Delicious Comfort Soup

Fun Fact: I was pretty inept in the kitchen until I moved to Chicago for college last year. True story. The extent of my ability in the kitchen was boiling water for pasta (which I did like a champ!). I could also bake cookies and make cakes/cupcakes/brownies from a box, but really...who can't? Anyways, when I moved into my dorm/apartment (it was HUGE and had a full kitchen) I started experimenting with various recipes. It didn't take long for me to realize how much I loved cooking. The kitchen was a safe place and food is pretty comforting for a young student braving her first winter. Whenever I was having a stressful week, I'd pick out a recipe and cook for a while. My fantastic older brother bought me a cookbook for my birthday last year and the first recipe I made out of it remains my favorite. I don't think I've ever posted about it before so I wanted to share!!

Sausage and Bean Ragout
from Campbell's Kitchen Recipe Collection

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 pound hot italian pork sausage, casing removed
1 large onion chopped (about 1 cup)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
3 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 cans (14 1/2 oz each) diced tomatoes seasoned with garlic, oregano, and basil
1 can (15 oz) white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
1 bag (6 oz) baby spinach leaves, washed
1/2 cup grated romano cheese

1) Heat the oil in a 6-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the beef, sausage, and onion and cook until the meats are well browned, stirring frequently to break up meat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, drain off any fat.
2) Stir the broth, basil, tomatoes, and beans into the saucepan. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the macaroni and cook until the macaroni is tender but still firm, stirring occasionally.
3) Add the spinach and cook just until spinach wilts, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese. Serve with additional cheese, if desired.

That's it, kids! It's so delicious, really easy to make, and reheats like a champ. It makes a lot but the leftovers are fabulous.


In other news...
The blog is about to get a HUGE face-lift and I'm going to start offering sponsorship opportunities. To begin I'll only have ten slots 4 large sponsors ($10 for one month) and 6 small sponsors ($5 for one month). It would be a fantastic way to advertise and it's SO affordable. Email me if you are interested! SundayMorningSugar@yahoo.com.

Another Music Post

First I want to announce that I'm going to start accepting sponsors here on Sunday Morning Sugar. If you are interested in possibly sponsoring please send me an email at SundayMorningSugar@yahoo.com. My rates are EXTREMELY affordable so don't let that deter you from inquiring about pricing :). Now on to the real post...

I feel like I've been doing a lot of music posts recently (maybe not?) but I have more delightful tunes to share with you :). I've been studying a lot these past two weeks and instead of tv I've been putting some music on for background noise.

Goodnight Moon

My friend Sean recommended this EP to me and I can't get enough of it. Specifically the actual Goodnight Moon song! It's really fitting for what the weather's been doing in Chicago and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I listen to it.

Starry Eyed

I noted Ellie Goulding after seeing her name on various blogs (the only one that comes to mind now is Kara's recommendation. I'd also like to note that this chick is cool as hell and you should absolutely read her blog). Her album is fabulous but my favorite song by far is Starry Eyed.

Something Good Can Work

Two Door Cinema Club was on this alternative rock station I used to listen to on the way to work this summer and I finally got around to downloading their cd. I am absolutely in love. They have a really fun sound and when I listen to them it just makes me want to dance!

Worth the Wait

We are Scientists sound similar to Two Door Cinema club. My story with them is much the same (heard them on the radio, only downloaded recently). I think the lyrics for this song are very applicable to my life right now and they make me giggle a little. All in all, a great song on a great album.

You've Got The Love (The XX Remix)

My boss added this song to the playlist at work and I am obsessed. I already love Florence and The Machine so it's no surprise this remix makes my ears smile. Best part about it? You can download it for free! I got my copy here.

Light Bulb

I've been watching sickening amounts of weeds recently (I AM ADDICTED) and this song was on during the credits of an episode. I LOVE IT. It's so cheerful and catchy. I've been playing it over and over since I first heard it.

I hope you enjoy one (or all?) of these. What's been going on in your corners of the world recently? I feel really out of touch!
xo
Mal

Rifle Paper Company

This weekend while my wonderful friends were in town, we explored wicker park and I found this amazing stationary store. Inside that store I saw this set of prints and I have not stopped thinking about them since.

