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Weekend Picturebook: Sistahs in Vegas

F R I D A Y

Screen Shot 2015-02-12 at 9.08.14 PM

{ready for Vegas!}

Screen Shot 2015-02-12 at 9.08.23 PM
{view from our room}

S A T U R D A Y

{adorable mom drinking coffee getting ready for the day}

{mid-day shopping break – margaritas, chips + guac, El Segundo}

{beautiful sisters ready for an evening out!}

{one of the best dinners (and most expensive) I’ve ever had, Nobu}

S U N D A Y

{shopping + lunch at The Venetian}

{pancetta + goat cheese pizza, Mario Batali’s Otto}

{the best show ever – Michael Jackson ONE!!!}

{drinks after the show at Mix, Mandalay Bay – incredible view!}

M O N D A Y

{Eiffel Tower selfie}

{amazing brunch at Mon Ami Gabi – cheers to a terrific weekend!}

xo xo

[Other Vegas weekend picturebooks: January 2013, Vegas Throwback 2010-2012]

Posted by milledavis | February 12, 2015 | Categories: Family & Friends, Travel | Tags: Las Vegas, sistahs in vegas, vegas weekend, weekend picturebook | 3 Comments

Weekend in Vegas: Wardrobe Prep

I’m headed to Vegas this weekend with the sistahs (mom and two new sisters, read more on that here) and I’m so excited!

I love traveling, but I’m the worst at packing. I usually just throw a bunch of clothes in a bag, with ideas of outfits in my head, but I never really plan it out. So, in an effort to save space (to of course make room for NEW clothes) and be less stressed deciding what to wear, I’m planning out my outfits for the weekend. What’s funny is for someone who’s such a planner, this actually kind of stresses me out – realizing I can’t change my mind at the last minute about what to wear!

F R I D A Y N I G H T

[comfortable for the plane, but cute enough to step into vegas || t-shirt, Forever 21; jeans, BlankNYC, booties + cardigan, Elysian Boutique]

S A T U R D A Y

[focus on comfortable shoes for walking and quick dress changes for shopping || dress, Elysian Boutique; shoes, DSW]

[dinner reservations at Nobu calls for fur + bling || dress, necklace + fur vest, Riffraff; shoes, BCBG]

S U N D A Y

Day outfit: I will be spontaneous and purchase something Saturday to wear for Sunday! Eeek!

[sunday afternoon show + evening drinks overlooking the strip || jacket, H&M; dress, Elysian Boutique; clutch, Ann Taylor Loft]

M O N D A Y

[after a weekend in vegas, it’s time for comfort and casual heading home || boyfriend jeans, J. Crew]

Come back next week to see our Weekend Picturebook from Vegas. Hope you have a wonderful weekend wherever you are!
xo xo

Posted by milledavis | February 5, 2015 | Categories: Fashion, Travel | Tags: fashion, Las Vegas, outfits, style, Travel, Vegas, wardrobe prep, weekend in vegas | 1 Comment

Make-Ahead Meals: Breakfast Burritos + Mason Jar Salads

Typical New Year’s Resolution: Go on a diet. Lose Weight.

My New Year’s Resolution: Be more conscious of what goes in my body. (And hopefully losing weight will happen more naturally)

I’ve started making small changes in my diet. The biggest one being no more diet cokes every day. I’m not saying no more diet cokes forever, because I think having one every now and then is fine (like with mexican food – yummm) but definitely not one every day. I’ve only had 2 in the last month and I’m feeling just fine. Granted, I am drinking more coffee now because I still haven’t crossed that no caffeine hurdle BUT I’ve started drinking black coffee – no milk, no sugar, just black. Without those coke chemicals like aspartame, I already feel better about what I’m putting in my body – water and coffee.

The food is harder. Figuring out what to eat 3 times a day is hard enough, but then trying to make it healthy?? Ugh. I honestly have no clue what I’m going to do when I have kids. Feeding two is enough.

Lately though I’ve been inspired to eat healthier (and easier) with make-ahead meals.

