Michelle Armas Print

I've been looking for a large, abstract painting or print to hang in our living room for months (see...this is proof of that!), but it's been hard for me to find something that I like in my price range. I've had my eye on Michelle Armas and her amazing paintings and prints, but I just couldn't quite pull the trigger and order one. Today her large prints were on mega sale on One Kings Lane and I took it as the universe's way of telling me I should order it. I even pinned this exact print a few months ago! So you're looking at the proud owner of a new abstract print, y'all. :)

Valentine's Day Gift Guide

Whether you're picking up a small treat for your BFF or sending a little surprise to your significant other, Valentine's gifts are fun! Do you have any big plans for the holiday? Lucas and I will be going on a date here (hands down my favorite restaurant!) and then going to Lake Tahoe on a little weekend ski trip this year. Here are a few suggestions for fun Valentine's Day gifts:

1. Kiss-proof lip and cheek stain that will give your cheekbones a lovely flushed look: Benefit ($29).
2. A cute and functional passport holder: Kate Spade ($68 but Kate Spade is running a 20% off sale!).
3. Heart studs, which look pretty year-round: C-Wonder ($28).
4. A sweet card to tell your loved one just how much you love them: Paper Source ($3-8).
5. An environmentally-friendly heart bottle: BKR ($32).
6. Sequin heart shoe clips to add a little flare to flats or pumps: Ban.do ($25).

Have a lovely holiday! XOXO

Wedding Crafts

Sometimes I get a bit of anxiety over all the things that need to be done for the wedding. The truth is that we still have 10 months to go, we've gotten all of the big things taken care of (venue, photographer, caterer, officiant, band all booked; invitations picked out; dress bought!), and it.will.be.fine. Can you sense that I'm trying to convince myself of that? Still, when I get stressed out, it helps to just do something (anything!) wedding-planning related to make me feel like I'm making forward progress. This weekend I did a few crafts and wedding DIYs and am happy so far with the turnout.

First weekend craft: letters to adorn the back of our chairs at the reception. I was inspired by the bride/groom chairs at this amazing wedding. We're not really going to have a set color palette for the wedding, rather we're just going with Fall colors that we like. Our wedding party will be wearing neutral colors and the flowers will be a mix of bright fall colors and succulents - tangerine, coral, and greenery. For our invitation suite, we're going with craft paper envelopes, ivory paper, and brown, green, and orange accents. Therefore, I decided to paint the letters a harvest orange to go along with our fall theme. I chose a paint that would dry with a matte look and basically painted a few coats on. Total cost of this project was about $10.

This next craft is also far too easy to blog about, but here goes anyway. Our photographer is setting up a photobooth for our guests to enjoy (you can see a few of our photographer's previous partybooth sessions here, here and here!), so I painted a few chalkboard signs to use as props. I bought bare, unfinished wooden signs at Michaels for $3 and some Martha Stewart chalkboard paint for $5. Voila! Total cost for this project is $11!

Finally, I started making pom-pom bunting, which I think I will use to: go around the dance floor, serve as the backdrop for the photobooth, or BOTH! Here is a sneak peek of the finished product, but I'll write an entire post dedicated to this project later this week.

Okay exhaling a huge sigh of relief that I'm making a bit of progress on the "little stuff" for the wedding. Next up: making/painting a cornhole game for guests to play during cocktail hour, making heart banners, and painting a burlap sign. 10 months and about 100 more projects to go! :) XOXO

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Dip

Happy Superbowl Saturday! It's definitely a pretty exciting year for San Francisco sports, but since I'll forever be an Atlanta sports fan, I'm still licking my wounds over the Falcons loss to the 49ers last week. Regardless, we're heading over to a friend's house to watch the big game today, but personally I'll only be celebrating Beyoncé's halftime show. :)

I'll be making a Southwestern quinoa salad (recipe to come!) to take to our friend's house today, but another one of my favorite party recipes is this Buffalo chicken dip. There are several ways to make this dip, but this is my personal favorite.

Ingredients:
-1 pack of ranch dressing seasoning (I prefer to use this so that it's not so soupy. If you like it a bit runnier, you could use ranch or blue cheese salad dressing!)
-1/2 cup of shredded Mexican blend cheese.
-1 1/2-2 cups of shredded chicken (No exact measurement - I typically use about 1/2 of a rotisserie chicken or I broil a few chicken breasts and then shred them.)
-1/2 bottle of Frank's buffalo wing sauce (There are others on the market, but I definitely recommend going with Frank's. I've tried a few different brands and it's definitely the best!)
-8 oz. package of softened cream cheese.

What to do:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Mix chicken, ranch seasoning, softened cream cheese, and buffalo sauce together in mixing bowl. You can use a mixer or do it with a spoon by hand.
-Spread mixture in a greased pan. You can use a glass or metal pan - it doesn't matter!
-Spread shredded cheese on top.
-Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
-Enjoy with carrots, celery, and/or tortilla chips.

Blog Love: Poise & Pen

Hi lovely people. Happy Friday - the weather is glorious in the Bay Area and I cannot wait for this weekend! Just wanted to take a moment to share my dear friend Haley's new blog, Poise & Pen. She's super stylish and her friend Babs creates illustrations of her outfits. Check it out! XO