Forget Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Meet Haagen Dazs Mayan Chocolate. Not too sweet chocolate ice cream with a touch of cinnamon and a chocolate swirl. Even today, with my horrible morning sickness, this ice cream made me happy. I may have to stock up.

Favorite flower

Verbena - first bloom:

Pregnancy Arsenal

Because I work in an herb store I've got easy access to all sorts of natural remedies. Here is a shot of the products I am taking during my pregnancy:



My favorite vitamin line is New Chapter, so I'm taking their PreNate's as well as their Cal Mag supplement.

DHA is an Essential Fatty Acid from fish oils that is good for the baby's developing brain. I'm taking Nordic Natural's DHA product, they're the best on the market.

My stomach upset has been out of control, so I've recently added chewable papaya enzymes from Country Life and they've been saving my butt.

The last thing I'm taking is acidophilus - yeast infections are common with pregnancy women because our cells metabolize sugar differently - hence gestational diabetes and most anti-fungal herbs are not safe in the first 2 trimesters of pregnancy, so I aim to take some preventative measures.

Along with those supplements, I'm drinking my pregnancy tea that has red raspberry leaf, nettles and a little bit of spearmint. Studies have shown that drinking raspberry tea during the pregnancy helps facilitate a smoother labor and nettles are extremely nourishing - good for those days that I can't really eat all that much.

Here's a great pregnancy herbal resource if you're interested in more information.

Life Saver.

I've been drinking a tea blend that I created that has been really helping with my yucky tummy. It has meadowsweet (one of my favorite herbs for nausea and minor aches and pains), chamomile and fennel.

Shiso

This is it:


This is what it tastes like:
The flavor has been described as curry-like and a combination of cumin, cilantro, and parsley with a hint of cinnamon. Leaves are a superior addition to mesclun salad mixes. Try Shiso as a garnish with sushi, and sprinkle it over cucumbers, cabbage and fish. Chop and add to pesto. Flowers are edible, and make a fragrant tea. Shiso is used a lot in Japanese food and is also used in Chinese Herbalism as a medicinal herb.

My medicinal herb garden

Ladies Mantle - an astringent herb useful for excessive menstrual and other kinds of bleeding.


Sweet Woodruff - an ingredient in May Wine.


Lemon Balm - Soothing to the nerves, great for kids.


Borage - feeds the adrenal system. Also, the flowers and stem are edible.


Valerian - great for insomnia and muscle tension.

I'm back!

So, when I started this blog I didn't really have that much on my plate and now - just 3 months into it, I'm expecting a baby, starting an on-line boutique, working full time and trying to help the mister in the garden for as long as I can. So, that doesn't leave too much time for blogging, or more accurately, for mining the web and the world for blog topics. Sorry to say I have fallen into the cursed blogging rut. I don't even really have time for knitting anymore, although I did finish an adorable baby bolero that I will photograph after I get around to blocking it. In the mean time, here are a buncha photos from our garden, of which we are immensely proud. The mister's whole life has been changed by gardening, from a handsome suntan to less complaining from his knees - he's a much happier mister.

Bok Choy


Baby Blueberry Bells


Thyme


The slowest blossoming Azalea in all the land


Sage

Ben and Jerry's

Did you realize that many major ice cream brands make a strawberry cheesecake flavor? I'm gonna sample them all, by god. Tonight I tried the Ben and Jerry's variety. I was attracted to it because of the "thick graham cracker swirl" that it promised. What a buzzkill - it was gummy and salty and the ice cream itself was overly sweet. I usually like B and J's product, but this one was a stinker.

It's Official!

Adam, my little brother and his girlfriend, Beth are getting hitched. The mister and I are supremely excited and wish the happy couple a hearty Mazel Tov!

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was our first wedding anniversary and the mister and I went out to fancy dinner at Lark. It's been awhile since we splurged on an expensive meal and I was actually feeling nausea-free, so we went balls out. Here what we had:

*White asparagus salad with anchovy
and soft-boiled duck egg
*Chicken liver parfait
with candied walnuts and eau de vie prunes (i love chopped chicken liver - my grandmother always served it as a appetizer before family dinners when I was a little girl.)