I absolutely love the sentiment of these prints.

For people who struggle with depression (me!) it's always healthy to remind yourself that bad days happen but don't have to last. I love little reminders that each day is fresh and you can make it what you want. I thought I'd share so that maybe one of you could feel a little pick-me-up as well. You can buy one or both of these prints here at Rifle Paper Company.

xo
Mal

I disappeared!

WOW I don't usually go this long without a post. There are a few times each year where I seem to drop off the face of the earth because I am swamped with work for midterms or finals. This past week has been EXTREMELY hectic (shit, this whole month has been kicking my ass) and I just couldn't find the time or inspiration for a blog post. I had my two of my very best friends in town visiting this weekend and after some quality time with them I'm feeling rested and ready to kill week two of midterm mania.

Things I have to do this week:
-Study for my Nutrition Final
-Sew like 10 seam samples for my garment construction class
-Study for my advertising final
-Write a paper for my international advertising class
-Make MORE doctors appointments for thanksgiving week (gotta cram them all in while I'm in Arizona)
-Fill out paperwork for knitting club (umm that's right. I'm starting a knitting club at Columbia. Whattttup?!)

And then on top of all the studying and homework I need to do, I'd like to get ahead on the homework that will be due next week because Halloween weekend will be busy busy busy. My question for you is, does life ever slow down or will I always feel like I don't have enough hours in my day? Hopefully I'll settle into more of a schedule soon. I can't remember if I mentioned my new job so I'll just say again that adding work to my already hectic schedule has made me feel like a crazy person. I'm so excited to have a job though! Okay enough of the mindless prattle, I want to share my weekend with you!

My friends Kristina and Sean (literally the cutest couple in the world. Don't challenge me on this. I will cut you.) visited me this weekend. I've been friends with Kristina for NINE YEARS and Sean's been in my life for about 3 years now. I love them both so much and whenever I see them we have a blasty blast. I showed them my favorite places in Chicago (food...) and we spent some quality time baking and snuggling in my apartment. It was really wonderful. I don't have too many pictures but I'll share some of what I've got!
Sean and I baked some lemon cupcakes. The frosting was a catastrophe but they ended up being pretty delicious!



Had a little photoshoot...



We got matching temporary tramp stamps (Poor sean. We make him do so many things haha)





See you all tomorrow
xo
Mal

Old Goals and New Goals

So last year I set twenty goals for myself as a challenge for the coming year. I think it's nice to set measurable goals for yourself so that you're always working on being a better person. I ended up completing most of my goals and I'm pretty proud of myself! I thought I'd share a little breakdown of the goals I accomplished and briefly mention those that were overlooked.

1) Read 50 books

I didn't read 50 books, but I did read 22 books and I think that's pretty damn good! My favorite book of the year was a toss up between Bright and Shiny Morning By: James Frey and How To Make Love Like a Porn Star by: Jenna Jamison. Both were fantastic reads. For the complete list of books I've read, check out my book club page.

2) Learn to crochet

This was a fun goal. I taught myself the basics of crochet but I am by no means a master! I'll have to practice this year and get better (one of my goals has to do with that!)

3) Save $5,000
HAHAHAHAH WHAT A JOKE! I have no job and I'm a college student. Saving $5 is a feat. $5,000? Definitely didn't happen. I have a job this year and I've set a much smaller savings goal that I think is attainable. Better luck next time Mal!



4) Paint a picture worthy of being hung in my home
I did this! I painted a few pictures with my little brother over winter break last year and they are hanging in my room back home. My favorite was this little green monster! Really silly and simple but so fun to make and so cute in my closet (yes, there is a monster in my closet). I painted another piece for a class I took last semester for an assignment on self-reflection and I liked that one a lot as well :).

5) Participate in an art festival
This also didn't happen. I researched it quite a bit and realized that I'm not quite ready to put the cash down for this. It's really expensive and requires a huge commitment so I'll have to put it on the back burner.



