What’s For Dinner?

One of my January goals was to introduce at least two new “elaborate” dinners to our table. Why I needed to describe those dinners as “elaborate” seems like a really cruel joke to play on myself. And while I did cook up two new meals for us this month, I would hardly describe either of them as “elaborate.” Both are quick to prepare, full of easy-to-find ingredients, and relatively healthy. (And just so we’re clear, my definition of healthy is anything that is not a frozen pizza.)

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp and Grits
I love shrimp and grits and realized I had never made it at home. I grabbed this recipe straight from the Food Network website and made only a few minor alterations, so I’m simply going to include the link, a photo, and a few notes on what I changed.

Recipe found here.

 

[Image source: foodnetwork.com]

Notes

·      I used a bit more garlic, because I think it pairs really well with the lemon juice. Plus, it makes for great breath the next morning.

·      When I revisit this recipe – which I will definitely be doing – I will make sure to use actual parmesan cheese. I had some leftover dry gourmet cheese that I shredded and threw in for the sake of convenience, and I think it did affect the taste. Believe me, though, I still ate. it. all.

·      I couldn’t find fresh parsley at the grocery store the week I prepared this meal, so I used dried parsley. I didn’t lose sleep over the modification, but I bet it would have been a zingier finished meal with fresh parsley.

Breakfast Pizzas (recipe serves 2)
For my second meal, I definitely drew inspiration from Haylie Duff’s Real Girl’s Kitchen, and you can check out the demonstration for her Avocado, Prosciutto, and Radish Tartine recipe here. However, I made so many changes that I actually listed out my process below and gave this meal my own name.

This dinner turned out to be a great option -- we ate it twice in January. Plus, it was typical for us to have all the ingredients in our house without making a special trip to the store.

Ingredients (in order of appearance within the recipe)

·         1 large or 2 small Haas avocado(s)

·         Approximately 1 tbsp of olive oil

·         4 eggs

·         4 whole pieces of whole wheat sandwich rounds (we use Nature’s Own 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Rounds)

·         ¼ cup of shredded parmesan cheese (or any other preferred shredded cheese)

·         4 slices of prosciutto (this is the only ingredient I skip for myself, due to pregnancy)

·         Dashes of salt and pepper

·         Approximately 1 tbsp of Louisiana hot sauce or your preferred hot sauce

Instructions
Step 1: Slice the avocado(s) down the middle and spoon all the avocado goodness into a small bowl. Mash up the avocado to the consistency of guacamole. Once you’ve finished, set the bowl aside. Discard the avocado pit and skin.
Step 2: Heat a large skillet to med-high, and drizzle the olive oil throughout the surface of the pan. Crack the four eggs and drop them on to the pan. Allow the eggs to cook for about 3 minutes. You can adjust the cook time based on how runny you like the eggs.
Step 3: Flip the eggs over within the skillet and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Meanwhile, pop the sandwich rounds into the toaster using a light-med setting.
Step 4: Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside. Then, take a sandwich round and spread a dollop of mashed avocado in between the two slices, creating a kind of “avocado sandwich”. Also, spread a dollop of mashed avocado on top of the “sandwich.” Repeat this step for the other 3 sandwich rounds.
Step 5: Sprinkle all the shredded cheese among the four avocado-topped sandwich rounds. Then, lay a slice of prosciutto on top of each sandwich round. Finally, using a spatula or similar tool, dish a cooked egg on top of each slide of prosciutto.
Step 6: Sprinkle as much salt and pepper as you like on top of each egg. Shake out the hot sauce on top of each sandwich.

Serve each person two pizzas and enjoy! (We typically have a side salad with this meal, too.)

[The finished product at Casa Naumann]

Anticipating Spring

When you live in Texas, the transition between seasons is almost nonexistent. One day it's below freezing, and the next, it's 60 degrees with blue skies. The climate here can change faster than my hair color. (Editor's note: I have no idea what my actual hair color is. It could be red. Could be  brown... But, let's be honest, it's probably grey.)

Because of the unpredictable temperatures, it's important to me to have a few key pieces that I can wear for months on end and still create relevant outfits, regardless of the weather. 

This year, those pieces have often been red... Red denim, red tops, red shoes and accessories. This color theme worked really well around the holidays, for obvious reasons, but now I'm thinking about how to incorporate them on warmer days that will inevitably pop up during the next three months. Here's my ideal transitory outfit...

Wavy Pointelle Sweater | LOFT (on sale!)

Pixie Ankle Pants (in Robbie Red) | Old Navy

Steve Madden Buffalo Plaid Infinity Scarf | Nordstrom

Voltaire Softy Pointed Slip-On Shoes | Topshop (on sale!)

One of my favorite spring colors is mint green, and pairing it with red allows both colors to pop without competing. The black and white accessories speak well to both colder and warmer temperatures. 

I'm excited to use items I already own to create this outfit. Stay tuned for that update in a future post!

My 2015 Reading List

For the last two years, I have made a goal through the goodreads.com Reading Challenge to read a certain amount of books each year. For 2015, I have again set a goal number, although at 15 books, it's significantly lower than in years past. (I figure I'll cut myself some slack, because I hear newborns take up a decent amount of your time.) 

