Drink of the Month: Blackberry-Lime-Tequila

I am not a huge fan of Tequila.  The whole, "One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor," thing is pretty accurate.  However, I do enjoy a nice margarita on the rocks when I am chowing-down on delicious Mexican food here in Texas.

The problem with all the margaritas you find at restaurants is they are loaded with fake ingredients and tons of sugar.  You can order a 'skinny' one, but they seem to give you a tiny drink with no more than five sips involved.

So, make yourself a margarita at home and you will not only be happier with the taste and flavor, but you will be happier with the calorie count as well.

Blackberries are in season right now and are plump and juicy, so when I bought a package at Sprout's I knew they were going to be used in my margarita.

Like all margaritas you have to start out with a nice silver tequila.  We had Patron at the house, so that is what I went with.

Next you need limes, duh.  Fresh-squeezed of course.

Then you need a sweet component.  I like to use local honey or agave nectar in my drinks, and I just so happen to have some Spicy Honey on hand (a gift I received from a friend).  Perfect!

Lastly, the blackberries.  Blackberries have so many seeds so you will want to toss them in a blender and then strain them so you get all the seeds out.

Now you can combine all of your ingredients.  The ratio of each is totally up to you.  Do you like it more tart?  Add more lime.  More sweet?  Add more honey.  Fruiter?  Add more blackberry puree.  Or if you had a rough week at work, just add more tequila.

I personally like mine balanced with an equal amount of sweet and tart.  I did go a little heavy handed on the blackberry puree though.  :)

Cheers!

Date Night Stripes

Hooray for date nights.  This past Friday was just the fourth time in nearly eleven months that the husband and I were able to go out for a date.  The weather was perfection, and there was a festival going-on downtown, so it was a wonderful night for walking around.  

The evening started and ended at Fort Worth's only Prohibition Cocktail bar, Thompson's Bookstore, which opened while I was pregnant.  Finally, a good cocktail bar in town.  

For our casual, yet sophisticated night out, I wore a new striped tank-top.  The mix of horizontal and vertical stripes with spaghetti-straps, and a v-back, was the perfect amount of cute, with a little skin showing.  

My navy blue wedges tied-in the navy from the top, while my turquoise purse added a pop of color. 

The neck-line on the tank-top was perfect for a collar necklace, so I wore my new favorite Howlite, Crystal, and Gold one.  

A simple, cute outfit for a fun Friday on the town.  

Necklace, Chloe and Isabel

Tank, BP by Nordstroms

Jeans, Loft

Shoes (similar), Target

Bracelet, J Crew

Purse (similar) Kate Spade

Baby, Mine :) 

Decorating an Entryway on a Budget

When we moved into our house we thought we would get it decorated and stocked with nice furniture within a few years.  Well, seven years later, aside from some new paint on the walls, it looks exactly the same.  No hardwood floors, no master bedroom set, no new kitchen table or couch, etc. Life happens, money happens, and before you know it, time has passed.  We have recently hit a rut with our home and are ready to get the ball rolling on making it look how we always wanted it.  But, we have to start small.

One of the smallest areas in our house is the one that drives me the most crazy.  It is the first thing you see when you enter the house, the last thing you see when you leave, and well...you always see it.  It's our entryway!  A small space of ugly tile flooring with the front door and the garage door.  I have always hated having the garage entrance there; it belongs in the kitchen.  With two swinging doors we have one small space to actually decorate.  Up until now this space either housed hand-me-down faux leather ottomans, or a small table.  I have tried to change it up dozens of times with different pieces throughout the house, but I could never get it right. 

When I set out to re-decorate this space, I knew I wanted three things:

1- a bench

2- a place for shoes

3- wall hooks

A few months ago as I was wandering Michael's looking for Valentine's decor, I found these wonderful metal baskets.  They screamed Magnolia to me, and they were Buy 1 Get 1 Free.  Of course I bought them.  They sat on the floor in my entryway for nearly two months while I tried to decide how I was going to incorporate them into the space.  

Finally, while strolling through Target one weekday with my baby, I went down the wrong aisle looking for closet organization and found this gem of a bench. I looked the mix of wood with wire, plus it was the perfect size for my space, holds shoes, AND within my budget. 

A few more trips to Target and a month later; to return and exchange things as I tried to make the space look perfect, I was ready to decorate.  

In the end I decided to use only one of the hanging baskets, with a family photo, and command center.  I didn't exactly get a row of hooks; but who wants ugly jackets hanging there anyway?  

The piece de la resistance; this beautiful rug.  It ties in the grey from the walls, the teal from the door, and the coral and yellow touches from the rest of the house.  

It's not perfect but it's a million times better than it was before.  

Spring Showers

It was this week last year that I was crazy pregnant enjoying the spring weather at my outdoor baby shower.  Here we are a year later already, but now I am enjoying spring storms and showers.  

