Weekend In Eight

How was your weekend?? I hope your year got off to a great start! It's been a few weeks since I have done a "Weekend In" post, so today I wanted to fill you in on some exciting things that have happened along with some random things I found over the last few weeks! Here goes...

1. Remember this tasty drink that I featured here? Well, over the holidays it was featured on two food websites! It was featured here on Yummly.com and here on FoodGawker.com. So exciting. Thanks so much to both sites for the feature! Also, thanks to Natasha of Schue Love for featuring it as well! Have any of you tried the drink?

 2. Did you know that the startup fund for Pinterest was $40 million?? The AJC (the Atlanta newspaper) recently featured a very interesting article about Pinterest and I was in it! A journalist at the AJC sent out a tweet asking people to e-mail her if they used Pinterest. So I sent her an e-mail and she gave me an interview over the phone! Click here to read the entire article...

3. I have a new favorite app that I must tell you about! It's called Diptic. It enables you to make collages out of photos you have saved to your phone, Facebook, Instagram, etc. The power of the iPhone never ceases to amaze me...

4. A special thank you goes out to Tina of The Enchanted Home! She presented me with the Blog On Fire Award last week. My acceptance speech of Five Things will be up soon! Tina is moving into her dream home this week. By dream home I mean DREAM home. Her closet alone puts Carrie Bradshaw's (in the movie) to shame. Her home is absolutely gorgeous and I highly encourage you to stop by her blog to check it out!

5. So how's the New Year cleanup/cleanout going? Is it going at all? If not, this great and straightforward checklist might help ya out. If you are working on your shedding your wardrobe, click here for another straightforward list of things to do...

6. Blogs make me spend money. Case in point- these two books that I have seen 1,000 times on different blogs. Well, I bought them over the holidays and let me tell ya- they were money well spent. The illustrations are really great in The Perfectly Imperfect Home and Deborah's advice is really easy to follow. Do blogs make you spend money, too?

7. I had lots of time over the holidays to find some new blogs- well they were new to me. I thought I'd share a few of them with you...

College Prep

A Crimson Kiss

Brown Dress With The White Dots

That Inspirational Girl

Fog Island

Air Kiss

8. If you need a laugh to get you going today, click here...

Happy Monday! Oh and Roll Tide!!!

xo, 

Friday's Fancies: Saturday Morning Shoes

Happy Friday!!! I must say, this has been a tough week! I had a little holiday hangover that took a minute to get over. Did you feel the same way? 

Well, one of the best things about Friday is that it is the last day of the week that I have to wear work clothes and heels- all day. I love my heels, but dang! So tomorrow as I run my errands, I look forward to being comfortable. I admit that used to run my Saturday morning errands in a sweatshirt, jeans and Nike's. Oh and maybe my hair would be up in a scrunchie... Just being honest. But over time, I have learned that I don't have to sacrifice style for comfort...

Bag/ Watch / Top / Scarf / Jeans / Earrings / Glasses / Loafers

I don't like to spend hours on Saturday mornings picking out an outfit, so I typically start with a simple canvas and add a "star of the show." The star of the show here are those red loafers. They are quite fabulous, huh? They look like they might be pillows for the feet. Love them. I'm not a purse-must-match shoes kind of girl, so I stuck with a black, but far from basic Celine bag. I kept the other accessories stylish, yet simple and comfy- even the eyewear. Glasses- stylish glasses that is- are way more comfy to me than contacts, which is why I often wear glasses.

What does your Saturday morning errands outfit look like? Do you wear jeans, a sweatshirt and a scrunchie? Do tell...

Linked up with Friday's Fancies!!

Mildly Obsessed...

I'm completely aware that the concept of floor-to-ceiling drapes is far from new. But I'm mildly obsessed with them right now, so you'll have to excuse me. I love the drama. I love the softness. I love the look. Do you?

Images 1/2/3/4

Fusilli With Spinach & Tomatoes

Well, I probably consumed 50,000 calories in a matter of 5 days over the holidays. No joke. So the minute I got back home, I made a trip to the grocery store and loaded up on tons of water and fresh vegetables. 

I had a taste for spinach, so I put out an APB for a recipe starring this green beauty...

I wanted something light, colorful and easy, so I decided on fusilli with spinach and tomatoes...

It was quite delightful...

I used this recipe, but before you click over, note the following:

Prep all of the ingredients while you are waiting for the water to boil for the pasta.

I used Barilla Plus pasta since I had it on hand, but whole wheat pasta would make this extra healthy.

9 oz of spinach seems like a lot, but it cooks down to nothing. I will add more the next time I make this.

I added fresh basil at the end. It adds this wonderful burst of freshness.

Use freshly grated cheese.

This tastes fabulous warm or at room temperature.

Grilled or rotisserie chicken (minus the skin) = a perfect, quick weeknight meal.

Enjoy!

Linked up to Tasty Tuesdays and The Lady Behind The Curtain!

Images by me

xo,

One Word

Hi friends!! Happy 2012! I am THRILLED about this year for some reason. I have a feeling that tons of exciting things are right around the corner. It's a nice feeling to have I must say...

I made some New Years resolutions last year. Some worked out, most didn't. This year I chose to do something different. Lauren of Simply LKJ gave me a wonderful idea, which was to choose just one word to focus on during the year. I love that. 

