Chirp Chirp

You know baby chicks how sweet and fuzzy they are and you just want to love them. And that cute little noise that baby chicks make. Chirping and being all cute.




Well I am not talking about that.

I am talking about the most annoying sound you could hear at 2:38am. I am talking about that chirp noise that your smoke detector makes when the battery is dying.

I used to be a heavy sleeper but these days it is quite the opposite. So after the first chirp I knew I wasn't going to last long. The detector is right outside our door so I tried to shut the door but that wasn't working either. So of course I had to wake up Mike and he was not happy about this. But he took down the detector and put a new battery in and then we were A ok after that.

So this is just a quick friendly reminder to check the batteries in your smoke detectors. This way you can have a good night sleep and don't get a wake up call from the horrible chirping beast. You may turn into Pheobe.

Can't Wait!!!

I don't know about the rest of you but I can not WAIT for the next Sex and The City movie. Granted I was never a huge fan of the show in the beginning (mainly bc I didn't have HBO to watch it, and I think when I did I saw the "bad" episodes) But I have become a fan over the years. Mostly due to alcohol......I tell you layin on the couch eating grease and watching SATC is the best hang over cure. I always dream of my fantasy land with perfect friends, daily lunches, hot men, amazing style, great restaurants...I think you get my drift.

Any who the new trailer just came out and got me even more excited to see it. I had to see the last one cough cough..alone!! (I know tragic) so hopefully I have a friend or two with me to see this one. So who's coming with me??

Sleeping Perfection

One of my favorite things about spring are the warm sunny days and then the perfectly cool nights. I LOVE to sleep with the windows open and the fan on. This leads to sleeping perfection in my book. Everything feels just right, kind of like this picture.....sleeping on the beach with a nice cool ocean breeze and listening to the sounds of the beach (I will settle for all the birds outside). So I hope you all enjoy these nights like I do because before we know it we will have the air blasting trying not to sweat to death in the summer heat.


PS. Speaking of the beach T-4 days until I will be laying on the beach listening to the ocean!

Success!

Well I did it! I gave up sweets (chocolate, ice cream, cake, etc) for lent and this is the first year I made it without cheating!! That is 45 days....for anyone that is counting. I always need something sweet after dinner so this was a tough challenge for me but I am so happy that I did it. So bring it on, all the candy, cakes, ice cream, chocolate, I want all of it. Especially dark chocolate. That is my new thing lately. My husband thinks that I have an addiction and I think he is exactly right. I could NEVER live without sweets. I would die....no really I would. So until next year I am ready for my chocolate induced coma!



PS. This weekend I am headed to Pittsburgh and will definitely be making a stop at Sarris' candy for some homemade ice cream!

Cherry Blossom Fever

Another year, another blossom season. Every year hordes and hordes of people come to DC to catch a glimpse of the cherry blossoms at their peak. It is always challenging to time these beautiful trees to see them in perfect bloom. Unfortunately there is only a 1-2 day window to see them in perfect bloom. This year they bloomed early and I think their peak day(s) were last wed & thurs. I have been lucky enough to see them in perfect bloom a few years ago.

This past weekend my mom was in town and we thought it would be fun to go and see the blossoms at sunrise. We thought with going downtown super early we would avoid the crowds. Boy were we wrong! People everywhere!! We were down by the tidal basin by 6am and there were already a bunch of people who had the same thought that we did. By 7:30 it was PACKED!!! We still had a good time and saw some beautiful views. Here are a few pictures from our morning

My First Risotto

So with the cooking theme I had going last week I decided to try and make my first Risotto. I have always wanted to try this delicious looking dish but I never thought I would be able to make it. Thankfully I have an amazing cooking buddy, and I think I need to introduce her since we have shared so many adventures together. Meghan and I have been friends for a couple years and I don't know what I would do without her. We have shared lots of good times, laughs, cooking adventures, and of course an occasional tear.

So back to cooking, Meg and Scott came over the other night and Meg and I cooked while the boys watched hockey. We are lucky that both of our men enjoy Pittsburgh Penguins hockey so they can watch together while we get our girl time in.

Louie and I waiting for our guests

I am so glad I decided to tackle this meal with Meg bc it was def a two person meal. It required constant supervision and stirring. So Meg was the stirrer and I prepared the salads and did the prep cutting.

Our great salads

If you have ever made risotto or plan on it make sure you have a cooking buddy or have everything else prepared before you start.

Risotto being stirred

So after about 30 minutes our meal was about ready to be served and boy did it look sooooo good!!!!

Final product

The boys ready to eat (sorry a bit blurry)

So finally time to eat after all the prepping and stirring. Let me tell you this meal was a home run!! So rich and flavorful but not too heavy. I have to admit I wanted seconds but unfortunately we made the perfect amount so there were no seconds. This is a meal that I will be making again and again and adding to my "Must Keep" recipe book.

And of course what is a good meal without dessert. Since I had given up all sweets for lent we had some strawberries and wine.

So another successful cooking night for us. (Although the boys didn't have such good luck with the game.) So until next time...Happy Cooking!



Here is the recipe for all of you who want to give it a try:

Tomato and Sausage Risotto
Adapted from Martha Stewart Everyday Food

Serves 4

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 small onion, finely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 bunch flat-leaf spinach (10 to 14 ounces), washed well, tough stems removed, chopped (about 7 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
2 tablespoons butter

1. In a small saucepan, combine tomatoes (with their juice) and 3 cups water. Bring just to a simmer; keep warm over low heat.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add sausage and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up sausage with a spoon, until sausage is opaque and onion has softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Add rice; cook, stirring until well coated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 minute.
4. Add about 2 cups hot tomato mixture to rice; simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until absorbed, 4 to 5 minutes. Continue adding tomato mixture, 1 cup at a time, waiting for one cup to be absorbed before adding the next, stirring occasionally, until rice is creamy and just tender, about 25 minutes total (you may not have to use all the liquid).
5. Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately (risotto will thicken as it cools), and sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.

No Plans Weekend

For those of you that know me, you know that I am a mega planner (haha). This past weekend I only had one thing on my schedule. So what to do with all this free time?? Well I LOVE food and I enjoy cooking (when I have enough time) so I decided to try some of the recipes I had found. One of my favorites is pasta. I mean who doesn't love pasta?? So that was my theme for the day. I decided to make pasta sauce from scratch, turkey and artichoke stuffed shells, and Mediterranean mac & cheese. The sauce and shell recipes came from the one and only Giada and the mac & cheese from Martha.

I had no idea what I was getting into cooking all these things at one time. I never met my paternal grandmother but I have a feeling my Sunday was kinda like most of hers. In the kitchen all day preparing amazing pasta meals for everyone to enjoy. So lets just say I spent most of my day chopping, mixing, stirring, and baking. But I think everything turned out great. Here are a few pictures from my cooking adventures.

First my sauce...I had to do a lot of chopping for this one. I still haven't figured out how to cut an onion and not cry.

and now the chopping for the shells

One of my favorite cooking gadgets is my cheese grader. Best present ever. Thanks Donna!

and the mixture....it smelled so good with the fresh basil

The recipe said only about 24 shells but I made 2 huge trays and still had mixture left over. I stuffed these babies full too.

And the waiting begins........

But it was worth the wait!

This is the mac and cheese and my lunch for the week

I have never been so excited for lunch time.

So there you have it. Hours in the kitchen but it was enjoyed by all. (if you would like the recipes let me know. I didn't post them because they are so long)

Oh and in case you didn't notice I also love pictures.