Our shadowbox gallery of "All Good Things"

In this age of the cell phone and digital cameras, its so easy to take a photo, but what do we do with those photos? Photography is a hobby of mine that has really developed over the years but even before my photo skills developed, in all the places I have lived, I have always had a frame wall… which is a gallery of my favorite photos and memories.

Here's our cousin, Will, in front of our previous gallery wall, which consisted of favorite photos in mix and match colorful frames

Recently, we made some renovations to our apartment and we “upped” our usual frame wall to a shadowbox gallery. We purchased different sizes and shapes of the white Ribba Framefrom Ikea. This frame comes with a photo matte and is very well priced. I opened up my “trinket archives” (storage bins labeled: “sentimental stuff” that I have kept over the years) and we paired up photos with trinkets. For balance we let some frames just be photo frames, but in others we created full collages of keepsakes combined with photos and trinkets. The result? A beautiful, interesting, and sentimental memory wall of “All Good Things”…

Eventually, we will fill the blank space to the left and extend the gallery up the staircase...

Since we are always making memories and I’m always taking photos, we left room for extra frames (which I already purchased in the case that the Ribba frame was discontinued). We played around with order and arrangement by laying all the frames out on the floor.

Frame materials set on the floor for pre arranging...

There was also a bit of trial and error by hanging, but since our walls are white, touch ups were easy to make if needed. We liked how the different sized frames created a busy un-eveness but you could easily do a more balanced frame wall using one or even two sizes of frames.

To get you inspired, here’s a few of our frame wall highlights to inspire you to create your own gallery wall…

My college shadowbox contains: a RISD keychain, my admission portfolio slides (remember slides?), my graduation photo (I wish I still had those clogs)

First job shadowbox

I had to edit down my trinkets to fit everything into our Capri (honeymoon) shadowbox!

This cookie placecard held up nicely from KF's 40th b-day... Love this shot of KF and his brother from Halloween when they were little

One of our larger frames holds KF's band's press shot- rock on!!!

A fave photo of my brother and I as kids "contemplating the meaning of life"...

I hope our gallery inspires you to create a gallery of your own. We enjoy looking at it over and over and it has become a fun focal point when we entertain.

This project could be done on a small or large scale depending on the space of your wall. Either way, give yourself some time to gather and organize your supplies and do all the framing and hanging. We stretched this project out over a weekend; we chose photos and paired up trinkets one night, framed everything another night, then hung on the 3rd day. We especially had a lovely time choosing photos, re-living and reminiscing…

Don’t forget to leave some space for future “All Good Things”!  Xo Dani

Did somebody say fish?

There’s an interesting phenomenon of equating bathrooms with fish and underwater scenes. I’m not so against it… If there’s a bathtub and shower involved I completely understand the correlation of fun fish and wavy water- especially if you have kids. KF on the other hand, is very against cutesy fish decor in the bathroom. I think it has something to do with his South Jersey upbringing- most likely he encountered one too many bubble blowing fish tissue holders and underwater scene shower curtains. So when we decided to re paint and re decorate our main bathroom a few years ago, we brainstormed a design that looks a bit past the bubbling fish theme (but does not totally ignore it) and went with something a little bit different…

Welcome to our bathroom gallery!

Lets face it, people spend time in the bathroom. When you entertain, guests spend time in your bathroom as well so why not make your bathroom an additional point of interest in your home?

We are lucky enough to have 2 bathrooms (a blessing to any marriage) in our apartment and since KF is the neater of the two of us, his bathroom has become our guest bathroom as well. Since its still technically his bathroom, we geared the decor more to his liking. We started by removing the 3 wall mirrors that were originally over the sink and added a simple, framed mirror from Restoration Hardware. The lighting fixture from Ikea adds a lot of light while taking up a small bit of wall space. Next up, our bathroom gallery…

KF chose a deep grey high satin finish for the walls (which stands up very well to shower steam) and we framed several of his favorite surfing photos and magazine covers...

KF collected almost all of his summer beach badges over the years (and he calls me a hoarder!) so we added that colorful collection here and he recently popped in a note that I left him into the top frame.

Is it weird to have a wedding photo in the bathroom? Yes! But we see this photo more often placed here than we would in an album... plus there's some humor to it! Note: "fish" sighting #1

Another note from when we first moved in together... surf and beach watercolors... Hope Fiori

This day of the dead souvenir from Cabo hangs from one of KF's favorite surf posters

A shadowbox collage frame we put together that summed up one full year of KF's surfing

"Fish" sighting #2! The "shark motel" terrarium I made KF for his b-day last year (more about this in another post). The Sea Bright rock was one of the table names at our wedding. I made the Normandy Beach rock after this past summer at the beach with a rock I found there.

