As if Saturday wasn’t fun-filled enough already…

…we got a surprise on Sunday that Bailey was really excited about – an impromptu visit by my parents to help us with our house, namely the yard.

But first, I headed out for Caitlin’s bebe shower.

Caitlin’s shower was at FABO, which was a gorgeous venue – so colorful!

The shower was put together so well – from the cool straws to the great refreshments. I really liked the game they played where Caitlin had to pull random baby-items from a bag and guess what they’re used for. I had fun guessing what they were used for, too, since I hadn’t seen most of the objects before. Hey, maybe if I attend enough baby showers, I won’t be quite so baby-clueless.

And do you see that hat on Caitlin’s head? Her mom made that baby-shower-themed-hat for her! I talked to her about how she made it, and she was so proud of her creation. It was really sweet and a fun touch to the shower.

After the shower, I headed back to the Chic house to help out in the yard. We pulled weeds and did basic clean-up. You know…stuff most people know but our house-clueless selves need guidance doing.

I treated my parents to dinner to thank them for their help. We went to Mama Ricotta’s.

The rolls were hard to resist. I definitely had a couple, dipped into their red pepper olive oil.

And for eats, we got 2 family-style entrees – this penne with chicken, broccoli and a lemon cream sauce. It came out piping hot with al dente penne. It was mouth-wateringly good (as in, my mouth is watering thinking about it while I blog…yum!).

The family favorite was angel hair with meatballs, which i really enjoyed, too.

My parents really loved the meal, which made me happy. It was the least I could do before they had to head back home for the night.

Reader question: What did you do this weekend? Anything fun?

Since my 3 year project at work ended last Friday, hubby and I decided to take a long vacation. Since I get a good number of vacation days, but not an enormous one, a one week vacay is pretty long for us.

But first…in very exciting news, I FINALLY upgraded my camera!! I am now the proud owner of a gorgeous Nikon D7000. If anyone’s interested, I can do a post about my research process and why I chose the camera I did. I’ve wanted to get this camera since about December 2010, but I’ve just wanted to wait till I was sure in my decision and had the money saved up.

I decided my very first photo with the camera should be of (you probably guessed it) Bailey!

Anywho, hubby and I took off Sunday Asheville-bound with visions of relaxation and other mountain-vacation visions in our head. The drive was pretty short, and I decided to make the trip productive by reading through the D7000 guide. The book is pretty large, but I tried to focus on the sections on where all the buttons were since they’re very similar to my Canon. It’s more a matter of figuring out where everything is! I’m not looking forward to the learning curve, but I am looking forward to enjoying my new camera.

Once we got to the bed and breakfast, we were greeted by the assistant manager…and cake…and wine.

We decided to enjoy a quick snack on the porch and then take Bailey on a walk through the gardens.

I researched the restaurants of Asheville in the last couple weeks using yelp.com and your recommendations on my blog’s Facebook wall. I made a list of the places I really wanted to visit, but I also like local expertise. So, I asked the assistant manager for recommendations, and we decided to visit one of this.

We hit up Vicenzo’s – a Northern Italian restaurant. They had an upstairs and downstairs and let us choose. We wanted a place that was casual and relaxed, so the downstairs fit the bill.

I shot all the photos on this post with my new camera. Taking photos during the day was pretty straightforward, but working the new camera in extremely low lighting was a bit more of a challenge. I couldn’t quite get it to focus the way I wanted.

Anywho, we were greeted with fresh-baked bread, and olive oil with parmesan.

I once saw Giada make a delicious looking dish on Food TV – arancini. Balls of risotto stuffed with cheese. Yum. I knew we had to order them when I saw them on the menu. They had sundried tomatoes and provolone – tasty!

For the main event – Chicken Marsala, which was great…and I even ate the mushrooms!

And for dessert – tiramisu – made on site. It was fantastic!

But one of the best parts of the dinner – enjoying the music of the piano man – Steve Whiddon.

Steve, without my even requesting it, played several of my favorite songs:

• Bohemian Rhapsody
• Let It Be
• Music of the Night

And Steve even gave me a CD of his original songs! I can’t wait to listen to them.

After dinner, we headed back to the bed and breakfast to relax. Ahhhh….

I made one of the easiest and tastiest things recently – garlic knots. I’ve been enjoying these things for years, but I never really thought to try to make them at home before. I don’t even have a good excuse, I just never tried it for some reason. Good thing I have Eat in Month to inspire me to try new things at home.

