Friday, March 23, 2012

Thoughts For Friday

Happy Birthday to me! My birthday is tomorrow and I am off to celebrate today! Heading to do some shopping with my mom and I am hoping to pick up a pair of these JCREW colored jeans. I have heard nothing but good things about them!


I am wanting to put together a similar look to this. Love everything about what this girl is wearing.



I am thinking about making Lychee Martinis to celebrate my birthday. Anyone made these before? I remember Bethenny always drinking them on RHNY.



Also thinking we may cook Val's Prosciutto, Asparagus and Parmesan Spaghetti for dinner. It seems like the perfect Spring meal paired with an arugula salad, crispy bread and our Lychee Martinis. And who am I kidding we will be having Champagne too!

I am not going to lie I kind of want to go see Hunger Games this weekend. But then I think I will probably be the oldest person waiting in line.



I have quite the crush on Liam Hensworth who plays Gale in the movie. He is super hot (but no Zac Efron mind you). It does bug me a little that he dates Miley Cyrus. I don't get it.



I bit the bullet and ordered this Tibi Cami as part of my Birthday gift. I ordered mine in the tan version though. It should arrive today, I will let you gals know how it fits and if I like it.



I will leave you with this. For all my friends yesterday who assured me I am not the only one having a drink every night! I am off to drink champagne and eat cake and celebrate turning 29 again. I am really turning 32 for those that are curious. And so far my 30's are way better than my 20's!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

What I Eat

Several of you have emailed me asking me to share my diet and workout regime. Wondering how I can eat the foods I do and still stay thin. I hesitated about writing a post on this because I am not an expert by any means and different things work for different people. That being said I always love hearing what other people eat and what they do for exercise to get new ideas for myself. So I will share with you what I eat and how I exercise. It is what works me.

In College I was 30lbs heavier than what I weigh now- sad but when I delivered Sterling I was pretty darn close to what I weighed in College! I was a girl that liked to booze and eat way too much! At Chick Fila in college I would order a sandwich and nuggets as my meal- way too much food. Then I would drink copious amounts of booze at fraternity parties and I ballooned quickly! Funny thing is I never thought I was overweight til after college. I slowly lost the weight post college and promised myself I will never weigh that again. Now I weigh myself almost everyday. I don't believe in not using a scale and "feeling my body". I need to see numbers and I find by checking frequently my weight never gets out of control. I have a target weight I never want to get above so if I am higher one day I just cut back and chug lots of water and exercise to get back on track.

DIET
Let me start by saying I am not a dieter. Never have been and never will. I love food way too much to diet. Food makes me happy so I like to eat what I want. I believe strongly in moderation. During the week I try to eat fairly healthy. I have a few standard breakfasts and lunches that I rotate and will share with you. Dinner is always a wild card for me because the hubby typically doesn't like the same healthy foods that I do. So I try to eat a good breakfast and lunch so I can indulge in say tacos or pasta with him later. The weekends I never diet I eat what I want and then get back to my healthy meals on Mondays.
Breakfast:
I always start my day with my fresh pressed green juice(kale, spinach, lemon, green apple, ginger and cucumber). Get a juicer, it will change your life!

then I usually have one of these options:
Fage Greek Yogurt


Kashi or Nature's Path Cereal




2 pieces toast with Peanut Butter and half a grapefruit




I boiled egg and 1 Morningstar Patty




In between breakfast and lunch I usually drink lemon water, sparkling water and/or a coconut water to fill me up. One biggy for me is I don't drink juice, sodas, or sweet tea. I think drinks are empty calories (unless of course it's my wine or vodka:)). I would rather eat the calories than drink them. I do drink alot of green tea. I make pitchers of it unsweetened or get an unsweetened one at Starbucks. Some say green tea ups your metabolism.






If I am hungry for a snack I usually just eat nuts. Planters makes individual bags of these Energy Mix Nuts that I love. They are easy to throw in your purse on the go. I also love Pirates Booty and PopChips. Sterling loves them as well so we both frequently eat them in the afternoon.




For lunch I almost always eat a salad. Deli meat can really gross me out so I rarely make sandwiches. My two current go to salads are my Chopped Greek Salad and Tuscan Kale Salad.




Often times I will also make asparagus toast. With canned or fresh asparagus on whole wheat bread or an english muffin. I cover with cheese and bake in the oven. This is ridiculously good if you add a fried egg and truffle oil.



