Eating close to home

Huffington Post tells me this is the Week of Eating In. In an effort to plan more nutritious meals and save some green, I've decided to take the challenge. One week, all homemade meals, all the time. It sounds easy enough, but I always get antsy after a couple of days and crave a break from the kitchen. 

But what to make? I started thinking about dishes with leftovers I would love enough to eat and ingredients I could reuse so I don't end up with a bushel of cilantro in the fridge. Here's what I have so far:

• Roasted chicken with vegetables 
• Vegetable quesadillas 
• Moroccan chicken and couscous 

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but that sounds yummy. Now I just need to plan a couple more meals and the week should be set. Wish me luck, I wouldn't want to let Arianna down.

Valentine's Day warm fuzzies

Ordinarily I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day, but as this year is all about trying new things I decided to send homemade cards to my nearest and dearest. Lord knows I have plenty of crafting supplies and it was an ideal way of using the scrap-booking paper I found in the dollar bin at Target. Each card was also embroidered with a different cutesy message.

It felt good to set aside time to work on the cards and it was exciting to put them in the mail. I'm normally not this sentimental, but I thought it would be a nice gesture and could brighten someone's day. The cards were a hit. My mom cried when hers arrived.

So Valentine's Day went off without a hitch and now I have more ideas on what I can make folks for upcoming holidays. St. Patrick's Day embroidered coasters anyone?