And it turns out…if you use store-bought pizza dough, garlic knots are so easy a caveman? no, a husband? anyone can do it.

But first, I’d like to share a couple random Bailey photos. Here’s Bailey modeling the new Duke shirt his grandmother bought him.

And here he is just after carrying the newspaper in. Yup, he fetches our paper and the mail!

But, enough about Bailey, back to the garlic knots. Hubby and I had another pizza night at the Chic house recently, and the ball of dough hubby got from the store was gigantic. I decided it was too large to fit on the pizza stone, so I tore off a couple pieces of dough to experiment with these garlic knots. Plus, I figured we could snack on these while the pizza baked.

These things were so simplistic, there’s really no need for a full-on recipe, especially since I used store-bought pizza dough, so I’ll just share some of the basics. I’m betting a lot of you already know how to make these, so for those who do, feel free to chime in (with a comment) with your tips.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• store-bought pizza dough
• butter, I used about 1 teaspoon for 4 garlic knots – try to sit it out for a bit so it softens
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley (or use 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• a sprinkle of salt, to taste
• feel free to add other toppings of choice – maybe oregano, red pepper flakes, or rosemary

To make the garlic knots, I basically tore off four small pieces of the dough, roughly 1/4-1/3 cup each. I took each piece, rolled it into a long log and tied it into a knot. I baked them in a pre-heated 350 oven (on a cornmeal dusted pizza stone) for about 20-25 minutes, until nice and golden brown on top. Bake time will probably vary from dough to dough, and you may want to check your dough for suggested baking temperature, too.

I placed the butter, parsley, garlic, and salt in a bowl and topped it with the hot garlic knots. I used the heat of the freshly-baked knots to help melt the butter. I tossed the garlic knots in the bowl until they were evenly coated.

And that’s it.

I think I actually liked the garlic knots better than the pizza we made with the rest of the dough. Anywho, I think these would be fun to make the next time we’re entertaining. I bet kids would like helping the adults form the knots, too.

Ooh…just had another good idea – cinnamon-sugar knots! Maybe I’ll try those next time.

Reader question: What are your favorite garlic knot toppings?

Since we spent Thanksgiving with my family, we planned to spend Christmas with hubby’s. Luckily, we had enough vacation days left for 2011 to mostly work out our plans. I was hoping to take the week between Christmas and New Year’s off, but the numbers didn’t quite line up for me, though, I won’t have to work, too much (yay!). That’s the downside. The upside? We had enough to squeeze in a quick trip to see my family before Christmas!

{Mom, dad, sis}

{Christmas tree bokeh}

Mom was really proud of the garland she put together this year, so I’m sure she’ll love me sharing some photos with you guys. You won’t see this featured in a magazine or anything, but she’s only recently gotten into doing crafty things. I think it looks fantastic!

{Bailey Claus & the Christmas tree; Dad carving the turkey}

My parents opted for a turkey breast this year. I don’t really like the wings or legs, so it worked for me!

We had a good family effort for the dinner. Mom made the turkey and gravy…

…dad made the mashed potatoes (and stuffing)…

…sis made the cranberry sauce and sweet potato fries with 2 dipping sauces (maple syrup & nuts and herbed sour cream – inspired by Emeril}…

….and I made something my family reluctantly agreed to try – brussels sprouts! Even my health-freak dad was hesitant to try the brussels sprouts. My sister told me later that they were the only vegetable he didn’t like (and all this time I didn’t think there was a vegetable he didn’t like). Apparently, he hadn’t had them since he was a youngster at the boys school where they likely served over-cooked, mushy sprouts. Ew! I was hoping to convert him (and the rest of my fam) with my Simple Brussels Sprouts recipe (shredded and sauteed and not mushy at all). And convert them I did. Even Sis (who is opposite of my dad and pretty much hates all vegetables) liked them.

{My plate}

And I had to save room for one of the oatmeal, butterscotch, chocolate chip bars my sis loves baking. They’re a Pampered Chef recipe and deeeeeeeelish. I enjoyed mine with some milk in one of Sis’ s cool Asian mugs.

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And along with some Christmas gifts, my parents sent us home with some of their old furniture they don’t want any more. Woohoo! Our empty living room is going to be looking much better after this! I’ll have to share some updated living room photos once we get things set up.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

In addition to my mom’s soup and oatmeal, this has helped me feel better, too:

So comforting…so tasty.

{Click here for the Cozy Beef Stew recipe}

Not to mention cuddling with Bailey, watching corgi videos on YouTube helps. Here he is in my lap watching another corgi play in some snow.

