Fridays Favorite Pins

There is no particular trend for this week's favorite pins.  They are just a collection of things I found interesting in the week that was.  I hope you enjoy! 

I recently hosted a shower where we served lemonade in mason jars with grey and white paper straws.  I love that mason jars have a laid bak but very chic look to them.  I saw this idea for coloring your mason jars and couldn't help but fall in love.  Just think how cute those orange ones would be with green and white straws for a fall party!!

Grilled Peach Salad with Mozzarella and Arugula

We tend to do a lot of grilling during the summer.  From fish to steak to veggies, Mark is manning the grill on most evenings.  One thing we haven't done yet this year is grill fruit.  I think this salad is the perfect place to start.

I'm thinking that if I eat enough of the salad above, I might eventually fit into this incredible Mickael Kors swimsuit!

I cannot get enough Chevron!  These chairs are fantastic!!!  In just a few short months, we'll be meeting with a decorator, and I think this would be a perfect piece to describe as my interior inspiration.

Every one in a while, I will read something on Pinterest that will stop me in my tracks and really make me think.  The passage above was that something.  Isn't this the most profound thing?  Since reading it, I have been asking myself which wolf I feed more.  I'm not sure I like the answer.  So, I am actively trying to feed the good wolf.  I want to be an example for Jane, and I can't think of words I would rather her be filled with than joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, and truth.

What did you find Pinteresting this week?

Tasty Tuesdays - Garden Party Cocktails

My sister's birthday was on Saturday, and we celebrated with a garden party at her house on Sunday.  She has the loveliest backyard that includes both a vegetable and an herb garden.  We were served a variety of cocktails, all of which were infused with herbs from the garden.  My favorite of the drinks served was the honeydew mojitos with melon balls and mint.

Honeydew Mojitos with Melon Balls and Mint

Ingredients

• 4 limes, juiced (about 1/2 cup), plus more for garnish and rims
• Superfine sugar, for rims
• 1 honeydew melon (about 6 pounds), quartered, peeled, and seeded
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup packed fresh mint, plus sprigs for garnish
• 1/2 cup medium-bodied golden rum, such as Appleton
• 3 cups small ice cubes

Directions

1. Rub a lime wedge on rims of 8 glasses, then dip rims in superfine sugar.
2. Cut 3 melon quarters into 1-inch chunks. Puree melon in a food processor until smooth. Strain puree through a cheesecloth-lined sieve, and discard solids. (You should have about 4 cups.) Using a 1-inch melon baller, scoop balls from remaining quarter, and reserve.
3. Bring granulated sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and add mint. Let stand at room temperature, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, and discard mint leaves. (You should have a scant 1/3 cup syrup.)
4. Combine melon puree, mint syrup, rum, and lime juice in a pitcher, and refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes. Add ice to pitcher, and divide among glasses. Garnish each with melon balls, mint sprigs, and lime wedges, and serve immediately.

The other drinks served included:

Watermelon Basil Margaritas

Peach and Rosemary Spritzer

Mint Juleps

Pineapple Cilantro Drink Base

Here are some pictures of Jane at her first garden party.  We got her a pretty little outfit just for the occasion.  Her favorite part of the outfit was the ribbons that she chewed on all afternoon.  She has become a dribbling, drooling fool these last few days.  But she has never been cuter!

Cheers!

Five Favorite Pins

Good morning!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  My Saturday was filled with work and then a mid-busy season seafood night that my firm hosts each year.  Sunday, we tried to soak in as much of the beautiful weather as we could.  We went for a long walk and ate lunch in the backyard.  We spent the afternoon at my sister's birthday garden party (more on that tomorrow) and we ended our weekend with a walk to dinner at Upperline. 

As you can see, I am just getting around to posting about my favorite pins from the week that was.  I'm not sure why, but it seems like I woke up on Friday morning, blinked once, and awoke on Monday morning. 

After looking through my pins from last week, it seems that accents of pink seem to be the common thread. 

When I was a little girl, I wanted a pink and purple car and a pink and purple house.  I don't know how Mark would feel about interior accents of pink, but I still love them.  I think used correctly, they don't look girly.  Just the right shade of pink has a very cool and chic look in my opinion.  Here's a few examples...

One of our neighbor's just repainted their home, and their beautiful front door is now painted a very similar shade of pink to this one.  I think it looks AMAZING. 

I love this room.  I love everything about it.  But the thing I love the most is that pink couch.

I stole this pin from my dear friend Trish from Pink Preppy Lilly Lover.  She is going to be having a sweet baby girl at the end of June.  I cannot wait until Jane and Baby M get to play together!!  This room is just so pretty.  I love the canopy over the daybed.  How elegant!

I suppose this coffee table isn't exactly pink, but I think it would get on fabulously with the sofa from the first photo!

If I'm going to be dreaming about a pink house, I might as well include the dream backyard.  It would of course be one big enough for a large dining table.  And it would be set just like this one!

