Thursday, December 23, 2010

Happy Holidays!


 I have been so busy I have had no time to get on the computer lately! This holiday just seems so crazy this year. Christmas is my favorite, but for some reason, I just can't wait until it's over. So much prep for one day as much as I love it! Today after I pick up my son from school I'll be cleaning, prepping food and menu's and then wrapping all of my Husband's gifts. I really don't like wrapping so he's always sweet enough to wrap all of our son's gifts and any others as well. =) So the next couple of days will definitely be busy! Wishing all of you a wonderful holiday!!!!


Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Thanksgiving Weekend

So I had to improvise a little with my Thanksgiving dinner, but it was a success! The Turkey ended up on the grill because I didn't want to crowd the oven and it's always such a pain to baste in there. Well it turned out so good and that is how we'll be cooking it from now on! It was so juicy and cooked perfectly. Everything else was really good as well. We just finished the leftovers last night! The rest of the holiday weekend was pretty low-key. We did a little holiday shopping and on Sunday my parents came for a visit (they live about 90min away) and we went to a place called Johnson's Farm that we love to go to. My son got to see Santa. We saw a reindeer and alpacas. And went on a horse-drawn carriage ride. It was so much fun!

After walking around the farm we took them to this delicious Italian resteraunt that we love that is right down the street. I got this fantastic soup that was so so good I had to try to hunt down a recipe for it. It was a Stuffed Pepper Soup and it was delicious!!! I make stuffed peppers occasionally, so it should be pretty straightforward, but here is the recipe I found...

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Ingredients

* 1 pound ground sirloin
* 1 green bell pepper, chopped
* 1 cup finely diced onion
* 1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
* 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth
* 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1/4 teaspoon dried sage
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 cup white rice

Directions

1. In a large stock pot brown ground meat. Drain fat and add pepper and onion. Cook until onion is translucent, not letting them brown.
2. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, thyme, sage and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, until peppers are tender.
3. In another saucepan boil 2 cups water, and add rice. Cook until rice is tender and then add to soup. Heat soup through and serve.

I'm going to make it either tonight or tomorrow night for dinner. I can't wait! Yum!!! So what did you all do for your holiday weekend? I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Holiday Cards - How do I choose?!

I've been trying to get a jump on getting my holiday cards together and the one thing stopping me from ordering them is choosing which design to go with! They are all so beautiful!!! This year I'll be going through Shutterfly. All of the designs are just irresistible. They have a huge selection of gorgeous holiday cards as well as holiday-themed invitations if you are planning a party. Here are some of my fav's so far...

Merry Blossom Christmas Card
Stamped and Sealed Christmas Card

Scrapbook Style Blue Christmas Card
For anyone that doesn't celebrate Christmas or doesn't want to designate a specific Holiday on their cards, this is a great option with 2 photo's!

Family Wall Blue Christmas Card
Here is another great option with multiple photo's!

I could seriously be here all day posting cards, lol. There are that many to choose, each more lovely than the next. I have no idea how I'm going to choose!!! Are you sending holiday cards this year? If you were to place an order through Shutterfly, which design would you choose? Ps - with your free account you get free photo storage, photo's uploaded at full resolution and also a personalized website. There is also a Holiday Sale going on right now with free shipping on orders of $25+ (use code SHIP25). Enjoy!!!


Sunday, November 14, 2010

Thanksgiving Menu Ideas

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching I have had thanksgiving meals on the brain. I do a small TG dinner every year and aside from Christmas, it's my favorite holiday. I love to cook and entertain, so I just really love it. It's like the start of the holiday season when I fall into all of the nostalgia and just have that "warm & fuzzy" feeling all the way through to the start of a new year. I was sick with a cold the last few days and thought that some time in bed would be the perfect time to watch some Food Network and to brainstorm to possibly change things up a bit this year. I always do the homemade whipped potatoes, green beans, and some kind of festive dessert. But this year I wanted to do something different with the Turkey. Ina Garten made this gorgeous Roasted Turkey Roulade and I definitely think I might give it a try. Check it out in this video...



The only change I would make is that I would sub out the stuffing for the delicious sausage stuffing I make every year. I actually found the recipe on a package of Jimmy Dean sausage about 8 years ago right before I hosted my very first Thanksgiving in our old condo =) It was so good it's been a mainstay ever since. Here is the recipe for Sausage Spinach Stuffing. I personally prefer mild or sweet sausage, but any kind will work! Do you host Thanksgiving? What is your favorite part of the holiday? I know I can't wait!!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Anniversary & Stew

Good Morning Lovelies!

