popover

it's friday! hooray! although, given that we had the mid-week holiday, i felt like tuesday was friday, too. 

it is hotter than hell up here in new york, and one of my least favorite things is getting dressed for the office when i feel like i'm melting as soon as i step outside.

an actual photo of my car thermometer the other day.
yes, that says 105 degrees!

i also do not like having bare arms in the office, both because i feel too bare and because it gets chilly with the AC. fortunately, j.crew comes to the rescue with the most perfect, pretty, and lightweight blouse - the popover - and they are having a great sale right now!

jacquard dot popover - polly popover (on sale!) - popover in rambling rose (also on sale!)

how i'm handling this heatwave in the office:

old polka dot popover

pencil skirt - my dream flats - owl earrings (a steal at $12!) - sunglasses - bag (similar here)

stay cool, and have a lovely weekend!

no-oven cooking

happy 5th of july, everyone! hope you had a glorious holiday - true to my word, we made no plans and had a very relaxing but productive day puttering around the apartment! 

our raspberries are really taking off this year!

our new chalkboard wall featuring our dinner menu! 

little kid BBQ dinner, minus my tomatoes...

there was one negative discovery yesterday: our oven isn't working! 

i really wanted to make provencal tomatoes to go with our dinner, but sadly preheating yielded no heat.

that got me to thinking about no-oven cooking for summer, since who really wants to heat up their oven (and their whole apartment) when it's almost 100 degrees out?

this lemon pasta from giada's everyday italian has long been one of my summer stand-bys, and it is so refreshing! it is delicious on its own, and works well as a base for adding other ingredients to jazz it up.

giada's lemon pasta (original recipe here)

1 pound spaghetti

2/3 cup olive oil

2/3 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

• 
  

  Directions
  Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the oil, Parmesan, and lemon juice in a large bowl to blend.
  Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the lemon sauce, and the reserved cooking liquid, adding 1/4 cup at a time as needed to moisten. Season with salt and pepper.Garnish with lemon zest and chopped basil.

now, i made this pasta dish for a potluck dinner during my internship in venice and it was a big hit with everyone, including my italian colleagues!

 it's hiding in the green bowl at the end of the table :)

born in the usa

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as i mentioned earlier this week, i am really looking forward to a low-key celebration tomorrow for the fourth after such a crazed weekend. no entertaining. no planning. just being breezy and letting it happen.

 i am sure there will be instagram updates because i am addicted - feel free to check them out here and have a happy fourth of july!

and we're in.

well, folks: after one trip to ikea, one late night post-wedding reception packing/moving/building frenzy, and one entire day of hard labor with the help of great friends, we are in. also, there were margaritas somewhere in there. i highly recommend margaritas when moving (unless you are driving.)

to whet your palates, here are some "before" photos of the space when it was pristine and empty:

and here we are after the move...

holy chaos, batman.

i am so sore and we have a LONG way to go until we are settled, but that's part of the adventure anyway!

in the meantime, i think i can promise that my fourth of july will be spent in recovery mode :)

ps - titus is having a ball exploring and running at top speed through the place. you can just make out a cat-shaped blur in the foreground of the kitchen "after" photo...