greek yogurt biscuits

This honey and Greek yogurt biscuit recipe came from this cookbook.

They were a hit. I think I'll make them again for church breakfi (that's what we...me and Rob, call "breakfast") this Sunday.

diary of a chambermaid

I'm going to give this another shot. My movie posts suck, so here goes:

Diary of a Chambermaid
I spotted this film when we were at the library. I admit I judge most things by their cover. I try not to but it happens. I was drawn to this particular film because the cover said "The Criterion Collection". I haven't been let down by many criterions. I also like the actress, Jeanne Moreau. Doesn't she look mysterious and thoughtful in this picture? We're into French films these days and it was made in 1964...I love 60's fashion and decor.

So that's why we checked it out. I know...some movie buff I am, right?

Anyway, this is a film about a Parisian woman, Celestine, who becomes a maid for a dysfunctional household. The distaste of her employer is overridden by curiosity and suspicion concerning a tragic murder. She is driven for justice and will stop at nothing!

I liked this film.

Phew...that wasn't so hard...

edamame salad with red peppers & orange

I guess I haven't posted many recipes lately.
I've been cooking quite a bit, too...oh well.
Here's one for you edamame fans:

Edamame Salad with Red Peppers and Orange
Recipe by Sarah Ikegami

2 Tbs. canola oil
2 Tbs. each soy sauce and rice vinegar (you could also use sushi vinegar)
sea salt & pepper, to taste
fresh ginger, grated (optional, but recommended)

In a large bowl, whisk dressing ingredients. Add the following ingredients.

2 cups cooked and shelled edamame
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 medium orange, segmented and diced
a couple big handfuls of washed, mixed salad greens
fresh cilantro, chopped a bit
sesame seeds to garnish (optional)

Add salad ingredients to dressing. Toss salad just before serving. This salad serves 4-6 as a side dish, 2 as a main dish. You may want to pair it with brown rice, steamed broccoli and tofu teriyaki. You may just want to eat it by itself.
Enjoy!

poll, how do you dance?

Opinion Polls & Market Research

us @ esther & rick's wedding

This is us at Esther and Rick's wedding last weekend in Santa Clarita. It was a mid morning ceremony and reception at a park. Since it was incredibly hot the day before the wedding, we thought it wise to brake out our summer hats...boy were we were glad for those hats...it was a toasty celebration to say the least. The wedding was beautiful...Esther and Rick were lovely to watch and there were chances to mingle with lots of friends that we don't see often. We had such a great time...after the reception wrapped up we headed home to la-la land and saw this because movie theater AC is the best.

eat, drink & be vegan

I am asked often if I am vegan. I usually say "Sometimes". Sometimes you are too, if you don't have meat, dairy, eggs or honey at a meal (Rob cannot understand why no honey...I've explained it a bazillion times and now I'm not sure why no honey either, whatever). I like Greek yogurt so I don't know if I would ever be vegan...the other stuff I don't really care about. Anyway, it's really just food...but I know people are interested so I'll throw you a bone.

This book came in the mail recently and it has knocked our socks off. Yes...our. No, Rob isn't vegan...or vegetarian...or flexitarian or aquatarian or whatever "tarian" you can think of. But, he did say Eat, Drink & Be Vegan is his favorite cookbook of all time, along with this cutesy little cafe's cookbook. We have alot of cookbooks. We've tried alot of recipes in the last few years. I have to agree with Rob on this one...this book is flippin' off the charts. My creativity has exploded...so I'm game. So far we've tasted and enjoyed Thai pizza with pineapple and peanut sauce, chickpea soup with rice and veggies (perfect for Saturday's super cold weather), avocado enchiladas, terriyaki stir fry, pasta with cashew basil pesto, peanut butter chocolate cookies and vanilla sprinkle cookies...all made without any animal products and all delicious...gasp! And guess what...we aren't shivering in a corner hungry or bored by carrot sticks and rice cakes. Hmm...not a bad deal. Anyway, I like this book...could care less for the title, but the book is brilliant. If you have any interest in cooking animal free...for whatever reason, be it allergies, health or curiosity, start here. I'm off to march for PETA. Just kidding...that's next week...kidding again, gotcha.

breakfast at tiffany's

We watched this over the weekend:

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Audrey is way too cool for school. Yes please, I'll be her when I grow up.

on the table, 7

My, how the time is going by quickly these days. It's already Tuesday?

