Birthday Wish List 2016

With my birthday a little over a month away, I have compiled my current wish list.  My sister uses this as her go-to guide.  Truthfully, I am more excited about our joint birthday trip to Miami than anything else! Without further adieu: 

Jo Malone 
Wood Sage and Sea Salt
I am about out of this perfume she bought me last year.  It has become my new signature scent.



Garden & Gun Cookbook

I love Garden & Gun and have such respect for any publication they produce.  I know this cookbook is filled with the best recipes. 

Sunglasses

Still lusting after these shades by Krewe Optics out of New Orleans. 

Art

I love art.  This has been on my list of favorites for a while.  

 Nisolo Sandals 

How gorgeous are these? Classic, yet chic.

Pullen Park

Bethany and I took the kids to lunch and Pullen Park last Saturday.  We started off at Bad Daddy's, a burger bar in downtown Raleigh, for lunch.  I love any place that allows you to create your own salad.  I always top mine with a turkey burger, which in my opinion, is superior to those elsewhere.  

After lunch we headed to Pullen Park.  This park has it all: a carousel, a train, boats, and play areas.  If you live in the Raleigh area, it is a great weekend activity for families. 

I snapped this cute picture of Gidget and Jack while I cooked Sunday morning.

Spicy Tomato Skillet Eggs

Bethany and I have been working our way through Chrissy Tiegen's cookbook, Cravings.  This weekend we made her "Spicy Tomato Skillet Eggs".  This one pot wonder is as impressive as it looks: hearty, filling, and surprisingly healthy.  This is a great brunch recipe and would be perfect for entertaining.  Although Bethany and I ate ours straight out of the skillet, you could spoon out an egg for each of your guests and serve with various sides.

Ingredients:

4 cups of favorite tomato sauce (we used Chrissy's)

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

8 slices of thin prosciutto

6 eggs

salt/pepper

fresh oregano

olive oil

crusty bread

Making it happen:

Heat the tomato sauce and red pepper flakes over med-high heat until bubbling.  Make six holes in the sauce and crack an egg into each hole.  

Note: You want to make sure the egg reaches the bottom of the dish.  Make sure you can see the bottom of the skillet before cracking the egg.  I recommend one egg at a time.  

Once you have cracked all of the eggs, salt and pepper them, turn the heat to medium, and leave them alone.  Let the eggs cook for 9 minutes, until the whites have set but the yolks are runny.  Mid-way through the eggs cooking, bundle one slice of prosciutto at a time and nestle them in the sauce between the eggs.  Once the eggs have set, remove from heat and top with chopped oregano and olive oil.  Serve along crusty bread for dipping.

Must Have- Yoga Poses

As I have mentioned before, I practice Bikram Yoga.  However, keeping a regular practice can be challenging.  An hour and a half class demands, at minimum, a two hour time commitment.  Also, a regular yoga practice can be very pricey.  For this reason, I don't always have the funds or the time to go.  That being said, even when I am engaging in other work outs, such as running, I incorporate yoga.  These are the poses that I can't live without. 

Camel:

If I am having a bad day or experiencing any amount of back pain, this is my go to pose. It immediately relaxes me and wipes away any back pain.

Fixed Firm:

When I finish a run, I come straight in the house and put myself into Fixed Firm.  The posture is great for knees.  We all know that running can be hard on your knees and this is the perfect posture for stretching your knees and hamstrings.

Standing Bow: 

This posture is another great full body stretch.  It takes focus and balance.  It also is a great stretch for your back.

Duck Donuts

I headed to Raleigh Saturday to see Bethany and the boys.  Lee loves doughnuts, as I am sure I have documented numerous times.  We decided to try Duck Donuts, a doughnut shop that originated in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Now, they have numerous cafes all over the state.  Historically, I prefer a simple doughnut.  I adore Britts at Carolina Beach and in my opinion, none have compared.  This was true, until now.  While I still love Britts and if I am going to have a plain glazed doughnut, that is where I will go, there is something special about these.

