Weekend in Photos

The blizzard was very kind to us. We got less than a foot of snow over the weekend, just enough to enjoy. We trodded around (walking takes so much longer when slush and patches of ice are involved), celebrated a friend's birthday at Videology, an awesome bar/video store/screening room, and had a yummy fried chicken dinner at Pies 'n' Thighs. I worked on a grapefruit concoction for this month's frocktails post, which you'll see tomorrow, and we ate this tasty stew while watching the Grammys. And now it's Monday and it's raining, which has me wishing I could stay home with some of that mac and cheese and another Arnold Palmer.

Oscar Party: Best Picture Eats

The Oscars are in just over two weeks, and I'm a total geek for award shows. Last year, I managed to come up with a pun-filled menu using all the Best Picture nominees. Warhorseradish, anyone? I figured if I could do it again this year, I should invite people over. It all started with Silver Dollar Linings Pancakes, and it just grew from there. So here's a breakfast for supper menu with nine Best Picture puns should you decide to have an Academy Awards get-together. Then we can be giant dorks together.

[Photos and recipe inspiration: strawberry, lemon and basil mimosas; cinnamon toast French toast; oven-made bacon; baked breakfast sausage; shallot-mushroom quiche; silver dollar pancakes; antioxidant fruit salad; salted brown butter crispy treats; chocolate zucchini cakes]

Get Your Shop On

Not only is Lydali one of my wonderful sponsors, but they have a mission I support and beautiful housewares, jewelry and accessories with distinct style. The online shop is a collection of curated products from all around the world, connecting shoppers to the artisans who create each item. Here are a few pieces that I think would make great Valentine's Day gifts. And if you order between now and February 14 with the promo code: VALENTINE you'll receive free shipping!

If you're interested in becoming a sponsor of The SoHo, email me at southernhostess[at]gmail.com

Valentine's Sweet: Homemade Heart Marshmallows

I decided to give marshmallow-making a try and was pleasantly surprised with how fun it was. Very sticky, but relatively uncomplicated. I used a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, since it's never steered me wrong, and included both vanilla extract and scraped vanilla beans for some extra flavor. With my handy, two-inch wide heart cookie cutter, I ended up with about 20 marshmallows. Package them up as a sweet treat for your valentine, and more importantly, enjoy some yourself in a mug full of creamy hot chocolate. Then the next time you hear Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is," you'll remember, it's these marshmallows.

[recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen]

Also, last year's cinnamon-sugary Valentine's treat.

Monthly Photo Project: February

This month's photo theme is: treasure. It could be an object, a person, a place, whatever makes sense to you. Choose one photo that captures the theme and have it ready to share on Thursday, February 28. You can post it to your blog, Instagram, flickr, wherever, just be sure to come back and share the link. If you want to email me your photo and information in advance, I'd love to highlight images from a few of you. Send it to: southernhostess[at]gmail.com. Hope you play along!

Weekend in Photos

Another fun weekend, snow and all! We had dinner in Brooklyn at Moto complete with macaroni and cheese and applesauce, one of my favorite childhood combinations. We celebrated a friend's birthday with beer and pinball. I did a little shopping and worked on some Valentine-related projects. And on Sunday, we had chicken wings and chocolate cake to go along with the Super Bowl.

Heart to Heart to Heart

Happy February! I've never had much use for Valentine's Day, but I do enjoy pink and red, elaborate boxes of chocolate and hearts. I'll be plastering them on everything for the next two weeks, just keep those creepy, bow-and-arrow-carrying babies away from me.

[spotted here: sweater; mugs; earrings; stamp heart; measuring spoons; box; socks; gloves; straws; cuff]