Cold is the new Black...

Everywhere I go people are COLD...including me.  So, I'm replacing our Friday night wine with this hot beverage from Chocophile.  It sounds delicious and warm.  Plus I've never had Tequila Rose Cocoa which is crazy because tequila and cocoa in one combined bottle sound like something I would not let get past me.

Super Bowl Sunday

So many fun choices for Sunday.  Here are a few that had my mouth watering and you know how I feel about easy.

3 Ingredient Cocktail Meatballs

Lambs in a blanket. (this can be done ahead and then reheated)

Spinach Feta Roulades with peppers and cream cheese

 Football Deviled Eggs

Chinese New Year 2014

If you were looking for a reason to try some homemade Chinese food then this Friday is your chance.  Why not bring in the year of the horse in style.  Be sure to decorate with bowls of oranges as they are said to bring health and longevity. Here are a few ideas to get you inspired.

If you are not to into the traditional.  How about General Tso's slow cooked pork tacos with orange broccoli slaw.

If you do like traditional how about delicious sesame chicken.

Or you could try your hand at making your own fortune cookies.  Putting together your own fortunes could  be hilarious.

At the very least just add a side dish of cold sesame noodles as a small nod to CNY.

Link Love

Epicurean Mom
Apple Cinnamon Quinoa Parfait

Bloom
These place cards would be great for any winter dinner party.

Sweetapolita
 Inside out Neopolitan cake.

The Kitchen is my Playground
Dill pickle bites

Office Makeover

It's a new year and I'm thinking of adding some fun touches to the home office for inspiration.  Here is a few ideas that I found intriguing.

I like the idea of adding some sort of inspiration board but I want it to be small.  I would like to change it up weekly or even daily if possible.  I like these clothespins by bright bazaar.

I like the idea of fun cord camouflage.

Metallic Mouse Pad

Patterned Cork Board.

I would love to hear your ideas.

Sanding Sugar

Want to make an easy way to distinguish who's rooting for who?  How about offering opposing team colors of sanding sugar to rim everyone's glass.  You could also use salt if that is more appropriate for the drinks you are offering.  It would a great conversation starter for people who have never met and let's face it the party would look pretty cool.  

Buffalo Chicken Dip Bites

If you are having people over to watch some football then how about trying out these buffalo chicken dip bites?  Now, there are going to be some die hard wing eaters who won't be appreciative.  But no sauce stains on the sofa and especially no Egyptian pyramid of bones to throw away may sway you to be a little more inventive :)

DIY: Antler Towel Rack

Anyone who has been to a flea market with me or a swanky housewares store knows that I always marvel at the horns.  I think this is actually in my DNA since my dad was an avid collector.  That being said, I'm not sure he would approve of my style but a horn's a horn right.  His style was definitely more eccentric in a red velvet kinda way.

The main reason I have never made the purchase up to this point is because I couldn't get a clear vision of where those suckers could go.  I tend to like the metallic, neon or even girly flower variety and I don't think the hubby shares my excitement.  So, hanging it in our living room was probably going to be an issue.

But this little DIY was actually written for me.  Even though I don't know you Liz Marie...I feel we are kindreds.  If you are ever in NYC, the cocktails are on me.   Thank you.

Link Love

Saveur
Greek Mac-N-Cheese

Pinching Your Pennies
Totally cute homemade Valentines

Rugged Thug
Way to turn an ugly BBQ into cool design

Sugar and Charm
Treat yourself right in the new year...ricotta and lemon pancakes.

Movie Night: Cinema Paradiso

I'm going for round two of classic movie night.  This time I am choosing an Italian classic...basically because I wanted to make chicken florentine pizza.  But before we get to the main course, I should start with some fresh greens and maybe a little tomato and mozzarella.  Can't wait.

Salted Chocolate and Marscapone Crostini

Want to add a special dessert to this weekends dinners.  How about a special treat for Valentine's Day or maybe just because you're awesome.  This lovely recipe from Sugar Cloth is a must make in any situation.

Cake

I met someone yesterday who's resolution for the new year was to eat more cake.  Now while I think that is cheating a little, I also think it is awesome.  Imagine if what you truly focused on this year was how many different cakes you could eat.  It would be like living in a Wonka World.

Saveur
Thomas Keller's Coconut Cake

Let the Baking Begin
Ferrero Rocher Cake

Curly Girl Kitchen
Snickerdoodle Cake

Style Sweet
Strawberry and Vanilla Confetti Cake

Jewelry Blocks

If one of your resolutions is to get organized and you have a pile of jewelry then this DIY is for you. Check out these step by step instructions from Emily Henderson on how to be more organized and chic at the same time.  I love the finished product!

Link Love

Instructables
Sweetheart Cupcakes would be perfect for V-Day.

Houzz
This subway mural is so realistic and how about that t.p. storage.

Love and Lemons
Creamy Polenta with mushrooms

Tatertots and Jello
Great industrial shelving unit with step by step instructions

New Year...New Design Trends

I like to take a look around the apartment at the beginning of each year and I mean REALLY look at it.  When the eye gets use to seeing things every day we don't always roger that something could use a little updating.  That vase that you loved but then just stuck on a shelf instead of figuring out where it should really go?  You know who you are and why not make it a fun project to do a little rearranging and refreshing at the beginning of the year.  Last year I added the following updates:

I needed to incorporate some color, so I added little pops of lime green (this accompanies a wooden box from Portugal, some cool sequined match boxes from Mexico and my Buddha from China.)

Then I added some much needed curtains...really they were bad.  But funny how after years you don't even see them anymore.  I chose an Ikat design to add a modern update.

Lastly, I chose some graphic pillows to work with the black and white from the curtains.  All the changes were small and inexpensive but changed the whole room drastically.

This year the design trends are as follows.  Honestly, there is not much that I can work with besides maybe some cowhide touches.

Macrame Touches (this is not for me)

Shades of Blue

Sun Kissed Wood

Moody Walls

Open Shelving

Cowhide

Smoked Salmon and Leek Chowder

When we were in Nova Scotia this past summer my mother-in-law made a great appetizer using smoked salmon.  Now if your like me smoked salmon is basically lox but that is not true.  There is a whole other kind of salmon that is referred to as "hot" salmon and it is delicious.  It is flaky and smoky and is sold as a fillet. 

So, when I saw this recipe in Fine Cooking, it was a chance to try a great chowder with some of the delicious salmon.  The recipe was quick and easy and the salmon was the star.  It is a great recipe for after work because it comes easily and doesn't require much cook time for a hot bowl of chowder.

Something I would do differently next time is put the leeks, celery and potatoes into a bag with the flour and salt and pepper.  Then I would fry them all together.  I think it would give another level of flavor. 

Date Night: At Home

Well the weather outside is frightening, so I thought I would come up with a stay at home date night.  Last Saturday night we decided to watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which inspired me to watch more classics.  Something I don't like to admit is I haven't seen or don't remember a lot of the old movies.  That being said, I wanted to create a fun way to catch up and check out some more.  I pulled up the list on IMDB and chose Casablanca as this week's feature and I'm going to make a Moroccan dinner to go along with it one night this weekend. 

I'm going to make Moroccan Chicken using the recipe from here.  My husband might be a little put off by the dates, so I think I'm going to leave those out.  I wanted something that would simmer so the house would fill with the smell of exotic spices.

But because I believe the dish would go well with something a little sweet I'm going to sub in this recipe instead of regular couscous.