Penne alla Vodka and brownies

A woman at work told me she wanted to whip up something quick for dinner. Did I have any ideas? I told her she should make Penne alla Vodka, she said she didn't know how to make it. What? This woman makes the best brownies ever. Everybody at work loves her brownies. She brings them in on people's birthdays, wedding showers, baby showers. She puts silly little decorative food picks in them, umbrella, feathers...you get the idea.

Nobody knows everything but everybody knows something, and I'm not a fan of keeping recipes a big mystery. I start by heating up the water for the pasta; Hint, by the time the pasta's done, the Vodka sauce will be ready. Cook the Penne pasta according to the directions on the box.  I use Penne Rigatoni.

Some people cook sauce for hours, I'm always in a hurry and the sauce comes out great. In a deep sauce pan sautee a little garlic and oil, then add 1- 8oz can of tomato sauce, I use Hunts. 

Next is a couple of spices.   Add approximately 1 Tbsp. of Basil, 1 Tbsp. of Oregano, I use McCormick's organic. Also 1 Tbsp. of Sugar. I usually "eye" the dried herb spices, just pour it into the palm of your hand, if it looks like it could be 1 Tbsp., it’s good!

Mix it all together, then add 1 pint of heavy cream, I use Tuscan. Then add 1/8 oz. of Vodka, I use Grey Goose.  Bring the sauce to a boil, then simmer on low for 10 min.  Drain the pasta, and add it to the Vodka sauce.  

That's  Penne alla Vodka.  Brownies eat your heart out.

 


Teresa
xo 

Cutsey DIY Valentine's Wreath

The holidays are over and in New York it almost seems like Spring. It's the middle of January and it's a frigid 50 degrees...burr; not!

 

It's so nice outside, and my mind is racing.  I'm thinking...Spring Celebration.   Flowers, baskets, lillies, violets, pinks, yellows and everything else Spring.  I know this sounds crazy, but this is coming from the same person that decorated for Christmas the week before Thanksgiving. 

 

My front door seemed lonely.  I thought a nice transition into spring would be a Valentine's Wreath. 

What do I do?  Go to Michaels.  I'm not much into the adorable, cutsey, crafty stuff, but when I got to Michaels I saw so many adorable, cutsey things.  I was completely overwhelmed with all the spring colors, the flowers, wreaths, candles, and whimsical  chachkas.  Exactly what I was trying to avoid.

If you're wondering why I tend to stay away from cute and everything "cutsey", I think it goes way back to when I was a teenager.  I was the girl that was "cute",   not..."pretty", not..."hot", and not..."sexy",  but ...cute! I hated it.  I guess those were my shallow years.  If you call me cute now, I'll bake you cookies.  Ok, enough about that...that's another post. 

 

At Michael's I decided to do a crafty, cutsey wreath with a twist, to add a little funk.  I strayed from the ordinary and found a thin rectangular wood frame, light enough to hang on the door.  It has so much detail, rectangular shaped and unexpected...perfect!  I got a pink floral heart wreath, smaller in size to fit inside the frame, and a black bow. I love pink and black.

On the way to cash out at Michael's, I passed an isle filled with whimsical letters, in  all different shapes and  sizes.  I figured I'd go all out on the "cutsey" theme and decided to personalize my wreath with the letter "F".    

 

And then, there it was...
My  crafty and yes! cutsey DIY Valentine's Wreath. 

xo
Teresa

Personalized wooden frame, framing a floral heart wreath , toped off with a bow 

Thin rectangular frame from Michaels

 

 

   Krylon spraypaint in  satin beige

 

 

Flower Heart Wreath

Black Satin Bow for top of wreath

 

 

 

Letter "F" to personalize 

Hot Glued letter "F" to bottom corner of frame

 

Cutsey DIY Valentine's Wreath 

xo

Back in the Christmas Spirit

Christmas music is streaming from my iphone in the kitchen, my parents visiting from Portugal and  my Mother in law is up from FL.   The kids are home; on the stove top, I have a simmer scent of water, cinnamon, orange peel and  vanilla that makes the house smell like one big Cinnabon.  Everything seems just perfect, except in the back of my mind I know I’m probably having hysterectomy surgery in a few weeks and a virtual slide show keeps playing in my head of those innocent little angels from the  Sandy Hook shooting.   So, before anything I want to offer my deepest condolences to the families who suffered such a tremendous lost on that day.  As for my imminent hysterectomy I hope it doesn’t hurt! 

