Penny for your thoughts

My hubby wanted to go to the mall the other day so dragged him kindly asked him to go to JC Penney with me to check out their new home collection/store. I heard that they revamped their home section and I was not disappointed. It was beautiful in there. Though it was empty, I was glad I got a chance to go during this time so I could take pictures to put on this little blog.

Everything is crisp, white, and organized

Martha Stewart had her little mark in the store.

 There were a lot of really cool gadgets that cooks would love.

I love this measuring cup that goes all the way to 4 cups.

See how cute this is.

In case you are looking for some cute plates and napkins for decoration. This is the place to go.

LOL!

Here is a super cute recipe book/iPad holder.

This was amazing. These are individual cutting boards that are labeled for specific usage.

I really enjoyed this new area in JC Penney. I like their sleek style, the new gadgets, and how they are catering more to the average person who want to be a fabulous cook.....muah! 

I recently posted about this fab dress that I want at Banana Republic. Well we went in this weekend and it was on sale for $109 with 40% off. I have rewards and other coupons that I can use that will make this dress free. BUT.....I don't want to use them......I want to wait it out. Let's hope I don't regret it.

Sunday Fun Day

I have been sooooooo lazy lately. I get out of bed around 12 after playing all types of apps on my phone for 3 hours. It's BAD!

I had enough today so I decided to go to the Fort Worth Museum with my mom and nephew. I actually got out of bed, brushed my hair....well finger combed it.....put on my fresh to death fit and drove my lazy ass to Fort Worth. I had so much fun!

Note to self: More arm workout....starting now!

They had life size lightbrights!! I totally loved this. My mom had to use her mommy voice to make me get away from this.

Love these 2

After The Museum we went to eat at Zoe's Kitchen. This is my favorite place to eat when I am on that side of Fort Worth. I love Greek food and this place is just right. Their food is always fresh and they grill food right when you order it so it's nice and hot. I wish we had one by my house.

Zoe's Kitchen

They have a thing for runners. There is a special menu dedicated to pre and post running food. Their website is filled with recipes for some really good food. There is also a Zoe Blog. Check this restaurant out.

Ryan had a yummy turkey sandwich with fruit and an organic chocolate milk.

Mom...mid bite.....had shrimp kabobs with Greek salad, rice, and pita.

I had salmon kabobs with Greek salad, pita, and hummus. There is a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and seasonings that they make in house. I am not a big fan of it so I asked for a lemon vinaigrette that I had before on another type of salad I ordered. My mom was not a fan of either and enjoyed her salad with the abundance of feta cheese and olives as flavoring.

More Stuff I Love

With all of this food that I have been eating.......and a bout of food poisoning from eating leftover food...GREEDY! I thought I would post about some of the stuff that I love for staying in shape and looking fab.

Jergens Natural Glow....From Target

I put this on my trouble spots because it is supposed to firm and moisturize. I recently read that between 90%-95% of today's women suffer from cellulite. This is a great way to firm that up.

 

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 13

I love my Brooks running shoes. I try to run at least 3 days a week. I purchased these Brooks shoes and they are so easy to run in. I had to have my run analyzed first to see which shoes worked best for me. Your local running store has professionals that do this. I found out that I was running to the point of actually breaking my ankle in the near future. These shoes corrected my run and I have not looked back.

Tara Stiles/Strala Yoga

Since I have been off for the summer I wanted to up my workout routine and watch a lot of reality tv. While watching Tia and Tamera on the Style Network, Tia made a Yoga DVD with Tara Stiles. I googled Tara and found out that she is a big nutrition and yoga(i) person. She has worked with some pretty amazing people and her blog/website is full of yoga and nutrition videos. I have been doing many of the videos 1-2 times a day. Tara is really down to earth and talks you through the entire session.

Tia Mowry Yoga

I really want to purchase these DVDs. Tia is really health conscious and credits yoga to getting her body back after baby. Tia and her sister Tamera's blog is amazing. They offer a lot of tips on everything from style and health to motherhood and sisterly advice.

I drink hot water with lemon every morning and every night before I go to bed. It is a great detoxifier and better alternative than coffee or tea. The links below are really cool articles on the benefits of drinking this wonderful drink:

Reboot With Joe

Why Tia and Tamera say I should drink it.


I'll be posting some more stuff that I love in the next couple of days including the recipes I use to juice and make morning smoothies.