We had a nice 3 day weekend, hopefully you did, too.

So...I go crazy with the same ol', same ol'. I change things alot. This week's table is my cheap thrill of change. Here we are this weekend:

S & R: Yellow tray. This tray used to be brown. It needed a lift, yellow it was. We hit up the library on Saturday after a church potluck in the park. We normally walk to the library. It's so close that it feels wrong to drive. We drove on Saturday because Rob pinched a nerve in his lower back playing with the Barksdale kids and walked all weekend like he was 85. He found lots of books and DVDs at the library...I surprised us both and picked out 3 of the 5 films. We shamefully paid our $8 fine before we checked out...we hate library fines...we robbed ourselves this time. Live and learn...return library things on time.

S: Box with bird on it. I got a box set of bird cards 2 Christmas' ago on clearance. I'm crazy about birds. I was using the box to store some thrift shop jewelry...but now it's out on the table with a book about Japan in it.

S: Ginger tea. I love this tea. Shannon's mother in law emailed us a recipe to brew our own ginger tea...delicious. In a time crunch, I steep these bags.

S & R: Coasters from Paris. We didn't buy much on our honeymoon. A miniature Eiffel Tower, a 2-disk collection of French music and some coasters...and a few books on art and photography. Ok, so we bought alot. Anyway, these are our coasters.

R: Film book. Rob liked this book. He finished it in 2 days.

S: Breakfast at Tiffany's DVD. Both of us had never seen this till the weekend. We checked it out from the library a couple months ago and never watched it...and then paid a fine for it. We finally watched it on Saturday. We liked it...for Audrey. I love Henry Mancini way too much...I'm also a fan of Barney Kessel...so the music in this film is right up my ally. This wasn't my fave Audrey film, though I love her.

S & R: Black square table. Last fall we chatted about getting one of those super cheap square tables from IKEA. The week I was about to get one we found this one near the dumpster...we dusted it off and there she is.

suelynn's last community group

We love our community group. It's a weekly highlight. We have become good friends with our group and consider them our family.
Last week was Suelynn's last night in our community group. She's awesome, I've loved every minute of getting to know her. She's getting married and will be attending church with her husband-to-be...not at the HC. We're so excited for her but bummed we won't be spending as much time together.
So...we changed things up for her last CG (as we commonly reference them) and spent the evening enjoying our friendship. We were able to tell her ways she has blessed us, funny memories and things like that. Rob had written a song for her, too...he performed while Jesse filmed...you can check it out here.

In this pic from left to right: Harley (he's from HI and has been with us since the beginning of this year), Rob, Jesse, Ryan (he joined our group recently too, he's from CO). Suelynn and I are on the other side of the room. You can just barely see Seth on the left side. See his foot, there? It was his first time to our group...and it was his birthday so we dimmed the lights, lit a candle and sang "Happy Birthday"....so long Suelynn, hello Seth. Ahh, tis life.

the hollywood church baptism, 2

The Hollywood Church had our second baptism. You may recall our first from this post.

We met at Carol's apartment complex swimming pool. Seen above, Seth, Koury, Brea and Phil each shared their testimonies and were baptized by Mike.

Each person had unique a story of how they came to know Jesus Christ. Koury and Brea are married, too, so it was cool to hear how becoming Christians has caused their marriage to be that much sweeter.

What a great afternoon we shared together.

To see the rest of the pictures, click here.

poll, people's blogs

Opinion Polls & Market Research

baraka

This film was very beautiful:
Baraka
It was different from anything I've seen. No actors, no script.
Learn more about it here.

family tea cup

When I was visiting my family for my sister's tea party bridal shower, I saw this tea cup...in the trash. I pulled it out and assumed it wasn't supposed to be in there. My parents noticed the tea cup had been retrieved from the trash and assured me it was indeed trash.

