Fruit Spritzer

So I made this drink over the weekend that I really REALLY enjoyed! It was a good way to get in an extra serving of fruit while feeling like I was sipping on something cocktail-esque.

This little fruit spritzer is easy to vary up and only requires 4 ingredients!

>> WHAT YOU’LL NEED <<

3/4 cup fruit of your choice, chilled
(I used strawberries, raspberries, and grapes)

1/2 cup cold fruit juice of your choice
(I used grapefruit)

1 packet of stevia

1 Perrier slim can, chilled

>> WHAT YOU’LL DO <<

Put the fruit, the juice, and the stevia into a blender and blend it together reeeeally well, getting it as smooth as you can!

Pour your blended mixture into a glass at least 12 oz. in size. Fill the glass to the top with your Perrier, then add a couple of ice cubes. (The mixture should already be cold, but with this drink, the colder the better!)

I hope you enjoy!

Cheers! 🙂

Glammed Down

Helloooo!

How was your weekend? I sure hope it was great!

Since Mondays are usually a struggle on so many different levels, I thought a little fashion inspiration might be a good way to get things started this week!

Here’s Elish with the details…

G L A M M E D    D O W N

“High Waist. Metallic Thread. Vertical Stripes. On Sale. ON SALE. This maxi skirt pretty much had everything I was looking for…you know- if I were looking for a sophisticated, glamorous, borderline cocktail skirt. I wasn’t.”

“Fortunately for me, I bought it anyway. Mixing incredibly luxe skirts with tank tops and tennis shoes, or sequined tanks with jeans and a baseball cap, has been very on trend lately. So pairing this dressier skirt with an everyday tissue tank was an easy decision.”

“The warm leather accents in the shoes and belt help tone this skirt down as well. Fashion is the one place you can take major risks without long-term commitment. Live a little!”

Top: Target
Belt: Anthropologie
Maxi Skirt: BCBG
Shoes: DSW

Three Hundy + My Top Ten

Want to hear something crazy? This right here is my THREE HUNDREDTH blog post for THE HIVE!

300!

WHAT? When did I write all those?!

I’ve been updating this little blawg since August of 2012! My very first post is a liiiittle embarrassing, but hey, when you start that low, you can only go up. Right? Keep it real, y’all…. Yikes…

Anyway, today seems like a good day to celebrate the ten most popular posts ever on this site! I hope this is as much fun for y’all as it is for me! I love seeing what it is that people are most interested in! Let’s start this top ten list in the most popular way– counting back from 10!

(Popularity was determined by which posts were directly clicked on the most, according to what WordPress stats tell me!)

>> 10th most popular – Christmas With Cousin Eddie Party <<

This party… So much fun!!! But how could it not be when it celebrates one of the best movies ever made?! Although the 1st year CwCE post is most popular, I personally like the 2nd annual post better! But it’s all good when moose mugs are involved!

>> 9th most popular – Eleven Years Ago <<

It warms my heart to see that people still love to hear about my baby brother Dooley even though he’s been in heaven for almost 12 years now. I want his sweet and wonderful legacy to live on forever and ever, and because the posts I write about him are so popular, I know others feel the same way! We sure do miss him, but how WONDERFUL to know that we get to see him again soon!!!

>> 8th most popular – Celebrating Four Years With Spontaneity <<

I sure do love my husband! And I loved celebrating our 4 year anniversary with a last-minute trip to NYC. We’ve never thought about anything less before jumping in than we did about this trip… And it was awesome!

>> 7th most popular – A Homegoing <<

Same as #9. Thank y’all for loving the memory of this guy with our family! Means the world!!!

>> 6th most popular – Healthy Apple + Cinnamon Recipe <<

I’m a little surprised that this is my most popular recipe, but hey! I guess people just like apple muffins! Seeing this reminds me that I need to make this again sometime soon! 🙂

>> 5th most popular – The BEST Punch Recipe EVER <<

When I say the best ever, I’m not even kidding. SOOOO delicious (and sooooo not diet friendly… so stay away if sugar is your enemy! The day I drank like 7 cups of this, sugar and I were BFF. I’ve tried to part ways, but it’s one of those friendships that just can’t be broken…)

>> 4th most popular – Coming This December… <<

We were SO thrilled to get to announce a healthy pregnancy that made it into the second trimester without any major trouble back in early June! After sharing with y’all about our Hard Stuff (which you’ll see if you keep scrolling down) and receiving such an outpour of support, getting to announce something happy like this was SUCH a highlight for Price and me!

