Since I'm crazy busy and don't have much to share...

I thought I'd leave you with a little something that made ME smile!

When in doubt... turn to Babygirl.

If I could steal any outfit right now...

I'd be ripping this entire ensemble (shoes, earrings & bag too) off her tiny body and running as fast I could. 

*image found here*

That is all. 

Happy 63rd Birthday Hillary!!!

I mean y'all knew I couldn't NOT mention it. 

She is my babygirl, after all. 

Friday Five

1. Autumn Mix 

(specifically CANDY PUMPKINS... Thanks to THIS lady for sending me a pricey, thoughtful package.)

2. Rimmel Pro Nail Polish in Pink Amazon

(The brush literally covers your entire nail in one swipe. Takes 5 minutes to paint them all and dries fast!)

3. Jessica Fletcher

(No explanation needed.)

4. Range Rover Evoque

(Christmas present, pour moi?)

5. Kate Spade Wool Gail Dress

(Simple. Pink. Perfect.)

What are your Friday Five?

Deliciousness of the Week

This week I didn't make a menu plan... I just sort of decided to wing it and try to use up all the veggies from our Abel & Cole box. We had 2 big portabella mushrooms that were going to double as hockey pucks if I didn't use them. However, I had been craving some crab cakes all week. So I decided to be all crazy-like and make up my OWN recipe for stuffed mushrooms. I googled stuffed mushrooms to get the baking times (because I've been known to over roast veggies because I tend to like them all brown and burny and didn't want to kill the mushrooms) and then went to town. I mean, this wasn't rocket science, but you know... I like to think I'm now a cooking savant for flying without a recipe. 

You may just call me Julia... Or Ina. 

My Spicy Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

(makes 2)

1 can white lump crab meat in brine (drained)

4 oz. sweet chili flavored light Philadelphia cream cheese (I don't know if they have this in the US but it is MY. FAVORITE. and is KEY. If you don't have it get some sweet chili sauce and add to regular cream cheese)

1/2 diced red pepper 

1/2 diced yellow onion

1/2 to 1 cup grated parmesan (divided)

1 1/2 tsp-ish of mix of red pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt and black ground pepper (I didn't actually measure, but I used to taste!)

2 large portabella mushroom caps

Pre-heat your over to 350F. Mix the cream cheese, red pepper, onion, 1/2 of the parmesan together. Fold in the crab (don't mush it up too much- It's tasty in chunks). Add in the seasoning to taste. 

Spritz the bottom of the mushrooms with low-cal cooking spray and lay cap side up. Top each with half of the crab mixture. Spray the top of the mix again with low-cal cooking spray and bake for about 15-20 minutes. After the mix is a little bubbly and the mushrooms look close to being done (took mine about 15 mins) put the rest of the parmesan on top and put back in the oven until it melts. 

We served ours with a side salad. It was scrumptious. We might be having them again this weekend because I loved them SO much. Well PB loved them too... but I mean I REALLY loved them.

What recipes have y'all made up lately?

PS: I got a lot of emails about my earrings from the kitten pictures! I'm glad y'all love them as much as I do! I actually purchased them on my last visit to NYC while MCW & I were wandering around near the Shake Shack. I had the girl's card but I can't seem to find it. I'll keep checking and will give you her contact details if I can!

Weekend in Numbers...

10: Number of times we went on the WET log-ride at Paulton's Park...

9: Number of glasses of wine I imbibed...

(Don't judge. I rarely drink... but when I do? I DO.)

8: Number of times I tripped and almost bit it while running around chasing a soccer ball, pretending to be 10 years old again...

(No. This was not booze related... er. Ok, well Saturday might have been slightly booze-induced.)

7: Number of times I told PB that I was certain I'd gained weight while in line to weigh in on Sat...

(Turns out he was right, I had not.)

6: Number of children I took out trying to get a good seat on the spinny swingy thingy at Paulton's Park...

(What? It's fun.)

5: Number of times I reiterated to PB that chicken doesn't count as "meat" while eating a piece of roast chicken...

(For the record. Chicken is a bird. Therefore it is not the same as eating a little piggy or baby cow.)

4: Number of times I got the giggles...

(Multiply by 6.)

(Also, not booze-induced.)

3: Number of ice cream cones I ate...

(Shut. UP.)

2: Number of weeks I lasted as a LEGIT vegetarian...

(well, I'm still a vegetarian after the Sunday roast chicken debacle if you follow my "chicken-is-NOT-really-meat" rule)

1: Number of times I sliced my own hand open with my dang engagement ring...

(PB's fault for spinning me on this dumb playground thingy)

How was your weekend?

