Kitty Deschanel | Food, Wine, and Travel Adventures Across the USA

Such a pretty dining room, but something is missing... I have something to add to my list of Christmas gift ideas . It's an idea that can be sent to your friends and family near and far, or ordered for yourself if you're having company over. There's actually still time to have it delivered by Christmas, if you can believe that! This holiday season, I had a little surprise for my Sexy Nerd. No one had ever sent him flowers before! Biscuit was very jealous. But she was still better off than Pica, who was banished to the opposite side of the doggie gate for constantly being underfoot. (Seriously, she's going to break my neck one of these days!) I went with a bouquet called "Fortified", which contained a dozen long-stemmed red/yellow roses. How could I resist flowers that match our decor? The answer: I couldn't. The flowers were delivered by mail from theBouqs.com, which grew them on a volcano. I'd nev...

Alternate title idea? Finally Ready for Thanksgiving! (Yeah, I'm a bit behind.) Guest Bedroom #1 - remember how it looked before? I sweat the bedding didn't look this wrinkly in real life! The new flooring makes such a difference. The last time I shared photos of our house before Thanksgiving , it was a disaster. I told Sexy Nerd before our guests arrived that we should iron this tablecloth. "It will be easy," I said, planning to iron it right on the table. His response? "Nah. I don't see any wrinkles." Tom Turkey, our official guest bedroom ambassador. Light makes his wings and head move. Most amazing of all? He was ONE DOLLAR! Can you believe this amazing time we live in? Guests could find our wi-fi info on the card.   And a Cheryl's cookie on the pillow! Have you seen these Oliver plates from CB2? So cute. The guest bathroom, complete with cleverly placed mirrors. Did I have you fooled? G...

I found a great deal on Groupon for our recent visit to Salt Lake City. For about $30 per person, it included admission to 12 attractions, including the Clark Planetarium, Red Butte Garden, Hogle Zoo, and the Tracy Aviary, as well as a tasty lunch at The Lion House Pantry Restaurant. One of the activities we redeemed was for tickets to an educational IMAX movie. There were many options to choose from and, knowing my Sexy Nerd, I was surely going to end up watching Hidden Universe 3D (the most educational-looking one of all.) Imagine my surprise when he wanted to see Island of Lemurs, suggesting it with so much out-of-character enthusiasm that I at first thought he was being a sarcastic punk. We received our tickets, picked our seats, and waited for the movie to begin. "You're not just watching this because you know I'll like it, are you?" I asked. "No," Sexy Nerd assured me, smiling. "I love lemurs! Who doesn't love lemurs?" The lights...

Sexy Nerd and I actually cleaned our house last week. It has been said that our home cleanliness standards are "below average", which I would take offense to, except that it's 100% accurate. (Also, we're the two people who have been going around saying this. We have no shame.) What do you do after cleaning your house from top to bottom? You take photos and document it, of course! From now on, whenever I'm feeling down about the dishes piled on the counter or the muddy paw prints across the floor, I'll just look at these photos. Sooo much easier than cleaning again. We removed about two dogs worth of Pica hair from beneath our kitchen island. If I were craftier, I could stuff a set of throw pillows. Note the fresh roses on the island. Damn, we're fancy. Do not note the giant wooden giraffe, whose head is chopped off by the dining room light fixture and who is not fancy.