B R E A K F A S T : E G G, S A U S A G E + P O T A T O B U R R I T O S

I have been vowing for months to make these make-ahead breakfast burritos via momadvice.com. Husband and I are not good at eating a solid breakfast. I typically just grab a Kind bar and maybe some fruit, maaaybe, if I eat anything at all. He sometimes eats yogurt. Then by lunch I’m so hungry I’m ready to eat anything and everything in my path. Not a good start to the day.

I needed something quick to grab, filling and fairly healthy. I’m not an egg eater at all (hard boiled eggs make me want to vomit), but when mixed with a bunch of different flavors (specifically mexican flavors, like huevos rancheros) I like them enough. I know they’re a good source of protein so I found this recipe great for breakfast. We’ve already gone through two rounds of these in just a few weeks. They’ve become our staple breakfast or sometimes lunch, and they are delicious. You can also change them up however you like!

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
salt & pepper
1 lb Italian Turkey Sausage — if you haven’t tried this, it’s what totally makes the recipe!
9 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
jalapenos
½ pound shredded cheese of your choice
18 tortillas, soft-taco size (8-inch)

Instructions

To roast potatoes, preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Drizzle diced potatoes with oil and season with salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder. Toss the potatoes together to evenly coat in oil and seasonings, and spread out into a single layer on the parchment. Roast until browned on the bottom and tender, about 20-25 minutes.
Brown your sausage. Once it is cooked through, set aside in a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the cream (or milk substitute) and pour into the sausage skillet. Cook over medium heat until just set, stirring as needed. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine, and transfer to the bowl with sausage.
Make an assembly line – tortilla, cheese, followed by a small handful of potatoes and a scoop of the egg/sausage mixture. Roll the tortilla up.
For freezing, place burritos on a wax- or parchment-lined baking sheet and place in the freezer until firm, at least an hour. Transfer to large freezer bags and keep frozen for up to one month.
For reheating, place a frozen burrito in microwave for 35 seconds on each side.

L U N C H : M A S O N J A R S A L A D S

I had been seeing this trend for a while now and thought it looked amazing, but it wasn’t until a friend posted on Instagram pictures of her salads for the week that I decided I had to try it. It is SO simple and so customizable. There are literally thousands of ideas for different salads on Pinterest. I decided to make mine with no meat, but you could easily add in canned chicken if you wanted.

What’s so great about the salads is that the dressing is in the mason jar. You don’t have to have a separate container for dressing. You just grab the jar and go.

Tips for layering:

Start with the dressing of your choice.
Add the hard veggies that you don’t mine getting soaked, like tomatoes, peppers, carrots.
Add the second layer of veggies or protein, like beans, cucumbers, artichokes, olives.
Add the meat here if you want.
Add the cheese, I like feta or a little gorgonzola.
Add the lettuce, my preference is spring mix.
Voila!

I keep a bowl and fork at my desk at work, so then all I have to do is pour it out, mix it up a little and it’s a great lunch full of veggies!

What are your favorite make-ahead meals?
xo xo

Posted by milledavis | January 31, 2015 | Categories: Health, Recipes | Tags: breakfast burritos, healthy, healthy eating, healthy-living, make ahead meals, mason jar, mason jar salads | 3 Comments

Golden Birthday Party [Details]

A few things about me: I love birthdays. I love parties. I love hosting people. I love gold.

Thus, the golden birthday party was born.

As a birthday present to myself, I decided to host a birthday party at our house. It was my GOLDEN birthday after all. For those who don’t know what that is – it’s when you turn the age of your birth date, in my case 26 on the 26th.

I’ve been planning this party for months, even sending out the save the date in December. I’ll be posting a blog later with all my party planning tips, but for now enjoy all the golden details!