6) Set up and maintain an etsy shop
DONE! I made Jacques and Jill this year. I sold some earrings to some fabulous customers (some of them are readers!) and have it stocked with pretty knits for winter right now. Accomplished!

7) Learn to sew
Again, I am by no means a professional with this goal, but I am learning. I am almost done with my first project ever (a dress) and I can sew a whole mess of different seams so I am considering this ACCOMPLISHED! I have a continuation of this goal for the coming year :)

8) Learn to felt
I decided to felt soap for this goal. The verdict? Not fun. I was a complete failure at felting. But at least I tried! Maybe I'll try again someday. Not for a long time though. I found the whole process to be quite tedious and frustrating.


9) Sell at least 15 handmade items
Thanks to all of you I was able to accomplish this goal :). Not much to elaborate on here...

10) Learn to cook tofu
This may be my favorite accomplishment from the past year. I eat tofu about once a week now and have attempted many different recipes. Some of them have been great, some have been not so great. I'm happy to have the knowledge though!

11) Hit the gym at least 3 times a week
If I'm going to be honest with myself, this goal was not accomplished. Even if I had made it to the gym 3 times a week all year I wouldn't have been able to go for the week and a half I was down because of my wisdom teeth over the summer. I did, however, make it to the gym more than I have at any other time in my life so overall, I'd say this goal was a success. Lifetime fitness is really important to me so making an effort to stay healthy will always be a goal of mine.

12) Learn how to do my makeup
I picked up a few new tricks this year for makeup application and then I realized that I don't wear makeup because I just don't like it. When I go out, I use this tutorial from Cupcakes & Cashmere to do my eyes but on a day-to-day basis I'm content just wearing mascara.

13) De-clutter my life
CHECK! I have this problem where I really like to clean (thanks mom...) and purge my life of excess material things. I annihilated my room at home this year and after midterms I'm going to deep clean my apartment in hopes of creating more space.

14) Take a cooking class
This goal was SO MUCH FUN that I'm doing it again this year. I took a pasta making class at The Chopping Block and it was fabulous. I can't wait till I have enough money to take another class. If you live in Chicago and have any interest in cooking I would highly recommend taking a class here.

15) Keep up with my writing (blog or journal once a day)
I did really well with this goal. I took a couple mental health days from the blog but I've journaled really consistently and I've been writing a private blog that is more about my personal struggles and day to day musings.

16) Officially decide on a major
After a year of pretending I could handle the pressure and lack of stability a job in fashion design would provide, I officially changed my major to marketing and I've been extremely happy with the results. I love all of my classes and I know I made the right decision.

17) Come up with 5 tutorials for blog
Did that! You can find them too if you click here, here, here, here, and here.

18) Get straight A's in the spring semester
FAIL! I got a C in art history and A's everywhere else.

19) Find a way to help pay for school
I applied for more scholarships and didn't get any of them. Apparently Columbia College Chicago doesn't appreciate dedicated students who get consistently good grades and participate in after school activities. Sweet...

20) Become certified in something (anything!)
I am certified to use the wood, metal, and plastic shops at Columbia. So if you need me to use some power tools, I am officially allowed to do that :).

And to see the goals for this year, check out my birthday goal page by clicking here. I'm really excited and I've already gotten started on a few of them!

Sorry this post was SO LONG. I generally try to keep them a bit shorter than this.

xo
Mal

It's My Birthday :)

My birthday was...
lots of laughing (I cover my mouth when I laugh really hard),

silly pictures with good friends,




and a pretty rough cold :(. Despite a fun night with my friends I still have a cold ravaging my system. So today I spent the majority of the day in bed with homework. What a crazy birthday!

Don't miss the birthday giveaway! It's a good one and it goes to a great cause :).

I'll see you tomorrow with a post about my goals from last year and to announce my new goals for this year!
xo
Mal

Hold on to Summer

Is anyone ready for winter? I mean, really. Anyone? Because I'm definitely not. My lovely best friend Kristina Marie makes these CUTEE flowers out of scrap fabric and old clothes and after months of begging she finally sent me pictures of how to put one together :). In the spring and summer you can attach a bobby pin to the back of them and wear them in your hair but in the winter I'd suggest attaching a pin to the back and dressing up your hats/scarves.

