Happy Monday! I have loved this pink CAbi coat since I saw it back in August. As you may know, pink is my signature color so this was obviously a must for me. Not only is the color gorgeous, but the details are just perfect: with the bow around the neckline and the gold buttons, it is the most chic coat ever!
My parents surprised me with this coat for my birthday and I was ecstatic! But the biggest surprise of all, my mom found a matching pink coat for Ella! Ella is typically extremely finicky about clothing, but she really seemed to like this coat. And it made her look so girly 🙂
Hope everyone enjoys this short week! Thanks for stopping by!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 3-4 tablespoons olive oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Season each side of the chicken with lemon juice, oregano, salt and pepper {I used about 1 tablespoon of both oregano and lemon juice on each chicken breast – but it’s up to you how much oregano you like…it’s strong!}. Cook chicken for about 5-6 minutes on each side until golden brown {my chicken was pretty thin, so just make sure each side is brown if your chicken is thicker!}. Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine 3/4 of the block of feta, cream cheese, Greek yogurt and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until incorporated. While the food processor is running, add about 1 tablespoon lemon juice; blend until smooth. Once chicken is cooked, cut into bite sized pieces. Wrap desired number of tortillas in foil and place on baking sheet in oven for about 5 minutes, or until warm. To assemble tacos, place about 1 tablespoon feta cream mixture on the bottom, followed by chicken, tomatoes and red onion. Garnish with basil and serve.
Happy Friday! Sharing this quick and fun take on tacos today. I don’t cook meat that often in our house {I like to say I’m a vegetarian except for steak and turkey sandwiches 😉 } but my husband loves chicken, so every once in a while, I try to incorporate chicken into our weekly menu. And this was a great and simple chicken recipe for any weeknight dinner! You could also add a cucumber or spinach to this {I just didn’t have either in the refrigerator!} for some added color.
Last week, A Blonde’s Moment celebrated it’s first birthday {you can see the post on that here}. To celebrate a year of blogging fun, I am giving away a fabulous J.Crew statement necklace. The giveaway closed last night at midnight and I’m excited to announce the winner…
Congratulations, Jackie! Email me at rachel@ablondesmoment.com 🙂
Thank you so much to all who entered!! Have a wonderful weekend!
2 pints cherry tomatoes {I used a mixture of red & yellow}
2 garlic cloves, minced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Split the squash in half and scrape out the seeds. Line a baking sheet with foil. Season the flesh side of the squash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the squash flesh side down and roast for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest until cool enough to handle. Decrease the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Toss the cherry tomatoes with garlic and olive oil. Spread out in one layer on a separate baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast 15 minutes until soft.
Once the squash is cooled, using a fork, scrape the strands of squash from the inside into a large bowl. Toss the spaghetti squash with the pesto and the roasted tomatoes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired, and serve.
There are several reasons why I love fall, one being the food. Squash is one of my favorite seasonal foods and spaghetti squash is probably my favorite kind of squash! This is an easy weeknight meal, that is not only nutritious, but it’s hard to tell this isn’t pasta. I typically serve this with a marinara as if it were pasta, but I wanted something a little more fresh with more flavors for last night’s dinner. {Also, we are having regular pasta with my homemade sauce tomorrow, so I didn’t want two similar dinners in the same week 😉 } Coming from someone who can never have too much pasta, it’s hard to tell the difference between regular spaghetti and spaghetti squash 🙂
Have a wonderful day!
P.S. Today is the last day to enter the J.Crew necklace giveaway! Giveaway closes tonight at midnight EST. For all the details and to enter click here 🙂
Sharing a little holiday festive outfit inspiration today on Wednesday Wishes!
I have been obsessing over full skirts as of late {see my beautiful blue skirt and collaboration with eShakti here}. No matter what color, full skirts just scream holiday party to me! And how fabulous is this red skirt?! The black with shimmering silver acts as the perfect compliment to the bright red, creating the most chic look for the holidays.
This past Sunday, I was invited to attend the Julie Bee’s pop-up shopping event here in Washington, D.C. Julie Bee’s is a handcrafted women’s footwear company based in Atlanta, Georgia known for their sustainable leather and Made in America pride. At the shopping event, I had the opportunity to interview the founder of Julie Bee’s, Julie Brown, and gather some insight into her American-based shoe company.