D E C O R

{These gold wine bottles were my favorite and I can’t wait to use them again. They were also insanely easy to make. Take the wine bottle, cover it using spray glue, then pour TONS of glitter on top. Voila!}

{More wine bottle decor and a beautiful banner from Etsy}

{Bathroom details – print from Etsy}

{No party is complete without a photo booth! Make sure to have lots of props (the more random the better), and clearly showcase the event hashtag so people remember to post their photos.}

{Gold spray painted and glittered snowflakes. Bought the wooden snowflakes from a local boutique, then DIYed them gold!}

{Birthday Wall! Probably my favorite thing of the night – hang black butcher paper and have gold sharpies for guests to leave you a birthday message!}

F O O D + D R I N K

{Of course there has to be a gold cake for a golden birthday!}

{and my favorite dessert – macaroons, dusted in gold shimmer!}

{Spray paint mason jars for straw and fork holders – so easy and chic. Napkins from Swoozy.com}

{Gold solo cups (obviously)}

Not pictured: Keg of Golden Ale + Gold Jell-O Shots

E T C .

{One of my favorite birthday gifts – a polaroid camera! to capture the night in a unique way}

{Dress from Rent the Runway}

{black and gold nails on fleek}

{and of course, my best accessory!}

xo xo

Posted by milledavis | January 28, 2015 | Categories: Decor, Glamorous | Tags: 26 shades of gold, birthday, birthday details, birthday party, gold, gold decor, golden birthday | 2 Comments

weekend update [golden birthday party prep]

F R I D A Y N I G H T:

a satisfied craving [loaded baked potato]

2+ hours of a brilliant, moving film [boyhood]

an evening of pure RELAXATION on the couch with my boys

S A T U R D A Y:

[golden birthday party errand #1] cake dreaming + ordering with mom

[golden birthday celebration #1] mexican brunch (complete with sparkling margaritas and hilarious recounts of our separate, but both ridiculous new years eves) + pedicures with my girl S who unfortunately will be out of town for the golden birthday party

starbucks stop with husband for flat white + iced coffee [fuel]

[golden birthday party errand #2] my favorite employer: walmart for glitter, glue, frames + more

[golden birthday party errand #3] guess who for drink pricing (and drinks)

pizza, wine + 30 rock after a full day of errands

S U N D A Y:

[recharged] via serving coffee with a smile + worshipping at church

learned the background of piri piri chicken [while eating it] and deciding it’s our new favorite food

[golden birthday party errand #4] home depot for tools + things we know nothing about to mount things we bought at ikea we know nothing about

glitter + gold spray paint + wine bottles + mason jars and 3 pinterest projects later [golden birthday DIY complete]

hours [literal hours] realizing we are not the handy type [with said things from home depot], but figuring it out anyway and being so satisfied with husband’s job well done

breathing a collective sigh of relief that house projects + golden birthday projects are complete for now

sitting on our front porch [in the 60 degree weather! in january!] drinking a beer, watching the sunset + realizing how truly thankful we are for it all

xo xo

Posted by milledavis | January 18, 2015 | Categories: Happiness, Life | Tags: golden birthday, golden birthday party, weekend, weekend update | Leave a comment

The only constant is change.

My mom is getting re-married in February.

The end of January into February will be a rush – from a golden birthday bash, into a weekend in Vegas with my new sistahs (we’ll get into that), straight into the wedding weekend full of everything wedding, including a big brunch at my house on the wedding day.

But I’m stopping to breathe, think and write about it – my catharsis.

I found out a few months ago, so I’ve had some time to really process. I’ve processed day and night, in tears and in smiles, with friends and in solace.

Y’all know I don’t sugarcoat these things. I haven’t sugarcoated my year and the difficulties I’ve gone through while losing my dad. So I’m not going to sugarcoat this. It took me a while to understand. It took some words of wisdom from wise people, some prayer and a lot of love.

A few thoughts from the small-minded, selfish head of mine:

Why so soon? What’s the rush? What does this mean for me? Who are these new people who will be my family? How am I expected to interact with them? How long will it take until everything feels comfortable and normal? Will it ever feel comfortable and normal? Am I disrespecting my dad? How can I move on? How am I the only one who seems to still be grieving? Why can’t I move on?