My word for 2012 is...

 I would like to...

Learn more about God

Learn how to be more patient

Learn more about how to really live life. I mean really live...

Learn how to integrate more balance in my life (God help me on that one)
Learn that everything doesn't have to be done right this second...

Learn more about photography

Learn more about food (Baking a chocolate cake is up first- never done that)

Learn how to complain less

Learn how to be more appreciative and thankful

Learn Photoshop (That green circle in the photo above was done in Photoshop. I've got a ways to go, huh?)

Learn how to ride a horse

Learn how to become a better writer
Learn how to stay off my iPhone so dang much (Ugggghhh)

Perhaps if I learn those things, I will come closer to learning my purpose in life, which is a goal I have been working on for a few years now. The journey of trying to find out has been quite a ride. I have my seatbelt on...
..................................

So "learn" is just one word, but it encompasses so much right? I realize that some of the things on my list are things that one learns over time and not in one year, but starting the process is an accomplishment of a goal in my book. I think the learning process will be fine as long as I keep this in mind...

If you had a word for 2012, what would it be?

** "Weekends In" will be back next Monday. Food tomorrow as usual!! **

Images 1/2

xo,

Going Out With Some Style!

Well, 2012 is almost here! There is something about how "2012" sounds that gets me all excited. It just has a nice ring to it. Know what I mean?

Before I explain this beauty of a dress, let me be honest about something. I have zero plans for attending a New Year's Eve party this year. The plan is for me to be safe and sound at home with a glass of champagne. The plan is also for me to be awake at midnight. We'll see how that goes. That's just how I'm rollin' this year. Am I the only one?

Dress/Earrings/Pumps/Bracelet/Ring/Clutch

So about the outfit. If I were to go out, this is what I would want to wear. I'm not sure how much longer sequins will be in, but I would certainly take advantage of this fabulous trend by wearing a little sparkle. I would probably throw on a pair of opaque black tights if it's a bit nippy out. 

The dress says it all to me, so my accessories would be nice and simple. I LOVE that YSL bracelet. It's on sale for $711. I'll race you to buy it! Ha. I think the teardrop earrings would be perfect- especially if I wore my hair back or up. The ring is the cherry on top. It's simple, yet makes a statement. Oh and the shoes... Jimmy Choo platforms. Delicious.

What are your plans for New Years??? Whatever they are, be safe!

Linking up with Friday's Fancies (for the first time I might add)!

P.S. If you want to avoid nursing a hangover on New Years Day, refer to Gwyneth Paltrow's blog post from yesterday. It might help... :)

xo,

In My Spare Time...

I've had the opportunity to enjoy this thing called spare time this week. I totally forgot how wonderful it is. I am sitting here now watching The Holiday for the 105th time (which might actually be accurate), a clean house and unpacked bags. I am thankful.

Spare time calls for something that I am incredibly addicted to. It starts with a "P." I have been pinning like crazy all week- both on my computer and my iPhone. It's dangerous because it makes me want to...

paint my entire house and buy new furniture TODAY, not tomorrow...

buy chalkboard paint and have a last minute wine and cheese party...

call California Closets to see if they have availability for an appointment TODAY, not tomorrow...

Max out my credit card just on jewelry alone...

and accessorize my toilet. Ha.

But even after all of those thoughts, Pinterest has a way of reminding me of what's really important...

Amen to that.

Linking up with The Vintage Apple!

Images 1.2.3.4.5.6

Holiday Highlights: Christmas Day

Hi there! Are you still enjoying your week? I wanted to share the last of my Christmas photos with you. I was walking around my house like a mad woman with a camera trying to capture images of the special day.

Starting with breakfast. I made cinnamon rolls for my brother. I wish I could say they are homemade, but they are straight out of the can (Grands) and they are GOOD. I also made this banana bread minus the chocolate chips...

While breakfast was baking, my brother and I organized all of the gifts by person. We put them by each person's spot, which have been the same spots for years.

My 20-something year old brother still loves legos and my dad is retired from NASA. We bought my dad a new shuttle for his home office... 

My brother and his lovely girlfriend spent the afternoon putting it together. He is lucky to have a girlfriend who also doesn't mind legos... :)

I got a few cookbooks- Barefoot in Paris and Nigella Christmas! I read them like books. Is that crazy?

My mom's cat, Miles Davis. Empty boxes were his Christmas present. He loves them.

Aren't these wine holders cute? Mom got them from the Dollar Tree...

We wanted to mix things up a little this year, so we had gumbo for Christmas dinner instead of the traditional turkey dinner. We aren't from Louisiana, but I swear my mom makes the best gumbo! 

My brother requested a southern-style pound cake for Christmas, so I made my very first one. I was scared. If you are from the south, you might know that these cakes are staples and can be made 100 different ways. Everyone thinks their cake is better than everyone else's.  I have now joined that club. I got a little help from Paula Deen and the cake is now all gone! It might be the best one...  

My dad loved it and so did my brother, so in my book its the best one. :)

That was our day! Can you tell there was a lot of eating going on??

I'm back home today to continue with real life. Let the cleaning, organizing, and planning begin! Oh and maybe healthier eating, too...

How were your holidays and what are you up to?

xo,