I originally bought this dress to wear to my rehearsal dinner last year. My mom and I were at the J.Crew Factory outlet (where I miraculously found those dreamy dresses for all of my bridesmaids at a ridiculously good price), checking out the selection of white cocktail dresses for my bridal shower, bachelorette party, and other wedding-related events. I ended up picking this light pink one instead--I loved the fluffiness of the skirt and the light pink color so much.

For the rehearsal dinner, I added some white accessories--shoes and a statement necklace--to up the "bridal" elements of the dress, but I love it the way it looks and feels with nude shoes and a more everyday necklace.

Dress and Shoes (similar): J.Crew | Necklace: c/o The Merriweather Council

Watch (similar): Michael Kors | Bag: Lauren Merkin

Photos by Andi Perullo for Freckled Italian.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm not usually a big fan of Paleo treats, but dammit if this Paleo chocolate mousse isn't downright decadent. The secret to the texture is avocado, if you can believe it, and it's sweetened with some agave syrup and topped off with a pinch of salt to balance it in a truly delicious way.

My current favorite way to enjoy this is with a sliced banana on top and a cup of coffee on the side--talk about a nice change of pace from scrambled eggs. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Paleo Salted Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe avocados
• 1/3 cup + 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup raw agave syrup (plus or minus a tablespoon, depending on your preference)
• a pinch of salt

Instructions:

1. Add all ingredients to a food processor.
2. Combine until smooth (about two minutes or less).
3. Place the mousse into a piping bag (if you don't have one of these you can just use a plastic bag and cut a corner off) and pipe into individual dishes.
4. Serve immediately or place into the refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy!

My mom came to stay with us the day after our accident, which was so helpful because I was still a little sore and had a lot to do--we're going to California for a week on Saturday!

Once she cleaned my whole kitchen, made our bed, and got the embarrassingly large amount of laundry I hadn't folded all put away (which would have taken me days and only took her an hour), we spent a few days just hanging out, which was so nice. We grilled out every day and drank wine and even went to the pool for a bit. I made a big brunch at home--which included my Paleo sweet potato hash browns recipe, and we drank a ton of coffee on our patio.

On Saturday, Rob and I met up with our friends Paige and Justin to try out a new cidery in our neighborhood, which was really fun. Ender had two playdates with pups that totally wiped him out, and we ended the weekend with a trip to the mall and a whole lot of 30 Rock episodes.

When we stay put but also manage to have busy weekends, I feel so incredibly at home here. It took a while (we've been here almost a year), but Charlotte really feels a lot like our place these days. Not too bad at all.