Birthday Extravaganza

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Tonight I'll be hitting the town with my closest girlfriends since three of us have birthdays just 3 weeks apart.

 Julianne [11/25] + myself [12/4] + Taylor [12/10] 

What could be better than a night of celebrating not one but three birthdays!

Here's to a fun night, cheers!

 

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

xo

Recently

Over Thanksgiving break I spent the majority of my time in my grandmother's kitchen.
And while that is no different than any other trip up north, this year I took a strong liking to my grandmother's china.
She has two beautiful sets but my favorite has to be the china she received as a wedding gift.
White and mint trimmed in gold. Um, gorgeous!
And while I couldn't pack them in my bag for the trip home I did score two major beauties from my absolute favorite local antique mall.
Pretty much obsessed and I'm thinking they'd be perfect for styling a bar cart!
If only I could find a shaker and ice bucket to match ...

It's The Small Things

First off I have to say thank you for the kind words, early birthday wishes, and fabulous suggestions I received yesterday.
You guys are seriously the best!

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For today's post, I had something completely different planned and then something happened this morning that caught me off guard. Most mornings I stop for a coffee before work and since I've stopped at the same spot since May I've started to learn the regulars. Today one of those regulars said good morning and introduced themselves; afterwards I got in my car and smiled. How nice it is to have a name for that face I've seen smiling back at me for the past few months.

Such a great reminder on how the little things like a simple 'hello' or a 'good morning' can really brighten someone's day.

Help Me with My Birthday Menu!

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One week from today I will be celebrating my 27th birthday.

One of my favorite traditions is how we celebrate birthdays in my family: 

we all gather at my parents and enjoy whatever delicious meal the birthday person requests

Since my birthday falls on a Tuesday, this Sunday will be the day I celebrate with my family.

Last year I asked for a low country shrimp boil and individual chocolate lava cakes, yum! 

 This year I'm a little stuck. I can have anything my little heart desires but I honestly have no clue.

The only thing I've decided is NO cake.

 Instead I've asked for brownie sundaes complete with my favorite: chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.

But for the actual meal I need your help.

I'd love to hear what some of your favorite birthday dishes are!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Couldn't have said it better myself.

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!
xo
Amanda

A Thanksgiving Feast

Green Bean Casserole

 Lemon-Maple Squash

Mashed Potatoes with Chipotle Peppers Goat Cheese and Caramelized Shallots

Sausage Apple and Walnut Stuffing

Black Pepper-Pomegranate Molasses Glazed Turkey

Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie

You guys, seriously, yum!

I don't know about you but I am so excited tomorrow is Thanksgiving.

Between hanging out with the family, getting lots of sleep and eating WAY too much food this is quite possibly one of my favorite holidays.

I have spent every Thanksgiving at my grandma's and this year will be no different.  

There is something so comforting about watching my 91 year old grandma in the kitchen. 

And I love that all 8 of us [mom dad 2 brothers sister-in-law aunt and uncle] will spend most of the day in the kitchen waiting on dinner.

But for now it's off to grandma's I go.

Hope you all get to enjoy a delicious meal tomorrow! 

Images + Recipes via Food Network

 

Time To Put On That Party Dress

One || Two || Three || Four || Five || Six


With Thanksgiving on Thursday it is officially that time of year when it is completely acceptable to purchase a new party dress!
These are just a a few that I'm currently coveting.

And I can't even begin to describe how smitten I am with this dress.

 Have you already found the perfect party dress? If so I'd love to hear!

Details of the Weekend

Happy Monday, friends!
I am so excited for this week - for a couple reasons: it's a short work week, spending time with the family and of course the food ...
So here's to hoping these next few days fly by!

