miniature photoshoot...

i haven't done one of these in awhile and she has been making so many great faces lately!!



Another 'what's in the fridge' recipe: grilled eggplant and zucchini sandwich with asiago and garlic mayo

This turned out to be quite a surprisingly flavorful sandwich and is now one of our favs! It is pretty quick and simple...just how I like my recipes. Here's how you make it:

What you'll need..

1 eggplant sliced lengthwise
1 zucchini also sliced into strips lengthwise
1/3 C shredded asiago cheese
1-3 garlic cloves chopped depending on how much of a garlic lover you are
4 Tbs mayo
Any type of artisan bread you prefer (we made ours with a bread called como that we got at our local grocery but I think sourdough would be nice as well)
Olive oil

Directions:
Saute eggplant and zucchini in olive oil until lightly brown. Meanwhile, shred cheese and chop garlic. Mix garlic with mayo. Toast bread and add garlic mayo to both sides. Layer on cheese and the veggies!

exposed cabinets...a little change goes a long way!

a few days ago my sister was over and we were discussing our homes and different projects we were doing. we started talking about my kitchen and the idea of taking the cabinet doors off of the top cabinets to expose them. our house was built in 1925 so the kitchen is quite narrow and small and we thought it would help to open it up a little and create more space.

well, once i get an idea in my head there is no going back. i was off to home depot the next day to get some paint and a roller. i am sooo happy with how it turned out. it feels like a new kitchen in there!! it is amazing what simply removing something and adding a color can do!

here is what it looked like before:

                                                             Here is my kitchen now!

**just in case you would like to know, the color i chose is by behr and it's called garden room. i only needed a sample jar of the paint so this project, with paint, rollers, and hooks (to hang those amazing teacups from anthropologie that my sister bought me as inspiration for this project...you're amazing sis!), the 3 plants, and that amber vase from goodwill only cost me about $12. pretty awesome!

happy eleven month my precious little love!

sage and asiago mushroom tart

we have had a busy week entertaining different friends for the evenings at our home. most of them we hadn't seen for a while and it was so lovely to catch up with them. it also meant that i had to get creative in the kitchen. a few nights, i pulled from recipes that i had made before and knew were solid, but by saturday i felt like trying something new on our friend, nelson. i found this recipe and decided to give it a go, and luckily (for my husband and our good company) it was delicious and is now in our rotation. if you are a fan of mushrooms, you should probably try this.

ingredients:

2 LBS mixed mushroom, cleaned
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
12 fresh sage leafs
salt and pepper
1 sheet puff pastry
plain flour
1/2 cup shredded asiago

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 400F. Cut the larger mushrooms in half. Heat the oil in a large pan and saute mushrooms, onion and garlic until the mushroom is golden. Add sage and season with salt and pepper.
Roll out the puff pastry in a little flour and place it on a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Add the mushrooms and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until fluffy and golden, about 12 minutes.
Slice and serve hot or cold.

i think it was meant to be an appetizer, but i just made the proportions larger and served the tarts with a light salad. it worked just as well. happy monday!

diy cake stands

for the past few weeks i have been completely wrapped up into birthday planning for clémence's first big one! ahh! i cannot even believe it is only like one month away. we are going to have some appetizers and sweets so i needed some cake stands. instead of purchasing them from somewhere (because that can get expensive) like most of the details of this party, i am wanted to make them myself. so off thrifting we went! i found 5 different white plates and 5 coffee mugs (total of $11) and grabbed some adhesive we already had at the house and voila! it is that simple. i still have a few more to make, but here is the first batch.

using the adhesive, cover the bottom of the mug.

...like so.

with the plate upside-down, apply mug to the center
and press down, firmly.

holding the plate and the mug, flip over.

use something heavy to set on top and let stand for 48hours at least
just to make extra sure that they're dry!

that's all there is to it!

a new year...

i read somewhere that this is a good time to make goals. i have been thinking about some and thought i'd give the old list a try. i am curious to see how far i get on it by the end of the year. so here goes...and these are in no particular order:

1. fix and finish the duvet i started making for our bed
2. sign clémence up for the spring play group at the school we eventually want her to go when she is older
3. actively try to learn more french with the cd's i am getting from our library
4. continue to breathe love, joy, curiosity, laughter, and life into our daughter
5. don't allow myself get let down by friends because of my own expectations, but just love them anyway, regardless
6. work on and maybe finish the plans for our basement
7. give gifts on ordinary days for no particular reason
8. finally get our upright piano from my parents house, put it downstairs, and start playing again even if it is only a little
9. make pillows for our couch and one for clémence's room
10. continue to encourage my husband to work on his art in the evenings even though sometimes i'd rather be selfish and keep him upstairs with me
11. read more
12. make more of an effort
13. start a garden in our backyard even if it is small at first
14. win that trip to paris we entered
15. tile our kitchen
16. find or make a large scale art piece for our living room
17. be still
18. love more.

a beautiful morning? let's go to the zoo!

the weather has been so nice lately. i can't believe we are wearing tank tops in january! okay living in phoenix maybe i can, but wanting to take advantage of it we decided to take clémence to the zoo for the first time. she LOVES to be outside so we knew she would have a blast...and she did! here are a few pics (and a video) from the morning!

here we go go!



she had this look so many times today. so adorable--wide-eyed
and blooming with curiosity!

exit through the gift shop.