Rachel Bilson

I found this picture of Rachel Bilson recently from a movie premiere and I thought it was a really cute dress. The designer is Laura Poretzky under the label Abaete. I will put up some pics later of more dresses by this designer.

About Me...

I got this idea from Nicole Hill. I though it was a fun and creative way to show my personality other than through my daily posts on my blog. So, here we go!

Movies I watch over and over
*The American President
*Under The Tuscan Sun
*Mr. & Mrs. Smith


Fave reads old and new
*Eat Pray Love - LOVED it, can't wait to read it again!
*any Jodi Picoult
*any Danielle Steel - currently, Coming Out


Fave things I like to do
*reading
*shopping
*talking to friends from college about their upcoming weddings
*planning my future wedding
*reading really good blogs


Places I've lived
*Columbus & Indianapolis, Indiana
*Memphis, Tennessee
*South Kensington (Chelsea), London- summer abroad
*Minneapolis, Minnesota


Favorite things to eat/drink/make
*guacamole dip w/ chips
*good salad w/ avocados, blue cheese, bacon- yum!
*bloody mary- spicy and peppery
*martini - with lots of olives dropped in it
*French Fries from Burger King
*Root Beer Float


Places I'd rather be
*Greece
*Italy
*Palm Beach
*Southern California
*Seattle


Words I like the sound of
*voluptuous
*sincere
*icing
*pandora
*minnehaha

Winter Destination

Left: Nicole Miller, Right: Vera Wang

This time of year is perfect to travel just about anywhere warm. So, with this in mind I scoured the Winter 2008 designers for the best destination wedding dresses. These are my top pics.



Left: Carolina Herrera, Middle: Claire Pettibone, Right: Legends by Romona Keveza



Left: Amy Kuschel, Middle: Bill Blass, Right: Carmen Marc Valvo

It's That Time Again!

Martha Stewart had these ideas on her webpage- brilliant! They are small enough to fit into an apartment, yet unique and without the tradition green/red theme. I think it's a great idea! Check out more on her webpage at marthastewart.com

See the Light

I came across this creative new idea for creating an innovative way to light the smaller rooms in your home. I thought these would be perfect for an apartment. I like the idea of having lighting all around the apartment on side tables, countertops and desks to help create a homey-er feeling- which is hard to do in an apartment. So, I figured a couple of different sizes of wine glasses (red, white, champagne) would do the trick to create unique, cost-friendly, lighting.

The idea came from Charles & Marie. It's a great website that helps you take a creative spin on decorating your home. The website is self-entitled, The Quinessential Lifestyle Navigator, and rightly so. Very unique. Check it out.

gobble, gobble

I spent the morning enjoying a blog called, Hostess With The Mostess. It is fantastic. I found some great ideas for the upcoming holidays, how I want to create a bridal shower theme and I'm still reading through the recipe ideas. I could really spend the rest of the day there. I suggest you check it out (if you have the time because there's so much to see!). Above and below are some of Jenn's, the editor, ideas for decorating your table at Thanksgiving and in Autumn. I know that autumn is basically over, but I thought it was really cute and could easily be transitioned into a winter theme by changing the colors (silver, light blue and dark blue) and by replacing the centerpieces below with clear vases filled with snowflakes (cut-out or bought), snowmen, etc. I also thought it would be really fun to fill the centerpieces with marshmallows, fruits, breads, etc. all on sticks and have the centerpiece be a chocolate fondue set. Then everyone can eat the centerpieces and all you're left with is the vase they were all sitting in. Anyways, go to the website- it will trigger the party-planning, creative side of you.

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More Thanksgiving Ideas

Here are some more Thanksgiving decorations for around the house/apartment. I really like the candle idea because it goes with a Fall theme and therefore can be used in September and October as well.



To check out more ideas, go to Martha Stewart.

Holiday Fetes

Having guests over? I turn to Domino Magazine to help me create unique appetizers and drinks that my guests are sure to remember. Here are two recipes that will keep your guests' tummies full!

Mod Cheese Log

Ingredients:

1 long (5 oz.) goat cheese

1/2 Tbsp. canola oil or corn oil

3/4 c. raw pumpkinseeds

salt and pepper

3 Tbsp. pumpkinseed oil

Let cheese sit out for 15 minutes. In a small skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes, add canola oil (corn oil) and seeds. Toss for a minute and then season with salt and pepper. Once seeds ahve popped, but are still green, transfer to a plate; let cool. Roll cheese in seeds to coat. Dribble w/ pumpkinseed oil and serve with crackers.

