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10.24.2014

Recipe: Shrimp Asparagus Pesto Gnocchi

I love to cook, I am no chef, but I really enjoy cooking and trying/coming up with new recipes. Jeremy challenged me to make 3 new recipes this week, so Tuesday night I assessed what was in our kitchen and I whipped up this amazing meal, yes, I am totally tooting my own horn here! Now I don't follow recipes and sometimes I have no idea what I'm doing, my measurements are not exact and I use what I feel comfortable using, you want more shrimp, use more! 

What you will need: 
-16 oz package of gnocchi 
-2 cups pesto sauce, I used a jar sauce, homemade works too if you're fancy
-1 1/2-2 cups of chopped asparagus, chopped mine into 1 inch pieces
-1-2 cups of peeled and deveined shrimp
-Grated parmesan to taste 


-Heat pesto sauce in a small pan
-Put shrimp and asparagus in a large skillet over medium heat, cook for about 5-7 minutes tossing continuously. I used a little bit of EVOO and basil to cook in
-Once those two are sitting over low heat, throw in the gnocchi, the water should be at a rolling boil when gnocchi goes in

-Gnocchi only takes 2-3 minutes max to cook, when the gnocchi is ready they will start to rise… take the gnocchi out ASAP and drain 

-Once the gnocchi is drained I added it to the skillet with shrimp and asparagus and mixed it all together

-Then add the pesto sauce and mix gently, gnocchi is sticky and will clump together or on the spoon if you're "rough" with it

-Viola! All done! This will easily serve 4 people but we decided to eat it all between us two!


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10.23.2014

Current Beauty Crushes

I'm not the usual gal to try and dip into new beauty products. Some I currently used I've used since high school, and some since college, most are just my favorites and I have no use to find something new. Nails and lips however, I will always try something new! 

This Revlon color is my go-to for cooler weather months, it's dark and pretty but the perfect color to still have "color" on your nails, catch my drift? 
I've always been a lover of bareMinerals and this Summer when I worked with the launch of bareSkin I got to try out their fabulous Marvelous Moxie lipsticks and I fell in love with their lipsticks! I recently went to Sephora to do some browsing and found this perfect wine color, lead the way! I urge you to try it, so deep and yummy for fall! 

Obviously my third choice here isn't a polish or lip color, but my new crack. Not literal crack, even though it may look that way, hair crack. Dry shampoo in non-aersol form, angels are singing! Lush has once again, taken my money and made me one freakin' happy customer! This dry shampoo is a powder that you can sprinkle right onto your head or into your hand, and it's amazing. I hate how aerosol feels and smells so this stuff is a life-saver for me! I use it even when I don't need to, I recently started using it before I go to bed and my hair has volume when I wake up!!


Fall Faves


What are your favorite fall beauty products?

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10.22.2014

After The Wedding Wednesday

I decided to do a series called After The Wedding Wednesday! I have so much I want to share about the wedding planing process, the good, the bad, the ugly, and also our actual wedding itself! I want to share pictures in waves on the blog, so like every "event" from the big day in separate posts, but I currently only have sneak peeks!
So this week I wanted to talk about our pre-marital separation! I know many of you inquired about our separation and just what it entailed/ why we did it. I elaborated on it a little but I wanted to share how I felt after the wedding and why the separation was good and bad! 

Our first meeting with our pastor was sometime at the end of July, I believe like July 26th or 27th? I was NOT prepared for what he was going to say to us, it went like this: "In order for me to marry y'all and to do it with this Church, I need you two to separate living situations. I know it may be hard but I will not marry you unless you do." We both played it off cool until we got into the car, we both exploded and were like HECK NO WE AINT SEPARATING! After some consideration and Jesus searching, we came to our senses, it wasn't for the pastor, it was for the Lord. That weekend I moved out of our home and into my great aunt and uncles house in South Charlotte. I cried, I acted like a baby, but I knew some good had to come out of this, right?

