F.F.F = Favorite Finds Friday!

Ok I know I haven't posted in awhile, I have been super busy with work and not to mention some off scheduled events this week. But now it is Friday, and I can't wait until it is 5 so I can go home! Because it is TGIF I thought I would bring you guys some of my Favorite Finds of the Week!

*Here is my first find : It's from, Trendy Stores.

It is a bowl that hangs on your wall and you can put flowers in it! I want one, but I really want to put a fish in it, man that would be so cool to have a fish bowl just hanging on your wall! And it is so great because then my cat couldn't get to it!

*Second find of the week : Bright and Bold
I want this for my living room, well I guess I should just say my house because I live in a studio! I love the iron they use and the font, I just want to hang them all around and remind me what life is really about! Living, Laughing, and Loving!

*Third and last find(well I have lots more, but gotta save them for next Friday!): Shawn Lovell
She such an amazing artist! Her work is so beautiful, but she is based out of California. Her are just a couple things from her portfolio.

If you couldn't tell by these pictures I am into birds at the moment, I don't know if it is because of my photo company name or not!

I love searching for new and interesting finds!
Let me know if you have any that you love too!

Have a great Friday!

The Wednesday Letters

I started reading this book yesterday called the "The Wednesday Letters".
In just the 3 chapters I read I was drawn in and almost in tears. The book is about an old couple who own a B&B and one night they both die in each others arms, ahh so romantic. They have 3 adult children and they come home to arrange the funeral, then they find boxes full of love letters that their father wrote to their mother each week on Wednesday. As they begin to open and read the letters, the children uncover the shocking truth about their past.
In addition, each one must deal with present-day challenges. Matthew has a troubled marriage, Samantha is a single mother, and Malcolm is the black sheep of the family who has returned home after a mysterious two-year absence.
This book really reminds readers about romance and inspires others to start their own "Wednesday letters" I know we could all use a reminder of why we feel in love with that special someone!

Georgia

This weekend I went with my husbands band, Altar White, to Valdosta, GA for two different shows. Here are some pictures from the show at a little local cafe in downtown Valdosta! You can see more at Red Robin Photos

Modern twist on an oldie

For two weeks I have been wanting to try this recipe I found from Martha Stewart. Being the busy girl I am, I have not had a free moment. Finally I had an excuse to make this hopefully delicious meal, we had company coming over! I made a lighter version of a chicken Potpie! So here it is for you to try too, don't worry it is super easy, and will work with just veggies for all you vegetarians out there, and you can make it with soy milk for the vegans!
I did change the recipe around a little bit, I added my own seasonings, and I didn't use chicken on the bone (it freaks me out) I used boneless skinless chicken breasts and add what vegetables I wanted, like zucchini and a mix of corn, green beans, and carrots. I probably would have added more, if my husband wasn't so picky!

This serves 4

2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halve (12 to 14 each)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups low-fat (1%) milk, or soy milk
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 phyllo sheets (each 12 by 17 inches) thawed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly; discard skin and bones. shred meat, and set aside.

2. While chicken is roasting, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add carrots, onion, and thyme; season with salt and pepper, and cook until carrots are crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour, and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer and thickens.

3. Remove from heat; stir in peas, lemon juice, and chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Pour filling into a 9 inch deep-dish pie plate. (I used one of my large glass Tupperware so if I had leftovers it would be supper easy to put away)

4. Remove phyllo on a work surface. Using a paring knife, cut out an 11-inch circle from the stack; discard trimmings. ( I didn't have to cut my phyllo, I just used the scraps and placed them around) Stack 2 circles on work surface, and brush gently with 1 teaspoon oil; repeat with remaining circles and oil. Place phyllo stack over filling, and press down about 1/2 inch from the edge so phyllo fits inside rim of pie plate. Bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Let potpie cool 15 minutes before serving.

Prep: 40 Minutes Total: 1 hour 10 minutes

Everyone has a secret...

Last night my husband and I went to target, he was getting a movie and I was trying to pick out a book. I searched and searched, and couldn't decide on something, so we left. Well now I am at work (bored) and wanted to look up popular sellers on amazon.com. I found a book, and it looks so intreging I can't wait to go get it! It is called "a lifetime of secrets"
The book is a colection of the past three years. The author, Frank Warren has invited people to send him creatively decorated postcards bearing secrets they have never before revealed. He has some of the secrets on his blog www.PostSecret.com, and he has three other books that are bestselling: PostSecret, My Secret, and The Secret Lives of Men and Women.

The post cards are hand made and some of them have fun secrets, and others have very moving secrets like these two that I selected out of the many he has posted on his blog. I hope you all go out and read this book, I know I am! Let me know of any books that you are reading at the moment, I love suggestions.

Elegant seasonal cocktail just in time for fall

In laue of my new love for pomegranates, I found a wonderful cocktail that I really want to try! I just found it at Self and thought I should share it with you!

