Eat This- Shrimp Tacos

I kept meaning to post this recipe Thursday and then Friday but life set in! I had a million errands to run and a teething baby. Better late than never right? My hubby would eat red meat every night if he could. This was my attempt to make something we both love, mexican food, but healthy minus the ground beef. Matt and I just kind of improvised with this recipe, but its good, real good. Per our food mentor Bobby Flay, we cook and marinate our meats simply and add flavor with the toppings. BTW I met Bobby Flay when I was in NYC, another story for another time but I will say he was short, way shorter than he looks on TV! Oh and the black stuff on the plate beside the tacos that looks funky is refried black beans, a delicious side for the tacos. This recipe is super easy, healthy and tasty!

THE MASON'S SHRIMP TACOS
-1 or 1.5 pounds shrimp peeled and deveined (buy local if you can)
-Canola Oil
-Shredded Cabbage
-Red Onion thinly sliced
-Sour Cream
-Taco Seasoning Packet
-Monterrey Jack cheese, Shredded
-Fresh diced Jalapenos
-Avocado mashed with lemon juice, salt & pepper or guacamole
-Corn Tortilla Shells

Marinate the shrimp for about 15 minutes in Canola Oil, salt and pepper. Add about 1-2 TBlS Canola Oil to a large skillet pan to heat and add shrimp. Saute about 3-5 minutes until pink. Meanwhile mix Sour Cream with taco seasoning packet- add as little or as much seasoning as you like. Layer Shrimp, cabbage, red onion, sour cream and avocado on warm corn shells. Top with shredded cheese and jalapenos. Add hot sauce and Enjoy.

Gorgeous

Did anyone watch the Country Music awards last night? Sadly, my hubby only let me watch half of it and then I had to turn it off, but I dvred the rest. The main reason I wanted to watch was to see my other girl crush Gwyneth Paltrow. She looked gorgeous as always. She is such a style inspiration for me. As a mommy of two, she always looks fit and fabulous! I still want to order the Tracy Anderson workout videos after seeing how dedicated she was to them! Has anyone used the videos? Just curious how they really work. I thought her dress last night was incredible, I love the one shoulder and ombre colors. Her performance on the otherhand made me a little uncomfortable. She has a good voice but just seemed very nervous, but I give her props for getting out of her comfort zone and singing in front of all those people! What did you think? Any favorites?

I also thought Carrie Underwood looked great. I really liked all the dresses she wore while hosting. I did notice she looked particularly skinny, but I guess that is the entertainment business. Either way she looked fab!

photos: people.com

Holiday Sparkle

I love, love, love the holidays. I can't get enough of the decorations, music, food and there is nothing I love more than a holiday party. I love getting dressed up. I feel the holidays are the time you can all out with your outfit. This year I am thinking sequins. My parents have a big party every year with another couple and I always love getting dressed up for it! Hopefully we will have a few other holiday party invites too. Here are few of my lust worthy dresses for all these holiday parties! In case you can't tell I love a long sleeved short dress, its one of my favorite styles! What are you wearing this holiday season?

HAUTE HIPPIE EMBELLISHED V-NECK DRESS. Love the nude color and embellishment down the front.

AKA NEW YORK DIAMOND CUFF DRESS. I think this is my favorite because I would get so much wear out of this little black dress. The diamonds around the cuff are insane!

JOIE PORTIA DRESS. Perfect for the holidays. Love the sequins.

TIBI ONE SHOULDER DRESS. I am digging the one shoulder sequin combo.

TIBI ECLIPSE SEQUINED DRESS. I really love the color of this dress, but at $1200 its way out of my price range, but a girl can dream right??

HAUTE HIPPIE BEADED OFF SHOULDER TUNIC. Adore the Nude color and sparkle!

All dresses are from my favorite shopping site SHOPBOP.COM

Master Bedroom Progress

I am still working on my never ending quest to update our master bedroom. I am still majorly loving the zebra rug. Makes me happy every time I go in our room. I didn't realize how tired I was of our old rug! This past weekend, I put my dad to work hanging some new things for me. My poor dad, every time he comes in town I have a long list of projects for him, but the man is a genius. He can paint a room without taping it, hang pictures perfectly evenly spaced and pretty much fix or build anything. Sadly my husband is not that handy, but that's what dads are for right?
I had my dad hang two mirrors I found at a consignment store years ago for $40! They had been just sitting in our garage collecting dust. I had seen a picture of a bedroom that was symmetrically designed and I loved it. It had two mirrors flanking each side of the bed, so that is how we hung these mirrors. I think it really opens up the room.

