Obsessions

SUSANA MONACO ZOLA DRESS

I am a huge fan of Susana Monaco Dresses.  They are soft, comfortable and can be washed not dry cleaned which is a big plus in my book.  I am smitten with this summer maxi dress.   Needed her like yesterday.  Really love the alight cut-out and navy color.

CLIFFORD BAY SAUVIGNON BLANC

I picked up this wine at Costco last week to serve at my Supper Club because it was on sale for $6.50 a bottle.  I figured if I was serving that many people wine I needed to go on the cheap side.  Normally in my opinion cheap wine = bad wine,  but not this beauty.  This Sauvignon Blanc really surprised me, it was delish.  I think it normally retails for $10-11 a bottle but if you are a Costco member,  get your butt over there and snatch it up while it is $6.50.  I bought 4 bottles to save.

RACHEL ZOE GLADYS FLAT SANDAL

I have been eyeing these sandals for awhile now ever since seeing cute Reese Witherspoon wear them, and btw how adorable is she pregnant?.  They seem like the perfect casual summer sandal.  I think they would look cute with dresses, jeans or shorts, super versatile.  Can't decide if I want the nude or brown color....

PRAIRIE HARVEST CRISP CRACKERS

These little crackers are my new snack obsession.  i can't wait for my afternoon snack everyday because of this tasty treat.  I pair them Aged Gouda and it is so darn good.  They come in a few different flavors but I bought the Sunflower seed, Millet, and Oat version.  They are super crispy with just the right amount of savory/sweet flavor.

 

ALEXIS BITTAR CRYSTAL ENCRUSTED HORSE SHOE PENDANT

My mom just got this necklace and now I am convinced I need it too.  It looks great with everything and it is short enough to layer with other necklaces.  It is a real stunner in person, just gorgeous.

A.P.C BLOTCH PRINT DRESS

I picked up this dress a few months ago from our local Boutique Hampden Clothing and have been obsessed with it.  It is the perfect easy summer dress.  I wear it at least once a week. Usually Matt is not a fan of most of my clothes but he actually commented on this dress and said he really liked it.   Added bonus it is cotton so you can wash it too!  I am always looking for cute washable clothes because my two year old keeps my dry cleaning bill super high!

SwimSpot Giveaway

Happy Monday Dolls!  Hope you all had a nice weekend celebrating Father's Day!  Let me start by saying I don't go giveaways often.  I don't love reading blogs that just do a bunch of random giveaways.  I think long and hard when I am contacted about doing a giveaway and make sure it is something that I would be excited to win.  I know I just did a Stella and Dot giveaway two weeks ago but this one was too good to pass up.  I am offering one Lucky reader the chance to win a $50 giftcard to Swimspot. 

If you are not familiar with Swimspot they are an online Swim Boutique with Fit specialists to help you find the best and most flattering swim suit for your figure.   The webpage features videos of models in the bath suits walking so you can see every angle and detail.  They even offer a way to shop by your body type. pretty genius.   They carry so many lines but my two favorites they carry are Ella Moss and Splendid.  I like to buy a new swim suit each year and now is your chance to win $50 towards any swimsuit or cover-up you choose! 

Here are a few of my favorites I am eyeing.  I am a one piece and bikini kind of girl.  I like bikinis for skinny days and one pieces for bloated days.  Go visit SwimSpot.com and check out their amazing selection!

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/

In order to win:

1) You must be a Follower of Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers

2) Visit the SwimSpot webpage and leave a comment letting me know which swimsuit you would buy if you won

3) Like Designer Bags and Dirty Diapers Facebook page

You have til midnight Thursday the 21st to enter.  I will announce the winner on Friday.  Good luck!

Thoughts For Friday

If you are looking for an easy delicious entertaining dessert then look no further.  Lately this has been my go-to dessert.  Best part it is only two ingredients: Pistachio Ice Cream and Butter Crisps.

All you do is spread a thin layer of the ice cream on the crisp and pop in the freezer til ready and you have a tasty restaurant quality ice cream sandwich.  I made these last night for my girls Supper Club and they were a hit.

Speaking of Supper Club how amaze is this cheese tray I threw together?  I am a freak for a pretty cheese tray.   Nothing makes me happier.

I finished the first 50 Shades of Gray book and I loved it, really did.  But I am wondering what is the second book going to offer?  More of the same?  Not sure I want to read that much more about the red room of pain.  But speaking of the movie I think Josh Duhamel would be the perfect Christain Gray.  He is so darn hot, tell me you don't agree.

