7 weeks old
Named after the great Auburn football coach, Ralph "Shug" Jordan. She is definitely a daddy's girl. It's been so fun to watch her grow and learn. We are happy to have her as part of our family.
She loves to pose for the camera
2.29.2012
Meet Shug
Shugar is our English Springer Spaniel.
Named after the great Auburn football coach, Ralph "Shug" Jordan. She is definitely a daddy's girl. It's been so fun to watch her grow and learn. We are happy to have her as part of our family.
Named after the great Auburn football coach, Ralph "Shug" Jordan. She is definitely a daddy's girl. It's been so fun to watch her grow and learn. We are happy to have her as part of our family.
2.27.2012
Academy Awards: Red Carpet Top 10
Last night's Academy Awards brought some hits and misses on the red carpet. I expected to see more color, but white, black, and neutral were the go to colors for 2012. Here is my red carpet top 10:
10. Gwyneth Paltrow in Tom Ford
9. Michelle Williams in Louis Vuitton
8. Tina Fey in Carolina Herrera
7. Emma Stone in Giambattista Valli Haute Couture
6. Rose Byrne in Vivienne Westwood
10. Gwyneth Paltrow in Tom Ford
7. Emma Stone in Giambattista Valli Haute Couture
Photo Credit
5. Giuliana Rancic in Tony Ward
4. Octavia Spencer in Tadashi Shoji
3. Mila Jovovich in Elie Saab
2. Stacy Keibler in Marchesa
1. Penelope Cruz in Giorgio Armani
2.26.2012
If I were going to the Oscars....
If I were going to the Academy Awards, I would wear this beautiful Monique L'Huillier.
Looking forward to seeing what gorgeous gowns show up on the red carpet!
2.24.2012
There's No Place Like Home
We are headed to Franklin, TN (my hometown) this weekend and couldn't be more excited. I haven't been since before Christmas and I miss it. Last year, I was going home quite often for wedding planning, but since the wedding, we haven't had many reasons to go home. Not that you really need a reason except to visit, but during the fall we were traveling to Auburn for football games and seeing my parents there, so on weekends we weren't traveling we enjoyed our time at home.
If you have never been to Franklin, you must go! It is such a sweet little "small town". Franklin has grown so much since we moved there, I don't think it technically qualifies as a small town anymore, but it still has that small town atmosphere. I would love to move back there someday.
If you ever visit Franklin, here are some of my favorite local places all located in Historic Downtown Franklin:
PUCKETT'S GROCERY & RESTAURANT
Great breakfast & brunch, but my favorite is the pulled pork quesadilla on their lunch/dinner menu, delicious. They sometimes have live music at night.
MERRIDEE'S BREADBASKET
Merridee's serves breakfast and lunch. Their molasses cookies are to die for!
BOXWOOD BISTRO
There are many more wonderful little shops and restaurants to visit.
Have a great weekend!
If you have never been to Franklin, you must go! It is such a sweet little "small town". Franklin has grown so much since we moved there, I don't think it technically qualifies as a small town anymore, but it still has that small town atmosphere. I would love to move back there someday.
If you ever visit Franklin, here are some of my favorite local places all located in Historic Downtown Franklin:
PUCKETT'S GROCERY & RESTAURANT
Great breakfast & brunch, but my favorite is the pulled pork quesadilla on their lunch/dinner menu, delicious. They sometimes have live music at night.
MERRIDEE'S BREADBASKET
Merridee's serves breakfast and lunch. Their molasses cookies are to die for!
BOXWOOD BISTRO
Wonderful family owned restaurant. Great for lunch or dinner. Also a great place for events, I had my bridesmaid's luncheon here. They also have a rooftop terrace!
Great place for wedding, bridal shower or baby gifts!
Have a great weekend!2.21.2012
Baby Shower
Planning a party is one of my favorite things to do. Every detail, from the menu, to the decorations, to the table setup, I love it. I helped host a baby shower for a friend at work on Friday. I was so happy with the way that it turned out.
