Halloween Costumes

   I love Halloween, especially the costumes.  I love thinking of unique and original costume ideas that are fun DIY projects.  Luckily in law school we had a Halloween costume party every year so there was always a costume party to plan for, since we've graduated we've made sure we've had a party to attend to wear our costumes. 

Here are some of my costumes over the years:

    2006

Characters from the Little Mermaid: I was Scuttle the seagull

2007

Fashion Police

  ( The back says Fashion Police in Glitter)

   DFH was Quail Man that year ( loved it!)

2008

The Four Seasons and Father Time

2009

Lighting Bug

( Yes, my butt was glowing with a tap light ha!)

2010

( and my fave)

Ralph Lauren Polo Horse and Lacoste Alligator wearing Polo T-shirts with Human Logos

2011

ALV and I are in the process of crafting up our 2011 costumes, I cannot wait to show you!

Also DFH needs a costume idea for this year?  Any good male costumes ideas??

Happy Fall!!

I am not really a huge sweets person, but I saw these pumpkin cupcakes on Pinterest and had to make them for an event I attended a few weeks ago! 

  I just used confetti cake mix for the cupcakes and then used food coloring to color the icing.  I found green apple sour candies for the stem.

 

  Happy Friday xoxo

Recipe Organization

   How many times have you found a recipe in a magazine or on a blog that sounds amazing, but then you either leave it in the magazine and forget about it  or print it out and throw it in some drawer and it is never seen again?  I did this constantly, and would never be able to find the recipes when I wanted to try them.

 
    My mom is one of the most creative and organized people I know, and she came up with a fabulous recipe organization idea, which I stole from her about a year ago and it is such a great way to keep your magazine/blog/Internet/handwritten  recipes organized and easy to find.

All you need is the following:

1. Three ring binder
2. sheet protectors
3. three ring binder tabs

All items can be purchased at an office goods store such as Office Depot or Staples
It is such an easy, but genius idea ( Thanks Mom!)

    Start by placing sheet protectors into the three ring binder and then label the different tabs with your different "cook book" categories.   I believe right now I have a section labeled for:  Appetizers, Entrees, Side Dishes, Soups, Desserts, Drinks, Dressings/Marinades, and then a section for table decorating ideas. 
    Obviously you can make any categories you want!

 

        Then start slipping your favorite recipes into the sheet protectors!!

  It is so easy to open the binder to add more recipes or move them around to different sections.   For example, I started with one binder total and now I'm moving on to three binders, as I keep adding more recipes and more categories.  My mom has one full binder for almost each category. 

     Here is a close up of the sheet protectors if you are not familiar.  The top is open so you can slip your favorite recipes in the protector.

  It is such a great way to keep print outs/magazine pages and handwritten recipes organized.   Plus it is fun to look through them like your personalized recipe book.  The best part is if you try a recipe and hate it your can just take it out of your collection   :)


  I also just started a new binder for my "to do" craft list/pinterest finds!! 


Happy Thursday xoxo

Wedding Weekends

  The other weekend DFH and I attended a wedding of two of our high school friends.  I have been going to school with the groom since Kindergarten and have known the bride since high school.  It is always fun going to a wedding when you have known the bride and groom for a long time.  The wedding took place in NJ it was an added plus that we were able to see so many friends and family during our trip.  It was at a gorgeous venue with fabulous food, we all had a fabulous time.

The groom and his dad as the best man, waiting for the bride

Officially Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson

DFH and I during cocktail hour

So great to spend time with friends I never get to see

The favors

1st dance

  

Time to Dance

Myself and the Bride

Newlyweds <3



TKE Brothers!


DFH singing his heart out, great end to the night!

Congrats to Chelsea and Rob!

What SUITS you?

   One negative thing about my job is having to wear suits everyday.  So many women's suits can be so boring and come in drab colors, and it is hard to show your fashion personality. 

  Elle Woods had it right in her pink tweed suit, but I don't know if other Attorneys would take me seriously if I was wearing this. 

     I have found that Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, and Ann Taylor Loft have a lot of good work and suit options that are professional, but also fashionable.   They also have a lot of sales and great outlets which help keep my work clothes reasonably priced.  It is never as fun to spend money on work clothes as it is for leisure clothes, but I try to find pieces/accessories that work for both. 

 I love this Banana Republic Twist Neck dress, the neckline has a little flair and it can easily be paired with a solid or pattern colored jacket, like the Ann Taylor Loft Harvest Tweed Jacket seen below, which makes the outfit professional but fun. 

I also like to add some flair to my suits by adding some fun chunky jewelry

Loft Chunky Gem and Ring Necklace

This Kate Spade Lynx Necklace would really add some color to a plain navy suit.

           I also like to match a fun pattern blouse under suits to add personality, this one is from Ann Taylor

or find suit pieces that have fun buttons

or unique accents in the structure like this Ann Taylor sharkskin suit. 

What do you do to add personality to your work wardrobe?

Winter Perfume Help!!!

       Sorry for the lack of posting, life has been busy with work, Junior League, attending weddings, visits with Grandparents, etc.  ( posts to follow).    I cannot believe it is already October, although I am loving this fall weather I know snow is right around the corner.  Eeek.  

  With the winter coming, I am in need of a new fall/winter perfume.  I am not the perfume expert so I would LOVE suggestions.

In the past Burberry Brit has always been a winter staple

I have also always loved the Thierry Mugler perfumes Angel and Angel Peony

But I want something new and could use some help

      I have heard Michael Kors Gold smells delicious

  What about the Marc Jacobs Oh Lola?  It is flowery, but I feel like the vanilla scent makes it OK for fall?

Any other suggestions???


     Also this is so random but a few months ago ALV and I were in Sephora and one of the employees gave us a sample to try, which smelled amazing, and it turned out to be the Hello Kitty fragrance.  Has anyone else smelled this before??  I am not a Hello Kitty fan and probably never would have picked up the bottle if I wasn't given a sample, but it smells fab. hahah



         Happy Thursday xoxo



Fabulous Awards and Fall Goals

    I am so honored to be receiving blog awards and tags!!! 

 Thanks so much for reading!!!

The wonderful It's the Little Things... presented me with two  fabulous awards:

And the sweet Happily Ever Healthy also gave me a fabulous award:

The rules of redeeming these awards are as follows...

  Write seven things about yourself and then pass the award on to other bloggers

ABOUT ME:

1. I am unreasonably afraid of domesticated pet  fish.  
2. My favorite food is Pizza, specifically salad pizza from a local pizzeria in my hometown in NJ.
3. I like to cook with at least three cloves of garlic in every meal.
4. Teen Mom is my guilty pleasure
5. In college I studied abroad in London, and it is my most favorite city in the world.
6. I love DIY projects
7. I drive a manual car                        

Also the lovely Nautical by Nature tagged me in a blog tag where I am tagged to list 5 goals for Fall:

My Fall Goals:

1.  Go to the gym on a regular basis

2. Go to the eye doctor and finally get contacts ( I've been putting off getting contacts forever )

3. Make my own wine

4. Send more snail mail

5. wake up earlier ( it would be nice to be able to sit down and eat breakfast rather than eating my bagel on the way to work)

Thanks so much!!!  Please check out their blogs they are so great and I am so happy to be receiving awards/tags from them.

I am passing the Versatile Blogger award and this tag to the following Fabulous blogs:

1. Steel Magnolia

2. Pink Maple in Boston

3. Seashells and Southern Belles

4. Fashion Meets Food

5. Sundresses and Smiles

Happy Thursday xoxo