Fried Oyster Salad & Roasted Okra

Does anyone else feel like they've been eating all summer?  I feel like I've been eating and drinking, eating and drinking, eating and drinking... nice weather has us wanting to have a little app and drink outside each evening.  Moving has also given us a new reason to enjoy being in the kitchen.

A few delicious items (some are old favorites) include:

1. Fried Oyster Salad (made by Bailey last year at the beach)

Dijon Vinaigrette

2 T Dijon Mustard

2 T apple cider vinegar

2 T balsamic vinegar

1 clove roasted garlic, smashed (wrap in tin foil, coat in olive oil, bake 350 for 20 min)

3 T olive oil

1 t sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

I finally used the dressing mixer I received for a wedding gift 3+ years ago!  Nice some of the old "new" things we found by cleaning out and reorganizing via the move.

Original oyster salad recipe here.

Mine was over romaine lettuce and I included: oysters, boiled egg, sauteed shallot, tomato.

2. Shrimp Penne Pasta (Giada de Laurentis)

Josh requested this dish for his bday dinner at home.  I wanted to try something new, but obliged since he was the birthday boy.  Next time (when it isn't his bday!) I'll try with a different pasta other than penne.  I like something a little more delicate.

Recipe here.

3. Roasted Okra

Okra is one of my favorite foods.  I loved the oven-fried version I tried a month or so ago.  This roasted version was just as tasty!  I was originally going to serve with a spicy ranch or lemon aioli, but it really didn't end up needing it (and I was hungry).

Ingredients:

8 oz. whole okra (I used frozen because it's what I had on hand)

1 clove garlic

1 T olive oil

S & P to taste

Cut the top off the okra then cut each piece length wise into about 3 thin pieces.

Mince clove of garlic.  Toss okra with minced garlic and 1T olive oil.  Spread as single layer on cookie sheet.

Bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes, flip with spatula and bake another 8-10 minutes (until brown and slightly crispy).

When they came out of the oven my convo with Josh went something like this:

Me: Hey Josh, would you like to try some okra since you liked it last time?

Josh: (pretty enthusiastically) Yes, sure!

Then he eyes my roasted okra.

That's NOT okra!

Well, I didn't give him a chance to rethink his first impression because I downed the whole plate.

One pic from the weekend -- perfect to spend a little time at the beach and some time working in the yard (pics to come) and relaxing at home.

Hope you had a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

XO,

Whit                                                 

Never a bad day at work

when every day is "bring your dog to work day."

I challenge you to show me a cuter assistant.

XO,
Whit

PS- Bay and KJ -- this was for you ladies!!

Bloom Theory Straps

Did you see these featured on Matchbook yesterday?  I am dying for one of these straps for my new camera.  Only dilemma is deciding which one...

I'm leaning towards #1 ("washed ashore") or #7 ("bohemian belle").  Which do you like better?  Which is more practical for having on my camera every day?

XO,
Whit

I'm still alive...

I've just been busy and slightly unmotivated to post lately.  I'll try to get back into making it part of my routine -- if you all haven't completely given up on me.  I'll warn you though -- none of this is really very exciting or newsbreaking -- just a little glimpse into our everyday life.

Quick recap on what we've been up to...

Josh turned 32 a few weeks ago -- I can hardly believe it.  We celebrated with his family at the Angus Barn where they surprised him with a cake with quite the hint written in the message! :)  

NO, we aren't actually expecting!!

I got myself a new grown-up camera (Canon Rebel T3i) and my main subject (victim?!) is poor Olive.  She actually has been quite the sport -- her father, not so much.

I did one small project last weekend while Josh was away at guy's weekend.  Funny how this ended up taking me most of an afternoon -- four paint variations before I was satisfied.

This was the point in the project I started really liking the unpainted version better.

The Raleigh painting needs a simple frame and to actually be hung, but happy with the general idea of how the urns look with the art and busy bookshelves.  In the end the technicolor was just too much with all the random knick-knacks in the bookshelves -- at least for me.  Trying not to overdo it.

Kathryn and Maeby had a sleepover with O & I while the boys were at the beach.

Did you know Mandolin has a new bar menu with $9 and $10 range entrees?  We enjoyed the BBQ sliders and chicken with mac & cheese.

Ok, if you are still reading, I'm impressed.  More to come later this week!

XO,

Whit

Amateur Abstract Art

I worked on my first DIY project in the new house a week or so ago and have been back and forth loving and hating it for the last week.  Tell me your honest thoughts.

First - let's start with the big picture - some living room dreaming:

from Ryland Woodard's blog

via Pinterest (I think originally Lonny Mag, but now it's not linking?)

