Friday favorites and a coffee date

It’s the weekend!! I wanted to share a few of my favorite things with you this week… One of them being a special coffee date with my main squeeze. {one of my “love languages” is quality time so this definitely filled my “love tank”} This week Chuck and I went to Williams Sonoma and browsed the cookbooks. We could spend forever in that store talking about recipes we want to try and different kitchen tools we want to get someday. We ended up buying a breakfast cookbook, grabbed a coffee and looked at all the recipes together in a cozy corner of Starbucks. Those are the best days:)

And then we got home, and this happened. What a sweet treat!! These blueberries muffins were like they were straight out of a bakery. These muffins may qualify as another one of my favorites. 😉

 

These tulips my mom got me for my birthday are so beautiful and bring spring to our living room. You can find these now at Publix. I love the exposed stems and bulbs!

My Fitbit Flex is top favorite things. I have made my step goal almost everyday this week. Woohoo!! I love checking my stats throughout the day.

These Krispy Kreme doughnuts. There are no words.

This OPI nail polish is the perfect pink white color called Mimosas for Mr. and Mrs.

I’ll leave you with a picture of Sophie, my favorite little pup, after her haircut this week… poor baby was exhausted. Apparently so exhausted she couldn’t look at the camera. ha.

 Have a fabulous weekend!! ♥ 

 

 

 

 

bang bang shrimp: healthy version

Today, I thought I’d share a much healthier version of Bonefish Grill’s Bang Bang Shrimp you can enjoy right in your own home. I found this recipe on Skinny Taste and it’s super easy and quick. It tasted just like Bang Bang Shrimp and I didn’t feel guilty eating it!

//Bangin Good Shrimp//

5 tbsp light mayonnaise
3 tbsp Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
1 tsp Sriracha (to taste)

For the Shrimp:
1 lb large shrimp, shelled and deveined (weight after peeled)
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp canola oil
3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
4 tbsp scallions, chopped

In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, Thai sweet chili sauce and Sriracha. Set aside.
Combine lettuce and cabbage and divide between four plates. Set aside. Coat shrimp with cornstarch, mixing well with your hands.
Heat a large skillet or wok on high heat, when hot add oil. When oil is hot add the shrimp to hot pan and cook tossing a few times until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and combine with the sauce coating well.
Place shrimp on lettuce and top with scallions.

Note: I don’t think you need as much mayo as this recipe calls for personally. I also added a clove of minced fresh garlic and salt to taste for some extra flavor.

 

Not much has been going on in my little corner of the world, but I’ll catch you up on the latest. This past weekend, we had some friends over for our first cookout of the spring. We grilled shish kabobs and I served the mango jalapeño martini I posted about last week…they were such a hit! Chuck and I went to the driving range since the weather was so nice and plus, we had to get in the golfing state of mind for the Masters. On Sunday we went to church and then soaked up some sun before heading in to watch the Masters. It was a very relaxing weekend.

Hope you have a great rest of the day! ♥

 

the most amazing martini you will ever have

Woo hoo, it’s Friday!! The start of the weekend calls for sharing with you one of my all time favorite drink recipes! You might remember I mentioned this drink on my birthday post, but I can’t take it anymore, I must share it with y’all! They used to have this mango jalapeño martini on the seasonal menu at Bonefish and I was super bummed when they took it off. Well low and behold, my mom came home from a party and said she had the best martini and the hostess’s recipe was inspired by the one at Bonefish! It’s the perfect blend of sweet and spicy. So, here you go folks. You’re welcome 😉

//Mango Jalapeño Martini//

Ingredients:

5 oz pineapple vodka
1.5 oz spicy mango syrup {you can find it here}
1.5 oz habanero lime syrup {you can find it here}
Juice of one lemon
2 tbsp of muddled mango {jarred mango slices work best}
Fresh Jalapeño

Add all the ingredients to a shaker, shake well, pour into chilled glass. Garnish with a slice of jalapeño. This recipe makes 2 martinis.

If you want to make your own pineapple infused vodka, Cut a pineapple into chunks, place in a large container, pour a bottle of vodka over the pineapple. Let sit in the refrigerator for 3 days. Remove Pineapple and pour vodka back into bottle!

Rim the glasses with the following mixture : Jalapeño spice and sugar

Mix the two ingredients to rim the glass. {You can find the jalapeño spice in the “Hispanic food aisle”. It is the Badia brand spice}

Note: If you want to make your own pineapple infused vodka, cut a pineapple into chunks, place in a large container, pour a bottle of vodka over the pineapple. Let sit in the refrigerator for 3 days. Remove pineapple and pour vodka back into bottle!

    

A special thank you to mom and friend, Lisa, for this amazing recipe. Now go get ready to celebrate the weekend!! ♥ 

fabulous friends, fabulous functions

Morning friends! I hope your week has started off wonderfully:) Today, I thought I’d do an overview of my past week… it was a busy one so I’ll just hit the highlights.

