Classy | Southern | Sweet

From our home to yours...

2011-12-19T23:06:00.001-05:00

....Merry Christmas!!!!

Christmas is almost here and I thought I would share some pictures of our decorations in our new home! My fiance is living there right now until we get married, and I am so jealous that he gets to see them a lot more than I do!

Our real tree :)

Our stockings...and of course our little buddy Ralph has to have a stocking too!

Our countdown to Christmas!

I love our light-up presents!!

Our little moose friend I found at the Christmas show!

I love this wreath! I've been holding onto it for the past 3 years and finally have a home to hang it in!

This isn't very Christmas-y but it's *sparkly* :)

Black Bean Hummus Dip!

2011-10-26T22:17:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, I was doing a little grocery shopping and decided that I wanted to try and make black bean hummus dip, which Ian and I have come to LOVE at a local pizza restaurant. BUT I had no recipe, and I had no clue what I would need...besides black beans. So while in the store, I quickly Googled black bean hummus dip on my phone and picked the first one I saw. I scrambled around the grocery store trying to get the remaining things on the grocery list in my head (oh the joys of a last minute grocery trip), and what my phone told me to get for the dip. Well naturally, when I get home I forgot to get the lemon juice and got minced onion instead of minced garlic...go figure. All hope was almost lost but then I just decided to wing it. Now, normally, I am not one of those people that can throw stuff together and it taste like heaven...but that night it worked! I thought it tasted exactly like the restaurants and Ian thought it was way better...although he was probably just glad that I could cook a meal :) He even made me make it again on Sunday for a football game snack. So I'm going to share my recipe and hope you like it as much as we did!

You'll need:

1 can black beans- cooked - I chose the can of beans that said 'seasoned black beans' but I don't know that it made that big of a difference
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
A sprinkle of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of salsa

Blend together in a food processor until smooth. Warm dip in microwave for about 1-2 minutes. Serve with pita bread, tortilla chips, pita chips, anything really :) I don't have a picture...it was eaten up too fast!

Happy Cooking!

My Best Friend's Wedding!

2011-10-14T19:33:00.000-04:00

I just found this post that I forgot to post...oops!

I'm a little late posting pictures but on June 18th one of my best friends since Kindergarten, Cortney, got married at Kure Beach, NC. She was a BEAUTIFUL bride and it was a perfect day for a wedding at the beach. She was a fabulous DIY Bride and most of her projects and some tutorials are posted on her blog. Check it out here.

So beautiful!

Me, Cortney, and the cute prego Heather (about 6 months here I think)

It's been awhile...

2011-10-14T19:20:00.000-04:00

So many things have happened since my last post! I'm going to hit the highlights and I promise I will start posting on a more regular basis!

We got our engagement pictures back from Jere and Ashley Dotten and we love them!

Here are a few of our favorites!

Getting married 5-19 :)

Packers fans!

My Sister's Prom :)

2011-07-04T14:31:00.000-04:00

Things have been so busy lately, I haven't had a chance to post anything. So to catch up a little, these are pictures from my *beautiful* sister's prom! Love you sis!

Emily and Aaron

Molly :)

Sparkly shoe clips I made to match her dress!

Beautiful!

Sweet baby :)

Love my Granny!

Sisterly Love

2011-05-06T23:51:00.000-04:00

This past week, my sister was recognized at the Board of Education meeting for being a NC Teaching Fellow. Just thought I'd devote this post to you Sis and let you know how proud I am of you! You are going to be an amazing teacher!!

Fun-filled weekend :)

2011-05-02T15:05:00.001-04:00

This weekend has been packed full of {fun} and I haven't had a chance to post until today. So here it goes...

Friday - 4:30am: Yes, I woke up for the Royal Wedding :) and I DVR'd it (which I did get laughed at for doing both). The DVR was set as a back-up in case my body decided sleep was waaay more important. But I ended up getting up and watching it :) and I have to say, it didn't disappoint. I thought her much anticipated dress was very elegant, stylish, and classy. I also loved looking at all of the lady's hats...although some were very different. I think these hats/outfits have been the most talked about of all of them...

{Source}

Friday evening: I'm so lucky to have friends that I have been best friends with since kindergarten. Growing up Heather, Cortney, Staci and myself were inseparable. We've all grown up now and are either married or getting married soon. Staci and her husband Mark live in Illinois and just had a precious baby boy six weeks ago. Staci and Baby James made a trip to North Carolina to see family and friends. Friday evening, Heather, Cortney and myself all got together at Staci's parents' house to see Baby James. He is so precious!!!

Us at her baby shower in December :)

Me holding Baby J

Mommy and baby :)

Sound asleep :)

Heather (another mommy-to-be) and James

Cortney holding Baby J

Second diaper change of the night...the first was PRICELESS!!

Finally got a picture of him smiling :)

Sunday: Ian and I headed up to Asheville to have our engagement pictures taken at the Biltmore Estate. Jere and Ashley Dotten were our photographers and they did an amazing job! It was a beautiful day...not too hot and there was a nice breeze. We had a fantastic time and can't wait to see the pictures!

I took this picture on my phone before we left...it's a little blurry, but its still a beautiful place!

My favorite makeup products

2011-04-22T00:02:00.000-04:00

About six months ago, I switched my make-up to MAC Cosmetics. I told the lady that I wanted eye shadow that lasted a longer time because my was always gone halfway through the day. She recommended using Paint Pot in Soft Ochre as a base to help prevent caking and to help my eye makeup last. I'm sure various brands have their own version of this but you can click on the photo below to visit MAC's website.

The key with this product is to apply enough to cover your eyelid +/- upper eyelid (depending on how you wear your eye shadow), but not to glob it on. You also want to give it just a few seconds to dry, because it does have a creamy feel to it. I LOVE this product and my eye shadow really does stay a lot longer than before.