>> 3rd most popular – Cigars & Stars | 30th Birthday Party <<

We celebrated Price’s 30th birthday with a big surprise party filled with cigars, stars (because it was dark outside plus there were lots of twinkle lights strung about), his favorite foods, and his favorite people! It was probably the most fun party I’ve ever planned. Maybe we can do a repeat when he turns 35!?

>> 2nd most popular – The Hard Stuff <<

Sharing this part of our lives was tough. And I’m sure it was very unexpected for all of you readers! I raaaaarely open up like this. But honestly, doing so was so rewarding. Thanks for supporting us through our miscarriage and celebrating with us throughout our current pregnancy! And thanks for taking the time to read this forever long saga and taking time to respond. Seriously, it meant the world to Price and me!

>> MOST popular – Fashinspiration: Celine Me Alone <<

This is definitely one of my favorite fashion posts, too! I’m so glad people like it! Not only is my girl Elish just a total babe styled to the TEE (in a tee, no less!), but people just want to know what the heck Celine Me Alone means! I get traffic from Google every single day referred by searches like “meaning of celine me alone” or “what does celine me alone mean.” Are you wondering that, too? Maybe you should click on the post and find out! 😉

 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

And that brings us to the end of our countdown! Thanks for taking time to stop by today!!! Hope you are having a wonderful week! 🙂 XO!

The Birthday Boy

Happy late birthday to my darling hubby who turned the big 3-1 last week!! Since last year’s shin-dig was such a big deal, we kept things a little more low key this year while celebrating, but still had a lot of fun!!

Price loves surprises, so when he came home from his trip to Starkville last weekend, I surprised him with a little homemade Reese’s cake and a craft beer tasting game. (You may also recognize some recycled decorations from last year’s party!) I don’t know where the tasting game idea came from (I’m sure I saw something on Pinterest or something that planted the idea seed in my brain!), but it was a lot of fun!

(By the way, you may or may not notice that some of our Christmas decorations are still up… I love Christmas so much that I have to put up the decorations in phases. I tell myself that these are simply “winter decorations” now that the stockings, reindeer, and snowflakes have been removed. We keep things festive around the Donahoo household as long as we possibly can!)

The cake was pretty easy and fairly tasty if I do say so myself! I just did a german chocolate cake mix, sprinkled some PB2 (peanut butter powder) into the batter to add some extra flavor, and beat some heavy whipping cream into thick whipped cream, also with a little PB2 sprinkled in, for the icing!

The game was also fairly simple in concept but Price really seemed to enjoy it! I went to Fresh Market and bought a little myriad of craft beers with the Create Your Own 6-Pack option (and added in one that we already had at the house.)

I poured little tastes into 7 small cups, each of which had a straw with a number in it. I had the corresponding numbers written on the backs of the bottles, so Price would taste one, guess which one it was, and he got a little happy with each one he got right! (I raided the dollar section at Target for the happies!)

It was fun 🙂 And we learned about a couple of beers that we will definitely buy again, and others that we will probably never touch again with a 10 foot pole…

Very educational!

As for celebrating on the actual day, we went for a steak at Ruth’s Chris after work that day. SO GOOD!!

It was a great birthday and I’m excited to celebrate many more with this handsome man-o-mine! 🙂 Sure do love my hubs!!!! ❤

Twelve Dollar Bottle :: Los Vascos

Well, happy Friday to all! It has been ENTIRELY too long since I posted a new Twelve Dollar Bottle review! So sorry about that!

Today I’ll remedy that! 🙂 The six reviewers from the very first edition of Twelve Dollar Bottle, whom you can familiarize yourself with HERE, are reviewing a lovely bottle of cab in today’s post!

(For those of you who are not familiar with the concept of Twelve Dollar Bottle, it’s just a fun column where six people (whose wine knowledge is about average) get together, drink a glass of wine together from a bottle that costs twelve bucks or less, and discuss what they taste!)

Here’s a quick recap of the reviewing cast:

Mister President is my dad Lee.
The Heart-Of-Gold-Housewife would be my mother Mary.
The Legal Counsel/Mr. Attorney is my husband Price.
The Corn Bagger is my darling twin brother Jordan.
The Shoe Shop Fashionsita is my sweet sis-in-law Katie.
The Blogging Paper Girl would be me!

>>>>> Now for the review!! <<<<<

The Blogging Paper Girl: The bottle we are reviewing is Los Vascos cab sav from Chile!

The Heart-Of-Gold House Wife: Mmmmm, Chile!