Last week, I attended a Thirty One house party that my sister-in-laws hosted. I was torn with what to buy at the party, but I ended up going with the Zip-top Organizing Utility Tote. It has a nautical touch perfect for summer to carry to the pool, with tons of pockets for storage. It was so nice to catch up and have a ladies night with family while the guys had their own night together.

I had another ladies night out with some great friends to a charity event called Baubles and Bubbles that benefits an emergency children’s shelter here. It was so much fun! They had a silent auction with tons of stuff to bid on. There were balloons going around that you could buy and each balloon contained a gift card, so those were a win-win. There was also a diamond drop with glasses of champagne you could buy, each containing a cubic zirconia and one lucky lady’s contained a real diamond! I bought one, but had no luck with the big jewel:( Still cool though! A photo booth was set up at the event, which was a cool idea. We might have had too much fun in that thing… And then I got a little carried away bidding on random stuff. Ha. I ended up winning a bid on a basket full of island inspired Bath and Body Works products AND a golf trip for 4.

   

   

Chuck and I stayed in and enjoyed a beautiful sunset walk around the neighborhood Friday night. I made a yummy appetizer spread and we watched Wolf of Wall Street. It was a great movie, but holy cow was it long {3 hours!} And be prepared for lots of nudity and drugs. You have been warned…;) Oh and be on the lookout, I will be sharing this dip recipe {pictured below} soon.

   

Saturday was a day of running lots of errands and yard work. That night, we went to a wedding of some of our friends. They are such a sweet couple that have been together forever, so this was a long overdue wedding and a BLAST to celebrate them! 🙂 I used to work with the bride, so it was great to see old coworkers I haven’t seen in a while. The wedding reception was held at Pine Island on Lake Murray. The setting was beautiful. We were greeted with a glass of champagne and cotton candy added to it. The outside bar overlooked the sunset on Lake Murray and the weather was perfection. The band they had was awesome! We loved the food and the best part… near the end of the night they came around with the most delicious mini bacon cheeseburgers!! Amaze.

   

   

   

   

   

   

Alrighty, those are the highlights. {You may have noticed I wore the same necklace to about every event this past week… I also wore it here. I received tons of compliments and you can find it at Just the Thing.} Hope you all have a fabulous week! ♥

how to make your green smoothies taste delicious

Happy Humpday everyone! Spring has sprung, and it’s time to get back to smoothies and healthy eating for summer! Green smoothies are a great way to pack more antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals into your diet all in one yummy drink. I am guilty of not incorporating enough greens into my daily diet, so green smoothies are a great way to include them without noticing. Today I thought I’d share a green smoothie recipe and some key factors in making your smoothies green. To make a smoothie a really green color and have it taste great, keep these few pointers in mind:

1. Choose light colored fruits {preferably frozen} i.e. pineapple, peaches, mangos, bananas, grapes, oranges, apples, pears {avoid berries if you want that really green color}
2. Choose a liquid base. i.e. your milk preference, orange juice, coconut water
3. Choose a leafy green. i.e. spinach and kale 

Extra pointers:

• Keep in mind the 60:40 rule to keep them tasting less grassy green and much tastier. This means it should typically consist of 60% fruits and 40% greens.
• I much prefer baby spinach and find it works the very best in smoothies because it blends smooth and you can’t taste it. Every now and then I toss in kale if I’m feeling the need for more green or I’m out of spinach, but it is a bit harder to blend seamlessly into smoothies.
• You can add a small slice of lemon {rind on} to your smoothie to help cancel the leafy green taste. I did this especially when I first started making green smoothies.
• Carrots mix well into green smoothies for an extra source of fiber and another veggie serving.
• Protein such as greek yogurt or protein powder makes this a meal with servings of fruits, veggies and protein. It also makes it a touch creamier.
• Have fun with it! Experimenting with different categories above can turn out being the best smoothies.

Here is a green smoothie recipe I got out of my Vitamix recipe book, Whole Food Recipes. I adjusted the recipe as a base and tweak it to my taste depending on what I have on hand.

 

//It’s Easy Being Green Smoothie//  

Ingredients: 

1/2 c. grapes

1/2 medium orange, peeled {squeeze before adding}

1/4 c. fresh pineapple

1/2 banana

1 c. baby spinach

1/2 c. baby carrots

1 c. ice {if not using frozen fruit}

small slice of lemon

Note: I like to use frozen fruit, but if you use frozen you may need to add a liquid base such as orange juice or almond milk. Frozen makes it taste better and the consistency is more palatable, but it is harder to blend. Just play around with the ingredients and pretty soon you’ll have the perfect green smoothie!

Hope you all have a fabulous week and enjoy the sunshine! ♥