the best part of my work day

{Tea time}

It's only 1:38 and I'm ready to go home. Not the greatest way to greet a new week, huh?

crystal clear

Oh my, I want.

Swarovski Nirvana Flash Ring (in red ... or pink ... or blue ... or yellow ... or black ... or white ....).

Add a splash of colour to your outfit with this iconic creation. The popular Nirvana ring now comes in vibrant [red] making it a fun and young accessory. Swarovski’s new painting technique gives this jewellery piece a very unique look. The lacquer is spray painted onto the ring and the colour shines through the surrounding clear crystal.

shrimp. pasta. foil.

Last night I tried this The Pioneer Woman Cooks recipe (via Kayla): Shrimp Pasta in a Foil Package. It contains many of my favorite ingredients and is just about as simple as simple can be. On a 5-point scale, I give it a solid 3.5. Is it worthy of a lazy evening, along with a glass of white wine? Absolutely. Guest-worthy? That's your call. Anyway ... give it a try. The great thing is: It's so basic, you can fancy it up to your own liking.

Shrimp Pasta in a Foil Package

Ingredients

• ½ cups Olive Oil [I only used 1/4 cup]
  
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced [I doubled this]
  
• 3 whole 14.5 Ounce Cans Diced (or Whole) Tomatoes [I only used 2 cans]
  
• ½ cups White Wine
• 2 pounds Jumbo Or Large Shrimp, Peeled And Deveined [I used frozen, but would pull the tails, next time!]
  
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
  
• Fresh Parsley, Minced
• 1 pound Linguine, Uncooked [I used thin spaghetti]
  
• Red Pepper Flakes, to taste

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta for 1/2 the recommended cooking time. Pasta should still be very firm.

In a large skillet or pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a minute.Dump in the tomatoes and wine.

Stir the mixture together, season with salt and pepper, and allow to cook for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare a large parcel of heavy duty aluminum foil. It should be large enough to hold the entire pasta dish.

Throw the shrimp on the top of the pasta sauce.

Throw the drained pasta over the top, then pour the whole dish [along with parsley] onto the foil. Tightly wrap the foil into a parcel.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and keep warm until serving.

Open the foil parcel right before serving. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over the top. Squeeze on lemon juice [and additional parsley], if desired [I desired].

It was good; but it needed more seasoning (I added additional red pepper flakes). I also would never prepare it again with the tails on the shrimp. I understand that the tails tend to provide a punch of flavor; but it was annoying to constantly pull them off. Also--though the recipe doesn't call for it--Parmigiano Reggiano is a must.

ain't she sweet

My Valentine's Day gift to myself has arrived.

Since it was released, I've never made a secret of the fact that I've lusted over the candy apple red, 90th Anniversary KitchenAid Mixer with glass bowl. So last week when one of my girls (Holla, KBR) forwarded me an email announcing that--for 24 hours only--Williams-Sonoma was offering KitchenAid's pièce de résistance for 40% off ... what choice did I have?

Exactly.

My baby (I've named her Muffy) has finally come home to Mama.


Oh, what to make first?

play ball

First game of the Aggie Baseball season tonight ... Beat the hell outta Seton Hall!

{chalk} talk

I love, love, love a black and white color scheme. Perhaps that's why I'm intrigued by the hint (or a little more!) of chalkboard, used as a splash of decorating genius. Since hand-written additions can change on a whim, decorating with a chalkboard is versatile as heck. And if you can't find just the right chalkboard, grabbing a can of chalkboard paint and throwing it up on a wall is a piece of cake.

Think I'm going to do it.

framed chalkboard in the kitchen (House Beautiful)

chalkboard pantry (House Beautiful)

Ceramic Platters with Chalkboard Center (Pottery Barn)

Framed Chalkboard (Pottery Barn)

Framed Chalkboard (Pottery Barn)

kitchen chalk wall (the city sage)

chalkboard door (flickr photo: suziebeezie)

Kitchen chalk wall (Ayos: Living ReArrangements)

flickr photo: Green Wellies

Laundry corner (flickr photo: jawcey)

(And check-out the creativity at Chalkboard China!)

rawr

{Happy Year of the Tiger}

Tsingtao (flickr photo: Richard-)

Embroidered Tiger (flickr photo: agent j loves agent a)

Chopsticks OR Hair Sticks Beaded in Copper, Gold, and Green (Etsy seller, Beadz2Pleaz)

Chinese Lanterns (flickr photo: tsaiware)

Cantonese Roast Duck Soup Noodles (Serious Eats)

Chinese New Year Card (Etsy seller, VintagePaperParade)

Fortune Cookie Crayons (Etsy seller, chasedream)

blushing curb appeal

I've long been a lover of red doors. At some point--hopefully sooner, rather than later--I will own a house with said punch of color.

But oh, how these pretties appeal to me as well. How could you not break into a smile each time you came home to your house with the pink door?

(Little Pink Houses sign from Junk Gypsy)