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moshup mussels
as i said two weeks ago – i love this super easy mussels recipe. now i realized i meant to post this BEFORE valentines day and time got away from me and i’m super sorry ok? but it’s ok because mussels are easy enough, you can make them WHENEVER. like for real — it takes 20 minutes and you got yourself a delish + romantic dinner.
MOSHUP MUSSELS
adapted from potluck at midnight farm *, serves 2
( * a really good martha’s vineyard cookbook that i sadly don’t see for sale online )INGREDIENTS 1 LB MUSSELS (TRY TO BUY THEM DEBEARDED) 1 CUP WHITE WINE 1/4 CUP CHOPPED TOMATOES 1/4 CUP CHOPPED SHALLOTS 3/8 CUP COARSELY CHOPPED CILANTRO 1 TSP HOT SAUCE 1/4 CUP HEAVY CREAM 2 TB UNSALTED BUTTER FRESHLY GROUND PEPPER 1 LOAF CRUSTY BREAD01. scrub + debeard your mussels if necessary.
02. combine the wine, tomatoes, shallots, half of the cilantro, the hot sauce, and heavy cream in a large pot. bring the ingredients to a boil. cook and stir for 2 minutes.
03. add the mussels and turn the heat down to a simmer. cover the pot and cook for 5 – 10 minutes, until all the mussels have opened. remove the mussels from the pot with a slotted spoon.
04. simmer down the cooking liquid until it’s reduced by about a cup, this takes another 5 – 10 minutes. add the butter, stirring gently. turn off the heat and add pepper.
05. pour the sauce over the mussels, sprinkle with remaining cilantro and serve asap.
ps. DO not forget the bread. you might wanna try letting an extra piece soak in the sauce while you eat the other bread because it’s sooooo good all soaked up in the sauce.
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diy faux speckled candles
lately i am obsessed with all things ceramic and enamelware, but i really don’t have any money to spend on this love of mine. so while i wanted to incorporate that look onto my pretty new-ish coffee table, duh i decided to DIY it.
materials
- some plain candles (mine were $2 at ikea)
- white spray paint
- white acrylic paint
- black acrylic paint
- a tiny brush
01. spray paint your candles upside down and let dry outside for at least 5 hours.
02. once your candles are dry and you peel them off the work surface, you’ll notice the top rim probably needs a little finesse. i lightly sanded my down and carefully painted with the white acrylic paint.
03. if you have a reference to use (like my enamelware camping mug), all the better. if you don’t, use mine or an image on google. the trick is to go VERY slowly and not to over think it. my first candle was pretty bad because i was completely over thinking it. so here’s my trick : relax and do a little at a time. so do tiny dots and spread them all over, don’t do one area at a time. then add medium sized dots. then add blotches to make it a little more natural rather than large dots, which end up looking kind of intentional. if it helps, do a little on one side, then turn it and do a little on the other side of the candle, then go back and forth. as long as you go at a slow relaxed pace, it won’t look too deliberate.
+ if you’re wondering if flammable spray paint and candles shouldn’t mix, it seems to be ok because the spray paint is only on the outside of the glass which doesn’t touch the flame whatsoever. but if my candles spontaneously combust, i’ll be sure to let you know.
you might be asking yourself why i didn’t use white wax candles, and that’s because i usually hate the scent of inexpensive white candles. like no thanks, i don’t want a baby powder or vanilla buttercream scent in my house. but maybe i’m just picky.
but i’m really loving the way these candles bring a little pattern to my coffee table – let me know if you try it!
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oscar party / best picture themed menu
hosting an oscar party? we decided to come up with a very festive menu to serve — best picture nominee themed dishes!
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING : the theory of everything bagel crackers
THE IMITATION GAME : the imitation crab dip (you can use real crab, but for the first time ever, say it’s imitation) (alt : crab ragoon, crab salad, california rolls)
AMERICAN SNIPER : american sliders
WHIPLASH : whiplashed sweet potatoes
BIRDMAN : buffalo birdwings (alt : you could also just pick up KFC)
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL : courtesan au chocolat (alt: just buy some french pastries)
SELMA : i have a dreamsicles
BOYHOOD : boyhoodsen berry spritzers (sub the blackberry for boysenberry) (alt : boysenberry crumble) -
almost makes mixtape ⋅ vday makeout mix 2015
i’m pretty excited that we have a long weekend + valentines day in one. gid and i are making plans for going out during the daytime, and then as i said — we’re going to stay in and cook ourselves dinner. so i made a mix for us to listen to. but also for you.
btw… track #1 was our processional song at the wedding (so now i can’t listen to it without getting super sappy)
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5 last minute valentines gift ideas for your guy
when i realized yesterday that valentines was on saturday and it was tuesday and i hadn’t gotten gid anything yet – i decided it wasn’t too late. so i wanted to share my five go-to ideas that work every time if you still need a little help.
01. when in doubt, give him a book. and get him a pretty coffee table book so it doubles as a gift for you.
02. most guys will not get designer grooming products for themselves. this is your job.
03. seriously though. i do not know a guy that doesn’t want more socks.
04. also, all the guys i know love candy + chocolate. um duh.
