For the love of eating...

 I am told that as a baby I spent quite a bit of time playing with carrots in a vegetable box on the  floor of a legendary Harvard Square eatery kitchen. You see, my father was the head chef, and surely I was kept a safe distance from open flames and falling knives until my mother was able to get me after work.

Questionable parenting tactics aside (Kidding, I love you guys), this is the root of my obsession with food. Making it, eating it, thinking about it, photographing it, using it to make friends...

Usually, quite healthy and simple, my recipes are easy to make and full of fresh, in season ingredients. Beware though, I have been known to use butter and cheese freely, because, hell, you only live once! Each week I will give you a recipe from my kitchen that got a rave review from my CTO (chief tasting officer, Ty).

This week's recipe is Soy-Marinated Bison Flank Steak & Salad. 

Mmmmmm, give it a try and if you enjoy it, leave a comment and let me know how it went!

1.5 lbs bison flank steak
 (you can definitely use beef here, I just like the tender and lean meat of bison better…and it was on sale at Whole Foods)

¼ cup organic soy sauce

¼ cup good extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons of brown sugar

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

Juice of 1.5 lemons

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Big handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

A sprinkle of sea salt and fresh black pepper

Marinate for 4-6 hours

Wash and pat dry a half pint of grape tomatoes.  Toss in olive oil and salt. Put in oven at 330 for 45 min (until wilty), remove and let cool to room temp

To cook steak:

Heat a large flat non-stick pan to high heat

Drain the marinade and pat the steak dry with paper towel

Sear for 2 min and turn down the heat to med-high

Only flip once, sear on both sides for about 5 min (use a meat therm to check temp in the thickest part of steak…130degrees for med-rare

(you can also do this on the grill, same prep)

Remove from the pan and let rest for 10 min before slicing to seal in the juices

Toss a mix of arugula, baby kale and cilantro in a drizzle of lemon, olive oil and S&P

Top with gorgonzola crumbles, oven roasted tomatoes.

Slice the steak, serve with salad on top and a chunk of fresh warm baguette

Cheers,

Bee

*Sigh*...I finally get to decorate

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've never had a full home to decorate before.  Living with various roommates, I never got to put up old black and white photographs of my grandparents. Nor was I ever willing to use the beautiful serving platters handed down from my mother. Novelties that remind me of my best friend never seemed appropriate for a shared coffee table. You get the point.
The time was never right...until NOW!

I wanted to make our apartment the PERFECT combination me, him and us.  Luckily his penchant for all things mountain and Pacific Northwest goes nicely with my East Coast beach cottage.  Think beachy treehouse chic.  Snapshots of the faces that mean the most to us, along with artwork made just for us by loved ones complete the look of our home. Now, how to arrange ALL OF THIS STUFF!

After a long, drawn out, move in process, it is finally coming together a month later.  We still have to build the bookshelves that he's designed and building from the pallets we scored for $20 at an old warehouse last weekend. (I really am the luckiest girl to have a boy who is so handy!).  The television and flip up dinner table also need to be mounted....but nothing has ever looked more like home :)

Here are some highlight photos for now...more finishing touches to be shared later

xoxo,
Bee

Our Room

Bath

Guest Room & Office (a.k.a. my dressing room)

Modern Kitchen

Living space

Keep Calm and Move West

This month was full of firsts.

First cross country drive (Mae's too).

First time living away from the Atlantic Ocean.

First lease (don't judge, I'm a late bloomer).

First home to DECORATE however my heart desires.

First electronic friendship (SIRI and I have become real close now that I ask her how to get everywhere...again, don't judge, Boston girls are not wired to navigate straight lines).

It was also my first grown up move.  I've moved in the past...bouncing around the east coast so much, I could make a beach ball jealous.  This time was different though. I hired a shipping container.  We chose to save $200 and load it ourselves.  In the rain. It was hard, I cried. 3 hours later,  I locked up the box and prayed that the majority of my earthly possessions would, in fact, make it to our new home, 982 miles away.  

I spent one last week with tear filled eyes, reminiscing with my best friend and mom, planning summer visits.  15 days later, the shipping box did (sort of) arrive without a hitch and I splurged on movers for the heavy lifting.  Best money I've ever spent. Sadly, I wasn't here to receive it, I was away on a business trip...thank goodness for Ty!

Check out some fun photos from the move!

Her first hotel stay in Ohio...safe to assume she loved it  

Duff's- The inventors of Buffalo Wings (In Buffalo, duh!)

Farmland in Up-state New York

Lap dog

Niagara Falls - Canadian Border and the ice boom!

Sniffing the smells of  Gary, Indiana

The big skies of Pennsylvania

What's this all about?!

oh, hello!

Welcome friends, new and old.  This is my blog, it's new (hooray!).

 I guess you could call it a 'lifestyle blog'...

 I am going to share some tips on casual home decor, simple tasty recipes I've created (mostly very healthy), entertaining ideas, blissful domestic tips, fashion styling, and general banter from a New England girl in the wild plains of the mid-west.  Ok, fine....wild is just an exaggeration.

Read.  Share. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Bee