Yummy in my tummy!

My lovely friends Sibylle and Steve recently invited me over for a BBQ. I always jump at the chance to have dinner at their house. These two foodies have a beautiful kitchen and love for cooking, so the "eats" are ALWAYS fabulous. As this was a BBQ I had been invited to, I expected to see burgers and hot dogs. Boy was I mistaken! In a GOOD way. Upon my arrival, to my utter delight, my dinner plate was quickly filled with grilled zucchini, baked potato, the BEST BEST BEST steak I have EVER had (cooked perfectly by Steve) and this really good edamame salad. The meal was delicious. I wish I could eat it all day, every day. But sadly, I don't have a BBQ (nor the food budget to buy steaks that amazing). But what I can make is the edamame salad. Granted, it's not a steak, but it was really really good. And as I discovered the other day, really really easy to make.

Cook edamame (not in the pods) according to package directions. In a large bowl mix together cooled edamame, cut cherry tomatoes, a small amount of finely chopped red onion, a bunch of roughly chopped cilantro, lemon zest, juice of one lemon, splash of red wine vinegar and splash of olive oil. The amounts of each item aren't exact. You can alter depending on personal taste. Just make sure you have enough of the liquids to lightly coat (but not drown) everything. Prepared like that, this salad makes a great little side dish. I decided to pump it up a little and added quinoa for a more substantial lunch option. Either way, it's delicious!

A little weeknight DIY

I'm a gal who likes to keep busy. I LOVE having little projects to do. And if said projects allow me to be creative or get a little messy, all the better! Ever since I moved into my new apartment in January, decorating it has been my little pet project. I have all the basic pieces that I need: bed, comfy couch (thank you Sibs and Steve), comfy chair (thank you Holly and Jason) table and chairs (thank you Ikea). But there are a couple pieces of accent furniture that I'd wanted to replace - side tables and a night stand. I have been searching high and low for a cute bed side table. Nothing too big or too formal looking. Just something I can put my fabulous reading lamp on as well as a clock, a book, and maybe one or two cute decor items. I didn't think this was asking too much. But it was proving to be quite the challenge. About 2 months ago I was looking for a place to put my cute little Ikea wooden step ladder, so I decided to use it as my bed side table until I could find a suitable replacement. Well wouldn't you know it, but this little ladder was absolutely perfect as a table! I couldn't find any actual bed side tables that I liked better (at least none in my price range). All this thing needed was a little TLC. Enter a can of Benjamin Moore Ruby Red paint. Last week painting this little ladder became my after work project. Within 2 nights it was done. The perfect little accent table for my bedroom. Now I'm just searching for the next project to get my eager little hands on!

I feel the need... the need to... clean!

I was struck with an urge on Saturday. An urge to do something I don't often (if EVER) want to do. I was struck with an overwhelming urge/desire to clean and organize my apartment! Fortunately, having only lived in the new place for 3.5 months, there really wasn't too much cleaning/organizing to do. But nonetheless, I was determined to do some Spring Cleaning! My first stop was to IQ Living on the Danforth. To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what I was looking for, but I was certain they'd have it. And have it they did! I picked up a cute little bathmat and towel hook for my bathroom. The hook is one of those the hangs off the top of a door. I've now got my bath robe hanging on it. I LOVE this thing. I also feel in love with this white First Aid box.

I decided to wall mount it and use it for storing my daily necessities: iPod, keys, subway pass, sunglasses. Now everything I need to grab quickly in the morning is right were I can find it.

(No more running around like a mad woman!)

After my very successful trip to IQ Living, it was off to purchase cleaning supplies. I treated myself to a Swiffer mop (you're jealous, I know!). Happily bogged down with all my new cleaning/organizing items, I skipped back to the apartment to begin a whirl wind cleaning spree! My little haven is now spick and span! I love it so much. So much so in fact, that Saturday night I found myself wandering room from room (this didn't take to long as there are like 3 rooms in total) just to look at how cute and clean and organized everything looked! Now the difficult part. Keeping it this way...

Why wait til May?

April showers bring May flowers. Well that's all well and good, but apparently I don't want to have to wait until May for some florally goodness. While putting away my laundry this week I realized I've got A LOT of floral prints hanging in my closet. It's a floral wonderland!

And then I noticed... Not only are these floral prints taking over my clothes, they're taking over my accessories too! On rings, on necklaces, on bracelets.

What's next? My art collection? Oh... wait...

One for me. One for you

So I've said many (many) times that I like shopping. But I also like doing good. I like helping people. (I've actually helped an old lady cross the street thank you very much!) So when I can do both, it's win win! Enter TOMS Shoes. Toms are super comfy slide on canvas loafers. They're cute and slipper like comfortable. The PERFECT casual weekend shoe. But the BEST part about these little babies is that for every pair sold, TOMS gives a new pair of shoes to a child in need in a developing country. It's One for One.

Now before you start to worry that these shoes may be a little too comfy looking or "tree huggery" fear not! After I bought them I saw them in the latest issue of InStyle. They've also been featured in Vogue. If they're good enough for Anna Wintour, they're good enough for me!

(You can get them at getoutside on Queen St.)