WOOOHOOO!

So as I mentioned on Tuesday, my friend Barbara was in Charleston Fashion Week's Emerging Designer competition! Well, she was one of three designers chosen to compete in the next phase of the competition! (wooohoooooo!)

Right now, Barbara is busy designing and sewing an haute couture piece made from men's white oxford shirts that is an 'ode' to Alexander McQueen. It is a Project Runway type task... They were given 30 minutes to sketch, a $100 fabric budget and 3 days to complete their piece! The three designers will debut their piece at CFW's finale on Saturday night!

I am so proud of Barbara and honored to call her my friend!

Check out this write up in Charleston's City Paper about the Emerging Designer competition.... Especially the part of Barbara!

Check out some pictures of the B.b. runway show!

Numbers! Numbers!

So I get a lot of my house inspirations from Pottery Barn... I love the casual feel of their rooms. I was browsing the PB website the other day and ran across these awesome pillows... And we all know that I've recently become obsessed with adding numbers and letters to my home decor!

I'm thinking of trying to recreate them since I don't have the $90 for the set of 4 pillows! Plus I think they'd be a great neutral addition to the pillows I recently made!

Charleston Fashion Week

Last week I mentioned that my friend Barbara was a contestant in Charleston Fashion Week's 'Emerging Designers' competition... Well, the BIG day is here!

Tonight will be my first-ever CFW show and I am so excited to see B.b. on the runway! (And yes, I'm pretty excited to get all dolled up and hit the town with my girlfriends!)

So please, everyone keep your fingers crossed for Barbara... They will choose 3 designers to go on to the next stage of the competition and I am so hoping that she is one of them!

Must have's... FORKS!

This weekend was absolutely BEAUTIFUL in Charleston and I spent much of it outside! I planted my garden on Saturday afternoon and I'm so excited about all my veggies! But there is something missing... I need 'labels' for which veggie and/or herbs are in which pot! I've seen some great ideas, but am in love with the idea of using vintage forks to hold the seed packets in the pots!

Now I just have to find some forks... A mission that of course has reached the top of the priority list!

Look how pretty these are....

Christmas Presents!

Yes, I know it's March! But I have FINALLY hung my fabulous Christmas presents from my best friend Cam! She's an interior decorator in Raleigh, NC and she's so creative!

She made these AWESOME pictures for me for Christmas and I finally decided on the perfect place for them!

And what a great idea these are... Especially for those of us who have extra fabric from other projects we've been working on! Cam just stapled the fabric to the back of an empty frame.. She even made one with wallpaper!

I love the grouping with the modern pictures Cam gave me and the very traditional Charleston print! And Cam is so good with color... They look great in my den!

                          

Comfort food: 'big girl' mac & cheese!

Ok y'all the other day I mentioned that I was in desperate need for mac & cheese... Well, the Cooking Light recipe I tried was DELICIOUS!!! So I just had to share!

Smoked Gouda Macaroni and Cheese

- 1 slice whole wheat bread
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 C. thinly sliced green onions
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 TBS. all-purpose flour
- 2 C. fat-free milk
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/2 C. shredded smoked Gouda cheese
- 1/3 C. grated fresh Parmesan cheese
- 5 C. coarsely chopped fresh spinach
- 4 C. hot cooked elbow macaroni (about 2 C. uncooked)

Preheat oven to 350. Place bread in food processor; pulse until bread is coarse crumbs. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add sliced onions and minced garlic; cook for 1 minute. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, salt, and pepper, stirring constantly with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil and cook until thick. Remove from heat, and add cheeses, stirring until melted. Add spinach and macaroni to cheese sauce, stirring until well blended. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake for 15 minutes or until bubbly.

                    - from Cooking Light's The Best of Cooking Light



So I made a few changes.... First, I used swiss instead of gouda because it's a little less expensive, but equally as good! I also used breadcrumbs that I had in my fridge instead of making my own... Just a little easier to skip that step! Plus less cleanup!