We are really happy with the way this “gallery” turned out. We get a lot of good feedback from it and it even inspired another area in our apartment. So, if you are looking for a way to freshen up you bathroom decor, look no further than your favorite photos and best kept trinkets. I promise you will really enjoy admiring them from this new perspective!

Happy Saturday (and Sunday)!  Xo Dani

With the buzz of our first official winter snowstorm predicted in NY and NJ tomorrow, I thought a re-post of one of our favorite cookie classics- the Sweet Dani B Snow Diva- would be just the thing to inspire you for a baking and icing filled snow day…

Does a JCrew sweatshirt with sequins count as evening wear?

Regardless, I’m not one to let casual attire preferences stop me from hosting a good party, so this past weekend I invited our family over for a “Happy 2012 Cheers” and a dab of Golden Globes viewing (For “serious” viewing I tivoed the whole thing to watch by myself).

Our Red Carpet corespondents dressed respectively in Martha Stewart for Petsmart and Ralph Lauren

Pizza is KF’s most requested menu item of mine so to keep it easy and casual, I set the menu around “lucky lentils”  (I wanted to make sure everyone had their fill of New Years luck) and home made pizzas.

The flower market is rather sparse at this time of year so I arranged a few small eucalyptus stems in ball jars which fit in nicely with the rustic theme

Craft paper, crayons and home made spiced nuts- a favorite snack with cocktails or wine!

I set a rustic, casual table using craft paper as a runner (setting out crayons is a must), then used these adorable “Hello My Name Is” napkins we were gifted (thanks, Zia!) over the holiday for place cards.

For a fun, Golden Globes twist, I named each person a movie star version of their name

…except there are no movie stars named Daniele or Keith! I decided to go with “Danny DeVito” and KF went with Al Pacino (long story- unless you saw the beard he grew between Paris and December 31st and the movie Serpico).

A star studded dessert plate!

My parents offered to bring Italian pastries for dessert, and after a long December of baking, who was I to refuse? Plus, I adore a good cannoli. I jazzed up the dessert plate with these amazing teenie tiny gold stars…

These "edible" gold stars a bit pricey, but a little sprinkle goes a long way!

Also, I couldn't pass up making a few star cookies...

After comparing notes from the Golden Globes website, I have added as many must see movies to my Netflix list as I can in time for Oscar. Perhaps I’ll amp up my cookie making- I do have an Oscar cookie cutter after all!- But since this was such an easy entertaining menu, I’ll most likely repeat some of these delicious items so I can sit back and enjoy another star studded evening.

I’m always happy to share a good party menu, so here’s what we served…

• Kale salad

• Pizza Bianca with Spinach, 1/2 Proscuitto

• Pizza Margherita with Baby Bella Mushrooms, 1/2 Uncured Pepperoni

• Italian Pastries (Lyndhurst Pastry)

Les Puces (The Fleas): AKA, the Paris Flea Market is pretty legendary as far as vintage shopping and flea markets go. Its nestled in to a boisterous area of Paris and its a little difficult to find, but once you do, you’ll be transported.

Speaking of my vintage coat collection, I didn't plan it but as it turned out I wore "vintage" to shop the flea... This is one of my favorite coats passed on from my Mom.

I loved this vintage cartoon flea market man! Great sketch!

The first shop we saw was craft heaven- letters, spools...

vintage hat pinnings- so beautiful and all in great condition

Keith snapped this flattering shot of me looking at shrunken furry head masks before he nearly dropped the camera and made a beeline for...

these Danish looking chairs- a refurbishing dream! But how will we get them home?

We also decided this table might bring us over the limit on baggage charges... we adore farmhouse style tables and there were a ton of them!

Les Puces is a fabulous place for decorators to shop- this linen shop has been featured in Elle

The owner of this shop yelled at me for taking a photo, but I was so distracted by the amount of full sets of silver that she had, that I forgot to ask permission (which you should)!

I can picture a wall of these in our dream beach house- I love the cataloguing

While sifting thru these vintage postcards I paused on this once since we had just heard the announcement about the pull out of troops from Iraq

OMG the Mona Lisa! (I think KF might have preferred this one to the original)

I promised KF that if I could buy a few of these I'd stop asking him for more pets but he didn't bite

There were tons of women's clothing shops... I was tempted to buy one of these stoles. I've always wanted one and the selection was amazing!

