Happy Monday! I didn't have a lot of time this weekend to prepare my food for the week, so I went with quick, easy, and cheap. I didn't want to fall back into the habit of eating out that leads to expanding my waistline. This tried and true Pinterest recipe never fails and is deeeelicious! If you are a fan of Chinese food, then you've no doubt ordered chicken fried rice and wished you could eat it every day. But it's full of salt and who knows what else, so it doesn't bode well for an every day meal. Enter quinoa. If you haven't tried it before, I highly recommend it. It tastes similar to rice, but has more protein and nutrients than empty carbs. Check out this article from Prevention Magazine to see the differences in brown rice vs quinoa. (Also I do love brown rice. If a recipe calls for rice, I like to pick brown over white)
Did I mention it's a crock pot meal?! You just throw it all in there and cook for an hour or two! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked quinoa (or brown rice)
4 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons worchestershire sauce
1 small onion (I prefer 5-6 diced green onions to eliminate the onion-y flavor)
salt and pepper to taste
3 eggs
Rotisserie Chicken (or canned if you prefer)- cut up enough to fill up 1-2 cups
I toss in frozen peas as well
sesame seeds for garnish
Throw all the ingredients in the crock pot, and then crack the three eggs on top. Cover and heat on medium for two hours (or one hour on high). I'm antsy, so I usually stir every 20-30 minutes to make sure all the juices get mixed up perfectly. Since I'm usually cooking for one, this dish can provide leftovers for about 3-4 days.
Happy Monday! Yesterday was fun day of shopping and meal planning for the week- plus a mani/pedi! I have a crazy week coming up with meetings after work, picking up a friend from the airport, work outs, and a dinner party at my house on Thursday. (I'm making jambalaya! I'll definitely share that with you) So I needed to prepare some grab and go grub yesterday. I went ahead and pulled the leftover tilapia out of the freezer so I could blacken a few pieces tonight when I get home to enjoy with some salad or zucchini noodles at night. But what about lunch? Turkey burgers! I made some sweet potato fries to go with them last night, and can wrap them up in a wheat tortilla with some spinach for lunch.
That doesn't look half bad! For the burgers, I got a pound of ground turkey meat the grocery store, some green onions, some garlic, some parsley, and a packet of ranch dressing mix. I mixed all of the ingredients into a bowl and then shaped out four patties. I sprayed my frying pan with Pam and got to cooking. I'm an impatient cooker, so I must have flipped them a hundred times. It took about 20 minutes for them to cook to my liking. I added a whole wheat tortilla and an avocado for kicks.
While all this was going on, I had the sweet potato fries baking in the oven. I cut up a medium sized sweet potato into "fry shapes" and stirred them in a bowl with three tablespoons of olive oil, and some salt and pepper. I laid them out on a baking sheet (also sprayed with Pam) to where they weren't touching and backed them for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. That's it!
As we all patiently wait for cooler fall temps, magazines and designers are throwing amazing fall fashions our way. Today alone, I have seen a red and black plaid shirt from three different designers. And I like it. How comfy and versatile does this top look?
This top goes perfectly with leather pants (seen above), skinny jeans, black jeans, and even tucked into a skirt. Can you imagine how comfy this would be under a puffy vest going to meet your girlfriends for a lazy Saturday brunch?! Kate Spade Saturday offered their version of the top as did Old Navy. If you've never shopped the Saturday website, I highly recommend it. It's Kate Spade's weekend collection. More casual than her usual designs and a little less expensive. No matter what your price point, I think you'll have no problem stocking up on flannel and plaid this fall. What do you think? Does it remind you too much of the Brawny man, or are you excited to try this trend out?
I'm all over it, myself! Also- what an easy Halloween costume idea for the fellas!
