Grilled Eggplant Stacks

On Monday nights Matt usually has softball games that he plays in thru his law firm.  Now don't get me wrong,  I miss him on those nights, but those are the nights I get the freedom to cook what I actually want (and watch all the trashy reality TV I want to as well).  Matt thinks that a meal is not complete with meat and there is nothing I love more than a vegetarian meal.  So, on the nights that he plays ball I always cook completely vegetarian meals.  Meat really grosses me out alot of the time.

I have had this recipe saved forever.  I pinned it and it was dubbed "The Recipe that got 100,000 pins"  Should be good right?  If that many people are repinning it.   Saturday I finally picked up some fresh eggplants and was ready to get down to business and cook.  This recipe was full of so much flavor.  It was light, healthy, and delicious.  I highly recommend.  I think it would be great to serve at a dinner pary because look how beautiful the stacks are!   I even had two stacks left that Matt ate when he got home and he commented that they were way better than he thought they would be.  A gold star review for a vegetarian meal from the hubs,  Trust me you should make these tasty stacks soon.

GRILLED EGGPLANT STACKS

{4 Servings}

1 large eggplant

3 large tomatoes, to match the diameter of the eggplant

0.4 lbs Bulgarian feta, crumbled

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

juice of half lemon

2 garlic cloves

½ extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut of the eggplant crosswise into ½” thick rounds. Lightly season them with salt and leave them for 30 minutes on a side to let water to come out of the eggplant.

Once ready drizzle some olive oil on top of each slice and grill them on a lightly oiled grill rack for 2 -3 minutes each side.

Blend the basil leaves with 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt in an immersion blender until smooth.

Cut the tomatoes crosswise to 1/4” thick rounds.

Lightly oil the baking pan. Arrange 4 eggplant rounds side by side. Spread 1/2 tablespoon of the basil-garlic mixture on top of each one, then generously sprinkle feta crumbs. Top each with tomato rings. Add another layer of eggplant, basil spread, feta and tomato rounds and top with the rest of the crumbled feta.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Drizzle some olive oil on top of each stack and bake for 15-20 minutes.

ORIGINAL RECIPE VIA

Obsessions

RACHEL PALLY KAI MAXI DRESS

I am in love with this new Rachel Pally maxi dress.  The color is pure perfection.  You could easily wear this thru Fall.  I own several Rachel Pally pieces and they are so soft and comfortable. 

CHANEL TRAY

I am pretty sure I need one of these in my house.

BB DAKOTA MAYA LARIAT CARDIGAN

I know it is hot as heck outside but that is precisely why I am dreaming of fall.  I like to start buying fall things now because the good stuff always sells out fast,  as I am sure this cardigan will.  For the price it is a steal.  It would look so good with skinny jeans, a white tee, and knee high boots.  It even looks cute on the model over a summer dress.

BRASS HEADBOARD

Love this headboard!  Really love the look of the whole room.



SPARKED AGATE BIB NECKLACE

I am supposed to be on a necklace buying hiatus but this necklace keeps haunting me.  I have seen it in person and it is even more gorgeous than the pictures show.  Such a great statement necklace for only $58.  Comes in mint or coral, but how do I even decide between both great colors!  Leaning towards the mint though.....

Scenes From Our Weekend

I just realized this is the last week of July! Where has the first half of this year gone?  I feel like the Holidays are going to be upon us before we know it! I started off Friday with a pool date with my favorite ladies and their kids.   Apparently I need to get Sterling a puddle jumper, he was the only kiddo sans a float!

I will say it again but I am obsessed with my Rag and Bone White Skinny Jeans.  They are the perfect white jean and I have tried on many.  This was my outfit from Friday:

{F21 Blouse (old) , Rag and Bone Jeans, JCrew Necklace via Ebay, Tory Burch Emmy Flats}

Friday night we enjoyed some time near the water.  It was so nice and refreshing.  Always the perfect end to a busy week.

Check out my glass of wine that I ordered Friday at our Yacht Club.  Now that's what I call a healthy pour wine!

I have a new addiction and it is a smoothie every morning.  I usually do bananas and strawberries but I switched it up Saturday with fresh cherries and it was amazing.  I blend:  Approx 1/2 cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt, 2 Bananas, 1/2 cup pitted and diced cherries and ice.  This makes enough for 3 smoothies for me, Matt and Sterling. 