*Yellowstone river paddlefish caviar
with rosti potatoes and clabber cream (this one was the stinker of the bunch - the caviar just disappeared into the potatoes)
*Cavatelli with wild nettles,
cream and bottarga di tonno (bottarga di tonno is dried and shaved tuna roe)

*Seared Sonoma foie gras
with marinated Yakima asparagus
*Rotisserie leg of lamb
with tapenade and roasted spring onions (this one was my favorite, it was the best lamb I have ever had)

At Lark you order small plates and share them. We left feeling totally happy and satiated. It was a great way to celebrate a sweet first year of marriage.

Week 7

First Harvest

Presenting a slightly blurry photo of the dish we made with our first Zamboni broccoli harvest. Penne, sausage and broccoli raab in a red sauce with a touch of parm. Simple and delish.

New Blog Alert

check out my friend Matt's blog Good Things to Eat, where you're sure to find something yummy.

You heard it on 60 Minutes

and it's true: there really is a Starbucks in the Forbidden City. Groan. This is a photo of my friend Lita enjoying a Frappacino at that very same Starbucks.

Check out this great little owl

that Karin made:

How cute are these shoes!!!!

Check out Mohop shoes. You choose the sole and the ribbon. Man, this is an awesome idea and very well executed. Splurge worthy!

The coolest baby on the block

Check out these amazing baby stuff sites:

Parenting tips and unique baby clothes and toys at NonChalant Mom.



All the coolest things you wish you could afford at Modern Seed and Piccolini Online.




Eco friendly and extremely thoughtful collection of fun kids toys from World Wide Child.

Mobiles

I'm crazy for mobiles these days - mostly, I think, because I'm a little obsessed with how I'm going to furnish the nursery. Here are some of my fav's:

From NonChalant Mom



From Kiln Enamel



From Flendsted Mobiles

Mahar Dry Goods

Design*Sponge just blogged about Mahar Dry Goods, which is a site that I found a few months ago. It features kid's toys and other goodies made by artists - nothing mass produced or fresh off the boat from Taiwan in this bunch. Check it out!

Our outdoor living room

The mister is crazy for garage sales right now and scored 2 Adirondack chairs and an Adirondack two seater for 8 bucks! In the past few weeks we have gotten a highchair for 2 bucks and a beautiful table for our foyer area for 80 bucks - all great steals. I think we're gonna have a garage sale of our own next week.

A whole new world

Simple Knits for Cherished Babies



Quick Baby Knits : Over 25 Quick and Easy Designs for 0-3 year olds



Special Knits: 22 Gorgeous Handknits For Babies and Toddlers

Sprints loves Angus

I snapped this shot of Sprints and Angus when he was up visiting. After a few days of a stomach flu, Angus was tuckered out and Sprints crashed right next to him. Two little cuties.

Bump

There's a new maternity boutique in the Roosevelt neighborhood, right across from Whole Foods. It's called Bump and specializes in "urban maternity wear". They have the cutests tagline "Embrace the bump without the frump". They don't have a website, but trust me, the store is super cute. A gift certificate to Bump is a great gift idea for any hip pregnant gal you might know. They are attached to Pop Tots which is great kids clothing store.

Spring Garden Updates

Just the beginnings of my Hops vine - it's growing like crazy.



We saved this Azalea bush from where it was languishing in our front yard. It's just about to burst into mageneta blooms.




First Zamboni broccoli



Gingko tree!



These are photos that I took with my very own camera. Please use them. Just give me credit.

Feeding the Beast

When I first started this blog, the mister kept on telling me how hard it becomes to "feed the beast". Meaning, it's hard to blog regularly. It's a job and right now I have a lot of jobs, so the blog has suffered. Also, that whole Maple Blossom photo fiasco took the wind right out of my sails. But, hopefully I'm back on track now and have decided to announce another reason why I've been distracted from blogging: I'm pregnant! The mister and I are totally thrilled, but it took me a while to process the news, but I just realized today that it will be great blog fodder. So stay tuned for more exciting pregnancy updates.