Those are most often my 3 go to lunches.
Dinner is more of a wild card. I cook alot of casseroles, tacos, etc that are not as healthy but what the hubs love. If we have tacos I just eat one, same with the casserole I just make mine in a small bowl. I will say I never buy or cook frozen meals. I find that they never taste good and I can whip up something healthier and tastier on my own. I don't even buy frozen pizzas anymore. I either order one or make it on Nann bread. About once a week I cook Salmon Cakes- see recipe here. This is a super cheap, healthy and easy meal. I usually serve them with steamed cabbage, beans or asparagus.



Several of you also asked me when I have time to cook. If it is something that can be made ahead I cook while Sterling naps. Otherwise from about 5 to 5:30 I let Sterling watch a tv show while I cook his dinner and at least get ours started. We usually don't eat til 8 because Matt never gets home til 7. Once he gets home he spends time with Sterling and I finish cooking. I love to cook and never consider this a chore. I always look forward to cooking. It is my downtime to sip my wine and be creative in the kitchen.

One big indulgence for me is alcohol, primarily wine.



I have a drink almost everyday. It keeps me sane ladies! I am super weird about taking medicine (don't even like to take Tylenol) so I have never been a pill popper but wine sure helps me relax after a long day. I eat less and workout so I can afford the calories from alcohol. 5-7 is the longest part of the day for me trying to get Sterling fed, cook our dinner, and bath him all before Matt gets home from work. So I usually pour a glass and start sipping at bath time. Sterling plays and I get some time to just zone out and relax! If I don't drink wine I have vodka with a splash of water and fresh lemon, but I usually save that drink for the weekend. It is a great low calorie drink option. I never drink mixed drinks mixed with sugary mixers. Like for instance I would never order a margarita at a restaurant I would just sip straight tequila instead (slowly). Too many calories plus the hangover is way worse from mixed drinks!

If you read this whole post bravo. Frankly I am tired just from writing it but I wanted to respond to questions some of ya'll had. Like I said I am no expert, this is just what works for me. If you are still interested in my exercise routine I will try and share that next week.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Shrimp Nachos With Pineapple Avocado Relish




Funny story is that these nachos actually came around by accident. We originally were planning to recreate our favorite Tuna Watermelon Nachos from a local restaurant here, Ritas down at Folly Beach. I went to the store and of course they had no tuna and no watermelon, the main ingredients we needed. So, I quickly improvised and decided to substitute shrimp and pineapple.
Let me tell you these nachos knocked our socks off. It is the perfect combo of flavors. It is important to buy good white queso for these nachos. We bought the Ole brand in the refrigerator section. It is a little pricier than the Tositito brand but the quality is so much better. You could also buy a block of the Mexican queso cheese and melt it on the stove too. If you don't like Shrimp I think they also would be great with chicken instead. Hope you enjoy these nachos as much as we do!




SHRIMP NACHOS
1/2 Pound Shrimp (Peeled, Deveined, and Diced)
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon of Siracha Hot Sauce
1 cup fresh Pineapple diced
1/2 Red onion diced
2 Jalapenos seeded and diced
1 Avocado diced
1 Container of White Queso (We used Ole brand)
Tortilla Chips (we used Snyders White Corn Tortilla chips)
Fresh Cilantro chopped for garnish

Peel, devein, and dice the shrimp. Place in a bowl and toss with the olive oil and Siracha hot sauce and lightly season with salt and pepper.

Sautee the red onions in olive oil for about 5 mins just until cooked slightly.

In a bowl mix the pineapple, avocado, sauteed onion, and jalapenos. Season with salt and pepper. Heat your queso in a skillet until melted.

Place tortilla chips in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 5-10 mins just to heat the chips.

While the chips are baking Sautee the Shrimp in the same pan you cooked the onions in about 3-4 minutes until the Shrimp are pink and cooked.

Remove Chips from oven and drizzle Queso all over.

Then add the Shrimp and Pineapple Avocado Relish. Sprinkle with fresh Cilantro and your favorite hot sauce and Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Obsessions

NEON PAINTED WOODEN SPOONS
I think you all know by now I am not a huge DIY kind of girl (I admit it I get lazy) but this is one DIY I most definitely plan to attempt. How cute would a a few of these be bundled together with oven mits and dish towels for a housewarming or hostess gift?


{via}



REBECCA MINKOFF BOMBE MAC PURSE
Love this purse in a serious way. It also comes in a coralish pink but I love the black version best.




LUCA COUTURE COLOR BLOCK TANK DRESS
I live in light weight knit dresses during the summer. It gets so darn hot here in Charleston and they keep me cool. I also love that you can pair them with cute flats during the day or dress them up with wedges or heels for a night out. Loving this color block tank dress and it is a great price!



KENNETH JAY LANE JADE NECKLACE
I am really loving this chunky necklace for summer. I am all about chunky necklaces paired with my summer maxis and blouses. I think this jade color would look amaze with pink.



