Good Morning friends! I hope that you all had an amazing holiday weekend. Monday may have come a little too quickly. Although I am prepping for the week ahead and getting back into the swing of things, I can not help dreaming about Christmas trees, good food, holiday movies, and the most delicious boozy hot chocolate. So today I am going to share with you an incredibly easy recipe that will keep you in the holiday spirit all week long.

All you need is Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate, Milk (or Almond Milk), a bottle of Baileys, some candy canes, marshmallows, and cinnamon. In a saucepan simmer the milk until it is warm. Then in a glass mix in the milk, hot chocolate mix, and a shot of Baileys. Top the glass with marshmallows, cinnamon, and a candy cane. The candy cane will melt and create the most delicious peppermint flavor that compliments the chocolate and the creaminess of the Baileys. The cinnamon takes the whole thing to a new level.

It doesn’t get more festive than this folks. This is the perfect drink to bring us into the new month.

I hope this Monday isn’t too crazy for you all, and you have some time to sneak in a little Cyber Monday shopping.

xx Casey

Hi guys! I am coming at you this Friday with the perfect soup recipe for this chilly weather that is upon us. This super easy recipe is totally customizable and takes minimal effort. So pop open a bottle of wine, put a pot of this on the stove, and enjoy a cozy night in.

The Ingredients 

1 cup of rice – I used Jasmine, but any type of rice would do!

1/2 cup diced onions

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 lb mushrooms

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup white wine

1 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons flour

Salt & Pepper to taste

Method of Prep

Cook rice until tender. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic. Cook until softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and mushrooms to the pot. Cook until the mushrooms have released all of their liquid and turn golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Add the flour and stir until the flour is no longer visible. Add the white wine. Continue simmering until the wine is reduced by half.

Add the chicken broth, and bring to a boil. The soup will begin to thicken quite quickly. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add milk and cooked rice. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

At this point I wanted to add a little something extra so I added in about a cup of shredded rotisserie chicken. This step is completely optional, but I wanted to add a little something to make it even heartier. You can also add in some boiled potatoes or additional vegetables and sub chicken broth for vegetable broth and milk for almond milk to make a vegetarian version.

I am going to be honest with you, I ate the entire pot in three days. This is a recipe I will definitely be doubling the next time I make it.

xx Casey

GUYS – Get ready for a super intricate cocktail recipe post. This is totally going to be a long one so get ready. Are you sitting down? Here is the list of ingredients: Bottle of Sparkling Rose, and a Popsicle.

Open up the bottle, pour yourself a glass, pop a Popsicle in, and enjoy. Obviously I used a bomb pop this weekend because I was feeling extra festive. Seriously sometimes the simplest of things are the most amazing. I am thinking some fresh fruit Popsicle placed in a vodka soda would be killer as well. This weekends drink of choice? I think so.

Tonight I am keeping the good vibes rolling at the Florida Georgia Line concert. Nothing says patriotic like some country jams, good friends, and a Bud Light. Also did I mention they are performing with The Backstreet Boys… AND NELLY. Oh my lord… early 2000’s Casey’s heart is melting. I love me some Nelly and I am not ashamed.

Hope you all have an incredible weekend and I will check back in with you on Monday. Cheers!

xx Casey

Good Morning Friends and Happy Monday! I am hoping that unlike me you are all at the beach or at the pool continuing on the holiday weekend festivities. I am counting down the hours until I have a dozen $1 oysters and a glass of rosé in my hands.

Today I am sharing with you a dessert recipe perfect for any 4th of July BBQ’s you may be attending tonight or tomorrow. These really is a quick recipe that is sure to make a splash! I am also going to share with you a couple trials and errors I learned along the way because let’s be honest, I am not America’s next top baker.

For the Cherry Filling: 

1 Cup Sugar

2 Cups Pitted Cherries

3 Tablespoons of Cornstarch

1 Tablespoon of Butter

For the Blueberry Filling: 

1 Cup Sugar

3 Cups Blueberries

3 Tablespoons of Cornstarch

1 Tablespoon of Butter

You will also need: 

Pie crust – you can make your own or if you are short on time just pick up a box of pie crust like I did.

1 Egg – for the egg wash

Start by making the blueberry filling. Place the sugar, cornstarch, and blueberries in a small pot. Let the Blueberries sit in the sugar for 10 minutes to release the juices. Then cook the cherries with the sugar, stirring constantly, until the mixture is translucent. Add one tablespoon of butter and set aside. Follow the same directions for the cherry pie mixture.