We now have a formal living room that is a pretty good size, but I'm still working on a tight allowance which means getting creative and thrifty.  I bought a very sentimental couch from my sweet aunt in December and then moved some other pieces from around Edenton Street into the living room to give the room a few pieces to start.  However, I didn't have much to donate to the living room walls and there is a huge wall behind the couch that needed something pretty massive.

Flipping through design magazines for the last year I kept finding myself drawn to formal living rooms with traditional furniture and a pop of modern art.  Then I started seeing art I loved on blogs and Pinterest and I realized what was drawing me to it was the beautiful colors.

Lindsay Cowles "Southern Moonlight"

Kristy Gammill "All You Need"

So I decided to give it a go.  Well, abstract art is harder than it looks.

Jerry's Artarama has the best and most reasonable supplies (Raleigh peeps-- it is in the shopping center where Trader Joe's is on Wake Forest).  Those huge bottles of paint were $4.99 - $8.99 -- sure beats $20 something for a small tube.  I knew I'd need a lot of acrylic paint for my 48" x 48" canvas.  All supplies for this project cost $125 -- not bad for a HUGE piece of art and I have tons of paint left for future projects.

I wanted to be able to mix the colors so I did a lot of rinsing my brushes in my water cup and quick painting. This whole project didn't take too much longer than an hour or so.

While I was looking at the canvas, deciding what to do next...someone came over and stuck her snout in paint.

About this time Josh came home and informed me he wasn't crazy about modern art -- he prefers landscapes. :) 

Lots of bright colors!

Here it is resting above the couch (which by the way, is greener in person).  I want to have it framed in simple gold frame if I keep it in the living room.

I knew I'd need a few other bright pieces to pull this room together.  Then while at AB this weekend Jean and I found this pillow.  Do you think even with all the colors it is still dressy?

View from kitchen/den

Wish list / inspiration board (some of these are quite pricey, so I'm searching for "look for less") to freshen up the room without adding too much more color:

Links: 1 2 3 4 5

Ok - honest feedback?  Have I totally lost it?

XO,

Whit

We survived the move

We made it with all of our stuff and sweet pup to our new house.  Thanks so much to our family and friends for already helping it feel like home with their visits and endless hours of packing and unpacking.

Just some cabinet and other random punch work left.  Can't say enough good things about Gephart Hill.  If you are considering renovations or building you need to call these guys -- absolute class act & pleasure to work with on this project.  

Here are a few pics I snapped of our weekend:

My strong father-in-law was able to fix our chandelier by bending the very bent arm back to the correct position.  I am so happy it didn't break!

Then Saturday mom, dad & Bailey arrived to help.  Mom & Bailey unpacked my kitchen while Dad was put to work doing some hanging.  

We had a fun Otto / Collins joint family dinner Saturday night.

Better late than never -- 6 weeks late, but mom finally got her gift and cake (thanks to Jean for making the cake!).

One of my besties, Caroline, was a honorary Collins for the night!

After giving Josh a hard time for taking it easy on Friday (how did I end up at the old house with the movers while he was relaxing at the new house with DirecTV?) :)  He MORE than made up for it Sunday by spending hours in the yard in the rain.

And then we all felt exactly like Olive in this picture!

I've already done one DIY that has received mixed results...will share in the next few days to get some HONEST feedback.

XO,

Whit

50 Shades of BLUE

My long awaited kitchen chandelier arrived and was hung a week or so ago.  It isn't turquoise, per se, but it isn't exactly a light Carolina blue that I was hoping would blend with lots of blue & white china like my original inspiration board shows:

And uploading this picture just reminded me of another snafu...these Chiavari bar stools arrived and looked wayyyy too plastic!  Word of advice -- don't get hyper like me and order resin -- order wood!  Well, when FedEx quoted me $600+ to send them back I decided to have Robert Corprew lacquer them black for me.  In hindsight, black is probably better anyways, there is plenty of white in that kitchen! :)  Can't wait to see them this Friday.

The chandelier also had a bent arm.  Still working with Greenfront to figure out what Currey is going to do to fix it. :)  I really do love the light and think it is a great statement, but it hasn't been the easiest part of this renovation project.

I'm thinking I'll just add in some Majolica and various shades of blue glasses (Anthropologie) to have it all blend.

What do you think?

Cannot believe we are moving this Friday.  This! Friday!  Ahhh....off to pack more boxes while watching women's gymnastics.

XO,

Whit

PS- I'm still fuming slightly....someone stole a pair of our painted shutters out of the garage.  How strange and rude is that?!