Greens.

It seems like I always cook the same veggies over and over... usually garlic sauteed squash and zucchini or roasted asparagus. Don't get me wrong, I love these veggies, but earlier this week I wanted to try something new. Scott has raved about Outback Steakhouses green beans but I have never tried them, so I found the recipe of course, on Pintrest! I decided to cook them along with a garlic chicken recipe that I also found on Pintrest and some boxed herb linguine (don't judge, the boxed pasta is amazing). The chicken was bland so I wont bore you with the recipe of that (hey, I guess you win some and lose some). However the green beans were DELICIOUS! I would make them every single day, however after learning what was in the recipe, I don't think they're diet friendly... which is why they are so dang good! ha. Anyway here is the recipe, enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh green beans - french style are best
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon Maggi seasoning - you can substitute with soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

Instructions:
Steam green beans in either a steamer or your microwave until they are just done, you want them still firm. In my microwave it takes about 2 minutes to steam up the green beans, while the green beans are steaming, begin your seasoned butter sauce.
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat add 4 tablespoons butter, 1/2 teaspoon Maggi seasoning, brown sugar, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir until the brown sugar is completely dissolved. When the green beans are done, place in a bowl. Add about half of the butter mixture, in the bowl, and add the fresh steamed greens in the bowl. Stir the green beans until they are coated with the butter seasoning.

Road Warrior.

Basically the whole weekend it poured, not just a little here and there... like a monsoon down pour. It was a complete mess with cars floating away in downtown Columbia and all! On the way back from Sumter to Charleston I saw a couple of rainbows! Occasionally I will see one but I rarely see two or more in the same day.

Bayla LOVES car rides, she is always smiling and so sweet in the car. Look at that happy face!

Rainbows everywhere on the drive home. So pretty.

Bayla loving the car ride. You can see her little face in the side mirror, so cute.

new(BABY)smell

After having a fun weekend in Columbia celebrating one of my best friends bachelorette party, Sarah O, I drove through Sumter to visit Stacie and her new baby Addison. I failed at taking pictures at the bachelorette party and besides isn't there a rule, "what happens at a bachelorette party stays at the bachelorette party?" haha. In all honesty it was a tame and clean girls get together with no strippers in sight! (Or were there? hehe). Anyway when I got to Stacie's, Addison was asleep and she slept the entire two hours I was there! She's so sweet and tiny. I have no idea what I would do or how to act with a two week old infant but Stacie seemed like a pro and completely in control, maternal instincts I suppose? I had my pup Bayla there and she was not interested in Addison in the least, she was actually quite jealous that I was holding her! It was such a riot! When I first picked Addison up, Bayla came over and was jumping trying to see her or what she was rather. Bayla kept smelling her and then would sigh and walk away, it was so funny. A new baby has such a distinct smell, just like a new car does! I find it a sweet and soothing smell, and Addison had it.

Such a sweet and cuddly little baby. I love when they sleep and panic when they scream. haha. :op

A super jealous Bayla, who did not even want to come near me when I was holding Addison!

I put together a little Easter basket for Addison and inside I added these adorable sunglasses! So stinkin' cute!

CFW {Charleston Fashion Week}

So Charleston Fashion Week (CFW) was an experience to say the least, but SOO much fun. I loved seeing all the designers and their odd and quirky lines, and then of course there were always the one or two designers that just stood out and I thought "I would so wear that!" And of course the people watching... people take fashion week seriously, and wear the craziest of outfits, for example a lady wore a floral BRIGHT yellow dress with a Bright yellow hat that had fake birds perched on the brim (I would have taken pictures of this but did not want to be rude). Others made statements with their hair or wore funky make up like bright blue lipstick and very loud jewelry. It's all comical because I was just finishing up the hunger games series the week before CFW and I thought "Hmm.. these are what I imagined the people of the capital looking like!" haha! I guess I would be from one of the districts since I kept to a more normal line of makeup and dress.

The opening night this guy played the violin and ROCKED!

The retail line for Lilly Pulitzer.

This is the the line that I LOVED!

I was not a fan of the "fashion" for men. It was very Native American Indian style with lots of shorts and odd vests... eck. I dont believe Scott will be wearing any of these anytime soon! ha.


This designer BY FAR was one of the most unique (If I have to be politically correct) ha. The "clothing" looked like sheets... there is one black outfit for women and one white for men.. it's a good look if you want to dress like a ghost I guess! Crazy!



I also met one of my favorite designers from Project Runway, Mychael Knight! I was so excited, and he's so nice!

Beth and I are perfecting our "Model Faces." Hehe. You should also see my model walk!

Busiest Week.

So last week I was absent because there seriously was not even a second to spare! It was a very BUSY, fun and eventful week.
The week started out by getting everything ready for Charleston Fashion Week. I've been looking forward to it for several reasons; I've never been, I LOVE fashion (although I don't have the guts to wear half the stuff I like), I'm addicted to fashion shows like project runway etc, and I love people watching and CFW is the place to see and do all these things! My company was a sponsor so we helped set up, and schedule/decorate for all the after parties. It was a big undertaking but so much fun!
When the weekend came, I was just as busy. I traveled to Columbia Saturday for my friend Sarah's bachelorette party and on the way home from that I stopped to visit my friend Stacie and her new baby girl Addison! It was a week filled of busy fun and friends, and I have every second documented... pictures to come. But I will post a few teasers! ;op


Charleston Fashion Week!


