Holiday Sparkle Shoes- My Latest Steal

      So recently I found sparkly, rose gold, Mary-Jane pumps made by Kate Spade. I really considered buying them but just could not justify it because of their price and my budget. So, I did some research and I found similar ones from amazon. YES... Amazon. I am almost embarrassed to admit how cheap these were but you cannot deny a good deal.
       I received them in the mail today, and I am more than pleased and plan on wearing them friday night for my Friendsgiving party.

Here are the original Kate Spade:

Yes, they are fabulous but at a lofty price of 350$.

And here are my steal pair:

Yes, they are different but they are sparkly and mary-janes, which you can never go wrong with during this festive time of year. Oh, and the best part about these is that they were only 20$. 

 (brand-SODA)

XOXO,

Anna Crew 

Super Easy Vegetarian Chili

I absolutely love vegetarian chili. My mom has a wonderful recipe that I partially claim as my own. It's great to make and freeze some so you don't have to eat it 3 nights in a row. I kind of hate admitting that I used canned beans and tomatoes for the recipe because I try to always used dry beans and fresh tomatoes but it's too good not to share.  Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

1 cup of black bean soup (I use Amy's organic black bean soup- you can find it at publix or whole foods) 

1 can of organic kidney beans 

1 can of organic Cannelilli beans (white beans) 

1 can of organic chickpeas 

1 can of organic diced tomatoes 

1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped 

1 tablespoon of chili powder or 1 package of chili seasoning 

1 1/2 teaspoon of oregano (fresh or dried)

1 1/2 teaspoons of  parsley (fresh or dried) 

1 1/2 teaspoons of basil (fresh or dried) 

Instructions: 

Combine all ingredients in crockpot starting with black bean soup and cook on high for 2 hours. 

Xoxo, 

Anna Crew 

Franny's Peach Crisp

Peach Crisp. 

My sweet friend and fellow blogger shared with me this awesome recipe of hers. She is a super talented baker who makes pretty and tasty cupcakes. Check her blog out by CLICKING HERE. 
(Disclaimer: I would use a regular size casserole dish for the whole recipe, when I made mine I made it into two separate dishes that were smaller but know that the recipe listed below makes more than a pie dish full.)

Below is the recipe and it is so simple and  a perfect use for your South Carolina peaches (Or Georgia or California but SC's are the best). In the winter I may try and make this with pears for a winter dessert. I served it warm with Breyer's vanilla ice cream. 

SC peaches 

Ingredients:

-7-9  ripe fresh peaches 

-1 cup sugar

-1 cup flour

-1/2 cup white sugar 

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1 tsp cinnamon

-1 egg

- 1 stick of salted butter 

Directions: 

Sliced peach and sugar filling

 Cut 7-9 peaches and add a cup of sugar and pour them in casserole dish.

Mix in a separate bowl 1 cup flour,

1/2 cup white sugar, 

1/2 cup brown sugar, 

1 tsp cinnamon, and 

1 egg  

Then dice a half a stick of butter and mix it in the flour mixture (to make crumbles) and sprinkle the mixture on top of peaches. 

Then melt the other half stick of butter and pour it over the whole dish.
  

Ready to bake. 

Bake on 350 for 35-40 minutes (until top is crispy)

Thanks for this recipe Mary Francis! 

xoxo, 

Anna Crew 

YUM!

Last minute 4th of July dessert.

Need an easy last minute 4th of July dessert? I had the idea to make meringues because I had some really delicious ones from Trader Joes recently. The recipe I found is actually a  from the McCormick website and they are wonderful! I decided to make them white and blue and pair them with a red plate for this lovely holiday.  Here is the link to the recipe:

www.mccormick.com/Recipes/Dessert/Festive-Meringue-Cookies

The key to making your meringues is following the instructions carefully and use less food coloring than what the recipe calls for- a little goes a long way! Also, once you have mixed all the ingredients you must put the batter in a gallon ziplock with an icing head to squirt out like you are icing a cake. Make neat little stacks of the meringue batter and they will bake perfectly. I LOVE these sweet treats and they are light and airy perfect to go along with all of your outdoor grilling. 