The Corn Bagger: Is this in honor of Gus?

…silence and blank faces all around…

Corn Bagger: Freign…

(Note: This is a Breaking Bad reference. If you’re not familiar with the show, then this will make no sense! But Price and I also have a dog whose nickname is Gus!)

Paper Girl: Gus Freign! Yeah!

The Legal Counsel: I thought you were talking about the dog Gus…

Paper Girl: I did too at first! I was like… What does our dog have to do with Chile… Anyway…

Mister President: Ok. Let’s go for it…

Corn Bagger: It’s got a real peppery start.

Paper Girl: Yeah it does. It’s spicy

Corn Bagger: Great spicy start

Fashionista: I like it!

Housewife: I do tooooooo

Corn Bagger: It’s like a gun on a starting line…

Fashionista: It smells really good too

Paper Girl: Yeah it does. Like my first sip I could feel it in my nostrils.

Housewife: Oooohh I like that!

Legal Counsel: Is that a good thing?

Paper Girl: Yeah… That’s the sign of a good peppery wine. Hey Daddy, you look deep in thought!

President: I wish I had command of what I was going to say… but if you hold it on your tongue, it just kinda gets fuller and fuller.

Paper Girl: That’s cool. Let me try that!

Corn Bagger: It’s expansive.

Fashionista: It’s really smooth though too…

Corn Bagger: It’s expanding.

President: It is smooth. Very smooth.

Housewife: Yeah! I can feel it on my upper palette in a good way. It’s kind of warm…

Corn Bagger: Is anyone else picking up a slightly dry finish that’s really nice?

…more silence…

Corn Bagger: Just a little bit of a dry finish…?

Housewife: I guess I’ll go for that!

President: I know it has a very smooth finish

Legal Counsel: It’s kinda smoky tasting to me. I think it would be good with a cigar!

Paper Girl: Oh yeah, it probably would…. It would probably be good with, um… for some reason I’m picturing it being a good accompaniment to ice cream. Like take a bite of ice cream then sip…

Fashionista: I brought ice cream! We can try it later!

President: What kind of fruit are y’all tasting?

Corn Bagger: The fruit…

President: It’s almost like it’s blackberry… or currant…

Legal Counsel: I was thinking berry

Paper Girl: I’m getting the berry vibe.

Corn Bagger: I think the spice overpowers the fruit.

President: In my mind the fruit wins. I’m going back to the ice cream thing…. I keep thinking ice cream with some fruit on top of it.

Corn Bagger: The fruit is present to give the spice a platform…

Fashionista: So what fruit did you say y’all taste?

Paper Girl: Berries… black berries…

Fashionista: I taste cherry

Legal Counsel: I taste grapes…

President: I would say cherry too. yeah.

Paper Girl: I’m with Jordan, I think the spice overpowers the fruity.

Fashionista: It does!

Corn Bagger: The fruit launches the spice. You can’t have the spice with no fruit.

Paper Girl: This is something that is definitely enjoyed slowly…. I feel…. This is not a wine you would drink too fast on accident. because it is kinda strong.

Legal Counsel: It gives you a warm feelin’. in the back of your throat. This is a quality grape juice.

Housewife: And it’s a lovely color

Fashionista: Can i read what it says on the back?

President: Yeah!

Fashionista: This wine is fresh, gentle, consistent, and very fruity with a slightly spicy finish.

Paper Girl: We nailed it!

Legal Counsel: It appears that the bottle says the fruit overpowers the spice…

Corn Bagger: Yeah i would have said very spicy with a slightly fruity base. But they know best!

Paper Girl: We’re all beating around the right bush.

Housewife: Mmmm hmmmm

Corn Bagger: What year was this vintage?

Legal Counsel: 2010

Corn Bagger: Mmmm. I heard there was some great weather that year.

President: So this was a sub twelve dollar bottle?

Paper Girl: Yes it was!

Housewife: I really like it and I think it tastes expensive.

Paper Girl: I would definitely buy it again!

Fashionista: Oh, me too!

President: I wouldn’t mind serving it to… well.. anybody!

Fashionista: It’s powerful. Makes a statement!

Housewife: I agree Katie!

>>>>> And… Scene! <<<<<

Here’s a recap: The spice overpowers the fruit. Or does the fruit overpower the spice? Either way, it’s super fruity, would be great with ice cream, and makes Breaking Bad fans think of the one and only GUS.

Winery: Los Vascos
Type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Colchagua, Chile
Year: 2010
Cost: $10

For the other Twelve Dollar Bottle reviews, CLICK HERE! And have a great weekend!

