Baked Crab and Artichoke Dip

Random confession but I have never made a crab dip before.  Not sure why because I love crab dip but never have!  Our friends had us over for dinner Sunday night and I knew it was the perfect time to try out a crab dip recipe.  Matt and I scoured the internet trying to find the best one and this one fit the bill.  It was so easy to whip together and delish! The crab and artichoke pair perfectly together and it is filled with lots of cheese.  So darn good- but not for your waist line:)

It is super important to buy good crab meat.  I bought the lump kind in a can you can get near the fresh seafood.  Costs a little more but so worth it flavor and texture wise.
We served our dip with Pretzel Thins and Bagel Crisps.   Enjoy but be forewarned its is hard to stop eating this dip, it melts in your mouth!

**The original recipe called for pico de gallo to be sprinkled over the top but we were lazy and left that part out but I included it on the directions in case you guys want to try it.  I don't think it needs it but it could be good with it.**

BAKED CRAB AND ARTICHOKE DIP 
(adapted from Confections of a Food Bride)
Ingredients:

• For the crab dip:
• 8 oz cream cheese (I use reduced-fat)
• 1/2 cup mayo (I use light)
• 1/2 cup fat-free greek yogurt (I used 0% Fage)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese, divided (I regularly split with Fontina, can also sub Monterrey jack or Mozzarella)
• 14 oz can of quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 8-12 oz jumbo lump crab meat
• Salt
• Pepper

• For the pico de gallo:
• 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 1 handful cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup green onion tops, chopped
• Squeeze of lime juice
• Salt

Instructions:

1. Beat the cream cheese, mayo, and yogurt together until smooth.
2. Add the white and light parts of the green onions (dark green parts will be used for the pico), lemon juice, and 1 1/4 cup grated cheese.
3. Fold in artichokes and crab.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Transfer to a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish and spread evenly, sprinkling the remaining cheese on top..
6. Bake for ~20 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown.
7. To make the pico, toss all ingredients together and set aside until ready to serve.
8. Remove the dip from the oven, top with pico, and serve with blue corn tortilla chips, crackers, or toasted crostini.
9. Best when hot or very warm, leftovers will keep a couple of days. Can be assembled ahead of time and then baked at the last minute.

Want to See my Closet??

Want to see a sneak peak in my closet??  Well, the girls over at Style Spies asked me to participate in their Open Closet Series and I was more than thrilled to show off my goods. 

  Don't get too excited we live in a tiny house which means tiny closets but my closet is still my happy place.  I like to keep it organized and accessible because it houses all my favorite things!  And lets be real I did take over two of the closets in our house.

 

 You can check out my interview HERE and see some pics of my closet!  And a big thank you to my girl Katherine for taking my pictures!!  If you live in Charlotte you should contact her for pictures she rocks!

Obsessions

{UGG SCUFFETTE SLIPPERS}

These are the best slippers ever.  They are all I wear around the house.  It feels like my feet are embedded in fluffy pillows.  You need a pair if you don't own a pair.  Trust me on this one they are the ultimate slippers.

{ELLA MOSS SANTA FE MAXI DRESS}

Adore this dress.  Both colors are fabulous.  A must have for Summer- or now paired with a cute leather jacket/cardigan.

{RORY BECCA EBB HENLEY DRESS}

Perfect everyday dress. Currently on its way to my house can't wait to get my hands on this beauty!

{GRACE CODDINGTON A MEMOIR}

I finally picked up this book and it is great!  If you don't know Grace worked with Anna Wintour at Vogue.  This book is filled with some great behind the scenes fashion stories!  Plus I love the orange cover, I love looking at it on my nightstand!

{GWYNETH PALTROW'S KITCHEN}

Her cabinets are the perfect gray- Galveston Gray by Benjamin Moore.  Seriously considering painting either my kitchen or bathroom cabinets this color.

{QUOTE}

So True.  Great daily reminder.

Acupuncture, Barre, Randoms and a Winner!

The start of the New Year means I am getting down to business.  I have been eating healthy and taking care of myself.  This involved trying Acupuncture and a Barre Class.  

