Easy French Toast

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and it has me thinking about food! My husband's favorite meal of the day is breakfast, and while I don't make an extravagant breakfast for him on the daily, I do like to spoil him from time-to-time with my homemade french toast. 

The key to making good french toast is all about the bread. While you can use several types of bread to make french toast, the best is soft, brioche bread. It is spongy, thick, and makes for a great texture. It also has a little natural sweetness which compliments this sugary breakfast. Another key to making perfect french toast is the amount of egg wash you use. I've made the mistake in the past of allowing the bread to sop up a ton of liquid which results in a less than desirable result. To achieve the perfect amount of egg wash to bread ratio, coat your bread on each side with the egg wash and then transfer it to your skillet. Adding too much will make the bread soggy even after toasting. I like to use half & half instead of milk in my mixture for a richer flavor. 

For garnish, I usually use fresh berries, chocolate, and powdered sugar. I recently discovered an amazing addition to this decadent breakfast - chocolate covered pretzels. Yep, you heard me right. It is amazing. I crush up the chocolate covered pretzels and sprinkle a little on each piece of toast. It gives the perfect amount of crunch and adds a little saltiness to balance out the sweet! Let me know if you try it out. ;)

French Toast

Preparation:  5 min  Cook Time: 10 min Total Time: 15 min

Ingredients

        

          6 slices of thick bread

          3 eggs

          1 cup milk or half & half

          1 tsp vanilla extract

          1 tsp cinnamon
          Butter for frying pan
          Maple syrup
          For garnish: walnuts or pecans, raspberries, shredded chocolate, powdered sugar

Instructions

          1) In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the milk until well combined. Add the cinnamon and vanilla.

          

          2) Dunk your bread into the mixture and turn until the bread is coated, but not soaked.

          3) In a frying pan, melt butter to coat the pan on medium heat, about 1 tbsp per 2 bread slices. 

          4) Cook each side for 3-6 minutes, or until golden and toasted.

           5) Transfer each piece to a plate and layer them down the plate so that each piece is exposed.

           6) Using a strainer, pour your desired amount of powdered sugar into the strainer and dust over 

                 the bread.

           7) Garnish as you like and top with syrup.

Enjoy!

DIY Abstract Artwork

Now that our home is finally coming together, I have been hunting for artwork. Our walls feel so bare. I think for a lot of people, myself included, choosing artwork feels very intimidating. You may fall in love with a piece and find it doesn't go well in the room at all....or it makes the room feel dark, or it's too colorful, or it doesn't have enough color. Then you're out a hundred bucks because you can very seldom return original artwork. I've searched several online retailers for artwork but never seem to find anything I like. I'm a fan of abstract art, but most of the pieces I am attracted to are several hundreds of dollars. Bummer.

I kept buying mirrors to fill up wall space, but too many mirrors in your house will make you look a little self-obsessed, am I right? I started hunting for pieces I liked and noticed a trend in my selections. I clearly was in love with black and white simple abstract pieces like the one below. They go everywhere, even in a room filled with brown, and they add understated elegance to any room. Mixed with black and white photo pieces as a gallery wall, they match effortlessly. 

(Source: unknown)

I decided to paint some of my own. I wanted to use watercolors instead of oil or acrylic paint because abstract watercolor paintings tend to have a messy look, which would result in my own rookie painting looking "professional." I grabbed gold frames with a matte included from Target. Using 6x8 inch watercolor paper, I grabbed some black watercolor paint and started painting imperfect circles.

I decided to paint a few pieces with different ideas in mind, and picked my two favorite to hang in the frames. The paint takes about 1-2 hours to dry, but I waited a full day to allow the paint to dry before putting them in my frames.

My recommendation is to make each painting different, but stick with a theme. My theme was circles, so I painted some with large circles, some with little circles, some where they fit to the size of the media and some where the circles went off the page. Don't feel like there should be an exact way you make your own. The beauty is, you can make several attempts and you only have to pick a few to go in the frames! I think this project could be fun as a girl's night with a glass of wine. Who knows, maybe the more you sip the better your abstract will look! However you artwork turns out, it will be your own one-of-a-kind masterpiece!

