Fleur De-licious

Ottoman Wishes Do Come True!

2012-01-25T09:37:00.000-05:00

You may remember my most recent post in which I lamented over the search for the perfect cocktail ottoman to utilize as a coffee table in our family room...

Well, I'm excited to finally share that I found THE one. Here it is sitting pretty in the designer showroom where I discovered the answer to my ottoman prayers:

As you can see, it fulfills about 65% of my initial list of requirements for this specific piece of furniture - and 100% of my new list. The fabulous, carved wooden base is only topped by the perfect "built in" tray! Not to mention the quality - North Carolina-made, honey! Truly, angels began singing in the background... Or, perhaps it was my sister in the background yacking away about a blue headboard she needed so badly. Forget it! This shopping trip wasn't about a headboard - I'd found the ottoman!

I was ready to take the plunge then and there and order up one of these bad boys, in my choice of custom upholstery, of course, when the super friendly design consultant I'd been working with shared a secret - they'd be holding their annual clearance sale in about two weeks. Apparently everything is 10-70% off during this time, but you have to take the floor model. Which is a-ok by me, now that I'm well skilled in the area of {very} amateur re-upholstery, as evidenced here, here and here.

Always up for a good deal, I surprised myself with an extraordinary level of patience and faith as I waited out those two weeks, and keeping my fingers crossed that this gem hadn't been picked up by some other savvy home decorator. Luckily, when I called on the morning the sale began, I found that this piece was still available and that the floor model was 30% off!!! I paid for it over the phone and the Hubs helped pick it up and bring it home the next day. Here it is in our family room:

I think the muted(ish) zebra print upholstery is super cute, alas, it's not to be for our home. Although I do want something that will add a pop of color and fun! Enter the amazing array of ottoman fabric possibilities...

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

As you can see they (almost) all have similar blue-orange/reddish characteristics. Like I said - I want something fun and maybe even young and modern :-) I think it will be a perfect offset to the otherwise traditional lines of the piece. Also, I'd love to bring in a fabric which will tie together our blue kitchen with the orange/reddish/rust colored accent walls facing our family room (you can see a peek of them behind the sofa in the pic above).

So - the BIG question is - which should I go with?!? Pretend they're all the same price point and all as easy to get, even if that isn't entirely true... And give me your gut reaction.

Thanks for your help and have a wonderful week!!!

I Want A Tufted Cocktail Ottoman for Christ-mas...

2011-11-22T11:54:00.000-05:00

Only the perfect tufted cocktail ottoman will do!

(The above sung to the tune of "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas")

It would feature...

- Beautifully turned wooden legs - preferably capped with antique bronze casters and in a wood tone, complementary to the rest of our decor

- Appropriately generous proportions - we need something pretty large to work in the space we have

- A lovely square or round shape - I'm not a big fan of rectangles or ovals in this application

- Fun and fabulous fabric and leather upholstery options - not sure which will work best for us yet, but I'm leaning toward a more modern fabric, which I think would pair nicely with the more traditional woodtone legs/feet

- An overall transitional style - not too traditional, not too contemporary

- An affordable price tag - everything I seem to fall in love with is $1,000+ - which just isn't in the budget for a coffee table for us... And, even if it was, $1,000+ would be a tough price to swallow for just one component of our living room decor.

- Something that's not going to cost an arm + leg to ship or take 6-8 months for delivery. Let's face it - I'd never be given the title of "World's Most Patient Person."

* A bonus for a piece that includes nail-head trim - in an antiqued brass finish.

So far, here's what I've found:

Source

Source*

*I think the piece from Ballard Designs is my favorite - we can select custom upholstery, which is wonderful... BUT, I think I'd need TWO of these to fill the space I have in mind. And, although two would be wonderful, in regards to extra seating - ease of movement of the pieces, etc., I'm back over $1,000 for our cocktail table solution :-(

So, here's the big money question - does anyone out there have any recommendations for the perfect tufted cocktail ottoman for our home?!?

Recent happenings... Halloween, fun food & skeet shooting.

2011-11-01T16:24:00.000-04:00

This past week/weekend was full of fall fun, including lots of great food, Halloween festivities and a derive up toward the North GA mountains for... What else?!? Skeet shooting, ha!

Our Marketing department at work holds a Halloween pumpkin carving contest each year. And our company's Facebook "fans" vote for their favorite. There's always stiff competition, but it's always a great time! Check out my LSU Jack 'O Lantern I created for this year's competition:

I'm proud of it :-) Although we didn't come in 1st place - a funny pumpkin sporting a mustache and eyebrows did!

We also bring along snacks/drinks to share with the Marketing Team Members and this year I made a super yummy and very popular "Honey Nut Snack Mix." Delish! Even the left overs were called for by the end of our little Halloween event, ha!

Last Friday I had a great opportunity to support our local Salvation Army by attending their annual breakfast fundraiser. It was a great event and Jeff Foxworthy was the keynote speaker!

His speech was funny {obviously} but also heartwarming and sentimental - all in all, a wonderful start to my Friday!

On Saturday the Hubs had a hankerin' for mimosas, yes, the Hubs sure did. So, he ran out for some fresh OJ and came back with bags {and bags!} of groceries for lunch - which he planned on making. All on his own.

But, first things first, here... The mimosas were served {oh, and, as you may see, college football was turned on}:

Next, the Hubs got to work on his "secret" Saturday lunch for us both. I'll admit - I was worried initially. And maybe even a little aggravated each time he had to ask me where something was {he should know!} or how to do something. However, in the end our meal was amazing and I didn't have to do much at all :-)

The Hub's blue cheese and Parmesan nachos:

His main course - grilled NY strip steaks, corn on the cob {with special "secret" seasonings he added inside the husks; brilliant!} and asparagus:

I was {and still am} SO impressed with his new found culinary skills :-)

We went to a Halloween soiree Saturday night at one of our neighbor's houses, where we dressed up as ~~newlyweds~~ the soon-to-be-divorced Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries.

We slept in late on Sunday and then enjoyed a beautiful drive through part of North Georgia, on our way to go skeet shooting - one of the Hub's favorite activities! It was my first time, but I think I at least looked the part...

The Hubs took it a step further and wore some kind of hunting/skeet shooting vest. Not my favorite:

Finally on to Monday - Halloween! One of my favorite holidays of the year :-) We've developed a tradition in our household where each Halloween we bring up the patio furniture from the back yard to our driveway and set up a bon fire in our old charcoal grill and let the kiddies roast marshmallows for s'mores. It's fun for kids young and old!

This Halloween, I also tried my hand at "carving" our pumpkins this year with the Hub's drill. Check out our masterpieces:

I think they turned out pretty cute and were super simple = an "A plus" in my book :-)

This year, after most of the trick or treaters went to bed, a few of our neighbors congregated at our place for cocktails and an impromptu get together. So fun! And, one couple brought over their sweet pup Lucy to play with our dog, Max - can you tell them apart:

That's Lucy on the left, Max on the right :-) And they're just too cute together!

A fantastic fall weekend - here's to many more!!!

My AWARD winning BBQ Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers! And is that Kim Kardashian & Kris Humphries?!?

2011-10-31T15:38:00.000-04:00

For those of you still sticking around to enjoy my random ramblings - thank you :-) They may be few and far between, but I love knowing I've got a little slice of space just for me out here on the www! And... if you've been reading Fleur De Licious for a while, you may remember my very first cook off victory.

Well, I'm pleased to share that since that time, I've taken home 1st place in my company's last FOUR cook off competitions :-) The first, a crock pot cook off, the second, a bake off, the third, a tail gate cook off and this last one - basically a free for all - as long as your recipe fit into one of the four categories: appetizers/salads, sides, entrees and soup/chili.

The latest recipe to be entered into my exclusive award winning repertoire is for my:

BBQ Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients:

20 med-lg jalapeno peppers, sliced in half lengthwise with the seeds and membrane scraped out
1 lb. fresh smoked pulled pork (or chicken/beef), mixed with your favorite BBQ sauce
1/4 lb of bacon, cooked and chopped into bits
1/2 cup Velveeta cheese, diced
1/2 cup fresh shredded monterey jack cheese
Extra BBQ sauce for drizzling
Fresh cilantro, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Fill each hallowed jalapeno half with about a teaspoon, up to a tablespoon, of BBQ pulled pork (depending on the size of your pepper). Nestle a bit of the diced Velveeta cheese into the meat (use as much or as little as you like!). Sprinkle each of the poppers with your fresh crumbled bacon bits. Top with the shredded monterey jack cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until everything gets nice and melty. Turn up the heat on your oven to 400 degrees and continue baking for 5-10 minutes, or until the BBQ sauce begins to caramelize and the cheese gets nice and bubbly.

Remove pans from the oven and allow the poppers to cool for about five minutes. Set the poppers out on your favorite serving dish/tray and drizzle with additional BBQ sauce. Finish by sprinkling with fresh cilantro and enjoy!

Okay - I think I took a chance serving jalapenos to a group of people who's heat levels I was unsure of... But it worked out! And, luckily, all of the entrants were anonymous (as always), so even though there may have been some people who didn't want me to win for the 4th time in a row (ha!) couldn't have a lot of say over it :-)

The poppers are sweet, spicy, hearty, cheesy and overall, simply satisfying! I originally created the recipe to serve at my neighborhood Bunco soiree, and it was the first item to go on my buffet! I knew the judges here at work would love it... I was up against some very stiff competition in my category (salad/appetizers) and feel lucky.

And in case you're wondering, I received a nice Target gift card for my winning efforts, which was spent within 24 hours on Halloween costume bits and pieces for me and the Hubs. We went as Kim Kardashian & Kris Humphires...

Can't you tell?!?

Ha! I hope you all enjoy a very happy - and safe - Halloween :-)

*** Update - apparently we selected the BEST costume this year, since it wouldn't have been an option next year... Just this AM, Kim filed for divorce from Kris.***

Hydrangeas, Helicopters & Bleu Cheese

2011-09-13T11:38:00.000-04:00

How's that for a post title, huh?!? Well, it pretty much sums up me and the Hub's weekend...

Friday was very low-key. In fact, the most momentous part of our evening was our move from the front porch to the back porch to catch the sunset and enjoy our books by the evening's last rays of light.

Saturday was almost as relaxing - we slept in late, grabbed lunch out, picked up some pine straw for the yard and ran to the market to pick up something for dinner. When we got back home, the Hubs worked to trim back all of the bushes in our front yard while I took care of the annual hydrangea trim.

While visiting my parents the other weekend, they reminded us that we needed to cut back the row of hydrangea bushes we planted last year, to help them grow back even bigger and stronger next year. Unfortunately, this met cutting off all of the lovely end-of-summer hydrangea flowers. Of course, I gathered them all up and created SIX beautiful new arrangements, which are spread out all over our house.

After all of that yard work, we caught some college football and I started dinner. Which, was fantastic, if I do say so myself :-) Our local supermarket had a great sale on Porterhouse steaks - and the Hubs cannot pass up a good steak - so, that's what we had. Along with the most delish wedge salad, complete with homemade blue cheese dressing. Here's my recipe for the perfect adornment to a nice, cool crisp salad {our was an iceberg wedge topped with fresh cherry tomatoes, crumbled bacon and cucumbers):

Blue Cheese Dressing

5 oz. crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonaise
2 tbsp. buttermilk
1 tbsp. tarragon vinnegar
Pinch garlic powder
Lemon juice (from 1/2 med. size lemon)
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Dash Tobassco
Fresh cracked pepper & kosher salt

Mash the blue cheese up a bit in the bottom of a small mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, stir together until well-incorporated and then refrigerate until ready to serve.

