My Rustic Christmas Recap
29 December 2011
5:05 AM
Hi friends! I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas or Hanukkah! We made the long trek back from Northern Georgia yesterday and it was so hard to leave! We had the most wonderfully relaxing time with Kris' family in our mountain retreat. There were several times that I had to ask what day it was - this was my first true vacation in a while, and I loved it! Here are some pictures of our Christmas through the lens of my camera.
Now it's back to reality, but at least there are only two days left in the work week! I hope you have a fabulous Thursday! xoxo Meggan
Merry Christmas From The Mountains!
24 December 2011
10:27 AM
Source: dressdesigndecor.blogspot.com via Meggan on Pinterest
We arrived in northern Georgia yesterday evening, after a long road trip from Florida - 12 hours of driving! We are staying in a mountain house with Kris' family for Christmas and it is beautiful here; The mountains and crisp cool air are just perfect. We had a relaxing night yesterday with homemade chili, this hot chocolate and a game of Phase 10. We plan on the rest of our vacation mirroring this closely so I will be off the radar until Thursday resting up and relaxing! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and that you may be filled with the incredible love of our Savior whose birth we celebrate tomorrow! I am so thankful for all of you this Christmas!
xoxo Meggan
Strawberry Milkshakes and Cinnamon Rolls
20 December 2011
4:03 AM
This weekend Kris and I made a trip to a South Florida institution, Knaus Berry Farm. Ever since moving to Florida I have heard nothing but rave reviews about the Knaus strawberries and cinnamon rolls.
By the time we arrived, there was a 45 minute wait for cinnamon rolls so while Kris waited in that line, I scored us milkshakes. Kris got chocolate but I opted for the strawberry milkshakes made with fresh strawberries. It was amazing!
On either side of the bakery line were these amazing vegetables and fruit.
The long wait was so worth it for these cinnamon rolls! They were heavenly and I have definitely eaten way too many since we bought them on Saturday.
The great news is that Knaus Berry Farms now ships so everyone can try their amazing cinnamon rolls!
Happy Tuesday!
xoxo Meggan
Guest Post: Gold Leafed Paper Mache Bowls
19 December 2011
4:10 AM
Happy Monday! I can't believe we only have just a few more days until Christmas! I hope you are enjoying this time leading up to the holiday. I am super excited to be guest posting over at Life Spelled Jen today. I had so much fun working on this guest post where I show you how to make a gold leafed paper mache bowl. This project will bring you back to elementary school art projects, and the outcome is so beautiful.
Head over to Jen's beautiful blog, Life Spelled Jen to check out my guest post! Thank you so much to Jen for having me!
xoxo Meggan
Easy DIY Storage
15 December 2011
4:49 AM
I have always loved organization and trips to the Container Store are like heaven! Unfortunately the Container Store is out of my budget so I have tried to get a bit creative with storage in our house. A few months ago, I bought a huge amount of canning jars to make red, white and blue cupcakes in a jar (here). One day I was cleaning my craft room and decided to utilize the extra canning jars to hold some of my jewelry findings. I added chalkboard paint to the jars lids for easy labeling.
Here is how I made these cute storage containers.
Supplies
- Canning or mason jars
- Chalkboard paint
- Chalk
Tutorial
1) Remove the outer ring and lid from the jar.
2) Spray at least two coats of chalkboard paint over the lid. I did three thin coats.
3) Once dry covered the lid in chalk and wiped it off to give the lid the texture of a chalkboard.
4) Label the lid of each jar. Reconnect the ring and lid to the jar.
5) And, here is your finished product!
Happy organizing loves!
Ornament Exchange and A New Blog For You!
13 December 2011
4:33 AM
Hi loves, Happy Tuesday! I had such a blast last night at my dinner club's ornament exchange, I could not wait to tell you about it. Our dinner club was founded three years ago by girls in my church who wanted to try new Ft Lauderdale restaurants while meeting new people. I am so grateful to dinner club because it allowed me to find a core group of amazing girlfriends in Florida! Here is a picture of one of our larger dinners.
