Friday, January 20, 2012

Thoughts For Friday

This week is restaurant week in Charleston, which means amazing three course meals at great prices. Last night we dined at Fish downtown. We got 3 courses for $20, a real steal!




I enjoyed the Snapper and Butternut Squash Creme Brulee. Both were amazing, I cleaned my plates! I highly recommend this place to any of you locals.





They just announced Emily Maynard is set to be the next Bachelorette and they will be filming in my hometown Charlotte. I have mixed feelings about Emily, she seems sweet but I have heard she is a bit of a gold digger. I do look forward to see what she is wearing. I really liked her wardrobe choices on the Bachelor (word is they were provided by Poole Shop and Capital, two amazing stores in Charlotte). Thoughts on Emily, do you think she was a good choice?



I picked up the most adorable maxi dress at Target this week while stocking up on toiletries and cleaning supplies. Gotta love a shop where you can buy Bleach and a cute dress all in the same spot. The maxi dress has me ready for a tan, summer cocktails, and a day at the beach!




I have been getting super organized around here. I saw this idea on Pinterest and quickly organized all my manuals like this. It is such a genius idea.

I was super excited to get my new Elle in the mail this week featuring Reese Witherspoon. I am a huge fan of her and think she looks gorgeous on the cover.

I found quite possibly the perfect snack combo. In my attempt to eat healthier and cleaner I have started popping my own popcorn and avoiding the chemical filled bags. It tastes so much better when you pop your own. and Target has a whole grain version that is so good, especially drizzled with truffle oil!

Found this amazing quote from one of my favorite Mumford and Sons songs. Love it!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Charleston Hot Spots According to Yours Truly!


I totally forgot to mention this morning in my post that I am also guest posting today over at Natasha's Blog Schue Love.

Her blog is one of my all time favorite reads, filled with good eats, gorgeous interiors, and now pictures of her growing adorable baby bump! Natasha is such a doll so please go check out her blog and show some love.
I am sharing my favorites things to do in Charleston, SC! Here is a sneak peek of one of my favorite meals in town. Now head over HERE to read the rest!

You Like What You See?



We have a new addition to our house. This little beauty. And guess what I painted her! I know, I know, peeps all over the blogasphere are whipping out paintings and it is nothing new to create your own abstract art, but darn it I am proud of myself and want to share it. You see I repainted this canvas three times to finally achieve a painting that I like. Abstract painting ain't as easy as it looks. If only I had captured the ones in between (well maybe not they were pretty bad, bad enough that my mom recommended I take it down). 3 coats of white paint and 4 paintings later I love the end result. This was a true labor of love!




Here are a few paintings that inspired my little masterpiece. All of these artists are insanely talented. I could look at their work all day long. Their paintings are beyond gorgeous and I would love to own any one of these pieces (hint to Matt because my Birthday is coming up)!

{Made By Girl}


{De Kooning}

{Kate Long Stevenson}

{Helen Frankenthaler}

{Joesba Eskubi}

{Sally King Benedict}



{Yolanda Sanchez}
So tell me, do you love abstract art as much as I do? I know it is not everyone's taste but I sure do heart an abstract painting.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Tuscan Chicken Cakes + Cauliflower Soup



As promised I am back with the best menu ever for the next time you have guests over. This week you lucky gals are getting two recipes instead of just one I have my friend Melissa to thank for this delish Tuscan Chicken Cake Recipe. As soon as we made plans to have friends over I immediately texted her and told her to send me her favorite entertaining recipe. She is a great cook so I knew I would not be disappointed. These Chicken Cakes are very similar to Crab Cakes. I absolutely love the Mediterranean twist on them. Adding in a little pesto and roasted red peppers gave the cakes great flavor. The best part is that you can make them ahead. I made the cakes and both sauces the morning before our friends came over and just refrigerated them til I was ready to cook them that night. They also look pretty beautiful plated. You and your guests will love these tasty cakes.

TUSCAN CHICKEN CAKES WITH TOMATO BASIL RELISH3 Cups Cooked Chicken shredded and chopped
½ Cup finely chopped red onion (**I use a Rotisserie Chicken**)2 TBS Olive Oil
1 Cup Italian Breadcrumbs, divided
1 pkg of mixed greens
¼ Cup Mayonnaise
1/3 Cup Balsamic and Oil Dressing (I just made my own with olive oil and balsamic vinegar)1 Egg, lightly beaten
Golden Aioli (see directions below)
¼ Cup prepared basil pesto
Tomato Basil Relish (see below)
2 tsp honey mustard
1/3 Cup finely chopped roasted red peppers, drained
1 Package mixed salad greens.

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, mix together chicken, ½ cup bread crumbs, mayo, egg, pesto, honey mustard, roasted red peppers and onion. Shape chicken mixture into 8 cakes. Lightly coat each with remaining ½ cup bread crumbs.
In a large nonstick skillet, place oil over medium high heat. Cook chicken cakes 3 mins per side. Drain on a paper towel.
Toss salad greens with balsamic dressing and divide among 4 serving plates. Top each with 2 chicken cakes; drizzle with Golden Aioli and a dollop of Tomato-Basil Relish.

