by | Chelsea 

I am obsessed with these sandwiches. I love a regular BLT, but these take it to the next level. They have all of my favorite ingredients packed into one delicious sandwich: fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, pesto, bacon and tomatoes. 

I wish I could claim the recipe of my own, but it is one from Mr. Tyler Florence. Bird and I were watching one of his shows on the Food Network about two winters ago and he made these BLTs. I think we went straight to the store after the show and whipped them up for our supper. I have made them about 100 times since and they always hit the spot. These are a great crowd pleaser! I made them for my parents when they were visiting a while ago and they loved them - my dad is a picky eater and was scared of the fresh mozz because he claimed he wasn't going to like it (who doesn't like fresh mozz??) and he scarfed this sandwich down in 0.2 seconds. He is now a believer too.  

yield: 2 servings | prep: 5 min | cook: 15-20 min 

Ingredients

1 baguette, sliced lengthwise
4 slices applewood-smoked bacon
2 tablespoons pesto
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
handful fresh spinach leaves
handful fresh basil leaves
4 thick slices roma tomatoes
4 thick slices fresh mozzarella
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place bacon on top. Bake until golden brown and crispy; about 15 minutes. While the oven is still warm, warm up the baguette. Then, combine the mayo and pesto together and spread onto the bottom piece of baguette. Layer with fresh mozzerella, spinach, basil, bacon and tomato. Season with salt and pepper. 

Notes
-Recipe slightly adapted from Tyler Florence
-If your tomatoes are out of season or the texture of them looks mealy, you can bake the sliced tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper to heighten the flavors. This is what I do a lot in the winter months.  
-If you like a lot of sauce on your sandwiches, you can skip mixing the pesto and mayo together and spread the mayo on top piece and the pesto on the bottom piece of bread. 

by lesley

Who is watching Season 6 Mad Men? I was soo giddy about the new season! We don't have cable, so I don't watch it when it airs on Sunday night, but I look forward to Monday nights where I watch it from Amazon. I received the MadMen Cookbook for our wedding, and was waiting until the premiere of Season 6 to start cooking from it. I watched the last episode of Season 5 over and over again, each time it gave me the chills and goose bumps. I love the show, obviously the fashion and decor, and the drama. It keeps me watching them over and over again!
My husband and I enjoy the show so much we were Don and Betty twice for Halloween, and we frequently throw quotes around the house. I have been trying to master the hair from that era, it is coming along slowly! Well enough about my love for Mad Men, now onto the food of Mad Men.

After 30 minutes place a plate on the top of the ramekin and then flip over and slowly lift the ramekin up. 

Place your cilantro sauce in a ziplock bag and cut one of corners and drizzle around your avocado dunk. I added a bit more olive oil to it as well. Mix it all up and enjoy!

Serve with chips and enjoying this with your next Mad Man episode! 

by | Chelsea 

Let's talk hair! Ever since we got engaged, I have been brain storming hairstyles for my big day. I know that I definitely want something that looks romantic and not so done up. With our venue being outside (at a winery), I don't want to have to worry about my hair being out of place; so a hairstyle that is more carefree is what I am leaning towards. 

I am a lucky gal because my sister Christy is a hairstylist! My mom, sisters and me all have a secret board on Pinterest where we have been pinning like machines for our ideas for the wedding. If you were to peek at our board, you would see all sorts of hairstyle ideas for me and them. These are some of my top runners, it's just a matter of deciding on 'the one.' 

I love how this style is low, but has a ton of volume. I really enjoy all of the coiled curls. It looks very romantic and timeless. 

Granted I don't know how the back of her hair looks, but those bangs are fabulous! I love the loose pieces that frame her face. This makes me want to chop my bangs for the big day! This is also my color inspiration for my highlights. 

I love how this style isn't so perfect looking, but still looks fancy enough for a wedding updo. This is the type of 'do that I picture having some fresh flowers added to really jazz it up. 