I am pretty sure this fabric needs to happen somewhere in Sterling's room.  I am thinking pillows...

I got my new issue of Elle in the mail yesterday and was surprised to see Selena Gomez on the cover.  I actually thought she looked really pretty and mature.  I will be interested to see if she opens up about The Beibs in the article.  I think I am like the same age as her mom which is weird and makes me feel old. 

Have you heard of LemLem?  My friend Katie introduced me and now I am convinced I need a LemLem Dress.   Lemlem is founded by model Liya Kebede and the line consists of Ethiopian hand-woven cotton scarves, women's clothing and children's dresses made by traditional artisans in Liya's hometown. 

I left Sterling alone for a few minutes yesterday morning while I emptied this dishwasher and this is what I came back to.  All his Little Tykes people were face down in his cereal bowl.  It kind of made me chuckle especially the one that he decided to leave face up.  Hope this isn't a sign of some weird fetish when he is older....

 

This is a quote that resonates with me for many reasons. I love it.  Hvae a great weekend!

Oh and Happy Father's Day to this special guy.  You are a good daddy Matt and we love you!

What I learned From Martha This Week.

For some random reason I get the Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine in the mail.  I never ordered a subscription but somehow it just keeps on coming.  Most of the recipes are not that great but in last month's issue I came across this article "Infuse Your Booze."

I have wanted to try my hand at making my own infused booze forever and this article gave me the push I needed.  Matt loves peaches (like really loves peaches, he even eats the skin which grosses me out, I mean it is hairy....) so I decided to give peach vodka a whirl since I had some really delicious peaches left from the Farmers Market.  I made a small batch of the vodka first as a trial run because who wants to ruin a whole half gallon of vodka if it sucks?? I diced one peach and then poured some Titos (the best vodka ever) over it to just cover.  Martha says to let it sit for at least a week and shake it daily.

I gave it a good shake every night and tried my hardest to resist drinking it.

Disclaimer- Matt and I could not wait any longer and decided to try the vodka last night after 3 days.  It was so not ready and not great.  We decided to add in more diced peach and sliced limes.  We added lime juice into our small trial run and it worked great because it gave it the right acidity to cut the vodka.  We will test again in a week and report back.  I want to get this down right.  Until then back to my wine.

On another note Martha also taught me that Beets are good for detoxing your body.  Her magazine states, "Detox Cred: Antioxidant superstars, red beets contain betalains, compounds that fight inflammation and support your detox by neutralizing toxins and making them water soluble and easily flushed."  I love anything that helps cleanse my body and liver.  Every morning I have ventured away from my normal green juice and I have been drinking beet juice.   The color is gorgeous, right?

I juice: 1 beet, one carrot, half a cucumber, and an apple.  I kind of like the way it tastes in a weird way and guess who else does?

Shocker.  He drank a small glass of beet juice or "Mommy's pink juice."  And that was his vegetable count for the day!

So the moral today is trust Martha, she is smart.  Enjoy your infused vodka and then drink beet juice the next day to cleanse your liver. 

Tomato, Squash, and Feta Gratin

My favorite thing to do on Saturdays is to hit up our local Farmers Market (am I starting to sound like a broken record about the Farmers Market? Oh well I love it).  This ensures I always have fresh veggies for the week.  Last week I was working with an abundance of Tomatoes and Squash about to go bad which led me to this recipe.  I cooked it one night when Matt was working late (because we all know he is not down with vegetarian meals) and I seriously ate half the gratin in one sitting.  It was so light, fresh and full of flavor.  The feta scallion mixture really made it pop with flavor.   I like to think it is not that bad for me either besides the cheese it is packed full of veggies. It would be the perfect side dish to serve with grilled fish or chicken.  Why is it so hard to take appealing food pictures?  My gratin below looks nothing like the one above.....

TOMATO, SQUASH AND FETA GRATIN (adapted from Haystacks and Champagne)
My changes are denoted in pink.

6 oz zucchini sliced 1/4" on long bias

6 oz yellow squash sliced 1/'8' on long bias

2 scallions chopped

1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic

1/3 cup fresh basil julienned

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

2 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Fresh grated Parmesan

12 oz tomatoes cut in half then sliced 1/4"thick crosswise (If you use Roma tomatoes, you don't need to cut again)

2 tsp. olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Toss zucchini and yellow squash with salt & pepper and a touch of olive oil. In a separate bowl mix scallions, garlic, oregano, & feta.  I added a little olive to this mixture too.  Don't add too much olive or your dish will be too soggy.

