Meme from Midwest Prep

I copied this meme from Midwest Prep. I enjoyed learning a little bit more about her. Anyone else who wants to copy this, please post! It is fun to learn about everyone. I hope you all have a nice day!

What accessories do you wear everyday? My engagement ring and wedding band, a David Yurman ring on my right hand or this bracelet and a retired style DY. I usually wear round diamond stud earrings.

What is your beauty routine? In the morning I shower, put on makeup, moisturize, and blow dry my hair. In the evening I wash my face, brush my teeth, moisturize, and clean my contacts.

What was the last item of clothing you bought? Some cute things at Old Navy I am going to post about later.

Do you use a dresser, closet, or both? I use a closet and my husband uses a tiny bit of the closet and our chest of drawers.

What type of earrings are in your ears right now? Round diamond studs

What type of figure do you have? I am 5'5" average build

Do you wear glasses? Only when I don't have my contacts on.

What type of handbag do you carry? A Louis Vuitton neverfull.

What is your ideal style? I love classic, preppy styles. Jackie Kennedy is my favorite style icon.

What jewelry are you wearing right now? My engagement ring, wedding band, and earrings.

Do you wear knee-hi stockings? No way.

Do you have to wear matching lingerie? I don't have to, but I prefer matching lingerie.

Do you wear makeup? Yes, everyday.

Do you wear nightgowns? Sometimes. This is starting to be a bit too much information.

What outerwear do you put on when going out on a typical winter's day? I either wear a black parka with a fur collar or a black wool coat. This is the south though, so I don't wear a coat that often.

What is your favorite perfume? I love coconut almond by Laura Mercier. I also like Amor Amor by Cacharel.

Is your motto "quality over quantity"? Definitely. I don't like trendy things, so I don't mind spending extra for things I will wear often.

Do you wear rain boots? No, I don't have a pair. I don't dislike them, we just don't get that much rain here.

Do you wear socks or slippers when your feet get cold? I just wear socks.

Do you have a set of travel luggage? For car travel I use Vera Bradley Bermuda Pink luggage. For airplane travel I have a set of black luggage.

What is your daily uniform? Right now it is jeans and some type of sweater - either a cardigan, turtleneck, or v-neck in a neutral color. In the summer I wear dresses and skirts all the time.

If you are married, did you wear a veil with your wedding dress? Yes, it was long and very simple. I didn't wear it over my face.

Do you wear a watch? No, I am waiting to buy a watch until I get a job. I want something classic that I can wear forever.

What item of clothing always makes you feel extremely beautiful? I love to wear dresses and heels because they are so feminine.

What is your favorite type of yarn? Cashmere is my favorite because it is soft, lightweight, and warm. Other than cashmere I like cotton. I am not a fan of synthetics. I don't like how they feel.

Do you prefer zippers or buttons? I like the look of buttons, but a zipper is easier to get on and off.

Stationery

Okay, so I should be studying. Really, I should. But I got an email from Swoozies, one of my favorite stationary and gift shops that got my attention. They have some cute new note cards in for the spring. And better yet they are having a store wide 20% off sale March 6-13! Woo hoo! Here is what I have my eye on -

These pineapple folded notes are so cute. I love the color combination. I would probably do a script monogram like the next note card. The pineapple and alligator note cards are both from Sharpe & Sally. I have never heard of them, but these cards are cute.


I think these alligator folded note cards are adorable. I love the pink and green.

I love this set of hand bordered monogrammed note cards from Crane's. Ten of each color is included in the box.
Okay, back to the books now! Maybe one of these can be a little treat after I get through midterms ...

American Gangster

My husband bought the movie American Gangster Friday. If you all have not seen it yet, you have to check it out. It is a great movie. Denzel Washington played the character of Frank Lucas so well that I actually liked him. The movie is intense and 3 hours long, but definitely worth your time.

Weekend Recap

We had a fun weekend. Our friends B and C came to visit. We have all been friends for almost nine years since C and I started dating B and hubby. My husband grew up with B, so they have known each other forever. They are such sweet friends and we had so much fun with them. They live in our hometown, so we don't get to see them as much as we would like.

