Weekending

Hey y'all! Happy Monday! I'm coming at ya from a rainy morning but still experiencing super warm temps here in VA for February! We had such a fun weekend. The local tasting cellar here had a girl scout cookie and wine pairing evening and it was literally ah-mazing. We also had a girls night that night to celebrate my unanimous vote into Garden Club! I'm overly pumped and my first meeting is next month! (more to come on that) Then we headed down to the bay house this weekend to pick up a new vehicle for me (yay!) and decided to stay down there Saturday night since we had already made the trip. Its the same make of vehicle I had before because I seriously love that car. This one has better features and a V6 engine but color and everything else is the same. (GMC Terrain) This SUV is on the smaller side which I love, is extremely safe and drives like a dream. I'm so happy to have it again!

We went on the beach Sunday morning believe it or not and had a good hour of almost 75 degree weather - Andi had her leggings rolled up and ran around in her bare feet and I enjoyed coffee in a beach chair y'all! It was lovely! (then the clouds rolled in and February came back to hit us in the face!) We headed home Sunday evening just in time for the Walking Dead premiere and then headed to bed to start the week. This week is my BIRTHDAY week so I'm looking forward to next weekend already. My friends are coming into town to celebrate and we have a big Gala to attend on the night of actual birthday!

Happy Monday and have a great day! Linking up with Biana & Lindsay!

Friday 5

Hey y'all and happy Friday! This week we have had temperatures over 65 degrees and even hit 80 on Wednesday. I'm a winter/Fall girl for sure but who in their right mind doesn't love Spring temps? As long as I'm not sweating in gross humidity I'm ALL good! Anyway, this weekend we're hopefully picking out a car for me and then just relaxing around the house while hubs catches up on sleep. To kick off the weekend (and the continuing of these nice temps according to weather.com) I'm sharing some of my favorite spring-y things that are on my radar.

Cheers to the weekend y'all!

Pretty much EVERYTHING in Laurel's shop is on my radar. Literally everything! Check her shop out here at Designs by Laurel Leigh

This monogram style I need to add on something asap (Ashley Hirst I'm looking at you!) I love all of the neat monogram styles you can find on Etsy!

Fun throw pillows with super bright designs for Spring! I'm OBSESSED with pillows (just ask my husband) and having a porch/screened porch or sunroom is the perfect place to have an excuse to switch them up each season. I mean, look at how fun this picture is??

Southern Charm is coming back y'all for season 5 and I am PUMPED! That show is seriously my guilty pleasure and I cannot wait. Set your DVR for April 5th!

And of course more outdoor time with this little nugget!! 

WHW: Color Splash

Hey y'all and welcome to another Jenn & Jessi WHW link-up! Join us and link up below to share what's going on with you! Today I need opinions y'all - EXTERIOR opinions this go' round. So our exterior has that traditional Victorian vibe and we're not sure what we want to do with it. We would keep it the way it is but the siding needs to be replaced anyway and so does the roof. (especially for resale value) The bottom left is the home many years ago and bottom right is the home currently. The middle picture shows the color samples that hubs picked up at Lowe's the other day.

If we are in fact going to switch it up from the current pale yellow, I'm leaning towards blue for some reason...(for some reason? HA! I'm always drawn to blue! Blue is life!) The sample hubs brought home is called cape blue and with white and black accents it looks great to me. Here are some examples of blues:

Now, on the flip-side and if you saw our post on facebook, you'll know the three-color scheme is also an option. The three color schemes are from the historic/Victorian esq era and are still prevalent today. However, this style sort of uber stresses me out y'all! The hubs is intrigued for sure but I can't quite find an example that speaks to me. Here are some crazy examples of this exterior style to give you a better visual:

I like the different texture of the shake/shingle look with the siding but really I'm open to anything. We know this isn't our forever home but like all of our homes, we want to leave our mark. Our neighbors have a greenish look so I'm thinking greens are out but blues and grays and of course traditional whites are what I'm leaning towards. So here's where I need y'alls help - send me ALL of your opinions and examples! I can't wait to see more!

