Archive   |   March, 2011

before and after: a new tv stand!

Posted by in decorating, organizing

before2

My husband and I have this rule: no more IKEA furniture. We are adults now; and are tired of bickering while wrestling a gigantic flat-pack MDF monster and attempting to decipher the modern hieroglyphic instructions. We’ve had enough of it already. I’ll admit, though, to always having a soft spot for the Expedit series — the design is just so smart and simple. When we finally stepped into the 21st century and upgraded to a flat-screen TV, we quickly realized the old IKEA bookshelf we were using was not right for our living room. We needed more storage space, something that would brighten up our room and wouldn’t break the bank. I scoured Craigslist and looked at some of my favorite local vintage shops, but just couldn’t find the right piece for our large space & tiny budget. That is, until my husband surprised me with a radical, and perfect solution…
Click to see what we ended up with, after the jump! (more…)

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get whipped with alcohol infused whipped cream

Posted by in cooking, drinking, entertaining

cream whipped cream

There are few things that whipped cream can’t improve on. Pie, milkshakes, cake- there’s a whole list of already fantastic things that whipped cream makes even more fantastic. The question remains, how do you improve on whipped cream? Enter Cream: an adults only, alcoholic whipped cream. Cream comes in six flavors: caramel, cherry, chocolate, raspberry, orange, and vanilla. Their website is chock full of recipes for shots, hot drinks, cold drinks, and (of course) desserts that are sure to be just as well-received if not slightly more sophisticated than Jell-o shots at your next bash. — Katie D.

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when a neatness trick backfires…

Posted by in cleaning

stove

I had a moment of clarity yesterday that struck me as sort of funny. For the past few years I’ve been covering the drip pans underneath my stove burners with aluminum foil so, when liquid boils over or drips from a spoon, it lands on the foil and the burnt mess easy to clean up. What I discovered, though, is that because I know in my head I can just recycle the foil later, I’m less likely to thoroughly clean up the drips after they happen. I just wait until the foil is sufficiently dirty, take it off and put new foil on. Uh, that’s just laziness! It’s not like my burner pans are not doing the job… I just don’t want to clean them! It’s time to stop that nonsense and do a better job picking up after myself. Funny that in my effort to reduce cleaning effort, I just got lazy! Do you have neatness tips that have backfired on you too? — Rebecca F.

Photo credit: Rebecca Firlik

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real life test kitchen: pasta with peas, prosciutto, and crème fraîche

Posted by in cooking, reading

peasprosciutto

Today’s recipe comes right in time for Spring, from the pages of one of my favorite cookbooks, A Twist of the Wrist, by Nancy Silverton. This book has been a great source of lots of quick and easy meals made from easily-sourced pantry and freezer staples. (The Chicken Tonnato Salad? To. Die. For.) The recipe calls for orecchiette, whose curved shape I imagine would, as Silverton says, “capture the tiny peas” in a way orzo pasta just can’t. With orecchiette or without, I really love this dish’s simplicity: frozen peas, garlic, crème fraîche… Oh, and instead of prosciutto, I used Spanish jamon Serrano for my version — I think it’s got a nicer, more developed flavor. But whatever way you make it, it really is easy, and delicious. — Megan B.
Click for the recipe, after the jump! (more…)

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