"You can't use that. It's chipped", they said.

Hmm. I asked them if I could have it, since they were throwing it out. They thought it was a bit strange to want a chipped tea cup...but it wasn't the strangest thing they have ever observed about me so I don't think they thought twice when I packed it and brought it home.

I just love this little tea cup. It will always remind me of my sister's shower...and of digging in the trash. It reminds me how perspective changes everything...you know, one man's trash, another man's treasure and stuff like that.

PS - When the art director for the recent shoot at our place saw this tea cup he said he would be very careful with it. He said it looked like a family heirloom. How funny.

hollywood church moves to gardner elementary

The Hollywood Church has moved to Gardner Elementary!

We just had our third Sunday at the new location. The Lord is so good! We are so blessed to have a place to meet for worship, time in God's word, prayer, communion and fellowship. We absolutely love being a part of the church. We are beyond thankful to serve, learn and grow here.

on the table, 6

"Tuesday on the Table" is back.

So, here we are:

S: Still enjoying a delicious, enormous mug of cafe...we have been brewing in our coffee pot the last several days and when I pour a mug it makes the soy milk all frothy and I like it.

S: Jar of markers. These come in handy often.

R: iPod in lime green sock. Rob got this as a college graduation gift from his mom. He thought he lost it while he was busy with work stuff last month. He searched all over and it was nowhere to be found. In the meantime, I'm going crazy by the disorganized areas of our life, mostly the car and sometimes Rob's work bag. Anyway, after about 3 weeks of searching for the iPod Rob found it...in his bag...yet to be organized, but oh well.

R: Guitar tuner in the red bowl from Africa. I need to put that away, it doesn't go there.

R: A picture of Rob's dad, when he was in his early 20's. Awesome. Rob's mom recently gave us a car load of bins to go through, mostly of Rob's old stuff....pretty much everything he has ever crafted in school, every birthday card, every whatever....lots of stuff. He went through it a couple weeks back and condensed it to a pile. Pictures of his dad and a few art pieces were saved.

R & S: Our Mac arrived. It's nice. We're thankful.

danny glover in our apartment

So...Danny Glover filmed in our apartment last week.

Sometimes...often, I wish I could make that memorable sound of a record being stopped and spun a bit...you know, the sound you think of when you feel like saying, "Hold up...what?"

I can't make the sound. Oh well.

Yes, Danny Glover filmed inside our apartment last week.

We got a call a couple weeks ago from our apartment manager asking if it would be ok for her to show a film crew our place. They were looking for a unit to use for a short film shoot. We like our manager and we like film so we said yes.

The film crew needed a place to shoot a short, political film regarding 911 (the emergency number)...staring Danny Glover.

They digged our place and double checked if they could use it for a day. They needed to change a few little things to create the world they were imagining...an older man's apartment who built model airplanes and owned a pet bird...I could be friends with this guy. They said they would clean it all up when they were done so I was down.

The crew created the scene while we were at work and community groups the day before the actual filming. When we came home our place had totally been transformed. Needless to say, I didn't post a "Tuesday on the Table" last week because this was my table...Danny Glover's table, actually...much cooler than my usual weekend table. You can click on any of these pictures to see them larger, if you're into the details. Some of the props may seem familiar...they used a few of our things...including Rob's recliner...I may never convince him to get rid of it now...oh well, I secretly kinda like it. Of all the nifty things we found for the shoot our attention was immediately drawn to the fantastic photograph of a woman hanging on the wall. It was gorgeous. I wanted to have it hanging there forever...but it belonged to one of the art directors...it was his mom. His mom was stunning...probably still is.

Here's a glance at our place during the shoot. I'm still not sure how the crew managed to bring in so many props, film equipment and staff...but they did and they allowed us to act as flies on a wall throughout the day. The entire apartment complex was pretty busy for the day (they actually used another unit the following day so it was pretty busy and exciting that day, too). The day began about 6:30 in the morning as big trucks arrived with equipment and staff and actors. They crew invited us to have lunch with them around the pool. They were nice. Our apartment manager (also our neighbor) used her place as a holding room for crew and actors. We hung out in there for awhile and chatted with production assistants and wardrobe and makeup artists...and Danny Glover. He was sweet. He let us take a picture with him.

