Happy Friday!

Boy did this week go by fast! My coworker and I hosted a Pampered Chef party last night (which by the way, was so much fun!), and I guess with all of the prep work for the party- the week just got away from me! Brent and I (along with the pups) are headed to the mountains in just a few short hours! I couldn't be anymore excited; my family goes to Highlands, NC the first wknd in December every year to get our Christmas tree. It's such a fun tradition, and something the entire family looks forward to. With spouces, kids, dogs- we now rent a house, and this year we've got one on a big pond/small lake (who knows) but the guys are thrilled to be able to fish. Which for us gals means more shopping time downtown!

Believe it or not- this tiny town in the Appalachian Mountains has fabulous boutiques and even better restaurants.

images via google search

I want to share a recipe today, because it was just so fantastic that I want to make it again. and again and again I made it last night for the party, and there wasn't a drop left. I wish I had taken a picture because it came out so picture perfect, but as a busy host- I didn't take ONE picture all night! Naturally, it was found on pinterest. It's a recipe from Alicia Silverstone, who I believe is vegan, but let's be real- I used all dairy products!

Check it out here!

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This would be a perfect dip for a football party, especially for any SEC fans that will be watching the game tomorrow! (Lord knows all the men in my family will be!)

Have a fabulous weekend!

xoxo,

Christina

Yes, I'm still here!

Hello! I hope all of you had a fabulous Thanksgiving, we certainly did! I've been SO bad about blogging over the last few wks, so I owe a lot of updates! This is going to be picture overload, so I'll go ahead and appologize. I want to try to catch you all up on what we've been up to!

Georgia Southern (where I graduated from) played Georgia last weekend, so we of course had to go! They only play them every 4 years, so it's great to be able to wear navy and gold again! We had a great time- both of our parents went and we met up with some friends and had a wonderful tailgate! Of course, GSU lost, but it was still a fun day! That same weekend we had our Christmas photos taken with the dogs- fingers crossed that they turn out well. Lucy & Leo were distracted by the surroundings, so we'll see if we got a good picture!

My brother & sister-in-law hosted Thanksgiving at their house this year in Wilmington, NC. They were sweet enough to invite our dogs, too- so we all went up this past Tuesday. We had a fabulous time visiting with family, and even made it to the beach on Wednesday- crazy to be all bundled up at the beach! It was a gorgeous day.

Sweet potato soufflé was one of my contributions to our Thanksgiving feast and it turned out great!

My mom, Elizabeth (sis-in-law), and I before dinner. If you notice the table cloth with words on it- we started that tradition this year that I found on pinterest! We all wrote down things we were thankful on a drop cloth before the table was set, and used it as the table cloth. Elizabeth is going to keep the tradition going year after year until it's all filled up! It was so much fun to get everyone involved, and my niece and nephew especially loved it!

Here is my overstuffed plate that was just amazing! Thanksgiving dinner may just be one of my favorite meals!

Elizabeth & Sophie (my niece) took me out for tea on Friday for my birthday. We went to the Wilmington Tea Room for full service, and had such a fun time! The tea was fabulous, and the food was even better- scones, finger sandwiches, desserts- it was heaven!

Saturday night we had dinner with a few friends to continue on the birthday celebration, and this was the only pic we took!

Brent got the most wonderful birthday cake for me yesterday! It was delicious, and I can't wait to dive into it again tonight!

Hope to get back to regular posts this week!
Happy Monday!

xoxo

PS- if you're on instagram- follow me! christinaelake

Tasty Tuesday

The ham & cheese sliders I made for the Halloween party were a huge hit! They were delicious, and so easy to make- which is a huge plus in my book. The avocado hummus was not my fave, so I won't be sharing that. However, after spending 9 dollars on tahini- you better believe I'll be perfecting a hummus recipe soon! I followed this recipe for the sliders on pinterest, but changed a couple of things. My changes will be mentioned in red.

24 good white dinner rolls

24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese I used Havarti, because I'm not a fan of swiss
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup miracle whip
Poppy seed sauce
1 Tablespoon poppyseeds
1 1/2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon minced onion I didn't have an onion on hand, but used chopped onion from the spice cabinent
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of cheese inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. You do not have to use all of the sauce! Just use enough to cover the tops. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. I did this ahead of time then baked a few hours later, closer to the party. (It worked out great!) Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes or until tops are slightly brown and crispy. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

xoxo,
Christina

Weekend Recap

We had a wonderful weekend. I cannot believe it's over. Saturday was SUCH a busy day with the auction and the Halloween party. Both of which were quite the success. I ended up having a great time at the auction and scored some awesome deals! Pretty much everything that was there on Saturday was product that you can currently purchase at Anthropologie & Urban Outfitters. However, just about everything had some minor damage, but nothing a little DIY can't fix! Below are a few of the deals I got!

