Hard times and tough choices are inevitable. I’m bookmarking this video so I can hear this message again (and again) when I really need it.

Consider sharing with your friends — you never know who might need to hear this… everyone needs to know someone is listening every once in a while! Instructions for a Bad Day.

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Try Ree and Zannie’s delicious recipe for black -eyed pea dip and send us some pics of YOUR New Year’s Eve, QG would love to share them! From the pages of The Pioneer Woman:

Zannie is my sister.

Well, she’s not really my sister. But she’s the mother of my two sweet nephews—we had our first babies at the same time—and she’ll always be a sister to me. When I was big and enormous and pregnant with my second child, we spent a summer together and she’d bring me cokes on ice because I couldn’t get off the couch.

This is a scrumptious recipe Zannie shared with me once—a delicious black-eyed pea dip that’s warm, not cold, which ushers in all sorts of interesting texture and flavor. Try it for your New Year’s gathering today or tomorrow. It really is yummy.

1. You need a can of black-eyed peas. Zannie actually uses the kind that’s canned with jalapenos, so if you have those available, grab them.

2. You’ll also need an onion… Some sour cream… Some jarred salsa… Some sharp cheddar…(Important Note: the “reduced fat” version of this was a grievous grocery buying error. Don’t make the same mistake I made.) Some hot sauce—Choula or Tabasco will do… And some salt and pepper.

3. Begin by draining the black-eye peas and then pouring them in a nice big bowl.

4. Next, use a fork to mash them up… Leave some chunks here and there for texture.

5. Next, chop up some onion really finely… And throw it into the bowl. Then add some sour cream. Gives it a nice creaminess.

6. Next, if you’re not using the black-eyed peas with jalapenos, throw some jalapeno slices on a cutting board… chop them up and throw them in the bowl too.

7. Grate up the cheddar and toss it into the mix… Then add some salsa… And some hot sauce… And plenty of salt and pepper.

8. Stir it to combine, then spread it into a baking dish (which happens to be the bowl in which I mixed it!)

Bake it for 20 to 30 minutes, or until it’s hot and bubbly and golden brown on top.

Serve with tortilla chips!

And yes, I hope to fix my manicure before the New Year. It’s just that my girl did my nails…and this polish is a little sentimental to me. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. If you want, check out my newest cookbook, its loaded with easy peasy and delicious recipes you and your family will adore.

QG WD is giving away a copy of Ree’s cookbook to ONE LUCKY WINNER who can post a comment here or on our Queen Grace Collection Facebook page, telling us one of YOUR favorite New Year’s traditions! One entry only will be considered, one winner selected and notified after January 3rd, 2014. Good luck!

Have a wonderful, celebratory, and safe New Year’s Eve, everyone. See you in 2014!

Love,
Everyone at Queen Grace Weekly Dish

Find these QG collection pieces on www.queengrace.com and always catch our latest buzz on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Polyvore and Instagram.

So if you’re like us around QGWD…

…the closer we get to kids out of school, the gift list piling on, more work (and housework) that we can wrap our pretty curvy heads around, a simple, yummy and affordable one-pot meal is the BOMB. Check out this tasty dish from foodie blog Damn Delicious for One Pot Andouille Sausage Skillet Pasta. QGWD gives you the how-to here, but go pop over and see what other easy peasy recipes you can find! We won’t promise it’ll make the laundry disappear, but it’ll definitely take your mind of your holiday crazies for a few!

One Pot Andouille Sausage Skillet Pasta

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 (12.8-ounce) package smoked andouille sausage, thinly sliced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup milk
• 8 ounces elbows pasta
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, onion and sausage, and cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes.
• Stir in chicken brown, tomatoes, milk and pasta; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 12-14 minutes.
• Remove from heat and top with cheese. Cover until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

Do you have a recipe your adore, one your friends and family beg for? Email us! We’d love to share it on the QGWD and we’ll be sure to mention you, your blog and share it on all our QG social media outlets. Send your recipes and photos to: pr@queengrace.com.

Fuller Figure Fuller Bust’s Georgina Horne is dynamic. The fashion blogger and model is on a mission to end body snark, fat-phobia, and basic bra-fitting mistakes that women of any size often make. The 25-year-old half-Australian, half-English bombshell (who says that the three words that most describe her are crude, impulsive, and wine) wasn’t even into fashion until starting her blog two and a half years ago. Now she can attribute some of her greatest life experiences to it. She spoke with Bustle about her work, hopes for plus fashion, and doled out a few shopping tips for curvy gals, too.

As a teen trying to emulate the fashion of her peers and women on glossy mag covers, Horne says she was miserable. She didn’t quite fit in with norm, and never felt “fashionable.” She finally found her style niche upon discovering a pinup clothing website, and even entered a few modeling contests. But after coming in third place at each, Horne realized she didn’t really want to be a model so much as a representation for larger women — she wanted to show that clothes and underwear can look beautiful on a bigger girl. Fuller Figure Fuller Bust was born.

“When I started my blog, I was shocked that I got views, let alone comments,” says Horne. “And then people and companies wanted to get hold of me. I’ve been amazed and grateful at every opportunity that has come my way.”

Companies have flocked to Horne’s classic beauty; she’s modeled for Evans, Lady V London, Collectif, and Marina Rinaldi for the “Women are Back” campaign — and she’s even shot with Velvet d’Amour, plus-size fashion icon and photographer. (you can see Velvet’s work featuring Queen Grace designs here>)

Horne’s personal style is a mix of the vintage, the pinup, the retro, and always, she says, the personal. “I learned in college that no good comes from emulating someone else,” she said. “I admire people like Paloma Faith for her style, Kat Dennings for her curve dressing and Zooey Deschanel for her quirk. But I try to dress for me.”

In her work, Horne is careful about size-exclusivity and body preference. “I’m very keen to get across the fact that I hate the ‘divide’ between small and big women with those silly ‘real women’ and ‘dogs like bones’ phrases.” This universality is likely part of Horne’s success. She herself straddles the upper end of straight-sizes and the lower end of plus-sizes — making her something of an in-betweener. Maybe it’s part of what makes her see the beauty of every size.

Photo Credits: Andrew Wood Photography, My Boudoir, HMS Vintage, Joanna Krause for Collectif