A Sale for the Ages

Saturday morning I met my mother for the most wonderful local shopping event a girl could ask for!

This did not take place on February 12th!

I love this sale! Repeat, LOVE! It only comes but twice a year.  All the local shopping boutiques in town that choose to participate mark their lovely merchandise down to AT LEAST 50% off and bring it to one convenient location, our Oleika Shriner's Temple.  It's almost a tradition with my mother and I.  Our routine is flawless (at least we'd like to think so) and can take on the crazy crowd of ladies.  Trying on clothes at this event however is uncomfortable for newcomers.  You basically are in one big room and have to undress in front of everyone!  My first visit I was scared and unsure, but now I just don't care!  I wear a tank with a built in bra and underwear that is comfy, but also doesn't expose my entire behind!  I've seen 80 year old ladies in the "fitting room" so we are all very hardcore in scoring designer clothing at a great price. 

Link here

I was able to score some lovely things from Bella Rose.  A shop that has been in Lexington for over 30 years and carries wonderful labels (including two of my favs, Milly & Tibi).  The best deal I got by far was from here and it was a beautiful gray dress originally $130, I snagged for $36!  I also picked up some beautiful designer $10 scarves.  Gotta love it!

Link here.

Another great store was present, Worlds Apart.  I scored a beautiful sweater here.  Their selection at this sale is my first place to hit up.

Lily Pulitzer c/o The Peppermint Palm

The past two years I have had wonderful luck in the shoe department from the retailer, The Peppermint Palm.  I was able to nab these Little Knotty Wedges from Lily Pulitzer at 60% off! So cute and can't wait to wear them this spring/summer.

This event will not come again until after the summer.  If anyone wants to join me to get the insider training and low down just let me know.  As I am shopping this event, I can hear ladies all around me saying, "Gosh, this is crazy!", "I am overwhelmed!", "I've never seen anything like this!".  Those people are not prepared like the regulars!  HaHa! It is so much fun and is quite an experience for any Lexingtonian.
XO
Carey

Weekend? What Weekend?

Last week was a complete blur.  With piling design deadlines, school work to grade, lectures to prepare for and driving in the rain to and from Newark, Ohio.  I was one happy girl when the weekend happily arrived. We did have an unpleasant beginning to the weekend, finding out that my husband's grandfather has lung cancer.  Prayers please! But we visited him on Saturday, taking Hudson to visit as well and he was resting and begins treatment very soon. 

Saturday morning kicked off early with the local Specialty Store Sale Spectacular! Which I will post about separately. After the shopping extravaganza ended, my parent's and I went next door to Winchell's Restaurant.  A local place that has wonderful home cooked food and plenty of TVs for catching UK games!

This was my first brunch at Winchell's and I was not disappointed.  Everything was delicious! Right down to my cup of coffee.  If you eat here, definitely get their jalapeno grits.  They are, as I said to our waitress, "Da bomb!".  Hah-aha! Then the hubby and I spent some time visiting his family and running errands, only to end up at my parent's house to watch the UK Game!

With a UK victory and bourbon in hand, we all celebrated with a Filet Mignon dinner!  Cooked to perfection by my dad!  I made Pioneer Woman's fresh green beans and my mother made hash brown casserole.  Apparently my hubby didn't contribute, he just enjoyed our hard work.  I also was very proud of myself and made a Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie for dessert! Not to toot my horn, but it turned out delish.

Not to end the food fest, I woke up Sunday (a bit hungover) and thought it was a great day for pancakes!

Hudson and I enjoyed a walk, then snuggled up for a movie!  We watched The Help, my favorite movie from 2011 by far.  And Hudson liked it, but managed to sneak in a nap during the film (which is fine, he'd seen it before).

So snuggly.  And I'm usually not this yellow I swear!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, I know I'm already looking forward to the one coming up.  Happy Monday to all!

For the Woman who has Everything

I hope your weekend was a great one!  Our Interior Design Thanksgiving went off without a hitch and we were up until 1:30 laughing and talking! It was wonderful.  Now I'm preparing for Thanksgiving coming up with our families and the official start to the holiday shopping season.  I've talked about some stocking ideas for the men in our lives, now I'm going to switch gears.

