Alexandra Bee Blog

4.11.2014

Loving...Spring Break Edition

Hallelujah! It's Friday!

Spring Break is finally here!

That being said, I thought it was the perfect chance to do a Loving... post all featuring goodies that would be perfect for a spring break trip!

Southern Proper Green Water Dogs Swim Trunks

I am smitten with Southern Proper's new swim trunk line and can't wait to get Bryce a pair from our local Southern Proper store, Natty Beau.

Traditional Home

I am really looking forward to spending some leisurely time flipping through my favorite magazines: I've got the above copy of Traditional Home as well as Southern Living and Real Simple just waiting to be read!

Roberta Roller Rabbit Kurta

Nothing says spring break like a tunic you can dress up or down. On the beach over a bikini? Yes, please! With white skinnies, big earrings, and wedges? You, betcha!

Crabberie Canvas Tote

Regardless of whether you're jet setting or staying home for spring break, a cute tote is always useful!

Karen Walker The Number One Sunglasses

I first saw these sunglasses on Katie's blog and haven't been able to get them out of my head since! These would most certainly be the perfect spring break accessory!

Pineapple Orange Vodka Slush

And finally, no spring break is complete without a cocktail, or two, and this one looks deeeelish!

Is it spring break where you are?

Have any fun plans?

What are you loving lately?

Have a great weekend!

4.09.2014

Grown Up Grilled Cheese + Asparagus Fries

Happy Hump Day chickadees!

Wow...I am so giddy for Friday to be here. I think my giddiness, however, is making the week going by at a snail's pace!

Anyways...I had a totally different post planned for today, BUT, life got in the way.

I've said it time and time again on this blog--I don't live to blog, rather I blog about my life. Last night life had bigger things to offer than writing my planned post.

Let me explain...my friend Caroline and I have started a bit of a "wine night in" tradition. About every month or so, she'll come over for a girls' night in. Yoga pants are welcome and we alternate who provides the wine and food...one of us will get takeout and the other will get a bottle of wine. It was my turn for food and rather than going the takeout route, I opted to make grown up grilled cheeses. The reason being that we recently got this baby. I was dying to make a grilled cheese on our new skinny grill!

Don't you just love the panini-like stripes!?

I first saw the Le Creuset Skinny Grill in the Sur La Table catalogue a month or so back and have been wanting one ever since. On a recent trip to the store, they had the Skinny Grills marked down to $80 from an original $145. It was a no brainer...we had to have it! Not to mention friends, you're in luck--it's still currently on sale for $79.95 on the Sur La Table site here.

That being said, I decided on one of my favorite grown up grilled cheeses: whole grain bread (in my eyes, there is no other option than grainy bread for a grilled cheese), baby swiss cheese, honey maple ham, and arugula.

I also had about half a bunch of asparagus in the fridge and decided to make these asparagus fries. They are my fave, by the way...

Dinner was of course accompanied by lots of girl talk...and some cab sav.

Caroline brought this Cellar No. 8 Cabernet Sauvignon and I loved it! Not to mention, the bottle is under $15! Win, win in my book!

What have you been eating lately?

Any other recommendations of good, low cost wine?

Have a great day!

4.07.2014

@alexandrabeeblog

Happy Monday friends!

This is one Monday I am happy to welcome, BECAUSE...it is my last Monday before spring break! Each day at school this week is one day closer to a much needed break! I think I can, I think I can...

These days I sometimes feel like I do a better job of Instagramming about my life than I do blogging. That being said, I thought it would be fun to do a post of some of my favorite Insta posts from the last few months. You can find me on Instagram here!

This past week I found this Shoshanna pretty on sale at Baggio, a local consignment shop! Can't wait to wear it to a summer wedding. Currently oling over these other Shoshanna dresses, two of which are on sale: here, here, and here!

A few weeks ago we had Natalie's Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Meatballs and served them with a side of sautéed spinach...wow, holy yum! Recipe can be found here!

Started using this Kiehl's cream twice daily to combat fine lines and prevent wrinkles and am amazed at how quickly my skin became softer and smoother!