My Favorite Room :: Our Dining Room

I’m excited to share another post in the My Favorite Room series from my darling friend and fellow collaborator for The Lovely Buzz, Sara Beth!

(In case you’re not sure what this series is all about, it’s where I ask some of my favorite bloggers to give us a little insight into their favorite room in their house!)

This series has been so much fun for me because I love seeing the unique interior styles of those whose blogs I so admire! 🙂 And Sara Beth does not disappoint! I hope you enjoy learning about her favorite room as much as I did!!

1. What is your favorite room in your house?

My favorite room is our dining room. It’s semi-open to our living room, but it has a style that is different from the rest of our house. I wanted it to have its own unique feel. It’s a little fancier, but it still has a warmth about it that hopefully says, “Come dine with us for awhile. Let’s sip wine and eat well and have great conversation.”

2. What about this room makes you love it so much?

I love the mood of the room. We mixed traditional furniture and silhouettes with modern textures and color. I wanted the room to feel different than the rest of our house but still flow well. It has the most contrast of any room in our house, and I love the bold paint color mixed with some of the softer, more elegant pieces.

Another reason I love this room is because it contains a lot of our most prized possessions. It holds my grandmother’s heirloom china, a repurposed wash basin that was my great-grandmother’s, a wine rack that was my grandfather’s… The table and china cabinet belonged to family, as well. I feel like a lot of family history meets in this room and gives it character and backbone, and that makes me really happy.

It’s also the place where life stops, and relationships are undistracted. We have formal dinner parties around this table with china and crystal, and we also have dinner just the two of us, most every night. We unwind here with no cell phones. We savor the meal and slow down. We both love to cook, so it’s nice to spend some time cooking and then sit down and actually enjoy it. Some of our best conversations happen here. Something about this room just stops the rest of the world for me…even if just for a few minutes.

3. If you had to pick your favorite element in the room, what would it be?

Definitely the painting on the wall by Brent Funderburk. It’s called “Beyond”. It’s special for many reasons, one being my love for dance. I love the abstract elements, as well. It really leaves room for the imagination and for symbolism. My husband bought this painting for me secretly and surprised me with it in a gallery on Mississippi State’s campus on the anniversary of our engagement. He and Brent were in on it together, planning and scheming the perfect reveal. Jonathan knew that I loved Brent’s watercolors (and he was one of my favorite professors in school). He had followed his work since we were in college together.

On the day of the reveal, he casually mentioned that we should stop by and see Brent at the gallery on campus. We walked in and Brent gave me a detailed tour of the new gallery, and finally, his work. I was in awe. I read every single title, and when I got to this one, the tag read, “Collection of Mrs. Sara Beth Parks Cobb.” It took it a second to compute, but once I understood that it was mine, I lost it and cried like a baby. It was one of the most thoughtful things anyone has ever done for me, and it was my first real piece of nice artwork. I will treasure it for always. I’m glad I married a romantic. 🙂

4. What’s your paint color?

It’s called Bark, and it’s Valspar Waverly Series.

5. At what time of day do you most enjoy being in this room?

The light is beautiful in the morning. I love to open these curtains before I start the coffee pot and look out at the new day. But I enjoy evenings here the most. There’s nothing like finishing a long day with a good meal around the table.

6. If you had to describe this room in three words, what would they be?

Eclectic, Special, Romantic.

7. Anything else you want us to know about your favorite room?

We have put a lot of love into this room. The furniture was handed down to us from Jonathan’s side of the family, and it was in almost perfect condition. The chairs had some nicks here and there, so we sanded the places that needed to be fixed and painted them black to give them a modern pop and break up some of the cherry. I recovered the seats with an art-nouveau inspired fabric that is yellow and off-white.

My mother gave me my great grandmother’s old wash basin table. I had always loved the piece, and my great grandmother and I were very close. The paint was chipping and it needed to fixed up, so my husband stripped it and painted it a beautiful glossy black. We loved the idea of getting some newer hardware that had an antique feel to them, so we got some glass hardware pieces from Restoration Hardware. We had some space in our dining room, and we thought it make for a fun little bar space. We’ve enjoyed it so much, and it’s stocked with vintage drink glasses that belonged to my grandfather. My husband is also into mixing classic cocktails, so he loves to use the vintage drink mix book that one of our dear friend’s gave us. We feel very “Mad Men” when we’re at our little refurbished bar.

I really love decorating the dining room for Christmas, too! I like to play with different tablescapes and hang Christmas cards all around the room. It just gets me in the Christmas spirit!

