You are Making Me Gucci

Did you enter my $75 Shabby Apple giveaway? It closes on July 26.
Ah Europe, how I love thee!
With all your wonderful chocolates, history and delicious foods, I need to visit you again soon!

 When Allison said European wear for this week's Friday's Fancies, I thought yes! But then my heart sank, how the heck do you dress European? I mean French is a category all its own, and those French women definitely know how to dress. During my European travels, I definitely have gotten a taste of the European fashions and they are definitely very different from here.
The few places I have visited thus far in Europe have been Vienna, Austria (for a semester abroad), Budapest, Czech Republic, The Netherlands (Amsterdam and Leiden) and then to Italy twice, up and down the entire peninsula.

For my Friday's Fancies, my European inspired outfit is all Italian, in fact it is all Gucci, which is how I would dress if I was sipping my espresso eating my plate of spaghetti dining alfresco while in Venice. Venice was a gorgeous city to visit, in fact I have been there twice and would love to take Sean there one day.

When I was studying in Vienna, my roommate was a sweet Italian girl named Lucia and we have managed to keep in touch and visit each other occasionally since we were roommates in 2005. 

Here are a few photos of Venice when I went to visit her back in 2006.

Sorry for the photos, I am just setting the stage for my all-Gucci European look 

for this week's Friday's Fancies.

Ok maybe not very Italian looking, but then again what is the Italian way to dress? I defaulted to an Italian designer to cover my bases :-)
Have a great weekend all, I know I will because I am hanging out with these gorgeous ladies Katie, Jamie and Kasey.

From My Hometown to Yours - Allison of Moments Like This

*Enter my speakpeeq giveaway for a $25 giftcard, it is open until tomorrow. Click on this link to enter the giveaway http://bit.ly/AjpwQX 


Ah Monday, you always coming rolling around again, just to make your presence known. Well to deal with the Monday blues, my series, From My Hometown to Yours is back in full force. I have appreciated everyone who has written for this series and for all the upcoming awesome bloggers who are participating. 

Today I have Allison of Moments Like This showing us her hometown of Houston. Allison is still a newlywed and always so sweet. So grab your cowgirl boots, your hat and let's have Allison talk about Houston!

Hello Everyone!! My name is Allison and I blog over at Moments Like This. I have followed Meg’s blog for a while now and I love this series that she is doing. My husband and I love to travel so learning about everyone’s hometown is awesome!! My husband and I live in the Dallas area now but are both originally from Houston. I really consider both these cities home but I will show you around Houston.

Houston is where I was born in raised. It will always have a special place in my heart because I spent the first 17 years of my life here! I’m sure there are a lot of readers from Houston so let me know if I leave out any of the important parts! The first picture I want to show is the Houston skyline.

Near downtown is one of my favorite places to shop! I would definitely take anyone that visits Houston to the Galleria. The mall has it’s own hotel and you definitely need more than a day to see it all!

Another place near downtown is the very famous water wall. A lot of couples get engaged at the water wall. My husband and I actually took our prom pictures in front of the water wall but unfortunately I cannot find any pictures on my computer!

One of my best memories growing up as a child was the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. My family had season tickets to the rodeo and I have probably been over 100 times. This is definitely a much see during the Spring time. Some of my favorite shows I went to were Clay Walker, Reba McEntire, and Brooks & Dunn. It is awesome! The picture below is taken in Reliant Stadium. It used to be held at the Astrodome but that is now an after party dance hall during rodeo time.

The last place I am going to talk about it the Kemah boardwalk. It is not in the heart of Houston like most of the other places I have talked about but it is a lot of fun!!  Kemah has a variety of restaurants and different activities to do. My favorite part is the ferris wheel.

There’s definitely a lot more to Houston than what I posted about but these are some of the special places to me! Meg, thank you so much for letting me take over your blog for the day! I would love for you to come visit and let me show you around!!


Texas is one state I am dying to visit and hope to soon. Thank you Allison for talking about Houston!

Hometown Series - Gwen saying Aloha

Oh Thursday you are finally here, which means tomorrow is Friday. Did you enter the giveaway for a rosette necklace and the winner picks her choice of color either teal or red. It ends tomorrow! Also reminder that next week is Christmas cookie week here on my blog!

 Last night at our weekly bible study, things were funny. I haven't laughed that hard, you know the kind when you stop making noises and tears come streaming down your face. It is good you know, good to be with a group of people who can provide humor and laughter in your life. It is good to be with a group of people who can pray for you, hold you accountable and then hang out outside of bible study too.

