Fajitas!

Cheap and easy: Two of my favorite adjectives...for food. With Beau's freelance keeping him busy at least three hours every night, and my Mended Furniture projects taking up most of my time, we're finding less and less time for food and more and more excuses to order out. Both for the waist and wallet, this is doing wonders, so I've been trying different recipes that won't take forever to cook, and that are cheap and that don't come frozen. In this particular case, I tried to spice things up with chicken fajitas!


1. Season and bake the chicken breasts (~20 minutes at 400 degrees)
2. While chicken is cooking, season and sauté white onions and bell pepper, allowing the onions to brown and soften (season with salt and pepper and a little Tony's. OR add taco seasoning - it gives it a big 'ole kick)
3. When ready to serve, heat up tortillas, add light sour cream, the chicken, and the veggies
4. Before wrapping the tortillas, toss on a touch of your favorite salsa.
5. Enjoy those chicken fajitas!!

I love this because the whole meal only takes about 20 minutes (the time it takes the chicken to bake). Everything else can be completed white it's already in the oven. Also, clean up is a breeze, too. Just get your maid to do it...and by maid I mean you. Cheers!

Photography - Cupcakes and Cream

A few weekends ago, I ran into an old friend from high school at a wedding that Beau and I attended. I knew from Facebook that she was in culinary school, but I had no idea that she also managed a cupcake shop on Sherwood Forrest (and another location in Denham Springs) called Cupcakes and Cream. Short story long, I also happened to know owner of the shop from working at Hello Sushi, and they were wanting to put together a lookbook for Nottingway Plantaton so brides can have and see the option of using them in the place of (or with) a traditional wedding cake.

The point of all this is that The Mended Nest was asked to photograph the cupcakes and to help them create a lookbook/portfolio of their cupcakes. They saw some of our pictures from the blog, and decided to use us instead of a true professional photographer, and I'm so happy they did. They're both super nice and extremely easy to work with. Best part of all - they loaded my down with cupcake after cupcake! My favorite - Red Velvet with the cream cheese icing. I mayyy have to drop by again for some completely made up reason just to get some more! Make sure to check them out sometime soon! I think it's a GREAT alternative to a traditional cake  - especially at a birthday party. No plates or silverware to clean, PORTION CONTROL, and at the same time, no one gets to little piece (especially you)!

Pumpkins Out, Tree In

Howdy! Well I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving week - Beau and I certainly did. I'm sure we gained a collective 30 lbs at least! Not only did we go to Covington for my family's dinner, but we also attended two friends' Thanksgiving parties. The food at all three - OMG! Thank God all that eating is over, and I have a solid month of working out/running before Christmas feasts begin...or maybe just more eating.


Well, Friday morning, Beau and I went down to Louisiana Nursery to pick out our Christmas tree! Clearly, we didn't waste ANY time (I joked with Beau saying that we got it so early that it'll be nice 'n dead by the time Christmas comes!) Last year, Beau and I traveled to Covington to cut down a tree from a Christmas tree farm, but since we were just there for Thanksgiving, we opted for less driving and to stay in EBR. It was so nice decorating - it's one of my favorite parts of Christmas! We turned the lights down, had seasonal candles burning, Christmas music on, and we pretended like it wasn't 75 degree outside. Happy Almost-December!

Black Friday!

Hello All! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and now you're laid up on the couch, watching TV in blankets with a (cozy fire) with the family. Or - if you're like us - up at 7:30 to whining dogs, already went out for a walk, breakfast (leftovers) have been shoveled down, and now you're working on laundry, sweeping, and all other misc. house duties. Fun.

Were you one of those crazies who have been in a line since 9pm last night to get all the good 25% discounts at BestBuy and Target? Well, (unfortunately) no one is lining up at The Mended Nest's front door waiting for our furniture, (or bringing us their's to refinish) but that's okay...maybe one day. For now, we're happy to announce that if you email us today, we'll give you a 30% discount on all furniture that you bring to us to refinish! (We would do some selling, too, but we've sold everything in our inventory!

Make sure to contact us today! TheMendedNest@gmail.com

Gobble Gobble, Y'all

A honey butter basted turkey that's been rubbed with thyme, sage, and rosemary, stuffed with an apple sausage stuffing. I've said enough. Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

(And thank you Stephanie for the turkey!)

