number 185

  
it’s wednesday! i haven’t played in a while, so i figured i'd link up with jamie for what i'm loving wednesday! can i get a “hallelujah” for the week being halfway over?

christmas is just around the corner, but i've been eyeballing several things for myself lately! i'm going to have to hold off for a little longer, and just tack ‘em onto the wishlist!

1  |  i drink my coffee out of my huuuge tervis tumbler every morning. it keeps my brew hot much longer than my regular ol' mug. so i'm putting a monogrammed tervis on my wish list this year (24 oz, please!), but wanna hear a sad story? my circle monogram is terrible! sob story, i know.

meh.

2  |  this balsam and cedar footed candle. i spotted this beauty in a boutique over the weekend – she is not only beautiful, but smells amazing! since i'm allergic to real christmas trees (another sad story), i need her to fill my home with the seasonal scent we all love so much!

3  |  ok, so shrimp and grits isn’t on my christmas wish list. this one i'm taking care of myself. i've been craving it like a crazy person lately, and i plan on making this recipe this weekend. if you have an amazing recipe for s&g, please please share!

4  |  lastly, on cyber monday, i sat for about an hour with these leggings from loft in my online shopping cart. i'm feeling really smart right now, because not only are they not half off anymore, they’re sold out. (i'm really full of sad stories today, right?) hopefully santa snagged a pair before they were all gone!

hope everyone’s having a wonderful week! p.s. who’s buying lottery tickets tonight? 500 MIL? yes, please!

what are you loving this wednesday?

number 184

ermagersh! i'm still here, y’all! i won’t give you a line and say “things have been SO crazy lately!” because it hasn’t been anything out of the norm. i've just had a lazy streak and haven’t felt that anything was blog-worthy. we all have those days weeks, right? where nothing really seems all that interesting? it doesn’t mean that i was any less thankful during thanksgiving or that i haven’t been whipping up delicious food, no wait, scratch that last one.

here’s a snippet of what’s happening, via crappy cell phone pics. i think i'm due for a new cellular device.

at the virginia tech football game, before the buzz wore off, when we were still warm  |  we’ve had a ton of gorgeous fall sunsets around charlotte  |  quick trip to richmond for a dear friend’s perfect southern baby shower (invites designed my moi!)  |  we hung drapes in our bedroom – these are a fabulous buy, going to get more this weekend!  |  annie got dramatic before we left for thanksgiving  |  cookout pecan pie milkshake – a total game-changer  |  i got a fur vest and clearly fail at modeling it

that’s about it. we’ve been slowly, but surely, making the house more home-y and have spent a lot of time on the road or with guests here, in town. i know andrew and i are both super excited just to be in charlotte for the next few weekends, relax rake leaves, and decorate for our first christmas in our new home. so yeah, i'm here, just being a little quieter than usual!

number 183

ah! in less than 24 hours, i will be up to my eyeballs in maroon, orange, and bourbon! andrew and i are headed to see some of our favorite people in one of our favorite places: blacksburg, virginia! not only is it where i spent the best four years of my life, it’s gorgeous, and ...who wouldn’t want to go? see ya sunday, charlotte!

all images via

number 182

so this weekend, i played suzy homemaker and whipped up a little breakfast on saturday morning. i've been craving an easy casserole-type breakfast lately and decided a quiche would be easy, yet impressive enough for my sweet house-guest  not only was this recipe a snap, but it was delicious – with only a few ingredients. the hardest part was waiting for it to bake, so we could devour it!

spinach and bacon quiche via southern living

ingredients: 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1 (1.8-ounce) package leek soup mix
1/4 teaspoon pepper
10 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 unbaked (9-inch) frozen deep-dish pastry shell

prep: preheat the oven to 375°.
drain your spinach, make sure you get all that excess water out!
wisk together your eggs, half/half, and leek soup mix. next, stir in spinach, bacon, and both cheeses.
pour the goodness into your pie shell and bake for 45 minutes.
devour and enjoy!

number 181

so this weekend my beautiful and sweet sweet friend, alex, came to visit and continue our [new] tradition of no boys, floor seats, and being generally obsessed with carrie underwood for a good 48 hours. the concert was unbelievable [to be expected], as was the entire weekend. 
here are a few pics for your enjoyment…
 
needless to say, we were “blown away”. the last pic is my favorite. we felt so much closer in person, looking at these pictures doesn’t do her justice. girlfriend is gorgeous and didn’t miss a note! we were in the 8th row, and did a little “celeb” spotting – with emily maynard, charlotte’s own former bachelorette, just 2 rows ahead of us!
overall, it was a perfect weekend. we dined at cowfish and vida, partied at thomas street tavern and rira, and boutique hopped all around charlotte. alex, you’re welcome back ANYTIME – you were the perfect houseguest! now if only we could get you to move to charlotte….

number 180

it’s the freakin' weekend!!!! well….not technically, not until 5. but i'm just SO excited! one of my best gal pals, alex, is coming to town this weekend to frolic around charlotte AND tomorrow night, we’re going to see our mutual best girlfriend, carrie sing. yeah, we’re friends in real life, didn’t you know that?

i have some pretty good lookin’ friends. hah…. i'm losing it.

