Americana

Blouse-Equipment, Sweater-H&M, Blazer-Target, Jeans-Paige, Shoes-Born, Clutch-Tori Richards, Watch-Coach,
Bracelets-Gifts, Local, Ring-BCBG, Necklaces-EmersonMade, Earrings-Limited

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend! I spent quality time with some of my favorite people, finished sewing another skirt (more on that later this week) and enjoyed another splurge day with my husband that included our first stop at a Sonic! Classy, I know. But hey- sometimes you need a bit of that. What did you do? Hope you had better/consistent weather than we did.

To Hadley!

Tank-Target, Dress-Alice Temperly for Target, Jeans-7forMankind, Shoes-Target, Necklaces-Local, Target, Watch-Michele

Today's blog is a tribute to my good friend Hadley. He took all of these pictures (check out his blog!) and he will be missed dearly when he moves to San Francisco next week. It's bittersweet to see him go. On one hand, it's super exciting that he's following his dream to live there. On the other hand, he'll be leaving us and I don't like that one bit.  I wish him the best and it won't be good-bye, just see ya later.  I plan to be in San Francisco in early July and will get to see him then and with my other two besties living close by, I'm sure I'll see him a lot. It's still hard to see him go and I will miss him not being just a few minutes away. Love you Hadley XO!

Engagement {Card post}

As I said yesterday, we had an engagement party this past weekend for my friend Mick. I've known Mick for over 10 years and am excited about this new chapter in his life. Mick is Indian and still has family living in India, similar to Ramesh. When he brought Alicia to visit there late last year, she fell in love with the country as much as I did. With that in mind, I added some Indian papers to their card and I loved the way it turned out.

Materials:

Paper: Poppy(Paper-Source), Pool(Paper-Source), Peacock(Paper-Source),Clear Cardstock(Papertrey Ink), Gold Glitter and Persimmon on Peacock (Paper-Source), Vellum paper (Joann Fabrics)

Stamps: Wonderful Words Additions (Papertrey Ink)

Ink: Jet Black (Staz On)

Other: Wonderful Words die (Papertrey Ink), Mat Stack 4 die (Papertrey Ink)

DIY Skirt

This past weekend I finished my first sewing project. I found an old skirt pattern my mom had bought to make some skirts for me YEARS ago. Seriously, the pattern is from around 1996! I also found a few other patterns to try as I was searching for the perfect fabric to start with. It's safe to say the sewing bug has officially bitten me and I will be making more pieces in the next few weeks. I tend to go a bit overboard when I find new things I like to do! Stay tuned for more sewing adventures with these patterns:

I did end up wearing my new skirt out Saturday night. We had a friend's engagement party to go and it was a BBQ. I wanted something casual yet fun and this fit the bill perfectly. 

Tank-Target, Shirt-JCrew, Skirt-Self made, Shoes-Seychelles, Necklaces-EmersonMade, Watch-Coach, Earrings-Limited, Bracelets-gift, target,local designer

When I was looking at fabric, I intentionally picked a bold print that I could remix with all the basics in my closet. Below are a few other pieces I can wear with the skirt this summer - the possibilities are endless and I can't wait to start remixing. 

Upper Left: Tanks-Target, Shoes-Vince Camuto
Lower Left: Tank-Target, Sweater-Target, Shoes-BCBG
Right: Blouse-Gap, Belt-Linea Pelle, Shoes-BCBG
Skirt-Self Made, Necklaces-EmersonMade, Earrings-Limite, Watch-Coach, Bracelets-Target, Gifts, Local

Birthday Desserts

Remember last week when I posted about this dinner party? Well, it was Kathryn's birthday and my main reason for attempting the red velvet cheesecake.  This was the card I made her. I'll admit that I made numerous versions of this card until I found the right color combo and layout. Sometimes it's a longer process that I'd like. My creativity isn't like on-demand tv. I can't just turn it on when I want to (although I wish it was!). HA.

Materials:
Paper:Ripe avocado (Papertrey Ink), Peacock (Paper-Source), Melon berry (Papertrey Ink), Striped paper (All about girls stack by DCWV)
Stamps:Cupcake Collection (Papertrey Ink)
Ink:Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Cupcake die (Papertrey Ink), Ribbon (Michael's), Copic Marker in peach (R32)

Infused with color

Tank-Target, Sweater-Target, Skirt-JCrew, Shoes-Target, Necklace-Local, Earrings-F21,
Bracelets-gift and nomination, Watch-Michele

I've fully embraced color this spring. When I wear colorful clothes, I simply feel better. Black, grey and brown worn alone tend to make me feel drab. Don't get me wrong, I love to wear these colors (and tend to all winter long), but there's something about color that puts an extra spring in my step. When I go through a client's closet, the common theme tends to be a lot of black and grey. Staples in every woman's closet that can become boring if not pulled together with the right accents. Something as simple as a pair of colored shoes can take a plain outfit to amazing. Today I'm challenging you to add color to your closet. Add something small- a scarf, jewelry, shoes or even a handbag. Try it and see how you feel. I bet others will notice. How will you work color into your everyday routine? I'd love to know.

