WILW

Link-Up!

Hump Day is here! And that means it's time to share a few things I'm loving this week...

~SMASH~

Last night was the 2-hour Season 2 premiere of Smash. I adore this show and am soooooo happy that it's finally back! It's so well written and the music is simply amazing. If you aren't already a fan and find yourself with some free time on your hands, go back and watch Season 1. If you love musicals at all, you won't regret it! Or if you are one of those people who actually has important stuff to do and you want to jump right in on Season 2, I found this very brief recap of Season 1. It leaves out a lot of things, but it's thorough enough to provide a foundation for where the show is at when Season 2 kicks off. You can thank me later!

~gelato~

One a whim at Publix the other day, I picked up this coconut gelato by Talenti. Ah-mazing! Each bite is like a sweet little taste of summertime in your mouth. I'm not sure how I've missed out on this for so long. Word is they have a chocolate mint and a pistachio flavor that I'm dying to try as well!

~Signing Day~

Luckily I have two computer monitors at work. One of them will be emblazoned with the above screenshot all day today as the live fax camera notifies the Crimson Tide faithful which lucky guys will be "Built by Bama" next.

~WINTER~

Down here in the South, we don't get too many months of true winter weather. But nonetheless, I still get dry skin this time of year. A couple of months ago, the Miller High life switched from our normal soap/body wash to this Winter Care line from Dove. I love it, and I have not experienced my normal dry skin since!

That's all for this Wednesday! Have a good rest of the week!



wednesday loving

I'm linking up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday to share a few of my current random loves.

1. Nutella Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing

I've made these delicious muffins the last couple of weekends and we are hooked! Here's the how-to if anyone is interested.

• 1 can Pillsbury Grand Biscuits
• 1 small jar Nutella
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 oz. cream cheese softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- Roll each of the 8 Pillsbury Grand Biscuits out into a flat circle with rolling pin. Coat with sugar on both sides.
- Spread a couple Tbsp. of Nutella onto each rolled out dough.
- Roll up each dough.
- Cut each rolled up dough into 3 equal pieces.
- Place 3 pieces, with the cut side up, into each muffin tin slot.
- Bake at 350 F for about 15 minutes. Once cooked, let cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then remove and let finish cooling (or if you are like me and like them warm, then you won't have to wait long :) )
- For Icing, beat softened cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar together until smooth. Top Each Nutella Roll with Icing.

 Recipe via Chef In Training

2. Carrie Diaries

It's no SATC, but you take what you can get. And I think this new series about high-school-age Carrie Brashaw is a fresh, pleasant surprise. Check it out!  

3. SAG Awards
I thought the SAG fashion was a bit of snooze-fest this year, but I did see a couple of looks that I loved.

Jennifer Garner

Amanda Seyfreid



Katrina Bowden
All SAG images via Yahoo

4. THE Kiss

Nick and Jess FINALLY locked lips last night on New Girl. On a side note, if anyone knows where Jess got that super cute ruffle robe, please tell Mr. M that yours truly would like one for Valentine's Day.

Have a good Hump Day!!!

christmas in the city: day two

Hope you all had a good week and are ready for the weekend! Another day, another NYC recap!

Thursday, December 6

• We kicked off the day with an early lunch at the famous Carnegie Deli. Nothing like a monster sandwich to engerize you for a busy day in NYC.
• Next we set out for Bryant Park – hello ice skating and holiday market shopping!

Beautiful Bryant Park

More Bryant Park

• Of course the boys wanted to visit Wall Street, so that was next on the agenda...

No trip is complete without a picture with the bull

...or the back-end of the bull

• We didn't want to spend a huge chunk of the day going to see the Statue of Liberty, so while we were near Wall Street we headed over to Battery Park. From there the guys could at least get a good view Lady Liberty.

Lady Liberty

• We had reservations at Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial next. While most of the trip was filled with fun and laughter, we all very much enjoyed this time of reflection. Such a moving experience.

South Memorial Pool

One of the new WTC buildings

• By this point, we needed a little pick-me-up, so we made the trek to Union Square to enjoy some delicious hot chocolate while we browsed more holiday market shops.

Union Square Holiday Market

• Before our reservation, we had time for a pre-dinner toddy. Since we loved Death and Company so much the first night, we popped in JBird Cocktails (same owner and trust me, the guy knows how to craft a cocktail). We munched on some of their savory popcorn and enjoyed a couple of drinks. I'm pretty sure Clint won the prize for best selection with his pineapple shell creation.