Also, have you ever gotten a lump in your throat when you realize just how blessed you are. I caught that lump in my throat yesterday, feeling blessed with my husband and our two puppies and the many awesome people and things in my life.
One awesome thing in my life is this series called From My Hometown to Yours and the wonderful bloggers who have made this series great!



Today, Gwen is talking about her hometown on the Hawaiian islands. So grab your pineapple and coconut bra and let Gwen show you around.


Aloha Henning Love readers! I'm so happy to be a part of the "My Home Town"series here on Meg's blog and have enjoyed reading about all of your home towns, too. Thanks Meg for creating such a wonderful space for us to share.

I write for my blog, Saturdays with Maggy, way out here in the middle of the Pacific on the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii. The Big Island is one of eight major islands in the Hawaiian chain and we are lucky enough to live in the town of Kailua-Kona.

Of course we enjoy the sun, surf, and sand but there is so much more to our wonderful island that I want to share with you.

Halape beach

To the South lies Kilauea, an active volcano where you can witness lava flows and experience walking over newly created land. It is one of my favorite places to camp and hike.

Slopes of Kilauea volcano

In the middle of the island rises Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the world if you take into account its height starting from the sea floor. Soaring to over 13,000 ft it is best known for it's international collection of observatories and is quite possibly the world's best place to star gaze. This mountain even gets its fair share of snow every winter. Last Christmas we went to the summit to go play in the snow.

The summit! Observatories in background.

We brought home snow and made this guy

And let's not forget the "ono" food! Hawaii is a fantastic blend of Hawaiian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, and many other food cultures. Not only do we enjoy island produce and seafood, but the various food traditions that have blended together to form its own unique offerings. 

SPAM musubi

Seaweed salad

Lilikoi (passionfruit) infusion

Okinawan sweet potatoes out of the garden

Papaya

Garden pineapple

Come visit me anytime over at Saturdays with Maggy for loads of recipes and even more aloha. Any Hawaii related questions are always welcomed! 

Mahalo for reading about my home town,

Gwen

Special Treat!

I have a special surprise for you all today. One of my bucket list items is to visit NY during Christmas. To skate on the ice rink in Rockefeller Center, see the huge Christmas tree, catch a Rockettes show and just absorb the sights and sounds of a NY Christmas. Well today, my good friend, Laura, (I have mentioned her before,  see photo below of us many Christmases ago), is going to talk about my bucket list wish in actuality.

She lived there for two years during her Masters. I asked her to write a post for you all today about her experiences in NY during Christmas. Take it away my good friend!

Hi Everyone!

My name is Laura, I am a longtime friend of Megs and a faithful follower of her blog. I was excited when Meg asked me to contribute to her Christmas in NYC post, because there is so much to share. I recently moved back to California after going to grad school in New York at NYU (and am currently job hunting any fellow social workers out there, hint hint!).

I was in a 2-year Masters program in NYC, so I got to spend 2 Christmas seasons in the city! When I wasn’t studying, I was able to enjoy all that the city has to offer. The first thing I thought of when Meg mentioned Christmas in New York was something very cool I got to do last December. My boyfriend, (aka my Adam…get it..ha!) was given tickets to the tree lighting ceremony in Rockefeller Center! It is basically a party that is thrown each year by Tishman Speyer, who owns Rockefeller Center. I didn’t really know exactly what this would entail, but I knew that I wouldn’t have to stand outside in the cold for hours to see the lighting of the tree, so that was a start. When we got there I was completely shocked because not only were we taken downstairs where there was a nice dinner and drinks, but there was also a door that led to the ice rink! When I saw this I freaked out, because I hadn’t even imagined that we would be able to go out onto the ice in front of the tree, and be able to watch the singers who were performing for the NBC special. This night was definitely special for Adam, a new comedian and I, the social work grad student because clearly those two professions don’t bring in a load of cash for fancy events, hehe. We had dinner, went out and watched some of the performers including Josh Groban & Mariah Carey and then went inside for dessert and to warm up. Then we got to see the lighting of the tree! Here are a few photos from the night:

There are so many other things to do and see in New York around Christmas time. Obviously SHOPPING! And walking up and down 5^th avenue to look at the famous window displays is another touristy attraction. Side note and speaking of shopping, New York is a great excuse for these:

 Hunters! The boot socks are a must, and can save you in the cold. My Adam (hehe) gave these to me for Christmas last year, and I’m glad I got some use out of them before moving back.