Enjoy! 

xoxo, 

AC 

My Favorite Pie Recipe

I have been into making pies lately. I find it a new challenge especially with how temperamental the crust is. I recently found a strawberry and rhubarb pie recipe from my food network magazine. I am going to share this link because this recipe is fabulous,  and if you do not have rhubarb on hand or easily accessible, I have an alternative recipe with just strawberries listed below.

Here is the link to the strawberry and rhubarb pie (use the crust in this recipe for the pie with or without rhubarb): http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nancy-fuller/strawberry-rhubarb-pie.html

Here is my strawberry rhubarb pie: 

Note: If you have never baked or cooked with rhubarb, it is a super cool ingredient. It taste bitter before you bake it but once you bake it you barely even notice it because it becomes sweet with a small tart taste. Delish! 

Here is my pie without the rhubarb where I used the same crust from the link listed above but for the filling I used the recipe listed below the picture:

-5 1/2 cups of strawberries (sliced) 

-1 1/4 cups of sugar 

-1/3 cup of all purpose flour 

-1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon 

Simply mix these ingredients together for the filling and once the crust is made and set in the dish pour in this mixture. 

My loved and cherished Granny.

As this summer truly begins with the passing of memorial day, my blogging for the summer will soon take off. This summer began differently than expected as my sweet Granny passed away just two weeks ago. My heart aches and my eyes fill with tears as I write this post. Granny did not lose her battle to cancer but fought until the end and WON because she now is rejoicing eternally with our Heavenly Father. I could sit here for hours and list my favorite memories and stories about my Granny but instead I will share one moment and one precious little gift I have to remember this lady who my heart longs to be with again. 

Granny getting her pedicure. 

 In february, Granny was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and began chemo soon after that. On my spring break, in the beginning of march, I was home and took her to get a pedicure. I helped her to the car, got her to the nail salon and watched her get a pedicure while I got one too. My eyes filled with tears when I looked over and saw her eyes softly closed and her face relaxed as she got her stubborn, worn out feet cleaned and rubbed. The woman giving her the pedicure had no idea what she was doing in that moment, but as I looked on I saw a beautiful lady losing her hair and her strength to an awful illness have a moment of complete peace and relaxation. It's in recalling this moment that I see the goodness of the Lord and that even in this nasty illness she had many moments of peace and relaxation like this one. I believe God gave her moments like this with my cousins, mom, aunts and uncles to show to us all that one day (sooner than we expected) she would be in heaven and those little glimpses of peace, relaxation, and joy are now permanent. 

My Granny's cameo. 

Lastly, 3 years ago my Granny gave me  her cameo that was her grandmothers. On the day of my Granny's funeral it was the only jewelry I wore. This cameo is the first piece of jewelry in my life that I will hold onto and never let go of. It is not because it is worth a ton of money but because it is from my granny a woman who knew and loved her children and grandchildren so well. She gave us all gifts perfect for who we are whether they were time or special trinkets. We will all hold on tightly to these gifts and never let go. So, thank you, granny for the gifts of all kinds that you gave your 5 children, 16 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren, they will be cherished and held onto tightly until we rejoice along side you in heaven.

xoxo, 

Anna Crew 

Happy Summer! Easy Shrimp for the Grill

    It is finally summer for me, and the true blogging journey starts. I NEVER again in my life will live in a dorm so I will forever have a kitchen, and I could not be more excited. I will be living at home until August WITH a kitchen, and then I will be moving into a house in Charleston WITH a kitchen. Okay, I have gotten that excitement off my chest, so now time for the kick off recipe for this lovely summer.

