Under Construction

I wanted to do a little post to thank everyone who has followed this blog and supported it during the multiple transitions that it has gone through over the past four years. 

It has been something that I have been doing on and off for a long time, constantly changing direction and struggling to find my voice. 

Enter the abeautifulmess E Course "Blog Life". 

Today is May 17, 2014 and today is my first day of a twenty five course long blogging workshop written by the two wonderful ladies behind the blog A Beautiful Mess. If you have never seen their blog before get ready to spend a couple of hours exploring their pages of recipes, diy projects, and beautiful photography. They are a true inspiration and I am very excited to be learning from the best. 

In the meantime, Creatively Casey is going to be undergoing a remodel. 

I have so many amazing things planned, and with summer approaching this seems like perfect timing. 

Thank you all so much for supporting me, and I will talk to you all soon!

For now you can keep up to date with what i am doing on 

Instagram at caseydots

& Twitter at caseylynn391
I have also created a Facebook page for Creatively Casey.
Go give it a like at facebook.com/creativelycasey

Update: Creatively Casey is also on bloglovin'!
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12392619/?claim=4kar27tvyyr">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

xx Casey

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Musical favorite, Oh Honey. I am always on the lookout for new music. With the seasons I go through a change in my musical preferences. Now that it is spring I constantly on the lookout for upbeat feel good music you want to play with your windows down and the wind blowing through your hair.
This song was actually performed in the last episode of glee, but I dint pay much attention (glee has become more of a background noise show rather than a show I religiously watch anymore-give it up glee!) but this weekend I heard it in commercial and the upbeat sounds of the song "Be Okay" echoed through the room and I knew I had to download it immediately. And in a matter of minutes I had downloaded the whole album. This genuinely is just straight up feel good music, and I just can't get enough.

 


 Home Favorite, Bath & Body Works Candles. I could make this one of my favorites every month and I have the whole drawer of B&BW candles to prove it. Isn't it sad awesome that my favorite thing about the seasons changing are the new candle scents that come out? I have my favorites for every season, like leaves for the fall, and Mohegan teakwood for the wintertime, but this season I am in love with the first bloom and macaroon candle. They came out with a whole "sweets" line and I am excited to get over there as soon as possible to pick up some more like the lemon pound cake scent. I am also super excited for summer to roll around so I can start burning my Oceanside candle. I think it is going to be a fast favorite.

Lifestyle favorite, Detox Water. The "juicing" trend has been a big thing for a while now and everyone and their mom who wants to eat healthy decides that juicing is the way to kick start that healthy lifestyle. I don't know about you, but no matter how much fruit you put in it I can not get past the taste (and smell) of that broccoli, beet, or kale that you so cleverly tried to hide in there. And any of you who says "I just love kale juice".. you are lying to yourself.

One thing I can get behind however are detox waters. The addition of citrus, different fruits, and spices to your water cleanses your body of its impurities while still being light and refreshing. My personal favorite that I have been drinking for a while is ice water, sliced apples, and cinnamon sticks.



 

 
 


Style Favorite, Headbands, Scarves, & Turbans. Shopping on Main Street in East Greenwich one day I couldn't help but notice a trend in a few of the stores- turbans. Now I am not talking about full fledge whole head turbans, I am talking about the headband type. I bought one on a whim and boy am I glad I did. This is seriously going to be a life saver those summer days when your hair looks beautiful on the bottom but the top-not so much. (Yeah ladies you know what I am talking about, seriously who wants to take the hair straightener out in the middle of summer? Not this girl)

Foodie Favorite, Diego's Newport RI. My boyfriend finally had a Sunday off, and it so happened to be a beautiful day so we decided to hop in the car, roll the windows down, listened to a little Oh Honey, and drank our Twix flavored coffee, and drove over the bridge to Newport. After a couple of drinks at the Landing we decided to venture out for some food. While we were searching for wings (my boyfriends favorite food) we walked by Diego's. It is Newport Restaurant week right now, and we could not pass up the $16 three course meal. We saw the words short rib taco's and knew we had to go in and check it out. We both started with the pork belly and green bean salad (look at all that pork belly in there!), then the short rib tacos, and then decided to try one of each desert - caramel and pecan flan, and pumpkin seed brittle. I have a feeling Diego's will be my go to spot when visiting Newport.

 

 

Put the jackets away and start enjoying that sunshine!

Best,

Casey 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little spring cleaning

When I think of spring I think of renewal. The ground thaws, and the rain washes away the cold winter days. Flowers bloom, the birds sing, and there's a fresh smell in the air. And with these changes in the weather come other changes. Changes in yourself. You smile a little brighter, laugh a little louder, and give yourself up to the pure happiness that comes with the sunshine.

It is the time when everyone begins their spring cleaning, and puts away their knitted sweaters for sundresses. All winter long I have been dreaming of my big new plans for my little creative outlet, and spring seems like the perfect time to put them into action. A little spring cleaning of the blog if you will. 

Spring is the perfect time for change, and a little change is coming your way. 

Stay tuned for the new and exciting things in store.

