The count down is on!  Mairead and I are heading to Cape Breton for a few weeks tomorrow.  Aaron will follow us a week behind, but we are all looking forward to getting out of here for a while, especially me!  I’ll take any excuse to leave this place haha.

I should be packing right now instead of on here…..but I don’t want to.  As my family can attest, I am not a light packer.  I don’t know the meaning of the phrase.  If I’m going somewhere for a month, I’ll pack for 3.  It’s stupid.  I’ve seen all the posts on how to pack everything you need in a carry on blah blah blah.  Nope, I still seem to travel with everything I own.  My goal this time is to get everything for me and Mairead into one suitcase.  Who am I kidding, that will never happen lol.

I held a yard sale last week but it was a bit of a flop.  I didn’t get rid of near as much stuff as I had hoped but I made $75 and donated what was left.  I’m just glad to have it gone!   I’m going to completely contradict myself here and say that I am trying to dial it down and live a little more minimalistic in our house (despite my light traveling woes) but we don’t need so much stuff, and I am so sick of picking up junk and trying to find a place for it.  So out the door it went.  I did, however, keep all my books with the hopes of starting a free little library, more on that to come another day.

Moving on, it’s lunchtime!  Actually, the featured salad in today’s post was yesterday’s lunch.  Mairead goes crazy for these candied pecans so by throwing a handful of these in any salad always helps to get her to eat more greens.  I first made this salad years ago as part of a potluck lunch before my cousin’s bachelorette party and everyone really enjoyed it, especially the dressing.  The second time I made it was at my parent’s house where I watched my father literally lick the dressing off of his plate.  I’d like to say that’s the first time I have seen him do something like this, but it wasn’t.  Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it so much that you lick your plates.  Enjoy!

Blackberry Pear Goat Cheese Salad with Candied Pecans & Balsamic Dijon Dressing

*Makes 4 small salads

Salad Ingredients

1 cup prepared candied pecans (click here for my recipe)
4 cups mixed greens
1 cup fresh blackberries
1/2 ripe pear, sliced thin
Goat cheese to crumble

Dressing Ingredients

2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper dash

Directions

In a bowl mix lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard with a fork until well blended.

Pour in the olive oil in a slow steady stream whisking constantly until well blended.

Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Assemble greens on a plate or salad bowl.

Add remaining ingredients and toss gently.

Drizzle with prepared dressing and enjoy!

**I have had this recipe on an old torn up piece of paper in my recipe box for years.  I have no idea where I got it, but if it’s yours, let me know so I can give credit where credit is due!

By Three Happy Folk