Elizabeth Cole

Ohhhh guys, I'm OBSESSING over the latest offerings from Elizabeth Cole Jewelry. Last December they had an amazing sale so I was able to snag a pair of their gorgeous earrings, and now I would love a second pair. As you all know if you have been reading for awhile, big earrings are sort of my thing and now I'm lusting over the Henning earrings.

I mean look at these beauties?

Henning Earring - Elizabeth Cole

Henning Earring - Elizabeth Cole

Here's hoping Elizabeth Cole does a promo soon!

Beach Time

Ekkkks I leave for some R&R in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday and I can't wait! I have much to do in the next 48 hours, don't you all know that feeling? Why is leaving town always sort of stressful too?

SO my perfect one-piece swimmie search continues. If you have been following along first I purchased this (Miu Miu) one, then this one (Which I FOR sure thought would work, but didn't, UGH!) and now this one. Fingers triple crossed now!

Gold-trim tank - J.CREW

My beach essentials besides a good swimmie are a great cover-up (like this one), books (the new Jane Green novel is calling my name), sunscreen and a great hat/sunglasses.

P.S. - Made another batch of these last night, I had only a FEW chocolate chips left in the bag so I added in dried cranberries as well, YUM!

Bedside Table Dilema

Sooo we have been slowly working on master bedroom. New curtains are up, a revamped dresser is done and now we are onto bedside tables. I feel like I have looked EVERYWHERE, usually I like to find antique pieces, but I haven't found the right thing or rather the right thing at the right price.

If you had to pick your favorite out of these four options below which would you pick? I desperately need YOUR help!

West Elm

Wisteria

Pottery Barn

Overstock

What's your choice?

Everyday Lasagna

Ummm in the 40s and 50s today here in Texas at the end of APRIL, what is happening with our weather?! Although I am loving my white jeans/sweater/scarf combo I'm rocking today, we rarely get to wear that mix this time of year.

So this lasagna...it came from my Mama who received the recipe after it was served at her surprise birthday party this past year (She has the BEST friends!). It's a great recipe...easy, delicious and comforting. I served it this past weekend at a very sweet friends baby shower and it was a hit.

You can assemble this the day before if you want and bake when needed, it also reheats and freezes great. We served this with a simple spinach salad and garlic bread.

Enjoy! (And sorry for lack of picture!)

Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients

- 8 ounce package cream cheese (Feel free to use the light version)

- 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

- 1 package (about 2 cups) shredded mozzarella

- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

- 1 tsp garlic powder

- 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning blend (I used Mrs. Dash garlic/herb)

- 1 package lasagna noodles (Use no-bake and save yourself a step)

- spaghetti sauce (I used the tomato basil jarred sauce from Trader Joe's)

- 1 pound chicken Italian sausage

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brown meat and set aside. In a medium bowl combine cream cheese, spinach, 1 cup shredded mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.

Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Lightly cover bottom of pan with one cup sauce. Layer noodles, cream cheese mixture, meat, and sauce until baking dish is full, about 3 layers. Top with remaining shredded mozzarella.

Cover with foil and place in oven on baking sheet to catch drips for 50 minutes. Remove foil and bake for five additional minutes, then remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

***If using cooked lasagna noodles reduce cooking time by 35 minutes.

***I found I need more sauce so I would say three jars for batch to be safe.

Fruit Salsa

Happppy Monday loves!

Did everyone have a good weekend? We had a great one! We have slowed down a ton this year compared to last year and I'm loving it.

We cooked out at a baseball game on Friday night and one of my contributions was this fruit salsa. Holy yum and holy easy! The easiest thing to do for this recipe is to do a rough chop and then throw everything into the food processor and pulse a few times.

I served this with regular tortilla chips, but also with the black bean/quinoa tortilla chips from TJ's and those were a big HIT.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Mango Salsa - Eat, Live, Run

Strawberry Mango Salsa from Eat, Live, Run

Ingredients

• 1 pint strawberries
• 1 large mango (I got the package of already sliced fresh mango from Trader Joe's)
• ¾ cup chopped fresh cilantro 
• ¼ red onion, minced
• 1 whole jalapeno, minced (seeds removed if you prefer less heat)
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 tbsp honey

Directions

1. Chop up the strawberries and mango into very small bits.
2. Place in a bowl with the cilantro, minced red onion and minced jalapeno.
3. Add honey and lime juice and stir well.

This salsa is best eaten the day it is prepared.

Yield: yields about 2 cups

P.S. I also made these for our cookout, and MAN I forgot how delicious these were!

Orzo Kale Salad

I pinned (shocker) this salad recipe, and decided to change up my routine and make this for my lunches this week. Umm it's delicious. I was pretty unsure about it, but I'm glad I went with it. This would be excellent at a cookout or barbecue too as it keeps so nicely.

Kale Orzo Salad - Ingredients, Inc.

Kale Orzo Salad slightly adapted from Ingredients, Inc.