This image is actually of my sister Christy. Every week on her blog, she features her weekly hairstyles for Lock Love Wednesday. This is one of my favorites that she has posted and I especially love the purple flower clips. 

I would love to hear which one your favorite is? 

by | lesley

One of my favorite things to do on a weekend is hunt around at local estate sales. Wake up, make coffee or get some at Starbucks and then go stand in line outside of someone's house awaiting all of the treasures to be looked upon. Normally when I got estate-sale hunting I am out all day going to about 3-5 different houses. I love all the eclectic things to be looked at, and I like looking at the inside of all the old houses that hold these estate sales, it is soo neat to see how people have decorated. It is truly inspirational. I have found some great unique pieces at estate sales; cocktail glasses, earrings, vintage wallpaper, furniture. Recently I went to a school estate sale. I was on the lookout for maps, but ended up with this mustard yellow metal bookcase that was used to house musical instruments. Very industrial looking, nothing like what was currently in my house. I thought I could replace the wooden crates in my sitting room with one big piece of furniture. I negotiated a great price, so I knew it was a must have.

The bookcase was in pretty rough shape. It had old masking tape stuck to all the shelves and some goop in random places. I put in some elbow grease, Goo Gone, and put a putty knife to it and cleaned it up.

I love how the bookshelf has double deep shelves that can be adjusted at any height to accommodate changes if I rearrange. It came with 5 shelves, but I am only using 3 currently. I am in love with how it turned out and fits in with our sitting room. 

I decorated it with some new and older pieces. Placed one of my dad's old maps of upper Michigan behind the bookshelf to give it a fun backdrop. I added our record player, I thought it was a perfect spot, and the top of it opens up easily for listening. 

I placed some succulents on the top of the bookcase because this corner of our sitting room gets great light. Placed some of my most beloved wedding pictures on here. The black and white picture is one of the only pictures from my Grandparents wedding day from when they eloped. The other are my parents on their wedding day and a picture of my engagement shoot. 

I can't wait to share more updates from my sitting room soon!

-inappropriate? yes, but I have been laughing out loud at this magnet all week!-

- finally painted this canvas I've had hanging on my wall for over a year! - 

by | lesley

It has almost been a year since I got married. Crazy how time flies by, I blinked and it is almost our 1 year anniversary! Sometimes I still can't believe that I'm married! One thing that I remember a lot about my wedding was picking out my makeup; I looked forward to it the most. All of the details, crafting, and bigger stuff was out of the way and I could just relax and shop for my makeup. I bought all new makeup for my special day, as Chelsea would say, "There is nothing better than fresh new makeup." So true. 
I did a lot of research before I walked into the makeup store, so I could try all the best products. I took one of my bridesmaids with me, Court, and we spent about 4 hours in the store. I spent the most time trying on lip colors and deciding on the best brand/type to go with, I ended with with Love from Lancome - worked great! All in all I loved all the products that I chose and don't regret any product. I'm sharing my top 5 must have products that you need for you big day or any special occasion. Primers are KEY for your big day. You do not want your makeup moving and grooving on your face. You want it to stay put. I have tried a lot of primers in my day, and have found the winners.

1. Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Light. I have used this primer for about 5 years, and LOVE it. The Photo Finish Light is oil free, 60% water, and has vitamin C in it to make your face the perfect canvas for your tinted moisturizer or foundation. 
2. Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. I have tried tons of eyelid primers, all of them left with me with crease or stuff smudging off of my eyes throughout the day. Finding the perfect eye primer for my big day  - was KEY! I got married in June (and last June was hotter than it is now!) and did a cat eye black eyeliner. And I did not want the to drip off of my eyes. This product didn't crease and my black eyeliner stayed put the whole day. I give this product 5 Stars. 
3. Too Faced Lip Insurance Lip Primer. It literally is lip insurance. My red lips were there for at least 8 hours. The red faded a bit, but I still had plenty of lipstick to wash off at the end of the end. I waited for this product to be fulfilled back on the shelves, so if you are getting married soon, go and get this now before it is out! You can get 20% right on your total purchase currently at Tarte.
4. Tarte Amazonian Clay Finishing Powder. This translucent finishing powder locks in all of your makeup in place. Put this on after all of your makeup is in place and it will seal the deal. 
5. Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner. You definitely want your eyes to "pop!" This eyeliner is the best one that stay all day and is not a pain to wash off (like most waterproof eyeliners.) The thin tip is the perfect size for lining your eyes. One benefit is that the liquid does not dry out for a long time either, so this product doesn't skip across your lids not make a perfect line.

