Friday Fav Pins of the Week!

Hello Lovelies! Happy Friday - I just got to NY/NJ for the Easter Holiday at my future in laws house - whoo-wee are we exhausted!

We had quite a morning - Waking up at 3am, getting on plane at 530a (delayed until 610am) get to DC - had 10 mins before boarding next flight (**bonus - leg number two we got first class - and that was fabulous!) I tried a Bloody Mary for the first time on the plane - note to all: if you are going to try a Bloody Mary for the first time - don't get it on a plane ride, get it homemade by someone who knows what they are doing =) After arriving in NY we had to get on a bus that took for-ev-er!!!!!! We took the bus around picking up other folks - got dropped off in Grand Central, got on another bus that picked up more people - finally dropping us at Newark to be picked up by Patrick's Mom and driven 40 mins back to her house in NJ. 9 hour traveling day anyone? We might has well gone to Europe in that amount of time!

 None-the-less we are now at our final destination, and although tired, we are happy to be here and looking forward to what the weekend has to bring us! Stay Tuned!

Now - for my Friday Favorite Pins of the Week: 

   

I love bright yellow/neon yellow with nude/tan!!! I cant get enough - its my favorite color combo and these girls nailed it. I luckily already have the clothing to complete these looks so I am on it (as soon as it warms up)

 

Love this saying <3 Its so true - right?!

 

 YUM! Great quick and easy dinner idea for two =) Although, Patrick would not like all the veggies involved; I sure would!

 Okay -- Besides being completely adorable - I totally understand how this pup feels! I need the sun!! Where is it?????

 

I liked this exhibit - I found it really interesting and to be a great idea! I want to be able to get measured on this wall! Its called Measuring the Universe by Slovakian artist Roman Ondák. It's considered performance art because patrons that attend the museum actually get to be the ones measured - name, height and date measured - what a cool idea! 

xo 

H

Chick-Fil-A Knock Off Nuggs

So Patrick is a crappy, crappy eater - and I fear for my future kids health - BUT for some odd, slightly-insane reason - I always end up cooking to support it! Don't get me wrong, I love Chick-fil-a just as much as the next person (and that's a lot) but I am fully aware it's fast food and I should limit as much as possible - none-the-less, I decided to make a version at home - therefore, when that never-failing Sunday craving for Chic-fil-a hits - I will be prepared for an at home feast of deliciousness! AND its soooo easy ;) 

Ingredients:

(for cooking for two)

1 cup flour 

5 tbsp powdered sugar

3 tbsp salt

2 tbsp pepper

2 tbsp paprika

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 large chicken breast 

5 tbsp olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil (whichever you prefer)

1. First you need to prep the chicken - wash it, pat dry, and cut into small nugget pieces 

2. Put your oil in a large skillet and put on med-high heat - you want it hot, hot, hot! 

3. Mix flour, sugar, salt, pepper, and paprika in a bowl until all is evenly distributed - then put on plate.

4. Whisk egg and milk in bowl and add chicken pieces (4-5 at a time)

5. Transfer chicken from egg/milk mixture to plate of dry ingredients - coat well.

6. The oil should be nice and hot now - put coated chicken pieces into skillet and toss until all sides are golden brown.

7. Transfer cooked chicken nuggets to paper towel to soak up extra oil while you cook the rest of the chicken.

VOILA! 

You are done! When I made it the first time, I used way to much oil and although it was good - it didn't need all that extra fat - so for this recipe I significantly cut down amount of oil in the skillet - if you feel you need more (depending on skillet size) please feel free to add. You basically just need enough to coat the bottom of the pan.

ENJOY YOUR NUGGS!! (Nom Nom Nom)

PS- Can't have your nuggets without your beloved Chick-fil-a sauce?? 

Just take 1/4 cup of Ken's Honey Mustard and add a 2-3 tablespoons of BBQ sauce 

and there you have it - Homemade Chick-fil-a Sauce! 

xo

H

Date Night Outfit Idea

Hey all! Here is my take on Date Night Outfits for this coming Spring - Whoo! I did one for a warmer evening type date and one for a cooler night date -  I love white, plum and navy together - I think its so classy but creative at the same time. The flirty pink skirt if the perfect shape for a date with a new guy - it's sexy without losing your innocence! Metallic strappy sandals are a great investment to your closet - its so easy to match with so many looks - and who doesn't love cognac wedges? Can you say Comf?! 