WASABI AND SOY SAUCE ALMONDS
These almonds are so delicious. The perfect touch of spice from the wasabi and salt from the soy sauce. I highly recommend! They have been my go-to snack lately!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Scenes From Our Weekend

Here is what went down!
On Friday I went to the Spring event at Novel here in Charleston and got the cutest hand painted bags by WayWay ( Blue Chickadee). Inside each bag there was a notebook and pen, the perfect little gift in my opinion. WayWay does some many cool hand painted things- you can check out more on her blog here. I scarfed up a few of these bag sets to save for gifts. For all you locals you should totally stop in Novel sometime, in addition to WayWay's painted items, they had the most gorgeous stationary by Bon Vivant and I am still dreaming about the Jewelry by Jane Pope. A girl could do some damage in there!



We enjoyed St Patty's at the beach near our house. The weather was perfect all weekend.






Attended two 30th Birthday parties and a dinner Saturday night. Here is what I wore:
Dress is DVF and bracelet is JCrew.



My local wine store recommended this great Chardonnay blend. I love shopping for wine at local wine stores vs the grocery store because you can find such great wines at a great price because the mark up is not as high. This wine was delish and retailed for $9.00. I find on a whole wine stores have a much better selection and the owners are always super knowledgeable.



We made the most amazing Shrimp Nachos. Recipe to come Wednesday and trust me you don't want to miss this one! Matt and I both agreed these were one of our best creations yet!



Enjoyed my Sunday morning (a wee bit hungover) outside reading Vogue, sipping coffee, and watching my little man run around. The perfect morning.


Have a great Monday! Its the start of my Birthday week and I believe in celebrating for a full week! I have decided I really want a pair of colored jeans for my birthday. I don't own any colored jeans, so I want to know who makes the most perfect fitting colored jeans? I am leaning towards these two colors, either coral or mint green. I would prefer not to spend a fortune on the jeans but I am willing to pay more for a great fitting pair. So tell me ladies where should I shop to find the best colored jeans?



Friday, March 16, 2012

Thoughts For Friday

Happy Friday! I am so excited for this weekend. We have so many fun parties to attend which is very welcome after two low key weekends. I am ready to get dressed up and get my party on!


I went out to dinner Monday night with two of my favorite ladies Chassity and Caycee to celebrate Chassity's birthday. We dined at The Macintosh and it was amazing. Loved everything we ate. If you dine there I highly recommend the truffled fries and Lavender Martini- out of this world! Here is my Outfit (Dress is Generra from Hampden Clothing a few years ago)

How cute does Kristen Cavelleri look preggo in her one-piece. I mean I seriously want that bathing suit pregnant or not it is so chic. Anyone know who makes this swimsuit?



I am thinking about picking up these rubber Tory Burch flipflops. Anyone own a pair? I am looking for a casual pair of flipflops to wear with shorts and dresses this summer. I am digging the black and tan. They seem like the perfect summer sandal for a fraction of the cost of her other shoes.





I rue the day Matt ever brought home this new Fruity Pebbles cereal. You see I have a weakness for cereal. I can't buy the sweet kind because I will eat a whole box in a day. The Marshmallow Pebbles is ridiculously good, you should buy some. But be warned, its like crack I can't stop eating it.




I was browsing through Oprah's magazine (which surprisingly was a pretty good read) while I got my nails done last week and came across a new juice recipe from Dr. Oz. He said it was his go-to detox juice recipe. I made it this week and really liked it. For those of you with juicers you should totally try this recipe out.




I am not a huge St. Patrick's Day partier. Although I will say I went through a stage in college where I loved Guinness and it was all I wanted to drink (so random, right?? But I found since it was less carbonated I could drink more without feeling so full. Priorities in college. Plus it does have less calories than most beers.) Now I never really drink beer but I am thinking I want to make these festive "Pot of Gold" cocktails featured on the Glitter Guide yesterday. They have fresh pear juice and champagne in them and sound divine.




My birthday is a week from Saturday and I am actually excited about it this year. My family gets in town Thursday and I am hoping to hit up the Rooftop Bar or somewhere with fabulous outdoor seating since the weather has been so nice. For my local readers what are your favorite outdoor spots to enjoy drinks in Charleston?
If money were no object this is what I would like to wear for my Birthday night out.
Tibi Draped Shift Dress



and I would pair it with these DVF Sinead Twist Sandals



Here's to hoping the weather this weekend is as amazing as it has been all week. We have been loving our park playdates! Gotta love that my little man insists on wearing his rainboots with every outfit!



Have a fabulous weekend!