4.30.2012

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday!

My husband was out of town this weekend in Vegas for a bachelor party and I had to pick him up from the airport at midnight last night so I am dragging this morning.

Since my husband was away I did what any good woman does when their husband is away- Retail therapy, dinner and brunch dates with my girlfriends, and catching up on trash tv and movies.
On Friday night we celebrated my Mom's birthday but I failed to take any photos. 

Waffles, coffee, and gossip... my idea of the perfect breakfast

Here are some goodies I picked up at the J.Crew Factory Outlet.  Clothes were 30% off and jewelry was 40% so of course I couldn't pass it up!   I've also decided since I can't find colored jeans I love I'm scrapping that idea and buying colored shorts instead.

 I tried this skirt on but didn't buy it in the store, then changed my mind and bought it online when I got home.  (its not supposed to be that wrinkly this one had just be stuffed in the back of the shelf)

I just discovered that our Safeway makes gourmet cupcakes! It took all my self control not to buy one or a dozen

On Saturday night I joined some friends at a local music venue to watch some local bands and raise money for breast cancer.   This is not the band I went to see but this was a local band called the 301 and they two lead guys reminded me of Big Pun and Fat Joe- they're music was a mix of hip hop and rap and they were pretty good. 

On Sunday I joined my girlfriends for brunch at my favorite restaurant in Annapolis.  If you're ever in the area you have to stop by it's called The Main Ingredient  and they have the BEST brunch in Annapolis in my opinion.  I wore my new Target maxi dress which I am loving and I paired it with a jean jacket since it was not warm here this weekend.
 
Do you love the crooked iphone pics?!

While I was attempting to organize my closet I came across this quote on the front of one of my Kate Spade dust covers.  I love that she includes a little quote with all of her goodies. One of my favorite parts of buying KS is finding the quotes and I also hope it's one I haven't seen before. 

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4.27.2012

TGIF: Celebrity Round-Up Baby Bumps

It might just be me and the age I am but every time I log onto Facebook or any gossip site a friend or celebrity is announcing their pregnancy!

So in honor of babies on the brain:

This lady is still pregnant...
I've been stalking her on Twitter for any updates and I haven't seen any yet. 

I think Kristin Cavallari has some great pregnancy style!  She's been looking so good these days.  Apparently this dress below is from Kmart for only $20.99!

Reese Witherspoon has yet to officially confirm but clearly she is pregnant and of course looking so cute dressing that bump! (I will forever be in love with that Chloe bag)


US Weekly says they have the exclusive story that Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr are  having their second baby. I hope this is true because I'm obsessed with these two and I think of them as the one Hollywood couple that might actually make it.


Snooki said this week that she would die if she was ever the size of Jessica Simpson... oh Snooki there are so many things I could say


Sienna Miller is keeping her bump under wraps most of the time so we haven't really gotten to see her pregnancy style.  Rumor has it she and Tom Sturridge are engaged.  Sometimes I wonder if she wishes Jude Law had accidentally knocked her up. 

Sister, Sister and reality actress Tamera Mowrey announced she is pregnant with her first child.  Did you watch her and Tia's reality show?? I will admit that I did and it was Ok, some of the drama felt forced though.  I had a feeling she would be pregnant shortly after getting married since her twin was pregnant.

If I were Kourtney Kardashian this is the last pregnant woman I would want to stand next to.  Those Victoria Secret models are freaks of nature when pregnant, well actually all the time .


 Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

PS: Is anyone else having problems with the new blogger? I don't hate it but for some reason every time I try to start a new post I hit the start a new blog button so I've almost had 3 new blogs this week.
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4.25.2012

I want to live here

 I pinned this picture a few days ago and I can't stop thinking about it.


I am completely obsessed with everything in this room. The stools, lucite coffee tables, bold patterned curtains, the chandelier  The use of blue and red together without looking chintzy is amazing.  I think this can be a very hard color combination to pull off properly.

Well this "pin" lead me to this article and the rest of the house which belongs to Meredith Heron a Toronto based interior designer.  The rest of her house is gorgeous.  I could move right in. 







I love how much saturated color she uses in every room.  Since I'm pretty much "neutral natalie" I'm always jealous of people who aren't afraid to use lots of color and pattern! I'm trying to break out of my comfort zone but it's so hard.