Thankfully, instead of having a giant belly and penguin-walk like last year, I have an adorable 10 month old and am slowly working on getting my pre-baby body back.  I gained a lot of weight during pregnancy, we are talking 50 pounds, but I am proud to say that I am just 8 pounds away from my pre-baby weight right now.

With that being said I don't dress like I used to.  Adorable cute clothes are hard to find, especially since I am a larger size than I was once was.  In a desperate attempt to add some clothes to my wearable collection, I gutted my closet to see what would still fit me from before baby.  That is when I found this little polka-dot number.

This shirt has been in my collection for a few years; the ruffled bottom and zippered back attracted me to the shirt years ago, and seeing as how ruffles are huge right now, I knew it was perfect.

For a stormy Spring day I paired the top with my black skinny jeans and Hunter rain boots.  I didn't feel like a lot of accessories were necessary with this ensemble, so I kept it simple with a pair of stud earrings.

Hopefully I will be back to my pre-baby weight by swimsuit season, but for now I am pretty proud of myself for how much weight I have lost so far.  Now to prepare for today's predicted thunderstorms.  

Drink of the Month: Champagne Cocktail

As much as I love brunch we don't make it at home; it's typical scrambled eggs for breakfast daily around here.  I decided to try to elevate our egg breakfast at Valentine's Day by making a brunch beverage...The Champagne Cocktail.  

A Champagne Cocktail is one of those things that isn't a set recipe.  There are dozens of ways to make a Champagne Cocktail, there is just one rule, it must have Champagne.  

Step 1: Find the right Champagne.  I went with a Cava, much more affordable than champagne, and easy to find.  (I personally like a drier Champagne, not a sweet one).  

Step 2: Add a splash of juice.  I like grapefruit juice because it adds a nice tartness and pucker without the sweetness.  But, you can use any juice you like.  

Step 3: Add a raw sugar cube to the bottom of the glass.  If you like your cocktail sweeter, you can stir it until is dissolves.  If you are like me and prefer just a hint of sweetness, you can leave it on the bottom and let it dissolve just slightly.  

Step 4: Top with a little more Champagne and a cute garnish.

Cheers! 

DIY Valentine's Photo Shoot

Since my baby is still in his first year of life, I want to capture every moment of it, especially his 'firsts.'  I take a picture of every new food he eats, new face he makes, new outfit...everything. So of course, I wanted to capture his first Valentine's Day. 

While doing my weekly scan of my Pinterest feed I found an adorable photo of a baby sitting on newspaper, butt-naked, wearing angel wings, with hearts hanging all around him.  LOL.  I immediately took inspiration from it.  

The first thing I did was go on a newspaper hunt.  We don't subscribe to the newspaper so the free local city paper had to be stretched to do the trick.  With the help of my mother-in-law I covered a large piece of cardboard with newspaper and wedged it between the kitchen table and two chairs.  Then I covered the tabletop with newspaper.  

Next step was to string some hearts up.  I enlisted the help of my MIL for this one; all of my hearts looked like butts.  I attached the cut-out hearts to string, using clothespins, and strung it across the top of the newspapered-covered cardboard.  

Finally, I put baby boy into his outfit, a clean diaper, and propped him up on the table.  Don't worry, we watched him like a hawk.  I kept one arm on his feet most of the time so I could catch him if he started to wobble.  He isn't crawling yet, but he is a wobbly little one so I wanted to make sure he was safe and didn't bump his head.  

He immediately grabbed the newspaper he was sitting on and started playing with it; hence the heart cut-out he 'eating' in all the photos.  

It was so much fun taking pictures of my little guy.  Hmmmm, what will I do for Easter?  

Stripes & Chucks

Once upon a time I wore cute skirts and dresses on a daily basis.  Now, I am all about comfortable.

Having an eight month old requires me to be on my hands and knees on the floor most of the day, so skirts and dresses just aren't practical anymore.  I live in stretchy jeans, slip-on shoes, and shirts that can take a little baby tugging and drool.  

This particular day I wore my favorite stretchy-skinny jeans with my new Chucks.  I have never owned a pair of Chucks before but when I saw their new slip-ons with suede laces I knew I had to get a pair.  They were a little snug at first but I am slowly breaking them in.  (I seriously love these shoes).  

Paired with a comfortable striped shirt and fringe scarf, it's the most comfortable outfit that I have felt cute in for quite some time.  

Stripes are a classic, and never go out of style.  Plus, the slouchy fit is perfect for moving around in.  The scarf has to be my favorite component; not only does it keep me warm while being the perfect accessory, but it gives my little one something to hold on to when I am holding him.  

I know I have over-worn this outfit, but you can't have too much of a good thing right?