miscellany monday

Hello again Monday! Did everyone have a great weekend? My weekend kicked off to a great start with lunch on Friday with some of my old Infinity co-workers. Six of us met at Urban Cookhouse at the Summit, and as always, it was fabulous to catch up with all of them!

Since the start of the work week is here yet again, you know what that means:

Link up with Carissa!

{founder's day}

Saturday I met up with Calley and headed to the Birmingham Country Club to celebrate my sorority's Founder's Day. We had a great luncheon and good program, and in honor of the event, I made sure to wear my favorite gold arrow necklace.

{pinterest party}
Saturday evening Candace hosted another great Pinterest Party! So after the luncheon, I headed to Hobby Lobby to gather up supplies for the party.

Next, I headed home to whip up a quick treat to take to the party.

Nutella Croissants
-2 cans of crescent rolls
-Nutella
-Cinnamon
-Sugar
-Powdered Sugar

1. Roll 1 teaspoon of Nutella into each crescent roll. As I rolled, I formed my "rolls" into more of an eggroll-type pocket so the Nutella would not ooze out in the oven.
2. Put a few tablespoons of cinnamon and sugar into a tupperware dish and shake to blend. Take rolled pockets and roll thoroughly in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
3. Place on baking sheet and bake according to cresent roll package instructions (around 12 minutes at 350 degrees).
4. Remove from oven and shift powdered sugar as desired on finished croissants.
Viola! Super easy and tasty treat!

As usual, we had a fun night enjoying girl-talk, snacking on various treats, and crafting. Here are some phone shots of some of the various crafts of the night:

Yarn-wrapped frame

Personalized tumblers

Clay bracelets

Hair ties

Yarn-wrapped wreath

I decided to make a moss-covered initial. I still had an old book and modge podge (from my previous Easter egg craft), so I decided to modge podge book and newspaper pages to create a background mat for my initial. Once dry, I assembled it all in a frame. See below for a few in action shots and one final product shot. Now I've got to figure out where to hang it!

You can see more Pinterest Party details here and here.

{sunday funday}

Christian Grey broke up with me y'all. Bittersweet start to the day- loved finishing the final book but truly hated to see our "relationship" come to an end.

The rest of the day was very relaxing and nice, though. I caved and agreed to a BBQ lunch at Legacy BBQ. I'm not much of a BBQ fan but Clint loves it, so I indulged him in trying out this new restaurant. It was pretty good- as far as BBQ goes, I suppose, and Clint seemed to enjoy it. We spent the rest of the afternoon kicking it outside with some of our favorite people. It's beginning to feel like summertime in Alabama! The combo of hot weather and yesterday's yummy pina colada have me craving a beach trip!

Nerd rope!

Pina colada!

{eight}
Yeah, that's the number of Bama boys headed to the NFL after the final round of the draft. Roll Tide.

Have a fantastic Monday!

rise up and roll on

Flags on the capital lawn to honor each life lost.

As most of my Alabama friends know, today marks the one year anniversary of the devastating tornadoes that swept through our state on 04/27/11. I don't want to recount the events of that day- where I was, what I was thinking, how I felt seeing the destruction after it was all over. I've spent some time this morning reflecting on that infamous day. Without a doubt, if you lived anywhere in the state or had friends and family in Alabama, you were changed forever that day. As in most cases, tragedy comes with a silver lining, and I couldn't be more proud of how our state pulled together to overcome the loss and destruction. And on the one year anniversary, that's what I'm choosing to focus on.

So proud to be from Alabama!


On a side note, we enjoyed watching the draft last night with our "family". Trent is headed to the Browns with the #3 pick in the draft. Following him up is Mark Barron to the Tampa Bucs at #7, Dre Kirkpatrick to the Bengals at #17, and Dont'a Hightower to the Patriots at #25. We will miss seeing them on the field this year, but so proud of their success!

wednesday loving

Link up with Jamie

{muzak}
The popster in me is currently loving these fun tunes:
"Cockiness" by Rihanna
"Boyfriend" by Justin Bieber
"Wild Ones" by Flo Rida
"Eyes Open" by Taylor Swift

{page-turner}

As you all know (and are probably sick of hearing), I'm loving the Shades trilogy. However, I'm not loving that I'm officially on the third and final book, meaning my relationship with Mr. Grey is quickly coming to an end. Thankfully, I have received many recommendations for "Divergent" and will have something to fill the void once I'm finished.

