Tasty Tuesday...on Wednesday?

I know it's Wednesday, but I made this meal on yesterday. So, technically, it still counts.

Last night, I posted this pic to Instagram and it got more likes than some of my outfit posts!

Yall, this food was sooooooo gooooooood!!!!!!! So good, that I'm breaking it all down for you to enjoy.

Garlic Paprika Salmon

First of all, I buy the family-sized bag of frozen salmon at Kroger and I cook them frozen! For this recipe, I lined a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and placed a little cooking rack on top. Spray a little cooking spray on the rack and place my frozen salmon on top. I poured a little olive oil over the fillets and them sprinkled on a little salt, pepper & paprika. I then spread on about 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic on to each fillet. Bake in the oven on 400 degrees for 25 minutes from frozen. Done!

Savory Sweet Brussel Sprouts

OK. Get your notepad out and get ready to write this one down, because you're going to want to remember this recipe for the rest of you days! I came across this recipe on the Real Simple website and modified it to our tastes. Basically, I just left out the raisins.

2 lbs of brussel sprouts, trimmed and halfed

6 strips of bacon

1 large shallot

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon of honey

salt and pepper

First, toss your brussel sprouts in the oil, salt and pepper. Lay them out on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Roast them a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, flipping once half way through. While your sprouts are roasting, cut up your bacon into 2 inch strips and fry. Remove the bacon and set to the side. Pour off about 2/3 of the grease. With the remaining grease, toss in your shallots and cook for about 4 or 5 minutes. Add your red wine vinegar and then add in your roasted brussel sprouts. Toss in the pan for about 2-3 minutes and then add your bacon. Pour into your serving bowl and then drizzle with honey. Serve!

"Baked" Sweet Potatoe

I rinsed off 3 single serving sized sweet potatoes in cold water and then put them in the microwave for 15 minutes (flipping them over at 5 minute increments). Once done, let them rest in the microwave for a minute or two (or five), before taking them out. To fix them up, split them down the center and fluff the insides. Add in a pat of butter, a pinch of salt, a dash of nutmeg and little bit of brown sugar and continue to mash. Done!

I am not over-exaggerating when I tell you that this meal was amazing! I may cook it all over again tonight!

The Hunt for the Perfect Fabric

So, yesterday, I showed a little sneak peek of an upcoming (and back breaking) project.

Before I get on to telling you what this is for, I just had to share my inspiration behind the entire scheme.

I was on the hunt for a black and white, geometric patterned fabric with a graffiti aesthetic and came across this Domesticate fabric on Spoonflower.

I LOVE the graphic, freestyle pattern. I just think I was looking for something that had more of a balance between the black and the white. Not to mention that the price was a total deterrent. Honestly, $17.50/yd. isn't bad, but I could never see myself paying that price for fabric. It's just not in me.

After the sticker shock, I decided to look for some do-it-yourself inspiration. Leave it to two of my favorite bloggers to come through for me. Danika of Gorgeous Shiny Things doesn't have a dry paint brush in her house. This girl just doesn't rest! She transformed a fabulous set of drapes with the help of a little paint.

The geometric pattern was speaking to my soul!

Don't you just love it?

But, then, I began to think about how different my application was going to be from the drapes. What I loved most about Danika's geo print was the way it looked when the drapes were gathered. There'd be no gathering in my project.

Well, then, I came across another painted drapery project, this one was rock out by my blog-bestie, Shavonda, over at A Home Full of Color.

The circles were perfect!

I knew that with a little modification that this was exactly the look I was looking for!

I was gifted with a bolt of 8 yards of white cotton canvas fabric by my boss (who used to manage a fabric store!) and I immediately got to work.

I'm smiling in this photo, but painting 8 yards of fabric is not a stroll down the beach. Collectively, it took me about 12 hours to free-hand every single circle. My shoulder and neck still hate me for it.

But, once done, I was one happy camper.

And, now, to kill all the anticipation...

Yeah. This one's a doosie. If you don't hear from me for another week, you know where I'll be.

photos via GorgeousShinyThings & AHomeFullofColor

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

1.2.3.4.5.

I'd totally get pinched for not wearing green today (I'm still in my pajamas). Luckily, I'm in the comforts of my home, away from the public eye, searching for pretty green housewares and working on a new project. Want to see a sneak peak?

More on this later! Hope you're having a blast celebrating good ole Patty!