Y'all, this was hard, no lies, no pretty flowers, no joking, hardest thing. I hated it, I hated not being in my home, hated not being with Jeremy, hated being an hour away from my school. There were so many nights I stayed on friends couches or made Jeremy walk to a friends after a night uptown, but we did it. We stayed under two separate roofs(??) for almost 90 days. Now, you ask, what was good about this when all I'm doing is complaining how hard it was? We learned to cherish the moments, the minutes we got with each other, the hugs and kisses, the meals and the little things during that 90 days. Not a day went by that I didn't miss Jeremy or miss our evenings together. Once I was able to move back home we were husband and wife, we were a family, like it should be, like our God intended it to be. I could go on for hours about the benefits it brought to our relationship and our spiritual walk with the Lord, but I think you get it, it was just right. 

I don't regret our separation, I actually encourage it to anyone getting married who currently lives together. I now am anxiously waiting for him to come home in the evenings like a puppy! I appreciate our home and our life style so much more now! I do encourage couples to do this and as hard as it was, I would do it again! 


Ok, fine, I'll leave y'all with one picture… SO glad it rained on my wedding day!


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10.21.2014

A Perfect Hat











Fab'rik hat | Old Navy sweater, old (similar) | Joe's Jeans | Ivanka Trump shoes (similar) | Fab'rik necklace | Old Navy bag, old |

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10.15.2014

Mini-Moon

Saturday, after the best day of my life, Jeremy and I headed to Asheville for a few days of relaxation and amazing food! Saturday was a blur, everyone says you're tired after your wedding, but I had no idea just how tired we would be! Saturday once we were up the mountain we both weren't feeling well so we grabbed dinner at Isa's Bistro and headed to bed! 

Sunday morning I made coffee in our adorable monogrammed mugs from Lindsay and we headed to Posana Cafe for brunch!



We did a little walking around Asheville after brunch, we love all the little shops and stores around town. This one being our favorite...

Sunday I was feel MUCH better but poor hubs was a mess, he was getting sicker and sicker by the minute so I let him rest with football while I went to Mellow Mushroom for a Purple Haze! 

Sunday night we had reservations at Sunset Terrace at The Grove Park Inn. Jeremy was really in no condition to go to dinner but he knew how bad I wanted to go, so he pulled through!




The views and dinner were well worth powering through the flu, right babe? I highly suggest this restaurant for a romantic dinner, the food was mind-blowing and the views, breath-taking! 

I dragged Jeremy to one last brunch Monday morning at one of our favorites, Mayfel's

During brunch I decided to play wifey and take Jeremy home, he was way too sick for me to be comfortable there. We drove back to Charlotte two days early, cutting our mini-moon even mini-er! Jeremy has been sleeping off his fevers and chills for the past 24 hours and he seems a lithe better today! Thank you to everyone for the well wishes and get better wishes! We will eventually go on another honeymoon! 

For those of you who asked about our favorite Asheville places, here are a few more we would have gone to:
even though there is one in Charlotte, it's always a favorite- Tupelo Honey

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10.14.2014

Falling For A Maxi

The perfect fall maxi… you're welcome! When I saw this dress at the Fab'rik Denim Dinner a few weeks back I knew it would be perfect for our mini-moon to Asheville.  I got so many compliments on this dress and it is so comfy and perfect for fall nights! 









Fab'rik maxi | Bauble Bar necklace | Michael Kors watch (40% off right now!)

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10.08.2014

Wedding Wednesday: Bridal Shower

Well my wedding is in TWO DAYS! Holy moly, two days! I wish I had time to do this amazing post about everything, but I don't. So I'll leave y'all on this final Wedding Wednesday with my bridal shower from two weeks ago!
Two of my bridesmaids, Leslie and Rachel, threw me a gorgeous and amazing shower at my moms house! I was showered with amazing gifts and felt so blessed to have everyone in my life shower me with so much love!


Of course, there was a champagne bar!






My adorable flower girl, Sophie!

Jeremy's mom and I.

Jeremy's sisters, mom and cousin!





Over 20 years of friendship and love in this picture!




Stay tuned this week for a final wedding day post and in the next few weeks I'll start posting wedding pictures!
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