Sand Creations

Ok, so maybe I'm not these guys.  But I did use a lot of this:

and a homemade funnel to create some of these:

as part of my 4th of July Tablescape Extravaganza!

Now go back and watch the link at the beginning.  I know you skipped over it, but it's pretty unreal.  Promise.

The House These Days

I'm listening to the Rice/Texas Baseball game on the internet (don't get me started about it not being on TV), and figured since I'm sitting here anyway, I might as well update my loyal readers (all 2 of you) with what's going on in the house lately.
I've been trying to figure out what to do with "Ripken's Room."  It's not really that he has his own room, I swear.  But there is nothing in that room but his kennel, so it's his by default.  Well, the kennel and a bunch of dry cleaner wire hangers in boxes.  Believe it or not, Ripken's Room sounds slightly less crazy than "place where I store the wire hangers."  Anywhooooo.........
A while back I decided we should put a daybed in there.  Not really sure why I fixated on a daybed, but I did.  But then of course I couldn't find the EXACT one that I wanted.  Well, I actually found the exact one that I wanted, but the HSH didn't think the price was quite what he had pictured.  So the HSH said "we'll have it made...I gotta guy." For those of you who don't know; the HSH ALWAYS "has a guy."  Need a foundation guy?  A window tinter?  A carpenter?  A granite guy?  A yard guy?  The HSH's response is always "I gotta guy."  It's pretty damn handy, I'm not gonna lie.  So we visited the wrought iron guy, who in this case is actually a lady.  She listened to my idea, made some suggestions, agreed to a price that was more in line with the HSH's vision, and we ordered the bed.  Painless so far.  It turned out exactly how I had pictured it.  Only I pictured it in 3 pieces.  It didn't take a engineer to figure out that this:

Was not going to fit down this:

I mean really, people.  In our defense, we asked for three pieces specifically because we've tangoed with this hallway before.  And lost.  We always lose when we fight this hallway.  But here at the Halfstreet we like to think positive.  So we loaded that puppy into the truck, strapped it in, said a little prayer and headed back home.  It took all of 5 seconds and one fairly large mark on the wall to confirm our fears.  So for now, I have a lovely wrought iron daybed...in my living room.  The welders are coming out this week to figure out a solution.  Keep my poor bed in your prayers.  

In other news, I've been trying to make the other spare room a little cozier.  I found a canvas that I liked to hang over the bed.  

I also had in mind some cool branches in a big floor vase for that far side of the bed over there (right side of the picture).  Branches: check.

But the floor vase in my mind has yet to materialize in a store.  This is a frequent problem with me.  I know what I want in my mind, but the stores don't want to play along.  This is how I got into the "daybed in my living room" situation.  Let's hope this search doesn't somehow end with a floor vase in my bathroom, or some other detour.  Speaking of detours...looking at that picture I realize I need a bigger lamp for that bedside table.  Hmmmmmm, I have just the one in mind.

Snapshot of a Successful Marriage

Mom and Dad were in town this past weekend on the first leg of their “Anniversary World Tour.” This summer marks their 40th year of marriage and they have decided to celebrate all summer. First with a culinary trip through Houston (although, to be fair, every trip to Houston is a culinary extravaganza) and then later this summer with a trip to Hawaii. My little family has a whopping 53 years of marriage under its belt. Of course Mom and Dad have contributed the lion’s share of that work, with the HSB and SIL-E putting up a nothing-to-be-sneezed-at 11 years this summer. Pretty impressive. Anyway, one thing that is not lacking in any of our three marriages is a fair amount of goofiness. Mom spotted the Chick-fil-A cows from the other side of the stadium at an Astros game this weekend, and desperately wanted her picture with them, despite her daughter pointing out she was the only adult wanting to do so. Dad, always the good sport, jumped right in with her. Lesson learned: You’re never too old for a great photo opp.


Happy Anniversary guys! I never stop learning from you.

Mr. Bittman Is My Friend

So here's a small confession: I'm not really that good of a cook. I'm a good recipe follower, who benefits from knowing and being related to a lot of really talented cooks. Just because I can execute something that is written down, does not, in my mind, mean I'm a good cook. To me, a good cook is someone who can look at a recipe (maybe) and adapt it based on what's on hand, what's easier, or what will make it better. That is sooo not me. I like to be told when to add how much of what. And if do happen to stumble into a loosey goosey recipe that turns out well, not being able to recreate it drives me insane! But I do have a large, and ever growing, arsenal of cookbooks. Although, if forced to really think about it, I'm not even that good at looking at a recipe and knowing whether or not it will be good (but boy, can I spot the easy ones). My typical MO is to buy 2 copies of any cookbook that looks interesting to me, send one to the Hawaii Martinez clan, and sit back and wait to hear which recipes are good. They are the adventurous ones. I am the merely the beneficiary of their hard work.

