My Little Pumpkin

Happy Halloween! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Just wanted to share a few pics of my sweet baby as a pumpkin. I am sure you have seen enough Halloween costume pictures, but I couldn't resist!

After all the pictures, someone was not happy with mommy!

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,
Now that Halloween is almost over and Thanksgiving is near, I wanted to go ahead and send you my list. I 'm easy this year there is only one gift I want- this beautiful Louis Vuitton Purse. And don't worry I've been good!
Love,
Natalie


Happy Friday! What's on your Christmas wish list?

Barefoot Contessa Strikes Again + Middle Eastern Salad

Any of you avid cooks know that Barefoot Contessa's new cookbook, How Easy is That, came out this week. I had already read a great article about it in House Beautiful (love that magazine) and watched her cook some recipes on the Today show that looked fabulous. I couldn't wait to pick it up and start cooking! There are so many recipes I wanted to try but I started with this simple salad, Middle Eastern Salad. I had most of the ingredients already at home and true to her word it was easy to make. This salad is filled with chick peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh feta, parsley, mint and basil! It is delish! Ina recommends serving this with hot pita bread, so I am going to try that today, but it is amazing all by it self! I think this salad could also be great served at a party with pita chips as a dip, since it is more of a chopped salad. Either way it will knock your socks off!

MIDDLE EASTERN SALAD

- 10 SCALLIONS, WHITE AND GREEN PARTS THINLY SLICED

- 1 POUND RIPE TOMATOES, SEEDED, CORED & 1/2 INCH-DICED

- 1 HOTHOUSE CUCUMBER, HALVED LENGTHWISE, SEEDED & 1/2 INCH-DICED

- 1 CAN OF CHICKPEAS, RINSED AND DRAINED

- 1/3 CUP CHOPPED FRESH PARSLEY

- 1/3 CUP CHOPPED FRESH BASIL

- 1/3 CUP CHOPPED FRESH MINT

- 1/2 CUP FRESH LEMON JUICE (4 LEMONS)

- 1 TABLESPOON MINCED GARLIC (3 CLOVES)

- 1/2 CUP GOOD OLIVE OIL

- 8 OUNCES GOOD FETA, 1/2 INCH-DICED

- TOASTED PITA BREAD FOR SERVING

PLACE THE SCALLIONS, TOMATOES, CUCUMBER, CHICKPEAS, PARSLEY, MINT AND BASIL IN A LARGE BOWL AND TOSS TO COMBINE.

IN A SMALL BOWL WHISK TOGETHER THE LEMON JUICE, GARLIC, 2 TEASPOONS SALT AND 1 TEASPOON PEPPER. SLOWLY WHISK IN THE OLIVE OIL TO MAKE AN EMULSION. POUR THE DRESSING OVER THE SALAD, TOSSING GENTLY TO COAT ALL VEGETABLES. ADD THE FETA, SPRINKLE WITH SALT AND PEPPER, AND TOSS GENTLY. SERVE THIS SALAD WITH THE TOASTED PITA BREAD.

Girl Crush

I have always thought Olivia Palermo was gorgeous. Once she started filming The City, I loved her style even more but she seemed so snooty and bitchy. I can and will look past her personality (or lack there of) and envy her impeccable style. She always looks so chic and put together. I wish I could browse through her closet one day, I am sure it is insane. I gather so much style inspiration from her! Maybe, just maybe, she is nicer in person than she appears on TV?? Do you love her or hate her? Either way I am loving this girl!


These are new pics of Olivia from this week, how fabulous does she look? I love her sleek new haircut and I die for that fur vest and vintage looking clutch! Also loving the skinny black jeans. Once again, an amazing ensemble!

Photos: whowhatwear.com and pacificcoastnews.com

Taylor and Jake????

Is this for real??? I just read on People.com, which is usually a pretty reliable gossip source, that Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor Swift had been seen hanging out. Not just hanging out as friends, cuddling and more. WTF, Jake you can do so much better! You can't even take her to a bar to grab a drink!! I'm pretty sure she is not even 21 yet. I actually like Taylor Swift, I think she is cute and super talented and I really like Jake- what a hottie, have you seen the shirtless pics of him filming the King of Persia??! But what a random couple! I bet Reese is getting a good laugh over this!

You can check out the article on People HERE
photo: people.com

Organizing by the Rainbow

Yesterday after Matt was already at work, I realized my keys were locked in my car. He couldn't leave work to bring them to me, so I was stranded all day. I was so bored, no trips to the grocery store, Target or any errands. I decided to take advantage of my time while Sterling napped and clean and organize my kitchen. I cleaned out my pantry, polished all the stainless appliances, organized drawers and mopped. A very productive nap time. I was inspired by Megan at Honey Were Home's bookshelves. They are organized my color and look gorgeous! Unfortunately we don't have any bookshelves, but I do have an abundance of cookbooks that I decided to organize. I love the result, it makes me happy to look at this rainbow on top of my fridge. If you had seen the top of my fridge before covered with baby food, dog food, cookbooks, jugs of water, etc- this is a huge improvement!



I also found one of my mom's old silver trays and used it to arrange my salt and pepper and oil shaker. I think this brings a bit of glamour to the kitchen!

Sadly, my kitchen only stayed immaculate for a few hours, once the dog came inside, the hubby got home, and dinner was cooked it was kind of a mess again!

Just Call me Martha

My sister-in-law turned the big 30 this weekend. In honor of her birthday and to help her celebrate I made her these delicious Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing.

They take literally like 5 minutes to mix and make- icing them takes a bit longer, but still they are super easy. This recipe comes compliments of my girl Martha Stewart, who I strive to be like (minus the jail time of course), she is so organized and a genius in the kitchen.
I substituted sprinkles instead of candy corn. I found these cute sprinkles in the dollar section at Target and thought they would be perfect on the birthday cupcakes.

I highly recommend you make these cupcakes if you have a Halloween Party coming up, everyone will be impressed!
Print this Recipe: PUMPKIN CUPCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE ICING