Max, our pup, also enjoyed our Porterhouse steak meal. Mostly because he was able to enjoy a huge bone.

Until it got the best of him...

That bone defeated poor, little Max, ha!

After dinner, we were in the mood for a movie - unfortunately there wasn't a great selection on the movie channels. We ended up catching "A Life Less Ordinary" on the Sundance channel. Overall, an odd flick with spectacular cinematography and a great soundtrack.

Our wonderful weekend ended on Sunday with lemon-scented blueberry pancakes (I put the blueberries in the pancakes, as opposed to making the blueberry syrup in this recipe), a few chores, a birthday dinner out with friends and the Hub's favorite new toy - a flying gyro helicopter.

Here's to the start of fall, football season and many more weekends, just like the last! Hope you all had lovely weekends as well :-)

Crab-stuffed BBQ Shrimp

2011-08-23T08:45:00.000-04:00

Mmm... The other evening I made what the Hubs claimed "the best meal you've (me) made in a year." Although I'm not sure what that says about all of the other meals I've proudly created and served, I'm taking it as a compliment. The Hubs usually doesn't go overboard when complimenting food - that's more my department. Hey, at least you know the way to my heart: a great meal!

And, since it was such a success, I thought I'd share the recipe with you - enjoy!

Crab-stuffed BBQ Shrimp*

Ingredients -

1 tbsp. fat (I use leftover bacon grease - a trick my parents taught me)
3 tbsp. of chopped onion
2 tbsp. of chopped celery
2 tbsp. of chopped bell pepper
1/4 of a fresh jalapeno - seeds removed and minced
1 tbsp. (about 1 clove) minced garlic
2 tbsp. flour
1/4 cup milk
3 tbsp. bread crumbs
3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

1 cup fresh, cooked crab meat (I prefer claw meet as I think it's more flavorful and sweeter than lump)

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

2 tbsp. fresh chopped flat leaf Italian parsley

1 lb. fresh shrimp, butterflied & de-veined, tail-on

Saute the onion, celery and peppers in fat over med-low heat until soft. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Add the flour and whisk until the mixture forms a thick paste. Whisk in the milk until it is incorporated into the thick mixture. Add the breadcrumbs, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Gently fold in the fresh crab meat. Add the Italian parsley and lemon juice and remove from heat. Allow to cool a bit before stuffing shrimp.

Now it's time to stuff the shrimp! The butterflying of the shrimp should have cut the shrimp almost entirely in half (so you have a place to stuff your crab mixture). take a shrimp - open the butterfly and stuff a generous mound of the crab mixture into the opening. Then, "top" with another opened, butterflied shrimp. Place each of the stuffed shrimp onto a broiling pan and broil on high about 5 minutes per side, basting the the BBQ sauce (recipe below) as they cook.

For BBQ sauce -

1 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. chopped onion

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp. brown sugar

1 cup catsup

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

Dash of hot sauce

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Saute the onion in the butter until soft and translucent. Add the garlic cook for another 30 seconds. Add the apple cider vinegar and the next five ingredients and simmer over a low heat for at least 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use to baste crab-stuffed shrimp.

I served the crab stuffed shrimp with a Cesar salad and called it a meal - delish :-) Enjoy!

*Now, I do have to share that I simply added my touches to a recipe (of the same name) from the original River Roads Recipes cookbook, published and distributed by the Junior League of Baton Rouge. Many thanks to my sweet Grandmama for giving me my very own copy of RRR :-)

A Costa Rican Adventure

2011-08-22T08:30:00.000-04:00

So, maybe our vacation wasn't really that big an adventure, but, the twist was that we didn't plan on going to Costa Rica until the day before we left - seriously. Our 2011 vacation has been the topic of many conversations and even a few disagreements. See, I wanted to go overseas. Like, way overseas - Budapest, Prague, maybe Copenhagen... Somewhere really fantastic where we could experience another culture and see some sights. The Hubs wanted to go to an all-inclusive resort. He basically wanted to experience our honeymoon all over again - in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I wasn't feeling it.

However, ultimately - believe it or not - I let the Hub's win. For once. He earned it and to be totally honest, I was looking forward to relaxing a bit too. We booked a trip to an amazing (looking) all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana. The closer the trip came the more I was ready for some beach + book + frozen cocktail time!

Then came the bad news...

Yes, tropical storm Emily derailed our plans, just a bit. Oh, and see where it says "2 PM Wed." on the map above?!? That's when the storm would be right over Punta Cana. And that was the day of our arrival.

Luckily, when I booked our vacation through Delta Vacations, I'd been inclined to purchase trip insurance. So, when we started to receive all of those concerned phone calls from friends and family, I called Delta to see what all of our options were. Well, the day before we were supposed to leave, I cancelled our trip to the Dominican and began researching other available vacation options. My guidelines were pretty simple - the weather forecast had to look good and it needed to be super relaxing, i.e. pool/beach (I'd become very attached to that plan of the Hub's).

Well, due to tropical storm Emily basically the entire Caribbean was out - as well as the Gulf cost of Mexico. Next, I looked at the Pacific coast of Mexico... Well, low and behold, another little tropical depression looked like it was forming in that location at that time. Then, up pops Costa Rica as a great option. Surprise! So, Costa Rica it was. I found a top-rated all-inclusive resort , worked with the Delta agent to book our flights and it was on.

Not only was it on, but it was amazing! Our last minute change of plans were a total blessing in disguise and we fell in love with Costa Rica! Here's a little recap of our recent vacation...

Flying into Costa Rica

The Hub's first beer of the trip on our balcony enjoying the fabulous view

Yay, we made it!

View out to Papagayo Bay from the main side of the resort

A long tailed raccoon - we'd been hoping to see a monkey

A spectacular sunset on our first night

The AM view from our room

So.... relaxed.

We read. A lot.

I think I read six books in seven days :-)

Finally, a picture of us

Mmm... one of my favorite cocktails - a mango mojito.

Another phenomenal sunset

The resort had fun little trams to take us all around - it was super convenient!

Ready to go out to another great meal (I'm getting a lot of mileage out of that anniversary dress, ha!)

Wish all of our sunsets were like these...

Each day, when we returned to our room, we had cute towel art displayed on the bed - this elephant was my favorite :-)

A beautiful view from my lounge chair on the "adults only" side of the resort.

Ahhh... Couldn't get enough of them!

Costa Rica boasts some of the world's most beautiful beaches - many of them black sand, due to the volcanic geography. The water was beautiful and crystal clear...

View of our resort from our private boat tour.

It was so much fun!

Beautiful!

Gorgeous vistas...

The Hubs & I by the famous "Monkey Head Island"

We saw a sea turtle near here, but didn't get a picture :-/

Very cool cave

Enjoying a Costa Rican Imperial beer on the ride

Seriously, this water was amazing!

The next day, we explored all of the resort's hiking trails... I'm sweating my booty off :-)

The Hubs wasn't as sweaty.

We finally made it to the top of the mountain!

The views paid off for the mountain climb!

One day we kayaked all the way out there...

These little guys were all over the place, but very friendly.

We certainly took advantage of the all-inclusive cocktails :-)

Yum!

Maybe my favorite spot in the resort... laying out on the pool deck on the "adults only side."

We truly had an amazing time and I think we're already ready to go back :-) Things really do happen for a reason and I certainly feel very fortunate to have been able to experience Costa Rica... Even if it was spur of the moment.

I hope you all have been able to enjoy some lovely summer vacations as well!!!

Kitchen Update

2011-08-18T09:15:00.001-04:00

So, I know you were all just sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to see how our kitchen "makeover" went, so I'm here to share (finally) the results of the new paint job. And I have to say I'm pretty excited...

I am in LOVE with the new color - it's the perfect blue tone to anchor the kitchen and set off the mouldings. To me, it added a richness and finally helped the room to feel more "finished." Thanks for your sweet comments, re: wall color :-) It certainly made me feel that I was on the right track with the tone.

Above is a decent shot of the color (sorry these are all from my iPhone, hence the poor quality) next to the cabinetry and crown mouldings.

I know this image is a little washed out, but I just wanted to share the new little window treatment I created for this space using some of the fabric left over from my reupholstered kitchen chairs.

Above is a shot I took just the other day of my new chairs with the wall color. I thought this would be the end of my little kitchen makeover, but now I'm thinking about a new light fixture for above the kitchen - this one just seems so builder-standard and I know I could find something so much more special! But, do I really want to spend the time and money finding and putting in a new one?!? I don't know... Guess I'll see what comes along :-)

Either way, thanks so much for joining me on the journey through my little kitchen makeover! Now on to the master bedroom, ha!

A re-post of a repeat celebration - and looking forward to it!

2011-07-01T16:55:00.000-04:00

Yes, this is literally a re-post of a re-post and a repeat of a repeat of a celebration... And we're thrilled. Headed out to the cutest red cabin on the lake for our 3rd annual: Boat, Dock, Beer - 4th of July Celebration on Lake Lanier!

Happy Independence Day to all - enjoy lovely & safe weekends!!!

xoxo ~ Arlynn

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The Hubs & I had such a wonderful time at the cute little red cabin on the lake, celebrating the 4th of July 2009 that we're going to do it all over again this year! Just the same :-) It was such a wonderful & relaxing weekend & I hope this one's just the same!

I'm sharing my 4th of July celebration posts from last year because I'm just enjoying re-living that weekend now... can five o'clock get here any sooner?!? That's when I'll be in vacation mode, on my way to the cutest little cabin on the lake:

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The Hubs & I were fortunate enough to have use of the cutest little lakeside cottage this past weekend for all of our fabulous 4th of July celebrating. In fact, it was just so cute, I had to share it all with you...
Not much from the outside:

But, it was in a more than ideal location - right on a deep water cove, off the main body of the lake with a dock big enough to house the boat & do some sunbathing/firework gazing!

The Hub's ideal spot...

And the inside was absolutely adorbs - SO much better than what I was expecting for a "lakeside cottage!"

The Hubs made it sound as if I'd be cooking in a fire pit (practically), I certainly didn't expect such a perfect kitchen with all of the necessities + some...

Believe it or not, this little one bedroom, one bath cottage can sleep six! Perfect for lake parties with friends in the near future...

What a fun green color for a lake house?!? Don't know if it's something I'd want to see everyday in my home, but for a second house - I LOVE ;-)

Finally, the bedroom, not much to say other than it's cute as can be & was the perfect place to sleep away all of that soaked up sun!

One more cottage view...

The cottage had a big screened porch, which spanned the length of the cottage. We didn't spend too much time here, most was spent on the lake or dock, but this little porch was perfect for meal time!

Max, out pup, enjoying the porch & watching the Hubs as he cleaned up before we left:

Jut posting about all of our fun, and this cute little lake cottage makes me yearn to go back.. NOW! We've already been invited to use it practically any time we please, so I'm concocting another reason for a lakeside celebration soon, stay tuned...

The Hubs, Max, the pup, and I enjoyed the most perfect 4th of July weekend at an adorable lakeside cottage! I, of course, took tons of photos since I wanted to share all of the fun with you guys...

Our weekend consisted of fun boat rides; Max just loves that wind-whipping through his fur feeling:

One of the Hub's very best friends, and groomsman in our wedding, Trent spent some time at the lake with us. Here he is about to get up on the knee board:

One of my sweet girlfriends, Callie (the one who introduced me to Rita's) also came to hang out/lay out & have some 4th of July fun...

Max loved riding on the boat with Callie!

Here's the Hubs showing off his knee boarding skills - he can even perform spins and "jumps," woah... :-)

See, I told you he was good:

Check out that schmancy, windblown boat hair = sexy!

