Our NYE Celebration 2014

This New Years Eve celebration was one for the books!

The morning started out with Ian telling me that we had a personal chef coming over to prepare dinner for us at our friends' home. He did such a great job of researching local chefs and getting a menu selected... all as a surprise. Our friends were so gracious to open their home for this awesome dinner and had the dining room set up beautifully.
 
I was originally planning to wear a dress but ended up going with a favorite (non-maternity) top and some black satin capris.

This group ... I just love them so much. We had five couples for dinner and it was such a perfect way to end 2013.

   

The dinner was prepared by Chef Garrett Tallent at Bon Vivant Culinary. Chef Tallent and his sous-chef Chad were extremely professional and friendly. They refilled our cocktails and wine (and sparkling cider) and kept the kitchen clean and tidy while preparing an absolute feast. Menus were at each place setting describing each of the four courses. Chef Tallent and Chad also came to the table to present each course, describing it and seeing if there was anything we needed.

We started off with Maine lobster ravioli ...

... and then made our way to a beet salad ... 

... and ended up with sorghum-glazed pork tenderloin with hoppin' john and collard greens with an onion marmalade.

Oh my goodness ... it was all so delicious. And as we ate and chatted, Chef Tallent and Chad washed all of the dishes and had the kitchen sparkling again. These guys were absolutely on it.

  

Dessert was a course that we went light on, but boy were these little tartlets tasty!

 

We will most definitely be using Bon Vivant again! If you are in or around Charlotte, I can't recommend this company enough. Everyone decided unanimously that we'll go this route for New Years next year, too!

 

Before midnight, we headed out to the patio and got ready for the countdown to midnight! I was thrilled that I made it this late ... especially with Welch's sparkling grape juice as my drink of choice (which hasn't been a part of my New Years tradition since I was 20 ... or 17 if we are really being honest, haha).

We all counted down together as the ball dropped, and we ended the night with smooches and hugs! I know 2014 will be a great one filled with a lot of new adventures. I can't think of a better way to ring in the new year!

Saturday Sip & Shop XXIV

Sip:



Apple and Pear White Sangria
Come May ... I'm all over this.
If you try it now, let me know what you think!

***

Shop:



Benetint by Benefit
I was thrilled to get this for Christmas ...
love layering it with my blush for rosy cheeks.

Five On Friday

The first Five On Friday of 2014 ... let's make this a great link-up day! I'm so excited to share my five with you and I can't wait to read yours.

Here's what is on my radar today.

O N E
Our Carolina Panthers won last Sunday which means we are going to the playoffs! I can't wait to cheer on our Cats as they continue doing oh so well. What a season it's been.

T W O
So, my aunt made this incredible dip for Christmas and I should be seriously embarrassed about the amount of time I spent hovering over the serving bowl. You can find the recipe here for this Cranberry Delight Spread. Cranberries and oranges just remind me of chilly weather so you can bet I'll be making this soon. Is it even too early to start thinking about Superbowl nibbles?!

Cranberry Delight Spread

T H R E E

Do you cook the traditional New Years Eve dinner? Last year I waited until the very last minute and our grocery store was all out of collards. The black eyed peas signify luck and collards signify money in the coming year. So basically, in 2013 we had great luck but no lottery winnings. This year I didn't let that same rookie mistake happen again -- we had collards and lots of them!
  

F O U R

On my birthday I went out and treated myself to a new mascara -- Benefit's They're Real! mascara. I've only used it twice so far but I can tell you that I'm already a fan! I think mascara is at its worst right when you first start using it -- I like for it to slightly thicken after several days of use -- so hopefully the best is yet to come.

    

F I V E
We had such a wonderful New Years Eve and I can't wait to share details next week! Leaving you with a few photos which prove how amazing dinner was. I was STUFFED to the brim and my sweet friend Meg captured these shots.

So dang full.

It's okay, I rallied and had dessert just a bit after these were taken.

I hope you will join this link-up along with me and my wonderful co-hostesses -- Darci, Natasha, and Christina. Playing along is simple!  Just write a post about five things on your mind today, anything goes really, post the logo below on your blog, and then enter your post address below in the link-up section. It's a great way of meeting new friends and getting more eyes on your cute blog :)

My Resolutions For 2014 (And 32)

Happy 2014, y'all ... and may it be our most fabulous year yet.

I celebrated my 32nd birthday yesterday and I just love having my birthday on New Years Day. First of all, I always am surrounded by friends at the very moment when I turn a year older, and (most years) I turn a year older in sequins with champagne in hand. This year it was just the sequins -- in the form of fabulous heels.

Not everyone is a fan of making New Years resolutions, but I am! I think any opportunity to pause and think about ways to better yourself in the coming year is a worthwhile use of time.

So here are my 2014 hopes, dreams, and resolutions!

