scenes from our weekend

We were finally able to sneak out of town this weekend for a short trip down to Indianapolis. I'll tell you, what a different even two hours south makes when you just want to get away. I love Indy for its city feel, yet its still small enough that you don't have to deal with the hassle of pricey hotels, transportation and traffic (aka Chicago).

We stayed right next to Keystone at the Crossing simply because it was more convenient for our day of shopping. Staying there allowed us to be in walking distance to both the mall and dinner on Saturday evening. There is nothing better than parking your car and leaving it for the weekend without the hassle of paying for parking and fighting over spaces.

We registered at four separate stores Saturday and I had so much fun with the entire process (although I cannot speak for John). I'm glad that we made the trip down to see things in person. Being a visual person, I was happy to actually hold things in my hand and try to picture what they would look like in our apartment/future home.

Now onto the good stuff...

Late Harvest Kitchen 

Saturday night we went to the most fabulous restaurant called Late Harvest Kitchen. It came to me highly recommended and it did not disappoint. The meal kicked off with a brussel sprout salad in a delicious tangy dressing. My pork chop was massive and full of amazing flavor. The wine (such a steal at $30 a bottle) was from Tuscany and was amazing. It makes me even more excited for our Italy trip and all the Italian wine we will be consuming in the near future. We finished off the meal, of course, with the most amazing caramelized toffee dessert. If you are in the area I recommend stopping by this chef owned/run restaurant...it truly was an amazing experience!

  

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3 Sisters Cafe

Sunday morning we went a little out of the way and headed down to Broadripple Village to go to a little breakfast spot that has been on the "to-do" list for quite sometime. Ironically the first time I heard about it was through Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (yes, the Food Network show) when they featured a few things on the menu. I loved it. 

It was a little quirky restaurant in an old house and was filled with the character and unique dishes on the menu. I had the blueberry lemon corn cake pancakes with lemon curd and homemade whipped cream. I had no troubles nearly finishing off the entire plate. And of course (yes, dessert again) I brought home a piece of blueberry goat cheese pie. 

3 Sisters was kind enough to provide us with the full recipe on how to make this ridiculously amazing combination. You can make it here. Its definitely on my list to make this weekend. 

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So yes, a weekend filled with shopping, good food and good wine. My kind of weekend! 

favorites for fall

Fall is in full swing here in Indiana and I am loving all the changing leaves and cooler temperatures. Last year we didn't have the opportunity to enjoy the fall because it went so quickly from summer to winter (too quickly I might add and it was a long road from there).

We have been able to soak in fall and with that it has allowed me to prolong the heavy winter winter coats and boots a little while longer.

I have always struggled with whether I prefer fall or spring clothing more. I am a dresses girl through and through, and both seasons thankfully allow me to wear them throughout. Fall is full of fun accessories though, like scarfs, boots and tights. 

I have pulled a few favorites that I have seen over the past month that I have my eye on. The list is a long one, but there are some great deals out there this time of the year!

The perfect black fur vest. I have been looking for one of these for years but the price point on fur has always made me shy away. At $89 on sale, this is something I could swing! I would love these with either jeans or leather leggings. So versatile...you can buy it here!

I was so excited to see that Nordstrom Rack was having a JBrand flash sale. You can get this classic skinny jean style for a whopping $80...which is an amazing price when most retail for upwards of $200. They are the perfect jeans for all your fall outfits, and can be paired with tops, sweaters and boots galore! Snatch up a pair here. 

 I am (not so secretly) hoping that these babies go on sale at the end of the season so that I can get myself a pair. I have been lusting over flat ankle boots to add to my collection for some time now and I love that these come in a dark grey version as well as a nice tan color. Dolce Vita nailed it with these.
You can pick up a pair in grey and tan here. They are also sold on Shopbop in a nice moss color.

Happy fall! Weather permitting, of course, enjoy this beautiful weather.
xo

Hotty toddy

With the recent successes of Ole Miss and the excitement of the past 3 weeks (College Gameday, Katy Perry, a top 5 AP Poll ranking) it has made me long to make a trip down south to my Alma mater. Surprisingly, I haven't been back to Oxford since I graduated, and it is hard to believe that almost three years have gone by since I left.