Gray options I like as well:

Thanks y'all and enjoy the rest of your week!

WHW: Lately

Hey y'all and happy Valentines day! My hubs is unfortunately on night shift but I hope everyone else has sweet date night plans! My Valentine will be Miss A but we did splurge and get Dada a fun new bourbon that I've had my eye on every since The Pink Clutch wrote about how much she loved it! Its also impressive that I found it in my super small town - it was on special display! Its Blade & Bow and I cannot wait to mix us up a drink!

Also our little town has been really great lately with kiddo friendly activities. We recently took Andi to arts and crafts day at the Longwood Center for Visual Arts downtown and y'all it was so much fun. The event is held annually and free to the public - I'm talking all the crafts and face painting, snacks, juice, fun and more! After that we had lunch and lounged about before getting dressed up for the Doll Teat Party at our local library. There were so many little girls and their dolls dressed up and it was absolutely precious! They did games, tea and scones and had a little photo booth for the girls and their dolls. It was an Andi packed day and needless to say she went to bed early that night!

WHW: Backsplash

Y'all - I'm going to be completely honest and say that this post almost didn't happen. This has been the busiest week EVER and its only Wednesday. I had a training on Monday and Tuesday and although it was fabulous (7 habits of highly effective people) I only work part time so it set me way back! I also have something going on outside of work every single night this week BUT we got the backsplash in and the kitchen is 100% completed so I figured I'd do a quick share!

I love the small, beveled and glossy tiles so much that its not even funny! So many times we were tempted to go with a larger subway tile simply because it was available but I'm so glad we held out and ordered these! I know it is 10x smaller than our previous kitchen but I have thoroughly enjoyed this space and all the meals we've created thus far thanks to the new meal planning! The space is so bright and I love it. Also, I've decided to recover the dining room chairs and add a matching curtain panel in the dining room and I need y'alls help! We have a fabulous fabric store here but I also have an option from Ballard Designs that I've been swooning over for ages it seems. So keep this in mind - 6 chair covers and one panel on the window overlooking the screened porch and next to the bar cart.

As always, thanks for linking up with us! This link up is always the highlight of my week! Have a great rest of the week y'all!

Fabric Options: 

Friday 5

Hey y'all and happy Friday! (First of February AND Super Bowl weekend!) I'm so pumped to kick off this weekend because I have some girlfriend time on the books for tomorrow and of course I'm eating ALL the food on Sunday - seriously bring on the wings and dips y'all! Anyway, I thought I'd join on some Friday 5 fun and share 5 of my favorite things this week. Hope y'all have a fabulous and safe weekend!

Linking up with Christina & Amanda 

The selection of wallpaper at Society Social has me swoonin y'all! I need a little powder room for like 5 of these beauties - especially the ginger jar one!

The entire dress line at Ted Baker London - I mean, I want them all! I'm a little more excited for Spring even though I'm a winter fan. I think I'm ready!

This Havenhurst Skirted Chest via the Mark D. Sikes line - I need this somewhere (no idea where...but I adore it)

Andi insists on helping when we make our weekly trips to Lowes and I couldn't resist sharing this video I captured - makes me giggle to see that poor molding almost snap! She was definitely on a mission and 'helped' to carry that thing throughout the entire store!

Favorite funny of the week - I have no idea why this makes me laugh SO hard! (still laughing)

Lets Talk Soup

Hey y'all and welcome to another WHW! Today I'm talking operation make you hungry before 9am (well, if you like seafood..) I promised myself I'd dive into meal planning and cooking once our kitchen was completed and I'm sure y'all read that multiple times! Well, I kept that promise and I've stuck to the 4 week meal plan I made and so far so good - Basically, I found a template that provided a grocery list, weekly meal plan and then spot for the actual recipe. The grocery list covers everything you need to make 6 meals and each week it gets cheaper because you'll end up having most of the items already from previous weeks.  I filled in 4 weeks worth which meant that a meal wouldn't be repeated for at least a month. (this isn't new to pro-meal-planners) Its really been great and sometimes the weeks are a TAD stretched because we'll have leftovers.