It’s 10:49pm. I’m off to attempt to go to bed “early.” Maybe I’ll read or something. G’night!

After our delicious artisan lunch in Flat Rock, we headed straight to Sky Top Orchard to go pick all the apples we could carry. Or…at least all the apples we could afford since we sort of forgot that not everywhere takes credit cards. Silly city folk!

With just under $20 in our pockets, we had to be selective but could actually afford quite a bit. Prices are pretty reasonable at Sky Top – $1 per pound of apples if you get under 15 pounds ($0.75/pound if you go over 15 pounds). The snacks were the most expensive things, but we definitely wanted to splurge on some of those!

2011 – Our first family trip to Sky Top! The last time I came to this orchard, it was with my immediate family (mom, dad, sister), and I think I was in middle school!

{The front of Sky Top’s main building}

Sky Top was pretty busy when we got there. There were families and tourists wandering around everywhere! Luckily, the place was pretty easy to navigate. They had one main building where you pretty much got everything – you could buy snacks, pick up baskets to take to the orchard, pay for your apples, or buy already picked apples.

{The back of Sky Top}

Things were pretty crowded behind Sky Top’s main building, mostly because people waited here for the hay rides, which looked to be quite popular.

After scouting out the place, we made a plan of action: get a sweet snack, go apple picking, pay, and get hot, fresh, apple cider doughnuts.

We got a caramel apple to split and took it outside to eat.

While we were snacking, Bailey met another corgi…

…but that corgi didn’t seem too keen on Bailey. I love this photo, though, because it’s photo-evidence that Bailey is a lover, not a fighter. Look at that defensive move!

Next up, we found a basket…

…and headed out to the orchard.

Unfortunately, hubby and I learned that we could not throw apples at each other.

The weather was a little cool, but overall, it was gorgeous!

We tried walking through one of the closer rows of apples, but they were picked clean.

Hubby and I weren’t too worried since we knew they had so many pre-picked apples for sale. Picking our own would be more fun, but at least we knew we wouldn’t leave the orchard empty-handed.

We ended up following a trail of people heading down a steep hill.

And halfway down one row of apple trees, we hit jackpot. We found a tree with apples all over it! Hubby had to climb into the tree and toss the apples out to me, but after just a few short minutes, we enough apples to call it a day. Apple picking is pretty quick work if you find a good tree.

Cha-ching!

The basket was so large, it kind of made you want to fill the whole thing up. But, hubby and I were trying to be reasonable about how many apples we could actually eat.

Since we don’t have kids yet, we (ok…I) took photos of Bailey instead…

…A ridiculous amount of photos. I can only imagine what the other apple pickers thought. Hehe…oh well.

Back to the main building!

The check-out process is pretty simple at Sky Top. Get however many plastic bags you need…

…fill em up. Get in line to check out. Pay by the weight. Can you believe hubby and I picked 10 1/2 pounds of apples! It totally didn’t look like that many to us, but we didn’t care because we still had enough money to buy apple cider doughnuts!

We’d heard the wait for the doughnuts would be long and it was.

But, when in Rome…

We had driven all the way out to the orchard, so we figured we may as well wait for the doughnuts, regardless of how long we had to wait.

After 40 minutes in line, we had doughnuts!

They were piping hot and rolled in cinnamon sugar.

They were tender, cake-like doughnuts scented with apples. Just one wouldn’t do, so I had a second.

And one last Bailey photo where normal most people would have taken photos of their kids.

Soon enough it was time to hit the road and head home. Farewell mountains! Till we meet again!

Reader question #1: Have you been apple picking before? Which orchard is your favorite and where is it?

Reader question #2: What’s your favorite apple recipe (links welcome)?

I’ve wanted to go apple picking for the last couple years, but for one reason or another, the trip has eluded us. 2011 did not disappoint…

We hit the road for a day trip to a nearby apple orchard just over two hours away. We were originally going to make a long weekend of it until I found out (on Friday…yikes!) that I have Monday off, but my client doesn’t. So, overnight plans were thwarted. No bed and breakfasts for us, but I get to roll the vacation day forward and will probably use it around Thanksgiving, which will be nice.

We decided to hit up a local restaurant for lunch (before going to the orchard), and thanks to some Yelp research we chose Flat Rock Village Bakery. They organic eats, artisan breads, and great reviews online.

Just like the reviews said, the place was busy and had a tight waiting area for ordering. The tables were almost all full outside when we walked in, but they turned pretty quickly.