I'm on Day 21 of my 24 Day Challenge, and I am starting to crave other meats than salmon and chicken. So I found a recipe last night for blackened fish tacos. They were amazing and so simple to make. Tilapia was my choice as it is low in fat but high in protein. Plus it just tastes good and isn't as expensive as other white fish at the seafood counter. Four filets cost me less than $10. And those filets were huge! I ended up cutting them in half giving me eight pieces. I cooked four, and then froze the other four for next week. The picture below is ONE filet that I sliced in half!
I poured about 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil into the pan and turned the heat up to high. I then lightly dusted the filets (on both sides) with blackening seasoning, and then cooked the fish for about four to five minutes on each side. That's it!
Don't those look yummy?! For the tacos, I used a whole wheat tortilla and smashed up an avocado for a little extra flavor. This really only took about 10 minutes to prepare. Such an easy weeknight meal!
Ingredients:
Four fish filets
Olive oil
Blackening seasoning
Whole wheat tortillas
Avocado
I ran across this little diddy on Pinterest last night (seriously what did we do with our time before that website?). It really echoed what I've been thinking about over the past few months. What if we quit competing against one another since we're really all in this together? Just something to think about. Be nice to each other this weekend and have a fun one!
While Radiant Orchid was declared the Pantone color of 2014, I think another color is really going to make waves this fall. Gray. Huh? Gray is so boring... and gray. Not so, my friends. We all have way more black than we should in our closets because it's so versatile, flattering, and it goes with everything. Gray does the same thing. I think it's so sharp and can be dressed up or down. Check out this bag from Kate Spade. I'm in love with this bag. So simple and clean. You can wear it with everything!
Now can you imagine how gorgeous that would against a bright radiant orchid sweater. I'm dying. Check out this simple outfit I found on Pinterest last night. Don't you want to grab coffee and kick ass in this outfit? You could throw a white or black blazer over this sweater to instantly dress it up even more.
If you're nervous to dip your toes in the gray area, then might I suggest literally dipping your fingers and toes into this nail polish to test the waters.
Now go forth and try a new color! Pair it with black, white, orchid, soft pinks, reds and gorgeous deep blues! What colors are you excited to wear this fall?
If you're like me, the beginning of fall brings a little apprehension. Those new sweaters are amazing, but it's hot as hell through about October here in the South. It's September, so white jeans with a flowy top and sandals don't really seem appropriate either. What's a girl to do? I like mixing and matching summer and fall clothes as much as possible. I came across this dress in an email blast this morning from Old Navy. This is the perfect transition dress for work.
While it looks great with sandals, I think it would look perfect with some ankle booties, and maybe even a light scarf. The boxy shape gives way to the bigger silhouettes we tend to wear in the fall/winter. The color suggests fall leaves and Halloween. It's a polyester mix, so it's not too light but it's not heavy like wool either. This is definitely a piece that you could wear 7 days a week. Pair it with booties and simple jewelry for work, and then add some sandals and layered necklaces for a football party on Saturday. Also, it's completely affordable so buy both colors! When it starts getting cooler, add tights or knee high boots to continue wearing into the winter. What do you think? Do you have any favorite transition pieces?
A lot of girls have been planning their weddings since they were little. Not me. I was planning and executing fashion shows with my dolls. I was cutting out ads from my mother's Vogue and putting together my own look books. My father still likes to say, "You may not have had anywhere to go, but you were dressed for the occasion." I love putting together styles for myself and my friends. My heart skips a beat when I get a text from my besties asking, "What do you think of this with this?" I love everything about it. I think fashion is fun and should be fearless. I have my own style, and think you should too. It's so fun to learn someone's style and incorporate a few trends here and there to compliment an already great look. I'm excited to show you what I'm feeling and what I'm totally crushing on. With New York Fashion Week set to start in a few days, be prepared for some overkill, ha!
