Happy Easter 2013!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend eating ham, searching for eggs, decorating for spring time, and enjoying some time outdoors (while the weather is nice!) I’ve compiled a few of my favorite springtime/Easter posts. More coming soon, I’ve been so busy lately which I’ll share on my next post!

Happy Easter!

Chelsea

http://beautifullybright.blogspot.com/2012/04/happy-easter.html

 

http://beautifullybright.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-illustratedmolly-brett.html

http://beautifullybright.blogspot.com/2011/04/cabbagetown.html

It’s dinner time! Delicious autumnal soup & sandwich

Last weekend mom and I packed into the car and made the drive to Ellijay to find some yummy apples and such. I’m just going to say right now it was a crazy drive. Way too many people on the road and a long drive. We did, however, find some yummy things, like fried pies and fresh apple cider, and strange things, like yards full of unicorns, that made the trip worth it. We came home with bags full of apples and sweet potatoes which inspired me to find healthy and delicious recipes to use these farm fresh ingredients.
Tonight was soup night. And it is delicious!

Curried Sweet Potato & Apple Soup

• 3 pounds sweet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 sweet onion
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 apple
• 2 large carrots
• 1 cup cream
• 24 oz. chicken stock
• 1 tsp. curry
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• dash red pepper flakes
• salt and black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400° F.
2. Prick the potatoes with a fork, place on a baking sheet, and roast until tender, 40 to 45 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, chop your onion, celery, carrots, and apple. Add to a large pot and cook with olive oil stirring occasionally, until soft, 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Halve the potatoes, scoop out the flesh, and add to the pot. Add chicken stock (I added about half a box of stock, so 24 oz.). Mash veggies. Add cream, curry, brown sugar, pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until heated through, 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Serve and enjoy!

I served this yummy soup with these delicious crostini sandwiches.

Fig, Pear, & Brie Crostini
Slice ciabatta or other crusty bread. Toast the bread, drizzle with fig jam, top with brie, pear, and toasted walnuts. Drizzle more fig jam and add a fig or two to the top. So good!
Let me know what you think!

What is your favorite food on a chilly October night?

Bon Appetit!
Chelsea

Week in review ~ Antiquing in Marietta + Strawberry Lemonade

Why…Hello there! Sorry for the delay. I’ve just been lounging about as of late. Actually…I spent the entire weekend in bed sick, boooo! I felt so bad I didn’t even have the energy to post anything. Now that I’m back to work Stella here has the lounging part down for me. Must be nice being a cat in my house, hmmm.

 

 

Two weekends ago it was super duper hot mom and I went for lunch and an afternoon of guaranteed cooler surroundings, antiquing. Spending several hours inside a large air-conditioned building looking at tons of fun old stuff? Sounds good to me!

We went for lunch at Jack’s New Yorker Deli on the Marietta Square. It was a nice taste of the past. When I worked in Vinings I went across the street a lot to get lunch at the New Yorker. Meatloaf sandwich with mustardy slaw. Yum!

 

 

I have tons of vintage patterns in a bag somewhere! This is a great idea, frame them!

 

 

I thought this was sooo cute! Vintage napkin holder/toothpick holder. Unfortunately she had some bad cracks but I’ll definitely keep my eyes open for one in the future.

 

 

Mom put this precious antique child’s hutch on layaway for the downstairs bathroom. It’s going to be so cute!

 

 

I thought this was pretty amazing but ultimately decided not to splurge on “The King.” ;)

 

 

I did, however, splurge on these vintage books at the thrift store next door for the whopping price of $7. I thought the colors were very pretty on some and I’m going to repaper the rest for my bookshelves. I have tons of pretty paper from Il Papiro that I’ve been hoarding. Time to go to use! Just pulled out my instructions from printmaking in Montepulciano. I’ll share the finished product soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I hosted book club last week! It was fun and I had some tasty treats prepared. Strawberry lemonade, cherry toasted almond scones, cheese plate, watermelon. Recipe for a good summer evening soiree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out my previous post here for recipes for the cookies I made.