2 years ago, alex and i took a last minute chance to snatch up some carrie tix and see her perform in roanoke, and it was easily one of the best nights of my life. don’t believe me? here’s a recap. this year we got on the ball and scored some equally awesome seats and are both so excited to relive it all!

i'm very much looking forward to blowouts, boutique hopping, and belting carrie songs all weekend with you, al! yay! c’mooon 5 o’clock!

number 179

something about paint on the walls just makes me feel at home. and no, i'm not talking about “builder beige” that comes in almost every apartment i've ever lived in. color chosen by YOU that fits YOUR lifestyle and reflects YOUR tastes. my mom’s coming into town for a few days this week to help get the paint train started. i figure, we’ll shoot for the living room, bathroom, and our bedroom – since those are the rooms where we spend most of our time.

the colors i've selected for the house are mostly variations grey, some bluer – some greener. while andrew’s busy thinking “they all look the same to me”, i'm having a less-than-easy time deciding exactly which shade of “greige” i'd like our main living quarters to be.

our living room has 2 large windows, but they’re both on the same side of the room. i'm having a hard time straying from the beautiful rich shades like “intellectual gray”, but on the flipside, i don’t want the room to seem darker and smaller than it already is. has anyone painted any of these shades before? and if not, what’s your favorite greige?

number 178

so i opted for a re-design instead of an actual post today. #sorryimnotsorry

see y’all pretties next week!

number 177

welp! we’re all in and [mostly] unpacked. i can’t tell you how exciting it is to finally have a home base that’s OURS. even though we’ve been in charlotte for over a year and a half, buying this house really says that charlotte is our home, and we’re here to stay! last night, andrew and i took a long walk to check out our new neighbs – and again it made us both so certain that we made the right decision. the streets are beautiful, the neighbors are SO friendly, and we’re pretty much obsessed with our new digs.
let’s back-track for a sec: last march [wow! march!] i made this little wish-list when we started house hunting. let’s see how our new purchase stacks up:

1. bungalow: our house isn’t your traditional “bungalow” style, but the interior layout is very similar. according to my expertise [google images], i believe our architectural style is “cape cod with cotswold cottage details” which is just fine by me! are you tired of seeing images of the front of the house yet? what? one more?
   
2. near uptown: our commute this morning was 11 minutes to uptown. not too shabby! our usual commute was usually 5-7 minutes, so an extra 3 or so won’t hurt.
3. newly renovated: while we don’t have a brand spankin’ new kitchen, the seller was very kind to update the fixtures in the bathroom, the lights thorough the home, install rubbed bronze doorknobs, re-stain the beautiful hardwoods, and paint the walls and trim. eventually we do plan on updating the kitchen, but we’re so happy to have a home that isn’t necessarily a “fixer-upper” - she’s already gorg.
   
   
4. 3 bed / 2 bath: 3 bed / 1 bath. gotta make a compromise somewhere! i'll trade an extra bathroom for the spacious back yard anyway.
   
   
5. good neighborhood: not only good, but great! i won’t get into specifics, but i will tell you that we bought in one of the neighborhoods mentioned in our wish list.

overall, i think we hit the nail right on the head with this one. i'm already looking forward to the many memories will make in our new home and the process of making it our own.
up next: paint colors and my diy wish-list!

number 176

i know everyone’s been driving themselves crazy thinking “what happened to laura?” “where’d she go?” and dyyying to know just WHAT i've been up to. the reason i've been MIA: we're CLOSING on our house friday! needless to say, my mind hasn't been on the blog. i figured i'd stop in for a sec, say hey, and let everyone know that i'm still here, just taking some time to pack and prepare for a life in an actual HOUSE!

damn right she’s under contract!

stay tuned for our adventures in first-time homeownership! with this exciting change, i hope to include y'all in some fun DIY's and budget friendly fixer-uppers. any tips? send them my way (pretty please!)