Best,

Casey 

Soup & An Update

Hi Readers, Welcome back to Creatively Casey! I took a little two month hiatus on the blog to figure out where I wanted to go with it and how I would like it to evolve. And you know what I realized? Blogs are like people - they change. They can start off as one thing and then suddenly realize that's not what they were meant to be. This blog started in 2011 as a documentation of my days as a Disney Cast Member. Fast forward to 2014, and I keep coming back to it. The blog evolved into strictly restaurant reviews - a direction which I was passionate about. But like me, this blog is not one dimensional. It has a bunch of layers to it, and I am very excited to share them with you. Because who say's a blog has to be one thing? In the end this blog is for me, and if I am not writing about what I love and writing about what I think you will love, I won't have a passion for it anymore.

But I digress.. Onto the most delicious (and easy) chicken soup recipe that will get you through these final winter months.

Here's what you will need; amounts are based on your preferred serving size.

Chicken -I cheated and bought a rotisserie chicken from Daves Market, but you can use chicken breasts.
Celery
Carrots
Garlic
Low Sodium Chicken Stock
1 Can Mushroom Soup
Salt & Pepper
Seasoning- this can be any type of poultry seasoning. I used McCormick's Chicken Seasoning
Whole Wheat Rice Noodles
Grated parmesan Cheese





Method of Prep:
1. Chop your celery and onion into small uniform pieces. Chop Garlic
2. Chop Carrots into medium sized pieces and set aside.



3. Sauté the celery, onion, and garlic in olive oil until they are translucent.
4. Pour chicken stock in pot on medium heat until boiling.
5. In the meantime shred chicken and set aside.
6. Once the chicken stock is boiling add carrots to the pot.
7. Add your sautéed vegetables, seasoning, and mushroom soup to the stock.
8. Once the carrots are fork tender add your chicken.
9. You can use any type of pasta or rice you would like for this soup, but I used the whole wheat rice noodles. These require no cooking time, just put them right into the hot soup, or pour boiling water on them in a bowl until tender.
10. Pour soup in a bowl, top with the grated parmesan cheese, and enjoy!

This is one of the most flavorful bowls of chicken soup I have ever had. (Clearly Lilly was jealous she did not get a bowl). This recipe is super simple and can be modified to fit your taste. You can add any additional ingredients such as potatoes, mushrooms, or even some escarole. No matter what you add to it I guarantee you will have the perfect meal for a snowy day that will have you going back for more - literally, I had three bowls for dinner and brought a bowl for lunch the next day.

New and exciting things are coming soon!

Stay tuned for a big announcement

November Favorites

Hi there everyone!

I decided I am going to start a new series on the blog called __ Favorites where each month I take a break from sharing my foodie finds and unload on you my current obsessions.

 

 

- As the weather changes so do my style choices. Winter is without a doubt my favorite shopping season. There is something about comfy sweaters, boots, and over the knee socks that I am loving right now. Another favorite? Body suits. You never have to worry about your shirt riding up and you can style them with both shirts and pants like so:

 

Also, the skirt I am wearing in the first picture is from Anthropoligie. And yes, I am
obsessed with it. It seriously looks amazing with anything. Also, Rebel by Mac is seriously
the greatest lipstick I have ever owned. Obviously I am rocking it in all three pictures.


- Speaking of sweaters, my next obsession? The sweater weather scent from bath and body works. I currently have a wall plug in next to my desk and it instantly puts me in a good mood. I also bought a sweater weather candle from bath and body works which comes in a ceramic holder that looks like a sweater. I have not burned it yet because I am trying to quickly finish up my pumpkin scented candles before the Christmas season truly begins. Bath & Body Works really has the best quality candles. The scent lingers for a couple of days, and they are always having their three wick 2 for 22 candle sale. You really can't beat it. Just ask the girl who has a whole drawer full of them.

 

 



- While we are on the subject of Bath & Body works I have to talk about my current favorite scent that I have been wearing almost everyday. It is the Bath & Body Works body mist in the scent Noel. It literally smells like sugar cookies.

 



 

 

 

- As the holidays approach, I have been searching for affordable ways to decorate my work space for the holidays. There is something about a little Christmas cheer to brighten your day. There are tons of free printables online for all of the seasons that are a quick way to decorate your space for practically nothing. I currently have a banner that says "Give Thanks" on my desk for Thanksgiving, but after searching today I found a couple Christmas banners that I just can't wait to put up. (After thanksgiving of course!)

 

 

 

 



- American Horror Story. My boyfriend and I are currently watching American Horror Story Coven and we love it. We also went out and bought the Asylum season since we never watched that one and we love that one even more! After not being into the first season we kind of gave up on it, but the fact that they have a different story line every season means that there is always something for everyone. I absolutely love this concept, and I can not wait to see what they come up with next!

Our second TV obsession of the moment? The Following with Kevin Bacon. They finally added the first season to Netflix and so we just began watching - and we are hooked! Can not wait for the new season to start in January.

 

 

- My last obsession? This blog. In the recent months I have been coming up with more and more posts for you that go beyond just restaurant reviews. My love for writing and creating keeps growing, and it is all thanks to the amazing support that I have received from my friends and family.

I recently found out that Creatively Casey is being featured on Dante's Kitchen in East Greenwich's website and I could not be more excited.

 

 

 

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving I want to say thank you to everyone who continues to read my blog. It is because of you that I am so passionate about what I do.

 

 

Stay tuned, there is much more to come!