A Sugar Doll Award

I received a lovely surprise today from Trish over at Pink Preppy Lilly Lover as she graced me with this sweet award! Her blog is super adorable and full of charm. Than again she is a southern lady! You must check out her blog! Its a favorite of mine!

I once again just want to thank all of my readers. My blog is not even a year old and I have some of the best followers a girl could ask for! You're all so sweet!

PS: Make sure you stop by my blog on Monday as I will be announcing something that you all will not want to miss out on!!!hmm.. giveaway perhaps?!?!

4th of July Decorations

I can't believe this weekend it will be the 4th of July! I feel as if summer has just begun. Anyone else feeling this way?

If I was having a 4th of July celebration here are some decorating ideas I would incorporate into my event. Some of you may already have already seen these ideas but I think they are so cute I just had to share!

Sneak Peek

Adorable right?! I ordered these straws this weekend as I started planning for our baby gender revealing party next month! I plan on serving pink lemonade in mason jars so I am thinking these straws will go nicely with the lemonade. For the blue, I hope to find sparkling water available in a blue bottle.

Hope you all had a nice weekend and your Monday is off to a good start!

Cheers to the Weekend!

Happy Friday. It has sort of been a busy week for me so I am glad that I have nothing planned this weekend besides doing some reading for book club and tackling where we are going to go for our babymoon next month. I wish you all a relaxing weekend!

Image via we heart it

PS: Anyone else think the idea of serving lemonade out of a jar is a cute idea?! I Love it.

What I'm Loving this Week

I'm loving summer dresses this week. I recently found so many cute dress styles that I just had to share these finds with all of you! I'm especially in love with this coral dress!

dresses 1-3 from lulus and dress #4 from nordstrom

Vegan Dishes and Desserts

Did anyone catch Cupcake Wars last night? One of the featured bakers was a lady by the name of Chef Chloe Coscarelli. Her speciality is vegan cupcakes and she was the winner of last nights show. Now, I have never had a vegan cupcake before and honestly, the thought of something made with out butter does not sound appealing especially when we are talking about cupcakes. But. Oh. My. Goodness. Not only did the flavors of cupcakes she made sound amazing they looked amazing! She also makes other delicious treats such as this blueberry french toast and a vegan mac n cheese that I am wanting to try.

Summer Cupcakes

As I was searching for a yummy lemon cupcake recipe {should note I have a cupboard full of cupcake books but I was too comfy to leave my sofa apparently, to search for a recipe there} I stumbled upon these summer cupcake creations by Martha Stewart. With yesterday, being the first day of summer {sorry Australian friends} and with another episode of cupcake wars airing tonight I thought it would only be fitting to share these adorable cupcakes with all of you. I think summer just got a little bit sweeter!

recipe for cupcake #1 here

recipe for cupcake #2 here

recipe for cupcake #3 here

images via martha stewart

Here's to a Great Week

{image via here}

Happy Monday friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I was able to spend this past week and weekend with my family which was a lot of fun. On Sunday, I made my husband homemade pancakes topped with blueberries for his daddy to be breakfast, went to the library to pick up the Little Bee for book club, and I finally watched Avatar with my husband {it was the least I could do as he has watched his fair share of chick flicks with me}. Today, I start my two weeks of tutoring two little girls on reading, and on Tuesday I have a doctors appointment. I can't wait to hear the baby's heat beat again!

Here is wishing you all a fabulous week!

What I'm Loving this Week

I heart these decorative paper posies. They could work for embellishing scrapbook pages, picture frames, or even being adding to your gift wrap.

I heart these black and white cloth cocktail napkins

I heart these vintage earrings

I heart this nautical stripe tote {love the bow!}

Pain au Chocolat

{before going into the oven after rising over night}

{Ready to eat! Sorry for not having a cute photo. These would have looked better on a plate}

I love chocolate croissants or shall I say Pain au Chocolat pastries. I had my first buttery, flaky, chocolaty goodness treat while honeymooning in St. Barts in 2007 and I wasn't reunited with these yummy pastries until this fall when my husband and I went to Paris.

Since, flying to Paris whenever I am in the mood for one of these yummy pastries from a cute Boulangerie is out of the question I will settle for the Trader Joes version. So happy I discovered these on a recent grocery trip as they are really tasty and one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast!

