Cute Gift Ideas for Baby!

My best friend had the most precious baby girl on Monday, being her second child she also has lots of baby gear. I was trying to think of some cute and different ideas for gifts. Here are a few ideas that I found on Pinterest that I am currently obsessed with!

Beaufort Bonnets

I discovered this company on Pinterest and am obsessed! I love the monogrammed bonnets for all seasons. Not to mention how cute would the bonnets look on a stand in a nursery?

Worth Avenue Beaufort Bonnet

Pink Gingham Beaufort Bonnet

Not only do they sell bonnets but they also have adorable swaddles and diaper covers too! I think the swaddles would be a cute shower present, and then the diaper covers would be so cute for newborn photos.

 

Beaufort Bonnets Diaper Cover

Beaufort Bonnet Swaddles

Tiffany & Co

I know I know, what could a baby need at Tiffanys but I love the piggy bank. I think this is something that she will have forever. Not to mention one day she can save her pennies in her piggy bank for her first piece of Tiffany jewelry. 

Piggy Bank in Earthenware Pink

Saks Fifth Avenue

Has these adorable MJK Knit Personalized blankets. They look so warm and snuggly! I also love how they are monogrammed. MJK also makes adorable hats and sweaters I can get for birthdays, holidays, etc!

MJK Knits - Personalized Striped Blanket

Lilly Pulitzer

Last but not least, every baby girl needs some Lilly Pulitzer! I love the new spa blue lobstah roll print in the classic shift dress. 

Infant Shift Dress

The hard part is going to choose which to buy! I may have to buy one or two. Not to mention I have yet to visit Janie and Jack or Baby Gap for other little outfits!!

For additional gift ideas check out my some of my Pinterest Boards!

Kids Gifts

Munchkin Outfits

Happy Pinning!!

By Jennifer Shelton

Old Navy - 30% off Purchase Sale Today

Have you been to Old Navy lately? I went into the store the other day to browse and couldn't believe all the cute and adorable clothes they had. My husband was with me so I didn't get to do that much damage. However, I was on the Old Navy site today and they have 30% off your purchase!! What a great excuse to shop!!

Make sure to use the code SAVE at checkout!

Check out my Pinterest Board on my other favorite Spring/Summer clothes!

Here are a few of my favorite items I am thinking about getting!! I also have a cart full of basic t-shirts, tank tops, flip flops, etc!

Love these strapless dresses! They remind me of something JCrew had back in 2008. I love the Electric Youth color (below) as well as Goodnight Nora (navy blue). And for $26.94 (before 30% discount) I think I may have to get both!

Women's Strapless Jersey Dresses

Love these Women's Fit & Flare Ponte-Tank Dresses as well! They would like great with some fun bib necklaces! Love pink and navy colors. BTW those are also my favorite colors!

Women's Fit & Flare Ponte-Tank Dresses

And look at these shoes too! Since I am starting to get older I just can't wear the high heels as much or as long as I used to. I am obsessed with these sandals. I have seen similar shoes this season from Nine West.

Women's Sueded Demi-Wedge Sandals

And last but not least I love the Embroidered Sleeveless Gauze Dress as a beach coverup!

Women's Embroidered Sleeveless Gauze Dresses

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton

Cinco de Mayo Recap

So yesterday I posted the recipes I found on Pinterest for Cinco de Mayo! I just wanted to show some pictures and tips I learned from making the recipes. Unfortunately I didn't get to make the sombrero cookies! I bought the ingredients but got sidetracked earlier in the day and didn't put them together! I am sure I will dig into them later today!

To start I made the Cilantro Jalapeño Limeade which was so refreshing and great with tequila! Maybe next time I would try vodka. The recipe calls for 3/4 cup of sugar to make the simple syrup, because you also add agave nectar I might cut this back by half. I am not a fan of sweet drinks, and would rather be able to taste the jalapeño!

And I would fill the glasses with ice and not the pitcher like the recipe calls for. It was way too hard to pour and since it is 85 degrees outside the drinks got warm fast. I had to go back inside and get an ice bucket to cool the drinks!

 Cilantro Jalapeño Limeade

 Here are a few snapshots of our dinner! I tried to be festive and brought out some of the bowls that were purchased in Cabo San Lucas! I used margarita glasses to serve salsa and sour cream!

