Strawberry Avocado Couscous Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

Sorry for such a late post! Coming back from vacation is rough! Haha! I spent 3/4 of the day running errands and unpacking.

Tonight for dinner I made strawberry avocado couscous salad with a lime vinaigrette which I saw on Pinterest. I served this with grilled chicken that had a William Sonoma Meyer Lemon Peppercorn Rub.

This is definitely a quick and easy recipe to make, not to mention perfect for summer bbq's.

Recipe adapted from http://damndelicious.net.

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 cup couscous
• 1 avocado diced
• 1/2 cup corn kernels (I used the bird's eye frozen, but would use fresh corn next time!)
• 1 cup of strawberries cut into quarters (recipe calls for 1/2 cup but I doubled the recipe)
• 2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro chopped
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds (recipe called for 2tbs pine nuts but I couldn't find them at the store)

Lime Vinaigrette Ingredients: 

• 1/4 olive oil
• 1/4 apple cider vinegar
• zest of 1 lime (I would use half, taste dressing and add more if desired)
• 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Directions: 

• Prepare couscous according to directions and let cool
• Make vinaigrette, and whisk together
• In a large bowl, carefully combine couscous, avocado, corn, strawberries, cilantro, and almonds. Stir in lime vinaigrette.
• Chill for 10-15 minutes in fridge (recipe says serve immediately but I preferred the salad cold)

Enjoy and Happy Pinning!!
By Jennifer Shelton

Jalapeño Moscow Mule

I know it is early but time to think about Happy Hour!! I had a few jalapeños lying around that I had to use. We didn't have a lot of options to mix in with food so I decided to search for a refreshing drink that incorporated jalapeños, limes and ginger beer! I couldn't find exactly what I wanted so I used a combination of a few pins and make up my own drink.

My inspiration for the Jalapeño Moscow Mule came from HappyYolks.com. I didn't have any vodka or the guava juice. So instead I substituted with limes and soda water.

Ingredients:

• 6 Oz Ginger Beer
• 4 Oz Soda Water or Vodka
• 1 Lime
• 1/4 of a Jalapeño
• 1/4 tsp Agave
• Crushed Ice

Directions:

• Muddle limes and jalapeños in a shaker
• Add Ginger beer, soda water, and agave
• Pour over crushed ice
• Garnish with lime and jalapeño

Remember the longer you let the jalapeño in your drink the spicier it is! PS I know I should be serving these in copper mugs, but my mugs are in storage until we move into our new home!!

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton

My Pinterest To Do List - June

Here are some of the projects that I am going to focus on for June! In addition, to finishing my planters!! I promise they are almost done!!

Style: 
My in-laws just bought new furniture for their guest room which has a nautical theme. I thought this lamp from Target could be perfect in the room. Of course I will attempt to make this with stuff we have at home, however for $31.99 you can't go wrong!

Food & Drink: 
This past week we went to the most amazing breakfast spot in Atlanta called The Flying Biscuit Cafe. It was SOOOO good! My husband had their sausage and biscuits and I had oven baked green tomatoes, grits, and a spicy salsa on top. Of course everything was served with homemade biscuits and homemade cranberry apple butter. My goal for June is to recreate both of our breakfasts!! I will make sure to post the recipes and pictures when I make them.

Bambino: 
I was reading Playgroundprepster.blogspot, and she had a great idea for her kids. Buy Oh The Places You Will Go book by Dr. Seuss and each year have your children's teachers sign the book. I absolutely love this idea. In addition, I think this could be a cute baby gift as well!

In addition, have you noticed how expensive baby headbands and hair bows are? I am going to attempt to make at least some headbands before mastering the boutique bows!

Yes, I know this is cheating by buying newborn headband kit on Etsy but figure in the long run it might be cheaper then trying to buy everything myself. Plus it will help me learn how to make them!

Entertaining: 
Time to get ready for 4th of July! We are going to stay home for the 4th and hang out at the lake. I can't wait to reuse some of the decorations from our engagement party. Here are some of the projects I am going to work on.

