Parents, Parties, and Good Wine

I have been home for the last week visiting my parents and it has been wonderful! I love visiting them. My mom cooks, my dad makes me coffee every morning, they help out with Sterling, and they always have the best wine! Way better than what I can afford. I found a new favorite wine while trying out all their goodies, the Bianchi Cabernet. This is seriously good wine! You should definitely try this if you love Cabs. It is so smooth and tasty (sorry to tempt my preggo friends). I think it retails for about $30, out of my price range for daily drinking but maybe for a special occasion.

Sterling was majorly spoiled by my sister and parents! He loves all the attention he gets while we are home.



While I was home we also had an engagement party for my brother. I love an engagement party because its a great excuse to dress up. I decided to go with a sequined dress again (big surprise)! I tried to attempt a self portrait to show you my cute dress, but it didn't quite work out so well, but you get the idea!






The week and weekend were a fabulous time! Now its back to reality. It's Monday and I am solo at home with my little man and cheap wine!

Girl Crush- Nicole Richie

I have several ladies that I crush on, for their style. You already know I love Gwyneth and Olivia Palermo, but I also have a major girl crush on Nicole Richie. I love her Bohemian style and ever-changing hair! Remember the good old days when she and Rachel Zoe were BF'S? I think Rachel definitely helped transform her into the style icon she is today. Thought I would leave you with these inspirational style pics for the weekend. I hope you have a fashionable Friday!

Knock Your Socks Off Collard Greens and Artichoke Dip

I guess I am a true Southerner. I just made my first collard greens dip. Yep, you heard me right! This dip is similar to spinach artichoke dip but I love the different flair the Collards give the dip. I literally could not stop eating this. It oozes with two different cheeses and is filled to the brim with artichokes and collards. I like to think this counted as my veggie of the day! Next time you need a special appetizer to bring to a party, make this dip!

COLLARD GREENS AND ARTICHOKE DIP
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 pint heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced
Dash hot sauce
Dash Worcestershire sauce
2 (10-ounce) boxes collard greens, thawed and drained
1 (14-ounce) jar artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Melt butter in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute until it reaches a golden blonde color. Slowly whisk in the cream and turn up heat until it thickens.

Add the Parmesan and Cheddar. Stir until the cheese has melted. Add salt, pepper, lemon juice, hot sauce and Worcestershire. Fold in the collard greens and artichoke hearts.

Add mixture to a casserole dish. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Serve this dip with baked pita chips

Print Recipe HERE

Subway Tile Love

Lately I have been obsessed with Subway tile. I love the clean, sleek look of it! If we ever redo our kitchen or bathroom, (which I hope to do one day if we don't move first) I plan to most definitely incorporate subway tile. These are some inspiration images I have saved. What do you think? Do you love subway tile or think its too plain?

Tory Burch Resort 2011

You all know I love me a Tory Burch Reva Ballet Flat. I own about 8 pairs, sad I know! But I swear they are the most comfortable shoes I have ever put on! Tory's 2011Resort Collection is beautiful. Filled with vibrant colors, patterns and different textures. There are so many dresses and accessories I would love to add to my summer wardrobe! Here are my favorites.

Cacilla Sweater

Clarimond Diamond Long Dress

Achima Shorts

Small Jaden Quilted Leather Tote

Laricia Printed Chiffon Top

Petula Silk Georgette Maxi Dress

Reva Ballet Flats in Ray Yellow

Verona Embellished Suede Sandals
Are you a Tory Burch lover? What do you think of her Resort Collection?

Our Weekend

We had a busy weekend! Plans both nights plus a birthday party in between.
Friday night we met up with Matt's sister Britton and her husband Rob for some drinks and dinner at the High Spirits Lounge. Don't judge us, this a bar inside a Holiday Inn, but it has some of the best views of city.

Matt is a gold card member, meaning $1.50 glasses of wine and $3 liquor drinks. You can't beat that! We had a great time catching up and hearing all about their recent honeymoon to South Africa.

Not sure what Sterling and I thought was so funny!

On Saturday we headed to Carson's Second Birthday Party. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of the birthday boy or my girl Caycee, but the party was amazing! Caycee did an awesome job putting everything together. She had a huge jump castle out back, that Matt and Sterling enjoyed!

Sterling eating all the birthday boy's toys!


