Love... just love.

I love this house. I just love it. I just... it's... great... it's... beautiful... just... look!
Thank you, Apartment Therapy, for the daily inspiration.

Decor Lust

I'm lusting over this Chicago house today. I'm feeling a bit down about my fixer-upper rental right now... I've never had to deal with a difficult rental situation before (I know, lucky). I'm going to paint the walls and was looking for some inspiration when I stumbled upon this beautiful post over at Darling Dexter referring back to another great post on Cookie Magazine. Feast your eyes on this simple, bright, beauty!

Food for Thought

While I don't identify myself as a religious person, I like to think that I am a grateful person. I've been reading a lot of Michael Pollan lately and thinking a lot about the foods I eat and how they're affecting my health, my happiness, my world, my city, my neighborhood. I grew up saying grace before dinner but have lost that tradition over time. Pollan quotes Wendell Berry as inspiration for "eat[ing] more deliberately":

Eating with the fullest pleasure - pleasure, that is, that does not depend on ignorance - is perhaps the profoundest enactment of our connection with the world. In this pleasure we experience and celebrate our dependence and our gratitude, for we are living from mystery, from creatures we did not make and powers we cannot comprehend.

Yummo.

I am always excited to get a new issue of Real Simple in the mail. I get so excited at the prospect of learning some clever ways to repurpose old things and discovering some new and easy recipes. The recipes have been pretty good for the most part, but I'm always a little careful trying new things. This month, we tried the ravioli with apples and walnuts and it was fantastic. I added a little grilled chicken from Trader Joe's and it was a delicious, filling, early-fall meal! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 pound cheese ravioli (fresh or frozen)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 crisp apple (such as Braeburn or Gala), cut into matchsticks
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)

Directions

1. Cook the ravioli according to the package directions.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the walnuts and cook, stirring often, until lightly toasted and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Add the apple, parsley, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, and 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper and toss to combine. Spoon over the ravioli and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Moving In...

Our move has been proving much more difficult than we originally thought. We've already learned a lot... renting in this market depends not only on a keen eye for Craigslist, but on dumb luck as well. When something looks even remotely appealing, you have to POUNCE! So, we pounced... and we ended up with a lot more work than we had anticipated. It's been a tough week or so and I'm giving myself a little recoup time on the couch. One highlight so far is that the kitties have a lot more room to run around and many more windows to watch the other animals in the neighborhood. We were worried that Ham may never feel comfortable again after we stuffed him into a kennel, but yesterday he returned to his favorite, trusting, comfy position. Maybe everything will be okay after all.