Pretzel Bites

Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend, and while I am not a huge football fan, I can appreciate the commercials and food that come with watching the game! I absolutely love sports bar food! Wings, nachos, potato skins...anything bite size, I'll order it! So, this year, I decided to make some yummy bite-size pretzels for our celebration. I have been in love with pretzel bread recently. One of my New Year's Resolutions for this year is to make more bread. I know this seems contrary to what most resolutions consist of (i.e. dieting) but I love bread and if I can make it with less salt, additives, and healthy flour options, then I have no problem keeping it in my diet. Making pretzel bread was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be! One loaf of dough yields dozens of these bites, so don't worry - this recipe makes plenty of bites for your friends. In fact, I had so much leftover dough, I made pretzel buns with them for burgers. They didn't turn out as photogenic as the bites, but nonetheless, they were tasty! Below you can follow my steps on how to make your own pretzel bites. This recipe makes about 6 dozen bites.

Once your dough is ready to go, pinch a ball and roll it into a rope.

Cut the dough into one inch pieces.

Add baking soda to a large stockpot, and bring it to a boil.

Drop your bites into the water. I boiled about 15 at a time.

Boil for about 30 seconds, then using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a cookie sheet and preheat the oven to 425F. Brush the bites with egg wash, top with sea salt, and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Pretzel Bites

Preparation:  1.5 hr Cook Time: 18 min Total Time: A little less than 2 hours

Ingredients

        

          1  1/2 cups warm water

          1 package active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)

          6 tbsp butter, melted

          2 tbsp light brown sugar

          4  1/2 cups flour
          2  1/2 tsp salt
          1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp cold water
          1/2 cup baking soda
          Vegetable oil
          Coarse sea salt

Instructions

          1) In the bowl of a stand mixer, using your dough hook, combine water, sugar, yeast and butter. 

               Make sure the butter is warm, not hot. Blend until combined. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

          

          2) Add salt and flour and mix until combined. Once the flour is blended in, increase your speed 

               to medium and blend for 4-5 minutes, or until the dough begins forming into a ball. 

               If the dough appears wet, add more flour, 1 tsp at a time.

          3) Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, and form it into a ball. Turn to coat the dough with the oil.

          4) Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot for an hour.

           5) Preheat the oven to 425F. Then bring your water to a rolling boil with the baking soda.

           6) Pinch a ball of the dough, and roll it into a rope. Cut one inch pieces and drop them into the water.

           7) Boil the bites for 30 seconds, boiling about 15 at a time. Remove with a slotted spoon and 

                 transfer to a cookie sheet.

           8) Brush the bites with egg wash, and follow with a few pinches of coarse sea salt so that the 

                 salt adheres to the egg wash.

            9) Bake the bites for 15-18 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Serve with honey mustard.

Enjoy!

Galentine's Day Party

When Galentine's Day first became a "thing", I fell in love with the idea! I am all about empowering women and spreading girl power, so what better way to celebrate the holiday of love and friendship than with your best gal pals? 

To celebrate the holiday, I wanted to use as much pink in my design as possible! I am such a girly-girl, and I love the color pink, but rarely get to use it in my home because I am married to the world's most masculine guy. I can at least get away with pink flowers and small details, but if I ever got one of those trendy pink turkish rugs, he would ask where the receipt was, because it wouldn't be staying long.

I couldn't wait to create a girly-themed party! 

While I love keeping things bubbly and cute for this girly holiday, I wanted the theme to feel elegant rather than look childish or cheesy. Below are my tips on how to accomplish your own feminine-themed party! 

To accomplish the look:

Ditch the idea of pink garlands, and swap it with a boxwood wreath or other greenery for balance. For added flavor and garnish, grab some fresh raspberries and toss them into glasses of rose' for a feminine touch. 

