October 29, 2014

Creating an Antipasti Platter

Creating an Antipasti Platter!

Every few months, Casey and I host a wine tasting at our house. He’s in charge of the get-together (it’s his wine group after all!) while I work on the food. Bertolli recently contacted me to see if I’d like to be a part of their Bertolli Gold Label Progressive Italian Dinner Party with a few other food bloggers. Over the next few weeks, you can follow along to see how we all hosted our own gatherings and then brought them together through a virtual Gold Label Dinner Party menu. I thought it might be a good way to show you what goes into creating an antipasti platter for one of our wine parties- from selecting the wines to pairing food items. As the first blogger course of the #BertolliGoldLabel Progressive Dinner Party, I came up with an original recipe (hope you love polenta & mushrooms!) using one of their Bertolli Gold Label sauces and will post that soon.

recipes

October 28, 2014

Let the Sunshine In Cocktail

We worked hard to meet our goal of arriving to Big Sur before the sun went down on Friday. But when we got there, the weather had another plan. There was an incredibly thick blanket of fog hovering over the water as we were getting settled into our hotel room. Casey poured a glass of wine and I made this drink and we went out to check out our view on our balcony and out of nowhere, this happened:

AND IT WAS TOTALLY BECAUSE I USED AN ORANGE instead of the LIME I WANTED.

That’s TOTALLY it.

around the home

October 27, 2014

My On-the-Go Essentials:

Casey and I went on a little trip this past weekend to Big Sur. It was magical and I’ll try to share more of that soon! Whenever I’m away from home I spend a good deal of time creating a little sense of home wherever we are staying. When I was transferring some of my stuff from one bag to another, I thought it might be fun to show you some of the things that I can’t travel without. I find it so fascinating to see what people’s essentials are. Mine include:

Inspiration

October 26, 2014

And I Quote:

my everyday life, Photography

October 25, 2014

My Everyday Life: Week 43

Here’s what this past week looked like:

Chaperoned a Kindergarten field trip to the pumpkin patch this week.

Made friends with pigs. Watched children run around like crazy.

My in-laws were here.

Getting over a cold at work.

My husband is the pasta eater of the household.

I like it in small doses….Cooper doesn’t want it anywhere near him.

He will eat ramen though…

October 24, 2014

I love lists, Friday!

Can we just talk for a moment about this Renee Zellweger plastic surgery thing?
I am an artist.
If you work from home, these tips will help. The first one is my challenge.
Adding marmalade to a cocktail is genius.
I’m really excited to check out Food Photography School this weekend!
Number 6…totally.
10 Commandments for a Clutter Free Life.
Also related— create a landing strip! I’m in the process of transforming mine.
The camouflage gif was mesmerizing.
This will make you love cauliflower.
This was such a good speech.
I got Peggy... go figure.
Most overlooked threats to marriage– a good read!
The things we learn from our children.
Grey Gardens NOW.
I have no idea how Brad Pitt keeps a straight face.
INA DRINKING GAME. So much YES.
I found this magazine at the bookstore recently and am in love!
Pumpkin S’mores Dip….I can’t even.
You had me at butter.
Three Signs an Employee is Out the Door. The teeth thing…
Crushing hard on this blog.

recipes

October 23, 2014

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE BITES

I feel like anytime you mix graham crackers with cream cheese and something sweet, you can call it a cheesecake bite. It totally cheesecake! I had some pumpkin butter to use and we always have cream cheese because my son loves the stuff, so I made these little “Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites.” When you’re looking for dessert but you’re concerned about eating a WHOLE slice of cheesecake, these are a good option. They’re totally festive too!