Why I heart Cincinnati + an amazing Etsy shop!!!

There are SO many reasons I love Cincinnati. The people are wonderful, you get to experience all 4 seasons, we have our own MLB and NFL teams, our downtown is hip and up and coming, the food will rock your socks off, there are amazing parks and museums and it is home. I was browsing Etsy one day (dangerous past time) and looking for a Cincinnati print for our guest bedroom and I came across Farin's fabulous shop, Seaworthi. Farin is a graphic designer from Cleveland who obviously loves Ohio as much as I do because many of her prints show the amazing features of cities in Ohio. I love the mixture of different fonts and graphics. She captured my favorite Cincinnati spots perfectly!

She sent me this print and I'm in love. It comes in several different colors, but I had to go with Buckeye Red. I immediately went out and got my print framed and it is now in our guest bedroom so out of town guests can see how awesome Cincinnati is.

Now if you aren't from Ohio don't tune out because Farin also has some adorable prints for you non-Ohioans too! I love the Lumineers quote print below. Click here to see details about it.

So go visit Farin's shop now and then add Cincinnati to your list of places to visit...on your way to somewhere else. Haha. But really, Cincinnati is a wonderful place to live! What other city has a Purple People Bridge and Flying Pigs?

I'm a sucker for lost pets...

If you know anything about me you know that I have a HUGE heart for animals. My house growing up must have had a sign on it that said LOST PETS WELCOME because they all ended up at our doorstep. Well even after I moved out, somehow lost pets know where to find me. When I see a lost pet I have this problem...I have to stop whatever I'm doing and help it. I have been known to stop in the middle of intersections, run down railroad tracks and even stop on my way to a wedding in my high heels to save an animal. I just can't help it!  Read this if you don't believe me.

So this weekend we had a little visitor on our front porch and Drew and I were smitten with him...

Since we know most of the pet owners in our neighborhood we knew this little guy was lost so what did we do? We decided to take a picture of him and set off to find his owners as we would want someone to do for us! We walked door to door and collected clues about the mystery kitty. Have you seen this kitty?

After talking with about 5 people up and down random streets and knocking on about 10 doors, we hit the jackpot. We found the kitty's owner a few streets behind our house. We rushed home to make sure that the kitty was indeed still on our porch, which he was and we took him to his home. He was such a sweet kitty and my heart was full knowing he was back with his family safe and sound.

The next day a lost dog was walking down our sidewalk...I swear I let off some type of signal that says I'm a sucker for lost pets.

Swedish Meatballs + Cookbook WINNER!

Today I'm sharing another recipe from the amazing cookbook, Dinner A Love Story. Thanks to all of you who entered to win a copy. The lucky winner of this cookbook is....AMANDA! Congrats girl. Send me an email with your address and I will have Jenny ship out your cookbook to you!!

Ever since an IKEA moved in near my house, people have been talking about their Swedish meatballs. So when I saw a recipe for Swedish meatballs in Jenny's cookbook I decided it was about time I try them and I'm glad I did! Here is what you will need...

• 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 2 1/3 cups low-salt beef stock, divided
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 cup minced onion
• 2 thick slices bacon, minced
• 1 pound ground beef
• 3/4 pound ground pork
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sour cream, whisked
• Lingonberry preserves (found at IKEA) 

-Start by mixing the breadcrumbs and 1/3 cup beef stock in a small bowl. Set aside. 

-Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer onion to a large bowl

-Wipe out pan and return to medium heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to bowl with onion. (Reserve bacon fat.) 

-Add next 8 ingredients to bowl with onion mixture, mixing with your hands to blend. 

-Fold in breadcrumb mixture. 

-Using a 1 Tbsp. measure, roll meat mixture into balls; transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.  
 -Melt 1 Tbsp. butter with reserved bacon fat in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat. 

-Working in 3 batches and adding 1 Tbsp. butter between batches, brown meatballs on all sides, about 6-8 minutes per batch. 

-Transfer meatballs to a plate. Drain all but 2 Tbsp. drippings from pot. Whisk in flour until smooth paste forms. Stir in 2 cups stock; bring to a simmer, whisking often. Return meatballs to pot. Cover; simmer until meatballs are cooked, 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat, whisk in sour cream, and stir to coat meatballs

-Serve with Lingonberry preserves

Click here for the original recipe source.

Have you ever made or eaten Swedish Meatballs???

Remixing Days 13-18...half way there!!!

