This is my dining room. Which somehow turned into my office, bookshelf, the kids computer room (they were playing a game on Star Wars website) and place for placing miscellaneous doo-dads that you never want found again. The stacks and stacks of cookbooks are essential, while the specific titles on the table change week by week (depends on what I’m cooking), I’m never without inspiration or reference at my fingertips.
It’s not the most ergonomic office situation, but it provides me with an eagle’s eye view on my children, who can cause mischief faster than you can flick whipped cream on the ceiling.
This spot also is just 3 steps away from my front door, my kitchen and my bedroom. In case I need to greet the UPS guy who brings me new cookbooks every day, check on a dish simmering on the stove or go take a nap.
I love working at home.
Well, I’m about to bring my office on the road for three weeks on book tour. I’ve never been away from the kidlets and husband for that long, and I’ve certainly never been that long without my stacks and stacks of cookbooks that I love so much.
So now, I’ve got to decide what’s the best way to work on the go, and I’m thinking that a towering stack of cookbooks might not be wise to pack. Nor is that hideous tropical-ishy fake-flower centerpiece that I assembled together when we first moved in this empty, bare-walled house 7 years ago. After unpacking, I ran to Michael’s craft store armed with a 40% off coupon, all panicked because our house lacked character and hastily started grabbing random stems, bunched them together, stuck them in a vase and …..ta-da! HIDEOUSNESS ERUPTED. Now, that’s character.
For my trip, I can’t pack my kids. They’ve got school, the education system is so strict that if they miss a day of school and they’re not infected with the snifflin’ nasties, they’d get expelled, flunk kindergarten and never ever learn how to tie their shoes. Then I’d probably have to home-school them. Which means the boys would never get a proper education because all I’d probably do would be to teach them how to fluff and fold, empty the dishwasher and take the garbage out. All the stuff that I hate to do, but are essential lessons of domestic engineering.
I’ll have to leave them all behind (the boys, my husband, hideousness and the books).
So that leaves me with my laptop, a camera and you.
Are you in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle? I’ll be teaching at Sur La Table in those cities. I’d love to see you.
Steamy Kitchen Sur La Table Cooking Classes
I’m so excited to have these classes at Sur La Table – I’ll be showing you how to make Vietnamese Summer Rolls, Firecracker Shrimp, Chinese Sausage Fried Rice, Pan Fried Tofu with Dark Sweet Soy and Chocolate Wontons. Space is limited, I think only 18 spots per location!
Los Angeles
Tuesday November 3rd at 6:30pm $69.00
Sur La Table (323) 954-0121
The Original Farmer’s Market
Los Angeles, California 90036
Sign up for the class
San Francisco
Saturday November 7rd at 6:00pm $69.00
Sur La Table (415) 732-7900
Union Square
San Francisco, California 94108
Sign up for the class
Seattle
Tuesday November 10th at 6:30pm $69.00
Sur La Table (425) 827-5541
90 Central Way
Kirkland, Washington 98033
Sign up for the class
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p.s. Thank you to my friend Carrie for snapping those shots of my office!
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Can I just say as soon as I saw the wall color – it was exactly what I was looking for? Do you remember the color name & brand? Thanks! Great looking room too!
I’m pretty much down the street from Sur La Table in Hollywood, but unfortunately rent wins out and thus no Steamy Kitchen Cooking classes for me. I may have to watch from the side lines as everyone crowds around you. boooo
I’ll be the one in the far corner jumping up and down to see what’s on the counter.
luv,
heather
I just have to say your centre piece is gorgeous!! Your house looks really warm, cosy & pretty 🙂 Your kidlets are so cute, sharing a chair like that.
Love your blog, love your writing. Informative yet entertaining. Good luck with the cooking classes / book launch.
Too bad I’m on the right (wrong) coast. I’d love to sit in on one of your classes.
Jean (wife) has her PC, queue of books to read, and anything else you can think of on the Dining Room Table. Don’t tell Mom what her daughter does to the favorite old dining room when Mom isn’t looking!
My laptop is on the coffee table — with stacks of trade journals, sci fi & cookbooks nearby. Wii controls on the end table to my right.
No kids or pets — no room.
Done! I signed up for a class in Seattle.
Yes, leaving the family behing is a tough one, especially for so long. But what I admire about you (among other things) is that you know how to make the most of it, be efficient and *party*, meet with friends… so you’ll enjoy it and they will be happy for you, right?!
My home office is pretty much in the dining room too. Wish I could come, but alas I am stuck in Wisconsin. LOL Have fun!
Looks like the perfect place to sit. We are hoping to get a new table and that’s were I plan on working from instead of the bedroom.
Thanks for the glimpse into your office. It looks comfortable. I love the rotating stacks of books–reminds me of my whole house, which always looks like a library exploded. Good luck with the book tour.
Steamy Kitchen hits the road! You go, girl! Best of luck with the cooking classes and book tour.
Hi Jaden,
Are you planning to visit Vancouver, BC (the city hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics for those who don’t know) anytime soon? It would be awesome to have you here in your beautiful city!! (Btw, I like your current decor… :o) )
would LOOOOOVE to come to Vancouver… have never been ~j
Oh I wish I was there in one of those cities… would love to see you in action….
Oh and by the way, I love the centerpiece 🙂
I’ll be at your LA class with a friend. Looking forward to tasting and learning. OK, tasting more than anything, really. LOL
How do you do it? Run a successful blog, cook and bake every day, work (launch a book, teach, TV etc), manage a household and raise two young boys? How do you do it??