I apologize for the lack of posts the last few days! Things have been quite busy with my Husband working some overtime, a bday party this past Sunday and with our Anniversary! So we celebrated being married for 8 years yesterday!! Wow has that time flown by. It seems like just yesterday I was walking down a candlelit aisle in the cute little cabin/cathedral we got married in. Husband and I were talking yesterday about how amazing it is that we thought we were such "grown-ups" back then. I was a child-bride at just 22 and he was 24. To look back we were so young!! Life can be pretty amazing like that =) So in the meantime, while I'm preparing the weeks posts, I thought I would leave you with a recipe for the yummy stew I'll be making for dinner tonight! I have this awesome Popsugar app for my iphone and I'm always on it. I found the recipe the other day and have been dying to make it since. You can find the full printable recipe over at YumSugar, just click on the title below the photo. 

White Bean & Sausage Stew

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 12-ounce package fully cooked chicken sausage links, sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 19-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 14½-ounce can low-sodium chicken broth
1 14½-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 bunch kale leaves, torn into 2-inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt and black pepper
1 loaf country bread (optional)

Directions
  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat.
  2. Add the sausage and cook, stirring once, until browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.
  3. Add the beans, broth, and tomatoes and their liquid and bring to a boil. Add the kale and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and simmer, stirring occasionally, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve with the bread, if using.
Serves 4. 

I am such a HUGE fan of stews and I love Cannelini beans. I hope dinner lives up to the excitement for it all day!!! lol. Enjoy!!!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Inspired By Jess LC Jewelry

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I wanted to take a break from my usual clothing posts to talk about someone I am truly inspired by. During my "bloglift" I've added some sponsors and if you take a look on my sidebar you'll see that one of them is a company called Jess LC. I have to admit, I originally came across this gorgeous jewelry after seeing several "Jess LC Ambassador" buttons on various blogs. I was curious what an ambassador was and after clicking on the buttons and looking at this beautiful jewelry, I could see why so many bloggers out there were spreading the word about this company.

But I have to say, that the jewelry wasn't the only reason I became an Ambassador myself. Once I read about the designer behind the jewels, Jessica Constable, I was absolutely smitten with this company. Jess started out at only 15 years old making her own jewelry while sitting at the pool. After selling some pieces to the women there, she decided to start selling them on a regular basis. By the time she graduated High School her jewelry was carried in 12 boutiques.

Jess went on to college at the University of Michigan in 2003, but continued to run her jewelry business. By the time she graduated in 2007 she had been named "Entrepreneur of the Year" and decided to move forward with her company as the CEO. She moved to Chicago and started selling her jewels out of a studio apartment. By the end of 2008 her jewelry was being sold in over 100 stores.

I find Jess's story so inspiring and am amazed that she started her business at only 15 and kept following her dream at such a young age. I am so proud to be am Ambassador for Jess LC! I hope you'll take a moment to check her website out and spread the word about this amazing woman!!

And of course I couldn't end this post without showing a few of my favorites, which is so hard since all of Jess's jewelry is so lovely! So without further ado...


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The Diversey Paisley Layering Necklace would be a beautiful addition to any jewelry collection. It can be dressed up or down and is so versatile! It would also look great layered with....
 



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The Wellington Random Crystal Layering Necklace
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And my absolute favorite necklace of all is the Franklin Breathe Braille Necklace I love charm style necklaces and I love the unique twist of having Braille stamped into it! So pretty.


There are just so many gorgeous pieces I could be here posting all day! Have a great day lovelies ;)

Friday, October 15, 2010

Q&A


Meg recently re-posted and answered some questions on her blog, so I thought it would be fun to do the same to kick off the weekend!

1. If you could be best buds with a celeb who would it be?
I've always been a huge Kate Winslet fan, but especially over the last couple of years. She just seems like she would be really nice in everyday life and seems like a genuine, down-to-earth person.

2. Are you a night owl or an early riser?
Def a night owl. I am SO not a morning person AT ALL!!!

3. If you could have any super power which would you choose?
Meg put teleportation as her super-power of choice and I have to agree with her there! It would be AMAZING to be able to teleport anywhere at anytime. Especially since I don't like planes!!!

4. What is your most embarrassing moment?
No real embarrassing moments that I can recall

5. What is the one thing you REALLY want for Christmas?
I'm thinking this year I might want an e-reader. I read a ton and I think it's finally time to break down and get one!

6. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go?
At the moment I think I would go to British Columbia. It just looks so beautiful there.

7. Tea or Coffee?
I'm def a coffee drinker, but more for the caffeine aspect. I enjoy a nice cup of tea as well ; )

8. Describe yourself in 3 words:
Sweet
Genuine
Perfectionist


I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll have some more posts up soon!

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Gap Coupon Code & My Picks

Gap sent out an email this morning with a coupon code and while I haven't been over the moon with this Fall's roll-out, there are a couple classic items that are enough to perk up a wardrobe and basic enough to serve as mainstays in your closet.


