Rainy Days & Mondays

I wish I had some awesome recipe to post about... or maybe about something new I just added to my home... like toile curtains. But I don't have anything on this quiet, rainy Monday.

Today marks week 8 of living like a barbarian:

Okay... so it doesn't really look that bad anymore, but it really is close enough! I know the end result will be amazing. How many people get to design their home from scratch?! 

 Soon enough  I will be able to cook again... paint again... even relax again.

Until then, I will keep dreaming of the things I love oh-so-much, that are currently packed away in boxes:

like my teacups & pretty plates!

and my books too!

sigh...  

I bid you farewell with this quote for now: 

"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet" - Jean Jacques Rosseau

Rothko on My Mind

I have been thinking about Mark Rothko a lot lately. It all began when somebody brought in an old poster into the local arts society where I work. 

It reminded me of how much I enjoyed learning about Rothko in college, and how breathtaking his late period works are in real-life.

As I start to make inspiration boards for our new kitchen and living room, I was drawn to this painting:

Mark Rothko
Red, Orange, Tan, and Purple, 1949
Oil on canvas 84 1/2 x 68 1/2 inches (214.5 x 174 cm)
Private collection

How amazing would this look on our exposed brick walls with a black leather couch across the room?

As nice as that would be, I don't think we'll be able to afford an original anytime soon.

Somewhere Only We Know

So this is our new house! (Excuse me for looking so... blah in the photo). We spotted this place in February, took a peek inside & knew we found a charmer.  

YES, it needs a lot of work... inside & out! But this is what me & the boy do-  I'm visual and he's technical... together, we will flip this house into a home.

Eewww that lattice make me cringe!  

Enough on the house for today though...

I want to tell you about the hidden treasure I found across the street!

It doesn't look like anything special, I know... but look a little closer and you will find these! 

 

and some of these too...

A once manicured garden, now hidden by overgrown grass and weeds. It's too bad I do not have the time to landscape.

I did however, take a few minutes to make this -

 Thank you secret garden for adding your vibrant colors to my sun-room!  

(and thank you local consignment shop for selling me that adorable pitcher for $2.49)

Last Minute Easter Basket

www.zazzle.com

Have you ever gone to the store and attempted to buy one of those tacky Easter basket's simply because that was your last option? Why do that to yourself? Why do that to your child? Or in my case, my precious, little niece?!

Here are a few tips to help you create a last minute Easter basket with a personal touch:

Find a bare basket & fill with paper Easter grass...

Don't forget a chocolate bunny!

Fresh flowers always add a nice touch...

Add a silk bow & finish up with peeps...

Even if you aren't a big fan of them, you cannot deny how cute they are!  

 

I also  like to throw in pastel colored Easter eggs...

This basket took me 10 minutes to create. Better get started, Easter's tomorrow! 

Do You Have Time to Cook a Corned Beef?!

A show of hands please...

Do you have time to cook a corned beef on Saint Patty's day?   

Do not feel bad! 

Here's what you do: 

Call a few friends & ask if they would like to meet you at a pub for a Guinness & some corned beef sandwiches

When they ever so kindly oblige, tell them to save room for dessert because you have prepared a nice little Irish spread at your home.  

On your way home from work pick up the following items & ingredients (that of which you don't already have in your pantry):

Bailey's Irish Cream 

Coffee

Whipped Cream

Green Food Coloring

Chocolate Syrup

Dessert (I chose a pecan pie)

Seasonal Flowers

Nothing screams Spring is on it's way like a beautiful bunch of white tulips this time of year!

   

I placed my flowers in a kelly green pail that I found at Target for $2.50...

After you enjoy your meal & head back home:

Brew a fresh pot of coffee

Once finished, add a shot of baileys to each cup & top with whipped cream

OR

Don't feel like drinking? Just use a festive flavored coffee, such as Irish Chocolate Mint!

Add some green food coloring to look like a leprechauns foot prints & some chocolate syrup 

Take out your delicious dessert & prepare your spread!

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! 

*****

THANK YOU faithful fans & friendly readers for staying by my side through my hiatus. I have missed blogging so much & promise you that many fun posts are in store! 

I guess even a Jane of All Trades can burn out sometimes... Trying to juggle 3 jobs, school & life in general has not been easy, but throughout it all, I have somehow remembered to not lose sight of what truly makes me happy... Cooking! Art! Design! Living!

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?

 Let's face it- my financial status is at an all time low. So with my 2010 #1 goal in tact: turning adversity into prosperity, I will be making homemade gifts well into 2011.