I have wanted to try Acupuncture for awhile now.  I have heard such great things about it.  I went to a local place here called Charleston Community Acupuncture.  When I first walked in I was like this is so not for me.  There was weird hippie music playing and it just had an earthy vibe.  Those things make me uncomfortable.  I really wanted to leave.  However since I was there and had an appt I decided to give it a shot.   Since it is a community place you are in a room with other people, you are fully clothed but that part was a bit weird to me, so the owner gave me a semi private room which made me feel way more comfortable.   I was so nervous but Chad (the owner) helped me take a few deep breaths and relax.  The needles did not hurt one bit and it was the most relaxed I have been in a long time.  I seriously think I dozed off for a few minutes and I am not a napper. My mind and body just felt at peace and crazy relaxed.  I honestly forgot there were needles in me.  I know you need to go several times for results and I def plan to go back weekly.  

I bought a Living Social deal a few weeks ago for a set of  Barre classes and tried it out this week.  I am no stranger to barre workouts, as I own the Physique 57 DVDS which are basically the same thing.  But the class was way harder.  Maybe because people were watching me I pushed myself harder but it was an insane workout.  I went to Barre Evolution and highly recommend.  I was so sore afterwards which means it was a great workout. I went twice last week and plan to keep it up.  My body needs some toning for real and I think this is just the thing to accomplish that.

 

In other random news, I am obsessed with this Theory Blouse I got after Christmas.  It is on crazy sale right now, go get you one you will love it.

{Theory Brundia Silk Top}

I found knobs for my Hutch, thanks to Caitlin Marie who alerted me to the Restoration Hardware sale. These beauties are going to look perfect.

We had perfect weather here this weekend and spent alot of time outdoors.   Crazy warm temps for January but we enjoyed it anyways!  A few snapshots from our weekend.

Last thing the winner of the A-Thread Giveaway is:  Lala!!  Shoot me an email with your info and I will get you your gift card!

Happy Monday Dolls!! 

xoxo

Let's Talk About Paint.

One of the main projects I really want to tackle this year is painting our family room and hallway.  When we moved in our house I repainted every room but our den.   It was neutral enough to work but now I am ready for a change- plus I have a crazy two year who colored all over the walls with an ink pen.  Although he claims his friends Carson and Oliver did it but I am not buying that story. 

 I am thinking I want to do a neutral. gray color  I need you all to dish what are the best neutral colors?  Also would you paint the family room and hallway the same color?  Currently they are the same color.  I feel like it helps the flow since our house is small but I am clueless about this kind of stuff, maybe one should be lighter or darker.  Most important I need a color to go with our rug- the wing back chairs will be recovered and we will eventually replace our couch but the rug stays.
Below are a few shots of our rug and current den color although its hard to tell its pretty beige. I need any favorite color recommendations please!

A few colors I am considering:
{BENJAMIN MOORE PAPAYA}

{BENJAMIN MOORE HORIZON }

{FARROW AND BALL STONEY GROUND }

Please help me out and tell me what neutral colors are best for living spaces.

In other paint news, I painted the back of our Hutch.  It was hunter green and I painted it Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze thanks to Emily Clark.  Emily painted the doors to her pantry this color and I loved it!!  It is a fabulous color. Kind of a dark Charcoal.  I am really loving it.  Matt insisted I could not paint the whole Hutch (he has weird attachment issues with childhood pieces) so we settled on the back panels and it actually made a big difference.  A little sneak peek below. 

I still have to finish all the trimwork, man it is hard to paint a straight line.  I also want to switch out the knobs at the bottom of the Hutch with Lucite ones.  I found both of these that I love from the Paris Apartment but they are kind of expensive.  Anyone know where I can find decent Lucite knobs/pulls on the cheap?  I only need three but these are $25 a knob and that seems expensive to me but maybe that is standard cost.....
I am thinking Ebay may be a good place to look.  I want something similar to the ones below but need them to be at least 2 inches.

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In completely side related news we had our first pee-pee accident yesterday.  My potty training post jinxed me.  Sterling peed all over our couch of all places.  Ugh.  We are without cushions til next week while they get cleaned.  Sweet.
Here's to a fab weekend!  Cheers!

The Lowdown on Potty Training

Let me start by saying I am no expert on potty training- at all.  I can promise you I am no expert on anything parenting related either.  I am learning as I go and screwing up alot along the way.  But I have gotten several emails from readers wanting to know what worked for Sterling and how we managed the change from diapers to big boy underwear.  This is what worked for us and I know all kids are different.