3/4 Sleeve cowlneck Tee
This is definitely one of my top fav's! I own this Tee in the color above and also black. I wish they had more colors!!!


Button Funnel-neck sweater

Vintage Flare Jeans

Pleated Bow Skirt
This skirt would add that unexpected pop of color but still goes with so many fall neutrals! Love it!!


Cableknit fingerless gloves
Fingerless gloves are a must for me! I prefer glittens to keep the tips of my fingers warm. But the cableknit is so classic and the length is nice!!

The Coupon - 25% off today only. Drops to 20% tomorrow and 15% on Friday. Use code "GAP321" at checkout. For Free Shipping on $50+ use "GAPSHIP50".What are your Gap picks for the Fall? Will you take advantage of the coupon?


Happy Shopping!!!

XOXO

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Happy Saturday!


Is that not the most ADORABLE thing you've ever seen?!?! Omg. I hope everyone is having a lovely Saturday!!!

XOXO

Friday, October 8, 2010

Anthropologie Lust List

Anthropologie is one of my most favorite stores ever! So I thought I would kick off the weekend with my latest lust list. If you're new to my blog be prepared to see this list almost daily, LOL. That store will seriously be the death of me. So without further ado, my latest picks....

Volante Tee
Mellifluous Gathers Tee
Alice in Autumn Sweatercoat * Gold
Bit-of-Brim Hat * Sky
Blooming Triad Clip * Pink
Cym & Ripple Coat * Black
Lights-Down Chandeliers
Spanning Seasons Headband

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!! I'm going to soak up the gorgeous weather we're supposed to have here in NJ =)


Thursday, October 7, 2010

I Love Spinach Dip

What don't I love? When it tastes so good, but it goes right to your thighs!!! I bought this cookbook called Secrets of s Skinny Chef a while back and I've made quite bit from it. Everything has always turned out really good!

Jennifer Iserloh is the Author/Chef and she has a great website with tons of tips and recipes. I just got this fantastic recipe for Spinach Dip in my inbox via her newsletter. Doesn't it look yummy?! I'm def curious to try it out!


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Also another great recipe that I have made is Bethenny Frankel Hoppy's Guilt-Free Artichoke & Spinach Dip. This was delicious! I doubled up the recipe, baked it in a throwaway pan, and brought it to a New Years Eve party along with some low-fat baked tortilla chips. No lie.... It was gone in like 15 minutes!! lol.

I've also made quite a few of Bethenny's recipes and all of them have turned out great. I'm a HUGE fan of hers. Especially her pre-made Skinnygirl Margarita. YUM-O!!! I can't wait until she makes her next drink!

I think I'll be whipping up one of these dips this weekend for the Hubs while he's watching football. What snacks do you make for football games?


Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Jewelry with Meaning

Let me preface this post by stating that I love mail.... I mean I really LOVE  mail. To the point where I ridiculously stalk the mailman every day. lol. I am a magazine addict and this is the main reason. That and I am always ordering some little odd or end. But today was a good mail day. Reason being that my most favorite magazine since they first sent out their 1st issue 10 years ago, Lucky, came today and also because of a very special little blurb I came across inside.

Another thing I love? Jewelry. Especially unique jewelry. Even better... unique jewelry with meaning to it. Akawelle is exactly that. It is honestly the most amazing jewelry I have ever seen. When I found out exactly what it was it literally gave me goosebumps. Here is an excerpt taken from the site:




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"The history of each necklace begins in Liberia. In the part of Liberia where I am from, many thousands of bullets were fired during the war. Even though the war ended in 2003, the spent shell casings can still be found, scattered across the land in places.

Handcrafted, the leaf pendant is made from melted bullet shells, the part that is left over after the bullet is fired. The bead is the actual bottom of the bullet shell.

I chose the word “life” to be inscribed into the leaf to remind myself that new life can begin after hardship. It is even possible for new life to arise from something as terrible as war.

Men and women can both wear the bullet and leaf. It’s strong – I hope they remind each person who wears them that no matter what they’ve been through, they can rise."


Isn't this the most heartbreakingly beautiful jewelry you've ever seen? I have definitely added this piece to my wishlist, maybe for my upcoming anniversary. So inspiring....


Saturday, October 2, 2010

Blog Makeover

Hello Lovelies!

I am so sorry that I have not posted in SO long!!! A lot has been going on and as you can see, this blog is getting a makeover!!! I will be changing the whole look and also the name of this blog. So if you've come to read a post extremely confused, this is the blog formerly known as Delightfully Domestic! I am just going in a new direction and decided it was best to change the name. I also just wanted to take a moment and thank you all for following. My bloggy bday is coming up in November and it's pretty exciting! I really do have some great things and great content planned that I really hope all of you will like. Have a fabulous weekend!