I will be back at some point, and will certainly plan on visiting my favorite restaurants, shopping spots, and campus landmarks. For those who haven't ever been, Oxford Mississippi is probably the cutest town you will ever see. Good people, good food and you are guaranteed a good time! 

Here is a list of my "must visits" if you are in the area :-) 

1. Big, Bad Breakfast 

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Yes, it's totally as good as it sounds. Its a little outside Oxford but worth the trip. My favorite breakfast place, dare I say ever. Cathead biscuits, grapefruit with caramelized brown sugar (amazing), and homemade raspberry jam. It's safe to say that food is the #1 biggest draw back to Oxford again.

2. Bottletree Bakery 

Another good breakfast/lunch spot on Oprah's List of must-see's. My favorite is the Bowl of Soul: a crazy concoction of coffee and hot chocolate in a soup sized mug. They have amazing wraps and sandwiches as well for lunch. In the old part of downtown Oxford, this is a great local Sunday after church spot.

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The Grove. To say that I miss this place on Saturdays is an understatement. I may be biased when I say this but I think this is the best tailgating around. I spent many hours here hanging out with friends, eating delicious food and waiting for the games to start. It should be #1 on your list if you are fortunate enough to be in Oxford in the fall. 

Hotty toddy! Tomorrow is game day!

Trip to Nashville

This past week my coworkers and I took a trip down South to Nashville, Tennessee for a conference. I was particularly looking forward to the trip because it had been quite a while since I had actually gone out of town on trip and four days away sounded like heaven.

We stayed in a hotel down the road, but the conference took place in the Gaylord Opreyland Hotel about 20 minutes outside of downtown Nashville. If you haven't ever seen the hotel, it has two beautiful atriums with so much vegetation, brick pathways, and shops that make it feel like its own little town.

Because of the distance from downtown Nashville I wouldn't recommend staying here if you were visiting although it is worth the trip just to walk through! I would absolutely love to come back and visit, stay downtown and fill up on some delicious Nashville barbecue.

 I thought this fall floral arrangement outside one of the restaurants was gorgeous. I even loved the little  pepper plants that they mixed in with the traditional mums, pumpkins and gourds. Making mental note for the future :-)

 

(apologies for the blurry cell phone picture)

I squeezed in a little time to shop in the evening and stumbled upon the most amazing boots. I have been eyeballing the Rag and Bone booties for a year or so but the $500 price tag wasn't within my budget. So I happily scooped these Vince Camuto boots in the Sand color for a whopping $69. They are hard to find online but if your a lucky number ten you can get them here.

I'm Back!

After taking a two year hiatus from the blogging world I am once again going to try my hand at blogging with this brand new blogger format. Bear with me as I am trying to figure out how to use all this! 

So much as happened the past couple of years and it would be nearly impossible to sum it up in one post. Here's a little synopsis of life lately...

I moved from Oxford, Mississippi after graduation back to my hometown. I love my job and little life here, and have enjoyed being back. It's hard to believe I am coming up on nearly 3 (!) years since I have been away. 

I got engaged this past April, which in itself was a surreal and amazing moment. John and I are so incredibly happy and I have been knee deep in the wedding planning already. More on that later! You will probably see our engagement photos plastered all over this blog the next couple of months (see above) as we were unbelievably thrilled at the way they turned out.

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We have decided we will be honeymooning in Italy in June 2015 and will be making the trip to Florence for 5 days and Rome for 3 days. We will be making a few day trips in each location and Cinque Terre is on the top of my list! I am blown away by the beauty of it all and everyone that I talk to highly recommends it. I am so excited to spend my days sipping Italian wine, eating, eating, eating, and exploring a new place with John. I hope to document the trip through photos, provide recommendations on places we stayed and activities that we did. I have a feeling that a "big girl" camera purchase is in the near future...

That's all for now. More to come!