A Little Friday Humor...

Our friend Cat recently introduced us to this HILARIOUS website Dog-Shaming, when she shared with us a picture that her mom had sent her of her own sweet dog Ruby:

If you are a dog owner or just love dogs, be sure to check out the website! It is adorable as well as quite humorous. Here are some of our favorites:

We can't promise that we won't be sending in a pic of our own little Ellie soon!

Our Dream Shoe Closet...

Our Dream Shoe Closet... by kelleysnider featuring platform sandals

Just in case we happen to fall in love with a billionaire, win the lottery, or fall into money in some other convenient manner this weekend, we thought we'd put together a sampling of some of the shoes that would go into our dream closet. I mean it doesn't hurt to be prepared right?!

Bauble of the Week: Iosselliani Brass Swarovski Ring

This sleek stunner is sure to make a major fashion statement, but it is simple enough that it won't overpower the rest of your look or your other baubles. The best part about this rock? It is available at one of our favorite Queen City boutiques Coral. You can purchase this bauble here or better yet head on into Coral, we promise you will be glad you did!

Queen City Restaurant: Customshop

Last week we finally tried Customshop. You would think that with all the recommendations we have received about this place we would have been, but no. At least now we can make up for lost time. It's one of those places that every time I looked at the menu I was wondering what I would possibly order and then I would just end up back at one of my staple restaurants. Well if you haven't tried Customshop you have to check it out. It was seriously great. We went on a Monday night and were surprised to find quite a crowd. The  restaurant is very cozy with a very friendly waitstaff. Our waiter, we think his name was Jack, was awesome. He was helpful and patient with us while we asked tons of questions. The atmosphere is great- not too quiet, not too loud and the lights were low. (You can still read the menu.)  Here are some pictures of our wonderful dinner:

A shot of the inside from their website.

Shot of their menu from the website. 

As you can probably see, 2 appetizers, 2 main courses and 3 glasses of wine plus delicious bread doesn't leave any room for dessert. We were very disappointed by this because we had our eye on the chocolate brownie souffle. I guess that just means we will be back!

Check it out: Customshop Website

You can also make reservations on Open Table which makes life so much easier!

You're Welcome Ladies

article and picture

I know many of you reading this know John Isner personally and have probably already checked out the article about him in Vogue, but if you haven't check it out ASAP. Just something else that puts Greensboro, NC on the map. He's looking seriously hot in this picture. 

Rainy Day Chic

Must Have: Built-In Bookshelves in the Kitchen

Kelley and I both love to cook, and our spending issues are not limited to clothing or baubles. In fact, I'm known to spend way too much money in Barnes & Noble on any type of book. Yes belonging to the library would be cheaper, but then I wouldn't be able to reread the books multiple times. Plus I look at buying books as an investment for my future dream house, you know the one with the library. Anyway I have spent WAY too much money on cookbooks. You would think that since most of my recipes are coming from pintrest these days that I wouldn't buy any more cookbooks. Well you would be wrong. Which leads me to this post, one day in that future dream house I mentioned above I'm going to have built-in bookshelves in my kitchen. (Those of you who know me well- especially Laurens- know that I would have built-in bookshelves in every room if possible) So here is a little inspiration for that future dream house, as well as a look into our current kitchen.

via

I don't even know which way I like the best...I just know that it's a must have for me. What's your favorite?

Necklace Giveaway!!

We are so excited to be having our first giveaway!! If you haven't already noticed, we are somewhat obsessed with our baubles. Well one of our best friends, Mimi, introduced us to On-A-String Bead Shop here in Charlotte. Let me just tell you- Mimi's bauble collection is something to be envied. It's ahhh-mazing. Anyway we have since become HUGE fans of On-A-String and all the girls who work there! If you are in Charlotte you absolutely must go. If you are not in Charlotte, give them a call because they are always willing to work with you. Check out their website for more information! So to bring this all together, the girls at On-A-String helped us create an awesome necklace for us to giveaway to one of you!

The Beautiful Necklace:

It's all gold and champagne colors. It's adjustable in length. You can wear it with anything. You can dress it up or down. What more could you possibly need??

I wore it this past weekend during some wedding festivities and got SO many compliments. This way you can see what it looks like on! 

I'm pretty sure our mom would like to buy it from us, but no can do. 

So for the juicy details on how to win this necklace:

1) You can follow our blog. (Not the follow by email option, but the google friend connect seen below)

2) You can like us on facebook. 

3) You can follow us on our blog and like us on facebook for 2 chances to win!

For some reason if you don't have facebook and you aren't able to follow us on our blog, you may email us at baublesandcocktails@gmail.com letting us know you want to enter. But this is only available as an entry if you can't do the other two!

We will then use a random number generator to pick a winner.

We will pick a winner next Friday, September 7 around noon!

Feel free to get your boyfriends/husbands involved if you really want the necklace!

*If you already follow us on our blog or like us on facebook you will be automatically included*

Bauble of the Week: Lulu Frost 100 Years Necklace #3

This Lulu Frost necklace is ahh-mazing. Look at all those baubles in one place. And the sparkle...sigh. If you have the money to purchase this one please let us know so we can borrow it! Available here.

