Masters Tournament Menu

In college, a sorority sister of mine from Augusta, GA, turned me on to the copycat version of the infamous salad served at the (now closed) Green Jacket Restaurant, which was direclty across from the Augusta National, home of the Masters Tournament.

A quick online search for the Green Jacket Salad recipe turns up a few different versions, but here's the one I use.

Green Jacket Salad

1 bag Italian mix salad

Green onion, chopped
Shredded parmesan cheese
Croutons

Dressing: 

2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons seasoning salt
2 teaspoons Accent
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon fresh parsley


I like to start by whisking together the dressing ingredients in the bottom of the bowl, then just toss in the lettuce, parmesan cheese, onions and croutons about 20 minutes before serving. This gives it time for the croutons to get just a little soft which is really tasty in this salad.

One of my first questions to my girlfriend was "What in the world is Accent?" The little canister claims to "wake up food flavor" and, to be quite honest, I don't know if I'd miss it if I left it out of the dressing. But at this point, I'm scared to -- I follow the recipe, including the Accent. 

We enjoyed that salad this weekend along with some little pimiento cheese and egg salad finger sandwiches -- a staple of the Augusta National course. I had a chance to visit myself back when I was in college and it was such a fun experience!

Saturday Sip + Shop

Sip:

Sour Green Apple Jalapeno Margarita
from Heather Christo
(recipe here)

Shop:


Sorpresa Beaded Clutch
On sale for $24 w/ free shipping and returns (here)
Love this boho vibe and the black and white pattern!
Can be used as a clutch or worn as a cross-body. Too cute for date night.

Five On Friday - Gold Monogram and Green Jacket Salad

It's time for another edition of Five on Friday and I do hope you'll join me, Darci, Christina, and Natasha!

Remember, all you have to do is post about five things on your mind, add our logo (found at the bottom of this post), and join the party using the linky tools below. Easy, and a great way to find new blogs and be found. :)

O N E
I'm head over heels in love with an online shop -- Emily McCarthy can do no wrong. My new cocktail napkins arrived and the gold foil monogram is stunning. Even more exciting, I've got a giveaway coming your way next week! Emily was so sweet to offer that.

T W O
Last night I took Camille to our favorite bead shop here in Charlotte for a fun event showcasing beads, jewelry, and Pink Social tees. I was able to chat with some other fun ladies and the baby put a hurting on their cheese and crackers.

T H R E E
I don't follow Weight Watchers but I am a big fan of their program and I like that it accounts for "real life." This recipe for crunchy pear and celery salad from Eating Well looks right up my alley, and it's only 5 WW points. Oh! And it has cubes of cheese in it -- score!

F O U R
I found this free printable calendar from Smart School House, and the thing I love about it is that it is not year-specific. You can print these out, place them behind glass in a frame, and use a dry erase marker to add in the dates. It would be a great family calendar to keep near the coffeemaker with events, vacations, and meal plans.

F I V E
The Masters is on this weekend! Do I care about golf? Heck no! But I like having it on TV and eating dinner outside. Saturday night we have plans to make ribs and a Green Jacket Salad. More to come on this salad later.

TGIF y'all, and hope you will join in on Five on Friday this week! Cheers to the weekend!

Easter At The Lake

We took the day off work Friday to get to our family lakehouse early, and we had the BEST time. Mom had some toys for Camille there, which made packing up a lot easier (not that packing up for a 10-month old is ever "easy" or "quick"). 

We had a lot of fun watching her practice her walking!

That evening, she went to bed at seven o'clock like normal, and I was sitting in the kitchen with Ian and my parents. We had some wine poured and Mom was getting dinner prepared. I was sitting at the island just chatting with her and the guys. The doorbell rang and we all sort of looked at each other with a little panic ... what in the world? The house is in sort of a remote location, and we had no idea who could be at the door. 

It was my sister Laura and my brother in law! They originally were going to be with his family for Easter, but plans slightly changed and they decided to keep it a surprise from us and just show up at our door! What an awesome surprise!

The next day we took Camille on her first boat ride. I just love this photo of Laura and Camille! We always called Laura "the baby" and now Camille has that nickname, and I'll be darned if these two babies don't look like twins in this photo. Love it. 

We had lunch out that day at our favorite little family-owned restaurant, and then we cooked in again that night. We had the most fun setting up the Easter Bunny treats that evening before bed.

I wasn't expecting Camille to really understand much, but she was actually pretty interested in her basket the next morning! It was so cute. She got a snack cup, a sippy cup, some puffs, a swim diaper, bunny ears, and a bubble wand. My mom also made her a dress and matching bonnet! (The Cadbury Creme eggs are for me ... they are my weakness) :) She also had two new outfits and a fuzzy bunny easter basket that were from her other grandma and her great-grandma.

She just looked so precious in her Easter outfit!

Laura also taught me how to make the tassels by hand that she uses on her necklaces and bracelets in her Etsy shop. During Camille's nap that morning, I made the pink, gold and white necklace that I wore with my Easter outfit.

Not as cute? The rabbit glasses. Oh my, they look so creepy! HA! But we had fun with them.

It was such a fun time with family and we made some great memories. Crazy to think that next year, Camille will get the whole "hunting for eggs" deal even better. I already can't wait!

Work Hard, Play Hard // The Palm Tree Boutique

Today I'm participating in The Palm Tree Boutique's spring outfit styling contest called Work Hard, Play Hard. 

The goal is to take one item and style it for both work and play, which is pretty easy for me ... I love finding items that serve double-duty!

I chose to work off of the same periwinkle top because it's a classic piece and can easily be dressed up or down. Plus, it's $34 ... SO, done.

