Wednesday Nuggets: Inspiring Bookshelves

I'm totally lusting over these beautiful bookshelves...

 Now you can read your bookshelf too!

 Loveleeeeee....

 Literally a "reading rainbow!"

 To be surrounded by books is pure love.

 A closet turned into a cozy reading nook

Perfect for a child's room

Oprah's library... *sigh*  Take a tour here.

While I cannot satisfy my bookshelf-lust just yet, I will give in to my book cravings. The Manila International Book Fair is just around the corner and I can't wait to go bonkers over the books! :)

10-Day Weekend Tidbits

Yup!  Mother Nature did not only bring forth heavy rains but also a 10-day long weekend for teachers like me (including the holidays).  I have to admit the rains did stress me out a bit - because I hate the rain to begin with - and also because of the perennial construction problem that our half-baked-made house succumbs to, resulting to "indoor flooding."

Anyway, I don't want to go through that because I have been going through that for two years now.  So!!!  Let me just show you a visual lowdown of how I spent my looooong weekend (apart from mopping floors).

Tidbit 1:  Went to Cool Beans Cafe (again!).  Their Kalinga roast coffee is perfect on a rainy day.  It was so strong, though, that I was up until 2 am the following morning!  I also devoured (half) a plate of their Creamy Bacon Mushroom Pasta while burying my nose in one of their library selections.

Tidbit 2:  I was able to practice my calligraphy.  I realize I have not blogged about me learning calligraphy.  It's a difficult endeavor to post as you will soon learn.  They say my left-handedness is an advantage but I'm still struggling with my strokes.

Tidbit 3:  Finished sewing a set of prototypes for Wicked Crafts's next offering.

Tidbit 4:  Had lunch with my family at Romulo Cafe.  Hon-some and I missed eating here and we were happy the food was still just as good as when we last dined here.

 Pinoy Nachos:  Kamote and taro chips topped with tomatoes and kesong puti and drizzled with cheese sauce

 Boneless Crispy Pata Binagoongan (we went easy on this one)

 Seafood Kare-Kare

 Escabecheng Lapu-lapu

Tidbit 5:  For the past two weeks, I have been juicing vegetables and fruits for Hon-some.  This week, I made a big batch of juice using celery, cucumber, and apples!

Was also able to catch up on my reading, do advanced stuff for work, personal projects, and more household chores. :)

The weekend that was.  :)

The One That's Coming Soon

 

Soon... :)

The One About the Parmesan Salmon Bake

Hon-some and I love the Parmesan-crusted Cream Dory at Cookbook Kitchen and he has been telling me to recreate it at home.  Well, now that we're on a health freak mode, fish has become a much-needed fare on our dinner table.  Hence, I was only too happy to oblige.

I did some tweaking on the recipe (because I don't know the recipe to begin with) so this is pretty much all my own.

First, I used salmon (instead of cream dory) and steamed it.  Since this dish will be baked, you can skip the steaming.  But I love the taste of steamed fish (it tastes fresher); plus, it doesn't take long to steam fish.

While the salmon is steaming, I sauteed garlic in butter - again, I eyeball my ingredients; I never measure - and added flour to make a roux.  Then I added chicken stock and half-and-half.  Add some freshly grated nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.  I added a handful of grated cheddar cheese to make it tasty.

After the salmon has been steamed, I flaked it and spread it onto a baking dish.  I covered the fish with the creamy sauce.  Then I topped the whole thing off with breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and cubes of butter.  I baked it in the over just until the topping formed a lovely crust.

I served it with buttered French beans. :)

Yummy!  Try it; you'll love it. :)

Weekend Tidbits

What a restful and yet very productive weekend!

Tidbit 1:  I made Parmesan Salmon Bake upon Hon-some's request.  We can never forget how good the Parmesan Fish is at Cookbook Kitchen so I made my own version.  Will share the recipe soon. :)

Tidbit 2:  Miss Gertie and I are getting along really well.  Shown is my first project we did together.  A simple project, really.  Just altered a skirt I bought a year ago.  Today, we will be working on a new project that will take Wicked Crafts to a somewhat new direction.  Can't wait to show you all what that is when all the kinks have been ironed out.

Tidbit 3:  The past two weeks have been challenging for Hon-some and me.  We value our health more than ever now.  So thankfully, my mom lent me her juicer and I discovered the joy of juicing!!!  Here's our power drink this week:  carrot, cucumber, and apples!

I don't normally enjoy the rain but my productivity level last weekend was at an all-time high, with all the tasks I have accomplished (including household chores).  So I have to thank the rain for that.  And with an extended weekend today, who knows how much more I can accomplish? :)

Staying in really is the new going out. :)

Have a great week ahead, lovelies!  Don't forget to read a good book, drink a cup of tea, and make something beautiful. :)

The One About Paper Pom Flowers

Paper pompom flowers are super easy to make that I don't understand why some crafters ask people to fork out at least a thousand pesos to teach them how to do it in workshops.  Sheeessshhh!

Anyway, I made a couple of these flowers as decorations for Mom Pop Up.  Want to learn how to make them (without spending, of course)?

 Start with a pile of 10-12 sheets of tissue paper.

 Then start folding from the bottom of the sheets.  I did about an inch to an inch and a half fold.

 It should come up to this.

Find the middle of the strip and tie a thin wire around the middle.  The ends of the wire, you twist it and form into a hole.  This is what you'll use to hang the pom flower.

Cut the top into a curve.

 Then start fanning it out.

 Begin to delicately - DELICATELY! - pull out each sheet of tissue paper to the middle of the strip...  

 Until the flower begins to poof up.

See?  Easy peasy!!!

Happy crafting! :)

Wednesday Nugget

It's good to remind myself of this every single day. :)

Happy midweek. :)