White Light Night

This past Friday, we, and a bunch of our friends, attended MidCity's White Light Night. "White Light Night celebrates local and area arts while providing a safe, festive evening for thousands to meander about the MidCity area [in Baton Rouge]. The visitors renew the vibrancy of the local art scene while shopping for the upcoming holiday season [while enjoying live music at every location]."

Everyone met up at our house on Capital Heights (since we're on outskirts of Midcity) for a couple glasses of wine. Then, we headed over to join the fun, starting at our friend, Chef Don Bergeron's store for great food, more wine, and a little socializing. Don's store is in a prime location for the rest of the shops, galleries, and restaurants that participate so we didn't have to travel too far afterwards. White Light Night really is one of my favorite parts about living in the MidCity/Capital Heights area. There's so much culture and inspiration (at least compared to other parts of Baton Rouge). Unfortunately, I could't capture it's essence with the pictures it took. It's hard to snap pictures with a glass of wine in hand...the whole evening!

Thanksgiving Table Ideas

I Certainly cannot claim this as my own - in fact I completely stole the leaf idea from Pintrest, but I'm still super excited to pass it on to y'all! Let's start with the napkins. This is great, especially if you're cooking for tons of people, because you won't have to run out and buy a million napkin rings. Simple take a square napkin, pinch the middle and pull up (you'll have all four corners dangling). From here, lay it down so the middle, where you pinched, faces you and the four corners face away. Finally, tie a simple bow using a piece of hemp. Done!

The leaf with the name written in gold paint pen is one of the best ideas ever. Certainly handwriting names on a card or getting them printed is also a great option, but this is just so unique and unexpected...and basically free (just the cost of the paint pen). Based on experience, your Thanksgiving guests will absolutely love it! I hope you like these ideas. Enjoy your time off from school, shortened work weeks, and time with friends, family, and loved ones.

Oyster Party!

This Saturday, Beau and I headed out to my hometown (Covington, LA) to meet up with my whole family at Mawmaw's (Jeri's mom) for oysters! We usually have this get-together every year right before Thanksgiving, and I love it! Fried, grilled, and especially raw, I love oysters pretty much anyway you can serve them. I'm sure many of you looking at the pictures of the raw oysters are getting a little squeamish, but don't knock it 'till you try it!...and even if you HAVE tried it, still don't knock it! Mmm..my mouth is watering for a Saltine cracker, raw oyster, and a little cocktail sauce...OR a piece of homemade toast and butter, raw oyster, and mignonette sauce. Heaven! (Especially when you wash it down with a Stella!)

Yummy Eats @ Burgersmith

Holy crapola! Beau, our friend, Ryan, and I were in MUCH need of a hangover cure after Saturday night, and since I had just gone to Fat Cow, we decided to switch it up and try Baton Rouge's newest burger spot - Burgersmith. Y'all, we're hooked. Starting with the decor and atmosphere - with exposed air-conditioning ducts, finished concrete floors, modern wood grain, and simple metal chairs, it has that industrial, loft, or warehouse vibe which I absolutely love.

Now the food....Oh. Em. Gee. I don't know if it was just because we were all in dire need of some greasy eats, but we all thought it was craaazy good. Beau and Ryan both had burgers - Beau had the Filet Burger, and Ryan had the USDA Certified Organic Grass Fed Beef Burger. You want to talk about it?! I opted for something a little different: The Cajun Bratwurst Sandwich. It was a chicken breast grilled with cajun spices, topped wit alligator sausage, grilled onions, "Smith sauce", and creole mustard all on a toasted gourmet bun. Please try this sandwich. PLEASE God, try this sandwich! To make everything even better, they were all served with garlic and butter fries. For dessert, we all got ice cream...because that was completely necessary. And now I have to workout on MY Sunday!

Please, please make it a point to try out Burgersmith. You will NOT be disappointed!

Custom Invite - Bridal Shower (Elizabeth and Miles)

Yet another custom invite from The Mended Nest! I have to say, it has been such a pleasure working with Elizabeth for all of her wedding stationary. In total we'll be working on the save the date, rehearsal dinner invite, shower invite, and the actual wedding Invitation. This, the shower invite, is the most recent project we've tackled. We love it, but more importantly, Elizabeth loves it. This is her custom invite, and Beau and I were simple there to execute it for her.