I love the look of small flowers frozen into ice cubes for the champagne bucket, but in an effort to keep costs down, swap the entire flower for petal cubes! They give you the pop of color you need without using tons of flowers.

Keep the heart shapes to a minimum. To accomplish a polished look, create a color scheme that creates a feminine and festive look rather than Valentine's Day themed decor. This will make your party more unique and less cheesy.

Less is more. By concentrating on quality over quantity, guests will be able to appreciate the individual pieces. Cluttered carts will look tacky and awkward, so ditch the excess and keep things simple.

Dress code? Encourage your friends to wear hues that compliment the theme!

Did you know Veueve has a brut rose'? It's absolutely delicious!

I always offer non-alcoholic beverages for guests who don't drink. Pink-colored carbonated beverages add the perfect feminine touch!

You can also layer additional petals over the top of the ice cubes for a pretty pink touch.

Placing a petal on the sides of each glass helps to tie in your flower arrangement and acts as a unique garnish for the drinks.

What would a Galentine's Day be without something covered in chocolate? Grab mini heart chocolate boxes to give out as party favors!

Let your guests build their own beverage. Offer berries and mint as options to add to their drinks.

I hope you enjoy this holiday with your best girl friends! 

Galentine's Spa Day

Valentine's Day is just a few weeks away and what better way to spend the day of or day before with your best gal? I decided to put together a spa cart for me and my bestie to enjoy a day of fun and relaxation before we went to dinner with our husbands. 

I grabbed some clear glass jars from Target and filled them with plain epsom salt. I love to use essential oils to relax, so I infused each jar with a different scent for different purposes. In one, I mixed 2 tbsp of dried lavender I found at the grocery store, and a few drops of lavender essential oil for relaxation. A little bit goes a long way! In another, I blended in some pink Himalayan rock salt and lemongrass for energy and detoxification. In the last one, I blended in dried rose petals with jasmine and orange blossom for the yummiest smell you've ever smelled! You can easily dry rose petals at home by popping them in the microwave in between a paper towel for about 1-2 minutes and letting them sit out.

I purchased small glass jars to fill with bubble bath, because most of the bubble bath containers on the market look like they are for kids! I wanted to keep my spa cart looking elegant and stylish. I found the spa candle at HomeGoods, and it smells amazing! It smells just like a spa, and helped us to relax.

To celebrate Galentine's Day, my bestie and I put on our coziest robe, grabbed a bottle of rose', and started off with a clay mud mask. 

We decided to spend our spa day with facials, a hair mask, and aromatherapy. To create an instant steam room, we put the shower on high and lit the spa scented candle to allow the steam to open our pores and help with deep breathing. For an easy hair mask, you can use items found in your kitchen! Our hair has been dry from the weather so we used coconut oil as a hair mask.

Here are just a few of the benefits coconut oil has on your hair:

• It gets rid of dandruff
• Protects your hair from losing protein when you wash it (result: thicker, healthier hair)
• It strengthens your hair with it's fatty acids (result: less split ends)
• Gives your hair a gorgeous shine

Simply melt 2-4 tablespoons of coconut oil and massage the mask into your hair, concentrating on the ends of your hair more than your scalp. You can also add a few drops of an essential oil to help with repairing your hair problem. Cedarwood helps with dry scalp and dandruff, while peppermint helps if you have an oily scalp and/or hair loss. 

Leave the hair mask on for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. It may take a few washes to get all of the oil out of your hair, but I find using castile soap helps speed up the process. Some people use an egg wash, which is just as effective.

For our facials, we used a charcoal mask with aloe to start. There's a reason activated charcoal has been getting so much hype! It draws bacteria, chemicals, and dirt out of your skin and brings them to the surface, helping you fight acne and giving you a gorgeous glow!

After our face mask, we used a homemade exfoliant:

1/2 fresh lemon

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp olive oil

This exfoliant is great for getting your glow on! Lemon juice brightens your skin and the olive oil helps restore moisture to dry skin from winter weather.

We followed with a light serum moisturizer and a warm, damp towel to open our pores and refresh our skin.

