Happy Sunday! Rob and I have had a nice, mostly relaxing weekend (although yesterday I was busy with some blog stuff, but it's always so fun). This morning we slept in a bit and made breakfast before meeting up with his parents for lunch and donuts.

Lipton asked me to talk a little about my afternoon tea rituals, so I thought a Sunday afternoon would be the perfect time to sit down with a cuppa and share that. I'm such a morning person and love getting up early for my coffee, but my afternoons always belong to tea.

Between 3:00 and 4:00PM (especially during the week), I always end up in a bit of a lull--I often get a bit sleepy, and if I'm lucky then most of the things on my to-do list have been completed, so I like to reward myself and take a few minutes to chill out with a cup of tea and a few pages from whatever book I happen to be reading--although I'll be honest and say that until our trip to Florida, it was less reading and more Netflix--these days, however, it's all Hemingway, all the time.

My favorite Lipton teas are Amazingly Grey or Enticing Chai, and I'm also loving this herbal Peach Mango blend, which is a great decaf option.

How do you relax in the afternoons? Are you a tea drinker, too?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

We've been home from Florida for almost a week now, but I'm still a bit in vacation mode--especially when it comes to my food. Too many cafés cubanos have me going through sugar withdrawal, and I don't know why I ever ate anything that wasn't a taco. Whether I'm up for it or not, it's definitely time to get back into healthier eating--which is why I whipped up this nicoise salad for lunch. It's full of veggies and protein, but it's also fancy, so you get the best of both worlds.

Ingredients (makes one large salad or a side salad for two): 

• 1 12-ounce can of Bumble Bee Solid White Albacore Tuna
• 1 large head of romaine
• 3 or 4 small, red potatoes
• A handful of green beans
• 1/4 cup of olives
• 4 radishes, trimmed and quartered
• 1 hard-boiled egg
• 1 tomato, quartered
• 1/2 shallot, minced
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions: 

1. Slice the potatoes and put them in a frying pan. Cover with water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until fork-tender.
2. In a medium pot of boiling water, cook green beans for about 5 minutes. Rinse with cold water to stop cooking.
3. Wash and chop your lettuce.
4. Mix Dijon mustard and shallot in vinegar and olive oil and dress the lettuce, green beans, potatoes, and tomatoes.
5. Arrange all ingredients over lettuce and top with tuna.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

With all that's been going on in my life lately, it's been a long time since I spent an entire afternoon in the kitchen. But on Thursday afternoon of last week, after a rapid-fire trip to the grocery store, I spent three or four hours on my feet, making a big meal from scratch. There's something about making food that is just so good for the soul.

I've lived in the South for most of my life, but it hasn't been until much more recently that I really connected with my southern roots. I suppose Mardi Gras is as good a time as any to figure it out--mostly because there's gumbo. I love gumbo. So I made some gumbo, with rice. And cornbread. And potato salad.

I scooped piping-hot spoonfuls of spicy sausage and shrimp gumbo over rice for my husband that evening when I had a bit of a revelation--it doesn't matter where you're from, or where you live. You can be down south or up north or somewhere in between, but love is the thing. Love, and food. (And maybe a cute dog in a silly hat.)

Get all three Mardi Gras recipes today on the La Crema blog.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of La Crema. The opinions and text are all mine.

Photos by Rémy Thurston for Freckled Italian.