Giveaway: Handmade Especially For You.

Not too long ago, Kristen shared her first knitted cowl with you.  Well, since then, our Mom has picked up knitting again for the first time in over 20 years and she has turned into a knitting machine! It's actually pretty incredible how quickly she can produce one.  Not only is she fast, she does an amazing job.  For our first giveaway we thought we would give one of our readers their very own cowl to stay warm this cold winter season.  Handmade with love by our mom.  Trust us. It's better it comes from her hands than ours! It's a beautiful burgundy color perfect for Valentine's day.  With that said, let's get down to business!

To enter:  

If you aren't already, become a follower by clicking "Follow" in the right sidebar, and leave a comment.  For extra entries, follow us on bloglovin' by clicking on the link in the right sidebar (make sure you leave a new comment).

The winner will be randomly chosen on February 14th!

The Heart of the Home.

Gray-Blue & White Kitchen, Veranda

I love to cook. Period. Well, and eat for that matter. For me, the kitchen is the most important room in the house.  I am head over heels in love with Jennifer Lopez's new kitchen above.  The stove is incredible along with the gray-blue cabinets and stone counter-tops.  I'm also a huge fan of a black chandelier in the kitchen.  It is the perfect contrast to the calming color of the rest of the kitchen.  I think a kitchen should be open, welcoming, and bright with natural light.  I cannot wait until the day that I have my very own kitchen to call my own and fit to my liking.  Hopefully it won't be too far from now!

Beaux Arts Kitchen, Kitchens.com

Creamy Kitchen, Frank Randolph

                       Robin's Egg Blue Kitchen, Domino magazine

Nantucket Kitchen, Architectural Digest

Be My Valentine.

1. Berry Teddy, Topshop  2. Ballerina Flat, Tory Burch  3. Pretty Woman, Target
4. Heart Soap, Bergdorf Goodman  5. Pink Pepper Candle, DL & Co.  6. Love Poe Print, Etsy
7. Key Ring, Longchamp  8. Clutch, ModCloth  9. Heart Puzzle Card, Papyrus
10. Chiffon Shirt, Net-A-Porter  11. Silk Blouse, Net-A-Porter
12. I Dreamed You & Lady Is A Tramp Nail Color, Deborah Lippmann
13. Philosophy Inner Grace Fragrance, Nordstrom

Can you tell that I got a little (and by a little, I mean a lot) carried away with finding some Valentine's Day goodies? I just couldn't help myself! I can't get enough of the sheer blouses and ruffle tops and would love one (or both) of these beauties.   Maybe I'll find a special someone to treat me well this Valentine's Day! Either that, or I may be getting cozy on the couch watching Pretty Woman.

Actually, to be realistic, I'll probably be spending another late night at the office.  I'm an accountant and as you are well aware, it's busy season for us auditors, hence the lack of posts! I'm looking forward to spring more than ever before.

Easy as Pie.

 

I'm a big pizza fan, and when I say big I mean HUGE. That being said, the boyfriend and I thought "how hard could it be to make pizza from scratch?" Well, I'll tell you the answer: it was SO easy.  In fact, I wish someone would have told me that earlier.  We relied on the good ol' world wide web for a recipe and were very pleased with the outcome.  Not only was it delicious, it was simple!

We put tomatoes on half the pizza and I actually wish that we put it on the whole pie. I'll surely be making more pizza from scratch in the future.  That's not to say I won't go for the restaurant pizza either as there are lots of favorites in my book!

Homemade Pizza

Tomato Sauce:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
Dash red pepper, optional

Dough:
3 cups flour, more or less
1 heaping tablespoon honey
1 heaping tablespoon oil
1 cup warm water
1 packet yeast
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

Toppings:
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
Tomato (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, add a small amount of olive oil and garlic.  Cook garlic on low for about two minutes until slightly browned. Add remaining ingredients for sauce: salt, tomato paste, tomato sauce, sugar, pepper, oregano, olive oil, and red pepper. Let simmer on low on stove for about 10 minutes or until ready to use.

For the dough, mix all ingredients except for the flour. Add flour and knead until you have a ball of dough.  Let the dough sit and rise for a few minutes. The more it rises, the fluffier the dough will be.
Shape the dough into a circle and place it on a pizza stone/pan/sheet.  Spread desired amount of tomato sauce on the dough, leaving a 1-2 inch border.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and add desired toppings.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, checking often. Enjoy!


Note, my pizza pan was about 14 inches in diameter and my dough came out thicker than desired.  I recommend using less dough depending on the pan size and how thick you want the crust to be.

It's a Pirate's Life.

"Gaspa-what?" I said when I first heard of the over-a-century-old tradition that takes place in Tampa each year.  Since then, I have become much more familiar with the renowned Gasparilla. It's a fun-filled event that begins with the pirates taking over the city and continues with a parade in which the pirates throw beads and coins while shooting blank pistols from floats.

Lucky for me, I had my two friends from college and my older sister come into town for the weekend.  Laura, Danielle, Katie, and I dressed up for the occasion and embarked on the Gasparilla adventure on Saturday morning.  It was a fun-filled day that consisted of yummy food, tons of fun, and an incredible amount of beads.  By the end of the day, we were POOPED!

All in all, the weekend was a wonderful success and I'm so grateful for my visitors. It was great to catch up with everyone and I'm looking forward to visiting them in the near future.  What would have made the weekend even better was if Kelly and Alex had been here! (sorry Javi, this one was a girls weekend)