Obsessions

It's Tuesday and my sweet baby is still sick. A viral infection they say, so here's to hoping he is a better tomorrow, because Mama hates seeing her little man sick. Since I have had little to no time for myself or to visit your blogs because I have been tending to my little one, this list will be short and sweet.

BEACH HOUSE WINE
I met the wine rep for this wine at Harris Teeter last week. Of course he talked me into buying one of the wines he sales, but he was right, this wine is great. I was very impressed, it is a blend of sauvignon blanc and semillion. It is light, not sweet and crisp. It is my new favorite wine. You should totally buy some.

SUPER NATURAL EVERYDAY COOKBOOK
I am sure alot of you are familiar with Heidi Swanson, the author of the fantastic blog 101 Cookbooks. I recently got her cookbook and it is great. I have just been reading it (I know I am a nerd that reads cookbooks before I use them)and have not actually made any recipes but they all look amazing and so healthy. Heidi gives great tips for cooking with grains, substituting flours etc to make your meals healthier. A few things I can't wait to make Kale Salad, Quinoa Patties, and Cauliflower Soup. I will warn you she is a vegetarian so there are no meat recipes in this book, but there are tons of other delicious options.

GREEN JUICE
Saturday before the farmers market my friend Alissa made us some green juice. A blend of kale, spinach, cucumbers, apples, parsley, ginger, and lemons and now I am hooked. The juice was so tasty and maybe it was in my head but I swear I had more energy that day. I know my girl Gwennie loves her green juice which makes me love it even more. Now I just need a juicer to make my own!

MISSONI BALLET FLATS + CROCHET KNIT SHIRT
I admit it I am kind of ready for fall already. I mean who isn't with these sweltering temps. I am a huge Missoni fan and these are two pieces I would like for my fall wardrobe. I think the flats would look fab with skinny jeans and a loose white blouse or fitted black shirt. I think the shirt would go with everything from shorts to wide leg jeans! I heart Missoni patterns and colors. These are two pieces I am sure I would wear often!

Shoes via shopbop, shirt via netaporter

Weekend Happenings

Here is what went down this weekend.

I went to the Farmers Market downtown in Marion Square. It was my first time going to the Farmers Market downtown, hard to believe since I have lived here almost 4 years now. I usually go to a local stand near my house but decided I wanted to check out the big one. It was fabulous there were so many stands with tasty food and drinks not mention all the gorgeous produce! I bought all these local goodies: tomatoes, baby heirloom tomatoes, fresh figs, butter beans, sweet potatoes, Russian kale, and peaches.

I can't wait to cook some delish fresh meals with all these goodies. I am planning on making this sweet potato black bean salad from With Style and Grace with my potatoes.

and this Tomato Feta Salad from Barefoot Contessa with my baby heirlooms. My girl Ina never disappoints.

On Friday I made this tasty blueberry banana bread with some fruit I had that was about to go bad. We enjoyed it all weekend. Recipe to come Wednesday.

On Sunday we decided to clean under our sea grass rug in the den, per Matt's suggestion. I really didn't want to tackle this but I am glad we did. Our allergies have been horrible and we thought the rug might be the problem. We were right. This is what was under our rug. How disgusting! It was sand and dust and really was making us sick. The rug is living outside now while we look for a replacement. Sea Grass rugs are hard to vacuum and get really clean which is why I think all this was under our rug. Sorry to gross ya'll out on a Monday.

We took care of this nugget who got really sick on Sunday. He ran a fever of 104 and really freaked me out. He was not a happy camper, and I had a very long night worrying about him and checking on him every hour. We are off to the Doctor this morning. Why is it that kids always get sick on the weekend when you can't get in to see a doctor??

And we celebrated National Tequila Day on Sunday. We needed the tequila after our long day!

For All You Moms

When My friend Julia posted this article last week, I knew I had to share it. So many days Matt will come home and say how was your day, what did you do? Besides the obvious feeding Sterling, changing diapers, cleaning house, doing laundry, etc I am sometimes like what did we do today? It is not like I sit around and watch tv all day, my day is busy. It is just hard to put into words what we do all day. This article said it perfectly. Also since having a child I am slack about returning phone calls, emails and even sometimes texts, so hopefully this helps explain it. Word to your mom.

Friday Friday

I think Fridays are going to be my day for random posts. I have a million different things going on in my head, so bear with the randomness of this post.

I am so glad it is the weekend. I feel like this week has crept by. Today I am meeting my friend Stacy for lunch, she just had triplets in April!! I can't wait to catch up. I honestly don't know how she does at all, as my one baby is alot to handle! We are going to eat at this new place here called Black Bean Company. They are supposed to use all local and organic ingredients. I can't wait to check it out.

I am thinking about cooking truffled mac and cheese with lobster for dinner this weekend. Lobster is usually not on the menu in the Mason household but the tails are on special right now at Harris Teeter for $5.99, a real steal. Problem is I have never made truffled mac and cheese. I am assuming you just add truffle oil to the mac and cheese. Any tips would be appreciated!

