Top 'o the evenin' to ya.

We didn't make it to the St. Pat's parade or any of the Irish bars in town. Instead, we enjoyed the awesome weather (finally!) and had a nice little celebration of our own at home.

With some of this after work...

{Notice the cute buddy in the background with a treat of his own.}

And this for dinner...

{Reubens, homemade oven fries, and green beer!}

Happy St. Patrick's Day - hope it was a lucky one for all!

From Shady to Shadey

For just $20, I finally have a proper shade on my laundry room window. Which means we are no longer subjecting our neighbors to a wide open shot of what may gather here. Because it's usually far from pretty. Honestly, I'm sure they've never even peered in, but I know I feel a lot better about things now.

I found this roman shade at World Market last week. It isn't the fanciest shade ever, but it adds a little color to the otherwise very boring room and makes it feel a bit more finished. It was relatively easy to hang, too, which is always a plus. For some reason, I don't see it on their website. But they had plenty left in the store. They always seem to have a nice selection of inexpensive curtain panels, too. So next time you find yourself "in the market" for window coverings (pun intended)...you know where to go! Oh, and sign up for their rewards program - I used a $10 off $30 coupon to score this deal. Can't beat that!

Langostino Bruschetta {Inspired by I Fratellini}

For dinner last night, I tried to imitate a dish from one of our favorite restaurants, I Fratellini. If you live in St. Louis, and you've never been to this little gem, you must check it out. Soon. It's definitely on the cozy (aka: small) side, but it's so beautiful...and pretty romantical, too. Perfect for a date night! I definitely recommend reservations for a Friday or Saturday.

We always order the "Sauteed Shrimp" from their Antipasto menu. It's delicious and simple. I've often thought about making something similar at home, and last night I finally did it. I had every intention of making it with shrimp, but when I saw "langostino tails" at the store, I decided to give 'em a whirl. I thought they were like mini lobster tails. Wrong. Turns out, they're actually just as close to hermit crabs as they are lobster. Say wuuuh? Oh well, I tried to look past my unfortunate wikipedia discovery and just pretended I was using mini lobster tails.

Like I mentioned, this dish is simple. Here's what I used and how I put it together (my measurements are estimated)...

12 oz. frozen Langostino OR shrimp...thawed

3 oz. Prosciutto

1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed & drained (these beans deserve their own post, BTW)

1/2 cup white wine

4 garlic cloves

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Shredded parmesan - about 1/3 cup to top dish

Salt, pepper, & red pepper flakes to taste

Loaf of french bread

Start by preheating your oven to 375 to warm the bread. Next, rough chop the langostino into smaller pieces. Then you want to chop up the prosciutto, too. I usually do this by rolling up a few pieces and cutting it into thin strips. Finely chop the garlic, too.

Heat your olive oil in a big saute pan, over low heat. Once it's ready to go, toss in the langostino, prosciutto, garlic, and cannellini beans. Season mixture with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if you like a little heat. Like we do. Stir it all together, and saute for about four minutes.

Next, add the wine. Keep cooking/stirring until the langostino/shrimp pink up and are cooked through, and the wine reduces - about 8 minutes. The mixture will be saucy, but shouldn't be too watery. If it is, just cook it a little longer. Be careful not to overcook it though because shrimp & lobster can get rubbery if cooked too long. Remove your pan from the heat, toss in the basil, and top with the shredded parm.

At some point, you should have put your bread in the oven to warm it. So take that out and slice it up. Serve the sauteed hermit crab mini lobster tails on top of the baguette slices, or just serve it in a bowl and spoon a little bit onto each piece as you go. That's the method we chose.

This delish dish took less than 30 minutes to make, including prep and clean-up. I'd say it made about 4-6 antipasto servings. We had it with a salad, for a lovely Friday night dinner at home. Which, sometimes, is just as nice as a date night out.

Buon Appetito!

Fresh Cut Friday

This happy little bouquet came from Trader Joe's. They sell small bunches of loose daffodils for $1.69 each. I picked up 4. So these came to less than $7. They're definitely adding some much needed spring cheer to my kitchen. It's been a reeaaallly long winter.

Wouldn't they be lovely in one of the kitchens from my last post? Oh yes they would. Speaking of, my daffodils may have cozied up to a loaf of french bread, some cheese, and a couple bottles of vino in my TJ's cart. They were all very happy there together. Now all I need is the kitchen!

Gray in the Kitchen

I've expressed my love for white kitchens here before, in this post. I still love them. But these days, I'm also loving a little gray in the kitchen. Whether it's all gray cabinetry, an island painted gray, or even just gray walls with white cabinetry...I love it. Especially when it's paired with white subway tile and topped off with calcutta or cararra marble.

{all images via decor pad}

All of these kitchens have a very Italian or Parisian cafe feel, which I love. Don't you just want to be in one of them right now, sipping wine and nibbling on cheese and a fresh baguette? Yeah, me too.

Fresh Cut Friday

TGIFCF! This week's arrangement is a lovely combo of vibrant purple snap dragons and a greenery called "bupleurum". I never knew what this greenery was called, but I've always liked it. I googled bupleurum, to see if it goes by a different name. Like one I could remember, and pronounce. I found it's also known as "thoroughwax". Interesting. I think I can remember that one.

I also found this little description for it...

"A perfect filler flower that adds color and shape to your flower arrangements. The serene fresh green of the Bupleurum makes for a unique and breathtaking arrangement, a perfect marriage between natural beauty and understated elegance."

Pretty fancy description for something that goes by the name thoroughwax, don't you think???

Secrets on my DVR

HGTV

Just watched the first episode of Secrets From A Stylist...Emily Henderson's new show. I think it will be a nice addition to my already expansive HGTV line-up on the 'ole DVR. I like how she nailed down the couple's individual styles, via her "Style Diagnostics" exercise, and then blended them together. She actually styled the room twice, which I wasn't expecting. But the end result was just what the couple wanted. I liked it. Not in love with the wall color, but everything else was great. Especially the couch! I want that couch! Can you believe it was only $50 + upholstery? Now I'm even more convinced I need to find a good (affordable!) upholsterer. The hunt is on.