A "Freeze" In!

It's FREEEEEEEEZING out!!!! I have such a long list of Monday To-Do's, but I am going to focus mainly on the things I need to get done "inside" since its so darn cold out today. Blogging is one of those things, he he.

We had a pretty low key weekend, but we did get to go see our house!

I can't believe how FAST the contractors are moving!

They've come so far since we signed our contract less than 2 months ago.Its crazy that we saw our lot when it was just a big hole in the ground, then we saw the framing go up, then some exterior walls, and now its all sided! SO EXCITED!

I absolutely love how the house is looking right now. Originally the little wooden scallops on the peaks were going to be painted white, but since we are using a darker stain for the garage and front doors, I decided the peaks would look so great stained to match. (They are not stained yet in these pics, but soon!). I can't believe this is OUR HOUSE!

Even though we are picking out most of the finishes and details of our house, it's still a little nerve racking and very exciting to see things as they are being completed. I am probably most excited about seeing the how the kitchen turns out. It was definitely the room that gave me the most agita LOL.

Along the way, I've found so many great pictures for interior inspiration. I think my favorite of the kitchen is this one. This is pretty much our color scheme and fairly close to our cabinetry. We will have a dark espresso island, however. I also asked our kitchen designer to see if he could configure a built in window bench, and he is making it work for our space. I really really really can't wait to see how it all comes together! AHH!

Keep ya posted! STAY WARM!

Dawg Days of Winta!

Today is the perfect example of why I created this blog. To give me something to do when there is nothing to do. No customers to be helped. No clothes to be hung. No facebook updates to be made. It's bloggin time! I had a blast this morning trying on some of Bella Ro's amazing new Spring arrivals. Got a great start on my Spring wardrobe! Wahooooo! Heres a couple of my favorite items that scream "Vanessa" :) Didn't have my camera today, so these are not so great cell phone shots!
These are so cute! I love romantic styles with rosettes, especially in creams and pale pinks, my fave! This skirt is TO DIE! I plan to wear this for my sister birthday celebration next month... perfect for a night out!

Amazing. All the things I love in a top. Light, airy, pretty, fits great. It's a keeper!


Although these rainy, slushy days stink, all these beautiful clothes keep my spirits up!















On another note...A very sad thing happened during or New Orleans trip, I ruined my most favorite shoes ever.

If you know me, you know I have an obsession with nude and camel colored shoes/boots. These BCBG nude suede shoes were my lifeline, ha! They were with me through thick and thin. Unfortunately, they met their doom in the streets of the French Quarter. They were literally peeling apart, unfixable. So, with much despair, I tossed them.

Queue "New Nude Suede Shoes" mission :) Well, didn't take long. I was flipping through People Style Watch and saw a covetable pair of Nude Suede Sandals by Charles David... LOVED! Took a quick trip to the store to try em out, but they weren't in stock yet. However, they had a very similar pair to the ones in the article, and they were 25% off. Turns out, I actually liked them better and they were so comfy! Yay! New Nude Suede Shoes! Can't wait to debut them! What do you think? YUM!

Jambalaya, Hurricanes, Biegnets...OH MY!

I go to sleep every night thinking, gotta add a new post! Time flies, doesn't it? Well here it is :) New Orleans was a BLAST. What a great group of people we had on this trip. It was short and sweet, and tons of fun! One of my favorite cocktails in the world is a frozen margarita from the bar Fat Tuesdays. Anywhere I go, if they have a Fat Tuesdays, I HAVE to get at least one frozen margarita. It's literally the perfect margarita for me. Not too sweet and so refreshing. So needless to say, I was super happy when I saw a Fat Tuesdays on Bourbon St. Had to get my marg on! Wahoo!




Our 1st day in NOLA was awesome. We meet up with our friends Noah and Marcie after checking into our hotel. We met at a place called Tropical Paradise, which is known for the infamous "Hand Grenade" drink. Its like a Gatorade on alcoholic steroids. Not a drink for me, but I was happy when we took a stroll to Pat O'Briens for a N'Awlins fave, the Hurricane. Loved it! We walked Bourbon St. and then met up later in the night again to do some bar-hopping... lots of fun that night! I loved seeing Bourbon St all lit up at night. So pretty. It's amazing to think of what this city went through with Hurricane Katrina, and see how its come to be a thriving and exciting city once again. Amazing, actually.





On our second day, we decided to hit up some of the main culinary attractions of New Orleans. We had breakfast at Cafe Du Monde... DELOOOOOSH! Biegnets were amazing and I love the iced Cafe Au Lait... I drank that in about a minute and a half... yum. Then we met up with the crowd and toured Decatur St, making our way to The Central Grocery to order some Mulfulettas. On our way, Chris and Frank were brave souls and decided to try Alligator on a Stick. Go them. They said it tasted like chicken. HA.


The Mulfuletta were so good. I love olives, so it was definitely a treat for me.

After a full day of touring the city, we all went back to our rooms and relaxed a little before getting ready for our New Years Eve dinner. We ate at an authentic NO place called Pierre Maspero's. I tried chicken Jambalaya and Gumbo, LOVED the Jambalaya. Yum. Hope to try and replicate it at home soon!
After dinner, we strolled Bourbon St, taking in the craziness and bead throwing :) All the ladies picked up beautiful carnivale masks, which we donned after dinner. It was so festive! I think the masks made the outfits, right?! We stopped in a few places, danced a little and then headed over to Jackson Square for the big countdown to 2011. However, we never actually heard the countdown.
There were sooooooooooo many people in the square that we really couldn't hear much of anything. The explosive firework display (LOVED!) gave it away that it was time to toast to a Happy New Year. It was really cool to see the city all lit up and so many people having such a great time. I would say this was definitely one of my favorite New Years celebrations ever.


How cute are these two little girls with their beads?! They were such fashionistas in training, AND they gave me my 1st set of beads! SO. DARN. CUTE!
We only had a few hours on New Years day to grab a quick brunch and bid adieu to the lovely city of New Orleans. We had a nice brunch at Cafe Pontabla, complete with Mimosas and Bloody Mary's, of course.





Hope all of you had a great celebration and wishing you all the best in 2011!

XOXO ,Vanessa