I am laughing way too much at this picture Big Boi from Outkast tweeted a few weeks. It's OutKats, get it?! See cover of Stankonia album if you don't :)
So in my quest for clean eating, I'm finding that I really don't miss white breads all that much. But I do miss a good pasta dish. I decided to try and find something that would give me the taste and texture of pasta, but without all the refined sugars and starches. Did y'all know you could make pasta out of a gorgeous zucchini?? I may be late to the party, but I am all up in it now. All you need is a zucchini, some olive oil, a little salt and pepper to taste, a saute pan, and a vegetable peeler. The peeler I linked was found at Target this past weekend. It has three different blades so you can use it on all kinds of different produce. I used the julienne blade for this dish to get fatter peels of the zucchini. I think I lied and told my bestie it was $10. The website shows it as costing $14.99, and it's worth every penny. I simply started grating the zucchini down over a cutting board, and then scraped all the "pasta" pieces into a mixing bowl when I was finished. I put a large saute pan over medium heat, and put between 1 and 2 tablespoons of olive oil (really depends on how much you want) into the pan. I shook a little seasoning salt (Tony Cachere's of course!) into the bowl of, mixed it up, and then poured into the saute pan. I would cook anywhere between 3-5 minutes depending on how soft you want the pasta.
It was so good! I had some leftover chicken breasts, so this made the perfect chicken and pasta dish. It really made enough for two servings, so I saved the rest to try tonight. I'm not sure how it holds up on the second day, but I'm sure I'll still gobble it up. I can't wait to try it with shrimp or fish this weekend.
Recently I've been on a clean eating campaign. After a wonderfully gluttonous summer filled with champagne and cheese plates, it's time to get my belly under control. I recently started the Advocare 24 Day Challenge, and am on Day 14. The Challenge is not a diet, it's designed to help you change the way you look at food. I am sticking to veggies, fruits, chicken, fish, and complex carbs. I am avoiding sugars, processed foods, some dairy (I can't give up my skim milk in the mornings) and good ole fashioned junk. So far I am really enjoying the fun of finding new and delicious recipes! I feel great, my skin is clearer, and I've even dropped a few inches! After the initial shock of realizing most of what I was eating was crap, I was terrified that eating clean meant eating boring. Boy was I wrong. Thanks to Pinterest and more recipe sites than I can count, I have found some really great meals. It's really helped when learning to look at food as nourishment rather than "treats." Now, I'm not saying I won't hit up Popeye's for a delicious three piece ever again, but I will plan ahead when the craving for Popeye's hits. If I know that I absolutely must have it for dinner, then I know that I need to keep the rest of my food choices that day as clean and natural as possible. And I don't need to "treat" myself to Popeye's once a week either. So I'm excited to share what I find and hopefully you'll find the fun in cooking like I have. Did I just say cooking was fun? Nerd alert.
Hello! And welcome to
the LC! I started this blog a few years ago with the intention of providing
modern day answers to age old etiquette problems. It was originally titled
"Mind Your Manners, Y'all." I have had so much fun tackling crusty
old etiquette problems with a little humor. Recently I decided to expand the
blog and include a few other topics that always keep my attention, food and
fashion. These are just a few things that I love, and I hope that you'll have
fun reading this blog. I've also added a page called Lagniappe. Down in
Louisiana, we use the term Lagniappe to describe "a little something
extra." So I hope you'll enjoy the "little extras" I find along
the way that make me happy. Thanks for reading!
Well it's Carnival Time here in the Big Easy! Time for king cake, parades, beads, parties, dancing, and lots of cocktails. It's a celebration of excess before we start the quiet season of Lent. If you've never experienced a Mardi Gras in New Orleans or Mobile, I highly recommend it. If you have experienced it, then you know what to expect this year. But I think we could all use a refresher in how not to over-do it.
