Meet Frankie!

By {Morgan}

June 17, 2014: It was a normal Tuesday.
I went out to dinner with my mom, sister, brother-in-law, nephew & niece.
I came home with a puppy.

Meet {Frankie}

She is an AussiePoo {Australian Shepard/Poodle}.
I adore her. She is a friendly, smart, cuddly, obedient, non-shedding, playful pup. What more could you ask for? It's been 6 weeks since I brought her home, and I couldn't imagine life without her.

Something {Pink} to Drink!

By {Whitney}

8 Reasons Why you should be drinking the Pretty Pink Potation called Rosé ALL Summer long...

1.) It's striking hue can range in shade from Pale Salmon to Electric Watermelon to Deep Cherry.  These shades of pink are certain to make even the most depressed of individuals happy.  

2.) It contains moderate levels of alcohol.  And that makes you happy too.

3.)  It is easy on the pocketbook.  You should never have to pay more than $20 for a phenomenal rosé. Another reason to make you happy. 

4.) It is what they drink in the South of France and at P Diddy's parties in the Hamptons.  Therefore you will look cool drinking it.

5.) They range in sweetness levels.  Whether you have a sweet tooth or like your wines dry as a bone, you'll find one that suits you.  

6.)  They pair with just about every food under the sun.  Burgers, Seafood, Salads, Tacos, BBQ, Pizza, etc.  

7.)  It ain't no White Zin!  Contrary to popular belief, not all rosés are sticky sweet.  In fact, White Zin was created on accident as a result of a "stuck fermentation."  This is considered a wine flaw and should never have happened in the first place.  Unfortunately, many people who see pink wine immediately assume it is going to be sweet.

8.) No aging is required.  In rosé world, FRESHER is BETTER.  Try to drink the most recent vintage releases from the winery as they are not designed to age.  

Here are a few of my favorite bottles of the happy pink stuff...
2013 Arnot-Roberts, Touriga Nacional- Clear Lake, California $19
2012 Sauvion Rose d'Anjou- Loire Valley, France $13
2013 Domaine Valdition- Alpilles, France $18

   Cheers!!!

A Vegetable Tablescape {party decor}

By {Morgan}

You've seen the invitations and the menu, now it's time to share my favorite part of a party…the tablescape!

For my sister's 30th birthday dinner, I was inspired by the colorful produce section of the grocery store.

I know I'm not the only one who walks through a farmer's market or produce section and thinks, {wow, gorgeous}! Just check out #farmersmarket & #produce, people love to Instagram the colorful beauty of vegetables.

Before I went to the grocery store, I set my table so that I would know how much space I had to fill with vegetables. I wrote down my vase sizes that I used in the tablescape, and an idea of what could fill them.

At the store, I played around with color & size combos to be sure I had a variety.
When I got home, I washed the veggies and began filling vases!

Carrots | Rainbow Chard & Radishes

Cincinnati Market Radish & Purple Kale | Artichokes

Beets

Radishes

For place cards, I typed each guests name on a piece of brown kraft paper using my typewriter. I cut them and used a straight pin to attach them to artichokes.

 I stopped by Trader Joes to pick up hydrangeas, sunflowers, lemons & key limes.

This summer, get out to your local Farmer's Market, grab some veggies, cook them {and} decorate with them and have yourself a fresh & colorful dinner party!

{shop this post}

Brunching in {Chicago}

By {Amy}

Brunch is one of my favorite things to do in Chicago.  With the summer quickly approaching, it is even more fun when you can sit outside and people watch all morning.  I have three very specific things when looking for a brunch place.  First, there needs to be a creative cocktail or Bloody with excellent garnish.  I almost always order a Bloody depending on what it is served with it.  Second, is the Eggs Benedict.  It is my go to order and I like when they mix it up a bit with creative Hollandaise and substitutes for the Canadian Bacon.  Third is the wait time.  Normally I have been out the night before and I am ready for my drink and food ASAP.  But since I live in Chicago and like to eat brunch around 10:30 (the same time as every other Chicagoan) it can be difficult to find a great place without a wait.  Coobah, fits all of my top three perfectly!

 

 This place is a Latin Asian mix up with an amazing cocktail menu.  I love the mojito or paloma and their Benedict is served with a crab cake.  I went with some friends the other day and not one person was disappointed with their meal.  Great portions with great flavor is what you will get every time.  

Finally the people who work there are really nice.  I once sat down for brunch and had an emergency come up and had to leave immediately.  By emergency, I mean that my new couch arrived at my apartment 2 hours early.  I couldn't go another week without any furniture.  They were so accommodating even comping our drinks as long as we promised to come back again.  Of course I did and I have recommended this place to everyone I know.  So if you ever make it up to the windy city, I hope you give this place a try.

Dog Days of Summer {Playlist}

Remember those summers spent laying out at the pool, drinking QuikTrip slurpees, & taking random trips to Target on days off from your part-time job? This summer I've been nostalgic of those simpler times. Maybe that's because it's finally hit me, 5 years after graduation, that those summers are really never going to happen again.

July in Kansas still looks and smells like those lazy days of exclusively wearing swim suits, enjoying the sun during the day just to bide time before heading out on the town with the girls. Now I'm clad in pencil skirts and heels every day, lucky to get to the pool twice before September. Looking forward to lake weekends and plan-free evenings more than I ever imagined. These days, most of my time spent outside consists of weeding our jungle of a backyard or enjoying a much-needed glass of wine after work.

