A Proper Picnic

Picnic

The weather was so gorgeous today that Patton, Lucy, Goalie and I ended up spending the afternoon lolling under the weeping willows by the river. I wish I had planned in advance so we could have had a proper picnic. 

If the weather is as nice next weekend, we're going to picnic, for sure. I will definitely bring the beautiful quilt my little sisters, Marisa and Katie, gave me for my wedding shower a million years ago. It's a fabulous patchwork of tropical prints and chambray, and it makes me happy every time I look at it. My sisters were both in school at the time and it means so much to me that they saved up to get Patton and me something so pretty. We originally used it as  a bedspread, but over the years it has become our favorite beach and picnic blanket and I hope it lasts forever.

Here's some other Picnic-worthy Stuff:

Quilt / Basket / Chillable Wine Tote / Sparkling Wine / Leash & Bag Holder & Water & Bowl Combo / Teddy Bear's Picnic

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Basics - Navy Blazer

Essential item number three for a go anywhere fall wardrobe is, in my opinion, the classic navy blazer... all the better if it has shiny gold buttons.

Here are five ways to rock the preppy must-have this Autumn:

1. With a grey t-shirt, a delicate necklace, cropped skinny jeans and ladylike heels

2. Like a total princess, with a colorful scarf, white tank top, bright colored denim, VERY shiny hair and a sparkling smile

3. With a flirty ballet pink skirt, striped boat neck tee and pointy pumps

4. With a hooded sweatshirt, dark rinse jeans and a slouchy hobo bag

5. With a classic white shirt, denim mini skirt, lather satchel and suede fringed booties

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Sorta Fancy Fish Sticks

I never had fish sticks as a kid... that just wasn't my Mom's scene. We ate delicious broiled flounder and lots of shellfish and really didn't have too much of the ubiquitous-in-America frozen fish stick thing going on in our house. So, I don't even know things like is fish sticks supposed to be one word... Fishsticks??? Not sure. Anyway, I decided to try my hand at making my own fish sticks, and they turned out even better than I hoped. 

Here's my recipe for Sorta Fancy Fish Sticks

You'll need a couple of fish fillets (I used cod), whole wheat flour, 2 eggs, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs (I used Italian style), salt and pepper, a couple of lemon wedges and a dipping sauce. Some people make their own... I just used this delicious store bought Remoulade that I found downstairs in the Potomac Gourmet Market. 

First you preheat the oven to 425 degrees , then you cut your fillets into sticks... mine are about an inch and half thick.

Next, crack open the eggs and mix the whites and yolk together on a plate. Dredge each fish stick through the egg. On a separate plate, dust the fillet with a little whole wheat flour, then on a third plate, thoroughly cover the fish with a mixture of shredded parmesan cheese and flavored bread crumbs. Then put them in a pan and bake them for about 15 minutes.

Once they are nice and crispy, remove them from the oven, give them a healthy sprinkling of salt and pepper and squeeze a lemon wedge over them for some citrus-iness and serve them up. I put the sticks in my beloved ceramic cones and served them with a side of Remoulade for dipping, a  simple salad of chopped celery, grape tomatoes, and white onions with a vinaigrette, and some salty, buttery peas. The peas were frozen... unlike the fish sticks.

Yum!

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A Very Mini Mini Skirt

Lucy FINALLY fits into her completely adorable and VERY tiny denim mini skirt that has been hanging up in her nursery for the past half year. It looks even more adorable on her sweet little bod than it did on the hanger!

She rocks it ever so fashionably with a bow print onesie, oversize flower headband, these patent leather ballet shoes, and a smile. I could just eat her up.

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Kid Flip It

When we give Goalie treats (which is often) he usually launches into what Patton likes to call the "Kid Flip It" routine. This involves Goalie flipping the treat high in the air with his little black nose, sprinting to wherever it lands and then rolling around on his back on top of the treat in total jubilation. He repeats this joyous ritual for about five minutes and then chows down on his treat.  It is completely adorable and admirable how he celebrates such a small thing with complete, unadulterated happiness.

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