I love an easy salad…because that’s what salads are supposed to be, right? Oh–and healthy. This quick salad has been my lunch go-to lately and has me really looking forward to shopping for fresh, local berries this summer in California. Adding strawberries to the balsamic vinaigrette is such a nice change – I love the additional tartness!
for the salad:
fresh spinach or spring mix
5-6 strawberries, sliced
1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1/3 cup walnuts
for the dressing:
2/3 cup strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove
1 tsp dried thyme
Wash and slice your strawberries. Go ahead and make your salad and slice extra strawberries for the dressing. Add the dressing ingredients into a blender until smooth and drizzle over salad.
Yum! Let me know if you try this salad. Thank so much for reading! XO –
To touch back on the wedding subject from last week, I have shared with y’all how much I adore Brittany Fuson‘s talent (like here), but I am so thrilled to share the fabulous bridal illustration she created for me.
When I saw on instagram that she sketched bridal portraits, I immediately knew I had to have one! Brittany is always so friendly, accommodating and easy to work with — her personal and professional style has me always following her to see what she’s up to. I knew I had to frame this special custom design with my other two B. Fuson illustrations — so fun!
I think she nailed it! A BIG thank you to Brittany for sharing your time and talent with me. For all the recent or soon-to-be brides out there — this is something I would definitely recommend asking for. Hello wedding present! Thanks so much for reading – XO –
I have been looking for a cute spotted dress for some time now and this simple shift dress fit the bill. I love a dress that works for church, work and play and this one has it all. Paired with a colorful clutch, bright lipstick and heels and it feels both youthful and comfortable – what’s better than that?
To any of you who follow me on instagram, I’m the cliche latte insta-pic girl. I am so obsessed with this espresso machine wedding gift from the fab Caroline of Between Your Ears, and I’ve neglected the coffee maker ever since we received it! It makes me never want to spend $4 on a latte again when I can spend two minutes making one in my kitchen. I couldn’t recommend it enough – I’m happily addicted (to both the espresso and the caramel and white chocolate syrup I flavor it with).
I am so thrilled to finally share a preview of our lovely November wedding with all of you. Head on over to the fabulous feature at The Lovely Find!!
Thank you so much to Amy and The Lovely Find for sharing these special moments and memories. Maybe it’s the newlywed sucker in me but every time I see one of the lovely images from our wedding day I get a cheesy grin across my face (and my groom does too). Fall is my absolute favorite time of year and I was beyond thrilled that the fall leaves and crisp air were present on our wedding day. Cheers to the memories!
My smartypants husband traveled across the country during a four-month period interviewing for residency programs. Wherever you see the little airplane, the CHBoo has interviewed in that state at least once and in some twice! I am so proud of him for receiving over twenty interview offers and have tried to completely encourage him to go wherever he will receive the best training. I mean…I can’t ask him to give me botox one day if I don’t think he’s good enough (kidding….but I am not kidding).
On Friday, Christian found out where he matched in Otolaryngology (ENT/ear, nose and throat) and where we will be moving for five years.
Drumroll….
We are moving to SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA!!!
Even better? So is my brother, sister-in-law and niece, Edie!!! Christian has matched in Otolaryngology at the University of California-Irvine and we will be in Orange County for five years. My brother and his family will be in San Francisco for one year and then will move 45 minutes from us to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles for four years in Radiation Oncology.
Thank you so much for your warm wishes, thoughts, prayers and support. We are so blessed with supportive families and friends and I have been overwhelmed with the love and encouragement we have received. We are so amazed, shocked, grateful and ecstatic that the Lord has guided us to this adventure and we are looking forward to starting our marriage in the golden state!
Did I go ahead and purchase JT concert tickets in Pasadena for this summer?
Yes.
Did I listen to Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” all weekend with the sunroof down?
Yes.
Did I pull out dvds of The OC and start watching them again?
Yes.
Am I totally excited and obnoxious?
Yes.
Thanks so much for reading and sharing in this exciting journey with us! XO –
I was so fortunate to be a part of the celebration of my niece‘s first birthday this week. This precious little girl is the queen of my family. I like to joke that she has more clothes than Mariah Carey and is usually being chased down by her many fans and paparazzi (yours truly being the #1 offender). She was born into this diva lifestyle and from one self-proclaimed princess to another – there’s obviously a mutual respect between the two of us.
Many of Edie’s adoring fans from her Caringbridge site have asked for more photos from her birthday celebration and I am excited to share some of the moments I was able to capture! I hope these photos warm your heart as much as they do mine.
A big thank you to everyone who sent birthday cards, gifts, prayers and love to Miss Edie and her wonderful parents, making her birthday extra special. She would thank you personally herself but is still tired from her birthday appearance and like Mariah, requires three days of vocal rest before making additional appearances.
LaLa is Edie’s grandmother, nanny and personal chef (check out the gorgeous birthday cake in Edie’s favorite shade of pink). Aunt Claudia is LaLa’s sister and is also known as Edie’s personal tailor who whips up most of her custom wardrobe. Edie keeps Aunt Claudia on a tight leash because if the outfit isn’t cinched in all the right places – she’s not interested.
Happy Birthday to a little girl who has taught so much to so many grown-ups. Thank you for allowing me to be your Aunt Kat and continue to learn from you and the examples of your loving and proud parents.