Cookie Jar with Paisley Cookies
 
My cookie jar concept arrived when I found an adorable jar for $2.49. I knew I needed the perfect birthday present for a friend with a sweet tooth & a fantastic eye, so I snagged it!  P.S. she loves paisley...


So paisley cookies it is!

Next, I ran to Joann Fabrics for some decorating ideas & hopefully some cheap finds! This is what I found:

Small polka-dot ribbon - 25 cents
Larger blueish/cyan colored ribbon - 2.99 (she loves this color)
Set of 10 Gift Tags - 1.00 (yes, I found that adorable pink tag in a set for a buck)

If you have the ingredients in your home to make sugar cookies and royal icing, this adorable gift will cost you about 7 dollars!!!

If you do not have the ingredients purchase the following:

Food coloring - 2.99
A roll of  Pillsbury sugar cookies - 3.99
Wilton brand cookie icing (in white) - 4.99

This project will now cost you about 19 dollars!!!


JOAT Advice:

1.  Sometimes, time is money. Choosing to purchase cookie dough rather than bake cookies from scratch is absolutely acceptable. Pillsbury sugar cookies are delicious!
2. Making royal icing from scratch is s-i-m-p-l-e & comes out much better than store bought icing. It requires confectioners sugar & egg whites. 
3. Food coloring is cheap & a little goes a long way.
4. Always hand write your message.
5. Cookie cutters not required. Print a stencil off the internet, place it on top of the flattened cookie dough and cut around it.
   

A Penne For Your Thoughts

Cooking (especially baking) can be extremely intimidating when starting out. From the minute you enter the grocery store... "Oh gosh! What's the difference between a flank steak & a round eye roast?! How am I supposed to know that feta cheese & goat cheese are different?! Arrrrgh!

Jane of all Trades Advice: Practice makes perfect and if you don't use it, ya lose it. So get cookin'! Here is a delicious recipe (created by yours truly) to get you started.  

Penne Romano

  Recipe serves 4 - 6 

 

You Will Need:

1 box penne

1 can diced tomatoes

2 cups sliced mushrooms

2 cups spinach

6 cloves garlic

1 lb. seasoned turkey sausage 

1 cup grated fresh Romano cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:

Cut sausage in 4 parts & cook on medium heat

In separate pan, pour 1/2 cup of olive oil on high heat

Once oil starts to smoke, reduce heat and add mushrooms, spinach & garlic

...Cook through

Then add:

cooked sausage (cut up into 1 inch pieces)

diced tomatoes

1/2 cup Romano cheese

 ...and cook until hot & bubbling

Serve with a dusting of Romano cheese & basil

Christmas Florals My Style

Remember those holiday tips for the home?

Watch me put one of them into effect...

 

First I went to the store to look for a nice white flowers that I don't normally see around Christmas time.

I chose orchids

Now! What could I do to add some red... hmm...

Carnations? Bleh.

Roses? Yuck.

Then I found these really pretty Winter Berries!

Christmas colors! Think, think, think...

White...

Red...

Green!

Then I stumbled upon the most beautiful cluster of Baby Hydrangea!

Now let's see...

I'm liking it, I'm liking it.

What am I missing?!

Much better

 Much better indeed!

These are a few of my favorite things

If you are like me, and wait til the last minute to go shopping for the holidays...

Here are a few of my favorite things that you can still order & receive before Christmas. Hanukkah! Oy! I'm a little late, but these are great gift ideas if you are still browsing.

1

This has got to be one of the coolest gifts I have ever seen!  It is the Cocktail Mixology set from Tea Forte. Using tea to make exotic cocktails?

  

 I'm obsessed...

 2 

This is such a great gift for your friend with a shoe fetish. 

 

3

This mesh chain necklace from gap.com would look adorable with any New Years Outfit!

4

I found this Taste Test recipe Book at Anthropologie.

It's colorful pages will spark the little chef inside any girl! She could use it to jot down her own creations, or fill the empty slots with  passed down recipes.

5

A Polka Dot Mani Pedi Gift from Burt's Bees!

It has polka dots... need I say more?

I'm too Chilly to Go Outside!

brrr definition

brrr or brr (bʉr)

interjection

used to signify that one feels cold

*************

Ugh! Those nights where you feel like cooking, but you don't want to run to the store because it's starting to get so cold out!

Hmm, let's see... what's in the fridge? (aka you will need):

1 lb Lean Ground Beef or Turkey

1 large Onion, chopped

3 cloves Garlic, chopped

How about the pantry?

