Living a tasteful life

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Corn, Bacon & Avocado Summer Salad

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I made a delicious salad over the weekend. We were preparing dinner for 10 and I wanted something that wasn't too time consuming. I was on the search for a light and fresh side, that would feed a crowd and would go well with burgers. I came across a few different variations of a corn and avocado salad, which inspired me to come up with a little something of my own.


  This salad is way more than just corn, bacon and avocado. It's packed with all sorts of goodness and flavors that remind me of summer.
This was the perfect side to serve to a large group and was very satisfying.  Two small tips: I recommend adding the avocados right before serving to avoid them turning brown. Also, the dressing is best drizzled on each individual serving so everyone can adjust to their liking. I actually think it tastes great plain, but the dressing is a nice added bonus dressing.  
 
One thing is for sure, I plan on duplicating this tasty recipe a time or two this summer!
 

Corn & Avocado Summer Salad
Salad Ingredients
5 ears of corn (brushed with olive oil and grilled)
2 avocados diced
½ of diced red onion
½ cup of cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
½ cup of yellow tomatoes (sliced in half)
1 packed of bacon (cooked and crumbled into small pieces)
½ of a fresh lime
Crumbled feta cheese
Cilantro
Dressing Ingredients
6 tablespoons of Olive oil
2 tablespoons of sherry Vinegar
Dash of garlic Powder
Pepper
2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro
Instructions
1.       Shuck and remove the silk from the corn. Generously coat with olive oil and grill until slightly charred. Once the corn has cooled, cut off of the cob and place into a large bowl.
2.       Fry the bacon and crumble into pieces once it has cooled. Add the crumbled pieces to the corn.
3.        Dice half of red onion and add to the mixture
4.       Rinse the tomatoes and slice each one in half, adding them to the corn mixture.
5.       Slice an avocado into small pieces and add to the salad just before serving.
6.       Squeeze the juice of a fresh lime all over the salad.
7.       Top the salad with crumbled feta cheese and diced cilantro.
8.       For the Dressing: mix together in a separate bowl olive oil, sherry vinegar, garlic powder, pepper and fresh cilantro.
9.       Lightly drizzle on the salad before serving. I recommend drizzling on individual servings.
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Monday, May 11, 2015

Weekend Recap

We had quite a busy weekend filled with family and a whole lot of food! Whit and I entertained his parents, grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins at our house on Saturday evening and loved every minute of it.
 
Friday it was just the two of us, so we took advantage of our time alone and enjoyed a little wine and cheese (and the weather) on our back porch!

 
Side note, the champagne cheddar cheese was a hit! It's the one with the green rind in the photo above.
 
Saturday was spent in the kitchen prepping for dinner. We kept it pretty casual and decided to do it backyard BBQ style.
 This left me itching to do more outdoor entertaining this summer. There is nothing better than getting together with friends and gathering around a table of homemade food while sipping chilled cocktails on a warm summer day.
 

Our menu for the evening consisted of: good old-fashioned hamburgers, roasted red potatoes, and an avocado and corn salad. The salad was delicious if I do say so myself. (Look for the recipe on the blog this week.)
 
And more cheese of course!
 
How fun are these cheese markers I used to label everything?!
 
 
It was an evening well spent catching up with family.
 
After church on Sunday we had brunch at The Icehouse in Summerville. The historic downtown area is so charming. I've never spent any time in Summerville, but it's definitely on my list of things to do.
 
We had a great weekend with the fam!
 
Here's to a productive week!
 
 

 
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Friday, May 8, 2015

News Feed Friday



How charming is this adorable little beach cottage?! I stumbled across this pretty home when I was in LA for my bachelorette party a while back. It was just too cute not to share.
Here are a few worthy links to wrap up your week!
Beat the heat with these Cucumber Recipes that Refresh!
These citrus floral centerpieces are so fun and not to mention creative. I may have to get them a try myself.   
I have a feeling this article for the 7 best photo editing apps  is going to come in handy.
  
I see these strawberry pancakes with cream cheese syrup in my near future.
I'm pretty sure a new restaurant opens here in Charleston every other week. Next up, a new Mexican spot!
This made me LOL!
Have a great weekend!
Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.   
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Thursday, May 7, 2015

Mother's Day Gifting

Mother's Day is this weekend and I know there are still some of you out there that are waiting until the last minute to do your shopping. I also realize if you have waited until now, then you probably just aren't sure what it is your going to buy. I thought I would help you out by providing some suggestions. I've put together a few items that are worthy of gifting. Show your mom just how special she is by giving her something she will love. 

