Monday, February 17, 2014

Rubies, Sapphires, Emeralds, Oh My! (Outfit of the Day)

I mean who doesn't like a good jewel tone?!









Leather Jacket: (In Green) Anthropologie
Cords: (In Navy) J Crew
Sweater: (In White) Lilly Pulitzer
Ankle Boots : Dolce Vita DV Jamison boot: Can purchase on here- Tobi (On Sale too!!)
Scarf: old from a little boutique…

With love, 
Tate

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Snow Cream

Snow Days In The South Mean SNOW CREAM! 

Another snow day in the queen city means time for basketball and snow cream. 
Here's the recipe: 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of milk (any kind is fine)
  • 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla 
  • A pinch of salt
  • 8 cups of clean snow (Judge on your type of snow: more or less depending on fluff) 
  • Sprinkles!!!
Preparation: 5 minutes
Makes around 2-4 servings


Instructions:

In a large bowl, whisk together your milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt. You should continue doing this until it's combined evenly. 



Immediately take your 8 cups of snow and stir it into the milk mixture. You want to keep adding snow until it is a creamy-like consistency. Note: It should be fluffy not runny! 


Also, I love to put sprinkles on mine!


Note: It melts really fast so make sure you are ready to dive in!! 

Enjoy and stay warm!
-Tate

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Tuesday Tunes (Ho Hey) + Playlist

"I don't know where I went wrong, but I can write song…"



Since Valentine's Day is at the end of the week, I thought I would share some of my favorite love songs. 

Valentine's 2014 Playlist:
1. Loving You is Easy: Ben Rector 
2. Enchanted: Taylor Swift 
3. Ho Hey: The Lumineers
4. Give Me Love: Ed Sheeran 
5. Just a Kiss: Lady Antebellum 
6. Ours: Taylor Swift 
7.Fix You: Coldplay
8. Marry You: Bruno Mars
9. We Found Love: Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris
10.Young and Beautiful: Lana Del Rey 
11. I'll Be: Edwin McCain 
12. Wanted: Hunter Hayes
13. What If: Colbie Caillat
14.Kiss Me Slowly: Parachute 
15. I Melt: Rascal Flatts
16. Come on Get Higher: Matt Nathanson
17. She Will Be Loved: Maroon 5 
18.Little Things: One Direction
19. Two is Better Than One:  Boys Like Girls featuring Taylor Swift 
20. Chasing Cars: Snow Patrol 

With love, 
Tate

Monday, February 10, 2014

Fresh Flowers: DIY

Stop and Smell the Roses!


               I am a firm believer in having fresh flowers in the house and of course, today I was grocery shopping these gorgeous pink roses caught my eye! I could not resist! Especially around major "Hallmark" holidays, flowers will be EVERYWHERE! Here are some rules I find helpful in picking out the right bouquet of flowers. 


1 .Location, Location, LOCATION!

         Ask yourself, "Where do you get your flowers?" I suggest Whole Foods or Fresh Market. I have never had flowers from either one of these places die within at least TWO weeks! That's impressive!! Plus you won't be running to your local grocery store or market to replace them!  

2. Ask yourself, "How many flowers will I need?"

          Think of your occasion, or even your vase size! Don't overbuy on fresh flowers when you have no place to put them!

3. Limit yourself to a minimum of THREE colors.

            Color is very important when arranging the perfect bouquet! Do not get as many colors as you can! My general rule of thumb is 3 colors or under!

4. Also, limit yourself to certain types of flowers

            You do not want to go to crazy with all different types of flowers. This could easily overwhelm your vase and possibility break your bank too! Watch out for flowers that are out of season! You will be able to find them sometimes, but often with a HEAVY price tag!

5. Avoid: Pre-Mixed bouquets!

            Be original! Often pre-mixed bouquets are used with the store's oldest flowers! They want to move them out of the store as quickly as possible. PLUS, for people who hate greenery, this is your worse nightmare!

Here is how I prepare my usual everyday arrangements:


Note: You will need scissors, fresh flowers *I usually do a dozen, and a vase

Fill your vase with fresh clean water

I usually fill the vase little bit above the body of the vase.

Place your bags down on top of each other and cut open the plastic sheet. 

To minimize clean up, open your plastic sheet and have it spread out around the flowers.

Hold your first flower against the vase to judge where you would like the height of the bouquet to be at.

Cut to your desired height! **Make sure you cut on an ANGLE!!

Place your flower in the vase, and continue the process with the remaining flowers. Arrange them while placing the new flowers in!

Easy clean up! Just grab the sides of the plastic and roll! 

After placing all the flowers in the vase and cleaned up, grab underneath all petals and pull up. This allows the flowers to be adjusted and not pushed down in your vase. 

There you have it!

Next time you see a fresh flower in your local grocery store or outside, don't forget to stop and smell them!

With love,
Tate






Thursday, February 6, 2014

DIY: Recipe Cards

To Keep Or To Share???


I love crafting and cooking, so why not put them together?! 

Here is how to make recipe cards that you can keep as your own or give as a gift with your goody! 

What will you need:
-Any size card stock note card (I prefer 5 x 7 ) 
-Pens (Any colors that you would like) 
-Stamp(s)
-Glitter (You can never have enough!)
   *Note: If you want to heat emboss, make sure you have the correct "Embossing Glitter."
-Heat Embosser 
-VersaMark Stamp Pad
-Extra white sheet 
-Your recipe you would like to copy
- Optional: jewels 





Directions:

1.Take your stamp and completely cover the stamp with the VersaMark stamp pad. Make sure the entire design is covered. 
 2. Stamp your card stock paper. 
Note make sure the entire design transferred. Here you should see a clear image of your designed. It will almost look wet. 
 3. Take your choice of glitter and completely cover the design with glitter. With heat embossing it is better to OVER glitter than under glitter. 
 4. Place your extra sheet of white paper under your card stock and plenty shake the excess glitter off. 
 5. Make sure your design is covered with glitter completely. If some of the design has no glitter, repeat the glittering step as many times as needed. 
 6. Take the excess glitter on the white piece of paper and form a tunnel to transfer the glitter back into the container. 
 7. Now you are ready for the heat embossing. Take you heat embosser and gently dry the glitter. As the glitter is drying, you will notice it changes colors. 
    *Note: Gently move the heat around or you will burn the paper!!
 It should look like this! 
 8. Let is cool for a minute and then transfer you recipe onto the card!
 My example: 



 Note: For the back, I usually put the instructions… (see below)

 Finishing up: Additional touches can be made like little designs, quotes, or even jewel embellishments. I always love adding jewels to a recipe card, especially if I am giving it as a gift!

 *Side Note: Helpers are always welcomed!!!

There you have it! Enjoy creating your own recipe cards and fell free to share your examples in the comments section below!

With love,
Tate