The fig and prosciutto pizza I made for dinner:
The promotion I got at work! (notice how that came second to pizza? Yea. I love food.)
And the awesome print I ordered from Design Crisis as a present to myself for kicking ass. I can’t wait to frame and hang this bad boy. Nothing says congratulations on your promotion like a giant framed horse… made of other horses.
Our TV broke this weekend… about 10 minutes before guests were supposed to arrive to watch the SuperBowl. Impeccable timing! Luckily we have friends that live nearby who graciously hosted us last-minute.
Crisis-averted, but we’re still sans TV and last night was a true test of our ability to avoid boredom. I made a pizza, caught up on all of my blogs, finished the last 50 pages of my book club book, held a virtual tag sale on Craigslist, and that brought me up to about 7:30.
Which is why I organized all of my boyfriend’s ties by color while he cleaned out his closet. Now that the closet is clean, the question remains … how will we entertain ourselves tonight??
After my Thank You note post yesterday, one of my girlfriends, Audra, told me she writes her notes on her vintage typewriter which types in cursive. I almost fell out of my chair, and then pulled myself back up to open a new window on the computer to type in “eBay typewriter cursive.”
In addition to her enlightening tip that I can buy a typewriter with a script font, and kicking off an intense day of eBay bidding, she also shared a story about a typewriter she lost in college …
She had bought a 1933 Remington Rand Model One, in perfect working condition at an antique store in Lake George for $25. It served her well all through college but then finally during her senior year it broke.
So she took it to a typewriter shop in the city, lugging her beloved 35 lb typewriter on subways, trains, and through the streets of New York. Once she got it there, they agreed to fix it.
In three weeks it was ready, but the cost to fix it was $225, which was way more than her collegiate budget could afford, so she let it sit on the shelf at the shop for a few months.
When she finally went back, they told her that they thought she had forgotten about it and would never pick it up so they sold it… to TOM HANKS! Apparently, he is a collector. And that’s the story of the typewriter that got away.
Image via stilettogirl on etsy
Happy Birthday to me! Who doesn’t love a day when you can drink champagne and wear tiaras and everyone has to do what you tell them too?
images via thethinkingtank and Jeune Marie
The best Christmas presents are the ones you’re still excited about even when the holidays have come and gone. I got some cozy minnetonka moccasins from my boyfriends family, and let me tell you — they are the gift that keeps on giving. They are SO cozy and make coming in from the frigid Boston weather a little more enjoyable.
Just a few more pictures of my lovely party to share and then I’m ready to kick of 2010 with a bang. I’m bad at keeping new years resolutions, but this year I’m going to try really really hard to care less about what people think of me. Easier said than done! And I’m also going to try and grow my hair out for Locks of Love,. Do you have any New Years Resolutions? Do tell.
My mom gave me some crafting materials for Christmas, and among the presents was a Martha Stewart Pom-pom kit. I have wanted to use these at a party for-ev-er, and was so excited to hang them from the ceiling for NYE. Unfortunately the ceilings in my ancient apartment must have 30 layers of lead paint on them, because it was impossible to get tacks into the surface to hang them up.
Plan B: decorating the mantle. My boyfriend suggested I use them to make a display above the fireplace with some big glittery numbers.
A late night trip to Michael’s and we were on our way… I cut numbers out of foam, slid them on a stick, and glittered-the-heck out of those babies.
The numbers stood up on another block of foam…
… and then I nestled them behind the pom-poms…
Of course the night ended with drunken guests wearing pom-poms on their heads and tossing them around the room. We’re clearly not ready to be grown ups yet. At least I got good pictures at the beginning of the night.
I threw a mean NYE party, if I do say so myself. So mean in fact, that I didn’t have the energy to post about my crafty decorations until January 2nd, but better late than never!
My first DIY decoration was metallic flower vases, and they were so simple. I started by wrapping some old coffee cans and quaker oats containers in foil…
… then I sprayed them with some adhesive and sprinkled glitter around the bases…
… and voila! Sparkly NYE decorations:
I was hoping to post pictures of my New Years Eve decorations this morning, but they just need a little more tweaking tonight (and by tweaking I mean my boyfriend drove me to the craft store at 9:00 last night so I could buy more glitter — he is a saint).
In lieu of glittery decorations this morning, you will have to subside on a recipe I threw together for dinner this week. I think every issue of the Rachel Ray magazine has some variation of her peas and ricotta cheese pasta dish. I adapted it by tossing in some of my own ingredients, it’s simple, quick, and deliciously rewarding.
Start by boiling a box of pasta of your choice (I used shells, because they trap the cheese and peas quite nicely). While the pasta is boiling, chop and brown 2-3 links of sausage in a small pan (I used sun tried tomato chicken sausage). If you’re truly talented at multi-tasking and can boil water, brown sausage, and take on an additional step… put some frozen peas in the microwave to warm them up. Next, empty half a small container of ricotta cheese into a bowl (about a cup) and toss it with some garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. When the peas are warmed they can be mixed into the ricotta cheese (reserve a few to sprinkle on the top). When the sausage is fully browned, add a handful of pine nuts to the pan and let them toast for just about a minute (they burn easily, so keep them moving around the pan). Drain the pasta and reserve a dash of the pasta water (if you’re using shells you can really just quickly drain them and throw them back into the pot, they’ll hold some water naturally because of their shape). Finally, mix the ricotta and peas in with the pasta. Spoon the sausage and nut mixture, and any reserved peas on top of the pasta and finish with some parmesan cheese. Eat and enjoy!
I absolutely love cooking, but its a total challenge in my pitifully tiny excuse for a kitchen. This weekend though I was motivated left and right to cook… first ol’ Martha tempted me with pictures of her Christmas brunch. Caramel drizzled camembert anyone? How about a fried egg in a steaming hot popover? Holy drool Martha.
I also indulged my indulgent side and watched Julie and Julia with a glass of wine on Saturday night. Is it possible to gain weight from watching someone cook? Who cares, anyone that loves butter that much is all right with me.
Inspired, I made an attempt at beef bourguigon on Sunday night, and it was heavenly… and for anyone that wants my review: the book, and the recipe, were better than the movie. But isn’t that always the case?
