You Want the Answers?

The gorgeous Jill at A Beautiful Life tagged me with these 8 questions she came up with. She is a mommy to three precious kids and her blog is one of my daily reads, so check her out! I really enjoyed reading all her answers to the questions, it is so fun to learn something new about my virtual friends.


1. If your house was to catch on fire what is the one thing you would take? (non living)
If I were not wearing it, my wedding rings and my grandmother's wedding ring. Both are so meaningful to me. I was thinking photo albums at first, but now with pictures saved on online sites like shutterfly, I could always reprint them. So, I would definitely save my two special pieces of jewelry.

2. What is your all time favorite piece of clothing?
This is a hard one, as I frequently tire of my clothing. I guess I would say my two Missoni dresses. One I wore the night of my rehearsal dinner and the other is more of a fall sweater dress. Love them both and I feel like they are pieces I will always have in my closet.

3. If you had to live in one place the rest of your life would it be on a beach or a mountain top?

The beach! I love the mountains but I am much more of a beach gal. Love the water, salty air, sand, and palm trees!

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Umm, this just might be the hardest question ever! I have way too many favorite shows! I will just give you a run down of my favorites starting back up this fall: Desperate Housewives, Greys Anatomy, Modern Family, Gossip Girl (mainly for the fashion), and just recently added Glee to my list. I am also obsessed with the Food Network. I hate to even go into the reality TV category, there are way too many reality shows I love. As you can see I have a small TV watching problem!

5. If there ever was a movie about your life, which actress would you want to play you?
This would be a toss up between Cameron Diaz, Charlize Theron and Gwyneth Paltrow. I am thinking Charlize Theron, because someone once told me we looked alike. One of the few times I have ever been told I look like someone famous and I was beyond flattered. I think she is gorgeous, now who would my leading man be...........


6. Are you an animal lover? Do you have any pets?
I love animals! Well most animals, I am really not a big fan of cats, but I do love dogs. We have a 7 year old boxer named Nelson. She is the sweetest dog ever!


7. Are you a righty or a lefty?
Righty

8. What is the last book you read? OK I stole this question, but I need some suggestions for some good books!

Please don't make fun of me for this cheeseball cover. I promise I don't always read romance novels! This is quartet of books by Nora Roberts about a group of wedding planers. I just finished the second one, Bed of Roses (see cheesy cover above). Sometimes I am just in the mood for a light and easy read and that's exactly what these books are! So don't judge me, I know you all like a romance novel every now and then too!

Now, here are my 8 questions for these lovely ladies (and no pressure if you don't want to answer:)
1)Who are your female and male celebrity crushes?
2)What is your favorite beverage? alcoholic and non-alcoholic?
3)What food can you not live without?
4)What is your favorite reality tv show?
5)What is your must read magazine?
6)Are you a purse or a shoe girl?
7)Do you like to cook? If so what is your signature dish?
8)If you were rich, what is one item that you would have to splurge on?

I TAG:
Erin at Huddy P

Brooke at Life.Love.Lawton

Lise at Sticky Baby Chronicles

Operation Den Spruce Up

As quickly as I tire of the clothes in my closet, I tire of the decor in my home. Last weekend my parents were in town and my mom and I did some home shopping. I really want a new couch and two chairs for my den, but that is just not in the budget right now. For a quick fix my mom and I rearranged some furniture and switched out pillows. It made a huge difference in my opinion. The room feels fresh now when I walk into it. I had been feeling like the room was too neutral, so we searched for some geometric pillows to give the room some personality. I think it worked for now:) I am trying to save for some new furniture, so as I buy that I will keep you updated on the progress of the room. Please excuse all furniture, it was all bought or passed down to us before we got married and really none of it matches. I kind of cringe at the gold/orangey color of our couch and chair now. It is a very hard color to decorate around. And the love seat has seen better days. After two dogs and a baby, its fabric is filthy. But you gotta work with what you got, right?