Have been wearing the heck out of this gingham shirt!

It's become a wardrobe staple...I think I need the pink version too!

My mom spoiled Bryce and I with St. Patty's Day treats from Westhampton Pastry Shop, a Richmond classic.

Was joyous for some precipitation that was NOT SNOW last weekend!

This dress has become a wardrobe staple too, so comfy!

Love, love, LOVED these mini Chicken & Waffles at the Grown Up Pajama Party Erin hosted (see all the details on her blog here)!

Was so excited for new highlights last week and am determined to learn how to curl my hair like my hairdresser can! Any tips for me?

And finally have been smitten with these bee studs that Erin gave me for the launch of Alexandra Bee blog!

Do you Instagram?

What form of social media do you find yourself updating the most?

Have a great day!

4.03.2014

Buttermilk Pie with Strawberry Drizzle

Happy Thursday readers!

Hope you've had a great week! I am in major countdown mode...in just 8 days I will be off for Spring Break! Woohoo!

As y'all know, last week was Bryce's birthday and he requested that I make him a buttermilk pie. I had never heard of the dessert, but my research showed that it is actually a very Southern dish. Having never made it before, I wanted to be sure to find a good recipe and ultimately found two that sounded tasty, so I decided to combine them into my own unique recipe. We really enjoyed the pie. It was light and a custard-like with hints of lemon and nutmeg.

The recipes I used for inspiration can be found here and here.

Ingredients
Buttermilk Pie:
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tbs all-purpose flour
1 stick melted butter, slightly cooled
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 9-inch pie shell

Strawberry Drizzle
1/4 cup seedless strawberry preserves
1/2 tbs orange liqueur (I used Patron)

Directions
Pie:

Prepare pie shell (I used a frozen shell, so I cooked it according to the directions first)

Beat eggs slightly.

Mix sugar and flour well and add to eggs, mixing until creamy.

Add melted butter, mixing well.

Add buttermilk, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and nutmeg.

Bake at 325F for ~1 hour, or until custard sets. The custard should jiggle a bit, however, the middle should not jiggle much more than the sides. If so, return to oven and bake until the custard has set.

Strawberry Drizzle:

Pour strawberry preserves in saucepan over medium heat.

Stir constantly with whisk, until smooth.

Remove from heat and add liqueur.

Let cool slightly and drizzle over pie. (When slicing Bryce's piece, I drizzled it over the slice, however, ultimately just spread the rest over the top of the pie!)

ENJOY!

Have you ever had buttermilk pie before?

What are your favorite Southern desserts?

Have a great day!

4.01.2014

Eve's Apple

Happy April Fool's Day friends!

Do you have any fun pranks planned? I'm surprising my class with brownies (aka: brown E's)..I've put them in a covered dish and will make a big deal about having made them brownies and then pass out E's made of brown construction paper during snack time. I, do, however, have actual brownies as a surprise for after the prank! I will have to let y'all know how it goes!

Today I wanted to share a recent online discovery with you: Eve's Apple.

Cute name, huh? My guess is that they're playing off the whole temptation thing, and trust me, when you visit this site--you will be tempted!

Let me tell you how I found them.

Meet Layla:

In love?

I can't track Miss Layla down anywhere online now, BUT, you can find similar styles here and here.

Anyways, I first met Layla when were in Charlottesville a few weeks ago (full post here). I immediately fell in love, but couldn't justify dropping $348 on a dress I really don't need right now. That being said, I've been thinking of her ever since and while searching for her online last week, I found Eve's Apple and Layla was on sale for...$201! Additionally, after signing up for the Eve's Apple email list and receiving the coupon code: evenew15 I was able to get her for just $170.85! Needless to say I was thrilled!

As you can imagine, I've spent some time browsing the site since then and am smitten. They carry a range of designers, including Alice & Trixie, Kate Spade, Tory Burch, and Mara Hoffman..just to name a few! They also frequently update their sale section (which you know makes this girl happy!).

Here are some of my faves from their site currently...