This shop owner really knew her stuff and had some fabulous furs and dresses...

...when the dress I wanted wouldn't zip up, she suggested a vintage DVF- how did she know?

You could easily spend days here sifting through but we were getting hungry...

...and a crepe complete from this crepe expert on the first street of Le Puces hit the spot!

...but next time we would try this place! Its a small restaurant tucked way in to the Flea. If only I recorded it- the singing and sounds of merriment coming from here was amazing!

We spent about 1/2 a day at Le Puces which could have easily been extended. There are many ways to visit- and some hotels even offer packages around touring the flea. On this trip we were not prepared to travel with vintage finds and in these days of extra baggage fees and bedbugs, serious flea market shopping is something that best be pre-planned.

Thanks to Le Puces, I am re inspired and I’m looking forward to hitting some of the best vintage shops NYC and NJ has to offer. (There are many!) I’m still in the market for that stole after all and KF is still talking about those chairs!

Happy Saturday!  Xo Dani

Business cards from some of our favorite places in Paris

La Fontaine De Mars: Our first night’s meal in Paris… La Fontaine is a delicious, “typical” style French brasserie. Its a great place for people watching as its a lively and fun restaurant where the hostess is lovely and seems to know everybody- lot’s of chic locals. I was extra excited when we decided to let our waiter pick “his favorite” for us for dessert and it turned out to Ile flottante! Thanks to “Martha Bakes” I knew what this dessert was… (I will never forget the day during “Martha Bakes” filming that we shot Martha making this beautiful dessert that not many people had ever heard of- lots of mouths hanging open)

Ile flottante AKA: giant, delicious, soft, marshmallow in yum caramel syrup with nuts

A graphically beautiful and delicious linzer at Josephine Boulangerie- great café too!

Josephine Boulangerie: This is a charming, beautifully decorated and delicious cafe. Try the linzer cookie which is offered with jelly or chocolate. One thing to note: this was a more difficult place to communicate in if you do not speak French, so you may want to brush up on key “boulangerie” and “patisserie” words before heading in…

Next time I'll save room for one of these petit gâteaus! Big props to the bakers at Josephine who are not afraid to decorate with silver dragée! Beautiful!

Josephine's Boulangerie decor features vintage baking items from her personal collection...

I especially loved her vintage flour container collection...

and the wall of vintage bread boards- amazing! (for me, this was a foodie museum too)

As lovers of wine and art, Willi’s Wine Bar was a must try. This adorably “casual chic” restaurant reminded me of the feel of Union Square Cafe in NYC. This is another spot where translation is a bit of an issue (luckily our waiter spoke a bit of English). The entrees were creative (but not too over the top) and delicious and (once again) we loved our dessert… warm figs with syrup and madeleines! Oui oui!

KF and I admiring the wine and wine bottle art at Willi's!

Speaking of works of art… while walking down one of the charming shop filled streets in the Marais area, I stumbled across the most gigantic meringue I have ever seen! Meringue cookies aren’t for everyone but I am a huge fan- naturally I went with the vanilla. In this case I ate dessert first as we were on our way to a lovely lunch at le philosophes where I had a much needed, huge salad with roasted chicken.

This work of art was delicious too... I met my meringue "match" at Au Coer des Pains, a small neighborhood bakery

I was really excited that we planned to meet up with some of KF’s work friends for dinner one night. Shopping in Paris is very inspirational so they were in town visiting on a work trip. They made reservations at a delicious North African restaurant called 404. Not being too familiar with North African cuisine, I was really happy they picked out the wine and appetizers (yum). When it came to ordering dinner I went with the preserved lemon, olive and chicken tagine. It was so delicious, upon return, I quickly added this recipe to my must make list! Now all I need is a tagine!

