Happy Spring {+Pretty Giveaway}

via

Happy First Day of Spring!!

You'd never know spring is upon us by stepping outside my front door {think grey skies, light sprinkles and a chilly breeze}.  Regardless of the elements, I am happy to welcome the new season and ready to flirt with pretty colors once again! Oranges, pinks, blues & greens - all of which my closet longs for, are upon us and my heart is oh so happy.

To celebrate, I thought I'd share a giveaway I noticed on my Instagram feed this morning.  31Bits is giving away one of my favorite bracelets - Poppet. Six strands of blues and greens woven together by beads handmade by women in Uganda. If you haven't heard of them, you must check them out - not only do they make beautiful jewelry, but they have an awesome story and your purchases are doing so much good for women and their families in Uganda.

via

To enter the giveaway, simply head to their website, and pin one of the photos of the Poppet bracelet and tag it with #FashionForGood. They will announce the winner this Friday, so happy pinning!

Hope you're enjoying a little taste of spring today.

XO

Breakfast Lox & Hash

So I've been in a smoked salmon kick these days.  Over toast, cheese and cucumbers, wrapped in my sushi or over my breakfast hash - I can't get enough of the stuff!  So this morning when my craving hit, I knew just what I was going to make, but first I have a story to share.

A few months ago, hubby and I ventured out to a cute little red cottage cafe for brunch.  To my dismay they were out of eggs, so no omelet for me.  This gfree girl has few options other than eggs when eating out for bfast, so you can imagine my disappointment when the waitress informed us of their outage.  She did, however, let me know that they had a special gluten free lox plate that morning and assured me it was far better than any omelet they could have made.  Left with no other options, I ordered the lox.  To my surprise, fresh lox spread over a bed of potatoes and cream cheese was quickly a new favorite!

Now my smoked salmon kick would not be complete without trying my hand at that delectable little dish I encountered at that quaint cottage cafe.  My version is a little different - and I'd like to think a tad bit healthier, but who's really keeping track here?  To be totally honest, after snapping a few pics, this plate was licked clean in a matter of seconds.  I utterly inhaled the stuff - and I have a feeling you will too!

Enough from me...here's the recipe.

Breakfast Lox & Hash

- 1 Small Package Smoked Salmon {or lox - whatever you desire to call it}

- 1 Bag Frozen Hashbrowns

- Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt {or sour cream, if you wish}

- Capers

- Fresh Dill

- Salt and Pepper

1. Cook hashbrowns according to package - salt and pepper to your liking.
2. Transfer hash to your plate, spread 2-3 tablespoons of plain Greek yogurt over hash and layer salmon over top.
3. Garnish with 1 tablespoon capers and fresh dill. Enjoy!

Totally simple right?  I'd recommend this one for breakfast guests.  It's easy, packed with flavor and totally impressive!

XO

Warm Quiona & Roasted Veggie Salad

So on date night a few weeks ago, food-spiration struck as soon as my quinoa salad was placed on our table.  Warm and crisp, light yet substantial - such a nice change to my salad routine.  I knew it wouldn't be long before I would be recreating a version of my own.  Tired of hummus and rice bowls, this afternoon was the perfect time to give it a try.  {And now...I'm slightly obsessed.}

So here it is....let me know what you think!

Warm Quinoa & Roasted Veggie Salad

- 1 C Quinoa, rinsed

- 2 C Gfree Chicken Stock

- 1 t Salt

- 2 Cloves Garlic, minced

- 1 Roasted Red Bell Pepper

- 1 Can Artichoke Hearts, quartered

- 1/4 C Walnuts, chopped

- 1/4 C Dried Cranberries

- Arugula

- Goat Cheese

- Balsamic Vinegar & Olive Oil {or a vinaigrette dressing of your choice}

1. Combine chicken stock, salt and quinoa in a small pan and bring to a boil.  Cover and let simmer on low for 15 minutes.
2. Fold garlic, pepper, artichoke, walnuts and cranberries into cooked quinoa.  Salt and pepper to taste.
3. Scoop quinoa mixture onto a bed of arugula and top with crumbles of goat cheese and drizzle dressing over top and dive in!

What do you think?  Do you love warm salads?

XO

2013 Adventures!

Hi Friends,

So 2013 has many new things for us already!

Remember that little flood we had last fall?  Well, since then we've been on the hunt for a new place to call home here on the West Coast.  After much praying and much much searching, we've finally found our new apartment and we moved in over the weekend!  I can't wait to share photos with you once it's a little more unpacked and complete - until then here is a pic from my instagram.

Aside from the apt hunt, I've taken on some other things as well.  One of them being an opportunity to volunteer weekly at our local pregnancy center.  It's been such a different ministry for me to dive into, but one I'm excited to be part of.

AND if that's not enough, I'm exploring a new and exciting business venture!  {More on that later.}

With that said, we've been a bit busy over here and PinkPeonyStyle has been a little neglected *sad face*.  But with a pretty new apartment to decorate and a new design project for a client underway, I'm excited to share my fav design projects and inspirations with you over the next few months!

So tell me - has 2013 been full of change for you as well??

Looking forward to posting again soon!

XOXO

Fashion Friday : Sparkle & Shine

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

New Years Eve is around the corner!

Will you be sporting something sparkly??  

XO

Winter White

Since I've never experienced a "white Christmas" it's tough for me to imagine such a thing exists.  

Snow flurries and long stretches of white lawns, dusted trees and grey skies seems like something only seen in the movies.  It's just so romantic to me.  I'm sure it's not as glamorous as I've pictured it {shoveling driveways and salting stairways, etc} but a girl can dream, right? 

While our evenings can get quite chilly, I'm dreaming of this for a future Christmas {maybe next year we'll make it to somewhere blanketed in white}...

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

Are you having a white winter??

XO

Merry Christmas

via

Hello Friends,

I hope you've been enjoying this holiday season!  

I just wanted to hop on and wish you a very very

Merry Christmas!

So looking forward to celebrating the birth of our Jesus & 

spending time with loved ones over the next few days.

Lots of love...