      My dad, who only cooks on the grill, and I cooked a kick off summer dinner the other night. We made  grilled shrimp, grilled vegetables, grilled red potatoes and homemade cornbread. It kills my heart to make cornbread because nothing about it is healthy or good for you. I pour the buttermilk into the dry ingredients with much resistance. I actually did not eat it because I try and steer clear of anything with dairy especially when I am out of Lactaid... So here is the "how to" for this yummy dinner: (disclaimer- this is not my healthiest recipe ever but it's delicious.)

My dad and I bought shrimp (deveined and shelled). We marinated them in a  recipe from my uncle that is super easy and they only need to sit in the marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge.
Here is the recipe for the marinade for 1 lb of shimp:
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/6 a cup of mayo
1/6 of melted butter
1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper  
Just whisk all the ingredients together.


After the marinade is ready pour it into a ziplock with the skewered shrimp and place in the fridge for 30 min. Once you take out the fridge place on grill until pink (5ish minutes on each side but keep a close eye on them).


Along with  the shrimp I sliced squash and zucchini and cooked them as long as I did the shrimp.
I poured a little olive oil on them along with Nature's seasoning (my go to seasoning- not fancy at all).

The potatoes need to cook a bit longer than the shrimp and veggies. I cute them up into slices and wrapped them in foil (camping style) and cooked them on the grill for about 45 minutes. I  covered them in olive oil and nature's seasoning but you could add a different seasoning to spice it up













Lastly, the glorious cornbread. It is one of my favorite recipes from Pioneer Woman. Like I said it is not healthy and you end  loading it with honey to make it even more wonderful, I like to call it a dessert to make myself feel better about it. Check out the link for the recipe:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/10/skillet-cornbread/

Oh boy, It's Joy! My first friend feature.

This is my first feature on my blog and I couldn't think of a better person. Joy (in the pic on the left) is one of best friends in college. Her name sums her up perfectly as she brings joy to so many people. Thankful for this sweet friend who shares my love for gift giving and crafting. Enjoy this little recipe box she made and make one of your own. Thanks, Joy for letting me share.

xoxo,

Anna Crew 

Here is the precious, little recipe box. 

 She painted the inside and outside of the box and cut card stock for the recipe cards so they would fit perfectly inside. 

 All you need is paint which are less than a dollar each, a stamp and ink pad, paint brush, and a plain wooden craft box. All of this can be found at your local Michael's, Hobby Lobby, or JoAnn's. This craft is super cheap but a great idea for a gift or for your own kitchen. 

Go Granny Go!-easy goodie bag idea

    My sweet little Granny is undergoing chemo right now and since my love language is gift giving that is how I like to love her during this time. She is a fighter and keeping us all smiling as she is undergoing a major physical and mental challenge. I visited her Monday while she was undergoing a  chemo treatment and brought her a little goodie bag. She kept me laughing and smiling the whole time I was there. She truly inspires me as she finds joy in her fight. Go Granny Go! 

     I LOVE the target dollar section and can always fine fun goodies there. I bought these three at target to fill a little burlap sack with Milano cookie, post it notes and Peeps lip balm( why not?). 

I bought these notecards from Michael's. If you are ever looking for cute stationary check out Michael's in the discount section. I have gotten a lot of cute stationary for there for $1-5. 

I am always saving Antrhoplogie tissue paper for future crafts, so I used that to fill the burlap sack ($1 from Target also). I put everything in the burlap sack and tied a simple knot on the side of the bag. Done, done and done. Total 5$. 

Note: These burlap bags are great for gift bags to put jewelry in or to just fill and give someone a little treat bag full of goodies. Also, they could make great Easter gifts or Easter basket fillers. They are definitely a new favorite find of mine! Go get a few from your local target. 

