And hey, 3 ingredients, 30 minutes, and a meal for 4?  Easy and gluten/dairy/sugar free…hooray!  So here it is…a simple Friday night dinner

Ingredients:  Spaghetti squash, jar of pasta sauce, ground turkey

I discovered that it is very, very difficult to find spaghetti sauce that doesn’t have sugar in it.  I would have preferred organic, but they all had sugar in them.  I know because I read ALL the labels.  So “natural” sugar free it is!  I also sometimes substitute ground chicken for the turkey.

1.  Get a big knife.  No wussy knives can be used here.

2.  Cut the squash in two.  Please ignore how unevenly I cut mine.  Paul was watching (probably waiting for me to cut off a finger) and I got nervous.

3.  Scoop all the seeds out…or guts as I call it.  It’s the only kind of guts I’ll scoop.

4.  Place in the oven at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

5.  Don’t forget to put a bit of water in the bottom of the tray!  I always forget.  Then the squash sticks and I have a sad face.

6.  Brown your meat and then add your sauce to simmer while the squash finishes cooking.

7.  Test your squash with a fork.  It should break into strands easily, but not be mushy.

8.  Spaghetti!  Well, sort of.

9.  Plate.  Take a picture of Paul’s plate.  I’m not the dainty eater in  this household.

10.  The dressing we used.  Also one of the very few “mainstream” dairy/sugar free brands I’ve been able to find.  Plus, it’s for a good cause, right?

11.  Post gratutitous photo of Izzy’s crazy ears.

12. EAT!

I won’t lie. All the shoveling had me mumbling under my breath. I stamped my way back inside with rosy cheeks, sore muscles and a dripping nose. As I warmed my frozen hands around a cup of tea, and my boyfriend and I peered out the kitchen windows at our pup measuring the depth of the snow (it was to her chest and higher…I think she wants to relocate south), I stared at the PILES of snow and longed. What did I long for? Weeds. That’s right..weeds. I found myself thinking I far prefer scooting along pulling weeds with the sun warming my head then feeling my muscles strain to lever another shovel full of snow high enough to pile on top of waist high pile.

All of this weed pulling dreaming got me thinking again about gardening and being out in the backyard. The backyard is a big deal at our house. I come home for lunch every day and will often do a quick change into a bikini and head to soak up some warmth before going back to absorb more florescent lighting. We frequently invite friend(s) to come spend a quiet weeknight or noise weekend making use of our deck. Our TV also stays noticeably more quiet during the summer months as we lounge around watching the dusk.

I recently checked out 2 books from the Grand Rapids Public Library that were both about the best types of flowers/plants for a Michigan garden. I mean we get blizzards and have temps that can hit near 100 so plants can be tricky. This has gotten me dreaming about blooming flowers, juicy tomatoes and climbing vines.

Of course, all of that led me to think more about the atmosphere in the garden. I’ve already thought a great deal about garden lights. I’ve done some research on outdoor garden lights…wait are there indoor garden lighs?! Hmmm, either those are too expensive for me or are otherwise known as greenhouse lights haha Annnyyways. Back to garden lights. I’ve thought long and hard about solar garden lights. The ease of no wiring was highly appealing. However, I think I’ve also mentioned before that Michigan has a rep. A rep for being somewhat (okay, sometimes a LOT) cloudy. How do I make sure my garden lights will last? Then I ran across some LED Christmas lights that I still needed to take to storage in the basement. Hey, don’t judge. I bought them AFTER Christmas and it was only a small pack for a wreath. Them being LED got me thinking though…I wonder if they make LED garden lights that are…wait for it (name that show!) solar powered garden lights + led garden lights = my perfect garden lights. I did a quick search on amazon (like 30 seconds) and um, yeah. Fouund some amazing stuff. How amazing would these be?

Except for the fact that they don’t hang on the wall they fit all my other criteria…modern, stainless steel, solar and led!

I also found mason style jars

How awesome in a rustic kids rooms or at a cottage (or cabin depending on where you live)!?

Oh and for the person who has everything? How about a Solar Powered Lantern and Water Bottle?! I know…I just blew your mind. I had no idea this existed, but I want it and I want to go camping just to use it.

Okay, just one more garden light I swear. This one is for my Grandma…it’s a hummingbird garden stake that changes colors.

My grandma’s favorite bird is the hummingbird…I mean how could she not love looking out her window and see a glowing solar powered garden light…that changed colors. Of course, this would mean she’d have to stay up past Jeopardy, but maybe since they’re led garden lights too they’ll last until “morning” (aka before the dawn) and she can see them then.

Ah, the sun. In the summer. Sitting in my back yard, on the deck, feeling the sun, watching dusk come, watching fireflies wake up, hear the crickets start chirping. Ugh. Stupid snow storm. Either way, it has me dreaming about green grass and sun in my backyard. Obviously with so many months spent in the cold I want to make the most out of a summer evening.

Last summer my boyfriend’s mom bought some solar garden lights for the cottage. (It seems everyone in MI has a cottage) But. I must admit that I fell in love with the idea of those lights. They provided just enough light to get me from the deck, down the steps, and to the dock. In other words, nothing overwhelming that would ruin the magic of dusk.

