wednesdays with favorites

at some point in the week k and em come over and we have family dinner and catch up on tv shows we love.

kayla had the genius idea of making stuffed peppers for dinner, so i let her have at it.

she even got to use my brand new tongs i got from ikea last weekend!

they were AMAZING.

em took care of the cookies.

:)

babybear at skully's

some of my closest friends from home/college are in a band; babybear.

they played at skully's monday night and i took some photos.

i'd like to share.

whirlwind weekend

action packed weekend.

contents:

(couple hours in ikea for nessesary things to finish a project)

(hofbrauhaus in ky for hannah koresky's going away gathering)

(ordered beers the size of our heads)

(no joke)

(saw the big pink play in concert sunday night followed by post show play time at bodega)

in additional to all the running around, we managed to go to two different gaberial brothers in cinci. got my hands on some dirt cheap finds from urban and anthro yay!

first day of spring

kayla, emily and i spent a gorgeous spring morning walking high street stopping and getting coffees from impero and cinnamon buns and cupcakes from gingham bakery.

i just have this amazing feeling of happiness.

we are off to cincinnati for the rest of the weekend. stopping at ikea and gabriel brothers then heading across the river for my friend hannah k's going away party.

have a amazing weekend.

basil time.

i've been talking about growing herbs in my apartment basically since the temperature rose above 34 degrees. i swung by home depot tuesday after work and scooped up a couple potters, a shovel, seeds and potting soil.

(basil, oregano, catnip, cilantro and parsley)

i saved a couple spaghetti sauce and pesto jars to also plant in as well.

this is all an experiment because i am really not sure where the sun is most direct, so i spilt them up and basically am just going to see what works given zoey doesn't cause any trouble with the catnip growing.

(window sill by my sink window)

columbus.

i should probably stop taking pictures while driving - but this is my favorite thing about my drive home from work.

sunday night creations

i spent sunday evening on clark place watching em make the perfect batch of chocolate chip cookies, and hanging out with kayla and darren while they made us all gormet pizzas.

(ems chocolate cookies)

(parmesan basil crust/red sauce/fresh motzerla/tomatoe/asparagus/spinach pizza)

(tribute to becca ciacchi- naan bread/cream cheese/crab meat and provolone cheese)

we all have a pretty strong addiction to anything niptuck. last winter break when i was still in college i think i watched the entire series in one month. emily just did the same thing. and now, i don't think we can go anywhere in public without em thinking she sees someone from niptuck.

the point i had from that mini story was that after dinner, we watched The Stepfather, starring who else but "Sean McNamara". originially a thriller from 1987, the 2009 remake was pretty good. definietly stressed me out though. good redbox buy.

weekend.

(wheat grass shots)

my weekend was filled with dinner parties, wheat grass shots and smoothies, putting my winter coats in storage, naps, columbus brewing company for restaurant week, booking flights to nyc, clampdown, and the zoo.

i am taking sunday evening to be horizontal for a while.

(columbus brewing company)

EXCITED ABOUT EVERYTHING

the weather is getting warmer, it is staying light out longer, work is going great, i can sit on kayla and em's stoop without freezing my butt off.

i don't think there is a cell in my body that isn't happy right now. i took this photo driving home from work one night this week. i feel like it was like 7 something and it was still light out.

there are so many EXCITING things coming up:

ikea/hofbräuhaus for hannah k's going away party

the big pink concert

temper trap concert

home/akron for easter

cd 101 day concert

growing basil

new york city in may

just being outside in the park with my friends

springtime in the city.

spring is coming on strong in columbus and it is so intoxicating. i no longer have my heat on which will for sure give me a break on my electric bill. i now spend evenings with a couple windows open and i really have to say, there really is no smell like the smell of spring.

on the occasion that i got the sound on my cable box fixed, gossip girl was back on, and what we thought an episode of niptuck, i had kayla and em over for dinner and wine. i thought of it as a recoop from the night before where an hour and a half of hot yoga had us questioning life.

if there is one thing i know, is that my friends and i are borderline obsessed with just about anything pesto. so i decided on pesto stuffed shells.

ingredients

1.) music - entire phoenix discography - shuffled.

