Recap of My Month Long Bender

Conscious decision to enjoy my weeks off during the holiday to unpack, organize, and explore Cincinnati and make some new friends in the process.  All while unplugging from this bad boy.

Without further a do, my December bender, in review:

Went to frigid Bengals games (twice).
Got harassed by large man behind us sick of the selfie-cam in his face, hence the photo of us in the bottom right.

Braved the latest Hobbit.  Unsure what part of the 14 part "trilogy" we are now on.
They are clearly all the same, and all entertaining nonetheless:
Hobbits fulfill little-people fetishes, Orlando bats for the other team, Dumbledore visits from Hogwarts.

Missed the Santacon memo.
Preparation have begun for next year.

Found Finnley a friend.
Meet Bertha, my new pet pelt.

Regretted not purchasing Galaxy Cat Pants from Target.

Reunited with roomie and friends from freshman year at UPenn!

Met up with my cousin and her bf in NYC!

Learned what it's like to fly out of not-Atlanta.

Saw the Nutcracker and washed it down with some amazing ice cream.
Added ice skating to our Cinci bucket list.

Checked out the home rival game of Xavier - Univ of Cincinnati.
They serve beer, so I don't know who won.

Celebrated Christmas our way, with meat, cheese and booze (also the traditional Ray crab bisque!)
The underage kid at the package store assured me Fireball + Rum Chata are what the kids drink these days... 

First bathroom stall selfie!
Added "maturity" to my 2014 Resolution list.

Explored Mt. Adams (patio bar).

Pre and post-gamed our NYE celebrations with these bad boys.

Toasted NYE at a delicious Italian place in OTR.
I do consider myself cooler because I know what OTR means and you don't.

Brought in the New Year with new friends, our next door neighbors!
Vowed never to return to the Cinci casino for fear of catching bankruptcy and airborne herpes.

Killed another animal for my new Eskimo jacket.
What did this fox say?  Nothing his grandmother would be proud to hear.

Got stuck in the airport for 8 hours trying to get to an engagement party I co-hosted for my childhood bestie.
Made some new friends [on my iPad].

Finally arrived to be greeted by this fool, unsure where the people driving the jetway were.
Waited another 30+ min for them to page someone to attach us to the airport.

Visited the gorgeous Raleigh outdoor museum, including Rodin sculpture garden for bff's engagement photos.
Not stealing her thunder, so I won't post any... but wow.  What a location and what a gorgeous couple!  Will link once she posts!

Link ups: Funday Monday, Transatlantic Blonde, Monday Bloom

Stock the Cellar!

Last weekend a few of our good friends in Atlanta threw us a gorgeous twist on the typical "Stock the Bar" shower - a Stock the Cellar!  I adore wine, and have transformed P into something of a snob as well, so this was right up our alley.  And everyone knows I really only abide by one food group - cheese.  Glorious cheese!  

Ali is always the perfect hostess, but I have to say she outdid herself on this one!

Go see photos on her precious blog: 
http://howtosurvive20.blogspot.com/2013/02/cheersa-wine-cheese-party.html

We had a blind wine tasting and a trivia game (ohmygosh was I terrible at both!  So much for my secret sommelier ambitions!!!), there were wines and cheeses galore gorgeously labeled on a chalkboard table runner (what?!) and she had all kinds of fun things for us to take home, including a beautiful wine cork wreath and monogrammed beer & wine coozies she made herself.  GORG!

She's also a budding photog, so go peek!!!

Hosting: Stock the Bar Party

A couple of weeks ago I co-hosted a Stock the Bar for a couple getting married a few weeks after P and I are due down the aisle.  I've talked about how fun it is to have someone I can bridezilla my heart out to, that totally gets the ridiculousness of negotiating over linens and flowers and such, trying on dresses multiple times to get the right alterations, feeling up a hundred kinds of paper and design to find "the invite"...  It's been crazy but so nice to have a partner in crime!  


I couldn't have been more excited to play a part in throwing the happy couple a little shower to get them started on stocking their house and bar and kicking off the multitude of festivities coming their way!