And it GLOWED

happy boy





• After JBird's we made out way to Felidia for our dinner reservation. It's a shame that you can't take pictures in nice restaurants because these Italian dishes were true works of art. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal, and while I can't remember everyone's dish, I had the Biancorneri Alla Trapanese (a black and white bavette pasta with calamari and trapanese pesto). HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

• For dessert, we decided a trip to Dylan’s was in order. A bar in a candy shop, y'all. Heaven. Of course we had a blast exploring all the candy in the store, but the true treat was heading up to the bar on the top floor. The decor and cocktail menu is all candy-themed, and it's impossible not to be happy in such a fun place. While everything we tried was pretty tasty, I think everyone was in agreement that the Pink Cotton Candy drink was definitely the best!

Dylan's

Cotton Candy Cocktails

Sitting in a cupcake. I should live here.

Kat and Matt

Me and Mr. M

• After "dessert", we had a little late night fun out and about in the city and then trekked back to the hotel to get ready for Day 3.

I'll be back with Day 3 as soon as possible. Happy Friday!!!

christmas in the city: arrival day

You might have noticed from a previous post that I mentioned getting an ornament during a December trip to NYC.  I was fortunate enough to travel back to my favorite city for a second time in 2012. That said, I hate to recap anything Christmas-related in the middle of January, but it would be a disservice to my virtual scrapbook not to document such a fun-filled trip. This was my first Christmas experience in the city, and Mr. M's first trip to the city period. Our good friend Matt was also along for the journey, and of course, we met up with our favorite city girl Katharine while we were in town.

We had an absolutely wonderful time! We did and saw SO much, and per usual, we ate and drank exceptionally well! In an attempt to not leave anything out, I thought a list format would be easiest. Here goes!

Wednesday, December 5



Morning airport pic- thank goodness for Starbucks!



•  Arrived in NYC at approximately 2:30 p.m.
• Checked in at hotel, freshened up, and headed out to explore the city.

• First stop- Rockefeller Center to see what else? THE tree!
  
  

  

  Simply stunning - I was in love.









• Of course we also had to check out some of the windows and decorations along 5th Avenue.

Bergdorf Goodman

Fendi

Harry Winston

• Finally it was time to meet up with Katharine at Cartier.



Cartier at Christmas

• We grabbed Kat and it was off to Top of the Rock just in time for nightfall and all of the city lights to be on. Breathtaking! But oh-so-chilly!

NYC skyline



Amazing view with some amazing friends



• After freezing our butts off high above the city, it was time to pop in a few low-key places (i.e. Standings Sports Bar) to grab a beer and warm up. 

• Next, we headed over to Death and Company. This cozy speakeasy environment was the perfect way to kick off our first night. We ordered several yummy appetizers to share for dinner. While the food was good, the hand-crafted cocktails were really out of this world. My personal favorite was the Slap N' Pickle. AMAZING!



Loved this menu quote at Death and Company

• After a lengthy stay at Death and Company (it's hard to leave those cozy booths and stop sipping those masterpiece cocktails), we had our cab drop us off in Times Square so the boys could experience the lights.

By this point it was late and we were worn out from travel. After a quick nightcap at the hotel bar, we all hit the sack to get some rest for the next day.

Day Two of the trip coming soon to a computer near you!

~love~

link-up

Today I can only think of one thing I'm loving:

Christmas.

I try to keep perspective on how many things I have to be thankful for throughout the entire year, but there's nothing quite like the Christmas season to make you realize just how truly blessed you are. While it was certainly a whirlwind of travel across the state of Alabama, we had a wonderful Christmas with our loved ones. It all flew by so quickly, splitting time between my family and Mr. M's family, but we did manage to see a few friends as well. Of course the last few days were loaded with tons of delicious food, lots of laughs, more great memories, and an abundance of love. And with all the fun and chaos I barely took a single picture. Below are just a few that I found on my phone.

I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas celebration as well!

White Christmas - a new seasonal favorite

Mom's kitty Charlie

Mom's other kitty Jaxie

Christmas cookies!

Loved having this cutie swing by for a visit

Granny's tree

Mr. M's family tree with tons of childhood ornaments

Crab Pie- a Christmas appetizer tradition

more Christmas goodies