Grease your pie tin with butter. Lay the first pie crust in the tin, and crimp the edges. Pour the cherry pie mixture towards the bottom of the pie. Then using a rubber spatula pour the blueberry pie mixture in the top of the pie where the stars will be. Next, take the second pie tin and cut out your stars and stripes. Layer the stripes on the pie and place the stars in the top left corner, making it look like a flag.

Place the Pie in the oven at 450 and bake for 40 minutes.

DO NOT forget to place tin foil around the edges of the pie for the first 15 minutes of baking. I forgot in my rush to get the pie done and the edges of my pie burnt. Hence why I only posted a before picture and not an after picture of my beautiful pie. I will just let you imagine it came out beautiful. However, it did taste awesome so 10 points for that right?

Hope you all have an amazing day today and tomorrow- full of life, liberty, and the pursuit of rosé.

xx Casey

 

 

 

First of all how gorgeous is this sketch? I found this beautiful picture on Pinterest and I feel so sad that there was no link to the artist, but if I find it I will definitely share it. 

Happy Friday Friends! We made it through another week. This was a particularly hard week so it is safe to say that I am ready for the weekend to be upon us. I think we all deserve a drink, so today I am sharing with you one of my favorite light and bubbly cocktail recipes. This drink consists of lavender, fresh squeezed lemon juice, limoncello, and champagne. The absolute PERFECT drink for Spring if I do say so myself.

Remove the lavender flowers from the stem and combine with the limoncello and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker. Muddle the lavender flowers to release the oils. Strain into the champagne glass and top with champagne.

This drink is light and refreshing and perfect after a long week like this. Cheers to another weekend.

xx Casey

Easter is fast approaching and besides the obvious reasons for the holiday, when I think of Easter I think of family and brunch. This year my cousin and I are not going down to New Jersey to visit family for Easter so we will be holding our first annual Cousins Easter Brunch. We did two annual cousin Thanksgivings in the past and they were a BLAST, so I am very excited to spend the day cooking, eating, and drinking.

So today I am going to share with you a delicious (and healthier?) Mimosa Recipe featuring Trader Joes cold pressed watermelon juice. All you have to do is pour some in a glass and top it off with your favorite Prosecco. A nice Sparkling Rose would also be really good with this and would make the pink color pop even more. SO FESTIVE.

So there you have it, an incredibly simple and delicious mimosa perfect for your upcoming East Brunch. And for all spring and summer long really.. I think this might become a brunch staple.

xx Casey

I don’t know what it is about coffee shops, but they are probably some of my favorite places in the world. The sounds, the smells, the tastes, everything about them is so comforting. So this past Friday I visited one I have been wanting to go to for a while now, and that is The Shop on Wickenden Street in the East Side of Providence.

The place was busy for a late Friday morning, but I found myself a nice window seat in the corner of the shop. I walked up to the counter and was greeted by the incredibly welcoming staff. No stuffy baristas here… these guys were happy to help make suggestions, and made you feel at home. I ordered a Nitro Cold Brew which was served in the cutest mason jar for my beverage. For food I ordered the item I had been eyeing on Instagram for weeks- the avocado sprinkled with lime, red pepper flakes, and sea salt served with two slices of fresh ciabatta bread. The whole thing was served on the cutest wooden boards making for a perfect presentation.

As I enjoyed my meal and worked on my bullet journal and blog content I was surrounded by the sounds of some of my favorite bands, The Head and The Heart & The Lumineers.  I wound up spending over an hour in the little shop enjoying my time, never wanting to leave.

This is one of the cozy shops that I will definitely be returning to often, and I suggest you stop by if you haven’t yet.

xx Casey

The thing I love most about living in Providence is that there is always something new and exciting popping up throughout the city. Last night in particular my friends and I headed over to The Dean Hotel on Fountain Street for a taste of summer. It has been in the 50s the past couple days so that must mean it’s almost summer right? The Dean hosted their second Eight Seas Pop-Up Tiki Bar at the Bolt Coffee counter located in their lobby. After missing the first one I was very excited to finally get to go and taste the delicious drinks on their menu.

