Snow Day! We woke up this morning to 20 inches of snow. Unfortunately, Navy wasn't as excited as we were. The snow was so deep that Mike had to carve a path out for him!
Have a cozy weekend everyone! See you Monday!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Navy Friday
Snow Day! We woke up this morning to 20 inches of snow. Unfortunately, Navy wasn't as excited as we were. The snow was so deep that Mike had to carve a path out for him!
Have a cozy weekend everyone! See you Monday!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Frenchie Prints
I found these adorable French Bulldog prints by Henri Hopper on Etsy. How cute are they? And Henri looks just like Navy. I may have to buy one... or two... or all three of them!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Jack & Kate Spade
There is a fabulous article from New York Magazine featuring Jack and Kate Spade and how they first started their company. The no longer are affiliated with Jack Spade or Kate Spade but still remain icons of the company. They seem so normal and down to earth! And my favorite part of the article? They hosted a book party for Jack's new photography book and "the books were tied to the bottoms of clusters of balloons and [were] hanging in midair." How quintessentially Spade.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Kitchen Inspiration
I'm dying for a house right now... especially for an all white, gourmet kitchen. Unfortunately it's not going to be in the cards for at least another couple of years. Instead I'll be cramped in a tiny NYC apartment with a teeny tiny kitchen. Ohh well... a girl can dream. Here are a few of my favorite inspirational kitchens.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Bread Pudding
I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's day weekend! I had the best day hanging out with Mike and Navy. For Valentine's Day brunch I threw together a last minute bread pudding. Luckily we had a half a loaf of french bread leftover from dinner the night before so it worked perfectly. The secret is the melted butter and honey that you drizzle over the top. It adds a luxurious sweetness. Here's the recipe:Bread Pudding
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk (I used 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cup milk)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons honey
day old bread, cut in 1 inch slices
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly beat eggs in a bowl. Mix in milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Soak sliced bread in egg mixture. Once the bread has soaked in most of the liquid, pour into a buttered baking dish. Combine melted butter and honey together and drizzle on top of the bread. Bake for 35-45 minutes.
The bread comes out rich and custard-y on the bottom and sweet and crunchy on top. It's delicious!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Dump Cheese in a Pot Mac & Cheese
This snowy weather makes me just want to sit in front of the tv and eat mac and cheese. It's my form of winter hibernation. My mac and cheese is soo creamy and cheesy. I tend to make it from memory so each time it's a little bit different. And the measurements don't have to be exact, just make it to your taste. So here it goes... my recipe:
Dump Cheese in a Pot Mac & Cheese
4 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. flour
1 small onion (grated on a box grater)
1 clove grated garlic (since the garlic is small I use my microplane to grate)
3 cups milk (or heavy cream or half & half, whatever you have)
1/2 to 3/4 lb. of American Cheese (ask for it in a chunk instead of sliced at the deli counter)
1-2 cups Cheddar Cheese (or any other type of your favorite cheese)
1 cup Pecorino Romano
1 lb. of pasta
Bacon crumbles (optional)
On medium temperature, melt butter in a pot and add grated onion and garlic. You'll want to grate the onion and garlic so it kind of melts into the butter so you don't oniony chunks in your mac and cheese. Let the onion and garlic cook in the butter for 5 minutes until bubbly.
Add the flour to make a roux. Let the flour and butter cook for another 3 minutes. Add 3 cups of milk or heavy cream or half and half... whatever you prefer. (Obviously heavy cream will make it much richer. I tend to use half heavy cream and half milk.) Mix with a whisk and let milk and roux thicken. Approx. 10-15 minutes.
In the meantime, start boiling your pasta in salted, boiling water until slightly under al dente. You'll want it to finish cooking in the cheese sauce.
Then just grate all of your cheeses (I use my food processor... it grates everything in seconds). Feel free to experiment with whatever cheese you have on hand. I do recommend the American cheese because it helps keep the sauce to a creamy consistancy. Cheddar on it's own is very oily so it tends to clump. Also, I'm not a huge fan of Pecornino Romano on it's own, but it just adds so much flavor to this recipe. It adds a distinctive bite (is the only word I can use to describe it) that will just set this mac and cheese apart. Dump it all into the roux, mix and let melt.
Then dump in the pasta to the sauce. It will seem like there is a ton of sauce compared to pasta but once it cools it starts to thicken even more. Anyway, you can never have too much cheesy sauce in mac and cheese.
Add bacon crumbles it you want to be overly decadent.
Plop yourself in front of the telly and dig in!
PS... since I'm not an offical recipe chef and you have any questions or tried this recipe and it didn't work, please let me know. I tend to "wing" recipes all the time so any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
I Love My...
iPod case by Byrd & Belle. It's the perfect felted wool case with a leather closure that also acts as a tie for your headphones. Ingenuity and craftsmanship at it's best!