For decorations, we made tissue paper poms to hang from the ceiling and tissue paper flowers to put on the table. I painted a burlap pennant banner of the baby's name to hang on the wall and got some blue confetti to sprinkle on the table. (Please disregard the posters on the wall, they don't come down :) )
The shower was in the late afternoon so we didn't want to go too crazy on the food. We had fruit that we put on skewers for easy serving, little bags of popcorn, animal crackers (to go with the theme and one of the mom to be's favorites) and cupcakes. For the popcorn bags, we cut brown lunch bags in half with scalloped scissors and pulled the lion that was on the invitation and printed it on card stock and backed it with blue cardstock and stuck it on the outside of the bags.
We made little cupcake toppers using an "A", the first letter of the baby's name. I pulled the template off the internet and printed on card stock and used a circle punch to cut them out and taped them onto toothpicks.
For decorations, we made tissue paper poms to hang from the ceiling and tissue paper flowers to put on the table. I painted a burlap pennant banner of the baby's name to hang on the wall and got some blue confetti to sprinkle on the table. (Please disregard the posters on the wall, they don't come down :) )
The shower was in the late afternoon so we didn't want to go too crazy on the food. We had fruit that we put on skewers for easy serving, little bags of popcorn, animal crackers (to go with the theme and one of the mom to be's favorites) and cupcakes. For the popcorn bags, we cut brown lunch bags in half with scalloped scissors and pulled the lion that was on the invitation and printed it on card stock and backed it with blue cardstock and stuck it on the outside of the bags.
We made little cupcake toppers using an "A", the first letter of the baby's name. I pulled the template off the internet and printed on card stock and used a circle punch to cut them out and taped them onto toothpicks.
Cupcake recipe is here
For gifts, the mom-to-be requested "essentials". Our boss made this adorable diaper cake that we used on the table for part of the decorations. I love the way she did it. I have made them before, but mine didn't turn out as good as hers did. I love that it looks like a real cake!
For my gift, I wanted to give essentials as she requested but wanted to put a cute spin on it, so thank you Pinterest for the inspiration. I saw this diaper bouquet and loved it.
I used a plastic tub instead of a vase so she could possibly use it for some the baby's toys or bath stuff and filled it with wipes, Germ X, baby lotion, baby wash, a little frog bath mit, socks, and face and hand wipes. I rolled the diapers and wrapped a rubber band around them (I recommend using clear rubber bands, but I didn't have any so I used regular and wrapped a piece of ribbon around each one). I placed the rolled diapers on wooden dowels and pushed them into floral foam (you can also use a styrofoam cube or ball, but I had the floral foam already). I filled the gaps with tissue paper and viola! Easy and practical!
Have a great week!
2.17.2012
Partner in Hope
I am going to apologize in advance for the somber post, but this is a great cause and wanted to share.
The last 2 days, our local radio station has been doing a radio-thon for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Three years ago, I was listening to the radio-thon on my way to work and was so moved by the stories being told; the hope and courage of the parents and the innocence and bravery of the kids; as soon as I got to work I pledged to be a Partner in Hope for St. Jude. It costs approximately $1.7 million PER DAY to operate St. Jude, and 75% of that is covered by public contributions. St. Jude's policy is "no child is turned away because of the family's inability to pay". How amazing is that? Their mission is to help, to cure, to give hope. Approximately $.0.81 of every dollar donated supports research and treatment of pediatric patients with catastrophic diseases. St. Jude shares their research with hospitals and health care organizations around the world so children everywhere have the opportunity to fight and beat their diagnosis.
As I listen to the radio-thon every year, my heart aches for the children having to endure these diagnoses and the parents and families who do all they can to put on a brave face and a smile, when all they want to do is cry. As I listen to these parents talk, whether their child was able to beat their diagnosis or not, they know their child got the best treatment possible. They are grateful for the opportunity and time St. Jude was able to provide and know their child was given a better quality of life.