Lay zucchini slices in pan slightly overlapping like shingles. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Top with a layer of tomatoes slightly overlapping. Sprinkle on half of the scallion mix. Top with a layer of yellow squash & another of tomatoes sprinkling each with salt & pepper. Top with remaining scallion mix then drizzle with olive oil.  I added fresh grated Parmesan to the top as well.  I added the fresh basil bewteen each squash tomato layer. 

Bake for 30 min at 400 degrees or until top is slightly browned. Allow to sit for 10 min then cut into wedges & serve.

Recipe and first picture VIA

Obsessions

GAP STRIPPED STRAW BAG

I love this bag for the summer.  Straw + bright stripes is such a good combo! 

TARGET SANDALS

Two of my friends were wearing these adorable sandals at playgroup last week and now I want them.  They looked like $100+ shoes but they are $16.99!

ANN TAYLOR FEMME BACK ZIP SHIFT TOP

Ever since I bought my cute pink shift dress at Ann Taylor, I have warmed up to the idea of shopping there.  I once thought it was just a store for older women but now I am singing a different tune.  They have some really cute stuff in there.  This is my latest find.  How cute is this top?  I plan to wear it with my white Rag and Bone jeans.  Excuse the poor picture of me in it, but wanted to show how it fits.

TOP KNOT BUN

I love Kate Upton's hair in this picture.  I have such thin hair so I feel like I can never get my hair to look good in the top bun.  Any tips?

EAMES ROCKER

Meet the newest addition to the Mason household.  I found this beauty at a Consignment store in Mt Pleasant.  It is going to look perfect in Sterling's big room and he already loves his new chair!  Everyday he wants to sit in it and watch "his toons."

These are a few of my inspiration pictures.  But how can you go wrong with a sleek Eames rocker?  I love the idea of it covered with a sheepskin throw like in the last picture.

Weekend Happenings + S&D Winner

How is it Monday already??  The weekends fly by and the weekdays drag by!  We had a jam packed weekend which was fun but really left us no down time for relaxing!  So now it is Monday morning and I am exhausted.  And all weekend Sterling has decided to wake up around 6 yelling "mom" every morning to ensure I hear him and get my butt out of bed. 

Friday night was our date night which actually turned into a couples date night after the wine tasting!  The wine tasting was really fun,  but you know me I love wine and learning more about it.  One of my favorite drinks we sampled was a Sparkling Shiraz.  I had never had this type of wine before and it was quite delicious.  I wish I remembered the exact name but it was from Australia and sold at Total Wine for $15.99.

My outfit from our date night was an old T-Bags dress.  I have had this dress for probably 6 years but still love it.  T-Bags remains one of my favorite brands for maxi dresses.

This is the next T-Bags maxi I hope to add to my collection soon!  They really fit so well!

{T-Bags Venezia Maxi Dress}

 

This is all of us girls after the wine tasting at dinner.  We embarrassed our husbands and made them snap pictures of us at the restaurant.

We ate dinner at Al Di La, one of my favorite restaurants in West Ashley.  I had the shrimp Gnocchi and it was amazing!  There is nothing better than fresh homemade pasta.

On Saturday we took our boat out for our first family boat ride of the year.  Our boat has been broken the past 6 months and Matt finally fixed it.  I am so proud of him because he completely rewired the boat on his own.  Now she runs great and we had a blast. Except Sterling it had been so long since he had been on the boat he wasn't so sure about it.

You might notice my dress I am wearing on the boat.  It is my newest obsession.  I found it at the Gap and I have it in three different colors.  It is the perfect casual summer dress.  So comfortable and fits really well too!  They are online HERE and HERE, but I found mine in the actual store.

I also got it in the Royal Blue and wore it to church Sunday with my JCrew necklace.  I told you I seriously love this dress!  It is so versatile.

I also tried on this T-Shirt maxi dress and now I am wishing I bought it.  I think I may order it in the black because it would go with everything.  It was so soft it felt like pajamas.  A plus for running after a kid all day in!

Gap T-Shirt Maxi Dress

Ended the weekend with a trip to the Farmers Market where I found these gorgeous Hydrangeas!

And now what I am sure you all waiting for!!  The winner of the Stella and Dot necklace is:

Kelly Gail- kellynwatson@yahoo.com

Ashley will contact you to get your shipping info.  Hope you love the necklace Kelly!

Don't forget if you didn't win the trunk show is open for two more weeks if you want to order something! 
You can check out the trunk show HERE!