Breakfast Pizza

    I love breakfast.  It is far and away my favorite meal of the day, and I would eat it all the time if I could.  So it's safe to say that weekend breakfasts are a big deal around here.  There's usually eggs and bacon and potatoes and pancakes or waffles.  Three weeks ago after the epic concert that was Jay Z and Justin Timberlake, we needed a breakfast that would soak up all of the--er--beverages that we consumed the night before.  I had some premade pizza crust that I thought we'd use the day before.  I didn't want it to go to waste, so we used it to make a breakfast pizza!  It was the most amazing hangover cure ever.

Make the dough using your favorite pizza dough recipe the night before.  My favorite recipe yields two pies, so I usually have one laying around anyway.  Or if you'd like, just purchase a store bought crust to make prep super easy.

Oh, did I mention that maple syrup is used as a sauce on this pizza? This was Kevin's idea.  When he first mentioned it, I thought he was kidding.  I mean, cheese and syrup aren't really a match made in heaven.  But then I remembered how much we really love McGriddles from McDonald's and realized he was on to something.  If you've never had a McGriddle, splurge on your next trip because they are totally worth the calories.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Pizza
Makes one 12 inch pizza

Prepared or homemade pizza dough
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 strips bacon
2 cups grated mozzarella
2 large eggs
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons sage, roughly chopped
1 shallot or small onion, diced (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Fry bacon in sauté pan over medium-high heat until just crisp. Drain and cool; set aside.

 Drizzle the dough with maple syrup. Sprinkle dough with mozzarella, bacon, onion and sage. Crack both eggs over the top and season with salt and pepper.
 
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until crust is golden brown and eggs are just set.  Enjoy!

*Linking up with Show and Tell, Shanna, and Taste of Tuesday

Weekend Recap and Popular Posts

This weekend was not as productive as I thought it would be, but the weather was beautiful and there was the *NSYNC reunion so overall I'd say that the weekend was pretty fantastic.  Side note: I may or may not have spent this morning watching old *NSYNC videos on YouTube.  I'm not ashamed. {Saturday's impromptu picnic in the park.  Sweet tea included} {Homemade corndogs--Sunday's lunch}     ______________     On another note, a few times this month I have linked up for the Northeast Bloggers Network August Blogging Challenge.  Blogging everyday is hard, so I'm sorry if you come here and see that I haven't updated for a week sometimes. I'm trying to post on a more regular schedule but haven't quite figured it out yet.  I'll get there!  Today's prompt is to share my five favorite posts that I've written.  Instead, I thought I'd share with you my five most popular posts in case you're new around here.  Here they are in order: Pinterest Challenge
Summertime Sangria
Sage and Goat Cheese Meatballs
Fourth of July Inspiration Round-Up
Ikea Hack: Rast Dresser Turned Nightstand

Fall Favorites

While I'm not quite ready to leave these warm nights behind, fall is my favorite season.  I can't wait to go apple picking, make pies, and travel the Northeast for the perfect view of the leaves in all their glory.  Here are some of my other favorite things about fall.

WARDROBE
    Fall has got to be the best season for clothes and accessories.  Everything is so wearable and comfortable.  Here are three looks that I might try out this fall.
*Side note: Jessica Alba is a master at wearing a scarf--her collection makes me a very jealous girl.

1 | 2 | 3

DRINKS
    Fall means apple cider and mulling spices.  And it seems every brewery has their own fall blend.

 1 | 2 | 3

FOOD
Fall food is usually heavy but let me tell you that this salad by The Barefoot Contessa is amazing and I don't even really like salad.  I also like the small size of these little apple pie parfaits.  These items are a great balance to heavy chowder and tailgate food!

1 | 2 | 3

Happy Friday everyone!  It's going to be a busy weekend for us as it's my last free weekend before our big Eurotrip!  Any advice for packing/sightseeing is very very welcomed, and make sure you are following along to keep up with all of our adventures overseas!

 Bloglovin' | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

 *Linking up with Friday Favorites and Fan Friday

Honey Ginger Sangria

    I have been making a lot of sangria this summer.  I love offering it as an option when I have people over because their faces light up every. single. time.  