Slice of heaven

Photo by S.B.Hadley Wilson

Last night we had friends over for dinner and drinks. It couldn't have been a more perfect night. Weather was divine, food was delish and all in all it was simply wonderful.  We started the evening with an amazing trugole cheese with pesto drizzled on top - it was to die for. My husband grilled up some steaks, salmon and asparagus, and we finished the night with the red velvet cheesecake I spoke of yesterday. I used this recipe, and although it was time consuming, it was well worth it.

Photos by S.B.Hadley Wilson

Photos by S.B.Hadley Wilson

Sneak Peek and High Waisted

I'm still working on my skirt project and thought I'd give you a sneak peak. I'm almost done, but it's taken a back seat until the weekend. This week has been crazy busy. Thursday we're throwing a BBQ/Scotch night for our friend Hadley- check out his blog on his 365 challenge here. He's moving to San Francisco the end of the month and we wanted to wish him well. On top of that, our friend's birthday is the same day, so we're combining the events. I don't know how, but I seem to have run out of time this week. Between finding a recipe and making a red velvet cheesecake (more on that tomorrow), getting my butt handed to me by my trainer (would have been less brutal had I been working out that past two weeks!), making two birthday cards and an engagement card and helping get the house in order for the party, I haven't been able to get quality blog time. If I can make it to the weekend, I'll be back on track.

Blouse-F21, Pants-Limited, Jacket-JCrew, Shoes-Nine West, Bag-Coach, Necklaces-Target, Bracelets-Maui, Watch-Coach

In Bloom

Sweater-Limited, Skirt-Anthropologie, Belt-Target, Shoes-BCBG, Necklaces-Limited and Macy's,
Watch-Coach, Bracelets-all from Maui

The weather has finally started to get nice here... about time, it's MID MAY! I dug this lovely skirt out of the archives of my closet and embraced the fine weather. Rooftop HH's and patio lunches have been part of my activities the last few days. I started my sewing project this past weekend. I've been inspired by Jessica of What I Wore. If you haven't checked out her blog, do so, it's fab. Her style is great and I love all the clothes she's been making lately. I haven't sewn since I was 10 and that was for my Barbies. So, I'm starting with something simple- a skirt. I've got the waistband and hem to do and then I'll debut it here on the blog, so stay tuned. 

Aloha

I got my camera back today and finally got around to uploading my pictures. Our girls trip was yet another fantastic week away. We've done this for 5 years now, but took a break last year due to both Kris and I getting married. We've been to Mexico twice, Costa Rica and Maui (I'm not even counting the endless CA trips we've been on together that seem to always involve wine!). This was just what the doctor ordered, especially considering the lack of spring we've had here in MN. I want to go back!

Right:Tanks-Target, Skirt-F21, Shoes-Superga, Headscarf-Nordstrom, Sunnies-Chloe, Purse-Local Boutique

Left: Tshirt-Target, Trench-BR, Jeans-JCrew, Shoes-Vince Camuto, Scarf-Target, Bag-Hayden Harnett
Upper Right: Dress-Target, Shoes-Vince Camuto, Sunnies-Chloe
Bottom Right: Jumpsuit-F21, Shoes-Vince Camuto, Necklace-Jewelscapes, Purse-Local boutique, Sunnies-Chloe

Did you miss me?

Blouse-Equipment, Pants-JCrew, Tie-JCrew, Trench-Banana Republic, Shoes, Earrings,and Necklaces-Target

Hello my lovelies! I'm back...did you miss me? It's been two weeks. I didn't intend to be away for so long. I had some hiccups when I got back. First, my camera went missing. I searched high and low, basically tore the house apart (my husband thought I'd lost my mind), but couldn't find it. I was sure I had packed it when I left Maui. But, apparently I didn't. It was still in my girlfriend's beach bag. So pictures from Maui will have to wait. The camera is in snail mail on it's way to me from California. Then, blogger went on the fritz. I was all set to post and couldn't get in. But here I am! I missed you all :)
Since I don't have any exciting Maui pictures (yet!), you'll have to do with what I wore to work yesterday. 

I'm so happy it's the weekend. Do you have anything exciting on the agenda? I'm going out for sushi with the girls, attempting a sewing project (more on that next week pending results from the weekend!),  and picking up my recent purchase from a friend - an Eames Chair and ottoman! I'm so excited. I have been coveting this chair for YEARS, and now I am the proud owner of one. Now I just need to find a spot for it.

Whatever you have planned for the weekend, I hope you have a fab one!