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Shop my picks here.
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Tuesday, May 5, 2015

The Southern C Summit

I was a little absent on the blog last week, but all for a good reason. I attended The Southern C Summit, a 3-day conference with engaging and educational sessions for creative professionals and online influencers. Needless to say, those three days were packed full of activities. I thoroughly enjoyed absorbing everything the amazing presenters had to share. I left the summit feeling inspired, motivated and happy to have met some talented new friends. Here are a few photo highlights from the week.
                                                                                     
 
During the day we learned a thing or two from several guest speakers, including the editors of Traditional Home, Domino, Better Homes and Gardens magazine and the blogger behind Waiting on Martha, just to name a few.

 
On night one we enjoyed a cocktail reception at The Mills House, complete with champagne and some sweet little cupcakes. Bonus of the evening: We all got to take home one of the best smelling candles my nose has ever encountered from Low Country Luxe .
 
 
The weather finally decided to cooperate on Thursday. It was the perfect day for outdoor dining.
 
 We enjoyed a beautiful lunch outside at the William Aiken House with food provided by Fish Restaurant. Shout-out to Lifeguard Press for the wonderful job on all of the tablescapes.
 
 
One of my favorite parts of the summit (aside from the sessions, of course) was the cocktail hour hosted by Sea Island, where we were treated with a sneak peek of the Southern Grown Festival. Warning, photo overload. I just couldn't help myself.
 
 
Everything was absolutely gorgeous, especially this bread display.
 
 
The hors d'oeuvres were almost too pretty to eat... almost!
 
 
 
 
 
And then there were the cocktails. A beautiful display of refreshing beverages awaited us. How cute were the glass bottles?!
 
 
 Cocktail hour was followed by more sipping and some shopping at Hampden Clothing.
 
And then onto picking out my Christmas present drooling over some stunning jewelry at Croghan's Jewel Box.
 
 
 And a little charcuterie to top off the evening.
 
 
The summit wrapped up on Friday with brunch and bloody marys on the Ashley River at the Le Creuset Atelier. We nibbled on so many delicious things, including shrimp pizza and BBQ sundaes from Food for the Southern Soul and Callie's Hot Little Biscuits.
 
 
And what conference is complete without an Atlantic Sea Salt Soak Bar?! We were able to make our own bath salt mix courtesy of One Love Organics.
 
 
The summit was a nice balance of learning during the day and socializing at night.
It was the perfect gateway to networking with creative and empowering individuals, all with a common goal in mind: success! 
 
 
 
 
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Monday, May 4, 2015

Loft Sale

Normally I begin Monday's with a little weekend recap, however there was so much to recap I wasn't sure where to begin.  The past few days have consisted of attending The Southern C Summit , hosting a baby shower for a friend and spending a much needed relaxing day on the water yesterday. I'm pretty darn exhausted, therefore details and photos will be happening later this week on the blog so stay tuned.  
 
In the meantime I thought I would help kick start the work week off by sharing a nice little sale that's going on. You can score some great pieces from Loft right now for 60% off! (sale ends soon)  I made a small purchase when I was there last week, although I really wanted to buy half the store.  Below are some of my favorite pieces worth adding to the closet.  
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Friday, May 1, 2015

News Feed Friday

Pardon the brief absence around here lately. My schedule has been a bit hectic the past few days. I've been at The Southern C Summit this week as well as preparing for a baby shower I'm hosting at my home on Saturday.  I'm excited to share all the details with you next week, so stay tuned. In the meantime and since it's Friday I thought this photo from the week's events was appropriate.
 
Cheers!

 
 
And now a little news feed for you on this lovely Friday.
 
30 Superfood Recipes You've Never Tried Before, because who doesn't want healthy recipes that are easy and packed full of nutrition?! It's like a one stop shop.
 
I love a beautiful arrangement of hydrangeas, but keeping them alive is another story. This common food item will help keep them alive longer.

Cinco de Mayo is next week and these themed décor ideas make me want to throw a party!

How well do you know your serving size, take this quiz to find out?
 
I'm currently intrigued by this little dose of caffeine.
 
I wouldn't mind waking up to this for breakfast.
 
Just in time for summer: 12 Garden-to-Glass Cocktails.
 
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