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After spending a week eating random leftovers and Lean Cuisines while Mr. JC was away in Aspen snowboarding with his buddies, I was craving a real meal. I never bother cooking a legitimate meal when I’m the only one home; if I lived by myself, I would lead a very unhealthy lifestyle!

He came home in the middle of last weekend’s horrific rain storm. The bad weather was a great reason to stay in and cook, so I dug around in my recipe folder for something we haven’t eaten in a long time. In fact, it was so long since the last time we made Chicken Marsala that the Marsala wine had fermented – and not in a good way! A fresh bottle of cooking wine, some no-yolk egg noodles, and a side of green beans made this dish very tasty. For dessert I whipped up Domestic Adventure’s yummy brownies. Both dinner and dessert were fast and easy to make – just the way I like it!

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless chicken breast halves without skin
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon basil, dried
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 to 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (1/2 to 1 cup sliced)
• 1/2 cup Marsala wine

Preparation:

Pound chicken to 1/4″ thickness between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Combine flour, salt, pepper, and basil; mix well. Heat oil and butter in a heavy non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Dredge chicken in seasoned flour mixture. Cook chicken until lightly browned on first side (about 2 to 3 minutes). Turn chicken and add mushrooms around the chicken pieces. Cook about 2 minutes longer, until lightly browned; stir the mushrooms. Add Marsala wine to pan. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Serve with hot cooked pasta, mashed potatoes, or rice.

Original recipe is here.

Have a great weekend!

I needed an ark to drive around Boston this weekend due to the 9+ inches of rain we received. There’s no amount of tacky green beads that would have convinced me to attend Sunday’s St. Patty’s Day Parade in such a deluge. Fortunately there are other ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than wet parades, shamrocks, corn beef, and cabbage (ick) – like adding a dash of green to your home. I find green to be very relaxing or very refreshing, depending on the shade. Our living room, painted in Behr’s Sagey, is very relaxing at the end of a long day. Lime greens, on the other hand, make me feel energized in small doses – but I wouldn’t choose to paint a room in such a bright color.

In hopes that all this rain will lead to warmer weather and little bits of green emerging from the ground, here are some ideas for injecting the color of spring into your decor.

Z Gallerie Blume Glass Tealights - $9.95

Z Gallerie Casablanca Lanterns - $7.95-$14.95

Ballard Designs Madeira Rug - starting at $129

CB2 x-ray green pillow - $$29.95

Crate & Barrel Marimekko Linens - starting at $29.95

Container Store storage box - $14.95

Pottery Barn Organic Towels - starting at $9

Pier 1 Bubble Optic Tumblers - starting at $2.18

I’m sure at least one of you will enjoy a Guinness on my behalf!

The fact of the matter is that all cribs, whether they come from Pottery Barn or Walmart, must meet the same safety standards set by the government. The main differences between “higher end” and “lower end” are the type of wood and the quality of the details. For example, “lower end” cribs such as the one we ordered don’t have wooden caps covering the screw holes. However, I’m sure these caps can be purchased at a hardware store, and I’ve got a bottle of glossy white craft paint. Problem solved.

We decided to buy Graco’s “Lauren” crib in a nice glossy white because it had excellent reviews and met my style standards: white, clean lines but not too plain, and not feminine.

Graco Lauren crib at walmart.com

It converts to a toddler bed…

Toddler bed configuration - walmart.com

and eventually to a full-size “big boy bed”.

Full-size bed configuration - walmart.com

Could we have spent more money on a crib? Sure. However, we don’t feel the need to have an heirloom-worthy piece and recognize that I (or more likely Junior) won’t always want white furniture. When Baby #2 comes along, this crib will be used by him or her just in time for Junior to move on to a big bed. Assuming the quality is as good as the reviews claim it to be, it will be $152.54 well spent. The same logic will be used when we choose a dresser (I’m eying Ikea’s “Hemnes”).

My mom and I will make a crib skirt, and I love the swatch that I recently received from Lewis & Sherron:

Kolar in Sapphire, $11.98/yard

lsfabrics.com

The informal, jagged-edge stripe is a nice complement to the nursery’s polka-dot rug, and the tonal blues will be easy to match with sheets of various colors.

Instead of a traditional crib bumper, we’ve registered for a breathable bumper. While I love the look of traditional bumpers, once the baby starts to move around in his sleep squishy bumpers become a safety hazard and need to be removed. Therefore, why spend the money or the time making one? God, my hubby’s logical nature has seriously rubbed off on me. There was a time when I would have laughed at this thought and spent big bucks on a fabric bumper, anyway!

Breathable Bumper - babiesrus.com

After the crib arrives and is assembled, Mom and I (let’s face it – mostly Mom) will get to work on the crib skirt, and the hubs and I will shop for a mattress (I’m aiming for an organic one).

Upcoming tasks for the nursery:

• Make roman shade (yep, after realizing I misread the custom shade quote, Mom and I decided to go it alone)
• Install new light fixture (no more nipple light!)
• Choose dresser/changing table
• Shop for upholstered rocker/glider
• Make alphabet cards
• Update an old college bookcase
• Update an old college lamp