Here we are with Danny Glover. We're like old pals...well, we thought so.

The crew worked extremely hard to shoot and clean up before dark. It was interesting to observe the day. I liked hearing the crew's stories...why they were in the industry, what drove them, what their goals were...it was cool.

At the end of the shoot the art directors cleaned up the set. They packed up all the stuff they brought in and arranged our place to look just like it did before they arrived. They gave a few pieces of furniture to a girl in our complex who just moved out to Hollywood from Louisiana and didn't have much. That was nice.

It was a cool experience. We were glad to be even just a little a part of it.

son of rambow

We saw this today:

Son of Rambow

I could take or leave alot of movies...when I like one I really like one...I really liked this one. I don't like to give films away, so I won't, you'll just have to see it...but I will say this film completely changed my perspective on screenwriting and directing. I shed a tear...and I never cry. Really. I'm more than happy to elaborate...

steffens family shoot, 2

This is one of the family shots I took of Ryan, Alysia , Cortlen and Jocelyn.

Here is another.

igor & his dog

This is Igor. He is used to be our apartment manager but decided to pursue other things, like film. He's nice. He's from Slovenia. He stopped by a recent apartment party and brought his horse...opps, dog. They both lived at our complex last year...if you have been to our place you may realize how incredible it is that this gigantic pet fit inside such a tiny place. Well, it was nice to catch up with Igor...and his dog.

apartment parties

So we decided to stay another year in our apartment and we're pretty excited...maybe not so excited for the hot summer we're headed for, but rather another year to build relationships and make friends with our neighbors. This is something that has taken time to do. We have been in Hollywood for just about a year and it seems we are beginning to experience real community. Praise the Lord!

We are also still smitten by the complex location...and the closet is more organized than ever. That only took a year.

Another really cool thing that is happening at home are the apartment parties. I think I touched this slightly in a recent update post...but yes, our apartment is getting together on the weekends for BBQ potlucks, swimming, music jam sessions and screenings of each other's short films.

Ok. Awesome.

People set up in the courtyard mid afternoon and hang out until it's dark. There's music, swimming, food and conversation...with neighbors! Come and go as you please, invite your friends...it's very chill. What a brilliant and normal set up...we dig it.

It would be a shame scam to take off just yet.

poll, summer vacation

Opinion Polls & Market Research

there will be blood

I might be the last person to have seen this:

There Will Be Blood

I know, I know, my movie posts are ridiculous...I don't offer anything...plot, characters, thoughts...sorry...kinda...but now you know how I spent a couple hours of my time...

year end retreat

Rob and I are privileged to work at The Master's College...together. We wake up and have cafe time, drive together and get to share many days...together. Really, we are blessed. We work in different departments, but they like each other so we often do things as one.

The last couple of days our departments took time away from our offices to reflect on the last year...we are a college so our years are measured in semesters. We were given time to share and remember things the Lord has taught us. Wow. We also had lots of down time...a movie afternoon at Hollies and a day trip to Pasadena...really, very cool. I'm incredibly thankful for our jobs and for our friends. Here are the admissions girls before our train ride home...Erin, Hollie, me and Megan...I love them.

Rob and I are still overwhelmed at all the Lord has done in the last year. It has been the best year of our lives...and we think it's cool that we can say the same thing next year...we're thankful and glad and excited for the next!

hello, again

The last week has kept me busy....I'm back now....with lots of posts.

hello

rob @ mao's kitchen

I love this picture of Rob at our favorite restaurant in Hollywood.

ryan's "where the wild things are" art

My brother is incredibly creative and artistic. He is an especially talented cartoonist. I have all these memories of bringing home papers from school to be signed by my parents...loosing track of them...then finding them with little doodles of cartoon characters in the corners.

Another special thing I was able to do while with my family a couple of weekends ago was admire Ryan's colorful display of Where the Wild Things Are in the front office of the school where he teaches...art. How cool is that?

This picture hardly does justice to the detailed pastel colored theme room Ryan created...all free hand, cut from butcher paper, all four walls.

