So one of Harmony’s great recipies that I LOVE is her french onion soup! It’s a great go-to recipe when all you have is chicken broth, onions, bread and cheese. It’s an everyday spin on a high-class classic. Made for us whiskey drinkers.
HARMONY’S OLIVER! FRENCH ONION SOUP
“Please sir, can I ‘ave some more??”
- Dice 4 onions
- Saute onions in 4 tablespoons of butter until golden brown
- Drink wine
- Put 2 cans of beef broth in a crock pot
- Dump in onions
- Add 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- Add a little squeeze of mustard
- Add a tiny dash of the wine you’re drinking
- Add 6 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
- Add 1 tablespoon of flour
- Cook 4 hours on high in the crock pot
- Add a piece of toast and your favorite white cheese (we love using feta)
- Serves 4!
So I’m getting closer to my dream bedroom! My wonderful mother sent me an early housewarming gift the other day… a 5-piece comforter set! It’s the Studio Gavin set and I absolutely love it:
- shades of chocolate and sage are finished with an ivory border
- clean, sophisticated look that carries throughout all the coordinating pieces
The next thing we need to find is the perfect bed frame!
Cheers
Eric M Chicago
The end is in sight! Our move date has been postponed (once again) and now our move date is September 1st. Let’s hope this sticks this time! We were originally supposed to move June 1st… got postponed to July 1st… got postponed to August 1st… sigh. Harmony went over there the other day and snapped some shots of the work in progress:
Can you see it? The recessed lighting, the dark cherry floors, the exposed brick… it’s all coming into focus. Slowly. We’ve already picked out the colors for the apartment, and I have been finding some inspiration for decorating my bedroom, my bathroom, and my office. I am trying not to do theme-based rooms, as my roommate has advised me that that’s somewhat tacky, so I am going to mix 3 themes together: Chagall (my favorite painter), Marilyn Monroe (my favorite celebrity), and Chicago (my favorite city). I found some faaaabulous Marilyn prints at one of the booths at Market Days! So excited. Here are some of the prints I have and are trying to collect to decorate with:
Wall Colors: Office, Living Room, My Bedroom, Harmony’s Bedroom
So we finally have a set move date! At first we were supposed to move June 1st (and lost that apartment to another couple), then this apartment (which is being built) was supposed to be finished and ready by July 1st. Well, our leasing agent contacted us and told us that we couldn’t move in until August 1st – which was extremely frustrating because we had already started the packing process! When we went in mid-July to see the apartment, all the plumbing and electrical wires were installed, but they had to wait for their final inspection before they could close up the walls, and that hadn’t happened yet. SIGH. So, he called us the other day and let us know that they passed their final inspection (yay!) and they have started the drywalling. SO, our new move date is August 15th, absolutely, for-sure. Huzzah!! The apartment is so beautiful (we saw other, completed units when we signed onto it) and is going to allow me to emulate my dream bedroom! We have exposed brick, European-style cabinets, a dishwasher, laundry in-unit, 2 bathrooms, 2 bedroom, and an office. I can finally have my own office!
Anyway, here’s the colors we picked (will be with exposed-brick accent walls):
(Office, Living Room, My Bedroom, Harmony’s Bedroom)
I’m also going to do a Marilyn Monroe themed bathroom, with my Vanity Fair collector’s edition framed!
Hey all! I was playing in Photoshop the other day, making various backgrounds for my Twitter profile, blog, Fafarazzi profile, etc. and learning various techniques for making seamless tiling backgrounds. Here’s one of my favorites that I made, and I’m making it available for you to use as you like! You may want to compress the image yourself before using it; I posted as lossless an image as I could get through jpg. This background image can be used for any standard non-commercial use. Enjoy!
© 2009 Eric M Chicago
Cheers!
Eric M Chicago
I had a rough weekend, and bitched a lot and put a lot of negative energy out into the universe. So, let’s do something to counteract all that negative energy. I just officially ended my work day, so now it’s time to RELAX! woohoo.
I think I’ll send along some inspirational photos, videos, and other things I like, just for the fucking hell of it. Here’s an inspiring photo from my best friend/roommate’s home design blog: Harmony’s Nook
Looking for fun, quirky and sarcastic FREE e-cards to send out to your friends? Like this one:
Someecards.com: They’ve got a smartass e-card for every possible occasion (especially the bad ones)!
More of a science geek? Well, visit FourteenLOL to see a video tutorial for a science project where you can make water form crystal balls when it comes into contact with air! Watch Waterballs
Enjoy these few treats of the internet.. I’ll check back in later.
Peace
Eric M Chicago
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This is my Marilyn Monroe shrine. I just finished reading my favorite book, again: The Assassination of Marilyn Monroe by Donald H. Wolfe. Great, GREAT book. I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures of the legend and create a place I can always go to see my favorite sides of Marilyn.
Goodbye, Norma Jeane. We love you.
Marc Chagall (7 July 1887 – 28 March 1985) was a Belarusian-French painter of Belarusian-Jewish origin who was born in Belarus, at that time part of the Russian Empire. He is associated with the modern movements after impressionism. (Thanks, Wikipedia) ;)
I love Chagall’s work. When people ask me who my favorite artist is I always have the same answer: Marc Chagall. It’s his use of color that fascinates me. For some reason when I look at his paintings I almost always seem to notice a color I’ve never seen before. Now THAT’S a rockstar. I particularly love his work with blues and the cooler side of the spectrum.
Gregory Williams is someone that I just recently came across. His paintings struck me instantaneously because of their dramatic colors and compelling blend of organic, natural lines with strict, geometric lines. I think these are some wonderful landscapes that have been made SO interesting to look at! I find his work a nice complement to Chagall. He is a very popular contemporary artist whose work has been heralded as “simultaneously calming and kinetic, reminding us of nature’s enormous emotional range.” Couldn’t put it better myself.
