Bouillabaise at Magnolia's--amazing!

I have declared a new 2nd favorite meal ever--Bouillabaise "BooYaBase" at Magnolia's in Charleston, SC.  My very wonderful and kind parents let us come stay with them in Charleston for a long Memorial Day weekend and took us to one of my fav restaurants- Magnolia's.  I decided to try something new and ordered the bouillabaise.  I am so glad that I did- it was absolutely delicious and now I have to cook it at least once.  It's a delicious fish stew with mussels, shrimp, fish, corn, okra and pot liquor aka the most delicious broth. 

btw- got this pic on the net- none of us has a forearm tattoo :)

I found the recipe in the Magnolia's cookbook for this delicious stew, but there are lots of variations to be found on the interent.  here's one I found on allrecipes.com that serves 12:

Ingredients

3/4 cup olive oil

2 onions, thinly sliced

2 leeks, sliced

3 tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 sprig fennel leaf

1 sprig fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon orange zest

3/4 pound mussels, cleaned and debearded

9 cups boiling water

salt and pepper to taste

5 pounds sea bass

1 pinch saffron threads

3/4 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions

1.Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and add the onions, leeks, chopped tomatoes, and garlic. Cook and stir over a low heat for a few minutes until all vegetables are soft.

2.Stir in the fennel, thyme, bay leaf, and orange zest. Add shellfish and boiling water; stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Turn up the heat to high, and boil for about 3 minutes to allow the oil and water to combine.

3.Add fish, and reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking for 12 to 15 minutes, or until fish is cooked. The fish should be opaque and tender, but still firm. Fish should not be falling apart.

4.Taste the bouillabaisse and adjust the seasoning. Stir in saffron, and then pour soup into a warmed tureen or soup dishes. Serve immediately

Elegant Grey Bedroom Inspiration

I love this Thom Filicia designed elegant grey bedroom.  Love it, love it!

I am using this as the inspiration room for Steve's bedroom at his new house.  If you know me, you know how I love a new project and this one has me excited. It will go slowly starting with this paint color.  The paint color is Ralph Lauren Palais Royale, which unfortunately they don't exactly carry at Home Depot anymore.  However, when I went to my local HD they were able to pull up the old info on it and I got a gallon of pseudo-Palais Royale. Happiness.  Paint makes such a big difference so I can't wait for Steve to get this paint on the wall so that we can see how it looks.  I found a great white four poster bed at Ikea, but who knows if Steve will go for it. 

Next Book Club Choice- The Help

The Help is the next book for our book club.  I devoured 400+ page book in two days.  I lost track of all time reading this book.  So, you could say I would recommend it.  It's the story of three women in Mississippi in 1962.  One of these women is the newly graduated privileged daughter of cotton plantation owners and the other two women are "the help".  These women work for the friends of the privileged young woman.  The women's lives intertwine while the civil rights movement is slowly making inroads in Mississippi.  Two black women and one young white girl bucking the system as it is and coming into their own as freer women.  Compelling stuff.  I found myself at times really angry at what was going on during this time period in the South and also, it left me with the question, "What would I have done had I been alive in the South in the 60s?" 

My brother is married...and I'm an old maid ;)

My brother finally tied the knot a few weeks ago and is now settled into marital bliss.  I am seriously happy for him and had a wonderful time at the wedding festivities.  The wedding weekend began with the rehearsal dinner at Public House.  The room was lovely, the couple was happy and the food was delish!

For the rehearsal dinner my mother, father and I stayed up late making chocolate truffles to use as placecards.  I think it turned out beautifully.

The wedding itself was beautiful and the party afterwards was the most fun.

Bathroom Project

I've started a new project. I am all finished with testing for the moment- all my required licenses are now done so I can have some fun again. My new project is in the main bathroom. I have taken the dooes off of the closet, removed the shelves and I am working on making this a usable and attractive space. I have been thinking about this for awhile and now that I have the time, why not go for it?
I will add some pics soon of my progress soon. I can't wait to see how this looks when it is done!

Which Designer are you most like?

I found this great little spot on House Beautiful's site...14 Designers Share Their Favorite Things for the Home. You have to go check it out and see which designer you are most like. For me it was Celerie Kemble. Although, many other designers had peonies as their favorite flower, which is my absolute most favorite too!

Celerie KembleNew York, NY; Palm Beach, FL
FLOWER: Poppy
SOFA SHAPE: Tuxedo
COMFORT FOOD: Spaghetti with butter and Parmesan
LAMP: Vintage oddballs
ALARM CLOCK: Bose — black, with CD player and remote
CAR COLOR (EXTERIOR/INTERIOR): Dark green/tan
EVERYDAY DISHES: Same as my fancy — vintage china from Maddock and Sons
COFFEE TABLE BOOK: Tony Duquette
COLOR: Where green meets blue
ALL-PURPOSE GLASS: CB2 stacking tumblers — flat bottoms and taper
SOAP: Jo Malone Orange Blossom
ICE CREAM: Mint chip, if the ice cream is white
TOWEL: Restoration Hardware bath sheets. White with colored piping
CHAIR: A small Napoleon III-style slipper chair from 145 Antiques, NYC
WALLPAPER: Grass cloth in deep blue or green from Schumacher
SHEETS: Léron hand-stitched bamboo pattern
CLEANING SUPPLY: Mustela baby wipes in my purse
TOOTHPASTE: Marvis Jasmin Mint
VACUUM: Dyson
LIGHTBULB/WATTAGE: 3-way
KITCHEN GADGET: Williams-Sonoma baby food steamer and chopper
WORKHORSE FABRIC: Valtekz Torello faux-leather in dark teal, carried through Zoffany in New York
PEN: I like push-point pencils
ARTIST: Matisse

Laura's wedding

We went to a beautiful wedding last weekend. Laura from my office finally got to enjoy the wedding that she has been planning for the past year-and-a-half. The ceremony was at Patten Chapel on the UTC campus and the reception was at The Mill. Now, the ceremony was on the short side, as in if you were fifteen minutes late you would have missed it. This of course was a great delight to Steve who jokingly refers to weddings as funerals. So, quick ceremony then off for the fun at The Mill. I had recently been to a Greendrinks event at The Mill and was equally impressed with the locale this time around as a reception site. Leathher couches in the corner, band on the stage, lovely tables throughout...made a great reception spot. We had to leave early so we didn't get to enjoy much dancing, but I am sure it was a great dance spot.