bringing the outside in

I've always loved fresh flowers. While they're a luxury, they can reallybrighten up a space and my mood. Once in a while I'll spread flowers all over the house in every nook and cranny I can find. To me, it's just as fun to spend energy making the small areas of our home more cozy and inviting as it is the larger, more public spaces. While I'm the first to admit that home is where the heart is, adding these little details can bring the outside in and make our home even sweeter.

Do you have simple ways to sweeten your space?

5 foods to crave

First of all, Happy 2014!

I had grand intentions to start the year with lots of energy and even, a blog post. Unfortunately, I caught a cold and have been trying to fight it as best I can. The most difficult part of being sick, besides the obvious, is having to rest. It's so hard to simply be still. The new year rolled around and I was all ready to tackle my goals and make moves but it didn't happen the way I planned. Fortunately, I was able to rest and spend time reflecting on what I want to make happen this year.

A new year means a fresh start. I know I'm not alone in aiming to make my health a priority and in general, make healthier decisions. Crazily, my body seems to know exactly what I need and I have actually been craving nutritious foods regularly. Pretty awesome, right? Here are five foods I've been digging lately and of which, I can't seem to get enough.

1 | (everything) citrus

Citrus fruits have been my main squeeze all winter, including grapefruit, oranges, and my most recent discovery, satsumas. Until a month ago, I had never tried a satsuma. I passed by them many times in the grocery and wondered how these silly sounding fruits could possibly taste that much better than a clementine. After all, the only difference I noticed was that satsumas still have leaves attached and clementines don't. It turns out, satsumas are a variety of the mandarin orange and they are exceptionally scrumptious. We have purchased bags of them, week after week. In case you haven't had a chance to try this seasonal fruit, keep your eyes peeled for this juicy, Vitamin C fix next November.

2 | green tea + honey

Initially, I started drinking tea with honey to help heal my sore throat and the more I drank, the more I wanted to drink. For Christmas, we received a fresh jar of honey from my uncle, who makes it himself. Well, with help from the bees, of course.

As you probably know, green tea is loaded with antioxidants and has many other health benefits as well.

3 | pomegranates

I tried my first pomegranate a couple of weeks ago. They were on sale and I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to try something new. Clueless about how exactly to eat a pomegranate, I decided to slice it in half and began to dig in with a fork. Quickly, I realized that pomegranate seeds stain pretty badly and that eating it with a fork may not be the most fruitful approach. Who knew there was a correct way to open a pomegranate? Not me. After watching a couple of YouTube videos, I attempted a new approach with the second pomegranate and was able to get the seeds out much more easily.

Not only are pomegranates beautiful, but they are also super rich in antioxidants and contain a significant portion of your daily Vitamin C and K values.

4 | brussel sprouts

Before you turn up your nose quite yet, have you tried brussel sprouts recently? I can't get enough of them. Lately I've been baking or sauteing our sprouts with sunflower oil and finishing them off with a little salt, pepper and a pinch of parmesan. When grilling season rolls around, I want to try out this recipe.

Their fibrous composition helps lower cholesterol and reduce inflammation. They also offer Vitamins A, C and K and antioxidants too. Honestly, the health benefits of this nutrient-dense food are pretty impressive. Check it out.

5 | kale

Kale is the new craze. It's everywhere. I'm sure you've heard the phrase "Kale Yeah", haven't you? Jokes aside, this superfood has been incredibly popular in our house lately. We saute it, put it in smoothies and even serve it raw in salads. Soon I'll share one of my favorite kale salad recipes, in the event that you're feeling bold enough to try it. And if you're already a kale aficionado, then this recipe will be right up your alley.

Kale is great for people like me who only get their calcium intake through cheese and lattes. In addition to the usual vitamin offerings, Kale contains phytonutrients that help combat inflammation and it is also a great source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Cheers to craving foods that make us feel good!

What new foods have you tried recently?

macaron favors {make love happen}

I love to fly and travel and go.  I get all anxious about arriving at the airport fully prepared and generally have butterflies in my stomach..the good kind, though.  I love knowing that I am about to encounter a completely new experience.  I suppose this is the benefit of always traveling for pleasure.

