New Design Crush - Brown Velvet Sofas

When I went through my extensive sofa search I was so set on getting a light and neutral couch that I didn't even explore options with color and lucked into the navy. I picked up swatches of the chocolate sofas at Pottery Barn and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams but quickly discarded them for being too dark. A miss on my part because whoa can you make a chocolate sofa look luxurious and glamorous. 

Get The Look:

Brown Velvet Sofa - Bonhams

Trina Turk Mera Mesa Embroidered Pillow

Gray Velvet Cushion Cover - H&M

Cast Base Coffee Table - West Elm

Driftwood Side Table - Crate & Barrel

Audrey Lamp, White - Lulu & Georgia

Art over Fireplace - Inked, Minted

Fading Giraffe Print - Minted

Mayalle Rug, Cream - Lulu & Georgia

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flowers // gray wall // fireplace

Spicy Turkey Chili Recipe

Chili is one of my favorite dishes when the weather starts to get cold. And how can you not love a meal that's better the next day? This month has not slowed down as far as traveling goes and we are off to another wedding this weekend, so a meal I can make once and serve two nights is a keeper.

I like my chili to be a little spicy, with turkey meat instead of ground beef, and tortilla chips and sour cream. If turkey chili isn't your thing feel free to sub for ground beef.

Servings: 5

Ingredients

1.3 lbs Ground Turkey 

3/4 packet Taco Seasoning

3/4 packet Ranch Seasoning Mix

1 can (28 oz) Crushed Tomatoes

1/2 can Rotel, green chilis

1 can Kidney Beans

1 can Pinto Beans

1 can White Corn

10 dashes Tabasco Sauce

Cheddar Cheese

Low-Fat Sour Cream

Tortilla Chips

Olive Oil

Pour a teaspoon of olive oil in a medium sized skillet and place over medium-high heat. Use a spatula to chop up the turkey. Add taco and ranch seasoning to turkey. Stir and cook until pink is no longer showing, I cooked mine for about 10 mins.

Mix remaining ingredients in a large pot and add 1 cup of water. Add turkey meat in once cooked and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover the saucepan and simmer for 30 mins. Serve with sour cream and cheddar cheese garnish with tortilla chips.

Have any go-to recipes for cold weather?? 

Shopping For A Cause

ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX

Happy first day of October everyone! October is one of my most favorite months with Fall festivities in full swing. 

As you all know, October also brings a full month dedicated to the worthy cause of Breast Cancer Awareness. I love how this month brings everyone together to really rally around the cause. In Atlanta, you'll see people marching down Peachtree Street in pink for the Breast Cancer Walk, and pink everywhere from stores to the player's shoes on Monday Night Football.  

I always love the premise of a donation to a worthy cause being a part of a purchase, like Toms Shoes, so I pulled together some companies that are giving a portion of their sales to benefit Breast Cancer Awareness and/or Research.

ONE + TWO:Accessory Concierge, has created unique jewelry like the "Fight Like A Girl" bracelet and "Tough As Nails "necklace above where 20% of proceeds to breastcancerfund.org.

THREE: This one is a bit of a tease or wishful thinking since it's not for sale anymore, but I HAD to share. How awesome is this lady plant by The Sill. Would love for them to offer this and benefit the cause!

FOUR: Bobbi Brown has created a Pretty Pink Ribbon lip gloss collection, and they are donating $12 (12% of purchase) to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

FIVE: Stella and Dot is supporting the Noreen Fraser Foundation, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for breast cancer research and creating awareness for early detection. They have created this unique bracelet and are donating 100% of proceeds this month!

SIX: Land's End has created custom embroideries for their tote bag, and are donating a portion of the embroidery fee to BreastCancer.org.

Rosemary Rack of Lamb Recipe on Stove Top or Grill

It's been a while since I've shared a recipe with you all. CT and I have been cooking a lot the past few months sticking to a lot of our favorites, but trying out and perfecting some new recipes to share. This recipe we first cooked back in July for my Dad's birthday dinner and have cooked often since then. Rosemary is a key ingredient for this seasonal dish and one of my most favorite spices.

Ingredients

1 rack of lamb

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup of Dijon mustard

1 cup of extra virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons of finely chopped rosemary

2 lemons

Ditch Neutrals & Play with Unexpected Color

When I first started planning out the decor for our new apartment, I was set on a bright white and airy space with lots of neutrals and pop of color accents like Jen Ramos from MadebyGirl's Las Vegas home. I had trekked around Atlanta and narrowed the fabric for my couch down to three different beiges. Flash forward to the ADAC sample sale, and I was the proud owner of a new couch...a navy couch. Oops.

So, when one of my favorite sites for curated antique and decor hunting (you can buy and sell online with other design lovers!), Chairish, reached out to me to share what inspires my unique color combination, I was really excited to share what I learned.

My inspiration for the room really came from the couch that challenged me to think about what colors would look great with navy and bring a calm and serene feel to my home. I did A LOT of playing around with different color combos like persimmon and pink to really find what I liked together. I paired the navy couch with a gray rug overlaid with a light cowhide to brighten the room but keep the relaxed feel I wanted.

Adding bold colors to your house can really be tough to not overpower or make the room look disjointed. I loved the color couple Chairish shared of Peacock and Dove, and had to take a stab at creating a room like this for myself. I am seriously thinking about adding some teal to our living room. Teal is a color I'm shocked I didn't explore initially, but one that I think really amps up the room to make it feel more glamorous.

What do you think?