Julie Bee’s was founded in Atlanta in 2012. After living in D.C. for several years and experiencing political life on and off the Hill, Julie took the leap and started a footwear company designed for the working woman — for the woman who juggles work, family and friends, but still wants to look fashionable. She wanted to create the “12 hour shoe, not the 2 hour shoe.”
One important principle for Julie is American made — she loves the American dream and what it stands for and believes that to be one of Julie Bee’s company pillars. Julie Bee’s are made using Italian leather that has been dyed with vegetable dye, instead of other chemical dyes, which makes the shoes very high in quality. Some shoes even include special vintage pieces that give your shoe true originality.
As with any business, Julie says the biggest obstacle has been her naysayers and those who have questioned her experience. But, it is through the help of her loyal team that they are able to combat the pessimists and persevere. The group of people she has hired are selfless, which she has marked as one of her greatest achievements with Julie Bee’s.
Julie Bee’s can be purchased online or in their offices in Atlanta, but don’t look for them in department stores anytime soon. Julie believes that the online store allows them to be in charge of the branding experience with the customer, which is a top priority.
After trying on a few styles, I decided on the Atlanta ballet flats {I know, shocking I picked leopard!} Although the Westchester pumps were so comfy {my mom bought those!} I just couldn’t pass up the leopard {and I have a ton of black heels!}. Both shoes were so incredibly comfortable, you can see how the leather will mold to your foot as you wear them. Look for a post soon on how I styled these comfortable flats; they are in route to my house as I type 🙂
Looking forward, Julie discussed some spring 2015 trends and what we can expect from Julie Bee’s in the future. Be on the lookout for high-heel sandals with lots of straps with yellows and blues being the primary color focus. I am so excited to see what Julie Bee’s has planned for spring and beyond!
P.S. A special offer for A Blonde’s Moment followers: Julie Bee’s has given me two discount codes to use on your purchase of a pair of shoes for the first two people who email me that they are interested! Head over to My Julie Bee’s and have a look at some wonderful styles that are sure to impress!
If you find a pair of shoes you must have and are interested in the discount, please email me at: rachel@ablondesmoment.com. Hurry before my two codes are gone!
Happy Monday, everyone! I cannot believe we are almost a week away from Thanksgiving. Where did this year go?! And since Thanksgiving is so close, I definitely have holiday clothing on my mind. I have been obsessing over full skirts this season. They are so ladylike and just scream “holiday” to me.
eShakti is a custom clothing company for women that allows each customer to customize the size and fit of each piece to their liking. eShakti believes that custom clothing does not have to be expensive, and provide reasonably priced clothing at a very high quality. The idea of customizing clothing for the perfect fit peaked my curiosity. I cannot even begin to count the times I have gone to a store and seen a skirt that is just too perfect for words, only to find it is waytoo short. But, with eShakti, I was able order the perfect fitting skirt according to my measurements.
There were so many beautiful prints and designs to choose from, but I have really been eyeing a full skirt. And I just love the print of this skirt — it’s the perfect skirt to take you from fall into winter. The customizing process was super easy, with entering my height, the skirt length and the pocket option. Not only did my skirt come quickly {especially considering it was made especially for me!} but the photo online did not do this beautiful skirt justice. The colors are so vibrant and the quilted jacquard fabric is so versatile — I can definitely see myself styling this down with a chunky sweater and boots.
Overall, my experience with eShakti was fabulous. Not only is the skirt beautiful but it was made with my measurements, ensuring a perfect fit. eShakti is offering a 10% discount for all A Blonde’s Moment readers! Use code: “ablondesmoment” at checkout. The code is valid until December 10, 2014.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Split the hoagie rolls in half and arrange on baking sheet. Caprese Pizzas: spread 1 tablespoon pesto on the roll, followed by 2 slices of mozzarella cheese and 2 tomatoes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese {about 1/2 tablespoon} and salt and pepper. Roasted Pepper Pizzas: spread 1 tablespoon pesto on the roll, followed by 2 slices of mozzarella cheese and the sliced peppers. Sprinkle with crumbled goat cheese and season with salt and pepper. Place baking sheet in oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, turn the broiler on for about a minute {watch it closely so it doesn’t burn!}. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Happy Friday, everyone! I don’t know about you, but this past week just flew by! I was in need of a quick dinner the other night, so I thought I would make these little french bread pizzas. I have made meatball french bread pizzas before but I thought I would take the vegetarian route this time. I have to say, these turned out so much better than the meatball ones. I had used french bread {the fresh kind you can buy in the bakery section at the grocery store} with the meatball pizzas and, at the time, they seemed fine. But after trying these, I now know the bread secret…store-bought Italian hoagies! They were more crispy then the fresh-baked bread and made for the most delicious “crust”. The great thing about these french bread pizzas is that you can literally use any toppings you would like. It’s so fun to experiment with different pizza toppings and making new, yummy combinations.