To inquire about using The Mended Nest for your custom invite for weddings, showers, parties, birthdays, holiday cards, or stationary, please email us at TheMendedNest@gmail.com!

For Sale: DIY - Tablet Cover

 

This is the latest DIY project by The Mended Nest that I have for sale. This custom cover would make an excellent gift for anyone with an iPad, laptop, Kindle, or any other tablet! The felt, the buttons, and stitching are customizeable, so you have the option of choosing whichever colors you want. Fancy, right?

I love the one in the picture, and I get compliments on it every time I take it out. My only warning about gifting it: you MAY want to keep it for yourself. Come on - how cute would it look in your Louis Vuitton purse/murse sitting on the passenger seat of your Prius as you wait in line for your venti, soy, non-fat, one Splenda, pumpkin spice latte (hold the whip, please) while listening to Dolly Parton's Hard Candy Christmas, after you just got out of yoga? Yeahhhh...

Roses Are Red

This is one of the fist pictures I took when we bought our Cannon G-11 camera, and it's still one of my favorites. Soon, the G-11 will simple be for party pics as we're searching for a new, better, and more professional camera to take pictures for the blog and for freelance photography. It's crazy to think how the blog has grown from something so simple into the beginnings of an entire company. We're certainly still learning as we're go, but I think the most important part is that that we're really enjoying the journey. Thank you for reading - it means the world to us. Happy Tuesday.

This picture, as well as all others from The Mended Nest are for sale, and if you're interested, please email us at themendednest@gmail.com for more information.

DIY - Nightstand in Arles

This weekend, I finished up another Mended Furniture project...and it isn't Duck Egg Blue! Beau's step mom, Claudean contacted me and explained she was in search of a little night stand for their newly built guest loft. Coincidentally, I had just taken one from my parents' attic in hopes of refinishing and selling it. Claudean wanted to go with yellow, so after discussing a few options, she chose Annie Sloan's Arles. To be honest, yellow would have been one of the last colors I personally would have chosen, but I'm glad Claudean did because after seeing the end product, it looks GREAT! I'm so aggravated with myself because I completely forgot to take "before" and "progress" pictures. Oh well - hope you guys and gals like it!

For more info or pricing quotes for Mended Furniture - contact us at TheMendedNest@gmail.com! 

Cheers

Happy 11.11.11! Only time (in our lifetime) that every number in the date - when written in 6 digits - will be the same. Makes me want a little champagne, but since its before 10am...mimosas it is. Cheers!

Custom Invitation - Tripp and Davis

One of our best friends, Lissa W. has been a huge supporter of The Mended Nest since day one. In fact, working on her Christmas card last year is one of the contributing factors that sparked the whole concept of the blog and company. So far, she's used us for a few invitations, the most recent being for her son, Davis and his friend, Tripp's 10th birthday party. Keeping with a zipline theme, Lissa trusted us enough to pretty much let us do whatever we wanted, and this is the final product. I know Lissa loved it - we hope you do, too!

For more information about custom invites through The Mended Nest, please contact us at themendednest@gmail.com!

Burgers are Ready

Vegetarians beware - Sunday evening, Beau and I had our friend, Ryan over for some homemade burgers to thank him for watching the Danes while Beau and I were at the wedding in Covington. This is the FIRST time I've ever cooked burgers, and I have to say, I was kind of impressed with myself! Okay...I was impressed with all the seasoning I threw on them! Check this out...


The Meat:


- Ground round meat (oh yes!)
- olive oil
- chopped basil
- 3 cloves of fresh garlic
- Worcestershire
- homemade BBQ sauce
- Tony's seasoning
- garlic and onion seasoning


Dressed with:


- Crumbled blue cheese
- sliced red onion
- basil leaves
- Roma tomatoes
- alfalfa sprouts
- homemade mayonnaise*
   - light mayo
   - truffle oil
   - salt and pepper
   - touch of garlic powder


Served with crisp sweet potato fries, ketchup, and a glass of Chardonnay. A M A Z I N G.