This week’s mani is Olympics themed! I did the colors of the Olympic rings in Holo Taco “Blue Freezie,” “Lemon Sucker,” “One-Coat Black,” “Green Taffy,” and “Red Licorice,” and topped them all in “Shooting Star Taco” to represent all of the star athletes we’ve been watching compete!
For Valentine’s week, I did an all-red mani featuring five shades from Holo Taco, starting with my darkest shade, “Devil’s Advocate,” on the thumbnail, followed by “Crimson Void,” “Sacrificial Lacquer,” “Red Licorice,” and “Favourite Sister.”
Yesterday we went to St. Charles, MO, for our favorite winter event for the loved and loveless, Once Upon a Valentine. I really love this micro-festival…it’s much quieter than the sister events Legends & Lanterns and Christmas Traditions, but it still manages to retain their fun and historic charm!
It’s so nice to have an excuse to visit Historic Main Street at an otherwise dreary time of year!
Happy 2026 Winter Olympics!
I’m so excited about the start of the Winter Games, so of I course I planned a day of Italian food for us to try in honor of Milano Cortina 2026. We started the day with a trio of homemade biscotti to enjoy with our coffee (or hot chocolate, as the case may be)…orange-cranberry, chocolate, and traditional flavored with anise.
For lunch, Chickadee and I enjoyed “Zuppa Pavese,” which is toasted bread swimming in beef broth and topped with an egg and parmesan cheese…super warming and delicious! We also made a light “Frullato di Frusta,” a slightly sweetened fruit smoothie.
I guess maybe I do bake bread? I sliced this Italian bread pretty well, too!
The star of tonight’s Olympics Opening Ceremonies dinner was Carbonnade à la Flamande, a delicious beef stew braised in beer:
I also made two side dishes to go with our Italian Feast…Insalata di Arance e Finocchi, an orange and fennel salad, and Radicchio in Padella, radicchio sautéed in garlic oil and drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
The best special meals include a special drink, and we really enjoyed a non-alcoholic limoncello spritz made with homemade lemon oleo saccharum:
I think this was one of the best Opening Ceremonies dinners I’ve made!
For dessert Chickadee and I baked a Crostata di Ricotta e Visciole, which is a Roman sour cherry and ricotta tart. The filling was very similar to a cannoli filling minus the chocolate chips, and spread over sour cherry jam.
I’m looking forward to immersing myself in winter sports and Italy for the next two weeks!
Today I’m looking at a space between sections of a building looking up! When I saw this entrance at the science complex at UMSL, I thought it looked really cool. The complex is actually five connected buildings, including Benton Hall, and I think the difference between the building on either side of the entrance, plus the bank of windows going up, was something really different to see.
I went for a dark mani this week, featuring Holo Taco “One Coat Black,” topped with “Disco Dust Taco” for a hint of sparkle.
