Friday Foodday

Hey lovebugs!
It's Friday Foodday! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!


Chicken Sausage Pizza
c/o Autumn

Ingredients

• 3  ounces  chicken apple sausage, chopped (such as Gerhard's)
• 2  teaspoons  olive oil
• 1 1/2  cups  vertically sliced Oso Sweet or other sweet onion
• 1  cup  thinly sliced fennel bulb (about 1 small bulb)
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1  (12-ounce) prebaked pizza crust (such as Mama Mary's)
• 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) shredded Gouda cheese
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh chives
• 
  
• Directions
• 1. Preheat oven to 450°.
  2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan.
  3. Add oil to pan. Add onion, fennel, and salt; cover and cook 10 minutes or until tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
  4. Place pizza crust on a baking sheet. Top evenly with onion mixture; sprinkle with cheese, and top evenly with sausage. Bake at 450° for 12 minutes or until cheese melts. Sprinkle evenly with chives. Cut pizza into 8 wedges.
  
  
  Perfect Party Cookies
  c/o Stephanie Cooks
  
  Ingredients
  1 cup flour
  1 cup yellow boxed cake mix
  1/4 tsp. baking soda
  3/4 cup butter, melted, and slightly cooled
  1 egg
  1 egg yolk
  2 tsp. vanilla
  1/2 cup sugar
  1/2 cup brown sugar
  1 cup chocolate chips
  4 tbsp. colored sprinkles
  Directions
  1- In a large bowl sift together the flour, cake mix, and baking soda. Set aside.
  2- In a bowl, beat together the melted butter, egg yolk, egg, and vanilla until slightly creamy. Add the sugars and stir well.
  3- Add the flour mixture, stir until well combined.
  4- Stir in the chocolate chips and sprinkles.
  5- Refrigerate for 30 minutes (the dough will be very runny).
  6- Preheat oven to 350.
  7- Once dough is chilled, scoop heaping tablespoons worth of dough onto greased cookie sheets. The dough should be slightly smaller than a golf ball. Keep dough cool until it goes in the oven.
  8- Bake 12-15 minutes, until the edges are golden and the center sets.
  9- Cool for 5 minutes on the sheet, then place on a cooling rack to cool.
  Mardi Gras King Cake
  c/o All Recipes
  
  Ingredients
  • PASTRY:
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
  • 2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  •  
  • FILLING:
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 2/3 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  •  
  • FROSTING:
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 
    
  Directions
  1. Scald milk, remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup of butter. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water with 1 tablespoon of the white sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
  2. When yeast mixture is bubbling, add the cooled milk mixture. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the remaining white sugar, salt and nutmeg. Beat the flour into the milk/egg mixture 1 cup at a time. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
  3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours. When risen, punch down and divide dough in half.
  4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
  5. To Make Filling: Combine the brown sugar, ground cinnamon, chopped pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup raisins. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the cinnamon mixture and mix until crumbly.
  6. Roll dough halves out into large rectangles (approximately 10x16 inches or so). Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough and roll up each half tightly like a jelly roll, beginning at the wide side. Bring the ends of each roll together to form 2 oval shaped rings. Place each ring on a prepared cookie sheet. With scissors make cuts 1/3 of the way through the rings at 1 inch intervals. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
  7. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Push the doll into the bottom of the cake. Frost while warm with the confectioners' sugar blended with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.

  
  
  Have a great weekend everyone!
  Be fabulous today!

Featuring the It List!

I am so excited for not only the weekend, but that the month of March is finally here! Let spring begin! Take some time to check out these amazing links today... there is so much inspiration, all in one place!!

