another saturday night..

my idea of a perfect night might be different than most.

tonight, me and the other two hogan ladies had some quality target and chipotle time. including picking out sweet baby clothes for winnie. i am powerless against baby girl dresses. and we found her some sweet leggings. (oh i got some awesome purple zipper shoes).

speaking of winnie, here's a recent picture of the coolest babe in town.

and after scarfing down my veggie burrito bowl in record time and dropping the ladies off, i headed to trader joe's for groceries for my all important sunday morning breakfast ritual. mainly i needed half and half for my coffee, but i came home with this:

yikes. and also, really awesome.

i checked my mail and found this:

so after a long week of work, i cracked open one of these, turned on seinfeld, and closed the week out in high style.

happy weekend everyone.

be sure to check out the new food blog venture, over at pizzatoquinoa.blogspot.com -- and maybe just go ahead and follow us.

poor girl pasta

at the end of any hard day, i want pasta. and a glass of wine. it seems i've earned it, you know? well, right around the 10th-14th food and money are usually tight. but i try to keep these ingredients at all times.

so, i give you -- poor girl pasta.

[please forgive the rudimentary phone photography]

[also, i don't think i am actually poor, i have what i need. just a play on words]

here's what you need:

• olive oil
• butter
• salt and pepper
• yellow onion
• turkey bacon
• extra firm tofu
• whole wheat pasta
• some type of red sauce
• red wine
• spinach
• cheese

okay, start out filling a pot with water for the pasta. throw some kosher salt in there. bring to a boil. (did you notice i'm pretending to be a food blogger?)

pour some olive oil in a separate pan (a couple of tablespoons, i guess), and throw in a chunk of butter, and salt&pepper. turn it on medium-ish heat. watch it carefully, don't let it burn.

then pull out a cutting board, chop up some onion. i used almost a whole onion, but it's your call. i also rough chopped some turkey bacon. i know the turkey bacon seems odd, but when tofu is your main protein, you really need to add in lots of flavor.

sautee the onion and bacon until the onion is translucent.

chop up your tofu into cubes.

add in the tofu, sprinkle in more salt and pepper. don't be afraid of tofu, it's really good, but has very little flavor of its own, so be sure to season appropriately. at this point, i'd turn the heat up to medium-high, i like for the tofu to be a little crunchy and browned on the outside, and that can take a minute.

your pasta should be close to finished now, and hopefully you were smart enough to boil your water in a larger pot than i did..

you can go ahead and drain your pasta if it's ready. and then it's back to your other pan.

add your red sauce to the tofu mixture (i used trader joe's bolognse sauce).

shortly after that, grab your wine, and pour a swig into your sauce.

turn to low, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.

so while that's cooking, go back to your drained pasta (which i had to move to another pot, i am not an efficient dish user). add some olive oil to your pasta, throw in some spinach, salt and pepper, and balsamic vinegar.

add in your nicely simmered sauce.

give it a stir.

and serve

be sure to add plenty of cracked pepper to the top, and a little handful of cheese.

these images are super crappy, but trust me on this--it's really good. and if you happen to be a single gal/guy, this will last you an entire weeks' worth of lunches.

the end.

a tour of bay street

i am nine months into living here in chantilly, and honestly, i love it more here every day. my apartment has had its issues, that is for sure, but i love my little nook of a place. i only have three months left here, and i am really considering renewing my lease, if i can swing it financially on my own.

my nesting instincts come in ebbs and flows and sometimes i'll go months without really paying attention to finding new little treasures, and then it hits and all i want to do is repurpose everything i see, and move things from room to room.

do you want to take a little tour?

so here is my little place.

this is my entryway. including a few of my favorite things. i found the dresser on the curb and fit it in my civic like a jigsaw puzzle. the newspaper article is from the london newspaper the morning after d-day in 1944. and a picture of beulah as a puppy, obviously.

this is my chalkboard wall. i painted this the first weekend i lived here, and i love it. the little shelf is also from the curb. you can't see the lighting thingamajig, but it's a string of lights strung through an old wire tray.

i love a built-in bookshelf. that's all i need to say about that.

here is my currently mouse-free kitchen.

favorite corner of the kitchen.

the layout is a little awkward, but i think i am going to save up for an oversized ottoman to go in that big blank space in front of the bookshelf (which is to the right of this picture).

this little dresser/vanity thing is also a curb find. it's my favorite piece of furniture.

also love that big window.

and my bedroom is literally always a nightmare, but i do have one picture of my bed actually made that doesn't show the mounds of clothes surrounding it.

the headboard is an old screen door from sleepy poet here in charlotte. i'd looked for a headboard for almost a year, and finally found this for $20. then got the old lighting from a place on central avenue for $8.

so i think that's it. well, i do have a guest bedroom, but it's empty besides a bed and dresser, so maybe that will be my next project so you all can come visit soon:)