Archive Rentals

Working for a fabulous company: Archive Rentals. Love it!!! If you ever need beautiful, vintage inspired furniture and accessories for weddings or other events, give us a call!

Ham & Apple Grilled Cheese YUM :)

This is an awesome recipe- some kids might like it too. I discovered it at Baron's where they made it for  samples and now I've been eating it for almost two weeks: they got me! It's like a gourmet grilled cheese... whole wheat sourdough bread, spread with butter, then layer havarti cheese (or any other favorite cheese), thinly sliced apples (I prefer green), smoked ham and then a little more cheese so it all sticks together. Grill. YUM.

Lovely iPhone Cases

I have never wanted an iPhone... until now. These are thee most beautiful cell phone covers I have ever seen, and of course they are for a phone I do not have. Sold at my new place of work: Nordstrom by  Tech Candy. Personally I love the cream one the best. $32

Italian: Not The Healthy Kind

CARBONARA! I have been eating Carbonara for three days now. When I make it, I make a lot... thinking it will be eaten by my boyfriend and roommate, but NO, I end up eating it for three days :) Which I hope doesn't sound like complaining because it is damn good. Funny enough, I got the recipe from a People magazine: Eat, Pray, Love Carbonara... just like in the movie! Hah. The picture looked great and the recipe looked easy, so I gave it a try!


Carbonara:
1lb. spaghetti pasta
4oz. pancetta- the best is from Trader Joe's, I don't recommend the one from Baron's
1/2 cup powdered Pecorino Romano
1/2 cup powdered Parmesan
2 room temp. eggs

1. Start boiling the pasta, usually it takes a while to heat up that much water!
2. Also begin to saute the pancetta on medium in a BIG pan, this will take about 12-15 minutes (until fat is rendered out)
3. Mix both cheeses and eggs in a small bowl, whisk until smooth. Set aside.
4. When pancetta and pasta are done, drain pasta and add to the pan with cooked pancetta, it should now be on low heat.
5. Quickly pour cheese/egg mixture on pasta, mix with pancetta and turn heat off so the egg doesn't scramble. Top with a decent amount of ground pepper and serve! YUM.

I Love World Market: Lounge Chair

my new favorite thing

I love this chair. It is beautiful and comfortable. It's $30 from World Market, however if you sign up for their rewards program you get a $10 off $30 coupon so it's only $20! It is awesome, and it makes me want to hang with my flowers on the patio... and read a book under the sun. 

Quick Fix: Pet Dishes

I hate the plastic bowls my cat's food and water used to be in. I had the obnoxious looking ones with the rubber bottom so they don't move around. It worked out great when Kashmir would come sliding into home for dinner, however Reggie got a little bacterial thing going from those plastic bowls so I decided to switch to glass or ceramic. When I went to Petco the ceramic bowls were a. ugly and b. expensive! I went to Wal-Mart, which is where I go when I need to find something for cheap, and got some great ceramic bowls for close to $1.00 each. They stay cleaner then plastic, they are easy to wash and they look a little less obtrusive. Score!

Famous Cheese Potatoes

My mama's famous cheese potatoes! I don't have exact measurements, so if you want this lovely potato dish in your kitchen you're going to have to work with me!  

You'll need:
-About 8 oz. or 1 block of Gruyere Cheese, shred it! They have it at Trader Joe's
-1 cup whipping cream
-About 6-10 ORGANIC russet potatoes (enough to make three layers in a baking dish, cut in 1/4" slices)
-Salt

You can use any size baking dish, depending on how much you want to make, adjust cooking times and ingredients. Oil or butter your baking dish. Make three layers: start with the sliced potatoes, sprinkle with a medium amount of the shredded cheese: not too little not too much, and top each layer with a little salt. After you've made three layers pour the whipping cream evenly over them, I usually end up using a little less then one cup. Put it in the oven for 45-60 minutes on 375 degrees, until brown and beautiful like the picture below, enjoy!

world. famous. so good. 

Wellness: Cancer Cure

I've slowly come to realize there is a cure for many degenerative diseases including cancer, and easy steps to prevention. After reading The Gerson Therapy, check gerson.org too, it opened my eyes to food being medicine and nutrition in general. You can rent their movie The Gerson Miracle on Netflix: it's a little intense, and low-budget, but the message is eye-opening.

This is also a very interesting theory and website:  phoenixtears.ca  and  phoenixtearsfoundation.com. It is something I am going to look even deeper into. There are some very interesting videos on this site including Run From The Cure, which I think everyone should watch.  If you haven't heard of these things before I hope you look into them and find them helpful!

Also, I just saw Ziggy Marley on Chelsea Lately and the interview is awesome, watch it here!

My Take on Italian...

I'm not the kind of person who LOVES Italian food. I would probably pick anything else over Italian... when I eat it it's good, but it's not something I crave. My boyfriend's favorite food is Italian and this recipe makes us both happy... and I crave it! I got it from my wonderful friend Marty- where lots of my recipes and good ideas come from, she's quite inspirational :) We decided to call it 'Spinach Rolls', however I think 'Veggie Lasagna' is a better fit.

This recipe is easy to make, and easy to adjust to your taste. Everything should be diced.
-Saute onions, one bell pepper (I like it yellow or orange for this meal), and garlic. If I have green onions I add those too.
-While thats cooking you may want to start boiling the water for the lasagna. I never knew lasagna was a type of pasta, I thought it was just a dish. But that is what everything is rolled up in, lasagna! Boiled just enough so it doesn't get too soft. They tend to stick together so add some olive oil to the water.
-Add diced mushrooms and red pepper flakes (if you like a little spice) to the onions, bell pepper and garlic.
-When it is just about done cooking add chopped up spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and a splash of spaghetti sauce. Turn off the heat and add a heaping spoonful of cottage cheese. You can use any cheese, or no cheese...I don't really like cottage cheese, nor does my boyfriend, but it is good in moderation- especially in this meal!
-Drain the lasagna when done cooking, usually it only takes about 5-7 minutes to boil. One by one lay out the pasta and roll the veggies up in it, then directly put the rolls in a baking dish.
-Top the rolls with the some spaghetti sauce and bake for 10-15 minutes on 400 degrees. Done!

When I made these the first time I had also bought a bottle of Contadino: Pinot Grigio from Trader Joe's for $3.99! It is an Italian wine that I will continue to buy whenever I want Pinot Grigio, and it went perfect with my version of Italian food. Enjoy!

mmm... easy Veggie Italian!

Dream Headboards Website!

Finally got my Dream Headboards website up! There is still a bit to do, but check it out:  www.dreamheadboards.com

If you or anyone you know need a custom made fabric-covered headboard please, send them my way...