Random red light photo

 Freedom Parkway on the way to look at bridesmaid dresses with a beautiful engaged friend.

Oasis in the City

Everyone has their quiet place. Our patio is mine. I spent the day sprucing up my "garden." Most of my plants survived the mild winter but then the squirrels got to them. The flower pot on the left is new and I planted a peony bulb in the middle pot that looks like there is nothing in it. I love peonies. They were one of our wedding flowers and I have high hopes the bulb the will bloom.

After four years of working with my container plants, I no longer believe that I just kill plants. I haven't tried any indoor plants lately though. I have never had any success with those. I also can't keep impatiens alive. My patio doesn't get a lot of sun so I try to grow shade or partial shade plants. Impatiens look so beautiful at the store but they die as soon as they hit the patio. The same goes for mums in the fall.

Thanks Martha!

Finally! A solution to something that I find incredibly irritating. Growing up my mother taught me to cook and to do laundry, but somewhere along the way I missed the lesson on folding fitted sheets. They would just sit there in a jumbled mess on the shelf despite my best efforts.

Recently, I received my daily tip from Martha Stewart.com which included instructions on how to fold a fitted sheet. It took a little practice but it is incredibly easy once I figured it out.

Go to http://www.marthastewart.com/268521/fold-a-fitted-sheet?xsc for instructions.

Cruisin' into Spring!

We had so much fun on our cruise last December that we just booked another one for next month. This time we're headed to Cozumel. In an economy were most people can't justify taking a vacation, we have found cruises to be such a great value. A five day vacation for two is costing us around $300 per person and that includes all our meals. If you break it down, that's $25 per week for three months. If you search hard enough there is a vacation out there that fits everyone's budget. I'll blog more about budget vacations later. 

P.S. Wouldn't this Kate Spade clutch be perfect for the trip?

Easy Flower Arranger

Last week I stumbled upon the "Easy Arranger" in one of my favorite stores, Heliotrope. This is one of those products that I have always been looking for but never knew it. I love buying fresh flowers at the farmer's market. They are inexpensive and I love the way they brighten our house. However, I hate the way they haphazardly fall in the vase. I've tried florist foam, but I hate seeing it in the bottom of a vase. 

I was so excited when I saw the Easy Arranger. It is a metal, flower shaped apparatus that you place on top of a vase. Fold the outside edge of the flower shaped arranger around the edge of your vase to hold it in place and put flowers in the holes. The flowers stand up exactly where I want them to. 

I bought the set of three for $12. The individual ones are $6. I am so happy with the outcome, I want to get one of these for everyone I know.

The above flowers were arranged for our Mardi Gras party using the Easy Arranger. 

Luckily, Heliotrope ships. Click here for the direct link to purchase an Easy Arranger from Heliotrope. 

Adele

I love love LOVE Adele, and I have since I stumbled on her song Best for Last on Itunes in 2008. I bought the cd, saw her in concert in a small venue here in Atlanta and bought her new cd from a local cd shop the day it came out.

She looked amazing at the Grammys. I want the hair, and the make-up. As soon as she stepped out the car I thought I must have my hair like that and I have to find my red lipstick. 

I want this dress! I love the classic lace but the polka dots make it fun.

Her performance was great. I thought her voice sounded like it needed to heal a little more. I have seen her in concert and she is amazing. She was even better than the cd. I also liked Bruno Mars' performance, hated Fergie's dress and thought it was weird that Kanye wasn't there.

Martha's Valentines Day Sorbet Sandwiches

This delicious looking treat popped up in my mailbox this morning courtesy of Martha Stewart's cookie of the day. It involves making a simple chocolate short bread cookie and placing store bought sorbet in the middle. I can't wait to make these. I can't decide if raspberry or peach sorbet would be better.

Get Martha Stewart's Valentines Day Sorbet Recipe Here

Valentines Day

What does this southern girl want for Valentines Day? Forget chocolate. I'd like a pink peppermint layer cake from Piece of Cake. Lucky for your love, they ship cakes anywhere in the country. Order from Piece of Cake.