Anyway, I need to share A LOT of recipes but seriously most of them have been so good that I've forgotten to document. The Shrimp and Crab Bisque from two nights ago however was totally worth documenting! (Well...I saved my Instastory and I hope that is sufficient) Y'all, it was SO good and we finished every last drop! Also, the best part is that it is super simple and has a super simple cleanup! So, I hope my fellow seafood lovers enjoy and feel free to share your favorite (easy) weeknight recipes!

Slow-Cooker Shrimp & Crab Bisque

Yield: 8 servings

For the Bisque:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

3 leeks, washed well and sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

Pinch of red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

4 cups seafood or fish stock

2 cups water

1 (15-oz) can diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup dry sherry (or brandy, cognac, dry white wine)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 cup half-and-half or heavy cream

1 lb peeled/deveined shrimp

1 cup fresh jumbo lump crab

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Toasted bread or croutons, for serving

For the Crab Topping:

Juice of ½ a lemon

2 tablespoons of mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon whole grain mustard

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

1 cup fresh jumbo lump crab

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Bisque:

Heat a skillet** over medium heat and add the oil and butter. Add the leeks and garlic, along with a pinch of salt and the red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the leek mixture to the bottom of your slow cooker pot.

Add in the tomato paste, stock, water, tomatoes, Old Bay seasoning, and sugar, stirring well to combine.

In a mixing cup, whisk together the brandy/sherry and flour until smooth. Stir into the stock mixture. Add in the salt and pepper and cook in the slow cooker on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours.

Taste the bisque base for seasoning and adjust as necessary. Stir in the shrimp, cream, fresh crab, and parsley and continue cooking for another 15 minutes or until the shrimp are pink and cooked through. Keep warm until you are ready to serve.

For the Crab Topping:

While your bisque is cooking, make the crab topping by combining the lemon juice, mayo, mustards, and parsley in a mixing bowl. Gently fold in the crab meat, being careful to not break it up too much. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper, Keep chilled until you are ready to serve.

To Serve:

Ladle the bisque into serving bowls and top with some of the cold crab salad. Garnish with additional parsley, if desired, and serve while warm with toasted bread of croutons.

Friday 5

Hey y'all and happy Friday! Cheers to the weekend! We have a birthday party to attend that is princess themed and then an adult day on Sunday to visit some wineries and breweries with another couple so bring it on! I"m linking up today with the usual gang so you should too - Happy weekend! 

1. The head of my high school has invited me to serve on a committee to plan the upcoming 25th anniversary celebration of the school. As an alum, I'm super excited to be apart of this and can't wait to see what they have in mind. (the school has been around a lot longer but faced major integration issues and was renamed and transformed in 1992 in hopes of leaving behind the tensions and struggles it faced for decades)

2. y'all, Society Social shared this on their IG page and I was literally swooning. I need a sun room one day that can have pink furniture and nothing but Lilly accents! Also, if you haven't heard, they have a pilot coming to HGTV and its TOMORROW at 2pm so tune in - its called Carolina Reno.

3. I shared on IG last week that despite our ongoing sectional sofa issues, there are some details in my living room that are slowly coming together and making it my favorite space!

4. And speaking of living room, if you remember awhile back, I posted about yard sale frames being converted and made over - well I scored some more! These frames were originally white with 1990's floral portraits in them. I repainted the frames gold, removed the backing and painted a coat of white over original portrait, added ginger jars to blue matting and voila! I love how they turned out!

5. I have to share a miss Andi pic! This was Miss A on our date at Sweet Frogs - were celebrating another day in "big girl undies" and needless to say Sweet Frogs was a huge hit!