Molasses Oatmeal

    I like to research random foods or ingredients  already in my pantry and Saturday morning it was Molasses. My interest with this started  when I recently bought a new bottle of molasses for a recipe. My granny and I had a conversation about it. She told me it was her dad's (my great grandfather) favorite  thing to add to any food to make it sweet and they always had it in the house. So suddenly, I became interested in molasses and if there were any benefits to eating it over some other sweeteners. Her father ate it for pure taste and was not concerned about the health benefits but I was…

     First, let me inform you molasses contains a lot of sugar! I am a sugar revolving girl. I am trying to decrease my sugar intake because I eat way too much but it was saturday and I wanted to treat myself with a semi-sweet breakfast. I did learn through research online a few things about molasses:
1. What is it? It is the by-product when sugarcane is refined.
2. It contains a pretty good source of iron, magnesium, copper, and potassium. Copy and paste the link below if you are curious about the health benefits. http://www.livestrong.com/article/262769-molasses-nutrition-information/
3. Molasses is not some super food but it is a great alternative to add to oatmeal for a "sweet treat" breakfast. This is not a normal daily breakfast but its better than a doughnut on a saturday.

I was looking up breakfast ideas on Real Simple's website and came across some ideas for oatmeals and that is where I saw the idea for Molasses oatmeal along with many other great ideas for oatmeal. Here is the link to copy and paste if you are interested in creative types of oatmeal:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/quick-easy/oatmeal-recipe-00100000099427/index.html

Ingredients you will need:

 I added a little cinnamon for flavor. 

 Cook oatmeal according to its directions without the bananas and molasses. 

 Add chopped banana and molasses. 

 I spent my morning bird watching with my dad in our sunroom while eating my oatmeal.
Pure happiness! 

I changed the recipe slightly from the Real Simple idea or my molasses oatmeal. I used the instructions on the back of the oat box to make the oatmeal. I make my oatmeal with just water because I steer clear of dairy when I can because of my mildly lactose intolerant stomach...
So all you need is (for 1 serving):
-1/2 cup of oats
-1 cup of water (milk if you choose)
-dash of cinnamon (optional)
-Little less than a tablespoon of molasses
-Chopped banana

*I did not add any other sugar or anything. The molasses is very rich and provides plenty of flavor. You could add some type of walnuts or pecans if you desire.

Cute little card.

I have a bit of an obsession with yarn and tissue paper so I made this simplistic card for my mom. I used card stock, yarn, tissue paper and my favorite yellow string. 

Birthday Celebration.

Saturday night my family and I had a birthday celebration for my mom. I decorated a little bit for this party and did some floral arrangements which are my new favorite thing to do. I have gained a lot of respect for florist because floral arrangements are NOT easy- I have a lot to learn and mine are not anything close to the pros'. We got Chipotle catering and a cake from Delish- a wonderful bakery in Charleston. Please enjoy and maybe get a few simple ideas from this party:

I used the kitchen table as a buffet table: 

I highly recommend the Chiptole Catering- very reasonable priced and they give you it ready to serve:

 This cake was to die for. I had been without sugar for a while and waiting for this was worth it. The icing was the best . (It slid a bit in the car).

 Meet my latest pride and joy. I got the flowers from Trader Joe's and had the mason jar. 

The little branches are Curly Willow I also had. Looks simple but this took me way too long. 

We had 17 people (yes, my immediate family is huge) so there is not much room for decorations on my mom's dining room table so I did this arrangement with Quince I cut from the yard along with the flowers from Trader Joe's.  

Also made these fun tissue paper balls. They are my favorite party decoration. I will have to post a tutorial on how to make them because they are super easy to make. The purple mesh can be found at Michaels and it comes on rolls and in a lot of colors. 

Here are a few of my favorite little details:

I found this dragon fly wrapping paper at TJ Maxx and I'm obsessed. 

This red is fabulous.  

 There plates are actually Dixie brand paper plates but I thought they were super fun.

 If you know me you know I love yellow so I had to add in these cute plates and napkins that are Spritz from Target. 

I usually like to make my own signs with the cricut but when I found this sign at Target a few months ago I knew I needed it and would use it often and I do. 

Party, party!

And of course, Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother. She has inspired my creativity and love for decorating and crafting. 

Love you, Mom!