Monday, December 27, 2010

Moon Intuition

I have always thought that my mom, my sister, and I had an unusual bond. My sister and I are exactly 2 years apart to the week and my mom is honestly best friend. I don't know what I would do without all our daily talks (10 plus times a day), girl dinners, and clothes sharing. We all always seem to be exactly on the same page. So, I should not have been shocked when we all picked the same Christmas gift for each other. You see, my grandmother (my mom's mom) died 9 years ago. Hard to believe because we all loved her so much and she was fairly young, 74 years old. Her maiden name was Moon, which if I ever have a daughter will be her middle name. Ever since she died we frequently see moons in the back ground of pictures of we take. No rhyme or reason, flash or no flash, they often show up in many family pictures. We like to think it is my grandmother smiling down on us and watching us. The day I checked into the hospital to have Sterling, they gave me a gown that had moons on it, so I knew my grandmother was there watching. Moons have a very special place in our hearts.

My mom, my sis and I all have the Jennifer Zeuner Initial Necklaces, it was my push present with Sterling's initials.


I knew when JZ came out with some new designs and one was a moon with a ruby (my grandmother's birthstone) it was meant to be for my mom's Christmas gift. Apparently my mom had the same idea because she gave my sister and I the same necklace. How crazy is that?? I guess my grandmother was smiling down on us:)

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all my wonderful Blogger friends! I am so thankful to have you as followers and hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing Christmas with your loved ones!! Here is the Christmas Card I ended up sending out this year. I couldn't commit to just one picture so I did two different cards. Both of the cards are William Arthur my absolute favorite line for cards and paper products. A bit pricey but if you wait til after Christmas sales you can stock up for the next year!
Merry Christmas! xoxo

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Read, Watch, Listen

Tis the season to be lazy. I am visiting my parents for the week and enjoying some much needed relaxation. Here is a peek at what I have been doing the last few days.

READING
Rachel Zoe's Style A To Zoe.
I bought this book a few years ago but have been revisiting it. I forgot how much I love Mrs. Zoe. This book has great fashion and styling tips.


WATCHING
Charlie St. Cloud.
Not the best movie ever but Zac Efron looks scrumptious. Definitely worth watching for the shirtless scenes with Zac.


Giuliana and Bill.
Now that I am at home visiting my rents, I can catch up on the whole season of Giuliana and Bill. I dvred all the episodes since we don't get the Style network in Charleston (tragic, I mean what cable provider doesn't offer the Style Network). I had forgotten how much I love them. I hope their marriage doesn't suffer the same curse of all reality tv show marriages. I also really hope Giuliana gets pregnant soon. They honestly seem like the sweetest couple. I feel like if I met them we would totally be friends.


LISTENING
Mumford and Sons

Crowfield


To say I am obsessed with these two bands is an understatement. I have their cds on repeat in my car. Listen to them if you never have!

Tonight is ladies night out with all my old girlfriends. Gotta love having a free babysitter= my parents! Hope everyone else is enjoying this holiday week!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Bedroom Inspiration

As many of you know I have been in the long process of trying to update our master bedroom. I came across these images I had saved for inspiration and thought I would share them! Can you see a common theme of things I like? Mirrors over beds, wallpaper, geometric patterns and tufted headboards!



Love the black butterflies. This reminds me of Serena Vanderwoodsens room on Gossip Girl, which I J'adore! Don't think the hubs will be down with butterflies though. Maybe if I have a baby girl I could do this in her nursery one day. Also how insane is that huge velvet bed?

Love the headboard, mirrored dresser and accents of pink.

I am totally gaga for a geometric print and the chocolate/white combo is gorgeous.

Tufted headboard, fabulous mirror and gold poofs. This room is perfection.

I am dying over this wallpaper and the yellow lamps. So modern and glamorous!

I love the chandelier. I really want a chandelier in our room but the hubby insists on an ugly ceiling fan. Barf, a chandelier would look so much better!

Loving the rug and dark chocolate walls. Not sure I have the guts to paint my room this dark but it seems so soothing and perfect for sleeping!

Monday, December 20, 2010

A Champion's Dinner


The hubs went to Jacksonville to run his first half marathon this weekend. He did stellar, 1 hour and 51 minutes, I am so proud of him. And yes he wore his medal all night he received for completing the race! He traveled there with his best friend Lat and his girlfriend Alice, who would be staying with us too. I wanted to have a hearty meal ready for them when they got back in town Sunday night because I knew they would be exhausted and hungry. On the Menu is White Chicken Chili and Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread. The White Chicken Chili Recipe comes from my new blogger friend Chassity at Look Linger Love. She promised me it was a crowd pleaser and she was right. It is super easy which is always a plus in my book and delicious! I have searched long and hard for a good White Chicken Chili recipe and this is it! Trust me and Chassity when we say this Chili is the bomb.