Matt and Trent, BFFs since kindergarten; seriously.

One of my favorite shots from the weekend - pretty much sums it all up...

Finally our other BFF, Amanda (the future bride-to-be) made it to the cottage in enough time to take a dip in the lake & play some Phase 10 before dinner:

The first night we played it very low-key, grilled out some burgers & enjoyed them with fruit salad, veggies & dip and some very yummy drinks...

Callie & Amanda, ready for dinner out on the screened porch...

The morning of the 4th started with another excellent boat ride and more floating around. Another precious shot of my favorite furry boy:

Meg, one of the most super-fun gals that I know from work, meant us out on the lake for the 4th! Here she is enjoying the spin on the boat:

Of course me & Max had to get a shot in...

Here's that sweet captain of our lake-worthy vessel...

Family picture time!!!

Meggers & I loving our time out on the lake...

I even brought Max out on the lake with us - it was SO cute!!!

Even the Hubs came to join me & Max for some quality, lake-floating time:

Later that day, before firework time, the Hubs & I decided to take the kayaks out for a spin & we love it! We've been talking about getting a pair of kayaks for our own use, and that afternoon sealed the deal for the Hubs - he's been shopping around already for the perfect kayaking gear :-)

Finally, as the sun set & the full moon rose, it was show time...

We were able to see some great displays of fiery fantasy right from the cottage's boat dock & it was ideal! Here are a few shots I was able to capture:

On Sunday we lazily got out of bed, cleaned up the cottage & sadly returned home, as it started to drizzle. So sad that our weekend had to come to an end so soon!

We're already looking for an excuse to return to the lakeside cottage & enjoy some more relaxing and sun-shining fun : - )

Help! Wall color selection... Oh & a house project update too.

2011-04-05T16:48:00.000-04:00

Okay... The Hubs & I have been going crazy with all of our recent home and garden projects lately! It all started when he made my fabulous craft table, which turned into creating and decorating a whole craft room.

Then we were on to lots of gardening - ripping out yucky, prickly, spidery ground cover and planting new perennials, germinating heirloom tomato seeds (we now have lots of tiny little heirloom tomato plants!), planting annuals in footed urns on the front porch and of course trying to grow green grass instead of weeds. During all of this my amazing Hubs manages to create a "dual" sower head in our master bath, re-caulk some surfaces that supposedly needed it and even went around the house repairing nail pops.

While much of this was happening, I was able to locate the *perfect* 6' x 9' area rug for our kitchen - a feat not to be passed over as this was quite a task; I'd been shopping for one forever! I finally located THE rug at World Market (cannot locate online), during their huge rug sale, on a day I could use my WM "Explorer" Friends + Family discount = wahooo!!! I truly get a high from such awesome deals. Said rug:

Then, of course the upholstered chairs that came as part of the hand-me-down table set needed recovering - although to be totally honest I've hated that fabric from the beginning and have been threatening to reupholster them for the past three years...

Ewww... Can't believe I didn't do something about that earlier - FYI: they did coordinate better with the previous sisal rug that was there before (it's now in my craft room).

I knew I wanted to step out of my comfort zone a bit with the fabric selection and also out of the Hub's (who tends to lean toward traditional styles). Here's what I came up with:

I am in love with that fun Ikat patterned fabric, much like this design from my {new} favorite fabric store Lewis & Sharon (although my green dots are brown - wish they were that fun green!):

Of course we weren't done yet! You may not be able to tell, but the metal base of that table was this funky metallic color with gross gold accents... We needed to remedy that little problem & I felt like those chairs were just screaming for nail head trim. We made both happen this past weekend:

Ahhh, such a refreshing change! Now, just to update that table top decor - for sure :-) Oh and on to the main reason I'm requesting your help... We're thinking about painting a couple of walls in our kitchen. Yay for paint!

As you can see, our kitchen is very open to the rest of our home & so I'm only looking to paint a couple of accent walls - really make the cabinetry and crown mouldings really stand out. And... we're just not ready to tackle - or have someone else tackle - the HUGE walls in our two-story living room & foyer, so we don't want to continue the paint in there. Yet. Possibly in the future, much to the Hub's chagrin, muahahaha!

Here are a few pics of the spaces in the kitchen that the new paint would cover:

Up above the cabinetry

In the little nook/hallway leading to our garage & laundry room & the walls of our pantry

And there's one space I can't seem to find in a picture (mind you - these are all old photos from when we first moved in) - a wall where french doors open to the porch.

So - the BIG question is... What color do we go with?!?

Right now I'm leaning toward a shade of the blue found in the reupholstered chair fabric and in the rug (a lighter tone). Possibly like this Niagara Falls color from Benjamin Moore:

Well, am I on the right track with this one, or should I be moving in another direction? I'm also planning to add some burnt red tones, similar to those in the rug, in the form of lumbar support pillows for my newly reupholstered pillows (those chairs are deep y'all & could use the extra support!). So, we could go with a tone in this palette...

Ugh. I'm usually okay at color selection, but this one's just tough for me - so I could REALLY use your help! Please comment, e-mail, Tweet me, whatever and let me know your thoughts. Thanks a million!

xoxo

Arlynn

Weekends past... and a craft room revealed!

2011-03-15T10:15:00.004-04:00

A couple of weekends ago my parents came up for a visit and we spent the majority of our time shopping for LCD TV stands, enjoying wonderful food together (a specialty of ours!), putting the finishing touches on my new craft room and discussing future home improvement projects. It's those times spent together doing simple, sometimes mundane, tasks together when I appreciate my family the most.

If you've been missing out on all of the updates on my new craft room, check out this blog post where I share part one of this big project & the newly published part two. We're pretty stoked over here to say the least :-)

One of my favorite projects I worked on in the craft room was the refurbishing of an old(er) brass chandelier and making it into my ideal shabby chic light source for my new favorite room in the house.

I was able to turn this:

Into this:

Not too shabby, right?!? I had been shopping around our various home improvement and specialty lighting stores as well as perusing the internet and couldn't find anything just right within my budget... So, when I saw that brass beauty above hanging in a local antique store window, I knew it was the one for me! A bit of spray paint, hot glue and glass beads later I had the finished product - voila!

I have to say I am a little proud. I created the "crystal" chandelier of my dreams for about a quarter (or more!) than even my cheapest lighting option! Wahooo...

At one point, I had this chandelier hanging from a big tree branch, swaying in the breeze as I spray painted it with in a soft white tone, with just a tough of light texture - exactly what this fixture needed! I'd also had a bit of a difficult time trying to locate the perfect beads, since I didn't know exactly what I was going to do with them. I must have purchased close to $100 worth of beads and jewelry-making supplies from various craft stores only to use less than $15 worth for the look above - score!

I have to say that even the Hubs didn't have too hard of a time hanging the new fixture {with my Dad's help} knowing how much was invested into it :-)

My favorite workmen :-) Other than getting the length just right, it was a breeze and brightened the room up so much more than the standard ceiling-mount fixture with two dingy light bulbs that was in there before!

Thanks so much for joining me on my craft room creation project - what would be a dream room of yours to create in your house?!?! Up next for me? Humm, maybe an outdoor room, yea!

Creating My Perfect Craft Room

2011-02-24T10:10:00.000-05:00

So, I'm going to give you all a little peek into my professional life - and into my new craft room. Because I shared this exciting project on the blog I author for work & I'm just so excited about my new favorite room in our house, I just had to share it with you ASAP...

Interested in seeing more?!? Come on over to the Art That Fits blog and check it out! Oh, and a million thanks to the Hubs who first got us going on the craft room project by designing and crafting that fabulous craft desk with his own two hands :-)

Enjoy & thanks for checking out Art That Fits!

xoxo ~ arlynn

The big holiday card reveal...

2011-02-09T09:45:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you've all been sitting on the edge of your seats awaiting the announcement of our selected holiday cards from Shutterfly... So, as always, I'm here to please. Albeit over a month late.

Many thanks for your feedback & votes, we went with the crowd favorite:

We thought it was fun, a bit vintage-inspired & just my style :-) We received lots of compliments on them too, so thanks very much to the great folks at Shutterfly for making our 2010 holiday card a success!

A favorite moment from Glee 02.06.11 - Bills, Bills, Bills by the Darton Warblers

2011-02-07T12:45:00.000-05:00

Okay... so, this random song has made an early play for favorite Glee moment so far this season. I am simply in LOVE with the Darton Warbler's version of Destiny's Child's "Bills, Bills, Bills!!!"

Ahhh - *so* ready for regional's :-) That is all.

Dr. Seuss Baby Shower Guest Blog Post!

2011-02-07T11:16:00.000-05:00

I was beyond thrilled when I was asked by my super sweet friend, Patti, over at Anatomy of a Dinner Party (ADP) asked me to create a guest blog post for her all about the recent Dr. Seuss themed baby shower I helped to host in my home!

I think it turned out just swell & I hope you'll head on over to ADP and take a look...

In the meantime, here are a few favorite shots from the soiree all Seussed-out!

Enjoy your time over at ADP & thanks for checking out the sweet Seuss soiree we had SUCH a fun time putting together!

xoxo

What's Happenin' With Holiday Cards This Year?!?

2010-11-15T14:07:00.001-05:00

So, I'm pretty good about sending out holiday cards each year... Well, it's that time of year again and naturally I'm thinking about what to send out to all of our friends & family to share our Christmas greetings with them. In comes Shutterfly - you already know Shutterfly, I'm sure. If not, it's a pretty fabulous photo-focused site that allows you to upload & easily share all of your pictures {I love no limits!} and create beautiful photo gifts such as books & cards.

Now, I'm pretty stoked about perusing the site & selecting my favorite Christmas cards for the Hubs to help me pick the *one* for 2010! There are TONS of adorable, chic, minimalist, modern and traditional options available. Now, I've already been able to focus in on my options since we're going with Christmas photo cards - what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't want my our photo smack dab on our holiday greeting card for everyone to see?!? Not a very good one if you ask me :-)

On to some of my top selections for our little family's 2010 holiday greeting card - they're all so fabulous & different, I need your help to narrow it down:

See what I mean?!!? So many wonderful options, however will I choose? Should I go vintage or contemporary? Traditional or modern? Let me know your thoughts so I can pick one already; pretty please :-)

Thanks for your help and happy holidays!!!

*As you can see I'm just a little excited about selecting our 2010 Christmas card - even more so since Shutterfly offered 50 free holiday cards for sharing this with you.

**Bloggers can get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Tis the season... for new bar stools?!?

2010-11-10T10:56:00.000-05:00

Apparently, I'm getting the itch again. The itch where I look around my house & all the little things that I'd like to do/update seem to stick out like a sore thumb. Now, I really don't have any excuse to hop on the holiday house-updating bandwagon, as this is the first year in three years that we don't have guests celebrating the holidays with us at our home! On top of the list of things to update are the bar stools, perched at the end of the kitchen island. I feel like we're in need of a couple new extra tall bar stools that are extra comfy too... The Hubs & I find ourselves sharing many dinners a week sitting on our current stools and I think to myself, wouldn't it be nice to sit back & relax on some taller, super comfy stools?!? Now that I'm writing that, I sure feel silly :-) Either way, that's how it is! Here are a few I'm currently coveting:

I don't know if any of them are just right - que in Goldilocks - but they all have similar characteristics... Super-comfy-looking cushions, nice arms to lean on, swivel capabilities and simple, linear legs. Of course all of these are wants, not needs & I'll live with what we have for now - at least until this time next year, ha!

What projects are currently on your list that seem to stick out - if only to you - like a sore thumb in an otherwise lovely home?!? Please share, that way I don't feel like I'm the only one out there who's always nit-picking every little item in their home that could be better...

