'Neville House' Mini Mod House From CB2

I just got the new CB2 catalog and on the first page, I notice a little mini-mod table-top house called Neville House. I immediately think it looks like a tiny version of our pool house (see above for side by side). I might need to buy it...only $59.95 and the reviews say the quality is top notch. Possible uses: bird house, holiday display, doll house, etc.

Meet Our 3 Dogs

Meet Augustus. He's a golden retriever/pit bull mix named after a Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory character (we lost our dogs Veruca and Violet last year-one to cancer, one to a ruptured spleen). Augustus is almost 11 years old and he hates televised sports...especially football, hockey and baseball.

Meet LaLa. She is spunky black pomeranian and the daughter of my twin sister Christie's pommies Lil Daddy (RIP) and Foxy Mama. Lala is almost 8 years old and likes to pray (pommie owners call it 'the pommie dance'). She lives for floating on rafts in the pool.

Meet Molly. She is a 3 year old rescue from the Arizona Boston Terrier Rescue. She was turned over to AZBTR because her owners were adopting a human baby and worried that Molly would be too much to handle. Molly is an avid swimmer and even goes under water! She's the newest kid on the block.

Hibbard Kitchen Green Juice

A couple months ago my husband got sucked into the concept of juicing, after watching the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. We embarked on a 3 day long raw juice diet together, just to see if we could do it. I discovered that I LOVE juicing, but that I hate beets. We spent approximately $230 on organic produce for the 3 days, which is why the program is impossible to stay on for more than a few days....you'd be fat, sick and broke if you did it much longer.
We bought a super extravagant juicer made by Breville and we agreed to make juicing a part of our life. One recipe we created was based on Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead's 'Mean Green' recipe. Our recipe is green, but it tastes better than you'd think.

Hibbard Kitchen Green Juice (Serves 2)
1 bunch of kale
4 whole small granny smith apples cut in halves (or 2 large ones)
1/2 honeydew cut into pieces that will fit in the juicer (skin peeled)
1" piece of ginger (skin peeled)
2 stalks of celery
optional: 1/2 cup cut pineapple (skin peeled)

 Add all ingredients to your juicer and voila!

Glitter Nails

I might be obsessed with glitter nails. Here are 5 of my favorite glitter nails from this year.

Light blue glitter acrylic on natural nails

 Burgundy glitter acrylic on natural nails

 Orange glitter gel polish on natural nails

 Purple glitter acrylic on natural nails

Pink glitter gel on natural nails

Trough Vegetable and Herb Garden

We've had our trough gardens on the back patio for about a year and a half. This year our grape vines took off, so Matt created a metal screen for the vines to crawl up. Our basil, which we use in everything, is growing like crazy. We even noticed a few basil plants popping up outside the troughs---score!

Vegan Italian Cheese Panini

I have been obsessed with paninis, ever since I ate at Sweet Pea Baking Company in Portland, OR this summer. The first panini recipe I created at home is based on Sweet Pea's Bendishaw sandwich. Wheat bread, pesto, fresh tomatoes and Daiya cheese. If you are strapped on time and craving pizza, this panini will be your best friend. The only thing that requires advance preparation is the vegan pesto, but it can stay fresh for about 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.

Vegan Italian Cheese Panini (for 2)

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of whole wheat bread (we use the whole wheat sourdough bread from Fresh and Easy)
• 1 medium tomato sliced (4 slices is ideal)
• 2-3 tbsp vegan pesto (recipe below)
• 1/2 cup mozzarella-style Daiya cheese
• Olive oil (for spritzing the bread)

Preparation:

1. Turn on the panini machine.
2. Spritz the outside of the bread slices lightly with olive oil and flip the oil side down.
3. Place 2 slices of tomato on one slice of bread for each sandwich.
4. Spread 1-1 1/2 tbsp of vegan pesto on the other slice of bread for each sandwich.
5. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of Daiya cheese on the slices of bread with the tomato.
6. Put the pesto bread slices on top of the other slices of bread to complete the sandwiches.
7. Transfer the sandwiches to the panini machine and hold down the handle for 10 seconds and then release the handle.
8. Cook the sandwich for 3 minutes and then check for dark grill marks. If you don't see dark grill marks, cook for additional 1 minute intervals and check for grill marks.
9. Flip the sandwich with tongs or a fork and cook for an additional 3 minutes.

Vegan Pesto
 Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups fresh basil
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 cup pine nuts (other nuts, such as almonds or walnuts may be substituted)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until nuts are ground. Pesto should still have texture and not be completely smooth. Add more salt and pepper to taste and enjoy! One variation is to add 1/2 cup rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes. For a lower fat version, replace half the oil with non-dairy milk.

Cooking Tofu On A Panini Machine

I have been obsessed with my panini machine, since I bought it a month ago. I purchased a Cuisinart GR-1 Griddler Panini and Sandwich Press. ($47.95). Did you know that you can cook tofu on a panini machine? I'd recommend using extra firm tofu.

Directions For Cooking/Grilling Tofu On A Panini Machine

1. Drain the tofu and then use paper towels to remove the excess moisture from the tofu.
2. Cut the block of tofu in half. Then cut that half into 4-5 pieces.
3. Marinate the tofu in any sauce or marinade you want for a minimum of 15 minutes.4. Turn on your panini machine.
5. Once your panini machine is warmed up (mine has a light that turns green when it is hot and ready to use), you can put your marinated tofu onto the panini machine (about 4 pieces at a time).
6. Lightly press the handle on the machine for about 10 seconds then release the handle.
7. Cook the tofu for 3 minutes and check to see if the tofu has dark grill marks. If it doesn't have dark grill marks, cook for 1 minute intervals until the grill marks are dark.
8. If the tofu has dark grill marks, flip the tofu using tongs or a fork. Cook on the 2nd side for 3 minutes.
9. Enjoy!