Monday, February 8, 2010
A Valentine for You
The other day, The Prippy Handbook reminisced about making shoe box mailboxes in elementary school. Oh how lovely it was to open all those little envelopes and collect those adorable Valentines from your friends. So in honor of the holiday I made these old school cards by using Lovely Design's February Pattern. You can get them HERE. Just print and cut. Better yet, you can download IS LY's blank petal envelope and paste this in the center for an extra special Valentine. Enjoy!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Navy Friday
For those of you wondering what sounds a sleeping French Bulldog makes, please watch this video. Notice how his own snoring is keeping him awake. It's not pretty, I tell ya.
Have a great weekend everyone! See you Monday!
A Designer's Creative Process
Check out Lovely Design's amazing post on how she created her daughter's birthday invitation. Sharilyn's creative process is fascinating and inspiring.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Accessorize
What to do when a certain someone (ahhhem... Naaavy) has a temper tantrum and destroys your tissue box?
Accessorize with a bracelet! Heavier bracelets work best as they hold down the tissues and allow the next ones to pop through. I got the idea from this, but since I didn't have one on hand for these kind of emergencies, a bracelet worked just fine!
Accessorize with a bracelet! Heavier bracelets work best as they hold down the tissues and allow the next ones to pop through. I got the idea from this, but since I didn't have one on hand for these kind of emergencies, a bracelet worked just fine!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
54 Reasons Playing Cards
My mom's birthday was this past Sunday and instead of the usual present-buying route, I decided to make her something special. She loves to play cards so I thought a customized deck would be unique and special. The theme was "54 Reasons Why We Love You." I enlisted the help of my brother and together we each came up with 27 reasons. A lot were fond childhood memories and it's funny to see how many revolved around food!
I found these special pink playing cards at my local grocery store.
Next I designed a template in InDesign and wrote our sentiments in each box. I color coded them so that the green ones are from my brother and the pink ones are mine.
I printed the template on full sheet label adhesive paper. Then I cut each one out using my Olfa knife, ruler and cutting board. And, although this is totally unnecessary, I rounded the corners with my small corner rounder.
Finally I applied each "label" onto the back of the cards. I kind of like how the design on the back of the card still comes through the paper slightly. I suppose if you're a serious card player this wouldn't work because you would start to remember the sentiment with the value on the other side. However, I think my mom will just love reading through them more than anything else.
I made a custom box using this awesome template from Lovely Design. It took just a few minutes and I used cereal box cardboard. (In case you were wondering, Mike goes through a box of Cheerios every couple of days so there always an empty box around!)
All packaged up and ready to go out. I was a little late sending it out but my mom should be getting it in the mail today or tomorrow. I'll keep you updated on her response!
Finally, click HERE for my download-able playing card template so you can make your own "54 Reasons" playing cards. Perfect for a sweet and sentimental Valentine's Day gift!
**Update: Just got a phone call from my mom and she LOVED them. I believe some tears were shed too! She was very touched.
I found these special pink playing cards at my local grocery store.
Next I designed a template in InDesign and wrote our sentiments in each box. I color coded them so that the green ones are from my brother and the pink ones are mine.
I printed the template on full sheet label adhesive paper. Then I cut each one out using my Olfa knife, ruler and cutting board. And, although this is totally unnecessary, I rounded the corners with my small corner rounder.
Finally I applied each "label" onto the back of the cards. I kind of like how the design on the back of the card still comes through the paper slightly. I suppose if you're a serious card player this wouldn't work because you would start to remember the sentiment with the value on the other side. However, I think my mom will just love reading through them more than anything else.
I made a custom box using this awesome template from Lovely Design. It took just a few minutes and I used cereal box cardboard. (In case you were wondering, Mike goes through a box of Cheerios every couple of days so there always an empty box around!)
All packaged up and ready to go out. I was a little late sending it out but my mom should be getting it in the mail today or tomorrow. I'll keep you updated on her response!Finally, click HERE for my download-able playing card template so you can make your own "54 Reasons" playing cards. Perfect for a sweet and sentimental Valentine's Day gift!
**Update: Just got a phone call from my mom and she LOVED them. I believe some tears were shed too! She was very touched.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Lucky Deal of the Day
Do you know about Lucky's Deal of the Day? Each day Lucky readers can get a featured item for up to 50% off. Today it is In God We Trust's Hammered Charm Cuff. Usually $50, but $25 for today only! Since I've been fighting a major case of the winter blues, I decided to treat myself and I got the key cuff. Quick... you still have time to combat those winter blues too!
Monday, February 1, 2010
