Friday Favorites

Current loves….

Favorite Drink….

This August, we visited James and Natalie in Athens and happened upon Blenheim Ginger Ale.  Made in South Carolina, this ginger ale is spicy and delicious.  It’s hard to find around here, so we ordered from their website.  Bonus: add some Maker’s Mark for a happy hour treat.

Favorite Artist…

Festive, right? Love the colors.  Purchase here!

Favorite Look…

Chunky, cozy scarves.

Favorite Song…

Favorite Thought…

Favorite To-do…

 

Chalkboard fun. Obviously.

 

I hope everyone has a fabulously fun Friday!

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Perfect for cold, rainy nights…

Ingredients

• 1 pound of shredded chicken (I toss mine in the crock pot on low.  Cook all day with a bit of broth.  Shreds perfectly when you’re ready to cook!)
• 1 14 oz. can chicken broth
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 quart half and half
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup diced green onions
• 1 cup fresh, chopped spinach
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste
• 16 ounce package gnocchi

Heat butter and olive oil in large saute pan on medium heat.  Add onion and garlic.

Saute til done.  Add flour to form a roux.  This should take about a minute.  Add half and half.  Add shredded chicken and carrots.

In another pot, cook gnocchi according to package directions.

Be sure to stir the roux frequently, and when it begins to thicken, add the gnocchi, spinach, can of broth, rosemary, salt & pepper.

Not thick enough?  Add some more flour (I had to do this!) Too thick?  Add some milk.

Heat through and serve with some toasty bread!

Also, even more delicious the next night.

Happy cooking!

Chalkboard fun.

Over the next few months, I’m going to be in bridal/baby shower mode!

My sweet sister and her wonderful guy, Amelia and Brad, are getting married on July 5th (no such luck talking her into American flag bridesmaid dresses…yet).  Our sweet cousins Linsday and Steve are having their first baby in January.  I’m in shower-throwing heaven right now!

I’ve been dying to get my hands on some chalkboard paint and try some fun projects, and these showers have given me the perfect excuse! I thought I would make some food labels that can be used over and over at different showers.

I tried a few different chalkboard paints, and the one I liked most was Martha Stewart’s.

I wanted to paint the bottom of a ceramic tray (you’ll see why in a bit!), and I came across the acrylic frames in Hobby Lobby.  I thought they would be perfect as food labels.  They’re the ones that you can slide a picture into. They have a lip, so they stand up on their own!

Next steps are easy.  Paint 1 coat.  Wait an hour. Paint another coat. Wait 24 hours.

After the 24 hour period is up, you’ll need to season the paint.  Just rub some chalk lightly over the area that you painted.  Then, you’re ready to write!

I painted the bottom of the ceramic tray because I thought it would be neat to put ramekins with different sauces that will be used at the shower.

I’m excited about how these turned out, and I can’t wait to use them at showers!

Hope everyone is out there VOTING!

Rock the Vote…Georgia Edition

I certainly hope that everyone takes the opportunity to go out and VOTE tomorrow.

If you’re a Georgia voter, PLEASE take a few minutes to educate yourself on Amendment 1.

The wording of the amendment is extremely confusing and misleading.  The wording leads you to believe that it is a vote for or against Charter Schools—that’s just not the case.  You’re not voting on whether we have charter schools or not but rather who approves them.  The amendment would change the Constitution and give decision making power to the state…instead of keeping it with the local community where it belongs!

Here are a few places to learn more about Amendment 1.

Do you know how your vote will impact the amendment?

Vote Smart Georgia

State Sen. Jason Carter on Amendment 1

Happy voting!

 

Menu Monday

What a wonderful weekend!

I spent Friday night with the lovely James and Natalie, along with Megan and Amber.  James was our chauffeur while we enjoyed a fun girls’ night out. We ate wonderful pizza at Ted’s Most Best, drank delicious drinks at The Globe and Manhattan, and danced the night away at 9e’s bar. Our trip was topped off with Saturday brunch at Mama’s Boy.

Sunday morning (after an extra hour of sleep!), David and I headed to Flying Biscuit…where we dined with a CELEBRITY! Brenda Wood!  An Atlanta celebrity!