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LOVE IT! Thanks Sara Beth! This room is extra special, indeed! Y’all be sure to check out her fun blog, My Latest Buzz to see all of the fun trips she takes and amazing work she does (among other things!!)

If you enjoyed this post, you should check out the past posts in the MY FAVORITE ROOM series! Hope you have a great Monday (if that’s even possible!) 😉

Fashinspiration : Welcome 2014!

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve all had an awesome week and have a GREAT weekend planned!

I’ll let the fabulous Elish take things over from here today! 🙂

WELCOME 2014!

“As the first outfit post of 2014, I’m trying to put my best foot forward.

When I work on a Saturday, it’s fun to put a little more time into a polished look to feel better about being at work on the weekend.

AND the extra time helps an outfit pull double duty: Going from work to dinner with friends is an easy transition!”

Necklace: Anthropologie
(Christmas gift from my sweet sister!)
Top: Zara
Velvet Blazer: Boutique in Baton Rouge
(Can’t remember because it was in high school!)
Skirt: Anthropologie
Boots: Aldo

2014 :: The New Year is HERE!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I hope all of you had a wonderful 2013!

Here’s to glitter, sequins, and champagne…

… and a very blessed 2014!!

Thanks for stopping by! XO!

{ sources for all photos above can be found here and here! }

Fashinspiration: The Party Blazer

The always stylin’ Miss Elish Phares was donning the CUTEST holiday-ish look a week or two ago, so of course I just had to take her picture! (What else is new? I’m obsessed with her style!) Her shiny blazer, the infamous Celine Me Alone tee, and some skinnies were the most perfect work AND holiday appropriate look ever!

Here’s Elish with the deets:

“I hope I’m not too early filtering in holiday looks, but the season fast approacheth!

So last year I got a fun little tulip skirt in this bold, metallic print for a work party. I loved the coordinating blazer, but sometimes a girl’s gotta be fiscally responsible. I kept my eye on that blazer until it went on sale and here we are a year later, finally a complete suit.

All good things come to those who wait, right? Good thing I still like it! I think this sparkly holiday blazer is really going to come in handy.

You can wear it with something as simple as a T-shirt, like I did, or go all out with a matching skirt, bold lip, or leather pants. It is so festive and instantly sets the tone for a good time!”

Blazer: ASOS
Jeans: Urban Outfitters
Pumps: Urban Outfitters
Tee: See here

>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<

Thanks, Elish!!! I’m certainly feeling inspired today! Hooray for Christmas and dressing for the holidays! 🙂

I’m Thankful

Since it’s the day before Thanksgiving, I’ve been thinking a lot about things that I’m thankful for this week! There are sooo many things I could list… But there are a few I wanted to share!

For hilarious friends and family. Laughter is my most favorite medicine!

For coffee. Seriously don’t think I’d be alive without it…

For the ability to travel. There are few things that thrill me more than a road trip or a quick weekend jet-set to somewhere different. I LOVE to travel!

For Pinterest. It sounds shallow, but… Ideas, recipes, etc that I’ve seen on Pinterest have saved the day on multiple occassions!

For good in-laws. Boy, and I blessed in this department! Love all my in-laws!

For my sweet husband who literally makes me laugh til it hurts almost every single day!

For great memories of places I’ve been and people I’ve known.

For getting to do what I love for a living. SummerHouse, The Lovely Bee, and freelance writing all allow me to express different parts of my creativity and I’m so thankful that I get to do these things!

For makeup and a hairdryer. For obvious reasons 🙂

For my three darling dogs. I seriously don’t know what I’d do without them… They are our babies!

For a warm fire on a cold night. I know not everyone has the luxury of a roof over their heads. This year I am extra thankful for the things I take for granted on a regular basis.

For Christmas!! I love that my husband loves it almost as much as I do. I love that he lets me decorate early. I love the spirit of Christmas. I love the meaning of Christmas. I love Christmas music and decorations, and unlike most people, I NEVER get tired of any of this! I’m thankful for all aspects of Christmas.

For technology. Keeping up with friends and family could not be easier! In fact, it’s almost too easy… But I’m still thankful for it!

For our wonderful life group at church. We’ve found some of the greatest friends there!

For Y’ALL!! Thanks for reading my blog! 🙂 Sorry to get cheesy, but I seriously do love to share with you, and I REALLY love it when you share with me!

There is so much to be thankful for… This is just the tip of the iceburg for me!!
What are YOU thankful for?!