If you are interested in learning more about St. Jude or would like to become a Partner in Hope, please visit St. Jude's website.
The last 2 days, our local radio station has been doing a radio-thon for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Three years ago, I was listening to the radio-thon on my way to work and was so moved by the stories being told; the hope and courage of the parents and the innocence and bravery of the kids; as soon as I got to work I pledged to be a Partner in Hope for St. Jude. It costs approximately $1.7 million PER DAY to operate St. Jude, and 75% of that is covered by public contributions. St. Jude's policy is "no child is turned away because of the family's inability to pay". How amazing is that? Their mission is to help, to cure, to give hope. Approximately $.0.81 of every dollar donated supports research and treatment of pediatric patients with catastrophic diseases. St. Jude shares their research with hospitals and health care organizations around the world so children everywhere have the opportunity to fight and beat their diagnosis.
As I listen to the radio-thon every year, my heart aches for the children having to endure these diagnoses and the parents and families who do all they can to put on a brave face and a smile, when all they want to do is cry. As I listen to these parents talk, whether their child was able to beat their diagnosis or not, they know their child got the best treatment possible. They are grateful for the opportunity and time St. Jude was able to provide and know their child was given a better quality of life.
As a Partner in Hope, you can make a difference. You will be helping St. Jude children battling cancer and conduct research that may one day lead to a cure. You help ensure no child is turned away because of the family's inability to pay. Every month, you receive a picture of a St. Jude patient and their story. Seeing the kids, reading their stories and seeing how St. Jude has brought them hope solidifies how rewarding this cause is.
2.16.2012
Cookies, Cream, Cupcakes, Oh My!
I am helping give a baby shower tomorrow for a friend at work and I volunteered to do cupcakes. I love baking and I wanted to try something different than your ordinary cupcake, so thanks to Pinterest, I found a recipe that looked and sounded delicious. I am a sucker for cookies and cream anything, milkshakes, ice cream, the Oreo blizzard at Dairy Queen, yum :). So when I saw this recipe I had to try it! Here is the cupcake recipe; I used my own cream cheese icing recipe, listed below, but I am sure they both are delicious. Enjoy!
Cream Cheese Icing:
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsalted butter
2 cups confectioner's sugar
Beat the cream cheese, butter & vanilla with an electric mixer. Gradually add sugar until blended. Beat with electric mixture until creamy.
Makes enough to ice 24 cupcakes or a 9x13 cake
Cream Cheese Icing:
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsalted butter
2 cups confectioner's sugar
Beat the cream cheese, butter & vanilla with an electric mixer. Gradually add sugar until blended. Beat with electric mixture until creamy.
Makes enough to ice 24 cupcakes or a 9x13 cake
2.15.2012
Our LoveLEE Valentine's Day
Hope you enjoyed your Valentine's Day! We did, besides the having to work part, it was a great day. My sweet husband sent me some beautiful flowers at work, roses & lilies (one of my favorites).
Chris travels a lot and yesterday he had to make a day trip to Florida, so we celebrated Valentine's with heart shaped pizza and champagne in the comfort of our own home.
I couldn't have asked for anything better, our low key Valentine's day was perfect!
Chris travels a lot and yesterday he had to make a day trip to Florida, so we celebrated Valentine's with heart shaped pizza and champagne in the comfort of our own home.
I couldn't have asked for anything better, our low key Valentine's day was perfect!
Welcome
Welcome to LoveLEE Life! I have been a blog reader for sometime, but never had the courage to start one of my own. Well, here it goes! I live in Birmingham, AL with my husband Chris and our sweet puppy, Shug. This blog will share tips and tricks of turning a house into a home, cooking and entertaining, DIY projects, fun product and restaurant finds and bits of our life along the way. Enjoy!!
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