Happy Valentines Day friends!

I finished this painting actually last week. My friend Jeff had me do it for his girlfriend for Valentines Day. Isn’t that cute? What a good boyfriend!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked rice
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup frozen peas (or your veggies of choice)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• 2 eggs, scrambled
• 1 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes

Directions

1. In a large saute pan add onions, bell pepper, and cooking oil.  Cook until soft over medium heat.
2. Add soy sauce, rice, chicken,  eggs, peas, and sesame oil.  Stir frequently until rice is heated through.

Well what do you know!  I got off my lazy bum and cooked up some dinner.  Russ and I had been living off take out food for the past few weeks.  It feels so good to make a decent meal again!  I can’t wait for dinner tomorrow!

Ingredients:

• 1 can coconut milk
• 2-3 Thai chillies, minced
• Boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces
• teaspoons red curry paste
• 3 carrot, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 cup snap peas
• 1 cup bamboo shoots
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• Juice of a lime
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

Directions

1. In a large saucepan saute onions and bell pepper in oil.  Cook for about five minutes over medium-high heat, stirring.
2. Add garlic, chillies, and chicken broth.  Cook for about three minutes.  Add coconut milk, curry paste, carrots and chicken.  Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.
3. Uncover and add peas and bamboo shoots.  Cook for another five minutes.  Add fish sauce and lime juice.  Serve over rice.

 Natural Red Hair

Unnatural Red Hair

Hello lovelies!

I do apologize for my absence from this blog.  I have been sick going on three weeks now, and have felt totally uninspired to do any sort of creative venture (unless you count the TV and internet)!  My body is starting to feel better now though, so I have planned a paint date with myself for tomorrow!  I can’t wait, it has been forever, and I have lots of ideas!

Hope all is well for everyone….stay warm!

Hello friends!  No, I have forgotten my blog here, I have just started another!  Don’t worry, this blog is not coming to an end, as the other blog is quite different.

The name of my new blog is Indulgences and you can find it at http://www.misscedar.com.   It is a little less personal, and a little more advice/how to type blog.

I hope everyone has a wonderful, and very safe New Years celebration.

xoxo,
Cedar

Hope everyone has a wonderful day full of lots of delicious foods, and great company!

I made this peanut butter and chocolate fudge over the weekend.  It is simply to die for too.  I am not a huge chocolate person, so adding the peanut butter gave it a nice twist.  The sweetened condensed milk helps to give fudge the most perfect texture.

Of course I had to add sprinkles on top….but really I think you ought to try this recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup chunky peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Line a square baking dish with waxed paper.
2. In a medium pot melt butter over medium heat.  Once melted add sweetened condensed milk, chocolate, and peanut butter.
3. Stir until all is melted, and combined.  Pour into dish with wax paper.
4. Place in fridge for at least three hours, then cut into small squares.

My days keep getting more and more hectic, as I am sure everyone’s are. I keep thinking I have finished my shopping, and I remember something else I need to run out and get.

Yesterday I had a lovely little daytime party, with cookie decorating, and mimosas. Unfortunately most of the (gingerbread shaped) sugar cookies I made are too inappropriate to post pictures of. However, I can post a picture of my “Christmas” tree, that my friend Lori and I decorated after the other guests left. As you can see, I managed to keep my banana tree alive this long. She is really helping my house feel a bit more festive, since we don’t have the space for an actual Christmas tree. Getting lights to stay on a banana tree is much more difficult than keeping them on a real Christmas tree!!

Lori and I also made some really incredible peanut butter fudge, that she didn’t even get a chance to try. It was so incredibly easy, and if there is any left over tomorrow I will take a picture, and share the recipe.

Today I finally finished a painting that I can post (meaning, it isn’t a Christmas gift!). Her name is Lucille, and she is a cigarette girl. I just love her fingerwaves, and am sort of jealous of her style!

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend, and enjoying the Christmas spirit.

What a great mail receiving day I had!

First I got this beautifully illustrated Christmas card from my friend Blaze. If you get the chance definitely go check out her blog, and look at her artwork. I just love her stuff, and it was so nice to get these darling woodland creatures dressed in their winter attire!

The second bit of excitement that I received in the mail were some prints I ordered of this painting. I would have ordered more, but this was my first time ordering from this company. The quality is fantastic, and I am very happy with the results. I even added her to my etsy shop. I really hope to get some different things printed up and listed in the shop over the next couple of weeks. The poor girl looks lonely as the only item in my shop!

It is hard to believe that there are only five days left until Christmas, I hope everyone is keeping warm, and finishing up their shopping and projects!

Today was one of those days that I had planned on doing a lot of stuff, cleaning, painting, a trip to the museums in Balboa Park….However, I was bitten by the lazy bug, and somehow spent the entire day on the sofa with my dear friend Ashlee, talking and watching terrible programs on E! After hours being indoors, we decided to walk to the thrift store, before going completely stir crazy.