W O R K    H A R D 

Sittin' On The Dock Top ($34 here) - Joe's Jeans ($179 here) - Kate Spade Earrings ($48 here) - Moon and Lola Monogram Necklace ($68 here) - Essie Topless & Barefoot ($8.50 here) - 

Tory Burch Reva Flats ($225 here)

P L A Y    H A R D

Sittin' On The Dock Top ($34 here) - Denim Shorts ($103 here) - Kendra Scott Danielle Earrings ($60 here) - Tan Towel Wipes ($12 here) - Tassel Clutch ($59 here) - Sam Edelman Flats ($100 here)

PS, so excited that The Palm Tree Boutique now carries the Kendra Scott line - 
and shipping is always free for orders over $50.

I am happy to work in a jeans-friendly environment. I like pairing a nice, blousier top with slim jeans, flats, and classic jewelry for the office. Neutral nails give a nice, polished (no pun intended) look. 

On the flipside, I also love the idea of glamming this top up a bit with large fuschia statement earrings, a two-tassel clutch, fussy golden flats, and then topping it all off with some destroyed denim. Gotta have the tan legs to pull this look off! :)

Which outfit would you be more likely to wear? 

If you are participating in this contest, please leave your blog address in the comments section so I can see how you styled your items! For more information on the contest setup, click here. You may want to check and see if it's not too late to play along! The more, the merrier!

Monday This + That

We are back from my family's lakehouse where we spent a great Easter weekend. I have so many wonderful photos to share from our time away!

Two major highlights of the weekend: the first is that the baby had her first ever boat ride.

She actually did a lot better with the life jacket than I was expecting! And isn't it adorable?! It's by Stearns and I coudn't find the exact one online with the fish, but here's one that is built similarly. It zips up the back so you don't have to worry about them undoing it. 

The second highlight is that my mom surprised us with a handmade Easter dress and bonnet. It is absolutely precious on Camille and it fit her perfectly. I was just so shocked. Love, love, love my mom. 

In other news, a fun opportunity came my way to appear on the news this morning and talk a little bit about encouraging our children to be "makers" -- turning off the iPads, turning away from cartoons, and reaching instead towards items around the house that can be turned into fun toys with a little imagination. With a 10.5-month old, I still have a long road ahead of me to try to spark that little imagination, and I can't wait. 

We had a designated area when I was growing up, "the art pantry" as we called it, that was filled with construction paper, watercolor paints, coloring books, markers and crayons, safety scissors, yarn, and tracing paper. It was low to the ground, easily accessible, and it was where Mom sent us when we complained of boredom. You can easily create a space in your home like this that really helps these little minds to grow.

Here is a link to my clip!

The toy that I featured is a pretty neat little one. It's made in the USA from recycled, environmentally-friendly materials, and the pieces in the box are shaped like Y's, O's, and X's (hence the name -- YOXO, pronounced "yock-so"). An instruction sheet shows how you can make what's on the front of the box, but it also gives you alternate instructions for making other objects -- and you can even combine the pieces with household items like paper towel rolls and empty cardboard boxes to create other items. The possibilities really are endless. My favorite kit offered is the dragonfly version which is great for boys and girls. 

YOXO can be found at specialty toy stores but it also just got picked up by a little company that we know and love, Target! The kits are under $25 and would be a fun item to have on hand for bored kiddos during spring break or the summer days. I can't wait for my nephew's birthday to roll around!

I hope your weekend was a lovely one and that you had a very special Easter!

Five On Friday ... Happy Easter!

It's time for another edition of Five on Friday and I do hope you'll join me, Darci, Christina, and Natasha!

Remember, all you have to do is post about five things on your mind, add our logo (found at the bottom of this post), and join the party using the linky tools below. Easy, and a great way to find new blogs and be found. :)

O N E
Last night we had a dinner date with some friends at the cafe at Nordstrom, and I got a chance to try on the $18 straw fedora I posted about last Friday (available here). Um, it's adorable and high-quality, too. It will definitely be coming to Mexico with me. We were in a bit of a rush to leave as to not disrupt bedtime, so I purchased it online after the baby went down to sleep last night. That was a no-brainer because of Nordstrom's free shipping, AND I was able to pay with Paypal. It will be on my doorstep next week!

T W O
If you are a blogger, TODAY is the last day to rsvp to take part in The Palm Tree Boutique's Work Hard, Play Hard spring outfit challenge. I am definitely going to participate! All you have to do is let them know by the end of today if you want to participate. Then you blog before April 10th about how you'd style one of their items for work and for play. One participant will win a $250 credit on their site and also be featured on their blog. There's a fun incentive for everyone who votes, too! More details can be found here and you can email shoppalmtree@gmail.com to participate. I can't wait to see everyone's creativity!

T H R E E

Speaking of ... if I won, I would totally buy this yellow romper FIRST.

here

F O U R
This is so exciting! I have a pretty sweet project that is now DONE and I can't wait to post about it ... here is a sneak peek.

F I V E
Last, and most important: I am super jazzed about a fun weekend -- Camille's first Easter! We will be sharing this time with family, and I have my camera battery charged and ready to go. Happy Easter to you and yours.

TGIF y'all, and hope you will join in on Five on Friday this week! Cheers to the weekend!

Baby Carrier Ribbon Toys - Available Now

More to come later on this, but several of you asked about the carseat toys I made for Camille ... I now have several loaded in my Etsy shop!

I was tired of the cheaply-made, run of the mill options that were available for car carrier toys. These are soft (for safety) and brightly-colored to capture baby's attention and help develop fine motor skills. They would make a cute and creative baby shower gift! All are completely unique and one of a kind.

If you are interested in taking a peek, click here.