The restaurant, behind a shop called The Wrinkled Egg, had a fun artist (or was it hippie?) vibe to it.

We managed to grab one of the outside tables tucked under a tall magnolia.

After hearing about the sticky buns online, we decided to get one to share and gobbled it up before our pizza even came out. I tried to resist its sticky-sweet goodness, but caved pretty quickly. Life’s short, eat dessert first, right?

I also got an Almond Joy scone to enjoy later.

For eats, we chose the BBQ chicken pizza. The pizza was thin crust and came out piping hot. I’m pretty picky with my BBQ chicken pizzas, and I thought this one was wonderful. It had a great BBQ sauce, gooey cheese, nice bites of chicken, red onion, and one of my favorite components – fresh cilantro.

I only wish we were making a weekend of it so I could have gone back for a leisurely breakfast. The reviews were right. I can see why so many people make a point to stop at the Flat Rock Village Bakery.

Next time on TCL, photos from the apple orchard. I still have quite a few more photos to share with you guys!

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Thank you so much for reading!

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Reader question: Are you a fan of day trips? Tell me about your favorite {or most memorable} day trip.

I know you guys know I like my noodle bowls, but this week, I’ve been feeling something else – noodle soup! And by the way, is it just me, or do the words “noodle soup” conjure up memories of Joey on Friends? “Mmm…soup…I mean noodle soup! I mean soup!” Oh Joey…

I’ve been a bit under the weather this week, so I’ve had a big, hot, comforting bowl of noodle soup every day for lunch this week so far.

I love them because they’re so easy to throw together and taste great. They even use a lot of pantry ingredients (boxed broth, dry noodles, long-storing tofu, and you could probably use frozen vegetables, though I prefer fresh).

I’ve made a few variations this week – all using tofu because it was easier to cook than meat since I basically just warmed it through in the last couple minutes of cooking. But, you could easily cook chicken, etc. in the broth, or even saute it in a separate pan and add it to the soup (or even serve it on top!).

Today I tried a new type of noodle – spelt (love!) soba. I thought they were really good, not that they were all that different from other soba (or even udon) noodles. I’ve found the Eden Organic brand noodles to be a bit thicker than some others, so they take about twice as long to cook and will yield a different texture. There are other brands that cook faster if you’re in even more of a rush. Honestly, I usually just buy whichever one is on sale.

Whole Health Noodle Soup

One big bowl of noodle soup is sure to comfort a sore throat, warm you from the inside, and just make you feel better overall. But, you don’t need to be sick to enjoy this dish. Noodle soup makes a great light lunch or dinner when you want something small, stress-free, and/or quick.

Overall cook time will depend on how long your noodles take. The ones I used for this recipe cook in 8-10 minutes, so adjust cooking time as needed.

Ingredient amount ranges are provided below so you can use the amount you prefer depending on taste preferences and hunger levels. I really love vegetables, so I get pretty heavy-handed with them. Love onions? Add more! Hate garlic? Leave it out, or go with one clove. Feeling famished? Maybe add in some extra noodles and tofu. Customize!

*Vegetarian* *Vegan*

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15-20 minutes (depending on how long your noodles take to cook)
Serves: 1

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups broth (vegetable – or chicken if you want to go non-vegetarian/non-vegan)
• 1/2 cup water (or just use more broth)
• small handful noodles – about 1/4-1/2″ in diameter, depending on how much you want
• 1-3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/8-1/4 cup onions, chopped
• 1/2-1 cup broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
• 1/4-1/2 cup fresh baby spinach
• 1/4-1/2 cup tofu
• 1 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• fresh cracked black pepper
• sesame seeds, optional

Directions:

1. Pour broth and water into a small/medium pot and bring to a boil.
2. Add onions and garlic. Add noodles, gently pushing dry noodles into the broth. Set timer for recommended cook time following package. Note: The package I used had a cook time of 8-10 minutes
3. With 4 minutes left on the timer, add broccoli and stir into soup.
4. With 2 minutes left on the timer, add spinach, tofu, and 1 teaspoon soy sauce.
5. Cook until spinach is wilted and tofu is warmed through (this should be done in the 2 minutes remaining on the timer). Taste test and add additional soy sauce for more of a salty flavor and add pepper as you like.
6. Pour into a large bowl. Garnish with sesame seeds, if you want. Serve and enjoy.

