Monday, December 28, 2009

Recent Outfits


Dave Matthews Band Concert Outfit: 


Blazer - Gap
Jeans - Gap Always Skinny Destructed Button Jeans
Tank - Target Long and Lean Tank in White

Shoes - Enzo Angolio booties and Tory Burch Amy Pumps in black (I decided on the Tory Burch's thanks to Marissa)
Bracelet - David Yurman

Dinner and a Movie at friends house:

 
Thermal - F21 Flower Thermal Top here 
Jeans - F21 Soft Fab Skinny Jean here 
Boots - Ugg Australia Classic Suede Tall in Chesnut here 
Bag - Pink Studio Wonder bag - Piperlime Sold Out
Necklace - Anthropologie Translucent Initial Necklace here 

Out to Dinner for a Friend's Birthday:





Dress - American Apparel Fine Jersey Short Sleeve T-Shirt Dress here
Leggings - F21 Knit Leggings here
Belt - Men's polo dark brown belt (not sure where from)
Scarf - Pashmina from last year's trip to Italy
Boots - J.Crew Riding Boots (last year)



Tuesday, December 22, 2009

The Best Spinach Artichoke Dip!

Trust me you will eat this one up! I suggest making the big batch for wherever you're going and a small side one for yourself because you won't have any leftovers!
Ingredients:
  • 1 can artichoke hearts
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 1 package frozen spinach
  • 1 cup mayonaise
  •  1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • dash of crushed red pepper flakes 
  • 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
  • 1 clove garlic (chopped finely or minced)
  • salt to taste

 
Directions:
  • In a large bowl, mix mayo with seasonings, parmesan and lemon juice
  • Thaw the spinach in the microwave and squeeze out the excess water
  • Pour artichokes into strainer and squeeze the excess water out of them
  • Chop artichokes in food processor
  • Add spinach and artichokes to large bowl with everything, mix together well
  • Place in baking pan or bowl and top with shredded pepper jack cheese
  • bake at 350 for 30 minutes
*Serve with wheat thins or crostini's (recipe coming soon!)
*I tripled this recipe for the Christmas Dinner crowd of about 20 people - you'll want to at least double it if it's more than 2 people eating.


And of course, the pictures for you visual learners!



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Yummmmm!!!




 

Monday, December 21, 2009

Recent Obsessions/Purchases

Holiday shopping is in full swing! And I'm not gonna lie... it's been hard to resist buying 2 of everything, 1 for the person the gift was initially intended for and 1 for me. I've been pretty good though. Except for when I went to the Gap intending to buy Dave some new sweaters. As it turned out, every sweater in the store was half off and there wasn't a single men's sweater in a size Large. Fail for him, Score for me!
I got a super soft winter white cowlneck sweater (so soft it feels like cashmere!) for only $25!


And I've been obsessed with all things "ski-lodgey" so I just had to have this sweater for only $29!



Can't wait to wear both of these in Crested Butte in a week!

Christmas sales are the best if they have your size left! (sorry Dave!)

I was shopping for my brother and sister online and after loading up the e-shopping cart, realized I was only $20 away from free-shipping... the shipping was going to cost me about $18 to get here so I took that as a good excuse to pick out something for myself! I'd been eyeing this bag since before football season when shoetopia got it in, then promptly sold out. Then PiperLime put it on sale! Seriously love it when fate does this to me! :)
It's been super handy having my hands free while shopping this holiday season! Not to mention it's adorable!


If you want one for yourself, sorry they're all gone now! But this one is also on sale now from NineWest and is equally as adorable in my opinion.



Now if you're like me and practically live in boots in the winter, then you MUST go buy these jeans right now! Seriously - the best pair to wear under a pair of boots, they don't require being tucked into your socks, there is no bunching up underneath the boot, and they're just fitted enough to be cute and just stretchy enough to live in! Oh and did I mention they are $9.50?!?! Seriously, what are you waiting for? Go! Buy! From Forever21.


*Try on a size smaller than you'd normally wear, the waist on these tends to stretch out a lot!
*Also, they have different colors in the store, I got this color and a darker color for day/night.

You know you live in a college town when you're football season just ended and you're already planning game-day outfits for the next season... Let me tell you, I've been stalking this sweater online and if Target ever decides to put more sizes up it will be mine! Cold gamedays will be taken care of with this cute hoodie! (not to mention it looks so comfy I'd wear it to work probably everyday) Please Target, I'd take a small or a medium, Please!!!

If you know me, you know I'd take anything and everything on ShopBop, but I've especially been eyeing this Parker dress:


What are you all obsessed with lately?

The Skinny Girl Margarita!

Some of you may have heard of the official Skinny Girl Margarita, by Bethenny Frankel, from the Real Housewives of New York. She's my personal favorite on the show, her one-liners kill me! I went searching for the "Skinny Girl Margarita" product that she sells and it's not available in Oklahoma yet. Go figure. So I decided to come up with my own version of the Marg.