Do you act like a Generation iY'er?!? I think I do...

2010-11-09T11:58:00.000-05:00

I'm not big on forwarded e-mails... and I get quite a few of them from various friends or family members - I'll take my chances & risk 10 years bad luck by not forwarding and just delete it :-) But today I received one from my Mom that apparently reminded her about me, good or bad, ha!

It's all about working with generation iY - aka me & my peers - and what someone of our generation expects while "on the job." I can't say that I disagree. I was fortunate enough to sit in on a presentation earlier this year about the differences in various generations & how they think, act, etc. Most importantly, why they do what they do & how we can best engage them to learn more about our brand and become interested in what we have to offer.

The text below, from the e-mail my Momma forwarded me, reminded me of that presentation & yes - Momma is right - of myself. Maybe you'll get something out of it if you're a Generation iY'er or if you work with someone who is. If the latter is the case, than good luck...

Enjoy:

Working With Generation iY
What They Expect on the Job or on a Team

Tim Elmore
www.GrowingLeaders.com

There's something you should know about these young employees who are just now gracing your workplace. In many ways, the newest hires are not like Generation X or the Baby Boomers before them. They are Generation iY, who grew up in the "I" world, online. Their world has produced a set of expectations that leaders should recognize. Below is a summary of what they expect on the job.

1. Contribute from day one.
Although they have not paid their dues, they really want to contribute and feel like they matter from the first day on the job. They don't like the phrase "pay your dues." They haven't had to wait for long to play important roles on their team or their family as kids.

2. Be important and do important work.
Somehow, trust them with tasks and communicate they are doing strategic work that helps you, the organization and the community. They want to feel like what they do is key to the future. Like anyone, they want to know that what they do plays an important role in the grand scheme of things.

3. Receive feedback immediately.
Think for a moment about how quickly a video game provides feedback to a player. This is what they are used to. No doubt, you can't always furnish this feedback quickly, but just recognize they love it when an authority figure responds to their effort.

4. Have access to information.
Once again, they have rarely been deprived of information. In fact, due to the availability of content on websites, they often know too much too soon. On the job, however, they will feel awkward when they are knowingly kept out of the loop of information. Communicate and keep them "up" on news.

5. Have exposure to senior leadership.
These kids have been able to email the president of the United States since they were five-years-old. They have a hard time understanding the red tape and beauracracy, and the secrets so many organizations must embrace to operate. Even if it's once a week, stop by and connect with them.

6. Experience meaningful relationships.
These young employees enjoy no separation between fun and work; between friendships and colleagues. Somehow, create communities or teams on the job where they can interact with others, and relate to them personally as well as professionally.

7. Learn from others.
These kid's lives have been programmed from birth. They expect both entertaining and educational environments to happen to them. Somehow, establish mutual mentoring initiatives that connect them with senior (or experienced) leaders who can both share with them and learn from them.

8. See opportunities and a path to reach them.
They want to move forward and make progress. They're used to it. "Change" is their middle name. Even if you are a small organization or business, communicate the path and steps they can take to grow and earn more money if they will pay the price.

Tired of being a lurker and other such nonsense...

2010-11-03T09:42:00.002-04:00

Don't get too excited - apparently I'm totally unable to commit to writing any sort of reasonably regular blog posts. And to be totally honest, I'm not sorry. At least not *really* sorry... Maybe just a bit.

But all of that aside - I've been checking my favorite blogs every day. Sometimes commenting, much of the time, not. I'm tired of being such a blog lurker and that's that. Now on to that other bit of nonsense, aka, other things I've had going on in my life since the last time I posted, in late August (!).

Let's see...

Work has been super busy - great, but beyond busy! I'm trying to keep a grasp on everything I need to and do it right, which can sometimes be challenging as new things are always coming my way. I'm trying not to get overwhelmed and keep trucking along as many exciting opportunities come my way in the world of PR & Social Media.

Yes, I said Social Media. It's something I'm becoming more & more passionate about in my professional life {perhaps more specifics on that portion of my life to come}. Last year, I was fortunate enough to attend Blog World in Las Vegas - which really helped me get a grip on how to utilize Social Media for the company I work for... This past September I attended Type-A Mom Conference in Asheville, North Carolina which really provided insight into marketing via Social Media to moms - obviously a *huge* market! Especially for a company with a focus in home furnishings/decor.

Okay enough about work - for now.

On to fun stuff :-) It feels like weddings & babies have taken over my life recently & for now, I'm okay with it!

This not-so-hostile takeover all began when I started to plan my best friend's bridal shower - remember my BFF Amanda who I went on a Savannah, GA wedding planning adventure with?!? Well, as her wedding date of 12.11.10 {get it?!?} looms closer & closer, it was time to celebrate. So, we decided to throw Amanda a bridal tea party! We went all out with fabulous traditional tea party foods, including tea sandwiches, scones and petit fours, beautiful pink & green decor, including a table cloth & fabric pennant banners made by yours truly and of course lots of TEA - all served in & on vintage china, courtesy of my Momma and Aunt Peggy who trusted me with these little pieces of our family's history.

Here are a few pics of the shower {more to come in a more detailed post}:

I think it was a perfectly pretty bridal tea, if I do say so myself... Oh, and the bride-to-be agreed too :-)

Now, on to the other events that are taking over my life - two lingerie showers/bachelorette parties. One for my BFF Amanda in Asheville, NC and the other for my great friend Christina Kay, this weekend in Atlanta. And if that wasn't enough... I'm helping to host a Dr. Seuss themed baby shower in my home in a couple of weeks! I love the planning and prep that goes into these sweet events & of course the memories they make for some of my best friends :-)

Finally, and certainly not least... the Hubs & Max, the dog. My two loves - we're just living the dream, enjoying & making our first house a home and getting ready for the holidays! 2010 has certainly been one of the busiest, most hectic & certainly most exciting years yet and these last two months are gearing up to be some of the best yet!

Now... if only I could keep up with this blog & share all of these happenings with you :-) Positive thoughts = I WILL make that happen!

A pinky rasin' mini beer

2010-08-26T16:05:00.000-04:00

I've just been introduced to the concept of the mini beer. Don't know what it is? Well, it's a beer that has literally been miniaturized... Like so:

Image found on the fun blog, MegaNerd Runs - check it out!

See what I mean?!? It's teeny-tiny. The first I ever saw of these was this past weekend when the Hubs & I were hanging out after a friend's wedding. He just had a hankerin' (we get those down here in the De-licious Deep South) for an ice cold beer. Out he came from the package store with just the cutest little six pack of canned beer in the whole, wide world. I proceeded to make fun of him - asking him to sip with a pinky lifted... Told him that these would be ideal to serve alongside some fancy tea {in china tea cups + saucers} for a bridal shower I'm throwing, etc. and he took it all with a smile :-) Then, he explained to me that because sometimes he likes to enjoy a beer nice and slow, the crisp, cool perfection being perfectly relaxing, and with these little cans , his beverage stays cooler longer, ha!

Okay... Now, I get it. I guess.

Then I had my second encounter with the mini beer - the other night, I walked into our house from a girl's night and thought that ~~maybe I'd had one too many pink cocktails~~ my eyes were playing tricks on me... Did Budweiser decrease the size of their beer bottles or was I going crazy?!? I took a double-take, the Hubs saw the look on my face & began smirking, he'd been "lucky" enough to find mini beer bottles so his few sips would remain chilly :-) He then proceeded to take another drink with his pinky finger ever so elevated & his eyes closed - enjoying a perfectly cooled drink of a favorite beverage.

4th of July... Re-do???

2010-07-02T10:03:00.000-04:00

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But, it was in a more than ideal location - right on a deep water cove, off the main body of the lake with a dock big enough to house the boat & do some sunbathing/firework gazing!

The Hub's ideal spot...

Believe it or not, this little one bedroom, one bath cottage can sleep six! Perfect for lake parties with friends in the near future...

What a fun green color for a lake house?!? Don't know if it's something I'd want to see everyday in my home, but for a second house - I LOVE ;-)

Finally, the bedroom, not much to say other than it's cute as can be & was the perfect place to sleep away all of that soaked up sun!

One more cottage view...

The cottage had a big screened porch, which spanned the length of the cottage. We didn't spend too much time here, most was spent on the lake or dock, but this little porch was perfect for meal time!

Max, out pup, enjoying the porch & watching the Hubs as he cleaned up before we left:

One of the Hub's very best friends, and groomsman in our wedding, Trent spent some time at the lake with us. Here he is about to get up on the knee board:

One of my sweet girlfriends, Callie (the one who introduced me to Rita's) also came to hang out/lay out & have some 4th of July fun...

Max loved riding on the boat with Callie!

Here's the Hubs showing off his knee boarding skills - he can even perform spins and "jumps," woah... :-)

See, I told you he was good:

Check out that schmancy, windblown boat hair = sexy!

Matt and Trent, BFFs since kindergarten; seriously.

One of my favorite shots from the weekend - pretty much sums it all up...

Finally our other BFF, Amanda (the future bride-to-be) made it to the cottage in enough time to take a dip in the lake & play some Phase 10 before dinner:

The first night we played it very low-key, grilled out some burgers & enjoyed them with fruit salad, veggies & dip and some very yummy drinks...

Callie & Amanda, ready for dinner out on the screened porch...

The morning of the 4th started with another excellent boat ride and more floating around. Another precious shot of my favorite furry boy:

Meg, one of the most super-fun gals that I know from work, meant us out on the lake for the 4th! Here she is enjoying the spin on the boat:

Of course me & Max had to get a shot in...

Here's that sweet captain of our lake-worthy vessel...

Family picture time!!!

Meggers & I loving our time out on the lake...

I even brought Max out on the lake with us - it was SO cute!!!

Even the Hubs came to join me & Max for some quality, lake-floating time:

Finally, as the sun set & the full moon rose, it was show time...

We were able to see some great displays of fiery fantasy right from the cottage's boat dock & it was ideal! Here are a few shots I was able to capture:

On Sunday we lazily got out of bed, cleaned up the cottage & sadly returned home, as it started to drizzle. So sad that our weekend had to come to an end so soon!

We're already looking for an excuse to return to the lakeside cottage & enjoy some more relaxing and sun-shining fun : - )

Out of the country, out of pocket...

2010-06-23T16:00:00.000-04:00

And I'm looking forward to it! Tonight, I'm headed to *FRANCE* for a press trip for my company & I simply couldn't be more excited :-) In fact, I've been so eager to hop the pond that I've been looking back over some photos the Hubs & I took on a trip to Europe a couple of years ago. Here are some from our time in France...

While I'll be visiting France under different circumstances this time, I know it will be a fantastic experience! And believe it or not I'm making another blog promise - I promise to take tons of photos & I promise that when I return, I'll share them on here :-)

Hope you all have a wonderful next week & I'll be back in touch soon!

XOXO

Two Years later...

2010-06-01T09:47:00.000-04:00

Here's to two years {and two days} with the love of my life:

Can't wait for many, many more celebrations & anniversaries with you!

XOXO

A Puzzling Pastime Project

2010-05-18T15:05:00.000-04:00

Try saying that three times, super-fast... ha!

So, the Hubs & I are trying out a new hobby - jigsaw puzzles. Seriously. When was the last time you even thought about a puzzle?!?

Well, I thought it would be a nice, relaxing activity to do with the Hubs on those nights he comes home all crazy from a full day at work. Not to mention that puzzles go well with wine. Obviously. I'm also setting the Hubs up with a co-worker's husband for a few rounds of golf each month... but that's another hobby for another day.

