NUMBER 218

today, i'm linking up with sweet whitney over at the observant turtle for her international badge day link up! this week, she's invited bloggers to share their sorority experiences and celebrate greek life!

i knew, way before i started college in the fall of 2003, that i wanted to be in a sorority. one of my older cousins, who i still look up to so very much, joined a sorority in college, and that was all the info i needed to decide that i was going to be in one too. i can still remember my last pref party, late and in the freezing cold - how narrowing it down to 1 choice had been so easy. i had no idea then how much that easy decision would impact the rest of my life. my pledge sisters would eventually become my bridesmaids and my leadership roles would shape me into the woman i am today.

i cannot say enough wonderful things about my experience in zeta tau alpha. i met some of the most important people in my life by joining the greek community at virginia tech. even 6 years after graduation, our tight-knit group has celebrated highest highs and mourned lowest lows together. i wouldn't trade my 4 years at virginia tech for anything, and being in a sorority with these amazing women MADE my college experience.

anti-greek hipsters can make comments like "joining a sorority is just paying for your friends". if i paid for my friends, it's the best investment i've ever made.

for your enjoyment: some vintage snapshots and my ever changing hairstyles.

NUMBER 217

this weekend, we got to experience our first snow in charlotte (we missed the first “big” one this winter). it was a big wet snow that didn’t stick, but it definitely got me in the mood for a yummy soup and crusty bread. i’m no gourmet chef, so i stuck with something simple – a canned tomato soup, doctored up to taste like one of my favorites: tomato basil bisque.

laura’s fake tomato basil bisque

2 cans of tomato soup
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 large garlic clove (i like to grate mine, so it dissolves nicely)
2 tablespoons of fresh chopped basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
.5 teaspoon fresh black pepper
.5 cup milk
splash of heavy cream (just because it was in the fridge)
parmesan cheese (optional)

i added the first 7 ingredients and let it simmer for a while – to let the flavors meld. then towards the end, i added my cream!
*note: my measurements are not precise. honestly, i just eyeballed it and seasoned to taste.

enjoy with a heel of crusty bread or the mandatory grilled cheese that has to go with tomato soup.

NUMBER 216

over the past week i've had the pleasure of working with sweet sweet christina from carolina charm on a new blog facelift. i know christina in real life and can’t say enough good things about her! she’s just great, y’all!! she wanted something fresh and clean – “lots of white space” – and nothing too frou-frou or girly. i think the new design we put together is so timeless and gorgeous! i hope she loves it as much as i do!

NUMBER 215

since it’s the first day of march, here’s your new calendar! weee!

desktop | android | ipad | iphone 3/4 | iphone 5

happy weekend!

NUMBER 214

BAH! the last 8 days have been nuts, and i'm feeling incredibly blessed. i've got some big design projects on the horizon, a special giveaway coming up, and a few new pretty things around the wyatt house!

andrew’s parents came to visit last weekend. while andrews mom and i were out shoe shopping and antiquing, the men were knocking holes in the wall….literally. we’ve been staring at electrical wires coming down beside our tv for some time now, and it was beginning to make my eye twitch. we decided that the ideal option for us would be to have a built-in shelf to store the tv receivers, xbox, etc., and since my father-in-law is a contractor, we knew he’d be just the man to do it for us consult.

i'm so incredibly pleased with how it turned out. every time i walk by i can’t help but make a comment like “it looks SO good!” “it’s EXACTLY what i wanted” …etc. the project will be complete once we put a coat of paint her this weekend! thank the good Lord for handy men!

our second pretty present came tuesday night. andrew and i have been a one car family since we moved to charlotte over 2 years ago (wow! i can’t believe it’s been 2 years). not only were we a 1 car family, our 1 car was a 2 door toyota celica that i've had since high school! it was really hot in 2002, trust me! the celi is an unbelievable car, SO reliable, and we still have her (no tears were shed yet!), but this will be a nice luxury that we both can enjoy. we picked up a 2011 jeep grand cherokee on tuesday night and have been joy riding ever since!

hope everyone has had a great week! my dad’s on a business trip in tokyo, so my mom and jack (the dog) decided to make a road trip down for a long weekend to do a little (more) antiquing, paint some more rooms in the house, and do some girl things. can’t wait!

NUMBER 213

please disregard the major mess i'm making while i redesign the blog [again]!