Ingredients:
  • 3 oz. Jose Cuervo Silver Tequila
  • 2 oz. Simply Limeaid juice from the grocery store (like the Simply Orange Juice but Limaid)
  • 1 lime freshly squeezed 
  • Splash of Cointreau
  •  ice 
Directions:

  • Combine all in a Shaker and Shake it up!
  • Pour into your favorite martini glass and garnish with a slice of lime
  • Makes 2 margaritas!
  • Drink and enjoy your 100-150 calorie Margarita! :)
 


****Careful these are strong ;)

Stuart Weitzman On Sale!

I'm a big fan of Stuart Weitzman! No, I don't own a single pair, because I don't make enough money... BUT I believe in the quality of his shoes and they're all gorgeous classics that you can wear forever. So, if you're a big fan AND can also afford them - Endless.com has tons of Stuart Weitzman's on sale 40% off! (Now you're talkin!)
These are the one's I'd love to have:
"Swoon Platform Pump" Retails for $298 on sale for $165! Plus Free Overnight Shipping!


Or these - "Blenny" Slingback Sandal - Retails for $385 on sale for $154 (That's 60% off!)
These one's are definitely my fave! I'd rock these all Spring, Summer and Fall! (Size 7.5 if you're interested in purchasing for me!) :)



And lastly, the classic peep toe pump! "Rollpump" Peep Toe - Retails for $315 on Sale for $126!


Don't miss out on this sale if you're a Stuart Weitzman fan! 



Friday, December 18, 2009

Christmas Galore

I love Christmas time! The decorations, the shopping, the lights (or quee quee's as my family calls them) it's just such a festive time of year!

I love finding just the right gift for everyone on my list, sure you can give me a suggestion, but I think I can find the perfect gift for you without the suggestion. I've been doing some holiday decorating around the house and will share pictures as soon as I take them.  I've gotten a lot of good decorating ideas from other blogs I like to read. I SO wish I could have made this wreath:


http://pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com/2009/11/ornament-wreath-101.html

But we have a storm door on the front and I don't think it'd fit :( maybe next year when we have a bigger house I'll have somewhere to hang it!

In case you want to see some of the festive holiday decor I've put up around our house, here ya go!

Here's our miniature tree! It's all we have room for now, I cannot wait to decorate a full tree someday!


And here's our hand-me-down nativity set, Thanks Mom!!! (Joseph's head is staying on just fine :)
Dave added some additional characters to the manger this year. What you don't remember the Sooners being there?


The beautiful mantle with our awesome new stockings! Thanks Rex and Opal! You guys rock!



And our annual Christmas Poinsetta from Master Gardner Rex! I jazzed it up a bit with some ornaments, it's our new dining room centerpiece! (which usualy means it's up against the window to wrap presents on the table)


I plan to buy some cute christmas decor when it all goes 80% off at Hobby Lobby after Christmas. So next year we'll have more to show!
Happy Holidays!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Christmas Card!

It's our first Christmas together as a married couple! So, I was told we needed to send out Christmas cards... thanks Mom! I wanted them to be fun but not stupid, there's a fine line between cheesy and lame.
Here's what I came up with if you weren't one of the lucky ones on our mailing list this year!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Parmesan Chicken

Have you ever had Charleston's Parmesan Chicken? Well, it's delicous... but it's like $15 a plate! So I decided to try and mimic it at home and the results were AMAZING!!! And the recipe is Super Super Easy!
Ingredients

  • 2 pounds of Chicken (6-8 breasts)

  • 3 cups Buttermilk

  • 2 cups Shredded Parmesan Cheese

  • 2 cups Italian Style Bread Crumbs

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 500 degrees F

  • Place the buttermilk in a large bowl, add the chicken breasts and stir to coat

  • Let stand 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes

  • Meanwhile, stir together the Parmesan cheese and Italian style bread crumbs in a large bowl (I like to break the parmesan up a bit so the pieces aren't so long and it will coat the chicken easier this way)

  • Line 2 baking sheets with foil and spray with nonstick spray

  • Remove the chicken breasts from the buttermilk and coat them in the parmesan and bread crumb mixture, be sure to press hard so the coating sticks

  • Arrange the chicken breasts on baking sheets and space evenly

  • Bake until they are cooked through and golden brown, depending on the size of the breasts and your oven this will vary but mine takes around 15 minutes

  • Serve with your favorite pasta and a vegetable of your choice

I served ours with Angel Hair Pasta with herbs and french cut green beans, popped a loaf of french bread in the oven right after the chicken came out and voila! Dave is begging for me to make it again, he loved it, as well as everyone else who tried!












Enjoy!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

We've had a lot of fun at some holiday parties and birthdays lately so I thought I'd share some pics with you 3 people that read my blog all!

Brent's birthday Soiree in Okc, started off at Flip's Wine Bar and Trattoria and ended up at Groovy's!








Thanksgiving weekend kicked off with a Housewarming Party at Kellie's new house!
Tons of fun!









RMG Company Christmas Party