The little Apple.

It's always makes me chuckle when I hear born and raised New Yorkers say they have never been to the Statue of Liberty. I know this north eastern nook of Ohio certainly isn't a metropolis, but I think that typical truth repeats in all apples, big and small. There are plenty of nooks and crannies I have not yet explored in my home town. Last week I had the pleasure of exploring one of those hidden gems. I wondered in to Magnolia's On The Green to get some Moroccan Oil (duh) and came out with not only a great bottle of hair treatment(seriously try it), but a pleasantly surprised experience.

Placed perfectly in the core of our little apple, this adorable salon offers all the salon extras, but is nestled in a historical building with each of its technicians in their own unique room. While I cannot give up my most favorite hair queen at another salon(shhh!), I certainly will be back to Magnolia's for all their extras! The staff was wonderful and even though they were in the middle of prepping for a charity fashion show, they were all eager to help me out. (not to mention I was mistaken for one of the models upon arrival-even if this was a lie, it was great marketing).  I loved this little bite of history in our tiny town, and I only had to drive down the street!
 Now, how 'bout them apples! ;o)

Magnolias on the Green

79 North Broad Street

Canfield, OH 44406

330-286-5173

Soup Season

Soup season has officially arrived folks! (I hate the word folks). Let's say friends. 

Chilly days, hearty warm soup, crusty bread and a house filled with the mouth watering combination of all those scents. While in Italy last week, I had a soup I couldn't stop thinking about. It fit all the things I love about about food. Smelled amazing, looked beautiful, and had a great name. When I arrived home, (to 5 straight days of rain) a sweet acquaintance (thanks Miss Taylor!) had a recipe posted for this very soup! I took that (and the rain) as a sign. I should kick off soup season with this recipe.....and I should have stayed in Italy. 

So, as the sun decided to come out of exile, I decided it was time to get back in the swing of things. 

Meet RIBOLLITA! Say that 5 times fast. Anyways, here is the How To for this great dish. 


First things first. Get some of that great bread you're not supposed to eat in today's multigrain world. 

Then I followed Giada De Laurentiis' Ribollita Recipe from http://www.thekitchn.com/ with a few changes. I omitted the Pancetta because red meat is not welcome here, and I also added half a box of orzo I found in the cupboard(because what the heck else do you do with 1/2 a box of orzo). The ingredients are all pretty common, though I was a bit unfamiliar with Herbs De Provence, but it was at my local grocery store. And really, it's another fun one to say and cooking with something that sounds so prestigious made me feel a pinch like Julia Child (for a second). 

So chop, add, simmer, and toast up that fabulous bread in the oven. Serve over a piece of crusty bread and it will look something like this:

Sprinkle with some fresh parmesan cheese and your husband will look something like this:

Don't forget to remove the bay leaf before serving. I of course, remembered. 

But if I hadn't, it would have prompted my husband to ask what the crunchy leaf was in his bowl. 

Happy Soup Season! Get cookin' folks. 

If the Hat Fits.

Do you look good in hats? You either do or you don't, right?  I love hats. What a great, yet simple accessory. So many of us are afraid of looking silly. I don't think anyone can look bad in that adorable find from Anthropologie, but perhaps we just haven't found the right fit....yet.

I think most of us have an energy that needs to be harnessed. When I worked a regular job- and I say regular depicting a predictable, in office, 9-5, structured, cubicle, type job- I was underwhelmed, and underworked to say the least. My "regular" job did not fulfill my creative energy, in fact, it put a cap on it.

This year has been a bit different. I threw the 9-5er to the curb and began doing things I love. All those creative outlets began to open doors. The truth is, this year, I will be wearing many hats and I'm just as intoxicated with each and every one of them. And perhaps looking a bit silly at times got me there. No one should go through life doing anything other than what they love. This changes everything. And change is  good  great. Period.


We should be inspired every day. And if you're not, maybe it's time to look a bit silly in a giant sombrero. (Kidding-find something flattering please.)  All the pieces will fall into place and we realize all that really matters is having people we love and somewhere to hang your hat. And if you've already found this, a pat on that back, and well,

Hats off to you. 

You, Me, & D.C.

My hubby has never seen D.C.

So, off we went, just him & me. 

At 103, we melted in the heat,

but, I was so happy to see my friend Julia, Bon Appetit!

Seeing her kitchen made me feel like I was going to starve,

Where was my husband? Outside talking to a stranger about Brett Favre.

I was in awe of her display of history, my husband, not so much.

So we decided to treat ourselves to some refreshing lunch.

Her kitchen was by far my favorite exhibit,

but this little green guy was pretty cute too, ribbit!

Then we marched on to see the Constitution and Declaration,

but the child in David was more excited about the old train station.

An afternoon of more history, museums, and some very famous bling,

How would you like to have the legendary Hope Diamond on a ring?

After a balmy day in the heat, we were spent.

One last stop to see the Washington Monument.