Cupcake Wars

I am so excited for the premier of Cupcake Wars as you all know I love cupcakes and all things related to cupcakes! Cupcake Wars premiers tonight on the food network channel and I can't wait! In the meantime, enjoy some of these pretties!

via we heart it via design sponge

via we heart it

via crafty angel

Vacation Recap

Our weekend getaway with my family to San Diego and to Coronado, CA was a lot of fun. We stayed on Coronado Island which made for a relaxing time. We ate some yummy cupcakes from this bakery, had pizza one night that had views overlooking the bay and the San Diego sky line, played on Coronado Beach at the Hotel Del, and spent a day at Sea World. We had a lot of fun at Sea World where we took in two shows. We saw the new Blue Horizon show which showcases dolphins and whales and then we saw the famous Shamu show. It was really fun to see how these animals have been trained and how incredible these animals really are. My family is in town all week where I am sure more fun awaits!

{at Coronado Beach}

{my niece collecting sea shells}

{loving the shark attraction}

{the dolphin "walking" during the show}

{Shamu}

What are some of your vacation destinations or favorite vacation memories with your family?

Happy Monday

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend and I would also like to say a big thank you to my dear friend Lisa for guest blogging on Friday. Our weekend escape to Coronado and San Diego was very nice but I am exhausted. Good thing I have all day to get caught up on laundry and my sleep. I will be sharing a recap of our weekend getaway as soon as I get the time to go thru all of our photos. In the meantime, I snapped this photo while walking around the neighborhoods in Coronado, California. I just love how the bikes are leaning up against this lemon tree.

Summer Beach Reads

Happy Friday, it’s Lisa from Lisa’s Yarns! While Cherry Blossom is off exploring with her family, I have the honor of posting in her absence.

I am sort of the unofficial librarian in my group of friends. I take pride in the fact that I usually am able to suggest a great book when a friend is looking for a recommendation. Today I’d like to share some great summer reads. All of these books would be great for a vacation get-away, whether you are escaping to the coast or to a lawn chair in your back yard!

Page Turner Mystery: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Engaging Love Story: The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans

Travel Memoir with a Love Story: Es Cuba by Lea Aschkenas

Tear Jerker: Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

Chick Lit: Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons

What are some summer reads you would recommend to a friend?

Off to the Beach

{image credit here}

I am off to San Diego for the weekend! We are staying on Coronado Island and I can't wait to see the ocean. I am looking forward to doing some reading on the beach, building sandcastles with my little niece, collect some seashells, and take in the sites of Sea World. It should be a lot of fun.

And tomorrow I will be having a guest blogger! If you are in need of a good summer read make sure you check out my guest blogger as I promise she will be making some great recommendations!

mmm.. Taffy

So, I thought this would only be appropriate to follow up my candy post from yesterday to showcase even... more candy! I think these taffy sticks from Kate Landers Events are so adorable and the perfect party treat! I am thinking of having some friends over for a gender revealing party in July and I think the blueberry and strawberry sticks would be perfect! I really do not eat that much candy especially now that I am expecting, but who can resist taffy?!

Sugar Addiction

Off and on all weekend I have been dealing with a stomach bug. However, that hasn't stopped me from admiring these yummy treats. Maybe in some ways it's good that I have not been able to divulge in this sugar madness otherwise my addiction could easily get out of control. After all, I don't think anyone can ever be to old for a good ol' dose of sugar especially when its in the form of rock candy, sugar cookies, and cotton candy!

{photos via we heart it and via amy atlas blog}

Tennis+ France = Great Fashion

Did anyone watch the French Open this weekend? If so, you then saw that Lacoste was a sponsor and some of the women were wearing really cute tennis outfits fitted by Lacoste. I did some research where I learned René Lacoste was a star tennis player during the 1920's, so it only makes sense that the players of the French Open would be fitted by Lacoste. Once again, the French always have a way of keeping things classy.

Pretty in Pink

I watched the Martha Stewart show yesterday and it was all about the color pink! Seeing the show yesterday, inspired me to find some pretty pink photos. Aren't they lovely?

{images via we heart it & crafty angel}

Happy Friday and hope you all have a relaxing weekend!