The turkey enchilada lasagna was so quick and easy to make. I might rename this recipe lazy man's enchiladas! I might add some diced jalapeños next time to give the dish a lil more kick. However, I love spicy food so the recipe is perfect as is if you are not a fan of spicy. Also, when I was putting together the lasagna I was afraid that their wasn't enough meat at all. But after baking it all came together really well. I also used an entire packet of cheese in the dish (i love cheese!!). It was delicious and served 4 people with 2 slices left for leftovers.

Turkey Enchilada Lasagna

Next up were the jalapeño cheddar popovers! All you need is a blender and you are all set. Basically you just blend all the ingredients and let it sit for 30 minutes. I used a popover pan, but the recipe calls for a muffin tin. I am sure that would work well too! And side note I totally forgot to add the butter (left it in the microwave) and they came out perfect. You can also add more cheese and jalapeños if you want them cheesier or spicier!

Jalapeño Cheddar Popovers

Really what is a Mexican meal without guacamole? I quickly made up some guacamole with the leftover ingredients I had from making the meal above! I also made a fiesta salad and served with Mexican rice (totally cheated and bought the kind you heat up in the microwave for 90 seconds)!!

During dinner we also had a guest! This lil lizard was hanging out on a lantern! 

And last but not least, we had to dress up our cat. Can you tell he is excited it is Cinco de Mayo?

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton

The Small Things Blog and Sonia Kashuk Sweepstakes!

One of my favorite blogs thesmallthingsblog.com is having a sweepstakes with Sonia Kashuk Target brand to giveaway a $100 gift card to Target! Think about all the products you can buy. If you are not familiar with thesmallthingsblog.com definitely check it out. Kate does an amazing job at reviewing products, hair tips and tricks, and even her adventures with motherhood.

What I love about Sonia Kashuk products is the quality, while at the same time they don't break the budget. In the past I have spent tons of dollars on brushes while buying makeup at department stores, only to not use them after one month. I have bought a few Sonia Kashuk brushes and keep building my collection from Target. I started buying Sonia Kashuk products after reading Thesmallthingsblog.com!!

Definitely going to head to Target tomorrow to buy the Chic Luminosity Blush/Bronzer duo in Glimmer and obviously I also need the Sonia Kashuk Tools Dense Blush/Powder Brush No. 24 (shhh don't tell my husband!!).

And to sweeten the deal Target also has $5 off if you spend $20 on select haircare, skincare, and makeup. Enter promotion code Beauty5 at checkout to receive discount.

Please note: I am receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post. 

Chic Luminosity Blush/Bronzer duo

Sonia Kashuk Tools Dense Blush/Powder Brush No. 24 

By Jennifer Shelton

Cinco de Mayo Inspiration

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!! How is it May already?

Here are a few of the things I am thinking about making. I will let you know how everything turns out tomorrow.

Cilantro Jalapeño Limeade

This sounds delicious! I am going to try and recreate one of my favorite drinks from The Gallows in Boston called the Brazen Bull. The Gallows makes this drink with vodka, however since it is Cinco de Mayo thinking we might have to add tequila! Decisions decisions!!

Turkey Enchilada Lasagna

Okay okay, I know this isn't really fun. But it looks like it has slightly less fat then traditional enchiladas. We have to save our calories for the guacamole and chips!

Jalapeño Cheddar Popovers

Since we saved some calories using ground turkey, fat free cream cheese, and using whole wheat tortillas with our enchilada lasagna, we need to make sure we make up for it somewhere else. These popovers look so simple to make!

Sombrero Cookies

I am sure I can make something more authentic, however I am planning on spending most of my day sitting outside on the dock tomorrow reading a book. It is supposed to be 87 degrees here in North Carolina (sorry New Englanders) so I am taking a short cut with the dessert. Not to mention who is going to have room after eating dinner! Thinking of buying store bought sugar cookies, frosting in a can, sprinkles and gum drops!!

I will also make sure to put out some nacho chips, guacamole and salsa for everyone to snack on as well.

For additional ideas on what to make for Cinco de Mayo make sure to check out my Pinterest board.

What are you planning to make? Anyone have a favorite guacamole recipe they would like to share? Every time I make guacamole it comes out a little different. I like to experiment with what I have lying around in the fridge.

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton

My Southern I Do's - Wedding Reception Details

You have gotten to seen a few glimpses into my wedding reception with the cocktail hour, flowers, dessert table, etc but just wanted to share a final few things that I loved!!

