Dinner with the kiddos

Our good friends, Owen and Sheila, came over for dinner a couple weekends ago with their little guy, Oliver.  Oliver is soon to be Hank's BFF, he's just 2 months older than Hank.  My Mom came, and so did Julian's parents (Jo and Edith). 

Our dinner was a group effort (the best kind!): a baked ziti, a green salad and garlic bread.  Although we didn't really make it to dessert, Sheila brought super good orange zest cookies that she'd made, I made banana walnut cookies and Julian's Mom made a butter cake - so low fat!  Not.

Oliver - about 8 1/2 months old

Check out Sheila - what a multi-tasker!

Sheila, Oliver, and Owen

Oliver's getting a little handsy with Hank

Julian's Mom/Hank's Oma, Edith

The lowdown on Shellac manicures

I'm sure you've heard of Shellac manicures by now?  They're a gel-based nail polish that adheres to your nails like crazy.  You have to get it done via a manicure, this is not something you can buy at Sally Beauty Products and do at home (yet). 

I never get manicures - I've had maybe two in my life.  I thought I'd give a Shellac manicure a try and got one at Dosha on 34th & Hawthorne just over 2 weeks ago.  It was $35.  Although it costs $15 to get it removed!  Doh, the fine print!

The process is exactly the same as a regular manicure - there is a selection of polishes to choose from (see picture below), so choose wisely since you're stuck with it for a while.  After the normal part of a manicure (filing the nails, pushing the cuticles back, etc.) they put a special base coat on your nails.  After every layer you put your hands in a black light nail dryer.  I believe the black light is integral - although the manicurist had no idea.  Then they put 2 layers of the polish on.  Then a special top layer.  Voila!

So how does it last, and is it worth the money?  It does last, and yes, I think it's actually worth it.  If you chip your nail you can just file it.  I do a ton of dishes and after more than 2 weeks there are no chips, and it's not peeling.  But your nails do grow out, so that's really what makes you want to get them either re-done (another $35) or have the polish removed ($15).  Dosha does remove the Shellac for free if you get another Shellac manicure.  Apparently it takes 100% acetone to remove this stuff, which I hear you can buy at Sally Beauty.  I've been warned - do not pick at it!  It will literally take the top layer of your nail off with it.

If you know of a place that is a better deal for a Shellac manicure please leave a comment!  Maybe somewhere that doesn't charge to remove it?

Here is the selection of Shellac polishes

The black light nail dryer contraption

All done!

Here are my nails about 1.5 weeks after I got it done - looking good!

Here are my nails, about 2.5 weeks after I got it done - you can see they're starting to really grow out.  Otherwise looking ok.

Smoked salmon chowder

I made a yummy smoked salmon chowder a few weeks ago to eat while we watched the Oscars.  It's an adaptation on a recipe from the Food Network Magazine.  It was seriously good - my brother Christian even said it was the best thing I'd ever made.  That's a big compliment. 

1 lb smoked salmon (I used the fresh kind from Freddy's, the trim pieces per recommendation from the fish department)
4-5 carrots
4 medium potatoes
1 red pepper (optional, I just wanted to use this up)
3/4-1 lb. brussels sprouts, cut in half through root
1 onion, diced
1/2 lemon (juice only)
1 bunch of fresh dill
7 cups stock (I use veggie)
1 cup half and half
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
1 T. Old Bay seasoning
Pepper to taste

Peel and cut the carrots and potatoes in similar sizes.  Saute the diced onion in some olive oil, then melt the butter and add flour (stir for a minute or so).  Add the Old Bay and black pepper.  Add the stock, then the diced carrots, potatoes and brussels sprouts.  Simmer until tender, approximately 10-15 minutes, adding the red pepper towards the end cause it cooks fast.  Add the half and half, then the smoked salmon.  Last, add the juice of half a lemon and the chopped fresh dill. 

Our friend Matt with Hank on Oscar night

Check out Hank in his cute overalls, courtesy of Trang

Hank, in the backyard last week

Hank this morning in his Johnny Jump Up - so close to figuring this out!

Dinner at Tapalaya

A couple weekends ago we went to Tapalaya with our good friends, Brandy and Dave.  Tapalaya is a cajun/creole small plates place here in Portland, on "restaurant row" in the Kerns neighborhood.  Julian and I have been to Tapalaya a few times, but not recently, and we'd been planning on going here with Brandy and Dave for almost a year.  Having Hank sort of delayed things - but we finally made it happen!  And we even went the week of Mardi Gras, how fitting.

We all enjoyed our food - between the four of us we got quite a few things and we shared most of it (that's the best part of small plates, you get to try so many different dishes).  A few highlights were the crabby mac n'cheese, pulled pork slider, seafood jambalaya, Crawfish fritters, smothered brussels sprouts, collard greens and salmon croquettes. 

Tapalaya
28 NE 28th Ave.
www.tapalaya.blogspot.com

Julian out front

Clockwise, from left: Brandy, Julian, Dave and me (Hank's in his car seat)

Julian and Dave

Brandy holding her little buddy, Hank

Salmon croquettes (yummy)