The Runway Tent!

{yummy} GREEK

There's this little hole in the wall restaraunt in Mt Pleasant called Papa Zuzu's. It has the most amazing and healthy food, I cannot get enough of it! The salads are huge and delish and I'm not a salad eating girl on a regular basis, but I could eat here everyday! YUM.

Kiss me I'm Irish

Happy St Patricks Day! My friend Beth and I went to Daniel Island for St. Patricks day and met her friend Risa there. We had a promo girl who passed out some St Patricks SOCO swag for an hour and the rest of the time we played. It was such a nice day out. And well you know the saying.. When in Rome... so we drank beer and ate Irish food at Dublin Down and watched the shows. Happy St. Patricks Day!
SOCO Swag!
Beth, Myself and Risa!

Birch Box

For my birthday in November, my brother and sister in law got me a subscription for Birch Box. Birch Box is a subscription of all trial size cosmetics, hair products, perfume, hair ties etc. It's a great way to try all different types of products without having to buy the entire size and best of all each month its a suprise what comes in the box! Once you fill out your own personalized beauty profile, they start sending you samples based on you skin tone. It's basically like getting a small gift of cosmetic girlie stuff every month. So far I've become addicted to Twirl perfume by Kate Spade (which I bought in the biggest size I could find- LOVE IT), a new nail polish brand and a tinted lip moistureizer that I just got this month! Here's what came this month:

Kerastase Elixir Ultime which is great for my recent fly away strand of hairs when it's so humid out! Which crazy enough it was 85 today, and it's only March!

Annick Goutal Petite Cherie perfume which smells like the perfect light and refreshing summer scent. It may just be my next perfume purchase!

Essie Luxeffects nail polish. It has large pink chunks of glitter and super cute over Think Pink by OPI. I have a slight obsession with OPI and Essie... like I own almost every shade of pink and all pale colors.

Fresh Sugar Rose Lip Treatment- my favorite thing in the box I believe. The tint is a barely there pink and it's not sticky in the least and spf 15, I think I need to stock up on this product for summers spent at the beach!

Twistband hair ties... these are ok. ha. I would'nt wear them out of the house. It reminds me too much of ribbons that cheerleaders wear in their hair, not my thing.

Mod Cloth coupon. YAY. Shopping time!

I love receiving a suprise every month, and it's relatively cheap too!
This is Essie Luxeffect over OPI Think Pink. I've recently seen a trend where one nail, usually the ring finger, is a different shade of polish or has glitter or something just a bit different... it's the first time I've tried it. What do you think?

If you're interested in Birch Box, and you should be because it's awesome, look it up here and get a gift to yourself every month! Oh and shipping is free!

http://www.birchbox.com?raf=0vy21

MOJITO {chicken}

One of my favorite recipes to make is mojito chicken. It's delicious, easy and relatively healthy, I could eat it every day! It's definitely a must to add to any family cook book.

This is what you need:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pound cut-up skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup rum
1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1 cup couscous, cooked according to package directions

Directions:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and sugar and cook 3 minutes, until soft stirring with wooden spoon. Add chicken and saute 3 to 5 minutes, until golden brown on all sides. Add lime juice and carefully, off the heat, add the rum. Return to the heat and add lime zest, salt, pepper and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 3 minutes, until chicken is cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes. Serve chicken, garnished with mint, over couscous. Delicious!

I usually serve it with asparagus that's been baked in the oven with roasted almonds, sprinkled with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy with a mojito!

A Girls Day.

So for the first time ever I decided to decorate for Valentines day. I figured Christmas came and went so fast that I'll just keep the place looking festive but with Valentines day decor. Scott to say the least was less than thrilled with this idea because lets face it, Valentines day is for girls. The decor was all shades of pink and he was not delighted, especially about the wreath, but I loved it so it all stayed! Here's what I did.

This the infamous wreath! How girlie and cute right? I love it, it may even get a second use next Valentines! Im not sure why it looks like hot pink tulle isnt in the top left of the wreath, but I promise it is (tricky camera?).

Here's what you need: a roll of hot pink tulle and a roll of pale pink tulle, a foam heart shaped wreath and a lot of stick pins.

You cut about 8 inches of tulle and fold it in half and then fold the corner in almost making a triangle so the open side sticks out and pin it in the foam. Work from the outside of the foam wreath in. Then add whatever flourish you like to it.

I got the inspiration from this wreath I found on pintrest!

I found the little blocks and the be mine letterings from Target, too cute! The hearts in the plant and on the wreath were from Hobby Lobby.

I added little candy hearts to some vases and then scrap book paper around a candle. Simple little additions to make it look Valentines day festive.

So since I got my girlie holiday to decorate, maybe when football season comes Ill do Scott a "favor" and decorate with a football theme; too bad for him I'm a Carolina fan and he's a stinkin' Clemson fan... maybe he wont fuss about pink next time since to him garnet and black is worse, hehe.