Mason Jars and Napkins

What is a backyard BBQ without deviled eggs?

Red, White and Blue Deviled Eggs

And if you haven't caught on I am slightly obsessed with anything strawberry rhubarb!

Apple, Strawberry, Rhubarb pie with Almond Crust

Wedding: 
I always like to give something slightly personalized for weddings. I have a few weddings that I can't attend this summer, but thought these embroidered dish towels could be cute to go with their wedding present.

Embroidered Flour Sack Dish Towel

What are your Pinterest projects for June? Definitely share with me and we will feature you on the blog.

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton

Quinoa Lasagna - Guest Blogger Kate

My favorite guest blogger, Miss Kate is sharing another recipe with us. Kate a few weeks ago shared a recipe for a Spinach Torta in a Potato Crust! We are so excited

This is a yummy dish packed with veggies, red sauce and a little cheese for good measure. 

I had some bolognese sauce in my freezer that I made this winter and wanted to use it up, and I've been obsessed with quinoa recently, I was late to the party with that one, but now I use it in everything. I figured I could make a sort of lazy lasagna, casserole type dish with the bolognese and some fresh veggies and the quinoa. If you don't have any leftover sauce hanging around you can certainly use a jarred version. 

I made the whole dish in my cast iron skillet, one of my favorite things in my kitchen. You can saute the veggies, make the sauce, assemble the dish and put it right in the oven, easy! 

Ingredients: 

• 1 C Quinoa
• 3-4 C Tomato Sauce
• 1 Small Zucchini, diced
• 1 Small Yellow Squash, diced
• 8oz Mushrooms, quartered
• 1 Bell Pepper, diced
• 1-2 C Shredded Mozzarella or Italian Blend cheese

Makes about 6 servings. 

While chopping your veggies cook the quinoa according to the package instructions, and set aside. 

Preheat your oven to 350. 

Heat drizzle of olive oil over medium heat in a skillet, toss in all your chopped veggies and season with salt & pepper. Saute until just cooked, you don't want them to turn to mush when you assemble the dish, and they'll cook a little more when everything goes in the oven. 

Wipe out the skillet and return it to the stove. Over medium heat, warm or make your tomato sauce. I combined my leftover bolognese with an 8oz can of tomato sauce and a 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes in sauce. Let it simmer for a few minutes, and make sure to check for seasoning, add oregeno or basil, salt & pepper as needed. 

Once the sauce is warmed through turn off the burner, or remove the skillet from the heat. (If you aren't using a cast iron skillet you can assemble everything in a casserole dish) Toss in the cooked veggies with the sauce, then add in the quinoa. Add in some shredded cheese, I used about a handful of an Italian Blend and handful of mozzarella, use more or less if you desire, mix well so the cheese is distributed evenly. Then top with another sprinkle of cheese. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes until everything is warmed through and starting to bubble, then turn on the broiler for 2-3 min to get the top nice and melty! 

Thank you so much Kate for sharing!!
By Kate Lindsey

DIY Catch-All Bowls - Pinterest Fail!!

Not everything we find on Pinterest is a win. One of my favorite blogs posted about making your own Catch-All Bowls. I was so incredibly excited to try this because I am always looking at these types of bowls at Anthropologie.

So off to Michael's I went. The Small Things blog where my inspiration for the project, used acrylic paint. The source they used (The Lovely Drawer) had used opaque ceramic paint. At Michael's in the glass painting area I was drawn to the Martha Stewart paints. They seemed to be paints that you could use on wood, glass, etc. I thought these would be perfect since that is what was used by The Small Things Blog. I needed paintbrushes as well and just bought one of the combo sets that was $8. I found the dipping bowls at Target for $1.99 and they are made by Threshold. I can't seem to find the link online.

