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

I've been having a lazy holiday weekend and haven't left the house since Thursday. Heck, I've barely even changed out of my pajamas. As you may recall, Sexy Nerd has no respect for a lazy, pajama-wearing afternoon (especially not when that afternoon stretches into 3 consecutive days), so he ditched me to go sort through rocks on our lot. Well, I decided I'd finally had enough of being a lazy bum. In fact, I decided to drive up to our lot and surprise Sexy Nerd with a picnic lunch of Subway sandwiches! Best wife ever? Obviously. I got myself gussied up, complete with head-to-toe sunscreen and the perfect outfit for 4th of July weekend. Then I opened the garage door... Apparently, this is the face I make when I am trapped. We were going to buy an automatic Mini Cooper, non-negotiable. But then Sexy Nerd fell in love with this one, even though it's not an automatic and even though it was the only one he looked at. I pleaded with him to be reasonable...

Construction on our custom, mountain dream home should finally be finished soon, after only a million years. Can you believe it? That said, you may be surprised to read my days of browsing Redfin and Realtor.com are anything but over. Listing photos are a fantastic resource for decorating ideas! Unlike Houzz, which features image after image of too-perfect-to-be-real (hint: they're usually not) pictures, real estate photos show you actual homes (just like yours!) with decorating ideas that are functional for real life. As much as I love finding a Pinterest-worthy home on Redfin, my guilty pleasure is the bad listings. Like, yell at the computer, what-were-they-thinking bad listings. Here is one for the record books. Just try to keep a straight face while browsing through these listing photos from a home in Holladay, UT. And remember, the photos you are about to see are all from the same house. The last one will blow your mind. The listing price is on the bottom of this ...

As featured on Huffington Post Your guest bedroom is booked and you want to serve your company something other than boring eggs in the morning. Here's a meal that will make a lasting impression - potstickers...for breakfast! These are so tasty that you just might want to have them for lunch and dinner too. This is such a Millennial thing. Try it - you'll love it. So many people seem to be intimidated by the thought of making their own potstickers. They are EASY! The filling can be made the day before. I like to make a big batch of these potstickers during the weekend and reheat them in the air fryer for weekday breakfasts. Premade potsticker wrappers (AKA wonton wrappers) can be found in the produce section of most grocery stores, usually near the bean sprouts and tofu, and are only a few dollars. I tried once to made my own wrappers from scratch. They turned out fine but took up my entire afternoon!    There. Now that you know what to buy, you ha...

Is there such a thing as Bipolar Construction Disorder? Forget my anxiety-filled post from the other day. I love everything about this house! There's really going to be an actual house here soon, windows and stucco and all. I can't believe it. Here is our kitchen/living room, which is off the foyer and attaches to a cozy dining nook and the theater room. Before you say "THEATER ROOM?!", it's essentially just a TV room with a fancy name. And three seating options, including a bunk bed. This is what you see when you step outside the master bedroom, which is at the very back of the house. It's hard to tell from this photo, but by adding a door to each side of the room straight ahead, there's a gorgeous view of the front yard. We'll also be able to see the fireplace to the left. See how wonky and asymmetrical our back patio roof is? Although we approved the plan, including this odd roof (oops!), our builder agreed that the look was...

Working in a pediatric dental office is the best. I have an extremely lovable, quirky boss. Remember when she bought me a cheesecake and a box of Fairytale Brownies ? She's all about doing nice things for her employees. (Remember when she threw all my charts into a chaotic pile on the floor? Quirky!) Before Christmas, I arrived at the office to find a list that would be used to help our boss with her holiday shopping. It asked all employees to write down a couple personal details. Just little things, you know, like your favorite color and if you prefer milk or dark chocolate. Oh, and your bra size . On display. Publicly posted for everyone in the office to read. The question especially flustered me because I've always been a tank top sort of gal - I have no idea what bra size I would wear if I wore one. Yes, I'm weird.  Come to think of it, maybe this is why my boss decided a bra would be a good gift idea. I'm still proudly leading my own anti-bra revolution...

I've been browsing redfin.com again , this time in my hometown of San Jose, CA. Sure, I could check listings in my price range. In San Jose though, my budget doesn't get me very far - I'd be one of those folks you see on the news, happy to have found a garage to rent! Besides, it's fun to dream. Come join me on a virtual home shopping extravaganza. First, we'll visit 15826 Rica Vista Way , which could be yours for a mere $2,699,000. By San Jose standards, I think it's a real steal! I can't figure out what's going on with these lights. Modern Christmas tree? No judgement but in case you were wondering, yes, that is a cheap Ikea paper chandelier inside a multi-million dollar home. Next, it's off to 4602 Hill Top View Ln , which is a bit more budget-friendly than the last home. It's only $2,595,000. If you're willing to invest a little more into your budget (and, because this is all make belie...