Dear noodle soup, I love you. <3

Hubby brought home a snack for me today – a pumpkin scone from Starbucks. I really liked the flavor, but thought the icing was a little overwhelming in sweetness levels. I prefer how they do the icing drizzle on their cinnamon scones. Anywho, I’d really like to try to make some pumpkin scones from scratch some time. They’d be a great brunch item for this time of year.

But uber-sweet or not, I thought the scone was very thoughtful. Thanks hubby!

And one more photo I had to share from today – I found Bailey lounging on the couch just like this earlier today. I think his butt is about one foot higher than his head. Silly boy!

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Thanks so much for reading guys! Want to read TCL easier? You can get free updates by clicking here.

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Reader question: What’s your favorite type of noodle? Whole wheat spaghetti, regular angel hair, spelt soba, udon, ramen…?

One of my favorite things to do when I have guests over is make them TCL-style eats. My sister is the easiest to please because she always comes prepared with a list of things she wants to try.

I decided to make a few of my most popular recipes for my friends Beth and Bri.

Basic Green Monster Smoothies

I even decided to do a play on one of my faves for entertaining – mini frittatas.

This time, I made them sans rice and just with parsley and parmesan…and served them with Individual Blueberry Breakfast Crisps.

Parmesan Parsley Mini Frittatas

These easy mini frittatas are not only great for sharing…they whip up in under 5 minutes and take only about 10 in the oven. Switch out your favorite mixins to suit your tastes.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes

Serves 4 (makes about 16-18 mini frittatas)

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped, fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F and prep a mini tart/frittata pan with non-stick spray.
2. Whisk eggs and milk in a bowl. Stir in cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper.
3. Use a mini ice cream scoop (or melon baller) to fill tart/frittata cups about 3/4 full.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes until the eggs are cooked through (I usually wait till the tops are just starting to brown lightly).

Hello gorgeous!

In the afternoon, I did a super-fun kickboxing-inspired workshop that my friend Megan was leading with another friend Ashley.

And post workshop, I went with my friends Sarah and Bri to Mac’s for some casual afternoon eats.

We shared a basket of fried pickles. I’m starting to think that Mac’s makes the best fried pickles I’ve ever had. They’re nice and crispy with just the right touch of spice to let you know it’s there without burning your tongue.

Hubby stayed home to watch football, but he requested I bring home leftovers. So, I ordered the small (haha – do you see that photo?!) combo, which yielded plenty of leftovers.

After such a big lunch, I just whipped up a simple bowl of udon-noodle soup for a light dinner.

I had to save room for dessert…two desserts!

First up…a hefty slice of cheesecake that my friend Sarah made (thanks Sarah!). She first made this tasty dessert way back when for my housewarming, and I still rave about.

Plus, I had caramel apples, which were birthday gifts from Megan and Erica (thanks guys!).

They gave me four fun flavors, but I decided to crack open the pecan pie first.

It had a lovely layer of chewy caramel with crunchy nuts and warm cinnamon.

Delish! I think I’ll be ordering more of these in the upcoming holiday season. I mean…is it just me or do caramel apples scream “holidays”?!

All settled in for a cozy night at The Chic House.

Fried Pickles: Yay or Nay?

Reader Question: Do you like caramel apples? Have you tried any interesting flavors?

Hi, my name is Diana, and I work in corporate America. We like to stick to mostly neutrals, though I do like to add color now and again. For this particular outfit, I went neutral.

For this outfit, I knew I wanted to wear one of my favorite skirts – a tie-front Elie Tahari skirt I scored at a Neiman Marcus Last Call sale a couple years ago for less than $50. It’s my go-to and has enough personality that I need only add a basic top to call it a {work} outfit. I like to let the tie be the focal point, though the shirt does have some pattern on it and I added some bling on my wrist with a turquoise and gold bauble bracelet.

I was in the middle of taking a couple photos when…

…I got photo-bombed by Bailey!

He’s such a ham.

Hubby ended up playing frisbee with him for awhile – it’s one of his favorite forms of entertainment (both for Bailey…and hubby )

Ensemble:

Skirt – Elie Tahari (scored on sale at Neiman Marcus)

Top – Ann Taylor Loft (purchased on sale)

Shoes – J Crew (heeey…also scored on sale)

Bracelet – local boutique

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Random, but awesome – reader Alissa made my Individual Italian Spinach Parmesan Egg Bake (click for recipe) for her hubby for their anniversary this morning! Too cool! Glad you both liked it, Alissa!

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Reader question: How formal is the dress code for your work environment? How do you push the envelope fashion-wise?