Hope y'all enjoy! I know that Bryan and I did!

Running

Whew, ok y'all so my girlfriends and I try to get together once a month... Well a while back, we decided that our March 'reunion' would be in Charleston for the Cooper River Bridge Run! Sounded like such a great idea at the time... But guess who hasn't trained? You got it... ME! The run is less than 3 weeks away and I have no idea what I'm going to do... well that's not entirely true... I'm just going to have to walk instead of run!

(yes, all those 'dots' are people!)

The good news about all this disappointment that I'm feeling? It motivated me to get out and jog this morning! Now, let's hope I can keep the motivation up for the next 3 weeks! Hope everyone has a great Tuesday! :)

New home...

Do y'all remember that awesome fan I found while thrifting in Hampstead with my mother? Well it has (finally) found it's new home...

On top of our 'storage' armoire in the office! I think it's so great and I love what it adds to the office ... even Bryan appreciates the new addition!

RED!

I have recently become OBSESSED with the color red... Which is something that my mother finds particularly funny because I tried for a long time to have a 'totally neutral house' (ie, the opposite of her funky and fun beach house!) While my house remains relatively neutral, there are pops of red and aqua in almost every room now!

Our townhouse has an adorable breakfast nook and the round glass-top table that sits there is where we have most of our meals. I've been wanting to trade it's basic black legs for something a little more fun... So I decided this morning it would go to RED! After Tux and I drove over to Lowe's to pick up a can of spray paint, we got to work and I must say it was such a great way to spend this gorgeous day!

I am really loving my 'new' ADORABLE red table too! What do you think?

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Grown up mac & cheese!!

Y'all, I am obsessed with cheese... Yes, obsessed! And I have been CRAVING creamy mac and cheese recently! So I decided I would make a 'grown up' version for dinner tonight...

This is Cooking Light's smoked Gouda macaroni and cheese! Yummmmm! I'm thinking just a mixed green salad on the side!



I will definitely let you know how it turns out... But for now, I need to head to the grocery for a few ingredients!

Bragging...

Just had to brag a little about my fabulous friend Barbara... She is one of eight designers in Charleston's Fashion Week's 'Emerging Designers' competition!!!

Barbara and I had tea this afternoon and she filled me in on all the details! I am so, so excited for her! She designs the most adorable children's clothing and is the first ever children's designer in the Emerging Designer competition so it's a BIG DEAL! I am so proud to be her friend and to be able to head to the show to support her!

Check out her blog... http://barbarabeach.blogspot.com/

It's supposed to be a gorgeous weekend in Charleston and I cannot wait to spend it all outside!

Spring!!!

Ok, Ok maybe I'm exaggerating... But it was gorgeous in Charleston today! (Could have been slightly less windy and maybe a little warmer, but beggers can't be choosers!)

So Tux (our dog) and I spent much of the afternoon outside planning our garden! After all, it's about time to start planting some seeds. Bryan and I live in a townhouse and our EXTREMELY strict HOA says that we can't plant ANYTHING in our yards... I don't usually complain because they do all the upkeep in our yard but I do love fresh veggies in the summer. So last year, I planted some peppers, tomatoes, lettuces, and herbs all in containers and let me tell you... I was VERY happy with the results!

This year we're upping the anty... Here's what I (with the help of my friendly assistant Tux) decided on today..

- tomatoes
- peppers
- carrots
- squash
- cucumbers
- strawberries
- lettuce
- spinach
- and a variety of herbs!

I am so excited! Now... I'm on a mission for more pots and of course all my seeds! Here's to hoping my green thumb continues to prosper!

Woohoo!

Ok, first my apologies for the lack of blogging that has been going on! I was travelling and then got sick... Ick! Never fun!

I got GREAT news upon my return... I have been offered a job!! Wooohooo!! After months and months of searching, I will be gainfully employed as of April 2nd! And let me tell you, Bryan is as excited as I am :)

Looks like I'll need to get a lot of 'projects' completed in the meantime... Hello, paintbrush!!