Hello, Leesburg.

We had every intention of making a trip to Lucketts to celebrate my friend Liz's birthday.  But two people (who shall remain nameless but let's just say it wasn't me) had a little bit too much fun the night before and we got a later than anticipated start to the day.  Our fave restaurant in Leesburg is called Lightfoot.  It's an old bank they've converted into a restaurant with an awesome outdoor eating area and food there is delish.  So, per my suggestion, we started our day in Leesburg so we could eat there.  

My favorite thing is their daily grilled cheese combo.  This time they did a grilled cheese on raisin bread with manchego cheese, strawberry jam, onions and tomatoes.  It was served with homemade tomato basil soup and a fresh ceasar salad.  Why don't we have any where like this around here?! 

The birthday girl had a delicious looking oyster salad.  And Lane had a chicken salad with just about every ingredient known to man...forgot to take a pic of that one! 

Despite the fact we didn't make it to Lucketts, there was plenty of shopping to be had in Leesburg.  Liz and Lane had the most luck with clothes from a cute boutique called Madisonbelle.

Other shopping highlights for me were Creme de la Creme which had one of the best cards selections I've seen in a long time so I picked up quite a few of those to have on hand.  They also had the coolest plastic plates I've ever seen - you could've sworn they were real vietri or italian china but nope, plastic.  Great for outdoors!

Blackberry's was in a cool old house and will soon have a coffee shop inside as well.  They offer interior design and had some cool things - my favorite being the way they framed their pictures with the printed mat like this one:

 

But the highlight of my day was at The Cottage.  Awesome finds for reclaimed furniture, old ladders, garden supplies and gifts at very affordable prices. 

Cool ribbon display - love some ribbon!

My favorite shot of the day was from the Cottage - loved this sign!

One Little Bird.

First attempt at a knit stuffed animal!  A little bird.  Not perfect but sometimes I think it is things imperfections that make them more likeable.  Now I need a name for him...

Weeknight Inspiration: Chicken Parmesan and Salad with Fresh Herb Vinagrette

You could do this easy dish with eggplant as well for a vegetarian version.  I was inspired by a recipe I saw in Real Simple. 

Chicken Parmesan
What you'll need:
2-3 chicken breasts
2 cups panko
1 egg, beaten
1 jar marinara sauce
2 cups diced tomatoes, onions and green peppers (optional)
chopped fresh basil (about 4 Tbsp)
1 ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp olive oil

What you'll do:
Pound out the chicken until thin cutlets.  You don't have to have a meat tenderizer.  I used a regular hammer and put the chicken between two layers of saran wrap.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.

Put panko in one dish and beaten egg in another.  Dredge the chicken first in the egg and then in the panko.  Add to the heated oil and cook until browned.

Meanwhile, add a little olive oil to a sauce pan and sautee the tomatoes, onions and green peppers.  Add the marinara sauce once those have cooked down.  Add half of the fresh basil.  Simmer on low until chicken has cooked.  (This step is totally optional - you could use just a jar of plain marinara but I like to have fresh veggies in it). 

Place the chicken in the bottom of a large baking dish.  Top with the marinara and mozzarella. 

Cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes - 1 hour.  I like to broil at the very end to give the cheese some browning.  Top with the last of the basil. 

Salad with Fresh Herb Vinagrette
We had our chicken parmesan tonight with a salad with herbed dressing.  I picked up on the basil that was in the marinara.

What you'll need:
variety of fresh herbs, chopped finely
red wine vinegar (or other vinegar of your choice)
olive oil
salt and pepper
pinch of sugar

What you'll do:
Wash and chop the herbs finely. 

Add to a bowl.  Add about 3 Tbsp of vinegar to the herbs (you can increase or decrease this depending on how much salad you are making). 

Add salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar (offsets the tartness of the vinegar).  Drizzle in olive oil stirring at the same time.  I tend to use matching amounts of olive and vinegar but you can use more or less depending on your taste.

Put anything you like in the salad.  We had strawberries, goat cheese and pecans in ours.  My general rule of thumb is to usually used some kind of fruit (usually fresh in the summer and canned or dried in the winter), a type of cheese (usually goat or feta) and something to give it some crunch (usually pecans, walnuts or pinenuts). 

Drizzle the dressing over the salad before serving.

Tuesday Tip: Flower arranging trick

My friend Meghann taught me this this weekend.  It makes total sense but it had never occurred to me before.  She brought over a beautiful bunch of hydrangeas for our party but I kept having to cut the stems lower and lower to try to keep them from drooping.  She quickly whips an extra hair band from around her wrist, pops it around the stems and voila!  Flowers are gorgeous and standing together! 

