Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

that means - Let the good times roll! Here's how you say it - Lah - ze leh bon tom roo - lay

Tonight is our Mardi Gras Birthday Spectacular! I can't wait to show y'all all of the fun things we made (like this banner full of glitter and feathers) and planned for this themed party!

Last night we ate jambalaya (Dear Zatarain's, Thank you for helping.) and the final decorations were put in place (well almost final). The birthday girl (pictured in the middle) was so excited! I even got her a CD full of New Orleans music. Next week I will share all of the colorful and fun details! Hope you have a happy weekend too. xoxo

Duck and Goose

I have been pet sitting 2 of the cutest little doggies this week. Meet Duck and Goose!

Funny Friday

It's Friday! Here's a funny video made by the grandparents of one of the creators of Awkward Family Photos to make you laugh today! I love when grandpa starts singing! And when he asks her to move over so we can see him ... hilarious!

Snow?

Can you believe that when I woke up this morning it looked like this and this afternoon it is sunny without a single snowflake in sight? Oh, North Carolina weather!

Little Lenny

Little Lenny just loves to sniff the camera every time I try to take his picture. He's so cute, don't you think?

Before and After: frames

It's been a while since I posted a Before and After. I found these pretty, bird watercolors at a yard sale and updated their look to add a pop of color to the wall above my bed.

Before

After

Beautiful burlap

Who knew burlap could look so beautiful?

PS - Wedding images via Once Wed

PPS - Don't you just love Project Runway?

summer baseball singing

This weekend a friend and I auditioned to sing the National Anthem at the Durham Bulls baseball park. (The Bulls are our local minor league team). I stood on the field by the dugout with a microphone and sang to the empty seats - I was number 81! If they pick me (I hope they do!) I will be singing the National Anthem at a home baseball game this summer. *Fingers crossed*

If the stadium was full, it would look like this.

Indy 2010 Best of the Triangle

Hello Raleigh lovers! It's time for Independent Weekly's 2010 Best of the Triangle. Vote for you favorites here. The categories this year are: Wine & Dine, Music & Clubs, Out & About, Goods, Services, Media, and Wildcard.

This year, my votes go to Ornamentea (Craft or Gift Shop - I would go there everyday if I could ... they have an online store too!), WKNC 88.1fm (College Radio Station - my alma mater and a great station ... stream it online 24/7!), Caffe Luna (Italian -oh yummy Rigattoni con Polla a la Pana, I love thee), and Armadillo Grill (Late Night Munchies - can you say delich nachos or queso after 2am?) to name a few.

Mardi Gras

So I know Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday has already passed but this coming weekend is my beautiful friend's birthday and we are throwing a Mardi Gras party complete with masks, beads, and fun decor. (I can't give you all the details right now because the birthday girl reads my blog, * wink wink *) Since you probably read the details of my birthday last month, you know we celebrate in style and the party has to have a theme! So this weekend we started transforming our apartment into Bourbon Street by hanging up fun multi-colored Christmas lights from the ceiling creating the coolest lighting effect in our living room. Did any of you have a Mardi Gras party?

flats

I got these great metallic, cut out flats this weekend. So cute!

Lenny = Cute Overload

Oh my goodness! My adorable little Lenny is on cuteoverload.com! I'm so excited! And so is he! ;)

Here's the link.

dark chocolate

So I don't really like dark chocolate.

Or at least I thought I didn't.

And then last night, I accidentally bought dark chocolate pretzels at Trader Joe's. You know what? They're delicious. A tasty blend of sweet and salty, and currently, a perfect Friday afternoon snack.

Have a happy weekend!

colorful invites

How fun this colorful wedding invite I found on MOK DUK?

"Teddy Goes to the Beach"

I love cute cupcakes and these, found on pillsbury.com, are the cutest little summertime cupcakes. What a sweet idea to use Teddy Grahams as a cupcake topping. Aren't they adorable?

photo tour: Valentine's Skiing

John and I went skiing for Valentine's Day and, if you're interested, here is a little photo tour of our trip.

We started in North Carolina ...

traveled through Virginia ...
past snow covered mountains ...
through 2 big tunnels ...
and into West Virginia.
Then, we went skiing!
and rode the chair lift ...
and caught snow flakes on our gloves (aren't they so delicate and pretty?).

Bridesmaids

Have you ever been a bridesmaid? Until now, I hadn't. But this June I am going to be in a friend's wedding wearing this little strapless purple (lapis, actually) dress. And another friend of mine is in a July wedding wearing this one-strap number in black with a green sash. What did your bridesmaid dress look like?

birthday outfit

A wonderful friend of mine (who plans sweet birthday surprises) is having a birthday at the end of this month and she is in search of the perfect birthday outfit. (You can't have a birthday without the perfect outfit!) She stumbled upon this awesome dress that can be worn in a variety of ways. The bottom, in this photo, looks like a bubble skirt but underneath there are ties holding it up and you can tie and untie them to create different looks. How neat!

Girl Scout Cookies ~ Make Your Own

It's Girl Scout Cookie time and Samoas and {frozen} Thin Mints are my favorite (In fact I've already eaten a few too many)! Around the office there has been a discussion about the cookies though, because their names are different! The Samoas are now called Caramel de-Lites. What's that about? And, I just found a recipe on the Baking Bites blog - how to make your very own Samoas (and other Girl Scout cookies). So you can enjoy these delectable treats even when the Girl Scouts aren't selling them ~ Yum!

Well, I'm back. John and I had a fabulous time skiing for Valentine's Day (I'll post some pictures later!) Yesterday I was feeling a bit under the weather but, it is a beautiful and sunny (but still cold!) day here in NC and I am much better. If only the view out of my window was as beautiful as this one.

A HUGE thanks to the beautiful Southern Hostess of the SoHo blog for giving me the Happy 101 Blog Award. I am currently compiling a list of 10 things that make me happy (how can I choose only 10?) and 10 lovely bloggers to send the award to next. Thank you!

Valentine's Goodies

Last night, I pulled out my Valentine's baking supplies (pink sprinkles, red food coloring, delicious turtle brownie mix, etc.) and my Perfect Brownie Pan Set, and created some Valentine's goodies for my friends and family. I found the cutest little Valentine's notecards on Creature Comforts and attached them to the bags of sprinkled sugar cookies and XO brownies (perfectly sliced, of course) with some fun pink and red ribbon!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! Have a happy weekend!

xoxo