05. lastly, dudes seem to love brown liquor. why, i have no idea. -
printable oscar ballots
it’s almost time for the oscars, you guys! i’m actually more excited than usual, because this year — I SAW LIKE MOST OF THE MOVIES. that’s right, i totally did. i can’t tell you how.
SEE:
the grand budapest hotel, birdman, nightcrawler + guardians of the galaxyDON’T SEE:
inherent vice (snooze), foxcatcher (snooooze), american sniper (ok, kinda meh)I STILL WANT TO SEE:
whiplash (SO BADLY), selma, the theory of everything (although i’ve heard VERY mixed things)I STILL DON’T WANT TO SEE:
imitation game (meh), instellar (like no not whatsoever, unless you liked it?)ok so maybe i didn’t see that many, but it felt like i saw a bunch more than usual.
also – remember last year when i said i was the best all the time in the oscar pool? well that same last year, gideon demolished everyone. he got ONE WRONG. ONE WRONG!
oh and last also – don’t judge me on my movie stubs. i see a lot of comedies and a lot of horror movies in the theatre. and yes, i saw stepford wives in the theatre for some reason. but i’ve been collecting my movie stubs since i was a teenager and it’s really fun to look at them every once in a while and remember how i saw the royal tenenbaums — alone, 6 times, at the same theatre. (it was when i first moved to LA at 16 and i didn’t have friends or a car yet, ok?!)
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the new blogzilla studio (+ win a free theme!)
after a LOT of hard work and time spent — we have given blogzilla studio a HUGE facelift. you can now buy themes directly through our website and we’ve hopefully made it much cleaner and more streamlined process for our customers. we now have a ton more info + answers on the site for customers with questions! AND – we have a dope new logo by jay adores – which we are stoked on. go check it out!
we’re also launch a brand new theme today, because we’re totally in “new” mood. and now for the fun part — to celebrate the launch of the brand new blogzilla studio, i’m giving away a free theme of your choice! all you have to do is check out the site and comment here with the theme you love most.
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heading to tahoe
even though i used to ski all the time when i was a kid on the east coast, i haven’t been in waaay over a decade. but today i’m heading to tahoe on my husbands company trip. we’re getting a snowboard lesson but i’m mostly going to be drinking cocoa and hopefully enjoying snow for the first time in years. if i never blog again, i totally died.
you might be wondering what this amazing vintage snowsuit is? it’s my failed attempt at finding an outfit for the weekend. i bought it and paid for expedited shipping to get here, but it is HUGE on me. so if you’re interested in buying it, please buy it from me. PLEASE. it’s a size small and if you’re interested, email me and i can give you more size + price details.
anyway, hope you have a great weekend! check out some links i like this week :
+ a really insightful article about copying + crediting
+ also, i love love love these beaded coasters
+ beautiful printable abstract gift wrap for your next gift
+ a pretty pattern to pretty up your desktop
+ perfect inexpensive valentines day gift idea
+ six hacks for homemade french fries
+ i kinda feel like i need a dozen of these
+ i’ve watched all of these — just wish they’d do them with more celebs i like (SJP + daniel radcliffe are my faves) -
how we spend valentines day
when gid and i first started dating, we would get dressed up and go out to dinner, like most people do – on valentines day. but then we decided we were never doing that again. those crazy expensive prefixes and the huge crowds of people is just not our thing. so we made a new tradition a few years ago that we’d stay in and cook ourselves a fancy dinner in our pajamas. this year we decided on mussels. they’re so easy to make and they’re also really hard to screw up. want the recipe? ok i’ll post that too!
urban outfitters asked us to show how we celebrate our love on valentines day, and i was so excited because i love UO as you guys know from years of wish lists. they have a pretty dope curated gift guide for valentines day this year, whether it be romantic records or gifts for him or gifts for you (you can just send it to your guy and let him choose)
i was also excited to have the excuse to clean up and show you a lot more of our apartment than you’ve ever seen.
in case you and your valentine aren’t big on cooking — our other favorite valentines day date to avoid the crowds at restaurants… the early bird specials. no seriously. we went to a fancy restaurant one year at 5pm and not only was the prefixe menu like 50% cheaper, but we had the place to ourselves and every waiter was there for us, along with our own live music. (sadly, the restaurant was red o and they don’t seem to be doing early bird specials anymore)
SHOP THE POST
PHOTOS BY LILY GLASS
THIS POST IS IN SPONSORSHIP WITH URBAN OUTFITTERS. ALL OPINIONS ARE 100% MY OWN. -
diy marble valentines chocolate box makeover
it seems like forever ago that we were seeing bill cosby perform on valentines day, last year. ick. so much can change in a year. but my love of marble still hasn’t! here’s a super easy way to makeover cheap chocolate boxes from the drugstore, along with an item you can also buy at the drugstore, contact paper!
so basically, you wrap contact paper onto your chocolate box! it’s a little tricky around the sharp edges and rounded curves, and it really doesn’t look that amazing once you open it — but it’s valentines day so it’s the thought that counts. also, they won’t notice because it’s filled with chocolate.
to do the edges of the box, i just layered little pieces on top of each other. the sides i use long skinny pieces and the top i just laid a big piece on top. then trim. then give.