Sunday we cooked a down home kind of meal: BBQ Chicken, Butter beans, Okra, and Skillet Corn.

We don't cook chicken often because I am super weird about chicken and the way it is cooked, but I was craving BBQ chicken last night.  I had no idea what kind of BBQ sauce to buy.  I browsed and browsed and 90 percent of all the store brand BBQ sauce's first ingredient was Corn Starch- umm I don't think so, not eating that processed shiz.  After reading labels for 20 mins (I am not kidding) I randomly picked this bottle.  The ingredients were fairly fresh plus I liked the guy on the label.  Well it turned out to be awesome!! Such great flavor we will most def use this sauce again!

I stayed up way too late last night watching the Bachelorette season finale and After The Final Rose.  Reality Steve was right on about her choosing Jef.  I did feel bad for Arie he seemed truly shocked.   I thought it was nice she let him go early,  unlike Ashley last season who let Ben get down on one knee and propose when she knew she wanted JP- so rude and humiliating.  Jef really grew on me this season and his hair finally got a little better towards the end.  He seems like a very respectable guy hard to believe he is only 25.  I hope they last but I am not counting on it.  Lastly, I have to admit I did not like Emily's final dress at all- did y'all?

Neiman Marcus just started their Last Call Sale.  All sale items you get an additional 25% off.   That means almost 70% off regular prices!  There are some seriously good deals online so check it out!


Get to shopping and Happy Monday!

Thoughts For Friday

I think I might be the only person who gains weight in the Summer.  You would think it would be the opposite that I would lose weight in the Summer because I would be eating salads and working out to look good in my bikini.  But alas no, I have been eating and drinking way too much and gained 5lbs.  Doesn't seem like alot but it is in my mind.  I like to hover around a certain weight.   I came across this "sassy water" on pinterest and I have been drinking it like crazy. It says it helps boost weight loss.  Who knows if it is true but I am trying!

{1 liter water, 1 cucumber sliced, 1 lemon sliced, 10-12 mint leaves}

Guess what I have been loving lately?  My chevron blouse from Ann Taylor.  I am kind of shocked I have found two things I love from Ann Taylor.  On a whole I am kind of over chevron.   It is just everywhere and so over played but I do kind of love this blouse!  Especially paired with coral. 

{Ann Taylor Chevron Blouse, J Brand Cut-offs}

Can we please talk about the OC Housewives Reunion?  Why does this show entertain me so much?  A few thoughts.  Brooks is still super fake to me.  Why everyone else sees this but Vicki baffles me.  I think she was so sad in her marriage to Don that she is just happy to have any attention now.  I will say his teeth looked better- thank you Vicki for fronting that bill.
 I used to really dislike Gretchen but shocker she grew on me this year (still don't love her)  I kind of feel bad her and the whole Slade situation.  He is a super tool though, I feel like he chooses women to date that can support him and pay his debt and I am proud of her for not marrying him til he clears it up (although we will see if that really happens).  Tamara was rude and super mean to Vicki, made me sad when they used to be such good friends.  I did think it was funny when she called Alexis out for not working at the news station anymore.  Heather remains my favorite and I love that Andy asked her how the champers was at the end of the reunion.  Heather was most definitely best dressed with Vicki a close second.  The other's outfits and hair were just tacky and bad.

We are headed on our beach family vacation in August and I am looking for some good books to bring along.  Nothing I love more than laying in the sun and reading a fab book.  I heard Tigers Wife and Paris Wife were good reads, any other standout books?  I need recommendations!

I am convinced I need these Rag and Bone Newbury boots for the fall.  I know it is hot as crap outside but I am already dreaming of fall, my favorite season.  They are expensive, like more than I would ever pay for a shoe but dang it I love them.  Would you pay this much for a bootie?  Indulge me or is the heat just making me crazy?

{Rag and Bone Newbury Bootie}

I know alot of you really liked my green "all hail necklace" from Tuesdays post.  It is sold out right now,  but I found this almost identical version on Baublebar in Orange.  I think the orange would be great to wear for now and into fall.  Best part it is only $32!

{Permission Mosiac Bib}

I have been obsessed with this salad ever since I saw it on Proud Italian Cook.  How good does this look?  It is not only gorgeous but I bet it tastes amazing.  I think it will be made for our Sunday dinner with all my Farmers Markets goods.  You should check out her blog if you never have, her recipes are pretty ridic.

