Recipe Guest Post - Michelle of Oh, Mishka! (& giveaway winner!)

Hi all! So, I have one last treat for you before we ring in the new year :) Have you ever stopped by Michelle's blog? Have you fallen in love with it like every normal person? Have you totally become addicted? Yeah. Ha. Funny. ME TOO. I asked Michelle if she would like to do a guest post for y'all with a yummy new years eve recipe! And she was so sweet to stop and get one to me for you, even in the midst of JUST GETTING ENGAGED! :) I'm very excited for her, is it obvious?? Here you are, my lovelies! 

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 Hi Ruthanne with an E readers! I'm Michelle and I write the blog Oh, Mishka. Ruthanne asked me to share one of my favorite holiday recipes with you. Since I adore having friends over for a cozy night in for New Year's Eve, I thought I'd share a recipe that is incredibly easy, but looks really impressive at a dinner party. :) These pesto stuffed shells were a huge hit when I made them, and I'm already planning to make them again soon. Even though they look messy (and incredibly unphotogenic!), they're beyond delicious.

  Pesto Stuffed Pasta Shells \

recipe adapted from here 

 1/2 package jumbo shell pasta 

15 oz container of ricotta (I used part skim) 

1 cup shredded mozzarella 

1/2 cup basil pesto 

1 egg 

1 jar pasta sauce 

 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

 2. In a large pot, cook the pasta. The box will tell you to bring the water to a boil before adding the pasta, and this is important. Otherwise your shells might stick to each other and tear. 

 3. While the pasta is cooking, mix together the ricotta, mozzarella, pesto, and egg in a large bowl. Set aside (or refrigerate) until ready to use.

 4. In a baking dish, spread one cup of the pasta sauce evenly across the bottom. (I used an 8x8 baking dish, but had too many shells left over, so I also filled one of my vintage Pyrex dishes.)

5. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and rinse gently with cold water. Then pick up one pasta shell and fill it with a spoonful of the ricotta mixture. The filling should fill the shell enough that the top is spread open about a half inch (about a spoonful). Place the filled shell on top of the pasta sauce in your baking dish. Continue to do this until all of your shells are filled. 

6. Spread the rest of the pasta sauce evenly across the top of your filled shells. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then enjoy!

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doesn't it look and sound divine? I'm totally making this soon! Eep! Happy last day of 2011, all!

Xoxo,

 Ruthanne

Also! We have a winner of the My Memories software! Melissa, of Contemporary Dancing! congrats :) Email me when you get the chance and we'll get everything worked out! :)

Happy new years eve!

six itty bitty things.

First of all. I need to share with you how pretty my new flat iron is. Thank you amazon gift card!!!! It's PINK! AHHHH! And absolutely fantastic. I really recommend it....$30 for a $200 retail value flat iron. BAM.

Secondly, I just ordered these boots from zappos! I've been eyeing them for a while now, and then they went on sale at Zappos for $50 off! Plus my dad's VIP business account with them got me free overnight shipping. Again....BAM.

Thirdly, this is the case I bought for my iPhone. Isn't it gorgeous? the color is so very retro and adorable. Reminds me of the blue on a lot of vintage Pyrex dishes :) And you know me and Pyrex....we just go. 

Fourthly, what are you doing for new years?! My aunt and uncle are coming up with their two kids for two nights, and tomorrow I'm off to a friends for a sleepover :) YIPPIE! :) Ha. I'm hyper right now. Can you tell?

And fifthly.....today is the last day to enter the my memories scrapbook software giveaway!! :) So if you haven't done that yet and have been wanting to....I suggest doing that before midnight, my time :) 

and lastly, but not least.... I want to thank ALL of you so much for being readers of this blog, and for your sweet, sweet comments. I never thought I'd have 15 followers, much less almost sixty! Thank you thank you thank you!

Happy Friday!!!!!!

Xoxo, 

Ruthanne

honestly: pink.

honestly,

I am of the opinion 

T H A T  T H E  C O L O R  

P I N K

should be recognized as

MORE THAN JUST ANOTHER

boring "one dimensional" color 

because if we're being real here

you and i both know

there's a reason they 

MADE MILLIONS

 - off of a - 

pink panther.

HONESTLY.

------------------------

Have you noticed how much I love pink yet? No?