My mom also found me a great piece of artwork. This picture had been $395 and my mom found it for $35 at this great design store in Charlotte that was having a clearance sale. Gotta love my mom, she knows my taste so well! I love the seashell print and it matches our room perfectly. Kind of wish there were two matching ones but it's not too bad with the other watercolor.

Weekend Recap

This weekend my whole family and Matt's came in town to celebrate Sterling's baptism. We had a fabulous weekend. It was the first weekend we had really cold weather here. I couldn't wait to dress Sterling in some of his winter outfits. How cute is this cable knit romper??

I tried to get some cute pictures of Sterling in his baptism outfit, but of course he wouldn't smile or even look at the camera, this is the best shot I got. His bubble had crosses embroidered on it, hard to see in the picture but it was so beautiful!


Sterling did great during his baptism, he didn't cry once. I was certain once that water touched his head he would start screaming, but he didn't. I think he was so overwhelmed by all the people looking at him he didn't know what to do! My sister snapped a few pictures of us during the service.







Afterwards he had a party at our house with delicious food, mimosas and bloody marys! Thanks to my family for helping make some food and to my sister for her amazing set-up skills! She and her hubby snuck out early to set the food up for the party. We all had a great afternoon.



My Family

Matt's Family

Matt insisted on a family picture with his boat in the background:)

It's About Time

So apparently Nick Lacey and Vanessa Manillo are engaged. I feel like they have dated forever! But I can't blame Nick for being cautious after his last divorce from J Simpson. I always really liked Nick and thought he was such a nice guy. On Newlyweds (Yes, I used to watch and love that show)he always put up with Jessica and did nice romantic things for her. I feel like she really got a big head when she lost all that weight and got famous and then dumped him. Anyways, I am happy for Nick and hope this marriage lasts!
BTW, Do you like how I talk about celebrities like they are my friends, sad I know.

PHOTO: People.com

Best Appetizer Ever

My mom passed this recipe along to me last weekend. I made it Saturday when we had some friends over for dinner and it was so good. Trust me, you need to make this ASAP. Sausage, ranch, and cheese mixed together- is that sounding good?? Well wait til it bakes and it is served in these cute wonton cups. This is an A++ appetizer. I am actually going to make it again this weekend, that is how good it was. I love an appetizer like this, that is easy to make, delicious, and most importantly looks cute sitting out on the table. Your friends will be impressed.

TEXMEX WONTONS
-1 PKG SAUSAGE, BROWNED AND DRAINED WELL
-1 SMALL CAN SLICED BLACK OLIVES, DICED
-CUP HIDDEN VALLEY RANCH
-1/4 DICED JALAPENOS (FROM JAR, NOT FRESH)
-1.5 CUPS SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE
-1.5 CUPS SHREDDED MONTERREY JACK CHEESE
-1 PKG WONTON SHELLS (IN THE FRIDGE SECTION NEAR DRESSING AND PRODUCE)

MIX FIRST 6 INGREDIENTS TOGETHER. PLACE EACH INDIVIDUAL WONTON IN A MINI MUFFIN PAN. LIGHTLY PRESS DOWN TO FORM AN OPEN CUP. SPOON ABOUT A TABLESPOON OF THE SAUSAGE MIXTURE INTO EACH CUP. BAKE AT 350 DEGREES ABOUT 15 MINUTES OR UNTIL WONTONS START TO BROWN.
THIS MAKES ABOUT 36-40 MINI WONTONS
ENJOY!

**NOTE: I FOUND THE WONTONS IN THE PRODUCE SECTION NEAR THE REFRIGERATED DRESSING AND CARROTS**
**ALSO DRAIN THE SAUSAGE WELL AND BLOT WITH PAPER TOWELS TO AVOID EXCESS GREASE WHEN BAKING**