This recipe is from a Sushi spot on L.A.'s famed Sunset Strip.
Besides raw-fish delicacies, innovative beverages are served up at the lounge like space. Hipster tipplers can sip the restaurant's Pomegranate Cocktail, which is rich in poly phenols, antioxidants that help protect your ticker.

Makes 4 servings.

6 oz premium vodka (Blowfish Sushi uses Han Soju, an Asian spirit)
2 oz seltzer
4 oz Triple Sec
4 oz pomegranate juice
2 lemons, juiced
1 pomegranate, seeded

Combine vodka, seltzer, Triple Sec, pomegranate juice, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker over ice; shake. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass; garnish with pomegranate seeds. Save leftover fruit for nibbling.(Which I love!)

Blowfish Sushi, Los Angeles, CANutritional analysis per serving 244 calories, 0.1 g fat (0.02 g saturated fat), 21 g carbohydrates, 0.3 g protein


This cocktail will make you the talk of the neighborhood!
Let me know if anyone tries it, and how it comes out!

Cheers to the enviroment!

So I told you I tried a lot of new things this weekend, and one of those new things was a Pomegranate. I have been wanting to try one for a while, but did not want to fork out $4.99 for one. Becka and I went to the farmers market this Saturday and found them for $1, I was so excited! Since I have never tried a pomegranate I only got one, big mistake. I loved it, and so did my friends. This is my new found snack and love! So as I was eating the delicious fruit, I realized that I should try and plant the seeds and make my very own pomegranate tree! Hopefully I will have luck in this endeavor, I am not known for having a green thumb. After researching how to grow a pomegranate bush/tree, I read my friends blog about Blog Action Day and thought it would be so great if people took the time to just plant one tree for the environment!

So in woo of the environment I want to challenge everyone to go and plant a seed, bush, or tree! Make our world a better place!
Cheers to you Mother Earth!

Some new yum yums

So this weekend was a weekend of many new things.
But, since I work full time, my week days arent very exciting! So I will let you know about the rest of my weekend throughout the week!
Ok, so I branched out and tried a new recipe. I made a Vegan green bean casserole. I am new to this whole vegan thing, I just wanted it to be low in fat and healthy, so I made it vegan! I got it from Fatfreevegan, but I made it a little different!

The Best Vegan Green Bean (and broccoli) Casserole (Lauren Style!)

Beans
2 quarts water
1 tablespoon table salt
1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces ( I used about half of this)
( in a seperate pot (or you can wait until your green beans are done) I boiled up some broccoli the same way with the salt, but broccoli doesn't take as long)

Bring the water to boil in a large pot. While it's heating, cut up the beans. Add the salt and beans to the boiling water. Cover and cook for 6 minutes. Drain beans in a colander, and then spray for a minute with cold water to stop the cooking. Let them drain in the colander, shaking every now and then to get off all the water.

Sauce

*10 ounces mushrooms (I don't like mushrooms, so didn't add them!)
3 cloves garlic, minced
generous pinch cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
Fresh pepper to taste
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon dry sherry
3/4 cup soy creamer

Trim and discard the mushroom stems and chop the mushrooms into pieces. Spray a non-stick pan with canola oil and heat it. Add the mushrooms, garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are very soft and exude their juices. Whisk the flour into the vegetable broth and add to the mushrooms along with the sherry. Simmer, stirring, until mixture thickens. Add the soy creamer and simmer until thick, about 5 to 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings and stir in the beans.

Topping

1 1/2 slices whole grain bread ( I just used the bread I had in the cabnet which was 12 grain, it tasted good with the nuts)
1 tablespoon Earth Balance margarine
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/16 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 3-ounce can of French fried onions

Put the bread, margarine, salt, and pepper into a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Pour into a bowl and add the onions. Stir to combine.

To assemble:
Put the green beans into an oiled casserole dish and top with the onion mixture. Bake at 425 F for about 15 minutes. If you are not serving this right away, refrigerate the topping separately. Bring to room temperature before sprinkling the topping on the casserole and baking for about 20 minutes or until hot throughout.
(I found it got a little too crispy cooking it for 20 minutes, I would do 15 next time!)

This recipe came out so great I really want to do it for thanksgiving! It passed the vegan test, and she doesn't even like green beans, thanks Alexis!

Ok, so off to bed gotta be up at 4 tomorrow morning, will share something new tomorrow night!

The Beginning

Ok so this is the beginning, I just started reading blogs and thought they were pretty cool, you can write down your daily,weekly, monthly thoughts and then share them with the world.
I thought it was neat reading other peoples blogs, but never thought that I would do one, well here I am!
My husband and I are in the process of starting a photography business (RedRobinphotos) and I thought it would be great to show off our photography! I don't just want to put photography on my blog, I will be also sharing things I think are interesting, and hope you think the same thing!
Well I have to give credit to Becka and Alexis who have amazing blogs, and I hope mine can be just as good!