Ingredients

4 cups chopped fresh kale (I used the bagged kale from Trader Joe's)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 pound whole wheat orzo, cooked and cooled
1/2 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup diced purple onion
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup pistachios
1Crumbled feta cheese (I used fat-free)

Preparation

1. In a large skillet, cook kale in 2 tablespoons hot oil over medium heat 5 minutes or until slightly wilted. Remove from heat; let cool and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and remaining olive oil. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine orzo, cucumber, onion and bell pepper, mixing well. Add lemon juice mixture, pistachios and feta, mixing well. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

30

First, my thoughts and prayers are with Boston. What a senseless act. I know in times like these it's easy to give up on our nation, but the power of prayer will always see us through these tough times! #prayforBoston

In more exciting news, the hubs turned 30 today! THIRTY, I can't believe it. JDB loves anything strawberry flavored and usually I make either a strawberry cake or cupcakes for his birthday, but since he loved a friends oatmeal whoopie pies last weekend I decided to try to find a strawberry whoopie pie recipe. 

These are a little on the time intensive side and I do have a few notes. One, the cookies might need a bit longer than 8-10 minutes, mine were very soft (Which I realize is how whoopie pies are supposed to be...) and I wish they were a little bit more crisp. Two, you can whisk your egg whites and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat if you don't have a double broiler, that's what I did. Three, make sure the butter is VERY softened and fully incorporated when mixing that in for the icing. 

Strawberry Whoopie Pies - Oprah.com

Strawberry Whoopie Pies - Oprah.com

Servings: Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup (about 5 ounces) stemmed and halved strawberries 
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup (about 5 ounces) stemmed and halved strawberries
• 5 egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 sticks butter , cut into cubes, at room temperature
• Red no-taste gel food coloring

Directions

To make cookies: Put strawberries in a food processor and pulse in short bursts just until they are chopped into small pieces (about 4 to 5 pulses), and set aside. (Be careful not to puree them.) Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl, and set aside.

Put brown sugar and oil in a large bowl and mix well, using the back of a spoon to break up any lumps in sugar. Whisk in chopped strawberries and yogurt until combined, then whisk in eggs, one at a time, just until combined. Fold in flour mixture in two parts, being careful not to overwork the batter. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°. Using a measuring spoon, drop a heaping tablespoon of batter onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet to form each cookie, spacing dollops about 2 inches apart. Working in batches, bake until cookies are set and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove cookies from oven; cool completely.

To make filling: Puree strawberries in a food processor until smooth (about 15 seconds); set aside. Whisk egg whites and granulated sugar together in the top of a double boiler until sugar is dissolved and mixture is milky white, about 2 minutes. Transfer egg white mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk on high speed until soft peaks form and mixture is glossy, about 2 minutes. Remove whisk attachment and replace with paddle attachment. Add butter and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add reserved strawberry puree and about 3 to 5 drops food coloring (frosting should be a light shade of pink), and beat again until well combined, about 1 minute more.

To assemble: Generously frost the flat side of half of the cookies, then top each with an unfrosted cookie to form sandwiches. Transfer to a platter and serve.

Latest Loves

Happy Monday! Did everyone have a good weekend? We had a great one, full of relaxing and fun, I'm somewhat sad it's over.

We cooked out at a baseball game on Friday night, and one friend brought these amazing oatmeal cookie pies. O my goodness, they were delicious, you will not be disappointed if you bake these.

My Miu Miu swimmie came in and SADLY it didn't fit right. UGH, so disappointed...I've now ordered this one. Isn't it chic? Everyone cross their fingers that it works.

One Shoulder Swimsuit - Calypso St. Barth

We had this for dinner last night, having these for dinner tonight and this later on in the week.

Have you all seen the new Sail to Sable collection? It's SO good, so much to ohhh and ahhh over. This little number may be on its way to me.

Red Reef - Sail to Sable

Also, this morning I had to run by Target to pick up some shower curtain needs (More on that to come!) and saw this maxi. Wouldn't it be great with a simple white tank or tee tucked in and a big statement necklace? Love a good find like this.

Mossimo Maxi Skirt - Target

I'll be back this week with some new recipes!

Cinnamon Walnut Muffins

UGH! How is it mid April and so rainy and cold in TEXAS. This is so not the norm people. Once again this is a recipe that has been on my Pinterest for a LONG time that I just now got around to making. I needed to make a treat for some sweet friends and I turned this quick bread (See picture!) recipe into muffins. They were a cinch to make and were pretty tasty, not to mention healthy too. Thank you to Jenna from Eat, Live, Run for the great recipe, if you don't read Eat, Live, Run you are crazy, it's one of the best food blogs out there.

via Eat, Live, Run

Cinnamon Walnut Muffins slightly adapted from Eat, Live, Run

makes one loaf

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup milk (I used 1%)

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup walnuts

1 beaten egg

1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Add the beaten egg and milk and stir. Fold in the walnuts. Pour into greased muffin pan and bake at 350 for about twenty minutes, or until golden (stick a knife in the center to make sure it comes out clean). Let cool!

