Cocktail hour {Earl grey gin and tonic}

Hey there friendly friends!

Anyone else out there super into the 50's Mad Men style cocktails lately???  Pretty sure Jared and I have had our weight in old fashioneds, our new fave.  I wanted to jazz things up a bit when I made homemade earl grey infused gin a couple of weeks ago.  I attempted a cocktail that blended the way I make gin and tonic, AND earl grey tea- lime and honey.

 

Well....... this was amazingly tasty....... BUT- make sure you stir and stir and stir that honey in.  It doesn't really like to dissolve easily in this cold cocktail.  Also, I found that drinking with a straw and using it as a stir stick while drinking really helped.  Otherwise, you may end up with a mouthful of honey at the end.

Will definitely attempt this one again!

Trish

I wish I was cool enough for Warbies

Happy Thursday friends!

so........ THIS is why I don't have cute pics of myself in Warbies.

Get a load a this hot babe!

Today, I've joined Thriftary's and Two Hoots & a Holler's Throw Back Thursday Linkup partay!  Woot!  Head on over and upload your most awkward and amazing photo.  I SOOOOOO wish I had some teen photos on my computer!!!  Just imagine...... bushy eyebrows and huge chiclet teeth.  Oh my god.  I thought about digging out the box, scanning, and uploading.... but...... I couldn't find the box.  GAH!

Anyways........... Thanks to Maddie and Mae Mae for hosting!

Trish

January tradition: fresh flowers, every weekend.

This is a new tradition this year!  I decided to go along with The January Cure this month, and my favorite thing about it has definitely been the fresh flowers ALL over my apartment.  I'll admit, I've been pretty slackery about a number of the other tasks, but I've managed to buy myself flowers every single weekend.  I first thought it might be overkill, having so many flowers fill our tiny space.  Then, the January doldrums started to kick into high gear, and the flowers really do brighten the space.  Even on gray and rainy days, I've got some brightness going on in my dining room, and living, and even windowsills at this point!  It's been a gray and dry winter so far.  No snow, or even rain storms, just gray (thanks Seattle).  I needed these beauties.

I'm in love with this for January.  Just the brightness I needed.

Trish

I love you {polka-dot wallpaper]

I LOVE YOU POLKA DOT WALLPAPER!!!

drooling right now........

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A polka-dot freakin fridge!!!!  Color in my apartment has been much needed this January.  These endless gray skies just won't do.  My favorite is definitely the first one.  The small dots with the huge pop of green color.  Thinkin I have GOT to get something going like that in my closet.  Pronto!

Which ones are you faves?

Enjoy your day friends!

Trish

Weeknight supper delight: Potato and cauliflower soup

Happy Monday friends!

I am ALL about the soups lately.  The weather around here has been CRAZY COLD! (well, for Seattle that is, like 35 degrees).  But still, nothing like some hot soup to warm up our spirits and make our small apartment smell divine.

My most recent attempt was a creamy potato and cauliflower soup (recipe found here).  Oh man, this was tasty.  Like the soup version of mashed potatoes!  yum.

I followed the recipe almost exactly, and I would highly recommend it:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 pound cubed peeled baking potato (about 2) 
• 1 pound cubed Yukon gold potato (about 4)
• 5 cups unsalted chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pound cauliflower, cut into florets (about 1/2 head)
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• Cooking spray 
• 1 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk 
• 3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided
• 1/2 cup fat-free fromage blanc or sour cream
• 2 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 1/2 cup) 
• 4 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled 

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. 2. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, thyme, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes, stock, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until potatoes are very tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; discard bay leaf.
3. 3. While potatoes simmer, combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, cauliflower, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray; toss to coat. Roast at 450° for 30 minutes or until browned, turning once.
4. 4. Place cauliflower mixture and milk in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour cauliflower mixture into a large bowl. Add half of potato mixture to blender; pulse 5 to 6 times or until coarsely chopped. Pour into bowl with cauliflower mixture. Repeat with remaining potato mixture. Place cauliflower-potato mixture in Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 cup green onions, and fromage blanc; stir until fromage blanc melts. Ladle soup into 8 bowls. Top evenly with remaining green onions, cheese, and bacon.

This one is really great, because it's definitely more on the healthy side than most potato soups.  The cauliflower gives it a creaminess without having to use any cream.  Thinking I'm gonna try cauliflower and potato mash next, and see if it's as good without cream and butter!

Got any good soup ideas or recipes for me to try????  I'm just dying to try some new ones!

Trish

A song for Sunday {Nancy from now on}

Oh pour me another drink

And punch me in the face

You can call me Nancy

T&J {an engagement shoot}

All photos were shot by my dear friend Julie.

Which ones are your faves????

Trish

DIY pom-pom bookmark

It's a week of firsts for me!  Really really rad firsts too.  I had nutella for the first time (don't shoot me), AND....... drumroll........ I made my first yarn pom-pom!  I am amazed (and a bit embarassed) that I've never experienced either of these until now.  What can I say?  I'm a loony.

I came across this post, and knew my first pom-pom had to be created. 

First, grab what you need: yarn, a ruler, and scissors (easy huh?)

Then, cut an 8-10" piece of yarn, and a 15" piece of yarn.  Put those aside.

Start wrapping yarn pretty loosely around your fingers about 90 times and cut the yarn string from your skein.

Carefully take the yarn off your fingers and lay over the 8-10" string as shown below.  Tie the string tightly in a knot around your wound yarn.

Take your 15" string and tie it tightly around your knot created with the 8-10" string.  This will be your tail, or book marker.

Cut through the loops to create your pom-pom. 

Using your scissors, trim your pom-pom until you have your desired ball shape and size.  Don't be afraid to cut here!  You will need to trim a lot off to get it looking great.  Be careful with that tail though, you do NOT want to accidentally cut that off.

 

You are done!

Super easy and super cute.

Enjoy your Thursday!

Trish

Sponsor swap?? YES???

Hey frans!

Just added a sponsor page to this here blog!  I was hoping that some of you would consider doing sponsor swaps with me.  Just click on the "sponsor jellybones" link above, and checkout with the code "swap".  Shoot over an email and we can get started!

Hooray!

Trish

Style Lust {Prabal Gurung for Target}

YES!

I love love love when designers collaborate with affordable shops.  It makes me feel fancy, although everything is usually polyester.  Oh well!  My new favorite is Prabal Gurung, who collaborated with Target to create a colorful and affordable designer Spring collection.

These items hit stores on Feb 10th!!!  See all the deets here.

I'm pretty much salivating over look #12.  GAH!

Trish