Baked Stuffed Shrimp

I am so excited to share today’s recipe with you.  Not only is it one of my favorite recipes in the world, but it’s also one that my mom made up completely on her own.  We’ve had these baked stuffed shrimp for Christmas, New Year’s, my birthday – basically any holiday where I get to choose the main dish.  When I asked my mom for this recipe a couple of weeks ago so that Mike and I could make it for one of our Sunday feasts, she literally sent me a list of ingredients with very approximate measurements (“a handful,” “some,” and “however much you want”).  I’d have to say, ours turned out very well, and I can’t wait to make ours for my mom when she comes to visit next month!

Ingredients:

1 ¼ pounds of large, raw shrimp

1 stick of butter

1 sleeve of Ritz crackers (crushed)

¼ cup imitation crab (diced)

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.       In a medium pot, melt the butter on medium heat.

3.       Peel, vein, and butterfly 1 pound of the shrimp, leaving just the tails on.

4.       Peel, vein, and dice ¼ pound of the shrimp. 

5.       Add the diced shrimp and crushed Ritz crackers to the melted butter on the stove.  Cook for about 5 minutes, until shrimp starts to turn pink.

6.       Remove the stuffing from the heat and add in the diced imitation crab.

7.       Arrange butterflied shrimp on a greased sheet pan, and scoop about 1 tablespoon of stuffing onto each of the butterflied shrimp.

8.       Bake for 15 minutes, until shrimp are pink.

It took me about 15 minutes to peel and vein the shrimp and 45 minutes from the start to the end of cooking. 

Linking up for all of my favorite Tuesday food link-ups (Tuesday's Recipe Swap, Two Cup Tuesday, Try A New Recipe Tuesday, Delicious Dish Tuesday, and Tasty Tuesdays)!

Summertime in SC: Poolside

Borrowed Heaven was compensated by ShopatHome.com to share the following post.  All opinions of the following products are mine alone.  

I hope hope everyone had a great weekend - our last one in June.  How crazy is that?  I can't believe Saturday is already the Fourth of July!  Down here in South Carolina, it's been in the 90s (with "feels like" well beyond 100 degrees) since the middle of June.  While the Fourth of July in New England meant long days at the beach, to be honest, it's a bit too hot for that down here.  The ocean temperature is even above 85 degrees - not so refreshing.  Instead, my plan is to spend the whole weekend at the pool, and as you can imagine, I'm already dreaming about it.  I've teamed up with ShopAtHome.com, an online coupon and Cash Back site that partners with thousands of online retailers and more than 60 million members to deliver savings and rewards, to share ten of my favorite pool-day essentials.  Mike and I love days at the pool because we can sneak back to our apartment for more ice, some A/C, and you don't have to pay for parking.  Each of the following items is from a store where you can earn cash back from ShopatHome.com for shopping online for your purchases AND use additional coupons to save even more.  For example, through 7/6, you can save 20% at Macy's (where I found the adorable Sperry Top Sider sandals below - hint, hint!) just be revealing the code on ShopatHome.com's website.

So, here are my Top Ten Summertime Pool Essentials, brought to you by the retailers behind ShopatHome.com:

beach bag /// sun protection /// sandals /// Kan Jam /// towel /// personal speaker /// tumblers /// book /// bathing suit (top and bottom) /// cover-up

• What did I forget?  Do you have any summertime poolside favorites?  
• Have you tried ShopatHome.com before?

Jammin' With A Giveaway

I received the following complimentary products in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are my own. 

I am so excited to share today's post (and giveaway!!) with y'all.  I've been seeing Jamberry all over the place for a long time and loved the idea of fun nail art. Amanda contacted me a few weeks ago, and I was thrilled when she offered to send me a Jamberry kit and my choice of nail wraps to try.  I am usually one of those people who leaves nail polish on way too long, and lately, I've even resorted to painting darker colors over lighter colors so I don't have to go through the hassle of removing it.  Yeah, #firstworldproblems.  So, Jamberry sounded like a great way to keep my nails looking nice for much longer than polish.  