Must Haves

I was talking to my MIL the other day about shopping and if I have purchased anything new. I told her about a few steals that I got from Target a few weeks ago but nothing much. It got me thinking about my wish list and what I would like to purchase.
You see I am a super bargain shopper. I will not pay for anything full price. EVERYTHING goes on sale. I am even hoping that one day those beautiful Christian Louboutin shoes I die for will go down to the price I can afford want.
I bought some Gucci loafers once for $75 they were originally $400. This is why I wait. I feel like I am winning....Take that designer brands with crazy high markups!!
Here is the list of things that I must have before summer is over. Call me cheap but you won't call me lacking in style with no money in the bank.

Banana Republic

This lovely piece is from Banana Republic. It runs true to size but the top section is a little tight especially with my chest so I need to go up a size. I am waiting for this baby patiently.

Ann Taylor Loft

I am obsessed with jumpsuits right now. Sometimes I get into things and I cannot stop obsessing. The back of this jumpsuit is delicious. I really need this.

Ann Taylor Loft

I like this jumpsuit too. It is really cute and perfect with sandals and a statement necklace. I tried it on the other day and it was a little tight around the butt section. I usually wear a medium but I need to go up a size to make it comfortable. Jumpsuits should be comfortable not look painted on.

Target

I love a good pair of wedges to run around in and these fit the bill. They are pretty cheap..$29....but I know Target and they will go on sale. Target is one of those stores where I will not EVER pay full price for ANYTHING. Their stuff always goes on sale!

Happy Anniversary

June 20, 2009 is Our Wedding Anniversary. Oh how I loved our wedding. It was very small and took place in.......

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!

It was a cute ceremony and we had a nice sit down dinner with the best chicken picatta I have ever had in my life. 

More about all of that on another date.

The hubs took me to a really cool spot for dinner on the weekend of our anniversary. A wonderful restaurant in Fort Worth called Reata. It was so nice and the atmosphere was great. 

I had the grilled chicken with blue cheese and tomato salad, jalapeno cheese grits, and green bean medley. The hubs had chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, and green bean medley. 

The food was amazing and the service impeccable. I highly recommend going to this restaurant the next time you are in Fort Worth. They are located in the Downtown/Sundance Square area. The restaurant has really cool western decor all around and the atmosphere is relaxed/casual. They also have a really nice rooftop patio and bar. 

We walked in and told them it was our anniversary and they presented us with free glasses of champagne and a nice anniversary card signed by the staff. 

 Happy 4 years!

 

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Now that I am off for the summer I can really dive into my passion/hobby....COOKING! My and my friends Porscha and Ashley have been spending our time at the pool discussing our favorite dishes and what we want to put in our bellies.

Mr. Lovely called me the other day while I was basking in the sun with Porscha and wanted to know what was for dinner. Well I did not realize that I had been at the pool for over 4 hours....Hey once you start getting in good girl time you lose track of real time. I hurried home and whipped up this meal. It was tasty for me but I had to make him a side meal....he is a real meat and potatoes kind of guy.

First you scrape out the innards (is the right?) of the mushroom and take off the stem. Discard that crap cause it does not taste great (trust me I know).

Season the inside of the mushroom with salt, pepper, and olive oil and put in the oven at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. I just found this olive oil at Target the other day and I am in love with it. There is not an after taste and it is light enough to put on salad as a dressing.

So this is a really crappy picture of the items I planned to put into the stuffing mixture. I used everything except for the Kalamata olives. The stuffing would have been overly salty so I opted out. Always remember to taste test your foods as you are cooking to know how much seasoning to add.

I sauteed chopped 6 button mushrooms with half of a red onion in olive oil. Which is purple so I am not sure why it is not called a purple onion??

I added about 1/2 cup of frozen spinach. This allowed for the mushrooms and onions to cook down even more because of the water that was in the frozen spinach.

I am obsessed with Adams Garlic Powder. They have really good seasonings. I added about 1/2 tsp. of this to the sauteed mixture.

I took the sauteed mixture out and added 1 tbsp. of butter and sauteed 6 shrimp. I then cut up the shrimp into little pieces and sauteed them even more until all of the butter was absorbed. Yeah arteries!

I added all of the sauteed mixture and shrimp together with 1/2 a block of cream cheese, 1/4 c. of sour cream, and 2 oz. of provolone cheese. Mix very well to incorporate all of it together.

I filled the mushrooms with the mixture and topped with a little Mexican cheese that I had left over from taco night. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes...Long enough to melt all of the cheeses inside and out.

Here is the finished product. I could only eat 1/2 in one sitting so these babies are pretty big and filling. This made 4 meals and I paired it with a small side salad. Pretty amazing.

 I make these every summer because they are easy for me to make and put into the fridge to eat.