Resolution 1: Glow

I'll be the first to tell you that my workouts have taken a backseat since becoming pregnant. For this year, I vow to exercise more frequently, including planning walks with girlfriends (which is a great substitute for the wine dates I miss). And I'm going to just go ahead and put this out there: I am vowing to return to my pre-pregnancy weight by the end of 2014 ... hopefully quite a bit before December 31st! (My new purple Old Navy Compression Tank will definitely help me be more excited about working out, and FYI - they are on great sale now here!)

Resolution 2: Pursue

There have been so many amazing opportunities that have arisen through blogging, and I want to maximize these in 2014! By far the most fun part of 2013 was joining up with the lovely ladies to host Five On Friday, and I hope that this new year brings additional opportunities for growth and new friends like that one. For "actual" goals related to this, I'd really like to improve my photography (the new lens will help!), increase my readership, and participate in more giveaways. Because giving away things to ya'll is pretty wonderful.

Resolution 3: Nourish

I am vowing to increase my fruit and vegetable intake, specifically with organic and minimally-processed produce sources! I truly do believe that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and I'll be adhering to that literal philosophy on a frequent (if not daily) basis. All it takes is a little prep for me during my Sunday grocery store visits.

Resolution 4: Invest

In the past 10 years that I've been in the workforce, I've done a very good job with saving money, but I haven't dabbled much in investments. 2014 will be the year that I increase my investments both with my personal savings and also with our married savings account. Ian and I have a good personal banker and we are on the same page with our family's financial goals for this coming year. I mean ... have you even seen what college costs nowadays? We are already saving up!

Resolution 5: Respect

This is about two things: me respecting my own time and me respecting others' time. I am a fairly punctual person (and have improved this over the years) but I could really stand to improve my time management in the mornings as I rush out of the door for work. It is not worth the stress or the hasty goodbyes to always be in such a rush. Please remind me of this when I decide to add in a little unscheduled blog work in the mornings! I get so distracted. And when meeting up with people, I am resolving to always be a little bit early and pad my travel time. I always cut it really close!

So, that wraps it up -- five main goals that I plan to uphold.

Do we share any of the same resolutions?

Linking up today with Sam and Khala for their fun New Years series, Pop Fizz Zzz!

Week 22 Pregnancy Journal

How Far Along? 22 weeks

Size of Baby: A spaghetti squash (11 inches).

Gender: A girl!

Weight Gain: Up a total of 4 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight -- but since I lost a few pounds in the first trimester, up 7 pounds total from that lowest point.

Maternity Clothes: Depending on them for sure, but I love when I can still wear my normal wardrobe. I've always been a fan of longer tunics with skinny jeans or leggings, so they are currently a go-to.

Nursery: We are beginning to clear out the current guest room to turn it in to our new office ... which means a nursery is officially in the works!

Movement: Yes yes yes, and loving every bit. The mornings are my favorite -- baby girl seems to be an early riser like her mama, and I just adore those first few minutes of waking up and feeling her yawn and stretch along with me. Not that she is necessarily yawning and stretching, but I like to picture it that way.

Symptoms: A belly that is noticed in public. It's funny seeing people's reactions -- it's like they can't see my pregnant belly without smiling and giving me these "awww!" looks with puppy dog eyes. And I love that. My belly button is getting shallower (the skin around it is so smooth since it was on the inside before). No stretch marks to date! Also, very vivid dreams -- one crazy one that Ian and I helped our (male) dog Drake to deliver a puppy. Right.

Sleep: Still sleeping like a baby. I took my Snoogle pregnancy pillow down to Columbia for the five nights I would spend down there -- totally necessary. :)

Cravings: None really, although I did inhale three fun-sized Snickers bars from Ian's stocking Sunday without an ounce of regret.

What I Miss: Wine time and mimosas with my family during Christmas. Oh! And the smoked salmon that is always a part of our Christmas brunch. I made two separate grocery store stops over the holiday break for the Fre alcohol-removed wines. Also, this past week I developed a bit of a cold (runny nose, sneezing) and I was pretty limited in what I could take for it. Neti pot to the rescue!

Best Moment This Week: My family members got to experience Baby Girl moving around, and that was such an amazing experience. Having their hands on my tummy and feeling her move at the same time that they did was so miraculous. Also, this week was the first time that I watched my belly move ... amazing experience to say the least.

Looking Forward To: My 32nd birthday is today and I can't imagine anywhere else I'd rather be. I love my husband, I love my family and my friends, I love our sweet dog Drake, I love blogging and the thoughtful people it's led me to, I love our home, I love my job ... I love life. Above all, this wiggly, growing baby girl brings me joy every single precious minute. I feel like I struck the lottery. So, I'm just looking forward to this year and everything, everything it will bring.