Thoughts For Thursday

A few random thoughts today.  

Stopped in one of my favorite Charleston boutiques this week, Beckett Boutique.  So many gorgeous pieces.  I always love browsing at their new arrivals.

Still dreaming about this gorgeous maxi.

I had lunch with girlfriends at the Pickled Palette this week.  Such a cute spot.  Everything was super fresh and yummy. 

The pimento cheese was so good.  I also had the vegan sandwich and loved it.

What I wore:

Ruffle Sleeve Dress also Here | Sunglasses | Necklace | Sandals 

I love this tee shirt dress- I also own it in the tee version as well.

New song obsession.  One Republic- Let's Hurt Tonight.  Download it, you will love it.

Also totally obsessed with James Arthur.  Say you Wont Let go is always on repeat in my car.

Outfit Planning.

Dress | Sandals | Tote | Necklace

This cutie had his last tennis match of the season.

So very proud of him and his school team.

Favorite workout gear.

This tank top is the best, not too fitted and the perfect length.  

Tank | Leggings | Shoes

I have tried out both Beautycounter new face masks and I really like them.  I prefer the plumping one though to the brightening one.  My skin felt so amazing after I used it.  Totally refreshed and smooth.  I highly recommend it. 

Brightening Mask | Plumping Mask

Loft is offering 40% off everything.  I recently bought this off shoulder blouse.  I loved the floral print and tie sleeve detail.

Blouse | Jeans | Clutch

Thanks to my friend Megan, I am totally obsessed with Cauliflower rice now.  I have been buying the bags at Trader Joes.  We had it for dinner this week with roast chicken and veggies and I have been having it in the morning with a little Parmesan cheese, an egg and veggie sausage.  

Thursday vibes.

Asparagus Caprese Salad + My 4 Dress Options for Dinner En Blanc

Summer salads make me giddy.  This one is super easy and full of crazy good flavors.  I love fresh mozzarella on anything.  If you follow me on instastories you saw that I served this salad with a roast chicken and cauliflower rice for dinner last night.  I am basically obsessed with cauliflower rice these days- the kids not so much.   If you wanted a vegetarian meal you could skip the chicken or even serve this over quinoa and/or lettuce for a heartier salad. 

This is best served room temperature.

Enjoy! 

|| A S P A R A G U S   C A P R E S E   S A L A D ||

- 1 bunch asparagus

- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

- small mozzarella balls, halved

- 1/2 cup pesto

- fresh basil

- olive oil

Wash asparagus and trim ends off.  Spread on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast at 350 degrees 15 minutes.

In a bowl toss, tomatoes, mozzarella and pesto together.  I added a little olive to loosen up the pesto.  

Remove asparagus to platter and scoop the tomato mozzarella salad over the top.  Sprinkle with fresh basil. 

** I used store bought pesto but homemade is always so much better

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I mentioned before that on Thursday I am attending the Dinner en Blanc here in Charleston.  I wanted to share the 4 dresses that I considered for the event.  I am pretty sure I have made up my mind and will share Thursday what I am wearing so follow along on instagram (@snoopnattynat) as I will be posting from the party:) 

OPTION ONE

OPTION TWO

OPTION THREE

OPTION 4

Also for the next 2 days Baublebar is having a big sale and many Spring styles are on major sale.

I have these in the blush color and love them!  

Drop Earrings- only $24 now

Thai Chicken Meatballs + Curry Cauliflower + Dressing Room Find | Tee Shirt Dress

Happy Humpday guys!  I had several requests to share the recipes from my instastory Monday night featuring these Thai meatballs and curry cauliflower.  I have to say both were amazing.  The flavors were off the hook good and both were relatively easy to make and healthy.  The meatballs have no bread in them just chia seeds to bind so they are super light and tasty.

I swear I only have one kid that is a good eater at a time.  Right now it is Sterling.  As I was making the meatballs he exclaimed that looks gross like 10 times.  The green stuff always throws him for a loop.  After he sat down to eat them, he looked at me and goes " Mom,  you were right these are awesome." Winning mom moment, I love when I am right:)  Frances however would not touch dinner and went to bed hungry.  Go figure, at least one child appreciated my cooking skills.  These are a little spicy so use less hot sauce if you don't want them as spicy. 

I loved both and I also paired mine with my favorite Asian Kale Salad.  The 3 make a pretty killer dinner combo in my book:) 

Enjoy!

|| T H A I   C H I C K E N  M E A T B A L S || 

via The Dude Diet

- 1 pound ground chicken

- 3 garlic cloves minced

- 1.5 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

- 3 green onions sliced finely

- 1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped

- 1.5 teaspoons soy sauce

- 2 teaspoons sesame oil

- 2 tablespoons chia seeds

FOR THE GLAZE

- 3 tablespoons soy sauce

- juice of 1/2 lime

- 1 tablespoon honey

- 1 tablespoon sriracha

Put all the ingredients for the meatballs in a medium bowl.  Use your hands to mix all together.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  This gives the chia seeds time to bind everything together. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

With damp hands gently roll the chicken mix into balls.  Don't squeeze the meat too much.  Arrange them on the baking sheet.  Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large skillet, whisk together ingredients for the glaze.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook about 1 minute or until it slightly thickens.  Add meatballs to skillet and shake to gently coat with glaze.  Serve warm.

|| R O A S T E D  C A U L I F L O W E R  W I T H  C U R R Y + L I M E ||

via It's All Easy

- 1 head cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder

- 3 tablespoons vegenaise

- juice of one lime

- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put the cauliflower on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil, curry, and salt.  Roast for 20 minutes.