Salt, a dash or two

Pepper, a dash or two

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Dark-Brown Sugar

1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon Mustard Powder

1 Can Tomato Puree, 14 oz. can

Worcestershire Sauce, a splash or two
 Rolls 
(I like potato rolls, but any rolls will do)!

Looks like we're having...

Sloppy Jane's!

Add olive oil to pan and fry up the onions & garlic over medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes. Feel free to add salt & pepper and/or cayenne pepper- depending on whether or not you are in the mood for Spicy Sloppy Jane's.

Add meat to pan. Once cooked all the way through, add the remaining ingredients and stir occasionally for about 10 minutes or until the mixture becomes a little thick.

When mixture is ready, fill up a potato roll with the delicious mess & serve with a handful of onion rings! 

A Little Help Please!

For a few years now, I have had this ongoing joke with my friends that I am going to write a self-help book. When you open it up, it would consist of one page. That page would read:

 

Go Help Yourself!

Truth be known, I am not a hater of the self-help book. It is just a matter of finding the right one for you through the mounds of rubbish that people or shall I dare say, experts publish daily.

Some of these books offer advice from a religious standpoint, while others from a medical one. Some have been around since Before Common Era, while others are written by a “life coach”. The truth of the matter is that you need to find an author that you really connect with. Personally, I like reading quotes for a little pick me up. Short & Sweet Saves the Day!

There are however, two books I hold to high regard when looking for “help” (or what I like to call guidance)… and aren’t we all! Oddly enough, neither of them were written by experts, just people who loved to write and decided to pursue a literary career.

 

 

The Joy of Doing Things Badly: A Girl’s Guide to Life, Love and Foolish Bravery by Veronica Chambers  

 

The Prophet, by Khalil Gibran - a series of philosophical essays written in English prose. 

 I'm all for a little written advice here & there...

Hope I could be of help!

What to Do With Those Leftovers!

Picture This: It's Friday evening... you're on your fourth plate of the usual Thanksgiving leftovers yet your refrigerator is still stuffed to the brim and the garbageman doesn't come until Wednesday!

Here's what you do... 

Host a party for Sunday Football and whip up some turkey reubens, potato pancakes & harvest pinwheels! 

Harvest Pinwheels 

Serves 8 - 12

You will need:

• 2 Containers of Pillsbury Crescent Rounds  
• Leftover stuffing (I like to make mine with butternut squash & spicy sausage, mmm)!

Recipe:

 1. Place crescent rounds on ungreased baking sheet

 2. Unravel rounds

3. With your fingers, place the stuffing on top of the dough & roll them up

4. Bake at 350 - 375 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes

  and Voila!

Make sure you dunk these delicious apps in gravy!

Have a Very Happy & Healthy Thanksgiving!

 

How to Decorate for the Holidays (besides the tree)

Tree Stand? Check! and guess what? My love & I found one in like-new condition at a yard sale yesterday for one dollar (neither of us has ever had a tree of our own before)! This sparked 80 million decorating ideas in my brain...

So I made a list (& checked it twice), & now I'm proud to introduce...

5 Easy Ways to Decorate Your Living Room for the Holidays -

and I guarantee, nobody's living space will look as chic as yours!

1. Holiday Art

Shop online for well-made, holiday wrapping paper that fits your style, like these from Kate's Paperie.

 Purchase 2 - 3 blank frames (the size & medium is up to you), fill them with the wrapping paper and hang them on the walls in your living room.

If your walls look too cluttered, I recommend taking down artwork that you have up all year round, and storing it in a closet until you ring in the New Year.

Use the excess wrapping paper for presents under your tree!

2. Candlesticks

Display candlesticks on a mantle or accent table.

Isn't this one great?!

When selecting candles, pull colors & shades from your wall art!

 

3. Picture Frames

 Picture frames like this one from paper-source.com, would look great next to a pair of candlesticks!

4. Pillows & Throws

Make that couch look merry & bright! Add a plaid chenille throw...

Or how about an Afghan, like this one I found on Jacubina's Etsy Shop!

And how cute are these Bow Pillows from Pier 1?!

5. Flowers

You can never go wrong with flowers. Go to a grocery store or flower shop & whip up a centerpiece for your coffee table. Do you have a tendency of killing flowers? No problem! Create them with paper! Like this Amaryllis Kit from Paper-Source.com. Hint, hint- branch away from poinsettia's... amaryllis make beautiful, holiday gifts too.

I really hope you enjoyed this post! I cannot wait to share my Holiday Living Room with you!