Fashion: Monday Shoes

Today's shoe is from Kate Spade. I actually needed a hot pink shoe to match a dress (all of the pink shoes I have were either off in color or not dressy enough). I went on the search and let me tell you, when you are looking for something specific you can almost never find it (especially living here). I didn't want to have to resort to going online to get a shoe, because we all know how off colors can be on our computer screens.

In a last ditch effort I went to Marshalls. Now while I love said store and have found many an amazing shoe there, it's not exactly the place I'd go when I have something very specific in mind. Low-and-behold they had the perfect shoe. I snatched it up and took it home, the match to the dress was perfect! Sadly, in the end, I never got to use the dress (long story), so now I need to find the perfect outfit for these shoes. Don't you worry, it will happen!









Stats:

Designer: Kate Spade
Name: Clarice
Color: Hot pink
Material: Satin
Heel: 3 1/4 inch

~You can still find this heel all over (it's very popular as a wedding shoe). I know you can get it in the pink, black and I believe a white. I found that Zappos has the pink and black.

Etsy and Gifts: For the geek in your life

In case you didn't know I am married to a grade A geek. He tinkers with things constantly. We have 6 gaming consoles. Legos are a common sight in our house. As are Hot Wheels. Nate's cubical at work looks like a 7 year old lives there.

Shopping for him has always been interesting. Really though I just need to shop for said 7 year old and I'm usually golden.

For anyone who is married to their own geek, here's a few things your geek may love!


Prim and Plush:


Mr. Ethanol


Cup of Water

How stinking cute are these little plush molecules?! I mean come on! Be sure to check out their blog too!


Paisley Dog Press:



When sending out your next card, take a stand for who you are!


Beetlegirl Design:


(Link to item in photo)

A soft little snail for your bug lover!

Life: Happy late Thanksgiving!

It was just Nate and I this year, which was absolutely perfect for us. No small talk needed...no waiting around because someone thought their dish would be done sooner...no needing the house to be perfectly clean. Don't get me wrong, we love having dinner with our friends but our friends live nowhere near us.
With it only being the two of us I decided to go the duck route. That's right, no turkey for us. Duck is a much loved food in our house, plus it's just the perfect size for two people.
After a quick trip to Wal-Mart, because yes I forgot to get the vegetables to stuff in the duck, we were off and running.


Here's my vegetable mix. I used onions, carrots, celery, garlic and apples. I then sprinkle it with some salt and pepper and mix away.


Nate was my official duck stuffer. He likes helping, so got him to prep the duck (cleaning out extra fat and scoring the skin so that the fat can drain out). You can also see the giblets being boiled in the upper left corner (for some giblet gravy)!


A stuffed duck! You can see the scoring in the skin here. We also took a salt, pepper and olive oil mix and coated the top of the bird with it.


The duck is ready for the oven! I place the leftover veggies all around the duck and then poured some chicken stock into the bottom of the pan for moisture. I also mixed the rest of the chicken stock with some salt and pepper and used it to baste the duck.


Duck in the oven with our scalloped potatoes.


My mom's giblet gravy. Easy to make and yet so freaking yummy that it makes me drool!


Duck is done and being cut up! It turned out perfectly yet again.



We also got a fake Christmas tree. Yes this breaks my heart to no end. In my 26 years of life I have never had a fake tree in my home. We went with one this year because of cost and the fact that this town does not make it easy to get rid of your fresh tree (oh and we're stupid lazy about getting it out of our house). Also, you may notice it's color. Yes, it's a dark plum color (there's a purple layer and a black layer). We both decided that if we were going to get a fake tree...it was going to be SUPER fake. None of this trying to get a fake tree that looks real. I can guarantee that if you come to my house there will be a lot of tree scented candles burning so I don't freak out.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and has now switched over to the happiest time of year!

Etsy: A thoughtful gift

The other day Nate walked in with the mail and instantly asked me who I knew that lived in Israel. I stood there with a blank look in my face trying to figure out what exactly he was talking about. He handed me an envelope and said it had funny stamps on it. As I looked it over, I quickly realized it was from an Etsy seller whom I had purchased two necklaces from some time ago.