Lilly Pulitzer Home

 

I love Lilly Pulitzer home. I could honestly decorate my house just using this line. There is just so much to choose from- bright colors, patterns, clean lines, masculine, feminine....you name it. My obsession started when I first saw the Aster Writing Desk (that large, beautiful desk above). Originally I wanted it in white, but I'm loving the mahogany desk as well. Unfortunately, this was the look I was going for just not the price. For now I will lust after these pieces from afar, but one day soon... fingers crossed. The pictures are a little smaller than usual because HOW could I possibly choose just one piece to share? It's amazing that I had enough self-restraint not to put every piece in the collection in this post!

P.S. please notice the pink and green I dedicated to this post. Loves it.

All Pictures From Here.

Happy 25th Birthday Dirty Dancing!!

How this escaped our notice earlier today, we do not know. However, we would like to wish Dirty Dancing a very happy 25th birthday. This is our FAVORITE movie. As in Kelley drove to Raleigh when I was in college (she was still in high school) to go see it re-released in theaters. It was the most magical, wonderful, amazing experience. HAHA. Ok getting caught up, but it was awesome. Here are some of our favorite scenes!

And lastly, it wouldn't be a Dirty Dancing post without Alex and his picture.

A Little More Girl Talk Inspiration

Just to get y'all a little more excited. Seriously buy tickets. We went to Girl Talk in Las Vegas a couple of years ago and it was amazing. The best Girl Talk concert I have been to yet.

Girl Talk Inspiration

Headed to see Girl Talk in Raleigh for Ashley's birthday and I can't wait!!!!!! I could barely go to sleep last night because I was so excited. Girl Talk will be performing Thursday, September 20 and you can get tickets here. Anyway this time for Girl Talk I plan to rock some major neon and wear comfy flats so I can show off my serious dance moves... here's a little inspiration.

Downton Abbey Season 3 Promos

Downton Abbey doesn't start back until January 6 in the U.S., but these season 3 promos still made me so excited! Can't wait! If you don't already watch you definitely need to- this is a show for males and females... it's great.

Bauble of the Week: Shourouk Yildiz Sterling Silver Crystal Cuff

Obsessed with this Shourouk cuff. The perfect way to take neon into the fall.

Buy Here

A Little Friday Humor

Weekend Playlist

We are heading to the beach this weekend, and I thought it was only appropriate that this week's playlist be beach music. Of course this playlist is inspired by one of my absolute favorite movies, Shag. I wish this was what the beach was like...it would be amazing. Anyway there is barely any footage of Shag on YouTube,  so above is a tribute I found!

via

Peach Pie Muffins with Brown Butter Glaze

I promise one day soon our recipes will come from somewhere other than pintrest. It's just too hard to resist trying a recipe that has such an amazing picture with it. Plus if we keep trying them, we can let you know which ones truly are the best! Well I highly recommend trying this recipe for Peach Pie Muffins with Brown Butter Glaze. It's so yummy! I even had Ashley, Bec and Dorothy test them for me, and they gave them the thumbs up. The recipe comes from this great blog, Sally's Baking Addiction. 

The recipe makes about 12 muffins.

I mean can you see the glaze dripping down the side? It was so good.

The only thing I would change is add more peaches! 

I had to try browning the butter twice. At first I followed directions, and saw all of these brown specs coming from the bottom. Immediately I assumed it was burning and threw it out. The second time I googled the proper technique, and while I'm not sure I did it perfectly it worked. There should be brown specs, that's not a problem. Just don't burn it (I would assume this would be black specs + burning smell). I never smelled a nutty aroma, but that's because I just don't know what to look for. Basically when the brown specs appeared, and the butter appeared to be turning an amber color I removed it from heat and transferred to a new bowl. Then I mixed in the sugar and milk and it was perfect! (I didn't really follow the 7 minutes, I just watched it)

Also as I said up top, I would definitely add more peaches- probably about a cup more. But you can kind of decide on your own. Some of the muffins only appeared to have about 1-2 peach pieces. 

Making Baby Food With Catherine

Before I start talking about making baby food with Catherine, I should let y'all know that I have always wanted to be J.C. Wyatt. If you don't know who I'm talking about you need to watch Baby Boom ASAP. Diane Keaton plays J.C. Wyatt, a lady who inherits a baby and moves from NYC to the country and becomes famous making baby food. 

Get it girl.

Pictures

Well a couple of days ago I got to channel my inner-J.C. Wyatt and it was a dream come true. I love to cook and I decided I wanted to make some baby food- weird, I know. Anyway I asked Catherine if I could test out my baby food making skills on sweet little Charlotte. Catherine recommended this great website Weelicious, so I checked it out and headed to the farmer's market with Catherine and Charlotte.

We decided to introduce Charlotte to apples, and then made some pear apple butter (recipe from weelicious) for Charlotte to take home.

It was actually so much easier making homemade baby food then I expected. We just steamed the fruit and then put it in the food processor and voila we were done! Charlotte appeared to love the apples, but honestly at that point she was probably ready for any food. We ended up mixing the pureed apples and pears together for the pear apple butter, but we did leave out the cinnamon. Anyway as you can probably tell I'm on my way to having my very own Country Baby company. A few friends even suggested we start a sister blog "Baubles and Bottles" or "Bottles and Cocktails." Maybe in like 10 years when I have children... As you can probably tell Charlotte is one of the most beautiful babies, so here are some pics from the photo shoot we had after:

And just one more from the phone:

I mean if you are asking yourself how this happened, here is your answer:

It's just not fair.

Anyway a big thanks to Catherine and Charlotte for a dream come true!!