What's Cooking: Funky Spaghetti!

Today was our very first day of summer hours, which means working from 7am-5pm...makes for a long day, that is for sure! But I'm definitely not complaining...come Friday, about 11am (when our weekend arrives) it is all worth it! So, after a long day at work....and a quick "picking up" session that included - loading the dishwasher, starting a load of laundry, folding a load of towels (my fav), sweeping the floor, making the bed, cleaning the litter box, and fluffing the couch - I was definitely not in the mood to be slaving over the stove, plus we're running low on groceries. I decided to whip up a quick and easy dinner that I had made a mental note of whilst watching Oprah when she had chef Jamie Oliver as a guest. This is a perfect meal for summer...especially if you grow tomatoes and basil in a garden, or simply pick up these easy to find ingredients from a local farmer's market or vegetable stand. Bon Appétit!


FUNKY SPAGHETTI
Serves 3–4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound spaghetti or linguine
• 11 to 14 ounces cherry tomatoes, or 2 large tomatoes roughly diced
  
• 2 handfuls of fresh marjoram and/or basil leaves
• 6 to 8 glugs extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
• Splash of red wine vinegar
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions: Put pasta in large pot of boiling water and cook until al dente. Halve tomatoes, put in bowl and add herbs, olive oil, garlic and vinegar.

Season to taste, then scrunch tomatoes until slightly mushed. Drain pasta, and while still steaming, mix with tomatoes.

Separate onto plates, serve, and EAT!

New Year's Resolution: New Bedroom

Back on December 31, 2009 I decided to make a goal for the year - one that I could achieve, maintain, and be excited about. I thought we desperately needed a bedroom makeover, and this would be the PERFECT way to get myself (and vince) motivated to take on the task. So from January until April - I planned, shopped, measured, and prepared for the weekend of April 24th when this magical transformation would take place.

First let's discuss the problems/challenges of our existing bedroom - complete with visuals, that I'm ALMOST too embarrassed to show....we have an obnoxiously large tv (which is another story) in our bedroom, it was the first thing you saw when you walked in, which sat on a piece of furniture that belongs in a garage - bleh.

Secondly...my ghetto-rific "vanity" - which essentially was an IKEA computer desk with a mirror mounted above it. vince and i both hated how my stuff was all out on diplay, I had little storage, and it just looked awful. super sophisticated, i know. as a side note - halas the dog is so pretty!

Thirdly....although I loved the color on the walls, I struggled finding bedding that coordinated with the wall color & the white furniture....it is a tricky combination for sure...i think the wall color would have looked better furniture that was made of actual wood...

Easter weekend vince and I went to IKEA, purchased a few key pieces of furniture to go along with the new items that I previously gathered for the room....so we were all set! For the walls we decided to go with Restoration Hardware's "Cappuccino" in subtle velvet...the paint is simply phenomenal...low VOC and the coverage is amazing!

so now for the fun stuff....here is a shot of the after....we did a little rearranging so now when you walk in our bedroom, the focus is on our bed, with our beautiful bedding from Restoration Hard (Italian Cypress Paisley in Azure) We love it! Various shades of blue all swirled together into a medley of ahhhh! We put up some white plantation blinds...which I absolutely love! We bought a new mirror chest, which acts as my vanity...it is great because I now have storage for all of the stuff that would sit on top of the old "vanity"...

the obnoxious tv now sits atop of a new dresser for vince's stuff...it is not such an eyesore, as it sits against the wall where the door is located. paddington approves of this new dress, it is the perfect place for him to perch. we are thrilled with the transformation....the white, tan, blue combo is so soothing. we love how comfortable and easy it feels....i think it looks like a room at a beach cottage.

The makeover has definitely inspired us to "rethink" the other rooms in our little space...the whole process was so fun and challenging! Wonder what we will do next?

casey

and so it begins...

...the start of something new. i like the idea of documenting our life, no matter how uninteresting or self-indulgent. i intend to share our experiences, recipes, home projects, thoughts on life, book reviews, etc - if we live it, ill blog it.


stay tuned.




cw