Me and my hooligans – Mother’s Day 2012

So how was everyone’s Mother’s Day? Mine was lovely…gifts, brunch, a long bike ride, Ava getting a flat tire 1/2 way around Presque Isle so she and I sat on the beach to watch kites while the guys rode back to the truck…you know, the usual.

Did I mention that Ava decided a couple of weeks ago she didn’t need training wheels? Off they came, and off she went.

So in the morning, Vic presented me with the gift that Ava chose: a Sodastream.

It’s pretty cool, actually. Vic likes soda water and said he thought I might like to carbonate my beloved Sobe Lifewaters (it works GREAT for that!).

Then he told me it was between this and a new cordless floor vacuum for the kitchen (don’t laugh – he knows me well and he’s even more anal than I am, if that’s possible).

At the mention of the cordless vacuum, I think I might have drooled. With all the kids here, plus the dog…I have to pull the vacuum out daily. The Swiffer sweep n’ vac was great for awhile, but I find myself grabbing the big Dyson most days.

So after brunch, he drove to the store and walked out with this beauty: the Dyson Digital Slim.

OH MY. This vacuum. Ahhh….You pull a trigger to make it work, no cords, brush head…does the floors & the carpets. It’s pricey, but SOOOO worth it. Snaps onto the wall, pops right off, has great attachments. I’ve never had a cordless vacuum work as well as this one. Hurray for clean floors!

Yes, I’m a nerd.

fine art photography | shabby chic decor | fine art photographs | nature art | rustic photographs | rustic pictures | food photography | lisa russo

Just last weekend, a friend asked about the nest photograph I had in my shop. I was never 100% happy with it, as I’d shot it from the side, in-place – it was filled with wee eggs, you see!

Imagine my surprise two days later when Vic presented me with said nest, which had fallen out during a wind storm. I felt badly until he reminded me that birds don’t nest in the same place twice. This nest is *so* heavy, so perfect, so symmetrical (they built it in the right guy’s yard, eh?). It even survived a fall from our deck with nary a dent.

fine art photography | shabby chic decor | fine art photographs | nature art | rustic photographs | rustic pictures | food photography | lisa russo

2. Lulu woke up with hives this morning. Maybe I jinxed the poor thing with my recent post on bulldogs. She’s on her 2nd dose of Benadryl and things *seem* to be getting better. Maybe. I hope. If not, it’s off to the vet tomorrow for a shot.

3. Is it wrong that I love when Vic goes out of town (for short trips, of course). It means I skip cooking & take the kids out to dinner and just enjoy talking to them.

4. This crockpot pulled pork is really so divine. Very simple and absolutely delicious. I made it on Tuesday and the kids have requested BBQ sandwiches for lunch 2 days in a row. And – truly – is there anything better than having a busy, stressful day and coming home to the smell of yummy dinner already underway? No.

5. I’ve become addicted to Stumbleupon, Pocket (formerly read-it-later), and Zine. They require their own post, so just know IT’S COMING.

6. We recently added an Apple TV, Roku & new receiver (as our old one was just…old) to our television viewing environment. Again, they need their own post. But the Roku? LOVE.

7. Instead of eating out tonight, I’m kinda wishing I’d picked up the fixins’ for this instead.

8. I was going to write something about Aidan’s school here, but decided no good would come of it so I decided not to afterall.

9. One month left until Summer and my biggest concern is how to have Ava at swimteam daily at 10:30, Aidan at football camp & basketball camp & the local amusement park…and still fit in my daily workouts. EEK. And don’t suggest working out at night – when the clock strikes 4, it’s all downhill until bedtime for me.

10. At Aidan’s dentist appt today they were playing a radio station advertising itself as ‘mellow grooves.’ I survived. Barely.

12. If you don’t follow Animals Talking in All Caps, you’re missing out on a daily dose of the funniest stuff on the interwebs.

13. It was short-lived, but the same goes for Texts from Hillary. If you have 20 minutes to spare, do start from the beginning. It’ll brighten your day, I promise.

14. I threw out my hip in BodyPump last week, which of course set me on a course of lower back pain. Found a good chiropractor here in Erie (recommended by my instructor). 2 adjustments later and I’m pain-free and all in alignment. Say what you will – nothing will get you fixed up faster than a good adjustment.

15. I started reading the damned 50 Shades book on vacation. As my brain cells ran screaming from my head one-by-one, I swore not to continue. Yet I did. It HAD to get better, right?!?!? All three books couldn’t possibly be this terrible, right??

16. Yes, they could. And I am now short approximately 1,293 brain cells. I need to read something smart to put them back.

17. Eyes do not darken.

18. People do not ‘gasp’ 25 times a day.

19. I’ve known a lot of women in my 45 years, and not a one has ever referred to her ‘inner goddess.’

20. I think I’ll read ‘Game of Thrones’ next.

fine art photography | shabby chic decor | fine art photographs | nature art | rustic photographs | rustic pictures | food photography | lisa russo

Those of you who’ve been with me for years know typography is only second to photography in my list of passions. I’ve long wanted to combine the two, so I decided to start with this one.

fine art photography | shabby chic decor | fine art photographs | nature art | rustic photographs | rustic pictures | food photography | lisa russo

Time to get back to it – simply because it makes life so.much.easier. Truly.

• Monday – Shake and Coconut Bake Pork Chops. This is a new recipe. And it sounds so good I can’t resist trying it. I’ll serve them with brown butter green beans.

• Tuesday – Grilled Salmon. I have a frozen salmon filet – I’m just going to grill it with a mustard maple glaze. Serving with crispy parmesan asparagus.

• Wednesday – Pecan Crusted Chicken Wraps. Another new one, but we’re on a pecan crust kick. Aidan has a baseball game at 6, so this is something that’s relatively light.

