Christmas Card 2011

Our Christmas card from Shutterfly

You can see who was the star of the show...what a precious little pup! :)

The pictures of us are at Rockefeller Center, on Ellis Island overlooking Manhattan, and at a Steelers game at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

The back: 

I thought I wanted to do a silly card this year of us all decked out in our Christmas finery, so I subjected my poor husband and puppy to a self timer photo shoot in our living room...HAHA! We ended up not using any of these for our card but I put one of these pictures on the return address labels

Here were the two cards we sent out last year. Yes, we sent out two...I couldn't make up my mind! :)

Too bad we can't use our pretty wedding pictures on our cards EVERY year!!!

Another Nursery

My best friend, Elizabeth, is having a baby in April and to say that I am excited would be the understatement of the year! We have been dreaming of having babies since we met in the 6th grade and I cannot wait to spoil her sweet little peanut! They are finding out the gender this Monday, but I was super impatient and went ahead and made a design board for the nursery just in case the baby is a girl! Elizabeth mentioned loving the aqua and coral color scheme and loving lots of ruffles, so that's where I got the idea for this precious nursery! She already has a beautiful cherry crib, so I love how the rest of the furniture in the board coordinates with that.

SO excited to find out what that sweet baby is!

Pink and Orange Nursery

I have some serious baby fever going on right now, and the only cure for that seems to be decorating imaginative nurseries for my nonexistent children! ;)

If I am lucky enough to ever have a baby girl, I would love for her to have a beautiful room that she will grow into. I love nurseries with beautiful furniture pieces, art that is fit for an adult space, and luxurious details...babies deserve some glamor, too! Lately, I have been obsessed with the pink and orange color scheme and I designed this inspiration board around it. I love everything about this room and wish I could have it in my home right now! Maybe in a few years!

I'm not going to add the sources here unless someone asks because this is most definitely a nursery on no budget. I used some of my favorite pieces that are quite expensive, and if I was doing this nursery for real, I would be on the hunt for the same look for less! 

Here are a few inspiration pictures I found:

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Isn't this color combo just so cheery??

Last Week's Menu

I was getting bored with our usual meals, so I decided to use some of the recipes I saved on Pinterest and boy were they yummy!

(click on the titles for links to the recipes)

Shrimp and Grits

 This is one of my most favorite recipes ever and I could never get tired of it! It is so incredibly easy and is SO delicious...I can't recommend it enough!

 Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

I love, love, love being able to put a bunch of stuff in the crockpot and come home from work to a deliciously cooked dinner! This was so easy and was really yummy! It got two thumbs up from my husband so we will definitely be doing this again soon. I served it over brown rice and topped it with green onions, cilantro, sour cream, cheese, and avocado slices. Yum!

 

 Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken leftovers

The meal from the night before made wayyy too much for just two people, so I decided to make some soft tacos with the leftover chicken and it was seriously so amazing. I think it was even better than the day before! Can't wait to have this again!

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce

 This was our absolute favorite new recipe of the week! It was super easy and SOOO good!! Buying the sesame oil that is called for in the recipe has changed my life and I wish I could use it in everything! I served the meatballs with brown rice and sugar snap peas sauteed in sesame oil and lime juice...YUMMY! 

 Easy Chicken Parmesan

 I had to work late this night, so I needed to make something quick and easy for Joe to have when he got home from school. I didn't look at a recipe for Chicken Parmesan so I have no idea if I even did it the right way, but I guess it doesn't matter because it was so good! I used thin sliced chicken breasts and dipped them in a scrambled egg, then covered them in Italian breadcrumbs and baked them in the oven until cooked through. I used a 13x9 Pyrex baking dish and covered the bottom with marinara sauce, and put the cooked chicken breasts on top of the sauce. I sliced some fresh mozzarella to put on top and popped it all back in the oven until the cheese was melted. We had it with whole wheat pasta and roasted broccoli and we will definitely be having this again soon!

The Look for Less: Lamp Edition

I am slightly obsessed with Jonathan Adler and all of his gorgeous designs. I've seen his White Bel Air Lamps and Nelson Lamps around the internet and have saved many pictures of rooms featuring these beauties as inspiration. I knew I couldn't afford to have two lamps that cost $725 or $395 a piece, so I set out on a mission to find the same look for less (wayyy less!)

I, of course, set out to my local Home Goods (which is the most amazing one I've ever been to) and was disappointed that they didn't have any white lamps. I then may or may not have stalked this store once a week right when it opened until I found what I was looking for. Hey, it worked! I found the most AMAZING white lamps that were almost identical to my favorite Jonathan Adler ones. Want to know the best part? They were $39.99 a piece! See for yourself...

And guess what?? I love mine even more than the pricier versions! Look at those lucite bases and the silver foil on the inside of the shades...it's all in the details! 

Head out to your local discount and thrift stores soon and find your very own looks for less!

Christmas in New York

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in our humble abode! The one thing I was most excited about in this apartment was the mantel and fireplace and I couldn't wait to decorate it all for Christmas! The fireplace wall is giant and very white, so I knew I needed some height and some drama to make it stand out! I used some tall vases that were used as centerpieces at our wedding reception, some white sticks I bought from the market downstairs for $4.99, and six bags of green split peas from the grocery store...super cheap way to create some height on the mantel! I also bought some live cedar garland from the grocery store and ran it across the mantel with some garland that I found at Home Goods. I love love love how it turned out! The cedar smells SO good that I wish it was acceptable to have it up year round! I kept the tree super simple this year and only put up our special ornaments with a few filler ornaments so it didn't look too bare. 

Don't you love Charlie's $2 stocking? Maybe next year we'll upgrade :)

The buffet in the entryway was so much fun to decorate!  I knew I wanted to stick with the color palette of whites/creams, green, and silver so I found two trees at Home Goods and the smaller silver one is a gift from my sweet Mema and is from Pottery Barn. The feather wreath is also from Home Goods (seeing a theme here? love that place!), the nativity scene belonged to Joe's late Grandmother and is so special to us. It is so cheery walking in to the entryway after a long day at work!

As if I didn't already love this apartment enough...it's taken on a whole new light in this beautiful Christmas season!

 

Obsession: Schumacher Chiang Mai Dragon

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 Is this not the most beautiful fabric you have ever seen? It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I am so obsessed! Every time I show it to Joe, he thinks I have gone insane. I really, really love the aquamarine colorway (pictured above,) but they are all gorgeous! It would be the most perfect addition to our cream colored couch and would look so pretty with the orange curtains, green chairs, and aqua accents in the room. The only problem? The price and the fact that it is only available to the trade. Of course I would fall in love with such an expensive fabric! So, for now I will keep dreaming about pillows in this luscious fabric and will keep drooling over pictures of it in other people's homes! Maybe Santa Claus will be a sweetie and bring me two 20" pillow covers. :)

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy some of my favorite Chiang Mai Dragon inspiration!

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See how pretty those pillows would be in this room??

What do you think about this fabric...do you love it as much as I do?