Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Mushrooms

One of my favorite recipes is a chicken dish with sun dried tomatoes and mushroom in a white wine sauce. I tried it about a year ago and now am so in love with it. It is so flavorful and is sure to impress when entertaining. You can even make the sauce before your guests arrive and let it simmer on low. The longer you cook it the more flavor the mushrooms absorb so the better it gets.

To make this dish, you will need:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms - baby bellas or crimini
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
• 2-3 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (like Chardonnay)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat about two teaspoons of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Then, season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown.

When chicken is fully cooked, remove from pan and place on a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm.

Add about 2 teaspoons of the oil from the Sun-dried tomatoes to the skillet. Add onion and garlic and saute for a couple minutes until onion is nearly translucent. Then add the mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes to the pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes.

Add chicken broth and white wine and cook for at least 10 minutes until mushrooms are fully cooked. You can reduce heat and let the sauce simmer for longer to let the flavors come together. Really, the longer the better it will be! Add chopped parsley and cook for 2-3 more minutes.

Spoon the sauce over each chicken breast and serve. Enjoy!

5 on Friday!

Welcome, weekend, I'm glad you're here! 

The thing about having five {and a half} days off due to snow is that when its necessary to work a five day week again, you can't help but feel a little grumpy. And a lot exhausted. Happy, happy Friday! Today I am loving...

one.

The burlap monogram wreath that I literally just finished about twenty minutes before I started typing this post. I've been working on it for ever {more accurately a week and a half} and bought the supplies over a month ago. Whew, I am glad that project is over and by the time you're reading this it will be adorning our front door, making it the most adorable door in the neighborhood. 

two.

I'm loving this sweet note {that was attached to a mug full of treats} that showed up in my box at work this week. Random acts of kindness really do brighten someone's day so much. On a week full of meetings, meetings, and more meetings after school it was so sweet to get this reminder of why I chose to do what I do and know that there are people who don't even know me who appreciate it.

three.

I apologize that this is about the worst quality picture ever but I am seriously loving this chair for our guest bedroom. I've been dreaming of a much, much, much more expensive chair in similar colors but couldn't justify spending so much on a chair that's primary purpose is not to be sat in but to look pretty. This is a Target beauty and it will be coming home with me as soon as I convince my husband soon.

four.

I'm loving that we have a low key weekend planned. Girls, I am just plain exhausted this week. Luckily, I've had some extra delicious coffee to drink all week. We will discuss that further next week.  

five.

I'm loving this sweet boy, who snoozed away and kept me company while I worked tirelessly on the bow for my wreath forever last night while Corey was at a work dinner meeting. 

five {and a half}

I'm loving that all our crazy after work meetings and obligations are done for the weekend and I will finally get to spend some time with my sweet husband. What a busy week this has been!

Lilly {Pulitzer} Love

I don't know if it was a week of snow or the warm temperatures today, but now I am officially over winter. Is it spring yet?! I am saying my prayers that the Groundhog made a mistake and that warm weather is just around the corner.

I am loving some of Lilly Pulitzer's new styles for spring. A few of my favorites...

Topanga Tunic Dress

York Fit and Flare Dress

Elsa Top - First Impression

Braydon Tunic

Delia Shift Dress

What do you think of Lilly's newest pieces? Are there any looks you are swooning over?

Recently {photo edition}

I took a little hiatus for our snowcation and Valentine's weekend. Oops! Things have been pretty busy around here even with five straight days of no work during the crazy Carolina snow storm. Does anyone else feel that despite being the shortest month, February is jam-packed with things to do?

Corey and I had the most delicious brunch at Cafe Monte, a cute little French cafe in our neighborhood. We went there for the first time for my birthday and I cannot even describe how delicious this benedict on a croissant is.  

During the beginning of the snow storm, Corey and I and another couple enjoyed some great seats for the Bobcats game. 

Our little house looked so cute all covered in snow. We had a little snow day brunch that turned into an all day snow party with friends. What better way to celebrate some extra days off?

Riley loved exploring in the snow but was on his absolute worst behavior. Don't let that cute little face fool you. 

We headed to Asheville for Valentine's weekend with two friends and tried out the White Duck Taco Shop. Oh my goodness, y'all, this place was incredible. If you are ever in the area, you absolutely must stop. I tried the Steak and Cheese taco and the Bangkok shrimp taco and both were phenomenal. 

We did lots of beer tasting and cocktail sipping and just enjoyed being out of town for the weekend. 

