big-batch, tasty pasta salad

i'm not a fan of pasta salad. at all. if i'm at a picnic and there's NOTHING BUT pasta salad, i may try some. it's got to be that serious of a situation. 

i also know that pasta salads are not traditionally the most tasty thing on earth.

i am here to change that fact. 

 :)

you can alter this recipe to fit what your tastes. if you don't like olives, leave them out and swap in diced red pepper. (and so on)

this recipe makes a big batch. i usually keep it in the fridge and then just pull it out for lunch. 

to make this pasta salad you will need:

1 lb. of pasta cooked according to the package, drained and cooled. (medium shells and small ziti work well)

1/2 a red onion, minced

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 apple, chopped

1/3 cup crasins (i only had mixed dried berries so i used that)

1 TB of mustard

extra virgin olive oil

powdered garlic

olives, sliced in half

dill (fresh or dried is fine)

8 oz feta cheese

directions: in a large bowl combine the olive oil and mustard and a bit of juice from the olive jar.

whisk until combined. 

add drained pasta to large bowl. toss to coat. add the apple, onion, crasins, olives, feta, parsley, dill, and garlic. 

toss again. (if the pasta seems dry add more olive oil until it is well coated but not greasy)

season with salt to taste. 

enjoy!

 are you a fan of traditional pasta salads?

pumpkin roll

i know october has come and gone, but i like to stash up on some of my favorite ingredients that can't be bought year-round. like pumpkin. the best, most flavorful way to get pumpkin to bake with is to (unfortunately) go through the work of roasting a whole pumpkin and then scooping out the meat. however, i can be lazy. and also busy. so for those times, i buy canned pumpkin.

this recipe is very simple. only 15 minutes of baking time. however, because you need to cool the cake for 1 hour, you must plan ahead if you're going to make this. you won't be disappointed. it's delicious.

Pumpkin sheet cake (which you will later roll):

3 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (i go heaping on this)
2/3 cup of pureed pumpkin


preheat oven to 375F. mix all the ingredients in the order listed. beat until smooth. line a 9x12 pan with wax paper and grease generously. bake for 15 min.  prepare a tea towel with powdered sugar and turn out the cake onto the towel. remove the wax paper. roll and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Cream Cheese Filling:

1 (8oz) pack of cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup of confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 TB. butter

cream all ingredients until smooth. unroll the log cake and spread evenly. (you can go up to the edges). roll up again and refrigerate until ready to serve. sprinkle top with powdered sugar. slice and serve.

makes about 8 good sized slices.

my roll cracked a bit when rolling up. 

 plop the filling on the sheet cake and then smooth it out. try to get as much of an even layer as possible.

i didn't think i was in the picture. (can't waste any of the frosting!) 

i hope you make this pumpkin roll. it's super delicious and looks beautiful when sliced into. (like a pinwheel) 

i would have more pictures of this, but we ate it too fast. :)

what's your favorite thing to make with pumpkin?

ideas (for lack of something better)

i have so many ideas for my blog.

 really.

 i would be blogging every day if i could. 

sometimes twice a day. 

where does the time go? there are some days i feel like i've run around the whole day doing things and at the end of the day it looks like i've accomplished nothing at all. i can't even imagine how much more i'll feel that way once i have kids. (no, not pregnant. not planning to be any time soon) 

there are so many things i love to do: cooking, crafting, blogging (duh), shopping, rearranging, bargain hunting, reading, decorating, and traveling, just to name a few. i also love music. i feel extremely blessed to be making a living doing what i love. today i (and about 20 other people) spent 5 hours recording music for a cd entitled "lullaby." it will be given out to families whose babies spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital. i love the idea of that. i would have even done it for free. but i got paid to do it. i'm not bragging here or trying to sound all proud. i'm not. i'm just so grateful for my job. and the fact that i love it.

even though i have all these distractions of what i like doing, i can't do them all. that's pretty much a fact. and right now, my music must take priority. i desperately need to go back to school and i have to take spending time with my instrument seriously. like at least 4 hours a day kind of seriously. 

i won't be blogging as much as i like. 

but know that i want to be. 

and keep on reading, cuz it makes me smile.

source

craft fair fun

i recently had my craft fair and boy was it an adventure!   i never really realized how much work goes into just preparing everything to be "customer friendly." it was a long day but really fun!

the event wasn't really technically a craft fair. it was a "fashion 4 u!" event hosted by the Girl Scouts of Southern Mass. there was a stinky $20 admission fee (which i didn't know about until after i had signed up for the event) and it was mostly pre-teen girls running around screaming. not ideal.

however, there was free food (that always gets me) and really cool people to meet. the vendor to my left was this really sweet lady in a burka doing henna tattoos. she offered to do one for free on me. (!!!!!!!! I LOVE HENNA TATTTOOSSSSS) but since i had a Doctoral audition/interview the next day, i thought it would be best not to have one. (boooooo!) the girls to the right  were doing tinsel-in-the-hair type of stuff. they were a big hit. (who doesn't like sparkly hair?!)

i didn't sell as much as i wanted to, but that's ok with me. my button bobbies and feather headbands were quite a hit. yay!

i'll be posting the headbands and a few other things i didn't sell on my etsy. (so look for that soon!)

here's my craft fair journey:

my living room the night before. total chaos!

 reversible throw pillows.  i like them so much i didn't want to bring them with me. 

more headbands. displayed on my quaker oats painted container.

 my actual table at the event.

lots of accessories. 

my vintage section.

oh so many tote bags!!!

 set of pink and gold wall art.

burlap candle holder.

my old roommate from college came to help me with the set up. loved seeing her and she was a real help.

seeing my old college roommate: priceless!

thanks for all your help k-girl!

