Glitter Nail

These days I am really into the single glitter nail craze. I have seen it all over and decided to try it for myself the last few weeks. Here are a few of my mix ups. xoxo



(clockwise from top left) 1)Essie 'Bobbing for Baubles' and Funky Fingers in 'Sugar Plum' 2)Love & Beauty in 'Violet' and OPI 'Show it and Glow it' 3)Essie in 'Adore-a-Ball' and Funky Fingers (color unknown) 4)Rimmel London 60 Seconds in 'Rapid Ruby' and unknown in 'Glittery Red'

Ben's Birthday

This coming weekend is Ben's birthday. We will be doing dinner and a concert with friends that night so we decided to celebrate his birthday (just the 2 of us) last Sunday. It was a fun night together...I made a steak dinner and he opened presents. Here are a few pics from the night.


Preparing his birthday meal.


The party table for the 2 of us.


Yum! (if I do say so myself:)


His 'big' gift...a terranium workshop at the local City Planter. He has wanted to make a terrarium for about 4 years now so I thought I would make it happen. He was pretty excited.

Millie Jean Perkins

I was one of the many people that was honored to have Millie in my life. She was the most extraordinary woman I have ever met and truly lived life to the fullest. She was my style icon...always looking impeccable with beautiful clothing, an amazing collection of accessories and finishing off her look with a wig and signature glasses. She was 2 months shy of her 92nd birthday when she passed last January. Today is her birthday. (you can be looking for more posts in the future of things she taught me/gave me:)


Cheers!

Favorite Four

Yeah for Friday! This weekend I am looking forward to hanging out with my sister who is in town for a conference. And hopefully I will make it to the flower show as well. The Philadelphia International Flower Show is one of the '1000 Places To See Before You Die'... just an FYI if you were debating whether or not to go. :)

Here are my favorite four things from this wonderfully normal week. (clockwise from top left) 1)Brunch with a girlfriend at a new spot...love trying new places in the neighborhood. As you can tell by the picture it was decadent and delicious! 2)Thursday was the last night of ceramics class...sad...but I loved going every week to this beautiful building to create art. (I will post about the class soon when I get all of my pieces back from the kiln.) 3)Loved spending 90% of Thursday outside in the warm weather...I'm too excited for spring! 4)Thursday was in the 70s here!!! So we headed to the local outdoor beer garden with friends.

Have a great weekend...xoxo!

Jewelry Drawer

I love having a clean and organized home...however when it comes to my jewelry drawer I seem to never have it quite together. Having a messy jewelry drawer means I will just wear the same few pieces of jewelry over and over again since I can't see what is going on inside the drawer. So a few weekends ago I thought I would conquer this daunting task. The Downton Abbey marathon was on PBS so what better time to sit myself and jewelry drawer down in front of the tube and start working. Here is how it went...happy organizing to you...xoxo!


The problem.


Starting to organize.


So many little bags.


A few of my brooches.


I guess you can tell Patina is my favorite...sadly it is only in Minnesota so I don't get there too often.


The finished drawers...


Yeah for organization!

Rosedust, Gold and Jeans

This is my first attempt at a fashion post so bear with me...hope you like it! xoxo







(all pieces are from previous seasons so you won't be able to get them in stores now...sorry)
blazer: Zara, tank tops: Old Navy and Target, jeans: Gap, shoes: Nordstrom, bracelets: Charming Charlie and vintage, earrings: Forever 21, sequin wristlet: American Eagle, pashmina: H&M, nails: Essie adore-a-ball

Flower Arranging

One of my favorite hobbies is making flower arrangements and having them around our house. I can count on one hand how many times Ben has bought flowers for me in our 9 year relationship...so I am stuck with buying them for myself. To tell you the truth buying the flowers is part of the fun for me. I head over to the local Produce Junction with an abundant flower selection and where you can get a bouquet for $2! (including roses/tulips etc.) Of course this means I buy at least 5 bouquets and head home to make my own arrangements. Here are the steps I take to make a simple arrangement to brighten up our house.


Coming home with 5+ bouquets and other fresh things from Produce Junction. Everything is so reasonably priced it is hard to not stock up.


Always cut the tip of the stems off the flowers so they can drink up the water. I know this is a no brainer for most of you...just thought I would reiterate. :)


I keep the flowers in a large vase of water after I have cut off the stems until I am ready to make the arrangements.


One of the finished arrangements...I love playing around with the flowers until I am happy with their placement...there is no 'right' way...whatever looks good to you is great. Just have fun with it!

Raclette Dinner Party

Happy Monday! I am so thankful for this 'normal' low key weekend...brunch with friends, lots of dog park time and on Saturday we hosted a raclette dinner party along with our neighbors. For the dinner we started with appetizers and drinks at their home and finished with dinner and dessert at our place. It was a fabulous night, and so much easier hosting a party with someone else...sharing in all the buying and hosting responsibilities...I recommend it! This is a fun and interactive dinner party idea with everyone cooking their own food right at the table. Here are the logistics if you want to host a raclette dinner party of your own.

What you will need:
-Raclette Grill
-Serving dishes
-Steak (I use flank...thinly sliced stripes)
-Raw veggies (chopped...peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms)
-Potatoes...(coined and steamed)
-LOTS of cheese (sliced...raclette, fontina, swiss)
-Pineapple rings (canned)
-Bread and butter (optional...but a great side for this meal)

Cooking Instructions:
Place raw meat and veggies on top to be grilled. In the little pans underneath the grill place potatoes, pineapple or veggies and top with cheese to let melt on top. YUM YUM YUM!


Many of the ingredients.


Ready to set the table.


Veggies and potatoes ready to be served.


The finished table with raclette grills, sliced raw meat, cheese, veggies, bread and drinks.


Starting the night at the neighbors for appetizers and drinks.


They made delicious goat cheese and honey with crackers and the 'to die for' cooked almond/olives!


Back at our place for dinner.


Cooking our dinner on the raclette grills...for better cooking directions check the grill box.

Favorite Four

Well it has been an unusual/exhausting/wonderful week...making me so thankful for the weekend. Only one dinner party on the agenda, otherwise I am planning on getting LOTS of sleep the next 2 days. Here are my four favorite things from this week...(clockwise from top left) 1) Flying...ever since I can remember I get excited at just the thought of going somewhere in an airplane. 2) Caribou Coffee = getting to sit and chat face to face with a BFF. I try to savor these times that happen all to infrequently. 3) Getting Martha Stewart Weddings in the mail (probably my all time favorite magazine)...it is only published 4x a year so every time I get it I might get a little too excited. 4) Being back in Philadelphia with my boys.

Hope it is a restful weekend for you..xoxo.

MN Via My Smartphone

The last 5 days I was home in MN for my Grandpa's funeral...so thankful for the time I was able to have there with family. Here is my trip according to my smartphone's pics. (starting at the top...)

1) A little tea, music and reading on the plane before the family time began.
2) First thing off the plane, brunch with my mom, sister and old girlfriends...one of the sweetest times of the whole trip.
3) Dinner with family and in-laws...best malts and fries in all of the Twin Cities (personal opinion).
4) Being at my parent's house in the snow surrounded by trees and always a fireplace or two going.
5) Minneapolis looking beautiful as always.
6) A night out with my brother...our favorite pizza joint and then the Oscars.
7) Staying at the Kahler Grand Hotel on the grounds of the world famous Mayo Clinic.
8) Going through Grandma's jewelry and finding some fun broaches.