this is tonya (on the right, with emily):



tonya is one of the research assistants i work with; she's super sweet and hilarious and adorable, and has been totally rocking these asymmetrical cloth flower necklaces in the past week that i have just loved. they reminded me of a necklace my sister-in-law anne:


(yup, i also stalked her facebook to find this adorbs picture of her with her husband/kurt's brother, craig. i feel ok admitting this because i think it's possible she'd be more proud of my internet stalking than weirded out by it...)

posted about in her blog a few months ago, that she actually won in a contest:



fast forward to me, last night, creepily stalking her blog and trying to find a link to this person's etsy store (found it!), and scouring etsy for necklaces. here are the ones i like:





this one is so romantic and pretty--although i have no idea what i'd ever wear it with!



this one is a little more "me;" i'm strongly considering ordering it...



i actually DID order this one. isn't it so pretty?



and um, maybe also this one. what? we just got our tax returns back and i think it was ok for me to buy myself a present or two :-p i really also love the one that anne has--and the ones tonya has been wearing--i think the cloth flowers are really cool and pretty.

anyway, that's what i've been doing for the last 12 hours or so! and, y'know, going out with friends from work and sleeping. happy weekend!

i want a shirt like this, only, one that says "i <3 collichio."

want.

this is a little odd--i've never heard of this gadget before, but when i read this review, i was immediately convinced of my need of it:

Being a collector of kitchen gadgets, I purchased this a few years ago and it disappeared among the other items in my collection. I found it recently and bought some fresh garlic, drizzled it with olive oil, and sprinkled some fresh thyme over it. About 45 minutes later, the house was filled with the aroma of roasted garlic....YUMMM!!! I have used roasted garlic with mashed potatoes and will never again do it any other way. The Norpro works much better than foil as it bakes the garlic more evenly. I use this item all the time now and just toss it in the oven when I'm roasting another main dish or casserole. It's so good that you may find yourself wanting more than one, as there is nothing that tastes better than food smothered in roasted garlic.

i love cooking with garlic--it's so delicious, and so, so good for you. this is going to the top of my christmas list, just under a standing mixer (which i totally do not expect to get, because they are wildly expensive!).

DUDE.



WANT.

I wish I had known about these BEFORE tonight--I'm making tacos for a big group of people for the Fianz's birthday! Sigh.

Read about them here.

chicken in milk--sounds either gross, or DELISH.

i know it's probably a little, well, lame--but when i'm at work with nothign to do, i often pass the time by fantasizing about what i can cook for dinner for myself and the fianz. i've mentioned the kitchn, my new favorite blog, in here before, and i've been holding onto this bookmarked post for a little while now, because i lack the tools to make it, but i want to soooo badly:



it's rather famous chef (and totally adorable guy) jamie oliver's recipe: chicken in milk and lemon, and according to faith, one of the kitchn writers, it's the best bird she's ever had: "I know I'm going out on a limb with this one, but it is the truth: this is the best chicken I have ever had. It's definitely the best chicken I've ever cooked, and it was so easy I still can't believe it."

here's the recipe:

ingredients

1 whole chicken (recommended: 3½lb)
salt & freshly ground pepper
½ stick butter
olive oil
1 pint of milk
"a lot" of lemon zest (2 lemons worth)
1 cinnamon stick
unpeeled garlic cloves (10!)
sage leaves (about a handful)

directions

brown the chicken well in a big pot with butter and oil. throw away all that extra fat; you won't need it (or, save it for cooking potatoes or vegetables.) put the chicken back in the pot, add the milk, garlic (no need to peel the cloves or smash them), lemon, and cinnamon stick, along with a handful of sage leaves. put in the oven and roast for an hour and a half. faith mentions here that she's tried leaving the lid on, or taking it off, and recommends leaving it on, but, jamie's original recipe says to leave it off. i guess this is a judgement call for the individual chef to make (i will prob/def leave it on, personally, if i ever get the hardware to cook this guy!)

more from faith:

"regardless of cooking method, this dish smells absolutely divine. my husband groaned when he walked into the house. what IS that? he asked. when i took it out to get it ready for dinner, the chicken was sitting in a pool of creamy pan liquids, the milk having dissolved into small bits of curd and juice. it isn't the most appetizing looking sauce, but who cares. it was like liquid lemon gold...guys, you have got to try this chicken."

all i need is one big freaking oven-proof pot! sigh. how much do you love the red one in faith's picture? want, want, want.

here's a link to jamie's more specific recipe...and faith's blog post on the kitchn. enjoy =)