But, here are a few things I’ve learned over the last few months (again, thanks to wise people, prayer and a lot of love):

Life is short. We’re meant to love. We’re not just meant to love only once in our life, but potentially more. We just have to open ourselves up to it. Why would I ever stop love and happiness in the life of one of the people I care about the most?

God knows what he’s doing. He purposefully puts people in our lives for very specific reasons. God cares for my mother and know what she needs at this time. Who am I to say that God’s timing is incorrect?

Everyone grieves differently. This one has been such a hard lesson for me to learn. If I’m still crying and upset, I don’t understand why you’re not. If I don’t see or hear you talk about it, I think you don’t care abut it. Not everyone shares their feelings publicly like I do, so I can’t then assume they don’t have feelings.

But, here’s the best news of all – my mom’s fiance and his family are the best possible people I could ever ask for to become family. Seriously. I’m not exaggerating. If I didn’t believe that, I just wouldn’t say anything about them at all. I consider myself beyond lucky – I now have 4 incredible families I get to call mine: the wonderful Appletons, who I spent the majority of my holidays with growing up and will always love dearly; the beautiful McLaughlin/Woodwards, who I’m enjoying getting to know more and more in my adult years; the fabulous Aldermans, who have openly embraced me into their family; and now the Nelsons …

Not only do I now have another great male figure in my life, who is an amazing man of God and gives terrific advice and sermons, I now have sisters – as an only child, something I only DREAMED about when I was young, but knew it could never possibly happen. I’m reminded of the Bible story of Sarah giving birth to Isaac at age 90 – when she heard this was to happen in a year, she laughed because she thought it was impossible, but the Lord said, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

So here we are, almost a month from the wedding. Our families have integrated seamlessly. We’ve had Thanksgiving together and Christmas together. We’ve gone pole dancing together and had incessant group texts together… AND we’re going to Vegas together the weekend before the wedding to celebrate (“the sistahs” – me, mom and the two sisters E + K).

As husband said as we left Christmas dinner, “If you were going to add to your family, these would be the people.”

Thank you, Lord, for providing love and happiness for my mom. Thank you for providing sisters (and their amazing families) who are thrilled to be part of mine and husband’s new life stages (babies… soon! disclaimer: not currently pregnant) to share their advice, hand-me-downs and endless love.

But most importantly, thank you, Lord, for helping me through this constantly changing thing called life.

xo xo

Posted by milledavis | January 11, 2015 | Categories: Family & Friends, Life | Tags: grief, life, love, marriage, the only constant is change | 4 Comments

life lately.

{laughing at this || a mother’s birthday celebration never to be forgotten}

{enjoying this || a wonderful christmas party with some of my favorite people + nerf guns}

{obsessing over this || #teamadnan}

{loving this || the best christmas present – one of my dad’s old scarves with my initials monogrammed on it}

{celebrating this || 2015 with my two baes}

{doing this || anything I can to stay warm during #polarvortex}

xo xo

Posted by milledavis | January 11, 2015 | Categories: Family & Friends, Life | Tags: birthday, christmas 2015, life, life lately, new year's eve 2015, pole dancing | Leave a comment

Resolutions. [10 days later]

Turn off the TV by 9pm. Get in bed and read.

Cook more with my husband.

Step away from my phone when around other people.

Blog more. Blog about what matters to me, not for others.

Embrace who I am. Don’t force things I’m not, like spontaneity.

Read the Word of God every day, even just for 5 minutes.

Go outside. Enjoy our backyard. Enjoy our energetic puppy.

Be engaged. In world events, in relationships, in work, in play.

Do small, unexpected things for people I care about.

Make our house a home.

Be more conscious about the food that goes in my body.

Love my body.

Take each day as it comes. Do not worry about tomorrow.

Travel somewhere new. In my hometown, in my state, in my country, in my beautiful God-given world.

B E H A P P Y.
xo xo

Posted by milledavis | January 10, 2015 | Categories: Happiness, Inspiration, Life | Tags: 2015, happiness, inspiration, life, New Year's Resolutions | Leave a comment

2014: My Top 5 Movies, TV Shows + Books

M O V I E S

5. Unbroken: I left the movie equal parts inspired by humanity and disgusted, ashamed of humanity. The story was phenomenal and the acting was beautiful.

