Chicken Parmigiana!

Yes, it's true, I made chicken parmigiana for dinner last night. So, you can all stop whispering and guessing about my fabulous cooking skills -- they are officially, fully in tact. I rock at cooking. ;) Dinner was quite yummy.

Apparently, this is a fairly easy dish to make, but for me it was muy complicato! I busted out the fresh grated romano and parmesan, the homemade dry bread crumbs, pressed garlic, shredded mozzarella, fresh basil, chicken thighs, egg and cheese dip, flash-frying, oven-baking, cheese-melting goodness. Yummm! And, yes, there are pictures to prove it:

A couple pieces left after first helpings...

Mmmm.... my plate!

Mike, Catherine and Grandma all like.... and Kai wants some!

The Italiano food was the cap to the week-long celebration that was Mike's birthday. On his birthday (after presents...)

...we went out for drinks at Portland City Grill, then dinner at Papa Haydn's on NW 23rd.

I took Thursday and Friday off work... and Friday night we met up with some friends for a little group celebration at Rose and Thistle...

So, all-in-all, I hope turning 31 was fabulous for my husband. I certainly had an awesome 4-day weekend hanging out with him. He's the best!

Love,

Katery

My 100th Post!

Wow! I can't believe this is my 100th post on my Katery Designs blog. It's been about 15 months since I've started blogging, and while at times posts have been few and far between, I've had a lot of fun creating and sharing my stories in this forum. Lots of things have changed in that span of time, and I'm happy to still have this creative outlet to share some of my favorite things, like creations, thoughts, and cool stuff I find online.

Speaking of cool stuff... here are my new potential business cards... courtesy of my awesome Dad-in-law's girlfriend, Tanya... a very talented graphic designer. I couldn't download the files to post them on here... so I took pictures of the computer screen. Ha! I told Tanya I liked peacock feathers and damask... and voila! I think I like this vertical version... as it stands out more... What do you think?
I've been thinking of working more on the jewelry design lately. Mainly because I'm dying to go visit one of my best friends in the world, (literally, as she's in freakin' Vietnam), this summer. I miss Kelly so much, I can't even begin to blog about it, (partly because I'll start crying). How cute is she?? :)


Anyway... I really, really, really, really, really want to try to save up enough cash for a trip to Asia this year... possibly over the summer... to visit Kelly in Hanoit, then perhaps Jen in Indonesia, (my best friend from college, who's working there as a dive instructor), and get over to Thailand, too! Jen came to visit Portland last week and stayed with Mike and I. Hearing about her travels, missing Kelly, and having had this longtime LONGING to visit the East... I've gotta make it freakin' happen! So... jewelry can help support that. I have a lot of fun making jewelry... and it brings in some extra cash on the side! I'm also finishing this fabulous book:
It's by this California punk who grows up in Santa Cruz, (which makes me totally want to visit Santa Cruz, by the way). His father is a well-respected Buddhist teacher, but the author has a pretty messed up childhood and ends up totally strung out on crack and in jail. By the time he turns 20, he starts meditating and eventually traveling Asia and studying Buddhism. Now, he's a respected teacher himself. It's a great read! When I'm not reading, trying to make jewelry, or working... I've been trying to work out more lately. My new year resolution is to work out more, eat better, and cut beer outta my diet. So far so good. I'm also trying to spend as much time with Dad as possible, who turns 72 this Saturday. Mike took this shot a couple of weeks ago when we were at Dad's to watch the Rose Bowl. We're looking at a photo album my sister, Amy, made Dad for Christmas. She did a great job, and he loves it!
I'm so glad my Dad is here closer so I can spend more time with him. It makes me feel blessed to share any moments I can with him. Even though his Alzheimer's is getting gradually more severe, it's a blessing to have him close by... in any capacity he's in. He seems happy, too. So that makes everything so much better. I also feel so lucky to have such an amazing family, wonderful friends, and happy life when I think about what's going on in Haiti now. I feel like there's not a lot I can do to help the situation there... but every little bit counts, right? Here's any easy way to contribute to the relief effort: You can text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross relief for Haiti.

Love, Kate