My Middle Bro turns 30!

Today's post is dedicated to my 14 month older big bro - hardly old enough to call him the older brother {and many are surprised that he is}, but I love him none-the-less.

A BIG HAPPY 30th, ROBERTO!!! 

Rob actually got to live 14 months of his life in silence {being the cute, little brother}... and then I came along! :)  I'm not sure if I feel worse for my mother, Clint or for Rob... but Rob seems to be doing well these days... and survived my lego destruction parties, princess tea-parties, stuffed animal wars and demands to dress him up.

Rob and grew up attached at the hip. The two youngsters of the clan - if Rob jumped, I jumped...  if Rob cried, I cried... if Rob wanted to go outside... so did I! You get the picture - we were best of friends from age 1- around 8, then we {Rob} were in school and decided we were way to cool to friends with each other. :)  I would say around 9th grade we decided it was ok to be friends again. And we spent the rest of high school pretty much right along side each other again. We mashed all our friends together and decided it would be way more fun to all hang out together... cause then we have boys {and they get to hang out with the girls}!

Terry Cove Summers ~ Circa 1980's

After high school, Rob decided to stay close and go to South for school... which was nice to still have him around, like he was still there in HS with me!  After I graduated, Rob joined the Navy {Insert 9-11} and I went off to Auburn with Clint. We wrote letters {yes, on paper} and he came to visit more than I could get away.... but we had fun doing our own thing.  I would say it was good sibling separation time {except, I got to hang out with the other one - I'm sneaky like that}. haha   Then Rob moved to Key West and I was leaving for Virginia. We had one last week-long celebration in Key West... that was by far more exhausting than anything.  I don't think I've ever left a vacation so exhausted, but we had a blast... and little did we know that 2 months later we would both meet our soon to be husband and wife and well, the rest is just history!

Roberto, I'm so proud of you and so happy to call you my brother {and an awesome father, husband & friend}!  You couldn't have picked a more perfect {wonderful} wife and you have two of the sweetest, cutest little ones around.  Today, I am sending you lots of love and hugs on your 30th!  Can you believe we're this old? WOW!

Clint, Me & Rob at my wedding ~ May 2011

I decided for your 30th it would be fun to share some fun!

I love you bro, Happy Birthday!

The Hastings

Happy 4th Anniversary to some a wonderful couple.... and fabulous friends! We are so excited to celebrate with you tonight and remember how great the last 4 years have been! 

Celebation!

Pumpkin Patchin'

Wedding Showers!

Birthdays!

Derby Parties!

Weddings!

Jaycees! 

...and many more memories yet to be made! 

We love you Brad and Jessie!

Hale the Kale

Kale, the super-food right?  We are pretty healthy eaters, but for some reason Kale never seems to make it's way into our shopping cart at the grocery.  I think the one time I did try to buy it I couldn't find it... so I gave up and bought spinach instead.  Needless to say, I haven't really been too enthused about trying to eat it. But on a whim this week we picked up a bag of Organic Kale Salad at Kroger because it was on Manager's Special {gotta love the discounts}.

We made two meals with it - and I must say, it was pretty tasty! The hubs really loved them too... so that's a major bonus. I wanted to share our two kale meals from this week because they were easy, simple and super tasty.

The recipes below serve two people.

Monday: Grilled Flounder & Couscous with Kale

Ingredients:
2 Flounder fillets
3/4 cup Couscous (plain or flavored - ours was spiced with saffron & chives)
1 cup Kale
1 1/4 cups Water (for boiling Couscous)
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 tbsp. minced Garlic

Marinade:
2  tbsp. Olive Oil
1/2 cup White Wine
1/4 cup Soy Sauce {we substituted Worcestershire Sauce and it was just as tasty}

Roasted Red Pepper
Garlic Salt
Pepper

First, marinate the flounder {using above recipe} for 4-6 hours.  Preheat grill and cover grilling section with aluminum foil. Place fillets on foil and season with roasted red pepper, garlic salt and pepper. Cook approx. 15 minutes until flounder flakes apart.

Meanwhile, in small sauce pan, bring 1 1/4 cups water to a boil. Add Couscous and stir.  Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and cover. Let stand for 10 minutes.

At the same time, in medium sauce pan heat 1 tbsp. olive oil, add garlic and saute just until soft {do not brown garlic}. Add kale, stir, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Add kale to couscous and stir.  Serve along side fish and eat immediately!


Tuesday: Cilantro & Lime BBQ Shrimp served on sautéed Kale and grilled Green Beans. 