So according to the directions just paint away! I did two bowls and realized that simple lines and basic polka dot patterns are a lot harder then I thought. The good thing is that if the paint is still wet you can use a damp paper towel and start over. I am not really upset with how my design turned out since it was my first time. However, the paint application was not as smooth as I thought it would be.

When painting I used cheap brushes and the bristles would fall out onto the paint and glass. I was constantly picking out the strands and ruining the paint. Also I used painters tape on the 2-toned bowl and it left remnants of paint on the bowl. I almost need to sand the bowl to make it smooth. I was hoping when the paint dried it would smooth out, but you can still see all the brush strokes.

I let my bowl dry over night since I wanted to make sure that the paint was dry. In the morning I pre-heated my oven to 150 degrees and baked for 30 minutes. The results are below. You can't tell in the pictures but basically it just looks like I painted a bowl. In my head I thought it would have a more glossy finish and similar to the bowls I love at Anthropologie.

My advice for you is if you are looking for something with a glossy and smooth finish go to a paint your own pottery store and work with their products. Not to mention the kiln will bake the paint on and give your bowls that glossy Anthropologie finish!

On a related note, I used the same paint on some plastic frames I bought at Ikea, and the paint application was the same as the glass. It got cakey and you can see my brush strokes. I am going to try and spray paint the plastic items to save these frames! Worst case scenario I just head back to Ikea!

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton

Five Friday Favorite Deals!

So I don't know if it is the warm weather or what, but I decided I need a new wardrobe and have become shopping obsessed. Everything is so cute and of course it doesn't hurt when all the stores are having sales!

Tory Burch is having up to 40% off their sale items!! Flip Flops, espadrilles, and even my Quinn Ballet Flats. May have to get the Tory Burch Patent Thora Sandals in orange for $87.50.

And of course we need some jewels too! JCrew Factory is having 40% off until May 18th. I love this Factory Stone Semicircle Necklace of $39.50.

I also love this dress on sale from Vineyard Vines. The Catch of the Day dress is perfect for those weekend errands. It's $135 which is slightly pricey but it looks SOOOOO comfy!

I love love love this clutch on sale at Kate Spade 2 Park Avenue Large Bella Pouch on sale for $74. I think it may be the Tiffany Blue color. But  it would look so cute with a white or hot pink dress.

Last but not least, how cute are these embroidered whale shorts from Banana Republic?

Okay, enough shopping for today! I need to go pack. We are going to Atlanta and then to the beach for a few days!

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton

Strawberry Mint Smash Mocktail

Happy Thirsty Thursday!!

So it has been beautiful here in North Carolina. Since the weather has been so nice every night before dinner I sit outside on the patio to read, and decided that I need some fun beverages! And have become obsessed with Mocktails! And I can pick some of the ingredients from our mini-garden. One of my new favorite drinks is a Strawberry Mint Smash I saw on Pinterest.

Super simple to make! I doubled the recipe and adjusted it a little. This is the non-alcholoic version but I am sure you can add rum or vodka as well!

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Strawberries cut into slices
• 12-14 large mint leaves
• Crushed ice
• 4 teaspoons of agave nectar
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 6 ounces of blood orange Italian soda - I used orange since I am not a fan of blood orange, you can also use lemon as well
• Club Soda

Directions:

1. Put the strawberries, mint and muddle. 
2. Add agave nectar and lime juice into a shaker and muddle. I used a mason jar since I find them easy to clean, and I have a ton of them hanging around my home. 
3. Add Italian Soda and shake! Be careful since this will get really bubbly. 
4. Fill glass with 2/3 of crushed ice. 
5. Pour into glasses, and top with club soda. Garnish with Strawberry, lime, mint, etc! 

Voila! 

Let me know if you make this drink and how you modify it! 

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton

Fiesta Salad

So along with nice weather means lots of ice cream! So instead of cutting out my ice cream consumption I decided that eating salads for dinner would allow me to eat more ice cream. The other night we bought a bunch of chicken and put it on the grill for salads for the week. Which makes life so much easier when you want to assemble dinner quickly.