In the age of trendy doughnut shops, things have gotten a little ridiculous.  I have no interest in a doughnut topped with lucky charms or maple bacon.  In my opinion, simple is best.  These "cake" doughnuts come piping hot and are immediately dredged in your preferred glaze.  We tried the lemon, strawberry, powdered sugar, orange, and cinnamon sugar.  If there is one in your area, you should definitely check them out.

Happy Hour

Happy hour, the perfect transition from work life to social life, the time to celebrate a day's victories or leave the stress behind.  It is also the perfect opportunity to make something ordinary feel special without much effort.  I love having friends over for happy hour.  I pour a cocktail, put out some gnoshings, grab a seat on the front porch, and have a few laughs.  It really is the perfect way to unwind at the end of the day.  Very often, my happy hour is my dinner.  A well composed cheese platter and a great bottle of wine, who needs dinner after that? My cocktail of choice depends on the weather, the day, and my mood.  However, even then, I have the select few that I choose from and I thought I would share those here.   

Red Wine: 

I am a very seasonal gal, after labor day you won't catch me drinking white wine or wearing white jeans.  Call me a traditionalist if you will, but I want to drink and eat foods that enhance the season.  Fall and winter are red wine season for me, so get out your Olivia Pope glasses girls, wrap up in your coziest cardigan, and open one of these bottles. 

This is my favorite bottle of red, F, by Orin Swift Locations.

 Joel Gott is an old faithful.  Not too expensive but delicious.

Chardonnay, Rosé, and Champagne:

Once spring hits, I immediately transition to lighter meals and crisper wines.  Here are two of my favorite bottles, as well as my favorite bottle of bubbles.

In my humble opinion, Butter is the best chardonnay out there. 

I fell in love with this bottle last summer. 

Four the last seven years I have been drinking J Cuvee.  It is a delicious, and reasonably priced, bottle of bubbles.

Beer: 

Sometimes, there is nothing better than a good ole beevo ("Shag" reference).  Beer is something I enjoy in all seasons, especially with certain foods, and on the beach, there is nothing more refreshing.

My go-to beers are Abita (Strawberry, Pecan, and Grapefruit), Blue Moon, Dos Equis Amber, Shiner Ruby Redbird, Ballast Point Grapefruit, and Saranac (Pumpkin & Caramel Porter).

Gin:

My summer cocktail of choice is a G&T or a Southside.  They are refreshing, not too fruity, and still pack a punch.  

When it comes to Gin, I prefer Hendricks and Plymouth.  I like Fever-Tree and Jack Rudy for my tonic.

Bourbon:

In the fall and winter, if I am having a cocktail, you can bet it will be a bourbon.  Although I love a trendy bourbon cocktail, truthfully, I prefer mine on the rocks.  Here are my four suggested bourbons.

High End- Blantons & Four Roses
Budget Friendly- Makers Mark & Bulleit

Azalea Fest. 2016

For more than 60 years, Wilmington has been home to the Azalea Festival, a four day party that hosts celebrities, musicians, artists, garden & home tours, and an array of other activities.  In all of my time here in Wilmington, I had yet to enjoy the festivities properly.  The Sossamons made plans to come the first part of the long weekend and I promised myself to soak everything up this year.  

Julie and Randy arrived mid-day Thursday.  I left work and we headed to Brasserie for a late lunch.  Brasserie always is the best place to get a salad.  You can create your own and they always have the freshest ingredients.  We sat out on the patio and caught up over lunch.

After lunch we went back to the Pecan Cottage to get ready.  We had tickets to the Avett Bros and they were starting promptly at 8pm.  Once Mandy arrived, we ubered downtown to the Belk Stage.  Each year the festival holds a series of three concerts, one each night.  This year, Wilmington welcomed The Avett Bros, Snoop Dog, and Chase Rice.  While it was abnormally cold this weekend, we had the best weather of the three nights.