What have you found pinteresting this week?  Anything we must see??

Baby Stationery

When I was newly engaged, I discovered a whole new realm of shopping.  It was similar to the scene Sophia Kinsella describes in Shopoholic when Becky Bloomwood's whole world is altered when she discovers high end luggage shopping for the first time.  I couldn't get enough note cards and note pads and thank you notes and colored pens.  The really good colored pens with the tiny little tips. 

Having Jane has renewed my love for stationery.  So much so, that I want to get her her own set of notecards with matching gift enclosures.  I can't quite find what I'm looking for, but I feel like I'll know it when I see it.  I want something feminine and elegant, but whimsical and youthful.  I guess that's sort of two ends of the stationery spectrum, isn't it. 

I think I'm going to enlist the help of my incredibly talented friend, Lauren Alsop, of Lauren Alsop Custom Paper Goods.  I will gladly share the design with you once it is all set, but for now, here is what I have seen that I like...

Inviting Company Sisters Notecard

Crane and Co. Dalton Blue Note Card

Boatman Geller Quilted Pink Note Card

Whitney Enlgish Fancy Pram Pink Notecard

Whitney English Doll Note Cards

InkTree Designs Birds Nest

Dreams Scroll Pink Folded Notes

Happy Horsie Pink Thank You Notes

Scalloped Folded Notes

Do you have a favorite?

What I'm Watching: Downton Abbey

For his birthday, Mark got a blue ray system that allows us to access Netflix and Hulu without having to go through the Wi.  I immediately went on a search for tv series that I had not yet seen, but that I had been meaning to catch up on.  Enter Downton Abbey.  I had heard wonderful things about this show, but I hadn't found the time to sit down and start watching it.  Until Sunday.  We had to pry ourselves off of the counch Sunday night in order to go to bed at a reasonable hour.  Once we started watching it, we couldn't stop. 

There is something so intriguing about the show.  From the manor itself to all of the characters who live in it, it seems that you never know what is coming next.  It is the perfect combination of mischief and mayhem and romance.  My favorite part is that the story told is not just of the priveleged class, but that they also look into the lives of the manor's staff.  Even further, they allow you to see the relationships that develop between the family that owns Downton and the staff. 

Here's some pictures that can't do justice to the beauty of this show.  But they might get you interested enough to watch...

Do you watch Downton?  What do you think??  Who's your favotire character?

I love Anna for being sweet and always seeing the best in people, but I love Lady Cybil the most for her spunk and her independence.  I love her most for her belief in making one's dreams come true.  When she told Gwen (her maid), "your dream is my dream now,"  she immediately became my favorite Crawley.

My Delta Gamma Dream Girl

This Saturday, I took Jane to Delta Gamma's Founders' Day celebration at the Southern Yacht Club.  I think it's so fitting to have this event at a venue surrounded by water.  In DG, we talk, or rather sing, a lot about sailing on the Delta G and dropping anchor, so honoring our founders in a room where your view is of sun glistened water as far as the eye can see is perfect.

I have always loved Founders' Day.  I find that it grounds the collegians and reminds them that above all, their fraternity is built on a foundation of sisterhood.  There in the room with them are women who have dedicated their lives, some celebrating 50 and 60 years of service, to the fraternity.  The parties are fun, the tshirts are cool, but those are the things about the fraternity that fade as college ends.  It is the lifelong bond you create and the sisterhood that is fostered that lasts a lifetime.  It's something I hope I reflect one more than once a year, but it's nice to have a day set aside to do so as a fraternity.

Here are some pics of me and my Delta Gamma Dream Girl...

Tights with Mary Jane's built in!  The best invention ever!!!

She was so distracted by all of the fabulous DGs that we had a hard time getting her to look at teh camera!

I think she'd make one heckuva DG! 
Hope your Monday is off to a great start!

Our Lucky Charm

One year ago, my St. Patty's Day Saturday started like most other busy season Saturdays.  I got to work around 6:30 am and worked a pretty full day.  I left the office around 3:30 to join up with Mark at the Irish Channel Parade that rolls through Uptown.  I was so tired from the long day I had already had that the parade seemed to pass by while I was in a fog.

I had started to suspect that something else might be contributing to exhaustion.  So, I convinced Mark on the way home from the parade to stop at Walgreens so we could pick up a pregnancy test.  I was excited and anxious and nervous to all at the same time.  I ran inside with the test while Mark called out the instructions (you'd think it'd be simple, but it's kind of tricky). 

The first test looked like a pretty solid "plus" sign, but I wanted to be sure.  So we did another test and sure enough we saw another plus sign!  It was the most exciting moment of my life.

Today, one year later, I am starting my day the very same way - at work.  Only this year, I won't be meeting up with just Mark at the parade.  This little Irish lass will be tagging along too. 

I have always loved the Irish Channel parade, but after last year, it has even more meaning than it did before.

We love you, Jane.  You are our lucky charm!