So, once I got the idea in my mind that we should work on a puzzle together I had to pick out the best possible puzzle. Of course you've got your cute animal puzzles, photo puzzles, cartoon puzzles and vibrantly-colored crazy SciFy landscape puzzles, but none of those were just right...

Then I spotted this huge, 3,000 piece puzzle of an ancient, 1665 world map. Pretty cool right?!? Well the Hubs certainly thought so - he's always been into maps :-) So I placed and order & there it was in the mail just a few days later.

See, it's a pretty cool puzzle - nice muted colors & pretty interesting imagery...

Our goal with this puzzle is to complete it and then have it framed to hang in our front living room. Little did I know that the end size (48" x 32") would be bigger than our kitchen table, ha! So I located a piece of extra large foam-board, cleared off the kitchen table & we began on the puzzle last night, after my evening neighborhood walk. This is about how much we got done in one night:

I know, it doesn't look like much, but puzzles are harder to do than I remembered! It took me 35 minutes alone to locate the first corner piece. Finally we were on a roll working from the outter edges in. I'd say we should have this baby put together in the next 6-8 months, ha!

Won't all of that work and time be worth it in the end...

Just look at how beautiful this framed puzzle will be! and it will be a great memory of something me & the Hubs accomplished together :-)

So, what are the random hobbies you & yours do together to relax & relieve some stress? What's the biggest puzzle you've ever completed?

Playing catch up #1: Las Vegas, Painting Pottery, Picnics, Bachelorette Parties & Baby Showers!

2010-05-14T10:32:00.000-04:00

Because I've been such a sorry blogger lately, I thought it was time for another installment of "Playing Catch Up."

#1 will include some fun pictures from a work trip to Las Vegas, a pottery painting morning the Hubs & I enjoyed together, a random work-day picnic, some shots from a recent Bachelorette party & baby shower I attended...

Enjoy & keep an eye out for the 2nd installment in which I will share Amelia Island vacation photos, pictures from the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha and the bro-in-law's fabulous graduation luncheon :-)

First up... an unforgettable work trip to Las Vegan for an industry trade show. Our company launched a new product while at the show and to introduce it & get people excited, we held an event at Napoleon's in the Paris Hotel. Here are Meg & I manning the registration table:

You don't see them here, but we enjoyed some delish lemon drop martinis here... Can't wait to go back to Paris - the Las Vegas hotel :-)

Here's the presentation inside of Napoleon's - we were thrilled with the number of attendees, the event was a big success!

Not to mention the food there, provided by the Paris catering staff. Although, I have to warn you - it you plan an event here be sure to verify the amount of food & that it should never run out, ours did & our event planner specified our needs, event time-line etc. Although it could have easily been due to these amazing little desserts, that everyone needed a taste of... YUM!

Meg & I - right off the show floor, on the day of set-up enjoying a much-needed Margarita at happy hour:

One of the big industry publications invited a few people from our company to celebrate an anniversary party they were having in the Elvis Suite of the Las Vegas Hilton. I thought it would be a little cheesy, as it's the Elvis Suite in the off-of-the-strip-Hilton, but it was actually totally over the top and fabulously fun! We totally cheesed it up as we toured the *HUGE* suite that Elvis Presley used to call his Home Away Home:

Yes, we all enjoyed one of the four ginormous jacuzzi bathtubs together...

And relaxed in the master suite...

Oh, Molly - is it time for your steam shower?!?

I'm always in need of a little primping...

Now we're relaxing by the pool - on the very top of the Hilton!

How many showers does one bathroom need?!?

Here I am in Elvis' private elevator... gold gilded and everything! The party & visit to the Elvis was such a treat & a great way to end a fun & successful work trip to Vegas :-)

On the weekend when I returned home, we had plans to visit my sister-in-law's new pottery painting studio in the local downtown square. It was a friends & family grand opening celebration & there were so many cute items to choose from to paint! Here's my MIL working on her carousel horse statue & the Hubs working on his coffee mug...

The brother-in-law, Daniel is perfecting a big dog treat bowl for his furry friend, Titus:

Here's the adorable {if I do say so myself} dog dish I created for Max... not bad for my first pottery painting:

It's painted pottery success! And the dish turned out even cuter once it was glazed & fired up in the kiln!

Later that week, on a random Thursday {I believe}, a couple of the gals from around the office decided to grab lunch & meet up at a local park for a picnic. It was such a glorious day out, I had to snap a few quick shots...

In other big news, we have a new bride in our office! Charlotte - front & center below,just got married two weeks ago!!! We recently got together with a few of her girlfriends, some other gals from the office for a night out on the town celebrating her last single days...

In the middle of dinner we were approached by a few men from a neighboring table who brought Charlotte a list of certain tasks she was supposed to accomplish that night - hilarious:

And they were nice enough to treat us all to a very yummy grape shot - sweet & sour. Mmmmm...

I was so pleased with my thrifty ensemble I put together, with the help of the GF & co-worker, Meg... this dress is from Target & so much cuter in person & the perfect mix of casual, bling & sexy :-) I loved the sexy, strappy shoes also from Target & also *SO* much cuter {and supremely comfy} than the photo looks!

After dinner, we headed out to the hotel courtyard bar & enjoyed a mini-lingerie shower for Charlotte - she received some of the cutest items/outfits ever!

Here's the whole bachelorette group, after the final gift had been unwrapped, but before we headed up to our suite for a pre-party...

Yes, the day after that crazy bachelorette party I had a baby shower to attend & this one I was NOT going to miss! It's for one of my very besties/sorority sisters/college roomies, Anna:

Her friends & family threw her the cutest shower, complete with an adorable diaper cake & delicious petit fours...

Her sweet friends from home invited me in their group shot - too perfect:

Here's me with the new mom... She was due on May 30th (me & the Hub's wedding anniversary) but just had sweet baby Tucker York Parson this past Sunday night!!! I can't wait to meet the little guy :-)

Phew! That was a LOT to cover in one post, so thanks for baring with me & sticking around to help me catch up :-) Hopefully, I'll be able to make some time to catch up with all of you too!

XOXO

Grills - I need your help...

2010-04-30T07:38:00.000-04:00

So, the Hub's birthday is coming up and we (our families & me) have been thinking about investing in an awesome gas grill for the big birthday gift. The Hubs & I have been using an old El Cheapo charcoal grill and while nothing beats the flavor of charcoal cooking, I can't stand the wait! Not to mention that our current model isn't quite functioning properly - we can't control the temperature any more because the "shelf" that the hot coals sit on can no longer be raised or lowered = very uneven cooking = sad :-(

Now, a while back the Hubs mentioned Weber grills. I don't know much about grills, but I'm trying to learn. I want us to get something nice that will last a while; not just two or three years. I've been told to look for all stainless steel (not porcelain or cast iron) and the number of BTUs. Right now, I've landed on this Weber Genesis EP-310 model in Copper:

Isn't it just lovely?!? The copper detailing is for me, because I just think it's pretty & basically everything else is for the hubs - the huge number of BTUs, all those stainless steel components, etc.

But, what I need from you are your thoughts on grills... what are your thoughts on them, what have you learned, what do you use most on your grill? AND... does anyone ever actually use those side burners???

Thanks for your help, I'll definitely keep you updated on the birthday gift of all birthday gifts!

XOXO

me

Not trying to rub it in, but...

2010-04-15T11:54:00.000-04:00

By the time you'll read this, the Hubs & I should be on our way to my favorite long-weekend destination: Amelia Island!!! We've been lucky enough to go a number of times before and it's always so relaxing & refreshing :-)

I'll be back with updates from this *crazy* past weekend & from our little getaway on Amelia Island.

Hope you all have wonderful weekends!

XOXO

Doing the Dance of the Tax Man

2010-04-13T10:45:00.001-04:00

Who loves tax time? Not many people, I can imagine. However, I certainly enjoy all of the sign-throwing, costume-wearing, hands waving, feet dancing people that stand on corners promoting the local tax preparation offices! The other day, a co-worker & I were driving to go pick up lunch at our favorite fast food chain - Chick-Fil-A - as we were waiting at a stoplight, we noticed an extremely enthusiastic tax corner dancer. Of course, I caught him on video a few moments after his most exciting moves, but I think you'll get the drift...

I was also lucky enough to capture a still shot of this fantastic performer, that I'm sure you'll appreciate:

Do you have these promoters near you? Do they just stand & wave, or are they as thrilling as our guy above?!? I'm also lucky to pass a Cici's Pizza sign thrower, who's also very talented, on my way home each night :-) Sadly, these are the highlights of my 25 minute commute...

Since it's almost the weekend, I should tell you about the last one...

2010-04-09T10:48:00.000-04:00

Yes, that make sense - right? Well, who cares, I'm sharing some fun photos & stories with you from last weekend, then maybe we'll chat about the upcoming one :-)

For me & the Hubs, last weekend was all about getting our new home geared up for spring! For me spring means planting flowers, sitting on the porch & drinking lemonade - or possibly a Pimms Cup aka the best warm-weather drink EVER.

We got up early on Saturday & made the first stop any suburban couple makes on a Saturday morning in spring: Home Depot. And I had quite a list - herbs, flowers, new pots for the front porch, potting soil and a new ceiling fan/light fixture for the master bedroom. I'm proud to say that - much to my surprise - by the end of our trip each item was checked off the list & we were well on our way to an uuber productive weekend!

My first "proud homeowner" weekend pic to share is this one of our front porch, perfectly accessorized with two new "Tuscan urns" filled with floral:

Isn't is so lovely?!? I mean even in it's baby plant stage, I think it's already brightened our entryway :-) I started with a nice bit of rosemary {okay it's a herb & I cook with it, but it smells so good, I had to incorporate it here} then surrounded it with other flowers such as some deep purple Petunias - all in different shades of purple...

These little guys have already started growing & I can't wait for that Rosemary to grow up, up and up & for those sweet flowers to overflow & begin hanging over the sides of the urns!

Next up, starting this year's potted herb garden - remember last year's? It was such a success & saved me so much $$$ at the grocery store - no more $5 packs of fresh basil for this girl, no ma'am! Here's this year's line up:

We'll begin with some Oregano, perfect for any Italian, Mediterranean or Spanish dishes. Next up, that taller, more delicate herb - Dill. Perfection on any fish or seafood & y'all know how I love me some seafood! It also works well in some Asian meals & the Hubs loves a mean stir fry :-)

Now onto my Mint pot. Yes, since I've moved the Rosemary out to the front porch, I've got room for a whole pot devoted to Mint - can you say Mojito anyone?!? Not to mention that Mint is a must have for any perfect Pimms Cup {the aforementioned perfect warm-weather cocktail}. I have two versions here, your common sweet Mint & my favorite, Pineapple Mint, YUM!

Basil is a must-have in any herb garden of mini & I could probably find an excuse to use it in any meal. However, I', going to have to wait a bit for this baby to take over, he's a bit on the tiny side & I wouldn't want to harvest any of these sweet leafs just yet... :-/

Lastly, on to the fourth pot - it's the Thyme & Parsley pot. For me these two herbs can be used almost anywhere. Thyme (especially the Golden Lemon version) is ideal for any type of white or dark meat & belongs on potatoes and in most any soup or stew. A few fresh springs work wonderfully in my Crab & Corn Chowder. As for Parsley, this is one herb you're probably very familiar with - it garnishes practically any meal & adds a fresh punch of flavor to any past, chicken or veggie salad. For me it's a staple in my fridge during the winter months (kept fresh in a shallow vase on the top shelf) and a must have for any Summer meal...

