Pantone Love

Last year Pantone picked Emerald Green for their color of the year, not a favorite if you ask me, but when this year's choice came out and Radiant Orchid hit the masses, I was in love!

 

I keep a fairly neutral wardrobe (which I kick myself over every morning as I scour to pick something a bit more exciting to wear than black) but I knew I wanted a way to show off this year's color.

So I grabbed a scarf, probably one of the easiest and practical accessories around!

 

Thrown on with a simple black top and white capris and I am set!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you loving Pantone's choice?  How do you wear you favorite colors?

Weekend Recap

Last week my sister and I decided a beach trip to the outerbanks was much overdue, so we packed out bags, she put her husband on daddy-duty with the kids, and we headed down to our family house in Duck on Friday.



Friday's look of the day! 



 Our parents were going down as well to get the house ready for summer so we figured we could work on Simply Style Boutique business (*fun things coming next week*), help with some spring cleaning and work on our tans!

porch coffee with a view always seems so much better!

 Unfortunately the weather-man guessed a bit high on the 80 degree weather forecast but my sister and I were able to grab a beer and chat on the beach before heading to church. 

 

Emily & Beth coozies

After church we ate at The Black Pelican in Kitty Hawk.  This was our first time there and they had an amazing menu.  After our day of chips and appetizers I wasn’t too hungry so I opted for their Mediterranean Chop House Salad.  It was a large serving size and so delicious!

Sunday we enjoyed the last bit of weekend sunshine and helped put together bunk beds with mom and dad at the beach house before we headed back home.



I slept in the bedroom with the bunk bed overflow...

Now we are back to a week with a dreary looking weather forecast but our house is coming along and we are looking forward to a visit with the electrician this week.

Five on Friday

Linking up with the lovely ladies for Five on Friday and talking about my five favorite things this week!

 

{one}

Easter is this Sunday which means a wonderful weekend with family to celebrate.

Thankfully Brandon and my parents choose different days to celebrate so we will be enjoying lunch with Brandon's parents, his brother and his family and Brandon's good friend, his wife Jessica (who has become an amazing friend of mine) and their little one on Saturday. 

Sunday we will head over to my parent's for a day with the family.  There is a certain bunny suit that normally makes an appearance and I can't wait to see my youngest nephew's expression this year now that he is a bit older!!

 

Last year's family photo!

 

{two}

I have plans for a delicious looking Shaved Asparagus and Goat Cheese Crostini that I am bringing to my parent's on Sunday.

recipe here!

I am not the best in the kitchen but this looks fairly easy!  Brandon may have to taste test before I serve it in public!  

 

{three}

We have scheduled an appointment with the cabinetry company for our new house and I am soo excited. 

We received a Kitchenaid mixer from my best friend and sister as a bridal shower gift and I can not wait to pull that stainless steel beauty out of storage and put it on a beautiful new countertop!

(Storage is my parent's house and I visit our pretty gifts every time we go over.  To say I am eager to be in our new house is an understatement.)

 

{four}

After a crazy few weeks at work I finally had time to clean my work space off!  Hours of filing and purging and I can finally see the desk top again.  A fresh work space may be the best feeling ever!  Monday morning coffee at a clean desk will be so refreshing.

 

{five}

and speaking of coffee.... I am enjoying an early day out of the office this Friday with a cup of coffee at the local starbucks catching up on all you lovely lady's wonderful blogs! :) 

 

 

Have a happy Good Friday and a wonderful Easter weekend!!

 

{Oh and any tips or suggestions on new kitchen cabinets is always appreciated!!  I am putting together a post on what we are thinking (and by we, I mean me... I hope Brandon approves!) for next week}

Sunshine and Fedoras

'Hat person' may never be a term used to describe me (I try... but sometimes we just have to be honest with ourselves), but when I came across this fabulous fedora I knew it was a must have for a summer at the beach!

Throw in a pair of my favorite boyfriend jeans, wedges and a blouse, and this is a definite go to look for the warmer weather ahead.

 

 

Fedora: JC Penny

Blouse: The Loft

Jeans: New York and Company

Jewelry: Simply Style Boutique

Wedges: Target

Bag: Target

Movin' on Upton

It is time to start talking about the big news over here! It is probably the most exciting thing in my life right now!

 

These photos are my preggo-less version of our bump-date! ;)

 

Our little sign says "Our First Home 2014"
(because I am corny and thankfully my husband gives in every now and again!)

 

After months of unending rain and snow we have home building progress!!!

 

The builders have finally gotten down to business and our making our little house drawings a reality.

 

Now it is crunch time with the decisions.  We are looking at siding color choices, shingle options, paint colors and more!!  I never thought I could be so excited and so overwhelmed at the same time!   

 

I can't wait to share more!!  And praying for good weather through the rest of the process!

Weekend Update

May I first say how much I am loovvving this weather!!  (Thank you Spring!)

 

This Saturday I had my first event of the season.  The city hosted a Spring event with bounce houses, pony rides, petting zoos, bounce houses and more.  Planning a party in the park makes my heart so happy!  We even had giant balloons, and I was quite excited about them!

 

 

 

I even took those incredible oversized balloons and met Brandon afterwards at our nieces first birthday party!  Tenleigh was adorable and was so spoiled at her Minnie Mouse themed-party! 

 

 

She was not into smashing her pink cake, though.  She sat and contently ate as everyone stood around with cameras out waiting for a reaction. 

 

And a quick trip to Office Max for a planner for the husband.  He was able to find a planner in 10 minutes... which baffled me, as it took me 4 months to choose the perfect year planner this year (thank you "The Day Planner"!)

 

Sunday started with a walk on the oceanfront boardwalk in Virginia Beach with a wonderful friend and her 2 little ones.  A few miles pushing strollers and a fun stop at the playground was just what the beautiful weather called for.

 

And since Brandon was working all day, I spent the afternoon catching up at my parent's house (which did involve a nap by the pool!)

 

Now back to office lighting and meetings... Happy Monday!

Spring Bridal Shower

The bridal shower I helped my friend Elizabeth throw was a huge success (my ability to take pictures of the shin-dig was a fail).  But I did want to share the few I grabbed on this lovely afternoon.

 

The beautiful bride-to-be!

We had a food spread and mimosa bar for the guests. 



not pictured is our fabulous mimosa spread



We kept our games simple.  We had a sheet for guests as they walked in with a list of random facts and they were to write the name of a guest who fit the fact beside it. (i.e. - "Find a guest who has more than two pets", "Find a guest that has a stamp in their passport")  This was a fantastic ice breaker game and had everyone mingling and getting to know other friends and family of the bride.

The second part to the game was using those names you learned and writing them on a bingo sheet.  As Becky opened gifts, she pulled a name out of a guest out of the jar!

 

I was surprised at the shower to hear that almost none of the guests had heard of the "bow bouquet" tradition.  I volunteered to put the bouquet together, but the bride's crafty guest's presents didn't lead to many traditional bows.  After some creative thinking we came up with a tissue paper and ribbon bouquet. 

 



Anchors are part of this Navy wife-to-be's wedding theme.



I love party planning and planning this shower was a great excuse to get to spend evenings with Elizabeth. It was so fun to see our plans come together and celebrate Becky and George's upcoming nuptials!