This year's ornament exchange was held at a new tapas restaurant called M Bar on Las Olas. The girls shared plates like gnocchi mac&cheese with truffles and brussel sprouts sauteed in a soy sauce. Since I am still sick I just ordered a flat bread and these crispy carrots (seen below). They had the best dipping sauce (a mustard aioli).
After eating it was on to exchanging our ornaments! Here are some snapshots of the girls...
I picked Anne's ornament and it could not have been more perfect as she brought a moustache ornament! If you remember my husband grew a moustache a few months ago and I threw him a "stache bash" birthday (here). He loved the moustache ornament for our tree!
Stephanie opened the "mystery" ornament that we found out was mailed down from one of our dinner club members who has since moved to Atlanta! It was the leg lamp from A Christmas Story - perfect!
Ashley selected Katie's ornaments which were a fork and spoon, so perfect for dinner club!
Vicky picked Steph's red and green festive ornament!
And Katie picked my ornament!
I could not finish this post with out introducing you all to one of my dearest friends and new blogger, Katie (seen in the above picture). Katie blogs over at In The Orange House. She is hysterically funny, crafty, an amazing cook, and incredibly authentic. Here links to some of my favorite posts from Katie's blog:
Be sure to head over to In The Orange House and say hello to Katie!
I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!
xoxo Meggan
I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!
xoxo Meggan
Friday's Fancies: Holiday Party
09 December 2011
3:55 AM
Happy Friday everyone! This is one of those weeks where I am so ready for Friday. I have been super sick all week with a cold and I am hoping I start to feel better this weekend!
I don't know about you, but I just love holiday parties! I love an excuse to wear a fun outfit and be with friends/family before Christmas! This year my dream outfit would be this cute BCBG black lace jumpsuit with tights, booties and some fun accessories. I fell in love with this jumpsuit and I love how it is a unique way to dress up for a holiday party.
BCBG Jumpsuit, Kate Spade Meadowsweet Statement Necklace, Black Tights, Miu Miu Booties, Bauble Bar Cocktail Ring, Halston Heritage Faux Fur Jacket, Valentino Clutch
I am linking up this week with the beautiful {av} at Long Distance Loving for Friday's Fancies. Be sure to go check out the other great holiday party looks!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I am sending prayers to those who were affected by the tragedy at Virginia Tech yesterday. My God give you peace and comfort!
xoxo Meggan
I am linking up this week with the beautiful {av} at Long Distance Loving for Friday's Fancies. Be sure to go check out the other great holiday party looks!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I am sending prayers to those who were affected by the tragedy at Virginia Tech yesterday. My God give you peace and comfort!
xoxo Meggan
Holiday Hostess Gift Guide
07 December 2011
4:35 AM
The holiday party season is in full swing, and along with deciding which party dress to wear, I love selecting/making creative hostess gifts. Below is my guide to giving a great hostess gift. This week I am linking up with The Vintage Apple for her Oh How Pinteresting Party so all of these gifts can be found on my Pinterest page here. Happy gifting!
1-Pink Himalayan Salt, 2-Chalkboard Message Board, 3-Quick Bread in a Jar, 4-Chai Candle, 5-Iomi Frames, 6-Make Your Own Sundae Kit, 7-Wine in a Chevron Dish Towel, 8-Iomi Red & White Pen Set, 9-Georgetown Cupcakes (they ship!), 10-Christmas Cookie Dough
Have a fabulous Wednesday!
xoxo Meggan
DIY Peppermint Wreath
06 December 2011
4:19 AM
A few weeks ago I was asked to make two peppermint wreaths for a Christmas women's evening at my church. I used this tutorial from Gwynn Wasson Designs as guide. I am not going to lie, this wreath is a bit time consuming, but it's easy and beautiful in the end!
