Food, Drinks and Dogs: My Week in pictures

I'm sure like most of you/all of you, I have been crazy busy over the past week. In between the prepping for the holidays and other craziness, I took a bunch of photos {via iphone, it's always so handy} and here we have it. Bear with me, this is the old iphone-I get the new one as an early Christmas present tomorrow:)

Hubs started my birthday in a delicious fashion- bacon, egg and cheese on an English muffin. 

It was my birthday, and I indulged.

My older sister and her hubby gave me a beautiful gift set from L'Occitane and the box was amazing. I am currently finding a place for that pretty Hermes Orange color I love.

Night #2 of celebrating with friends at Amos Mosquitoes, their signature dessert is s'mores at the table with your personal campfire. So amazing. A little birthday treat from them.

 

 My sweet girl making the trip with me to Raleigh for my sister's birthday. She travels well.

 {husband was hunting so this was a girls night}

Dinner at Flemings Steakhouse- I ordered a Christmas Margarita- it was so good!

Normal camera pics- me and the hubs before birthday dinner with his family.

And one with our pups! Tucker looks so happy.

And, my latest appetizer craze. I saw these on A.Liz Adventures a few days ago and I had to make them. Her blog is one of my favorites to read. If you haven't checked it out yet, head on over now. These are "Parmesan crisps" and are amazing. Stephen was in shock when I whipped these out in a matter of minutes. 

They are little piles of Parmesan cheese heated in your pan.

 Check out her details here. And, thank her later after you make them! 

Well that is enough random photos for the week, did you get through all of that?! 

 We are going to spend the rest of our night watching Home Alone 2...tis the season! xo.

Inspiration for your Tuesday

1/2/3

Have a fabulous day! xo.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Bake

This was tonight's dinner and I highly, highly recommend it! It does look amazing, right? It also seems to be fairly healthy and was so delicious. Since it is just the two of us, we have plenty of leftovers which we plan on making into burritos for tomorrow's lunch {this is me going out on a limb...I am not a huge leftover person!}

Here's the recipe.

CHEESY CHICKEN AND RICE BAKE

Ingredients:

2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

4 cups Cooked Brown Rice

¾ cups Frozen Corn

15 ounces, fluid Can Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed

1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt (or Sour Cream)

4 ounces, fluid Can Green Chilis

½ cups Salsa

1 cup Low-fat Cheddar Cheese, Plus More For Topping

2 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro For Garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for cilantro and mix thoroughly to combine. Make sure the yogurt and cheese are stirred in throughout the entire bowl. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Transfer to an oven-safe dish and top with extra cheese if you would like. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

There was also a tip on this website to have cooked chicken on hand to make it easy to throw recipes like this together {let's be honest, that will never happen here!} but cooking the chicken didn't add too much time on to my preparation process.  Also, use Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice-which I did. It's a definite keeper. Oh, and have you had Tostitos Roasted Garlic and Black Bean Chips? We snacked on these before dinner- they require no dip or anything, just plain delicious! 

We are slightly addicted.

Hope y'all had a great Monday! xoxo

DIY Holiday Swag

Today I'm excited to share a DIY Christmas project that I did to dress up the window in my kitchen. You may remember some Christmas Inspiration that I posted here, {this one is originally from Good Housekeeping}well I decided to make this swag myself. Right before we headed back home after Thanksgiving, my mom and I raided their yard for evergreen branches of magnolia leaves, cryptomeria, another that looks very similar to holly, and a few more from my own yard. Here is what I came up with.

Here is how I did it. I promise it was easy and if I can do it, then you can too!

I started by taking the longest branches, cryptomeria {the one that looks like short pine needles}, and bundling them together. I added a few short magnolia branch clippings on top of this. When I first started, I used a piece of twine hoping that would tie it all together. I quickly realized I would need florist wire, so I went out and bought some of that and it made it so much easier. I kept the jute underneath for more reinforcement. 

Then, I attached some shorter, smaller clippings at the top. After I had the greenery in place, I strung four ornaments onto the same wire and attached it to the wire on the greenery. I left some give in the wire so I could move the ornments around slightly to where I wanted them. As you can see, I started out with a turquoise ribbon but decided later that a simple red was what I wanted.

At this point, I liked how it looked! I used the jute already on the swag to make a small loop that would allow me to hang it. I used a Command Hook on the glass of the window, which will be nice when it comes down later in December. Another tip: Assemble and hang your swag without worrying about the branches looking even on each side. You can always clip branches here and there if one side looks longer/wider than another.

I think it looks pretty good for being totally free, with the exception of the florist wire! It is a great way to bring fresh greenery into your home, in a modern way and unexpected place. So far, it has been up  for one week and the greenery still looks nice and fresh! I also found a great holiday party to link this up to here, with tons of holiday copycat ideas. Very inspiring for the holidays!

Ps- Did you notice my zebra rug? I absolutely LOVE it. 

And....did you notice the new look for my blog? I am loving it. Lindsey from Sweet Simplicity worked some magic in just a little less than a week. How fabulous! I majored in fashion, so design is very important to me...and I am one happy girl right now. Happy Birthday Present: to me-from me! 

Hope y'all are having a fabulous weekend!! xo

Check out this project here:

Happy Birthday Sis!

Happy Birthday to my sweet little sister! 

This was us this past summer touring Europe for my oldest sister's wedding in Spain- Cheers!

We are definitely the sisters that have the matching handbags, the same style Lilly Pulitzer top, wear scarves on the same day, enjoy the taste of wine and Dirty Shirleys, have an affinity of love for our family, dogs and clothes, and so much more! I surprised her with a visit to Raleigh last night for her birthday dinner with the fam. Hope it's great tonight!! xoxo

Friday Finds: Entertaining for the Holidays Edition

{Cedar Topiary}

{Cranberry Ginger Fizz Cocktail}

{Herbed Goat Cheese Bites}

{Spanakopita Bites}

{Tortellini Skewers}

{Frozen Peppermint Cheesecake}

Happy Friday! xoxo

Living Room Inspiration

{Sarah Richardson}

One of my birthday presents from my parents was money to go towards a new sofa, which I found last weekend in Raleigh. Then, I stumbled upon this picture this morning and got so excited- this sofa is very similar to the one that will be appearing in my house late December! I was also thinking about doing linen/cream panels, so this image has been bookmarked for room inspiration. I only wish I had Sarah Richardson's talent to replicate that grouping of pillows! 

Does anyone else have a light colored sofa? Are you enjoying it?

 Please say yes, I am beyond thrilled to have one in my living room soon! 

I had a wonderful birthday, way more than I deserve- thank you for the sweet wishes! xoxo