 Here's the deal, on Saturday Sterling told me he wanted to poop in the potty.  I obliged laughing thinking he's just gonna sit there.  Well low and behold he pooped and ever since then he has gone in the potty (pee and poop).  Not one accident.  We do use pull-ups at night- that is unpredictable and Mama doesn't want to be getting up all night helping him pee.  Otherwise he has seemingly mastered the art of using the potty.

Here is what I know. 

1) The most important thing is making sure your child is ready.  I see way too many people try to start training their kids at age 2 and earlier and in my opinion that is way too early.  You are setting your self up for accidents because at 2 it is hard for them to understand and grasp the whole concept.  And why rush things?  It will just take longer to get the end result when you kid isn't ready.    I have heard from numerous people to wait til your child is three or after.  I know it differs for each kid but that is a constant that I heard from other parents.  Sterling turns three next month and in all honesty I was going to wait til this summer to start potty training but he apparently had other plans, he was ready.

2) Use a regular potty.  I know the small portable potties work for some kids but we never used one.  I feel like when you are out in public or somewhere where there is not a small potty then issues arise because they are so used to using that small one and they don't know how or want to use a real one.  We don't even use a training seat. Another bonus of the child being a little older it is easier for them to sit on the potty.  Sterling knows how to straddle it to sit.  This makes it easy to use the bathroom anywhere we are.

3) Slowly introduce them to the potty.  For months now we have taught Sterling how Mommy and Daddy pee pee.  We have let him flush the toilet and see how it all works.  I have never pressured him to use it, I just would occasionally ask "you want to tee-tee on the big potty?" and his response was always "no" til last weekend.   I never pressed the issue when he said no.  We also bought him some cool big boy underwear but told him he could not wear them until he used the big potty.  The underwear has been sitting in his room for like 4 months now and he always asks to wear it but the deal is no unless you actually go in the big potty.  Do not let your kids wear the underwear over their diapers, that is a bad idea.  Since they pee in their diaper while the underwear is on then when they just wear the underwear they will think it is ok to pee in it.  We never bought or used any potty books.  I do think if they see their friends doing it this helps too because they don't want to be the only kid in diapers.

4) Make a BIG deal about it when they pee/poop in the potty.  We have been praising Sterling non-stop since he went in the potty and this makes him so proud of himself.  Encourage them.  We bought him a few treats the first few times he went like ice cream, new underwear, coloring book etc.  This got him excited. We called all the grandparents and let him brag on himself.  We constantly tell him what a big boy he is and how awesome it is that he uses the big potty.  He loves all the attention and I think this makes him want to keep peeing/pooping in the potty.

5) Don't stress- how many kids do you know that go to kindergarten still diapers?  Eventually they will catch on.

My proud little man and I am one proud Mama.  Over all this transition was way easier than I imagined it would be, mainly because I feel like we waited long enough for Sterling grasp the idea and be ready.  The super hero underwear helped too:)

Cauliflower, White Bean, and Feta Salad

If you follow me on Instagram then you knew this recipe was coming your way.  I have been trying to eat pretty clean since the New Year (minus the Bojangles and Pizza I consumed last weekend).  I like to make a salad at the start of each week to have for my lunch everyday.  Saves money and then lunch is easy no planning necessary and it's healthy.  I made this salad this week and it knocked my socks off.  If you love Cauliflower then you will love this salad.  The flavors are so fresh, light, and delicious.  I think it would be killer with some grilled Shrimp if you wanted a heartier meal but it was perfect alone for lunch.  I love that the cauliflower is raw and not cooked- most recipes call for it cooked.  The raw crunch of the cauliflower adds some great texture.   All the fresh herbs and feta really give the salad amazing flavor.  I promise you will be hooked on this.  I am on day three of eating it and still not sick of it!
Bon Appetit!

{CAULIFLOWER, WHITE BEAN, AND FETA SALAD}

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 medium head of cauliflower, trimmed, cut into small florets (about 3 cups)
• 1 (15-ounce) can white beans (such as Great Northern or navy beans), drained
• 2 large heads of Belgian endive, trimmed, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 ounces)

Combine oil and rosemary in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Cool.

Whisk lemon juice, vinegar, lemon peel, salt, and pepper in small bowl.

Combine cauliflower, beans, endive, chives, parsley, and rosemary oil in medium bowl; toss. Mix in cheese. Add lemon juice mixture and toss to coat. Season salad with salt and pepper.