The last bite of our 'selection of Oriental pastries' tasted even better served on 404's gorgeous Moroccan platters

404's ginger tea presentation- a dramatic and a fabulous end to the meal

The decor at Georges is fittingly artsy and amazing... I loved the simple, single extra long stemmed rose at each table

Since we had planned this trip in celebration of our 10th Wedding Anniversary, we thought it would be fun to plan one fancier dinner. Keith’s co workers strongly suggested we try Georges Pompidou. (I am pretty sure this is the restaurant Carrie met Alexsander’s ex wife in Part Deux of the Paris episodes- if not, it could be) The Centre Pompidou is a tall, standout, “skeletal looking” cultural center in the neighborhood of Beaubourg. As we were riding escalator after escalator to the top, I noted this center as a place to visit on our next trip. There is much to do and many of my favorite artists are featured here. Georges is definitely a “see and be seen” type of hot spot. Its too large to call “romantic” but it does have a very sexy vibe. The menu is eclectic and features food inspiration from many different cultures. This is another tough menu to navigate of you don’t speak the language… Luckily our supermodel-like waitress began at the top and read thru every. single. menu. item. slowly. (which KF especially appreciated). While I enjoyed my burratta and heirloom tomato appetizer (I was happy to get an Italian fix), KF  very much enjoyed his veggie sushi rolls.

KF enjoying his favorite dessert of all time... molten chocolate cake. He said Georges' version was quite good but not the best we had in Paris.

Which brings us to Chez Gabrielle… On our last night in Paris we wanted a delicious, easy meal. Chez Gabrielle was in walking distance to our hotel and our friend who recommended it mentioned it as a highlight- it is listed as #13 on Trip Advisor! It has a cozy, “welcome to my home” type feel and the food was delicious- especially the potatoes gratin which are served in a mini copper saucepan.

If only I had a lighting crew with me... this photo does not even begin to illustrate the delicious decadence of the warm chocolate cake at Chez Gabrielle- served with Bertillion's dark chocolate ice cream- chocolate lovers unite!

So, as he took his final sweet bite, KF declared the molten chocolate cake at Chez Gabrielle the “best in Paris”. While it tasted very good to me, I think we might need to go back and do some more investigating! In fact, I know we do!

Here’s to every sweet bite!  Xo Dani

PS. Special thanks to my dentist, Dr. Docktor (yes, really). He is a fellow foodie and world traveler. When he heard we were headed to Paris, he excitedly opened his treasure chest like drawer of Paris business cards and told me all the “must eat” places regardless of the effect it may have had on my teeth!

Dr. Docktor with his drawer full of Paris deliciousness!

Buy the adorable Sweet Dani B bunny in hat and magic wand cookie cutters from CopperGifts and bake them up using your favorite cookie dough.

Since the bunny in hat on the larger side, sugar cookie dough is the safest bet

May the icing magic begin…

I mixed yellow, black and white royal icing and always have my tools ready to go...

Using thin SDB bottle, ice the rectangle hat band- add candy decor if you like- on this one I kept it simple...

Using thick SDB bottle, ice the black top hat... let dry for 8 hours or overnight.

Prep supplies for magic wand cookie: black royal icing, M&M's, black sanding sugar...

Note: the cracks you see at my cookie edges here are because the dough was used and re rolled several times. Since this cookie was just for a demo, I figured you wouldn’t mind. They are still delicious!

Ice black magic wand handle, add white M&M's or other candy for decor...

TaaaDaaaa! Sprinkle sanding sugar... let dry 8 hours or overnight.

Good morning, dry bunny in hat!

Prep bunny supplies: white royal icing, candy bead eyes, M&M nose, coarse sanding sugar, candy heart

Using thick SDB icing bottle, outline then fill bunny...

Add candy bead eyes, M&M nose, heart, then sprinkle with sanding sugar... let dry 8 hours or overnight

Good morning, dry magic wand!

After icing white magic starburst shape, add yellow dot to center (while wet)...

While wet, draw lines around the dot- it will look like a target (it can be a little uneven)...

While wet, take toothpick and drag line from center dot to each starburst point...

While wet take toothpick and drag lines in between points, in opposite direction...

Let cookies dry completely. Note cuteness of bunny, ask husband for pet bunny...

When bunny and wand are dry, set up beauty shot... "Zap" bunny in hat with magic wand while wishing for pet bunny even though husband said no.

Sing abra abra cadabra while planning excellent Magic Party to share them with your friends!  Enjoy your Magic Cookies!  Xo Dani

The big reveal... Christian walking in to see Nicole in her amazing dress! Photo courtesy of Bryan Duggan Photography

Nicole, you and I talked wedding theme early on- and came up with a “Winter Woodland” Wedding theme for the invitations, the paper goods, decor, favors and cake. Did your wedding theme influence your dress decision? My wedding theme didn’t influence my dress decision.  I always knew what kind of dress I wanted, regardless of my theme, which actually made it more difficult to decide on a dress.

