Sarah Jessica Parker: En Vogue

I adore Sarah Jessica Parker. I still watch Sex & The City every night on E!. Am I the only one? These photos by Mario Testino are featured in the current issue of Vogue and I think they are amazing! I love the dresses, the Manolos, the "realistic" decor and those cute kids! I really want that yellow Chanel suit...Can you just imagine the sense of style her twin girls will probably have when they grow up??

Escape

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I adore that tile wall designed by Popham Design. Quite amazing... I surprisingly love that messy bed, too (I'm a bit of a neat freak). I know it's like 500 degrees in most of the country, but today I am wishing that I could escape to that messy, yet cozy bed with my latest read, which is coincidentally called Escape by Barbara Delinsky. It's about a woman named Emily, a Manhattan lawyer who is dealing with a crazy case, a Blackberry full of e-mails, billable hour demands and a distant, workaholic husband- to say the least. She just wants to escape it all- and one day she does just that. She literally, without notice, leaves her job, her husband and a pile of bills to "figure things out." I admit I have times when I'm overwhelmed and I just want to escape, too... I'm at the part where Emily takes her husband's high end car and leaves town. I can't wait to see where she goes and what happens next. If only I could find out while buried in that cozy bed that's in front of that gorgeous wall...

xo,

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I LOVE bananas! I eat one, sometimes two, a day. My daily breakfast consists of whole wheat toast, slathered with crunchy peanut butter, and topped with a sliced banana and a drizzle of honey. So tasty! Bananas ripen fast in the summer, so I have to find ways to use them up when if I have extras. Banana bread is a favorite of mines and this recipe is really easy and really good. My special ingredient makes it even better...

- 1 cup of granulated sugar

- 1 stick of unsalted butter- room temperature

- 2 large eggs- room temperature

- 3 ripe bananas ( I add more if I have them)

- 1 tablespoon of milk (skim milk even works here)

- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

- 2 cups of all-purpose flour

- 1 teaspoon of baking powder

- 1 teaspoon of baking soda

- 1 teaspoon of salt

- 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts (optional)

- Special Ingredient: 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (I add a dash more when I'm stressed :)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan (I use the wrapper of the room temperature butter to grease the pan). Set aside. 

Using a hand mixer, cream the butter and the sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure that each egg is well incorporated.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas using a fork. Add the cinnamon and milk to the bananas. Stir and add to the butter, sugar and egg mixture. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. It doesn't have to be sifted, but give it a quick whisk to make sure everything is combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 batches. Gently fold the flour into the mixture. Once all of the flour is incorporated, fold in the nuts and the chocolate chips. 

Pour the batter into the loaf pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and bake for 1hr and 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes in the loaf pan and then invert on to a cooling rack and let it cool completely. 

I actually like mines a little warm with butter and honey drizzled on top! SO GOOD!!

Linking up with:

Image here

I Heart Florida: Miami

One of my New Year's resolutions for 2011 was to do more, see more and live more (click here to see the full list). I have taken two great trips this summer and have experienced and seen new things on both trips. First up: Miami. I was only there for a short time a few weeks ago, but I had a great time! I stayed in Hollywood, FL, which is north of Miami Beach. I highly recommend it if you would rather have a little more peace and quiet. I thought I would share a few pictures with you that I edited using Picture Show- my new favorite iPhone photo app.

This was the view from my room. It was quite breathtaking. I could just listen to the ocean for hours. I did just that, too.

A few other fun things...

so much that it deserved it's own space...

I actually took another trip to Florida last week to witness a very special and very historical event that has something to do with this...

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Yep! I attended the final shuttle launch in Cape Canaveral! The shuttle went off as scheduled and was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen (spoken from a girl who has little interest in science). I was lucky enough to view it only 3 miles from the launch pad. That is actually really close. I had a little fun with my family at Cocoa Beach, too. I am in the process of editing the photos and will share them as soon as I am done!

xo, 

P.S. I hope today is your lucky day! Happy 7/11/11!

