N'awlins - Part 2

The conference went really well in NOLA. Here is a quick recap....

The conference was held at the Hotel Monteleone, the location was awesome and the rooms were nice!

We kicked off the conference with a reception, on the 52nd floor of the offices of Jones Walker. The view was amazing!


In my free time, I had to stop and get char grilled oysters from Acme!! Yum!

I also walked through Jackson Square and did some people watching!

The conference dinner/reception was held at Latrobe's on Royal and featured Deacon John and the Ivories! They were amazing! The band is in the second episode of the the new mini series on HBO called Treme, which is a show that takes place in NOLA.

Overall, everyone had a great time! I think I only gained a couple pounds from all of the oysters, po boys, shrimp and grits, boudin balls, and the list goes on...

Mamacita

I'm loving this new restaurant in Nashville, Taco Mamacita! We went to celebrate a friends birthday while I was in town there. The atmosphere is awesome and I love the outside patio. It's in a upcoming part of Nashville and it's a great place to people watch!

Their margaritas are great and they have one called the Skinny Margarita that is only 100 calories!!

We started off with a sampling of cheese dip, guacamole and salsa. We definitely finished all three! So good!

They have great tacos, enchiladas, their tortilla soup is suppose to be amazing and their nachos were huge!!

I went with the tacos - pick two and ordered a Club Royale (a double-stacked taco filled with roasted chicken, salsa verde, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, creamy black bean mash and chipotle cream sauce) and a Baja Fish (panko breaded tilapia served with crispy Napa cabbage, authentic Mexican white sauce, pico de gallo, sliced radishes and cilantro). For my side I went with sweet potato fries, so not what you would think would be good with tacos but was awesome!!

If your in the Nashville area you definitely should stop by! They also have a location in Chattanooga.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

In my last post, I left off the desserts we had for the shower. We did several lemon bars, miniature cheesecakes, brownie bites and my favorite - chocolate covered strawberries! I had never made them before, but was pleasantly surprised how easy they were!!

All you need is chocolate bark, strawberries and wax paper.

Wash the strawberries and pat dry before you dip

Dip/roll the strawberry around in chocolate (make sure it's the bark)

Set to Dry

Now if I only I had one waiting for me in the kitchen right now...

Oh Baby Baby...

I got back to Columbus today and it feels great to be home! I have been laying around on the couch, cooked a pizza for dinner, and I'm about to watch 48 hours (one of my favorite shows!!) However, I am SOOOO ready to see AK, he's on a bachelor party and doesn't get back until Monday!

It's been a long three weeks, but has gone by so fast!

Nashville was really great! Since I was there for a little while I got to see a lot of friends and do a lot of things (got a pedicure, oh how I do wish we had a signature nails in C-bus, did some shopping and ate lots!!) Also, while I was there my college roommates and I threw our first baby shower for our other roommate! We had so much fun planning and throwing it!

Here are a few pictures...

the beautiful mom to be!

Yummy Mimosas!

Tasty Brie, Chicken Salad, veggies, fruit, quiche!

Take - away gift for all of the guests!

Oh, I can't wait to meet Trey!!!

N'awlins

I haven't been doing so good with my blog since I have been in Nashville. I have been a bit crazy and tomorrow I am leaving for New Orleans for a conference I have been planning for what seems like forever! But it's here tomorrow and I think I'm ready!! I am heading back to Columbus on Saturday and ready to get back to AK!

I'll catch up with all the fun Nashville festivities (my fav new restaurant, shopping, and a good friend's shower) once I get back and are calm again....for a moment. Have a great week!

62

Today would have been my dad's 62nd birthday. We decided to celebrate his life tonight by going to one of his favorite places - The Loveless Cafe. He loved their country ham!

After dinner, we went to the cemetery and put up some new spring flowers. I know he is probably trying to rearrange them, because they aren't in the vase just right.... :) Oh the type A personality, how I do miss that!

It was such a beautiful day to celebrate his life!

Nash Vegas

Today, I'm heading to Nashville for the next two weeks! EEKK!! I haven't been away from AK for this long since we have been married.

I'm looking forward to visiting with family, hanging with girlfriends and believe it or not, going into the office. I never thought I would miss it, but I do!

Roasted Asparagus

YUM YUM, is all I have to say about this recipe! Last night for Easter Dinner AK and I made a feast. My favorite dish that we had was the pioneer woman’s Roasted Asparagus! (If you haven't heard of the pioneer woman, her food is amazing!!) I’m talking so good and so easy!! I picked up some fresh asparagus from Whole Foods and followed these directions:

Ingredients:
1 bunch Asparagus
4 Tablespoons (up To 5 Tablespoons) Olive Oil
Kosher Salt To Taste - I have been watching my sodium intake lately so I left the salt out and added a little Miss Dash instead.
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
After you wash the asparagus thoroughly, stack a bunch together and lop off the tough/thick bottom an inch or so.
Spread out the asparagus in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Pat it as dry as you can, as you don’t want any water to “steam” the asparagus in the oven.
Begin by generously drizzling olive oil all over the asparagus and then sprinkle the asparagus generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Roast the asparagus for about ten minutes. The secret here is for the oven to be very hot so the asparagus can begin to brown on the outside without overcooking and getting too flimsy. You want the finished asparagus to still have a bite to it.

Enjoy!

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter! The weather here is absolutely gorgeous! I opened the door this morning to let some fresh air in and found this beautiful tree in full bloom!

Enjoy this day and especially God's Beauty!