Part of my personal flight preparation involves acquiring the largest bottle of water known to Man, tucking my iPhone in the designated side pocket of my purse, scribbling my flight information on a piece of scrap paper for good measure, and last, but not least, purchasing a MAGAZINE.  I absolutely love an excuse to buy a magazine and as far as I am concerned, traveling provides the perfect excuse.  For me, acquiring a new (indulgent) magazine is exhilarating.

During the trip to my friend Caroline's wedding seemed like the perfect opportunity to pick up the latest edition of Martha Stewart Weddings.  This edition focuses on Do-It yourself style, which is exactly what I love!  After flipping through all of the incredible imagery, I was inspired.  I thought, "When will I have the opportunity to create favor bags?"  Then I had an epiphany - I didn't need an occassion to create favor bags; why not make them just because and give them away to friends just to brighten their day?!

Now, I have always loved macarons.  They are beautiful, well balanced and perfectly scrumptious.  In my eyes, Macarons are to the cookie world like Anemones are to the flower world; they're the best.  SO I decided to create favor bags and fill them with macarons.  I purchased these minature macarons from Madleine Macaron (and by the way, they had the coolest "LOVE MACARONS" ice pack).  For those of you who think I may have mis-typed "macaron" instead of  "macaroon", read about the difference here; I had to!

A few of my favorite things are the color orange, glassine bags, and playful fonts, all of which I decided to use for this project.  Within the week, I began designing the paper pendant for the favor bags.  I asked myself, "What do I want to say on the pendant message?"  I reflected on my recent experience at Making Things Happen and then it clicked, "I want to MAKE LOVE HAPPEN!"  I want to spread the love to my friends at an unexpected time and so, I did.  I designed a variety of pendants with this very message in hopes that they, too, would pass it on!

A note of caution: Macarons must be refrigerated and so delivery of the favors was limited to the local crew.  Fret not though, you just might come home to your own treat one day soon.  This post is intended to inspire you to MAKE LOVE HAPPEN and pay it forward for someone else.  You never know what an impact you'll have on others.  You won't regret it!

I promise.

xoxo.

a surprise baby shower!

Susan, a co-worker and friend of mine, is expecting her second daughter very soon.  In fact, I would not be shocked if I got "the news" before the week is over but I'm not rushing anything.  :)  I was delighted to celebrate this exciting event with Susan and all of the ladies in our office at lunch a couple of Fridays ago.

We dined in style at Pie Bird in downtown Raleigh.  Since Susan's favorite food of all time is chocolate, I thought, "What better way to start off our lunch than with the chocolate and peanut butter delectables pictured above?"

For the record, I really enjoyed decorating for the shower!  I made the dessert toppers with origami hearts (purchased from etsy shop origami palace) and gray grosgrain ribbon which I affixed to slim wooden dowels from the craft store.  In each drinking glass I placed a gray, striped straw (purchased from Etsy) complete with a handmade pendant.  On the pendants I included hearts and common phrases like "it's a girl" and "sugar and spice". Since the baby shower was over lunch I opted for minimal decor, which included white balloons and chocolate candies as well as magenta gerber daises nestled in a milk jug.

Kelly, my planning partner, ordered pink and gray cupcakes topped with fondant from the local cupcake shoppe.  The box contained one cupcake for the expecting mommy and one for the big sister.

I had such a great time with all of the ladies!  There really were some unique gifts that I cannot wait to give to my friends who are expecting.  Thank you Susan for allowing us all to share this experience with you!

{stacey + jeremy}

Stacey and Jeremy are good friends of ours and we were honored to witness their nuptials this past October.  Their original wedding date was set for 08.27.2011, the same day that Hurricane Irene decided to blaze up the east coast.  After much deliberation they decided to postpone their wedding to a date that would pose less of a safety risk to everyone involved. The much-anticipated wedding weekend was filled with gorgeous and seasonably warm weather as well as quality time with friends from near and far.

Below are some photos that I took throughout the weekend of the rehearsal dinner and the beach side wedding ceremony.  Cheers to Stacey and Jeremy!