I usually start the year already knowing some of the books I plan to read. Below are 10 of my 15 books for 2015, along with a quick synopsis of each one (in no particular order):

1) Wild by Cheryl Strayed
I mentioned this book in my last post as a book I had already started and want to finish by the end of the month... but because I started it on December 31, I figure I can count it within my 2015 list. A young woman hikes solo across the Pacific Crest Trail, and along the way, she recounts events in her life that led her to tackle the hike.

2) I'm Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham
Girls creator/producer/director/actress Lena Dunham provides a series of essays about growing up. I'm a Girls fan and love Lena's writing "voice."

3) The Understudy by David Nicholls
After I read One Day by David Nicholls, I knew I had to read more. Nicholls's second novel (and the one written before One Day), is about an understudy who is envious of the actor he is following and unfortunately then falls in love with his wife.

4) Us by David Nicholls 
Another promising novel from David Nicholls, Us was published only a few months ago. In attempt to save his 30-year marriage and bond with his son, a man takes his family on a trip to Europe.

I might have a slight obsession with British author David Nicholls.

5) Yes, Please by Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler is hilarious. That's all you need to know.

6) Louise Brooks: A Biography by Barry Paris
After reading The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty, I became fascinated with silent film star Louise Brooks. My brother recommended this biography to me, saying it was not only a great overview of Louise's life, but also a great history on that era of entertainment and film. This is the longest book on my list, clocking in at 609 pages.

7) My Life in France by Julia Child
(Hopefully the title excuses me from writing a sentence summary.) I don't know why I haven't read this book yet. I love Julia Child, I love appreciate cooking, and this just seems like one of those books you'll want to curl up with and read straight through.  

8) The Pink Suit by Nicole Mary Kelby
This story follows a seamstress named Kate who tailored many clothes worn by former First Lady Jackie O. Kennedy, including the iconic pink suit worn the day President Kennedy was assassinated. With so much focus on the suit, Kate's life becomes a bit more complicated after President Kennedy's death. 

9) A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable
An American travels to Paris to uncover all the treasures and secrets within a historic apartment, including a famous painting stored there. She becomes extremely interested in the woman depicted in the painting, and subsequently reveals some truths about herself in the process.

10) The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
This books follows the complicated lives of the staff members at an English newspaper in Rome. The journalism major in me is super excited to read this one.

Any books you're planning to read this year?

P.S. Are you a member on goodreads.com? If so, let's be friends!

The January To-Do List

Oftentimes, I like to think about things I want to accomplish in the time frame of a month. To me, a month seems long enough to meet my goals, but not too long that I’ll forget. Plus, I like to make sure I’m throwing in some just-for-fun stuff, along with the to-dos I consider necessary. I keep a little notebook in my purse and make my monthly lists as I think of them. Here’s my January list:

1)      Decide on the nursery theme.

I got so hung up on the paint colors for the nursery that I became blinded to any other aspect of decorating for it. I want to have the theme (including the crib sheets, curtains, and wall art) identified by the end of the month. If you have any ideas, send them my way! Our nursery colors are orange (light, like an orange sherbet) and light gray.

2)      View the “Producing Gone with the Wind” exhibit at the Harry Ransom Center.

The Harry Ransom Center is an amazing research library on The University of Texas campus, and I am consistently in awe of the exhibitions they create. They have a ton of documents and artifacts from the production of one of my favorite movies, so adding this to my “to-do list” is a bit like adding a reminder to eat a cookie. It’s a no-brainer.

[Image source: hrc.utexas.edu]

3)      Finish the following books: Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman, The Remedy for Love by Bill Roorbach, and Wild by Cheryl Strayed

I started three books in 2014 that I haven’t finished. … OK, to be honest, I started Bringing Up Bebe about a month after I got pregnant, and I still have about a fourth of the book to go. I don’t really have an excuse for why. … I guess all the morning sickness and gaining weight has really cut into my reading time.  

[Image source: amazon.com]

4)      See the following movies: Wild and Into the Woods

Ideally, I will have read Wild (by Cheryl Strayed) before seeing the movie, but considering I’m about 10 percent through the book and I have tickets for the movie on Wednesday night, I think that’s wishful thinking.

[Image source: imdb.com]

5)      Cook at least two new recipes for dinner.

For 14 weeks, I had this awesome legitimate excuse for not cooking elaborate meals: nausea. But my nausea ended almost ten weeks ago. So… [crickets]

What’s on your to-do list this month?

What's the Word?

Hi, lovelies! Happy new year! Can we just not talk about how long it’s been since I last posted? There’s no amount of justifying I can do to make an almost-8-month hiatus sound reasonable, so let’s just move on and say that I missed this dear ol’ blog of mine.

With any new year comes new resolutions, right? Personally, I love resolutions. I love making them, breaking them, and obsessing about them in between it all. I typically make way too many, only to abandon every single one by February 1. The trap I fall into is that I tend to have an “all or nothing” mentality. The first day I press snooze on my alarm, don’t go to the gym, or decide to eat a double cheeseburger instead of a salad, I’m more inclined to ditch my resolution, rather than recover.

So, for kicks, I decided to make only one resolution for 2015. And it’s not even a resolution – it’s more of a mantra. Instead of drafting a dozen of seemingly unrelated goals, I’m going to focus on one word to get me through the year:

I’m trying to focus my energy, my drive, and my positivity on the progress (no matter how minor) I'm going to make toward a productive and meaningful 2015. Hopfully I can use this blog to provide updates on how it's all going.

What’s your word for 2015?