On the menu this week….

Sunday–Chicken and Gnocchi Soup (DELICIOUS.  I’ll share the recipe later this week!)

Monday–Panko Crusted Salmon Cakes

Tuesday–Lasagna Soup

Wednesday–Chicken Stir Fry

Thursday–Burrito Bowls

Friday–Leftovers!

Hope you have a great start to your week!

Athens love…

 

In just two hours, the lovely Amber will be joining me as we trek eastward to the Classic City.  We’ve planned a fabulously fun girls night with Megan–who is in town for work–and Natalie–who is lucky enough to call Athens home.

 

Hope y’all have a wonderful weekend!

 

Friday Favorites

Every Friday should be filled with favorites.  These are currently mine…

My favorite drink….

Green Mountain Pumpkin Spice Coffee.  Absolutely perfect.  And, Green Mountain is a really great company, too.

My favorite artist…

Caroline Wright. Stunning.

My favorite look…

I love everything on bhldn’s website.  It’s all gorgeous. Including this dress. Which I need. Obviously

My favorite recipe…

Lasagna soup with ‘cheesy yum’ topping? I’m in. Definitely on our meal plan for next week.

My favorite song…

We’ve been lucky enough to see Alabama Shakes twice in the last month.  And they are just getting better and better.

My favorite thought…

Nathan Ripperger has illustrated some amazing things that his kiddos have said.  Please take a look. They will make your day!

My favorite to-do…

If all goes as planned, my version of this will be on our front door in the next few weeks.  If all does not go as planned, I’ll be purchasing this here.

Hope your Friday is fabulous!  Have a fun weekend!

Life Lately According to Instagram…

Long time, no post.

I’ve got lots of posts ready to go in my draft folder, though, so I’m back in action.

Here’s what we’ve been up to…

This is my jam.

One of my–and David’s–all time favorite musicians is Neil Young.  His voice is so raw and filled with emotion, and I don’t think there’s another musician that can draw me in like he can.

I’m an old soul when it comes to music.  Part of the reason for this, I think, is knowing the lyrics.  I love singing along to songs…and you can’t do that unless you know the music.  I usually shy away from new music, which is stupid, because how will I learn the lyrics unless I listen!?  So, I usually end up caught in this cycle of the same music over and over again.  Neil Young and Crazy Horse just solved my problem.  Their album,  Americana, which came out this week, is a re-imagining of some classic American folk songs.  And it is pretty incredible.

I’m willing to bet this song gets you moving.  Oh, oh, oh Susannah!

Track Listing

Oh Susannah
Clementine
Tom Dooley
Gallows Pole
Get A Job
Travel On
High Flyin’ Bird
She’ll Be Comin ’Round The Mountain
This Land Is Your Land
Wayfarin’ Stranger
God Save The Queen

 

It’s amazing to hear these songs that we’re all so familiar with turned into seriously gritty rock and roll.  Take a listen.  You already know the words!

Summer Salad.

It is hot. And there’s something about a salad that is just summer.  Even if it has steak on it. Last night, we had a steak salad with mustard vinaigrette, and it was delicious!  My mom makes a wonderful bacon spinach salad, and I tweaked the mustard dressing she uses on top of that for this salad.

We used spinach, added some thinly sliced red peppers, diced avocados, and feta.  We peppered a flank steak and cooked it for about five minutes on each side (should have gone with 3 minutes…).

For the dressing, I whisked together 1/3 c. of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of  red wine vinegar (…we like vinegar…you might want to ease up on it a bit if you don’t!).

If you use a cast iron skillet or a grill, you’ll get a darker crust on the outside.  My cast iron skillet is currently MIA (seriously?!  where could it be? my kitchen is TINY!), so I had to just use our regular skillet.  Still tasted fabulous, just didn’t look as pretty.

The combination of the steak, mustard vinaigrette, bell peppers and avocado was just perfect!   Tip–if you use a cheese stronger than feta (like a blue cheese), lay off the vinegar in the dressing.  The feta tasted perfect here, but anything stronger might be too much!