Chicken & Roasted Chick Pea Summer Salad

Earlier today I had some of my favorite ladies over for lunch! I wanted to prepare something simple ahead of time so I decided to toss a salad together, thaw some Trader Joes cheesecake bites and chill a few bottles of rose. The salad was a big hit so I thought I'd share it with y'all...

So I kind of made this salad up as I went, adding ingredients one at a time until I thought it was the perfect summer salad. Here is what I ended up with... 

Chicken & Roasted Chick Pea Summer Salad

Ingredients:

For the Salad:

3 heads of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped

2 15 oz cans of chick peas, drained and rinsed

1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 15 oz can white corn, drained
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

2 large avocados

3 chicken breasts, grilled and thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

For the Dressing:

2 cups packed fresh cilantro leaves, stems removed
1 large clove garlic
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 avocado

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread chick peas on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle ranch dressing packet on top. Roast in oven for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make your salad dressing. In a food processor, blend together cilantro, garlic, red wine vinegar, lime juice, salt, pepper, olive oil and avocado until smooth.

3. On a large plate lay lettuce. Top with cherry tomatoes, corn, roasted chicken peas, sliced chicken and avocado. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and any leftover cilantro. Drizzle dressing over salad. Enjoy!

*Yields 8 servings

Home Tour: Thomas's Room

We have our first completed room in the house -- Thomas's room! No longer is he sharing the guest room or sissy's closet -- he finally has his very own space and his very own closet! His room is simple and cozy and I love it so much! 

So this is what we started with -- beige walls, broken blinds, a boob light and dirty carpet.

The first thing we did was paint the walls Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams. I had planned to have it cut by 50% but forgot to tell the painters and came by one day and the room had already been painted...and the color was beyond perfect. I am so glad we went full strength by accident! This paint color is my favorite in the house!

After the room was painted we replaced the ugly yellow boob light (never photographed) with a white ceiling fan and added a soccer ball pull chain so I could operate the fan (short people problems). We also had the carpets professionally steam cleaned and I couldn't believe the transformation -- they looked brand new afterwards!

And now for the finished room...

I am most proud of this little room because we re-used almost everything we already had to create it. The only things we purchased were a dresser and curtain rod.

 

A few of Tom Tom's favorite books right now.

Caroline helped us pick out two pieces of artwork to frame. Naturally, she picked the art she created and then gifted them to Thomas. And she makes sure to remind him every time we're in there that she made those!

One more favorite (that I've blogged about before) -- the Twilight Turtle for bedtime!

 

And just to keep it real -- I snapped this picture shortly after getting Thomas out of his bed this morning so you could see what his room really looks like...(yes, that's a dirty diaper that hasn't made it to the trash can yet)...

Ta-da! Our first completed room in the new house!

 

SOURCE LIST

Wall Color: Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams in Cashmere finish

Trim Color: Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore

Ceiling Fan + Soccer Ball Fan Pull Chain

Dresser (Amazon)

Wingback Rocking Chair

Curtain Rod + Curtains

Crib 

Bedding (second hand purchases + gifts) +  Toddler Pillow

Frames

Basket: Home Goods

Sound Machine (my favorite baby item of ALL TIME)

Book Shelves (Amazon) & spray painted white

Water Color Painting

Weekend Rewind!

Now that I am officially in between jobs I am spending a little less time checking emails and a little more time catching up in the blog world! (Side note: It feels absolutely insane and liberating to not have work emails piling up on my phone or worrying about projects and deadlines.) This week I have big plans to finish unpacking, deep clean (goodbye construction dust), shop for home stuff, enjoy a spa day and more. I'm also hoping to take a bunch of pictures of our home progress to share with y'all too! Anyway, in the meantime, here are a few exciting updates from the past few days.

We unpacked our patio furniture!!!! Aside from Thomas still learning to navigate new steps, it has been so relaxing to spend time in our backyard. Also, there is nothing more gratifying than sweeping toddler dinner off the porch instead of scrubbing hardwoods on my hands and knees.

Matt is on the board of a local dance company, Caroline Calouche Co., and took Caroline to her first aerial performance over the weekend. She loved it and felt really special meeting the dancers after the show. She excitedly came home and told me and Thomas alllll about how she watched people dance from ropes.

 

 

We went to IKEA...with our kids. Caroline got an A+ for behavior and watched 2358743054 episodes of Little Audrey. Thomas was a maniac and wouldn't sit in the cart without screaming and basically touched every single thing in the store. But we made it out in under two hours with hot dogs and tons of stuff to assemble.

Oh, one last update -- on Thursday Sara hosted Supper Club! Her outdoor space is ridiculously amazing so I was excited when she picked a warmer month this year to host outside! The weather could not have been more perfect and a few of us stuck around late into the night sipping rose` and chatting. For dinner Sara made a delicious beef tenderloin, twice baked potatoes and her famous salad from last year!

A New Adventure!

So, I quit my job. And today is my last day.

Gosh it still feels really weird and sad to say that after five years of working for a law firm I have loved so much. Turning in my notice two weeks ago was honestly one of the toughest things I've ever done. My co-workers are like family to me. I adore all of my attorneys. I love my firm.

To be completely honest, I hadn't really thought about leaving. And I've been given a lot of opportunity through the years at my firm. But a really fantastic opportunity with another firm just a few doors down was presented to me. After several months of interviews, many nights of tossing and turning and tons of conversations with Matt, we ultimately decided the position was too good to turn down. In fact, it's an exciting promotion for me.

So today I am packing up my office, turning in my badge and saying my last goodbyes. I am so thankful I took this job five years ago. I had an incredible opportunity to grow in my career and learn from some of the best and brightest minds in the industry. And I've made some of the strongest friendships along the way.

My new adventure as a Business Development Manager begins May 1!

Carolina Charm Re-Branding Reveal!

Something look different?! Here's a hint...

Carolina Charm got a facelift!  

Over the past few months my bestie Laura has been designing my new look and I couldn't be happier with it. I love how simple and clean the header is, the new navigation bar, the fonts, the colors -- the everything! Isn't she talented? This is the third blog design she's created for me over the years and I think it's my favorite yet!

With so many exciting changes in my life, it felt like a good time to re-energize my blogging with a re-brand!

One more big announcement to come soon..stay tuned!