An Irish blessing (printable).

Update: This post received the most views from Julie's St. Patty's link party! Thank you Julie :)

We're hosting our book club today, so I'm finally getting around to taking down our Valentine's day decorations (it's been a busy month!). Our walls looked a little bare without the heart wreath, so I made this sweet printable Irish blessing to take it's place. 

Sláinte is the Irish (or Gaelic) way to say cheers, and means "to your good health." Here is the pronunciation. I love the sentiment of this blessing.

I found this amazing font here. Click on the image to go to the full size version, then drag and drop to your desktop, or right click and select save. The image is sized for an 8 inch by 10 inch frame.

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Cheesy sausage and zucchini casserole (recipe).

Casseroles are such wonderful comfort food, especially in these wintery months. This recipe is one that I have made several times this winter; it's easy, it's hearty, and it's a whole meal in one dish. I came up with the recipe in the fall when we had an overabundance of summer squash to use up (from the farmers market).

This makes enough for three to four people, but it is easy to double or even triple the recipe. Just make sure to bake it a little bit longer if you multiply the recipe.

Emerald isles (treasury Tuesday).

I can't believe St. Patrick's day is less than a month away. February is flying by! To get in the spirit, I made a treasury inspired by Ireland.

Emerald Isles

I'm also excited to tell you that my Etsy shop is sponsoring a giveaway over at Laura DeLuca's blog. Head over there to win a trinket box and gift certificate from MdoubleM.

Hot Fashion by SFBeads

I just love this vibrant red collection by SFBeads! It's so bright and cheerful; I had to include it here.

A card for your sweetheart (DIY).

I made this card a few weeks ago to give to the hubby for Valentine's day. Then I realized that I couldn't post it here before I gave it to him, d'oh! Even though I made this for Valentine's day, it would also make a great birthday or anniversary card (or an anytime card! Who says you need an occasion to give a card?).

This is a fairly simple card to make, but I love how the choice of the maps makes it entirely unique and personal for each couple. You can use any places that are meaningful in your relationship. I chose to use Los Angeles (his hometown), Ithaca, NY (my hometown), and San Diego (where we live now). Actually, I was originally going to use three places in San Diego that are special to us, but I screwed up while cutting out the hearts - oops. 

Cranberry chocolate chip scones (recipe).

A few years ago, I worked at an incredible little bakery that made the best scones. Unfortunately the bakery is no longer there, but luckily I still have the recipe for those scones. These are also great with other kinds of dried fruits, or even plain. 

The original recipe made several gallons of dough; this version is scaled down to make approximately 16 small scones, which always seems to be the right amount for us. These are great on their own, with coffee for breakfast, or with ice cream for dessert.

Versatile blogger award!

Last week Dana from The Sunshine Bride awarded me with The Versatile Blogger Award!

I'm so honored, and now it's my turn to share the bloggy love! Dana's an awesome girl, and she's going to be a beautiful bride. If you are planning a wedding, or know someone who is, be sure to check out her blog for great DIYs, fashion trends, planning tips, and other wedding advice.

The rules for this award are:
1. Thank the person that nominated you with a link back to them (see above).
2. Tell 7 things about yourself (see below).
3. Pass this award on to 15 newly discovered blogs and let them know that they’ve received an award.

Incredibly easy paper towel holder (DIY).

We have a tiny kitchen, and counter space is always at a premium. Our paper towels used to sit on the counter top, but a few weeks ago I got fed up and decided I needed a way to suspend the roll from the cabinet in order to free up some precious space. I also decided I needed it IMMEDIATELY (I'm not a very patient person, which frequently leads to me making up quick fixes such as this... admittedly with varying levels of success). I honestly think this took me less than a minute to put up. 

We've been using this for several weeks now, and it works great. The paper raffia is stiff, which makes it easy to thread through the paper towel roll. Of course, this isn't the prettiest solution, but it was free and fast (and we're renting, so I'm not willing to spend much on improving the place). 

~ Update ~

After about two months of use, the raffia ribbon started to fray and eventually snapped. It was easy to replace, and I'm still very happy with the paper towel dispenser. I'll probably replace the raffia with something more durable soon.

Crock pot chicken and black bean burritos (recipe).

After about a month of playing with my crock pot, I've learned a lot, and I've gained a lot of confidence using my slow cooker. In fact, I'm proud to give you my very first completely original crock pot recipe! I pretty much made this up as I went, and I am so happy with the results.

This recipe makes 4 to 6 servings, depending on how hungry everyone is. I love that it only requires a few minutes of labor at the beginning and end of cooking. I let it cook for 10 hours, but I'm sure that you could use the high setting to speed up the process.

The sweet things in life (treasury Tuesday).

Here's a treasury that's sure to satisfy your sweet tooth...

The sweet things in life.

There's not much else going on tonight, but stay tuned because I have an extra post scheduled for this week that I'm pretty excited about!

Paper heart garland (tutorial).

We needed a little more Valentine's cheer around our house, so when I saw this felt garland on Pinterest the wheels in my brain started to turn (the original is in Chinese, but the pictures are pretty self explanatory). 

It took me less than an hour to make both garlands, this is such an easy project. Using paper means there's no sewing, plus you probably already have everything you need! I did two slightly different versions, so don't forget to scroll down to see the second one. 

Pasta carbonara (recipe).

Pasta alla Carbonara is one of our favorite quick dinners to make. It's rich, creamy, hearty, bursting with flavor, and at this point I could probably make it in my sleep. I'm not sure where I got this recipe from originally, so I can't tell you how authentic it is, but I can tell you that it is delicious.

The measurements for this don't have to be precise; the hardest part of writing this recipe was translating splashes, handfuls, and pinches into actual measurements. I like to use thinly sliced pancetta (I cut it into small pieces with my kitchen scissors), but cubed is good too. You can use bacon in place of pancetta for a smokier flavor, and you can adjust the amounts of garlic, parsley, pepper flakes, and cheese to your taste.

EDIT: I'm honored to say that this was featured by Alison over at Oopsey Daisy!