By the way, your centrepiece is NOT hideous. 🙂
I have to confess that my first thought when I saw the picture was “What a cool centerpiece!” Guess I like hideous 🙂
I love your stack of books. Makes me feel better about how there’s an ever-changing stack next to my laptop too.
You should come to Dallas! You’ve said before that you like it…c’mon! Okay, well if not for the purpose of teaching classes, you should totally come for a book tour!
Have fun on your trip!
Hello Jaden 🙂
Wish I could attend your classes too but I’m from another continent.. love that picture of you with your boys..beautiful! 🙂
Thanks to the Daring Kitchen, I found you and your blog,
Amazing to see you so studious! I loved everything, and the twins so behaved and obedient, and more and more I admire you, congratulations! Sadness that I can not participate and see you teaching how to make Vietnamese cuisine, I’m so far … but I follow what gives here! A friendly hug 🙂
So bummed your classes aren’t going to be close enough to visit – would totally have come!
Have a fabulous book tour! When are you coming to Chicago??
Wow, I wish I lived on the West Coast! I’d SO be going to your classes 🙂
I know what you mean about working on the road. Since I work from home, I always think “yay! I can travel and still do my work while I’m away!” But sometimes finding that spot with a good wireless connection is harder than you think. You’re going to have an awesome book tour though!
You know we have a Sur la table in Richmond, Va and a big foodie community that would love to attend your class.
I agree with Lisa, please come to Boston! Enjoyed your IACP teleforum. Thanks! Hope to see you at Foodbuzz in SF.
Just wanted to say good luck with Sur La Table classes and thank you for such an awesome daring cooks challenge!
Ha! Look you have 2 people from Maryland as far as I can tell. Thats like almost a whole class 😉
I’m not so good at making the fried rice…. need to work on that. So I think I’ll make some firecracker shrimp this weekend, my friend likes to call them shrimpies; sounding really good right about now =D
Your cookbook is is AMAZING, Jaden! I am especially impressed that you took all of the food photos…gorgeous photography!
Good luck on your book tour…please come to Maryland! 🙂
Thank you Kim! Oh I’d love to come to Maryland….okay, maybe not wintertime (I’m a wimpy Floridian!) but perhaps when it gets warmer! ~jaden
I can tell you for sure that your dining room looks much better then my ‘home office’ which is in an actual separate room, but still….. SUCH a mess! I am sure you’re gonna have a wonderful time on the road and I will just wait until you repeat those classes in Amsterdam… 🙂
Much success on the tour hon and I just read the post with your book arriving 🙂 what thrill! My copy of your book arrives this month end! Can’t wait to get cooking from it.
Love and hugs always!
Love the home office!
I’m super bummed I’m currently across the ocean from all your classes and book signings, but have an amazing time!
Wow – your dining room slash bookshelf slash office looks so cozy and homey! Awesome!
Are you ever heading over to London??
Crumb! I’m not in any of those cities 🙁 But hey, if I told you how much I loved your custom coupon’d, flowered centerpiece, and plied you with Margarita’s of the highest alcohol content Tequila has to offer, would you come to Phoenix..? 😉
Your dining room looks very comfortable – this photo ist great!
Sorry, I’m not in LA, San Francisco or Seattle, although I’d love to be there – it’s too far from Germany :-(((
Hello there. I’m making more frequent visits to the steamykitchen nowadays, and I must say that I’m glad I did today. Seeing the picture of the firecracker shrimp brought back some serious memories when tastespotting was still below some 100 pages and I saw the post on your old site. Oh how I drooled then, and I still drool now. Every once in awhile I’ll pull out the “secret” firecracker shrimp for my family, and one of my friends; they always go crazy over it and can seem to never have enough. I can never thank you enough for sharing that recipe with us so long ago =]
Wish I could attend one of those cooking classes, but they’re about 2000 and some miles away from me lol. I hope they go amazingly well
Farmer’s Market is oh so close!
I”…place for placing miscellaneous doo-dads that you never want found again.”
This is exactly what our dining room table has turned into. At some point, the time spent apologizing to guests about it will exceed the time it takes to clean and hide the junk, and we’ll do it. But until then… I just brought home these bags of stuff from the Outlet Mall…
Please come to Boston! I got your cookbook this weekend and I can’t stop reading. It is beautiful, informative and entertaining. I sat down with it Saturday armed with a cup of coffee, a package of post-it notes and my grocery list. Unfortunately every page now has a post-it, which I think defeats the purpose. Tonight I am making firecracker shrimp and 15 minute noodles.
November 11th is a Wednesday… I know this as it’s a national holiday in Canada.
🙂
OMG please come to Sur La Table in Pittsburgh! 🙂 It’s not THAT far.
You are so close, why not Atlanta? You could be my guest speaker at my school! Have fun.
So when do you do Europe……Make sure I’m (one of) the First to know ! (After David Lebovitz and all the others) Good luck on your trip….I use my times away frm home, much as I miss the kids to catch up on my sleep!
I would really love to sign up for all the classes, but they are all held in US I live in Toronto, Canada…..I love cooking and baking…..
Darn, I’ve got a full day schedule on the 7th, otherwise I would definitely take your class in SF. It sounds like a lot of fun 🙂
Wahoo! Gotta talk to the hubby and see if I can arrange some babysitting!
Ugh I’m so pissed! I was looking forward to signing up for the class to see you at Sur La Table in SF but my hubby is on call that weekend. Instead, we’ll be seeing you on Friday at Omnivore Books 😀 I got my camera charging and I’ll be picking up your cookbook sometime this week! Can’t wait to finally meet you.
I wish I could go it all sounds delicious. LA isn’t that far from Orange County. But alas, I have a midterm that night. Good luck!