The Venue

The Cotton Docks at Boone Hall Plantation are extremely rustic, but perfect for the look/feel we wanted for our wedding. We hung Edison lights from the wood rafters for lighting and ambience. We also did a combination of farm tables and square tables. I liked how it we were able to also seat different numbers of people at tables.

My Pinterest Inspiration:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/167196204887206082/

And my wedding:

We loved this big fireplace, and we definitely did not need to use it at our wedding. But we filled the fireplace with tons of candles and flowers. It looked so pretty and this picture doesn't really do it justice. The monogram moss S was actually borrowed from my sister-in-laws wedding. My in-laws also made the white S monograms that hung on each side of the fireplace. They cut them out and then painted them crackle white.

On the walls in between all of the windows we bought frames at Michael's and then my in-laws made them into bulletin boards and covered the picture portion with burlap. We hung a few of our
engagement photos on the walls.

We also re-used our Southern Nest monogram from the ceremony and moved it to the reception and hung it on the back wall. We used burlap ribbon to hang it. 

In the windows we hung mason jars with babies breath which I thought looked so cute. We also had candles in mason jars in the windows as well! I had seen this a few ways done differently on Pinterest like hanging from the rafters

But decided that was too much for my wedding, so I tweaked the idea an had them hanging from the windows.

Tables

My tables were inspired by this pin! Loved the simplicity of the flowers and tables. But they still gave the room a rustic ambiance.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/167196204887921913/

For my wedding, my mother-in-law made all of the burlap runners, and Tiger Lily put together all the flowers and candles. On the bride and groom table we had a burlap runner with our monogram on it. Unfortunately our photographer didn't get any pictures of the runner and head table!

My goal was to have my flowers look like I just picked them from the garden! Hamby Catering provided the burlap bags for the silverware. My step-father made the table numbers. And then I printed the menu cards and thank you cards from wedding chicks.

And on the back of the bride and groom chair I made these signs from Paper Source. They were actually from the same set I used to make our dessert table sign as well! 

Bathroom Signs

I ordered these adorable signs from Serenity Now Studio on Etsy. Super easy to work with and quick turnaround. I found the burlap frames at TJ Maxx!!

Exit

At the end of the night our caterers turned the signature drink table into a place for guests to sign our guest book if they hadn't done so earlier.













These are just a few of the million pins I have on Pinterest that inspired my wedding. For more please check out my Pinterest Southern I Do's wedding board.  Follow my blog with Bloglovin

By Jennifer Shelton

Grilled Flank Steak with Black Beans, Corn and Tomatoes

Since the weather has been nice in NC, and I am loving the fact we can grill outside I decided to find some recipes that are quick and easy for the grill. Searching through my pins I found this recipe from skinnytaste.com for grilled flank steam with black beans, corn and tomatoes! I decided to make this a salad since we are "trying" to eat healthier. Granted I did also serve this with a side of guacamole and chips, so overall not sure how healthy this meal really was.

What I loved about this recipe is for the salsa part (black beans, corn, tomatoes, etc) you can really customize based on your taste or what you have lying around the kitchen. I am a big fan of spicy so next time I might dice up a jalapeño and definitely some avocado or jicama. Or maybe add just a lil garlic too.

When making this recipe I totally underestimated the number of limes it takes to get 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice. I bought 2 and barely had 1/8 cup. So I had to add some lemon juice to make up the difference.

This recipe was adapted from skinnytaste.com.

Ingredients: 

Steak Marinade

• 1 1/2lb flank steak
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• fresh cracked pepper to taste

Black Bean, Corn and Tomato Salad

• 3 tbsp red onion, minced (I used half a red onion)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (suggest 5-6 limes)
• 2 medium vine ripe tomatos, diced (I used 3 tomatoes)
• 1 cup corn kernels (I just used an entire package)
• 2 tbsp finely minced cilantro
• kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

Directions: 

• Season steak with the crushed garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Make sure to gently massage into the meat for even distribution. Set aside for 5-10 minutes. 
• Combine red onions, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and set aside for a few minutes. Add tomatoes, black beans, corn, cilantro and other ingredients you choose. Set aside. 
• Heat a lightly greased grill or grill pan on high heat. Grill steak on high heat, 6-8 minutes on each side until your desired degree of doneness. Let the meat rest about 5 minutes before slicing. Slice the beef into thin slices across the grain, place on a platter (or in my case salad) and top with the corn, black bean and tomato salad. 

Let me know how you have adapted this recipe to make it your own!