We all have one in our lives, the hard to shop for lady.  She has everything, and if she doesn't have it, she'll just go out and get it tomorrow.  Whether it's our mother, sister, best friend or co-worker......it's just plain hard to find the perfect gift for these people sometimes.  We exhaust all thought, energy and time into trying to get something we think they would want/use/need/love! 

My goal is to hopefully help out a clueless shopper to come up with a Christmas dilemma when it comes to shopping for the gal that has everything! 

Birchbox

I have talked about Birchbox in earlier posts and this is a great gift idea for the make-up lover in your life.  A box of 4 to 5 mini samples are delivered right to there door for as many months as you give.  This gift runs about $10/month, purchased in 3 month increments.  So this gift will be at least $30, keep in mind.  But it's a gift that will keep surprising them.  Ask about products that they tried out and fell in love with to put in your back pocket for her next birthday or something.  It's a pretty unique gift idea that no one else has gotten her.  When you present the gift you could include some samples (which you can easily get at make-up counters or Sephora) so that way she has something to open.

Capri Candles from Anthropologie

For the scent-obsessed gal pal in your life, these candles from Anthropologie are wonderful!  These Capri candles are also available for local Lexingtonians at House (located on Delaware Avenue) and Joseph Beth Booksellers (located at Lexington Green).  I find there scents much more mature and beautiful than other candles.  When you walk into a space with these burning, you can't pinpoint what that luxurious scent is, but you know you love it!  These are my favorite candles and are hard to find compared to Yankee or something comparable.  Also, these scents are much more mysterious and spell-binding than Cucumber Melon!

Mag Rack

I think a magazine subscription is a great gift, for the right person.  Last Christmas I got the hubby a subscription to Bourbon Review and he loves getting that magazine every quarter.  If you have a fashionista friend, perhaps Vogue or Vanity Fair.  The workout-aholic might enjoy Women's Health (which I love!) or Fitness.  The curious traveler would like National Geographic, while the dining connoisseur would love Food & Wine Magazine.  Interior Designers like myself enjoy Hotel Design magazine and Interior Design magazine.  Entertainment hogs can catch up on gossip through People and InTouch, while reading movie reviews in Entertainment Weekly.  Subscriptions are actually moderately inexpensive depending on the magazine and the number of issues.  To show them the subscription, wrap the latest issue in a gift wrapped box and place the subscription order in a card.

The cutest porcelain dish from Anthropologie

Does this person have tons of great entertaining dishes/napkins/glasses?  Or do they love fresh produce and visiting local markets?  I found this at Anthropologie and thought how stinking cute is this dish!  It resembles berry crates from the farmer's market, except this will last forever!  It is dishwasher safe, awesome, and comes in white or blue.  Too cute.

from J. Crew

Infinity Scarves are very trendy right now and if you find a great basic pattern or color, they can integrate into anyone's wardrobe.  I just really really want one and I think my mindset is, "if I blog about it, it will come."  Haha!  But seriously, these are great for the trendy girl in your life.

Drink up! via Pinterest.

Coffee-Lovers Unite!  This is a cute way to give someone a Starbucks gift card.  Ask the barista for an empty cup, top and straw.  Stuff with brown and white tissue paper to resemble a frappucino and place gift card inside.  Place gift tag to the top and you're set!  Gotta love the creativity! Thank you Pinterest!

I hope this sparked some imagination when it comes to the hard to shop for lady.  This post is talking about store-bought/ordered items, I hope to do another gift post to talk about custom/handmade/diy gifts too, stay tuned! 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all!  Our party was a success! The hubby and I worked so hard and it came off without a hitch.  We had over karoake, drinking games, beer pong and over twenty guests.  We had some great costumes including power rangers, Anthony Weiner's "package", an ewok and not forgetting Ike and Tina Turner.  Because of our party we even intrigued some new nearby neighbors to stop by and introduce themselves and join the party.  The last guest left at 2 a.m. and we were exhausted on Sunday! 

Might Morphin Power Ranger, some cute critters and me!

My sister-in-laws awesome Boogie Nights costume!

Me playing some beer pong with hot sauce.

Ike and Tina being dramatic, Madonna to rescue!

It was a blast and the hubby and I are looking forward to watching a scary movie tonight while handing out candy to all the trick-or-treaters and eating something yummy!

Dudley's

As promised is a review of our evening of fine anniversary dining.  I decided on Dudley's on Short, considering neither of us had dined there for dinner prior. I have had the pleasure of my office treating us to a Christmas lunch last year and it was delicious, so I knew we wouldn't be disappointed on our anniversary.

