happiness is ...

this week was filled with all sorts of things that brought 

excitement yet stress at the same time .

we've been apartment shopping which is always eventful , yet 

nerve wracking ( I am so picky about my apartment & want to find the 

perfect one ) . 

on an another exciting note , I am so excited for the grammys tonight
( we will be making amazing food - check on that later ) ,

though I know it will also be a little sad given the death of whitney houston
( currently listening to heartbreak hotel - one of my favorites ) .

I usually hate februarys - it is the month that normally has
nothing really interesting in store for me .
this february is different , I have so many great things coming up .
I can't wait to go skiing in the next few weeks , &
joey & I are also going on two sun filled trips : puerto rico with friends in march &
west palm beach with my whole family for easter .
 the new apartment in the near future will be a refreshing change,
& I am so excited for valentines day ( joey & I are going to our
favorite restaurant ) .

here are some additional simple things that made me happy
during this cold but hectic week :

[ cute sprinkled valentines fortune cookies sent to my apartment from my mom & dad ]

[ a new addition to the wardrobe- a very wrinkled ( I need 

a personal steamer asap ) yet chic belted shirtdress from j.crew ]

[ pour & serve margaritas - genius ]

[ valentines nails - opi's " ate berries in the canaries " ]

[ valentine themed pop 'ems - guilty .]

& I couldn't resist ...

[ an old picture of riley ( the best dog [ I feel weird calling him just

a dog- is that weird ? best companion] in the world ) & I at 

our favorite place : the beach ]

happy sunday !

snow day saturday

on this cold , snowy day , I cannot wait to :

[ wear my men's j. crew flannel all day ]

[ hang out with these two ]

[ watch " the godfather " - one of the many movies I've 

never seen ]

[ cook something slow in the crock pot - pulled pork is my absolute favorite ]

[ & relax on my couch , which I have a crazy obsession with . ]

enjoy your saturday !

[ images via : 1 , 2 , & 3 ]

chocolate chunk banana bread

my mom always makes banana bread when my sister & I are home -

& most of the time she adds chocolate chips to the loaf , which makes it

even more amazing .

I love how my mom makes an effort to make banana bread in the morning ,

so it's warm & ready to eat once we wake up .

I made a similar banana bread today to have a little taste of home ,

& a simple , ready to go breakfast for when I'm running out the door .

recipe adapted from here

[ I added more banana & replaced mini chocolate chips 

with chocolate chunks - & am so happy with the outcome - joey is too ! ] 

tortellini with shiitake mushrooms & pancetta

today was exhausting - joey & I spent the day looking at 

apartments for our move ( which I am so excited about )

& in the middle of our search , it got teeth chattering cold & 

started snowing .

by the end of the day , I could not wait to get back to our cozy 

apartment & make a nice , warm meal .

so - we experimented with some ingredients & made an amazing pasta 

using pre - made cheese tortellini & adding shiitake mushrooms , arugula , 

pancetta ,  parmesan , & heavy cream .

it was just want we wanted .

buttermilk buscuits

biscuits seem like a random thing to make in february - 

no where near thanksgiving or christmas , where biscuits are often made 

with dinner .

for some reason , I wanted a warm biscuit today & whipped them up 

in under thirty minutes - so simple .

they were amazing topped with a little butter & apricot preserves .

take caution - you may want to eat them all at once !

recipe via

funfetti cupcakes

funfetti cupcakes are always a classic . 

I always look for the chance to make the sprinkled vanilla cake as it's

my all time favorite flavor .

the superbowl brought an opportunity for me to make 

cute mini funfetti cupcakes - with dyed magnolia bakery icing & 

dyed coconut with the giants colors ( go ny ! ) . 

I used a basic vanilla cupcake recipe ( find here ) & added 

sprinkles for the funfetti effect .

for the vanilla icing , I used magnolia bakery's classic 

vanilla buttercream ( recipe here ) .