Summer Spread

With home grown tomatoes and basil ripening everywhere right now, it seems like the perfect time to share this great recipe from Kraft. I took it as an app for a dinner party last week and it was a huge hit. It is quick to put together too!

Warm Italiano Spread

1 pkg cream cheese

1/4 cup pesto

1 tomato, chopped

1/4 cup shredded motz cheese

Triscuit Cracked Pepper & Olive Oil Crackers or sliced baguette

Heat grill to medium heat. Place cream cheese block on a square of foil. Top with pesto, tomatoes and shredded cheese. Fold up and seal sides of foil to form a little packet.

Place foil packet on grill for 8-10 min, or until cheese is melted.

(I have also heated this in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 min.)

Tasting Party

I am digging the new Tasting Party items from Pier 1! The have some tasty looking recipes here too.

The Perfect Pear

Seems in the summertime I become obsessed with certain fruits and veggies (remember the lemons and zucchinis from last summer ?) Anyway, this summer's flavor is pear. I recently made a yummy pear sangria when my folks were in town, so I thought I would share the recipe. It is easy and super refreshing on a warm evening. It comes from Beso Las Vegas (Eva Longoria Parker's restaurant.)

Combine 2 bottles Sauvignon Blanc (I purchased $3 bottles at Walmart) and 3 cups white cranberry juice, along with 2 tbsp lime juice. Add 1 or 2 thinly sliced pears and 1/2 pint each of blackberries and raspberries. Let the mixture sit overnight before serving in pretty glasses. Garnish with a sprig of mint if you like.

I also scored a great pear shaped glass jar at Goodwill for $.99 a couple of weeks back. Perfect for storing wine corks in our new kitchen!

Greetings from the Southwest!

Inspired by our new surroundings in the Q and our fantastic patio, this week I gave a couple of pieces of our furniture new life by spraying them in a vibrant aqua color. Very Southwestern, huh? Turns out, $18 worth of spray paint can work wonders! I was a little too eager to get started, and forgot to take actual "before" pics. Oops. Oh well, hopefully you can get the effect from the one "before" I do have of the white bench. The wicker chair was white originally as well. Until next time....Adios, amigos!

I am inspired by this idea from Martha Stewart!
It only requires embroidery hoops in varying sizes, and fabric. You can use a monochromatic color palette, or a vibrant array of colors to customize a look to your event. Just fit the fabric inside the ring, and trim the excess. Hang by tying a ribbon or mono filament to the screw which holds the rings together. You can change it out for lots of celebrations! I am thinking about a trip to the fabric store to get some inspiration for my next party! This would even be cute outside over a patio table or as a quick and simple backdrop.

Makeup Mania

What a great weekend for makeup! I am embarrased to say this, but on Friday night I watched QVC for 3 full hours! It was their Beauty Newsmakers special and I was completely entranced. What a mindless way to unwind from a hectic week! I ended up purchasing some LORAC eye shadow. If you haven't tried LORAC shadows before, what are you waiting for? They are the best! Subtly shimmery and they last for hours. Here is the one I purchased http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx?view=2&app=detail&params=item^A201646,RecTypeInd^IOFFER,navlist^A201646*A193247*A170261*,cp^detail,tmp^related,cpprod^A200796,cm_scid^dtlr&walk=&cmtags==

In addition to my QVC marathon, I have a 15% off coupon to Sephora for Beauty Insiders that is good through tomorrow. I just think this lipgloss from Hourglass is genius. http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P256901&categoryId=C17271 Perfectly shaped for your backpocket and great for summer when you don't want to leave the house with a bulky purse. Just slip this in your pocket and be on your way! Happy Sunday, Beauty Queens!

Spring Cleaning Tips

We are doing some Spring cleaning at our house this weekend! It is just amazing how stuff accumulates throughout the year.

Organization guru Julie Morgenstern shared these 8 tips for spring cleaning in the April issue of Redbook. I hope they are as inspiring to you as they have been to me!

8 things you can toss without guilt-right now!
1. Kitchen items you haven't used in a year or longer. If you've never used your breadmaker or panini press, the odds you'll used it in the near future are pretty slim. Donate the bulky appliances and enjoy the extra space.
2. The entire contents of your junk drawer. There's a reason you call it that! Think you might hae some useful items stored there? Empty the whole drawer into a box, and any time you use an item, place it back in the drawer. At the end of the month, toss whatever's left in the box and rename the newly functional drawer.
3. Clothes that no longer fit. They make it more difficult to search your closet to find the things you do wear. If you truly believe they'll fit at some point in the near future, then box and store them until then.
4. School work from high school or college. The material is most likely outdated, and the chances you'll refer to it again are slim. Save your favorite papers in an archival box, but toss the notebooks, texts, and handouts.
5. Baby gear. Safety standards change so quickly that car seats and cribs are generally outdated just a few years after they're manufactured. Plus, they take up a lot of room. Keep only if you're already working on baby number two.
6. Random receipts. If you don't know what they're for, or if they're for basic items (groceries, toiletries, lunch) that you don't need to record for taxes or expenses, get rid of them.
7. Half-used bottles of shampoo, conditioner or makeup you only tried once. If you don't like the product enough to use it everyday, you won't like it in a few months' time.
8. Books you've never read, or books that you'll never re-read. Donate them and save space on your shelves for the books that speak to your soul.