I got a julienne peeler for my birthday (it’s the same brand as my garlic press that I’m obsessed with — I love their tools) and have been so excited to use it. It’s a tiny littler alternative to some of those giant spiralizer tools, which I’ve tried and returned — am I the only one that’s had trouble with getting zoodles to work?! So I put my new kitchen gadget to the test and made these sweet potato corn cakes and have been eating them as a side dish, in the morning with eggs, and snacking on them too! It took a couple of tries to get them to stay together, so make sure you follow this trick in the recipe: squeeze the moisture out of them when you’re packing them into patties to help them hold their shape, and don’t flip them in the pan until one side is fully caramelized — it seals the pieces together. Full recipe below!
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How’s everyone doing with their New Year’s resolutions? I have a practice of not starting my resolutions until Mid-January because that first week back after the holidays is just too much of a bummer to stick a diet on top of; and then my birthday rolls in on the 10th (which is usually a long-weekend of celebrations, I like to drag that baby out), so around the 14th-17th I start to feel that urge to ‘start the year off right’ — two weeks late of course! So while I’m getting my head around goals for the year I figured I could at least start the week with some healthier eating. I made a big batch of these turkey-taco stuffed peppers over the weekend and they’ve been easy to reheat after work for a quick dinner. The lean protein and veggies are a pretty-good-for-you option — I also drizzled a little bit of chipotle sour cream on top — but you can opt to leave it out if you’re watching calories extra closely. Full recipe below!
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When I’m gathering snacks for a lazy Sunday at home I’ve tossed that pre-made pub cheese in my shopping basket on a few occasions, and it occurred to me how simple the stuff would be to make on my own with some fun mix-ins to create new flavors. I worked with Hidden Valley Ranch and Family Circle Magazine on a homemade version of pub cheese in the February issue on stands now, made with lots of sharp cheddar cheese and cream cheese. Fresh chives and Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix give the spreadable cheese dip a bright and tangy flavor that pairs well with rustic crackers and other game-day snacks. I highly encourage whipping up your own batch for Sunday Football viewing sessions! Full recipe below:
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Do you have those go-to recipes in your head that you can just make with your eyes closed? You know that pinch of this and a dash of that are the perfect measurements, no need for measuring cups or recipe cards. That’s my chili recipe — honed over the years to be both classic and at the same time totally unique to me. For example, I alway do half beef, half ground turkey — you still get the flavor of the beef but it cuts down on fat; I also feel strongly that all chili should be made with tasty golden kernels of corn (fire roasted is the way to go!) and simmered for hours in a sturdy cast iron dutch oven (I love our Martha Stewart one.). And my secret ingredient — a trick my dad taught me as a kid — is to add a can of baked beans into the mixture for a little punch of sweetness to balance out the spice. A few weeks back my sister pointed out that even though I make this 2x a month all winter long, I never posted about it before on the blog. So here it is, finally written in stone for her to use (and hopefully you too!). 
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How is it already 5 days into the New Year? I feel like I was in a mad sprint at the end of the year with work, holidays, and getting tons of projects done for our annual New Year’s Eve party. This was the first time hosting it out at our house, so we made New Year’s Eve an official housewarming party since many of our friends hadn’t seen our new place yet (and plus, it guilted them to drive out to the ‘burbs for the night, #realtalk). It was a totally different experience throwing this party than our past 5 years of apartment hosting. For starters, it takes a lot more time to clean and prep a whole house than it did an apartment; we also had quite a few guests sleepover so we had lots to do to fix up guest bedrooms and freshen bedding. On top of all of that, I didn’t have my party flow down — you know: the spot you always put the bar, the place you always set out the food — all of that was trial and error this time around. Oh and one more thing: we had construction going on in our kitchen and wet paint in our dining room up until about 20 hours before the party started — can you hear my panicked laugh?!
One of the projects I tackled during my time off over the holidays was sending out my 2nd annual “happy new year” cards. I mailed them out to folks I collaborated with over the course of the year, and some of my favorite ‘cheerleaders’ that have supported me as I’ve worked to grow my business. After a fun photo shoot with the Improper Bostonian, I knew the picture of my pink bar cart had to be involved in the mailer. I worked with Posh + Prep to design the cards and wanted to add in a few little treats, so Julie illustrated two of my favorite #domestikatedishes cocktail recipes — and I tucked festive drink stirrers into the envelope for some cocktail flair. I would love to send one of these cards to every single one of my readers, but since I can’t I thought I would do the next best thing: share the recipe cards here so you can download and use them at home. Hope you enjoy a festive cocktail after making it through your first day back at work after the holidays — cheers! 
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It’s here! It’s here! My favorite holiday of the year! I know people get all grumpy about New Year’s Eve because it usually involves an overly expensive dinner or a crowded bar, but that’s why I decided a long time ago to throw my own New Years bash and give all my friends the perfect plan for sending out the year in style and kicking off the new one just right. Call me a sap, but I love the idea of starting the new year with my best friends, doing what I love most: entertaining. It’s also one of my favorite holidays because it involves all things glitter and sparkle and confetti-filled. So if you’re hosting your own soiree this year, or need to add a little pop of celebration to a night in watching the ball drop, I’ve got a few last minute DIY ideas you can craft up. I worked on these with Julie of Posh and Prep who lent her expert calligraphy skills to make them a little extra special! 
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After all of the fun we had putting together some DIY details for Thanksgiving, Julie from Posh & Prep and I got crafty and created a few fun handmade elements to add your Christmas parties and celebrations. Julie lent her fabulous hand-lettering to create the easiest place card favor: a classic christmas ornament personalized with gold ink calligraphy in each guests name.
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I finally feel like we have our first ‘complete’ room in our house after a mini-makeover of our downstairs bathroom. Of course this is the one room in our house that I forgot to take ‘before’ pictures of, so you’ll just have to trust me when I say that these small projects made a huge impact on this little space. The bathroom was a dark rust color and had a huge dark wood cabinet on the wall and a beat-up, yellowed laminate vanity. Our first order of business was giving it a fresh coat of paint with a really rich blue color — Hamilton Blue by Benjamin Moore — I love how it looks. Once we started painting, it made the laminate flooring look so dingy and gross, so I made a brave decision to try to tile the bathroom floor myself. I did lots of research online, and got some advice from a friendly sales associate at Home Depot, and managed to do a pretty solid looking job of installing a marbled hexagon penny tile. 
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This is our very first year with a full-sized Christmas tree! I loved my little apartment-sized bookshelf trees we had in years past, but gosh is it fun to decorate a big tree in our new home — it feels just a little more like the holidays seeing it in our breakfast nook. One challenge with upgrading from a mini-tree to a 7ft tall tree is we never really owned full-sized ornaments. I have been on the hunt for the perfect colored glass balls to fill in the gaps between our smaller, more sentimental ornaments. Of course, I gravitated right to bright-colors and expensive price tags (like these and these), but couldn’t justify breaking the bank when I knew I needed lots of them. So I DIY’ed my own in the simplest way possible!
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