Also, these are excellent right out of the oven with a touch of honey or warm them up later and add the honey.

A Gold Band

I've been majorly lusting over a thick gold band to wear daily on my right hand ring finger. I have a costume one that I wear often, but the everyday wear on it is starting to show.

This Bvlgari has been on my wish list for quite some time. It's beyond classic, will last a lifetime and will always be stylish. The one shown here is the three band style, but I also love the four band style.

via Bvlgari

However, I came across this Tiffany & Co. one just a few days ago and I love its ethereal feel. It's very feminine and has a more traditional look than the Bvlgari.

via Tiffany & Co.

Hypothetical decisions here, but which do you prefer? I think I'm leaning most towards the Bvlgari 4 band.

Healthy Cookies

Happy Monday! Did everyone have a good weekend?

I made these cookies on Friday when I realized I had one (I halved this recipe just FYI!) overripe banana. I'm constantly pinning "healthy" dessert recipes since I have such a sweet tooth and these were pretty yum! While yes they aren't an iced sugar cookie, they still taste somewhat like a treat because of the chocolate chips. They are definitely worth it to have around as a healthy daily treat!

via The Skinny Fork

Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies slightly adapted from The Skinny Fork

Ingredients:2 Ripe Bananas, Mashed
1/3 C. Almond Butter
2/3 C. Unsweetened Applesauce
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
Dash of Ground Cloves
Dash of Ground Nutmeg
1 1/2 Quick or Old Fashioned Oats
1/4 C. Nuts (I used pecans)
1/4 Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 C. Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray. Mix together the bananas, peanut butter, applesauce, vanilla, and spices. Add in the oats, nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut; stir until well combined.

Spoon about 2 tbsp. of the cookie mixture onto the baking sheet, leaving an inch or two between each. Bake for 20-30 minutes and allow to cool slightly.

Enjoy!

P.S. - I'm making this and this for dinners this week, and oh this old standby for my lunches.

Rablabs

Are you all familiar with the NYC based company Rablabs? O my goodness, they have some serious eye candy. I'm highly coveting one (or a few...) of their Kiva platters to place around my home or use during entertaining. Are they not gorgeous?

Kiva Platters - Rablabs

In her words, Anna Rabinowicz started Rablabs as a way to...

"create objects inspired by nature which fuse ancient, precious materials with cutting-edge design using a luxurious palette of materials, layering semiprecious gems including agate and crystal with the finishing touches of pure gold and sterling silver."

Well all I have to say is job well done Anna, your pieces are gorgeous! Rablabs products are available in many stores across the U.S., as well as some online retailers, like popular site Zhush for example. FW friends, P.S. The Letter and Domain are on their list of TX retailers, but I have yet to check their inventory. 

Zara NEEDS...OK Wants!

Has everyone had a second to ohhh and aweeee over the new items at Zara? There was so much goodness, it was unreal. I had to scoop up this pretty little number. Ethnic, tribal, bling...what's not to love? I'm thinking I'll be pairing this with white skinnies a ton, but it will also take me into fall which is a plus. And these shoes, I'm definitely stepping out of my comfort zone, but shoes is a great way to take a fashion risk on the smaller side.

Mirrored Bomber Jacket - Zara

Studded Sandals - Zara

Also, can this jacket also hurry up and come back in stock?

In kitchen news, we had this last night and are having these tomorrow night. What are you all cooking this week?

Blueberry Pie Bars

One of my contributions to our Easter brunch were these delicious blueberry pie bars. OMGGGG they were scrumptious! They are on the very sweet side though, so dial back the sugar if you want.

These were so easy to make, the longest part was getting my food processor out and ready for use. Do make sure to leave these for a few hours or overnight even before you slice them up. They need that time to come together so they don't fall apart on you.

via Life's Simple Measures

Blueberry Pie Bars slightly adapted from Life's Simple Measures

Ingredients:

Crust and Topping:

1-1/2 c. all purpose flour 

3/4 c. sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

3/4 c. unsalted butter, chilled

Filling:

2 large eggs

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. greek yogurt

3/8 c. all purpose flour (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)

1/2 tsp. almond extract

16 oz. fresh blueberries

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Grease an 8x8-inch pan with non stick cooking spray; set aside.
2. For the crust, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor.  Cut the butter into 1/2-inch pieces and add to flour mixture.  Process until the butter is evenly distributed but the mixture is still crumbly (about 30 to 60 seconds).
3. Reserve 1-1/2 cups of the mixture for the topping; set aside.  Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
4. For the filling, whisk eggs in a large bowl, then add the sugar, greek yogurt ,flour, and almond extract.  Gently fold in blueberries.  Spoon the filling over the crust and sprinkle the reserved topping mixture evenly over the filling.
5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until top turns golden brown.  Cool 1 hour before cutting and serving or serve out of pan cobbler style.

Yield: 16 bars

***You could sub whole-wheat pastry flour for the all purpose if you want!