I’ve thought about getting a few solar garden lights for the backyard here. It probably wouldn’t be as amazing as we are in the middle of town, but I think part of me would feel like it was a bunch of candles adding some ambience. And why solar? Yeah. Like I want to change batteries or ugh…hardwire lights? No thanks.

Here’s my dilemma. As is my dilemma with the entire house. I feel like I’m decorating for the first time as a “grown up”. I want something modern so something like metal solar garden lights would be perfect. I want easy maintenance….so that would mean something like stainless steel solar garden lights. However! When I’m trying to make the most of my summer months the last thing I want to do is spend too much time on yard work. My concern with most solar garden lights is that you stick them in the ground lining a walk way or scattered in a flower bed. This means I either have to weed, trim or mow around them. I want to streamline, people, streamline! I want to wring every ounce of enjoyment out of the warmer months. I looked up the stats once for how many cloudy days there are in Grand Rapids once…yeah…it was depressing. I’ve blocked it out now and I refuse to revisit the horror to prove my point. Google it yourself and weep for me. So, streamlining. We have a wooden fence that surrounds the property on 2 sides…I’ve thought about getting wall mounted solar garden lights. I mean, that would eliminate the aforementioned concerns, and it would make a boring fence pretty. Win=win!

One of my favorite ways to spend a Sunday evening is out on the deck, sharing a drink with my boyfriend and catching up before another crazy week starts. When the last rays of the sun fade we turn on our recessed rope lights on the canopy and extend the outside evening time. There is something so peaceful and relaxing about watching a summer evening turn to night.

The deck isn’t the only area where we want to use outdoor lighting. We would like to add solar outdoor lighting lining our walkway in the front of the house this summer. I am perhaps the world’s most clumsy person so part of that is just practicality. However, there is something just so welcoming about coming home to a house that has lights already glowing. The beauty of the lights being solar powered is that there was no need to run electricity…just measure out spacing and pop them in the ground.

The options for outdoor lighting are endless, everything from modern to traditional. The possibilities for finishes are endless. Also, with everyone trying to be more “green”
and environmentally friendly there are numerous eco options from LED lights, to solar powered and energy saving models.

Two well known names in the lighting world are Kichler outdoor lighting and Hinkley outdoor lighting. Both companies have fantastic websites and extensive products listed on them. I might not want to admit how much time I’ve spent flipping through their online stores. Both have fantastic galleries to start the creative juices flowing.

Whether you choose to peruse online or take a trip to your local hardware store the bottom line is the same. Outdoor lighting can make your home have better curb appeal, expand your usable space, and bring that warm welcoming glow available for whenever we get home. So head out to your deck, your front poor or that scrap of dirt you keep meaning to do something with and start imagining.

credit pbomers

She stands strong, defiant, determined.

The angry red scars on her wrists slowly fading.

Her chin juts forward, daring, taunting, challenging.

Her feet are braced. Her hands are curled. Her muscles tensed.
Someone gently takes her hand and touches their lips to her healing wounds.

It is her light, her hope, her breath.

They trace their fingers lightly over the crisscrossing lines, oh so softly.

The tension leaves, melts, releases, relinquishes.

I’m currently moving into a new house which might expalin my uber obsession with living room furniture.  Or it could just be that I’m always obsessed.

But I digress.

Just imagine…

This couch.

This chair.

This chair. (which I’d recover in a great bold print that combined the reds and browns.)

With a fantastic cream shag rug…and bold type posters on the walls.

Oh and the cost…$50 for the couch, $25 for the red chair, and $45 for the 30′s rocking chair.  And as everyone knows…everything on CL is OBO.  Easily a brand new living room set for $100.

So, in case you haven’t figured it out yet…I love CL and decorating.  I’m constantly redecorating a house I don’t own.

Today’s deal…you must love the shabby chic look, but for around $60 you could have a new living room set.

I can just see it…the walls painted a soft creme…a plush rug on the floor…curtains fluttering in a spring breeze.  Layer on a soft pink end table, a candle stick lamp glowing, fresh cut tulips gracing the coffee table, crystals sparkling here and there..and you have a cozy space just perfect for curling up in.  Can’t you just see it?  Seriously makes me want to redecorate my nonexistent house again.

Design Crush featured him today…and I fully agree…LOVE.

I even bought LB one for our anniversary

I didn’t meant to neglect my commitment.

It’s just that it was V-day (uneventful and overrated).

And my 1 year anniversary with LB (yes, you can say awww…I might have said EEK!  A glass of Dragon’s Milk later and I was fine.)

And I was taking over as house manager at the house I co-exist in with 3 other people.

Then the truth came out about everything.

My stress level sky rocketed.

Ridiculousness soared.

So now, I’m on a house hunt.  Know of any landlords that would like to rent to an adorable, responsible, quiet, blond, by April 1st?  If so.  Awesome.

Lumiere from Disney

I don’t know why this makes me laugh so much, but it does.

Silver Candle Opera 50.00 (via CL)