It was totally cool to see him in his element...I'm really thankful for Ryan...it also served as a little sneak preview of the film being released this fall.

steffens family shoot

While I was in northern California last weekend I was able to take some new pictures of my family...mostly my brother, sister-in-law and their two little ones...Ryan, Alysia, Cortlen and Jocelyn. I managed to get a few with my mom and dad, my sister...even I showed up a in couple. It was amazing to see how the family has grown...I remember Ryan and Alysia dating in high school, I remember their wedding, when Cortlen was born, when Jocelyn came along...it was totally cool to see them, to be in their home, to see them live life together...and to take some pictures, of course. I'll post more and try to highlight each member of the fam. Here is just one...Cortlen and Dad.

silly signs, 2

I've meant to post this for a couple of weeks...found in our apartment complex amongst other informative greetings.

Click here to see the first silly sign...they seem to be working...quite effective, I'm impressed.

on the table, 5

We were in and out this weekend, mostly out...dinner with Madge and Tom, wedding preparations for friends, a quick load of laundry (we do one load each week) the actual wedding, meeting up with more of Rob's family, our first morning at the Hollywood Church's new location, a brief trip down memory lane sorting through way too much of Rob's stuff, a fantastic afternoon birthday BBQ in the courtyard and a long awaited apartment screening of our friend's short film.

What a great weekend...here was us around cafe time:

R & S: The Onion. The stack I usually grab from Thursday mornings was nowhere to be found. My alternate stack, faithfully found at The Daily Planet, isn't available until I'm preoccupied with getting ready for work...no big deal...I just grabbed one on Saturday morning while out and about and laughed my face off for a few blocks...then checked the film reviews.

R: Artwork from Mary. She's incredibly creative. After hearing a screenplay idea from Rob, she thought up this colorful masterpiece and presented it to him in a frame for his last birthday. It's a part of the gallery, ready to be hung. It's titled "The Ike Circus"...if you have heard the screenplay this makes sense.

S: I'm not joking when I say I drink a freakin' large mug of coffee each morning.

R & S: We owe the state $22.37. Not sure how this happened...

R: Flight of the Conchords art. This came in the vinyl we ordered. I can't get over them...they are out of this world funny. I placed this art under a clear placemat because I knew it would get destroyed any other way.

R & S: The Reason for God....our latest read. My novel is under it...I haven't even thought about picking it up lately but I plan to finish it. I'm weirded out by Richard right now. I'll get over it.

R: Rob's cafe, served in the Central Park Starbucks mug we debated about purchasing. We love Starbucks, it's nice...though I think I might prefer everything we own to come from a garage sale rather than a commercialized world...I don't die on this small hill...but I do like this mug and Rob probably doesn't care if coffee was served in a brand name mug or a bowl...so anyway...

R & S: The African bowl filled with the basics...cell, keys, guitar picks...this bowl was discussed in another "Tuesday on the Table"...yes, I can it that.

tagged by abbey

Abbey tagged me...so I thought long and hard...maybe too hard, but I think this is most accurate...for today, anyway.

Click here to check out what Abbey said.

5 things under $5 that I couldn't live without (this was ridiculously hard for me...I came back to it about 8 times...I think I'm taking it too seriously):

1. Soap & Water
2. Bobby Pins
3. Napkins
4. Peanut Butter
5. A Broom

5 favorite movies:

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Paris Je T'aime
3. Elf
4. The Wedding Singer
5. Charade

5 baby names I love (I like these names for adults, too):

1. Miles
2. Lennon
3. Claire
4. Lucy
5. Bianca

5 songs I could listen to over and over again:

• We're all in the dance (Feist, both versions)
• Stairway to Heaven (Led Zeppelin)
• Last Dance (Sarah McLachlan)
• Don't Kiss Me Goodbye (Ultra Orange & Emmanuelle)
• Row (Jon Brion)

5 people who have influenced me in a positive way:

1. Debbie L.
2. Karen P.
3. Sarah B.
4. Juliet S.
5. Rob I.

5 things that are always in my purse:

