This Irish Lady Has Turned Italian

I am a huge Giada De Laurentis fan and for Christmas my husband gave me this cookbook.

Giada's Kitchen

Ryan and I never thought of ourselves as pasta lovers but this cookbook has changed us! I have tried about half of the recipes so far and love all of them.

This recipe is Ryan's favorite and in the cookbook Giada mentions that her husband loves it as well. So I guess it's a man's meal :) It's basically sausage, peas, ricotta cheese and pasta.

First you brown the Italian sausage with some garlic. Add some frozen peas until they are warmed and smash them with the back of a wooden spoon. Mix them together with some ricotta cheese.

Add the cooked pasta (I used orecchiette this time) with some of the pasta water to thin out the sauce.

Chop up some fresh basil to sprinkle on top of the pasta, along with freshly grated cheese.

And there you have it!

A delicious, hearty dish in just 20 minutes!

Giada's Tagliatelle With Smashed Peas, Sausage and Ricotta Cheese.

Entertaining

These photos were featured on Design*Sponge today and they just made me think of spring and even *gasp!* summer!

These photos are from a book called Table Style: 101 creative ideas for elegant and affordable entertaining.

It stresses using what you've got in your own kitchen.

San Diego Living

I will be going to San Diego in a few weeks and have been dreaming of the beautiful weather and the sights to see.

I came across this San Diego home featured on Apartment Therapy.

Check out this gorgeous kitchen!

I love the glass door cabinets and all the white dishes.

A beautiful black cabinet in the dining room.

The living room.

Guest bathroom.

Master bedroom.

Master bath.

Lovely Lilac

I am so in love with the color lilac right now. I have recently purchased 2 tops for my spring wardrobe.

Here are some lilac photos to get you in the purple mood:

Plant pots from Ikea.

A pair of flats from Payless.

Sheets from Anthropologie.

A necklace from Anthropologie.

(Desire to Inspire)

(Elements of Style)

(decorology)

(Desire to Inspire)

(decor8)

(decor8)

(Desire to Inspire)

(Desire to Inspire)

(Desire to Inspire)

(Desire to Inspire)

(Desire to Inspire)

Spring Decor

Some new spring-ish additions to my home.

My coffee table tray is adorned with a ceramic bird and a bird nest with oragami-wrapped eggs. An Ikea vase filled with some moss. Topped with a flower candle votive.
I made these eggs last Easter. Oragami paper covers a plastic egg, adhered with Mod Podge.

My bar cabinet.
Another bird :)
My dining room sideboard.
My new jute tablerunner from Target.
Some vintage Easter postcards.
Some more moss and another bird's nest.
Mini candle votives from HomeGoods.
Vintage-looking banners from Michael's and a sweet little bunny.
And of course you need some fresh cut flowers. Even Tiki took a moment to enjoy them!
A bunch of yellow daffodils.
Now just bring on the spring weather :)