Since we didn't want to reveal too much, I painted an abstract "idea" of the dress on the invitation

Tell us about your “buzz-worthy” dress (literally everyone was buzzing about it- men and women!) I wanted something form-fitting and not strapless (I really always wanted a long-sleeved dress) with a vintage feel.  I decided on a Jim Hjelm dress (style # 8663), however planned on changing it up a bit. Since Jim Helm’s dresses are more moderately priced than bigger designers, I had a little more freedom in my budget to do that. I had it altered to be more form-fitting with a slight mermaid shape to it and had the neck-line opened up.  Then I had swarovski crystals and pearls sewn on throughout the entire dress!  The dress came with a sash which I didn’t wear, but had wrapped around my bouquet.  I couldn’t have been happier with it!  I also love that no bride will have my dress!  I also love that if you look at the before and after photo, it doesn’t look like the same dress!

Nic and her dress sparkling at the ceremony

Your jewelry was also a standout! I am obsessed with my Elizabeth Cole “Cascading Crystal and Flower Earrings” and can’t wait to wear them again!  I love flowers and wear flower earrings practically everyday so loved wearing a super glammed-up version of my everyday jewels on my big day!  I also wanted to wear a flower ring on the index finger of my right hand.  I searched and searched but couldn’t find anything under $5000.  Two days before my wedding I found a the ring at a tiny boutique “Culture Couture”  in Montclair, NJ for $25!!!!  I have worn it many times after the wedding already which makes it even better! : )

I hope Nicole lets me borrow these earrings! Photo courtesy of Bryan Duggan Photography

The topper to your look was that gorgeous fur wrap… Where did you get it? The wrap!  I lovedddddd the wrap although when I picked it up felt so guilty about wearing fur.  (I just rented it though, right?!  That’s what I kept telling myself…).  When I was looking for a fur stole, bolero, or wrap I just kept finding the typical, white ones that so many brides have worn.  I wanted something more dramatic and unique that I could drape over myself and that would fall off my shoulders.  I thought I wasn’t going to find one, so my mother-who loves a shopping challenge- began researching. She found a store in the fur district in NYC where you can buy or rent called “Henry Cowit and Madison Ave Furs.”  They had a lot to choose from!  I picked it up on the Friday before our Sunday wedding and had to drop it return it by Tuesday.  I thought about buying it, but as an animal lover, just couldn’t do it. Also, I just kept thinking of getting red paint thrown on me fur by a crazed animal rights activist (Great S.A.T.C. episode)!

It was the perfect weather for the wrap Nicole picked out- and a gorgeous accent to her dress! Christian's suit by Theory. Photo courtesy of Bryan Duggan Photography

One last question, although I’m pretty sure I can guess the answer- What was your favorite cookie of all the woodland animal shapes we did on your wedding cake? Leeloo, of course!!!

Leeloo, Nicole & Christian's cat, stands guard atop their woodland cookie decorated wedding cake

Cheers to the newlyweds! Here’s to a sweet and happy life together filled with love and great style!    xo Dani

Raaarr! I've got my eye on you and your style! Xo

And now for my next trick...

“So how would you feel about following a magician?” Not a question I hear everyday, but, when my cousin Lauren asked me to do a cookie workshop at a magic party I was curious to find the answer to that exact question!

Ella, Lauren’s daughter and the birthday girl, is a lot like her mom and myself… we Boglivi girls (Boglivi is my maiden name) are not super girly girls. Ella’s good with pink but likes purple more and enjoys all sorts of fun after school activities- one, being magic class! (How cool is that?) Lauren knew this would be a really great birthday theme for boys and girls and she was right.

The results of some fun and amazing magic tricks!

The party started with a fabulous magician named Ben (who is also Ella’s magic teacher). He performed some super fun tricks… Slight of hand, dollar revealed in a peeled banana, bent quarter… really cool stuff! After the magic show, Ella’s Dad led the kids in piñata fun. The piñata has made a big party comeback and this was no exception.

"Hey, number 8- we are coming for ya!"

Our "magic table" setup

Next up, COOKIES! While that is how I feel about them, the kids always seem to start off a bit quiet. I showed them our workshop coloring templates and explained what we would be working on. Once I mentioned we’d be icing a magic wand that would be ‘so much more delicious’ than Harry Potter’s, the cookie decorating was off to a great start.

Magic wand work... I gave them a few ideas for inspiration

Ella's brother, Will, concentrating on magic wand icing

Ella's excellent magic wand, and adorable bunny sketch...