1. Wallet/Cell/Keys
2. Wireless Memory Card Reader/Writer
3. iPod
4. Bible
5. Gift cards

5 moments that changed my life forever:

1. Accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior
2. Realizing Rob is awesome...also marriage
3. The first scene of LOVE
4. Hearing "We're all in the dance"
5. Breakfast at Dink's, February 2007

5 obsessions I currently have:

1. Apartment Therapy
2. Coconut Milk
3. Washing my feet
4. Anthropologie
5. Coffee

5 places I would like to go:

1. Seattle
2. Chicago
3. Italy
4. The Skirball Bob Dylan Exhibit
5. Home

5 appliances or kitchen tools I couldn't live without:

1. French Press
2. Immersion Blender
3. Pairing Knife
4. Cutting Board
5. Rice Cooker...only because of Rob...he would be devastated...my real answer is a baker's spatula.

5 people's top 5's I would like to see:

1. Jenny S.
2. Jesse G.
3. Sam N.
4. Hollie G.
5. Megan S.

belle and sebastian, push bar to open man old wounds

We have been listening to:

Belle and Sebastian

My favorite song: Take Your Carriage Clock and Shove It.

tagged by hollie

From a recent tag by Hollie...click here to review her answers.

Four things about me that you may or may not have known...but probably didn't know...in no particular order.

4 jobs I have had in my life:

1. Bath & Body Works
2. Apple Computer
3. Costco Sample Lady
4. Pharmaceutical Inventory

4 places I have lived:

1. a Trailor Park
2. Elk Grove, Ca
3. Herald, Ca
4. TMC

4 shows that I watch (we don't have cable):

1. LOST
2. The Office
3. Seinfeld
4. The Cosby Show

4 places I have been:

1. George Washington's home
2. the scene of John Lennon's assassination
3. the Jelly Belly factory
4. the autobahn

4 blogs I read regularily:

1. Stuff White People Like
2. Kitschennet, Life in the Swiss Lane
3. My Polaroid Blog
4. Apartment Therapy

4 of my favorite foods:

1. peanut butter
2. sweet potatoes
3. extremely ripe bananas
4. greek yogurt

4 places I'd rather be right now:

1. with Rob
2. a spa resort
3. a European backpacking trip
4. anywhere, wearing pajamas

4 things I look forward to in the next year:

1. Juliet and Dustin's wedding
2. HC camping trip
3. Learning to sew
4. Organizing the car and closet

Now I tag:

1. Abbey S.
2. Kammi G.
3. Becka B.
4. Polly M.

juliet's tea party bridal shower

Last weekend was my sister's tea party bridal shower. Wow, my sister is getting married....I'm really, really excited for her and Dustin. It has been a blessing and encouragement so see them grow up, pursue the Lord, pursue each other and their family and friends, go to school, get jobs, be involved in ministry...the list goes on....I'm glad for them.
Their wedding is in August but Juliet's nursing school schedule is pretty intense so her tea party shower was last weekend. I was able to help organize the evening. It was really cool to do some prep work with her and my mom and to have her bridesmaids help with the details, too. There were alot of ladies I was able to connect with that I haven't been able to for a long time. I also met people that my sister has become friends with over the last few years...I tried to take it all in and observe all the people in her life that love her, support her, pray for her, affirm her engagement....bought her presents...it was very sweet. Each lady invited brought her favorite tea cup. We had a bazillion or so different teas to taste, coffee, of course (Dustin works at Starbucks and Juliet just finished up at Pete's so there is always alot of coffee and tea around), fruit, veggies, couscous salad, scones, chocolate, bite sized stuff, you know the drill at showers. It was all nice. My Grandma makes jewelry and she's really talented. She made us earrings and necklaces for the event. How sweet.
My sister has such thankful heart, such a great calm and collected spirit as well as a quirky humor that I love. I wish we were able to spend more time together. I wish we could start a business together. I wish we could share clothes....but mostly I just wish she continues to follow the Lord. She's awesome and I love her and am thrilled to have been able to celebrate her a little last weekend.

poll, weekly laundry

Opinion Polls & Market Research