Love...

Sean skipped his class today due to a killer migraine.  He gets these every so often and they really just put him on his ass...poor thing.  I've been lucky to never have one *knock on wood* so I feel terrible for him when they strike.  So since Sean is curled up in bed, I'm spending my Valentine's Eve curled up with the furball!  Is he not the cutest thing on four legs??

Louie

 Sean and I don't ever really go all out for Valentine's Day, even this year, a few cupcakes for him (even though the were AMAAAAZING) wasn't exactly romantic gesture of the year.  My sweetie surprised me with knitting classes!  (I have been wanting to learn forever and just haven't committed.  I know it's a weird thing, but it was just about the sweetest gift he could have gotten me).  

This year I'm just really feeling the love.  I think it's because I finally feel really wonderful about what is going on in in my relationships, my career, and myself.  (THE TRIFECTA!) So, just in time for Valentine's Day a few things that I love!

I love my little family.  Sean and Louie are more than I ever could have wished for.
I love my mom.  She is pretty crazy, but I notice more and more how similar we are and luckily I've only inherited her best traits.
I love my friends.  I have some truly amazing friends.  The kind that would drop everything in an instant to stand by me when I need them.  Some I have had since high school, others I met the first day of orientation in college, and others I've picked up along the way at work, tae kwon do class...but I really am lucky to know all of them.
I love good food, and more recently I love making good food...especially chocolate covered strawberries!

my weakness

I love my job.  Seriously.
I love my co-workers.  They are all great at what they do, passionate about working with students, and smart as hell.  I learn from them every day.
I love a good glass of red wine.
I love Philadelphia.  It is a remarkable city that is a perfect fit for me.
Finally, I love this blog.  It's something I have wanted to start for a long time and like so many other things it is the perfect time right now.  I'm looking forward to watching it grow and change and seeing what comes of it.

Leave me a love note on this post because I also love hearing from all of you!

xoxo

Early Valentine or how I'm way too good to my husband

Sunday is by far my favorite day of the week.  We always start off by eating a big breakfast (this morning it was eggs and bacon...the same eggs from this post).  We do laundry and clean a little but mostly we just relax.  Sean will play video games while I read a magazine and Louie cuddles in between us.  I love laying on the couch with my little family and smelling dinner cooking.  Which reminds me...I was really good to Sean today and made dinner AND a special Valentine's Day dessert.

For dinner I used the Greensgrow Sausages--Chicken sausage with sundried tomatoes--and made sausage and peppers.  This is just about the easiest meal you can make and it's always a crowd pleaser.  Today, since we only had two sausage links left I cut up some chicken breasts as well and now we have lunch for tomorrow.  Basically the recipe is as follows:

Sausage (however many links your family likes) you can either cut it up into pieces or leave them long.  I usually only leave them long when we are planning on making sandwiches which wasn't the case today.
1 Large onion cut into chunks
1 pepper/person, also cut into chunks
Potatoes (as many as you like) cut into chunks
Italian dressing or vinagarette, really whatever you have on hand.  Just use enough to coat the meat and veggies and leave a little bit of liquid at the bottom of the pan.  I used a lavender berry vinagarette today and it was YUMTASTIC!

Now you can pretty much just leave it at this, toss everything together and throw it in a 400 degree oven for about 45min-1hour uncovered. (Once the potatoes are soft you're good to go!) Today though I added the following:

• Chicken breasts sliced into tenderloins
• Crushed Red Pepper flakes
• Salt
• Pepper
• Fennel Seeds
• Garlic Powder
• Fresh Rosemary

I always just season to taste but I would guess that about 1-2 tsp of each spice would do it.  I just threw a whole rosemary sprig in there so I could take it out before serving since when rosemary is roasted it tends to be unpleasant to chew. (blech)  And here you have it:

before cooking...we ate it so fast there was no time for an "after" pic!

 So darn easy and incredibly delicious.  This is a go-to meal for me since it's quick to throw together and smells amazing when it's in the oven.  yum yum yum.

For Sean's Valentine treat I made him Man-Cakes.  My husband loves chocolate more than anyone I've ever met.  He also loves good beer and bacon.  So after thinking about the bacon and chocolate bar from this post, I figured there must be a way to combine these things in to one epic dessert.  I followed a cupcake recipe that used chocolate and guiness as the base.  I also added a pinch of chilli pepper to the batter.  Now, before you give me the judge eyes a little bit of spice brings out the flavor of the chocolate and adds depth to any recipe.  Try it, and then you can thank me.  Seriously though these little babies are moist and amazingly tasty. 

The buttercream I just made up--2 sticks of butter in my stand mixer, then I added cocoa powder and powdered sugar until it looked and tasted right plus a splash of Guiness.  Now for the ultimate in amazingness...on top of these cupcakes I added....BACON!   I cooked extra at breakfast this morning and it. was. perfect.  Just enough saltiness and crunch to make this Man-Cake really phenomenal.  Sweet, Spicy, and Salty all in one...YES PLEASE!