Sweet Face

Every morning Bayla, my westie, jumps on the bed and has to have a 10 minute cuddle session before the day starts. If I ignore her and try to sleep a minute more, she puts her little nose right on mine and just stares at me until I acknowledge her. She's quite silly and adorable. When I come home she claps like a seal, she will stand on her back legs and clap like its the best part of her day that I came home to her. It melts my heart everytime!

This is of her in the morning during cuddle time. Does she not have the sweetest face?

PS. Even pups have bad hair days... hehe.

{Love Birds}

A few weeks back Scott's mom, his step dad Brian and his little sister Savannah came to visit from California. While we have been here a few months, we are still not completely set up and decorated yet. We are currently looking for another bed, it's a much harder process than you would think! Once we buy another bed we can get what will be the guest room organized and then what will be the master bedroom set up, until then it is a bit of a mess with some furniture in one room and some in the other. Sigh... I like order, so I'm hoping to find a bed soon! Well in the mean time of trying to get somewhat organized and cleaning for his families arrival, I realized that I had nothing and I mean NOTHING hanging on the walls of what will be the guest room. Its such a huge pet peeve too because I hate blank walls. However, since I have not made the decision as to what furniture is going in what room, I haven't chosen how to decorate it! See, what a pain, right? Well anyway, I saw a picture on pintrest and had a free night so I painted it! And I love it, and now it is hanging in the guest room. I believe whatever colors I choose to decorate with will be able to match the painting since its such a neutral palate. Two love birds on a wire, does it get any cuter?

Addison's Baby Shower.

Here are some other crafty things I made for little Addison's baby shower. Addison arrived yesterday, and baby and mom are doing great!

Addison Pennant Banner- I took 12x12 scrap book paper and cut out big triangles. Then I printed out Addison in large letters with a pink border and cute them out and glued them onto the triangle.
Above is the final product of Addison's pennant banner. In the middle of the mantle is the initial frame from my last post.
I also made some pom poms to hang from the cieling. I love pom poms, and they're so easy to make! Just accordian fold 8 sheets of paper and either round the edge or make them pointy, then use floral wire and tie it in the middle and unfold all the sheets and it makes a big ball! Of course I learned from the best, Ms. Martha herself. Here is her instructions: http://www.marthastewart.com/how-to/tissue-paper-pom-poms-how-to

I found this plain green basket and decided to give it some flare. I bought pink ribbon and laced it in the holes and cut out two circles and added Addison's initials. I also added the pink bow and hot glued everything on.

The shower was fun, it gave me a reason to be crafty and to catch up with old friends!

Frame Re-do

I've had this frame sitting in my craft closet for ages now and finally had a great idea for it. I recently gave my friend Stacie a baby shower and made this adorable frame for her soon to be daughter Addison.

Here is how it was done in 5 easy steps!

~First, find a frame and spray paint it. I chose krylon's ballet slipper pink for baby Addison's room.

~Second, I found a font that I liked and traced Addison's initials on the frame and then hand painted painted the letters.

~Last, I added a bow and used my trusty glue gun and secured it on! Viola!

The wall that makes me smile.

In my kitchen was this little blank wall and I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it. I however cannot take credit because I borrowed the idea from the following blog. http://www.bigdandme.com/2011/09/the-kitchen-art-wall-reveal-finally/

Every time I saw her wall it made me smile, so I decided why not have my own wall that makes me smile! I found them all on etsy, except the two that I made myself! The witty little sayings were so darling and it took me quite a while to find the exact sayings that fit us. The "You are the beer to my pizza" I chose just for Scott because his two most things in life is beer and pizza. He would have them both every single day, and I'm quite sure he did during his single days. ha.

These last two I designed myself. I wanted to add a little southern whimsy with the "kiss my grits" image and then I had to give a nod to my sushi addiction!

I tried to give a bit of our personalities into this one little wall in our kitchen. The "Be calm and drink champagne" I thought was perfect because when Scott and I first met we would drink a bottle of wine or champagne during all of our dates. The other designs were just cute and made me smile so they were also must haves. The hardest part about pulling this wall together was finding the frames at a reasonable price! So what I did was find cheap frames of any color and bought some spray paint, but make absolutely sure that it is adhesive for plastic and wood! I found out the hard way because my first frame was plastic and the spray paint made a spider wed/crackle effect because the spray paint wasn't for plastic! blah.

When it came to putting it on the wall I am a no measure kind of gal. I feel I don't have the time to sit and measure so I take a different approach. I lay everything out on the floor the way I want it to look, and then I move it around a dozen times and once I'm finally happy with the layout I get the middle picture and put it in the middle of the wall and then I add all other pictures around it just like what the layout looked like on the floor. Confused yet?

This is my layout on the floor. I decided I didn't like the picture on the bottom left due to the size differences and I wanted the southern saying and my love for sushi to show so then I added my own little flare and took out the one that was throwing off the balance. Anyway, every time I look at my kitchen wall I smile... it's the simple things. What makes you smile?