Witty & Delightful

Target has been rolling out an amazing collab this year. They partnered with some of their favorite pinners to create Pinterest party worthy products, and I am so on board. 

They first caught my attention when they partnered with Joy Cho of Oh Joy! She has continued to design whimsical party goods since her initial collection last spring. They also did work with Jan Halvarson of Poppytalk, and most recently released their witty & delightful collection with the wonderful Kate Arends from Wit & Delight.

Pictured above is the wonderful Kate. I had never read her blog until my sister helped me catch wind of her Target collection. I instantly found myself completely distracted in my capstone class and completely enthralled in her blog. 

These are a few snapshots from the rustic and whimsical launch party Kate threw for the September 14th launch of her collection. The Minneapolis based blogger filled this studio space with good food, better people and her great products as the focal point. I wish I could have been invited to the party so I could eat the luscious cheese board in front of Kate. 

Kate's collection is perfectly described by using the title of her blog, it is witty and delightful. She uses black, white and gold to create party goods and barware. My favorite pieces include the Oh Beer! bottle opener and her funny phrase pencils (click the link to see all the phrases enlarged). The "beerly beloved" one really gets me. Below are more of my favorites! 

beverage bucket/bottle opener/decks of cards/serving tray/pencils/chalkboard labels

Kate and Joy's party products are available on Target.com. Jan's Poppytalk products are sold out, but you can see all three of the pinner's collections on Target's Pinterest page. I'm now brainstorming different party ideas so that I have a reason to buy all of their goodies! 

I must say, everything is so well priced and so darn cute I'm just going to have to buy it all. This always seems to happen...darn it, Target strikes again.

Annie

Bites of My Life

Last week I tried to detox from my smartphone, it went terribly. I sort of came to the realization that if I want to pursue a career in social media than maybe that can be my excuse for being attached to my phone. I'm working on being better, but there is just so much going on in the virtual world, right?

Got to dress up like my girl Zenon on Friday for my sorority's date party. My inner 7 year old had "zoom zoom zoom, make my heart go boom boom," on repeat in my head all night. 

Spent Saturday night at home housesitting for my parents. After a visit to my favorite, now Oklahoma City shop, I relaxed with red wine, a best friend and the OU game. 

Finished the weekend with homework, a comfort food roomie dinner and watching The Fault in Our Stars for the first time. Wowza is that movie good, yet so sad. A must see if you haven't already. Not to mention it's incredible soundtrack. 

-Homemade tofu cashew curry for Monday night din.

-Pomegranate chips and Jesus on the back deck. Never tasted anything like them, but they are kind of rocking my world. 

-Cookie decorating with my Big Brothers Big Sister's little. Love sharing what I love with the little sis I never had!

-A lovable breakfast post date party! I'll never get tired of this meal!

-Pulled out my calligraphy stuff since I hadn't practiced in months. Turns out it's more like riding a bike than I thought! 

-Double Chocolate Coconut cookies for my homecoming group. Turned out better than expected. 

-New goodies from Chirps & Cheers! They are officially open in Midtown and the store is more wonderful than ever!

-Roomie dinner minus one. Zucchini Lasagna with pesto, pea and corn salad. 

-Dreamy Nighttime drink to wind down with on Sunday. 

Annie

Time to Unplug: A 7-Day Smartphone Detox

Not your normal juice cleanse or a whole foods detox, but a relevant detox none-the-less. I'm way to attached to my smartphone and other technological devices. I check instagram, Facebook, snapchat, email and even Yelp far too many times during the day. First thing when I wake up, again while I eat breakfast, on my way to class, during class, last thing before I fall asleep...you get the idea. I can't even put my phone down to watch a TV show these days, I'm in a constant state of multi-tasking and it's time I get a grip. 

I think everyone can relate to this addiction. Join me this week in a little smartphone detox. If you are one of the lucky ones getting the new iPhone 6 this may be hard for you, but let's take on the challenge. POPSUGAR created a 7-day detox giving you a small step each day to help weed you off being on your phone so much. I started yesterday, but jump in with me today and let's give it a whirl. 

Monday:

Unfollow people who aren't your real friends, unsubscribe from unwanted email lists, and delete apps you don't use.

