Weekend Notes

I am a huge fan of relaxing weekend days.  Especially as the weather warms up, I am all about them!!  They go by so quickly so I am trying to remember them with a brief post (when I can)!  

Saturday was great, the hubs and I thoroughly cleaned the home (love a clean house) and ran errands.  We also made chili and decided chili is for sharing so we invited our good friends Patrick, Lauren, and Evan over!!

Lauren has the best taste in drinks and brought this delish seasonal Sam Adams brew: cold snap.

 

It was so darn good!  Surprisingly light and citrusy!

Lauren and Evan have the sweetest mini golden doodle Bella!!  She and Piper were born a day apart and have been best friends since the moment they met!! They wrestle non stop for hours, share toys, and are simply adorable together! (Piper is a Mini australian shepherd for those wondering!)

Sunday I picked up a few plants at Home Depot to try and make our patio more spring like!  My goal is to majorly improve my gardening skills this year.

Hope you had a good weekend and great start to your week!

Veggie Enchiladas

One of my favorite things to do is to come up with something simple and yummy for dinner based on what I have on hand.  Recipes are great but sometimes you don't feel like going to the store for recipe ingredients--and you know what?  You don't have to.  Half the meals I make I come up with like this!  I hope you enjoy and feel inspired to play around!!

Ingredients (feel free to add your own!!)

1 zucchini (mine was giant so it's actually half!)

1/2 an onion

1 can rotel

1 can black beans

1 can enchilada sauce 

Tortillas 

Chedder cheese

Crushed garlic 

1 cup yellow rice

Green onion 

1/2 avocado

{one} sautée the zucchini and onion for about 7-9 minutes.

{two} add the rotel, beans, rice, crushed garlic and half the enchilada sauce.

{three} add filling to the tortillas and lay them seam side down.  Top with chedder cheese (I used half a cup), the rest of the sauce and some green onion.

{four} bake at 350 for 20 minutes and top with avocado to serve!

Enjoy!

Five On Friday!!

Happy Friday to you and yours!  I hope it's been a great week and that it will be an even better weekend!  I'm so happy it's Friday and am ready to hang out with my husband and see some friends!  This week was a long one, one day I worked 12 hours!!!  (Granted I get to hang with a cute kiddo all day but still!)

{one} Gap Fit gFast Leggings

So I am all about the leggings these days.  I love wearing a cute basic top and leggings that fit great to feel put together yet comfy.  Plus I try and run at lunch when I can and I'm ready to go in these!  Cheaper than my beloved lululemon wunder unders (32 on sale!) my hubby was so pleased he told me to grab another pair!!

{two} New Origins Compact and eyeliner!

So I am crazy for origins everything when it comes to makeup.  It's natural, it's light, it works really well and it's affordable!  It's also cruelty free which I am so passionate about!  Perfection!  It's always fun to refresh my supply with a new silkscreen compact (try it, it rocks!) and an eyeliner in navy!!

{three} Eastover Park

This park may be my favorite place in town.  We found it when Piper was 5 months old and have been going every chance we can get ever since!  It's just a lovely open park in a neighborhood.  There's plenty of regulars there to chat with and room for our Mini Australian Shepherd to run like she was bred to do!!  When we go there she will be exhausted the rest of the day.  Like they say, a tired dog is a happy dog!  Plus, we find it so peaceful.  I love how dogs remind you to be in the moment and enjoy the simple things!

{four} Laurel Market

Y'all I am crazy obsessed with Laurel Market these days.  Right by Eastover (behind the Starbucks on providence headed uptown) this tiny little market has the BEST sandwiches, coffee, espresso brownies, and these incredible soy ginger noodles I'm addicted to.  If you haven't been, go immediately!

{five} Hannah's Wedding!

My best friend from college is getting married in September and I can't wait!  I've got my shoes and dress now and it's starting to feel real!

