Pizza

 

My posts have been pretty food-centric lately but unfortunately I haven't done anything too creative outside of the kitchen.  I'm hoping to remedy that soon (like...now! I just need to get off the computer).  Here is what I ate for lunch though.  Click here for the rest of the post!

Donna Hay Seasons

My mom just got back from Australia and brought me all kinds of goodies.  Tim tams, crumpets, freddos, smarties, all of the things I miss that can be brought back on a 12 hour plane ride.  Unfortunately double cream and meat pie couldn't come. But one thing that she really surprised me with was this Donna Hay book, Seasons.  Just a few days prior to her arrival I was pining for this book over at Hermine's blog! It's like my mom read my mind from thousands of miles away. Here's a peek at a few pages.  Everything is absolutely gorgeous. Oh, and I'm showing off my new favorite nail polish in a couple of these photos. It looks sort of blah but absolutely beautiful in person. Sand Tropez by Essie.

Light Macaroni and Cheese

I made a healthier, lighter version of macaroni and cheese.  For more pictures and a recipe visit my food blog, matchbox kitchen.  It's pretty tasty!

Let's Get Lost

I recently favorited this card on Etsy and I can't stop going back to admire it.  Just might have to purchase and frame it! Made by Bread + Butter.

Valentine's Treat

This is the brown butter ice cream I made recently.  I love ice cream but can't eat more than one scoop of this.  There's a whopping two sticks of butter in here!  Honestly, it kind of leaves a film in your mouth like you just ate butter straight.  I attempted to make some turtles/pecan caramel clusters but they didn't come out exactly like I wanted. But I think they make a good match for valentines day!  Gary and I didn't exchange gifts this year, just little things for each other.  I made him this paper cut out and he got me some rescue remedy pastilles. 

Matchbox Kitchen

If you look over to the right side of my blog you'll see a new link called Matchbox Kitchen. It's a new blog Gary and I started. So far it's mostly sweets I've made, but soon enough Gary will be contributing as well. He makes the savory dishes while I make desserts and bread.  I'll still post some photos of my food here but I'm going to start adding recipes and tips to Matchbox Kitchen as well.  Take a look and tell us what you think!

Steel Cut Oats

My daily breakfast the past week has been steel cut oatmeal with a helping of milk and golden raisins.  I'm not really an oatmeal person (excluding the cookie kind), but steel cut oats are so much tastier, I don't know why I've never had them before.  I have the "quick cook" kind from Trader Joe's, so they only take about 5-7 minutes to make. The raisins add the perfect amount of sweetness so I don't have to add any sugar.

pink

Sunsets

My friend and I are attempting to take a photo every day and started a joint blog to keep each other motivated and accountable. Unfortunately, we've both been slacking off the past couple weeks (myself more than her). The most I can muster up while I'm going through a creative block is the sunset outside my window.  Now I'm thinking of doing a sunset photo a day, but it'll probably get boring after a few weeks...

These sunsets have inspired me to tackle yet another project I've dreamed up.  More on that coming soon.

Gratitude - Jan 17

Last week I…
+ baked a brioche pastry with mixed berries and custard
+ baked a brioche loaf
+ baked a boule
+ made this lasagna with pasta from scratch
+ made fresh fettucine with a tomato sauce from scratch as well
+ tried on various panama hats (without much success)
+ wore short sleeves due to the 80 degree weather
+ bought a pair of running shoes
+ ran half a mile (the most I've run since high school)
+ caved in and bought some eyeshadow primer (part of my "take better care of my appearance" resolution)
+ wore makeup over the weekend. All because I finally bought that eyeshadow primer! 

This week I will...
+ do a thorough cleaning and purging of things I don't need
+ bake more bread... so good for breakfast.
+ work on Valentine card designs
+ run a mile...!