Dress up Friday

Happy Friday! Who hoo! Hope this post finds all of you well! I am excited to be linking up with Long Distance Loving again for Friday's Fancies.

Set made at Polyvore

Enjoy your weekend! Cant wait to read about all your fun plans!

Check back with me next week for an exciting announcement! xo

Color Me Thursday

Excuse me while I splash this post with a little color. I always feel like Thursdays need a little pick-me-up and brightness to get us to Friday.

Pictures Courtesy of Pinterest

Many of the pics are snagged from The Perfect Palette. She has a gorgeous array of color pins! Not to mention her fabulous blog! Definitely worth following!

These are Pantone's new colors for the Fall 2011. They're gorgeous and so pretty together! I think I can get used to them :)

And lastly.... YAH to 50 fabulous followers! Thank you! I feel so loved and am so honored! xo

Bed time

Your bedroom is only as lovely as your bed is...

Here is a little inspiration in my search of a new one.

My old one (circa my high school days) has seriously got to go. And those of you who read my post a couple weeks back, know I just attended my 10 year high school reunion. Ew!

All curiosity of Pinterest, of course.

I saved the best for last. This bed looks so plush & inviting!

I'm ready to dive in, head first, and not get up in the morning! And if we're dreaming, listening to the rain would definitely be a plus too.

Linking up again with The Vintage Apple.

I love joining her link up because she loves Pinterest as much as I do!

t minus three weeks!

Yesterday marked the 3-week countdown for the 1/2 Marathon my mom & I will be running in Chicago! This is my first run... so I'm going to assume its normal to feel like I am not even close to prepared!

An old logo... but I think I like it better than this year's.

But the real reason I am posting this today, is because it will be the first time for both of us in Chicago. Besides the marathon excuse, we are spending a few extra days on a mini vacation in Chi-town.

We are looking for any and ALL suggestions you have for tourist musts! We would love to know all the good places to:

• Shop

• Dine

• Sight see

and anything else you can think of that we just can't miss!

Thank you! And Happy Monday.

Fancy Friday!

Glitz style with SJP:

Complements of Polyvore

Linking up with Alison from Long Distance Loving for Friday's Fancies and Kori at Blonde Episodes for Fashion Friday.

Happiest of Friday Bloggies! Have a fabulous weekend. xo

{Re}Design

I am working on a bit of a face lift this morning for the little bloggy. It was definitely time for a change. I redid the header... which I am so much happier with. And also customized my own background.

So much cleaner. And so much more original.

Let me know what you think. Please don't hesitate to make any other suggestions. I am all ears!

Happy Thursday lovelies! Tomorrow is Friday! xo

How Pinteresting!

Today I'm linking up with The Vintage Apple. Her link up is so fabulous... Oh, How Pinteresting! What a lovely excuse to wrap myself into Pinterest all morning! So dreamy.

Wedding Bliss

For the home

Here is a link to my Pinterest page. If you are oh-so-inspired to follow my boards, I would love it! xo

Thank you to The Vintage Apple for the link up!

West Elm sale

I recently got the West Elm magazine in the mail. I love that store! They have some fabulous finds and reasonable prices. I checked out their website and wanted to share some fun sale items with you!

Spice caddy

Stackable glass jars

Apex towers

I love these fun accessories! I could spend some serious time {& money} perusing their store!

And PS... it's a boy!!! :)

Oldies & Newbies

I had a bit of a reunion this weekend. My 10-year high school reunion to be exact.

It was very nice seeing everyone. Where did all the time go?

It was fabulous reconnecting with friends that were so dear to me once upon a time!

It makes you wonder why its was so hard to stay connected in the first place!?

It was a fabulous evening! So great to catch up with people you once knew SO well! And then seeing them all over again... and struggling to remember their names! So crazy!

Today is also another exciting day in my world! Not only is it my dad's birthday (Happy Birthday, dad!)... but we are expecting a new addition to the bird family! The bird's brother & sister-in-law are bringing a baby into the world and into the family today! We are anxiously awaiting their arrival.

Happy Monday bloggies! xo

Wedding Bliss!

You know how you always hear when you get to that certain age, everyone starts to get married at once. That has happened. I have so many friends & family getting married next year! How freaking exciting, right!

My most exciting and flipping fantastic news is that my best friend called recently to announce her engagement news! WhoooHooo!!! A phone call could not get much better... than hearing your best friend is engaged!