 

Simmer scent of orange peel, cinnamon stick, vanilla and water  

 

 

Christmas is around the corner I wanted to stay in the Christmas spirit so what did I do?  I decided to bake Pizza...

 

Yesterday I made semi-homemade pizza.  I go through stages where I make pizza every week.  In a small pan I marinated garlic and olive oil, added one 12 oz. can of Hunts tomato sauce and added a little water. The sauce looks thick enough to look like Ketchup.   Next I added basil, oregano and sugar.  One tsp. each, and I usually “eye” this to pour what looks like would be 1 tsp. into the palm of my hand, then into the sauce.  The sauce was enough sauce for two pies. 

 

 

As the tomato sauce cooked, I added 2 lbs. ground beef to a skillet, used a spatula to break up the pieces, and let it cook until the meat turned brown. For the Pizza crust, I love the 12" Boboli crust.   It's so easy, just open the bag and add the sauce, cheese and toppings.   The meat topping for the second pie is Hormel Pepperoni.

 

 

 

For the Ricotta sauce, it's one cup of Polly-O Ricotta cheese for both pies, then I “eyed” about 1 tsp. each of McKormick basil,  oregano and sugar. Usually I add 1 egg, but I was out of eggs yesterday.  And the Ricotta sauce was just fine without it.

 



 "eyeing " 1 tsp. of basil

 

My daughter's hand helping me hold the Basil for the picture...I just Love her! 

 

 

 

 

Shop Rite Mozzarella cheese is half the price of brand names and it tastes great.

While the meat was cooking, I poured the sauce onto the pie crust, and, like they do in the movies, using the back of the spoon,  I moved it in a spiral out from the center of the crust until it reached about ½” edge of the crust.

 

 

Three spoonfulls of ricotta, then sprinkled the cheese, next the meat. After sprinkling another layer of  Mozzarella and a little more Ricotta, the Pizzas baked for approx 10 mints at 450. 

 

 

 

Today I baked Christmas cookies all day, maybe I'll post about it  next week.  But wanted to share with you how baking pizzas and being surrounded by my family, eating and laughing, and all the chaos that comes with having a house filled with people I love  was just what I needed to get back into the Christmas spirit.

Teresa xo

 

We materialize Christmas, including me.

 



It's finally here, the begining of Christmas. If you're  like me, I can't stop thinking about it.   Every day I think of something else to make my Christmas decorations more special.  The possibilities are endless.  Too bad the budget isn't!

 

This year I'm keeping the outside lighting decor simple.  Not using lights on the outside of the house.  I think the candles in the windows along with the wreaths with red bows have such a classic look.  Plus it's so much work to take the lights down at the end of the season.  I put so much effort into planning that by the end of December the last thing I want to do is take dozens of feet of lights down.

 

 

Front Stoop with Topiaries, Wreath and Nutcrackers

 

These are the same urns I used for Halloween.  For Christmas I'm using pre-lit boxwood topiary balls with red bows. On the door, a pre-lit battery operated wreath on a timer.

 

 

 

 

Army of nutcrackers

 

 

A tall mirror at the top of the steps, flanked by two 3' nutcrackers.  A half moon console table up against the mirror, with more nutcrackers on top.  Their reflection gives the illusion of an army of nutcrackers. 

 

 

 

 

Ho Ho HO

5' Santa greeting us in the foyer.  I got him at Walmart when my kids were little.  He's got a porcelain face, and his suit is made of a rich velvet damask, trimmed with fur.  He's adorable!

 

 

 

Santa on an end table

 

Tree in the Living Room.  Check out Toby on the recliner.

 

For the Christmas tree I used brown, green, gold and red. Using garland made of  red berries with  twigs throughout.  I love how the tree looks classic and traditional but the twigs give it a rustic, unexpected look. 

Nativity set in Dining Room

 

 

An antique Bible on a book stand, a nativity set and a plate with an embossed cross.  This year I bought a crystal cross and started a collection of religious crosses.   Hopefully, next year I'll have a few more to display.  

Christmas Village

 

I've been collecting pieces for my Christmas village for 18 years.  Have to admit they're not expensive pieces. Each is between $5 and $10.  Affordable and sweet.

