Wall Decor for Cy's Room

 

This weekend I did a little shopping. I finally purchased something for his wall.  I am not really going with any theme, just color. His room colors are blue, green, brown and white. I figure if I stick within those, I can put up anything.

I got this animal letter picture at Pottery barn Kids that says Explore in a white frame. Here is an image similar. What was great is that I got it on SALE!!!  My bestie Adrienne also gave me a beautiful picture (in a white frame) of the sunset in Santorini, Greece and I am going to put that above Cy's crib. I like the idea of photography maybe around his room. Pictures of far away places, etc. I am thankful my friend Adrienne is so good with photography that I am going to ask her to help me with some of that picture detail.

So, the designing process has begun!  I am so excited. Once I have all the furniture purchased and put in I will then decorate the walls and post pictures!

Peace and Love

Pesto! Pesto! Pesto!

Jeremy and I have never been fans of pesto.  Even when we traveled around Italy, we never ate it the entire time.  We just didn't like pesto - until recently, with a meal that we had with our neighbor Matt.  We literally call it the most legendary lunch of all time!  First, let me describe the lunch.  We had homemade pumpkin ravioli that Jeremy made with a brown butter sage and manchego pesto (pesto made by my neighbor Matt) and left over Flank Steak marinated overnight in a homemade chimchurri sauce.  Now...take a moment to picture the deliciousness. That was the beginning of a new love affair with pesto.

The key for me with pesto is using Manchego instead of Parmesean. For those non cheese enthusiasts, Manchego is a Spanish cheese from the La Mancha region of Spain from the milk of sheep. I prefer to use the 6 month aged cheese.  Here is neighbor Matt's Pesto recipe:

Everything (per Matt) should be equal parts:

• Fresh basil
• Pine Nuts or to save a little bit of money...walnuts
• Manchego
• 2 or 3 cloves of garlic

Matt told us to not use oil when you blend everything, and instead add it when you pull it out of the freezer. I freeze in separate parts.

Tonight, Jeremy and I snacked on the yummiest treat!  I toasted bread with a little olive oil, spread pesto and topped with a tomato. I also sauted up some sliced Japanese eggplant to add to the bread too.  Here is a picture to get your mouth watering!

This is made with everything grown in our garden, locally made (the bread) or homemade!!!  Picture perfect of summer plenty!

Dol Janchi Korean First Birthday Party

Dol or doljanchi is a Korean tradition that celebrates the birthday of a one-year-old baby. This ceremony blesses the child with a prosperous future and has taken on great significance in Korea. The birthday babies wear a hanbok and a traditional hat: a jobwai or gulle  for baby girls and a bokgeon or hogeon for baby boys.

History of Dol

In the past, the death rates for children were high and many children died before their first birthday, so it was an important milestone to the baby and parents. The whole village used to celebrate a baby's first birthday, sharing foods and wishing for long life and fortune for the baby.

Ritual and Food of Dol

Food plays a big part in a child’s dol janchi. Special dishes are served such as miyeok-guk a seaweed soup, tteok rice cake, and fruits. The highlight of the festivities occurs when it’s time for the dol jabi  ritual. During this time a low table is brought out for the baby with several items on it which represent the path the child’s future life will take if she or he grabs it. Typically the following items are used.

A pencil: Which means the child will be a scholarly academic.
Money: Which means the child will be wealthy.
A string: Which means the child will live a long life.
A bowl of rice: Which means the child will have food and shelter.

Cy celebrated his birthday on June 27th. We just found out the object he picked up....A PENCIL!

Pencil: Which means the child will be a scholarly academic.