4. Gone Girl: This was my #2 favorite book last year, so I was highly anticipating the movie. It was even better than I could have imagined. Rosamund Pike was the definition of perfection.

3. Wild: Reese Witherspoon captivated you from the moment she stepped on screen. The cinematography was astounding and the movie made me cry {almost} as much as the book.

2. Chef: Oh my gosh, this movie! You have to go watch it. You HAVE to. That’s all I can say. It’s funny, it’s smart, it’s one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.

1. Interstellar: This movie blew me away. We talked about it for the next week, discussing it like it was a real story. That’s the sign of a great movie.

Still on the list to see from 2014: Boyhood (DYING to watch this), Whiplash, Theory of Everything, Foxcatcher

T V S H O W S

5. Pretty Little Liars: This is my extremely guilty pleasure show. I honestly can’t tell you why I enjoy it as much as I do as a 25 year old. (Well, I tried to tell you in my blog post here.) But I’m so excited to watch this show every week.

4. The Good Wife: I binged all 6 seasons of this show this summer, and can’t believe I’ve gone this long without watching it. Alicia Florrick is my role model.

3. The Mindy Project: A consistent favorite, per usual. And now we have the best couple on TV (by far) and it’s too much happiness and laughter to contain.

2. The Walking Dead: Another consistent favorite, per usual. How this show tops itself every season is beyond me, but I’m just as much wrapped up in this apocalypse now as I was day 1.

1. Orphan Black: This one shocked me. Seriously, shocking how addicted I am to this show. The number 1 reason is easy – Tatiana Maslany, and the fact that she hasn’t been nominated for an Emmy makes me reconsider my entire existence.

B O O K S*
*read this year, not necessarily published this year

5. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green: I thought it would be an easy, predictable young adult read, but it had so much more depth than any other YA book I’ve read. The characters, the plot, the writing – it was nearly perfect. (Also, loved the movie)

4. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink: I read this book in a day and loved every second of it. The author turns something you don’t think would be interesting into the most fascinating love story I’ve heard in a long time. (Also, again, loved the movie)

3. I’ll Drink to That by Betty Halbreich: This autobiography is phenomenal. I’ve only read a few autobiographies in my life, but this one outshines them all. Her life is so fascinating that I often felt like I was reading fiction.

2. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell: I am officially Malcolm Gladwell’s newest, biggest fan ever. His writing is simply superb, weaving in hard facts with anecdotes so perfectly that you believe everything he says without batting an eye.

1. Wild by Cheryl Strayed: A woman hiking a 1,100 miles in a journey of self-discovery – sounds a little boring, huh? Not even close. I felt so connected to the main character by the end that I could feel her tears in my eyes. This is officially on my list of top 10 favorite books of all time.

BONUS: P O D C A S T S

1. Serial: The only podcast I’ve ever listened to. It’s literally all I can think about.

xo xo

You might also enjoy: 2013: Top 5 Movies, TV Shows + Books, Top 10 Movies of 2012

Posted by milledavis | January 6, 2015 | Categories: Movies, Pop Culture, Television | Tags: 2014, top books, top movies, top tv shows | 4 Comments

Weekend Picturebook: Mini Getaway to KC

{First things first: BBQ. These were literally some of the best ribs I’ve ever eaten in my life. I’m drooling right now just thinking about it. – Fiorella’s Jack Stack BBQ}

{We loved our boutique Hotel Sorella on the Plaza – from the artwork to the adorable breakfast nook to the unfortunately unusable rooftop pool.}

{After a long day of shopping we enjoyed an amazing meal at Zocalo’s, including margs, tacos, guac + discussing our 2015 resolutions.}

{After dinner we walked outside to find it snowing … HARD. We were not prepared, but loved it. We walked around the beautifully lit Plaza like a giddy young couple, then raced back to our hotel for warmth.}