11 Months, I Think He is Mine!

Our sweet baby is 11 months old this weekend! Yes, that is right less than one month until he turns one! I can't believe it! Birthday party planning is well under way. From the moment Sterling was born everyone said "wow, he looks exactly like Matt." Even now when I am out shopping sometimes strangers will stop me and say"He must look like his daddy because he sure doesn't look like you." I don't know why this bothers me, but it does. I think Matt is the most handsome man I have ever laid eyes, so of course I want my son to look exactly like him. But sometimes I want to hear, "Sterling looks just like you". As he enters into his 11 month of life he is now starting to resemble me a little bit, and exhibit some signs that show he is most definitely my son. Here are just a few tell-tell signs that this baby boy is just like his mama!

He loves the phone and is obsessed with a Blackberry.

He likes to read the latest gossip and style magazines

He loves to shop

He is a back sleeper

He loves browsing/playing in my closet

He has a strong affinity for jewelry


He loves a bath and has no modesty issues

Yes, wheter he looks like me or not, I think he takes after me! Happy 11 months to the most beautiful baby in the world. I love you more each day that passes. You make me whole and give my life a new meaning.

Proud

My husband just ran his first marathon today and I couldn't be more proud of him! He ran it in less than 4.5 hours. I am so impressed with all the hard training he did to achieve this goal of his. I wish I had it in me to want to run a marathon but I honestly have no desire. I was however happy to cheer him on and enjoy some beers at the party afterwards. Congrats to Matt for completing his first marathon!

My man in action, these were taken during the last mile of the race.


Photo-Op Afterwards


**Afterwards Matt said, this was his first and last marathon:)**

Marc Jacobs=Genius

I have seen this dress in two magazines now. The February Issues of Glamour and Bazaar featured Nicole Kidman and Kim Kardashion sporting this beauty. The dress is by Marc Jacobs and I am dying over it. It is beyond gorgeous. The color, the shape, the fit = perfection!

Get Me Outta Here

This cold air is making me crazy. It is not even mid January but all I can think about is tropical getaway. I would be more than happy with a trip here:


Cabo, it is at the top of our list of places my husband and I want to travel to. He wants to surf. I want to shop, eat, lay out, read trashy gossip magazines and drink alot of this.

Yes, I am a true tequila girl. I love a tequila shot, but only if it is good tequila. The best tequila I ever had was Partida. I had it while in NYC at Dos Caminos (if you love tequila they had an amazing list there). It was so good it went down like water. Wouldn't you know they don't sell it in NC or SC. I have since found a comparable tequila they actually sell here called Corzo, that is great!

I would like to stay here, Las Ventanas. How incredible does this place look?




I would also like my bags to be packed with all these gorgeous Diane Von Furstenberg Resort pieces.






Is this too much to ask for? So tell me, is this cold air making you crazy too? Do you want/need a vacation as much as I do?

5 Ingredient Fix

Amongst all my fabulous Christmas Gifts, was this cookbook.

The 5 Ingredient Fix by Claire Robinson. I liked her right off the bat after I found out she was good friends with Katie Lee (formerly Joel), one of my favorite cookbook authors. This cookbook is awesome! I was skeptical at first, I mean how great can meals with only 5 ingredients be? But, Claire does not disappoint. The first recipe I tried out was for Brown Butter Banana Muffins. Do I have your attention now? Not only were these muffins so easy to make but the brown butter gives them an incredibly rich flavor. I really liked that they were not sweetened with sugar, but agave nectar instead. Made me feel better about eating 5 at once.


Smashed Bananas

Browned Butter

5 Ingredients Mixed

Muffin Trays filled with delicious batter

The Finished Product


BROWN BUTTER BANANA MUFFINS
Ingredients
4 ripe bananas
1/3 cup raw agave syrup or honey
1 stick unsalted butter
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper muffin liners.

Peel the bananas and add to a large bowl. Add the agave syrup and mash the bananas with a fork until very liquefied but still a little lumpy.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk solids have turned a nutty golden brown.

To the brown butter, add about 1 cup of the mashed banana mixture and whisk to combine. Cook for a few more minutes until a darker golden color is achieved. Add to the remaining mashed banana mixture and whisk to combine, then whisk in the egg. Fold in the flour, in 2 batches, with a rubber spatula, until just combined; do not over mix. With an ice cream scoop, evenly divide the batter among the muffin tin cups.

Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown and the tops spring back when pressed, about 25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer the muffins to a rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Print Recipe HERE

Gaga For Herve

Herve Leger, that is. After seeing so many celebrities look flawless in his dresses, they are on my lust list! Sadly, they are entirely out of my price range at $2000 a dress, but how fabulous are they? These gorgeous numbers suck you in all the right places. I swear they have permanent spanx built in. All I have to say, is yes please! Any of you own one of these gorgeous dresses?
Here are a few I wouldn't mind calling my own.






This last one is definitely my favorite! And its on sale for only $1130, must be my lucky day (Just kidding, had to add that for my husbands sake because he would think I would seriously buy it- total joke Matt, no dress has been ordered).
All dresses can be found at SHOPBOP
**Check out Melanie's Blog, Scout a Mom's Guide to Stylish Living. She is giving away a $100 giftcard to Shopbop!**

Wallpaper or Stencil?

I don't know what it is about the New Year but it makes me want to redecorate. Out with the old and in with the new right? We have made some great progress in our Master Bedroom, so now my new obsession is re-doing the guest bathroom.
OUR GUEST BATHROOM:
Currently it is painted Benjamin Moore's Brookside Moss.


I tried to match the paint to tiles in the shower. However, with a shower curtain up you don't even see the tiles so I think I could really do any colors I wanted. We don't have the budget to completely gut the bathroom, so it needs to be minor changes. I am thinking wallpaper. I have always wanted to wallpaper a room and thought the bathroom would be a great place to start. Has anyone wallpapered before? Is it hard to line up the paper and get it straight?
Here are some wallpaper inspiration images I saved of some lust worthy bathrooms!









My other thought was to stencil the whole bathroom. Megan at Honey Were Home did a great giveaway with some beautiful stencils from Cutting Edge Stencils. Here are a few of my favorite patterns from their website, that are gorgeous and would look great in my bathroom, or any room for that matter!





Just not sure which will be the easiest route, wallpaper or stencil? Because decorating with a soon to be one year needs to be quick and easy!
So, help me out. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated if you have decorated with either!