Our reservations were confirmed for 7 and after swimming and sipping champagne at the hotel, we got all dressed up and heading the tremendous two blocks to the restaurant.  We arrived and were promptly seated in what I call "The Red Room".  And I call it that because the walls are a rich red (which a beautiful hand painted wall covering from Brentano) with banquettes and mirrors.  We were seated at a table for two between a table of four friends at my left and a table of two girls at my right.  This is when I wished I told the hostess it was our anniversary when making the reservations so that we weren't right in the middle of everything.  The two women were loud and distracting at times, but overall it was lovely atmosphere and decor.  

The Red Room.

Their wine list (or what I called wine "bible" is very extensive, but we decided to get a cocktail since we had wine at the hotel waiting on us).  I ordered a Dirty Vodka Martini which was smooth and knocked me on my bootay.   The husband ordered a Bourbon & Ginger, which was delicious.  Props to the bartender!  Nothing is worse than a poorly mixed drink.

We started off with Warm Brie and Baguette with fresh strawberries, raspberries and peppered walnuts. Very delicious and the fruit was so fresh, it made me sad to think about what I get at the grocery.  Farmer's Market from now on!  For my entree I decided on one of the evening's specials, Pork Tenderloin with Whipped Sweet Potatoes and Fig Balsamic Glaze.  The meat was excellently cooked to my specifications and the flavors of everything when combined was wonderful.   The husband ordered the Grilled Fillet of Beef with Chive Mashed Potatoes, baby summer squash and chimchurri for his entree. This was, we both agreed on this, WAS THE BEST STEAK WE HAVE EVER HAD! It was cooked to perfection, was tender, juicy (but not runny) and the flavor was fantastic!  We can't wait to go back and have this entree again!  And the chive mashed potatoes were creating sparks on our forks!  Everything was delicious and we will for sure go again one day!

Keenelanding, a verb you should know

In my hometown there is a magical place called Keeneland, a place where dreams come true.  Well, maybe not everyone's dreams.  And maybe no real magic happens there, but I sure do love it.  Keeneland is a racetrack that is located here in Lexington and this year is celebrating it's 75th anniversary!  Something that is older than me for once (hehe).  

I have childhood memories of coming to this track as a child and bewildered at its beauty.  What makes Keeneland different than your average racetrack is its architectural beauty, landscape and tradition.  Also, unlike Churchill Downs (where the KY Derby takes place) hats are a no no.  Now if you hat the sun in your eyes or have a skin condition I'll allow it, but other than that no hats! Go to Louisville for that (although wearing those beautiful hats are fun, but fun on Derby Day).  

 There are two live racing meets that last 4 weeks each during the year.  Spring Meet (April) and Fall Meet (October).  I prefer Fall Meet, the weather is slightly more predictable and the colors of the trees that time of year are stunning.  Like anything worth doing in this town, you tailgate for Keeneland.  Some bring cornhole, beer pong, etc.  Others bring a spread of food that you think you are at your Aunt Lena's for Easter Brunch!  Kegs are around, Mobile BBQ cookers, party buses and more.  I usually try to show up between 10:30 and 11:00 a.m. to mark out my tailgate spot.  Even though the first race does not begin until 1:05 p.m.  The lots fill up very quickly, especially on a beautiful day.  Record crowds can be in the 20,000s!  Gambling for fun is my thing, having never won any money at the track.  But for me, a gal, the best part is dressing up (packing flip flops for later) and seeing everybody all dolled up (even the dudes). That's why I call the act of participating the meets and going here, Keenelanding.  This is something you do, all day! 

It's a wonderful time and you get to see beautiful horses, landscape, guys and gals!  Everyone should visit it once and experience it for themselves.  In fact, I love Keeneland so much that the hubby and I had our engagement portraits shot here.  But why am I still writing this post, I've got to get my bootay to the track! Well, not today though.  Keeneland is closed on Monday :( but maybe tomorrow?

The best season EVER

I love fall! Honeycrisp apples, pumpkin carving, cider, my anniversary, great fashion and more!  Love Love It!
Tonight I am going to a friends house to carve up a gourd and enjoy the crisp weather! Have a great weekend!

Giant Honeycrisp Apples. Nom Nom.