Happy Monday! I hope you all had fabulous weekends. My weekend update is on hold this week because today I'm sharing outfits 13-18 in my 30x30 remix. That means the remix is now more than half way over!! You can tell I'm an overachiever because I have yet to wear my jeans! Hopefully I haven't used up all my creativity and I don't have boring outfits the last 2 weeks. We'll see...either way I'm proud of what I've done so far. I've definitely stepped out of my fashion comfort zone.

Top: F21, Shorts: LOFT,  Earrings: Charming Charlie, Shoes: Jessica Simpson

Top: JCREW, Belt: Old Navy, Skirt: H&M, Shoes: Gap, Necklace: Fossil

Top: Banana Republic, Belt: Limited, Skirt: Target, Shoes: Steve Madden

Tank top: JCREW, Sweater: LOFT, Short: White House, Black Market, Headband: SWeetnessaboos, Bracelet: Fossil

Blazer: Kohl's (Lauren Conrad, Belt: Francesca's, Tank top: JCREW, Skirt: Target, Sandals: Gap

Tank top: Gap, Sweater: LOFT, Skirt: JCREW, Shoes: H&M, Necklace: Gifted

See outfits 1-6 here and outfits 7-12 here.
And make sure to check out some of the other amazing ladies participating in the challenge!

Friday's Letters

Dear Summertime, Only 9 1/2 more days until I can call you mine. I can't wait for all you will bring. Dear Sugar Daddy (Drew), You have been working so incredibly hard (7 days a week) so that we can have some extra money for our Colorado trip this summer. I love that you do it with a smile on your face. You are amazing. Dear Little Sister, I am so excited to share your Etsy shop with the world. Thank you for my amazing banana hammock. And do you find it as funny as I do how much our husband's look and act alike? Hmmm. Dear Hammock, I can't wait until it's summertime and I can set you up and lay in you all day while finally crossing books off my list. Dear 30x30 remix, You are halfway over and I can't believe how much more fun I am having with my wardrobe. I recommend you to anyone who is bored with their closet!!!! Dear Amazing Readers, I hope you know how much I love you all. Being a part of the blogging community has been such a surprise blessing in my life! Now click on over here to enter to win a free copy of the cookbook, Dinner: A Love Story.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Pan Fried Pizza + A Cookbook Giveaway!

Recipe from Dinner: A Love Story {see my cookbook review here}

I've made many different kinds of pizzas in my kitchen, but never with a cast iron skillet...until this week! If you are looking for a new spin on pizza you need to try pan fried pizza.

What you need:
::Medium size cast iron skillet
::Olive oil
::4 oz. ham or prosciutto (I bought already chopped up ham)
::1 16 oz. ball pizza dough (I did store bought to save time)
::1 cup Pizza Sauce
::1 8 oz. ball fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
::1 and 1/2 cups pineapple cubes
::4 or 5 fresh basil leaves (shredded)

What you do:
Start by chopping, shredding and slicing ingredients so you are prepped to go then go ahead and preheat the broiler.

Add a little olive oil to your cast iron skillet and fry up the chopped ham over medium-low heat until it is crispy. Set cooked ham aside.

Prepare your pizza dough then divide dough in half so you can cook up 2 pizzas. Roll each pizza dough half into circles the size of your cast iron skillet. The dough will be thick.

Heat the skillet to medium and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add half of the rolled out dough. Cook for 2-3 minutes until you see the dough start to bubble then flip it over. Add half your sauce, half the mozzarella, half of the ham and half of the pineapple. Cook for another 2 minutes until the bottom is cooked then stick the skillet in the broiler for another 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Remove skillet from oven and sprinkle fresh basil on top. Take pizza out of skillet and repeat with remaining ingredients. I loved the taste of this pizza and the thickness of the crust. Yum!

And now the exciting part...the author of Dinner: A Love Story, Jenny Rosenstrach, has generously offered to give away a copy of her amazing cookbook to one of YOU. Enter below to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Remixing Outfits 7-12

Week 2 of remixing is now over and I honestly can't believe how much fun I'm having mixing and matching my clothes and accessories. I already have a few "go to" pieces that I feel I could wear almost daily and I still have a few bottoms that I haven't even worn yet so I'm feeling pretty good going into week 3. Lessons learned this week: First, I do not love wearing shorts. Why I picked 3 pairs for my remix, I still don't know, but I am always happier and more comfortable in a skirt. And second, experimenting with different fabrics and patterns makes me strangely happy. Here are my outfits days 7-12 including what I wore to a last minute Broadway show and for Mother's day!

See outfits 1-6 here!

Linking up with Lauren Shanna and Lindsey