I also located this funky little flower while perusing the isles of Home Depot's garden section & thought I'd bring a few home with me, just to add a little color to the back porch - it certainly does the job:

The back side of our home gets all of that warm afternoon sun & has been a great place to hang out after a long days work, glass of Pinot Grigio in hand.

Now, onto the new ceiling fan/light fixture for the master. I know, I know - some of you out there are ceiling fan haters and others lovers. Aesthetically, I'm not thrilled with the idea, but this is one of the only times in my life where function beats form for me & there's nothing better than a cool breeze putting me to sleep at night :-) And I for one, think that this Hampton Bay Garrison model from {of course} the Home Depot doesn't look too shabby. I actually especially like the light fixture portion of the model & the fact that it comes with a remote that controls all fan speeds & the light was a huge plus for this remote hog, ha!

At Easter Sunday lunch with the in-laws {after a sunrise service}I was able to talk Grandpa into coming over to work with the Hubs on instillation. Although my sweet Hubs is pretty handy, he doesn't have any experience in fan instillation & the face that electrical work is involved had us a bit apprehensive at doing it by ourselves. They both said that it was the biggest residential fan motor they'd ever seen. I said that it would just be all that more quiet & productive :-)

After about two hours of work, I learned I was right. It's beyond quiet & moves/blows tons of air, cooling down the temperature in our room, without having to waste resources & utilize the AC this early in the season.

Finally, for one little added surprise the Hubs indulged me in my Easter wishes & took me shopping for rocking chairs for our front porch! We'd been talking about it for some time & as an Easter gift for each other we just went out & searched all around Saturday evening. We found some rockers that we liked, others that we didn't, cute bistro sets that would work on our front porch but ultimately ended up with this:

A perfect wicker-like set of swivel rockers with matching end table - isn't is just ideal?!? And we think the finish goes with our home so perfectly :-) I can guarantee that already in the week that we've had them, I've used them every day! Seriously. I love them & they're so comfortable :-) Here's the full & final front porch, after our weekend projects:

I was lucky enough to have one last flower to be planted, so I used this sweet little planter I already had & I think it's a nice compliment to our little seating arrangement...

So, what do you think? Does this all look like a weekend's worth of work to you all? Now, as I was potting everything, the Hubs was busy getting rid of weeds & mowing the lawn. Not to mentioned that he spent a good hour readjusting the swivelers on our new chairs so that they'd "rock better." Too cute!

This weekend, I'm looking forward to some bowling with a fun neighbor couple, shopping & bachelorette party tomorrow & then finally a baby shower for one of my sweetest friends, Anna - FYI, her new little boy is due to arrive on our wedding anniversary, May 30th - I think it's meant to be :-)

Hosting an Office Bridal Luncheon

2010-04-02T10:11:00.000-04:00

We recently celebrated the upcoming nuptials of a great co-worker buddy of mine, Charlotte. Another office bestie, Meg & I put together the sweetest little Bridal Luncheon, here at the office, with all of our work friends. I thought it was just so cute that I had to share a few photos taken at the luncheon with you...

First things first, the food! We had everyone's favorite catering company take care of lunch for everyone & it was such a treat! Yummy croissant sammies, tortellini pasta salad, a salad of baby green, mandarin oranges, pecans, etc. with some raspberry vinaigrette rounded out everyone's entrees. The dessert selection was not to be outdone! There were cookies of all shapes & sizes, including those wonderful little powdered sugar covered wedding cookies - YUM!

Next up, the room setting. Okay, so we can't do too much with a tiny budget an relatively bland company training room, but with some fun colors, fresh floral & some balloons, it was party time!

As each luncheon guest walked towards the party space, they were greeted by these hanging streamers... Attached to the streamers were cute little images of birds in a nest - we even "monogrammed" the little birds with the bride & groom's initials:

Finally, the guests began to arrive & take their seats. As you can see, the tables were covered in the standard Party City disposable cloths, in a complimentary party color, then {Meg's idea} were topped with brown craft paper. I think it turned out pretty cute!

The gift table, complete with a veiled tiara awaiting it's perch on the bride-to-be's head:

And here she is, Charlotte, the lady of the day, walking into her bridal luncheon...

Finally, it was time for lunch. Here's the bride, ready to enjoy her luncheon croissant sandwich.

Here's a close-up of our adorable floral arrangements, again in another complimentary party color... We were so lucky with this fabulous floral find! And, notice their cheeky little vases - they're mason jars - ingenious, no?!?!

Here's Meg, my co-host with Charlotte... Donning her perfect headpiece!

Now, for my favorite part - the gifts! Charlotte has some very sweet & generous co-workers. Her gifts were all so thoughtful & I know she cannot wait to use them all!

It was a great success & just as sweet as the Very Birdie Baby Shower hosted in this same space last year! Many thanks to Meg for her awesome co-hosting job & congrats to Charlotte, who will be a "Mrs" in less than a month!

Once upon a weekend...

2010-03-29T13:56:00.000-04:00

The Hubs & I enjoyed a lovely weekend... we've recently been enjoying lots of lovely weekends. That's because we don't have much "house stuff" to do anymore. We're at that point in our home where we're as moved in as we're going to be, with no major projects (that we're ready to tackle) coming up. That means - fun, random, do-what-we-please weekends! This one was just that :-)

Once thing I look forward to during this time of the year is seafood Fridays. You see, I grew up in a home where we didn't eat meat on Fridays during Lent. So, we've continued this Lenten tradition, by skipping out on meat on Fridays. Not a difficult thing to do, especially when your parents bring home yummy fresh seafood from New Orleans! I was the lucky recipient of a couple packs of fresh gulf shrimp &this past Friday I decided to fry some of 'em up! It's the Hubs favorite way I prepare these sweet little crustaceans. First, I simply dredge the shrimp in some seasoned all-purpose flower, dip them into an egg wash (egg, milk, Tabasco, etc.) and run them through some well-spiced Panko breadcrumbs, adding a super-crunchy coating - YUM! Fry them up, just for a few minutes &you've got some good grub! Especially when served with an amazing cocktail sauce. The recipe we love is from chef Frank Sitt's "Southern Table" cookbook. It combines a cup of ketchup with the juice from a whole lemon and a whole lime, a quarter cup (more if you like it extra spicy) of fresh-grated horseradish, a couple shakes of Worcestershire, some fresh-cracked black pepper and a few shakes of Tabasco - Amazing. It was such a great fun meal!

To round out our relaxing Friday evening, the Hubs picked up a good bottle of Pino Grigio, some flowers (yay Hubs!) and rented "Up in the Air." It was actually a great movie... I say actually because I like to live in my fantasy world where movies are only happy and funny & have wonderful heart-warming endings. I had heard that this movie might not be the one for me, but it was actually quite charming &a was fun to watch with the Hubs, who thoroughly enjoyed the flick!

Saturday AM came early for this little family, as brother-in-law, Daniel, had his last BIG regatta of his college rowing career. We dressed Max, the dog, in his favorite pink Polo, and set out for the lake. However, once we got to the water's edge, it was FREEZING. I brought along a little, lightweight scarf, and had to use it as a blanket for me &Maxie... needless to say, we didn't stay long after Daniel's main event - which he did win a gold medal for, yea! I didn't take any pictures either :-( However, it basically looked the same as last year's big regatta, so you can refer to that post for photos, ha!

After leaving the regatta, the Hubs helped his Dad with some lawn work {I tried to help too} but basically all he did was cut down a few small trees... certainly not light work, but not much for me to do either. Lucky for me, one of my BFFs, Rosemary decided to come up for a visit, she wanted to check out our new digs and possibly do a bit of shopping. It was the perfect Saturday afternoon! While we were out, the Hubs tinkered with his lawnmower (changing the oil, air filter, sharpening the blade, etc.) and then gave our lawn its first trim since we moved in - an ideal afternoon for him.

Rosie & I were famished by the time we got back from shopping/antiquing and wanted to grill out... well, okay, burgers it is! Too bad, we had old charcoal which never got hot enough to cook on & I ended up having to cook them on my indoor grill pan :-) Can you say "Gas Grill Birthday Gift" for the Hub's this July?!?

Saturday evening, we wanted to go out and grab a few drinks with the neighbors, but we basically passed out before 11pm, as did they - apparently we all had early mornings! Sunday was spent sleeping in on a rainy morning (Sorry Mom, we're definitely going to church on Easter weekend!), eating whole grain blackberry pancakes, watching movies, doing chores & checking all of the much-needed items off of our mile-long Costco list. Even Maxie boy got a bath on Sunday. It was a good day. Oh, and we watched another movie, Shooter. The Hubs & I watch this movie *every* time it's on TV, and that's a lot. It never seems to get old :-)

Hope your weekends were all just as relaxing!

XOXO

Silly Snow Day Videos

2010-03-25T13:19:00.006-04:00

A while back, just a few weeks after we moved into our new home, we had {in this Southerner's opinion} and *HUGE* snow storm. We were sent home from work a few hours early & had just enough time to enjoy a relatively deep dusting of the fluffy white stuff :-) It seriously was pretty deep, I think after all was said and fell from the sky, we were looking at around 4"-5" - at least when we measured the precipitation on our outdoor table.

As soon as the Hubs arrived home from work (he was early too!) we layered sweaters and jackets, I donned my cute rain boots & we even bundled little Max up, for some fun in the snow... Unfortunately our pup wasn't the biggest fan of the snow, it stuck to him in big, cold clumps, but he needed to do his business. Max on the quest to find the "perfect" spot through all of that snow was a hilarious sight to see. So funny, in fact, that I decided to video tape it. Please excuse my creepy laughing, but seeing sweet Max running back and fourth in zig-zag formation just trying to do his duty is such a sight! Check it out for yourself:

After Max's time in the snow, it was time for me & the Hubs to have some fun... After building up a proper artillery of perfectly rounded, hand-packed snowballs, creating a "beer cooler" out of snow and taking lots of pictures of the new house in the snow, I was ready for something more exciting. Sledding. Now, living in the South, we don't have a ton of big hills. But, because our home is situated on a basement, we have some slight inclines on the side of the structure. I thought that they'd make great hills for our "sleds," which were actually summer lake rafts, ha! Enjoy a trip with me down our little sledding hill. You many not find it quite as thrilling as I did, but then again we're lucky to have a nice snow once a year :-p Enjoy:

Hope you're all enjoying some very un-snow-days!

XOXO

A Pav-what?!? The Pavlova aka. the Hub's new favorite dessert...

2010-03-23T16:08:00.007-04:00

One important thing to note about the hubs - he doesn't care much for sweets.

Question: How could anyone *not* love rich chocolatey, ooey-gooeyness, covered in powdered sugar, drenched in caramel, all with a cherry on top?!?

Answer: my Hubs.

It's caused serious relationship problems before. For example, when we were in Las Vegas enjoying an absolutely splendid meal at probably the best restaurant I've ever had the pleasure to dine in, Bouchon at The Venetian, I noticed a Valrhona Chocolate Cake on the specials board... shoot, I knew I was on board for dessert! When the time came to place our order I was pleasantly stuffed with all of that French bistro goodness, but who could turn down Valrhona chocolate cake?!? The Hubs, that's who! You see, I'm a dessert splitter. At least I tell myself that when I'm stuffing mounds of confections into my mouth :-) All I wanted was for him to at least pretend interested in splitting the cake with me. But, no. Who wants to order dessert just for themselves, while their dining partner watches? Did I NEED that cake? Looking back, I'd say yes. However, I didn't have any. Not one tiny morsel. That is one regret I'll just have to live with.

Bottom line here, and back on post topic, is that I've found a dessert that even the Hubs will have thirds (!!!) of... It's the Barefoot Contessa's {aka Ina Garten} Mixed Berry Pavlova. We had it this past weekend, when we went to my parent's house to celebrate my Mom's birthday. She & my Dad have been on a diet recently & with summer every so swiftly approaching, she requested a light & fruity dessert. This Pavlova fit the bill!

