my little pal

out to lunch on friday with my niece maya. :)

new project

So, in addition to being a contributor to Small Kitchen College, i've decided to also chronicle my cooking adventures on my own little blog called Love You In The Kitchen. So follow me for something a little different than what I post on here :)

lil vacation

this weekend ruled. my boyfriend (mike) and i drove up & spent time in burlington, vermont visiting my best friend abby. it was really really so good. it's such a great little city & the six hour car ride went by so fast because the scenery was just so beautiful and i had a great person to ride in the car with. i don't know, after this past week it just felt completely 100% good to get away.

i just love relaxing with two of my favorite people on earth. i'm sad it's over but thankful it happened.

ate lunch at the skinny pancake (my third time there!) which is a delicious creperie right on lake champlain.
strolled around the farmer's market
a lil sean connery shrine in abby's apartment. ya know.
abby!
mike!

iced coffee & record shopping time

beer tasting/tour at the magic hat brewery! so good. realized that my favorite is their "#9" with 'humble patience' following close behind. it has hints of chocolate in it & is their first beer ever.

driving to shelburne farms & inn
pigz
shelburne education center

so beautiful & peaceful there.

the view from the shelburne inn

gorgeous interiors at the inn

bffs

my favorite guy.

and on the way back home this afternoon we pulled off to stop at a flea market/antique mall. this place was filled with gems.

bye vermont, i love ya.

posies flower shop

Now that i'm (finally) armed with an iphone, get ready for lots of instagram pictures on here! I've always wanted a good quality camera on my phone because I like the idea of just snapping quick photos with my phone rather than lugging around a camera at all times. Instagram & hipstamatic have not disappointed. I'm in love. So yes, i'm riding that iphone picture train all the way to town and yes i've realized i've arrived a little late.

I want to do a post every now and then of different pictures throughout my week. Since I don't share that many personal photos on here, i'd like to start. I feel like iphone pictures are a good way of getting me into the routine of it, but don't expect any "THIS IS WHAT IM WEARING TODAY" posts. Oh hell no.

Since my NYC internship is almost over, I will be spending more time in my Mom's new floral shop helping her out. So to kick off this new 'photos of my week' idea, I figured I would feature my day today at the shop.

My Mom started Posies in the spring, after years of doing flowers for weddings out of our garage/home. It was finally time to open up a store and go public with all of the beautiful work she's been doing. In addition to being a florist, Posies also offers a bunch of unique and beautiful home items & gifts.

Walking into Posies is like a little breathe of fresh air. It's a tiny piece France in the middle of NJ. Every item and every flower is pretty, feminine and perfect for making any day a little brighter. I'm not just saying that because I 'have to', I'm saying it in the most honest way ever. It's just an all around precious place to be whether you want to pick up a bouqet of fresh flowers, grab a couple of picture frames & French inspired pillows, or a greeting card for a loved one.

i.love.this

Sarah Jessica Parker by Mario Testino for Vogue US August 2011

(love SJP and her little family)

brown bag challenge!

Packing your own lunch is not just something for little kids with lunch boxes in the cafeteria. Bringing your own lunch not only forces you to get creative with cooking and/or thinking ahead but most importantly it saves you money! I know that bringing my lunch to my NYC internship has been kind on my bank account and has eliminated the whole 'wandering around figuring out what I wanted to eat' thing (especially on a 45 min break). Pack it the night before, put it in the fridge & grab it in the morning whether you're going to school, work or even picnic-ing with some friends. Easy as that. What makes it even easier is if you have an adorable and functional little accessory to help you store that lunch of yours.

Kick your bagged lunch game up a notch this week & get involved with this Small Kitchen College giveaway! You can win some great BuiltNY products!

Check it out plzzz. It's a fun and easy way to get some new cute stuff and get you started on packing lunch (and savin' some bucks)

photo source

So, i've got some cool news! I'm finally going to be able to combine my love for cooking and writing/blogging as a contributing writer at one of my favorite spots on the web Small Kitchen College. I applied on a whim a couple of weeks back after a particularly depressing day at my other internship (seeing that they were hiring new writers was like a little sunshine burst) and what-do-ya-know, I found out (on another particularly depressing intern day) this week that they wanted to have me on board! I'm so very very excited. Being able to put myself out there with my writing (and even my cooking!) is something that I've really wanted to do.

If you haven't checked out Small Kitchen College or Big Girls Small Kitchen (or their fantastic new cookbook with a forward by Ina Garten!), please do so. It's really the perfect site for 20 somethings who are on a budget, love to cook & want a little something extra than what other foodie sites out there offer. Not to mention, how f-ing adorable is the site layout? I can't even. Needless to say, I am very thrilled about this. I will be posting on here (and on my twitter & facebook ) about any updates for the site since I really want to take part in spreading the word to as many people as possible.

There is already something exciting going on all next week on the site that I will be posting on here as soon as I get more information! So stay tuned :)

On another note...i'm on the quest for new music. I'm slowly succeeding but I've got to admit, i'm late to the Broken Bells party but i'm lovin' them.

as usual, i love her. and want her cookbook. and to be her friend.

being home reminds me how much i love to cook. infact, i'm cooking for someone very special right now. summer is going too fast.