Went to Destin with the Fam!

Hey Y'all!

So, I haven't posted in FOREVER but I promise I will change that!  I figured a family vacation to Destin, FL needed a shout out!  So this past week I flew to Destin to meet up with Mom, Dad, and my bro, Matt (who is living in Destin for the summer).  We mainly sat on the beach, read, floated in the pool and ATE....I came home stuffed!  If you make your way to Destin you definitely need to go to the Red Bar in Greyton Beach!  It is fabulous!  There are only 5 things on the menu and on Friday/Saturday night they have their Famous Crab Cakes!  We went here two nights, one night I had Manicotti and the other night I had their crab cakes!  Both dishes were Wonderful!

Here we are eating at the Red Bar, Round 1

The Second night we ate at Stinky's Fish Camp on 30A in Santa Rosa.  AMAZING!  We had never been there before, but we had always passed it to go to The Red Bar and Seaside.  Multiple people recommended it to us so we decided to try it out!  I had the fish of the night which was Kobia in their house Potato Leek Sauce, Stir Fry Veggies and Mac n' Cheese!  Needless to say, we will go back again next year! 

 We also ate at Dewey Destin (by the Destin Bridge), Bayou Bills Crab House, Bud and Alleys, Cantina Laredo, and for breakfast YOU MUST go to the Donut Hole!.....I highly recommend all these restaurants if you are in the Destin/Seaside area!

At Bayou Bills with my pound of Blue Crab

Nothin' But a Model

Mom, Dad, and I in Seaside

I think this will be this years Christmas Card Photo

The View from the Condo

Hope you enjoyed the update!  Let me know if you are going to Destin anytime soon!  I know all the good places to eat!

XOXO

-E

Happy Birthday Lindsay!

All of us girls with Lindsay (in the white scarf) outside Fireside Pies

Me, Sarah, and Meagan

So this past week was my friend, Lindsay's, birthday!  On Thursday a big group of girls went to Fireside Pies.  I had never been before and let's just say that I will probably frequent this place in the future.  They had amazing wood fired pizzas with lots of topping options.  I had a pizza with grilled chicken, blue cheese, baby spinach, balsamic mustard marinated mushrooms, and tomatoes.  It was wonderful!  Then on Saturday Lindsay and Meagan had people over to their apt to hang out for the night!  We all had lots of fun celebrating Lindsay's birthday!  I am so blessed to have these girls here in Dallas!  

XOXO

-E

Dallas Blooms

Every Spring the Dallas Arboretum has their tulip festival called Dallas Blooms.  Last Monday, I had the day off work and my friend Molly had jury duty so we decided to head to the arboretum that afternoon.....it was sunny and in the upper 70's so it was a perfect day to go!  The festival lasts until April 11th so if you are in the area be sure to go check it out! Here are some pictures that I took but it hardly does it justice!

This field is where the arboretum puts on the Cool Thrusday Concerts...if you are in Dallas this is a must do...you can bring your own dinner/drinks and dance the night away by White Rock Lake

These are the test plants at the arboretum.

One of my favorite pics!

Downtown Dallas is just on the other side of the lake!

Giada is Coming to Town!

SO most of y'all know my obsession with the food network and know that I have autographed cookbooks from Paula Deen and Rachael Ray and I AM SO EXCITED to add another cookbook to my collection....Giada De Laurentis cooks on the Food Network on her show Everyday Italian.  On April 7 Giada is coming to the Williams and Sonoma at Northpark Mall! All you have to do is buy her new cookbook and pick up a ticket at Williams Sonoma in Northpark.  If you are in Dallas I encourage you to go and you can stand in line with me!  

Happy Tuesday!

XOXO

E

30 Minute Meal meets Semi-Homemade

Last week I needed something good for dinner but I was hungry so I wanted to make something quick...so this is what I came up with and I think it was pretty good because Nicki, my roomate, took leftovers to work two days in a row.  Ok, sorry I didn't take any pictures but this is so simple you don't need em....last week I made whole wheat tortellini and doctored up some sauce from a jar....First I sauted 2 cloves of chopped garlic and chopped mushrooms in EVOO....then I added a jar of Bertolli tomato sauce then added kalamata olives, pine nuts, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Meanwhile while that was cooking, I preheated the oven to 425 and tossed some asparagus and cauliflower in EVOO, sprinkled with garlic, oregano, salt and pepper and baked for 15 minutes.  This meal is quick, easy and very tasty!

Bon Appetite!

XOXO

E

2 Concerts, 2 Days

SO, last Thursday I saw Mariah Carey at Nokia Theater and on Friday I saw Ben Rector at House of Blues.  Needless to say, they were both great concerts but completely different!  Mariah was such a diva but her voice is just wonderful in person.  She sang my favorites "Always Be My Baby" and "Hero" so I left happy!  I got to see the concert with Molly, Nicki, and Meagan ...we had a  great time!

Mariah came out on a swing that lowered her to the stage and she had on a big "princess" dress on....true Mariah style!

Meagan and I waiting for the concert to start!

