Recipe Reviews

I hope you are all having a great week!  It's been relaxing for the most part here.  We've been visiting with family and friends and taking care of some things around the house which I will tell about later.  I've tried a couple of new recipes as well that were really easy to make and delicious.

Cucumber and Avocado Summer Rolls with Mustard-Soy Sauce

The first recipe was for these wraps from Williams-Sonoma.  There's no "cooking" required with these.  I followed the directions exactly with the exception of using spanish tortilla wraps instead of the rice paper.  You can find the recipe here if you would like to try them!  These are vegetarian friendly but you could also try adding chicken if you want some meat with them.

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Creamy Tomato Pasta

The second recipe I tried is from the blog Kitchen Trial and Error which I found while on Pinterest.  I used my own homemade tomato sauce but followed their directions for the alfredo sauce and the assembly.  I tried the alfredo sauce by itself before I mixed it and it was great on it's own.  If you'd like to try this one you can find the recipe here.

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Sunday Shares... on Monday

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! We spent ours in Asheville with two of our good friends.  We had a great time! I've been to Asheville a couple of times before but didn't really get to explore things like I did this weekend.  We also got to meet some great people and try out some great food.  Here are some pictures from the weekend (sorry for the quality, they were taken with my iphone).

The first night we were there, we walked around downtown and one of the places we ate at was French Broad Chocolate Lounge, yes, a chocolate lounge!  I had the chocolate creme brulee and it was amazing.  I checked to see if they have a website and they do, you can check all of their goodies here.

Photo by Heather Griffin

They also have a drum circle on Friday nights downtown.  Anyone who has a drum can come and join and people come to enjoy the atmosphere and dance.

Photo by Heather Griffin

There were lots of street performers like this guy.  The first time I saw a performer like this was in Waikiki but apparently Asheville has them too.  When you tip him he moves, otherwise he is a "statue".  There were also quite a few small bands and one amazing female vocalist.

Photo by Heather Griffin

Saturday, we went to the Biltmore Estate.  I've been once before back in high school but I was really excited to go again.  It's such a beautiful home!  I can't even begin to describe the magnitude of this place other than that it truly is the largest and probably the most extravagant home in the US.  There are so many beautiful details inside and outside of this estate, including the gardens.

Photo by Heather Griffin

Photo by Heather Griffin

Photo by Heather Griffin

Photo by Heather Griffin

Photo by Heather Griffin

Photo by Heather Griffin

Photo by Heather Griffin

Photo by Heather Griffin

Photo by Heather Griffin

Photo by Heather Griffin

Lastly, we went and visited the Grove Park Inn this morning.  This place has a long history and quite a few famous people have visited.  The spa that they have on the grounds is one of a kind as well, but very pricy.... maybe someday ;)

Photo by Heather Griffin

Photo by Heather Griffin

So that was my weekend, how was yours?  I'll be back this week with some awesome pictures and finds to share.

Outdoor Spaces

I love spending time outdoors, when it's not 95 like today that is.  As a friend and I like to say "spending time outside when it's hot is only for swimming or getting a sun tan".  We do get weather here that isn't 95 degrees though and that's when I like to spend my time in the outdoors either just relaxing, going on walks or grilling with friends and family.  Other than having a great patio dining area (here are my favorites), I'd love to eventually have a backyard space that includes these as well...

Big, Comfy Hammock

I love the color of this one and the fringe!

via Pinterest

Fire pit 

I like the brick and stone combo on this one. Great for cool nights and roasting.

via Pinterest

Lounge Chairs

A few of these around would be perfect for relaxing.

via Pinterest

Built-in Grill

A built in grill with a food prep area like this one.  I've seen some outdoor "kitchens" that have the works (fridge, tv, you name it.) but I think that's all a little unnecessary with a kitchen right nearby.

via Pinterest

What does your ideal outdoor space include? Have a great rest of your Thursday!

Houzz.com

Looking for some design inspiration? I friend emailed me about Houzz, saying that she loved it and think I might as well.  Well... she was right.  Houzz has a large database of inspiration for every room and space in your house.   There are also articles on different design topics as well as an idea book that you can create for yourself.  Here are a few of my favorites that I came across:

Traditional Closet design by Houston Interior Designer Munger Interiors

Contemporary Closet design by Detroit Interior Designer Dunlap Design Group, LLC

 I actually had this one pinned on Pinterest.

