i am loving this lately. we seriously make it once or twice a month its from rachel ray magazine.

Southwestern Chili-Mac Salad

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

4 ears corn

2 cups elbow pasta

1 red onion, half finely chopped, half thinly sliced

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder ( we also add goya sazon which i get at walmart)

1 pound lean ground beef

One 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed

2 tomatoes, cut into wedges

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a medium bowl, combine the lime juice and cilantro; whisk in 6 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn until just tender, about 3 minutes; transfer to a cutting board. Return the water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente; drain and transfer to a large bowl. Cut the corn kernels from the cob and add to the pasta.3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and chili powder and cook until the onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a colander and drain well.4. Add the beef mixture to the pasta; season with salt and pepper. Add the kidney beans, tomatoes, sliced onion and vinaigrette and toss to dress. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the cheese

my pillow looks lopsided but it's not. i love this fabric i got from an antique store. i was just playing around with a new thing called picnik. it's a really cool and free, photo editing site. it seems like they have some fun things. heaven knows i need all the help i can get making my pictures look better.

MGMT

i already loved this song by mgmt. then i looked up the video on youtube and found this video. i love it so much, but i like weird things. my boys all love the song and dance to it whenever it plays. i guess this isn't the official video by mgmt. some guy made it in a day for his film class, uploaded it to youtube and then was contacted by mgmt to be in the electric feel video. check it out it's super cool.

i am longing for warm weather so i can enjoy this again. it was so yummy served with orzo salad and grilled pita bread. to bad the forecast calls for cold weather and more damn snow. i am so sick of snow and cold. from better homes and gardens Mediterranean strip steaks-

Ingredients 2 tsp. smoked paprika 1 tsp. packed brown sugar 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 4 top loin (strip) steaks, cut 1 inch thick (about 12 oz. each) 2 lemons, halved 1 avocado, seeded, peeled, and sliced 4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled Feta cheese wedges (optional) Fresh oregano 1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel Directions 1. For rub, stir together paprika, sugar, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Coat steaks with 1 Tbsp. oil; rub mixture on both sides. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. 2. For charcoal grill, arrange medium-hot coals on one side of grill. Place steaks on rack directly over coals. Cover and lightly sear on both sides, 5 to 6 minutes. Move to unheated side of grill. Cover and grill 4 to 5 minutes more for medium rare (145 degrees F). Remove; let stand 5 minutes. Grill lemon halves, cut side down, directly over coals, 2 minutes. (For gas grill, preheat grill. Adjust heat for indirect cooking. Grill as above.)

more decorating ideas

I've become house decorating obsessed. maybe because i am trying to get our small ( 1200 sq foot) home decorated and on a budget. i don't really have the time or money right now to do what i would really like with our humble abode but a girl can dream right?

here's another lovely child's room . i really am liking the pale blue+ orange or yellow. you can find more here what a fun idea this is... and how amazing is this kids bedroom? these guys at walter and veronica used this fabric

then they photocopied the pattern and traced in on the wall. i would probably try to make a stencil, then use spray adhesive to stick it on the wall while i painted it. this is how is turned out.

have you ever seen anything this cool? somehow i will find the time to do something like this. maybe just as an accent wall.
images from walterandveronica.wordpress.com found via ohdeedoh.

headband

i really liked this headband... { found here}

so i made this one...

and i'm still making them...

quilted wall hanging

these are not my photos! but- what a cute idea. i found these on the sometimes crafter blog. which she found here at the fiskars website. i can't stop thinking about all the possibilities of this project. i'll post photos of my own when i make them.

we have lived in our house for over a year now and are just getting to decorating. umm yeah pretty embarrassing.in my defense i did have two small boys and then got pregnant again. i love this for my baby's room! the walls are already the same exact color. i love the yellow+blue combo. we have yucky ugly carpet in the bedrooms with "hardwood" everywhere else. i would eventually like to have hardwood floors throughout the whole house.

photos from ohdeedoh

i also really like this one.

finally this one from wee wonderfuls gives my good ideas for my older boys shared room.

i especially like this idea to showcase my collection of vintage kids books.

what are your favorite resources for real home decorating ideas?

orla kiely at target

i have been wanting some of this wallpaper for a while now but it is quite pricey. i also really like this one- i love almost all of orla keilys stuff ( clothes, bags, wall paper, decorations and plates) i was so excited to see this post on decor8. the new line is set to launch at target on feb 2. you better but your butt i will be there. i am really fond of the glasses in particular.

day of the dead pillow

ugh i know that i haven't posted in a long time. we haven't had the Internet and having three little kids is hard so sue me. not that anyone really reads this blog anyways. here is one of my Christmas presents. i made my little brother a day of the dead pillow. we are an odd family but he loved it and i loved making it. click on the picture to see the skeleton goodness. my goal this year was to make 80% of my gifts and i am pleased to say that i did.