Cool Date Night: Jeans | Tee | Blazer | Belt | Necklace | Clutch | Watch | Heels

Warm Evening Date: Skirt | Top | Earrings | Clutch | Wedges

Getting packed for my mini-vaycay this weekend. We are going back up north to visit Patrick's parents for the holiday. Pretty excited to get away for a bit - will post pics afterwards to show you all the (hopeful) fun! 

xo

H

Two Trends Tuesday: Peplum & Peek-a-boo

 

Photo Credit:  Atlantic-Pacific blog

Peplum - the classy, elegant trend that looks flattering on every body type! If you are curvy, it disguises your hips - if you're boyish, it adds volume in just the right spots! 

Peplum comes in tops, jackets, skirts, dresses and its been seen everywhere from the red carpet, to England's royalty, to fashionistas worldwide! Plain and simple - its an easy way to wear a trend. I love the way Emma Stone does the peplum trend with the red/pink trend with the color-blocking trend - Touche' Emma!

Affordable Peplum: XXI  |  LOFT   |  Lulu's  |  J.Crew  |  Zara

Peek-A-Boo trend is a little more tricky - I can definitely see a lot of women being scared off by this style- Don't be!! You don't have to show that much at all! Kelly Rowland (above) when wearing the peek-a-boo is a little more risque than the average woman. 

You can wear the peek-a-boo trend with a little showing or a lot. Luckily - It can be any body part you want! Lets say you have small ta-tas but a killer flat stomach - look at Kate Hudson pull it off! She accentuated her best feature! Peek-a-boo is a really sexy trend - even if you are just showcasing your shoulders - its an attention getter for sure! 

Affordable Peek-a-boo: Lulu's  |  XXI  |  Tobi  |  UO

There is, however, always someone that overdoes it! Congrats Lil' Kim - you have gone way too far with the Peek-a-boo trend! Take her look (above) as a what NOT to do - Eww!

xo

H

New Maxi!

Note to Self: Smile - I look like a Grumpy Gus.

Dress - Fedora (no current online website to buy from - sorry!)
Shoes - Amazon.com (old) similar 
Sunnies - Target! similar
Arm Candy - Michael Kors Watch/Lord & Taylor Bangles/H&M Mint Bracelet/Anne Klein Link Bracelet/ XXI Bangle

I am literally obsessed with Maxi Dresses at the current moment - It's all I want! 

Considering my height, I have to be quite selective on which ones will work on my body. Luckily - I found a great one at the boutique I did some PR work for! I love how its got lining up until the thigh and then turns sheer - it really helps it not get so heavy and dark. Overall - I love it deeply and can't wait to wear it out (I need it to warm up a touch) Navy & White is my fav for Spring/Summer! 

XO

H

Make Your Life Easier

Hi! Here are some amazing tips that make my life a whole lot easier - and I am sure will do the same for you! Enjoy! ...and sorry its Monday tomorrow =(





Have company on their way over and you forgot to put drinks in the fridge. Place your drinks in a large pot and cover with ice. Sprinkle 2 cups of salt on top of the ice and then fill the rest of the pot with water. Your drinks will be ice cold within 2 to 3 minutes.

Need to open a page in a new tab? Instead of right clicking and selecting "Open in new tab", save time by clicking on the link with the middle button on your mouse. If you don't have a mouse with a middle button you can hold down the ctrl key while clicking on the link. Or for Mac Users : Ctl + T

Get rid of the gap in the back of your pants by threading elastic through them.

To reheat pizza without getting the crust soggy, place the pizza in a nonstick skillet. Heat on low until warm.

When making deviled eggs, place the egg yolks in a plastic Ziploc bag with the rest of the ingredients. Close the bag and mash everything together. Once everything is well mixed cut off a small tip from one of the bottom corners of the bag and squeeze the contents into your egg white. Just too the bag once you are done for easy cleanup.

