Lovely Day

Dave & Ike walking toward the Lake

Today was a lovely lovely lovely day.  Dave and I took Ike for a walk down to the Lake, and we had a picnic of cheese & sausages on crackers.  Ike had a few bites, too, of course.

Is that a cracker?

Umm... Dad... I can haz the cracker?

It smells so awesome!

Nom nom nom... mmm... cracker...

The wind made it a little chilly, but I was determined to not let that bother me, so it was short-sleeves all the way!  I put on the brightest colors I could find, and thoroughly enjoyed the 59-degree day.  My friends and family in VA have no idea how good they have it, sometimes.  ;)

Lovin' on the pups.

But seriously, I always say, no one loves and appreciates Summer more than a Chicagoan.  Once you get through the nonsense that is our Winter -- and it's usually far worse than what we were workin' with this year -- you can't help but love, adore, appreciate, and enjoy every moment you get in the warm sunshine.

My two guys.

Whaaaaaat!?

It's 59-degrees today.  In Chicago.  In February.  I need to go outside, now!

I also have a sudden urge to eat a really fresh salad, or perhaps some corn on the cob.

Etsy Listings...

Nothing interesting to say today (I'm in a righteous mood, let me tell you), but I did list some nature photographs in my Etsy shop.

Etsy.com 

Etsy.com

What I'm Eating... Farfalle w/ Asparagus, Prosciutto, & Sage Cream Sauce

Phew... that's one doozy of a name for a dish that's actually pretty simple to make.  Like most of my favorite pasta dishes, it's light but still filling, and looks like it took more trouble than it really did.

Ingredients:

Farfalle (bow-tie pasta), fresh asparagus, prosciutto, cream (or whole milk for a lighter sauce), butter, fresh sage, nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper

vanessauttaro.com

Find the recipe here: Farfalle w/ Asparagus, Prosciutto, & Sage Cream Sauce

Dessert was simple... strawberries with sugar.

vanessauttaro.com

What I'm Doing... Planting

I don't have a "green thumb", if that's what it takes.  But I try, every year, to grow little herbs and things in my windows.  Sigh... I hope this one lasts.  If nothing else, at least its pretty in the glass bowl.

Decorate, Eat & Repeat

What I'm Drinking... Lemon Drop

This is what 82-degree days call for.

Decorate, Eat & Repeat

What I'm Eating... Chicken w/ Lemon & Green Olives

Another great recipe from Martha Stewart!  I only made slight adjustments, most importantly reducing the recipe from eight chicken breasts to two.

I really think Spring is the "season of lemons".  Yes, I know that sounds silly... but it really is the best time for them!  The bright yellow color, the tart sweetness, and of course the versatility -- lemons are just so bright and happy, just like Spring (if Chicago's Spring would ever get started).

Recipe:

Chicken w/ Lemon & Green Olives

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts, lemon, green olives, onion, garlic cloves, salt & pepper, extra virgin olive oil, chicken stock, red pepper flakes; egg noodles

Decorate, Eat & Repeat

What I'm Decorating... Living(/Dining) Room

Obviously, I am far from done in this room, but over the last week I've at least made a little more progress.  Can you see, from the photos, what I'm going for?  Preppy green and pink, fresh and refreshing, clean, cheerful, and fun!

This is the chalkboard dining table, now covered in an Old Navy scarf (until I can find a proper table cloth) to bring more fun color to this area of the room -- apparently the curtains and lamp shade aren't enough for me!

This is the pink sofa, covered in a light pink-purple blanket, with all of my Ikea pillows, and that odd maroon blanket that I hate the look of, but love the feel of.

Well, I really need to get proper drawer pulls for the dresser that serves as a TV stand in the living room...  the drawers are a fun blue-green, and the other color is the same "preppy" green as the walls.  I call this dresser the "cheeseburger in paradise", because it reminds me of Key West and Jimmy Buffet.  The top is still red, because I haven't been motivated to move the TV, VCR, Wii etc. to paint it.

I love my globe ($8 at a thrift store!), and although I would rather have all of my favorite books on display (some of them are still there), I decided instead to display all of the books with white/cream/light blue spines to make it look a little cleaner.  The little framed picture on top of the books will eventually be painted hot pink/lime green, I'm just waiting for a chance to go to IN to buy spray paint.  Yeah, seriously, you can't buy spray paint in Chicago...

My cat Olivia is terrified of that kitty pillow!  This was the Xmas Chair, but today I finally got around to unraveling the four strings of lights I had wrapped around it for the last 3 months.  I hung the phone on the wall, but need to do something with the cord.  The brown door that you can see just a slice of will eventually be painted a very light, creamy yellow.