Seven Days of Giveaways: Volume Twenty Five

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

Remember my review of Vol. 25's charming prints earlier this week? Well, as promised, Jessica from Vol. 25 has generously offered one lucky winner their choice of 8x10 print! This giveaway marks the kick off of seven days of giveaways here at Sogni e Sorrisi, just a little something to say thank you to all of you and to celebrate reaching over 400 followers. So thanks again and stay tuned for more!

How to Enter

Giveaway is open to all followers of Sogni e Sorrisi (both new

and old). Just visit the Vol. 25's Etsy or Zazzle shops (all info

about the various products Jessica creates can be found here)

and let me know what your favorite item is. Easy, right?

Extra Entries

1. Follow me on Twitter. If you already do, thanks! Just leave a comment letting me know.

2. Tweet about this giveaway. To make it easy you can tweet this:

Just entered the #giveaway @SogniESorrisi for a @vol25 print. http://tinyurl.com/22ufpuu

3. Follow Vol. 25 on Twitter.

4. Visit Volume Twenty Five's blog and sign up for their newsletter.

5. Like Vol. 25 on Facebook.

6. Blog or Facebook about this giveaway. Please put the link in your comment.

7. Receive 10 extra entries if you purchase something from Vol. 25.

Just forward proof of purchase and let me know in a comment!

Giveaway open until September 3, 2010.
Winner will be chosen at random.

Thanks for entering, thanks for reading and I hope you have a really, really wonderful weekend! Oh, and don't forget that today is the last day to enter to win a gorgeous Tea Accessories headband! xo

Adventures in Food: Pasta e Ceci

I have to admit I slack a lot when it comes to being adventurous in my cooking. Fact is, most of the time I'm tired and, yes, a little bit lazy and I tend to fall back on old favorites that I know taste great and are fast to prepare. Every once in a while, though, I get inspired and decide to cook a dish I've been meaning to attempt for awhile. Yesterday was one of those days and it was a success, if I do say so myself! Not only that, but it seems I've found a new fast, easy dish to incorporate into my rotation.

So what is this dish, you ask? (Well, even if you're not asking I'm going to tell you anyway!) It's pasta e ceci or pasta with chickpeas, which is kind of a pasta-soup hybrid and is my fave pasta-and-bean dish. One of my challenges when trying out dishes is not being able to make them taste like my mother or nonnas do, but this one I actually nailed. Here's how:

Pasta e Ceci

Ingredients

1 package of pasta (usually short, I used ditali)

olive oil

onions

1 can chickpeas

1 cup crushed tomatoes

3/4 of a Knorr chicken boullion cube (a dado in Italian)

Directions

1. Fry the chopped onion in oil for about 2 minutes on medium heat then add the chickpeas, tomatoes and the boullion cube. Cook for around thirty minutes, stirring occasionally. Chickpeas should be tender, but still slightly firm. If you see the mixture is getting too dry just add some hot water--your end product should be much more liquidy than regular sauce, although I do prefer it on the dryer side myself.

2. When your tomatoes and ceci have been cooking for about twenty minutes bring a pot of water (add oil and salt) to a boil and throw in the pasta. Cook according to package directions or until al dente (like the chickpeas the pasta shouldn't be mushy).

3. Strain pasta and throw in the tomato and chickpea mix. Top with cheese or hot pepper if you like (I don't) and voilà: dinner! Makes enough for four--or two if you eat like my husband does.

Image via

An All Weather Wardrobe Item: The Denim Short

As much as I try to fight it, the signs are all pointing in the same direction--fall will soon be here. Granted, these last few years where I'm from the hot weather has extended into October, and I will be the last person you will see complaining about that, but with kids scampering back to school and The Ex officially open here (the definitive Toronto sign that summer is wrapping up) it's time to start thinking about transitioning into fall. Along this train of thought, the other day I put together a guest post for Dawn's amazing blog about the shirtdress, a piece of clothing that with some layering and accessorizing can be a year-round part of your wardrobe. And that got me thinking about other items that could also do warm and cold weather double duty, pieces like the cut off jean short. Personally, I'm not much of a shorts person, but if you can pull them off then you can definitely still hang on to your denim cut offs once the cooler weather hits.

For summer pair your denim cutoffs with a simple tank or tee--you can also add a vest or denim button-down if you like--and some flat sandals for a casual day look.

Nicole Richie has perfected this laid back, bohemian style.

Alexa Chung is another fan of the jean short. Here she shows us just how easy it is to take them from warm to cold. Add tights, a blazer and some boots or Mary Janes and your shorts have a whole new life.

Wondering how to make your shorts more sophisticated for fall? Take some hints from Olivia or Kate.

Some ideas to work this look into your own wardrobe...

Images: 1 / 2 / 3-4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12

I'm also so excited to have reached 400 followers! Honestly, thank you guys for hanging in there with me and reading and commenting every day. It really means the world to me and I'm so happy to have "met" some really great people and friends through this blogging process. To show my appreciation I've planned for a week of giveaways to say thank you to all of you! xo