Traditional Bedroom design by Los Angeles Photographer Erika Bierman Photography

Modern Home Office design by San Francisco Architect Chr DAUER Architects

Traditional Bathroom design by Los Angeles Architect Tim Barber LTD Architecture & Interior Design

Contemporary Dining Room design by Design-build Phil Kean Designs

Have you used Houzz before?

Sunday Shares

Hope you all had a great weekend and Father's day today.  It's been a quiet, uneventful weekend for the most part here.   There have been so many great things I've come across and used lately that I want to share. I'm so excited to share the following and I think I may turn this into a weekly blog posting!

My Fitness Pal

My husband was looking for a useful tool to help him count calories.  He found this app and shared it with me and I love it!  The app does so much more than count calories.  You have to enter in all of the information about yourself (height, current weight, how active you are, your goal, etc.) and then start keeping a food diary.  To add what foods you consume throughout the day, you simply search through their database, which has almost every brand and type of food listed. Then, you'll be notified if you have met your goal for that day and then again for the week.  It stores your entries so that you can quickly add the foods you eat often.  You can also keep track of how much of certain nutrients and fats you are consuming, which is what I was mainly interested in. The best part is, you can share information and encourage friends on how their doing too! I'm sure there is more to this app than I have shared or found but I think it's really awesome!

via Heather Griffin

Sugar Paper

Sugar Paper is a website with blog that I actually just came across yesterday through this image I found on Pinterest.  They have an online store as well as two brick and mortar stores out in California.  I love paper and print so this was right up my alley.  They have notecards, thank you notes, recipe cards, and much more.  I can honestly say that I love every single thing I saw during the extensive time I spent browsing their website. 

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Mandoline

We've been trying to eat healthier in this household lately and make smarter food choices.  I've been wanting a mandoline for a while now and I thought this is a great reason to get one!  Now I can chop and slice our veggies a lot faster and better!  We went shopping for one yesterday, not having checked the reviews on any, and decided on this one from Oneida based on the attachments included and how well it looked to be made for it's price point.  There were some very cheap ones made from plastic that we thought would fall apart during my first unexperienced use and then there were some that were way more than we wanted to spend.  Fyi- the husband says this can be a very dangerous item if not used carefully.  He seemed concerned about me using it, but it does have the safety food attachment  (the black knob that slides) that you use when slicing so that you aren't doing it barehanded.  So,  I'll let you know how well it works!

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The Sock Bun

If you have ever been on Pinterest or googled hair styles, then you should have come across "The Sock Bun".  I've been wanting to try it for a while but was a little skeptical of how it would work in my thick hair.  However, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome and how easy it was to do!  I followed the directions posted here.  The results are shown below (sorry the pictures below are off-centered and not great quality, it's tricky taking a picture of the back of your head!).  My hair looks two different colors as well, but it's the lighting. 

via Heather Griffin

via Heather Griffin

This would be cute to do as well.

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Words to live by

The perfect words to start a new week.

Sweet Summertime

The school year ended and today is the first day of summer vacation (for teachers at least).  I slept in this morning and will visit with friends this evening.  I do have plans for this time off though which do include being productive!  We don't have any big travel plans since we had our big trip this spring (remember Hawaii?!) but we do have one or two small ones planned. This will be my first summer without any scheduled work but I will still stay busy.  I have made a list of to-do's that I want to accomplish that include in no particular order:

1.  Catch up on reading- I want to read at least 5 new books!

2.  Take some time to volunteer or help others in some way

3.  Cook more homemade meals- (we're lucky that we live near some farmers markets too)

4.  Visit the pool and hopefully the beach at some point

5.  Spend time with family and friends

6.  Go for walks... hopefully at least 5 times a week

7.  Organize my home office and closets

8.  Update TheDulyNoted 

9.  Complete at least 2 furniture projects (will explain this at a later time!)
10. Keep my flowers alive and perhaps try some more gardening

11. Relax!

If I end up doing everything, who knows, but like I say, it's always good to have goals! What do you have planned for the summer? Anything exciting?

Tortoise

I love tortoise shell items because you can put them with just about anything.  I have the sunglasses and barrettes below and love them.  I also am in need of a new pair of eyeglasses because my old ones are no longer my current prescription.  I had a tortoise pair a while back but wanted something different last time so I went with a black frame, however, I think I'm going to go back to the tortoise ones and might get a pair like the one below.

Tortoise 

I also got this beautiful hurricane recently and have it set in the middle of our dining table.  It's use is for a candle but I may also use it to hold some pretty summer blooms.

Hope your weekend is wonderful!