I’ve only recently been introduced to Thai food. Pad Thai is my favorite… I would never pass it up!  My latest quick and easy go-to recipe is Thai Beef Lettuce Wraps from Women’s Health magazine. They’re very similar to the appetizers you get at P.F. Changs restaurant (or any Asian restaurant, really) and they’re very delicious.  Here’s a quick overview of how to make them:

I love flowers. They’re bright and happy and cheerful. Even the ones that aren’t bright are still cheerful. This week, I’m thankful for beautiful flowers that brighten up your day and add a small touch of beauty to your life.

This Thursday I’m thankful for business trips – mostly because it’s the only way I’m getting to travel these days. Since I’ve been working  at my current position, I’ve taken my first flights and I’ve travelled to Denver, CO (I think I’m in love with this city) and Washington, DC to participate in large public health conferences.

Nick met our new neighbor the other night.

He and his roommate actually moved in to the house next door on the same weekend we moved into our house, but we hadn’t even seen them until Monday night when, to make a long story short, the one roommate came to notify us that ADT contacted the previous owner, John, because the alarm had been going off. [Side note: He is friends with the previous owner, so previous owner called to him to make sure everything was alright. In our defense, previous owner didn’t leave any instructions about the ADT system and therefore we did not have an access code. We didn’t even know it was still connected.]

Tonight Nick and I attended Wine and Design, which is a 2-3 hour painting session that provides the canvas, cover-up, paints, brushes, and a corkscrew (as you supple your own wine or beverage of choice). We had a blast! Their press release describes it as:

” First-time painters, aspiring artists, or self-proclaimed pro’s browse the company’s website to find a painting they would like to replicate. Paintings vary from koi to cubism and everything in between. The session is led by a local artist that guides participants through a carefully orchestrated step-by-step process that promises a finished “masterpiece” at the end of the two-hour session. The “painting/wine party” isn’t a new concept, but it is a first for Raleigh.”

Tonight’s replicas were inspired by Andy Warhol. Here is an original Warhol and it is the one we used for inspiration for our painting:

About a week in advance, we sent in photos and they printed them on the canvas. All we had to do was come in, drink up, and paint over them in true Warhol style! We decided to use the same photo of Chico and put them up above the fireplace in our new house. It will be the first piece of art in the house!

This is the photo we used of Chico:

Isn’t our little man adorable?! This photo was actually taken one night when Nick was folding laundry at his old apartment and Chico thought he was leaving. Chico associates folding laundry with packing and knows that when we pack, we’re going somewhere – and that doesn’t include him most of the time – so he sat in his lap and looked up at him with those little eyes! “Please don’t leave me!

Anywho, this is what the the canvases looked like when we started.

That one is mine, about half way finished. The instructor had a lot of original Warhol paintings printed out and on display for us to use as guides. He was really good at pointing out little fixes we could make to add depth or to really make the painting our own. We used acrylic paint, which I thought was surprisingly hard to work with. I had to work diligently to prevent the stoke lines from showing. However, choosing colors was pretty easy because, aside from having the printed Warhol paintings to use as a guide, you pretty much use bold, contrasting colors. What I liked most about this particular painting style was that I never felt like I had to “make it perfect” and that reduced a lot of anxiety about seriously painting for the first time. There were a lot of people in the session that did obsess over every little detail. I know I’m not a professional artist, but I feel that you have to watch out for that. Otherwise, you’ll over work it.

It took us almost three hours to complete our works of art, but it was a lot of fun and we’re proud of what we accomplished. We can’t wait to go back and try another painting. Here are more photos of our art from tonight.

[one_half_last][/one_half_last]

Our finished projects!

For more information, visit www.wineanddesignnc.com