Five on Friday!

  Happy Friday!   - ONE - Earlier this week it was finally warm enough outside to have a little "happy hour" catch up with my bestie, Mel. Chatting over raspberry lemonade and some snacks is definitely my ideal evening activity. Now if only I could have had added a shot of vodka...

- TWO - I got suckered by a Girl Scout in my office this week. She told me she's sold over 400 boxes to my office alone. Pregnancy mixed with trefoils is a dangerous combination.

- THREE - This week I finally traded in my scarf accessories for necklaces! I am so obsessed with my North Carolina necklace one of my friends got me for Christmas.

- FOUR - zulily is currently running a special on TOMS! I picked up a pair of red wedges for me and a pair of classic blue TOMS for Matt (his first pair). Less than $80 for both pairs (including shipping)! You can shop the sale until 2/22 {here}!

- FIVE - Thanks to everyone for casting your vote for my nursery rug! We have a winner and the rug has been purchased! Can't wait for it to arrive!

Wanna join  Darci, April, Natasha and I on the Friday fun? You can link-up on any of our four blogs every Friday! All you have to do is...   1.)  Write  your post about five things you're lovin' this week (or any five things you want to share!). 2.)  Share the logo on your blog and link back. 3.)  Link-up at the bottom of the post so some new readers can check out your five things and say hello!  

Nursery Update {Mini Closet Makeover}

As promised, I have a little nursery update for y'all today! I am finally sharing Caroline's mini closet makeover! 

As soon as we found out our babe was a girl we knew what that would mean...tons of clothes! Sure enough, right away we started receiving weekly shipments of dresses from my girlfriends and the grandmas. When I asked Matt if we could add some storage to the closet he didn't even question me about it. He knew we'd need it so he immediately called our affordable handyman, Hector, to build us some cubbies and add an additional rod for clothes.

{before & after}

The extra storage has already come in handy and I'm so glad we did this project. It took us awhile to find baskets for the cubbies. After purchasing and returning lots of different options, we finally lucked out at TJ Maxx Homegoods and scored the large cubby baskets for $12 each and the smaller cloud baskets for $7 each! 

{lots of blankies too!}

You can find my post on the DIY nursery dividers {here}.

I just love opening up Caroline's closet and seeing so many cute items waiting for her arrival. More updates to come!

Lasagna Soup

In preparation for the snow last week I decided to pick up enough ingredients to make several soups. And although all of the soups were delish, the lasagna soup beat them all by far. I can't believe I waited this long to try out this recipe. Matt and I loved it, even though he refuses to call it "lasagna soup" since it technically doesn't call for lasagna noodles. Anyway, I have to share this one with y'all. It would just be selfish of me not to!

Lasagna Soup Adapted from Damn Delicious

Ingredients
    8 ounces elbows pasta
    1 tablespoon olive oil
    1 pound ground turkey, ground beef or Italian sausage     3 cloves garlic, minced
    1 onion, diced
    2 teaspoons oregano
    1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
    2 tablespoons tomato paste
    4 cups chicken stock
    1 (28-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
    2 bay leaves
    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
    1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
    1/4 cup fresh basil leaves     For the ricotta mixture
    8 ounces ricotta
    1/2 cup grated Parmesan
    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
    In a small bowl, combine ricotta, Parmesan, salt and pepper, to taste; set aside. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add meat to the skillet and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the meat as it cooks; drain excess fat. Add garlic, onion, oregano and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in tomato paste until well combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chicken stock, diced tomatoes and bay leaves; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in pasta. Serve immediately with a heaping spoonful of the ricotta mixture, sprinkled with mozzarella and basil.

I think I now prefer my lasagna in soup form. It's that good.