We strolled back talking about how nice it was, just us,

and suddenly this passed : a love bus :o)

A hip little dinner at Birch and Barley then bed

Resting up for a trip to the Baltimore Harbor for the day ahead!

The harbor was so hot we thought we'd die,

we decided to give the aquarium a try.

Fish, jellies, and a dolphin show,

I didn't want to see this happy guy go!

But the crowd and screaming kids were taking their toll,

Lesson: the aquarium on a Saturday is the best birth control.

A day at the Harbor was beautiful as can be,

so back we headed for some dining in D.C.

The next day we were headed home happy but tired

one last stop in Georgetown at Baked & Wired

I find myself to be a bit of a snob with this type of confection,

but I must say, these cupcakes were sweet perfection.

It seemed this trip ended as fast as it began 

Home happy of course, we missed the kitties and this little man ;o)

All's fair in Love and Homeowners' Associations.

HOA's. ugh.

Being a new homeowner opens the door to so many lessons learned. Here's the short of it:
We bought a place.
We bought a dog.
We bought a battle.

"Did you know there are no pets allowed? No dogs, no cats, no fish." Says the emphysema stricken voice across the street.

No FISH??? Really.

Our neighborhood is old. Scratch that. Our neighbors are old.  Some of them are wonderful, some of them are just old. I think no smoking should be enforced before no fish, but that's just me (the naive new home owner who wasn't given the "updated documents" that states no dogs, no cats, no fish). 

So this was a catastrophe in our neighborhood, a place where battles are fought over where to get blacktop for the driveways, and what color to paint the fences. We were practically committing treason here. Our options given to us by the king: get rid of our French bully, sell our place, or tar and feathering.

Okay, I made that last one up. But really, that's what it felt like. We had committed a crime that truly divided the seas. Secret alliances were formed. Lawsuits were in the works. And rumors were spreading like wild fire about our viscous "80lb" canine:

I know. Scary right? And besides the fact he is the friendliest pup on earth, you have to admit, he looks phenom for 80lbs, right?

I was beginning to wonder who the real "bully" was in all of this. We were not made aware of the laws, and we were certainly not getting rid of our 20 pound pup. So what happened?

War was declared. A meeting had been set with all of the congregation. We were put on the chopping block, talked down to, (because we don't know anything being new home owners right?), and expected to bow down to the king.

I was astonished by the unfairness that was circulating around us. So what did I do? Without giving the trivial details, I embarrassed the king. Other pheasants abruptly began to speak up, and suddenly, it was guerrilla warfare. Our bully had opened a can of worms (which I'm sure are not allowed either). Turns out, they were waiting to overthrow the king. They just needed a voice to get there. Our bully had given rise to a world of complaints and without knowing, helped us win the war, (and no one had to be tar and feathered).

We gained a lot out of going through this experience. We found neighbors that define kindness, power that was misused, and a very important lesson:

At any age, don't be a bully.

......or a cat, or a fish.

iGet it.

I've been living under a rock. I just joined the iTeam and got an iphone. 

iknow. 

Though, it's only been one day, I'm not quite sure how I managed so long without it. It's all the things I've been looking for in a phone. Smooth functionality, a million gazillion apps, great camera, facetime, easy to sync and oh yeah, you can talk on it too! (I'm convinced this feature may soon be extinct).

I realize iphones are really starting to take over the world and usually conforming is not my speciality. But really, this team's got it figured out. This telly really does use everything it has to work together. There's no i in team? Ironic metaphor. 

While I've filled the last day with set up and app searching, I was SO excited to fill my first app folder with my very own iLikeys (can you tell iLikey that you can name your own folders??). Composed of Etsy, Rue la la, and a handful of fashion blogs, I am ixcited. 

So as I fill the inside of my new little ifriend, I realize she needs some clothes. How cute are these telly pouches?? Not just for the iphone, they are idorable. 

Ok, I'm starting to innoy myslef. And I'm pretty confident if my spell check could speak, she would be icursing at me now. 

So really, get the phone. Then dress it in cute clothes. 

All in favor?? ...... say i. 

wife and...... ??

oh yeah... Man!
Today is a day to celebrate those men! And while our family doesn't have a dad just yet, we do have this wild man:

and these guys:

So our dad is only one to fuzz faces, he still is our daddio in training. And I'm the first to admit. Dad always gets the short end of the stick.
Sometimes I forget about that hard workin' handsome male figure in this house. Can't wait to share what our Sandman's been up to!

gross. I know.

This has been our kitchen for the past 2 months. Filled with unattractive pickled oak (let's admit, thats a nicer way of saying PINK) cabinets, plastic, stain, and a healthy layer of sand dust over everything. Not to mention we look like an episode of hoarders.

While I wanted new cabinets(shocking), this project was much greener and much more pride filled for the man. As we speak, my house is filled with sounds of drilling as doors are being hung again! I am elated. Maybe I'll have a guest blogger hubby to share our end results.

Happy Daddio's day to all the dads out there!  (even if your kids are furry and have 4 legs) :o)