by | Chelsea

This past weekend I had my first bridal shower that my sisters and mom threw for me. My family knows me well because they wouldn't tell me a thing about the shower as far as the menu goes since they know that I am obsessed with food and love surprises. Let me just say that they went all out! Every little detail was perfection. For the menu, they served all of my 'favorite things' everything from having build-your-own bloody mary's to cookie butter on a stick!! 

Here are some pictures to recap; note that most of these pictures were stolen from my sister, Christy because I am one who always forgets to take pictures in the heat of the moment! 

-welcome chalk board sign-

on the menu: 
bloody mary bar
iced coffee
fruit punch
meat & veggie egg bake
applewood smoked bacon
fruit & yogurt parfaits
waffles with fresh whipped cream & berries
homemade scones
veggies shaped like tulips (my fave flower)
cookie butter on a stick

-this one was hilarious to see because they know I eat cookie butter off of a spoon with chocolate chips on it at home-

-almost too pretty to eat-

-Bird's mama, Chawn came and was a saint by helping out with all of the kiddos-

-me and my mama with mouths full of food-

-they even made honey favors for everyone [how sweet it is to be loved by you]-

-my little nuggets even helped me open up my presents [nice face Christy]-

-the gals who made my shower amaze-
[L to R: my mama, sister Cara, me, and sister Christy]

by | lesley

For being gluten free I am always searching for new recipes or new ways to incorporate flavor into my meals and not getting caught up in the same routines that we all sometimes get into. Rice has become one of my closest friends on this journey, and I have really enjoyed cooking with it. I recently had a girls date at one of St. Paul's great cafes, Cafe Latté, and had an amazing cold salad. For you Minnesotans you know what I am talking about, for those who don't; they have great coffee, amazing salads and even better desserts, some would argue they are drool worthy. I had something similar to the above, and tried to recreate it for Chelsea's housewarming party, and it turned out pretty tasty. It has a somewhat sweet and fresh salty taste with a great crunch. Take to your summer gatherings, graduation events, or your dinners when you sit outside on your porch. 

Ingredients List:
4 cups of cooked rice
1 1/2 cups raw unsalted cashews
1 1/2 cups dried apricots sliced up
1 lemon
2 1/2 cup cauliflower
1/2 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup apricot jelly
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup sliced carrots
dash of salt

Prep Time: 35 minutes | Serves: 14 | Calories Per Serving: 390 | Fat: 13 grams 

In a pan cook 2 cups of raw rice and let cool. Would be okay to cook the day prior. Once cooked you should have 4 cups of cooked rice. Add 4 cups of rice to a big bowl, set aside. In another pan place your chopped up cauliflower into a sauté pan, add in 2 tablespoons of cold water and a half of juiced lemon and cover with lid and let steam for about 5 minutes. Once done take off burner and let cool. 
Place sesame oil, apricot jelly, and coconut milk into a different bowl and mix together. Add in cashews and apricots and mix in with the sauce. Once mixed together add to your rice. Add in cold cauliflower, sliced carrots, and other half of squeezed lemon juice. Mix all together and add salt to taste. Serve right away or store in the fridge covered up to a week. 

-had realllllly nummy pizza at the farmer's market-

- Saw the third rendition of The Great Gatsby, it surpassed my expectations (because it is such a sad story) and of course the fashion was swoon worthy! -