Definitely a good move on our part. I scored five amazing vintage Family Circle cookbooks.

Who doesn’t love cookbooks? I could, and have spent hour upon hour browsing the recipes, and salivating over the photos.

Retro cookbooks though, provide a whole different kind of joy. Rather than a feeling of, “I wish that dish were in front of me right now, so I could completely pig out” that newer cookbooks provide, vintage cookbooks provide more of a feeling of “how did they get that to stick there?” or “how many different fruits are in that Jell-O?” or “what in the world is that??!” I guess what I am trying to say is that while I love looking at all cookbooks, something about the imagery in vintage cookbooks just tickles my fancy.

Here is one of the really great looking recipes in the dessert book. Aren’t these cream puff swans just divine. I would love to have a platter full of these guys staring up at people during a cocktail party!

Click thumbnail to view recipe

My I Love New York Party was a huge success. Unfortunately other than myself, only one dressed in the appropriate attire.

I felt like a drag queen getting dressed for this party! I decided that rather than try to replicate New York’s image, I would go for a blond New York. My costume was complete with a camouflage mini skirt, about six pairs of socks in my top, two inch eye lashes, and my handmade chain, which I never got a chance to coat with glitter, like I had originally planned.

I also switched the menu around quite a bit.  I ended up having to work yesterday, so my time to prepare the appropriate menu was a bit limited.  We never did make that vegan ranch!  Instead I made up some vegan pesto on fettucini (I left the parmesan on the side, for those not vegan), yams, and this delicious salad, which in my opinion was the scene stealer of the menu.  I threw together some spinach, strawberries, slivered almonds, and made a dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and red onions.  My friend L also brought over her incredibly delicious, vegan, “I Love New York Cheesecake”.  I’ll have to get the recipe from her, even Russ, who is terrified of vegan cheese products, loved this!

As soon as the show was over, I switched into some more normal clothing.  I did however keep the wig and eyelashes on.  It was fun to be blond for a night!

I watch television for one reason, and one reason alone….the entertainment value.  In my opinion if I feel the need to be intellectual (which surprisingly happens more often than you might guess!), I will read a book.  A lot of the time I will leave the television on for the noise, and then work on other things.  It is very seldom that a show comes along that I find the need to arrange my evening schedule around.  The Office has been at the top of my TV list for quite a while, but the show that really takes the cake for the most entertaining show on TV has got to be I Love New York.

Now it isn’t just because New York reminds me of Janice from The Electric Mayhem that I have love for New York.  The girl clearly is in need of some lovin, and really brings an hour of laughter into my living room every Monday night.  Between her psychopath mother, Sister Paterson, and her increasingly tiny tops, what is not to love?

For the past few months, my friend “L” and I had been getting together every Monday night on and off to paint, drink wine, and watch our favorite television show, I Love New York 2.  As the series started drawing closer and closer to the finale, we started dropping the painting, and just spent the time sipping our wine, and talking about how much her breasts had grown since the last episode.

Well, since this upcoming Monday is the season finale, we knew we had to do something special.  Why not throw and I Love New York party?  All our food will be inspired by New York, you know, lots of ranch dressing and fried chicken (though they are vegan, so this should be interesting!).  L thought up the idea to bring along an “I Love New York Cheesecake” for dessert.  Along with New York inspired food, we decided to really get in the spirit of our favorite show, we really needed costumes to match.  So there is a mandatory “New York” dress code.

If you have yet to see I Love New York 2, I highly recommend it.  If you have watched it, and don’t like it, I’m sorry, you are clearly not watching television for the same reason I am!

I have had the best luck thrifting lately!  In the past week I have gotten countless incredible vintage dresses, coats, and sweaters.  I will post them as I wear them.  I bought this lovely red coat a few days ago at the Salvation Army for six dollars, and am absolutely in love with it.  It is so well tailored, and I love how it flares out at the bottom of the jacket.  Being 5′9” I have the hardest time finding coats that actually fit in the sleeve area, but this one actually keeps my wrists covered!

This picture made me laugh when I saw it.  It looks like I have a peg leg!

I found this vintage little black dress for five dollars.  I just love the cut of the neck, it is so unique.  It is hard to see in the image, but there is a little black bow over the bust area.

Now that I have had some time to recuperate from my cocktail party, I need to get back into my paintings.  I have a really special one that I am almost finished with, and I can’t wait to show her off.  Hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday I will get her picture up on here!

Here is the much promised photo of my beautiful vintage cocktail dress.  Isn’t it divine?  Absolutely perfect for the holidays.  I wore some smashing gold heels with it, which unintentionally matched the plates, napkins, and silverware I bought!  You can see Rosalinda in the background, peeking over Russ’ shoulder.  I dressed her up in a lovely vintage turquoise wiggle dress.  On the TV you can see I had my Hollywood Burlesque video playing, on silent of course, because my music was playing.

I was going to make this the entire post, but when I looked over on the couch and saw this, I absolutely had to share!