Get The Look:

Dove Gray Wallpaper

Ralph Lauren Custom Cape Lodge Sofa

Geometric Teal Pillow, Pair

Turquoise Velvet Greek Key Accent Pillow

Mid-Century Modern Brass and Glass Coffee Table

Reindeer Hide Rug

LouisXV-Style Bergeres - Pair

Wedding Wednesday - Here We Go

As promised, today I'm sharing an update on our wedding progress. We have been engaged for 9 months now and planning has been trickling along, unintentionally, life just kind of got in the way. I was moving to Atlanta from New York, starting a new job and decorating a new apartment, and CT was working around the clock and going to graduate school on the side. So here goes...

We are getting married April 25, 2015 at Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina. In one of the most beautiful areas on the 9,100 acres, Live Oak Allee.

Brookgreen Gardens is an old rice plantation turned sculpture garden and wildlife preserve near the beach my family has been going to for decades now. It's an insanely beautiful place and one I went to often growing up. I love this setting for a wedding and it's definitely played into the tone I'm imagining for the decor. We met with the event company the other week to nail down the details of the ceremony and reception, so we had to pick everything from chairs to table linens to tent types. Post coming soon on the tent decision - who knew there were so many tents to choose from! Overall, I am really happy with the style  and colors we decided to go with for a rustic, but classic wedding.

The colors were a really tough decision because Brookgreen Gardens has a lot of colors going on itself, and the flowers that will be in bloom in April are up to the discretion of the venue's horticulturist. This means they could be anything from hot pink azaleas to yellow daffodils. The bridesmaid dress color (muted blue/green) I loved because it can really go with any color. For the other colors, I'm envisioning the taupe and pink coming through in the reception decor and flowers, and mixing with classic ivory table cloths. Gold and natural wood both felt like obvious accents to me. I am a definite gold over silver girl so I'll be bringing this through subtly in the jewelry and other metal accents. And the natural wood - we are in a garden after all. We picked these driftwood x-back chairs last week for the reception and I love the rustic but classy feel they bring to the decor.

So far my wedding inspiration has been a hidden board on Pinterest as to not flood my followers with my frequent style changes on the wedding's theme, colors, etc. But here is the mood board for where our decor is netting out:

There is still a lot to do on our list before April. This week and next we are prioritizing save-the-dates, the wedding photographer and the band! 

We've picked a save-the-date and now just have to find a place to print our custom design. Would love any suggestions!

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The Handbags of Fall

Say goodbye to flash tats, there's a new favorite accessory for the season. Fall fashion has officially hit the stores, and the blogosphere is buzzing with everyone offering up their favorite picks for your imminent Fall closet. While I've definitely had my eye on some new leather jackets, billowing sweaters and booties (shop here), I couldn't help but share my favorite bags for Fall 2014. My style for the season is jewel toned satchels with some structure and slouch.

Weekly Roundup

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You've probably noticed that I've been a huge slacker on posting in the past month. CT and I have been non stop with only 10 days or so in Atlanta in the month of August, crazy! September was supposed to be our month to relax at home and enjoy the city we live in. But, a chill month for us has turned into 2 weekends at home and 2 trips to beaches in SC though I can't really complain.

Last weekend, we went to Pawleys Island to do some wedding planning. I haven't talked a lot about wedding plan so far, but am going to start sharing progress as it comes on Wednesdays. Stay tuned for next week, it's going to be a big one!

In other news, this week I've been pretty much been bed ridden with a bum foot. Aside from some awkward hopping around our apartment, I have been keeping it iced and elevated. So, it looks like no Music Midtown for me.

Next weekend, we are heading to Charleston for a black tie wedding. Good news is a long dress fits the dress code and can hide the foot bootie I hope to get next week. I am thinking about trying out Rent The Runway since a trip to the shopping mall is definitely not in my future. Has anyone rented from there before? Any tips? I'm deciding between this dress and this one.

Not sure which iPhone size to get? The people have spoken. My iPhone 6 gets here next weekend and I couldn't be more excited!

Wit&Delight has launched at Target. The beer tasting set is really fun.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Fall

Fall clothing has got to be my favorite season to shop for. Baggy sweaters, jeans, spandex pants and booties will become my new uniform for the next 3 months at least as I try to squeeze as much Fall clothing ware out of Atlanta. This weekend C and I are headed to South Carolina to do some wedding planning and take our save the date photo. So I scoured the sale racks this week for a white dress to no avail. BUT Good news - Fall clothes have hit the stores, and they are something to talk about it. I left my Anthropologie trip with new outfits, none of which included a white dress and all of which will be a great addition to my Fall closet. It is going to be a good season.

Travel - Michigan

August was a month marked by travel with trips to New York, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Charleston and Louisville. We were a bit aggressive with our plans heading to a new city each weekend, but we had a lot of fun and managed to ditch some of summer's unbearable heat. This past weekend was my first trip to Michigan besides a brief trip through the Detroit airport. We explored Ann Arbor and went to an amazing wedding on a farm outside of Ann Arbor in Chelsea.

The farm was Misty Farm in Chelsea and if any place could make a city girl turn country this was it. Rolling hills, a pond and a lovely farm house and barn made this place so relaxing and serene.

The bride and groom thought of every little touch in their wedding with lemonade at the outdoor ceremony, a mojito cocktail hour with corn hole, dinner catered by the famous - Zingerman's, a dancing shoe flip flop basket, and jam that told guest to "spread the love."

One of the coolest things was that the reception dance party was in a refinished barn that they decorated with lights and paper lanterns and a desert table.

I love going to weddings now that I am in the process of planning one. Deciding the days colors seems nearly as important as the venue. I love the kelly green bridesmaid dresses paired with yellow and white wild flowers, an antique necklace, a messy bun and pink lips. See what I mean by every detail?

On Sunday, we toured Michigan's campus and were really impressed by their Law School and its gothic detailing.

I also had to share the wedding hosts incredibly unique home in Ann Arbor, because how many houses have you seen with a tree growing in the middle of the living room?