Stay tuned for lots of pics and updates this week!

Be still my heart...

I picked these Miu Miu patent bow flats up in Harrod's last week on sale... I literally die everytime I put them on. Both from the pain and from the beauty!

Don't mind me...

I'm just currently dying.

I'm fairly certain my calling in life was to be Beyonce's diva-twin. 

If you're looking for me, I'll be wearing sequins and a 'fro (thank GOD for my curly hair) dancing around my living room in 6-inch heels.

My dirty little confession...

While I'm a fairly healthy eater in general, I do have a few weaknesses. One of my HUGE weaknesses is for a British speciality known as a sausage roll. I first had a sausage roll last year at Stonehenge when we were starving. PB grabbed us a couple to have in the car on the way home. He knew that I LOVED sausages, and knew that I would love a sausage roll. And boy did I LOVE that thing! I was annoyed he hadn't gotten me two of them! I literally could eat them for every meal and never tire of them... They are SO good but SO bad for you!

What is such a thing you ask? It's simple deliciousness consisting of sausage meat encased in buttery fluffy layers of puff pastry. Usually the sausage is flavored with sage, onion and other yummy flavors.

Each week after WW if I've had a good week we go in search of sausage rolls. We troll the gas stations until we find them, but I was thinking today... It must be easy to make them. I found this recipe for them by Jamie Oliver and I think that I might give them a whirl and see how an American's stack up to the gas station varieties!

Have y'all ever had such a thing or tried making them? What is one of your guilty unhealthy but yummy pleasures?

TV Stardom

PB and I spent Tuesday and Wednesday filming the BBC show "To Buy or Not to Buy." It's essentially the British version of Househunters. PB and I both had fun but we were a little disappointed in the house choices they found for us. We ended up not buying any of the properties but we did find a really cute town that we've arranged to view a few houses in. I'll try to make this recap brief as to not bore y'all!

DAY 1

We were picked up around 8AM on Tuesday by Avon, who would be our driver for the 2 days. He drove us to this historic area where we were to film the intro to the show and have our first chat with the two presenters, Ed and Rani. We filmed it at this John F. Kennedy monument which apparently is on a little section of land that is technically owned by America. It was interesting, to say the least. The presenters were both super nice. I felt awkward taking pictures on the first day, but I took a few as we were leaving to go to the first house.

*Ed is on the left, and Avon is on the right.

Up ahead is Steve the director and Tom who is a cameraman.*

*Noel, another cameraman, and Paul, the sound guy*

I didn't take any pictures of the first house. It was cute but in a questionable area. It was larger than I've seen and under our budget but had very little character. It did have a huge stove and a utility room with a full size washer and dryer, which is almost unheard of in England. The backyard or "garden" as they call it, was HUGE and full of sunlight. I really liked it but PB was worried about the area. We might go back and look at it again when we have more time. The annoying part of filming this show is that we didn't really get a chance to look at the properties, but just had to do takes and film this and that. It didn't really give us free time to look at the property and really take it all in.

After this we had lunch at a cute pub en route to the second property. I had a "tuna mayonnaise and spring onion" baguette. Apparently here they call tuna salad "tuna mayonnaise" and they call egg salad "egg and mayonnaise." The good part is they put hardly any mayo, so those are actually pretty healthy choices, unlike in America where tuna salad is like 4 pounds of mayo! The second property we LOVED. It was built in 1750 and was this precious cottage in Odiham.

*I managed to snap a shot of the fireplace in the living room.*

It was STUNNING. It had dark wood beams running across the ceilings in every room. There was a fireplace in the dining room. It was very well maintained but absolutely TINY. The staircase to the 2nd floor was like climbing a ladder. The bedroom was spacious and had a huge built in desk/drawers along one wall. We really really REALLY loved it but it was lacking some of our musthaves: It only had one bedroom when we need at least 2, It had a seriously tiny kitchen with a mini-fridge, it had no garden and only a tiny patio in the back and there was absolutely NO closet space. In fact, there was not really any closet! We both agreed that if we were never going to have children this would be perfect. However, with visitors from the US and PB's daughter visiting, in addition to wanting babies in the next 5 years, it simply was too small to work.

