The Quality of Being Authentic

I am back to blogging. I took a five year hiatus and honestly I have missed the outlet. I enjoy this release, and the ability to share with people (even if it's only 2 of you - hi mom!) I turned 30 this year and I am really focused on becoming and showing my authentic self. I love birthdays because I feel like its always a good time of renewal and to reset goals and visions. I am all about making myself better, and really discovering what is going to make me happy, and thats all about what habits and ideas are going to be sustainable. And this is a great platform to write about all those interesting things, that I am sure other people can relate to. So in this journey for authenticity I really want to strive for a simplistic materialistic approach in my life (this is a pretty new idea for me), but I think it will allow more space for the things that really matter. In an effort to move in that direction I received a little inspiration (which as we know always presents itself in ...

Hello Blog Readers-- Remember me! I am trying to get back into this so bare with me :) Happy Leap Day, this extra day concept boggles the mind when you really think about it, In reality isn't today all the March 1st's Birthdays... aren't all of our birthdays now a day earlier. I may celebrate mine on May 6th this year. A little catch up: Zach is working his little booty off to graduate in May, I am so proud of his hard work, I know that with the Bar coming up in July there is much more studying still to come. I am also still working a lot in my event planning world, it is our very busy time of the season. We have some incredible events coming up so stay tuned and I will share some photos. Zach and I are working to live in a budget, this is not something that either of us have had much success with, but after a visit from some friends, we finally decided to really try it out and stick with it. So tomorrow starts the first full month, but we did it for half of Febru...

Wow-its been a long time since I last updated.. But as a New Year dawns, I hope to make blogging one of my hobbies again. Lots has transpired since we last spoke- Zach is back in Miami with me and that alone makes me a very happy girl. He begins his last semester of Law School on Tuesday. Some very exciting things to come. So stay tuned :) For me I have accepted a new position at Barton G's. Barton is a well known entraupenur in Miami, he owns 3 restaurant, a successful event planning company, and the former Versace Mansion- Now called The Villa by Barton G. The transition has been interesting, as this type of work is much different from my hotel life. However, I do love it so far. I am planning some amazing events all over Miami and eventually I will hopefully be doing events Nationally as well. With all that said, in order to achieve success in all these events I am having to work a lot. Which is ok with me for now- I always think that now is a good time to work a lot, as w...

Where to start?? Well I realize that I have been absent for almost 3 months now and I have decided to put an end to the silence. To be honest, I didn't think you guys would want to hear the truth about things. But then I realized that for better or worse, this is an outlet and seeing as most of you read this to be able to keep up with my life I can see how it feels as if I fell off the face of the earth. I will catch you up on life as I know it... My cousin Katie got married, I found out my other cousin Kelly is expecting a baby girl in March :), Zach and I went to a few weddings of dear friends, John and Lindsay, Michael and Rebekah, Chris and Ashley, Kyle and Abby... I think I covered everyone! Zach and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary on August 7th. For an anniversary trip we went to D.C. and stayed at The Mandarin. My wonderful friend got us upgraded to a suite and we were like a King and Queen for a weekend. Zach got an opportunity to apply for an intership, that w...

Well as I mentioned in my last post, this past weekend Zach and redecorated the apartment. I don't know if you guys are like me, but after a while I need a change. Whether it be a change in tablescape or new idea on the throw pillows, I usually need a change. Well I haven't made any changes in a long time, so this weekend I decided that I wanted to change A LOT. Luckily with Zach's paid internship we have a little extra money for when I get this once in a while itch... So we redid the Tablescape (Italian Theme), the bathroom (it looks COMPLETELY different) and the living room. We also cleaned, like spring cleaning cleaned. So the apartment is sparkling which I love. *Side Note- For those who know me, you realize that I am not the cleaner in Z and I's relationship, it's interesting how much I love a REALLY clean apartment, but how much trouble  I have keeping it clean! This, by the way, is something I am constantly working on. But back on track. We spent 2 full day...

Happy Fourth of July! Zach and I have had a wonderful long weekend. We spent the weekend redecorating the apartment. I am so happy with the way it turned out, I will do my next post about the apartment 's face lift. I wanted to share a two cakes I have done this week. One was a replica of my friend's wedding cake, I did the top tier for their 3 year anniversary. The other was my fourth of July cake, it also had a very special surprise on the inside. I am happy to share how its done for those who may be interested! Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Fourth. Enjoy the cakes and I will be back later this week with my apartment post. Leonor and Memo's Anniversary Cake My Fourth of July Cake The Surprise inside my Fourth Cake!! The American Flag  Its really not too hard to make the American Flag design on the inside, if you are interested below I have a picture tutorial. Divide your batter into 3 bowls, this is a 3 layer cake so make sure you have en...

My last post was a conversational catch up! This one is to fill you in on some projects, books, and other things that I love lately. I will use the numbering system for ease of understanding. 1. " A Place of Yes " by Bethanny Frankel. Ok so most you know that I LOVE Bethanny. I think she is very real and she puts it all out there for better or worse and I admire that. This book will not disappoint. I think she has some really sound advice and it is coupled with her personal stories, and let me tell you she has some stories! I would reccomend to anyone. It will make you think. 2. Hannah Joiner's new blog- now I am not sure how many of you know HJ, but she is a very special friend in my life. She is very creative and has always been fashionable, now she has unveiled her new blog and I must say that I am very impressed. So check it out here ! Leave comments, tell your friends :) 3. Latest project is a braided rug- now a small disclaimer, I am not absolutely crazy about...

I am back... I hate excuses, but just one for you... June has been extremely busy. I will fill you in with a visual journey later. It has consisted of 3 purchased airfares, a new baby, birthdays, Father's Day and busy work weeks. But I want and need to update you all with whats been happening. First travel weekend: Katie's Bachelorette party in Savannah GA. Flew into Savannah at 12:30A on Saturday morning and flew out at 4:30AM on Sunday Morning. It was a short trip and there was not much sleep involved. But it was a wonderful way to celebrate with my wonderful cousin who is getting married on June 26th The week inbetween was very busy with Bridal Networking Events, and late nights at work. So busy in fact that I didn't make a proper dinner all week! That is so unlike me these days, and let me tell you that really killed the budget. (*more on Z and I's new budget later) This past weekend, I flew home to Atlanta. Zach's parents were kind enough to let us cra...

Well I have done it again.... I found a new hobby. I am the kind of person who loves to try new hobbies, especially things that are crafty! So this past weekend I co hosted a baby shower for some beautiful friends. I agreed to make all the food (I always over commit) then at the last minute our cake fell through, so I thought why not? I will give this cake thing a shot. My mom and sister really got into cake making last year, they took classes and everything. My mom has really been a superstar with her cakes. At every family party she has outdone her past cakes!  I have some of her masterpieces below. Birthday Cake for Dale For my Great-Grandmother's 98th Birthday Practice from the Fondant Class Grandmother's Birthday Shelley's Birthday Guitar Olivia and Katie's Birthday Cake So as you can see I had some big shoes to fill! But I bought the supplies- Fondant is not cheap I might add. And I began my adventure.  I won't lie, there were so...