My married friends and their husbands often think of me as a wild child. I think that's only really because I'm not married and have more time to go out and be social. However, I am not a drunk. I have always been the friend that turns into Team Mom when I notice one of my friends starting to get a little out of control. That isn't to say that I have never been, or won't get drunk in the near future. But I always, always have control of the situation I am. No one has ever carried me out of a bar, or lost me in a crowd, or had to baby-sit me. (Okay one time I was carried out of a bar because I had fallen and broken my leg, but that's neither here nor there!) Perhaps it's because I am an anxious person by nature, and am always thinking ahead. If I'm at a party and the wine is flowing, I am thinking about how I'm going to get home safely. Did I drive to this party? Do I need to call a cab? If I cannot safely walk home or get a cab, then I do not over-indulge. I don't want anyone else to feel responsible for me, or feel like a party host has to offer me their couch or guest room. Sometimes I wish I could live the life of not caring like so many folks, and just go wherever the wind or the wine takes me. But I am a worrier. There are definitely some nights with the bestest of friends where 12:00 am turns into 4:00 am quicker than you can say "Grab me another glass!" And there have been many nights of sleeping on my BFF's couch because the night turned into morning and we had over-served ourselves. Those nights are sometimes the best, and we definitely won't be driving anywhere.
My house is on the Uptown parade route, so my car will not leave my street for the next 7-8 days. Therefore, I am free to over-indulge if I so wish. I simply walk outside to catch all of the great parades, and then walk down the street to a handful of neighborhood bars and restaurants if I choose to keep the party going. That doesn't mean I can completely let my guard down however. Ladies and gents, I hope you always know to be completely aware of your surroundings when you go out with friends. Don't walk anywhere alone at night, and always keep tabs on your friends. Don't let strangers bring you drinks. If someone offers to buy you a drink, walk up to the bar with them. Not every man is going to put a rufie in your drink, but it only takes one creepy man to ruin the evening. I feel like these are things we all know, but we all tend to let our guard down when we are having fun.
Also, don't be "that guy." You know that guy. We've all seen that guy, and may have even been that guy before. Don't ruin everyone else's evening by getting wasted and slurring, stumbling and puking. We all know our limits. When you feel yourself starting to get close to your limit, stop drinking! Drink some water and have a snack. You don't have to stop having fun, just stop being an asshole. That guy/girl tends to ruin more of my evenings that I care to admit. Team Mom here can't just let 'em go and make fools of themselves. I simply cannot have fun when someone is at the point of hurting themselves or others. I can't tell you how many times I've snuck keys away, or called roommates to come get the drunk. I have an air mattress at my house that tends to get used more often than I care for because I cannot simply let someone get in their car in that state. I'm not saying you can't go get drunk and have time of your life, just be smart about it. Be responsible for yourself, watch out for others, and mind your manners!
Here are a few Mardi Gras tips for any new guests we have in our city this year:
1. Do not snatch beads or throws away from children. In fact, give your throws to the kids next to you. We're talking cheap plastic toys, people. What are you going to do with them when you get home? I can remember as a kid, getting home and spreading out our loot and playing with all the fun toys and beads!
2. If you're going to smoke, step away from the front of the parade. Walk back to the sidewalk away from the kids. Not everyone enjoys cigarettes.
3. Drink responsibly. Despite what you hear on TV, Mardi Gras is a family event. Don't ruin some poor kid's night by being a drunk asshole. Save that crap for the after party at Ms. Mae's!
4. Respect the marching bands and dance crews. Do not throw things at them or try and touch their instruments.
5. Don't run out in front of the floats to grab a throw. They are heavy, and usually driven by tractors. These tractors cannot slam on their brakes, and these floats will hit you.
6. Do not throw things back at the floats! Why do people do this? I got smacked in the head by a pair of beads this past Saturday when I was riding. I threw them back with all the force I had and hit that douche right in the forehead. And he deserved it.
7. Have fun! Carnival season is one of the coolest things to see in person. So many people put forth a lot of time and effort to make this an amazing few weeks.