THE BEFORE:



THE AFTER:



By switching the chair and the love seat, it really opened up the entrance into our house. I am loving the new pillow on this chair!





The love seat now sits where the singular chair used to be and it makes a cozy little corner. Eventually this is where I would like to put two matching chairs. I am kind of obsessed with these geometric animal print pillows, they make me so happy! So, that is my updated room, still no where near what I want it to look like, but a nice change of scenery for now!

Boys will be Boys

The whole crew from this weekend. Lat, Matt, Matheiu, Richard and Ryan plus Sterling.

I have survived my fratastic Labor Day weekend. There were a total of 8 people and two dogs staying in our tiny 1400 square foot house. It was college style living all weekend. My husband had 4 of his best friends from high school in town, plus one of their wives and dog. I was happy he was getting to spend time with them, not happy at the mess that ensued all weekend long. I swear boys are just so messy and clueless about it. Didn't their mothers teach them to clean up after themselves! and it doesn't help that I am super anal about having a neat and tidy house. I finally decided to just relax and try to ignore the disaster area that my house had become! I am now on my 4th load of laundry with 4-5 more to go. Besides the tight quarters and messy men we had a great weekend.

We spent yesterday at beach and had the best time. I think Sterling really enjoyed having some quality male time! This was the first time several of Matt's friends had even met Sterling. Matt is the first daddy out of the group which is hard to believe!

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend! Tonight on our agenda, a run for me to sweat out all the booze and food I consumed all weekend. Then I'm trying out some new recipes, that will most definitely be blogged about later (unless they suck big time).

Matt and his best friend Lat

Dr. Richard Park and Sterling (doesn't he look just like Jin from LOST?) Any ladies in New York, he is a single doctor at Mount Sinai hospital and the sweetest guy ever!

my sweet boy and his mama at the beach!

loving the beach time with all the boys!
HAPPY LABOR DAY!

Hello Pacey

Happy Friday to everyone! I hope you all enjoy the long weekend! Here is a little eye candy to brighten your day! Remember when Joshua Jackson was on Dawson's Creek? and dating Katie Holmes before she got all weird on us and married Tom Cruise? He was always cute in a kind of dorky way. Well not anymore, he is Hot! Diane Krueger is one lucky lady, well except the fact they have been dating like 4 years and he has yet to pop the question, but that's Hollywood! Here are some photos of his new spread in Nuvo Magazine.



PHOTOS: POPSUGAR

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. Wish me luck as my husband has 5 high school friends all coming to stay in our tiny house this weekend. Normally it would be fine, but the baby definitely makes this situation a little harder! I feel like it is going to be one big fraternity party at my house all weekend. Oh well, boys will be boys:)

9.02.10

Just a quick post to say Happy 90210 day! Man, how I miss that show! I do watch the new version and yes it is sad I am still watching TV shows about high schoolers as I just turned 30 and have now been out of high school for 12 years, but teeny bopper shows are my guilty pleasure. The new version is entertaining but not nearly as good as the original. How can we ever forget the Peach Pit, Nat, "Donna Martin graduates", the Dylan & Kelly & Brenda love triangle, Andrea (I mean I think she was 40 playing a high school student), Steve Sanders, David and the list continues. So tonight I will raise my wine glass in a toast to one of the best TV shows ever!

Trenette with Eggplant and Basil Pesto

I promise I don't eat eggplant that often. I do make my eggplant casserole frequently. However, this recipe came about after watching Giada make this two Saturdays ago on the foodnetwork and then realizing I had an eggplant from the farmers market that was about to go bad. This recipe is super easy and fast to make. The sauteed eggplant have a such a rich flavor and the mixture of cheese and pesto is so yummy! Once again, my girl Giada has not disappointed me with her Italian cooking.
Please excuse my poor quality picture. I am hoping Santa brings me a new Nikon camera this year:)