Recipe for Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms:

2 Portobello Mushrooms

4 oz. cream cheese

1/4 c. sour cream

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tbsp. olive oil

6 shrimp (shelled and deveined)

1/2 c. frozen spinach

1/2 of a red/purple onion

6 button mushrooms

2 oz. provolone cheese

any type of cheese to put on top to brown. 

Pinterest Day!

I have a few recipes on Pinterest that I have been wanting to try. I thought it would be a good idea to make the recipes on Father's Day and invite everyone over. The menu was:

Uncle Foxx's BBQ Chicken Wings

 

Rosemary Grilled Chicken

Crack Potatoes 

(says pinterest)

 

Salad with a yummy Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette

 

Broccoli

Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies

This was an amazing meal and everyone loved it. There were a few adjustments that I would make to some of the pinterest recipes

1. Crack Potatoes- I would only add 1 envelope of the ranch dressing/dip to the potatoes. They were really salty and with the bacon and cheese there is really no need to add a lot of seasoning. 

2. Blueberry Cheesecake Cookies- Be sure that you refrigerate the dough. It comes out sort of like cake mix and it definitely needs to be refrigerated to harden a little. Once I put a few on the pan to bake I immediately put the dough back in the fridge. When mixing I added unsalted butter instead of margarine and I made sure that I creamed the butter and cream cheese very well before adding any other ingredients. 

3. Garlic- I ran out of garlic so I had to use garlic salt instead. Everything turned out ok but I didn't add any salt to the recipes that called for it.  Has anyone else noticed that the price of garlic is rising?

Happy Eating!

H-Town...It's Goin' Down!

I was born in Houston and raised all over the United States mostly in Pennsylvania. I always claimed my Texas (Houston) nativeness (is that a word?) but Mr. Lovely says that it doesn't count because I left when I was around 3. I tell him that I was created and born in Houston and he is just jealous because he secretly wishes he was born in Houston rather than a state that is referred to as an object on ones foot!

I always liked Houston but I am kind of sad that I didn't get a chance to be raised there. I secretly dream that had I stayed I would have been a part of Destiny's Child. Beyonce and I would have been best friends and Kellie would have been hatin'. This would have never occurred though 'cause I lived close to Sugarland and Beyonce is from Third Ward. My parents divorce is the reason that my dreams of being rich, powerful, and running the world (GIRLS!) were crushed and Beyonce lost out on having the most spectacular friend ever!!! Oh the things that go through my head. I digress......

We took a little mini-vacay to Houston a few weeks ago and I really enjoyed myself. Mr. Lovely's cousin lives there and he took us on a super tour of the city. I mean this guy should have his own tour guide business because he knows Houston! Here are some pics......

I sooooo wish I would have went to this university. It is so beautiful!

Casa De Knowles.....Beyonce's house is a diamond in the rough. There is literally a strip club and drug deals goin' down right around the corner.

This is one of the most famous cupcake shops in Houston. Crave Cupcakes. They were delicious. I like the little decorations on top. Unlike Sprinkles, you can actually eat this fondant piece and still have all of your teeth in tact. I will tear up a Sprinkles cupcake so I am not complaining. I got the strawberry cupcake and ate it at midnight in the hotel room. Bad, bad girl.

Goode Co. has some really great BBQ. They are very similar to Pappas and the different varieties of restaurants. They have BBQ, Seafood, and Mexican spots. Pappas has a greek restaurant that I am dying to go to next time I visit. We have all of the Pappas restaurants here in Dallas but the greek.

Here is Mr. Lovely's rib plate with sides of jambalaya and potato salad. He is definitely not missing out on carbs.

Mr. Lovely's cousin had a HUGE BBQ stuffed baked potato.

We hit up the night life at a really cool outdoor park and shopping area.

Enough Said

This was a really cool pool and lounge area on top of a hotel.

This is the view from the lounge area. It overlooked the shops and outdoor park.

Beyonce's Best Friend!

The restaurant next to the lounge with an impressive wine and appetizer menu.

This is the line to get into one of the absolute best brunch spots in Houston. The Breakfast Klub. If you are ever in the Houston area PLEASE GO! It is soul food at its best!!

The line was RIDICULOUS but of course we waited...You didn't think I was going to miss out on this! 

It was a really fun trip and only 3 1/2 hours away makes it even better. I like the shopping and beautiful scenery that Houston has to offer. We visited a few more places like the Museum district, Medical district, Katy, the Galleria, and a few more spots. Houston is very similar to Dallas in what they offer but I do like the diversity and openness of Houston. Dallas can get a little stuffy and uppity, but I do love my city.