saturday brunch: cinnamon & sugar french toast bites

i found this recipe on Pinterest and thought it would be perfect to try this weekend. they turned out to be delicious...just had to make a few tweaks after making the first batch. A loved them as well which means i will definitely be making these again.

Cinnamon & Sugar French Toast Bites
{recipe below from Multiply Delicious}

3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs 
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 loaf of french bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tbsp unsalted butter

Instructions:

In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, milk, vanilla, and salt until blended.  Place the bread cubes in the egg mixture and using a large spoon, toss gently until the cubes are evenly coated and all the egg mixture has been absorbed.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter.  Add half the coated bread cubes and cook, turning often, until golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.  Transfer the cubes to the bowl holding the cinnamon sugar and toss to coat.  Repeat with the remaining bread cubes and 1 tablespoon butter.

Divide the french toast bites into individual servings and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar.  Serve with maple syrup.

Suggestion:
*I had major issues with the bread sticking to the pan (I didn't use a nonstick). So I would definitely suggest using a nonstick pan for this recipe. I remedied it by turning the heat down and cooking them longer. But the first batch almost didn't work out because they were sticking so bad.

This recipe is real good y'all. Put it on your list to make as soon as you can. I am thinking it will become quite a regular breakfast around here. 

instagram: {august and september}

august and september were both wonderful. we traveled up to lexington a few different times for different wedding festivities. two of my very best friends {holly} and {jenna} got married a month apart from each other. being in both weddings, i got to be around each bride on her big day which made me so very happy. both girls are very dear to me and each wedding was uniquely wonderful and perfect.

my instagram feed can sum up how much fun was had during our visits...

{a good way to start and end a trip to kentucky}

{the drive up to kentucky is absolutely gorgeous}

{learning the wobble which became the official bridesmaids dance of the night}

{gorgeous holly}

{my sweet hubs}

{all dolled up for jenna's wedding}

{lovely gilfedder}

{my sweet little E helping aunt shan get ready}

{loves}

{besties since high school}

follow along on instagram {imswheat}.

creativity

i have been thinking a lot lately about creativity. i was asked a few weeks ago how i like to express my creative side and i answered with things like: writing and cooking/baking. that is about all i could come up with. while those are both wonderful things, i want to do more of them as well as find other ways to allow myself to be creative.

 i want to do, make, style, think, and create. i want to challenge myself. 

i have a pinterest account where i pin beautiful and inspiring images over and over. yet, i have only made a few recipes from my food board. i have thousands of images that are pinned, that inspire me to be creative and make things...and yet i don't.

i don't really know where this all came from. maybe that little question that was asked so passingly "what do you do to be creative" sparked me to really think about it.

so here i am...making this commitment to myself.

i want to write more. i want to think and create more. i want to make things.

so i am going to start.

baubles

it's absolutely not a secret that i am obsessed with jewels. it just might be my ultimate weakness...that or chocolate. both fantastic if you ask me.

i have recently stumbled across bauble bar...a website that has an assortment of wonderful jewels to be scooped up.

many of these are going on my wish list. with my birthday and christmas coming up in a few months, i am definitely going to be hoping some of these end up in my jewelry box.

{aqua boho drops}

{burgundy gem bib}

{bonbon duo drops}

{red tassel earrings}

{molten gold bib}

{puzzle prism bib}

{gold stud cuff}

my first bauble bar purchase was this pretty little (or not so little) treat. i plan to rock it with a striped shirt or a shift dress pretty soon...

{fire elsa necklace}

if any of you want to shop the pretty pieces above, hop on over to bauble bar and set up an account. i would definitely recommend them. best part? you get $10 off your first purchase. TREAT!

bauble bar doesn't know about me or my little blog. they don't know i'm writing this post. i just wanted to share the jewelry love...

kentucky love

a few weeks ago, A and I headed to my sweet state of kentucky to celebrate my little holly. she is getting married in a few weeks and we celebrated her and showered her before her big day. we squeezed a lot into a weekend and saw so many of our loved ones. i got to meet little babies, see my bestie with a bump (who has since had her little babe) and hang out with all of my favorite people. 

sweet sweet little evie. oh how i loved meeting her and seeing her sweet mama

 my sees. oh how i love her...

 the bride-to-be with all of her gifts

 friends at dinner. SUCH a wonderful time and good food.

yummy breakfast with friends. look at those mini beyonces up on the roof.

such a wonderful time in lexington. i am blessed beyond belief and thankfully, get get to go back soon for that little bride-to-be to get married. round two is coming soon....

healthy start

many mornings i find myself in the kitchen making a quick smoothie before work. i have tweaked it quite a few times from the original smoothie {recipe found here} but for the most part, keep it pretty much the same. i just add spinach to get a serving of greens in {and no you can't taste it...promise}.

my recipe is:

*8-9 strawberries
*a handful of blueberries
*a handful of spinach
*1/2 cup OJ
*a small spoonful of honey
*a small spoonful of ground flax seeds
*10-12 ice cubes

Mix it all together in a blender. Pour it in a big glass. I usually stick it in the freezer as I finish getting ready for the day and then grab it and go. In my opinion, 10 minutes of making it is worth getting in a good serving of fruit and veggie first thing in the morning.

life lately according to my {instagram}

in the past few weeks we have....

-been to florida with my family

-taken a drive up to north carolina

-gone to the farmers marker

-added to my mint green obsession

-found and bought my first peonies 

what have y'all been up to lately???