 

 

 

Casual in the Den

 

  

It's where I keep the second tree.  My girlly tree.  The same room where I keep the Christmas village.  I carried the pink theme with a pink wreath above the sofa.  Last night my husband and I watched football here.  It looks sweet and not too overdone in pink.  Just fantabulous; between the fireplace, the Christmas village, the pink tree and my favorite winter treat...a hot chocolate.  Yum!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Keeping it simple outside. Wreaths with red bows and candles on the windows.  Pre-lit wreath on the door, Boxwood topiary balls with red bows  and the nativity set.



It reminds me of what this Holiday is all about.

We materialize Christmas, including me...big time!

 

I ordered the nativity set online 5 years ago and it was worth every penny.  It's my favorite thing.  It's about 3' tall, made of resin, with great detail.  During the Month of December, I display the set with out Jesus.  On Christmas eve, I'll wrap baby Jesus in a blanket and place him in his manger bed.

 

I love it!  Reminds me of what this Holiday is all about.

 

 

 

Teresa xo


 

 

 

 

 

 

Murals and Strawberry Cake

Ever have those days where your mind is all over the place and you can't focus.  Today I'm going to write about Fail Harder and Strawberry Cake.  Just couldn't decide which topic to blog about. 

A couple of weeks ago I read about the Portland ad agency Wieden+Kennedy who created an amazing mural with push pins spelling "Fail Harder".  The message displayed the importance of learning from your mistakes.  Showing failure as part of living, learning and optimism.  I thought it was so cool and was so impressed by it, that it inspired me to create a mural in my home, using the concept behind Fail Harder.

push pins



Over 100,000 thumbtacks were used over 351 hours to create a wall mural that spells out Fail Harder

Click Here to view Fail Harder Video

 

 

 

 

 

I'm planning on buying vinyl lettering from Michaels or Target. Applying the vinyl sticker on the wall and putting copper push pins over the lettering.  I'm thinking of placing the mural where we can see it everyday.  I want it to be motivational but also have a personal message.  

 

Here’s a couple of quotes I’ve been thinking about…

 

 

Quote # 1

 

 

Quote #2

 

 



 

 

I’m leaning towards the quote #1 from scripture, and placing it in the foyer, above the door so we can see it everyday on the way out.  

I love quote # 2 because of the meaning behind it.  Says so much about my husband and I, our years together, our home, the children and our lives.  

I'll start the project within the next couple of weeks and will post pictures on my next blog.

 

And then there's the strawberry cake...

 

Today I baked an easy and yummy Strawberry Cake with Strawberry frosting. Both cake and frosting were from the box.  Instead of using 3 eggs, water and oil, I used a can of Diet Coke.

I want to share with you a really cool frosting trick I saw on pintrest a couple of weeks ago.  There's a link to the frosting video below.  

The trick is to use a plastic wrap tube in the icing bag for easier clean up.  Cut a piece of saran wrap, place the icing on it, and spin it with both hands forming a tube.  Click here to view icing video.  Then just place the tube into the bag and pull it through the tip.  After using it pull the tube out and throw it away.  Just like that, such easy clean up.

Hope you enjoyed this week's blog about cake and everything related...including wall murals?


Teresa XO    



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

West elm 

 

One Kings Lane

 

hautelook

 

bettycrocker

 

pillsbury

 

 

 

 

 

50 days of decorating

October and the 50 days of decorating

October and the 50 days of decorating. This is the time from Halloween to Christmas. 

With the exception of my kid's birthdays and my wedding anniversary, the holidays are my favorite time of the year.  I love the beginning of Autumn and decorating for Halloween.  Right after that comes Thanksgiving, then the big one ... Christmas. 

Last weekend I decorated my front stoop for Halloween. I like to use pumpkins, different textures and natural elements. 

I purchased a feather wreath from Michaels and glued it to a twig wreath for a more custom look.



Feather and Twig Wreath

I placed lighted twig pumpkins in urns.  Pinned a black crow and surrounded the urns with a few carved pumpkins. 



 

 

 

The pumpkins are carved with whimsical scary faces.   They look adorable when they light up at night with battery operated strobe lights.

The front stoop is decorated for Autumn, it's a quick and simple look.  officially starting my 50 days of decorating.  

Teresa
XO

Restoration Hardware

 

Homegoods

 

Michaels