Cougar Town

My husband and I recently started watching Seasons 1 and 2 of Courtney Cox's Cougar Town on Netflix.  One of the cutest shows I've seen.  I totally want to be in their cul de sac crew.

Oh, and I really want a necklace like Courtney's character. 

 I found one on etsy.  Adore.

Living with large Lighting

I am loving all of the recent changes to my living room - new color, new furniture and another new change that I hope to share with you all soon.  One downside that is really bugging me is the lack of light.  We have four lamps in here but no overhead light.  I've got an electrician and so I just need to pick my lighting and get it installed.  I'm having trouble deciding on a fixture.  This is my top runner as of right now:

 I like it for two reasons:  1) Just 'cause it's pretty.  2) I have a gift certificate from Christmas to Ballard Designs so it is practically free.

Only thing is, the room isn't big so I don't want it to overwhelm the space.  That said, I really like the larger version of the above fixture better than the smaller one.  So, I started looking around at smaller spaces with really oversized lighting.  It could be a statement...what do you think?

Here are some examples:

 via Glass Art

via From the Right Bank

 via Perch

via Design Shuffle

 source unknown

Last three images via here.

Stuffed Peppers

I made these stuffed peppers a day ahead of time and then pulled them out and finished baking them off during the week for a quick and easy supper.  It was my first attempt at stuffed peppers and I think I'm going to add them to my recipe repotoire. 

What You'll Need:
1 lb Italian sausage (I used hot)
1 cup of rice, cooked
1/2 red onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup mozarella cheese
4 large green peppers
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

What You'll Do:

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and once it is heated, add the italian sausage.  Cook thoroughly and let it brown.  Cut the tops off of the green peppers and remove membrane and seeds.  Set the "bowls" aka the peppers aside in a baking dish.  Cut the leftover pepper part away from the stems and chop finely.  Add this pepper and onions to the sausage once it is fully cooked.  Let it brown.  Add in the garlic and sautee for another couple of minutes. 

Pepper "bowls"

Stir in the cooked rice and parmesan cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.

Fill the pepper bowls with the sausage mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Remove the peppers from the oven, top with mozarella cheese and return to the oven.  Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.  Deeeeelish!

Media Center and Bookshelves

Guess what we did this weekend?  Put together our new media center and bookshelves.  I love how the white of the painted wood stands out against the dark walls and how it shows off all of the colors of the different books and accessories.  I have some tweaking to do to the styling but you get the jist. 

First, a before shot:

Here's how it looks now:

I love how the mantle looks with all of the candles lit up also.  The room is starting to feel so cozy!

Tuesday Tip: Turning a little nook into something

There's a little space behind the door in our living room.  It wasn't being used but I knew it had potential.  I don't think these pictures show how cute it really is.  It was sort of a last minute decision.  We bought this hook from the Container Store a few weeks ago.  As much as I love lucite, it is hard to believe this is the first lucite looking piece I own!

Then I remembered this great mirror I found at a thrift store a few years ago.  I was this close to painting it white so that it would stand out against the wall but at the last minute chickened out.  I just love the look and texture of the mirror as it currently is and now I'm glad I didn't change it.  So, I hung the mirror and then my new hook underneath for scarves.  I have the perfect little nook to check my hair or makeup before I leave the house and pick from one of my scarves to accessorize!

It is amazing what defining a purpose for an unused nook can do to the room!

Living Room is painted!

My sweet husband has been working extra hard.  I finally picked a color for the living room and I love it more than I even thought I would.  I haven't finished getting everything in order but it is soooooo much better than the lime sherbet color that was in here before.

We used the Behr paint with the primer mixed in.  The color is clove brown.  It really reads a dark olive green in some lights.  I love how the white trim really pops against it.  

Two Quick Dips for Tortilla Chips

Our neighbors have a monthly block party. This time we went to our friends Courtney and Dan's.  I brought the appetizers.  Both of these dips are great because you can serve them both with tortilla chips so you only need one "dipper".  They are also a nice change from your traditional chips and salsa.

Texas Caviar

What You'll Need:
 2 cans black beans
1 can hominy
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed (unless you want the extra kick), diced finely
2 cups Italian dressing

What You Do:

Add all ingredients into a large bowl.  Pour Italian dressing over and let sit for at least an hour before serving.  This really gets better after sitting in the fridge for a couple of days so feel free to make ahead...or enjoy the leftovers yourself!

Spinach Ole

What you'll need:
2 packages of chopped frozen spinach
1 jar salsa (I used hot 'cause I like a little kick)
2 tbsp of red wine vinegar
1 block of cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
2 cups monterey jack cheese

What you'll do:

The cream cheese needs to be at room temperature for it to mix together so make sure you have left that out for a while.  Meanwhile, thaw the spinach.  I like to put it in a colander with a large bowl underneath it.  I run hot water over it and squeeze out the excess liquid (and there's a lot of it!).  It looks like this:

In a large bowl, mix the thawed spinach, cream cheese, salsa, red wine vinegar and 1 cup of the cheese.  Mix thoroughly.  Put in a baking dish and cover with the remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until warm and bubbly. 

Serve both with tortilla chips.