The Cold, Hard Truth

The past week there have been somethings i have realized.

 i've been stressed out about a bunch of things and my hair is falling out more than usual. (eeww, gross i know, but i won't be going bald anytime soon thanks to extra-thick hair) 

 this weekend (tomorrow actually) is my first ever craft fair. while i'm excited, i'm also worried i may have misspent money and time preparing for it. auditions are coming up soon. for those of you who don't know, both Karl and I are preparing to go on for more school. He's auditioning for DMAs (doctor of musical arts) and I'm auditioning for a number of different programs at various schools. Finding the time i need (at least 4 hours a day) to practice has not been happening. for a while.  my students are driving me crazy (who comes to a violin lesson without a violin??!!?). i painted my fingernails yellow. (who does that!!??)  forgive my randomness and possibly crazy-personness right now. (yes, that is a word. no, don't look it up, just trust me ;p )

despite all of this, i still feel completely blessed, fortunate, and rich. i am constantly reminded of how grateful  i need to be for my health, a safe and comfortable apartment, an amazing husband, how God has continued to provide for all our needs.

what i have realized throughout the week:

+ everything on my list will not get done. stressing out about it doesn't help. (surprise!)

+ my house will not be as clean as i like. get used to it. 

+ having my personal devotions first thing in the morning will be the most important thing i do. if i've spent my time with God, that day is successful no matter what the outcome.

+ drinking water will really help keep headaches away. it will also reduce stress.

+ remembering to drink water is essential.

+ yelling at the idiot driver in front of me is not good. he can't hear me.

+ i can kill a scary spider if i put my mind to it.

+ this awesome e-book is just what i needed. i've always known i have so many clothes i don't really use  them to their full potential. 

+ blogging is cathartic. (thanks to those of you who stop by for a quick read and a huge thanks for your comments!)

+ i love to cook. and eat. both go together well.

+ smoothies make an 'ok' day awesome.

+ i met my mailman today. he asked if i was the violinist. i didn't bother to correct him, but just nodded. (besides who needs or wants another violist confession or explanation?) he told me his daughter plays the violin.  cool. 

thanks for reading and wish me luck for the craft fair tomorrow!

it's the little things: new year.

today i'm linking up with lindsey for "it's the little things"- a post where we share a couple of the little highlights that made our week. here are some of mine:

after weeks of deciding if i wanted to do it or not, i finally decided to spray paint this fake birdcage gold. i'll bring it to the craft fair i'm doing as part of the display.

 vintage teacups. oh to be dainty again.

my morning cup of joe. this mug has become my favorite one for morning coffee. it holds just the right amount. 

 one of my little students invited me to her sleepover-ice skating birthday party. 

so. adorable.

i discovered these and there is no going back. dark chocolate. mint. fluffy. 

and possibly the only chocolate candy i will ever eat again.

tonight the hubs and i have no obligations or teaching. what a treat! we can actually hang out and have fun being best friends. 

lately we've gotten into the show LOST,

*sidenote:  i'm always one to be slow hopping on the popular bandwagon. for instance i waited almost 10 years to read harry potter. case and point. 

and since we're both late night snackers, a bag of popcorn usually goes perfect with that. maybe tonight we'll have some more of the pumpkin streusel muffins i made earlier. cuz they're so yummy. 

we're really enjoying his time off from teaching. it's nice to homebodies every once in a while.

now excuse me while i go hang out with a cool dude and make some pizza!

happy friday!

our very first happy little christmas tree

this year we bought our first christmas tree! (live of course. we don't really have the space to keep a fake on for 50 weeks a year. and plus, real ones just smell soooo good!)

i was very excited since the last christmas tree i had was a 6 foot potted palm tree in my dorm room. yup. classy, i know.

all this shopping was very exciting for me: the tree stand, tree blanket, giant lights, candy canes, and of course, a tree!

we went to the boys scouts, but they were only open in the afternoon. so we went to home depot where they had a bunch more trees for much cheaper. love saving $$$.

tree stand assembled. took us like 7 minutes. (we should be smarter than that with all the student loans we're paying back ;P )

cleared a spot in the living room for the tree. (yes, my living room is once again rearranged.)

our tree! we named him Fraiser. since of course he is a fraiser fir. we are very original when it come to naming things. 

ta-da! there he is! it's about 6 1/2 feet tall and plenty big for the space it's in. tree skirt from target: $5.

with lights! i love the big colored lights i bought this year. i may buy another strand for next year.

so far we have a couple ornaments on the tree (that were an early christmas gift), some cinnabun candy canes and a bunch of gifts on the tree. i love how simple it is. 

it smells delicious. 

happy christmas, everyone!