Thursday, December 15, 2011

Pinteresting & Some Recent Eats

Hello, amid all of the holiday craziness!

Lots going on around here...I have a ton planned before leaving for New Hampshire for Christmas next week...and celebrating my family's own Christmas this Sunday!

I am set on using butcher paper for wrapping this year after lots of Pinteresting.

(Source)

(Source)

Um, why is everyone either sold out/has no idea what it is and looks at me like a crazy person when I ask for "butcher paper"? C'mon, people. The Staples by me apparently has "brown kraft paper".....gonna check that out.

On the hunt for mason jars, too.

(Source)

(Source)

(Source) 

Missing my art stores in Arizona real hard. They had all of this stuff!!!

Also, found out that my original NYE dress (sparkly, duh) that I found via Pinterest a while ago is backordered until the 29th and will not be here on time, even though I ordered it a month ago and it was supposedly available by tomorrow. De-nied.

(Source)
So I luckily found this Free People one yesterday. Bam.

(Source)

I may actually get a rewear outta both of these thanks to my VEGAS trip in March!!! Because where else is it socially acceptable to wear sequins galore when it is not December 31st? Oh, Nevada, we have been apart for much too long.

(You can find me on Pinterest here.)

I won't exhuast you (or me) with a list of all of my other to-do's....instead, here are some awesome eats I have had lately.

Homemade gnocchi! With spinach and roasted tomatoes, doubling this recipe.

(Mine looked similar but with the tomatoes mixed in)

The only thing I changed was that I added diced onions. Stirring the whole roasted tomato slices (I didn't core them, and used regular vine-in tomatoes in lieu of plum tomatoes) into the pan at the end created an awesome, light sauce.

Very doughy.

Rolled out and cut into pieces!

Browning them in a pan with garlic and onion before the spinach and tomatoes were added.

Sooo cool, right?! Took way longer than I anticipated, but I would definitely make this again. Loved the flavor of the roasted tomatoes, too. I want to roast the garlic as well, next time. It is one of those dishes that makes you proud when you have pulled it off.

Also, remember when I mentioned the interview I read about Top Chef contestant and Old City dweller Jen Carroll? She talks about Cafe Ole and was eating the house special, Shakshouka, as she chatted with the interviewer. Come to find out it is super close to us, soooo Coop and I have eaten there twice recently and I am now addicted. They have a bazillion different types of chai tea (I got a soy gingerbread chai latte last weekend!) and their panini-like wraps, Mediterranean platter, and shakshouka (sort of like an Israeli huevos rancheros) are aaaamazing. Love the art and decor inside the cozy little shop, as well. I definitely have another go-to Philly spot.



Best. Hummus. Ever.

Hope you are all having a fabulous and relatively stress-free week! With lots of delicious food.

xoxo


If you ordered Christmas cards from me, they should arrive today from the printer...I will put everyone's package together and send them out this week! Next year I will have had my Etsy shop up and running for a while, making this process a little easier.


If you still want to enter my Cookies for Kids' Cancer giveaway, remember to do so before Sunday at midnight! Also....make those cookies. Seriously. Check them out on Eating Bird Food today, they are a part of the Twelve Days of Cookies!

3 comments:

  1. Whoa, that hummus is LOADED! Yum!
    I'm a sucker for the brown craft paper too! It's so simply yet snazzy when you jazz it up!

    ReplyDelete
  2. As far as the sequin dress is concerned, you read my mind exactly. I bought a second sequined number a few days ago to wear for New Years and I was thinking about cost per wear and realized I'll be going on my bachelorette in Vegas and will absolutely be wearing it again. Oh Vegas. So much it's good for.

    And did you try actual butcher places? I feel like a meat shop or whole foods might give you some butcher wrap paper for a small cost if you went in and asked customer service? Worth a shot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOVE Vegas. It was my second home for a few years so I absolutely fell in love. The fact we can wear sparkly dresses there year round gives it even more allure. :)

    I actually just ended up going to Staples and getting brown kraft paper in a 40" roll for a little over 5 bucks. It works perfectly! Went a little crazy buying ribbons at Michael's to make 'em pretty.

    ReplyDelete