I also have many memories of walking in Central Park in all of the seasons, but winter in the park is magical. Everywhere you turn there is a photo to be taken, or something new to see. You can also spot kids with their families sledding, which is so cute. Here are 2 of my favorite photos that I took in Central park during the winter:

Wollman Rink-seen in many movies like Serendipity, Home Alone 2, August Rush

The Mall- also in many movies, and beautiful each time of year. When I moved to NYC, my mom told me to take a photo of a certain spot each season. I chose this spot and framed them all and gave it to her last Christmas. It was a hit and I have done them for gifts, so feel free to email me if you are in the market!

New York is a great place to visit. It is definitely different than any other place I have visited and can’t wait to go back. It is also a difficult place to live at times, and I missed my family and friends a ton while I lived there. I learned that you can live in one of the most exciting places in the world, but if you don’t have your loved ones to share it with, it isn’t as perfect as you might think. I was a great adventure though!

I will leave you with a few more photos. Definitely go visit, and if you need any food or travel tips feel free to email me at LStunden@yahoo.com

 An example of why Christmas in New York might not be always as glamorous as it sounds. Imagine shoveling your car out of that before work! Yikes!

Thanks again Laura for your post! All her images are her own so no stealing unless permission is given first. Also have you entered the giveaway for the rosette necklace in either teal or red made by the beautiful Jamie? You have until Friday to enter. Also after a few comments about yesterday's post, I need to clarify, Sean and I do not lead a bible study each week. That particular week our leader asked us to take over for the day. Hopefully sometime in the future, we can lead a bible study together, which would be awesome but for now, we were leading just that week :-)

Hometown Series - Amanda of Simple Girl, Simple Pleasures

Happy Thursday everyone! Today is my Friday, yippe, thank you federal holiday which is tomorrow. Really, it is our Veterans who deserve our thanks since that is who the holiday is in honor of so lets al stop and thank them tomorrow. Today is another installment of From My Hometown to Yours and you have the pleasure of Amanda who writes Simple Girl, Simple Pleasures. She is always so sweet, I aways enjoy hearing from her and I really appreciate how genuine she is. So take me and all of us readers to your hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut!




Hello, henning love readers! I'm Amanda, and I blog at Simple Girl, Simple Pleasures. Meg is really awesome and has become a good friend of mine, so I am honored to be guest posting here. Now onto my hometown. I'm a New England girl and grew up in a lovely town called Greenwich, Conn. So let's begin!

If Meg came to visit, we would...start by getting breakfast at Upper Crust Bagel Company! You can't go wrong with one of their giant breakfast sandwiches, or the cinnamon sugar bagel (one of my favorites). 

*via

If Meg came to visit, we would...pretend like we didn't just stuff ourselves silly and go for a long walk at Todd's Point, which is the local beach. There's a beautiful 3 mile walking/jogging/running loop. And on really clear days, you can see the New York City skyline. (And in the winter time, you can bring your dogs to play at the beach!)

*via

If Meg came to visit, we would...have worked up an appetite, so it would be time for some very fresh French food at Meli Melo. They have a great collection of smoothies, crepes, and, my favorite, french onion soup. They also just added a patissiere, so now I can satisfy my French macaron cravings.

*via

If Meg came to visit, we would...walk off our lunch and do some shopping on Greenwich Avenue. Unfortunately (or some might say fortunately), the "Avenue," as we locals call it, has turned into a Rodeo Drive-esque shopping experience. Kim Kardashian has even shopped here.

*via

If Meg came to visit, we would...finish off our day with a delicious meal at Terra, an Italian restaurant. Their food is so fresh, and I have yet to have a bad meal. (You can see my post about a dinner date with my best friend at Terra, here.)

Thanks for having me on your blog today, Meg! And I hope that one day, you take a trip out to the East Coast! I have a guest bedroom with your name on it!

From My Hometown to Yours - Mandee of You Say It Best

I haven't forgotten about the Pick Your Plum giveaway, I went through the results, used random.org to pick the winner. The winner of the $50 credit to Pick Your Plum giveaway is Elizabeth Ann of Elizabeth Ann's Recipe Box. Congrats my friend! I will get in contact with and Pick Your Plum. Watch for more giveaways coming soon!

Its Tuesday and time for the next installment of From My Hometown to Yours!




Hello! I'm Mandee from You Say it Best. I'm so excited to be guest posting for Meg in her new fun series! I love Meg's blog and the way she is so interactive with her followers. You can find me regularly blogging about food and fitness. I live in Portland, Oregon, where we have some of the best restaurants around. I also love cooking and baking and post my recipes for you to try! I'm so glad Meg asked me to participate in her new series, From My Hometown to Yours!