Recently I noticed that my foundation wasn't going on a smooth as I liked. I remember that the MAC lady had told me about primer but I didn't buy it at the time. Primer helps to even out the skin and improve the laydown and application of foundation/powder. So I went back to the mall and bought this...

I can definitely tell that this helps my makeup go on a lot smoother and I would recommend primer for anyone that has the same problem that I did. You do have to let this 'dry' for a few seconds because it is like a silicone lotion.

Last day of class!!!

2011-04-21T23:38:00.001-04:00

So this past week was my last week of classes!! But leave it to Wingate to have two major quizzes, an assessment paper, and a SOAP note due on today, the last day of class. I think this goes to show how pharmacy life has been. I've been in class for the past 18 years of my life and am so excited to be done with my so-called didactic (*fancy term*) schoolwork! All that's left is a couple of finals (Neurology, Psychology, and Advanced Clinical Skills II) next week. Then we get a week off for everyone to move to their rotation zones which involves such an unpleasant thing....packing and then unpacking :( I am so not looking forward to that!

Anyways..enough about school. It consumes way to much of my time. I just wanted to say YAY!

Almost done!!! well kinda...

2011-04-14T22:14:00.001-04:00

I am currently 2 weeks...wait, can I shout that from the rooftops?? 2 weeks!!!... away from being done with in-the-classroom schoolwork forever and I can not tell you how excited I am!!!! No quizzes, exams, or pre-lecture work :) I know to a lot of people it may not seem like that big of a deal. But spend one semester...no, one week...no, one day in a pharmacy student's shoes and then you will see its a big deal. I am so excited, you'd think I would be graduating...but that's not for one more year...I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Tonight, Wingate University School of Pharmacy, more commonly known to students/faculty as WUSOP, had a Pinning Ceremony for its third year students. At any milestone, people like to have ceremonies/celebrations...so I guess this was it for us. We all went on stage, got a pin on our white coat (which mine is partially green, and thus ruined BTW...but that's another story), and then recited a Rite of Passage speech to pledge to strive to improve our professional identity with honor and integrity, etc, etc, etc.

This is the pin...

My fiance, mom, dad, and sister all came down to see the ceremony and

I was happy to see them...nothing like family to make your day better :)

I love this man!

My new favorite thing!

2011-04-11T23:41:00.001-04:00

Over Spring Break, I went to the nail salon and got a mani/pedi. My roommate Nicole has been raving about this gel nail polish by OPI called Axxium that lasts ~3 weeks and will not chip. This sounded wonderful to me because it never fails that I go and spend the money to get a manicure and then two days later...the nail polish is chipping off. When my mom told me that Sarah, the lady that does our nails, now has a similar version of this long lasting gel nail polish, called Shellac, I was super excited! So I definitely got the Shellac put on my nails and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It's gel nail polish so it dries and hardens with the UV lamps rather than with just a regular fan. Right after you get done, you don't have to worry about accidentally bumping your fingers and messing up your nails because its hardened. So anyways, I was really curious to see how long this lasted. I was going to be happy with pretty much anything, seeing that mine never last long anyways.

Well, its Day 20 and this is how they look....

I think they did pretty good!! You can see where my nails have grown out, so it's getting time to take the polish off. But I am definitely in love with this product and will definitely be using this again!

Wedding Planning!

2011-04-04T22:25:00.002-04:00

So yesterday we officially reserved our photographers for the wedding! They are Jere & Ashley Dotten from Charlotte, NC. I'm super excited about having them as our photographers and their work is absolutely beautiful!! Be sure and check out the link above to their blog to see their work.

Can't wait for our engagement session in May at the Biltmore House's Festival of Flowers!

Wedding Decor

2011-03-30T22:21:00.002-04:00

A little background first...

Ian proposed back in October after dating for 5 years and we are getting married May 19, 2012...after graduating the week before from pharmacy school. Our colors for the wedding are hot pink and black. I also LOVE LOVE LOVE polka dots and anything glittery/shiny/sparkly...so of course I want this incorporated into the wedding as well :)

Over my Spring Break, my mom and I met with a lady who is going to be decorating for my and Ian's wedding reception. After showing her some inspiration pictures I found while searching the internet and magazines, she came up with some great ideas. She told me about this store in Charlotte called BLACKLION that I needed to check out.

So today...

Today at school, we had our Annual Assessment, which a comprehensive test to measure what we have learned that year and what we remember from previous years. So after this 160 question test...I decided I needed a little retail therapy...I mean...who wouldn't?? Soooo I headed to BLACKLION to see what its all about. Well on my way, there is a drive-thru Starbucks that I couldn't resist on this rainy day. Anyways, as I walk in the store, I'm pretty sure my heart fluttered :) The way the store is set up, there are tons of individual merchant booths and then you pay for your things at the end. I was completely overwhelmed by all the gorgeous home decor..I wanted everything! However...it was a little outside my student budget. So as I'm walking up and down the aisles something sparkly catches my eye...two silver mirror-looking vases...and just my luck 1) they would be perfect for the wedding reception 2) I can use them in our house when we're married and 3) they were 50% off! I just love them!!

My thoughts for using these is the set pink pomanders on top like the pictures below

I'm super excited to put these to use and can't wait to find more wedding things!!!

A cold and dreary day...

2011-03-29T00:09:00.001-04:00

Just recently I have come to love coffee...and when I say coffee I mean it has to have something in it like cream and sugar to make it not taste exactly like coffee :) I especially love a Starbucks skinny caramel macchiato...they are my favorite!! So on this cold and dreary day back from Spring Break I decided to treat myself to one. If you've never tried one, you are definitely missing out!