2.) 15 oz. part skim ricotta cheese

3.) 1 fresh mozzarella ball

4.) 1/2 cup basil pesto

(i used classico - its the best premade pesto - hands down)

5.) 1 large egg

6.) about 2 large handfulls of spinach

7.) olive oil

8.) indefinet amount of pasta sauce

(i used my homemade marinara from the other day)

9.) a box of jumbo shells

first, take the mozzerela ball and pick it apart into tiny little peices.

then, combine ricotta cheese, basil pesto in a medium bowl.

finely chop spinach.

add to cheese/pesto mixture and add the large egg.

the egg helps keep te misture together while it bakes.

boil jumbo shells until firm to the bite. you dont want the shells to become too soft or they will rip when you try and stuff them with the cheese/pesto mixture.

once shells have cooled, spoon the cheese pesto mixture and place them closely together on a olive oil baking pan.

then just pour red sauce over the shells to your liking and let bake for 30 min at 350 degrees.

serve with a nice glass of red and good friends.

prefect spring wednesday evening

homemade marinara

i guess i have this thing for making sauces or soup like concoctions.

i saw this insanely easy homemade marinara recipe on this amazing recipe blog.

which i did alter to my personal liking.

the ingredients:

1.) music - i listened to a fine frenzy's discography

Bomb in a Birdcage and One Cell in the Sea

2.) two 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes

3.) one med onion

4.) four cloves of garlic

5.) three maybe four tablespoons of olive oil

6.) one 6 oz can of tomato paste

7.) dried basil

8.) dried oregano

9.) dried bay leaves

10.) one tablespoon brown sugar

11.) two tablespoon balsamic vinegar

(optional): two good friends to hangout with while you cook

directions:

chop the onion and garlic

(this is the instant that i realized i need one of those choppers from the pampered chef)

in a large pot, add olive oil and saute onions and garlic until you can see through them.

then, just add everything else.

i added everything, let cook for about a half hour and then tasted it to see if it was missing something. i ended up adding cracked black pepper, kosher salt and lots more basil.

i ended up splitting this batch into halves.

plans on using one half for the pesto stuff shells i'm making for my friends this week, and freezing the other half.

new toy.

my new toy. nikon N2000 35 mm film SLR.

lens on its way.

meep i am overwhelmed with excitement.

kayla.

it is crazy to me how everything is piecing together here in columbus. the fortune i feel when i think about how truly wonderful my life is down here, even through the thick and thin, is absolutly overwhelming. our senior year of college, i would have never fathomed kayla would be living in columbus with me and working at a+f.

i have never known a better friend. she is beautiful in every way possible, and i do not know what i would do without her.

(picture from kaylas 22nd birthday)

she makes me so terribly happy its insane.

10 things that make kayla terribly happy

1. discovering who someone really is & loving them for everything they are.

2. knowing every word to a song, blasting it in your car & singing at the top of your lungs =)

3. being inspired by the smallest things.

4. getting packages in the mail.

5. finding the perfect piece of clothing on the sale rack...and having it fit perfectly.

6. summer night bonfires with friends and neverrr without tons of laughs

7. having those perfect songs that accompany the mood you are in or want to be in

8. i dont think i can leave out my kitten.........DIIIDDDDDYYY!

9. summer mornings waking up to the sun shining & a light breeze blowing through your window that's been open all night.

10. last but neverrr the least.....my friends....i refuse to believe anyone has better ones than i do =)

north market

the tundra that was frozen over columbus is finally starting to melt, and it was the first nice day of spring. i roamed high street with emily with a couple coffees in tote and later that afternoon kayla joined us and we went and lounged next to the pond at Goodale Park.

i feel semi guilty for living in columbus almost 9 months and never once making it over to North Market. so after hunger set in, we decided it was the perfect time to roam on over.

North Market is literally a warehouse right in the arena district full of local vendors. i satisfied my crave for indian food and got some amazing chicken curry and fresh ginger lemonade.

(amazing baked goods)

(organic produce)

(played with a baby lamb)