Monday Obsession {pre-labor day shopping}

Usually when I have boozy brunch with my bestie Elise I buy lots of expensive things.  I'd like to thank Belk for preventing that from happening because hey were having a super fab sale! I feel like it's some sort of pre-labor day deal and I lucked out by shopping early.  

OK really I just grabbed two items for myself and two things for 3 Putt while I was out but still -- crazy deals.  Go to Belk like yesterday people.  

So, are any of you kind of obsessed with floral blazers? I was really unsure of a big purchase but blazers are pretty timeless right? Or is that the wine talking? I figured I could try this one since it cost me all of $18.  (Originally $120!!!!)

Lets just look at Jessica Alba killing it in her floral blazer.

I'll try to report back if I can make this one work. 

I hope its a good fall transitional piece.  But if not, it cost less than a gel manicure.  

Good Dip = Popularity at Parties. Prep for Labor Day with the Single Gal.

Happy Saturday!  I  seriously can't believe it is almost time for football season and fall weather! Where has summer gone?! The Housewife and I will be drawing our SEC battle lines by next week.  My 1/2 Marathon will be here sooner rather than later {which means I should probably register for it instead of spending my money on Lilly sale items}.   It's clear I need to get organized.  

Since football season will be here and Labor Day weekend is always full of  invites for cookouts and parties I wanted to share a recipe with you that I got from my cousin that is a serious crowd pleaser. She brings this fabulous black bean, corn, and feta dip to tailgates and any other occasion and the best part -- it takes like 10 minutes to make.  Actually, I make it a lot at my house to just eat over the weekend.  All for me.  I don't even take it anywhere.  

Black Bean, Corn, and Feta Dip

*note, photo not mine. this stuff is so good I eat it all before I can think of taking a food picture.*

1 can of black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can of white corn, drained & rinsed

1 6 oz package of feta cheese, crumbled

4 scallions, chopped

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

pinch of sugar

directions: chop scallions, mix with black beans, corn, and feta. whisk together vinegar, olive oil, and sugar. pour over ingredients. toss. chill and serve with tortilla chips. 

*side note, if you don't dig onions lose the scallions.  i have made it both ways due to laziness and it still tastes perfect to me. also, i prefer blue corn Tostitos for the dipping.



Go forth and be popular at your parties and tailgates. Trust me.

Love you. Mean it.
~the single gal~

As God As My Witness...This Single Gal Will Never Go Hungry Again -- Well, Not This Week Anyway.

First off, many thanks to The Housewife for keeping the blog up and going for basically all of
October. This last month has been incredibly busy with training/complaining about training,
social activities, family stuff, etc.

I have been going non-stop for the last few weeks -- and I am exhausted.  Not
Scarlet O’Hara I-Lived-Through-The-Civil-War exhausted, but pretty close. I haven’t
been able to properly devote as much time as needed to my training this month
(Dear. Jesus. When. Can. I. Stop. Training. And. Run. This. Race. OMG.) 16 miles on the pavement this morning and our last 20 miles next week. We are in our training “peak”and it hasn’t worked out well with all the family activities, engagement parties, birthday parties, and squeezing in much needed time with The Housewife and our girlfriends that all ended up happening in the month of October. I tried my best to be everywhere and pretty much accomplished that goal.

So this weekend I gratefully fell into the black hole of “I’m {Happily} Not Leaving the House
(Except to Run and Maybe Go To Starbucks)” syndrome...or, we could dub this weekend -- “The Weekend I Finally Made Stuff from Pinterest!”

Since I am sick of microwaving almost all my Single Gal Meals I happily dusted off the crock pot and actually made a real meal (I am just as shocked as you are, trust.). One that I might be able to finish by Friday.

{chicken taco chili}

 

I ate this while having several severe heart attacks during the GA/FL game on Saturday. It
needed more chili powder and maybe some Tabasco to really get a good flavor, but since this
was my first try I’ll call it a sloppy win-- just like The Dawgs had this weekend. Georgia played some seriously sloppy football but thankfully ended up with a W.

And if you are wondering what I will be eating the rest of the week...

I also snagged this recipe off of Pinterest as well to try this weekend:

{pumpkin scones}

I am not sure why this picture is blurry.

 

Ok, these mis-shaped triangles of goodness don’t exactly look like they fell out of Southern Living Magazine, but they were delicious! And, as this example shows, no matter what they look like just throw them on a fancy plate, drizzle them with spiced glaze and ta-dah! 

Scones aren’t always my favorite because they are kind of crunchy and can be a bit dry but the spiced glaze really adds a lot to this fall pastry.  My house also smelled wonderful this morning while they were baking away in the oven.

{currently reading}

And, for those who may care about literature I also finished the book Dracula In Love by Karen Essex and managed to get more than halfway through a new book, The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen on my Kindle this weekend! I might even finish it tonight!!  I am not huge on book reviews so I have just linked them up to Amazon for your perusal.  I enjoyed/am enjoying both but they weren't/aren't 5 stars or anything.  

I love cooler weather where you want to cuddle up with the dog and your chicken taco chili and read all day!

Love you. Mean it. 

~Incredibly Productive Single Gal~

Fall Fridays

I don't know about everyone else but I'm really enjoying the return of college football, cooler weather and seem to have a hankering to bake bake bake! I was very disappointed to discover that the grocery store wasn't stocking any canned pumpkin yet. I've been waiting to make some fabulous pumpkin bread but had to settle for banana bread.

Pumpkin Bread Courtesy of Simply Recipes 

I forgot how September is almost sports "overload" with the start of football, trying to keep up with the potential wild card teams for baseball and the US Open. I think my head was spinning from all of the activity last weekend. I know I should watch the news in the morning but it's just so depressing I have now defaulted to Mike and Mike on ESPN (Greene is so cute). 

I promise to put up #1's handmade dress soon. It's almost done. We've had some factory mechanical issues over here in the Housewife household but I'm holding strong on the winning end of them. I will be sending my beloved vintage girl off for some servicing TLC next week so she can be in tip top shape. Besides I am also itching to do a fall applique for her like this:

We need something cute to go to the pumpkin patch this year. We didn't make it last year since she was about two weeks old. I will preface this by the fact that I may have my friend help me who actually has an embroidery machine but my machine can applique too. I'm in love with my new hobby in case you didn't notice.

What's everyone else been up to? Are you enjoying the temperature dips and tailgating? Anyone running  more like the Single Gal and myself? We will be the first to tell you we are SO very glad about these awesome running temps for our early morning Saturday runs (followed by an iced coffee from Starbucks of course). I hope they stick around.

The Housewife