• Thursday – Puerto Rican Pulled Pork (Pernil). I’ve made this before, and it’s delicious. I haven’t used my slow cooker in awhile, so here we go! I’ll serve with roasted brussels sprouts.

• Friday – Another game at 6, so we’ll probably eat out after.

Feels good to be back in the habit!

fine art photography | shabby chic decor | fine art photographs | nature art | rustic photographs | rustic pictures | food photography | lisa russo

Not to frighten anyone <BOO!>, but Mother’s Day is right around the corner. As in TWO WEEKS. If you need any ideas, here are some from my shop:

First up, a matted 5×7 print. You can gift this to mom as-is, or pop the whole thing into a standard 8×10 frame.

$23, here: Matted 5×7 print.

You could also go with a gift set of 9 floral 4×4 prints:

Pick up a collage frame and you have this:

$45, available here.

Does mom have an iPhone? How about a case?

Clear, hard snap cases featuring any image in my shop. $28, available here.

!!! NOTE: iPhone cases take about a week to get to me, and another 3 days to get to you – so if you’d like one for Mother’s Day, I suggest ordering in the next day or so.

And, as always, a simple 8×10 print is always perfect. My prints are packaged in a cello wrapper and bow, so you can gift them to mom as-is, or place them into a standard 8×10 frame. Here are a few pretty selections for mom:

$28 each, available here.

And, for those of you who read all the fine print – My etsy shop hit 199 sales last night. The shopper who made the 100th purchase received a print of their choice as a gift. Just sayin’… <fingers behind back, whistling…>

fine art photography | shabby chic decor | fine art photographs | nature art | rustic photographs | rustic pictures | food photography | lisa russo

Marsala wine sauce didn’t enter my life until my 20s. I was dating Vic and we often went to one of Schenectady’s (many) Italian restaurants. I’m guessing it was Cornell’s, and my life was forever changed. You mean Italian didn’t have to be RED SAUCE FROM A JAR?!!?

I’ve since grown into someone who loves to cook (obviously), and one pantry staple that can turn whatever you have in the fridge into a culinary delight is a simple bottle of Marsala.

If you’re thinking “Oh, cool – I saw Marsala in the condiments aisle.” NO. NO NO NOOOOOO. Go to the wine store – or, if you’re lucky and have wine in the grocery, go to the wine AISLE and buy a real bottle. Please.

All you have to do is saute some chicken, pork or vegetables, then deglaze the pan with a few glugs of Marsala. Deglaze simply means dump in some wine, stir up all the good browned parts, then let it cook down a bit. If you’re feeling particularly decadent, you can splash in some cream or 1/2 and 1/2 (as I always do, duh!).

Meat, vegetables, wine and cream. That’s it. Delicious.

Here’s my recipe for the Chicken Marsala you see here. One of my all-time favorites.

Chicken Marsala

• 3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2 pieces each (also great with pork tenderloin medallions!)
• 1 Large onion, roughly chopped
• 1 Large package of cremini (baby bella) mushrooms – or whatever mushrooms you like
• 1 clove of garlic, smashed
• Flour – I like to use a sifted pan-searing flour so it’s not too heavy
• Olive Oil
• 1/2 to 3/4c Marsala Wine
• Heavy Cream or 1/2 and 1/2 (optional)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parsley for garnish

Place chicken inside a ziploc bag and use a mallet to pound the pieces thin and even. Add flour + some salt and pepper to the bag and toss to coat.

Heat olive oil in a saute pan – if you have cast iron, it’s GREAT for this. Add chicken, brown evenly on both sides, then remove from pan and set aside.

Add another swirl of oil along with the onions, mushrooms and garlic, then cook until soft and caramelized – the browner the better (depends on your patience!).

Pour in the wine and bring to a simmer. Add a splash (maybe 1/4c?) of cream or 1/2 and 1/2 if you’d like.

Arrange chicken pieces back into the pan – pushing them down into the sauce. Let it simmer until the chicken is done and the sauce has thickened. Sprinkle with parsley.

Serve as-is or over pasta with some freshly-grated parmesan. We’re trying to limit our carbs, so I served this with a side of roasted cauliflower. Yum.

fine art photography | shabby chic decor | fine art photographs | nature art | rustic photographs | rustic pictures | food photography | lisa russo

Pretty rows of pastel houses.

fine art photography | shabby chic decor | fine art photographs | nature art | rustic photographs | rustic pictures | food photography | lisa russo

If you’ve ever been to – or vacationed in – St. Petersburg, Florida, you’ve likely visited Cap’s. I’m not sure which I loved more, the fantabulous burgers or the oh-so-retro mid-century sign:

fine art photography | shabby chic decor | fine art photographs | nature art | rustic photographs | rustic pictures | food photography | lisa russo

It’s reorganization time again!

I have this lot of Hero Arts stamps for sale – All are BRAND NEW and the sets are SEALED in their boxes. The only open set is the Word Borders set, and it looks like I used the ‘family’ and ‘blessing’ stamps maybe once – but the others are unused.

I’m asking $75 for the lot, shipped. Included:

• Word Borders Set
• Special Messages Set
• Pattern Borders Set
• Fusion Trees Set
• Happy Wavy Borders Set
• Framed Winter Holidays Set
• Merry Holiday Borders Set
• Artistic Hearts Set
• December 25th
• Star Scribble Tree
• Flourish Tree
• Lace Medallion
• Flourish Wave
• Thanksgiving Greetings
• Cheer Ornament

If you’re interested, email me!

fine art photography | shabby chic decor | fine art photographs | nature art | rustic photographs | rustic pictures | food photography | lisa russo