Bon Appetite and Happy Pinning!!!
By Jennifer Shelton

Kentucky Derby is Tomorrow!!

I don't know why but I love the Kentucky Derby! I guess any excuse to wear lots of Lilly Pulitzer, big hats and drink during the afternoon is right up my alley!! I am not having a Kentucky Derby Party this year but wanted to share a few of my favorite pins in case you are going to a party, or having a party and need some inspiration on what to wear!!

Check out my Pinterest Board for more Kentucky Derby ideas if you are hosting a party, or are going to a party and need to bring treats!

First Item: HATS!!

I love the Marley Lilly monogrammed hats! I bought the hat with the pink brim and can't wait to wear it to the beach and on the boat this summer.

Marley Lilly Floppy Hat

Marley Lilly Patriotic Hat!

Second Item: We need a dress!! 

Remember go big or go home! So you need to make sure that your dress is loud, colorful and fun!! Don't forget the pearls!! You can't go wrong with Lilly Pulitzer or Vineyard Vines. Personally, I believe the Vineyard Vines Churchill Downs Scene Dress will win you best in show!! Vineyard Vines has a ton of Kentucky Derby items, and even more options for guys!

Vineyard Vines Churchill Downs Scene Dress

Lilly Pulitzer York Fit and Flare Dress

Third Item: A Cocktail for your hand!! 

This is one of my favorite mint julep recipes! If you are having a party make sure to stock up on lots of mint and ice!

To view this picture bigger check out my Pinterest Pin

Fourth Item: A Winning Ticket!!

I always pick by my favorite horses name!! This year I am going with WICKED STRONG! How could I not choose that horse after living in Boston for 15 years!! Check out the Kentucky Derby website to learn more.

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton

Guest Blogger - Spinach Torta in Potato Crust

Today we have our FIRST guest blogger! You might have heard me mention Kate in some of my earlier posts regarding wedding showers!! She is an amazing cook, baker, chef and more!! I am so excited that she is sharing some of her recipes and secrets with us!!

Also, this could be a great time to test out that homemade ricotta you made!!

I made this spinach torta for Easter, inspired by this post. The blog is written in the Netherlands so the measurement units aren't what I'm used to, so I outlined what I did below. 

Spinach Torta in Potato Crust

• 1lb Fresh Baby Spinach
• 2 Eggs
• 1 C Part Skim Ricotta
• 1 C Fresh Herbs (I used about 3/4 C Parsley and 1/4 C Chives)
• 1 - 1 1/2 C Feta
• Zest of one Lemon
• Salt & Pepper
• 2-3 Russet Potatoes
• Olive Oil
• Springform Pan 

Place a large skillet over medium heat, add the spinach with a splash of water, toss until all spinach is wilted. You may need to add the spinach in batches if it doesn't all fit in the skillet at first, it will cook down. Place the cooked spinach in a clean kitchen towel and twist/squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible. Roughly chop the spinach and set aside. 

In a bowl mix the eggs and ricotta, add herbs, feta, spinach and lemon zest. Season with S&P and mix well. Set aside. 

Peel the potatoes and slice 1/8 inch thick, slice one potato lengthwise to make long slices to line the sides of the springform pan, and the other 1-2 potatoes into rounds to line the bottom of the pan. I used my mandoline slicer and put the slices in a bowl of cold water as I was working. This helps to keep the potatoes from browning while they sit, and draws out some of the starch. 

Place a nonstick skillet over med-high heat and brush lightly with olive oil. Working in batches remove potatoes from the water, dry well with a towel, then fry in the skillet until lightly browned on both sides and tender. Remove potatoes from skillet to paper towel and continue with remaining potato slices until you have enough to cover the bottom and sides of the springform pan. 

Preheat the oven to 375.

Spray the springform pan generously with nonstick spray and use the potatoes to create your crust. I started with the sides, using the lengthwise slices to create one layer going around the side of the pan, with the potatoes slightly overlapping. 

Then use the potato rounds to cover the bottom, starting on the outside, working your way in, in a circle, and slightly overlapping again to create a solid layer to hold the spinach mixture. Pour the spinach-ricotta mixture into the prepared pan, being careful  not to disturb the potatoes. 

Place in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes until the spinach mixture is set and everything is golden brown. 

This looks DELISH and I can't wait to try this recipe!! Thank you so much Kate for sharing and we can't wait for your next recipe!

Happy Pinning!!
By Kate Lindsey