Tuesday, August 30, 2011

and another.

fall tones

Just something I could basically live in during the fall/winter. At this point, I'm not sure when I'll even be able to wear something like this, but a girl can dream. I saw these Tory Burch boots on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago and fell in love. Of course, they're way out of my price range and who knows if they'd fit like I'd want them to, but whatever - they're beautiful. I'm loving the emerald greens and rust colors I'm seeing so far for fall. Hoping I can find some fun pieces to add to my wardrobe. Or at least paint my nails accordingly. All I know is that I'm itching to buy a few fall pieces but cannot bring myself to do so when it's 113 degrees outside. But hey, we're supposed to have a cold front and rain later this week - cold front meaning 98 degrees instead of 110 or more. I'll take what I can get.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

first polyvore set.

friday night dinner


friday night dinner by chelseajordan featuring straight jeans

Decided to share the fruits of my new found obsession with Polyvore. I've heard about the site for a while around Twitter and some other blogs, but didn't ever check it out for myself. Finally, I caved and am very glad/a little worried that I did. It's slightly similar to Pinterest, in that you can collect a bunch of things from different sites in one place. But with Polyvore, you can basically build virtual outfits or just do a little dream styling. Now, this "set" contains a few items from places I've never heard of, which kind of defeats the purpose. I'm hoping as I learn more about the site, I can work towards only building sets with items from stores I actually shop at or that are at least on the same continent. But for now, it's just fun. I call this my 'Friday Night Dinner' outfit. If you know me and a little about my personal style, you know I stick to a pretty muted color palette and classic staples. This set stays pretty true to that with a few fun elements thrown in. Who knows, maybe this site will help me branch out and be able to try new things.

1. Reiss blazer - $370 
2. H&M scarf - $2.99 (euro) hm.com
3. Agent Ninetynine long tank top - $30 generalpants.com
4. Nordstrom necklace $68 nordstrom.com
5. Essie nail polish 'Sew Psyched' - $8 ulta.com
6. Dolce Vita pumps - $170 heels.com
7. J Brand jeans - $274 coggles.com
8. Tory Burch magnetic clutch - $142 (euro, again) theoutnet.com

As you can see, since some items are listed in Euros on websites I've never heard of, I have a lot to work on. But as an overall set - I like it. 


Monday, August 22, 2011

three things.

 [Fresh flowers and a fresh scent.]
[Fishtail braid.]
 [Rocky road fudge.]

Just a few things that made my week/weekend enjoyable. I love fresh flowers. I just wish I could find more varieties for a reasonable price. The only place I've even seen peonies, sells them for $6 a stem. No joke. So for now - Costco it is. I keep seeing everywhere that fishtail braids are back. I honestly did not remember how to do it. I'm actually not sure I ever did, since I was lucky enough to have two older sisters that didn't mind helping a girl out. So this video was a lifesaver. And finally, the fudge. This fudge will change your life. I grew up going to a place called Mackinac Island (pronounced Mackinaw) in Michigan. It's the cutest place you'll ever see. There are NO cars (except emergency vehicles), only bikes and horse drawn carriages. And the entire island is about 8 miles in circumference - pretty tiny. The biggest draw though, is the Grand Hotel. Ever heard of 'Somewhere in Time'? The movie with Medicine Woman (Jane Seymour) and Superman (Christopher Reeve)? It was filmed here. But anyways, the hotel transports visitors back to another time period. With lavish grounds and immaculately decorated rooms, it's pretty incredible. There's a dress code for certain times of day and the five course dinner is an experience in itself. But even if you're not staying overnight, Mackinac Island is a great place for a day trip as well. It has a fun little downtown area, where JoAnn's Fudge is located. There are marble counters on one side of the shop where the fudge is made right in front of you and cases of the incredible creations on the other side. Anyways, my parents now have a place up in Michigan and were up there a few weeks ago and took the trip over to the island a couple of times. Hence, my yummy treat. Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.

Friday, August 19, 2011

tomatoes and cottage cheese.



I grew up eating this interesting combination. I always thought that only my family was weird enough to eat it, but I've recently come across some people that enjoy it just as much. But I also know that these two items are ones that people either love or despise. I have friends/family that won't touch either. Such a shame. Just thought I'd share it while we're still in the summer mood. It is definitely the time for fresh, easy dinners. These tomatoes were the ones I purchased during our day in Fredericksburg. They were perfect for this. And really, the recipe is - tomatoes, cottage cheese, salt and pepper. Doesn't get much easier than that. 
Enjoy.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

cocktail hour.


Since I decided I wanted to lay low on Friday night of this past weekend due to having to get up early on Saturday, H and I opted for Chipotle and homemade cocktails (I then ignored him most of the night to work on an art project. Sorry, boo). H had tried a new drink after work at the golf club one day called the One Iron, so we decided to try it out. It's a pretty simple recipe, really. But still, very tasty.

Here are the ingredients:

  • Vodka (Tito's for us)
  • Fresca
  • Splash of cranberry juice
  • Fresh lime juice
And there you go. I think H did 2 shots of vodka since we were using tall glasses and only had one each. Then filled most of the glass with Fresca and a tiny bit of cranberry. Add a lime and you're done. 