Wanting These Wedges

Sorry guys. I'm still on my shoe kick (see yesterday's post). I was flipping through the new issue of High Gloss and saw these Paloma Barcelo's hanging out at the bottom of page 8. I was with my mom when I saw them. When I showed them to her she said, "I can't walk in those!!" Typical motherly response. But I love em' and wsh I could find a cheaper version! These are $275 a pop... I would pair these with a cute little dress- nothing that's "too much." The shoes say it all. I would show you my thoughts using Polyvore, but it doesn't quite like me yet...

I hope you have a fun weekend planned! I'll be spending it with my family. I love saying that. See ya on Monday!

xo,  

An Organized Life: Shoe Storage

Let me just be honest and real. The shoe section of my closet looks zero like this...

I don't have tons and tons of shoes (at least I think I don't) on special shelves that were constructed by California Closets or by my handy man hubby. I wish I did and I'm praying for a handy man hubby. My closet may not be the most glamorous, but it is organized- and that makes me happy! If you read my blog you know that I have a strict requirement for organization- especially when it comes to my closet. I'd rather sleep an extra five minutes in the morning than spend it looking for that one shoe. So one thing I wanted to share about "builder" closet is my cheap solution to organizing my shoes. 

Here is how most of my shoes are stored...

I adore these space saving shoe boxes that are sold at The Container Store. They are clear, so you don't have to take Polaroids of the shoes and they fit just about every kind of shoe...

from heels (these KILL my feet, but I love em')...

to wedges. I'm loving my TOMS that I first mentioned here.

Even these $15 sandals from Target have their own box...

If those little sandals didn't have their own box, then they would get lost in my "miscellaneous" shoe basket. These are shoes that I don't wear that often and can sustain a scratch or two from other shoes...

Yep, those are M&M slippers and I love those, too...

You may have already known about these lovely little stackable shoe boxes from The Container Store. If you didn't, you can purchase them here for only $1.79 a box! Or you can buy a case of 20 for $29.80, which is the cheaper deal- especially if you have lots of shoes. They also have special boxes for boots and men's shoes.

Do you have a special way of organizing your shoes?

The Grass Ain't Always Greener...

I hope you all had a great long weekend at the pool or the beach while eating lots of ribs and burgers! I am happy to say that my weekend was just the opposite. It was water-less and rib-less and for whatever reason, I was quite content.

Although it was quiet, I had a list of things to do- hair appt, take Max to the groomers, clean my house, grocery shop for a dinner that I am preparing for my parents next week, laundry, nap(s), blog posts, Pilates and so on and so on. I got a few items done on Saturday, but most of my to-do list that day was canned because I was immersed in this novel...

I follow Katie Lee on Twitter and she tweeted about her new book, Groundswell, on Saturday morning as I was waiting for Max at the groomers. I just finished Bethenny Frankel's really good book, A Place of Yes, and needed a new really good book. So I downloaded it as soon as I got home and COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! It is a modern-day fictional masterpiece about Emma, a small-town girl who moves to New York and meets and marries a big-time gorgeous actor. As my mom always says, "Don't judge a person by their gift wrap." Well Emma did just that and learned that the grass ain't always greener... 

It's just a great book about a journey to self-discovery, life lessons, love, friendships- oh and fashion, lots of good fashion! Katie beautifully describes the characters' wardrobes and references tons of real people and real designers. That sucked me in even more. So if you need a good book to read by the pool, on the beach or in a big cushiony chair in your home (which was my scene), then buy or download this book today! Let me know your thoughts if you have already read it!

xo,

P.S. Katie just sent me this sweet tweet,

"KatieLeeKitchen Katie Lee

Glad you liked Groundswell! Thank you :) RT @SavorHome My new favorite book by @KatieLeeKitchen!! A MUST READ!"

 

Love her!

Fitting For The 4th...

I hope you have a fabulous, fun and fashionable 4th...

xo,

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