If you have never been to The Dean there is only one way I can describe it and that’s “cool”. Like really cool. Almost too cool.. I like to think of myself as hip, but these guys at The Dean take it to a whole other level. From the dim lights, to the neon signs, to the indie music playing in the background, I was loving the vibe. I have a whole post coming up about the different outlets located in The Dean (if you haven’t been to Faust yet – go!).

I went up to the counter and ordered the Lei Lani Volcano which was a mix of pineapple rum, coconut cream, lime, and guava soda. The bartender topped the drink with a flower and two bendy straws and I instantly felt like it was the middle of July. The drink was awesome. It was sweet without being too sweet, and the guava soda was an unexpected but very pleasant touch.

Side note.. please don’t mind the drink picture – the moody atmosphere did not make for the best pictures!

Catch Eight Seas popping up at The Dean every third Monday of the month.  I am definitely looking forward to the next one.

xx Casey

Idk how the weather was where you live yesterday, but over here on the East Coast it was a BEAUTIFUL Sunday. 60 degrees and sunshine in February – what more could you ask for?

I decided to take this opportunity to go to one of my favorite summer spots in Providence – Hot Club. I have so many memories at this little place, and I am looking forward to many many more. Did you know that Hot Club was also featured in the movie Something About Mary? #famous.

Yesterday was Hot Club’s first Sunday Funday of the year – a day where they have awesome food trucks, live music, and good times. You can get your food from the trucks and then head inside for a beer, or you can get yourself a beer first drink it while you stand on line at one of the busy trucks. Whatever floats your boat. Yesterday the trucks were FanCheezical, SoulFull, PrestoStrangeO, Haven Brothers Mobile Truck, and Sarcastic Sweets. I had never been to Haven Brothers before so I knew I wanted to get a bacon cheeseburger from there. Did you know that Haven Brothers was featured on an episode of Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives? SO many fun Rhode Island tidbits in this post! My boyfriend got the Short Rib Grilled Cheese from FanCheezical which was pretty awesome as well.

So I got my burger, ordered a Corona, and sat outside listening to the awesome tunes of acoustic musician Pat Lowell. Check out his Facebook page Here. He performed an awesome mix of different genres that appealed to everyone. My personal favorite was the Bob Marley/Matisyahu mash up he did. It totally set the vibe for the afternoon and I was loving it.

It almost felt like a spring afternoon.. minus the pile of snow on the deck. Be sure to check out one of Hot Clubs upcoming Sunday Fundays!

xx Casey

 

I am trying really hard right now to come up with the words to express how much I love the cheesesteaks at Tilly’s. Living in Jersey I made the drive down to Philly to visit my cousins and get some awesome cheesesteaks many times. We would argue who was king, either Pat or Gino’s, and then decide neither was and go to Jim’s on South Street or Tony Luke’s instead. But then I moved up to Rhode Island and have been cheesteak-less for quite some time.. until now.

Tilly’s is doing EVERYTHING right, and there is a reason they have a five star rating on Yelp. First of all the vibe of the place is awesome. From the welcoming staff to the old wood and beams of the building, this spot makes you feel comfortable and at home. This is a very good thing because you are about to chow down on a giant cheesesteak, and I promise you will not be able to put it down. Yes I ate the entire thing, chips and all.

When you look at the menu Tilly’s has a couple signature steaks and a customize option. The coolest thing about Tilly’s? Their bread selection. Either go for the sesame hoagie or the local fry bread. Since it was my first time I went the traditional route, but you can bet that I will be trying that fry bread on my next visit. I went with the Signature Tilly’s Philly which was served with “tortilly” chips and pickles.

The Philly Cheesesteak itself was incredible. It was juicy, cheesy, and incredibly flavorful. When I say I could not stop eating it.. I literal could not put it down. My mouth is watering just writing this. The tortilly chips were a play on Doritos and were also packed with flavor. The pickles had a little kick to them and balanced out the savoriness of the sandwich very well. Wash the whole thing down with a Mexican Coke, and you have yourself an incredible meal.

My boyfriend went with another Signature sandwich, The Anchor, because he is a huge buffalo chicken fan and loved it as well. The chicken was cooked perfectly, and was still good later on in the night for leftovers. How he had leftovers idk.. but I almost bit his hand off trying to get a bite of that sandwich later on that night.

Tilly’s is worth every minute of that drive from Providence, I am so incredibly excited to go back and try even more of their menu – that jalapeno queso is calling my name!

xx Casey