Lovely way to start the weekend if you ask me. Already looking forward to the next one. 

Monday, August 15, 2011

three things.

[Fun print in my bedroom.]

[New Essie colors.]

[Zara clutch.]

This weekend was a whirlwind. Friday night, I stayed in and started an art project (more on that later) because I knew I had to get up early on Saturday morning. On Saturday, I got up and went up to Waco with my friends Angie and Traci to go to Landree's graduation at Baylor. Congratulations, Lan! We had a lot of fun on the drive there and back. I had to be back by 4 that afternoon to go to a work event here in town. We had an employee appreciation night at Main Event. It was very cool - we rented out the whole place and had it to ourselves. Then, H and I went to see 'Crazy, Stupid Love' afterwards. We both decided it's one of the better movies we've seen in a while. Super funny with some really sweet moments. Sunday morning, I went to brunch at The Park here at the Domain. We sipped mimosas (pineapple basil for her, mango ginger for me), sampled the buffet and were grateful for the misters on the patio. Afterwards, we went over to Costco to scope out their fresh flower situation. I've resorted to this since I can't seem to find a good selection at any farmers' market. It worked out pretty well. I got two dozen roses for the price of one dozen and Lan got a nice sunflower mixed bouquet. After I went home and cleaned them and put them in vases, I headed over to my parents' house to do some laundry. All in all, a really good weekend. I'll have a couple of posts with more detail about a couple of things later this week. These three things are just a few things that I've been enjoying the past few weeks. Hope everyone had a lovely weekend as well.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

crispy parmesan asparagus sticks.

[Before baking.]

[Finished product - from original recipe.]

I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided I needed to try it. I got some asparagus Monday night on the way home from work and didn't eat all of it and I already had all of the other ingredients, so it was a no brainer. And it worked out well because H stopped and got sushi on his way over and these tasty treats play well with soy sauce. Definitely worth a try if you're looking for a new and super easy side dish. Enjoy!

P.S. H got word that he's starting his internship on Thursday. Exciting stuff.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

fredericksburg.

On Saturday, H and I made the drive out to the quirky little German town of Fredericksburg. I've grown up going out to Fredericksburg at least once a year, either with family or for a few school field-trips. I'll actually be going out there again next month for our Strategic Planning meetings for work. But Saturday was purely for fun. We got there around 2, so we had a late lunch at a German restaurant/biergarten (of course) and then walked around Main Street and stopped in a few shops. I made some fun purchases in 2 of the shops - an alarm clock (that might actually make me get out of bed) and some new sandals/flats (both seen here). I've decided I can't wear the cute little one strap sandals that everyone is wearing right now, so these are a fun compromise. Anyways, after we walked around and pretty much melted completely, we stopped in a candy store to get something to drink and then took off down the road back towards Austin. Along the way though, there are some wineries that coincidentally, I've been to before on a fun little trip a few Christmases ago when I got to drive the family around on a wine tour because I wasn't 21, yet. Yay, me! No, it was actually really fun. But I've already said that next time, we're getting a limo or a driver or something. But since I don't know when that will be, I decided I wanted to try a couple of them on this trip. We decided to stop at Grape Creek and Becker. I'm pretty sure I've had wines from both places before and I remembered hearing good things about both of them from my family. We stopped at Grape Creek first because it was one of the first ones on the way out of town. The tasting room was jam packed when we got there, so we took it as a good sign. We got to try 6 different wines and our server was nice and let us try one more - a port. Not my favorite. They were all pretty good and H chose his favorite and bought a bottle. Next, we drove down to Becker, which is off the main road a little ways. The tasting room there was also really busy, but we found a spot to squeeze in at the counter and had 6 more tastes. We both decided we liked Becker a little more than Grape Creek. I chose my favorite at Becker and bought a bottle to take home. Both places also gave us a glass to take home, which was nice. After our tastes at Becker, we sat down for a little while outside on the patio. Luckily, they had misters going so it was actually pretty nice. After taking a breather (I could have probably taken a nap at this point), we headed off towards Austin again. On the way into Fredericksburg, we also saw a bunch of fruit stands where they were selling peaches (Fredericksburg is kind of famous for their peaches) and quite a few with signs saying they had homemade peach ice cream. SOLD. Sadly, the place we stopped at was out of peaches (say what?) but they did have some nice looking tomatoes and of course, peach ice cream. Overall, it was a really fun day. From singing really really loud in the car (have I mentioned H is slightly tone deaf...) to ducking into shops just to get out of the heat (riiiight) to getting to taste some Texas wine - I loved every minute. But the next trip will definitely be when it's not 107 degrees outside. Is it October, yet?
[Cute little German restaurant.]

[Yummy root beer.]

[Fredericksburg Library.]

[Museum of the Pacific War.]

[Becker Vineyards.]

[Tasty wine at Becker.]

Monday, August 8, 2011

three things.

Continuing with the trend of the number three, I've decided to try to list three things once a week that I either have, don't have but want, like, love, think is crazy, funny, or whatever else might pop into my head. The items will range from apartment finds to new recipes to clothes and accessories. So check back weekly to see a new list of three things I'm excited about at the moment.

[Empty frames to be used in a collage.]

[New fun sandal flats.]

[New alarm clock.]