Me: "What would you like to drink?"
Guest: "What do you have?"
Me: "Wine, beer, rum, vodka, sangria..."
::Guest whips head around like they can't believe their ears:: "OH YES! I'LL HAVE SANGRIA!!"

    Works every time my friends.  Anyway, the red sangria recipe that I posted has become one of my most popular posts to date, so I thought it was time to update you all on my other favorite recipe-- this time for white sangria.

 

 

Ginger Honey Sangria
adapted from BHG
 
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup orange liqueur
1/2 cup honey
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 orange, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeded 
2 750 milliliter bottles white wine
1 liter  carbonated water, chilled

In a very large pitcher combine brandy, orange liqueur, and honey; stir with a long handled spoon until honey is dissolved. Add ginger, fruit, and 1 bottle of wine. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours (overnight works too).

Just before serving, stir in other bottle of wine and carbonated water. Serve over ice, if desired.  Enjoy!

 *Linking up with Rekita, Ellie, and Heather

Leather Skirt Love

    There is something about an outdoor concert that just makes it exponentially more enjoyable.  When I heard that Justin Timberlake and Jay Z would be touring this summer, I knew I wanted to go.  When I heard that it was going to be outdoors at Fenway Park, I knew it would be a once in a lifetime experience.  I already shared some pictures here, but I wanted to provide a few more details about what I wore.

{Tank: Urban Outfitters (similar) | Skirt: H&M | Shoes: Cole Haan (peep-toe version still available) | 

Earrings: Apricot Lane}

Full disclosure, I changed out my heels for some leather T-strap sandals before we left.  I knew we'd be on our feet for the whole show and might possibly walk home so I needed to be reasonable, even though these heels are crazy comfortable.

    I have been looking for the perfect leather skirt for awhile now.  It's one of those items that I'll try on, ponder, then put back on the rack because it's just not exactly right.  It's been that way for awhile now.  With fall coming up, and knowing that leather skirts will be a must-have (in any and every color) I was determined to find one.  Lucky for me it was right in front of me and reasonably priced at H&M.  I have a lot of friends tell me that H&M is kind of a hit or miss place for them to shop, and I agree.  But I do think that H&M Online will change that.  It will make the shopping experience more tailored to what you're looking for rather than just rummaging through racks and racks of clothes.  With that being said, I'm really glad that I tried this skirt on because I had to buy a size up from what I normally wear.  Have you checked out H&M Online yet?  And in case you haven't found a perfect leather skirt yet, below I have rounded up my favorites of the season.  Happy shopping!

 1/2/3/4 

Linking up today with Shanna, Pleated Poppy, Tucker Up, and Style Elixir

Is my southern showing?

   So why is my blog named Boston Sweet Tea Party?  Well, I'm a girl from Virginia living in Boston.  And while I by no means consider myself a southern belle, I do let my southern upbringing affect the way I live my life a lot.  I've been told that you can tell that I'm not from here because I'm "nice."  I will go ahead and de-bunk the myth that people in the northeast aren't nice.  It's just not true...mostly.  I also get a lot of questions about why I don't have a southern accent.  Sorry to disappoint, but good to know the stereotypes go both ways.  For the record, most people here don't have a Boston accent.  

So what exactly did I bring with me from Virginia to the city of Boston?

1) Shrimp and grits--recipe below
2) Sweet tea-- try my spiked version here!
3) Love for my college--this isn't just a southern thing, but I have found that school spirit is
    on another level in the south than it is here.  I think it's a football thing.  Obviously  a lot of 
    the city schools here don't have football teams.  It's also because we lack professional 
    sports of any kind in Virginia.

4) Love for my high school sweetheart--not to say that this is only a southern thing, but I 
    know maybe ten couples from my high school that are now married or about to be 
    married.  People here in Boston seem to be utterly shocked by this fact.  I think it's 
    because people here on average get married older than they do in the south.
5) Love of entertaining--I feel like one of those old southern ladies that always makes way
    too much food and forces people to eat way too much!
6) Love of warm weather--no brainer.  The winter here is really cold.

What have I embraced since living here?