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!  I hope you get lots of kisses today from all of the people you love!

Friday's Favorite Pins

I think I mentioned that I can tell where my mind was this week just by looking at what I have pinned.  My boards seem to say that I have been obsessing over Jane's six month photo shoot and her first birthday - two things that are months away.  I have a very hard time "living in the moment," and after seeing how fast Jane is changing and growing, I'm trying to get better at this.  I worry that I'm so busy thinking about what comes next that I'm missing what is happening right now.

Anyway, I've put together a little snippet of my favorite thing I found pinteresting this week...

I love this picture!  I wasn't sure if we'd do the nakey noodle (as we call Jane's birthday suit) for her six month photos, but this picture just cracks me up!

Since Jane's birthday in November 21st, I thought it might be cute to do a fall/harvest party.  I thought we could turn the backyard into a pumpkin patch.  And I loved this idea - a make your own candy apple station!!!  How stinkin cute is that (for the adults, of course).

I saw this one year old birthday party invitation and thought it was too funny not to share.  Everyone tells me that the first birthday party is really about and for the parents - so why not a happy hour.  While I do give the parents who hosted this party credit for being real about it, I know I will be the mother who throws an outrageously lavish (not like Taylor Armstrong lavish, but with lots of decor and a dessert table and all) kid-friendly birthday party.

If I would host a happy hour party, you better believe I'd get my party planning inspiration from this champagne cocktail guide.  It lists the 50 best champagne cocktails! 

One of my co-workers is hosting a post-March 15th deadline happy hour at his house this evening.  I made some yummy snacks, but the one I think will be the biggest hit - chocolate chip cookie dough dip!  Seriously, can you think of something more delicious?!

I know I usually post five pins, but I had to share this fabulous closet.  The light fixtures, the pops of pink carpet, the settee... Swoon!!!

Hope you have a fabulous Friday! 

Tasty Tuesday (on Wednesday): Champagne Cocktail with Mint and Lemon Sorbet

Photo and recipe courtesy of Fresh365online

New Orleans is definitely showing signs of spring this week.  Just last night, I came home to see that the daffodils we had planted are blooming!!  I just love this time of year.  It's perfect for porch sitting and cocktail sipping.  There is nothing better on a warm spring night than a cool and refreshing drink.  This jazzed up beverage sounds too good to be true!  It's like a mojito met New Year's Eve.  I cannot wait to try it this weekend!!

Champagne Cocktails with Mint & Lemon Sorbet

makes 1 cocktail

2 t fresh mint leaves, muddled or finely chopped

2 large scoops lemon sorbet

1/3 c vodka

3/4 c champagne or sparkling wine

In a tall glass, place a pinch of mint. Add one scoop lemon sorbet, another pinch mint and the other scoop sorbet. Pour in vodka, then top with champagne and the rest of the mint. Garnish with a mint sprig.

What's your favorite spring time activity?

Hello Sunshine!

I don't know about you, but I hated getting out of bed this morning.  I think I'm still adjusting to the time change!  While I didn't like losing that hour of sleep, I am over the moon that the sun will still be up when I leave work today.  Here's to evening strolls in a little extra sunsine.

Photo Credit

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I hope this week is filled with walks on the sunny side of the street!

Friday's Favorite Pins

On the elevator up to the office this morning, a coworker and I decided that during tax season, "Saturday is the new Friday."  I can't wait for the weekend to spend some quality time with Mark and Jane, but I'll have to put in some hard work tomorrow first.  Since most of you are celebrating the start to the weekend today, I'll recognize that today is indeed Friday and share with you five pins from the week that was...

I told you about our newborn photo session with Jennifer Zdon from Twirl Photography.  Well, when Jane is six months old, Jennifer is going to spend some more time with Jane and capture a day in her life.  I have been looking for photos of children in that age range that I like, and I found this one that I L-O-V-E.  You can get that sweet little hat on Etsy!  Isn't it adorable?!



My idea of the perfect bathroom is one that you consider to be the most peaceful place in the house.  This one might just fit the bill...

Strawberry sorbet and prosecco floats - I cannot imagine anything that sounds more refreshing.  If Mad Men rules of office conduct applied today, you better believe I would greet every client with one of these.

As a Delta Gamma, I am drawn to all things nautical.  Our badges are an anchor, the age old symbol of hope.  This one sure makes a statement!

This past year I have had the please of being a Delta Gamma advisor to the chapter (my chapter) at Loyola University New Orleans.  DG's motto is to Do Good.  This poster captures the essence of everything it means to be a Delta Gamma.  If I could impress upon the collegians only one thing, it would be summed up simply by asking them to "go into the world and DO GOOD."  I am looking forward to celebrating the founding of our fraternity next Saturday at our annual founder's day.  You better believe that Baby Jane will be wearing her sailor dress!!

Have a wonderful start to your weekend.  I'll catch up with you tomorrow around 3:00!