Man-Cake

 I'm just going to say that my bad picture taking is actually me trying to make the cakes look....rugged.  yeah, sure. 

Sean is happy, and I'm happy that he's happy.  So with that...HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, everyone!

Little people need love too!

Maybe it's because I'm really a big kid, but I feel like stuff for kids just keeps getting cooler.  Seriously, if they made light up shoes in my size I would so be wearing them right now!  As more of my friends, family, and co-workers start having kids I'm loving the excuse to buy fun toys and outfits for those chubby little bundles of joy. 

So for the Broad Street Baby in your life:

http://www.weheartphilly.com/

It just makes you want to squeeze a baby and then shove a cheesesteak in its mouth doesn't it???

Now, personally I feel like this would be a great gift for just about anyone but it might be embarrassing to explain to your boss why she is still signing your pay checks if you bring this to the office:

That's a whoooole lotta gummy

If half a pound of gummy bear doesn't tickle your fancy, Perpetualkid.com will also sell you a 4lb. one.  If your kid wasn't diabetic before this is a sure fire way to make sure they are by March.

If you really loved your kid crochet him this:

I want to shmush him!

Anyone who is crafty needs to make this for a kid ASAP.  Etsy Seller Mamachee only provides the pattern but seriously how friggen cute is that hat?!  Your small child would definitely feel the love.

Finally, kids art that is chic and fun!

via Rockstar Diaries

Love love love all the prints from Sugarfresh.  So...I may or may not want these for my apartment...maybe Louie will learn his ABC's!
Now go out and get some cool stuff for the people you love!

Valentine's Gifts for the Men

The guys really get the raw end of the deal on Valentine's Day, don't you think? We expect them to shower us with presents and flowers and chocolates and diamonds... no? just me? Anyway... this year show the special guy in your life that you appreciate him with a seriously awesome gift!  Here are some of my favorites:

Bacon + Chocolate = Heaven

Go to the Vosges website and order their Bacon Chocolate Bar---yes it's true chocolate and BACON in a candy bar.  Sean and I tried these when we were in Las Vegas last year and they show up at Whole Foods every once in a while.  You haven't lived until you've tried this chocolate bar, and the man in your life will think you are the most amazing person to walk the earth when he unwraps it.  That heart shaped box with the questionable candies in it ain't got nothin' on this bad boy.

Now, for the manliest soap around:


From Etsy Seller Simply Scents

 That's right...beer soap.  This Guinness version smells great and is actually made from the bubbly stuff.  Visit Etsy to find more options--if your man has a favorite brew this would be a great custom gift that won't cost you an arm and a leg.  And hey, now he has no excuse for being stinky after the gym.

For the guy who really is awesome:



Via rowboatpress

And finally, since Sean has found a love of straight razor shaving and so now has more face products than I do...

truefitt and hill

Bonus--this smells AMAZING!  Very manly

I'll be back tomorrow with gifts for the little ones, or maybe just the young at heart!

Valentine's Day Gift Series

With the biggest Hallmark Holiday of them all coming up, I thought I'd do a little gift series in case you're in need of some inspiration.  Now, I think we should spread the love on Valentine's Day and not just celebrate with our spouse/partner/secret lover, but everyone we love!  So first up are gift ideas for the lady in your life...whatever category she may fall into.

These morse code necklaces by Rebecca Coagan Scharlatt are to die for.  Understated, elegant, and totally meaningful you can pick one of the designers words such as "Friend" or "Lover" or customize your own--I think "Mother" would be sweet too don't you?

Anything from Lush pretty much makes my list.  You really can't go wrong--yummy smelling bath and body stuff that is environmentally friendly and made from natural materials.  Some of my personal favorites are the Honey Trap lip balm-the only lip balm I use.  Makes my lips super soft!  And you can't go wrong with a massage bar-they have a TON to choose from but my favorite is the Therapy Bar.  The scent is light and warm and it doesn't make you feel greasy.  Plus--a massage is a great Valentine's Day gift in itself...hint hint.



Honey Trap Lip Balm



Therapy Massage bar

Since you can never go wrong with jewlery I have another necklace in this series. 

This owl pocketwatch necklace is so unique-perfect for the girl who has everything.  To be honest I could do without the crystals and embellishments but the pocketwatch is adorable and it actually works!  The necklace is by Etsy seller OwlandHourglass, and she has lots of other interesting things in her shop as well. 

And of course what would Valentine's Day be without a little chocolate?!  Local Philadelphia business owners Marcie Turney and Valerie Saffran have some beautifully delicious chocolates in their shop Verde.  My favorites are the Philadelphia collection but the Valentine's collection is pretty sweet too.

Hope this inspires your Valentine gift giving...stay tuned for the man version tomorrow!