Pizza Pasta Salad

John and I are having some friends over this afternoon for a little BBQ. I decided pasta salad would be a nice side with our burgers and dogs. I found this recipe in my recipe box with my handwriting. However, I'm not quite sure where I got the recipe. I've definitely never made it before . . . but it looks really good.

Ingredients

~8 cups cooked farfalle (bowtie) pasta**

~1 small green pepper cut in thin strips

~1/2 cup sliced pepperoni

~1/2 cup roasted red pepper strips

~1/2 cup sliced pitted ripe olives (black)

~2 TBLS chopped fresh basil

~2 ripe tomatoes coarslely chopped (I used grape tomatoes)

~1 cup Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette (or any robust Italian Viniagrette)

~1 (8 oz.) package fancy shredded pizza, mozzarello or Italian blend cheese

~Sliced marinated artichoke hearts or mushrooms (optional) (I used marinated mushrooms)

~hot red pepper flakes

Directions

In a large bowl, combine first seven ingredients. Pour dressing over and toss lightly. Add half the cheese; toss lightly. Top with remaining cheese; garnish with tomato wedges and fresh basil.

**Rotelle, shells or curley elbow may be substituted.

Enjoy!

Easter Centerpiece

My husband and I hosted Easter yesterday for his family. It is the first time we've hosted a holiday in our new home. We had eleven people. We were so busy, I completely forgot to snap any pictures once everything was put out. I did remember to take a picture of my table centerpiece, which I was so excited about!!

My inspiration came from a picture I saw in the Martha Stewart Living Magazine. She had a beautiful arrangement of tulips in a large vase. Originally I was going to place my tulips in a large, glass, hurricane vase, then I went shopping in our attic. I knew my mom had left some things in the attic when they moved. I thought maybe I would find something that my flowers would look great in. Sure enough I found this beautiful, old pitcher. Unfortunately, the handle was broken off in about four pieces, but all the pieces were sitting inside of it. I called my mom to find out who this pitcher belonged to. My mom said she definitely remembers my grandmother (her mother) having it in her house, but it may have even belonged to her mother's mother (my great grandmother) at one time. Either way . . . .it's perfect and I knew it would look great on my dining room table with tulips in it. After a little glue on the handle . . . . good as new!    

In order to arrange my tulips, I followed Martha's tip of placing a smaller vase within a larger vase. See below.

The best part is, most of the tulips I bought were potted plants. I just snipped the stems off for my centerpiece. Now I'll plant the bulbs and next year . . . beautiful tulips all over again!

I hope you enjoyed your Easter Sunday with family and friends! 

Cookies, Cookies and More Cookies!

So it's been a while since I've posted! I've been busy with so many things lately. Between cookie orders and getting organized for our big Easter dinner, I've hardly had time for anything else. Last weekend I had a pretty big order for cookies and some other sweet treats for a christening. Take a look!



Here's the entire order!

WOW! How sweet is that?

This weekend has been all about Easter Egg cookies. A few of my coworkers have ordered cookie arrangements from me. These are turing out so cute.

Happy Easter!

Say It Isn't So!

Is it really Monday already? Could the weekend have gone any faster? I guess that's what happens when you are super busy . . . .you blink and you're weekend is OVER! Well so much for my big dining room reveal on Saturday. I had so many things going on, I didn't get a chance to post it! The furniture finally got here and I'm happy to report that everything was fine this time!! It looks great. We are really happy with it. Just a few more minor touches and the dining room will be complete. Unfortunately the chandelier won't be in until Friday, but atleast we'll have it for Easter! We still need curtains, a little more decor and the crown moulding. .  . . but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day, was it?

 

I love the curio! Between the sideboard and curio, I'm not sure which I love more! Here's the best part . . . . we already christened the new dining room! Had my inlaws and grandmom over for dinner on Sunday! Can't wait for Easter!

A Little Sneak Peak

Ok, so I'm very excited for my big dining room reveal! I can hardly wait until Saturday! If you ever saw my last house (a townhouse), you'd understand why I'm so excited about having a dining room! Well, I figured a little sneak preview would be ok!! Here's a picture of the before, with all the blue wallpaper, and after, with the new paint color.

Before

After

It's kind of tough to make out the color from the picture, but it's a Benjamin Moore paint called "Hot Spring Stone" . . . sort of a taupe with a hint of gray in it.  We liked it so much we decided to go with the same color in the living room.

Don't forget to stop back Saturday when the final few pieces of my furniture arrive and I reveal the finished product. We may even have a new chandelier by then!!

Dining Room Makeover

During the colder months, my husband and I began working on our dining room. The first thing we did was take down all the wallpaper . . .which was quite a project. The paper itself actually came off really easy with the help of a steamer, but what we didn't do as we were taking it down was wipe the glue while the walls were damp from the steamer. A long and tedious job it became!! Once we got the paper down, things really started to move. We painted and had the hard wood floor sanded and stained (to match the new hardwood floor we put in the living room . . .. a story for another day!) Our furniture is just about all here, so I'm almost ready for the big reveal!! I do still need to get curtains and add some more decor. Also John is putting up crown moulding. For now though, I'll show you what my dining room used to look like. 

   

Ya gotta love that blue, flowered wallpaper from the 80's. My parent's went a little wallpaper crazy in this house. Of course, that's what was in when they built this house back in 1985. After seeing my mom's new house in Vero Beach, I think she'll like what we did to her old dining room. Stop back for the big reveal!!

Celebrating 60!

My husband and I just returned from a trip to Vero Beach, Florida. We were visiting my parents for the first time in their new house. We were also celebrating my mom's 60th birthday! We had a great time! Their new house is awesome and so is the weather in Vero Beach! I made the birthday girl some cookies before we left.

We had a fabulous time . . . .and my mom loved the cookies!