Rolling in the Deep

In honour of the Adele concert that I'm NOT going to tonight I thought I'd give everyone a taste of what we're missing!



I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I do!

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole

Bridal Shower #2 of the 2011 Wedding Season

I may have mentioned before, Michael and I have 5 weddings to attend this season, including our own in December. On Saturday I was at the second bridal shower of the season... second of many! I thought I'd share some pictures of my favourite things from the shower.

The presents! Look how many Crate and Barrel boxes...my favourite!

Candy / Dessert Table. How cute is this? The candy and mini cupcakes were delicious!

The pretty flower arrangments

Last but not least, the delicious cocktail menu!

Are you planning a shower for someone and using some of these ideas too? What's your favourite part of this shower? I love the candy table and the cocktails!

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)

First Garage Sale of the Season

I hope you all had a great weekend even with this crappy weather, I sure did! Friday night we had a bbq with our friends Leny & Vittoria. Saturday I hit up a great street sale, went to a wedding shower, saw Bridesmaids and had dinner at Terroni with Caitie & Torey. Yesterday I bought a fabulously overpriced dress and hung out with Michael... All in all, a great weekend! Ok, enough rambling, onto the important things, like finding great pieces for cheap!

As I mentioned, on Saturday I hit up a street sale and found some great pieces. I got an old sewing machine table (without the sewing machine) and 3 pictures frames for $7.50!! If that isn't a steal I don't know what is. Once I have a better idea of the furniture Michael and I are going to buy I'm going to sand the table and paint it. Is that hard?

Also, with the picture frames, I plan on taking out the current pictures in them and putting in my own pictures.

Check out the pieces and let me know your thoughts. What colour would you paint the table?

I can't wait to hear your feedback and ideas.

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)

Recipe Friday....Roasted Chicken with Lemon & Artichokes

Happy Friday! Is anyone else thrilled it's the weekend, cause I am.  I stumbled across today's recipe on Rachel Ray's website in the figure flattering section. I don't know about the rest of you, but I could sure use some figure flattering recipe ideas these days.

Ingredients

• 4 artichokes
• 2 heads garlic, top 1/4-inch of stem end sliced off
• 4 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
• 3 cups white wine, divided
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 4 to 5 pound roasting chicken
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 3 lemons, 1 halved, 2 sliced

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Fill a large bowl with cold water and squeeze the juice from the halved lemons into the water. Cut each of the artichokes into quarters, scrape out the inner choke and remove the tough outer leaves from each piece. Reserve the artichokes in the lemon water to keep them from turning too brown while you work.

When all of the artichokes are clean, arrange them in a roasting pan along with the sliced lemons and both heads of garlic. Drizzle everything with about 2 tablespoons EVOO, 2 cups white wine and season with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, combine the fennel seeds, poultry seasoning, onion powder, some salt and pepper. Stuff the chicken with the onion pieces and tie up its legs. Rub the spice mixture on the outside of the bird and place the chicken into the roasting pan on top of the veggies. Drizzle the chicken with the remaining 2 tablespoons EVOO, transfer the pan to the oven and roast until the bird is cooked through, about 1 hour.

Remove the roasted chicken, veggies and garlic heads from the pan, and reserve warm on a platter. Place the roasting pan over medium heat and sprinkle the flour over the pan juices. Cook for about 1 minute. Add the remaining cup of wine to the pan, cook until reduced, about 30 seconds, and then whisk the stock in, stirring well to break up any lumps. Squeeze the cloves from the reserved heads of roasted garlic into the gravy and break them up with a wooden spoon or whisk. Simmer the gravy until thickened, about 2 minutes, and season with some salt and pepper.

Serve the chicken with the roasted artichokes and garlic and pan gravy alongside.

So what do you think, easy enough, right? I hope you enjoy it!

Enjoy the Party & Have a Great Weekend,

Nicole :)

---

Tabletop Ideas

Hosting a dinner party or brunch this weekend and want to jazz up your table, well look no further. Here are some great tables I found on the Style at Home website.

Can you see yourself doing any of these?

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)

Adding the finishing touch....to your outfit!

Is anyone else loving this weather right now, I sure am! I thought to put you in a summery mood today I'd highlight some of my favourite jewelry right now. I am so in love with Stella and Dot right now and I think you all should be too. Here are some of my favourite pieces.

All of these pieces are fabulous if you ask me. Pair them with your favourite party dress, jeans and a pair of flats or a jumper and you have a great outfit! You'll definitely be the show stopper at your next event!

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)

House Excitment!

Michael and I JUST recently bought our first home and we couldn't be more excited. That said, all I think about now is how I want it to look. It's brand new house, they haven't dug a hole yet, so we have the luxury of picking everything!
I thought I'd highlight some rooms that I think are unique from Style at Home. I hope you become as inspired as me!

Which space is your favourite and why?

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)

A Wedding & Mother's Day

Hi folks,

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend, I know I sure did. I thought today I would just recap my weekend, filled with a wedding and mother's day.

Saturday we had a wedding and it was great! Being that I am still a royal wedding fanatic I decided I'd wear a hat to the ceremony. If the British can do it then so can I! I wore the one on the right that I borrowed from my Grandmother.

Yesterday we had a big Mother's Day dinner at my house with our family. Desert was one of the highlights because I had won cupcakes from What's Up Whimsy! and Sweet Escapes by Jenn. Everyone loved them. Check out how cute they were!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)

Recipe Friday... Mexican Themed

Since Cinco De Mayo was yesterday I thought I'd highlight some yummy mexican food. I was in Mexico in January and ate guacamole on EVERYTHING so I'm going to feature a great guacamole recipe today!



Here's the recipe. It's actually a weight watchers recipe which I think is great!

Ingredients:
- 1 medium avocado, ripe, peeled and pitted
- 1 15-oz. can young peas, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup chopped tomatillos
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onions
- 1/3 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1/4 cup Labane Yogurt Cheese* or fat-free plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 4 cloves chopped garlic
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
*Labane Cheese can be found at most Kosher Grocery Stores
Directions:
Put peas in a medium bowl and mash with a fork until almost smooth. Add in avocado and mash that into the peas until smooth.
Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Cover surface with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 1 day. Makes 6 servings.
Serving size is 1/3 cup.

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)

Saturday Evening BBQ Ideas...

Thinking about hosting a bbq this weekend but you aren't sure what to prepare for your guests, here are some ideas.

1. Instead of serving beer and wine why not create a big batch of a summery cocktail. Try long island iced tea or a yummy rum punch.
2. Why not try slidders rather than big burgers. Sometimes eating a big burger is too much and a slidder gives people the option to eat less and enjoy themselves without being too full.
3. Squeeze lemon, salt and pepper over broccoli and peppers and grill them up. I am a big fan of grilled veggies and think they're a great addition to any bbq.
4. To add the finishing touch, cupcakes! You all know how much I love cupcakes so why not serve them for dessert at your next bbq!

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)