A delicious make-ahead baked penne pasta This dish, this pasta, is delicious and has many emotional ties to it, as food often does. It was on the cover of Bon Appetit Magazine in February 1995. I remember it because our friend and neighbor brought us over two large servings one night back in 1995. We had actually just met after having both moved into our brand-new homes on a cul-de-sac in Laguna ...
Got 5 minutes? Make this easy homemade pizza dough
Got 5 minutes? Make this easy homemade pizza dough. Seriously, why would I buy it when it takes only five minutes to throw together? My husband is the one who then shapes the pizza dough into rounds and he swears that our own pizza dough is better than anything we buy. I've tried to trick him a few times, but he can always tell. In the winter when it's cold it does take a bit longer for the ...
Valentine’s Day Cards
This is a project that kids of all ages can do with just a few supplies. Make watercolor hearts for your Valentine. You can include them in a card or on their own. They look beautiful in a vellum envelope. You can write messages or just send a handful of hearts. Simply paint a piece of watercolor paper with shades of pink and red or any colors you choose. The imperfections in painting is what ...
DIY Photo/card holder
If you thought I was done with birch branch projects, oh how wrong you would be! During the holidays I made mini tree place cards and tiny ornaments. I also have birch branches in a tall glass vase adorning the landing on my stairs. But here's another project using a bit larger birch branch. This one might be my favorite yet and can be used all year long. A ...
Holiday Baking
Baker's One Bowl Brownies are the simplest thing to make and although they are delicious with a chocolate ganache, I could not resist using these letters to decorate. The chipboard letters we found in the dollar section at Target turned out to be the perfect size to spell out Merry Xmas! Now all we have to do is add a scoop of Old World Eggnog Talenti Gelato to each slice. Yum! ...
Paper Bag and Chalkboard Advent Calendar
This post gets pinned, re-pinned, posted and linked more than any other project I have done. In fact, I recently sold the photo of my original paper bag advent calendar to an Austrian Magazine. So, I thought why not re-make it with a little tweaking and updating. I think my favorite thing about this project was the surprise that I discovered as the first few days went by and cards started ...