While a lot has changed over the last 5 years, I still love summer the most, and a good summer playlist is a necessity for road trips, lounging by a body of water, or an impromptu patio night with good friends. Enjoy!

Summer Trends {Birkenstocks}

By {Molly}

You've seen them pop up on your magazine pages. You've seen them on your favorite bloggers. "What the @%$*?" I'm sure you thought once or twice. You probably thought this was just an editorial trend, there's no way birkenstocks really made a comeback.

via our Instagram

Well, dust off those boxes and pull your birks back out or run immediately to your closest store and buy into this trend. It's not going anywhere, it's quite frankly the comfiest shoe trend that's happened lately. So you should embrace it fully. Who knew that adding your birks to any outfit would make you look instantly like the chicest on the block?

Here are some of my top picks for this trend.

xoxo,
Molly

Eat it {Crave it}

By {Morgan}

After I made the invitations for my sister's 30 birthday dinner, I sat down to create the menu…aka, went straight to my {eat} Pinterest board. This is what I settled on. 

{drink} White Sangria  {I swapped out the club soda for diet ginger ale & put in a TON of fruit}

{app} Store bought hummus, veggies & pita bread

{salad} Lemony Kale Salad 

{veggie} Roasted carrots with a honey ginger glaze 

{main course} Tomato basil pasta

{dessert} Bakery bought cake & treats 

What have I craved every day since the dinner?

Lemony Kale Salad from A Beautiful Mess 

 Author and Photography: Emma Chapman

Whether you think you like kale or not, you have to try it! Add grilled chicken or shrimp…eat it ALL week! 

I created my visual menu using my Silhouette Cameo & pen holder, just as I did for the invitations. It hung on a metal clip on my drink tray, styled with lemons & key limes. 

{Now you've seen the invitations & the food…next up…the decor!}

Brunching in {Austin}

I think we can all agree brunch to a twenty-something girl is like video games to a twenty-something boy. You can spend hours at it, sitting in the same spot (preferably with friends), not getting anything productive done but leave a happier, more relaxed person once you're through.

I've made a sport of finding the best brunch spots in Kansas City, but the place I'm sharing with you today is in Moo's city of Austin. Bess Bistro on Pecan is right off 6th Street. They serve dollar mimosas, need I say more? Yes, I do. Not only are the drinks a ridiculous bargain, but the food is out of this universe delicious. I ordered the deconstructed Croque Monsieur, then went through the buffet line (hey-I was on vacation OK?) and finished off the meal with an order of Fruity Pebble pancakes. The pancakes were the talk of the week after we returned. They left such an impression that the second meal my new husband requested for dinner was..... Fruity Pebble pancakes. By no means were mine nearly as good as Bess's, but until next time Austin, my homemade ones will have to do.



divinity in pancake form

Photo Credit: Yelp

4th of July {Sales!}

If you're not going away somewhere magical this weekend then I have a way to pass your time, and you still get to spend your money! Hurray! Here are some of the best sales and my favorite items on sale this weekend. Because that's really one of the best things about Holidays, is it not?

*Anthropologie - Extra 20% off sale items! Use Code BUZZ20. Ends July 7th.

*Banana Republic - 40% off store and site wide! Use Code BRJULY. Ends July 7th.

*Barney's Warehouse - Extra 50% off on select styles! Ends July 7th.

*Dolce Vita - Extra 30% off all sale! Use code Fireworks14. 

*Piperlime - Up to 50% off select styles.

*Gap - Up to 60% off select styles.

*Urban Outfitters - Up to 70% off select styles!

*JCrew - Extra 40% off final sale! Use code SHOPMORE.

Paper + Fabric {Invitations}

By {Morgan}

I love crafting with paper & fabric, binding them together with my sewing machine. 

For my sister's 30th birthday invitations I used 2 different papers and 2 different fabrics. 

I hand-cut the pennant flags from a heavy linen fabric and used my cameo silhouette to cut {30's} out of a floral cotton fabric and to {write} the invite.
I love my cameo silhouette! The 3 silhouette tools used for this project were a fabric blade, the clean cut fabric interfacing & a pen holder.
Yes! The machine cut the numbers AND sketched the invite information. It's quite fun to watch it do its magic.

Once I had all my flags cut, 30's cut, and invitations sketched, putting it together was very simple.
I ironed on the 30's, glued the kraft paper to white card stock and then married the paper & fabric together with my sewing machine {with a zig zag stitch}.

Mixing paper & fabric gives the invitation 2 layers of fun...and an unexpected surprise for your guests.

{I'll be back soon to share details about the party food & decor!}

4th of July {Playlist}

By {Molly}

Who doesn't love the 4th of July? I always remember this as my dad's favorite holiday. Whether it was or not is unknown to me, but it sure seemed like it. He would load my brother and me into the car and we'd hit the local fireworks stand to thoroughly load up on explosives. We'd put a trashcan lid in the backyard and fire away! There was always a little concern that him or my brother would light their hand on fire or blow up the house but we did it anyway, every year. How many pictures do you have of yourself playing with a sparkler? I could probably fill a book.

So fire up the BBQ, chill your beer, and don your obnoxious American flag apparel. It's the best holiday to sit back and say "'Merica" and not feel like a total redneck.

To me the 4th of July should be chock-full of classic rock from the 60's, 70's, 80's. Sit back, enjoy, and try not to light yourself on fire!

 

You can follow along with my Spotify so you never miss a beat. Click here!

xoxo,

Molly