I just recently busted out my Pleasure Doing Business stripped mini skirt. I ordered this while I was pregnant after seeing a very pregnant Heidi Klum wear it. This is laughable for so many reasons, as while I was pregnant I couldn't even get it up past my hips. I came across it in my closet and have been wearing it alot lately. It is super comfortable and really sucks you in. I really suggest these if you are looking for a cute versatile skirt to dress up or down. I ordered mine online at Singer 22 but that was probably 2 years ago so not sure if they still have the same style.

I am really wanting to go see The Green Lantern. Normally superhero movies are not my cup of tea, but I seriously love Mr. Ryan Reynolds. Anyone seen it? I read that Ryan Reynolds and Charlize Theron are dating and that makes me happy. I really didn't like him and ScarJo together, always thought he could do better. Charlize is gorgeous and so is he, so they are a perfect match. BTW you are welcome for the shirtless pic of Ryan, the perfect eye candy for Friday.

I am devastated Tuesday was the last episode of Million Dollar Decorators. In the words of Martyn Lawrence Bullard the show was delicious. I just started watching the new season of Design Star but its not the same. I miss Mary and Ross.

Luckily Rachel Zoe is starting back in August, so I will have some other quality TV to watch and help me forget MDD.

I am loving the new fall 811 twill colored jeans J Brand just came out with. I never bought any colored jeans or jean shorts this summer. I like these more subdued colors even better than the summer brights. I am thinking the dark teal color is my favorite, thoughts?

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I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! xoxo

DVF Rocks My World

It is no secret I am a huge fan of DVF's clothing line. I absolutely adore her dresses and blouses. They are staples in my closet that I never tire of and always want to wear. I am smitten with her fall line. Bloomingdales showed a sneak peek of all her fall clothes and they are simply gorgeous. The color palette is beautiful and the styles are so flattering. Here are a few I am lusting after!

All can found at Bloomingdales

For fun I thought I would share some of my favorite DVF pieces. These are three of my all time favorite DVF blouses that I wear all the time! I can't wait to add more to my growing collection!

7 Layer Greek Dip

So I went with the Greek dip last weekend for dinner with our friends. Are you surprised? I am a Greek food freak, can't get enough of it. This dip was amazing!! Even my hubby who usually doesn't love hummus or feta was scarfing it down. It was easy to prepare early in the day and then just let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. I think it gets even better as it sits and the flavors mold together. I think overall this is a pretty healthy dip that you don't have to feel guilty eating. I served ours with whole wheat pita chips.

My dip is not quite as pretty as Ourbestbite's photo up top but I assure you it tasted great. I really need to take a class in food photography 101!


7-Layer Greek Dip
Adapted by Our Best Bites from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened (I used low-fat)
1 tsp. dill weed or Greek seasoning (salt free–go for a mix that just has herbs)
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 c. hummus
1 c. seeded, diced cucumbers
1 c. seeded, diced tomatoes
1/2 c. chopped Kalamata olives
1/3 c. chopped green onions (about 3 green onions completely chopped)
1/2 c. crumbled Feta cheese
1/8-1/4 c. minced fresh parsley

With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, seasoning, garlic, and lemon juice until light and fluffy. Spread in the bottom of a pie plate or a small, shallow baking dish. Then spread a layer of hummus. In order, create layers by sprinkling the cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, onions, Feta cheese, and parsley. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours. Serve with pita chips, fresh vegetables, and/or flatbread

check out Ourbestbites HERE to see some assembly pictures of the 7 layer dip and to view a really fabulous food blog.

Obsessions

PINK DINING ROOM CHAIRS
I am currently lusting after pink dining room chairs. My dining room walls are a pale gray so I think pink could look really great in there. I love all these dining rooms with their gorgeous pink chairs!

AUGUSTA'S OLIVE PIMENTO CHEESE
This is a company based out of Charlotte that makes delish pimento cheese. I just tried their new white cheddar olive pimento cheese and it was off the hook. I adore cheese and olives so this was the perfect spread for me. They also make original and jalapeno flavors. The best part is you can read and understand all the ingredients on the label. There are no weird additives or flavors. Just pure delicious cheese. Another reason I love it, Augusta is my sister's middle name:) They are sold at Harris Teeter. I couldn't find a website for them but they do have a facebook page, so check them out!

MINT ICE CUBES
I frequently make lemon and lime ice cubes and love them. I had an abundance of mint in my garden and decided to make mint ice cubes. They are so refreshing and tasty. I use them in water and my green tea, they give the perfect touch of mint to your drink!

FIREFLY LANE BY KRISTIN HANNAH
I just started reading this book and I am already almost half way through it. Without sounding like too much of a nerd I look forward to reading it every night and don't want to put it down! It is the story of the friendship of two girls and it follows them over a 30 year time span. I highly recommend this!! Has anyone read any of Kristin's other novels? Just curious as this is the first book I have read by her and might want to check out her others.

MARA HOFFMAN MAXI DRESS
I am in love with this maxi dress. I love the twisted strap, the colors and everything! It is still out of my price range even though it is one sale, but maybe if it gets reduced again I can snag it!

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I hope you all have a lovely Tuesday!