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI


Onion, garlic and herbs simmering

Chicken added to saute with herbs

Chicken Broth, white beans, and green chillies added

The finished product! You can get the recipe HERE on Chassity's blog.
**Note: I added a sauteed onion to Chassity's recipe.**

The Jalapeno Cornbread is from my favorite gal, Ina. It is out of her Barefoot at Home Cookbook. The cornbread smelled so good cooking I immediately ate a piece as soon as I took it out of the oven. I didn't even wait for it to cool:) It melted in my mouth, it was so tasty! I need to get the leftovers out of my house before I polish a whole pan of this bread off!

JALAPENO CHEDDAR CORNBREAD


Dry and Wet Ingredients mixed

The white sharp cheddar cheese, scallions and fresh jalapenos.

Cheese, peppers and onions added to mix.

Deliciousness, make this asap.

Cornbread Recipe
This is the perfect meal for a cozy night at home.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

A Few of My Favorite Things

I have been thinking long and hard about something exciting to write about but I am stumped. I think my brain is fried from all this thought about Christmas and last minute shopping. I can not believe Christmas is less than one week away!! YIKES! But I am so excited to spend a week with my family and for Sterling to celebrate his first Christmas. I thought I would share a few of my favorite things. These things are essentials in my daily life!

7 For All Mankind "The Skinny" Jeans. I wear these jeans literally everyday. I love them so much I have two pairs so when one is dirty I have a back-up. And trust me one pair is dirty pretty much everyday with a baby!

Rebecca Taylor Blouses. I Love Rebecca Taylor. My closet is filled with tons of her clothes. Her blouses are my daily wardrobe staple. I love them paired with my skinny jeans and flats.

Maybelline Mascara. Been wearing this since Junior High and I still love it! I have one eye with blond eyelashes and the other is black so I have a hard time covering the blond one. This works the best and I have tried many others!

NARS Bronzer in Laguna. I wear this everyday it gives me the perfect amount of color. Most blushes are way too pink on me and this is the perfect rosy bronze color.

Tory Burch Reva Flats. To say I am obsessed with these shoes is an understatement. I love them. They are comfortable and stylish. I own way too many pairs but I do wear them almost everyday!

Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream. This is the best face cream ever. It is so thick and really moisturizes your skin. I slather it on every night. It is cheap too, like $12 for a huge jar and I swear it works. I alternate between this and LaMer because Mama can't afford LaMer for everyday use!

A huge purse. I just switched out my huge Gucci to this Louis Vuitton because I thought it was more fall/winter like. I got this purse three years ago for my birthday and I am still obsessed with it. It is the perfect size and easy to clean!

Vera Wang Bouquet and Chole Perfumes. I do not feel complete unless I have perfume on! I alternate between these two lovelies. I like floral scents and thees two smell amazing!


Kiehl's Avocado Eye Cream. Super thick and moisturizing. Can't say it has taken away my dark circles but I like to think it helps!

What are your daily essentials?

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Today was a Good Day

Today I woke up with a pounding headache, most definitely a result of the 3-4 glasses of red wine and few sips of champagne I had at our Girl's annual Christmas Supper Club last night. I thought hmmm today is gonna be a long day. Well Thursday turned out to be a wonderful day.

I started off by meeting my sister in law for lunch at 5 Loaves. One of the most delicious and affordable restaurants here in Charleston. I downed an aleeve with two cokes for my headache. I then enjoyed half of a Turkey Reuben with a mixed greens salad that had roasted potatoes, mushrooms, sunflower seeds and blue cheese. Pure heaven. I will be recreating this salad at home.

Sterling and his beautiful Aunt Britton

After lunch we walked to Sugar, a local bakery here that makes the most decadent sweet treats. I picked up 4 cookies. I told myself that half were for Matt, when I knew in fact I would devour them all, before he even got home from work. I picked out Butterscotch, Ginger Molasses and Sugar with M&M'S (I am eating that one as I type).



Then I headed to our Thursday playgroup where I enjoyed some wine (hangover gone) and we did a gift exchange with the kids. We did another photo-op in all their cute Christmas outfits. Easier said than done, the kids were not happy with all the picture taking!





Later when the hubs got home, we sat out by our fire pit drank a goose (a term we coined for grey goose and lemon juice straight up, our signature drink of choice) and grilled some hot dogs with truffled tator tots. Now I love a gourmet meal but I am also down with dogs and tots. Truffle oil on tator tots is the best thing ever- try it asap if you never have.


To quote Ice T "Today was a good day."