Do you tend toward the neutral side or do you love color and pattern? 

via
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4.24.2012

Wedding Songs



 I heard on the radio today the top 20 songs played at weddings and it got me thinking back to our wedding songs.  ( There are some on this list that make me think Seriously? You can see the full list here.)

When I was getting married choosing the right songs for the reception was one of the hardest parts!  I was so worried about picking the right song for the right moment with the right lyrics.  I definitely over thought each song and lyric.  I wanted my songs to speak to us as a couple but I also didn't want to choose a song that EVERYONE had already used and was considered a "wedding song" or a song that was currently trendy or mainstream because I wanted them to last.   As you can see I just made it harder for myself.  

I figured some one you that are getting married might be in the same predicament so I wanted to share what we choose for our songs for the "big moments" during our wedding. (I thought I shared these back when I got married in 2009 but I can't find the post so maybe I didn't)

1. Bridal party introductions into the reception- "Superstitious" by Stevie Wonder (this one was an inside joke with our friends from college and the perfect intro for our group) 

2. Bride & groom intro into reception- "You're my Best Friend" by Queen

3. First Dance- "Feels like Home" by Chantal Kreviazuk ( this song was in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and it's one of my absolute favorite love songs)

4. Father/Daughter dance- "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong 

5. Mother/Son dance- "In my Life" by the Beatles 

6. Last song of the evening- "Take me Home Tonight" by Eddie Money

Through out the reception we played the typical Don't Stop Believing, Let's get Married, Cupid Shuffle, Billie Jean, and token slow songs for the crowd to enjoy. 

So what songs did you play for the big moments of your wedding, or if you're not married yet are there any songs that you have to have played at your wedding? 
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4.20.2012

TGIF: Currently Crushing

Happy Friday!  It's Friday which means you get a picture post because my brain is spent from working all week. 

Here are some things I'm currently crushing on:


I think a sequin tee is ridiculous for summer but for some reason I totally love this






 Monogram Tray from Design Darling's Boutique

I couldn't resist:
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4.19.2012

Kitchen Update

I figured I would finally give you all a kitchen update! Sometimes I'm not very good about follow up around here, it's my ADD, hard to stay on topic.

The cabinets are finally all painted! I owe a whole other post on that, we are barely DIYers around here so it was definitely a tedious task but I'm pretty proud of us!  I promise to share pictures and details soon.
We still have some more work to do until it's finally complete so for the time being I'm sharing my idea board.


Sources: Paint: Sherwin Williams, Granite: local contractor, Knobs: Restoration Hardware Gilmore , Pulls: Restoration Hardware Gilmore, Table: Ikea Docksta (we already own this), Curtain Fabric: Braemore Fioretto in Sprout , Chair Fabric: P.Kauffman Clarice in  Dove

The walls were already painted Sherwin Williams Grassland and we went with Sherwin Williams Snowbound on the cabinets.  It's definitely a white but it's not too bright white if that makes sense. Sherwin Williams hands down is my favorite paint brand and our local store is awesome and great to work with.

Since we saved so much $$ painting them ourselves I'm splurging on the counter tops and knobs/pulls. I'm leaning toward a black honed granite. Honed granite has a matte finish rather than a shiny one which I am partial too.

Here's an example:


For the doors we're doing the Restoration Hardware Gilmore Knobs and for the drawers we're doing the Restoration Hardware Gilmore Pulls both in the satin nickel finish. 

We have a bay window in our kitchen so the Ikea Docksta table fits perfectly.  I have some old chairs that have been in my family for years, they just need a coat of paint or stain and new fabric and they'll be perfect.  

We're hoping to have everything finished within the next few weeks so I promise I will share pictures then! 
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4.16.2012

Weekend Recap

Seriously. How is it Monday already?

On Friday night I enjoyed some of this:

I love champagne and sparkling wines and this is one of my favorites! My mother in law introduced me to it about a year ago.  I love prosecco but can't drink it because of my allergies :(

On Saturday I spent day day laying here: 
One of the best things about living near my parents, their pool.  

