~ Blog Love~ Iheart Organizing

As I have mentioned many times before, I love reading blogs. I follow over 20 in my google reader. One blogger that is quickly becoming my fav is Jen at Iheart Organizing. She offers some great advice at staying organized (especially with kids running around) and DIY projects, plus she features some of her readers projects as well.   I thought I was good at organizing, but she puts me to shame. How some of these blogger moms post two to three times a day, keep up with kids and finds time to do DIY projects...I just don't know!

Anyway, check out Iheart Organizing and maybe you will find some good Spring cleaning tips.

Fat Tuesday

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Fat Tuesday. When I think of Mardi Gras two words come to mind...New Orleans, the big easy. I have only visited New Orleans a few times and each time has been a blast. You eat great food, listen to great music and make plenty of memories! So in celebration of Mardi Gras today I thought I would share some pictures from my favorite time there...my bachelorette weekend, need I say more!



Yes, we played dress-up



Food Recommendations:
For yummy Po'Boys - Felix's
Most delish & biggest Muffuletta - Central Grocery Co.
Best Beniets - Cafe du Monde

Gosh looking at these pictures and thinking about the food makes wish I had a vacay planned!





                 

       

Some Target Luv

The other day I needed to get a few things from Target, which usually turns into coming out with a cart full of things I didn't even intend to buy. Target for me is like a kid in a candy store! They always have cute clothes, shoes and a great home section (my favorite). But I was very proud of myself. As I went down the shoe aisle and the home section I controlled the urge to buy everything I set my eyes on and believe me it was very hard. These are just a few things that caught my eye...

 These are the cutest canisters. They would be great to hold flour, sugar, or coffee!

Not that I need another lamp, but if did I would get this one.
 I don't love the dark lampshade, but I could always trade it out for one of these....

Okay you can't tell by the picture but this is a shower curtain - super cute.
 Reminds me of something out of Pottery Barn.

These plates would be great for outdoor entertaining.





Vitamins

"Did you take your vitamins today?" I can still remember my Mom asking me that when I lived at home. For as long as I can remember my parents have always been big on taking their vitamins. Well as I have gotten older and wiser, I have been trying to eat healthlier, exercise more and take my vitamins. But it's hard - they don't taste good and they are big like horse pills!

Until....I found the solution (drum roll please)....adult gummy multivitamins. Yes, they make gummy vitamins for adults and they are oh so good. You can get them in different flavors - orange, grape, and cherry. I don't even have to remind Mr. C to take them. It's like being a kid again!

Food for my Valentine

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Mr. C and I sure did - a nice relaxing evening at home. Of course, before I got a chance to relax I was busy cooking up a fabulous dinner for Mr. C - Brown Butter Risotto with Lobster. (sounds fancy...uh)

I found the recipe while watching Giada one afternoon and it looked delish. So, when I was doing my pre-Valentines grocery shopping I noticed the lobster was on sale. It was like it was meant to be!

This one definitely is a keeper. Mr. C just loved it and if you didn't want to spend the money on Lobster, it would be great with shrimp or scallops.

Brown Butter Risotto with Lobster

Courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis
Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients
• 1 lb. frozen lobster tails, thawed (about 2 med. sized)
• 4 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
• 4 tablespoon butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup brandy **I didn't have any brandy, so I used cooking sherry.**
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Directions

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the lobster tails and boil until the shells curl (approx. 5 minutes, depending on size) and the lobster meat turns white. Drain, transfer to a cutting board, and cool for 15 minutes. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut through the top shell lengthwise. Remove the meat and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Keep hot over low heat. **I just heated my stock in the microwave - one less pan to clean!**

In a large saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Cook until the butter begins to foam and then turns brown, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Add the onion and cook, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the brandy and simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of stock and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue adding the stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of stock to absorb before adding the next. Cook until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining butter and 2 tablespoons chives. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Transfer the risotto to a large serving bowl. Arrange the lobster meat on top of the risotto and garnish with the remaining chives

This picture doesn't give this dish justice, but believe me anytime I can get Mr. C to eat a dinner

 with no meat and loves it, it's a winner!!

 

Colorado

As I mentioned in my last post, I haven't found a new job yet here in Albany. So, I have been using my free time to visit with family and friends. I spent a long weekend at the beach hanging out with my sister and Eli. Then I got the chance to go to Colorado with my Dad. I haven't been to Colorado since 2008 and was very excited to not only hang out with my pops, but also to play in the snow!

I can't remember the last time I just hung out with my Dad. It was really nice and we had such a great time together. As my Dad would say, we conquered the Colorado trifeca - skiing, snowshoeing & ice fishing. The whole week was a blast and I hope to make it an annual trip!




Happy Belated New Year

Wow, I just noticed that my last blog post was more than two months ago!! Sorry I have been so MIA, but there have been a lot of changes at the C household. Don't get excited.... I am not pregnant! As that seems to be what everyone thought when Mr. C and I said we had some exciting news.

So, with that said let me bring you all up to speed. It all started over Thanksgiving break when Mr. C got a new job offer we just couldn't refuse. Yup, we were moving to Albany, GA. We both were -and still are- excited about our new adventure in southern Georgia, especially Mr. C as he is back in his hometown.

It was all very exciting, except for one very small detail - Mr. C  needed to start his new job in TWO WEEKS! That left me packing our 3br/2ba townhouse all by myself and not to mention getting ready for the holidays, while still working a full time job. But to make a long story short, it all worked out and we officially moved December 31!

It was a long moving day! Look at all that stuff!!

Happy New Year!! Nothing like pizza and champagne to ring in the new year.

 How is life in Albany going so far you ask? Well so far so good.  Because I worked until the bitter end in Tallahassee I felt I deserved to take a little time off. {truthfully the job market in Albany is not exactly overflowing} But on the bright side I will have a lot more time to devote to this blog!