Lamp by Stray Dog Designs

Anthropologie Price $698

Auction Deal $50

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Mirror

Anthropologie Price $498

Auction Deal $120 

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Copper Clad Nightstand

Anthropologie Price $698

Auction Deal $60

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Mirror Vanity

Urban Outfitters Price $289 (I think, need to verify this!)

Auction Deal $40

*Image found via google search, this item is no longer available at Urban Outfitters

I also found a great chalkboard for our kitchen, but I was unable to locate it online. I'll show pictures once I paint it!

Now for the Halloween party pictures! I'll try to be selective with the ones I choose, surprisingly enough- I ended up with a lot of pictures! It was a fun night, but needless to say I spent Sunday being lazy!

Love their porch!

Of course- it wouldn't be a Halloween party without dry ice.

Costume Reveal!

How great is Katie's jelly belly costume!?

We were also celebrating Scott's birthday!

And this was the end of the evening...yes, we pretty much ALL ended up in the hot tub. Loofahs are meant to get wet, right!?

Hope y'all had a fabulous weekend!

xoxo,
Christina

Cheers to the Weekend!

TGIF! I'm really excited for this weekend! There are lots of things going on. As far as today- my chairs are being delivered! Yay! I cannot wait to start putting that room together. There are no big plans this evening, other than helping my girlfriend get ready for her Halloween party that is tomorrow night! I've been working on our costumes all week. Considering I work in the apparel industry, there is no shortage of costume supplies!  Here are a few sneak peeks. Can you guess what we will be?? I will do the reveal on Monday!

My husband's costume

My costume

I'm making a few dishes for the party as well! Avocado hummus (I thought the green color would be great for Halloween) &  Ham & Swiss Poppy Sliders (my mother-in-law makes these and they are wonderful- we'll see how they do for me! ) If everything turns out well- I'll share the recipes on Tasty Tuesday! 

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Of course I'm thrilled about the Anthropologie/Urban Outfitters auction tomorrow morning! Wish me luck and I'll be back Monday with any updates. For any of you locals- here is the flyer!

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Have a fabulous weekend!

Room Makeover

I intend on doing some Wedding Wednesday posts regarding our wedding that was this past March, however today I wanted to share some new things that are on their way to our home! I'm in the process of working with a decorator, and she has helped me with the layout of two rooms in our home that I've been completey stumped with since I moved in. She has been such a help! One room in particular that we're working with would generally be used as a dining room; however, the hubs & I decided at this stage in our life- we just don't need a dining room, so we're trying to create a study in the space.

I just love the layout (and everything in it) here, and this was the inspiration for our room.

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I loved the chairs in the picture above, but decided to go with a solid that could be more versatile in years come.  Not to mention they were WAY out of the budget. A pair of these should be delivered Friday! Yay!!

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A pair of bookcases

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Some mercury candleholders for the room to use on the bookcases, sidetable, etc.

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I found this mirror in Atlanta on Sunday. It looks so similar to the one pictured above, so I just had to have it. Don't mind the picture of Brent- he wasn't as thrilled about the mirror as I was, or about shopping period.



I love love the rug that is in the inspiration picture from Ballard. Right now it is on my top pick for the room.

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However this upcoming Saturday- my girlfriend and I roadtripping over to Trenton SC. (its only a 1/2 hour from Augusta, but really- who has ever heard of Trenton!?) Urban Outfitters/Anthropologie has a distribution center there, and they host a huge auction (with overstock, returns, damaged goods, etc) every year, which apparently is fabulous. Word on the street is you can get a $1600 piece of furniture for like $150. CRAZY, right!? I'm so stoked about going and hoping I could potentially grab an Anthro rug there for a deal, or steal!? Wish me luck, I'll update on Monday with the turnout.

Happy Hump Day!

xoxo,

Christina

Tasty Tuesday

On Tuesdays, I figured I would share a recipe. I'll try to share one I've already tried, and attempt to take pictures when I cook so I can share those too! We have had a cold front here in GA, and it has definitely put me in the fall mood. With that being said, here is one of my favorite soups I've made this year- potato soup. The best part is- its made in a slow cooker!

5 pounds russet potatos, washed but NOT peeled. Diced into 1/2 inch(ish) cubes {I used red potatos, and it turned out great!}

1 medium/large yellow onion, diced

10 cloves of garlic, minced

64 ounces (8 cups) chicken stock or broth

16 oz cream cheese, softened {I use low fat}

1 tablespoon seasoned salt

optional garnishes: crumbled bacon, shredded cheese, green onions

Add potatoes, onion, garlic, seasoning, and chicken stock to slow cooker.

Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.

Add the softened cream cheese and puree soup with an immersion blender until the cheese is incorporated and about half the soup is blended. (Alternately you could remove half the soup and the cream cheese to an upright blender, then re-incorporate).

Stir well, top with your choice of garnishes & enjoy!

Original recipe and picture found here