My husband got Rock Band Friday, so B and my husband played that all afternoon. I am not so good, but I get an A for effort. Friday night we had dinner at a place called Mac's. They have BBQ that is to die for and a fun atmosphere.

Saturday C and I went to Southpark Mall. I got this dress at Banana Republic, but I had to stalk someone to get it. They were sold out of all sizes in regular except for 0, 10, and 12. I was able to snag one in petite from a lady in the dressing room. It didn't fit her, so I asked her if I could take it and try it on. Luckily it fit. Now I just have to pick out some shoes to wear with it. The dress is navy and cream silk. They don't have it listed on the website, so I guess it is sold out online.

The following week is midterms for me, so I am going to be busy studying and probably won't have the opportunity to post much. I hope that you all enjoy your week!

Spring TV Shows!

Here is an article I just came across about spring tv shows. It lets you know when your favorite shows return and how many episodes will air. I can't wait to resume my shows!

Some highlights -
Desperate Housewives - Returns April 13, 4-5 episodes will air (YAY!)
Ugly Betty - Returns April 24 with 5 episodes
Gossip Girl - Returns April 21 with 5 episodes
How I Met Your Mother - Returns March 17 with 9 episodes
CSI - Returns April 3 with 6 episodes
CSI Miama - Returns March 24 with 8 episodes

Happy Spring! Love, Vineyard Vines

Yesterday afternoon I got our new Vineyard Vines spring catalog in the mail. They had some really cute things. Believe it or not, I don't own any Vineyard Vines. I buy a lot for my husband but not for myself. He loves their polos, khaki shorts, and swim trunks. My husband is perfectly happy in the summer to wear his deck shoes, khaki shorts, and a tshirt or polo. He doesn't deviate much from that look. I have decided that this year I am going to get a few things for myself too!

This print is called the 19th hole! I think it is so cute! They make boxers and lounge pants for guys in this print.

I love this tie with clubs and flags. My husband's favorite thing to do is play golf. Too bad he can't play more often. My husband lives in these twill shorts during the summer. They held up really well, so I am going to get him another pair this summer.
Okay, now for me! I love this sash belt. It is pink with cocktail shakers all over it. What's not to love? Do you see a theme here - golf and cocktails! We do have other hobbies! I promise!

I think this navy henley is really cute.
I love this pink seersucker dress. I would probably tie the sash in the back though.
I am definitely getting this twill skirt. I have a green Lilly twill skirt that I wore all the time last summer. I really like this pink/red color.

Happy Spring!

Dill Havarti Appetizer

This is the easiest appetizer to make. I buy a block of dill havarti at my grocery store. I have used provolone and regular havarti, but my favorite is dill havarti. I take a tube of regular Pillsbury crescent rolls and roll them out flat into a large rectangle just to make sure the crescent rolls don't seperate at the seams. Then I put the cheese in the center of the crescent rolls and wrap the crescent rolls around the cheese and twist the top to close it. Then I bake it around 350 to 375 for about 15 minutes or until the crescent rolls are golden brown like in the picture above.

I didn't take a picture of this when I made it, so I went to the Pillsbury website for this picture. They say to seperate the crescent rolls into two square shapes and wrap them around the top and bottom of the cheese. I might try that method next time. Either way, every time I serve this there are no leftovers. This is so easy to make and so good.

We had such a busy weekend. Friday night we went back to our hometown to visit our parents. We had dinner with my husband’s parents and then met up with my family to celebrate my cousin’s birthday. My other cousin has just gotten engaged, so we are so excited! Saturday morning we met my grandparents bright and early for breakfast. While we were at breakfast we ran into some sweet friends. It was fun to see them and hear how they were doing.

Saturday night my husband and I went to dinner with friends and then went to a wine and cheese party. It was so much fun; we met some new people and enjoyed catching up with our old friends.

Sunday we went to brunch and then I used our last gift card from Williams Sonoma. I got an All Clad French skillet. I used it last night to make dinner and bananas foster and loved it. I am going to eventually switch over to All Clad stainless. Now I have Calphalon, it works fine, but I like the All Clad better.