1) Lobster anything--yes please!
2) Fall--the fall here is so amazing!  The colors are so beautiful and the crisp air lasts
    longer than it does in the south. 
3) Driving in the snow--never thought I'd be able to do this.  I proved myself wrong last year 
    when I drove home from work in a blizzard with near white-out conditions.
4) Local beers--I never liked beer until I got here.  Sam and Harpoon are staples in this house.

5) Being able to walk everywhere--city living at its best!
6) The knowledge that the tinier the restaurant, the better the food tends to be--not always
    true, but it's nothing like the south where chain restaurants rule the land.

Want to add a little southern to your life today?  You should make shrimp and grits right now.  No really, it takes like 10 minutes.  I'll wait right here for your comment about how I was totally right.  A tip from this lazy girl: I use frozen shrimp, so I throw those babies in a little cool water bath while I prepare the other ingredients.  Recipe below.

Easy Shrimp and Grits
1 cup water
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup quick cooking grits
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
dash of red pepper flakes, to taste
black pepper, to taste 
2 slices thick cut bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Scallions, sliced to garnish

In a medium saucepan, bring water and milk to a boil. Stir in grits and reduce heat to low and simmer for 7-10 minutes, until thickened and popping. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese.

While grits are cooking, heat bacon on medium-high heat in medium skillet and cook until crispy. Remove bacon and let rest on paper towel. Reserve the bacon grease from the bottom of the pan.

Cook onions in bacon grease until almost clear.  Season the shrimp with the black pepper, paprika, cayenne, and red pepper flakes. Add shrimp to the skillet and cook until the shrimp turn pink, about 1 minute per side. Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic and lemon juice. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until the garlic is softened.  Garnish with bacon and scallions. Enjoy!

 *Please excuse my blatant generalizations of the north and south here-- I for one don't think they're as different as most people make them out to be.  These are just some of my observations :)

*Linking up with Northeast Bloggers Network, Ashley and Jessica

 

Weekend Recap

    This weekend was so EPIC!  Much thanks to Mr. Timberlake and Mr. Carter for making it happen.  So how did it all go down?

Well first, I cooked way too much food.  If Kevin and I don't start working out soon, things are going to go downhill quickly.  

 {Shrimp and grits, lobster risotto, breakfast pizza, whoopie pies}

 

Then I got all dressed up for two men who I've had eyes for since I was twelve--my husband and Justin Timberlake.  Outfit details coming later this week.

Before the concert, we had people over for a cookout and there was a lot of sangria, beer, and cornhole.

Then it was time for the main event...

There is a reason I've seen JT in concert four times, and honestly JayZ is a crazy good performer too.  It was the BEST concert I have ever been to and it took quite some time to recover from!  So that's what I did this weekend!

*Linking up with Sami for Weekend Shenanigans

 

A Pinterest Recipe + Liebster Award

    Is anyone else as intrigued as I am when they see a Pinterest recipe claiming to be the most delicious, the best, the easiest, or (enter other seemingly outrageous claims here)?  Pinterest is full of great recipes claiming to be the best and horrible recipes claiming to be better.  It's hard to tell the difference.  Which is one reason why it's so important that pins always remain linked back to their original source (as opposed to a Google image search, Flickr account, etc).  Ok Pinterest rant over. 

    My first attempt at a "bold claim recipe" on Pinterest was one that I chose because I trust the pinner that put it out there.  Ashley of 7th House on the Left shared this recipe on her blog a couple months ago then I started seeing it pop up on Pinterest.  Has anyone seen this pin below making its rounds on boards everywhere?

 

    As your unofficial Pinterest Recipe Reviewer (for today only), I am here to tell you that these cookies rock! I have been searching for a great chocolate chip cookie recipe for years and this one is definitely a keeper.  My one mistake: I only had light brown sugar and the recipe calls for dark.  Normally, I like improvising but in this case I feel like it made a big difference.  Go for dark brown sugar if you have it!  These cookies were just salty enough and just sweet enough to be named a winner in my book!      