Recently I sat in on a Harassment and Discrimination seminar
at work, and kept hearing something that really bothered me. The person doing
the training kept referring to people younger than her as the Me Me Me
Generation (which I am a part of) and talking about how we are all entitled and
expect shit to just work out for us without working for it. Excuse me? I keep
seeing the articles online, and in Time Magazine about how we’re all a bunch of
entitled assholes that just expect to walk into the working world making $100K
a year and not really do anything. This really does bother me. No one person I
know has ever expected that. We may all want it, but know that it’s not really
feasible in our 20’s right out of school.
I graduated from college in 2006- which was right at the
beginning of the Recession. I got my first job within a few weeks of
graduating, and was laid off three months later. Three months! I was 22 and
jobless. What the hell? I was told my entire childhood by every adult I came
into contact with that if I stayed in school and made good grades that I would
get into college, and get a great job. So guess what I did? Stayed in school
and went to college! No one prepared me for corporate buy-outs. I didn’t blame
the president, governor or mayor. I got another job. It wasn’t my dream job,
but it paid a little more and provided great experience and benefits. I slowly
started realizing that the ways of our parents and grandparents were over. Gone
were the days of working at the same company for 30 years, and then getting a
great retirement party and a watch with the company logo on it. These days it
was up to ME to make shit happen.
Now I am 30 years old, and working the fourth job that I’ve
had since college. I’ve never been fired, and have only been laid off once. I
am making exactly what my father was making when he was 30… but that was in
1989. Do you think times have changed, and prices have gone up since 1989? Just
a bit. This “Me Me Me” generation that people love to loathe is doing more with
less. We are paying more in taxes, we have more debt than any other generation
(because you know, we just had to go
to college if we were ever going to make it in this world), and we also weathered
the Great Recession- which was caused by our parent’s generation being a bunch
of greedy assholes and being stupid with money. I work with a lot of people
that are in their 50’s and 60’s that probably make at least twice as much as I
do, but sometimes I think I work twice as hard as they do. Since I am younger,
I constantly feel the need to prove myself. I volunteer for projects that no
one else will and work later than most people here. The words “that isn’t my
job” have never left this mouth and never will. If my boss asks me to refill
his stapler, you best believe that will be the most filled up stapler he's ever had.
The Me Me Me Generation is also putting off marriage and
kids because we do want to prove ourselves to the world. We’re also smarter in
realizing that kids are freaking expensive. I can’t afford one on my salary, so
it makes sense to wait a few years before taking on that expense. Plus, I have
a whole world to teach manners to! There’s no time for kids! We are
volunteering more as well. I volunteer a lot in my city, and am part of my
local Junior League. Do you know who I see working at the food banks and
Habitat for Humanity projects? Twenty and thirty year olds. We are the ones
rebuilding our communities. We are the ones that are so tired of seeing people
we love not have the same rights as us just because of their sexual orientation,
gender, race or religion. We are the ones coming up with solutions to the
climate change that our parents ignored for thirty years.
So maybe we are entitled. Maybe we do think we
deserve to live in a world where everyone has running water, and everyone
deserves a fair chance at education and a good job. So what. If you think I’m
selfish because I have a world I want to change before I get married and pop
out babies, then be my guest. Like most other generalizations gone wrong in our
world, it all goes back to respect and manners. Just because people are younger
than me and have different dreams than I do, doesn’t make them any less of a
hard-worker than me. Every generation is different, and every generation has to
deal with the old folks shaking their fists in the air exclaiming, “Kids these
days!” So what can you take away from this? Work hard. No matter what age you
are. Play hard. Life is short. Help others. We’re all in this together, and
true happiness comes from being selfless. If an older person calls you an
entitled little brat, call them an old curmudgeon. Kidding! Be respectful, and
mind your manners!
Happy New Year y'all! I hope you all are having a wonderful start to 2014! I am currently in my pajamas eating candy and binge-watching Season 2 of Homeland. I hope you all resolve to be happy in 2014. Whether that means scheduling more time for yourself, or getting out of an unhappy friendship. Be nice to each other, be respectful of one another, and always be on the look out for ways to improve your well-being. And of course, mind your manners!