Here is what you need to make your own:
- Two bags of star brite mints
- 1 Styrofoam wreath (mine was about 13 inches)
- Red duct tape (you could also use red ribbon or felt)
- Hot glue
- Clear acrylic spray/shellac (optional)
- Decorative ribbon
1. Unwrap the mints, discarding the wrappers. This was the most tedious part! Place the mints in a bowl. I lined the bowl in parchment paper to prevent them from sticking to the bowl.
2. Next, wrap the wreath in duct tape, covering all pieces of the styrofoam.
3. Hot glue one ring of mints starting from the center of the wreath, and add additional rings working your way around the wreath. I used a pattern where each mint was glued in the empty space between each mint in row below it (a brick pattern).
4. Keep adding the mints until you reach the outer edges of the wreath. The picture below was the start of my last row on the wreath.
5. Once I added all of the mints, I took it outside and sprayed a clear acrylic spray all over to shellac it. This helps the mints to not melt in the hot weather we currently have here in Florida! 
6. Add a piece of decorative ribbon, and hang!
This week I am linking up with these lovely ladies!
Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party
Find Your Craft Friday at BabyBerry
Wow us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style
The Allred Abode's Monday Myriad Party
I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday! xoxo Meggan
Weekend of Weddings
05 December 2011
4:29 AM
As I started to write this blog post, I realized that my weekend was completely centered around weddings! On Saturday I woke up early to go wedding dress shopping with my friend Katie and her mom Dee in Coral Gables. We are all involved in the non-profit that I told you about here, His Bride. Priscilla of Boston is going out of business and they were having a huge sale in their store. We found six amazing (and new!) dresses, including the beautiful Melissa Sweet dress below, to add to our bridal consignment boutique. All sales will 100% benefit women who are victims of human trafficking and sexual abuse. We are going to be launching our website in the new year, yay!
My outfit: Forever 21 shirt, Gap Always Skinny jeans, Manolo Blahnik sandals, LV Alma tote
Later that night we drove back to Miami for the wedding I told you about on Friday. It was absolutely gorgeous! The bride was beautiful of course and their reception had a very vintage flair. One of my favorite parts was the flamenco dancer who entertained everyone during dinner!
Apparently all of this fun caused me to succumb to the cold that I have been fighting off for several weeks. Hoping it passes by quickly! Have a happy Monday! xoxo
A Red Tie Affair
02 December 2011
4:08 AM
This weekend I am attending a black tie wedding in Miami with my family. I am so excited to attend the wedding and also to have an excuse to get dressed up. When I saw this gorgeous Valentino dress, I knew it was perfect for my Friday Fancies look. The theme of this week's Friday's Fancies is INPSI(RED) in support of World AIDS Day. It is an amazing cause and I am so happy to join {av} and the other ladies who participate in Friday's Fancies to support it!
I just love how this dress needs so little to be a statement. It is so far out of my budget but a girl can dream right? My look for this weekend's wedding will be a bit more subdued (: but I will be sure to take pictures! Be sure to check out Long Distance Loving for the rest of the Friday's Fancies looks! I hope you have a wonderful weekend! xoxo
Meggan
Low Calorie Skillet Gnocchi
01 December 2011
4:40 AM
I know what you must be thinking, gnocchi and skillet are words that do not typically evoke thoughts of healthy eating. That is why I was particularly excited about finding this recipe for skillet gnocchi with swiss chard and white beans (here). Each serving is just 325 calories!
I made it for dinner last night and it was delicious! Even my husband who typically is not the biggest fan of healthy meals loved it. I followed the recipe, however I supplemented the gnocchi for tortellini because I could not find the gnocchi in our grocery store (hoping that did not throw off the healthy part of this recipe too much!). I also added some fresh oregano and a bit of tomato paste to thicken the sauce.
I hope you have a wonderful Thursday! So excited it's almost the weekend! xoxo
