A little bit of this...and that

So now that Christmas is over it's time for New Years and New Years Eve.  I know New Years Eve sometimes gets a bad wrap so I decided to do some research and figure out the history behind NYE. Most historians (and people far smarter than me) feel that New Years is the world's only truly global public holiday.  Pretty much every country in the world celebrates New Years.  I kinda love that, that all across the world we will all be celebrating the New Year! The Romans dedicated this day to Janus , the god of gates, doors, and beginnings. The month of January was named after Janus, who had two faces, one looking forward and the other looking backward. While I enjoyed my research nowhere online did it really say why I love New Years and that was a bit disappointing (but I will get to that later) Ok, ok I know why all of you out there HATE New Years Eve but I think it gets a bad wrap.  The main reason people hate New Years Eve is they are normally disappointed with their pla

Get excited folks it's almost that time of year to pop open the bubbly, kiss at midnight and in general have an amazing time!  I am one of the few people that happens to heart New Years Eve and I will tell you why tomorrow.  Today is all about the beauty for me!  Before I put on my party dress and dancing shoes tomorrow I am taking some time to pamper myself.  Below are some of my favorite beauty products that I use on a regular basis.  I am using the majority of them tonight in preparation for all the fun tomorrow. I hope you are taking today to rest before all the fun starts tomorrow and I hope no matter what your plans you are safe and with the ones you love! 1.  Vaseline (ok stay with me for a second here) is probably the cheapest and most under utilized beauty product out there.  You can use it to put on your cucticles, under your eyes and some people even coat their faces with it at night to combat wrinkles.  I have never tried wearing it all over my face at night but g

The hubs and I are heading to the mountains for a couple of days to hike and rest up before NYE.  I'm really excited to get away and have some quiet time.  On the way to North Carolina I will be reading my favorite blogs and pinning on Pinterest.  Below are the blogs I read religiously.  I get great ideas, inspirations, recipes, style ideas etc.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!  Stay tuned for my post on Friday about all things New Years Eve and wish me luck on all the hikes the hubs has planned (I'm gonna need it)!  Blogs and Sites 1.  Gentleman South is a great blog about all things Southern.  Hil Harper tells his readers all about the latest in Southern food, fashion and style.  http://www.gentlemansouth.com/ 2.  Unabashedly Prep is an amazing blog about, you guessed it, all thing preppy!  I love, love the blog entries especially the one about Lily Pulitzer's birthday party!  Break out the pearls, blazers and longchamp purses and log on.  http://

I have this week off work, do you?  I am so excited to have time to do some projects around the house that I have been putting off like organizing photos, cleaning out closets and organizing the attic.  On top of all my little projects I plan to do some cooking as well.  I have been saving several recipes to make when I have time and will be home all day!  I really do love to cook but try to save more complicated recipes for when I have time and patience.  The first recipe I plan to tackle is The Last Resort's Salmon with Grits and Caper Cream Sauce.  I heart The Last Resort in Athens, GA!!  It is by far my favorite place to eat in Athens and I always get the same thing the salmon with grits.  When a friend sent me this recipe from Epicurious I was beyond excited.  The recipe is below for your dining pleasure!  I am hoping it is as easy, as it is delicious.  Salmon with Grits and Caper-Cream Sauce 1 tablespoon butter 1/4 cup drained capers 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/4 cup

Can you believe it's over?!  After months, weeks and days of shopping, wrapping, preparing, cooking and celebrating Christmas has come and gone.  I'm taking the day to hang out in my pj's, undecorate and do some online shopping.  The hubs and I do a lot of family activities during the holidays and frankly I'm a little exhausted.  At the end of our Christmas day yesterday we went with my family to visit my grandfather.  It was so special and I really felt Christmas all around us.  My grandfather can no longer speak and I can only imagine how frustrating that is.  To know what you want to say and not be unable to articulate it.  He did manage through hand motions to tell me I spent too much money on my watch.  :)  Seeing him made me realize what Christmas is all about and it also made me realize I need to visit him a lot more. I came home last night thankful, exhausted and content.  I realized there was no way I was going to be able to fight the crowds at the stores

Is it just me or is this weather making you want to curl up in bed and watch Christmas Vacation on repeat?? It's rainy here and is very warm one day and then chilly the next.  Whenever the weather is like this it makes me crave my mother's home cooking.  I remember being little and coming home from school on rainy days and she would always have something amazing cooking whether it was chili, homemade chicken soup, chicken divan or my personal favorite poppyseed chicken! When I got married I realized I was going to have to step my game up in the kitchen.  Cereal and sandwiches weren't cutting it and eating out was becoming costly.  Also, my husband asking me "what's for dinner?" the minute I hit the door was becoming an added stres I didn't need.  After working 8 hours, sitting in traffic and then the hubs asking me "what are we eating for dinner?" I might have gone over the edge one night and said something along the lines of "Really?!

So yesterday the hubs and I went to church.  To be honest we haven't been going to church as often as we should or want to because finding a church has proved rather difficult.  Thankfully we did manage to find a church near our house that we do like and have been going more frequently.  The only down side is we enjoy a traditional service so that means we are by far the youngest people in the 11 a.m. traditional service but what can you do?  There is just something about a hymnal and a pipe organ that gets me everytime.  Yesterday I really didn't want to go to church.  I was tired and frankly had been overserved at one of the two Christmas parties we attended on Saturday.  So to say I was a crab cake on the way to church would be an understatement.  The minute we got in the sanctuary I was glad we were there.  The church was beautifully decorated and it was the fourth Sunday in advent and the reading and lighting of the advent candles was beautiful.  The other thing I LOV

Soo I apolgoize for being so absent from my blog but I've been busy traveling, cocktailing, working and Christmas shopping.  I know Christmas is NOT suppose to be about the gifts but sometimes it is hard to remember that when you are in Toys R Us waist deep in action figures or when you are threatening your husband to buy the one gift he was assigned and yet he still hasn't bought  :)  Sorry to go off on a tangent there but given all the Christmas craziness I've done the majority of my shopping from the comfort of my computer.  It has been lovely to have the UPS man do all my heavy lifting, so to speak.  The other thing that is hard for me about Christmas is people asking me what I want for Christmas because truth be told I don't need anything but that sure doesn't stop me from wanting things.  These things are often ridiculous, expensive, impractical and honestly embarssing to ask someone else to purchase for me. Also, I'm a really hard person to shop for

I HEART Etsy!!  I can spend hours on the site looking for new and unique things for my house.  My favorite find lately has been The Cottage Cupboard.  The owner makes unique pillows at a very reasonable price.  Most of the pillows are only $45!!  Right now she is featuring a ton of Ikat print pillows in amazing colors.  I have ordered several items and they are made extremely well.  If you are in the market for one of a kind gifts or pillows be sure to check out The Cottage Cupboard.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/thecottagecupboard?ref=seller_info

Soo I know I'm not the only girl to buy jeans, have them hemmed and love how they look with my super high heels.  I also know how frustrating it can be to then try and wear those same jeans with flats....well problem solved thanks to hem gems!  This is such a simple and cute idea.  I love it and have ordered all the styles.  Check out their site and you won't be disappointed.  http://www.hemgems.com/shop.html

I love searching the web and finding amazing, cool sites that I haven't heard of before.  I stumbled across Southern Marsh Collection this spring and I have not been disappointed.  They offer amazing polos, button downs, t-shirts and just recently added fleeces.  I plan on doing a lot of Christmas shopping on their site.  Check out Southern Marsh Collection and you won't be disappointed... http://www.southernmarsh.com/