Tuesday:

Turn off push notifications.

Wednesday

Resist the urge to look at your phone first thing in the morning.

Thursday:

Set up a charging station outside of your bedroom, and don't look at your phone an hour before bed.

Friday:

Go out to dinner, and leave your phone at home.

Saturday:

Spend the day not looking at or posting to social media.

Sunday:

Turn off your smartphone for the entire day.

Think you can do it? I'll check back in a week and we can both see how we did! 1-2-3 detox!

Annie

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Bites of My Life

A great post-DC week. Some cooking, some studying, and a sneak peek at fall weather. It was a wonderful week, but a more wonderful weekend.  OU playing Tennessee brought a lot of people back in town.  A weekend well spent with new friends, old friends and family.

-Baked from the book for Monday night dinner. Did you catch my Blogging for Books post? More on this great cookbook and recipe! -@dcdining still regramming my pictures even though I'm back in OK! My 5 second claim to fame. So what if I obnoxiously tag them in my DC foodgrams, they seem to like it. -Something blue showed up in my mailbox last week. Sara Kate Studios is expanding from online to a brick and mortar shoppe and it opens  this weekend! If you live around OKC make sure to visit the opening of Sara Kate's shoppe. She is my cousin's cousin so we are practically related. -My take on pad thai. Shirataki noodles, almond butter sriracha sauce, tofu and cashews! -My first try at an egg baked in an avocado. YUM. 450 degrees, 15 minutes. Scrape a little of the avocado out, crack your egg inside then top  with salt, pepper, sriracha and basil out of the oven. Perfect lunch.  -Tailgate success at MAMAS house. Love living under the same roof with these hoodlums. -A barbecue feast made for a fabulous game day. Not pictured are the abundance of sweets and chips and dips. It's not a party without food.  -There's only one Oklahoma.  Annie

Blogging for (Cook)Books

So I got this email. An email about a company that lets bloggers have access to a range of books as long as they review and post about their book. I'm not a reader but thought this might be a good opportunity to get into reading again. That was until I discovered they had cookbooks to choose from. Say hello to Blogging for Books. 

B4B has an array of fiction, non-fiction, business, craft, faith, healthy living and cookbooks etc. to choose from. I selected Vibrant Food by Kimberly Hasselbrink. This book is filled with beautiful images of seasonal produce, and the recipes inspired by them. I kept the book on my night stand for a few days, browsing through it each night before bed. 

Monday night was the night to cook from the book. I was feeling adventurous and wanted to test my cooking skills. I used Kimberly's recipe for Millet Stuffed Peppers with Tomatillo Sauce. Per usual, I adapted it a bit. Millet is a grain, but I found it hard to come by in my little Norman grocery stores, so I subbed it with red quinoa. Below is my version of the recipe, but do yourself a favor and pick up Kimberly's beautiful book to find the exact recipe along with other wonderful ones like Turkey Burgers with Balsamic Figs, Summer Squash Pasta with Green Goddess Dressing and a Salmon Banh Mi.

Stuffed Mini Bell Peppers with Avocado Sauce
serves 2

Ingredients:
16 ounces small sweet peppers (about 6 per person)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 cup of red quinoa, cooked,
1 small tomato, diced
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. chili powder
black pepper
feta, for serving

For the avocado sauce:
1/2 cup verde salsa
1/2 avocado
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 a jalapeño, seeds removed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, extra for garnish
juice of 1 lime
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cook your quinoa to the package directions. Once cooked, heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a sauce pan. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add the tomato and corn, and cook until the corn is heated through. 

Add your quinoa, cheese and spices to the veggies and let them all hang out together. Prep you peppers by cutting a slit from the stem to the end. Scrape out some of the membrane if needed. Using a small spoon, stuff a little bit of filling in each pepper (It's likely you will have leftover filling). Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. 

While the peppers are baking, combine all of your sauce ingredients in a food processor until combined. 

Serve your peppers laid out on a plate, pour sauce over your line of peppers then garnish with feta and cilantro! 

I am already a junky for good cookbooks but Blogging For Books just amped it up, I can't wait to request my next book! Check out their site to see how you can blog for books and see my full review on Vibrant Food here.

Annie

I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.