Ikea to the Rescue! ...And Walnut Arugula Pesto

One of my goals for the new year was to fix up my apartment. Out of nowhere, my mom has gone all gung-ho over the idea and we’ve both been browsing Ikea’s website/catalog for ideas. The closest Ikea is in Sunrise, so I definitely have to plan on taking a little trip to check out the place. I used to go all the time with my dad when I was still living at home. There was one in South Philly, so we’d frequently go with absolutely no list of things we needed, and would still come back with something unique. That’s the great thing about Ikea: You don’t need a reason to go because it’s just a fun place, and you’ll usually find something you didn’t even realize you were looking for. This sofa with chaise lounge would be so cute in my little living room. Then I could finally get the futon into the smaller 2nd bedroom! I like this circular coffee table too. The side table I have is circular, so I gotta keep the trend going. 
So the smaller bedroom would get the futon, along with a desk already  in there.The idea is to make it into a guest room/den area. Oddly, there is no closet in the room, so a chest of drawers will be a necessity.  Then, of course, the most important area: the dining room! I have a pretty small area to work with, so I can’t have some big huge dining room set. What I would really like to have is a nice-sized table with a leaf for those times when I do have dinner parties. I also like the idea of having a couple of bar-stool-type chairs too. There is an open window that looks into the kitchen with a small counter that could easily serve as an eating area when needed. I like this side counter table too; I have so much stuff for the kitchen and don’t have a place for everything, so this would be nice to have for storage space.  These wood panels for my porch are awesome and I think I absolutely HAVE to have them. I hate the tile out there now. That’s probably why I haven’t even attempted to do anything with that area at all. It’s such a cute little space to relax in and I need to start taking advantage of it. I’m sure I can find cute patio furniture elsewhere, but this wooden set is so earthy — I love it! I would really like to have a small garden out there too. Maybe not for vegetables, but a spice and herb garden would be awesome.
Now we can get to the real reason for this post: The food! The woman I babysit for grows her own arugula and she gave me a lotttt of it the last time I was there. It smelled so amazingly fresh that I couldn’t wait to make a huge salad the next day. A couple salads later, I wanted to use the arugula for something else. Pesto, duh! I'd made a sun-dried tomato pesto before so I knew what main ingredients were needed for this recipe, and I decided to add a couple other elements to spice it up. It was the perfect complement to some whole grain pasta and steamed veggies and made for a great, well-balanced dinner. Walnut Arugula Pesto 6-8 stalks of arugula, washed and dried
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated Throw everything in the food processor and blend until well combined.