My skin was glowing after our spa day! Just in time for date night with my husband! Our Galentine's Spa Day was a success. We both agreed this is a must-have tradition for years to come. 

Do you have any DIY skin and hair recipes that you swear by? Let me know in the comments!

Dining Room Plans

Looking back on 2017, we have made so many updates to our home. We invested in a new outdoor dining table set, purchased a king bed to accommodate my huge husband (his feet would always hang off the end, ha!), updated several kitchen items with white and airy piecess from our registry, and moved our former master bedroom furniture into the guest room, killing two birds with one stone. 

Even with all of the progress we made, I still get irritated that it isn't finished. I know I should be happy and feel thankful for the updates we have made, and I am, but each room that is sitting untouched bugs the heck out of me. The latest giving me the blues? Our dining room. You're going to look through the photos and say to me...."ummmm it looks perfect to me!" It's not. We have been borrowing the table and chairs from my FIL, and he wants them back. So here we are, back to square one.

(We own the two end chairs which have now become my office chair and my vanity chair)

I decided with the formal table and chairs going, I need to sell my sideboard because it is too formal for the room I'm planning. Luckily, I know a buyer that thinks they go lovely with his table and chairs. ;) I'm happy to keep this piece in the family.

When I first started working on my dining room, I wanted to create a room that was formal. We have been borrowing this formal set now for 3 years, and let me tell you....it's been a pain in the neck. "Careful, here's a coaster!!" "Um can you use a placemat for that?" When my sister's kid comes to town it's "let me just cover this entire area with towels."

It's been a drag to feel so uncomfortable entertaining. That's all about to change. I am OVER the dream of a formal dining room.

....This all leads me to my new favorite home design book of all time, Patina Farm. You can follow my board on Pinterest with images from it here. Gorgeous is an understatement when talking about this home. The first time I saw it, I had an 'aha' moment. This is the house I have always wanted but could never quite put my finger on ideas for the design, and here it is...completed to perfection. Laid out in front of me...my dream home! When I said I wanted a farm house to my husband, this was wha I had been dreaming of all along. It's Italian features (they call it French, but I see so much Italy), stonework, gorgeous tended gardens, vegetable and herb gardens, and effortless style just make me swoon. After looking through the images, I had my idea.

(Image Source: Patina Farm)

I love the imperfect, chipped away paint on the table, the various cutting boards, and the skirted seats with linen that runneth over. I could see myself having breakfast here every morning and feeling that every flaw added to the table would bring it more character. This is the kind of dining area I want.

After doing more research on ideas, I stumbled upon a similar type of design but with a modern influence. 

(Source)

After looking through countless inspo pictures, I decided on this as my plan. I want to keep all of the decor neutral, so that the food I serve and my seasonal decor act as the stars of the show. I am still considering a round table, but I do feel that round only works for certain rooms. In order to have a round table work, the room needs to be square or rather large, so for now I am planning on getting a rectangular table that seats six and that is extendable. For the chairs, I decided to do a skirted seat with arms and back pillows so that everyone is comfortable at the table and to create some cohesiveness. Rather than buying another sideboard, I am considering getting a large console table and placing two upholstered benches underneath to add warmth and coziness. For my accents, I am considering using a hide rug so that I don't have to worry about stains. I also want to use European- inspired accents pieces to keep the room feeling light, and give the illusion of "found" items. I also love the idea of using sconces on both sides of the console rather than lamps to create more room on the console for decor or food.

Stay tuned as I share the individual items I choose on my Instagram and Instagram stories!!

Seven Layer Salad

This salad recipe is a classic. Bright and pretty in color and decadent in flavor, you'll be shocked that it only takes about 15 minutes to put together! I've been eating this salad with lunch and dinner for the last three days, and haven't gotten tired of it one bit! My husband liked it so much he suggested removing the lettuce all together and serving it as a dip at our next football watch party....not a bad idea. 

So let's go over the perks of making this salad, shall we?

