Weekend Highlights

It was the last weekend of the month which means it's Arts on Main in Memphis! That's exactly how we started our weekend. The weather was perfect and if you live in Memphis, you know you have to take advantage of it before the heat, humidity and mosquitoes move in. This event has continued to grow and I love all the musicians and performers on the street.

 

Afterwards, we went to one of my favorite Italian restaurants - Spindini. This antipasto plate was amazing!

On the way to the car, we spotted these break dancers so we had to watch.

Juno got a summer cut on Saturday!

  



Look at my prissy tail!



Josh had a practice cook that day with his bar-b-que fest team. I came over to be a taste tester:) Wish I would have snapped a pic of the ribs! They were great!



Ribs cooking on two smokers




The wives




The men hard at work...



Last night we stayed up late watching the Memphis Grizzlies play-off game. If you didn't see it, we went from a 27 point lead to losing the game by one point!! Ughhhh....Hope they do better on Wednesday!! By the way, I hear Justin Timberlake was at the game last week!

Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis_Grizzlies



Finally, I will leave you with this pic of the newest addition to the Mississippi River. The American Queen steamboat. Priscilla Presley christened the boat on Friday as the vessel's godmother. I snapped this as I was leaving work.

Have a wonderful week!!

What's Cookin'?

This dish is so simple that I debated on whether to even post it. But, I really enjoy it and sometimes you need these quick and easy recipes when life gets busy!

Introducing Simple Salmon! Josh has perfected this concoction so this was a great opportunity for me to learn exactly how it's done. The combo of brown sugar and barbecue sauce gives it a nice sweet and smokey flavor.

First, lightly sprinkle some brown sugar, kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper on the salmon fillets.

Cook in a preheated 415 degree oven for about 13 minutes. Take out of oven and pour a little barbecue sauce over the fillets. Spread evenly with fork.

Cook for another 5 minutes and it's ready to serve! It's that easy!

I paired this with fresh green beans which I cooked with chopped garlic, salt and pepper.

I find myself often going to this dish after a weekend of heavy eating:)

Enjoy!

What's Cookin'?

These fish tacos have become one of my favorite go-to recipes! They are spicy, refreshing and sweet - all in one bite! Plus, they're healthy! Here are the details.

Ingredients

First, I make the fruity black bean salsa. Just mix black beans (rinsed and drained) with a chopped mango, bell pepper and avocado. In a separate bowl, whisk together the grated rind and juice of 1 lemon, honey and salt. Drizzle and coat bean mixture with liquid mix and pop it into the fridge.

Fruity Black Bean Salsa

Next, mix together chipotle seasoning, cumin and salt and rub over the tilapia fillets. Then combine olive oil and the grated rind and juice of 2 limes and rub this over the fillets as well.


I got these from the butcher and they were huge! The recipe calls
for 6 but I stuck to 3 due to the large size.

You can either grill or bake the fillets - we've done it both ways. We baked them this time for about 18 minutes at 400 degrees (bake time will vary based on thickness), flipping half way.

Once the fillets are done, cut into small pieces and start assembling your tacos!

I paired the tacos with whole grain rice. Red beans and rice also works well. Doesn't this look delish??

Recipes
Fish Tacos
Fruity Black Bean Salsa

Tips
Salsa - recipe says you can use papaya or mango but I've always used mango. Also, I peel the skin off the mango. I skip the jalapeno peppers because the dish is already spicy without it and it was in fact too spicy for Josh the first time I made it. I also skip the cilantro because I'm not a big fan.

Tacos - About the 3rd time I made this I got the spicy level right for Josh! Although I omitted the jalapeno peppers the second time, it was still really spicy! I could totally handle it but someone else could not:) So, I cut the chipotle seasoning in half from 1 tablespoon to 1/2 a tablespoon.

The taco recipe includes a sweet-and-spicy slaw recipe as well but I have never made this....I'm sure it's good, I'm just not a slaw girl!

Enjoy!!

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Anyone watch Sunday Morning on CBS?? I always look forward to this show (when I wake up in time)! Well, this Sunday they talked about the 175th anniversary of Tiffany's! Some interesting facts that I was not aware of include:

1) Abraham Lincoln shopped there and bought some pearls for his wife (and apparently asked for a presidential discount!)
2) The Tiffany blue color was the favorite color of the wife of Napoleon III who was considered to be the most stylish woman of the world
3) They redesigned the great seal of the United States which appears on every dollar bill

With jewelry on the mind, I found myself on their site and thought it would be fun to see what everyone would pick out if money was no issue. It was a hard decision, but I think I would go with this ring:

I may be drawn to this because it happens to be my birthstone:) I love how the citrine stone is clear and I think I could rock this everyday....too bad it's $2,400!!

What would you pick??

Weekend Highlights

So this weekend we weren't quite as active as last. Friday night was rainy so we stayed in and rented My Week with Marilyn. I am always so intrigued with Marilyn Monroe so I enjoyed it pretty well. Josh lost interest after about 20 minutes however and took to reading. My rating - 3 out of 5 with 5 being best.

Saturday morning Josh made blueberry pancakes!! We hardly ever eat pancakes so it was a treat. Look, he even included a serving of fruit:)

That night we had a wedding in Oxford, MS. Since I am an Ole Miss grad, Oxford holds a special place in my heart and I always enjoy going down for a visit. I especially love to shop on the square so we got there a little early so that I could peruse around. I actually came out with no purchases!! Only because I had limited time I sure..