Next up the bunny in hat cookie… Unfortunately the magician didn’t have a tie in with the bunny in hat (Dear Magicians, Please work with me! Isn’t a bunny in hat a required prop?) so I’m not certain the kids fully got the meaning of this cookie, but no matter. As I was demoing the bunny and added the sanding sugar to make his fur, someone yelled “furry bunny!”and it was on! The kids really got into this one…

The birthday girl working on her bunny cookie

Hop to it! These bunnies aren't going to decorate themselves!

Bunny amazingness- I love the heart nose- I might have to borrow this idea!

A very well done bunny with a fabulous hat to boot!

and look at this bunny- what personality! and another heart nose... these kids are on to something!

After cookie decorating was finished, it was time for birthday cake. One of my favorite parts of a party is singing “happy birthday”. Since I have a terrible voice, I used to be shy about it, but not anymore. Last year, I got to thinking that singing “happy birthday” is one of those moments people might take for granted… like the sun and moon rising each day… but if you think about it, how many times will we get to sing it? Its a privilege! An honor! I hope I didn’t embarrass Ella too much but joined in with her parents and all her friends and we sung it proud.

Mark and Lauren jump in to help Ella blow out her candles

Birthday Party Success? Check! Birthday Party Magic? Yep, we got that too! All good things to Ella for the amazing eights!  Xo Dani

**Look for my how-to ice the bunny in hat (one of our Sweet Dani B cutter designs) and magic wand cookie coming up next post!**

Happy New Year "Lucky Lentils"

I love that different cultures associate different foods with luck. For the Italians, its lentils… “thought to resemble coins, lentils are eaten throughout Italy for good fortune in the New Year”.

I make a really delicious and healthy lentil soup so I thought a big pot of lentil soup would be a great thing to make to kick off our healthy new year. There are a few recipes that must have come to me through osmosis and this is one of them. I remember growing up and smelling my Dad’s lentil soup wafting through the house while it cooked all day in his crock pot. My recipe simplifies things a bit- cooking time is less, no crock pot needed- but it is still hearty, and yummy. Make it for yourself and enjoy it for lunch all week or serve at a brunch gathering like I did for Nicole’s craft brunch. Anyone you make this for will feel lucky!

Many of the ingredients in this soup are pantry items

Dani’s Lucky Lentils

4 cans (15 oz.) lentils, rinsed*

1 small onion- about 3/4 C, minced

Handful mini carrots- I always have snack carrots in the fridge

Handful snack celery- I often have snack celery in the fridge

5 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Wide Wheat Noodles (love the Shiloh Farms sprouted wheat version)

Chicken broth- 5 to 7 Cups

Parmesan rind

2 tsp Oregano

S&P to taste

1 lg bay leaf 

 Garnishes:

Roasted garlic

Grated Parmesan 

Red pepper flakes

Bacon or crisped proscuitto (if you are not doing the health thing this week!)

"the holy trinity" or "soffritto" in Italian

Mince “the trinity” (I use my Cuisinart chopper for this since its so quick!)- Onions first, then celery and carrots. Add to heated pot with 2 tbsp olive oil, s&p and sauté for two minutes till mushy and fragrant. Add minced garlic and sauté another minute. Add rinsed lentils, stir to combine. Add 5 C chicken broth, oregano, bay leaf, Parmesan rind. Bring to bubbling boil then let simmer on low for one hour.

The Parmesan rind adds extra deliciousness- I learned this trick from my mother-in-law who uses it in her gravy (red sauce)

Add wide wheat noodles (the wheat noodles are a healthier option and also hold up nicely in this soup without getting mushy)- for lots of noodles add 2 Cups for less add carbs add 1 Cup. Add 1 or 2 Cups more of broth depending on desired thickness and heartiness. Let simmer for another 45 minutes. Remove bay leaf and rinds (the rinds are delicious- try a piece!). For extra flavor, I like to finish this soup with 2 large cloves of diced up roasted garlic (which I always have in the fridge).

Mmmmm this was the best and the luckiest batch yet!

This soup is hearty and delicious and will serve about 6 to 8 people. Serve it with grated cheese and some crusty bread.

My resolution this year was to ‘take bigger bites!‘ (Mostly in business and life since I already have eating well covered) May luck find us all in 2012! Xo Dani

Of coarse we shared some plain "lucky lentils" with Spot and Hope... While Hope enjoyed them, Spot looked at us as if to say "Where's the beef?!"

*SDB Tip: Of coarse you can use dried lentils that are soaked overnight but like many people, I rarely have that kind of time.