Please keep the Northern Illinois University community in your thoughts and prayers. I am so sad that something like this happened again. Please say a special prayer for the families of the victims.

My husband and I had a wonderful first Valentine's Day as a married couple. He made dinner for me which was wonderful! We had a great time hanging out together at home. I hope all of your enjoyed celebrating Valentine's Day with your loved ones!

I hope that everyone has a great weekend! My husband and I going to our hometown tonight for a birthday and then are heading back to Charlotte tomorrow for a wine and cheese party. Later I will post the appetizer I am taking - super easy and delicious! Enjoy your weekend!

Suze Orman on the Oprah Show

Suze Orman was featured on the Oprah Show Wednesday. Suze is one of my favorite "celebrity" financial planners. She has written several no nonsense financial books. I like Suze because she looks at the total situation; not just the individual's financial situation, but their emotional and spiritual situation as well.

Suze feels so strongly about each and every Oprah viewer gaining a sense of financial security that she has agreed to allow her book to be downloaded for free! through 8:00 PM eastern time tonight. You can download your copy here. Scroll down and follow the link to download a copy using Adobe Reader.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope everyone has a nice Valentine's Day! I am going to get some housework & schoolwork done this morning and then hubby and I are going to have dinner at home. I really want to go see the movie Definitely, Maybe. We might go see it Friday night or Saturday. I am a sucker for a nice chick flick. I hope everyone enjoys their day!

PS - Lilies (above) are one of my favorite flowers along with peonies.

Oops!

I completely forgot to send out my Valentine Cards!!! I am going to get them out tomorrow and then extend the holiday a day or so!! OOPS! I actually got my cards at the beginning of the week, and then I just forgot to mail them.

Wedgwood Teacup and Saucer

Isn't this teacup so cute?! I would love to have my tea in this pink cup and saucer. It is the Harlequin Deco Teacup and Saucer by Wedgwood.

Invite!?

Thanks for the invite MMM! I am looking forward to reading again!

Magnolias, Marriage, and Manhattan, may I please have an invite to your blog? I miss reading! My email is southernnewlywed@aol.com

20 Questions MEME

I was tagged by a sweet blog friend, magnoliabelle. Check out her blog! I tag anyone who would like to complete this.

1. When you buy a greetings card are the words or the picture more important to you? Words. In fact, it takes me forever to pick out a card.

2. What's your favourite kind of cake? White cake with buttercream icing. Yum!

3. Do you ever make gifts for people, if so what, or do you buy them? I love cute homemade gifts, but normally I buy gifts. Sometimes I do bake something. For Christmas I gave some friends homemade chocolate covered marshmallows.

4. What's your favourite holiday - i.e. Christmas? Christmas!

5. Are you going on vacation this year? If so, where? I will probably go to the beach. I will definitely go to the mountains. Next year my husband and I want to go on another honeymoon type vacation

6. What was the best party you've ever been to? I had a lot of fun at the bridal parties our friends had for my husband and I during our wedding. I loved having all our friends and family together.

7. If you are married, describe your wedding. If not, what would your ideal wedding be like? I loved our wedding. It was at 6:00 at our church followed by dinner and dancing at a ballroom downtown.

8. What's the most romantic thing that's ever happened to you? My engagement was romantic. Sometimes my husband makes me dinner, I think that is romantic.

10. Which celebrity would you like a dream date with? I would like a date, not a romantic date, with Martha Stewart. I would like her to help me organize things around my house. Things are pretty organized here already, but Martha could step it up a notch.

11. Which female celebrity do you find beautiful? I think Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly, and Audrey Hepburn are very classy and beautiful.

12. Which male celebrity do you think is attractive? David Beckham

13. If you could be a fictional character from a book who would you choose? Daisy in the Great Gatsby. I would leave Tom and marry Jay Gatsby.

14. If you could be in a television sit-com, which would you choose? Sex and the City (not really a sitcom)

15. Which character would you like to be? Charlotte

16. What's your favourite girl's name? Not sure yet.

17. What's your favourite boy's name? Not sure yet.

18. What's your supermarket of choice? SuperTarget or Fresh Market

19. What is your best character trait? I try to have a positive attitude

20. What is your worst habit? I procrastinate

Hearst Magazine Sale!