Here we are at the reception. I am wearing my favorite outfit of the moment from Ann Taylor!

Ann Taylor has gone sassy and I like it! I'm loving the tone on tone bright colors and accessories. I think Kate Hudson is a great celebrity choice for them as well because she creates a fun personality for the brand.

We ended the weekend by trying a new Sunday School class and I'm looking forward to going back next week. Also, I went running in Shelby Farms which was a nice change in scenery.

Have a great week!!

P.S. - Anyone watch Celebrity Apprentice?? I predict that Clay Aiken will win it all!

Friday Favs

Happy Friday everyone!!  Here is what I'm loving this week:

First, I have to give a shout out to one of my oldest and dearest friends - Lia Jo! Her birthday is officially tomorrow but I wanted to wish her a Happy Birthday Weekend!! From dancing together on the high school pom squad to moving to NYC together, I have so many happy memories with Lia. She has so much positive energy and always brings excitement and fun to life.

This was taken last year during Lia's bachelorette party.

We both went blond after high school:)

 

 

Here we are our senior year of high school. Lia had ACL surgery - we look like babies!



Happy Birthday Lia! Miss you so much and I wish we lived closer so we could spend more time together! Oh, and check out her blog - Sunkissed & Southern!



I'm also loving spinning. I tried a new class on Monday and I want to become a regular. Great music and the instructor had just the right amount of enthusiasm - those two things can make it or break it for me. What a great way to start out the week!

Breakfast on the rooftop was also fun. My work set up a yogurt bar with granola and fruit toppings. My office is downtown by the river so the view up there is great.



I think I need this bubbles ceramic side table from West Elm....I've been watching it for a while now and I'm hoping it will go on sale soon. I need something like this next to my sofa as we currently have no side tables or coffee table (and there's no room for said items). I like it because it's kind of funky and modern. I wouldn't actually put a lamp on it...I just need a place to set my drink so I won't worry about Juno knocking it over:)





TGIF!!

What's Cookin'?

Pasta Ponza! This is the second time I've cooked this dish and I love it because it's not super heavy. It's actually a vegetarian dish but Josh wanted to add chicken this time. I think it taste great either way as the yellow and red cherry tomatoes make it so flavorful. And, it's easy to make!

Ingredients



Tomato mixture getting all bubbly in the oven










 

Josh grilling the chicken

Finished product!

Recipe
Pasta Ponza

Enjoy!

What's Cookin'?

Over the weekend we grilled out and made these delicious chicken sandwiches with a tapenade sauce. It was pretty easy and we happily ate the leftovers on Sunday. If you like olives and tomatoes, you'll love this dish!

I paired it with honey roasted sweet potatoes (thanks Amy over at Taylors East) and a Greek salad.

Recipes
Grilled Chicken and Tapenade Sandwich
Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Tip: Don't put potato skins down the garbage disposal!! I broke ours and we had to call a repair man! Ooopppsss...at least they were really good:)

Enjoy!

Weekend Highlights - Keeping it Local

It was a beautiful weekend in Memphis so we tried to take advantage of the outdoors as much as possible. While it wasn't entirely intentional, we ended up supporting the local scene quite a bit. Below is a recap of the weekend highlights.

5K Crop Hop - Downtown at the Memphis Farmers Market

Josh and I really enjoyed this race. The run went along the Mississippi River and around the downtown area. And, it was my best 5K race time yet at 28:36! Of course Josh was way ahead of me but his legs are way longer than mine!



Josh refused to take a pic with me by the scarecrow. He claims that he wasn't
awake yet but I think he really just thought that I looked like a dork!



Memphis Farmers Market

The run actually supported the Memphis Farmers Market so we could conveniently shop while we waited for the race to start.

 



We picked up this yummy blackberry peach jam









Buying flowers is my favorite part!



I love having them in the house!

 

I bought some rosemary, basil and oregano - here they are after I planted them in some cute pots



Girl Time!

Next, I met up with my girl Amber. We used to work together but she has since switched jobs so we like to met up during the week or on the weekends. Most often, our outings involve one of my favorite activities - shopping:) I could be a professional! And, she is always really impressed with how quickly I can calculate sale prices in my head (got that from my mom). Too bad my math skills aren't that great outside of the shopping environment...

First, we went to the Skyros Warehouse Sale. Skyros makes really pretty plates and platters. Isabella is my favorite pattern. I picked up this pretty platter. Sale price $30, Retail price $144....see, I could be a professional!

Next, we ate lunch at The Elegant Farmer, one of my favorite local spots which buys most of their goods from farmers markets. They actually have a chalkboard inside that lists all of the local farms that they bought from that week. Since it was so nice out, we ate on their beautiful patio.

This was followed by more shopping which worked up our appetite again. So, I twisted Amber's arm into going to YoLo, my favorite yogurt place. They purchase their large variety of toppings from local businesses.

Memphis Redbirds Game

We wrapped up the weekend by going to a Redbirds game. The season started this weekend so I look forward to going again!

And, I discovered Shock Top at the game. It's similar to Blue Moon. I love it!

Hope everyone had a great weekend as well!