TRENETTE WITH EGGPLANT AND BASIL PESTO

PESTO-2 PACKED CUPS FRESH BASIL
-1/4 CUP TOASTED PINE NUTS
-1 CLOVE GARLIC
-1/2 TEASPOON SALT, PLUS EXTRA FOR SEASONING
-1/4 TEASPOON BLACK PEPPER
-2/3 CUP EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
-1/2 CUP GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE

NOTE: I USED STORE BOUGHT PESTO AND IT TURNED OUT GREAT

PASTA
-1 POUND TRENETTE OR OTHER SHORT CUT PASTA
-1/2 GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE, PLUS 1/2 CUP
-1/4 EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
-1 MEDIUM EGGPLANT CUT INTO 1/2 INCH SQUARES
-SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE

FOR THE PESTO: IN A BLENDER OR FOOD PROCESSOR, PULSE THE BASIL, PINE NUTS, GARLIC, SALT AND PEPPER UNTIL FINELY CHOPPED. WITH MACHINE RUNNING, GRADUALLY ADD IN THE OIL UNTIL THE MIXTURE IS SMOOTH AND THICK. ADD THE CHEESE AND PULSE UNTIL JUST INCORPORATED. SEASON WITH SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE.

FOR THE PASTA: BRING A LARGE POT FILLED WITH SALTED WATER TO A BOIL. ADD PASTA AND COOK UNTIL TENDER, ABOUT 8-10 MINUTES. DRAIN AND RESERVE ABOUT 1 CUP PASTA WATER. PUT THE PASTA IN A LARGE BOWL AND TOSS WITH 1/2 CUP PARMESAN CHEESE.

IN A LARGE NON-STICK SKILLET, HEAT THE OIL OVER MEDIUM HIGH HEAT. ADD THE EGGPLANT AND SEASON WITH SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE. COOK, STIRRING FREQUENTLY UNTIL THE EGGPLANT TURN BROWN, ABOUT 8-10 MINUTES. REMOVE THE PAN FROM THE HEAT AND COOL SLIGHTLY. ADD THE PESTO AND TOSS UNTIL EGGPLANT IS COATED.

ADD THE EGGPLANT MIXTURE TO THE SERVING BOWL WITH PASTA AND TOSS UNTIL ALL INGREDIENTS ARE COATED. THIN OUT THE SAUCE WITH A LITTLE PASTA WATER. SEASON WITH SALT AND PEPPER. SPRINKLE REMAINING PARMESAN CHEESE ON TOP.

YOU CAN PRINT THIS RECIPE HERE

The September Issues

I love magazines. I probably subscribe to about 15 different ones, mostly fashion, cooking, home decor and of course my weekly gossip magazines. For as long back as I can remember I have always loved getting my September fashion issues in the mail. I have been subscribing to magazines for so long that I used to get YM, Mademoiselle and Teen Beat; if you can remember those oldies but goodies! I wouldn't mind flipping through a Teen Beat now to see some pictures of my cougar crush, Zac Efron. Anyways, I have had my pile of September issues stacked and awaiting me to browse through them. I finally got the chance to last night and I was not disappointed- except by the massive amounts of ads. I mean really a good half of the magazines are advertisements now!

My massive stack of magazines to read!

Instyle and Bazaar are usually my two all time favorites. Loved Bazaar with Jennifer Ainston, but I was totally disappointed by Hillary Swank on the cover of Instyle. I mean is she even relevant anymore? Not a huge fan of hers, but enjoyed all of Instyle's fall fashion finds. I also enjoyed Elle with Julia Roberts on the cover and Vogue with Halle Berry. Usually I don't love the articles in those two but definitely love looking at all the gorgeous clothes. Am I the only one who loves magazines this much?

Here are a few of my favorite fall trends:
CAMEL AND GRAY COLOR COMBO

WINTER WHITE

CHUNKY KNITS

MILITARY LOOK

all images: BAZAAR