I got an email from Hearst advertising select magazines on sale for $6.99. I am a magazine junkie. One of my favorite magazines, Oprah, is on sale for $6.99 for 6 issues. That is a great deal because it is normally around $18 for 12 issues. Just thought I would pass this along in case anyone needs a magazine subscription. I hope you have had a nice weekend!

Lockwood Vineyards 2005 Merlot

My in-laws came to visit a few weekends ago and brought my husband and I three bottles of wine from Lockwood Vineyards (cabernet, chardonnay, and merlot). The merlot was my favorite. I liked the others, but I prefer merlot to other types of wine. For $13 a bottle, this is a great everyday wine.

Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas

*Update* This recipe was delicious! Thanks Giada! I used Sargento Italian Style cheese instead of only fontina and mozzarella and white wine instead of marsala. I cut the orzo, the liquids, and the topping in half and used the full amount of peas, mushrooms, and onion. Even when I cut the recipe in half it still filled an 8x8 casserole.

Giada De Laurentiis is one of my favorite Food Network Chefs. BTW - she is having a baby girl in April if you didn't know! Saturday she made steakhouse favorites Italian style. This orzo pasta dish looks delicious! I want to try it sometime this week and will let you know how it goes.

4 cups chicken broth

1 pound orzo pasta

3 tablespoons butter, plus more to grease the baking dish

1 onion, chopped

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 cup Marsala wine

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 ounces shredded fontina cheese (about 1 cup)

4 ounces diced fresh mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

Bring the chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add the orzo and cook until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Pour the orzo and the broth into a large bowl. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to saute until the mushrooms are beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 7 minutes. Add the Marsala. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and cook until the Marsala has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture to the orzo in the large bowl. Add the cream, fontina, mozzarella, peas, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and dried thyme. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of the pasta. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.

J Crew Spring Collection

J Crew just introduced their new spring collection. It is really cute. I saw several things I liked - what else is new!?

Byzantine Print Mini

Kate Dress
Trastevere Print Shirtdress

A New Earth?

Is anyone going to read or has read this book? I typically like Oprah's book club choices, but this one only received 3.5 out of 5 stars from reviewers on Barnes and Noble's website. I am not sure if I will read this or not. Maybe I should skim through it at the store first.

The Intellectual Devotional - American History

I am not sure about you all, but I have become a little bit rusty on my knowledge of American History. My husband and I are both business majors, so history is not our forte. I found this book while browsing Barnes and Noble's website for my textbooks. It is set up very much like a daily religious devotional. There is one page of text covering a specific event, person, or thing per day. It takes five minutes at the most to read each page. So far we have brushed up on John Smith, tobacco, and the Pequot War. The book is arranged in chronological order, so we are still learning about colonial times. There is another book in this series that covers a broader range of topics, but I have not read it.

Superbowl Sunday!

*Update* I highly recommend the wing recipe. It is fairly easy and the results are great. The pigs in a blanket weren't bad, but the wings were by far the best.

Sunday afternoon my husband and I are having friends over to watch the Superbowl. We are a little bit indifferent about who wins because the Panthers aren't playing. My husband would like to see the Patriots continue their winning streak.

Today Martha Stewart had several recipes on her show that I want to try. I am going to make her Spicy Citrus Caramel Chicken Wings and Pigs in a Blanket with bratwurst and puff pastry. I am not a big fan of pigs in a blanket, but I think I would like them Martha's way. I am also going to make Buffalo Chicken Dip. I am going to think of one more thing to make before Sunday. Talk about fattening! At least the wings are oven roasted.

On a side note, Martha cracks me up sometimes. For example, today she did a segment on beer. She told the audience when she went to a spa in the town Tecate beer is made, she snuck out of the spa one night for beer! After saying that she goes right back to what she was doing. She is so funny with her revelations!

I hope you all have a nice weekend! Thanks for all your nice comments about my job search. I am so appreciative of your kind words and thoughts.