{celeb nuggets}

I love Melissa Joan Hart- partially because she's a diehard Bama fan, partially because I have watched her grow up on my tv screen (Clarissa Explains It All, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and now Melissa and Joey), but mostly because she just seems so down-to-earth. I am loving that last week she tweeted the picture above and said "Happy Early Birthday to Me, and Baby Makes Three!" to announce her pregnancy. So happy for her! I am also loving that I saw in the news that another of my favorite celebs, Anna Paquin is expecting her first child with husband Stephen Moyer. Seeing their names in the news reminded me that with summer approaching, the return of "True Blood" is just around the corner. I'm certainly loving that as well!

{sweets from my sweetie}

While I'm not loving the flare-up of my allergies, I am loving that my sweet husband brought home the treat above yesterday. I had been complaining about my sore, itchy throat, and he thought this would help. It definitely did help, and this was a new flavor for me. Loved it!

{smiles}

I'm loving this little funny that I saw this morning.

Have a great Wednesday!

top ten tuesday

The husby and I found ourselves in Home Depot this past weekend, on a mission for screws, nails, and various other items that Mr. M needed. As I wandered the aisles with him, breathing in the scent of freshly cut wood, it dawned on me- there's something very nice about the masculine scent of Home Depot (and all other home improvement stores for that matter). Maybe I'm crazy (I have been living in the dark twisted world of Christian Grey for the past few days), but I'd even go so far as to say the scent is a little sexy (again, blame it on Mr. Grey). I started thinking of other scents that I love, so I decided to try and list my favorite scents (in no particular order) for Top Ten Tuesday.

1. Home Depot - the manly scent of fresh cut wood and building materials.

2. Barnes and Noble - I seriously wonder sometimes if one of the reasons I've been so slow to jump on the Kindle/Nook/iBook bandwagon is a subconcious attempt to ensure the continuation of my frequent trips to B&N. I LOVE the smell of this store. The scent of hundreds of new and crisp books intermingled with the delicious aroma of Starbucks coffee. It is truly one of my favorite scents.

3. Orange Cinnamon Rolls - This scent takes me back to my childhood, to slumber parties at my friend Ashley's house. As we discussed during our recent brunch get-together, I literally cannot smell this breakfast treat without being transported back in time. After staying up late giggling about boys and gossiping about all the lastest small town happenings, we would wake to these orange cinnamon rolls prepared by Ashley's mom. I cannot help but associate the scent with nostaglic memories of good-times gone by.

4. Burberry - I love this classic fragrance. I wear it daily, and I lurrrrve it.

5. Tide - I'm not brand loyal to many household items (except maybe Heinz), but Tide is non-negotiable in my house. I honestly cannot remember ever using anything else. I love the smell of fresh-out-of-the-dryer sheets and towels after having been washed in Tide.

6. Winter candles - Bath & Body Works makes a seasonal candle called "Winter", and I adore it. It just doesn't smell like Christmastime around the house until I have these candles burning. Because I associate this scent with Christmas, I consequently also associate it with family, friends, togetherness, and general good cheer.

7. Sharpee markers - Odd, I know- but this smell reminds me of high school. Making posters for football games and working on class projects. Good times.

8. Freshly cut spring grass - This is a scent lost on me as the brutal heatwave enters the South and hovers for the duration of summer. However, before the heatwave arrives, when the air is still crisp and just starting to warm up, I relish in the scent of a freshly moved lawn. It signals that Spring is finally here and makes me want to pull out all of my summer whites and pastel clothing. It's such a happy scent!

9. Vick's Vapor Rub - There's no doubt that I love this scent even now for its soothing quality when I'm sick, but again- this is another scent I associate with childhood. It reminds me of my parents- before we became "adults", them taking care of both my brother and me when we were sick. And let's be honest, I kind of just like the scent event when I'm not sick. So cool and serene-smelling.

