cucumber ranch pasta salad

After moving and going through one of my busiest times at work, to say these past two weeks have been exhausting is an understatement! (But sometimes, food can be a blessing!)

I spent all last weekend painting our bedroom, we just got new windows thanks to our apartment management company, and we still have unpacked boxes to deal with.

Sneak peek at the color we picked. A very royal and luxurious purple. More photos to come!

We've also been social butterflies and have had plans every evening. I love to be on the go, but I think an evening on the couch sounds equally fabulous right now.

Jacob and I with the TBS "Just for Laughs" mascot. Got to see Russell Brand at the Chicago Theatre for free!

When I am that busy or slightly overwhelmed with life, grabbing something that is already made in the fridge when I'm hungry is like an answer to my prayers. (Jacob's too!)

One of my favorite summertime things is pasta salads. This recipe for cucumber ranch pasta salad was passed onto my from Jacob's uncle a few summers ago in the aisle of a grocery store, and it's stuck around ever since. Although I love pasta salad with an Italian dressing, I adore the variety that this version brings.

Cucumber Ranch Pasta Salad

What You Need
1/2 lb. small shell pasta, cooked, drained, and cooled
1/2 cup of Cucumber Ranch Kraft Salad dressing, added in 1/4 cup increments
1/4 cup of real bacon bits
3 oz. of pico de gallo, or similar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Seriously, it's that simple!

Boil water, salt it, and cook 1/2 lb. of small shelled pasta as directed on it's package. Drain the noodles, and toss them into the fridge in a separate bowl for half an hour if you have the time.

I always like to pour cool water over my pasta after it's drained to speed up the cooling process.

With the cooled pasta in hand, mix in 3 oz. of pico de gallo, or similar. I used a small container from Chipotle (oh the joys of having connections), but any will do. Add in 1/4 cup of real bacon bits, or you could cook and crumble some bacon yourself. Sprinkle in 1/2 tsp. of garlic powder. Add 1/2 cup of Cucumber Ranch Kraft Salad Dressing 1/4 cup at a time. 

Then, mix all the ingredients together. Give it a little taste test too.

After I mix everything together and give the initial test, I toss the pasta salad back into the fridge for a few hours. Inevitably, the pasta will soak up quite a bit of the dressing and you'll want to more of it, along with possibly some of the other ingredients. I always add a few more squeezes of dressing to make it the right amount of creamy.

This is such a tasty alternative to more traditional pasta salad. I love this as a snack or adding it to my lunch. Full of flavor and quite the spin on something everyone loves.

nail polished keys: make like simpler

My blog and creativity has been neglected as of late. We officially moved into our second Chicago apartment on Sunday and are going through the settling in phase. Our new digs definitely need some work, so I smell some projects, home decor, organizations, and crafts coming on.:)

Our first task when we moved in was get our one set of keys copied. We did in a downpour that trapped us at The Home Depot. At least we had many somethings to look at while we waited for the rain to subside!

The problem when you copy keys is that everything is generic. The problem with living in an apartment is you always have a whole slew of keys (I have 4 from the apartment group and one of my own). I used to have the small colored rubber grippers that went around the top of the keys so you could tell which was which. Mine were too big and were always slipping, making it a mess to try to unlock anything.

Whoever started this brilliant idea of using nail polish on your keys instead: I bow down to you. 

This couldn't be a simpler project. I painted the centers of each key with a contrasting color so it would be easy to identify. I started off with purple, blue, red, and gold. 

I discovered the gold I was trying to use just wouldn't show up, so I changed to a hot pink instead.

See? Pitiful.
 

In between unpacking a box here and there, I would layer up another coat. I think I did about 3 total to get the full saturation. 

 

In process.
 

These turned out perfectly. While I painted them I left there paper backings on and labeled which key went where.

 

Considering each key went to different things, and sometimes multiple things, I took things a notch further and carefully labeled each of them with a Sharpie. 

 

Perfect solution to something that shouldn't require much thought!

three.

Today marks the official three year anniversary for Jacob and I.

We started dating in February of 2010, but made it official on May 16.

A few days before, Jacob asked me if I'd like to go on a mini trip to Chicago. Our first trip and full alone time? Yes, please. I don't remember entirely what we did or where we ate. What I do remember is it being chilly--we both only brought fleece zip-up sweatshirts when we should've had something warmer! We walked to Navy Pier and rode the ferris wheel. The sun was casting a gorgeous glow and we peaked at the city below. We walked along the beach and I stuck my bare foot in the water. Jacob thought I was slightly insane. We flirted the entire time, and it was such a nice feeling to be actively liked. We stayed at a Hilton Garden Inn and as the sun was setting, we found a random grocery store downtown and got a bottle of champagne to bring back to the room. As the night turned to late night/early morning, Jacob officially asked me to be his girlfriend. I said yes.

Ferris wheel photo, circa 2010.

On the beach. I was laughing because my hair kept blowing around. He snuck this photo in.

Fast forward three years. We now live in the city where we officially began. Jacob had the day off and was productive setting some things up for our upcoming move. (entry and photos coming soon!) I worked all day. We met downtown on the city streets and walked to Navy Pier. The sun was shining and it was nearly 80 degrees - much warmer than years before. We walked the length of the pier and rode the ferris wheel once again. We walked around downtown before heading to Brazzaz, a Brazilian steakhouse that is exactly like Texas de Brazil. We enjoyed glasses of wine and feasted on just about everything imaginable. We walked to the very nearby train station and hoped on a train to take us home. We strolled home and broke out some Molly's cupcakes that I grabbed the day before. It was lovely. 

Ferris wheel, circa yesterday.

This is a good one to compare to three years ago. We might have baby faces, but at least we look a little older!

 

I really love that guy.

Jacob has pretty much worked nights all week, so we haven't had time together. We have a reservation for a wine bar and restaurant in a neighborhood we have yet to explore. We also have a bottle of the same brand of champagne we got from the random grocery store waiting in our fridge for this weekend. 

I love being silly and nostalgic. Those are the moments life is made of!

tutorial: polka dot nails

This was definitely a "Pintrest" discovery, but why haven't I thought of this before?

I painted my nails a gorgeous shade by L'Oreal and decided to rock my ring finger in a sparkly gold. I left it this way for a few days, but wanted to tie the entire look together. I could have painted the tip, but I wanted something fresh. 

Welcome polka dot nails with the aid of a bobby pin. 

I painted all my nails and let them dry completely. All I had to do to make these fun polka dots was dip one tip of the bobby pin into the nail polish brush. Don't add too much polish, otherwise you'll have dots that are slightly gloppy and uneven. I usually got 2 polka dots each time, one a bit bigger and bolder and the other a bit smaller. I love the balance. 

What a fun statement to make! Have you ever used a technique to paint your nails that you wouldn't expect to use?