NUMBER 212

hey y’all! sorry i'm not sorry for the radio silence over the past week-ish. i've been having TOO much fun playing designer for sweet bri over at just bri. bri is the founder of the charlotte social – a networking site for charlotte bloggers. i was giddy with joy when she asked me to help out with the design because 1. i love blog design (obv.) and 2. i TOTALLY support her cause. i've met some incredible girls and real life friends through blogging and am SO excited to see what the charlotte social can offer these amazing women. below, i've featured some branding and design elements i developed and the final site design!


y’all stop by, and tell bri i said hi! if you’re interested in a fresh design for your blogspace, fill out a design request to get started!

NUMBER 211

tomorrow is valentines day, and i find that most people either really love or really despise the holiday. although i'm incredibly thankful for my valentine (and love receiving something sweet from him this time of year), i'm still on the fence. i don’t find myself itching to go out to a fancy restaurant or send my significant other a lengthy wishlist of luxury items. in years past, we’ve had dinner in and exchanged cards, and i'm expecting (and looking forward to) this year to be no different. the discussion so far has been: to get in a good workout (thinking the gym will be pretty dead), stop somewhere after to get some delicious takeout (tbd), and maybe indulge in a homemade treat for dessert (again…tbd). to me, valentine’s day is about spending time with those who mean the most to you: husbands, parents, girlfriends, close friends – and letting them know that they are appreciated and loved. it doesn’t matter how much you spend, what you wear, or how good you are at writing love letters. what matters most is love… and maybe, chocolate.

NUMBER 210

we tuned into the grammys last night, and i'll say i was SO pleased with the winners this year! all of my favorites won (carrie, fun., and the black keys), and i just went to bed feeling so happy!

so…lets get down to business. overall, i was a little disappointed with the fashion of the night. everyone seemed a little bored (and boring). maybe it was just the absence of those we love to hate: nicki minaj and lady gaga.

rihanna is probably one of my least favorite artists of all time (pink gets 1st runner up), but in my opinion, her red carpet look was the best of the night. her hair was perfection, and i love love love the shape and the movement of her dress. however, i do wish she would have covered up her goods in the front a bit more – there’s no question about it, that dress was sheer.

another best dressed was girls star: allison williams, and katy perry’s date for the night. i thought this was a really pretty, classic look – she’s not a nominated artist (or even in music, that i’m aware of), so wearing a show-stopping ball gown or some outrageous getup would be in bad taste (in my opinion).

honorable mention: taylor swift, adele, florence welch, jayz. i'm just glad to see adele in something other than black.

i wont go into a lengthy discussion about the worst dressed, kat dennings or carly rae jepsen. kat did a decent job of maintaining her ‘girls’ but the tie dye, sparkly, rouched, saran wrap look just isn’t working for me. i think carly rae chose a beautiful dress, but she’s swimming in it. it just seems to me that she picked this dress right off the rack and never had a fitting. her hair style, that signature mouth-open stare (not pictured), and the blue eyeshadow…just wrong.

honorable mention: beyonce, jennifer lopez, carrie underwood (performance outfit – didn’t like the LED dress in concert, don’t like it now), faith hill, john mayer

who were your hits and misses?

NUMBER 209

vday is right around the corner, which means there’s been a lot of that pink-red-white combo in our presence. i love these cookies for a quick valentines treat because they’re pink and festive (and more importantly easy and delicious).

strawberry cake mix cookies
with cream cheese icing

1 box of strawberry cake mix
2 medium eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 stick of butter, softened

preheat your oven to 350. mix all of your ingredients in a medium mixing bowl with your electric mixer until it’s doughy. if you feel that it’s not doughy enough, add a little water (a 1 tsp at a time). then, i used my measuring spoon to form uniform-sized little cookies, and found that, since the dough spreads when you cook, these are the perfect serving size. bake your cookies for 8-10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack before icing.

i loaded up some store bought cream cheese icing into an icing bag, clipped the end to make a little piping tool, and drizzled the icing in zig zags across the top (and added sprinkles, obv). this was better for me because i had to transport them quickly to another location. i've seen other icing methods with these babies as well – in the middle for whoopie pies or just loading it all on top – either one works!

i store mine in an air-tight container in the fridge. cold soft cookie + cold milk = YUM!