On Saturday night we went to a local restaurant that recently reopened called Metropolitan.  It used to be a swanky lounge type place but now it's a farm to table restaurant (huge change) with a relaxed, laid back vibe.  
I fell in love with this mason jar chandelier: 

I also had the most refreshing drink at dinner called a Cucumber Moon.
Cucumber Moon
Moon Mt. Citrus Vodka, cucumber, lime,
St. Germain Elderflower, and soda

While driving through downtown Annapolis I tried to snap a picture of the Annapolis Yacht club  because the biggest yacht was docked out front. You can kind of see it in the distance.
It was named Martha Ann and has to be one of the biggest yachts we've ever seen docked there.  So of course we googled it immediately.  We found this link with the full description and pictures of the yacht. It is gorgeous and even has a pool with a swim up bar! 
It is apparently owned by Warren Hale, a prominent real estate developer in Maryland.

I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this bumper sticker because I'm pretty sure this is how my husband feels most of the time. 

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4.13.2012

TGIF

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!








xoxo,
Natalie
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4.12.2012

Regrets

I came across this article, Top Five Regrets of the Dying, that someone had posted on Facebook yesterday and it really got me thinking. The article was written by a nurse who worked with patients in their last 12 weeks of life and she spoke to them about the greatest regrets of their lives.  She posted these findings on a blog found here.


Here are the top 5 regrets:  

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

For the full article click here. 

I know I'm guilty of have these regrets. 

I think no matter how much we accomplish in life we always have regrets.  We trudge along trying to please our teachers, our parents, our spouses, our children. We work hard and skip out on fun things just to have a little bit more money or that promotion that's going to make it happen.  We don't tell the people that we love them enough and suddenly they're gone.  We fight with friends and siblings over the most trivial things.  We spend so much time worrying and waiting for the next thing to happen that we're never truly happy in the right now. 
  
I think the best part about being young is that we have time to change these.  We have time to figure out what we want in life to be happy, to learn to appreciate all of our blessings, to take that vacation or call out sick, to tell our family and friends that we love them over and over again, and to put the worry aside and start enjoying this moment because we're never getting this moment back so why not make the best of it!? 

Do you have any regrets?  
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4.10.2012

Best Compliment Ever?

Since turning 30 I will admit that sometimes I feel insecure and worry that I'm starting to get old and frumpy.  Even though I still feel young at heart I know that I no longer look like a 20 year old and my years of sun worship and partying late are starting to show through.

So when K's 16 yr old girl cousins told me they thought I looked like a celebrity I was completely terrified.  See I'm pretty sure when I was 16 if someone in my family was married I assumed they were old, like at least 40. So I was waiting to hear something like the mom from Gossip Girl. 

You can imagine that my mouth just about hit the floor when they told me they thought I looked like...

Emma Stone. Yes. Emma Stone.


 

 Not only is she gorgeous, thin, and hysterically funny. She's also only 23.  Which means they think I only look 23 which means they're my new favorite people in the world. 

I have no idea what I did to receive this compliment from them since I don't see the resemblance at all but I'll take it!

**I don't think 40 is old I'm just saying that when you're 16, 40 seems really old** 
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4.09.2012

Weekend Recap

Good Morning! I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend and got to enjoy delicious food and time with family. 

Friday I got off work early and convinced K to come home early too.  We went to a local restaurant for dinner at 6pm which never happens to us, we actually made it in time for happy hour!  

Then we came home and enjoyed this...

Yeah, did you know Ed Hardy makes alcohol? Neither did I. 
It doesn't make the list of my favorite Sangrias and I mostly bought it because my husband HATES Ed Hardy and I wanted to get a laugh out of him but for $8 it wasn't that bad.

On Saturday I did a little shopping at Francesca's.  Have you ever been to one? We got one in my mall about a year ago and I've been obsessed ever since.  I've never seen anything in the store over $48.  Most of the stuff ranges somewhere between $34-$48.  It's like Forever or H&M only the quality is better and the stuff will last longer than one season.   

I picked up this blue shirt which I think will be great with white jeans.

(ignore my make up free face)

 
I made bunny bark to take to my in-laws for Easter, it was so good and so addicting. Of course I found it on Pinterest.  It's pretzels, M&Ms, and broked up golden oreos covered in white chocolate... heaven.
You can find the recipe here.
this is right before I pour the melted white chocolate over it
We attended a 30th birthday on Saturday night and the guy is an avid golfer and since the Masters were on this weekend it had a golf and Masters theme. 
How cute is this??


Then I spent Sunday with K's family and hanging out with my two nieces.  Could they be any cuter?



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