• thought and musing is claiming to 'break the rules' with this belted scarf - but it looks absolutely perfect to me!
• yams designs is celebrating spring all week long (hallelujah!) and what better way to celebrate spring than with a sweet rainbow round-up. (find yams designs on twitter!)
• holly in heels rounds up comfortable pumps... yes, they do exist and yes, they are still lust worthy. Check out her picks! (find holly in heels on twitter!)
• jewelscapes is always creatively dressed and adorned with jewelry. I love this simple outfit featuring an orange top.  So simple and chic!
• the capital barbie is celebrating her birthday this weekend (Happy Birthday!) and will be shining in this gorgeous sequin number! Yay for birthdays! (find the capital barbie on twitter!)
• a spot of whimsy honors Martha Stewart as her current female "legend" - I'm a huge Martha fan and love these old modeling photos of her - gorgeous! (find a spot of whimsy on twitter!)
• sweetie pie style suggests sprucing up your home for spring with a few new throw pillows. I couldn't agree more and I just love her picks! (find sweetie pie style on twitter!)
• rose a la mode is searching for the best pair of platforms for spring, I love her choices and could definitely incorporate a few of these pairs into my own closet! (find rose a la mode on twitter!)
• undeniable style looks brilliantly beautiful in this pink gingham top - it's now my new must have for spring. I just love it! (find undeniable style on twitter!)
• a spoonful of dish puts together the ever popular 'room to outfit' post (I never tire of these)... featuring one of the best blogger's living rooms out there.
• daily crush is getting excited for Target's partnership with the always stylish Calypso St. Barth, it's sure to be a show stopper! (find daily crush on twitter!)
• rosy + tart rounds up purple pin-spirations.  I so wish I had a girly bachelorette pad to buy this purple stemware for! So pretty! (find rosy + tart on twitter!)
• shen dove style beatifully pulls off this faux fur look that makes me a little (only a little!) sad that winter is almost over. (find shen dove style on twitter!)
• second street east is already planning to decorate her patio for spring.  I love the trellis-style outdoor throw pillows she found! (find second street east on twitter!)
• good tots is loving Stella McCartney's children's line - but not so much the prices. Check out her more affordable options that still capture the fresh and funky look, including these adorable yellow wellies for kids! (find good tots on twitter!)

the IT list is organized by jill of good life for less... for more information on how you can be involved... click here!

Birthday Dress

You guys, my birthday is this weekend.  I'm excited!  It will be absolutely impossible to top last year but I plan on having a good time nonetheless.

Oh, you want to know about last year? Do ya? Too bad, I'm telling you anyway.  Last year my parents came down to DC (per usual) and took me and the BF out to dinner (where we sat at the table next to Larry King and my mother proceeded to call my gramma and flip out with excitement).  After dinner, we went to my parent's hotel to do gifts; I walk and my closest friends scream SURPRISE! Now please envision me slowly sinking to the floor in a silk dress with tears running down my face, and ripping my tights down the back.  Excellent.  It was the best birthday ever.  Family and friends all together just for me.

OK, moving on from that love fest.  This year I'm throwing a party with some friends and having a dance party.  It will be fabulous.  But now, this begs the question- what to wear?  Well I'll tell you!

Modcloth, Piano Bar Dress, $19.99 (sorry sold out!)

I will be sporting this amazing find and boogieing all night long.  

Some runner ups:

Shabby Apple, Black and White polka dot, $94

I love the cap sleeves and flare waist detail

Gap, Pleated drape dress, $59

This color allows for some serious bling to be added.  I love the pleating and gathering.

Lulu's, elegant aqua dress, $34

AH! How fun is this? 

Loft, Diagonal ruffle dress, $89

This color is gorgeous and I'm also loving the shoe combination.

Birthdays are the one time of year when you're supposed to look better than everyone else.  Wear bright orange, sequins, a tiara, or all three- it doesn't matter it's your birthday! But remember whatever you wear will inevitably end up on Facebook, so please make it good.

Be fabulous today!

Where the wild things are

Hey there lovebugs, happy hump day to you!  I hope you are having a great week!

Today I want to talk about a trend that isn't one of my go-to looks, but it will be making a comeback this summer.  Animal print.  While I may mix a leopard print shoe into my looks every now and then, I have never really embraced the animal print trend- until now.

BCBG, metallic animal mini, $35

I love this wavy zebra print in gray.  Really interesting pockets.

Ann Taylor, Ikat Leopard Top, $88

Only Ann Taylor could pull off a work appropriate button down in this print.  It's so chic!

Zappos, Anne Klein Fenton, $60

I'm obsessed with these.  Great print, stacked heel and rounded toe!

DKNY, Graphic leopard dress, $75

Let me tell you something, it is really difficult to find an animal print dress that doesn't make you look like a hot mess.  Now even though this model looks like she just woke up, the dress is really beautiful.  It's got a great neckline and a nice cinch at the waist.

So, animal prints are definitely a bold pattern to wear, especially between 9 and 5.  Personally, I'm more comfortable in stripes or polka dots but always try new prints because they might surprise you!

Be fabulous today!