Saturday night was date night. We haven't had an official date night in a while. Sure we go to dinner or to see a movie and just spend time together at home. But those kind of mini date nights are different. Saturday night we got fixed up, went downtown and saw some live music, drank cocktails, and it all felt very romantic...including our late night snack on the way home. Don't worry I'll tell you more about that in a minute.

We went to see Chris Knight, who is a singer songwriter and one of Canean's favorites. If you haven't heard of him, you should definitely check him out. The venue was the perfect setting, intimate and dark. The only light was the spotlight over Chris Knight and his guitar. The whole concert he played acoustically and it was amazing.

We sat in the mezzanine and snuggled (all teenager style) and drank our way through the concert. Whiskey for him, wine for me.

PostedJune 30, 2014

AuthorLeigh Ann Chatagnier

CategoriesWeekends

Tagslife, date nights, love, Louisiana, downtown, chicken fingers

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Fridays and cocktails...we have talked about this before. They just go together right? You've had a hard week, you have been waiting for today since the moment you woke up to go to work on Monday, and it's finally here! You need a cocktail, I get it. I have your back. I have a cocktail recipe for you to make this weekend so you don't even have to think about it! It's not just any ole sangria...it's peach and blueberry sangria!

By now you know that I went blueberry picking last week and that I have basically been putting blueberries in anything and everything that I possibly can! So naturally it only made sense when I was making a sangria that blueberries should be included. And peaches just seemed like the natural choice for another fruit to add since I had some fresh and local ones from the farmer's market! And they do pair quite nicely together!

It's refreshing and perfect for quenching your thirst on a hot day. Or you know what? It would be amazing at your Fourth of July party! It's so pretty...AND you can make a big pitcher of it the night before!

Because the last thing you need to do on the day of a party is worry about mixing up a batch of cocktails. But even if you aren't having a party go ahead and make the sangria! It will keep in the fridge for a couple of days so I think you will be able to handle it yourself.

PostedJune 27, 2014

AuthorLeigh Ann Chatagnier

CategoriesCocktails

Tagspeaches, blueberries, summer, cocktails, summer drinks, sangria, peach sangria, white sangria, fresh, seasonal, refreshing

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It's summer which means that corn is in season, which makes me a very happy girl. Corn on the cob is one of my favorites and I could eat it everyday honestly. I like it boiled, grilled, roasted, sautéed...I don't discriminate. I can get it fresh at the farmer's market right now and it's so sweet and tender (I could eat it right now, for breakfast.) And since I buy a dozen each week, I wanted to turn the flavor up a notch so that I can get away with serving it several times a week! Hello Mexican inspired grilled corn on the cob, get in my belly.

Get ready for your life to be changed. I mean seriously this corn is amazing. It's full of flavor, it's healthy, and it's quick and easy to prepare! The presentation is pretty enough for entertaining, but easy enough for any ole night of the week to serve your family!

The flavors are so fresh and just scream summertime. It's the perfect side for BBQ, burgers, fish, or chicken...or you can eat leftovers for breakfast...I won't judge.

PostedJune 25, 2014

AuthorLeigh Ann Chatagnier

CategoriesGrilled

TagsGrilled, Grilled Corn, grilled corn on the cob, healthy, summer eats, summer cooking, summer grilling, clean eats, gluten free, eat local, farm fresh

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Growing up in Tennessee we picked blackberries. Not at a blackberry farm, but they just grew on bushes out behind our house or in the woods. It was one of those things where we would grab a handful and eat them outside in the summer heat, sweat dripping down our faces. It was a sign of summer. Sort of like blueberries are, to me, a true sign of summer in Louisiana.

We are really lucky to have a farmer's market here where you can get fresh picked ones every Saturday through July, but what I really love about Louisiana is that there are blueberry farms, ones where you go and grab a bucket and pick to your heart's content. It's the experience that takes me back to being a child in summer picking blackberries off a bush in the woods with my friends.

PostedJune 24, 2014

AuthorLeigh Ann Chatagnier

CategoriesLife

Tagsblueberries, summer, Louisiana, blueberry picking, fresh berries, outdoors, makersworkshop, maisoneverett

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It's Friday, which basically means it's the weekend, which in turn means that you deserve a cocktail. A fancy shmancy one that you can whip up quick! And for that, you are going to want to make my Rosemary Fizz Cocktail.

We went to this cute bar the other night where I ordered an amazing cocktail. It was the perfect summer drink and rosemary was the star ingredient. It was so refreshing. Not too sweet with just the right amount of fizz added in. Canean and I both ordered it, and so I figured that I should make it at home so we could drink it whenever we wanted to!

The result was just as tasty, and the great thing is that you can make the rosemary infused simple syrup in a big batch and it will keep in the fridge for several weeks. Or if you are having a party just make the simple syrup the day before and mix a big pitcher full!

Whatever, whenever, however. Just make them!

PostedJune 20, 2014

AuthorLeigh Ann Chatagnier

CategoriesCocktails

Tagsrosemary, cocktail, summer cocktails, refreshing drinks, rosemary and lime, cheers

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For most of my life I have battled with not thinking I was small enough...skinny enough to be considered what I thought the world saw as beautiful. Constant comparison to other girls and people on TV had my confidence, at times pretty low. The crash diets started in high school and I would lose ten and gain ten every year it seemed.

Losing the weight didn't fix my head. Even when I was at my smallest, I still thought I needed to be skinnier, I still saw the same imperfections that I saw at my heaviest. It was a mental battle with myself and sometimes still is.

When Canean and I met, I had a hard time seeing myself the way that he saw me...beautiful, imperfections and all. He loved everything that I had always thought of as something I wish I could change. He loved my curves and the fact that I wasn't a size zero, and never would be.

It has taken me thirty years, but I finally decided enough is enough and I'm going to start loving this body I have been given. No more thinking I wish this and I wish that. The truth is I have been blessed with a healthy body...a strong body.

PostedJune 18, 2014

AuthorLeigh Ann Chatagnier

CategoriesLife

Tagsbody image, embrace, women, love your body, self, beautiful, beauty, imperfections, vulnerable, stripped, imperfectly perfect

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