GOLDEN AIOLI:
Whisk together ½ cup mayo and 2 TBS honey mustard

TOMATO-BASIL RELISH:
Mix together 1 cup seeded and chopped plum tomatoes with 1/3 cup chopped red onion, 2TBS silvered basil leaves, 1 tsp basil pesto, and 2 TBS balsamic/oil dressing.


CAULIFLOWER SOUP
For a starter I made Cauliflower Soup. I have actually never made Cauliflower soup before but I recently had some at the Glass Onion and knew I needed to recreate it asap. It was such a silky smooth soup with amazing flavor. I googled a few recipes then ended up creating my own version. This soup was so easy to make and I just let it simmer for a few hours before we ate. It reheated fantastically the next day as well. This just might become your new favorite soup. I added in truffle oil and crumbled bacon which let me tell you made this soup freaking fantastic- but you can totally leave them out if you prefer.


CAULIFLOWER SOUP
1 head cauliflower
1-2 garlic cloves
1 carrot diced
1 celery stalk diced
1 small onion diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
2 bay leaf
1.5 cups heavy cream
1-2 tablespoons truffle oil


Preheat oven to 425°F.

Cut cauliflower into 1-inch flowerets. In a large baking pan toss cauliflower with oil to coat and roast in middle of oven about 30 minutes, or until golden.

Sautee celery, carrot, onions and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Add in broth, roasted cauliflower, and herbs. Simmer 30 min-1 hour, or until cauliflower is very tender. Discard bay leaves and in a blender puree soup in batches until smooth (or use an immersion blender if you have one), transferring to a bowl. Return soup to bowl and stir in cream and salt and pepper to taste. Heat soup over moderate heat until just heated through. Stir in truffle oil just before serving. Optional- we served ours with crumbled bacon over top.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Obsessions

Thank you all for the great time out suggestions! I truly value everyone's opinions and so appreciate all the advice. I will let you know how it goes! Here are my latest Obsessions this week!

CHARLES ALBERT AGATE RING
I am pretty smitten with this ring. I am drawn to the pink because hello, I love me some pink but I am thinking I would probably wear the nude version more often.



TUFTED HEADBOARDS PLUS AMAZING WALLPAPER
This might quite possibly the perfect bedroom combo in my humble opinion. I love the idea of just wallpapering the one wall behind the bed. I am still lusting after a tufted headboard for our bedroom.





IMAGES VIA DECORPAD AND PINTEREST
TOM'S BALLET FLATS
I have to admit I am not a huge fan of regular Tom's. When I see other people wearing them I think they look cute but on me they just look plain stupid. I am however very excited about the new line of Tom's Ballet Flats coming out this Spring. Since I am almost 5'10 I live in ballet flats. I have my eye on the leopard pair!




ESSIE PINK PARKA
I am 100 percent on board with the neon trend this summer. I can't wait to paint my nails this gorgeous Hot Pink shade by Essie!



BANANA REPUBLIC MOD PRINT PINTUCK SHELL
In keeping with my hot pink love affair I picked up this Banana Republic Blouse last week. I love that they send you rewards and coupons all the time. I got this baby for practically nothing. Right now they are having 30 percent off everything with code NEWYOU. I think this top will be super cute with my skinny jeans and a cardigan til summer hits and then I will wear it with shorts.



It looks cute with my workout pants, right?



It also comes in a black version that is equally as cute.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Scenes From Our Weekend

Happy MLK Day Friends!
Who watched the Golden Globes last night? I love award season (Well, I really just love the red carpet, the awards can be a bit snoozeville). My top picka for best dressed ladies were:
Reese Witherspoon. Great color and love the hair. Although side note- Matt said she looked pregnant. I thought she looked gorgeous and I love a woman with curves who shows them off!

Salma Hyeck. Girl looks gorgeous in her Gucci dress. I love the 70's vibe of it.


Paula Patton. I love this girl. I think she is always stunning. Yellow looks amazing on her.

Heidi Klum. Nude plus turquoise is the perfect combo. She looks freaking amazing to have 4 kids.

Nicole Ritchie. I am always a fan of Nicole. Love her hair and silver gown. She has come a long way since The Simple Life!

Jessica Alba. All I can say is she is my inspiration post baby. Girl can lose some baby weight so fast! I wonder if Brad styled her for this?

We had friends over for dinner Friday night and cooked up some amazing food (recipes to come Wednesday)



Drank some delicious wine- you can find this at Whole Foods, so darn good!



We really enjoyed ourselves!



I finally watched Food Inc. Wow. I probably won't ever look at meat the same way again. A few things I will change in my life- I will now only buy organic milk, eggs, and meat. I honestly don't eat a ton of meat anyways but this really made me look at chicken, pork, and red meat in a whole new light. I will also try and buy more from local Farmers to reduce my carbon foot print and support them. I really recommend watching this, it gives such a great behind the scenes look on food production.



I ate a crapload of the Energy Balls I blogged about Friday!



And spent alot of time cuddling with this nugget who was sick.



This is him teaching his elephant how to blow his nose. I heard him saying "Booger, nose" to the elephant. Too funny.