Sprinkling in Some Glam: Measuring up

I love to bake. Some days I feel like I could spend endless hours in our kitchen baking all sorts of things. I made some peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from scratch last weekend and they were delicious! I think cooking and baking is a lot of fun, especially when having great utensils, and I really enjoy both. My measuring cups work wonderfully and I love them...

These are ours, they're really great...we received them as a wedding gift and use them all the time!

But look at these, they are all so happy and fun...

I really love these!

So pretty

Really cute and whimsical

These remind me of home

How adorable!

Snails!...i think these are great for when little ones are helping in the kitchen!

These look like Mrs. Deen's...i have always thought hers are so pretty when I see them while watching her show.

Fun play on measuring CUPS!

So darn precious...i love these as well!

On another note, this recent article written by David Jones from the Patriot-News that I read earlier this week makes me smile. I am proud to be a Bama fan, so I thought I would share this really nice write-up about Alabama's southern hospitality.

oxox,
lauren

*Classic silver cups, silver heart & arrow spoons, delicate bloom cups, silver fleur de lis spoons, little shell spoons, pewter fish spoons, red & pink heart cups, silver dining spoons, fun snail cups, pretty hanging silver cups, stacked colorful cups, silver bird spoons

In black & white

Black & white, such a classic combination, but I love the elegant simplicity of the two together! Black and white is a timeless match in fashion and decorating. I love the two hues together by themselves, or when another color is added for a fun pop! Black & white photographs always look so captivating and pretty. I love how there are always new and fresh ways the duo are being used together, so the match never gets old! Yep, I do love the timeless stark contrast of black & white!

What an adorable little party dress!

Such a cute bangle

Love this handbag

Such a lovely bedroom...i really love the mini chandeliers!

How fun is this little half-apron? It suddenly makes cooking a bit glamorous!

The perfectly pretty way to enjoy a morning cup of coffee or an afternoon tea

I think this tableware would make any dish taste a little bit better!

oxox,
lauren

*Party dress, cute bangle, fun & fierce handbag, pretty bedroom, flirty half-apron, dainty monogrammed mug, dotted tableware

Yumm...cheesecake!

About two and a half months ago I baked my first cheesecake. I baked the marvelous Barefoot Contessa's (I just love her!) Raspberry Cheesecake and I used her Raspberry Sauce recipe to top off each slice. I was intimidated by this at first, but it actually turned out really well! I made the cheesecake the day before Katie came up to visit back in June so that Matt and I could share with someone! Kidding, I really made it for Katie! The cheesecake itself is plain, but the recipe calls for one tablespoon of freshly grated lemon zest which makes it a little lemony and different! I used Mrs. Ina's raspberry sauce recipe (if you watch her show she makes this sauce all the time) which the cheesecake recipe did not include, it included another kind of raspberry sauce. Katie, Matt and I really enjoyed the cheesecake...it was a big hit!

Here is the finished crust

2 1/2 pounds of softened cream cheese and 1 1/2 cups of sugar

The creamed, light and fluffy cream cheese and sugar

After all the other ingredients have been mixed in

The finished cheesecake

The beginning of the raspberry sauce

The sauce, after being cooked down

Smoothing the sauce out in the food processor

This sauce is soooo good!

The finished product

I garnished the cheesecake with fresh raspberries and grated dark chocolate...mmmmm!

If you would like to make one here is the link to the cheesecake recipe and here's the link for the raspberry sauce. Try it...it's delicious! And surprisingly easy to make!

P.S. Well, as you may know, I am a southern girl and in the south we love our college football! Needless to say, Matt and I are soooo excited for the kickoff of college football this weekend (actually it kicks off on Thursday, but our teams (Alabama- me and Georgia Tech- him) don't play until Saturday!)) Yay! We are so ready for this long and fun-filled weekend!

oxox,
lauren

A glimpse into our home

I figured since summer is quickly coming to an end (by the way, where the heck did it go???) I would show some pictures of our living room. I love to decorate and I always have, since I was a little girl. I am certainly not a professional decorator, in any way, shape or form, but I do decorate all on my own and will always do so. I tend decorate in a style that I like to call, Eclectically Polished (!) Ha! I know that sounds funny, but I call it that because I put together things that I love in a room and I believe that when I do that, things have a nice way of coming together. I get things when I see them and love them. I usually do not buy in sets. I like to mix and match. Our living room has been decorated with coastal accents (it is the only room in our home decorated like this) for the spring and summer. With the season change coming upon us I will be moving a few things around for fall, so I wanted to share these pictures while they still fit in with the season...