Strawberry lemonade was super easy, bought frozen lemonade, blended a few cups of strawberries in 2 empty cartons full of water(follow the recipe on the container, it calls for about 4 cartons of water) and mixed with the remaining water and lemonade mix. Sit overnight to let the flavors mesh. Before you serve it skim the pulp from the top. Pour over ice and enjoy!

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What’s everyone been up to? Any fun summer plans past or future? I’m trying to come up with a mini vacation in the next few months. Suggestions are welcome!

Up next #photoadayjuly catch up!

Have a bright night!

Bright Girl

Lovin’ from the oven

The other day I had the afternoon off so I pulled out the measuring cups and spoons and did some baking. I really enjoy baking, much more than cooking. My baked goods are always crowd pleasers and it’s been a while since I did any baking so why not?
I love looking through old cook books and seeing all of the retro culinary creations of the past. Like Frenchie sauces, jello salad, meat casseroles galore. It inspires me to bring things back and get all Julia Childs on ya’ll. Not sure if that will happen but that could be an interesting blog series? Thoughts?
For now here are some sweet treats. Toasted almond cherry scones & homemade chocolate chip cookies. I found this scone recipe on foodtv.com from Chef Anne Burrell here. I love making scones, I find them very simple to make and I can make a lot from a single batch. I never cut them into wedges in the traditional manner because I prefer making lots of bite sized scones. The toasted almonds and cinnamon make these scones really tasty!



I found this chocolate chip cookie recipe in my Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking cookbook, the recipe is online here. Instead of using 3 kinds of chips I opted for just a single bag of semi sweet. I looked through an old, old cookbook for tasty chocolate chip cookies and found this Williams-Sonoma recipe was exactly the same just with different kinds of chips. I can vouch that they are GOOD! Plain sugar and brown sugar, yumm!

Cookies & Milk

One of my Biltmore Dairy Farms milk glasses holds fresh flowers & the other holds milk for my cookies. :}

Fresh flowers from the garden

If you give a cat a cookie, he’ll probably want some milk to go with it.

What are some of your favorite baking recipes or family favorites? I’m always looking for something new to try!

Have a bright day!

Bright Girl

March photo a day challenge {Days 11-14} + Week in Review

March is rolling along! It has gone from chilly days, to storms, to 80 degrees today! Woah woah woah! Can we please have some springtime please?!

Here are my days 11-14 of my #marchphotoaday challenge pics!

Day 11}Someone you talked to today-Didn’t do much talking to human beings on the 11th. But Stella had lots to say…with her eyes at least. “Food???”

Day 12}Fork-Funnily enough I came across this article about the “Forking” diet in Marie Claire the other day. I don’t quite get it, I’m pretty sure I could eat anything with a fork given enough time and ingenuity. Plus I’m not sure gummy bears are exactly what they were shooting for here.

Anyways I came home and made this yummy meal. Homemade citrusy slaw, roasted red potatoes, and bbq pork chops. Put a fork in it!

Check out these yummy and easy recipes from Real Simple!

Day 13}A Sign-Old School. Next year will be 10 years. Woah.

Day 14}Clouds. Pretty clouds after a rainstorm.

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The other day I met with friends at one of my favorite places in Atlanta, Souper Jenny, for grilled cheese night! I had some delicious Matzo Ball soup + grilled frommage. Sadly I left Jane at home but she’ll definitely be coming along for the next adventure. Here is what Jane & I were up to around this time last year, enjoying the springtime weather! It’s no coincidence Jenny’s address is my favorite number. We were meant to find one another;)

We also hit up Camicakes on Peachtree for pre-dinner dessert. Hey sometimes it’s just right! Also quickly becoming a tradition. Red Velvet. Black & White, and Banana Cream.

We are learning about the color green and St. Patrick’s Day this week! Shamrock smoothies/Superhero juice was on the menu.

Checking out the beautiful domed window at work while enjoying the fountain with a petit bebe.

Well it’s hump day people!! Here is hoping the rest of the week goes smoothly.
Have a bright day!
Bright Girl