(J. Crew Louisa in Graphite!  So comfortable and flowy)

My favorite kind of sandals, Jack Rogers!  In platinum.  It's so much fun to be on the other side of wedding planning!

Have a wonderful weekend!

5 on Friday

Current Obsessions

If you know me at all you know I have a tendency to have a few obsessions.  These obsessions change so I'll be trying to keep track of my various obsessions through weekly posts!

{one} Lululemon.

Okay so I'm late to this band wagon.  I was very resistant about expensive workout gear considering I don't even belong to a gym.  However, my husband has more of an eye for style (for me) than I do and he kept telling me to try it on.  You see, I recently changed careers moving from the corporate world to the joyous world of hanging out with kiddos!  I had been trying to figure out what I should wear to be cute and comfortable.

Long story short I tried it and I LOVED it. I currently own two pairs of the wunder under leggings and am obsessed.  I also have two headbands that totally dress up a pony!  My wish list includes a jacket, more pants, a cute bra, and some cute tops!  Best part is if you randomly can workout mid day you're good to go!

{two} The Wine Store 

This place is pretty much a Charlotte institution.  With three locations around the area you can head into this hip little store and know each bottle was chosen by a master sommelier (Doug frost is their guy).  Pairings and a detailed description is listed next to each one and the bottles start at 5.99 (and they are good!).  Best of all you can sample 1 oz pours of new wines each week.  My husband and I walk to this spot all the time with out puppy in tow!

{three} Pasta and Provisions.

Another Charlotte institution.  This place rocks!  Fresh cut pasta, homemade sauce, frozen delicious soups (clam chowder is the bomb) what more could you ask?  The hubs and I are obsessed with the pomodora sauce.  We have it almost every Monday!  We grab noodles, sauce, and greens and add some grilled chicken!  It is seriously incredible and one of my favorite meals!

What are you currently obsessed with?

Easy Risotto

Pictured above is one of my absolute favorite foods.  Risotto.  The hubs and I are BIG fans of it and pair it with many things.  Our favorites?  Steak and lobster!  This time we had lobster tail and salad with our yummy risotto.  I hope you try this recipe as it is delicious and very customizable (recently we added shrimp and bacon to the risotto and it was incredible!!)

For the risotto:

1 Cup Arborio Rice

4 Cups chicken broth

1/2 Cup onion

1/2 Cup white wine (whatever you have on hand)

Mozzeralla Cheese

Herbs and spices to taste (salt, pepper, basil for example)

1.  Saute the onion in olive oil and butter until clear, then add the rice.  Quickly saute the rice until it smells a little "nutty"

2.  Add the white wine and allow to absorb.

3.  Ladle by ladle add the broth as seen below.  This step takes 25 minutes or so.  Wait until each ladle is almost done absorbing and add more (stir frequently)

4. When it looks nice and creamy, go ahead and add the cheese/spices to taste.  Also if adding any other ingredients (like ham, or cooked shrimp this is the time)

Now, prepare your other dinner elements!

Here we have a simple spinach salad with homemade dressing (recipe to follow) and a simple steamed lobster tail.  Perfect compliments to the risotto!  I hope you enjoy it!

Spring Is Here!

 While the 40 degree weather right now doesn't feel perfect for Jack Rogers and Lilly dresses I know it's right around the corner.

Life has flown by since my first two feeble blog posts and with more time on my hands it seems like a good time to focus on keeping this little blog up to date!  If only to document the days that all too quickly fly on by.  Case in point, my hubby and I are approaching our first anniversary next month and I can hardly believe it!  I've got some more recipes to share but first just a few photos of life over the past few months!

Piper experienced her first Christmas!

And we had our first Christmas as Mr. And Mrs!!

 

We also had a ton of snow this winter!  For the south this was highly unusual!

Piper loved it!  But I think she's just as ready for warm days as we are.  We love enjoying the outdoors with her when we take her to our favorite park!  It's amazing how much these fur babies help you enjoy the simple things.