Mango Caprese Salad...3 ways

When it is a hot and sticky summer (Virginia summers are the worst!) I crave fruits and veggies. Especially when they are fresh. This summer we started a little herb garden and all of a sudden the basil has taken off! To put it to good use I decided to make a caprese salad. Tomato, mozzarella, and fresh basil together are to die for! When I saw uneaten mangoes in the refrigerator I decided to incorporate them.

The caprese salad alone, as a snack or side dish was amazing! I could have eaten 10 of them! We had friends coming in for the weekend, so I decided to do a spin off of my mango caprese salad and make it for a vineyard picnic. It was a huge hit!

Then to use up some more basil I made another one. This time it was part of a larger meal. Not quite a 5 course meal, but a fancy meal along those lines none the less.

This Mango Caprese Salad is so simple to make and tastes out of this world. Here's what I did:

-Slice fresh mozzarella into rounds.
-Slice chilled mango into large pieces.
-Take the basil leaves off the stems.
Then layer everything however you would like to serve it. Top it with sea salt and a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Enjoy!

Happy Friday

Here's to a fun weekend of adventures!

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Some other fun things:

25 things/projects you can do with old jeans.

Tan lines. Haha, this make me laugh out loud.

A great DIY for a nautical rope bracelet.

Some more great vintage summery photos to enjoy.

Valentino Resort Wear

I'm loving this Valentino collection of 2012 Resort Wear.

This is what Wikipedia has to say about 'Resort Wear": 'More recently, designers, store buyers, and the media are viewing "resort wear" as a specialized year-round clothing style and fashion season.'

So really 'Resort Wear' is not so much resort anymore, but rather a year-round style.

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Industrial Kitchens

I just love the look of an industrial kitchen. Don't get me wrong, I love a good regular conventional kitchen too. There is just something about all that stainless steel and functional equipment. I love it!

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Stone Mountain Vineyard

Last weekend some friends came to visit so we did one of my favorite things to do in Virginia. We went to visit Vineyards and taste wine!

This vineyard probably tops my list for Virginia vineyards so far. The drive to get there was slightly confusing though. We were definitely on a lot of back country roads.

We finally saw a vineyard sign and thought we were almost there. Little did we know that was just the beginning of a very long, narrow, steep, road to the top of the mountain.

It was all worth it though! The wine was fantastic and the tasting included about 15 wines, oyster crackers, AND dark chocolate. Yum! The rest of our afternoon was spent watching storms in the valley while sipping wine from our balcony perch. Nothing could have been more perfect.

Happy Friday

Here's to road trips this weekend!

Andy and I are heading to Michigan for a week of boating on the lake, fresh cherries, beach campfires, and quality family time. I'll have posts scheduled throughout the week so you don't miss me too much. 

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Some other fun things:

I'm loving polka dots and stripes right now.

A recipe for Smores Cupcakes. Smores are everywhere this summer!

I'm wanting one of these for my backyard on these hot days.

Carolina Herrera 2004

I stumbled upon this Carolina Herrera 2004 Spring Collection and love it! These styles are incredibly body flattering and give me some great ideas for outfits.

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