Friday, February 11, 2011

living room [in progress]

the living room is coming along.
the sofa is ordered and will arrive in about 6 weeks [ugh!].
the pottery barn carlisle sofa

i purchased the two white leather chairs [overstock.com].
i picked up a  new rug at homegoods annual rug sale [30% off... woot woot].
here are a few photos...








i still need to paint the walls [a color not yet chosen] and paint the trim white.

so clearly it's not even close to complete.
it still needs...
throw pillows
artwork
curtains
some small furniture pieces
etc.

have a great weekend!
xoxo -erin


Thursday, February 10, 2011

maggiano's rigatoni d...... OH YA!


have you ever tasted this pasta?
if not, you're in for quite a treat. i'm not kidding.

maggiano's rigatoni d

ingredients.
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
12 oz. button mushrooms (cut in have if large)
3 tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 tsp. pureed garlic (i use trader joe's frozen garlic)
salt and pepper
1 lb. chicken breast, cut into 1 to 1-1/2 in. pieces
1/2 quart chicken stock
2-4 oz. marsala wine
2 oz. white wine
1/2 quart heavy cream
1 lb. rigatoni pasta
1 tbs. fresh basil, chopped
2 tbs. garlic butter (i use whole foods kerigold garlic and herb butter)
parmesan cheese, shavings (garnish)
chopped fresh parsley (garnish)

directions.

1. heat oil in a large pan
2. caramelize onions set aside in a bowl
3. add mushrooms to pan and saute with balsamic vinegar (until soft and slightly browned)
4. add onions to mushrooms
5. season with salt and pepper
6. add garlic
7. add chicken
8. add chicken stock, 2 oz. of the marsala and white wine, cook until reduced by half
9. add cream and bring to a boil, cook until it thickens (to your personal preference)
10. turn down heat and simmer to skim away impurities
11. cook rigatoni at dente
12. add drained rigatoni to chicken mixture in pan and finish with basil, parsley, parmesan cheese, garlic butter and salt and pepper
13. add additional marsala for flavor as needed
14. place in a bowl and garnish with parmesan shavings and chopped parsley



enjoy friends.... it's super-duper yummy!!
xoxo - erin





Wednesday, February 9, 2011

heart artwork

i blogged about this etsy artwork last week.

seeing as next week it's valentine's day, i thought i'd share my
copycat artwork. i created it for my husband on our 11th anniversary.



 



the number 20 has special meaning to us. you can read more about it here.

oh.... one more thing... i owe you an apology. it just came to my attention that random photos have been inserted into my blog posts. i'm guessing it happened because i was using a browser that wasn't getting along with blogger. not sure. but be assured i've cleaned up my past posts and am using a new browser. hopefully the problem is solved!

take care and stay warm! it's a whopping 7 degrees outside and with the wind chill it feels like -10 degrees! YIKES!!!!


Thursday, February 3, 2011

blizzard twenty-eleven

it's been interesting around these parts.
school has been out for 2 days.
the snow plows couldn't get through.
the city sent a bulldozer to get us out of our court.
all of my muscles ache from shoveling massive amounts of snow.

now the sun is shining and all is good.
our house after the storm
reilly and the neighborhood kids
coop playing in the snow
coop-a-loop
reilly standing the the front yard
our upstairs balcony
the back deck... maybe i should have taken in the furniture :)
our court during the storm
our front yard during the storm
hope you're all staying warm!

hugs - erin

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

shopping list...

this post is more for me than it is for anyone else.
over the past few months i have bookmarked items for the new house,
knowing that we can afford all of them now,
but eventually...

so here's the "to buy" list to date...
one
the carlisle sofa [pottery barn] – for the living room


two
stockholm rand flatwoven run [ikea] – living room

three

merete curtains [ikea] – living room

four
mercer magazine rack & paper holder in satin nickle finish [pottery barn] – downstairs powder room

five
victory pendant lamp [cb2] – above kitchen table

six
henny blanket/bedspread [ikea] – foot of the bed in the master bedroom

seven
aina pillows [ikea] – 2 for bed in master bedroom

eight
side ruffles pillow in mustard yellow [jillybeancraft] - 1 for the bed in the master bedroom

nine

dwell studio mustard yellow mod lattice pillow [idari] – 1 for master bedroom chair

ten



other items i need...
1. family room entertainment unit
2. dresser for master bedroom
3. console table for the sitting room in the master bedroom
4. a sideboard/console type table (thrifted) for the living room
5. a mirror [from kiwi wood werks] for powder room
6. a new white toilet for the powder room

well... now i'm off to watch the snow fall. if you haven't heard chicago is under a 
BLIZZARD WARNING!!!!

xoxo - erin