Keep an eye out for gifts for friends and family every time you go shopping. Buying gifts throughout the year will save a lot of time and stress when birthdays and Christmas rolls around.

Don't have time for exercise? Try double tasking. Do squats while you brush your teeth. Push-ups while waiting for the tub to fill up. One handed bicep curls while stirring sauce with the other hand.

If you have already sealed an envelope and realized you forgot to put something in it, place the envelope in the freezer for a couple hours. It will pop right open so you don't have to get another envelope.

For picture frames with two holes, hang them evenly and easily by placing a single strip of masking tape over the back covering the two holes. Mark each end of the tape where the holes are located for hanging the frame. Take the tape off and place it on your wall. Make sure it is level then hammer a nail in at each pen mark

If you can't find a shower curtain to match your bathroom style (in most cases I can only find solid black, brown, white and blue or really bright 'teeny-bopper' colors) Then try looking in the regular curtain section.

To peel a kiwi cut off the top and bottom, slip a spoon between the skin and the flesh. Twist the spoon around the the entire kiwi (keeping it between the skin and flesh the whole time). Then just pop the skin off.

Use Press'n Seal saran wrap to line your refrigerator shelves. When the shelves get dirty, just remove the wrap, toss in the trash and replace. No more scrubbing nasty food spills.

Stick old newspaper or magazines inside your boots when you store them. This will keep the tops from flopping over and adding unsightly creases to your boots. 

Accidentally close a tab on your browser? No problem! Hit ctrl-shift-T and the page will pop up again.

Use a hanger with clips to hold your recipes up where you can see the. No more greasy fingerprint all over your recipe cards!! 

Before grilling burger, press a hole in the middle of the patty. The hole will disappear as the burger cooks. This will minimize shrinking and you won't have to worry about them not being done in the center. 

 If your hair turns green from the chlorine in the pool, dissolve eight aspirin pills in a glass of warm water, coat hair with the solution, let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes, then rinse. The green will be gone.

Need to hang a picture but there is nothing on the back to hang it from? Once you are done with your soda, turn the tab around. Using a pair of pliers grab the bottom (short end) of the tab and bend the tab down into the mouth of the can while pulling up at the same time. This will ensure that the ring is still intact so that you can attach it to the back of your frame with a screw and hang your photo

Need to light a hard to reach candle but don't have any long matches? Use a piece of uncooked spaghetti.

The lines on a Solo cup are measurement marks.

Tired of stopping on every floor of the building every time you use the elevator. Hold the 'close door' button and keep holding while you select your floor number. This will allow you to skip all other floors and go straight to your destination.

Out of AA batteries? Use AAA batteries and fill the gap with a wad of tin foil on the positive side.

Clear your cookies before booking flights!! Many travel sites track the number of times you have visited and will base the price depending on this. By clearing your cookies it will look as though you are a first time visitor and your price will be lower.

Need to break in some new shoes? Fill ziplock bags with water and place in shoe - spread out so water fills all areas. Put into freezer overnight. When the water freezes into ice it expands and stretches out the shoes! 

XO

H

Wish List

1  |  2  |  3  |  4 |  5  |  6

These are my Spring Must Haves - ugh I crave them! If only I had a decent paying job - I could fulfill my wantsss! Oh Well - life goes on! Anyway, deciding to share these with you in hopes maybe you'd want to add them to your lovely wardrobe.

1  |  This is from Ann Taylor Loft - it just screams spring to me with its light & breezy color =)

2  |  Forever 21 - hella affordable.

3  |  ELLANDEMM  This girl makes beautiful jewelry - I want it all!

4  |  Maxi from Lulus.com - its the perfect color and style for a maxi dress that you can dress up or down!

5  |  Anchor earrings - also from Forever 21 **under $5 - what?! I love anything nautical.

6  |  Gap ULTRA SKINNY slim pants- love love love and I'm in need of a navy pair to add to my collection!

Have a great rest of the weekend ya'll!

xo

H

Mini House Tour

I decided to give you a teeny, tiny house tour! This is just some of the things I did to my two bedroom apartment to spruce it up a bit (thanks a lot to Pinterest for all the ideas!)