10. L'Homme by Yves St. Laurent - This is Mr. M's signature scent and I love it. It reminds me of his hugs and his cleanly shaven face because these are the times when the scent is most noticable on him. It's a wonderful fragrance no matter who wears it, but of course it's special to me because of him.

While a lot of these scents are nostalgic for me on some level, I also left a lot of others off: the "Grandmother" scent (a blend of peppermint, perfume, hairspray, and her home- don't they all have their own special smell?), the smell of my childhood Sunday school classroom (mostly pine wood and old books), the scent of fresh cut watermelon at backyard summer barbeques after spending all day playing in the yard, the smell of campfire smoke, the aroma of Mom's potroast when you come home from school, etc. I could go on and on... am I the only one who connects scents to memories?

What about y'all- what are your favorite scents?

miscellany monday

Link up with Carissa.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! My how they fly by-- it's already Monday again!

{brewery}

I made it home from Dallas safe and sound Friday evening. Afterwards, we joined Calley and Brian for dinner at Tin Roof (yummm). We have been wanting to check out Avondale Brewery for a while, so we headed there next. Such a fun time! May I suggest "The Tripel" - but watch out, it's potent!

{cupcakes}

You know what's better than a cupcake? FREE cupcakes!!! Mr. M and I discovered while having lunch at Taziki's that the GiGi's near our home was giving away free cupcakes this weekend. SCORE! I discovered a new favorite- the cinnamon roll cupcake!

{quality time}

We spent Saturday evening with the Stricklands, meaning we indulged in some "sword-fighting", baby snuggles, grilled meat, quality friend time, and card games. Fun fun!

{obsession}

Confession: I'm 100% obsessed with Christian Grey. We're talking Edward/Peeta/Chuck Bass type obsession here. And I should probably be ashamed of my unyielding advertisement of this series on blogger, Twitter, Instagram, etc. But I'm totally not. I took "The Lucky One" to Dallas with me to finish reading for the second time before I watch the movie. Finished it on the fly to Dallas. Started "Fifty Shades of Grey" on Friday, and finished it Saturday morning. Sunday I headed to Barnes and Noble to pick up the next 2 books in the trilogy. I'm about half-way through Book 2, even took it to Chik-fil-a with me on my lunch break. I'm actually looking forward to getting to my hotel this evening so I can start back reading...ya know, until Gossip Girl comes on, of course. Seriously, jump on the bandwagon if you haven't already. The books are so bad, but so so so good.


Have a great Monday everyone!

san francisco

Hello, hello! It's here - the final chapter in the anniversary trip recap story!

On Monday morning, Mr. M and I checked out of our cute little cottage, grabbed coffee and muffins for the road, and pointed our Jetta towards San Francisco. On our way out of the valley, Mr. M insisted that we stop by the Mom-and-Pop store with the tasty beef jerkey- meaning that we both began AND ended our time in wine country with beef jerkey. Ha- how very appropriate for Mr. M.

We crossed the Golden Gate and were back in SF before we knew it. We checked back into our hotel, valeted the car, and set out for some exploring in Union Square. This area is filled with tons of shopping- you could easily spend the entire day here.

Next we headed to Tadich's Grill for lunch. This is California's oldest restaurant and serves up authentic San Francisco food. This is a local favorite, and I would definitely recommend it!

After lunch, we walked down to the Ferry Building. This place has a wonderful marketplace full of handmade arts and crafts, books, fresh flowers, wines, cheeses, meats, breads, pastries, etc. On my first trip to San Fran a couple of years ago, we picked up all sorts of picnic items here, which was so fun! Anyway, back to the most recent trip- we wandered around taking in all the shops at the marketplace until we worked up our sweet tooth. We stopped at Miette for some goodies- aka coconut cake!






After dessert we enjoyed walking around the piers and talking in the sights along the water. We eventually caught the cable car through the city and hopped off in the Nob Hill neighborhood. This area is absolutely gorgeous and filled with so many landmarks. We saw the Mark Hopkins, Huntington Park, and Grace Cathedral.