Obviously this will work with any rubber band.  Not two seconds after I learned this new trick, another friend Megan came over with a beautiful batch of red gerber daisies.  I was a little low on flower holders since many of my vases were being used as the centerpieces for the tables so I found a little vase, trimmed the stalks and slipped a little rubberband on. 

Cute little bouquet and no droopy gerbers!

Before and After: Megan's Kitchen Shelves

My friend Meghann knows how much I like design and decor.  Her friend Megan (are you confused yet?) just bought a house and wanted some decorating advice.  A few email exchanges later and Megan and I were fast friends and up and running!  Her first project to tackle was the bathroom.  She is a major (and impressive!) DIYer and did all of the work (including new floor tiles, lighting fixture and sink installation) herself.  We talked that over via email but today I finally made my first trip over to her house.  Super cute and I am definitely envious!  She's got an efficiency apartment in the basement which she will rent out and a roomate and good friend that lives with her and they will split the remainder of the mortgage. 
She's got lots of great ideas but it can be a little daunting to know where to start.  I know she'll get there but for today we tackled one project that she created herself - inexpensive and adorable kitchen shelves.

Here was the blank slate we started with:

The ceilings are luxuriously high and Megan (rightfully so) wanted to accentate that.  So she decided to do open shelves to lend extra storage but also to show off the height of the ceilings.

She has this Farmer's Market print which is serving for the inspiration for future kitchen plans/remodeling.  The picture has a flash issue but you can get the general idea:

She had boards cut and bought brackets at Home Depot.  I helped her sand down the edges today and attach the shelves to the brackets and the brackets to the wall.  The level was our best friend by the end of the day!  She's got plans to add wine glass holders to the bottom of both of the higher shelves but you can get a general idea of the added storage this gives her.  I feel so productive after today!  I'm already looking forward to the next project and for getting to virtually shop for someone other than myself!

Beachy Backyard Bash

Our dear friends Alice and Andrew are engaged and are getting married in October in Raleigh, NC!  Last night our book club (don't ask what we're reading 'cause we don't - I mean we do but not as a collective group) hosted a shower for them in our backyard.  Our friend Beth located a man on the Hill who made Eastern NC BBQ and we centered the rest of the theme around the beach - laid back and easy like Alice and Andrew.  My husband did an amazing job with the yard and also rewarded himself with new wireless outdoor speakers which really added to the ambiance with the mostly beach music play list created by our friend Liz.  Good times, good times.

Super easy and festive centerpieces.  Hurricane vases filled with sand and a white candle and found sea shells scattered on the tables.  Liz found the prettiest aqua blue tableclothes to go along with it.

Black and white photos of the bride and groom to be - and of course book club!

Meghann found these beautiful white hydrangeas at Eastern Market.  Stay tuned for a Tuesday tip courtesy of Meghann!

The spread complete with Eastern NC BBQ, baked beans, cornbread, pasta salad and chips!

Beth brought George's from home in North Carolina.  You can't get it here which is a cryin' shame for all you people who haven't had it. 

You'd think they'd died and gone to heaven with the BBQ.  I think we have more pictures of the food than anything else the entire evening.  Seriously.

I'm hungry all over again.

The dinner is done but the lights are showing up nicely!

The pup LOVED having all of the attention...not to mention the scraps on the ground.

Night view with the umbrella and lights on the porch.  Cozy and fun!

A little blurry but you get the idea of the house all lit up.

Congrats again to Alice and Andrew!  Here's to October!

Baked Beans for a Crowd

I took inspiration from one of Paula Deen's recipes for these baked beans but simplified it.  We had them as one of the side dishes at our friends Alice and Andrew's engagement party this weekend.  It served over 25 people easily with some to spare and they were delish!  Clean up is fairly simple as well since most of it is done in the crock pot.  Let 'em simmer for a while so they get good and tasty!

What you'll need:
6 strips bacon, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
cooking spray
1 can Rotel (tomatoes with green chiles)
3 cans baked beans (I like the maple sugar ones)
1 can pork and beans
3 Tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

What you do:
Spray cooking spray in the bottom of a skillet.  Add diced bacon and brown.  Remove the bacon and let crisp (and degrease) on some paper towels.

Add onion to the same skillet where the bacon was cooking and brown up in all of the bacon goodness.

Add the onion and the bacon to the crock pot and add the rest of the ingredients. 

Let simmer for at least 4-6 hours.  The green chiles offer a hint of spiciness to offset the sweetness of the brown sugar.

I forgot to take a picture of the final product but you've probably seen baked beans before...