 Welcome to the Living Room - this is the view from our couch facing the TV - I decided to do a gallery wall with a few of my favorite quotes and pictures - the one with all the letters says ' if you want  to view paradise, simply look around and view it ' - i love that! - and its from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (even better!) Also, the eye chart you see to the right of the TV says ' i love you to the moon and back ' - that was made using eyechartmaker.com - you can have it say whatever you want! 

 This is across from my dining room table when you first walk in the door. I love it because the picture was a Christmas gift from my mom - she said it reminded her of Patrick, Alphie and me! Unfortunately - the only problem was the dog in the picture was all black and alphie is white with brown and black markings.....well, I took care of that ;) 

 Here is the little dining room - not much to see, but I included it because I found a great trick on Pinterest that I incorporated into this room - the Mirror Window, I bought cheap mirrors from Target and lined them up to create a window effect - this took my small dining room and made it look much, much bigger! I love it! 

 Here is the bedroom - well some of it anyway! The main wall I painted navy and all the curtains and bedding is white white white!! I love the contrast - and I did these great ink-blot test inspired paintings above my bed to add some color - and they were soo easy to do- its almost a joke! 

Here is the living room - across from the TV and gallery wall - & Look who popped in this picture to say hello! This is Riley - he is my old dog/my moms dog that lives with us now to keep Alphie company. My mom moved up from FL to NC about 1.5 months after Patrick and I got here - and so did Riley! Alphie and him are best friends, its so nice when I am at work or Patrick is traveling - that they have each other as company... and its awfully cute to watch them play! 

Thanks for reading! xo

H 

Friday's Fav Pins of the Week!

I eat, sleep, and breathe PINTEREST! I love it - I am constantly on it pinning away and honestly, I am not ashamed. I have found my most brilliant of brilliant ideas on that thing - from home decor, to fashion, to all the recipes I can imagine - there is no stopping me!

Therefore, I am starting the Weekly excerpt for the blog called 'Friday's Fav Pins of the Week!' - Every Friday I will go back and pick at least 5 of my favorite pins that I want to share with you all! 

This is Ah-Mah-Zing - its only $15 to make - and you have a beautiful rustic wine display! All you need is a large plank of wood, a few 2x4s and some nails - this one is extra cool with the chalkboard paint allowing you to display the type of wine! *Weekend Project!*

I love this - I am so doing this tomorrow...I think this is a great new workout to try - I bet its really hard too.. lets just hoping I will have enough space in my kitchen to try =) 

Well, this is just plain beautiful - I'm addicted to gold and mint and I love the way this watch puts it together! Its from lulus.com and its very affordable - thank goodness!

 I chose this little guy...for no real good reason - its just plain cool - he caught my eye and I couldn't resist! 

And this - well isn't it obvious? I want SPRING to be here already! I can bet everyone feels the same way too - this winter is lasting much to long, and I'm more than ready for some sunshine, beach, sundresses, ^^nautical themed outfits, flowers - oh and my birthday! 

Tonight is date night for Patrick and I! We are going to see Olympus Has Fallen (I hope its good!) and going to dinner - I love our Friday rituals - its something to look forward to all day! Also, Patrick is currently playing in his first golf tourney of the season! Let's hope he starts it off on the right foot (otherwise, date night might not be so fun!) 

Thanks for Reading Everyone! Happy Friday xo

H

My First Photo Shoot

 Hello All.

Last Friday I did a photo shoot for a local boutique in the Raleigh area. I found the models, organized the shoot location and scenery etc., styled the outfits - but in no way, shape or form did I expect to be handed a huge camera and actually direct and shoot for the day! 

I was a little taken back but once I got in to it - it was awesome. After doing a lot of editing, I love the way the photos turned out and I think the girls look great. 

BIG SHOUT-OUT to the models doing this for the boutique - it was a windy chilly day and they were so easy and fun to shoot - Thank you Ladies!! 

Here are just some of my favorites from the shoot: 

Hope you like! Thanks for stopping by =)



H