Kitty Deschanel | Food, Wine, and Travel Adventures in an Airstream Basecamp

 Remember when Olive and Bernadette recently  flooded our new home ? We all had a good laugh (except when the water bill arrived...and the gas bill, because of course they used the hot water...and every time I look at our baseboards, which have warped right off of the walls). Despite this nonsense, do you know what I told everyone the next day? "At least our floors are clean." Ha, ha, ha, ha. All they do is sleep all day, so surely these two sweet pups would never cause any trouble. (The chair askew is a little hint that they cause sooo much trouble.) The morning after the flood, I got up early, making sure to give Olive and Bernadette plenty of time to romp outside prior to heading to work. All they did was sit on the patio and stare at me, longing to come inside to nap. Of course, the moment they were inside? Romp, romp, romp, romp. You know the pack of rambunctious dogs in the movie A Christmas Story who tear through the house and ruin the holiday turkey? These girls ...

This is my  "Can you believe these are really my teeth?!"  face. Braces Before & After My mom insists I've done so much to my teeth that they're going to fall out. IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY, MOM! For the record, my teeth are all icky and brown in the middle photo above for two reasons: I'd recently gotten my braces off. Teeth with braces are impossible to keep clean. In preparation for gum surgery, I'd been using a prescription mouthwash that removes any trace of white from your teeth. I've had a terrible smile ever since 3rd grade, when I fell face-first onto the road and fractured my front teeth. My dentist at the time did the best he could to make them look nice, but dental technology in the early 90s just wasn't what it is today. Plus, let's face it, a 3rd grader is rarely a model patient.  Fearing braces, which I was convinced would be painful (not to mention that I was more than awkward and dorky enough without...

Thank you to everyone for wishing me a happy birthday. I work with the best people - this German chocolate cake they surprised me with is so tall that it didn't even fit in its bakery box! They said that's not how you cut a cake. I said I'm old now so can cut a cake any damn way I please.  Stabby-style it is. My amazing work peeps (am I now too old to call my friends 'peeps'...) prepared an Italian birthday feast for us to share in our break room.  Fancy organic salad, a lasagna made from scratch (even the sauce - go Christie!), and ooey gooey, cheese-filled breadsticks.   Nothing can top that, right? Somehow the food was topped! I stepped away from my desk for a moment and when I returned, there was a tiny gift bag. Inside was a pair of Maggie Simpson socks. I ripped off my boring, professional black socks and swapped them for the pink and yellow cartoon baby socks. If you don't know, I love The Simpsons. And if you don't know that, we've clearly never...

Sexy Nerd is building us a new kitchen island. Boring! Have I mentioned it's also a beautiful air hockey table? If I can think it up, he can build it. We're a good team. Especially because I hate to get my hands dirty or do any sort of physical labor. My grandma says I've always been a pampered pup. Thank goodness for my Sexy Nerd! Unique Kitchen Island: Air Hockey Table Does it look like real walnut? He is VERY patient - this project requires 2,120 tiny, perfectly spaced holes. Each hole for the air hockey table really is teensie. To me, they look like they might be too small, so of course I asked Sexy Nerd, What if the holes are too small? "I'll go back and redrill each of them a little bigger." VERY patient indeed. Hang in there, Sexy Nerd. Only 2,090 of these too-small holes to go!

Remember the 1963 GMC truck we purchased after attending the Street Rod Nationals? SN has been diligently restoring this disaster of a vehicle, which is currently in pieces scattered around our garage and yard. I thought you might enjoy seeing Before photos. Restoration of a 1963 GMC Truck What were we thinking? Meet our old farm truck, 'The Lawn Ornament'. We love the turquoise and even the rust. Well, maybe not all the rust - don't use the side step or it will snap right off! Originally purchased by a New Mexico railroad worker on Christmas Eve of 1962, our GMC truck came fully loaded with all the bells and whistles. While cleaning it out, SN found decades of mementos, including the original paperwork, lipstick, wine glasses...and shotgun bullets in the glove box. Automotive safety standards were a *little* different back in the 1960s. The leaky gas tank was located inside the cab, directly behind the seat. Relocating it to pretty much anywhere else is on SN's To Do ...