She just sent me a bunch of pictures so I'm going to let them do the talking :).








I almost forgot! She did offer me one bit of advice for readers who don't sew. She said the worse you are at sewing, the better because it gives the flower texture when you do a sloppy job with your stitches. So this project is for ANYONE! If you give it a try, be sure to show me the link so I can check it out.

And don't miss the mini-giveaway for my birthday right here.

xo
Mal

Birthday Giveaway!!

I shouldn't get to have all the fun on my birthday weekend...right? In honor of the end of my teen years (yup! I'm going to be turning TWENTY) I decided to host a little giveaway for all of you. I decided to give one of wild olive's patterns (totalllyyyy stole this idea) because all of the sales from her shop this month go towards a fabulous cause. You can read more about it on her blog.

I'm giving away this happy birthday pattern set...

And your choice of one other set from her wonderful shop!!

"Wow Mal, this is great", you say. "But HOW DO I ENTER!?"
Well kids, that's a great question. You can do any combination of the following!

1) "follow" my blog
2) tell the world!! Blog/tweet/facebook/run around naked on the streets yelling. It's really your call.
3) comment below and tell me what kind of post you want to see more of and what kind of post you never want to see again

If you do all of the above, please leave me separate comments for each entry so I can keep track. If you blog AND tweet AND facebook AND run around naked I'll give you an entry each for those acts of love. Again, be sure to leave individual comments for each entry and link to the blog post/tweet/etc.

I'll be back later today with a real post. Happy Friday everyone!!

Time to Dance

Do you ever get tired of everything in your closet? I’m having a serious clothing crisis as of late and I feel the need to purge. A lot of the things I wear have been around my closet for years and I’m tired of them. I’m considering a big purge. I guess this would fall along the lines of a sort of spring-cleaning. This will only be my second winter…ever…but I feel sort of boxed in when the weather starts to turn. In an attempt to avoid this feeling, I want to clean! And to keep it lively, I’m going to listen to some fun dance/clubish music. I put together a playlist for my fall-cleaning and I thought I’d share it with you. Enjoy!

1) I Can Talk By: Two Door Cinema
2) Stutter By: Maroon 5
3) You’ve Got The Love By: Florence and the Machine
4) I Bet That You Look Good On The Dance Floor By: Arctic Monkeys
5) Creator By: Santogold
6) Dull Life By: Yeah Yeah Yeah’s
7) Hold The Line By: Major Lazer
8) New In Town By: Little Boots
9) Orange Shirt By: Discovery
10)Swimming in the Flood By: Passion Pit


note: I tried to post this yesterday but blogger wouldn't work for me. How frustrating is that?

See you tomorrow after a LOT of sleep. I have to post a real update. This week has been insanity.
xo
Mal

Milk and Honey

This weekend when my family was in town I took them to some of my favorite places. My mama and I were shopping in wicker park and we started to get hungry. I've been wanting to try Milk and Honey for a while and I decided this was the perfect opportunity! Turns out, this restaurant is adorable and the food is DELICIOUS.





I have some fun DIY's coming to you later this week courtesy of my best friend Kristina :). Get excited!
xo
Mal

Done a lot of great things in my day

My 20th birthday is rapidly approaching (this sunday!) so I thought it'd be fun to share some pictures of birthdays past.

My actual BIRTH day :). Hey there baby mal!

My 4th birthday party

My 15th birthday (I think...)

Sweet 16 :)

Sweet 16. Paint war party!

My 18th birthday party with my family.

I went to a concert for my 18th birthday instead of going to homecoming (senior year!) so to compensate I wore my homecoming dress to the concert. Icing on the cake? My homecoming dress was my grandma's prom dress :).

Alas...The most memorable gift from my 19th birthday. The cat that waves at you. The subject of countless apartment conversations over the past year.

I love looking back in time :).

xo
Mal