First of all, here's what Amanda sent me: application kit with nail oil, mini heater, and Country Club wraps

Honestly, this first time I put on the nails, it took me about 40 minutes.  I think that was because I was debating over and over which size nails would work best for each nail.  Now that I know my "size," I imagine it will only take 15 or so minutes next time.  I started by washing my hands with a dish soap to remove all of the excess oils.  Then, I pushed back all of my cuticles and used one of the Jamberry nail wipes (but you could just use rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball) to make sure my nails were completely clean.

Now it was time to choose the right wrap for my nail size.  You want a tiny sliver of nail to show on each side of wrap.  If the wrap touches your skin, it won't adhere properly and will bubble up along the edges.  I removed that correct wrap from the packaging with one of the orange sticks (again, making sure the adhesive side didn't touch my skin so that it would adhere properly) and heated it for about 5 seconds.  You can use a regular blow dryer, if you want, but the mini heater is so convenient!

Next, using the orange stick, I laid the wrap on my nail and used the rubber cuticle pusher to push it into place.  The last step was to clip the excess wrap off, just above the nail, and file the rest of it off with the nail file.

My nails stayed on for a solid 7 days.  Yes, I had a couple of spots that bubbled up, but they all happened almost instantly after application, showing me that I used the wrong size nail or let part of it touch my skin.  I even played golf and kickball with my wraps on, and they stayed put.  I absolutely love the way this simple design looks, and I think I'm definitely hooked.  How cute are these Urban Lights, Icy Peony Polka, and Chantilly wraps?

Now, here's the fun part!  Amanda is graciously giving away a $60 e-gift certificate to her Jamberry store to one lucky Borrowed Heaven reader!  I hope y'all will enter below, and even if you don't win, definitely consider giving Jamberry a try for yourself.  I'm so happy I did and have definitely become a fan for life!

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Book of the Month: The Art of American Whiskey

I got a good one from Blogging for Books this month, y'all.  I ordered The Art of American Whiskey by Noah Rothbaum right after our most recent trip to the Charleston distilleries.  From reading the title, I assumed that the book would be about the process of making whiskey and how that's changed throughout America's history.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the book was more about the cultural history of whiskey and just as much about the branding and art that has gone into the labeling and advertising since the late 19th century.

Each chapter, based around a specific time period, featured a story about how whiskey went hand-in-hand with the history of those years.  At the turn of the century, railroad growth helped spread whiskey around the country, Prohibition seemed to be partially to blame for The Great Depression, and World War II forced those who were finally back in business to create extremely high proof liquors for explosives and rubber during the war.

I really enjoyed looking at the different labels and bottles from the period.  Each section also had a section with favorite cocktail recipes from the period; I really want to try Ward Eight, which was popular in the 1940s.

I learned a lot from the book and definitely suggest it as a life for your favorite whiskey lovers.

Wedding Wednesday: The Cake

Not going to lie, the cake was definitely one of my favorite parts of our wedding.  Our vendor was The Icing On The Cake, and they were amazing.  One of my favorite aspects of our cake was the design.  Because both TIOTC and our florist, Frugal Flower, were preferred vendors at our venue and had worked together in the past, the ladies arranged the decorations and flowers on the cake together.  That also meant it was one less thing for me to worry about!  We did a cake tasting with my parents and Mike's best man a few months before the wedding and had such a hard time narrowing down flavors.  We decided that each tier would have a different flavor: lemon cake with white buttercream and raspberry, chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream, vanilla cake with strawberry mousse, and a mystery top tier.  We let our baker choose the top tier for us, so when we unfreeze it on our first anniversary, we will have a surprise cake.  Knowing that doesn't always turn out so well, they also gave us a coupon for a free anniversary cake, just for sending them a photo of our cake, during the wedding.  So either way, we will be eating delicious cake in September!

We cut our first slice to Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)."

We decided not to smush cake on each other, but still had a little bit of fun!

In addition to the cake, we also had a beautiful dessert bar, filled with pastries, cookies, and fresh fruit.

Now, it's your turn - share your own engagement/ wedding/ honeymoon/ anniversary post with me and Macy below.  Please link back to one of our pages so that others can find us and join in the Wedding Wednesday fun!