• The ingredients are super inexpensive (minus the bacon, but you can omit it if you want to)
• The ingredients are super easy to find
• Zero prep time
• It will last for up to a week
• It makes a ton of salad! (Perfect for a weekly make-ahead meal or a big family)

Convinced yet? Good.

And just like that, an old classic becomes a star again. What are some classic recipes that you love?

Seven Layer Salad

Preparation:  15-20 min Cook Time: 0 min Total Time: 20 min

Ingredients

        

          1 head of iceberg lettuce, chopped

          (1) 10 oz bag of frozen peas, thawed

          (1) 1 oz package of Ranch seasoning mix

          16 oz sour cream

          1 block of medium sharp cheddar, shredded fresh
          2 green bell peppers, chopped
          1 green onion, chopped
          6 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped

Instructions

          1) In a large bowl, place your chopped lettuce in the bottom and pat down so that it is somewhat flat.

          

          2) In a separate bowl, mix your sour cream and ranch seasoning packet together. Set aside.

          3) Begin layering your salad. First add your peas, then your bell pepper, then your green 

               onion and bacon, followed by the sour cream mix and top with shredded cheese.

          4) Refrigerate and serve.

Enjoy!

Healthier Potato Salad

Happy New Year! I am so excited to begin a new year full of new possibilities! We had a great 2017. I got married, transitioned my career from software sales into food and wine (it's so much more fun!), we made countless updates to our home, and we travelled to see several of our old friends tie the knot. 

Over the holiday, I ended up catching a stomach bug that put me out for a few days. I went to the doctor to get some medicine and discovered that I have high blood pressure! I couldn't understand why at my young age, I would have high blood pressure. It was a huge reality check. I went home and started researching what causes high blood pressure and discovered a diet high in salt can contribute. Bingo....I have been eating salty food like it's going out of style over the last few months. After our wedding, I said, to heck with my diet! I'm going to eat what I want! Well, that was a terrible idea and has led me to needing a stricter diet to lower my blood pressure. I started writing down foods that I love to eat and tried to come up with healthier versions of them, which led me to creating this recipe. While it still has mayonnaise like the original recipe, I've traded a large portion of mayo for greek yogurt for added protein and less fat. 

I'm going to be working on lowering my fat and salt intake, and share those recipes with you! No matter what your goals are for 2018, I'm sure getting healthier and being more active is on everyone's list. This potato salad has been our go-to side for lunch and makes the transition to eating ultra healthy feel a little more indulgent. I used mustard, dill, onion, and lemon juice to add lots of flavor to this recipe so that salt wouldn't be as needed. Once we made this recipe, I decided to add some boiled eggs to add texture, and really loved how it tasted! 

Let me know what other recipes you'd like to see a healthier version of in the comments!

Healthier Potato Salad

Preparation:  15 min Cook Time: 20 min Total Time: 35 min

Ingredients

        

          5 medium/large red potatoes

          1/2-1 cup chopped red onion (based on your personal onion preference)

          3 tbsp chopped fresh dill, no stems

          1/4 cup yellow mustard

          1 tsp onion powder
          1 tsp garlic powder
          (2) 5.3 oz plain greek yogurt containers
          1 tbsp vinegar
          1 tsp lemon juice
          1/2-1 cup olive oil mayonnaise (based on how creamy you like it)
          Salt & pepper to taste
          (Optional: boil 6 eggs and add chopped whites into the potato salad)

Instructions

          1) Begin by adding your potatoes to a large stock pot full of water. Bring the water to a boil, and then 

               lower to medium heat.

          

          2) Allow the potatoes to soften, cooking for about 20-25 minutes. You want to be able to 

               put a fork through them, but for them to still be somewhat firm. (firmer than you would 

               prepare for mashed potatoes)

          3) Once you've reached the desired softness, drain the water and allow the potatoes to cool.

          4) Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, begin cutting them into small chunks and add them to 

                a large bowl.

          5) Add in all of the other ingredients and blend well. Refrigerate and serve.

Enjoy!