furniture, you can get away with minimal to no sanding depending on the surface, self-priming, available in every color of their rainbow, and soap and water clean-up. 

Unfortunately, hanging it was to be a three person job and it wasn't all painted and ready to go up on the wall before my dad had to head home. So it sat a little longer till Greg's parents came to visit.

Where upon we learned that the studs in our wall oddly enough don't follow straight lines floor to ceiling.

But finally, success! Three years in the making!

Cheers to another weekend!

♡,

Erin

Market Spoils and Riches

I got a bea-utiful bouquet of garden flowers at the Worthington Farmer's Market Saturday. Peonies, sweet william, nigella, delphiniums, etc. ♥ Unfortunately I'm not sure of the vendor's name. Get back to you on that one.

And we picked up our first csa share from HW Organic Farms. A lot of what you see here is going to be going into this not-just-potatoes potato salad I came across over at Smitten Kitchen. And speaking of farmer's markets and Smitten Kitchen. I made this strawberry rhubarb crumble last night with rhubarb from HW, but unfortunately not Ohio strawberries. I already had some in the fridge from the grocery, but as it turned not enough to make this, and silly me passed up the gorgeous pints for sale by another vendor on Saturday, thus necessitating more grocery strawberries from afar. I won't be making that mistake again! But in the end it was still absolutely delicious. So go to the market on Saturday (or whatever day of the week yours happens to be) with this in mind, then come home and make it. Do it!

Before baking.

After baking and eating glutinous portions complete with Graeter's vanilla on top. Go ahead, say it. "Oink, oink!"

Summer ♥!

♡,

Erin

Vintage Cocktails @ Mouton

Last Friday night Greg and I set out as we usually do in search of some libations, especially keen to celebrate the kick off of the three-day weekend. I've been wanting to visit Mouton in the Short North for a loooong time now, ever since I read about it here on Columbus à la Mode and then just recently in the first edition of Columbus Crave. So we stopped in for some fresh, fresh cocktails with one foot in the past (traditional recipes), but definitely one in the present too (micro-distilled spirits). Greg had the Old Fashioned, which packed a delicious punch, and I had the Whiskey Smash, which was totally refreshing (like on a hot day, these would go down waaaaay too easy!).

I really liked the interior, a nice mix of clean minimalism and sturdy statement pieces from days of yore. Cocktail menu is posted on the wall above the bar, the recipe for each drink handwritten on individual sheets of paper (above, and look at those giant bottles of fresh squeezed juices in the fridge ♥), and the wine list is written on a large chalkboard on the adjacent wall (below). Craft beers are available by the bottle too. We didn't try anything off their food menu (mostly cheeses and meats and such), perhaps next time.

Mouton has a Facebook page as well with all the latest and it appears they are having an extended happy hour this very evening to celebrate their one year anniversary. Hmmmmm... maybe next time is only a few hours away!

Happy weekend!

♡,

Erin

What Was For Dinner - Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

I hope everyone had a lovely Memorial Day weekend. (Or a lovely regular weekend for those outside the US.) Mine was absolutely perfect. Cocktails, local dining, farmers market, grilling out, relaxing on the screened-in porch, watching movies, and even a parade. And it was hot! 90 degrees and then some. 

Anywho, I've been wanting to share this recipe for awhile now. Truth be told I made it nearly a month ago when neither tomatoes nor basil were really in season. But basil has arrived on the scene, and well, tomatoes are a ways off, but not too far really.

They're so pretty, they'd make for a lovely special-occasion lunch main. But they were fab for dinner too and they actually reheated really well in the oven. 

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts

from Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics

1 package (2 sheets) puff pastry (I used Trader Joe's)

Olive oil

4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions (2 large onions)

2 large cloves garlic, slivered

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

3 tablespoons dry white wine

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

4 ounces garlic and herb goat cheese (I used Chavrie)

1 large tomato cut into 4 1/4" thick slices (or I used two Campari tomatoes, slightly larger than cherry tomatoes, for 8 slices)

3 tablespoons julienned basil leaves

2 ounces Parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler

Unfold a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it lightly to an 11 by 11-inch square. (I couldn't get mine quite this big, so if you can't either, don't sweat it.) Using a 6-inch wide saucer or other round object as a guide, cut 2 circles from the sheet of puff pastry, discarding the scraps (or bake them and eat them smothered with preserves later). Repeat with the second pastry sheet to make 4 circles in all. Place the pastry circles on 2 sheet pans lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to use.                                          

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium to low heat and add the onions and garlic. Saute for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are limp and there is almost no moisture remaining in the skillet. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the wine, and thyme and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Remove from the heat.

Using a sharp paring knife, score a 1/4-inch-wide border around each pastry circle. Prick the pastry inside the score lines with the tines of a fork and sprinkle a tablespoon of grated Parmesan on each round, staying inside the scored border.

Place 1/4 of the onion mixture on each circle, again staying within the scored edge. Crumble 1 ounce of goat cheese on top of the onions. Place a slice of tomato in the center of each tart. Brush the tomato lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with basil, salt, and pepper. Finally, scatter 4 or 5 shards of Parmesan on each tart.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Serve hot or warm with some mixed greens and white wine. And be proud you made something so gorgeous and delicious!


♡,


Erin

Poms and Peonies

Last fall I ordered a small bunch of tissue paper pom kits from Etsy shop PomLove. Well as it turns out, I just got around to opening the box they came in, fluffing up three of the summerier colors I chose, then hanging them up in the front window about a month ago.

I am really in love with the current trend of incorporating celebratory decor into everyday decor. Buntings, garlands, pompoms, fairy lights, bring them on! In a world that seems to be full of bad news, I think the continuous sense of cheer they bring is much needed.

And the same could be said for flowers, whether growing outdoors or cut and brought inside. I am sooooo excited for the first time in years to have peony bushes in the yard. I always meant to plant a couple at our last house, but never got around to it. These beauties burst into bloom yesterday, and I immediately snipped a few. I took the pic on the left above this morning, and when I came back around a couple of hours later the subject had completely popped open (right). A natural pompom!

Sitting here at the table I keep getting whiffs of them blown on the breeze. ♥

And a couple shots of those left out in the yard (for now!).

♡,

Erin

Pupcake

I was planning to do a completely different post, but upon downloading the last couple weeks worth of pics off my camera, I came across these absolute gems and I couldn't resist giving Piper the floor. 

Saturday before last during the Worthington Farmer's Market, Blue Frost Cupcake, had a table set up outside their shop on High St. selling a breakfast-y people cupcake (cinnamon and sugar I believe it was) and also these sweet little noms for the four-legged market patrons (for only $1!). We managed to resist the people treat (even though we've sampled some of their other offerings before and they are quite yummy), but couldn't resist taking a little pupcake home to Piper.

And... gone. Not my fingers, even though it looks like it. She's generally good about only just nibbling the hand that feeds her.

Back tomorrow with what I had planned for today!

♡,

Erin