Hugs & Kisses

Wow! I can't believe I have not blogged in over two months! I hope y'all are doing well! I have been so busy and life just got the best of me! So many exciting things have been going on, but more on that on a later day! :)

Well, Valentine's Day is tomorrow. I love Valentine's day for the fun of it. We don't do a big to-do for Valentine's day - no crowded, over-priced dinner out - more like romantic home cooked meal in our own home, just the two of us - sounds perfect. I hope your Valentine's day is lovely, however you chose to celebrate it (or not)!

Of course I decorate for Valentine's Day! Here is the Valentine's Day wreath I made last month for our front door.

So cute.

I made this Valentine's Day garland last year

Pretty. Pretty.

Sweet Valentine's Day cookies. Love the colors.

I love homemade Valentines!

oxox,

lauren

*Wreath and garland photos courtesy of me. All other images courtesy of Pinterest.

Making Me Smile...

Here are a couple of things that have currently been making me smile...

Cute popsicle dish towels that I picked up from Crate&Barrel at the end of this spring.

So, I made this take on chocolate covered pretzels a few weeks ago and Matt and I loved them - they're the perfect amount of salty + sweet and they're so easy to make. I call them Chocolate Pretzel Twists, but you can call them whatever you would like...

The ingredient round-up

Place a chocolate kiss in the center of each pretzel and then bake for a few minutes.

After baking for 2-3 minutes at 275 degrees, they'll come out with the chocolate all shiny and melted like this.

Next, place an M&M in the center of the chocolate on each one

And once they're cooled, they will look like this. Ready to taste!

These are soooo simple to put together! I made my own variation of these cute little things, but here is the "recipe" I very casually followed.

This is a super easy treat to make and there are so many varieties to make. I used tiny twist pretzels, but just use whatever you like or have around. You don't have to make any certain amount, just make however many you would like to! I just filled up my baking sheet. I did not grease my baking sheet (that did not sound like the best idea to me), I just lined mine with parchment paper and they turned out perfect.

I chose to use dark chocolate Hershey Kisses, but you can use any variety. I also, used a combination of regular milk chocolate M&M's as well as peanut butter M&M's. The peanut butter were our favorite. The combination of the pretzel, dark chocolate and peanut butter was perfection! After assembling them, I let mine cool for at least a couple of hours in the refrigerator before trying them. We really liked them straight out of the refrigerator, so we continued to store them in there in a sealed container and they were delicious! Mmmm!

oxox,
lauren

Neontastic

Now that the official start of summer is less than two weeks away and it feels like August outside I am craving bright colors! My summer staple is sundresses and I have been gravitating to all things bright and/or neon. Neon makes me happy, how can it not?! I am currently sporting a fresh pedi with my favorite essie neon pink nail polish that I found at j.crew last spring and it consistently makes me smile.

Happy pink flip-flops

Subtle neonness to spruce up that dress or top that you're a bit bored of

Not-so-subtle, but perfect for summertime!

Love this color!

Absolutely. Amazing.

Pretty pretty.

This bangle is the perfect way to add a hint of neon

Great shirt! And actually very versatile

This fedora would be perfect for a day at the beach, an outdoor summer concert or sightseeing on your summer vacation

These colorful bangles are perfect stacked like this, individually or mixed in with other bangles

Oh, how I love a great maxi dress in the summer {i feel like they help me transition from the hot outdoors into the meat locker indoors}!

A nice bright turn on the wedge

Yay for fun eyeliner!

This is actually a little girls' cardi, but i think it's really cute

A pretty neon pop

This is my bottle of essie polish that I love. It's called Punchy Pink and it makes me smile

So whether wearing neon accessories or apparel, I think it's fun and happy and I love it!

oxox,
lauren

*happy pink flip-flops, yellow bib necklace, neon pink romper, turquoise watch, bright slingback Louboutin's, chandelier earrings, wooden yellow bangle, partial button-down shirt, fun fedora, colorful striped bangles, belted maxi dress, yellow strappy wedges, neon eyeliner, striped cardigan, clutch

Bending the lines

I know some think they may have already had their shining moment, but I still love chevron stripes. I think chevron stripes are the perfect amount of fun and drama and i just really love them. And they make me smile every time i see them.

i love this super-cute dress

These colorful calling cards are so happy looking

Perfect mini cake pedestal

Charming and subtle

I think this is the most adorable little bikini

I can't get enough of this fabric

Love!

oxox,
lauren

*entry way rug, cute party dress, fun lucite tray, colorful calling cards, fun mini cake stand, table, itsy bitsy striped bikini, nautical striped dress, lovely fabric, blue ikat floor

A little sunshine

I love this room...it makes me so happy :) Isn't it pretty? I just love the great use of yellow.

The season 4 finale of Mad Men was Sunday night (already...i can't believe it! i mean it feels like the season just began!) and i am sad about that. Really though, how insane was that episode??? I did not see that coming! But i have come to expect nothing less from that incredible show! The writing is fantastic. Okay, we're ready for the season five premiere! I don't think Matt & I can wait!

Oh, and we saw Social Network on Sunday evening and i thought the movie was great! Although it was pretty insane to see how Facebook came to fruition.

oxox,
lauren

*image courtesy of Southern Living