Me & Jeanine

I love her like the sister I never had! I am so excited to be a part of excitement! Love you, J! xoxo

For a little Thursday wedding inspiration... I put together this board:

Courtesy of Pinterest

Happy BIRDthday!

It was the Bird's bday on Sunday! What a fun day! I like celebrating his birthday almost as much as mine. {Key word being almost!} ;)

But actually, I do. I love the planning and thoughtfulness behind birthdays. And I loved seeing him so happy on Sunday. Birthdays are just fabulous!

First we went on a scenic sky tour along the coast.

It was beautiful! We flew to the ocean, looked over the cliffs and over the beautiful wine country. It made us realize how beautiful of a place we live and how lucky and spoiled we are to be surrounded by such amazing scenery.

We then grabbed a picnic lunch from a hometown sandwich shop and took it to a nearby winery.

We did a little wine tasting at Stryker & Francis Ford Coppola Wineries.

Later that evening, we went to dinner with the fam.

What a fabulous day! Hope you had a great weekend as well.

Kitchen fixins

I have home decorating on the brain. Not sure what it is... maybe the dream of owning my first home or that damn Pinterest that has me seriously hooked!

But I envision a fabulous white kitchen.

White cabinets.

Subway tile.

Dark hardwood floors.

And beautifully accented kitchen supplies scattered about for some color splash.

If you abuse Pinterest the way I do, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Ooo & this...

That aqua back splash is stunning!

And just because its Friday, I searched for a few accents at a favorite home store of mine: Anthropologie!

Measuring cups

Apron

Ceramic basket

Bowls

Items: Cups, Apron, Basket, Bowls

Happy Friday bloggies!

Foodies to share

I have a few recent pics & meals to share today. Including the Cookies & Cream Cupcakes that I made over the 4th of July Weekend!

The first is a yummy Oatmeal recipe I had for breaky.

Oats, AB & berries

1/4c oats
1/8c oat bran
1T flaxseed meal
About 1/2c water

Topped with:
Almond butter milk (equal parts almond butter & almond milk)
Splash almond milk
Blackberries
Strawberries
Homemade granola

I loved the morning sunlight on the pics. I am usually taking my shots at night... so I really appreciated the natural lighting.

The bird & I also made it to the Whole Foods salad & sandwich bar this weekend. Such a treat!

I made a delicious salad with lots o' fixins! Tofu, edamame, cherry tomatoes, garbanzo beans, & feta cheese.

I also had a little spoonful of a delicious orzo prepared salad! Scrumptious!

The bird opted for a sandi...

Also a fine choice. Its pretty hard to go wrong at Whole Foods. If you haven't visited this place, get there asap... its amazing!

And lastly, I wanted to share my cupcake recipe from 4th of July. The recipe is compliments of Annie's Eats. She has a fabulous website filled to the brim with great recipes to try. This really is one of thousands! The cupcake recipe I made this weekend was Cookies & Cream Cupcakes.

I have made this recipe several times, so I already knew it was amazing! Its great for guests because it has such a pretty presentation. And perfect for kiddos... what kid doesn't jump at the sight of Oreos on the top of a cupcake!

There are Oreos mixed in the batter & a surprise Oreo at the bottom of the cupcake.

Sinfully delicious... perfect for special occasions. Or breakfast tomorrow morning! ;)

Happy Eats & Happy Thursday!

Daring to dream

I am being adventurous today with my bloggy friend Emily at Sprout through Concrete. I absolutely love the link up idea.

I choose...

And of course, you have to travel in style...

Compliments of Polyvore

I will be dreaming of safaris, koalas, kangas & roos all day!

4th Festivities

What a weekend! I love the extra day... although, this weekend was so crazy busy, I don't think I was able to appreciate it enough. But we did have a fabulous 4th of July! I love throwing a party... any occasion is worth the hustle & bustle.

Here are a few wrap up pics from our festivities & eats:

 Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

(Recipe to follow...)

 Chocolate & Sprinkle Covered Pretzels

Very Berry Festive Salad

Very Berry Festive Salad

(Inspired by Martha Stewart)

Raspberries

Blueberries

Blackberries

Strawberries

Mint

Simple Syrup (Sugar water mix)

             I only used about 1T total because the berries were perfectly ripe & delish!