Okay. Here's the thing. I used to hate pink. With a passion. I hated the rep it gave girls for being "too girly" and "sparkly" and "prissy". But, that's not exactly a fair or valid assumption! Pink is girly, yes, but pink is just another color. And lets be honest - it's beautiful. Gorgeous. So pretty. And I thought that this honestly post might give you a giggle. Did it? I hope so :) 

Also! This is my 100th post on this blog! I can't believe it. I may not have managed to get a post up every day, nor every other day always, but I still made it to 100! I am happy, to say the least :) Also...almost sixty followers? Do y'all know how excited that makes me?! Ah! ♥

xoxox, Ruthanne

p.s.
I'm sure most of you have heard about google nixing GFC. I'm technically not allowed to create a Google+ page for my blog, since I'm under 18. What do you think would be easiest though to stay connected with my blog after they get rid of GFC? Cause I am a kid of the 21st century...I could figure out how to bypass the 18 thing if I wanted to. But I'm just curious as to your thoughts! Let me know? 

tumblr newbie.

So......just cause I felt like it, I decided to get a tumblr...I've had ones before but never "got it", you could say. Now i want one but still don't know how to use it properly. So here's my theory.

here it is.

If you have a tumblr, leave me the link to yours, I'll try and follow it, and you can show me the ropes, deal? deal. 

OR. if you have some favorite tumblrs you follow, leave me those links too? 

Happy wednesday, dears! 

instagram.

So since I got this lovely little iphone of mine....instagram has become an obsession.

And it's only been three days. This could be a problem, folks!

Anyway. If you wanna follow me on there - my username is @ruthannabanana :)

Here's a look into the past few days of my life via instagram.

So - if you have instagram - follow me! :)

also - don't forget to enter the giveaway! :)

xoxo, ruthanne

with a heavy heart.

We found out on Christmas eve my great grandfather has lung cancer. 

They drained the fluids in his lungs - two liters - and he went home. The doctors said it was probably his last Christmas. 

Yesterday evening they went back again - this time there was 2.5 liters of fluid. 

My heart is heavy. This is the only great grandfather I've ever gotten to know - he's the grandfather my mother grew up with. The one who has always been in my life. He's a WWII war hero. He's a father, a grandfather, great grandfather, uncle, cousin, friend. 

But I am faced with this reality: when he passes, he's not going someplace terrible. He's not going to be in more pain. He's going home. 

Home to his Maker. His lover. His friend. He's going home to his king. 

We went down to visit him yesterday - and it was so lovely to see him. I wanted to share some pictures of our visit with you. 

We didn't spend long there, as he was tired, and in need of rest. But it was lovely all the same. 

He was in the airforce in WWII - his plane was shot down after a bombing raid and went missing to the US forces. They marked him as MIA. He spent the next 7 weeks making a journey that now takes only 6 hours by train - all on foot. This fall my uncle Jim and his two sons retraced his entire journey. The whole story is HERE. I encourage you to read it - it's an incredible story.

Anyway. My aunt Carolyn had a book made of the journey - and I asked him to show it to me. His eyes lit up and my grandfather was back while he told me for the millionth time of his war journey. I am amazed every time I hear it though. That's my grandpa. 

My grandmother spent those seven weeks in agony. They weren't married yet. They were only sweethearts. When my grandmother received the telegram from my grandpa that he was "on my way home, darling", my grandmother describes that moment to be just indescribable. I can't even imagine.

My grandma still has the telegram. 

In short, this post is written with a heavy heart. A sad heart, but a glad heart. I am praising God for the time I've spent with my grandpa, and the things he's done in his time. I know his passing will be soon, and I've already decided I'm singing this at his funeral. 

I know some of you may think I'm dooming myself by already planning something like this for something so sad. But I beg to differ. He knows he's dying. The whole family does. And we all want him to just go home. His pain will be gone there and his joy will be forever. 

a wonderful christmas.

  The past 36 hours have been filled with many happy things. 

We had about 500 people at our first Christmas Eve service at church. That's more than we have on one Sunday with both of our Sunday morning and night services combined. It was a blessing. About 300 came to the second service. 

I sang Mary, Did You Know? and didn't screw it up. I felt God's peace and total comfort while singing it. People told me I touched their hearts with my voice and I knew none of that was my doing. 

We had an awesome Christmas Eve at home too. Momma made manicotti for dinner, along with caesar salad and delicious bread.

The night was concluded like every Christmas eve is. All of the kids sleeping in the same room, but only after watching a Christmas movie. Pure bliss. 