If you follow me on Instagram [@amandapattison_] you may have noticed a few hot air balloon postings over the weekend.
That is because on Saturday what was originally a dinner date with two friends turned into an unexpected adventure.
Lori Jill and I decided to check out Balluminaria.
 The event takes place at Mirror Lake in Eden Park, one of the many Cincinnati parks.
11 hot air balloons lined up around the lake and for 2 hours put on what is called a 'balloon glow'.
We entered in on the backside of the lake so we were right in the middle of the action, which made for some pretty cool pictures.
Though the coolest pictures came at the end of the night when we made our way around to the other side.
 From there you could see the glow of all 11 balloons and their reflections in the lake - check out this amazing shot someone captured!

This is definitely something I plan on making a yearly tradition.
If you are in the Cincinnati area I highly recommend putting this on your list of things to see next year.

Wishing For

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I'm currently wishing for a roaring fire due to the fact our heat went out last night!

My nightly routine consists of coming home, going upstairs and immediately turning on my little space heater.

My bedroom happens to be my favorite place in the house but since we live in an old house it tends to get a little chilly!

Because of this I didn't initially realize the heat wasn't working. After about ten minutes upstairs I heard my roommate yell for me.

Sure enough, it said the heat was on, but there was no warm air anywhere. Oh, and it said it was 54 degrees inside.

We are hoping to have it looked at and fixed today because I'm not sure I could handle another morning of 50 degrees!

But enough about me. What about you?

Any fun weekend plans?

I'd love to hear!

Too Pretty To Eat

 Banana Bread Crepe Cake with Butterscotch

 Apple Mosaic Tart with Salted Caramel

You guys, can we talk about how pretty these two dishes are? 

Deb Perelman, the creator of Smitten Kitchen, is seriously a genius and truly an artist in the kitchen.

If I had either one of these sitting in front of me I not sure I could eat them. They are that pretty!

Her blog is full of delicious recipes AND she just released a new cookbook.

 Better believe that was added to my Christmas list!

Etsy + Holiday Cards

I don't know about you but I could spend hours days on Etsy and with the holidays right around the corner I've spending even more time than usual hunting for fun homemade + unique gifts to give to my loved ones. Especially now that everyone is older and scratching their heads on what they really want. Turns out my 30 and 28 year old brothers don't want Lego's, Hot Wheels or a G.I. Joe doll! Who knew?!

My most recent search lead me to these adorable hand-made cards by Ashley Pahl.

Merry Christmas || Cocoa and Candy Canes || Peace on Earth || Happy 2013

Let me tell you, I'm obsessed.
Not only does Ashley have a holiday collection but you can also find birthday cards, love cards, friendship cards and just because cards.
All of which are just as fabulous.
So if you are in the market for this year's holiday cards Ashley's shop is the perfect place to find what you need!

Long Time, No See

I can't even begin to describe how terrible I feel for being such a bad blogger lately.
Between being super busy at work and unfortunately feeling a little uninspired I just couldn't come up with material I was happy sharing.
Have any of you ever felt that way? It's definitely not fun and made me sad to be away.
But I'm happy to say I'm feeling 100% again.

So here's a little peek of what was happening during my time away:

Added a fun liner to my vanity. Finally received official business cards after my promotion.
Met my best friends new puppy, Puck. Started a new pretty collection.

Made a much needed trip to the hair salon [went dark for fall+winter]. Picked up a few pretty studs perfect for the holidays.
Admired a beautiful chapel and spent time with some of my favorite girls at a very special wedding.


To see more of my recent happenings you can follow along on Instagram @amandapattison_

Make It Count

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Happy Election Day!

Hope you all head out to make your vote count.

Happy Weekend, Friends!

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Wishing you all a fun & fashionable weekend!

xo

Classic Combination: Black & White

room via || fashion via

Outfits Clockwise: 1 || 2[similar] || 3 || 4 || 5 || 6


Lately I've been loving the classic combo of black and white.
I was inspired by this room  and after stumbling upon a new favorite shop, Sosie, my shopping bag is now full of wishlist items.
With so many options available in every style you are sure to find a dress, top, or skirt you will adore.
If you haven't been pop on over; it's heaven wrapped up in a website.