Leopard Love

I love anything leopard so I was very excited when I ran into these two dresses at Nordstrom yesterday. The dress on the left is a Taylor Dress. The edgy leopard fabric combined with the high neckline and full skirt make it a very versatile dress. Perfect to wear to a wedding, tea, brunch or to a nice dinner. For a day event I would wear black heels. I would love to find a pair with an overstate bow on the front. To transition to night, add black tights, a pair of black suede shoes and maybe a shrug.

The dress on the right is Donna Rico. I love the pleated skirt with the leopard belt. This dress looks very comfortable too. Perfect for work.

2011 Top Ten

2012 has a tough act to follow. Here is the list of the best things that happened in 2011:

10. Year of Music

Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Avett Brothers and Ray Lamontagne. We rocked in 2011.

9.  Local Adventures

2011 took us to Rock City, Decatur Beerfest, Ziplining and Rock Wall Climbing. Everyone should see Rock City. It is much more amazing than I imagined. Rock wall climbing was a challenge. I thought it would be fun and it ended up be really hard. Ziplining was breath taking. I highly recommend it. All the different kinds of craft beer at beer fest gave me a stomach ache, but it was a great excuse for some really awesome pizza afterwards.

Beerfest Tasing Glasses

 

See seven states at Rock City.

 
Ziplining at Historic Banning Mills with Jacque and Ryan

8. Fall Football
Hotty Toddy and Who Dey! Football season took us back to Oxford for the Ole Miss vs. Georgia game. We may have lost, but our tailgate was awesome. Having so many family members and friends there made it even better. The Bengals beat the Titans in Nashville and we were there to cheer them on. 

7. Cap & Gowns

Two graduations in one month. Congratulations to my brother who graduated from Delta State University and my sister-in-law who graduated from Tipp City High School in May. We are proud.

6. Dads Turn 60

My husband's Dad and my Dad both turned 60 this year. We threw a birthday party at our house followed by a Hawks vs. Celtics game for Ben's Dad. My family took a cruise this past December for my Dad's birthday. I hope they enjoyed their birthdays as much as we did. 

 

5. Sunshine State Weddings
Two weddings one state. We took our first trip to Panama City Beach for Jess and Christie Snyder's wedding where my husband was a handsome groomsmen. My best friend Allison married her beau Shaun on the beach in Fort Walton. We had so much fun seeing college friends that we haven't seen in a few years. 

Pamana City Beach Wedding

Reception in Holly Springs Mississippi after a beautiful beach ceremony.

4. Texas weddin' sprint
Two days after my birthday, January 6th, my best friend called to tell me she was engaged and getting married in August. We had a lot to do in eight months including wedding dress shopping and the bachelorette party. The wedding weekend was four fun days in Fort Worth. In between wedding activities we had time to fit in some Tex-Mex and the rodeo.

Wedding Dress Shopping at Low's Bridal in Brinkley Arkansas

Nashville Bachelorette Bonanza

A beautiful bride and her maids

What is a trip to Fort Worth without a boot koozie and a little bull ridin'?

3. First Wedding Anniversary

The first year of marriage flew by. We had a wonderful anniversary. It started with dinner at the Iberian Pig where we ordered dessert because we thought the cake top would be terrible. To our amazement, it was absolutely delicious. Not as pretty as our wedding day but it tasted just as good. Thanks Draper's Catering of Memphis. 

2. LA LA Land

Ben's first trip to the west coast included Segway rides through Beverly Hills, the Getty Museum, lunch on Malibu beach and too many martinis to count. 

 

1. December to Remember

We fit a lot in in December and that's why I think it was my favorite moment of the year. We celebrated Christmas in New York, visited family in Ohio, hosted family in Atlanta and cruised to the Bahamas with my family all before spending a quite Christmas day with my husband. Perfect. I wish it could be this way every year.

Gingerbread display on the cruise

The Tree

Christmas at the Governor's Mansion

It may be a new year, but we are still in the midst of the 12 days of Christmas. That's why I won't be taking down all the decorations until this weekend.

Mid-December Ben's Mom and Stepdad came to visit and to pick up his younger sister from a mission trip to Kenya. While they were in town, we took them to the Governor's mansion. It was beautiful. Every room in the house was decorated for a different part of Georgia. See if you can tell which tree represents each part of Georgia: Southern Georgia, Coastal Georgia, Atlanta