Pomegranate Punch

Ingredients:

1 bottle pomegranate juice

1 six pack Blenheim ginger ale

24 walnut halves (coat w/ vegetable oil and put in oven for 6 minutes at 450 degrees)

Pour equal amounts cold pomegranate joice and cold mild ginger ale into chilled punch glasses. Just before serving, add 3 roasted walnut halves to glass. (The garnish is a play on the Southern tradition of dropping roasted, salted peanuts into a Coke.)

*serves 6-8

Holiday Table Settings

Thanksgiving is a week away so I decided to find some creative Thanksgiving decorations to inspire.




I live in an apartment, so I won't be doing much entertaining for large gatherings, but I thought that it would be fun to decorate the table with Thanksgiving creations. These ideas came from Martha Stewart and are simple enough for a 24 year old, but also creative enough for a family to do. I like the idea of small holiday decor throughout the house/apartment/condo. For the next week I plan on posting holiday decorations, ideas and recipes.

What Kind of Kitchen are You?

Go to House & Garden: Design for the Well-Lived, and take the Kitchen Quiz. I currently live in an apartment, so you can imagine the shape my kitchen is in. So, I was thinking how great it would be to have my dream kitchen. It takes into account your personality, what you want out of a kitchen (now or in the future), how many people you live with, what you want to kitchen to express, etc. It’s fantastic! I took the quiz and it says that I need, want, deserve, a Classic Kitchen.

What does this mean? “You want a kitchen that makes a statement and makes you feel at home.” I completely agree with this. I want my kitchen to show my guests and family my personality. I want my kitchen to make me feel comfortable while being able to entertain at the same time. These are the three kitchens I would want depending on where I live- downtown condo, suburbs, lake). So, here are some of the pictures that popped up with the “Classic Kitchen”.

Hollywould

Designer to the stars, Holly Dunlap, is joining the throngs of designers who are selling their collections at Target for lower than low prices. Her collection of footwear and handbag lines, Hollywould, are perfect for a night on the town. She also makes a great clothing, however that is not being distributed by Target.

Holly has designed since the age of 17 and has worked among the creme-de-la-creme of designers, such as, Christian Lacroix, Lilly Pulitzer and Manolo Blahnik. The label is named Hollywould because she wanted to collections to be as glamorous as the lifestyles of Hollywood. A star is born!

top: (left to right) black patent peep-toe pumps; Lauren glitter lace pumps- silver; red peep-toe pumps... all $29.99!

bottom: (left to right) black clutch, pink clutch, red clutch... all $19.99!

Turning Point

Last night my life changed rather abruptly, although I can't say that I didn't know that it was coming, but I am still nevertheless thrown off by it. I won't go into the details because who cares about those? But, I will say that it has slightly changed my outlook on my life and in particular my future. Today is an important day for me because its the first day of a new me. I was trying to think of what I could use to visualize how I'm feeling today. So, I thought that some pictures of open windows would be poignant because that's how I feel - like I'm standing in front of an open window. Still in the same place, but now that window is open for me and I have the choice to stay or leave. So, here are some images of windows that I found. I will add some of my own images later.

Palm Beach Baby!

Every winter my family goes to Palm Beach to escape the harsh weather in the Midwest. We have a great time with family before the holidays and travel to Florida in time to celebrate Christmas and the New Year's. It's tradition. We have a great time shopping, going to the beach, the movies and out at night.

So, seeing as how it's almost Thanksgiving, I was thinking that I might need to start putting a little thought into my attire for the upcoming vacation down south. I pulled together some of my favorite designers' Resort 2008 collections to show what my ideal attire for this trip would be. Think martinis and palm trees. Enjoy!

Daytime Attire - going to the beach, shopping, lunching, going to the spa, etc.

Top: Nicole Miller & Michael Kors, Chanel; Bottom: Zac Posen, Valentino, Zac Posen

Nighttime Attire - to go to a movie premiere, a runway show, dinner, a night on the town, on a date, etc.

Top: Oscar de la Renta & Jason Wu, Valentino; Bottom: Yves St. Laurent, Badgley Mischka, Michael Kors