According to the always-faithful Wiki, a Pavlova is a meringue-based dessert named for the Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. Pretty neat story behind this scrumptious dessert too :-) Well, time came to sing "Happy Birthday," blow out the candles and cut the ~~cake~~ Pavlova.

Here's the aforementioned confection as my Dad adds his finishing touches, fresh, sweetened whipped cream & of course the mixed berry topping flooded with some delicious made-from-scratch raspberry sauce:

Mmm... don't you just want to dive right in?!? Needless to say, my Dad really outdid himself with this birthday dessert & I think I know what the Hubs will be requesting on his big day this July 28th!

If you're interested, a Pavlova is a bit like a meringue, but a bit softer & more chewy, it's such a unique texture that practically melts in your mouth. You can also eat at least three helpings (call out on the Hubs!) and feel as if you haven't eaten a thing at all, ha!

It's time for our new home tour!

2010-03-11T08:50:00.001-05:00

* WARNING: This post contains a ridiculous amount of pictures. *

Welcome to our new home, it's warm and cozy in the snow...

And simply seems to sparkle on a sunny day.

The foyer is open and welcome.

I love that you can see upstairs, to the dining room, living/reading room and into the family room!

I'm loving this lovely dining room. Even my Autumn-themed table scape has a home here in March...

Okay, so this room still needs some work, but I think we're on the right track. Add a few more lounge chairs, line the walls with bookshelves and introduce a bit of task-lighting, then we'll be on our way to a perfect reading room!

An alternate dining room view:

I'm sneaking in a little downstairs guest bathroom view... :-)

The downstairs bedroom - currently serving as the Hub's very own office:

We've made our way into the living room. it's so tall and bright, in the afternoon, sunlight streams in through the windows and keeps us warm and toasty as we snuggle on the sofas after a long day's work.

Looking in the family room from the other side, from here you get a sneak peak into the kitchen.

I am truly in *love* with this big, open catwalk hallway upstairs, connecting the two "bedroom wings" of the home!

Finally making our way into my #1 favorite room of our home - MY kitchen!!!

I am in love...

I always said I wanted a kitchen island large enough to sleep on, ha! Looks like I got my wish :-)

The view from the window above our kitchen sink.

Enjoying the deck off of our kitchen. I love that we're a story off of the ground, above our basement, so we're able to enjoy these great views...

"Our" sweet little Geese pond:

At the top of the staircase, through the double doors - the master bedroom.

Stealing a glimpse, over the end of the bed, into my #2 favorite room in the house - the master bath!

A new appreciation for spacious, tiered ceilings:

This view of the master bath warranted another "WOW" on the home tour...

I seriously adore showering here every day. Adore it.

Looking back into the bedroom.

Looking toward the other end of our hallway, this leads to two guest bedrooms - only one completely furnished :-) Directly to the right is my soon-to-be "craft room," which now is home to my desk, sewing machine & gift wrap center. Perfection.

The other end of the hallway, looking out from a guest room, over to the living room:

The entrance to our neighborhood, the pool and cabana area is directly behind the neighborhood sign. Can't wait to sun-bake poolside in a few short weeks!

Looking down our street, towards our cul-de-sac... Watch out block party, here we come!

Just this past week, we attended the first meeting of our Home Owners Association & meant so many sweet people. I think we hit the jackpot of neighbors & neighborhoods. In fact, we'll be sharing burgers and beer with another, super-cute couple, who love right down the street! We're already making so many great memories here & we can't wait to make even more with our new-found neighborhood friends!

We bought our first house!

2010-03-09T08:50:00.000-05:00

Alternatively titled: "Told you my comeback would be worth it."

Yes, I'm back... At least I'm trying to be. How about if I just promise to post at least weekly instead of monthly?!? That's like a 200% improvement.

{Water coloring of our new home!}

So, this is quite a story. I'll try to keep it short & sweet, although with all of those sweet details :-) Basically it all started when we began "nesting" at our cute rental home. Remember all that painting, which took place less than a year ago??? We really made a home for our little family of three {Max included} and felt as if we'd settled. But - we weren't. The rental home wasn't "ours," it was just that - a rental. So, we dipped our big toe in the pool and did a bit of research. What did we have to do first? How much could we afford vs. what do we really want to spend? What's out there - do we think about schools, taxes, city/county, where to find a great agent, etc. etc. It's exhausting. So, where did we turn? Why our good friend, Google, of course.

I spent hours on virtual home tours, mapping out our "target" location area and enjoying some wishful thinking ($3M estate on the lake?!? Come to Ma'ma... right). Finally, around mid-November, I was ready to look at some of these places in person! I was put in touch with a local agent, who specifically works with first time home buyers, learned that we needed to get qualified. Check. Let's see some houses! Okay... so we went out for our first full day of home tours. Some pleasantly surprised us, others not so much and even others - we won't go there. Looking back I wish I would have taken photos for you all to enjoy :-) No winners on day 1. So, I kept searching online and sifting through the tons of listings sent by our agent. I ranked them, and we visited our favorites.

I kept waiting for the home that would make me gasp and say "WOW" as soon as we walked in. Nothing was quite doing it. We had one come close, which the Hubs loved. We were getting ready to make an offer on it {this was the weekend before Christmas} when we learned that one had just been accepted the same day. To me, it just meant that it wasn't for us, that the right one would come along eventually. To the Hubs, we were just too late.

At that point, we decided to take the rest of the holidays off and resume our house hunt in early January. Well, the holidays came and went as you can see here and here. And I continued the virtual house hunt. Lucky for us, we created a short list of *must* see homes for the weekend of our return from the holidays & the day before my birthday - the 4th of January. There were a few places we were especially excited for... included the house we now call our home. As we pulled into the neighborhood I knew it felt warm & welcoming. We pulled into the driveway & we felt hopeful. We walked in the front door & I said it: "WOW." It was The One. The house just got better & better with each step we took, we knew it had to be ours.

Our agent had to pull us away and as soon as we got back in the home we were in agreement - we wanted to make our move! So, there we sat {now at our favorite Bubble Tea spot} and decided on our offer, asking for the moon, fingers crossed. We knew it was a long shot & were ready to prepare for plan B, if this home were to escape our grasp. Because the home was for sale in a unique situation - it was a former model, for sale by the builder, who was sadly going under in this difficult economy - they had seven days to reply. Although this past January & February were simply the busiest months of my career, that first week went by slower than molasses. By the next weekend, we were doubtful, we felt if they were taking the full seven days, they were never going to accept.

Finally... the seventh day was upon us. We were prepared for the worst, yet hoping for the best. 8am turned to 11am, then 11am turned to 2pm and I thought for sure, that was it. 4:45 that evening rolled around, and the phone rang - it was our realtor. And she had good news. They accepted our offer - the first one! No negotiations, no nothing. Heaven's bells rang from above, I thin I may have yelped out loud - immediately called the Hubs to share the news... and the fact set in that we were to close on this house in less than three weeks. Crazy time to close, for the first time ever, on a new house.

Between purchasing our first home everything exciting going on at work (more on that later) the next few weeks went by in a complete blurr. All of a sudden we found ourselves at the closing table, close to a foot of papers, awaiting our autographs and we would be home owners. Here goes...

Look at all of that paperwork!

Three and a half hours later we thought it would never end...

Does the Hubs look nervous, or what?!?

Time to hand over THE check.

Woo hoo!!! Keys in hand :-)

We're homeowners!!! Now on to celebrating...

We stopped by our "old" place, picked up some champagne, two flutes and the appropriate items to camp out on the living room floor of our new place.

He's so good at popping the cork & serving the bubbly...

Mmm... it was certainly a delicious day to remember!

Check back soon as I'll be posting more photos I took of the new place {interior & exterior, promise}, not more than a month after moving in - we still have so much to share!

XOXO

Holiday Catch Up #2

2010-02-08T08:27:00.008-05:00

Finally, I'm getting around to posting part two of our little holiday re-cap, this one's New Orleans-styled :-) Seriously, I'm just now posting. Almost a month later... but, hey - at least I'm sharing it, right?!?! Wouldn't you have just died had I not? Ha! Anywho, here goes, Holiday Catch Up #2:

Our little guy, Max is such a good car-rider! Here he is on he journey to Louisiana... enjoying the view from the back ledge...

Doesn't the Hubs look like he's concentrating so hard while he drives?!?

And me, fooling around in my Snuggie - ready to be there already!

Finally, we made it to Grandmama's house. Little sis, Lexi greeted us in her Saints t-shirt. Perfect for Christmas, no?

Awww.... So, it's the Day-After-Christmas & we're in our PJs, ready to open presents already!

We got Lexi the sweetest laptop messenger bag by Vera Bradley in the color, Frankly Scarlett - it's that too cute?!?

Here she is modeling it....

The Hubs & I were sop lucky to receive the new Garmin Nuvi 755T - this thing is awesome! We have one of the earlier Nuvi models, which the Hubs will still use, day to day - and the new one I'll keep with me : - ) I simply love these little electronic devices; without them I would be totally lost. Literally. I love that I never have to ask for directions, which I'm no good at anyway, and can be independent. Yay for GPS systems!!!

My Dad simply loved his copy of chef John Besch's new cookbook: "My New Orleans!" He didn't put it down all night : - ) Now, I'm ready for him to whip up a few of these Cajun dishes next time we come to visit!

We also gave him a Christmas Story Monopoly game, ha! This one was too fun! "A Christmas Story" is one of my family's all-time favorite holiday movies and one we watch multiple times each holiday season. It's a tradition. If you're also a fan of "A Christmas Story," you'll love this game! It comes complete with a leg lamp, boy dressed in a bunny outfit & of course, the Red Ryder BB Gun.

The next day, we had almost the entire side of my Mom's family together - with the exception of cousin Jimmy, his wife & baby who are living in Hawaii, and couldn't make it out this year. I HAD to get a picture of all of us - it's a rare occasion that we're able to get together like this. And with little argument {Dad} we were able to get this shot:

Okay, so it's not perfect, but it's the best we could do with bad lighting, my tiny pocket camera and a self-timer :-)

After we celebrated with Dad's side, who live right down the road from my Momma's (yea!) the Hubs and I snuck into the French Quarter for some of our own holiday cheer. We walked around, window shopped, had a phenomenal dinner at Antoine's and listened to the best jazz ever! Here's the N.O. Christmas tree, sitting on the edge of the Mississippi, overlooking Jackson Square:

More pretty sights...

The weather was actually quite lovely for late December in Louisiana and the Hubs & I took full advantage!

We stayed right in the heart of the Quarter at the Bourbon Orleans hotel. It was a last-minute decision to stay downtown, since we have family that lives so close, but I"m so happy we decided to make a little vacation out of it! Look at how beautiful their lobby was decorated:

Outside the front door...

Our room - I loved the window!

Enjoying our night out on the town... I think this was somewhere on Bourbon Street :-)

The Hubs & I made friends with another couple at the Jazz place, and they offered to take our photo...

Later on, we decided to move on to another bar along the street. We found one that had *THE* best Hurricanes & this great cover band. Fortunately that "crazy" on stage, in the purple top, wasn't a part of the band, but thought she should be on stage - what a hoot!

Okay... I think we're finally getting to the end of our little night out in New Orleans here. We had a wonderful time going out together, enjoying the scenery, drinks, food & music - I can't wait to do it again!

The next morning, we woke up (grudgingly) and toured a bit more around the quarter. It was a chilly morning & neither of us were feeling all that wonderful, so we didn't hang out too long. But I did manage to get a few shots of my favorite city. Enjoy...

