Happy Sweet 16, Hannah Girl!

This morning at 6 am, my baby sister turned 16 years old. My how time flies! Happy sweet 16, Hannah Girl! I love you infinity and 'yond!

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Isn't she just the cutest thing? Oh and those sexy legs in the background? Yeah...that is my 10 or 11 year old self. :-)

~A

Ruffles. Betcha' You Can't Buy Just One!

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If you've looked around online or in person at clothing stores, I bet you've noticed this Spring's fashioned trend. Ruffles. I LOVE a good ruffle butt on a baby, but should we, as women, subject ourselves to such frilly, froo froo, girliness? Oh heck to the yes, we should! (If you saw Glee last night, then think of Mercedes when reading the sentence prior to this!) Have you SEEN the ruffles this season? They're so sweet and feminine! Saturday evening, the hubs and I paid a visit to my wonderful Mommy. Mommy works at one of my favorite stores...Old Navy. :-) I went for their $9 sundress sale, but didn't find anything that was long enough that fell under the sale category. (I'm 5'8.5" with long legs and a long torso.) However, I did find ruffle Heaven! I ended up purchasing this little baby to the left, but in a bright lilac color. I can't wait to wear it later this week since it's supposed to be around 76 on Friday!! :-D Thank you, NC weather!


Now...for what you've been waiting for! I give you..RUFFLES!

1. Akiris Punto Ruffle Front Pleated Dress- Saks Fifth Avenue- $995

2. Ruffle Skirt Leggings- Baby Gap- $22.95 $10.99 (for margarita)

3. Women's Ruffled Gauze Top- Old Navy- $22.50

4. Mossimo Women's One Piece Polka-Dot Swimdress- Target- $34.99

Now go on and get your ruffles on!

~A

St. Paddy's Day Goodies

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My sister, Hannah, will be 16 on the 16th of this month. My cousin, Jennifer, will be 13 on the 18th of this month. (Have I ever mentioned I'm the oldest out of 11 grandkids on my dad's side?) St. Patrick's Day falls right smack dab between their birthdays, on the 17th. Since St. Patrick's Day is coming up, and while I am not big into celebrating "minor" holidays (unless they mean a day off work, then I am VERY into celebrating them), I wanted to share a few recipes that are St. Paddy's Day inspired. (Yes, I know I'm spelling Paddy with D's and not T's. Historically speaking, it should be done with D's and not T's.)

Anyway...in case you've never heard of this amazing dessert website, I feel the need to enlighten you. Bakerella is AMAZING! No seriously. Spectacular. I've made a few of the desserts from there and they've just been scrumptious! I will go on record to say I am NOT a fan of cake balls. The name alone kinda makes me cringe, but the taste tends to be too sweet for me overall. However, Bakerella makes some of the CUTEST cupcakes, cakes, and yes, cake balls.

So for your St. Paddy's Day baking pleasure...

Green Red Velvet Cupcakes

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Don't those just look delish? I loooove red velvet cupcakes! As for the frosting, it might be something I give a try, but I probably will stick with good ole fashioned cream cheese frosting. You seriously can't go wrong with anything that has cream cheese!

Shamrock Oreo Truffles

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I'll admit...I won't like these. I don't like mint flavored ANYTHING. I even use cinnamon toothpaste! However, I LOVE Oreo Balls (that's what we call them in my family) and figured that anyone who loves Oreo Balls and Mint Chocolate Chip will LOVE these little babies! If anyone tries this recipe, please let me know! :-)

Happy baking!

~A

Spring Has Sprung?

Hello Spring!
   We have missed you terribly here in NC, although, I do believe that those living in more northern states miss you more. You should go pay them a visit, too. Winter brought us a TON of snow for our area back in December and a little into January. It was actually shocking to us just how much snow since we are used to only a few inches throughout the enter time Winter visits with us. We are very grateful that you decided to visit us earlier this year than you have in the past several years. Does this mean Summer will be visiting us earlier this year as well, or are you prepared to stay a little longer than you normally would? 


Xoxo,
Angela

Rainy Days and Mondays Always Bring Me Down

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Today in NC it is a rainy, dreary day. Although the rain isn't supposed to roll in until later this afternoon (possibly bringing with it huge thunderstorms and gale force winds tonight), it just FEELS like a rainy day. Sunday it POURED almost all day long. A friend of mine, Kara, and I both wore our rain boots to church. We got a lot of compliments on them! I usually do actually. They're black with white polk-dots of varying sizes and lined in a magenta color. I bought them from Target years ago. Sigh. I love rain gear. It's so stinkin' cute. So, of course, I went to Target's website and drooled over some of their other rain boots. I think I need a new pair so that I can have more matching possibilities with my wardrobe. Do you think the hubs will understand my justification for needing another pair of rain boots?

Yeah. Me neither.

Anyway...for your viewing pleasure...I give you...rain gear!

Rain boots!

1: Women's Peacock Rain Boots- Blue/Green- Target- $24.99

2. Women's Giraffe Rain Boots- Brown/Khaki- Target- $24.99

3. Women's Eiffel Tower Sporty Rain Boot Black- Target- $24.99

4. Women's Novel Dot Rain Boots- Lime/White- Target- $24.99

Umbrellas!

1. Knirps Fiber T2 Umbrella- 14.Bloom Yellow- Ebags.com- $39.96

2. Mademoiselle Young Miss Umbrella- Umbrellas.net- $72.00

3. Children's Ruffled Parasol Umbrella- Purple- Umbrellas.net- $22.00 $16.00

4. Fleur Dis Lis Bubble Umbrella- Galleria Umbrellas- Shushans.com- $24.00

Today is a good day to snuggle up with a good book and listen to the rain on the windows and roof...or add some stylish, adorable rain accessories to your wardrobe for the world to see...ya know...whichever. :-)

~A

Toy Story Themed Sweet 16?

Today my mom sent me an invitation to my youngest sister's sweet 16 party. She is having a fish fry with our family and a few of her friends. It's a no frills ordeal, to say the least. Mommy then Facebook messaged me (you wish your mom was that cool) asking if I was planning on making Hannah the umbrella skirt she so desperately wants and has begged asked me nicely for for the past month. Mommy then told me about how she's making Hannah a Jessie cake. It took me a minute to wrap my mind around that. Jessie, is the rootin tootin' cowgirl in Toy Story 2 that befriends Woody and learns that she, too, can be loved unconditionally by a child even though her first kid threw her away. Anyway, so my 16 year old sister...16, not 6, wants a Jessie cake for her birthday. Alright then. So...I thought to myself....what can we do to jazz it up a bit? How can we make a Jessie Sweet 16 Party?



Well...first of all...we're going to make some of these...

And I'm going to make her one of these...

And add some fried fish, mom's cake, some side dishes provided by various family members and you get a Sweet 16 Jessie Party! Stay tuned for pics of the actual party (which is March 19).

~A