Love the stripes! The color is called Antique Silver. I thought them up and thankfully my mom was still in town and did the labor intensive painting because I was still recovering from surgeries. Thanks again Mom!

By the way, I would like to say, (I apologize in advance hunny, but you know how I feel about these) that the black leather couches came before my time and we will be updating sometime soon and moving these into his so-called "Man Room" by his request! ;)

I would also like to say that, yes, I know we live in Atlanta and we are not located on the coast. Please humor me and my coastal accent pieces because I find comfort in the beach, it makes me feel good and happy, and I hope you like it as well!

I painted every other starfish the same color as the stripes on the wall

My awesome sister Meghan, was in town for a couple of days last week and we had such a good time! Her birthday was yesterday, and she got a super cute dress while she was here to wear out to her birthday dinner! Happy Birthday Meg!!!! Come back soon doll!

oxox,
lauren

Seeing blue

Oh, how I love the color blue. It's so peaceful and soothing. I have two favorite colors, green and blue, to be specific, Kelley green and Porcelain blue (commonly known as Robin's Egg blue, but I like to call it Porcelain). I love the color pink as well, but I do not consider it a favorite. Anyway, I have used Porcelain blue a lot throughout our home while decorating and I just really love the color. I guess my two favorite colors stem from my love of the beach and the beautiful shades of blue and green I see while looking at the water.

How cute is this timer (it's magnetic too!)?

Love the BLUE zebra print!

Adds a little somethin' to any outfit

This makes me want to go buy a dozen eggs to put on display!

I need this precious tote bag!

Pretty and fun!

I love how each dish perfectly nests in the other

P.S. On a personal note, today marks the tenth year that my father passed away. Oh, how I miss him.

oxox,
lauren

* Cute dress, retro-looking timer, zebra print melamine plate, fun necklace, adorable egg crate, too-cute tote bag, dressy and fun earrings, lovely tableware.

One day, I will get there!

Since I was 12 I have wanted to go to Bora Bora! Really, I'm not joking, since I was 12!

Well, I kind of hate to admit it but, like so many others I was sucked into The Bachelorette this season. So, when it came down to the last few episodes, I was watching more for the gorgeous aerial tours of Bora Bora than the drama of which adorable bachelor Ali was going to ultimately end up choosing :) I do have to admit though that I don't blame her choice (I mean, how cute is Roberto?!?), I absolutely did feel for Chris though, but something tells me he will not have a problem meeting another lovely girl. How cool was the rainbow that appeared after Ali left him heartbroken? I have to say, I was balling like a little girl.

Okay, enough of The Bachelorette and back to the wonderfully beautiful Bora Bora. I am soooo itching to get there! And The Bachelorette did nothing to help this itch! I kept shouting to my husband (who was sweet enough to sit in the same room with me as I watched the show and do some work on his laptop), "Look at how amazing!" and "Look, are you seeing how incredible this place looks, it's like Heaven on Earth?" He was already aware that I have been dreaming of going one day, but needless to say after the last few weeks of watching two hours of what felt to me like features on Bora Bora, Matt has absolutely know doubt of how serious I am about going! It looks like the most divine place on earth and I am obsessed! Let's all look in awe at the gorgeousness of this magical place now...







Ahhh, maybe if I close my eyes hard enough I will reopen them up and be in this place that looks like my idea of paradise! I know we will not be going anytime soon, but until we do, I can always just re-watch episodes of this seasons Bachelorette!

oxox,
lauren

*images courtesy of Google images