Someone who I consider to be a very good cook (and artist for that matter. Why do those things always go hand in hand?) once told me that the best cookbook ever created was Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything." I quickly went out and bought it for the Hawaiians. They lived with the book for a couple years, confirmed the artists opinion, and then did the kind thing and bought it for me (no, I had not followed my typical MO in this instance). This book is pretty much a nightmare for "cooks" like me. Bittman typically starts with a general recipe, then follows it up with a lengthy list of variations that read more like a recipe from my Abuelita than what you would expect to see in a cookbook. "Try mixing this in" "Give this a whirl" Good lord Man!! Tell me what to do!? I think under different circumstances I wouldn't mind improvising, but let's be honest. I'm not working in some test kitchen where crappy things go straight to the trash. I'm cooking this dish to consume for dinner. If it sucks, there is no back up. And these dishes aren't doing themselves dude! There is nothing worse than facing a sink full of dirty dishes after a meal that didn't pan out. (ha! Pan.get it?) I mean, I don't do them per se. But man is the HSH going to be pissed, and you don't want to get on his bad side Mr. Bittman. But when I get something right from this book, man is it good. In recent history, I made a steak au poivre that belonged in the steak hall of fame (if such a thing does not exist, well damn it, it should), French Toast that descended from the heavens themselves, and my omelet technique has never been better. I know you're probably thinking: Halfstreet, you consulted a cookbook regarding omelets? To which I respond: please see paragraph one. Anyway, all of this is a long way of saying, I'm sticking with Bittman for now. It might be a torturous process for now, but I really do enjoy cooking. Quite a bit actually. I figure, we might have to suffer through some not so good meals, but in the long run it will make me a better cook. It would be nice to not feel like I have to put that word in quotes when referring to myself. Besides, as long as I'm not doing the dishes, to hell with it!

My willing, if not so discriminating, taste-tester

Making Up For Lost Time!

There were more than just centerpieces going on at Easter this year. There was tons of family gathering goodness. Everyone was so thrilled to be around each other, we burst into spontaneous confetti.

HAHAHA! LOLZ! Just kidding! That would be stupid! Nooooo, instead we took eggs that had been decorated and filled with confetti and threw them at each other....inside! Ah, yes. That makes much more sense. No worries. We found these little cleaning elves to help put Cousin A's house back together.

This actually all took place the night before Easter.  On the day of Easter, the Bunny came.  He looks suspiciously like my cousin Alex here:

More eggs were thrown.  Outside this time.  A good time was had by all.  

I know this post is long and pictures and short on wit, but I'm just trying to warm up to the idea of this blogging thing again.  In the mean time, I hope everyones Easter was as lovely as mine was.  Hats off to my cousin Amy and her family for a weekend filled with laughter, love and lots and lots of confetti.

Easter

It would be tacky to draw any comparison between the resurrection of the Halfstreet and Easter, so I won't. But the first post in...like...forever, does nicely coincide with that particular holiday. It is just a coincidence, rest assured.

Anyone who has been in earshot, or IM shot, of me for the past month knows that I've been obsessing over my assignment for the big family Easter gathering: the centerpiece. It seems like a small task, but my cousin commented that "I know you'll come up with something creative"and anything short of that would have felt like I sucked at life. I've been trolling craft stores, home stores, and various websites for inspiration and ideas and really had nothing until it was almost too late. Lots of ideas came and went but here are some photos of the ones that stuck around. Its hard to tell from the pictures, but I promise there was room for 15 of us to eat at the table.

Since I Last Blogged

The following things have happened (in no particular order):

1. HSH completed a half marathon
2. Total upheaval at my office, which resulted in me getting a new job/promotion
3. KK blogged 12 times (who can live up to that?!)
4. The halfstreet bid on, and won, the chance to feed a giraffe
5. BIL moved to Australia, SIL-B and nieces 1&3 soon to follow
6. Cafferty blogged zero times (my partner in slackerness)
7. I finished a blanket I had been sewing. Total time from purchase of fabric to completion: 1 ½ years. Total time working on it: about 1 weekend.

8. I started and finished a no sew tutu. Total time to completion: 2 weeks. Modeled here by its new owner: The precious Luci.

9. A sports franchise that had never won the biggest game in that respective sport, won. This franchise was not in Houston, but you would have thought it was from the reaction in the city.