Molly, Nicki, Me

So for those of you who don't know, Ben Rector went to the U of A and a member of BYX.  I first saw him freshman year at a function called Starbyx.  He was the opener for Matt Wertz that night.  He has such a great sound and is an amazing piano and guitar player.  He often played around Fayetteville and I never missed a concert. He now lives in Nashville, and just released his new Cd "Into the Morning" which you can buy on iTunes and it is WONDERFUL!  With all that said, he is touring with Steve Moakler and Andrew Ripp and he came to the House of Blues last Friday......it was a great concert!  A few of us that went to the U of A that live in Dallas now, recruited some friends to go as well because we love Ben and they should too!  Anyways, long story short we had such a fun night and you all need to GO BUY "INTO THE MORNING" BY BEN RECTOR ON iTUNES TODAY!  You won't regret it!

Some of the girls at Ben...Me, Nicki, Meagan, Sarah, Lindsay

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and Happy Valentine's Day!  Leading up to today I was beginning to have some negative thoughts since there is not a "significant other" in my life.  But then I began to think what this day of love was all about.  All that came to mind was this verse: Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." After thinking about this verse, I realized that I needed to think about the greatest love of all and why we are capable to love others! God's love is unconditional and it surpasses all knowledge.  We can love others ONLY because God first loved us!  In this verse it says "while we were still sinners..."....God didn't send Jesus to die because of anything we did or just because we were good but ONLY because He loved us! Whenever you are uncertain about God's love for you, remember that He loved you even before you turned to Him! How wide, how long, how high, how deep is the love of Christ! Ephesians 3:18 - God's love is perfect!  May you think about this not just today but EVERYDAY!  "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly that all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Thanks be to God! AMEN! (Eph. 3:20-21)

XOXO

-E

SNOW IN DALLAS!

SO when I moved to Dallas I never dreamed I would see a foot of snow outside my window!  Last Thursday it started snowing early in the morning and didn't stop until after midnight!  It was so beautiful! I woke up to huge snowflakes coming down! They predicted we would get 1-3 inches, then 4-6 inches but when all was said and done we got 12 inches!!!!  Needless to say I was pumped! I love snow! Thursday when I got off work I went to my favorite place in Dallas, Lakeside Drive, and took pictures then later that night my friends Sarah , Hannah , Miranda and I walked around Highland Park in snow and built a snowman! It was so much fun!  I have a feeling it will be awhile until this happens again!  Here are some pics of the beautiful snow.....

I know this pic is a little dark but I thought it was so ironic to see snow on a Palm Tree! This is in front of my favorite house on Lakeside drive...I call it the"Palm Tree House"... original I know.....but everytime I pass by I dream of living there...I just love Palm Trees!

Miranda, Hannah, Sarah, and I playing in the snow!

Two puppies playing in the snow on Lakeside Drive

Lakeside Drive Park....so beautiful!

I love this pic...so beautiful and serene!

XOXO

-E

The Joy of Cooking

First off, I would like to say that one of my resolutions of the new year is to blog more.  So sorry it has been almost 2 months since my last post!  This post is long overdue, but I wanted everyone to know about the best Christmas present I received this year.  Let me preface this with saying, Rachael Ray is pretty much my cooking role model!  Ever since I was little I have been fascinated with cooking and even pretended that I had my own show on the Food Network.  I remember only being able to get the Food Network on vacations so every chance I would get I would be glued to the TV to watch the Essence of Emeril featuring Emeril Lagasse.  Now that the Food Network is on my basic cable....I pretty much watch every show they have!  In college, my roomates always knew when I had been watching TV if it would be turned to the Food Network! All that to say, sophomore year of college my mom, Lauren and I got to meet Paula Deen! She was so sweet and I was so excited to meet her but a life goal was to meet Rachael Ray!  In December I saw that Rachael Ray was going to be at the Borders in Rogers, AR!  Seriously! As soon as I move to Dallas she shows up in NWA and of course Dallas was not on her list of places to go!  The weekend she was supposed to be there my parents had already planned to come to Dallas to help me set up  my apartment so I just accepted the fact that I would have to wait to get one of my cookbooks signed by Rachael. :( Fast forward to Christmas morning.....I open up a present from my Grandparents (who live in Bella Vista) and they had bought me the newest Rachael cookbook!  I was so excited to add this to my collection which I started about a year ago!  I had almost bought the cookbook myself the week before because I had really wanted it.....then my Grandma tells me to open the book....It had been signed by Rachael herself AND my Grandma even got a picture with Rachael!! At this point I was so excited that tears started rolling down my face because I realized that my Grandparents had gotten up early on a Saturday, waited for hours, just so I could have a signed cookbook by my cooking idol!  It was seriously one of the best presents I have ever received!  I know my grandparents were surprised by the tears rolling down my face but the hours in line made it all worth it to see that reaction!  Needless to say, this present was all I could talk about at Christmas and it will be something that I cherish forever!  Sidenote:  If anyone is ever stumped on what to get me for birthdays, Christmas, etc. get me a cookbook! I think they are a great present that keeps on giving! (to quote Cousin Eddie).  Sorry for the long post but I really wanted to share that story!   More posts to come soon!

XOXO

E

My Grandparents, Mom, Dad, and Me.

Lauren and I waiting to see Paula Deen!

My signed cookbook and pics of my Grandma with Rachael!

With my cookbook on Christmas morning