This is a quote that I truly need to remember,  You see I am a worrier about anything and everything!  This is such a nice reminder that worrying does no good,  something my dad has tried to instill in me for years.  Dad, I am trying to learn to think this way all the time, but it is easier said than done.

Pinterest DIY + Savor the Little Moments

I will admit it I am so not a DIY type of person.  I just get too lazy- I mean I am way too busy watching the OC Housewives Reunions 1 and 2 and that leaves me little time to DIY.  Most of the time it is easier just to buy something the way I want it than take the time and effort to re-do it.   However, when I saw this pin on Pinterest I knew it was a DIY I could tackle. 

PAINTED CANS

I immediately thought this was a great idea to paint cans and store all of Sterling's art supplies in.  Keeping things real, this was the state of his art basket before I started the project. A hot unorganized mess.

While I loved the pastel colors above I figured Sterling needed some more boyish colors.  I debated a long time (way too long) about what colors to use and eventually decided on blue, green, and orange.   For this project all I did was clean the empty cans well, wrap tape where I wanted the paint to end and paint.  I used acrylic paint that I already had.  This was super duper easy.  Don't look too close though I got eager and pulled the tape off too soon,  so some of the paint is uneven!

And while I was in a DIY mood I decided to spray paint his basket metallic silver. Made such a difference!  Here is the finished and organzied basket.  An easy DIY tackled at nap time!

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Speaking of my sweet baby he has gotten a bad habit where he won't go to sleep at night til I rock him. 

 I put him in bed and leave and he seems fine then 10 minutes later I hear him say "Mama rock you." He says this til I come in and rock him.   This happened Monday night right as The Bachelorette was starting.  I sighed and went in to rock him thinking I will make this super quick, I want to get back to my wine and show.  But as I was sitting there rocking him and he was being so sweet,  the words to the Trace Adkins Country song "You're Gonna Miss This" popped in my head.  It is a such a great song about a girl rushing through life wanting each stage to hurry up so she can get to the next one.  It talks about the importance of savoring the little moments.  The chorus is:

You're gonna miss this

You're gonna want this back

You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast

These are some good times

So take a good look around

You may not know it now

But you're gonna miss this

I thought about that song as a rocked him for a really long time, realizing that soon he will be old and not want me to rock him anymore much less hang out with him in public.  It is such a great reminder to savor life's little moments.  Because I know in the blink of an eye he will be grown.  You can read all the lyrics here.  That was my deep thought for the day:)

Blouse Source

So, I got a crazy amount of emails asking about my blouse from my post yesterday.

It is the Joie Mystic Blouse.  I am in love with this blouse and wear it all the time.  Can't say enough good things about it!  I purchased mine in store at Neiman Marcus awhile ago but,  I did a little researching online and found it HERE.  Plus it is on sale!

Shopbop has the white version,  which I also own and it is on sale right now as well.  It is great because it goes with everything!

and if you are a size Medium I found the green color on Ebay for $49.99 right now. So get to bidding!

Farmers Market Pizza

If you follow me on Instagram you probably already saw the picture of this luscious dish.  I made these little pizzas for dinner Monday night with all my Farmers Market goodies from Saturday.  Fresh Kale + Heirloom Tomatoes + Corn is crazy good on pizza.  Top with Mozzarella and Goat Cheese and you have a perfect pizza.  I am lazy and never make my own pizza dough, I use Naan Bread and just make Matt and I individual pizzas (of course he refused the greens on his pizza).  You could use any veggies you have but this combo is delish, trust me.

Pizza Pre Cheese Loaded with Veggies.

FARMERS MARKET PIZZA

- Kale

- Yellow Cherry Tomatoes

- 1 Ear Corn

- Heirloom or Regular Tomatoes. sliced thinly

- Fresh Mozzarella

- Fresh Goat Cheese (for locals I highly recommend the Burden Creek Cheese)
-Olive Oil for drizzling

Sautee the Kale in Olive oil until slightly wilted about 5 minutes.  Roast the Cherry Tomatoes and Corn (leave on the cob while roasting) in olive oil with salt and pepper on 400 degrees about 20 minutes.  Thinly slice the whole tomato.   Spread Naan with Olive Oil (I use Harissa infused oil to give it extra spicy flavor) and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Layer with Kale, Corn and both tomatoes.  Cover with Mozzarella and Goat Cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees about 10-15mins until cheese melts and is bubbly!