Mix vegenaise and lime juice in a large bowl.  When cauliflower is done toss it in this mixture.  Add cilantro and mix all together.

................................................................

The dressing room find of this week is a super cute tee shirt dress I spied at Loft.  

I am wearing a size small runs TTS.   I loved the pattern and the fact that it was not clingy

Swing Dress you can find my shoes HERE

also comes in black.

NYC Recap

Happy Monday!  I got back in town yesterday from such a fun girl's trip to NYC.  My dad was so sweet and booked a trip for me, my mom, my sister and sister in law.  We actually flew back in Saturday but I was not breathing well and had to go to Urgent Care in Charlotte after we landed.   One steriod shot, a new inhaler and steriod pills and I am on the mend. 

 I was so happy to see these loves yesterday.  They always request that I bring them back NYC tee shirts.

Wednesday morning we flew out bright and early to NYC.  This tote is my favorite carry on.  It fits so much and can fit under the airplane seat.

Tote | Suitcase

Tee | Jeans | Similar Scarf under $20

Chilling with my sister on the airplane.

We landed,  checked in our hotel and headed to lunch.  I had a mile long list of restaurants I wanted to eat at while we were in NYC.  First stop was Jack's Wife Frieda.  We all loved it.

The breakfast bowl + Greek Salad.  The breakfast bowl was insane and it came with this avocado jalapeno dressing that was out of this world.  

Grilled Halloumi cheese.  I loved the addition of grapes with the cheese.

That afternoon we shopped and then headed back to shower for dinner.

Dress | Shoes | Purse

We had dinner that night at Buddakan.  Matt and I ate there last year when we visited and loved it.  I seriously dream about these edamame dumplings.

This was a cauliflower pop- filled with cheese and wrapped in breadcrumbs.  

The next morning we were up bright and early for Live with Kelly.  My dad won VIP tickets at a silent auction.  

Waiting for the show outside the studio.

I have to say I watch Live with Kelly most days so it was so cool to see it filmed LIVE.

 The guest host was John Leguizamo.  I loved him he was so funny.

We had awesome seats on the third row and during commercials Kelly would walk over and talk to us.  She is even cuter in person and so tiny!!

The two guests were Matt Leblanc and Dakota Fanning.

The girls. 

What I wore:

I bought this sweater during the shopbop sale and it was my favorite purchase.  I am wearing a size small.

Sweater | Necklace | Jeans (on sale) | Booties

After the show we headed to Magnolia Bakery for a small nibble.  I had the sugar cinnamon muffin and it was incredible.

My mom had the caramel cake and it was legit.

We strolled through Central Park.  It is so gorgeous in the Fall.

Then we headed to Fred's at Barney's for lunch.

I loved the atmosphere here.  I had the chopped chicken salad.  This was however probably my least favorite place we ate at.  The food wasn't bad it was just not as good as some of the other places we dined at and pretty pricey.

We shopped a little more and then headed home to change for Happy Hour.  My blouse has the cutest split back.  It runs on the large side, I am wearing a size 2. 

What I wore:

Blouse | Jeans | Sandals | Purse | Necklace

We had happy hour at the Crosby Street Hotel and loved it.  Fun atmosphere and great drinks!

Dinner that night was at Mario Batali's new restaurant La Sirena.  This may have been our favorite dinner.  We loved the decor, atmosphere and the food was incredible.

I loved the tile floors.

We shared four dishes.  The pesto lasagna, ravioli, gnocchi and meat pasta. 

All 4 of us ladies.

Friday it was a rainy day but we ventured out anyways.

I had a meeting at the Baublebar Showroom and got to preview some of the new Holiday collection and trust me it's good!

I especially loved these earrings that are now online.

After that we headed to ABC Kitchen for lunch.  I had heard great things about ABC kitchen and it did not disappoint.  It is all farm to table and I wanted to sample everything on the menu.

We all shared the Squash Toast for appetizer and it was so good! I have plans to recreate this at home!

Then mom and I split the burger and carrot/avocado salad.

 I don't eat burgers often but this one was really good.   It had jalapenos and a delish herb mayo.

My outfit that day:

I ended up not packing my blush Joie sneakers after several people commented the NYC streets would ruin them.  I bought this Ugg pair after seeing my sister's and I think I like them even better than the Joie pair.  I walked miles in them and they were so comfortable.

Sweater | Tee | Jeans | Sneakers | Necklace

That night we grabbed drink at The Highline hotel.  Kind of a gothic vibe and super chill.

The bartender made us a tasty drink with vodka, grapefruit, and mint.  

What I wore:

I love this blouse because of the length!  You can even wear it with leggings because it covers your bottom.  I am wearing a XS.

Blouse | Earrings | Jeans | Sandals

We then headed to dinner at Cookshop. 

 I had the Mezze Platter and it was so good.  It had roasted beets, cauliflower, broccoli rabe, eggplant, and farro.  

These three items were favorites that I packed and I got so much use out of:

This clutch is super flat and easy to pack.  I love the size and the fact that it can hold so much stuff.  This driftwood color is new for Fall and the perfect neutral.  It comes in 10 other color options.

Uber Clutch

Ugg Sneakers

These are so comfortable and the color went with so many of my outfits.  I am now addicted to the casual sneaker.  They are also water resistant which worked out great since I had to wear them in the rain one day.  I went up a 1/2 size in these.  I am normally a 9 and did a 9.5.  They are under $100 too!

I didn't walk miles in these heels but I walked several blocks and they didn't hurt my feet.  The caramel color went with all my outfits. They run TTS. 

Heels