Isn't this tic-tac-toe table so fun? It was in our hotel lobby and I enjoyed beating Corey over and over. ;)

On our way out of town, we stopped at Tupelo Honey. While the original is in Asheville, there are several locations of this down-home Southern-style restaurant, one of which is in Charlotte. I have never been there before but think it will now be in my top 3 brunch spots. I tried their veggie bowl, which was topped with fried okra and was such a delicious and interesting combination. When you sit down, you are greeted with the fluffiest, warm biscuits and jam so you can imagine we were stuffed afterwards!

Obviously, I've done a LOT of eating recently. If you need me in the immediate future, you can find me at the gym. Happy Tuesday, girls!

Valentine's Gifts for Him

Can you believe Valentine's Day is just days away?! I'm usually not too big on Valentine's Day - its a stressful time for teachers - planning class parties, soliciting healthy snacks from parents, etc. I do love celebrating the fact that I have a wonderful husband, though, and treating him to a special meal at home or small gift. We usually don't go overboard for Valentine's Day gifts at our home, but it is always nice to have a little package to open, right? 

One of my favorite Valentine's Day gift ideas this year are Balls of Steel. I think these things are just genius and love the name. What guy would not love them too? They are stainless steel whiskey balls {instead of rocks} and they donate part of their procedes to helping detect early testicular cancer. 

I got these personalized golf link toppers for Corey's dad a couple of Christmases ago. These are so clever because surely you know someone who has had one too many beers while golfing and has come home missing a club. Problem solved!

I got these hidden message collar stays for Corey a couple years ago. There is a sweet version and a racy version. I'd totally recommend opting for the racy version since it is Valentine's Day. These are such a fun reminder of the way you feel about your guy every day while he's getting dressed for work. 

I think these football-themed grill tools would be just perfect for the grill master at your tailgate. Aren't they so much fun than just your typical grill tools?

I just love these personalized barley brewing glasses. How fun would it be for your guy to sip beer from a glass named after him? Bonus points if your man brews his own beer. 

What are your favorite gift ideas for him?

A Sneak Peek of our New Home

I've been promising a sneak peek of our new home for quite a while. We moved in at the end of December and I am really happy with our progress so far. We still have a lot of work to do (curtains and painting for example) but things are coming along so without further adieu...

I think our living room is my favorite room. Everything really came together the way I had envisioned it. We still need curtains and eventually we'll be painting the walls something other than the builder grade shade of ivory, which I'm not a huge fan of. 

The kitchen is probably my second favorite room. And to think I almost didn't do the white cabinets. I'm now obsessed with them. 

Our dining room is definitely a work in progress. The chairs that match our table are on backorder. We ordered four for the sides and I plan to do upholstered chairs on the ends. We still need a rug in here as well. One day...

The sunroom is Riley's favorite. I didn't really intend for him to spend all day on those chairs but clearly, he rules our household.

I'm totally obsessed with these chairs from World Market. I never thought Corey would let me to get them for downstairs but somehow he agreed. 

Not pictured downstairs are our office (total work in progress) and a powder room.

I haven't finished hanging decorations in our guest room, even though we've already hosted overnight guests twice. I kind of lost steam and haven't gotten it back yet. Eventually, we'll get there. This room also still needs an accent chair. You may recognize the dresser from my Annie Sloan chalkpaint tutorial.

Our guest bath is so super simple. Its fairly small but there is a linen closet in there. I have a painting I purchased in Verona, Italy hanging to the left that you can't see in this photo but it still needs a few more decorations. 

I'm a little obsessed with the tray ceiling in our bedroom and the size of it, especially since I literally could barely open the drawers of the dresser without them hitting our footboard in our Hoboken apartment. The furniture was my first big-girl purchase my senior year of college and I've switched out the bedding several times. I purchased the bedding above during Pottery Barn's whites sale and used bounce back points from a furniture purchase we made. There are two large pieces of art on the wall to the left that you can't see in these pictures but other than that I haven't hung any other art yet. I can't really decide what I want to do over the bed so I'm trying to really think on that before I put holes in the wall. 

Our bathroom is my sanctuary. I've been taking lots of bubble baths here. And we do have blue tile now in the shower if you remember that whole debaucle right before closing. I always struggle with wanting this space to be perfect and the fact that we do actually use it (towels and toiletries) daily.

Not pictured upstairs is our third bedroom (which is totally, completely empty, a small loft area, and our laundry room). 

And that is our house :) I'll probably do a room-by-room as things come together a little more.