__________

    Speaking of sweet...I woke up to a sweet little honor the other day: I was nominated for a Liebster Award by Jenni of The Beautiful Little Fools.  The Liebster Award is a blog award where bloggers nominate fellow up-and-coming bloggers who currently have less than 200 followers.  It's so nice to know that someone likes what I'm doing over here on my little corner of the internet!

 THE RULES

1. Link back to the person who nominated you. 

2. List 11 facts about yourself.

3. Answer the 11 questions posted by the person who nominated you.

4. Nominate other blogs with 200 followers or less.

5. Ask 11 new questions for the nominee-blogs to respond to.

I hope you don't mind me skipping the 11 facts about myself.  I listed 26 (one for every letter of the alphabet) the other day, so if you are interested then you can find that here.

My Answers 

1. What is one item in your closet you couldn't live without?

My black leather jacket.  I can't wait until the weather gets a bit cooler so that I can start wearing it again.

2. What is the best cupcake you have ever had?

Salted caramel--but really I'll eat salted caramel anything.

3. What is the story behind your name?

My mom liked it.  My dad chose my middle name which is Natalie.

4. What is the story behind the name of your blog?

My husband named it.  I was looking for a name that meshed my love for the south with my new life here in Boston.  We threw around all kinds of really cheesy things, but once he came up with Boston Sweet Tea Party I knew that it was just right. 

5. What celebrity do you wish was your best friend?

Kerry Washington.  Think she'd spill any Scandal secrets?!

6. What company would you love to be in the advertisements for?

J. Crew- those models pull off casual elegance like nobody's business.

7. In your opinion, what is the perfect outside temperature?

76 degrees.  Warm enough to be comfortable but with the Boston Harbor breezes, it's also cool enough to wear that leather jacket that I mentioned above :)

8. Morning Person or Night Owl?

Kind of neither.  I don't like being awake early and I certainly don't like people talking to me early in the morning.  And saying I'm a night owl would be a huge exaggeration.  My bedtime is like 10pm and I normally fall asleep on the couch before that.

9. What was the last movie you watched?

The Hunger Games. Was I the last person in the world to see this?

10. If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live?

Kevin and I have grand plans to retire early and become snowbirds.  We'd live on the Cape for the summer and live in my old college town of Chapel Hill, NC for the winter.

11. If your life was being turned into a movie who should play you?

I don't know.  Someone who can pull off clumsy well that's for sure.  Zoe Saldana is one of my style icons.  She could make me look way more poised and presentable than I am in real life.  Sure, we'll go with Zoe.

My Nominations

Sweet Smores

 Stamp In My Passport

My Questions

1. What is your biggest fear?
2. Why did you start blogging?
3. What is your favorite holiday?
4. What person in your life makes you laugh the most?
5. Do you prefer the mountains or the beach? 
6. What's your favorite food to order for take-out?
7. What's your dream job?
8. What's your one guilty pleasure?
9. Where is your favorite place that you have ever visited?
10. What is your favorite comfort food?
11. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Are you still writing your blog?

It's Almost Over...

    I'm not afraid to admit when I am wrong.  And oh boy, how wrong I was to never visit the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale before!  This was my first year actually checking out the deals and steals of the season and I was thoroughly impressed.  Next year I will be saving up to do a bigger splurge trip but for now I will show you what I picked up, and yes some of it is from the girl's department.

   I picked up two dresses that I love.  They are so cute and most importantly extremely comfortable.

 {Left: Tucker and Tate "Drew" Chambray Dress, Right: Soprano Sleeveless Dress}

    Then I wandered to the shoe department and started lusting over some of the boots.  The ones I was most interested in though were a pair of tan booties.  Alas, they didn't have my size in stock so I went home to ponder the decision.  I was still on the fence about whether to order them online when one of my celeb style crushes, Ashley Madekwe, Instagrammed this:

     Thanks for the advice Ash.  Can I call you Ash?  So then I went ahead and ordered them online.  Can't wait for these beauties to arrive.

 

{Joe's "Saki" Boot}

Happy Friday and Happy Last Minute Shopping!  The sale ends Monday!
Oh and if you're also a fan of Ashley or you don't know who she is, you need to check out her blog now!  Her style is flawless.