Ingredients:

14 large Shrimp

1/2 lb fresh Green Beans

2 cups Kale Salad {with sliced carrots & radish}

1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar 

1/2 cup Water

1/8 cup fresh Cilantro, chopped

1 tbsp. minced Garlic

1 Lime

Olive Oil

Pepper

Kosher Salt

Baste: 

1/4 cup BBQ Sauce {we used Sweet Baby Ray's}

1 tsp. Honey

Pepper to taste

Cook green beans first. Clean green beans and place in large bowl to toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Cook over medium heat on aluminum foil on the grill 10-15 minutes until done.  

Next, heat 2 tbsp. Olive Oil in medium saucepan on the stove top.  Add 1 tbsp. garlic and sauté until soft. Add kale salad and 1/2 cup water, stir, cover and cook 10 minutes or until kale is tender. When kale is cooked, remove and place in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss with red wine vinegar. 

{The shrimp take about 5 minutes to cook, so have them ready to go on the grill just before your kale is done.} First, skewer shrimp season with half your lime, pepper and cilantro. Grill for one minute on each side just until pink. Squeeze the remainder of the lime over the shrimp, baste with BBQ Sauce {as directed above} on both sides and remove from grill.  Don't over-cook shrimp!

Serve shrimp over kale salad, along side green beans and enjoy! 

Fall is here!

Fall has officially arrived in Virginia! I am a couple days late with this post... but getting out of bed to 50 degree temps is hard.  I was lucky that I did some pre-fall shopping, because all of my winter clothes are still packed up in storage {add that one to the weekend project list}. Feeling very cozy this morning, sitting at my desk in my sweater and scarf... drinking my pumpkin spice coffee with my cozy slippers on under the desk {shhh... don't tell!}.  I felt inspired to post a few of my favorite fall traditions and treats, so enjoy and Happy Fall Y'all!! 

Outdoor movies! Find out how to make your own screen on the cheap. 

Fabulous table decorations! Visit Sophia's blog to her new planter box centerpiece. 

My favorite fall boots - that go with everything! Thanks Steve Madden.

Pull-apart Pumpkin Bread... yum. I can't wait to try this for brunch. 

 Pumpkin Spice K-cups! {which I am currently enjoying}

Fun Fall decor! {Credit}

Last but not least... Auburn Football... and cute clothes to go with it!!

War Eagle and Happy Fall!  

Fun Friday Fav's!

Short and sweet today... just a few of my favorites!

This fabulous necklace from Luulla.

Word Art. {Of any kind really} Above is one I made for some good friends of ours.

Jack & Jilly designs also has some great pieces. 

Lace and Mason Jars. 

{I wish I could give photo credit here, but couldn't find the source}

Chevron, especially in orange {hello game day}

Beautiful Custom Vases. 

Just Be.

Mango Tango 2012

Mangofest 2012

Our annual girls' trip was this past weekend - what a perfect getaway with the gals!  We ate a lot, drank a lot more and laid in the sun for three beautiful days. It was amazing an I wouldn't have changed it for the world. Time with these girls reminds me how lucky we are to have each other!  

Love you MANGOS!

Mango 2012 was a perfect example! 

Until next year.... xo, Trace

Men & Sweet Tea

Well Said.  Happy Thursday! 

Bloody Mary Bar

This weekend was our annual wine festival and brunch here in Lexington, and I just wanted to share a fun addition to the party.  We had a bloody mary bar to jump start the morning and it was a hit!  I printed and framed a fun instruction sheet below for those who were not so familiar to the bloody mary drink.  We also served them in mason jars with lots of fixins's!

Bloody Mary Bar

1.         Fill your cup with ice

2.         Add 2 oz. Vodka

3.         Top ice with your spices & sauces - Feel free to get creative here…you can “Slap your mama” or “Punch your daddy” and don’t forget the hot sauce!

4.         Squeeze a lemon & lime on top

5.         Add 3 oz. bloody mary mix

6.         Shake Well!

7.         Garnish with celery, olives, pickles and more lemons & limes!

8.         Enjoy!! 

Pete's Picks of the Week

Merona® Mali Tassel Flats - sale priced for $13.99 at Target! 

 

Cupcake Red Velvet Wine - just amazing.  

We polished off the entire bottle last night with J's homemade turkey spaghetti! 

Great napkins!!  

What could possibly be more fitting for the wine festival this weekend? 

Silk polka-dot blouse - Old Navy $26.99 

An adorable tailgating platter - $38 from the gifting spot 

Just in time for football season!

Black Suade Wedges from Payless - $26.99 and worth every penny. Adorable!

Bubble Necklace - $14.99 in teal!

I did lots of fun shopping this week - only a few of which I posted above.  

Let's just say thanks end of year bonus.. that finally got put to use!