We had some leftover corn from dinner the night before which inspired my fiesta salad! This is one of my favorite salads and basically I just grab whatever ingredients that I have around the house that sound good to me. 

Sample ingredients can include: grilled chicken, grilled steak, shrimp, avocado, jalapeños, jicama, peppers, pepper jack cheese, mango, black beans, corn, cilantro, red onion, etc! 

Now you can always make a creamy BBQ Ranch dressing, but since I am trying to cut down on calories (to eat more ice cream) I adapted a recipe from SkinnyTaste that I found on Pinterest. 

The recipe is for a bean salad, but since we were making this a meal I made it into a salad. 

Dressing Ingredients: 

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/4 extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp salt
• fresh ground pepper to taste

Salad Ingredients: 

• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Red onion
• Grilled chicken
• Corn
• Black Beans
• Cilantro
• Red Pepper
• Pickled jalapeños
• Shredded cheddar cheese (or pepper jack if you have it)
• Whatever else sounds good to you (avocado, mango, etc)! 

Toss the salad with the dressing and you have a super simple dinner! You can also add fresh jalapeños if you like more hotness! I served this with black bean mango salsa and of course a fun cocktail! 

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton

Zulily Baby Clothing and Gear

Just recently I joined Zulily and have yet to order anything, but today I managed to fill my cart with goodies for baby! From coming home outfits to travel gear.

Here are a few things I am thinking about getting!

Coming home from the hospital outfit! I just love the smocking on the dress, and most importantly it is PINK!! The receiving blanket is made out of pique cotton and looks so soft!

Hug Me First Pink Lorena Embroidered Gown - Infant 

Hug Me First Lorena Smocked Bonnet

Hug Me First Lorena Smocked Booties

Hug Me First Pink Smocked Receiving Blanket

And how GENIUS is this seat for traveling with a baby on a plane? Has anyone used this before? I am definitely intrigued.

FlyBaby Airplane Baby Seat

Last but not least love the Chateau Rose print for the infant carrier and also the highchair!

Smitten Baby Chateau Rose Arm Pad 

Smitten Baby Chateau Rose Restaurant High Chair and Swing Cover

So many decisions! I have to see what the hubby thinks is cute!! If you are not a member of Zulily feel free to use this link to sign up (http://www.zulily.com/invite/jleonard959).

Happy Shopping!
By Jennifer Shelton

Nature Box Snack Review

So every night after dinner my husband always asks me what do we have for snacks! Of course I could show him where I keep my secret stash of Double Stuff Oreos but those are for my sweet tooth emergencies! Recently on Facebook I keep seeing advertisements for Nature Box. I noticed a few friends of mine had liked it, so I decided to check it out for myself.

Nature Box is a subscription program that delivers healthy snacks that contain no artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors. They have over 100 different snacks to choose from that include nuts, savory, and sweet snacks.

Once you sign up you can decide on your monthly box size or the number of snacks you want to receive each month. I chose 5 snack bags, and then you can always add on more snacks if you want more. Next month we are heading to the beach for a week so I know extra snacks will be needed while we sit on the beach.

This month I chose BBQ kettle kernels (i love corn nuts!), sirachia roasted cashews, chili lime pistachios and for my sweets honey macadamia pretzel pops and salted caramel pretzel pops! Everything was so incredibly tasty. We are a huge fan of the nuts! the sirachia roasted cashews definitely pack a punch, and the chili lime pistachios are SO addicting. I forgot to mention they also gave us a free surprise gift bag of south pacific plantains which I may have eaten half the bag this morning after my walk. I had to put them away in a cabinet so I wouldn't finish them.

I just started to pick my selections for next month and going to get 3 different nut bags, and then exploring some of the chips and sticks collection.

I definitely recommend joining! If you are interested in joining please use my link http://fbuy.me/RdzU and I believe you also get 50% off your first purchase!

PS I am still working on my planters! I did manage to finish all my planting this weekend with existing planters and the herb garden!

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton