White Wine Coq Au Vin

This took a little time but overall it was easy enough to make and super tasty.  My husband has fun saying the name of this dish in a very dramatic French accent.  Me, I just like how it tastes.

What You'll Need:
•2 Tbsp butter
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 3 pieces of pancetta, sliced into thin strips
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• chicken pieces on the bone (I used 4 thighs and 5 drumsticks)
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• large handful of chopped parsley

What You'll Do:
Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

 Melt the butter and oil together in a large pan.  Brown the chicken pieces all over and remove from the pan.

Add the onions and pancetta and allow to fry until the onions are soft and translucent and the pancetta has rendered it’s fat.

Add the garlic and allow to saute for another 30 seconds before removing the mixture from the pan (leaving the fat behind).  Add the chicken back in to the pan.  Pour in the wine and allow to come up to a boil. Turn down the heat and cover. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, uncover, turn up the heat and add the cream. Allow to cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the chopped parsley and season to taste.

Serve with rice, pasta or crusty bread.

Recipe inspiration from here.

Great Gift Idea and Locally Made: Sydney Hale Candles

Christmas is a comin'.  Goodie goodie gum drops.  I have been widdling away at my shopping list and came across these candles that I LOVE and so I thought I'd share.  The company is called Sydney Hale and they are located near me in Arlington, VA.

Everybody knows I love a candle but there are quite a few things that make these candles exceptional in my opinion.

1. Good price point.  They are $28 bucks each.  A bargain for a good candle with a 50 hour burn time.

2. I love to buy local.  These are made in small batch and are right here in VA.  Sold.

3. Their scents are so original and all of them are divine!  I love the mix of so many of my favorite things...sea salt & bay rum; mint & geranium; fir & blue sage; and magnolia & rosewood just to name a few!

4. It is so depressing to me when I use up a really yummy smelling candle.  But check it, these can be reused as glasses or a vase.  So they are great...and green!

Shop all Sydney Hale candles here.

Easy and Festive Fall Centerpiece

My neighbor John is getting married.  In order to celebrate the big event, my other neighbors and I are threw him a party.  I was in charge of centerpieces.  I did a similar centerpiece for my own rehearsal dinner almost four years ago!  It couldn't be simpler and I think they are perfect for fall.  Plus, I can send John home with something pretty for his front porch.

All you do is cut the top and stems off of a pumpkin, clean out the insides, and stick a mum inside.  I used 8 inch mums with the plastic pot removed because I wanted the flowers to sit snugly inside without sticking up too much.  I also like to get mums that have some flowers but aren't completely bloomed so that the recipient gets to enjoy them for longer.  Just don't forget to water them!

An added bonus?  Roasted pumpkin seeds!  Truly one of my most favorite things of all time.  All you need is a little patience to get rid of the pumpkin pulp, some salt and olive oil and a warm oven.  Divine!

Halloween Idea Round Up

I. LOVE. FALL.

It is far and away my favorite season (even though Christmas, my favorite holiday is technically in the winter), Fall is when I get to anticipate the coming of my favorite holiday.  I love the weather.  I love the crispness in the air, the change of the colors of leaves, fires in the evening, candles lit, hot cider, comfort foods, pumpkins...you name it, I love it.

Second to Christmas, I think Halloween is my next favorite holiday.  It is mostly because I love decorating for Halloween.  Every year I try to do a little more so that I am building up my Halloween decoration collection over time.  Pinterest has some awesome ideas for Halloween that I am going to have to try.  I thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you:

First, DIY Halloween Garland.  How adorable would this be on a mantle?

Chalk paint pumpkins.  Love the mix of matte with metallic.

Loving this funky skeleton Halloween wreath.  I made a wreath last year but I think I'm going to have to up the ante.

I work at a medical school...we've got plenty of surgical gloves around.  Love this idea for a punch bowl. Easy and affordable!

Ombre pumpkin.  How cool.  Definitely not over ombre yet...

Simple, low cost idea with a high impact.  Love these black lace votives.  I want them on my mantle as well.

Okay, avert your eyes because this one is not for the faint of heart.  I don't know who thought of this or how anyone could eat these but they were too amazing not to share - finger sugar cookies!  How could anyone eat that??!!

Pumpkin bats. Adorbs.

My grandmother left me her milk glass collection.  My house is so tiny that I can't display all that I want but this gives me a great idea to try!  Love the colors together.

Do you have any cool Halloween ideas to share?

Links to all of these ideas can be found via my Halloween Pinterest Page.

Sweet Dreams

Haven't been feeling super creative lately but decided to try my hand at a mood board to see if I could get the juices flowing.  It is interesting that what I finished with is nothing like what my initial vision was.  Anyway, here is a gold inspired bedroom for this Sunday.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Fall is on the way...

I know this because a) it is Labor Day weekend which marks the end of summer; b) football is already all my husband can watch on the tv; and c) all of my favorite catalogs are showing pictures of cozy Halloween themes and roaring fires.  Hands down my favorite time of the year.

In anticipation of this great season, One King's Lane is having a sale on throws today and I am in love with all of them.  I literally have a throw on every chair in my house.  I love to cozy up in the winter and in the summer my husband keeps the air conditioning blasting so high that I need one even in the hottest months.

These throws are just happy...and better yet?  Affordable!

Lots more here.  Bundle up!

Confetti Chicken and Veggie Pasta

This was a great weeknight dish.  Really tasty and lots of leftovers for lunch later in the week.  I like that you can toss in whatever veggies you have on hand.

Recipe from here.

Veggies & Pasta

16 oz. of Whole Wheat Penne Pasta 
2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut in 1″ cubes
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
½ c. Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, long thin slices 
1 c. Broccoli florets
1 c. Asparagus, chopped in 1″ pieces
1 c. Grape tomatoes

Cook your pasta and let it drain. Sprinkle the chicken breast with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook chicken until done and golden on all sides. Remove and let rest in a large bowl.

Add the remaining olive oil and begin sauteing the onions for 2 min. Add in the garlic and bell pepper and saute another 2 mins. Then toss in any other woody veggies  (broccoli, asparagus) saving the tomatoes until the very end.

When everything is cooked, combine the veggies with the chicken in your big bowl. Now its time for the sauce!

Spicy Cream Sauce

2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour 
2 c. half & half
1/4 tsp. of red pepper flakes
1 c. Parmesan cheese 

In the same pan you cooked the chicken and veggies in, melt the butter over medium heat. Toss in the flour and stir, cooking 1-2 minutes.  

Slowly add in the half and half while stirring to prevent any clumps from forming.  Sprinkle in the red pepper flakes and allow to simmer until you see boiling action.  Stir periodically.

When your sauce begins to thicken and bubble, turn off the heat and add in your cheese. Stir until melted.

To assemble everything I like to add the pasta first so it gets nice and coated with sauce and then pour the rest of the goodies in. (see photo above). This makes enough for 4 people.