It may be cliche, but time sure does fly when you’re having fun. It’s hard to believe that today marks A Blonde’s Moment’s first birthday. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting down to write my first blog post {you can see it here}. Blogging was something I always wanted to do, but never set aside the time to do it. I was first introduced to blogging my senior year at Duquesne University where I took a Web 2.0 class that was an elective for my English minor. Little did I know how valuable that class would end up being.
Although A Blonde’s Moment has transformed a lot in a year, from sharing a few recipes and fashion pieces and the general goings-on of our life in the DC area, I couldn’t be more happy with where A Blonde’s Moment is today. It started out as something fun to do in my “spare time” and now it has become all-consuming…and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
As we mark A Blonde’s Moment’s first birthday, there are a few exciting things ahead. A new website is coming soon and I cannot wait to share it with all of you. But first, in celebration of A Blonde’s Moment’s first birthday, I have a special surprise for all my readers. I am giving away this J.Crew statement necklace to one lucky follower! I have one myself and I just love it. I actually find myself wanting to buy more tops so I can wear it more often…it’s that beautiful. This is definitely a birthday giveaway you don’t want to miss!
Entry Rules:
1. Instagram: Share this giveaway on Instagram & tag @rach.mccarthy.
Use #ablondesmoment so I can see it!
2. Comment below: Let me know how you would style this fabulous statement necklace! {Click on the callout box below to comment}
Giveaway closes November 20, 2014 at midnight EST. A randomly selected winner will be announced November 21, 2014. Good luck!!
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported and followed A Blonde’s Moment over the past year. I’m so grateful for all your love and cannot wait to continue this journey with you for many years to come 🙂
Happy Wednesday! Today’s Wednesday Wishes is taking a different spin: how to achieve a fabulous fall look for less. These two complete outfits are virtually identical in appearance, but not in price. After adding up each side separately, here are the results {give or take any sales and/or promotions}: the entire “save” outfit comes to $374.60 while the entire “splurge” outfit comes to…are you ready?! A whopping $3,620.80! It’s honestly difficult to believe, isn’t it? Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have all these “splurge” pieces {especially the Stuart Weitzman over-the-knee Highland boots and the Chloe bag!} but how can you pass up the deal on the left?! Achieving a fabulous look doesn’t have to cost a fortune!
30 ounces of canned beans, drained & rinsed {I used a mixture of chickpeas & cannelloni beans}
Splash of lemon juice
Parmesan cheese for garnish
Salt & pepper to taste
Olive oil
In a large pot, heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat; add the onion, carrot and celery. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the zucchini, green beans and garlic; cook for another 2 minutes. Pour in the vegetable stock, crushed tomatoes, water, rosemary, thyme, parsley, sugar and salt and pepper; bring to a boil and decrease heat to medium low and allow to cook about 15 minutes. Stir in the uncooked quinoa, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add the beans, kale and splash of lemon juice and cook until the kale begins to wilt, about 3-5 minutes. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and crusty bread!
A fun and healthy take on traditional minestrone, the kale and quinoa combine for a delicious and vitatmin-packed soup. You can add a number of different vegetables to this soup, but I love the way the kale combines with the traditional soup ingredients of onions, carrots and celery, along with the tender zucchini. If you would prefer keeping with the traditional pasta in your soup, you can definitely switch the quinoa out, you would just have to cook the pasta separately and add it to the soup at the end 🙂 I served this delicious soup with the most wonderful, crusty bread from Wegmans. {If you have a Wegmans even remotely close to you, it’s a place you must check out!} This is the perfect soup for a fall or winter evening, and the best part is it’s healthy too!
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