The Friday of Azalea Festival is Garden Party day.  This event takes place at Airlie Gardens.  Men and women, clad in their preppiest attire, spent the morning sipping mimosas and socializing on the lawn.  After the party, guests headed to the restaurants on Airlie Road and the revelry continued.  We opted out of the Garden Party, but headed to Dockside for lunch and people watching.  It was a gorgeous afternoon.  We enjoyed lunch and Bloodys on the water.   

\

Julie and Randy left Friday afternoon and I headed to meet some college friends at Burnt Mill Creek that evening.  L-Shaped Lot, a local band, was preforming.  One of the best meals I had all weekend was the brisket and butter-beans I got from The International Food Truck. 

Saturday afternoon, I went with Danielle and her family to the street fair downtown.  In all of our time in Wilmington, Danielle and I had never been.  I think we had never been for good reason.  We checked it off the bucket list and wont have to return.  Overall, the weekend was sensational.

Sometime I want the whole enchilada!

This recipe will have you wanting not just the whole enchilada, but the entire dish.  Good luck finding a restaurant with a better a recipe than the one I am handing you now.  You're welcome! 

Ingredients:
3 chicken breast (on the bone)
cilantro
1 garlic clove
1 large onion
2 jalapeno peppers (seeded and diced)
1 15oz can of tomato sauce
1 cup of water
3 tablespoons of chili powder
2 teaspoons of cumin
2 teaspoons of sugar
salt/pepper
2 cups of Monterrey jack/cheddar cheese combo
cooking spray


Making it Happen: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place chicken breast on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper.  Cook for 35-40 minutes.  Once the chicken is cooked, pull out of oven and let sit for 10 minutes before shredding.  Turn the oven to 450 degrees.

Meanwhile, make the sauce.  Saute peppers and onion in olive oil until translucent.  Add garlic, chili powder, sugar, and cumin.  Cook for 1 minute or until aromatic.  Add in tomato sauce and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer.  Let simmer for 20 minutes.

Pour the sauce through a strainer.  In a large bowl, combine onion mixture (leftover from the sauce), chopped cilantro, shredded chicken, cheese, and 1 cup of enchilada sauce.  Next, spoon mixture onto tortilla shells, roll, and place seam down in dish.  Spray the top of the enchiladas with cooking spray and let them get crispy in oven for seven mminutes.  Reduce heat to 400 degrees, pour remaining sauce over enchiladas, and top with remaining cheese and cilantro.  Cook an additional 20 minutes. 

Note- My mom makes these with pulled pork.  If she makes a pork roast, she simply subs the chicken with leftover pork.  I will admit, those are delicious and worth the substitution if you have pork on hand.

Porch Party

Cape Fear Academy hosted their first "Porch Party" this past weekend.  Social events for the community are often limited to fundraisers, so it was nice to have an event that was solely based on getting together and having a great time.  The committee rented out Carolina Yacht Club on Wrightsville Beach and Little Pond catered the event.  The rain that had peppered the city most of the day dissipated early in the afternoon.  By the evening, it was gorgeous. 

Spring has Sprung

Spring has made its way to Wilmington and I have been soaking up the long days and countless activities on my social calendar.  On St. Patrick's Day, Mary Lyons and I took Arthur to The Harp for a Guinness.  This little leprechaun was quite the star!  

I met some colleagues for happy hour that same day.  The thing I love about this holiday is that there is no pressure, just fun.

Gidget has been looking mighty cute lately.  

For Easter, Bethany and I headed home to Belmont.  My Papa and I took Lee to my cousin Ricky's horse farm.  Lee loves the horses and we let him ride Misty without a saddle.  

Very in to his superheroes these days, Lee got his dad a matching Captain America t-shirt.  

Bethany and I made Tiffani Thiessen's Naked Carrot Cake for Easter. What I loved about this recipe was the "naked" part.  I don't like a lot of icing and this cake seemed the perfect amount.  I am going to try a strawberry cake this May, using the same concept.

I came home to find my azalea in full bloom.  I captured this picture one evening last week.  Spring has a magical way of making me feel hopeful about the future, everything around me is being renewed.