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A Weekend of Love in Charleston

Hi, everyone! I hope you had a good weekend.  We had a family friend in town, and it was so nice to see her and get to do some of our favorite touristy things!  

On Saturday, I had to work, and after that I met up with Jillian and Ally for Jill's birthday at Zia.  I had some delicious enchiladas.  We also stopped back at Jillian's new house to get the grand tour (it's beautiful!!) and see Miss Violet!  After that, Mike and I spent the afternoon at Folly (and made another stop for Mexican at Taco Boy).  We even saw a cute wedding on the beach!  The night ended with DeSano Pizza and the US Open on television.

On Sunday, we headed downtown early for #ChimewithCharleston.  We walked over to Emanuel AME and listened to the service inside.  They had set up speakers outside and closed off the street so that everyone could worship with the parishioners.  It was so nice to come together as a community.  We also spent some time on Market Street and in Waterfront Park.  The afternoon was spent in the A/C and by the pool, with a delicious dinner at home of grilled cheese and our favorite tortellini soup so we could watch the end of the US Open.

Linking up for: Weekend Recap, Weekending, and Monday Madness!

Pray for Charleston

Two nights ago, a horrendous tragedy took place in the beautiful city I've had the honor to call my home for the past year.  Please take a moment this weekend to pray for the victims, their families, and everyone affected by this act of senseless violence.

via

Outfit of the Month: Pin to Present

Today for my Outfit of the Month, I'm linking up with Anne at In Residence.  Just before Memorial Day Weekend, when I had high hopes of spending the weekend shopping, (obviously better things like Drunk Meg ensued), I saw one of Kate's Favorite Pins in her weekly "Favs" post.  Seriously, I fell in love with his adorable combination of floral and lace and knew I had to find a way to duplicate it.  So, I did some not-so-sober online shopping over Memorial Day Weekend and bought the below pieces to copy this fab lady's look!

My look, all from Forever 21: Layered Lace Top in Cream, Longline Faux Stone Necklace in Gold, Bright Floral Denim Cutoffs (sold out), and Embroidered Espadrilles in Black (sold out)

I also purchased this Eyelash Lace-Paneled Top in White and this Lace-Paneled Halter in Cream and returned both because one was complete see-through in the front and the other had an awful/no shape.  

There you have it!  Have you ever tried recreating an outfit you saw "pinned?"

Honeymoon Recap: Exuma Water Sports

Hi, everyone!  Welcome back to Wedding Wednesday.  Today I'm sharing my second honeymoon recap.  A couple weeks back, I wrote all about Sandals Emerald Bay, and today, I'm sharing a fantastic excursion we did on Tuesday during our week in The Bahamas.  We received a resort credit when we booked our suite at Sandals, and we used it to go on an Exuma Water Sports Ocean Safari Tour.  When I saw the swimming pigs on Sandals's website and the link to their Instagram page (follow them, now - you won't regret it!), I knew this would be a highlight of our trip.  They did not disappoint!  The morning of our tour, we were picked up by bus with 6 other couples to take the 20 minute drive to the start of the tour, in a cute little fishing town called Barreterre.  The tour covered about 25 miles of water and 75 little cays along Great Exuma.  Our first stop was the swimming pigs, and we fed the big ones hotdogs (lolz) and swam with them, then went onto the shore to see the babies.  They were ADORABLE!  After that, we sped along the Exuma keys to stop at different beautiful overlooks and places to swim.  My favorite part of the trip might actually have been the Bahamian Rock Iguanas, at our second to last stop of the day.  We found them on a private island (it actually belongs to Nicholas Cage!), fed them grapes, and even got to pet them.  I seriously wanted to bring one home!  Our last stop was snorkeling along some beautiful reefs.  We saw so many amazing fish.  We used our underwater camera throughout the excursion, but as you can imagine, we didn't get the best photos in the world, since it was a disposable.  I'm so glad we had one, though!  Below are some of my favorites from the trip.  If you are ever in The Bahamas, you need to make the trip to see all of these amazing animals and views!

It's your turn - share your own engagement/ wedding/ honeymoon/ anniversary post with me and Macy below.  Please link back to one of our pages so that others can find us and join in the Wedding Wednesday fun!

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