2 Year Anniversary.

I love you, Mr. Baker.

Weekly Dinner Menu - Skinnytaste Version.

This week I decided to scan through my new Skinnytaste cookbook and put together a dinner menu full of it's recipes. 

​Monday 

Leftover minestrone soup

Tuesday 

Skillet tilapia with tomatoes and capers - Page 221 

Wednesday 

Garlicky lemon shrimp and broccolini stir fry - Page 228 with Veggie fried brown rice - Page 273

Thursday 

Chicken pasta caprese - Page 184

Friday 

???

Saturday 

Dinner at Cypress for our 2 year anniversary! 

Friday Five.

Happy Friday, everyone! A little late with my post today, but nonetheless, here it is! 

{one}

Last Sunday we had our monthly supper club at Sally & Taylor's new house! Instead of doing a dinner, we decided to switch it up and do a brunch theme. It was a nice change and we could not have picked a more perfect day for it. Upper 70's and not a cloud in the sky. All of the food was SO good. Bacon, sausage, homemade biscuits, eggs, pimento cheese grits, hash brown casserole, fresh fruit, and salad. 

The awesome cake Lauren made for Kathryn's birthday

After stuffing our faces and taking a tour of Sally & Taylor's gorgeous new home, we all went outside to enjoy the weather for a couple of hours. 

{two}

After searching high and low for the perfect taupe booties, I found them. Introducing Plover by Steve Madden. My only wish is that I would have purchased them months ago!

{three}

A sweet reader named Mary Beth contacted me to see if I could help spread the word about her art. Of course, I said! Her paintings currently include palmetto trees and pineapples, perfect for a nursery, children's room, or beach house! She was also kind enough to donate one of her pineapple paintings to the silent auction that is taking place after the final Brightlife Golf Tournament on April 20th! 

To purchase a piece of Mary Beth's art, you can visit her Etsy store here.

{four}

The kind people at Chewy.com contacted me to see if Brady wanted to sign up for their monthly blogger program. After taking a look around their website to find out what they were all about, I emailed back saying, "yes please!"  Brady is a notorious snack snob, usually turning his nose up at the standard milk bone, so I figured this would be a great way to try out new treats. March's selections consisted of freeze dried treats from the company Orijen. 

• Orijen kitchens feature advanced steam-cooking technologies to allow for higher fresh ingredient inclusions. 
• Over half of the meat arriving to Orijen kitchens are authentically fresh, never frozen. 
• All of their treats are 100% pure meat, no fillers. 

After consulting with Brady, he chose the black angus beef treats.  

Once he sniffed his new treat, he decided he liked it enough and wanted to show y'all his newest trick so I would let him taste it. Now he gets so excited when he hears me open up the bag!

{five}

My first dress from Sheinside arrived last week and I was very happy with what I found in the box! The material does not feel cheap, it arrived to my house a lot faster than I expected, and the dress fits perfectly!

When I ordered the purple floral dress, it was still during the pre-order period, so I'm still waiting on that to arrive. Can't wait!!

We've got another jam-packed weekend coming up, including a couples shower for our friends Justin and Jenny, and celebrating my grandmother's 80th birthday! My aunt and uncle, who we only get to see once a year, will be in town visiting from Iowa! So excited to see them!!

Plated, Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, & Home Chef Comparisons.

If you follow me on Instagram, then you've probably seen some of these delicious photos below from experimenting with the four companies that I'm going to tell you about. 

These four boxed meal companies are all the rage lately. Perfect for busy mom's on the go or novice home cooks who want to expand their palates and/or cooking skills. 

I really love this concept because it saves me so much time trying to figure out what I'm going to cook for dinner that week and rounding up all of the ingredients at the grocery store. I also love that each recipe comes with each individual ingredient portioned out to exactly how much you will need. No wasting that leftover cilantro that you need once and will likely go bad before the next time you use it. The ingredients are always super fresh and very high quality, as well. 

Simply sign up, select your menu choice(s) and delivery date, and a well-insulated box shows up on your doorstep on your selected date! 

Here is a simple breakdown of each company and photos from the recipes that I made:

Price: $12 per plate

Minimum order: 4 plates

Shipping: Free over $50

Want to try? Use this link to sign up and receive 2 free meals.

Braised Massaman Chicken

Beef Pho

Creamy Garlic Spaghetti Squash

_____________________________________________________________________

Price: $9.99 per person the for 2 person plan

$8.74 per person for the family plan

Shipping: Always Free

Family plan option: Two recipes a week {one delivery} or four recipes a week {one or two deliveries, your choice}

 Shrimp and Pineapple Fried Rice

 Beef and Pinto Bean Chili

_____________________________________________________________________

Price: 3 Classic Meal Box for Two - $69, 3 Classic Meal Box for Four - $129 

3 Vegetarian Meal Box for Two - $59, 3 Vegetarian Meal Box for Four - $109

Shipping: Always Free

Want to try? Use this link to sign up and receive $40 off of your first order!

Roasted Salmon with Cherry Tomatoes, Green Beans, and Yukon Potatoes

Chicken a l'Orange with Cous Cous and a Citrus Fennel Salad

Peppercorn Steak with Baby Potatoes and Creamed Spinach

Pan-Seared Salmon with Honeydew-Cucumber Salsa and Watercress Salad

Shrimp Ceviche Tacos

_____________________________________________________________________

Price: $9.95 per plate

Shipping: Free for orders over $50

Want to try? Click this link to sign up and receive $30 off of your first order!

Chimichurri Pork Chops with Gaucho-Style Vegetable Saute

Herb-Roasted Chicken with Whipped Cauliflower and Lemon Gremolata

Pan-Seared Salmon with Papaya Salsa and Roasted Asparagus

Salmon Encrusted with Everything Bagel Seasoning Over Arugula Salad with Lemon Caper Vinaigrette

With all of these companies, you are able to skip a week, or two, or however many you want until you are ready for them to send you a new box. You may also cancel your account at any time. 

I can honestly say that we enjoyed all of our meals! If I had to choose the box that was our favorite, Cameron and I both agreed that we liked the meals from Hello Fresh and Home Chef the best. 

Feel free to ask me any questions that you may have!

This post was not sponsored in anyway, however the sign up links do contain referral codes.

Express - Who Knew?

Not going to lie, back in college, all I used to shop at was Express. Most of the shopping was probably due to the fact that I was a poor college student, but had an Express credit card. Let's be honest. And of course I had to have a new outfit for every football game and fraternity mixer, duh. 

Even though the majority of the items that I purchased are out of style now, I do actually still have quite a few classics that (somehow) I can still squeeze into. 

I received a coupon in the mail recently so I went on the website to see if anything would catch my eye, not expecting much. Well I was pleasantly surprised with what I found! Below are some of my favorites. 

Long Sleeve Zip Back Trapeze Dress

Snake Print Drop Waist Dress

Snake Print Silky V-Neck Tee

Neon Pineapple Portofino Shirt

Pom Pom Trimmed Tulip Hem Shorts

Striped Weekender Tote

Laser Cut Runway Heel