Trunk Show

 

Yesterday and today we have been hosting a trunk show for one of the jewelry lines that we carry at the hoop. Yesterday was super busy and people picked up some really amazing pieces to wear back to their spring and summer wardrobe. If you live near by and know where the store is you should come and check it out. Amanda Sterett's entire collection is on site not to mention yummy treats and 20% off your entire purchase!!

 

Happy Weekend!

 

Mr. Sunshine

Dress: Allen Allen
Top: Sparkle & Fade
Wedges: Steve Madden
Sunglasses: Prada

The sun has made an appearance in a big way around here. It has been in the low to mid eighties and sunny for the past several days and I can't seem to get enough of it. I have been driving around windows down music blaring happy as a clam. At home I just want to hang out on the back porch. Even the dogs cant get enough. Check out Layla my little sunbather {ha!}. This is the best kind of weather we have and it doesn't last too long so I have to enjoy it while I can. Soon .. oh so very soon .. it will be 100°+ and I will want to pass out or cry every time I walk outside.

Another major plus to this time of year? Pool and lake season is officially in full swing!! RT and I went to the pool with Ben and Bridget on Saturday and it was glorious. The water is still too cold to get in but that's ok because it's not too hot yet.

In celebration of Mr. Sunshine, I am wearing a new coral dress and nude sandals. Very springy if I do say so myself. How about y'all? Are you all geared up for spring and basking in the weather??

Happy Tuesday!

Angel Jane

Finally I am back in the landing of the living bloggers. {ha!} I finished the book trilogy I was reading and I am honestly pretty sad about it. I want to read it again. But I can't neglect my little blog anymore .. so .. moving on ..

I may have mentioned one or two {bagillion} times that I am an aunt to 8 amazing little boys and girls. The oldest on my side is this sweet little muffin, Janey. She is much bigger than this now .. she is turning 6 in April! 6! Holy cow! I can't believe it!! 

Janey is such an enthusiastic and happy little girl and every time she sees me she screams "aunt nancy!!!" and runs and jumps into my arms. It makes my heart swell every single time. A few weeks ago she ran to me and I picked her up to give her a hug and this exchanged followed ..

Me: Oh my goodness you are getting so big!

Janey: Yeah. When I am six I am probably going to be too big for you to pick me up.

Me: No way! You are going to be six really soon!

Janey: Yeah. But don't worry .. I won't be too big to spend the night.

Me: Thank goodness for that!

.. she is so funny! And she is absolutely not going to be too big for me to pick her up when she is six. Just in case you were wondering. 

In these pictures she is 2. My sister and I took her to the aquarium to check out all the animals and fish and while we were there I snapped this series of pictures. I think they capture such a sweet moment between Audrey and her oldest baby. Laughing .. playing .. loving each other. I was looking back through old pictures yesterday and when I saw these I knew I had to post them. 

Happy Monday!

Sequins

Top: Nana's
Jeans: J Brand
Wedges: Steve Madden

Hello hello all. Long time no talk. And really I have no excuse except that I am reading a book trilogy and i can hardly take time to eat because all I want to do every second of every day is read.

That is not my point today though .. my grandparents on my moms side are moving this week and so my mom and her sisters have been working hard the last couple of weeks trying to go through everything and clean out and what not. They are awesome. It is so awesome that my whole family is here and we are all close and part of each other's lives.

Yet again I digress .. so they have been going through everything and last weekend I told my nana that when she goes through her clothes I want to look at anything she doesn't want to take before she donates it in case there were any treasures. My grandmother has always been super put together.

That day we went through her formal wear and I took several things. She couldn't believe that I wanted to wear these pieces for daytime and to work. But I told her that with more casual combinations, her jackets and tops would be so fun for work attire.

So .. today I am wearing a sequined drop waist top {that she wore over a long chiffon slip dress to a black tie event} with white jeans and leopard wedges and it is so cute!

More nana treasures to come ..

Happy Wednesday!

Homemade Blueberry Muffins To Die for

Ingredients:

 

2 cups (10 oz.) plus one tablespoon unbleached all purpose flour

1 cup (4 oz.) cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (7 oz.) plus one teaspoon sugar

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsealed butter, softened

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon maple extract

1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt

2 cups fresh blueberries

1/4-1/2 cup milk as needed

 

Directions:

 

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the over to 375°. Lightly coat a 12 cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray and set aside.

 

Whisk 2 cups of the all purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/4 cup sugar together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat 3/4 cup more sugar and butter together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time until combined. Add the vanilla and maple and mix until incorporated, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.

 

Reduce the mixer speed to low. Beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture until incorporated, followed by 1/3 of the yogurt, scraping down the owl and beaters as needed. Repeat this process twice more, alternating between the remaining flour mixture and the remaining yogurt Neil the ingredients are just incorporated (do not overmix). Add 1/4-1/2 cup milk as needed for consistency.

*note: the batter is quite a bit thicker than a traditional box mix*

 

Toss the blueberries with the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour, then gently fold the liberties into the batter. Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with remaining sugar.

 

Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes, rotating the muffins halfway through.

 

Remove from the over and let stand in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to completely cool.

 

A Vacation Photo Blog

as soon as we arrived in Crested Butte, RT and I dropped our bags and headed out to walk around town. Heaven forbid we waste any time {ha!}. This is the bridge where we got engaged.

I love this town and that mountain so very much

he's bringing sexy back .. obviously

emery at ski school for the first time

and that's deuce in the orange helmet. he and emery were in the same class. so fun!

janey was going up the high speed quad lifts and everything! she is a rock star

posed ..

.. yeah this is more normal ..

.. welcome to our life {ha!} .. we love each other

everyone went sledding one day and it was seriously the most fun I have had in a while. the little kids loved it!

the big kids did too!

{this is my brother,sister and I pretending that we all fit in one kid sized sled. I was laughing so hard by the time we got to the bottom of the hill that I couldn't stand up .. hilarious!!}

even nanay had to join in on the fun!!

sweet emery is so tired from a morning of sledding

I can't wait to go back! Looking forward to next year already ..

Happy Tuesday!!!

New Pages

Alright .. nevermind on the new pages idea. I can't figure it out. I think I can only blog on the main page. So .. from now on I am going to label my posts. They we be labeled either fashion, family .. friends, or food.

Real World

{this is most obviously not my best picture ever but it is the only one that even sort of showed the front of my outfit so whatever {ha!}}

Dress: Blu Pepper
Sweater: Bloom
Shoes: Steve Madden

We are home from a fabulous vacation {ill post pictures tomorrow} and it is back to the real world for me. We actually got back thursday evening and I worked Friday and Saturday so I have been back to life as i know it for a couple of days but today is Monday and the start of a new week so it feels more official.

You would not believe how gorgeous it is here today! It was overcast and raining for the entire weekend and today it is sunny and beautiful and it is going to be 80°. Love it! In celebration I am wearing a very springy outfit {I was admittedly freazing when I left for work but I was too excited about the impending sunshine to care}. While we are in Crested Butte, the girls always take an afternoon to shop the little boutiques in town and this outfit is made up of a few of my fun finds.

And some blog news .. I have added a couple of new pages. A family .. friends page and a food page. I am not totally sure if I can use those the same as the fashion home page but I will work out any kinks as I go. I haven't posted anything on either yet but I thought I would give you the info so you can be looking for new things.

Happy Monday!