That's about it for our big holiday celebration, as you can see it lasted a while, as there was a lot of celebrating to be done, but we spent it all with family & friends - a wonderful way to spend any holiday :-) So, a belated Happy New Year to you all & let's look forward to Valentine's Day. Oh, and our big, exciting news too!!!

XOXO

Just back from...

2010-01-28T09:38:00.001-05:00

Woah... January is almost over & I don't even remember it happening! Like I said before - life's just been a bit overwhelming lately (in a good way) and my regular posting just hasn't happened.

I promise that I will be back shortly with LOTS to share. Have a great weekend!

XOXO

Holiday Catch Up #1

2010-01-18T16:26:00.006-05:00

Wow! SO much has been going on lately... I can't even tell you. Yet. But, be prepared - it's exciting {and no, you shouldn't start shopping for baby clothes}.

Before we get into all of the big, thrilling things going on in our lives right now, I thought I'd play a little game of holiday catch up. The Hubs & I had such a fantastic time celebrating all things that are the reason for the season with lots of family at lots of different events.

Starting with my company's holiday "party," although this year they changed things up a bit & made it more of a gathering at a local amusement park:

The Hubs & I sported this attractive eye wear to a 3D, condensed showing of The Polar Express. It was pretty cute - real snow & all!

Then, we took a walk around the park, checking out the biggest attraction of them all. The "mountain":

Here's the Hubs, checking out the map & making sure we were in the right line to go up to the top of the mountain... Such a navigator; not. I think my sense of direction is so much more acute :-)

Ready to ride the cable car up to the mountain top!

We made it - and it was such a lovely, pre-Christmas evening. The town's lights below were just beginning to light up, so pretty...

Of course we had to get a shot together at the peak:

And check out this mountain-climbing gear...

Yep, heels & all made it up to the top. And yes, someone said something to me about sporting high heeled boots on top of the mountain, but that's just me. Plus, we had my company's holiday dinner afterward - I wasn't about to show up in sneakers!

All in all, the work's holiday get together was a ton of fun! And I loved that we visited an amusement park - it wasn't something we'd do normally, but the Hubs & I acted like kids for a while and had a blast!

Speaking of acting like kids... one of my very favorite things to do around the holidays is to check out the lights! No matter what kind, how many, if the dance along to music, I don't care. I. Love. Holiday. Lights. Naturally I'd love miles and miles of them all leading to a Christmas village. And of course I took a few pictures of some of my favorite lights for your enjoyment:

A beautiful nativity scene began our journey.

Followed by father winter (?), I don't know - just thought it was pretty...

When I was little my mom always liked the poinsettia lights. This is for her:

And my favorite scene on this magical journey? The Wizard of Oz one of course! Here's the twister that took Dorothy & Toto away...

You know who this is - Glenda, the good witch :-)

Finally, at the end of the scene was Dorothy & her valuable message: "There's no place like home." So sweet!

Hundreds of trees lighted the way along the winding roads...

And a cute snowman waved goodbye. The lights this year were fantastic, I can't wait to go back for the 2010 version!

Nest up, Christmas with the Hub's father's side of the family, up in the mountains. It's always such a beautiful, peaceful drive on those long country roads...

Wow - this would be the Hub's dream backyard!

Here are all the grand kids, their spouses and the great grand kids with the Hub's grandparents:

We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas eve with the in-laws. First church, then dinner. Shrimp & grits were on the menu - YUM!!! Thanks Grandpa & Grandma! Here is my MIL's beautiful centerpiece gracing the center of our table...

And the HUGE stack of gifts ready to be unwrapped...

It was a wonderful time, with wonderful people & presents!

Stay tuned for part 2 of Holiday Catch Up & ride along with me & the Hubs as we venture to Louisiana for some serious holiday celebrating!

XOXO

Today's all about me (well, at least until tomorrow).

2010-01-04T17:16:00.003-05:00

That's right ladies & gents... today is the day of my birth. So not too much time to spend on blogging. There's ice cream cake to get eaten, gifts to unwrap & delicious food to eat (well, no just on my birthday). I did have to share with you all the sweetest birthday gift I've ever received. And the most sentimental...

My sweet Grandmama (I've shared her with you before) actually gave me an amazing gift & item of great sentimental value... her mink stole. This beauty was something she saved up for for a long time, working for only $3.50/hour & it cost $400 way back when! That's determination people... She wanted this lovely mink stole to cover her shoulders when she & my PawPaw would go to the dance hall on weekends. Of course, PawPaw wasn't going to buy this extravagant an items for her, just because. So, she set out to do it herself - working at the local newspaper, typing up columns & making them perfectly align on all edges. Wow. That was work!

I've always felt like we share a special bond; she also being a January baby - her birthday is tomorrow - happy birthday Grandmama! And she felt like I was a mink stole kind of gal... Can't say I disagree with her :-)

Even the inside of the stole features her initials, beautifully monogrammed! I know that this will be treasured forever and eventually it could be something I would pass down to my own grand kids...

Thank you Grandmama for thinking of me on my birthday & passing down one of the most treasured gifts I've ever received, I love you!

XOXO

Best. Jazz. EVER.

2009-12-31T09:19:00.003-05:00

I'm not totally back from the holidays quite yet & am still in full-on party mode for this evening's festivities, but I just had to share this video I took with you all.

You see, the Hubs & I recently visited my family in the great state of Louisiana and we picked one night out to visit one of my favorite places in the whole world... the French Quarter. We stayed at the Bourbon Orleans - smack dab in the middle of everything - had a fabulous dinner at Antoine's and went out on Bourbon St. It was wonderful, event if those hurricane cocktails left me feeling less than amazing the next day :-)

My favorite part of our New Orleans excursion?!? The jazz at Fritzel's Jazz Club. It was out of this world! We enjoyed upbeat tunes played by none other than the legendary Tom Fischer & Friends. Lucky for you, I had my camera in movie mode & captured what became my favorite song of the night, "Minnie the Moocher," or you may know it as that catchy "Hiedy, Hiedy, Hiedy Hi" tune. Check it out below:

I hope you all enjoy a joyous New Year... see y'all in 2010, folks!

XOXO

The 12 Gays of Christmas

2009-12-10T13:34:00.002-05:00

You know how much I love my gays. Naturally, I just had to ~~steal this from sweetie Petunia Face~~ share it with you all, via the great Petunia Face. Enjoy my lovelies...

p.s. I agree with Petunia that if you don't find this video perfectly delightful & giddy-making, than we may not be able to be friends. Seriously.

p.p.s. I am still waiting for Kathy Griffin to invite me to be one of her groupies - I'm already upset that I missed her visit to Paula Dean's :-( It was so fabulously hilarious, it was coma inducing.

Such a Teriffic Turkey Day!!!

2009-11-30T10:17:00.007-05:00

It really was wonderful... LOTS of food, laughter, cocktails, family & card games :-) Luckily, we took a ton of pictures, so that I may share our special day with you. Starting with (what else?) cocktails! I made my {new} specialty - Peach Bourbon Iced Tea - YUM!

Notice that adorable, vintage-inspired apron?!? My Aunt Debbie picked it up for me just because she said "it looked like an 'Arlynn' apron," ha! Don't you just love it?!? And it will come is SO handy this holiday season :-)

The Hubs & I were able to squeeze in a few family photos... Does this one look Christmas card worthy to you? Of course I couldn't get Max, the pup to look at the camera - no matter what. He's such a diva.

Of course once I stuck that little sweater on him, he warmed up for the camera. But only for a moment, and not with the Hubs - ugh!

After cocktails & pictures, it was time to get down to serious business = preparing the Thanksgiving meal. My dad is now famous for his New Orleans fried turkeys, so he spent the entire Wednesday before Thanksgiving frying up 3 birds + an extra breast for neighbors & friends. Here's the little sis, Lexi carving up the succulent bird with Momma...

Momma & Grandmama working on their candied yams (sweet potatoes):

I'm dicing up a big Granny Smith apple to be used for some special muffins...

These Apple-Cheddar muffins to be exact (enlarge for recipe details):

And of course, those Haricot Verts made it onto the table. Here I am right before serving time, putting the finishing touches on the dish. I have to say these sweet, French little beans came out perfectly - they were tender, yet crunchy & oh so flavorful - better than your standard green beans, promise. I used this recipe, only I added two cloves of garlic to the butter/shallot mixture, which really added some punch!

Finally it was time to take everything out of the oven, and carve up that sweet glazed ham:

Lexi was the table setting maven & also took everyone's beverage orders...

And our meal was complete & ready to eat! Here's the complete spread.. We had fried turkey, glazed ham, Haricot Verts, my Twice-Baked Mashed Potato Casserole, the traditional dressing, candied yams, a butter lettuce salad w/Praline pecans, Mandarin oranges & dried cranberries + my homemade raspberry vinaigrette, those Apple-Cheddar Muffins and of course you can't forget that cranberry sauce! It was to die for!!!

Here we are, post BIG meal, pre-food coma :-)

After dinner, it began to get a bit chilly out, so my dad & the Hubs built a lovely fire.

Well the combination of that meal & the crackling fire must have done it - it was nap time:

After nap time, it was time for dessert - can you believe we still ate more?!? Well you just can't resist my Momma's homemade apple & pecan pies. Honestly, it would have been a sin to turn them down.

And I had to get a close-up of the pie crust detailing - can you see how my Momma decorated the pies with those sweet Autumn leaves? Perfection!

And like any holiday celebrated in our family - the day always ends with a couple (thousand) rounds of cards. This year, our game was Tripoley - a personal favorite & family classic.

As usual, the game was headed up by our family matriarch & card game guru, Grandmama:

And yes, we gambol for $$$ - I must have won at least $2 that night, yes!!! :-)

We just had such a fantastic day & I hope you & yours did too!

XOXO

The Hub's Christmas Wish List

2009-11-24T11:40:00.005-05:00

You knew it was coming... I promised that I'd divulge tue Hub's inner-most wants of this holiday season & share them with you after I shared some of my own. So, here goes:

Porter-Cable Cordless 19-Volt Lithium 4-Tool Combo Kit

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance

John Mayer: Battle Studies

Vasque Men's Sundowner GTX Hiking Boot

Pretty non-glamorous, right?!? Aka... BORING :-) But, to the Hubs - this would make a truly dreamy holiday. Oh well, I'm all for these new tools. Now he won't have an excuse not to do all these great little tasks around the house, ha!

Will there be Haricot Verts on my Thanksgiving table?

2009-11-23T08:52:00.009-05:00

Haricot Verts - literally Haricot (French for bean) & Vert (French for green) - the thin cousin to the green bean... and apparently uber delicious. I'm thinking about changing up the traditional Southern green beans, smothered with bacon & onions, to these thin & crispy little guys:

I'm looking forward to this "fancy" French side dish & how simple most of the recipes are! The image above is from the lovely Smitten Kitchen where Deb shares a truly yummy-sounding & simple (!!!) way to perfectly prepare these gems: Haricot Verts with Shallots. I might just have to add a slight sprinkling of shaved Parmesan... it is Thanksgiving after all :-)

Here are a couple other Haricot Vert recipes I'm thinking about serving up to our family this holiday:

Sting Beans in Vinaigrette

Sauteed Green Beans with Tomato & Basil, served with Parmesan Crisps*

*Although Giada used "string beans" I think this would work quite well with the Haricot Verts, although I would use fresh cherry tomatos, not the canned :-)

What do you think - do you have a favorite recipe I could use for these precious French "bean green"?

Thanks & happy Thanksgiving!