They then apparently loved me, or so claims PB, so they had me and the host Ed go into the village and interview some people about the town. We talked to about 6 people and one older man was SO sweet. We asked him where a new American moving to the area should go and he told us that I should go to the local pub because I'd be very popular. He then told Ed on camera that the BBC would be lucky to have such a "smart, pretty, well-spoken" young woman. After that he told me that he was recently a visiting professor in Boston and again mentioned that "such a pretty girl would be a big hit" in that town. I loved that man. Apparently the Brits like chubby, short brunettes! Ed thought he wanted to take me home with him! I was VERY flattered and blushed (which is rare for me.) Both Steve, the director, Paul, the sound guy, and Ed said I was a natural. HMMMM! Maybe I should be a TV presenter!!!! hahahaha

After my interviewing segment we called it a night and headed home. PB and I were exhausted so I made us salads for dinner, we watched some TV, I worked on my project a little, and we hit the hay.

DAY 2

Day 2 started off with Avon picking us up again. This time he drove us directly to the "Mystery Property." PB and I both had super high hopes for the mystery property. We were in a cute area and all the homes were beautiful... and thhheeennnn they walked us over to these apartments. Um. Apartment? Cauuussee I kind of thought I said that we were looking for a house. I was skeptical but the outside looked nice. I was more comfortable with everyone and it was a little less rushed so I took more pictures.

We HATED the apartment. It was a weird shape, completely medicinal and over our budget. They also made us do this ridiculous dream sequence about our meeting in a coffee shop. It was the stupidest thing ever. They also made us salute and do all these ridiculous things in front of the blue screen. After we nixed the 2nd property we got to "test drive" a property that we liked, which meant we got to go back. We chose the adorable cottage in Odiham. We went back, looked it over, tried to think of any ways we could change it to make it work, and finally decided that no matter how much we loved it, there was nothing we could do to make more space. We then filmed a ridiculous segment about British food... all because I mentioned how much I loved sausages... and then we called it a day. They gave us mugs as a gift and took us home.

*Most of our camera crew. The tall blonde guy was Tom. He fancied me. Teeheehee*

*My fuzzy mike inside my shirt*

*The set up of our ridiculous coffee meet "dream" sequence we had to act out. Annnnd this was about the point where we began to get annoyed with the BBC*

*The camera after out acting debut.*

*PB before we had to act. This look about sums it up! hhhaaaaaaa. He'll kill me for putting this up but I was taking a picture of me but he started to blink. Hilarity*

*Me after I had to flirt with the wall... Seriously. It was ridiculous.

As a side note- I look like SUCH a fattie! It was the SHIRT! We had to wear the same clothes both days and my shirt was a little too big and kept falling into those wrinkly folds. It didn't help that it was linen and we were sitting a lot. Anyway. Don't judge.*

*Me and Tom the hilarious cameraman that adored me. PB was jealous.*

*Paul removing my mike for the day.*

Overall it was a really fun experience but not was not particularly helpful. Who knows, maybe someone important with see me or PB on TV and want to cast us for something! We are unsure of when we'll be on, but I'll certainly share the episode when we get it!

Now, going to get ready for SATC 2!!! I can't WAIT!

One-Way Friendships

Do you ever feel like you're in a one-way friendship?

It dawned on me yesterday that aside from maybe 3 or 4 of my friends, all the rest of my friendships are one sided. I was thinking about it and I thought...

When is the last time someone asked ME out for lunch?

When is the last time someone initiated a G-Chat convo with ME?

When is the last time someone invited ME out for a girls night?

When is the last time someone asked ME how things were going without me having to ask?

When is the last time someone asked ME to visit and not vice versa?

I can't remember the last time anyone other than the said 3 or 4 friends (none of which are in Boston) or PB asked me to hang out, grab a drink, see a movie, go shopping, go on a trip.

I can't remember the last time anyone other than said 3 friends initiated a phone call, chat, email, letter, BBM, text msg, anything.

So I've decided that no longer am I going to initiate ANYTHING!

I'm not trying to be a good friend anymore, I'm not inviting, I'm not calling, I'm not g-chatting, I'm not extending dinner or drinks invites. Nothing.

I am OVER it. It seems that most of my friends only feel the need to contact me when they need me or have a catastrophe. I just am sick of putting forth effort and getting nothing in return!

Therefore, I'm cleaning house, people, and if you want my friendship (and I'm an excellent friend, if I do say so myself) then you people are going to have to work for it! I'm not perfect and I too fall into the trap of getting busy and forgetting to call, but I try really hard and unfortunately, that hard work is almost completely one-sided

The end.

(PS- This is not intended to be whiney, annoying, or guilt-trippy. I just wanted to share my epiphany... and It's my blog and I'll rant if I want to dang it!)

Pardon me...

While I go fail Taxation of Business Entities.

I'll be back soon!

PS: I cut 6/7 ish inches off my hair. I don't know how I feel about this mommy-do I'm sporting.

(Excuse the bad bathroom self-portrait.)

Kate. Kate. Kate. Katie. Kate.