XOXO

Monday, July 19, 2010

Effortless Anthro Giveaway!!!!

One of my fav blogs, Effortless Anthropologie is having a giveaway! The prize is ..... wait for it.... A $250 GC to Anthropologie for the lucky winner to spend away on ruffles, rosettes, delicious sheer sweaters and sparkly baubles!!!

It's simple to enter, you just do so by visiting the link above and you can get multiple entries by commenting, following, posting on Twitter and blogging about it ;)

I adore the Alice in Autumn Sweatercoat and would def have that #1 on my list if I won!!!!



Are you going to enter? If you won, what would you buy with the GC?! Good luck =)



Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Bachelor Recap


So last nights show was pretty eventful in terms of learning more about the girls. At least for me it was! I'm definitely enjoying this season of The Bachelor and I like Jake even more now than I did before!! So lets start off with each girl, forgive me if I get the date order wrong, I think I remember, but it may be out of order, lol ....



Tenley was the first one-on-one date of the show and I was so glad she was one of the girls he chose to take on a single date! From the very beginning I really liked Tenley. For a while there, when they weren't showing a whole lot of her, I was wondering if she was too wholesome, too sickly sweet, and she kind of came off as annoying at times. But after seeing her on this date, I stand firm by the fact that I really like her and she seems very genuine. I know that Jake already comes off as over the top and intense and it might seem like overload for him to be with someone like Tenley. But ever since the very first show I thought that they seemed as though they would fit well together. They make sense and it truly seems as though there is a spark there. I don't want to get into anything else on Tenley right now since I don't want to post any spoilers. I really like her and that's all I'm going to say ;)



Next is Gia. I know she went on a double date with Vienna as well, but I'm not going to include Vienna here since I have way too much to say about her and want to save it for the end. Last week when Gia and Jake went on a one-on-one date I was so pleasantly surprised with this girl! I think she seems so sweet and down to earth, a genuinely nice person. Her and Jake seem to have a real spark as well. I would love to see her make it to the final three, but I have a sinking suspicion that that won't happen. It looks like a lot of drama is going to ensue on next weeks show, could Gia be a part of that maybe? I did think she handled the date very well, especially when Vienna went to sneak into Jake's room... but more about that a little later ;)



I wasn't too sure about Corrie since we didn't really hear much from her other than her little stand-up routine making fun of the girls, which I did not like at all. I do think she is adorable and I was hoping that maybe there was some alcohol and nervousness involved in that little minor outburst. The date was hot and cold and how painful was that when they were in the boat just staring at each other? LOL. I felt like screaming at the tv "Just kiss each other already!!!" I have mixed feelings on the end result. I'm not really sure Corrie deserved to stay since she didn't seem to put herself out there enough leading up to the date and it really seemed to be too little too late. But then again, I felt other people, actually a certain other person, really deserved to go home this week.



Ali's date with Jake went well! I think they also fit really well together and she was the other girl that I immediately liked from the beginning. I called Tenley & Ali as final two - whether that will be true or not, we'll see. I really like Ali, but this whole thing with Vienna has gotten really old and I'm hoping that she can really let it go like she says she is going to. I totally get where she is coming from and see how it must be frustrating, but... 1) It's none of her business, 2) I think it's rude that she vocalizes it constantly, 3) It's hypocritical for her to act like she's this super-nice and mature person when she can be hurtful and dig into Vienna in front of her face the way she does, and 4) It's annoying to see it every week. Just get over it already Ali!!!

And last and certainly least in my opinion .......



Vienna. Ah, where do I start? Well I know when they showed a clip about Vienna in the very first show I was not impressed AT ALL. I thought she came off as a Paris Hilton Wannabe and did not seem like she belonged there. I definitely thought she would be one of the first to go. As we got to know her a little bit, my feelings started to change, but I always had that little voice in the back of my head telling me that this girl is not for real. After watching last nights show, there is no doubt in my mind that she is not there for Jake. She doesn't come off as genuine and her little crying episodes come off as very rehearsed. It really bothered me that she was on the double date and wanted to pretend that Gia wasn't sitting right there. I understand that this is a show where Jake and one girl end up together in the end. But the second Jake went off with Gia, Vienna was soooo hurt. Nevermind the fact that she probably dominated an hour of conversation with Jake with Gia sitting there, talking about her Ali drama. She really should have saved that for the time she would talk to him alone. And going to his room... just ridiculous. I tried so hard to like her and see things from her point of view. But I just don't. I don't like her at all. And if Jake keeps her around and chooses her in the end over women like Tenly, Ali or Gia, that seem like they are genuinely there for him and not to win some prize, then he is not the guy I thought he was! I guess we will see. Sorry for my little rant there, LOL. Can you tell last nights show struck a nerve?!

Until next week!!!




ps - photo's are property of TVTalk and ABC