If Meg came to visit me in Portland, we would.....

We would start our day the way Meg starts every day....by going for a 4-5 mile run! I have a great loop that starts right at the doorstep of my NW apartment, goes through NW and the Pearl district, crosses the footbridge and across the promenade along the river. We run back across the Hawthorne bridge and up through the SW side of town and through Goose Hollow and back home! This route would introduce Meg to the views of the city and waterfront, and get her acquainted a little bit.

waterfront park

After our run, we would feel so energized and great about having our workout all done for the day! We would shower and get ready to go get some coffee from Stumptown, the best coffee in Portland!

Then we would visit world famous Voodoo donuts! Meg has been wanting to check out this place!

Next we would hit up the Farmer's Market (assuming she was visiting on a weekend!). The PSU Farmer's Market is in the South Park blocks, and within walking distance from where I live. You can see past trips I've taken here. We would stock up on fresh veggies, organic meat and sweet treats!

After walking through the 50+ vendors and sampling food, we would be ready for a little relaxation! We'd sit in another coffee shop for a little while to re-energize. Yes, I know we already got coffee at Stumptown this morning, but Portland has tons of local coffee shops on every corner. It's just part of our culture! One of my favorite is called Coffee Time, on NW 21st Ave. It's very cozy and even dark, which I love for winter, or the rainy days we get so often in Oregon.

After re-energizing, we'd head home and whip up a delicious dinner with the fresh ingrediants we got at the Farmer's Market. Here is a list of my favorite recipes we could try!

After dinner we'd get dressed up and ready to hit the town. One of my favorite bars to start the night is called M Bar on NW 21st, and they serve mostly wine, which is what I prefer!

M Bar's menu

When it got a little later, we would head to Vault in the Pearl district for Martini's and a little more upbeat crowd. If we felt like it, we could bar hop in that area to places like Jinx, Blitz or Teardrop. After a long and exciting day, we'd head home to sleep!
I hope Meg's day in Portland sounds fun to her! Maybe it will inspire her to come and visit!

Thanks Mandee for your post today! I definitely need to come visit now. I went to Oregon for the first time last month and it definitely won't be my last time either, this post makes me want to jump in my car and start driving to Portland right now. Again, if any of you are interested in participating in this series, please contact me: megmouch(at)gmail(dot)com I would love to have you!

Oregon recap, scarf project and food help!

Oh man, did I just try and jam all of those things into one post? Wowzers, maybe I need to cut back on the topics I want to talk about here on my little bloggy. Anyways I promised an Oregon recap and I have failed to deliver yet, but I must apologize in advance, I took very very little photos. Pretty much the only photos I took is when we went to Voodoo Donuts in Eugene. Ever heard of the place? If not, then you are about to. 

Voodoo Donuts has been featured on many TV shows about donuts, and they are not the least bit interested in staying kosher or politically correct. While you can find many of your favorite donut flavors, you might be interested in some of their more unique varieties. Like the maple bacon bar, really really good, the Gay Bar, a raised bar with cream in the middle with fruit loops on top with the colors of the rainbows. 

Or the more interesting voodoo donut, which has raspberry jelly in the certain, the donut is int he shape of a person and you get a pretzel stick to do voodoo on your donut. There are blueberry donuts, donuts with orange Tang on the icing, cotton candy donuts that are bright blue and have pink sprinkles. 

Maple bacon bar

The Voodoo donut

Oh you can legitimately get married at Voodoo Donuts too, no joke!
 They offer it on their menu board, and it is a true and legal wedding.

Next remember when I said I would be remaking this adorable scarf slightly cheaper:

I have officially recreated it for less than the original price and even still under the sale price of $20. I found the dotted scarf at Target, always a great place! I got the wooden beads at Michaels for $5, and the embroidery thread I used was only 35 cents. I wanted to use the embroidery threat to give the beads some thicker to hold on to and the last thing I wanted was the thread breaking and the beads flying everywhere! Here are photos of the project!

I needed the ends sewn together so I sent the scarf to my mom and she used her sewing machine to do it. 

Finally, I was the winner of Williams-Sonoma fall goodie giveaway over at Breakfast at Toast.
 I won all of these goodies.

Now I need you my bloggy friends to help give me ideas of what wonderful things to make. The apple cider concentrate will make a gallon so I need lots of recipes, which of course will be posted up here on my blog

First on my list is apple cider donuts. Now please help me with other recipes I should be making! 

Thanks a million :-)