new year week

since mauricio was in spain, my parents were in maine, that left z-dog and i all alone.
we were really, really lazy and boring for the longest 12 days of my life, and we rang in the new year weekend with a pile of dvds, homemade pumpkin muffins for brekkie and some homemade chinese for dinner. we were in bed by 1130, but got a nice surprise call from allygirl after the clock struck 12.



to fill my time, i worked on finally finishing some tarp bags that have been cut out and sitting in a box of fabric for a couple years. they're being added to the collection of bags being sold at massart this spring. they look great, and coordinate with our Flor tiles too!



my only other creative outlet on my stay-cation was cooking. i remembered this yummy baked cauliflower/pasta dish that was in my mother's top 20 dinner menu rotation as a child, so i looked up the recipe at her house and made it. sooo good, and simple. i need to remember to make it again for mauricio.



(all assembled, ready to bake)


(cheesy goodness)

RECIPE:
baked pasta with cauliflower
1 lb pasta, boiled with 1 small head of cauliflower (chopped up into flowerets, of course)
4 tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup grated romano (i think i used aged asiago or parmesan. it doesnt matter)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup shredded mozz. cheese (i used tiny mozz. balls)

cook pasta and cauli together. pour in a shallow baking dish. pour the melted butter on top, sprinkle with romano and spices. toss well, then sprinkle with mozzerella. baked at 375 for 10 min, or until mozz looks nice and melty.

**note: since it was just me eating, i halved the recipe (just the pasta, cauli, and butter amounts)

I did one last project, to surprise mauricio for when he got home.
I've been meaning to re-do the inside of our medicine cabinet for months now. i think some shaving cream exploded, and the paint was all worn away. since it was a holiday weekend, everything was closed (trust me, i tried three different places) on new years day, i dug around in my archives for some appropriate paper for this project. i ended up with a huge IKEA paper tablecloth. it was on a roll, getting smooshed in the closet.
remove cabinet from wall, cut paper to size, adhere with papersource's bookbinding glue, viola! instant makeover, boy-friendly colors, and our new bathroom penquin loves that it coordinates with his birthday suit.


(before)


(after)


(penquin)