After the birthday party we headed over to our friends, Alissa and Alec's house for some homemade Beef Stew and delicious red wine!
Second family picture of the weekend, I feel like we never get pictures with all three of us, usually just one or the other with Sterling!

Our gracious hosts, Alissa and Alec who have a gorgeous house downtown!

The boys trying their best to look manly!

Oh, and Sterling has become obsessed with toilets, Lord help us. He wants to stick his hands in one anytime he sees it!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Cold Weather = More Soup

We got to enjoy two beautiful days here, where it hit 60 degrees and it was glorious. I took my little man on long walks and I was in a good mood to finally have some pleasant weather. Well, now this weekend temps are back to freezing with highs hardly hitting 40 degrees. So what do I do? I make soup. Ya'll know I love some soup, I can't help it! I feel like it is healthy and it is a one pot meal (well for me anyways, my husband always claims it doesn't count as main course, and then I find him sneaking and making pizza rolls or whatever we have in the freezer later). If you love tomato soup, then you will love this soup. This tomato soup is compliments of Giada, are you seeing a pattern here? I love recipes from Giada, Ina and the Smitten Kitchen! We served ours with grilled cheese sandwiches and it was the perfect meal for a cozy night.
I present to you: Hearty Tomato Soup with Lemon and Rosemary






HEARTY TOMATO SOUP WITH LEMON AND ROSEMARY
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 15-ounce can cannellini (white) beans, drained and rinsed
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, plus 1 teaspoon, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup creme fraiche
Zest of one lemon
DIRECTIONS
In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 4 minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon rosemary, and red pepper flakes. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, covered.

Puree the soup in a blender in batches, being careful to remove and discard the bay leaf. Return the soup to a soup pot and keep warm over low heat. Season with salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl fold in the lemon zest and the remaining teaspoon of rosemary to 2/3cup creme fraiche. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and dollop each bowl with the lemon rosemary creme fraiche. Serve immediately.

**I got this recipe out of Giada's Cookbook "Giada's Kitchen" and it called for heavy cream, that you whip with a beater until thick. So I used that instead of creme fraiche. The heavy cream gave the soup the perfect amount of thickness and rich flavor. Matt may or may not have poured half a container of heavy cream in his.**

Print Recipe HERE

I'm Flattered

I am so flattered that so many fellow bloggers (Swanky Chic Fete, Pink To Green, Forever in Blue Jeans, Hanging with the Hewitts, Sweet Southern Prep and Thru Mommies Iez) gave me the "Stylish Blogger Award"! It means so much to me that you all actually consider me stylish! Thank you to all you lovely ladies, you are such an inspiration to me!

Apparently now I am supposed to share 7 things about myself and pass the award on. There are way too many blogs I want to pass this award on to, so I will skip that part, but here are few tidbits about moi.

1) I am obsessed with Mexican Food. I could eat it EVERY day!

2) I have a slight addiction to Online shopping. There is nothing better than getting a package delivered to your house! My favorite sites to online shop are: SHOPBOP, NEIMAN MARCUS, DIAPERS.COM (For my little man's needs) and EBAY.

3) My dream job would be to be a fashion stylist. Rachel Zoe if you are reading this, call me!

4) I am terrified of Sharks. I mean seriously, I rarely get in the ocean and if I do its only up to my knees! Just watching Shark Week scares the crap out of me. The funny thing is my husband is so intrigued by sharks, he even wants to go shark diving! I don't care if you are in a cage or not, No thank you! I don't ever want to be that close to a maneater!

5) I remember my husband from back when he worked at Abercrombie and Fitch. We didn't even know each other at this point, but I thought he was the most handsome guy I had ever seen. We were probably 15 at the time and we didn't end up meeting again until 6 years later. I like to think it was Love at first site! And no he wasn't one of the shirtless models!

6) Becoming a mother is the best thing I have ever done with my life. I love being a mommy to a baby boy. Which is funny because I only ever pictured myself with a girl. I am so girlie I just didn't know what I would do with all the "boy stuff"! But, I love it and would be thrilled if I have all boys. I mean look at this sweet face, I want a house full of them!

7) I actually enjoying cleaning and organizing. It is therapeutic for me when I am stressed out. There is nothing that makes me feel better than a neat and clean house. Cleaning bathrooms and doing laundry are a whole different story:)

Happy Friday Loves! Have a Fabulous Weekend!