The younger kids woke up at 6. Jake and I pretended like we were asleep till 6:52, when they both dragged us out of bed and to the stairs, where we waited for the next twenty minutes for dad to get out of bed and shuffle to the couch. Papa and Mimi were up too. Jess and Laura were sooo impatient!! Man. The tradition of waiting on the stairs is great but also sort of obnoxious. I'm getting too old for this....

Anyway. The kids finally make their way up the stair and rush into the living room. Addy get's a wooden Melissa and Doug kitchen. Laura gets an American Girl bath/spa set. And Jesse gets a super awesome spy set - complete with briefcase and costume. 

I'm busy enjoying the kiddos, watching them marvel at their new toys. Momma gets up and hands me my present. 

It's a cardboard wine gift box. I'm like "cool, mom." But I already know what it is :) I open it up and pull it out and there it is. My very own brand spanking new iPhone 4s.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't do a little happy dance. 

Or two.....

Anyway. It was the best Christmas present ever. 

Here are some instagrams of the day :)

crab eggs benedict for breakfast :)

my weird brother.

coal bubble gum. :)

osso bucco for dinner :)  

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas everyone! 

Merry Christmas!!!

xoxox, Ruthanne

merry merry!

Merry merry Christmas eve! Oh, dear me! How did we get here so fast!? Everything has flown by like crazy. The end of the year is upon us, and I am absolutely stunned at the speed this year passed! 

I'm sending my love out to all of my lovely readers - hugs, cookies, and a Christmas carol or two, and wishing you a very, very merry Christmas!!! 

All my love, 

Ruthanne

just dandy.

Between now and 3:30pm tomorrow I must:

Give my room, bathroom, closet, and laundry room all a deep clean.

Sew two pairs of PJ pants for the littlest brother for Christmas.

Perfect the song I'm doing for Christmas Eve services - read: somehow make my range go higher and lower. re-read: do the impossible.

Get the stupid security device off of my mama's Christmas present cause no where in town has the tool to do it. Small town issues, I tell ya.

Practice Angels We Have Heard On High for Christmas Eve services. The chords over "gloria" are freakin' obnoxious, and there are far too many of them.

Take a bio and math test - read: my least favorite things to do. 

Endure my dad's company Christmas party this evening....ugh.

Figure out what the heck I'm wearing for Christmas eve services - I have to play the piano for both services, and the spotlights are really hot - plus we're going to have a good 300 people per service. Which means it'll be even warmer in that room...sooooo. I need to solve that dilemma. Dear me. 

However, this is my current inspiration for completing those tasks: 

Hope it gave you a laugh and some inspiration too!!!

I really am sixteen, promise.

See?

this is what happens when I'm doing bio. And the camera is sitting on the table, teasing me with it's gorgeousness. So. I picked it up. And proceeded to make these faces. Pretty much the epitome of being sixteen, if you ask me...right Sam? (sam likes to make faces at the camera too.) Sam is sixteen. She gets it. Right Sam? I'm sure Sam agrees with me. Cause that's just how cool she is.

While we're at it, this whole expressing my teenageness thing, lets explore the theory that boys are dumb, shall we?

Boys are not necessarily dumb, they're just boys. 

boy; a man regarded as immature or inexperienced.  
{source}

See, that's a boy! I get so frustrated when girls want to talk about how dumb boys are! Here's what generally goes through my mind: "if you don't like the way boys act, then you shouldn't get involved with them. They're immature and inexperienced with handling things like emotions. If you want a "real" relationship, wait till you're a woman and date a man. It only logical."

Granted, I don't totally always take my side on these things, especially when it comes to my best friend's love life and such, because all boys who don't like her are dumb. boys and or men. It's just reality. But other than that. Boys are indeed dumb, men are less dumb. Girls are also dumb, they're impulsive, among other things, but that's beside the point.

Taylor Swift is a prime example. {sorry, t-swizzle}. She would get involved with boys and expect them to act like men, then when they didn't she wrote a million songs about it. She just so happened to benefit from her inability to wait till she could date men, and made millions off of the songs because a million other impatient girls could relate to them and they bought the songs. 

The funniest part though is that she's still writing songs....but now they're about men who are acting like boys. Oh, the world we live in. 

Also. I'm convinced that both of these boots are my future.

 

Oh, wait, just kidding. They're both almost $600. Never mind.