brief hiatus

sorry for the brief hiatus , I've been moving into the new apartment !

after all the excitement of searching for the perfect place comes

the non-glamourous parts - moving !

but , it's also kind of refreshing - out with the old , in with the new .

I love going through the immense amounts of stuff we have & 

getting rid of everything we don't need .

I'm trying to keep the new apartment simple & highly organized .

wish us luck !

cinnamon toast rice krispie treats

rice krispie treats are dangerous .

not only are they dangerously easy to make ,

but they are the kind of thing that makes you reach into the fridge 

for one more bite .

rice krispies are typically my go - to treat because they only

need three ingredients [ butter ( I use a butter substitute every time ) ,

marshmallows , & any cereal you desire ] .

for the first time , I used cinnamon toast crunch , & they came out 

dangerously delicious .

kids got style

as you might remember , I always look at kid's departments 

whenever available in stores . they tend to have cute accessories ,

& are significantly less expensive .

take , for example , these gems from j.crew's crewcuts :

selima for crewcuts glasses

girls' the cambridge satchel  - I need !

chic key fob

this book has great prints that would be amazingly cute framed .

girl's glitter tote bag

bib necklace

bright floral headband

find here

skinnygirl cont.

I spoke too soon .

in addition to wine , the skinnygirl brand has came out with 5 

additional new products !

skinnygirl vodka bare naked , island coconut , tangerine , cucumber ,

& ready to drink pina colada .

don't mind if I do .

thank you bethenny !

finally opened my last christmas gift ...

joey's christmas gift to me has been sealed tightly 

in it's container since even before christmas .

of course I opened it , but I quickly put the print back in it's case 

as I waited to find the perfect frame to hang it in .

today , we randomly ( finally ) came across a frame we loved .

I have a thing for reindeers - I have a vintage reindeer candle holder , 

a brass reindeer figurine from the melrose trading post in l.a. , & now this

chic print I can't wait to hang in the living room of our new apartment .

print is from etsy 

manolo blahnik for j.crew

what a great collaboration !

these make me excited for fall 2012 - even though I can barely

face the fact that easter candy is full fledged in stores & fall 2011 is over already .

this heel is effortlessly chic - a perfect mix of classic j . crew 

with a touch of subtly sexy manolo style .

[ pictures 1 & 2 via , picture 3 via ]

pan seared pistachio encrusted scallops over papaya & tangerine risotto .

intimidating title much ?

I've never actually had risotto before , I thought I wouldn't like it 

& therefore never brought myself to try it .

I was browsing the food network website & came across risotto recipes ,

& on this cold february day I thought nothing would be better than 

a warm rice dish with seafood .

it was easier than I thought to make - though to be honest

I don't think I'm a papaya girl .

we only used 1 / 2 of the papaya it called for , & it still held

a strong papaya flavor . the risotto , however , was amazing & I can't

wait to make it again !

recipe via

coffee crumbcake

I wish I could eat entemann's products guilt free whenever I wanted .

I always want to grab the donuts / pastries as an impulse buy -
they're always next to the cash registers ... how rude .

in an attempt to settle my serious entemann's cravings , I made coffee crumbcake .

it was delish & I love making things I can easily grab & go on my way to work .

plus , it made my apartment smell amazing the rest of the night !

recipe via

happiness is ...

this week flew by . march is quickly approaching ,
& it hasn't even felt like a touch of february yet . 

it has been so abnormally warm this past week , I've barely been wearing 

my jackets & forget about my cold weather accessories , I haven't seen those in ages .

though I'm not complaining about the mild weather , I wish february would slow down a
little , as valentines day & skiing season came and went too fast .

here are some things that made me happy this week :

[ a glass of wine accessorized with a cocktail ring ]

[ being better than I thought at bowling ]

[ amazing empanadas from mamma's empanadas ]

[ giving instead of receiving on valentines day ]

[ j crew's spring collection - I love the vintage floridian fanfare print ]

just another excuse to drink wine !

bethenny frankel , one of my favorite women -
( hello ! she is so funny , caring , & a business woman to look up to )
has came out with another genius product to add to her skinnygirl line . 

skinnygirl wine :

I am so excited ! I love to have a glass of wine while making dinner , & look forward to
trying another of bethenny's creations . 

linguine alla vongole

( clams & linguini )

joey & I have been wanting to make this dish for some time now ,

& we finally got around to making it last night .

it was so good & also fairly easy - a perfect friday night dinner .

recent finds

no other purchases really make me as excited as the ones that come from 

marshalls , home goods , & tj maxx .

I love all the amazing things you can find at these stores ( there was even a prada

bag last time I went to marshalls ... what the what ? ) & my mom has somehow passed on 

her skill of finding the best deals . 

I needed some retail therapy the other day , so of course I headed over to marshalls .

here are the things I took home :

[ 7 for all mankind top I wore on valentines day ]

[ volcom long sleeve tee that I can't wait to wear on vacation with white jean shorts ]

[ ralph lauren candle with a fresh scent I'm saving for the new apartment ]

[ savon de marseille lavender hand soap - it's the little things ]

valentines day dinner

joey & I went to our favorite restaurant , the sparrow , for our valentines day dinner .

as always , the food was amazing . we love it there because they serve consistently 

good meals with fresh ingredients .

heres a peek at what we were enjoying last night :

[ joey got the steak sandwich with gruyere ]

[ the mussels were to die for ]

[ I ordered the bifteki-burger - so delicious ]

[ & of course a nice glass of wine with dinner ]

veggie stuffed mushrooms

I was more excited than normal for the grammys this year .

I wanted to make it an event - kind of like the superbowl , with 

finger foods & nice drinks ( think sherbet champagne punch ) .

I think , once again , I enjoyed the red carpet more

than the actual show ( ps katy perry - nice dress but marge simpson much ? ) . 

anyway , one of the finger foods joey & I made for the show were

veggie stuffed mushrooms - a recipe we randomly made up in the grocery store just like
many of the other foods we make .

[ we used zucchini , red bell pepper , garlic , parmesan cheese , egg &

breadcrumbs - simple as that ]

they were seriously so amazing . I am proud of joey & my creation -

which turned out to be so good & the perfect appetizer ! 

we will surely be making these in the near future .

pps happy valentines day !