I had a special something in mind for a party coming up, and some tassel garland was the final touch I needed. I was shocked at how easy this was to put together — only one piece of tissue papper makes four tassels = amazing!
This tutorial was super helpful and easy to follow. An episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and a few steps created this tissue paper tassel garland — here’s how you can make one too.
Fold the square sheet of tissue paper in half lengthwise (or “hotdog” for anyone who was in Mrs. Grisamore’s class).
Then fold it in half again widthwise (again…or “hamburger”).
Then fold it again hamburger/widthwise.
Once you’ve done this, begin to cut the paper in strips, leaving about two inches at the top. I later found out that clothespins helped to keep the paper in place so I could cut clean, even strips.
Once you’ve cut all of the strips, cut the section in half. Once you fold it out you should have four sections.
Take a section and roll it up. Once you’ve rolled it, twist the middle section and loop it around to make a circle. Dab the base with a drop of hot glue and hold together for a few seconds, setting the glue.
Anytime I wrap a present or work on a craft project – Lu is front and center ready to pounce/drive me insane. She was in full terrorizing mode for this project and I have to share some photos I snapped of this brat.
“What me? No, I mean, I wasn’t messing with your dumb project. I don’t even care what you’re doing.”
I wouldn’t assume anything if there wasn’t tissue paper hanging from your mouth.
She harassed me into exhaustion and when she took a cat nap I was able to move much quicker! Continue making the tassels until you’ve reached your desired length and loop them all into a piece of twine.
That’s it! So easy and a quick touch of fun to any party decor. Thanks for reading! XO –
Today is my husband’s birthday and the day is not complete without something sweet. For most people, a cupcake or dessert of any sort would be good enough – but not for this guy. Christian takes his “baked goods” seriously and I knew I had to take it to the next level this year since it’s his first birthday as a married man. I couldn’t be all, “Happy Birthday! Here’s a twinkie – oh wait – I think I have a candle somewhere…”
I knew it had to be chocolate. I knew it had to be big. I knew it had to be homemade. And I knew I had to make it the day before his birthday because he will be working at the hospital until about 10pm on his actual birthday (sad face).I followed this recipe for the cake and used my own frosting recipe.
For the frosting…
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
6 TB cocoa powder
6 TB room temperature butter
5 TB evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a medium bowl, mix together the sugar and cocoa powder. In a separate small bowl, cream the butter. Gradually alternate between beating in the butter and evaporated milk. Blend in vanilla. Continue to whisk and beat until light and fluffy. Feel free to add more sugar or milk if you want to adjust the consistency.
Happy Birthday Christian. By far and away, the greatest moment of my life was the one when you walked into it.
Oh wait – I just stole that line verbatim from Anne Hathway’s Oscar acceptance speech. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHBoo!
PS – THANK Y’ALL for entering the earring giveaway and sharing all of your sweet words!!! Cortney Fish from Missouri is the WINNER!! Don’t sweat it if you didn’t win this time around — I have another giveaway coming up soon!
1) Using this ice tray to make enormous berry ice cubes in my pomegranate soda – yum!
2) Lula proof-reading my blog posts.
“It looks good, girl, but you have a typo in the second paragraph. Do you think that second photo is cute? It’s not.”
3) Linen napkins that make me want to be a fancy lady who actually uses linen napkins.
4) Finally being able to use some treasured wedding gifts — Viking pots and pans!
5) This stunning Nashville engagement session of my best friend and beautiful bride, Kady Truesdale, and her dapper fiancé Ian. I love these two beyond words! Just look at these lovebirds — who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?Thanks so much for reading!
I’ve had this suitcase for years — a set a bought from Goodwill back in jr. high. I’ve seen several suitcase-to-cat-beds on pinterest and once I picked up this girlfriend from the parking lot I knew this suitcase was eventually going to turn into a pet bed. I recently had the urge to make it happen after hearing Christian complain about throw pillows + Kat + Lula = sofa hogs.So for about $30, Miss Lula LaShonda has a cat throne all to herself!
Stay in there, girlfriend! My lap (or laptop on lap) is not your bed anymore.
Nap Time!
You’ll need:
old suitcase
4 salvaged furniture legs or scrap pieces that could be legs
1″ wide painter’s tape
white & black spray paint (I also touched up spots with black & white acrylic paint)
drill
pillow & blanket
any additional trinkets you want to use to jazz up the suitcase bed — I made Lula a burlap sign!
Directions:
Once you have your suitcase, it’s up to you if you want to paint it or not. I chose to paint mine chevron after seeing this tutorial that stole my cat lady heart.
I simply taped off the chevron design and spray painted the design, touching up with acrylic paint afterward (thank goodness for a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders marathon). Once dry, I made a little Lula banner and hung it to each side of the suitcase.
I wrapped an inexpensive faux sheepskin from eBay around a pillow to make her little cat bed. My sweet brother-in-law found these salvaged wooden spindles and snagged them for me and the CHBoo used his electric drill and fancy schmancy tools to attach these babies to my cat lady creation.
He then mumbled, “I can’t believe the first time I got to use this thing was to help you make a cat bed.”
I mean…more like you’re welcome for giving you an opportunity to use your awesome drill, right?
What do you think? Is this cute or 10 degrees of cat lady crazy? Thanks so much for reading – XO –
