Seared Scallops w/ Warm Spinach and Bacon Salad

Husband is still on an Atkins style diet and I've been having fun coming up with new dishes for dinner. Last night we enjoyed Seared Scallops and a Spinach and Bacon Salad. It was a really satisfying meal and it took me less than 30 minutes to cook!

For the scallops, I simply seasoned them with salt and pepper and seared in 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil in a hot pan. Cook three minutes per side or until scallops are no longer opaque.

For the Spinach and Bacon salad, I adapted a recipe from Alton Brown on Food Network.

Ingredients
3 slices of bacon
1/4 cup of onion
1 tbsp garlic
1 tsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp of red wine vinegar
1 packet of Splenda (or 1 tbsp of sugar if you're not watching your carbs)
pinch of salt
pepper
about 3 cups of spinach (I just eyeball it)

Cook bacon over high heat until crispy. Remove and drain on a paper towel.
While bacon is cooking, wash and dry spinach. Add to a mixing bowl.
Remove all but 2 tbsp of the bacon grease. Add onions and saute until translucent.
Add garlic, mustard, Splenda, and vinegar.
Mix well.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add dressing mix to spinach, crumble cooked bacon, and mix salad well.

Footstool Redo

I've owned this footstool since my college days. It was purchased originally because I had really high closet shelves in my apartment. It has survived several moves, attesting to its durability. The fabric lost its appeal quickly after I purchased it, but I never thought to recover it until recently.

I went to my local Joann's to look for fabric, when I realized I had the perfect fabric at home. It was a pillowcase that I purchased for $2.00 at Marshall's, originally thinking I'd cut it and make it into smaller throw pillows.

I unscrewed the padded part from the base and quickly cut my fabric to size, leaving about a 1.5 inch border. I used my trusty staple gun and stapled the fabric and voila, less than 15 minutes later, I had a perfectly matching footstool.

Anthro Haul

Much like other bloggers, I was underwhelmed by the Anthro sale today. Although, that didn't stop me from making a few purchases.

I found the Reed Shirtdress in green for a great price in my size. I've seen it on so many other beautiful bloggers, but I'm wondering if it makes me feel a little too Wicked Witch w/ the color? 

I also found the Waltzing Daphne blouse for only $19.99! I really loved it and the price made it that much better.

My last purchase was the Rainforest Morning Shirtdress by Moulinette Soeurs. I completely fell in love with it when I tried it on. I'm typically pattern phobic so I'm wondering if this dress will just sit in the back of my closet. What do you guys think? Keep or return? 

Weekend Shopping Haul

I got the chance to to go on a serious shopping trip this past weekend. My friend D needed a dress for her brother's upcoming wedding, so we hit the mall! It was so nice to go shopping without dragging my dear husband along. Although he tries to be patient, he ends up getting bored by the second or third store.

Our first stop was Macy's. We actually got to the mall before it opened and were some of the first people in the store, which was great since everything was still nicely organized.

I bought a cute denim shirt, which I forgot to take a picture of, whoops! I also got this pink ruffled skirt for $5! I've seen it all over the place at various stores but who could resist at this price?

We next hit up The Loft. I'm convinced that this particular store is bewitched. I've never failed to find great deals at this particular location. I scored this ruffled wrap dress on final clearance for $14.99 plus all the sale items were an additional 30% off! What a steal.

I couldn't resist this little ruffled skirt either. I think it'll be perfect for hot summer days and to just throw on over a bathing suit at the beach.

This sweater was so amazingly comfortable and at $9.99 the price was right. It's light enough to carry me through summer and fall.

New York & Co. was having a shorts sale. Buy one and get a second pair for $10. I also picked up a pair of black shorts at H&M.

That's all from this shopping trip. I'll post outfits later!