Secrets From a Stylist

It's no secret that I love two things: HGTV & Anthropologie (new catalog today! but I diverge...). So you can imagine that during my diligent viewing of Design Star I was rooting for Emily from the beginning as her design aesthetic was exactly what I see and covet everytime I walk into Anthropologie. When she won, I said to myself, "Lauren in design form!" YES! Thank you HGTV!

I hope this show never ends and she comes to my house next.

Short Guide to Life

I read this post on Zen Habits today, and something about the simpleness struck me.

So here you go, the short guide to life:

less TV, more reading

less shopping, more outdoors

less clutter, more space

less rush, more slowness

less consuming, more creating

less junk, more real food

less busywork, more impact

less driving, more walking

less noise, more solitude

less focus on the future, more on the present

less work, more play

less worry, more smiles

breathe

My favorite (maybe because I just happen to be at work as I was reading this) was "less busywork, more impact." Short and sweet. I am making this my new motto.

Zucchini Crostini

In addition to watching Project Runway with Chelsea on Thursdays, we've also taken to trying new recipes for fun. She stumbled upon this one from Yum Sugar, so we had to try it!

Zucchini Crostini

Ingredients

3 medium zucchini (about 1 pound)
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup shredded basil
½ cup marcona almonds, toasted and finely chopped
1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
1 loaf ciabatta bread, cut into ¼-inch slices (about 12 slices)*

Directions

1. Using a box grater, coarsely grate the zucchini. Place the shredded zucchini in the middle of a clean kitchen towel and sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons of salt. Let sit for 5 minutes, then squeeze the towel to remove excess moisture. Repeat until as much liquid as possible has been released, then transfer the zucchini to a bowl.
2. Add the garlic, basil, almonds, thyme, Parmigiano-Reggiano, lemon juice, lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil to the zucchini; toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and refrigerate for an hour.
3. Just before serving, drizzle the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the bread and grill or broil the bread until toasted, then let cool.
4. Top each slice of bread with about 3 tablespoon* of the zucchini pesto and serve immediately.

Let me say, these turned out DELICIOUS. They were easy to make and we paired them with some pre-made gazpacho from Whole Foods. All in all, it was a great light summery meal.

And to see how pretty they looked when we made them, here's a photo!

Motivation

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run."

-John Bingham

Almost there....

Oreo

Not sure why I'm missing you so much today Oreo....

If I had all the time in the world

I've been feeling a little bit scattered. Maybe it's because I just started a new job, maybe it's because I'm not taking enough iron, or maybe it's because Andrew & I have over-committed ourselves. Whatever the case, I finally decided today that we need to intentionally decide to relax this weekend, so I started my list of "If I had all the time in the world, what would I want to do LIST"?

So here goes:

• Knitting (sorry I didn't finish your scarf during the winter, Andrew)
• Reading (Currently working my way through Michael Scully's Dominion)
• Cooking something new (dying to make Banana Ice Cream, seriously, how hard could it possibly be? it's just one ingredient)
• Plant some more succulents (an article from Real Simple inspired me to try planting a succulent in a shell)

Part of me feels good getting it down on paper, and finally focusing not on what I have to do, but what I'd like to do.

And if I'm lucky, working on one of these items will help to bring what's really important back into focus.

I wear my sunglasses at night.

Tank, you're the best.