Pizza Dip and Divergent

Cooking:

The H is CONSTANTLY requesting things that are not particularly appealing to me, specifically the inclusion of pepperoni in everything.  Don't get me wrong, I like a greasy pepperoni pizza as much as the next girl, but I don't believe that pepperoni would improve upon everything else in the food-iverse.

Pizza Dip

1/2 package of pepperoni, diced, plus additional for layering
1 package chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2, 8 oz packages fat free cream cheese
1/2 large red onion, finely chopped
1 jar pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese (sliced or shredded)
Toasted baguettes

 Combine the chopped pepperoni, cream cheese, onion, and spinach and spread into a square baker.  Top the mixture with a layer of pepperoni, followed by a layer of pizza sauce and then a layer of mozzarella.  Bake at 350 for about half an hour, or until hot and bubbly. 

Reading:

That is a terrible photo of a great set of books.  I have a lot of thoughts on this series, most of which are vaguely spoiler-y so I won't go into them.  But I will say this:  if you liked The Hunger Games, the Divergent series (comprised of Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant) is better.  Much like The Hunger Games, these books have a slightly heavy-handed (in my opinion) commentary on society and the government, but the characters are really well-rounded and Veronica Roth truly does them justice from beginning to end. 

Wearing:

VC Signature Peony Pump via Shoebox

After trying on a million pairs of shoes at Nordstrom, I finally settled on these (though I really, really, REALLY wanted these Rag & Bone booties, I didn't succumb to temptation), and they've been in heavy rotation ever since.  They are well-worth their relatively modest price and they go with everything! 

And the booties will be mine soon, I assure you.

Back, and (hopefully) better than ever

So here we are.  A new blog name, gearing up for another round of holiday festivities, and a new outlook on this whole thing.  A warning:  you're still not going to see much of the H on the blog for a variety of reasons, but you are going to see more of moi.  Join me for my first Cooking, Reading, Wearing post about, as promised, our wedding!

Cooking:

First and foremost, we had THE MOST AMAZING group of people in the universe help us with our wedding.  These photos are courtesy of our photographers-turned-friends Reid and Wendy at 12-1 Photography (they also have a great, fun company called Crash My Event that is doing cool things).  While I can't recall eating much of anything at the reception, I have heard nothing but great things about the food.  The pictures don't do it justice!

Who doesn't love a Tequila Lemon Poached Pear?

We couldn't have done it without Mallori, our go-to-gal at the Hyatt where we were married, and their amazing team.  I was never without a full glass of champagne (thanks to my waiter, who I asked to marry me more than once that night - H doesn't keep my champagne tank full the way he did)!

Reading:

One of the best things about the H is that he really gets me.  When people were telling him to buy me jewelry as a wedding gift, he got on the internet and ordered me a quarto of Shakespeare's plays FROM 1776.  When I opened them I cried and asked if we could skip the ceremony so I could smell them all day.  That's love, ladies and gentleman (him for me and me for the books . . . and me for him, too, despite my many proposals to champagne cater waiter).

Wearing:

The shoes, as you ALL know, are Fendi, and my dress was from Pronovias with a custom belt created by the fantastic tailor at The Dressing Room.  Seriously, I had THE BEST PEOPLE around me while planning my wedding and the day-of.  I would love to post more photos of my friends and family, but not everybody's cool with having their face splashed all over the internet, so I'll leave them out of it.

This year has been huge for me in so many ways, and I hope that using it as a jumping off point for new content on this blog will re-inspire me and interest all of you!  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the new content and style, and I look forward to writing more regularly now that I've kicked things off.

Let's Begin Again

I've been debating a revamp of this blog for a long time.  I love to cook, but I also love to do a lot of other things.  Then I saw this infographic, and it all became clear.

Specifically, this part:

This is so in-line with the people I know in my profession, and I've found that a lot of the people who read this blog are also interested in these things.  Books and reading, cooking and recipes, and the infographic has shoes!  HELLO!  With that in mind, the blog is starting from the beginning . . . kind of.

About 48 hours after this post runs, I'll be incorporating new content that encompasses, I think, a lot more of who I am, and that includes what I'm cooking, reading, and wearing.  I'm actually going to start it off with a wedding post, since I spent so much time planning and talking about it on Cookin' in Heels, and never shared.  The time for that is done, peeps, and you're going to get a much better idea of who I am.  I hope you like it, and I hope you'll stay with me during the transition.  It's going to be great!

Ash

The Saturday Sip: Skinny Pina Coladas

My sister in law was in town about a month ago for our annual pilgrimage to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.  In order to prep for the main event, we drank these skinny pina coladas.

For a pitcher of these bad boys, I combined equal parts pineapple juice and strawberry vodka, without about a cup of coconut vodka, and then topped the whole thing off with club soda. 

We had them over ice and garnished with fruit.  Festive, low-cal, and nice to look at - I don't ask for much more.

Also nice to look at:

Louis Vuitton Speedy 25

This bag was purchased for me by the H in Paris.  I love it.  It's a lot bigger than it appears at first glance, and since I live in Florida I can get away with the light color year round.  Festive and nice to look at, am I right?