We've discussed my love of Kate Spade many, many times... However, it is literally all I can do to keep myself from buying every single item on the website right now.  

If anyone is listening... I have a birthday AND graduation coming up... and nothing says "Feliz Cumpleanos!" and "Congratulations!" like a little Katie.

Ahem.

I'm just saying. 

Kate Spade Melody Dress

Kate Spade Hula Too Sandals

Kate Spade Date Night Ring

Kate Spade Cherry Valley Metallica Kyra

Kate Spade Jillian Dress

(Don't y'all think I need it?! PB- ARE YOU LISTENING?!)

And finally... I MOST definitely need this. 

After all.

I am a MRS now.

Kate Spade Mrs Necklace

What are y'all dying for right now?

(PS- Will do Honeymoon Recap & review of Four Seasons Wailea tomorrow!)

Things I'm Loving Thursday

William Sonoma's Hand Blown Nest Bell Jars. I'm not a decorator for Easter but a couple of these might just change that! I think they are adorable.

Yves Saint Laurent Parisienne Perfume. PB gave this to me last week as part of my anniversary present and I am OBSESSED. I'm using so much that I'm going to be out of it in a few weeks and I'll have to repurchase. The scent is fantastic!

Quorn Meatless Grounds. I very rarely eat red meat and if I need a ground meat to go in something I usually use turkey. Turkey, however, does not work for me in tacos or anything Mexican. I need "real" beef for tacos. I used to use the Morningstar crumbles and they were fine but they didn't taste great and were kind of an odd consistency. The Quorn brand is FANTASTIC! Tastes like real beef and the consistency is dead on. I'm now obsessed and don't think I'll ever be using red meat again.

Tiffany's Jewelry Cleaner. It was only $10.50 and I stick my engagement ring in every night and it comes out perfect and sparkly the next morning. Best money I ever spent!

Kelly Clarkson. I mean... No explanation really necessary. This song kills me. It's currently on repeat. LOVELOVELOVE.

Kendra Scott Jewelry

When we were in Austin Paul and I wandered into a jewelry store on 2nd Street. The moment I walked in I spied these amazing turquoise earrings by Kendra Scott. They are called the 'Linden Earring." I absolutely LOVE them. I snatched them up as fast as I could before anyone else could get their grubby little hands on them!

I'm normally very hesitant about wearing anything that is not a stud in my ear, but her designs were so bright, fresh and cheery that I couldn't help but fall in love with them. I think these might be next on my wishlist:

They are a little pricey (earrings seem to run between roughtly $60-$100) but VERY well made and absolutely are stunning on. I loved a few necklaces but at over $100 they were not in the budget right now. She also has a bridal line and I think my bridesmaids just might end up rocking some bright studs in their ears for my wedding! In fact... I may also have to snatch up some matching necklaces for them too!

She's based in Austin. Definitely check out her website... You won't regret it!

Krazy for Kate!

I've been such a good girl and haven't been shopping much at all since Christmas... but I have to say, Kate is seriously testing me right now...

"Soda Fountain Stripe Ivy Car Coat"

I. DIE.

*Charm City Ostrich MaryAnne*

Wait- Did I mention that I. ABSOLUTELY. DIE.?

*Thank Your Lucky Stars Cluster Studs*

*Gillian Heels*

Annnnd I'm STILL dead.

*Big Apple Remy Wallet in Gifting Pink*

I ammmmm in need of a new wallet! :)

I'm headed out to Austin, Texas for the weekend tomorrow morning. I'll be back on Tuesday night with a recap. Looking forward to my FIRST EVER visit to the Lone Star State! We'll be eating lots of BBQ, trying on lots of cowboy boots and I'll be spending Monday doing more eating, shopping and bonding with THIS pretty lady! Enjoy your weekend!

Paper bag, anyone?

It just dawned on me that I have about one month before our wedding...

I still have to...

Book hair & makeup stylist (after my huge BUST with my trial run salon)

Pick out Bridesmaids earrings

Order groomsmen's cufflinks

Make programs

Pick music for the ceremony

Pick music for the reception

Find a big hurricane vase for people to write notes on in lieu of a guest book

Pick linens, napkins and chair covers

Arrange lighting for reception

Make escort cards

Make table numbers

Find cute frames for table numbers

Order aisle runner

Order rose petals to line the aisle with

(DONE!) Reserve rental car for moi

Get favor bags

Get favor bag labels

Decide on vows & order of the ceremony

Oh.

MY.

LORD.

Now I shall go hunt to find a paper bag to hyperventilate into...

As if you didn't know I was going to mention it...