recipe: lasagna, or is it pasta

What’s wrong with this picture? It’s March 27 and I’m just now discussing my recipe of the month for February. <insert big massive sigh>

Moving on. Last year, I spent a tremendous amount of time thinking “What am I going to cook this month.” Then I’d pour over random recipes while giving myself a few gray hairs trying to sort it all out. This year it’s more like, “I want lasagna. Let me go hunt down a recipe.” And that’s basically what I did last month.

lasagna

Let me tell you, it was delicious. Not oh-my-gosh worlds best lasagna or anything overly dramatic. But it was delicious and by far the best lasagna I’ve ever made. My husband loved it, I loved it… the kid – not so much. Who knew calling the damn lasagna a lasagna and not pasta would throw him off. He refused to take a bite, even after I started referring to it as pasta. He was basically all tight lipped and “No that’s lasagna, I don’t want lasagna, I WANT PASTA.”

Can I mention that even my nanny loved it and no – we never offered her any!! So when we came home and she told us how yummy it was we both had mental breakdowns. In my real world I swear a lot but online I make an honest effort to keep things clean but let me tell you… I was like, WTF?? You ate my lasagna?? Oh fuck! We never actually said that (to her).

Then she left and we scurried over to the fridge to check out the damage which was minimal and all was forgiven in the world.

The next night I heated up the left overs and made damn sure to call it pasta. My son proceeded to happily eat a very large portion. My husband and I were of course slightly annoyed as it meant less for us. At some point I will be making this again.

You can find the recipe here. Below are my edits.

Edits:

• I added salt and probably tripled the dried oregano.
• I used sliced provolone cheese since it’s what my local grocer had available. I will say, sliced cheese is a lot easier to work with.
• I ditched the ricotta cheese since we’re not fans of the stuff in my house. So my “mix” was just egg, milk and oregano which I drizzled on between layers.
• I soaked the lasagna noodles in water for about 15 minutes.

home decor: going green

nesting boxes

More then once I’ve heard a designer say that you should introduce color in sets of three. So when I decided to go with green, after a lot of hemming and hawing, the challenge become finding three things that I liked well enough to bring into my home. After about six months of keeping my eyes wide open I found some lacquered nesting boxes at Crate & Barrel. I was instantly taken in. That become my starting point, or shall we say – my color wheel. I’m not the biggest advocate of safe design. I’m far from being wild or outrageous but I’m neither safe or boring. But even for me, deciding to paint a my dresser what could be considered neon green felt a bit risky. The first paint swatch I selected didn’t work and after a quick mental breakdown I went back to the store and worked with my fabulous paint guy on a more customized color.

That dresser is now my favorite piece.

I think its been about a year since I had my big moment of realizing I wanted to go with an unexpected shade of green as my accent color and only now am I adding that third piece to the room. I stumbled upon these great 60s inspired shag pillows and suddenly I couldn’t get them out of my mind. So I purchased them, which is a lot because I’m not a fan of pillows in my home. I’ve had several flings with pillows and after about six months I always end up ditching them. I hope these are different, that I can keep them around for the long haul. I do love them and I love the movement they bring into the space.

I don’t know if it’s the size of the room or the placement of my accent pieces but I’m not sold that three is the magic number. I can see how three is enough but I’m not getting that vibe in my space yet. The color still looks a bit out of place and too mechanical. So, I’m keeping my eyes open for piece number four. Nothing as bold or texturized as the pillows since I think then I’d be entering into contrived and overload. Instead I’m thinking something transparent, maybe glass. Think Heineken beerbottle for inspiration. Ideas?

shag pillows

storage in green

eww-eee

I’m exhausted, literally and figuratively. Juggling a few too many balls right now. Proof would be me sitting here on a Saturday night when it’s 7:34pm and the big question that I’m pondering is – should I go to bed now. It’s that bad!

More than anything I want the madness to end but I think it’s all going to stick around for a while longer.

Thursday I attended the Architectural Digest Home Design Show. I had a wonderful time though I spent a bit too long socializing which reverted in me seeing less then half the event. I saw some really great exhibits but I have a feeling I missed some of the best ones. Despite the fact that I have access all weekend I’m buried in work and will have to pass on checking back in. Shall I say, there’s always next year. However, I do want to make some time to get back in here and talk about some of the fun stuff I saw. Until then I’ll simply post this photo I took. I love the space. It’s a bit flashy and over the top in a bubble gum maple syrup sort of way BUT it is a show stopper that catches your eye and makes you stare. For that I say – bravo!

Architectural Digest Home Design Show 2010

Architectural Digest Home Design Show

Eileen Kathryn Boyd

I’ve been missing and I should really update but later, k!

What I’ve come to learn about myself and interiors is that I like color. Not enough people go there but they should. I’m just discovering Eileen Kathryn Boyd but already I know I like her.

And by the way, the lamp on the desk is hot.

Eileen Kathryn Boyd

Eileen Kathryn Boyd

Eileen Kathryn Boyd

Eileen Kathryn Boyd

pretty doors

door 271

door 265

the lion door

door 241

On Sundays we take our son to tumbling class. It’s crosstown and the transportation options for getting between the two points isn’t ideal. Thus we’ve taken to walking home which I’m utterly enjoying. These are a few of my favorite doors from this past Sundays walk.

hotel find

G Hotel, Galway, Ireland

dizzy yet?

more gold

Just the other day I was professing my new fondness for gold and then yesterday I get an email with these.

gold wellies by Hunter

I haven’t decided if I love them or if I think they scream tacky. Probably a bit of both but for those who dare, get them!

gifts

Amongst our friends there are lots of little babies about to make their way into the world. As long standing readers know, I have a special love with gift wrapping. I did a bit this weekend. Nothing fancy… no special techniques or tricks. The paper isn’t even new to my blog but I think the gifts are still lovely in a simple way.

we heart boys

gift to celebrate Maggie's arrival