When I grow up

Hello all, I'm writing from Sunny Florida where I'm spending the night for work.

We're here in The Villages, which is about an hour away from Orlando. I haven't experienced the atmosphere here before- but man, I totally want to be this cool when I grow up.

They drive golf carts instead of cars! For every car we saw parked, there were at least 30 golf carts. And this is not your father's golf cart either.

Look at these babies...

I even saw Jeep and Corvette models!

The maroon Rolls will only set you back 15K. ONLY!

Like I said, when I grow up!

Back on Saturday with the winner of the GIVEAWAY!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I am super-excited to be heading to Sissy's today for a relaxing time and what promises to be some really good food.

Tomorrow morning, I'll also be starting a new tradition. I'm running in the Turkey Trot 5K Thanksgiving morning!

I'll need the run to work off the calories I'm sure to consume with this menu:

Butternut Squash Soup
Smoked Turkey and gravy
Cranberry  Wild Rice Stuffing
Cranberry Salsa
Cranberry Orange Relish
Macaroni and Cheese (FROM SCRATCH!)
Sweet Potato Souffle
Marinated Oysters
Rolls with BOTH honey butter and herb butter
Green Beans
Spinach Salad with Gorgonzola and cranberries

And for dessert:

Pumpkin Apple Spice Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese frosting
Sweet Potato Creme Brulee

Then Friday morning I get croissant overnight French toast!

I'm gonna eat so well! Sissy is outdoing herself, and I've been expressly told I'm not allowed to help.

I will, however, take pictures of the whole spread for you to enjoy.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

What a sweetie

Prince Charming Z and I went to Florida last weekend to meet his extended family. His grandfather's house backs up to a lake/ pond. Since Z's hobby is photography, we went down to the dock around sunset to take some photos.

It was a fun time, being unplugged from the real world, just relaxing and watching the sun set over the water.



This is one of my favorite photos from the evening.

But what melts my heart is the blog post he wrote to go with it:

"Made the long trip down this weekend to see family. I brought a gift with me this time around, my girlfriend. She just may be a keeper after handling all that my family threw at her."



I think he may be a keeper with words like that. Prince Charming indeed.
Check out the rest of the photos here

A beach Recap for Sissy

Apparently, my sister is all into me blogging. Since she asks like twice a day where "her" blog post is.

I have several half finished projects, so I will for now, post a recap of last weekend's beach trip.

We walked on the beach. I saw seashells.

We saw boats at lunch.

We took a family photo.

There was also lots of wine and gossip involved, fresh seafood, and chocolate. Overall, a perfect trip.

We also:
Made mini cakes

And worked on a duvet cover for Sissy. She and Mom finished it after I left.

Princess Meremere helped

And so did Alex

Girls' Beach Weekend and mini cakes

I am SO excited because this weekend I am going to see my lovely sister in Charleston! It is so great to have family in Charleston because I am absolutely totally in love with that city. The vibe, the architecture, the history, it just makes my little designer heart go pitter patter.

I love everything about this city. Drayton Hall, East Bay, South of Broad, all the antique stores, the FOOD!, being with my sister, the weather, the beach. I could go on and on.

There is definitely a reason I don't live there- I would NEVER get anything productive done!  So if Prince Charming is reading this out there somewhere, I would love to be Cinderella in a house on the Battery.

This weekend, we will be: eating fresh seafood, walking on the beach, and drinking lots of wine and gossiping. 

My sister made these cakes for her boyfriend's birthday.

Aren't they adorable! I want to make them in chocolate, with a raspberry filling and chocolate icing.

Then, I want to decorate them like this:

Photo courtesy of I Design

As shown on I Design

I think we'll be using modeling chocolate for both the background and the "monogram" since Sissy doesn't like to work with Fondant. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea, and I think it would be so fun to bake together again!

Stay tuned for pictures from our weekend fun!

Upcoming adventures!

Since the bathroom renovation has been way more work than I ever thought it would be, and keeps adding side projects, I've been MIA blogging lately. However, I have been very busy planning new recipes to try next week and thinking about what I'm going to start next after I finish the bathroom.

I must be crazy! My first "little Project" will be to re-upholster my living room ottoman in some oatmeal colored cotton duck I found on sale. I'll post pictures so you can see my handiwork!

Anyways, since I'm going to be out of town this weekend visiting my wonderful Momma, I went ahead and planned my menu for next week. Thought I'd share:

Rice noodles with Chicken and Veggies, with Orange Broccoli
Gnocchi Florentine with Caesar salad
Ham steak with sweet potato fries, cinnamon apples, and creamed spinach
Tomato-basil soup with Jalapeno jelly grilled cheese sandwiches
Artichoke-Goat cheese stuffed chicken breasts with Pear and Walnut salad

I'm a bit worried about how the grilled cheese are going to turn out, but I think they SOUND good. A bit spicy, cheesy, gooey, and sweet. With crispy grilled bread.

Now, for the travel part. As I mentioned, I'm going to see my Mom. I have been after her for about a year now to re-do her living room. I love it, it's so pretty, but has been the same for 10 years, so it's time for an update! One of the benefits of having a designer as a daughter- you get all that spectacular design advice for free.  We're going to have a consultation and then go source fabric to re-upholster her existing sofa and wing back chair.  Stay tuned for pictures/ design board!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Rachel's Wedding!

I had a FABULOUS time this past weekend sharing in the celebration of Rachel and Marshall's wedding!

I traveled up to Madison, Wisconsin to celebrate where it all began. 

I love Rachel and Marshall to death, and couldn't be happier for the two of them to officially start their life together!

What a beautiful couple!

The wedding was AWESOME! And a perfect reflection of who they are, both as individuals and a couple.

 It's tough being the only single in your group of friends.  Makes you feel a little left out.  I'm still so happy for them, of course, but feeling a little left behind. In real life, most weddings are not like those featured in Wedding Crashers, and not a great place to meet someone! So, I'm focusing on how happy I am for my newlywed friends, and remembering that eventually, Carrie Bradshaw got her man.  And I will too.

Other things going on this week: First 10K Saturday! Very nervous, but hoping to get in some good practice for the Labor Day 10K Classic.  And I'm going to try and finish up my bathroom renovation so I can begin working on another part of my home renovation to-do list!

Stay tuned for more updates and insights.