{High Five Friday!}

It's Friday again! I can hardly believe how fast the time is flying by. I'm linking up with The Small Things Blog and From My Grey Desk for High Five Friday! It's really simple, you just share your top 5 things that happened this week. Here goes...

1. I got my Fall semester grades back! Two B's and one A! I am so proud of myself! Going back to college was a real challenge for me, and now I feel I have the confidence to pull it off!

2. There are so many things I love about Christmas, one of them is receiving Christmas cards!

I have some beautiful friends and family!

3. My December Birchbox came in the mail yesterday! 

More details on this beauty later...

4. New places and old friends. My bestie Tina drove in from San Marcos last night and we went to visit my old friend Candice at her OH! Fox Vintage pop-up shop at Madewell. (Did you get all that?) If you watched 2 Broke Girls on Monday night you know what a pop-up shop is. (Although, Candice had her's legally.) If you're still lost, I'll try to explain it for you. Candice has some amazing vintage pieces and stores like Madewell invite her to set up a shop inside their shop, "pop-up shop". It was a great event and their was champagne... do I need to say more? Afterwards Tina and I went to Gloria's. It was our second time there and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves cold margaritas and good Mexican food. 

5. New Year's Eve! Not that I'm trying to skip over Christmas, but I am so excited to be actually going to a real live NYE party in Austin this year! It's going to be a great night with friends! Now if I could find that perfect dress!

What are your top 5 things from this week?



love, 
sam

{Tasty Tuesday: Easy Baked Chicken Parmesan}

Hey y'all! It's that time again for Tasty Tuesday! I thought I would share with you something we love at my house ... Chicken Parmesan. This recipe is from the Evil Shenanigans blog. The best part is there is no frying your chicken in a pan, everything goes in the oven! So simple!

Easy Baked Chicken Parmesan  Serves 2

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 egg white
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup tomato sauce, plus extra for coating the pasta
4 ounces uncooked pasta, any shape (she uses cheese tortellini - a nice change from spaghetti)

Heat the oven to 450 F and spray a foil lined baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

Pound the chicken breasts until they are 1/2″ thick.  Season both sides with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl whisk the egg white until frothy.  In a second bowl add the panko bread crumbs and season with salt.  Dredge the chicken first in the egg white, letting the excess drip off, then coat in the panko mixture.  Let the chicken sit for ten minutes at room temperature so the crust can set.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until the chicken reads an internal temperature of 155 F.  Remove the chicken from  he oven and spread the tomato sauce on the top.  Next, add the cheeses.

Then, return to the oven for ten minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown and the chicken reads an internal temperature of at least 160 F.  Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest five minutes before serving.  While the chicken bakes cook the pasta according to the package directions. 

Serve with pasta! Enjoy! 

love,

Sam

{Weekend Recap}

My mom and my sisters came to Austin this past weekend for some shopping and girl time! It was such a fun weekend, I feel like I need another weekend to relax!

Friday night, in traditional Simonson woman style we ate Mexcian food. Lots of chips and salsa and margarita's! Then we headed over to the theater to see New Year's Eve.

We all enjoyed the movie but agreed that Valentine's Day was better. 

Saturday we hit the Round Rock outlet mall for some serious Christmas shopping and found some great deals! We even met Santa Claus! 

My girls left Sunday morning, but it was so great to spend some quality girl time with them!

Sunday evening MJ and I visited Hyde Park Baptist Church for their annual Christmas Musical. They had a full choir, orchestra and a beautiful chapel. Our friend Whitney was one of the narrators and it was so fun to watch her up on stage! :) 

I hope you had a great weekend too!

love,

sam

{High Five Friday!}

My most favorite day of the week is... Friday! This week I'm linking up with the From My Grey Desk blog and Pursuing Dreams blog for High Five Friday! It's so easy, just list your 5 favorite things from this past week! Here goes:

1. Finals are OVER! 

2. The New Girl. Have you seen this show? Hilarious!

3. My Private Jet. My new favorite color by OPI. of course. 

Pinned here.

Pinned here.

4. I'm feeling like I need a sparkly dress in my life. Here are some inspirations found on Pinterest. 

5. My mom and sisters are coming to Austin today! Just a weekend full of mexican food and shopping! 

What are your five favorite things from this week? 

love,
sam

{Beer and breakfast?}

Not always the smartest idea. However, I can tell you this recipe is delicious! The Newcastle's caramel malt brings a new dimension to this classic morning treat.  MJ found this recipe a couple weeks back. I was a little skeptical to say the least but if there is one thing he's good at it is making breakfast. So, he whipped up some of these pancakes this morning. 

Newcastle Brown Pancakes

finished product. i apologize for the mess on the table. 

What You'll Need:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1 cup Newcastle Brown Ale
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (if you don't have brown, white sugar works too)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons soft or melted butter
• Dash of salt

Using a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon and baking soda.

Add in the Newcastle, egg and butter and stir enough to blend ingredients– without over mixing.

Heat your skillet and coat with butter or cooking oil, then simply cook like you would for any other pancakes.

Looking good...

Yum! 

This recipe makes plenty for two, but you can easily double the ingredients for four, or otherwise alter for serving size. Enjoy! 

mike + sam