After a full day being out and about in San Fran, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We had reservations at BIX Supper Club. This was the perfect end to a perfect trip. Not only was the food delicious, but the live jazz, mahogany bar, and plush atmosphere made you feel as if you had stepped back into a real Speakeasy of the 1920's. The cocktail menu is superb- give the Hemingway or Blood Orange Margarita a try. Also, the steak tartare was ah-maz-ing. So cool and such a romantic atmosphere!

Thanks for indulging me while I "scrapbooked" our trip! Can't wait to return!

WILW

{brit}

I'm loving the new photos of Britney's commercial for the Twister Dance game. She looks amazing! The original Twister is fun, so Twister Dance has to be awesome, right?? I think I need this added to my game collection asap! In other Brit news, looks like I'll have to figure out a way to work X-Factor into my tv schedule as well...As someone who has never watched an episode and never intended to, I dare say she's worth every penny. I'm sure there are a few more Brit fans like me who will be tuning in solely to see her.

{nutelleria}

I'm loving the concept of a restaurant dedicated entirely to one of my favorite treats- introducing Nutelleria. Unfortunately, the only two locations are currently in Italy and Germany, making for a pretty expensive treat. I'm holding out hope that popularity picks up in the States so that we will get one a little closer to home.

{tangerine}

I've got a major crush on tangerine nails. I've been loving this for a while now, but I still don't own any. Orange polish is going on my shopping list stat!

Happy Hump Day Homies!

wine country - day 3

And here we are again- another trip recap post. Sunday was our last full day in wine country, and we packed a lot in!

We started the day at Domaine Chandon. They offer a fabulous tour, and their sparkling wine just cannot be beat.

After a fun time at Chandon, we made our way to Auberge du Soleil for some lunch. We dined on the terrace, where you are treated not only to great food, but also some pretty incredible views of the valley. The Ahi Tuna Tartare appetizer is a MUST!

After a tasty lunch, our next stop was Rubicon Estate. Clint especially enjoyed this place, since it is owned by the Coppola family (director of the Godfather). It was an absolutely beautiful estate!

We headed just a few feet down the road, and I whipped it into Hall Winery. This was an unplanned stop, but I love Hall cabernets so I just HAD to stop. Another fun, spur-of-the-moment stop!

Back in the car, we headed to Frank Family Vineyard. This place was too cool! The owner is a former Disney executive, with ties to classics like "The Little Mermaid", "Father of the Bride", "Home Improvement", "Desperate Housewives", etc. For tv and movie buffs like Clint and myself, this place was so much fun- tons of memorabilia (and GREAT wine!). This is Oprah's favorite vineyard, and she frequently orders cases of wine for her parties from here. The owner Rich Frank also has a son who is involved with the production of one of my current favorite shows- "Smash".

Our final stop of the day was Beringer. If you have every walked into a grocery store, you must have heard of Beringer. I'm not a huge fan of the stuff they sell in supermarkets, but the grounds were just so pretty we had to visit. Plus many of the Beringer vineyard-only wines were surprisingly very good!

On the other days, we headed back to the cottage to get ready for dinner. Sunday we did not have dinner reservations and since it was the last day, we wanted to make sure we got in a couple of extra vineyards. It was such a fun last day exploring wine country! We ended this evening by popping into Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen for dinner. You might recall that we had lunch at Mustard's Grill. Cindy's is owned by the same people, and since we loved Mustard's so much, we decided to give it a shot. As a starter, we had Oysters Bingo. I enjoyed the quail with apricot barbeque sauce for my entree, while Clint had the prime rib. Both were DE-LISH-US. For dessert, we shared the Campfire Pie: a ridiculously amazing concoction of toasted marshmallow fluff, fudgy chocolate, and oreo crust. Fabulous meal to end our stay in wine country!

That's all for now folks! Hope no one is getting sick of these recaps- I think these posts, even the minor details, will be something I will read down the road and smile about. Good news for anyone ready for a change of subject- I plan to do just one more post to sum up everything we did in San Francisco now that I've covered wine country.


Enjoy Tuesday!