Fun Booth Craziness

This literally had me busting out laughing.  I'm so glad I called MES and we watched it together on the phone so we could enjoy the hilarity of our friends together  :)  We know you'll enjoy it as much as we did.

Wedding Video Up!

I am SO incredibly excited to share this video with you of our wedding.  Daria Bishop Photography did such an amazing job, I just can't say it enough how happy we are that we borrowed them from VT and brought them to the Cape for our special day.  

I was hoping to figure out how to embed the video to play here, but alas, my skills are not as good as that.  I hope you enjoy as much as I do!

A new work classic - M.M. LAFLEUR

I recently reconnected with an old friend and she was telling me about a new designer's trunk show that she was going to which struck my fancy, because... well duh, shopping and supporting local small businesses makes me happy.

Anyway, I stopped by M.M. LAFLEUR's truck show on Saturday and really just fell in love with the concept of throwing out your pantsuit and getting yourself into a work dress.  I'm not going to go into details about the company because you can just read about it on their blog, but I will tell you that I'm anxiously awaiting their online retail opening so that I can virtually try on more dresses and have others recommended to me.

I did snag this gorgeous black dress on Saturday since it was a sample.  The elbow length sleeves with the split cuff and the split collar that isn't too revealing was right up my alley.  The jersey knit is comfortable and really holds its shape while not being too warm.  I can see this being a 3-season dress for me and one of the staples that I throw into my suitcase on my transatlantic flights.

Today I paired it with a super long pearl necklace and my superfluity pink heels.  They're currently available in ivory on BHLDN for an additional 40% off, read $72!

Stay tuned for other M.M. LAFLEUR outfits because I'm sure I'm not even nearly done with this brand.

Matt and Cheese

On Saturday MES and I attended a Latka party and we were finally able to share our homemade mac and cheese with our friends.  I think it was a hit since the tin was scraped dry.  This is a super simple recipe that I'm happy to share with you.

Matt and Cheese Recipe
- 1 block of Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar
- 1 cup of elbow noodles
- 1/4 cup of milk
- salt and pepper

Cook the noodles until they're al dente.  Once the noodles are cooked, line the bottom of an oven-safe container with a layer of noodles and then a layer of cheese.  Cheese block should be sliced in even slices.  Sprinkle cheese layer with salt and pepper to taste.  Then repeat noodles, cheese, salt and pepper until you have a final layer of cheese on top.  Pour the 1/4 of milk over the entire tin and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until top noodle layer is crispy.

And voila!  You're done!

Before and After - the Amazing Apartment Declutter

MES and I have been sharing our 310 sq ft apt for over two years.  That takes LOVE!  (side note, I always thought it was closer to 400, but apparently not so much).  We've been talking about buying a house after we got married, using the money from my apartment, MES' savings, and 50% of whatever wedding money we got towards a down payment somewhere in the burbs close to my parents.

So the time has come and we called an agent this week who's coming by today to do a market analysis of our home.  We needed to clean it, and really get rid of everything we don't use all the time to make it more appealing to buyers.  The idea is that potential homeowners like ideas of how things could be laid out, but really don't want to see the personal items; pictures of your dogs, your family, your favorite books etc.

This is what our apartment looked like as we were cleaning yesterday.  Goodbye foam roller and yoga mat.  Peace out 3 garment bags full of clothes.  Au revoir book shelf!

And here is where we ended up last night.  It feels so much bigger already, we could almost have a chan-dance party!  Keep your fingers crossed the agent thinks we can sell for more than I purchased for or I'm going to be super bummed later today.

Things that Drive Me Nuts

I have to say that as an avid user of Google Reader it drives me crazy when other blogs minimize what you can see through reader.  I get that they want traffic to their actual site, but from a user flow perspective I read through my reader and if I can't view it all then I'm probably going to end up unsubscribing.

Same goes for Pinterest.  Drives me crazy when people pin things from blogs, but don't pin from the actual post, pin from the whole site.  So then when I click through the pin, I just land on the blog page instead of the post the picture was originally from.

Vent over.  Have a great weekend!

Going Au Naturale

I have been eyeing these all natural products for a while and when my company announced that they're ending our corporate Amex program for another card, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to use up my points and scoop up some of these items that I've been dying to try.

The Rosewater Balancing Mist seems like the ideal thing for those on the go.  Perfect to slip onto a carry-on and refresh mid flight or after you land.  And while my luggage may be grounded for the time being, I see a trip to Des Moines in the not too distant future.  Also, the 

This Rose Moisture Cleanser smells amazing.  My combo skin gets SUPER dry in the winter and it's a chore to moisturize without getting oily and I'm hoping this will do the trick.  

Anti aging?  Sign me up for Herbal Recovery and any other serum that has antioxidants and protects my skin against nature and aging.

My Inspiration

I spend a lot of time watching the DIY network and HGTV.  Some of my favorites are Property Brothers and Love it or List it.  It makes me really sit back and think about what I would like out of our new home, when we get a new home.

We've been eyeing the orange channing desk from Jonathan Adler and I absolutely adore polka dots.  This is what my dream desk would be like, and maybe sometime I'll have Ashley Brooke professionally design me a new blog header with my inspiration desk.

White Elephant Christmas

I love this time of year because of all of the festivities.  Mine started this past weekend with an ugly sweater party (no pics please!) and a white elephant "brunch" yesterday.  We had everything from flavored popcorn and homemade cookies, to some pretty dynamic accessories and even a set of hand-painted wine glasses!  I'm not even remotely close to Martha Stewart, so I was in the accessories category, although I did swing by Max Brenner and picked up an OMG Chocolate Chip cookie on my way.  Don't we look like we're having fun?  How're you kicking off the holidays?

Reminiscing about Rugby

I am super bummed that Ralph Lauren has decided to sunset Rugby.  Along that vein, I decided to buy up everything that I want from them and have loved from them so that when my skinny jeans finally wear down, I'm not super depressed I can't go buy another pair.

My faves from their site right now, which have just come in the mail and I'm already rocking:

1) Open Cable Knit Cardigan, 2) Super-Skinny Rinse Jeans, 3) Locharron Plaid Scarf

This cardigan is going to be by far one of my favorites.  It's a pretty rainy New York day and I'm feeling all warm and snug in my cable knit cardy.  Bring it on winter!  You can't scare me!

Lusting for Tulle

I'm not typically a fan of tulle, or overly girly items for that matter, but this dress caught my eye on Pinterest the other day and I just can't stop thinking about it!  It's a little edgy with the sequin top and super romantic with the tulle bottom.  I'm on the hunt, so if any of you see something like this, please send my way!

Image found here

Gift list... for me!

I'm seeing posts all over about the best gifts to give people, and while that's all well in good, really it's going to depend on who you're buying for right?  And I always find it easier to buy something I know people want.  So I've done the reverse and put together the top 10 things I'm checking out right now.

1) gloves by Coach, 2) Belt by Loft, 3) Scarf by Loft, 4) Gold monogrammed necklace, 5) JCrew tweed jacket, 6) Jurlique rose mist, 7) earrings from Anthropologie, 8) JCrew sequin polka dot tee   9) bracelet from JCrew, 10) Audrey Hepburn image from Conde Nast

What's on your wish list this season?