This necklace is one that I wear fairly frequently. I love the soft lace look of it, with the strong look of the silver.


(Link to item in photos)
This is a great necklace for a basic top (I find I wear it with a tank top a lot). I love the mixing of different materials.



Anyway, back to the envelope. As I opened it I realized that there was something inside. Something more than just a card. Hooked onto the card was a little bobby pin, topped with one of her leather creations.





It's such a simple gesture, yet at the same time it reminded me about how much I love her products. I would have been perfectly happy with a card, but she went a step further to show her gratitude. Sometimes it's just the little things in life that bring out joy.

Crafts: Jumping on the ornament wreath bandwagon

I'm pretty sure that by now most of you have seen (or maybe even made) one of these very popular ornament wreaths. I've really loved them but I hate the prices I have been seeing. Also the thought of using actual glass ornaments makes me cringe (if you know Nate at all you know glass breaks at the mere sight of him). In stead of the cleaning up tiny little shards of glass route, I went the shatterproof route.

I've been kind of crazily stocking up on all of the cute ornaments I could find. I stock pile things, it's one of those quirky habits of mine (which yet again proves I am a PCSing nightmare). I finally got to actually making wreaths this past weekend and have gotten through two of them so far. Both of these will be going to loving homes (one is a special request and the other is going to someone who doesn't know it's on the way!).

Anywho, I wanted to take the time to show off my finished projects. I would totally recommend trying it if you so desire. It's pretty easy, just a little time consuming with the placement and waiting for the glue to dry.


All of my pretty ornaments!


The wire wreath base that I'm using.


The finished product!


Close up.


My second wreath!


Close up.

DIY and Decor: The cabinet is done!

I've been a lazy person when it comes to this china cabinet that we have been working on. It may have taken a month or two, but I blame a lot of that on the fact that I decided to cut the tip of my finger on the glass while I was cleaning it. After that I was slightly bitter over the pain it caused me. Nate came in and saved the day by finally getting it all put back together. I must say I am very happy with the outcome. Now I just have to re-clean all of the glassware so I can stock the shelves (stupid dust from turning on the heater).

Here is my "photo essay" on the start to finish of the project. Sorry, it's going to be a little photo heavy...




Before, your basic 80's color of wood. It's seen better days, but for being 26+ years old it's doing well.


Don't we have a nice full wine rack? Yeah we have even more outside!


Nate sanding away. Aren't our cars sooooo pretty?


Emmett wondering why we torture him by not letting him near Nate.


Our paint color as well as the magnetic and chalk board paint.


First coat of the green (with blue in it)


Starting with the brown on the outside.


It's finished! I love how it came out.


This is the magnetic and chalk paint (chalk paint is the top coat). So we can now start writing on it!


The door pulls that we chose.


The inside.


All in all I am very happy with the outcome of it. A fresh coat (or 12) of paint has given the cabinet a new lease on life. I am looking forward to seeing how nice all of our glassware looks in it.

Fashion: Monday Shoes

I have a thing for shoes that make an impact with its heel. I also have a major love of all things Christian Louboutin. If you put those two loves together you get today's shoe choice. These were a shoe that I have loved since they came out. I just couldn't chose a color (red, blue or black). I finally set my sights of the black. I felt that I could wear them with more things, or as many things as you can wear a shoe with a huge bow with. I finally was able to snatch them after a wonderful sale that I stumbled upon. I adore these shoes for the simple fact that they can make almost any outfit a "wow".






Stats:

Designer: Christian Louboutin
Name: Anemone
Color: Black with cream
Material: Satin
Heel: 4 3/4 inch

~You might be able to find them on ebay, but that's about it (minus the knock offs, but that's just a bad idea all around).

Gifts: Hoilday gift ideas

It's that time again, where everyone rushes and clamors to get the perfect gift(s) for everyone that is on your list. While Nate and I aren't participating in gift exchanges, I still love looking for wonderful gift ideas. Here are some of the things I would get for others (or even hope to get as gifts for myself).

For the cook/host(ess) in your life:
















For the home:










For the dog:






(All photos link to item)