My co-zilla has the cutest color combo picked out - yellow and gray, super chic and trendy yet classy.  

It was a lot of fun finding fun ways to incorporate their colors into the party, starting with the shower invite I DIY'd here.

My co-hosterita and I went through a bunch of ideas to find fun gifts and favors, which ended up including a traditional bar set, paper goods and these adorable Mr. and Mrs. glasses: 

For food we kept it really simple and toothpick/finger friendly:
Slow cooker meatballs
Pulled pork from the bride's fav spot: Fat Matt's
Spinach dip
Rotel-velveeta dip
Salted caramel cheesecakes (I made mini ones in a mini muffin pan!)

We toasted the future newlyweds with some really cute and fun S'mores Shooters:

Wish I'd had my blowtorch to light up those mini mallows!

DIY straw flags (in Word!)

Paper straws, dishwashable stadium cups and cocktail napkins featuring
the new couple's monogram (all from Etsy)

A chalkboard welcome!

Balloons floated around dangling the couple's engagement photos at eye level 

Signature mojito cocktail and water jugs
Why do lemons float and not limes?!

The spread!

The adorable happy couple opening their gifts!

Wedding Bells: Final Catering Tasting

P and I recently had our final tasting at Affairs to Remember, or as I like to call it, the only wedding item P happily participates in.  Affairs was recommended to me by our good friend Ali, as they did a fabulous job on their wedding, at our same venue!  I swear the similarities stop there :)

We tested out a few caterers just to be sure, but once we tasted their menu items the first time, we were set.  And they give you an inclusive price w decor and plating and all sorts of great stuff that I am SO grateful I don't have to negotiate pennies with companies for now.  Seriously, how you can vary by up to 100% for a fork is beyond me.  Outcha damn mind.  Anddd after you go, they always send you home with a cute little jar of completely calorie/fat free caramel popcorn drizzled with white chocolate.  

Affairs is awesome.  And here are some pics of what's to come to prove it!   A few of these will be in the final shindig in July, you'll just have to drool until then!

lobster with spicy creamed corn shot

crab cake with lemon dill cream

beef tenderloin with carrot and celery in a blue cheese shot

mint julep chicken grilled finished with southern ambrosia chutney

champagne dijon chicken with an asparagus goat cheese salad

pimento three ways - open faced with fried green tomatoes, deconstructed and
spreadable with roasted vegetables

DIY: "Stock the Bar" Shower Invites

A couple of my faves are getting hitched in 8 short months, which has been extra fun for me as I have a bride-in-crime to bounce ideas and vendors and such around with.  Makes my bridal diarrhea of the mouth to the innocent friends more tolerable!

Check out the cutesy l'il invites I made for the Stock the Bar I'm co-hosting next month!   I finally found a good use for the Washi tape that forchicsake.com got me obsessed with!

New Home to Chicify!

Earlier this year, my fiance and I traded in the 1/2 block to the bars for a halfway-to-the-burbs first home - brand new, terrifyingly empty with monotonous walls and not a bit of inspiration to point me in the right direction.  Bam!  House!

The fiance was not actually a fiance yet when we put an offer in on this bad boy, but wise papa Ray stepped in:

"Son, maybe we should discuss a ring before we discuss this house."

He already had the ring and two weekends and a Sunday morning pantsless proposal later, we had not only a house to plan, but a wedding too!  Add to it a brand new, travel-heavy job in the same month and we've got the making for some serious planning, organizing and life changing to do!

As with any red blooded female, I've gotten more than my fair share of Pinterest, Tumblr and blog stalking under my belt.  I've attempted to recreate the fabulous, the thrifty and the frequently ridiculous in my own life through food, fashion, decor and disaster.  Countless sleepless nights making lists, pinning ideas and planning life makeovers have led me to want to share some of my fortunes and, more often, misfortunes with my pleading audience.  (Plead on, masses!)

Plus there's the Rachel Ray thing.

Come July, I will be adopting a name synonymous with 30 minute masterpieces and clever household tricks and techniques - things my body is as adept at as say, the Nutcracker ballet.  At least I have some good restaurant reservations to look forward to...