FRIDAY FIVE

I'm happy to say this week was a little bit better than last week. I have some great opportunities ahead of me and I'm looking forward to spending the weekend focusing on myself, spending time with family and friends, and embracing change that is inevitable. Here are a few highlights from this past week. Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

LIEBSTER AWARD

Have you ever heard of the Liebster Award? Well, to start, Liebster | ‘LEEB’-ster: is a German word which means beloved, dearest, kind, lovely, or sweetheart and The Leibster Award started as a way to help up and coming bloggers who have under 200 followers gain a larger following and network with other bloggers. I was recently nominated by the lovely blogger Rachel from Eat - Explore - Enjoy. Thank you Rachel!

SPICY BLOODY MARY RECIPE

Bloody Mary's are one of my favorite drinks; it doesn't matter the time of day, if I'm offered a Bloody Mary you can bet I'll take it. I was looking at the ingredients on the bottle of my favorite Bloody Mary mix a week ago and realized it was full of high fructose corn syrup and some other ingredients I didn't know much about. So,this past weekend I decided to create my own recipe and I'm so happy with how it turned out.

LUNCH AT CAFE LE PERCHE IN HUDSON

My mother's birthday is the first day of summer so I decided to meet up with her and my sister on Friday afternoon to take her out to lunch.

FRIDAY FIVE

This week has been a bit of a roller coaster for me to say the least. In hopes of trying to stay positive I've decided to share some of the highlights from my week to focus on the things that bring me joy. I hope you all enjoy your weekend!

STRAWBERRY & GREEN TEA SMOOTHIE

As much as I love my eggs and bacon for breakfast in the morning I'm trying to turn over a new leaf and incorporate more fruit and veggies into my morning routine. I am in no way a morning person and could probably sleep until noon every day if it didn't make me feel so guilty. That being said caffeine is my friend, however, I am also trying to cut back on my coffee intake. So, I decided to whip up this Strawberry & Green Tea Smoothie to start my Thursday off right.

SWEET & SAVORY SUMMER SALAD

When I was in college I lived close enough to the school that I could walk home and make lunch in between my classes. I maintained a pretty steady routine during that time and found myself preparing the same thing for lunch almost every day.

CRISPY GRILLED PIZZA

I love pizza. It's one of those foods I could eat once a week for the rest of my life and never tire of it. Last summer I tried grilling a pizza for the first time, but it was an absolute fail. So I made another attempt with a few alterations and I'm happy to say the results were wonderful!

 

GRILLED 'CAESAR' SALAD

I'm not trying to brag, but, um... I'm kind of turning into a grill master. I love the flavors that  appear when cooking over an open flame, so I've been putting anything and everything I can on the grill.

Last night was no different, I decided to take advantage of the perfect grilling weather and whip up a simple dish for dinner. Rather than making a large meal that takes 45 minutes to an hour to prepare I thought I'd keep things light and make a salad that was ready in less than ten minutes.

FOUR FAT FOWL ARTISAN CREAMERY

It's no secret I love cheese, so when I received an invite to the Four Fat Fowl private launch party at the Ginger Man on Friday night I was pretty excited and couldn't wait to see what this local business had to offer!

MOCHA FRAPPUCCINO

Remember the picture I posted on Instagram at the end of last week? I'll give you a hint: It was my attempt at The Londoner's Iceberg Lattes.