A pie party!

Last night was girl's night and it was good! I had an embarrassingly pregnant but great idea about a month ago, when I handed out the torn out pages of my September 2008 issue of Better Homes and Gardens, a delicious pie issue, to all of my friends over our coffee. I suggested each of us pick one of those pies to make and bring to a pie swap party, where we would feast and take home slices of each for later. Brilliant! (I personally prefer pies to cookies, the more common swap item). I've been made horrible fun of since that moment but the girls went along with it and gosh, it was awesome. Here's what we enjoyed.

Snicker Doodle Pie

Gooey Taffy Apple Pecan Pie

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie (So sorry if I've botched the name of this one, Jessica!)

Blackberry Swirl Pie

Raspberry Cream Pie

Apple Crisp

We laughed a lot at the ridiculousness of it all as we attempted to divide the pies and it became evident how important it was that each slice be quite perfect (we're not mathematicians after all) and we managed to dirty about 12 plates to accomplish this feat.

Note: Main picture is missing a pie, in case you were counting. :)

Baby Room - part 1

Here are the first few shots of my little man's room. The back drop and inspiration was once again fabric...a batik medallion print bedspread that is a massive pop of color on the wall, causing me to keep everything else in a much lighter palette (It's from SA. I managed to amass much fabric when living there...odd but I'm quite thankful). My mom slip covered the once yellow gingham bumper (Parker's crib days) and added the cool little birds. She cut them off of a fabric calendar that I came across when "cleaning" or rummaging through my basement, also something I'd kept from my childhood. Sometimes the hoarding pays off!

More to come.

Modcloth.com

Modcloth.com is a funky and sweet website I've recently come across that's known for it's retro, indie, and vintage clothing. They have a little bit of everything all the way down to odd and ends for the apartment and every piece is unique and would be a blast to wear. It also seems that they sell out of items within days, so if you're ever in the mood for something special and one of a kind, this is the place to shop. Right up my alley!

My favorite cozy jewels

It's just the way they make me feel. My favorite accessories for this season are all jewel toned (how perfect is that) and are from The Limited. I purchased them last October when in Tulsa for my little sister's wedding and they've remained at the top of my list. The feathered head band is a recent Target scoop and I was happy to finally find something for my hair that I could #1 afford and #2 feel sure would not make me look like a bird, but only your feathered friend.

Apples, apples everywhere!

This month has been sweet and juicy and filled with little round reds. We've been apple picking and the boys filled a bag so high that we'll never eat them all, but I'll attempt to at least get my money's worth by displaying them on every available surface in my home. This month's fall decor before the pumpkins come out to play. It's kind of funny to see a bowl of apples in every room though. I really should bake my way through them...apple pie and apple crisp; apple cobbler and caramel apples. Got to get started on that! The adorable hat was purchased off of Etsy and we have a pumpkin patch event planned where all the kids will don the very same hat while the parents go camera crazy. I have one in 3 different sizes! Should be cute.

A baby drizzle

My sweet little friends drizzled me with some lovelies over the weekend and I have to share. We met for breakfast at the very cozy and delicious Bouchee, a new place for me. I arrived unaware of the festivities planned and was greeted by my VIP's. Here they are...

My place at the table was adorned with a delightful bouquet of cloths and socks, wrapped to look like flowers along with a butterfly here and there. Perfect to walk down the hospital aisle as I make my way to the room of no return (hopefully I will not be crawling). Each place setting had a brown paper parcel filled with Seroogy's taffy and folded over and closed with a pretty button. My presents included a gorgeous baby book that looks like it came out of a time capsule from the 40's or 50's. I am a firm believer that baby #3 and thereafter will be blessed with every memory album, both journal, scrapbook and photo that the previous 2 also inspired. So he's off to a great start and actually, a much fancier start. And then there was the cocoon that I gushed about on this very blog and which I now (well soon) own and plan to use for the newborn photo shoot. Woohoo! I also received a very handsome brown linen one piece and Green baby onesie (more for the knowing smile it incurs than the "green-ness" of the mommy).

I missed getting a shot of the food as it was gone before I knew it was there, but here are some leftovers artfully placed in the hopes of conjuring up a feeling of yumminess. I had a ham, brie cheese, and fig jam panini on challah bread with a vanilla bean latte. Delish!

Thank you everyone for making me feel so special!

Some of the sweetest outfits ever!

J Crew has managed to steal my heart this fall, with beautiful clothes and combinations (that jacket with those jewels with that belt and those pants!) that make me smile and wish I was so lucky. The 2 pictured above are a couple of favorites (their October catalog is insane!) and the velvet blazer right above is one little number that I have admired since last year and which has made a lovely reappearance this season (and now it's even on SA-YIL! but don't ask how much). Go to their site to see these images in their full glory.


The shoes and boots I found at Aldo. They have an unbelievably awesome selection right now. What's the deal with everyone? Are things really that much better than they usually are, or am I just coming out of a frumpy slump of a wardrobe and see all new clothing and accessories as if they were a mirage in my desert? Regardless, the exciting news is that it seems that they've come up with a brilliant solution to my new found fear of heights. By adding a platform to the bottom front of the shoe, the heel itself is a mere 2.5 inches, which is nothing. Even though I'll still be soaring above the ground, I might be able to trick the mind and teeter calmly and painlessly.

Ah...just love.

Mmmm...can't-get-enough-boots. Need-nude-suede-on-my-feet.


All the jewelry can be found at Banana Republic. Very sweet, antique inspired pieces that would be lovely with your new cozy T shirt plus warm sexy cardi.


I think the color and folds of this little dress are just so, so gorgeous (Banana Republic). Christmas dress anyone? Is it really too early to think about this very important outfit? Never! The girls in my family are quite fond of making Christmas dress considerations well into September, while my mom can often find herself in the throw of a holiday purchase as early as May. ;) We have been trained by the best.

A touch of sparkle

When my pumpkins and gourds come out to play, so does the glitter! It's a lovely excuse to sparkle up the centerpiece and get away with glitter in my testosterone filled home. Thank you Martha Stewart. More to come at the end of this month, when the pumpkins make their cameos in preparation for our fall potluck party on October 3rd.

Scones for tea

(You may be aware...) my little Monty has several food allergies, the worst of which is egg. This makes it very difficult for him when it comes to cakes, cookies or pancakes...pretty much most yummy desserts. I was once offered the very helpful hint from a fellow egg allergy burdened mom, that adding one can of sprite to a box of yellow cake mix (and nothing else!) will result in delicious, albeit tarter and moister, cupcakes for a birthday party. So I was wondering through my favorite daily blog Design Sponge and I found a recipe for Lemonade Scones. Sounds kind of cool so I checked it out and yay, it's another egg free recipe, though there's not a mention of it being an allergy friendly recipe (which usually scares me off cause it virtually means "not as tasty"). So here it is!

Chris Chun's Lemonade Scones

6 cups of self raising flour

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups Sprite

Mix with knife slightly until just combined. Roll out gently on floured surface, cut into scones with round shaped cutter, then bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Note: It's an Australian recipe and so the end result is more of the English tea scone than the American scOne. This makes it even lovelier and the recipe seems too simple to be true. I always thoughts scones were really laborsome to make.