So as I blogged about the other day, I am going to be cooking dinner each day this week so that we don't have to eat take-out (which is typically our norm).  Well I tried a jerk chicken recipe which turned out very YUMMY!  It is very easy to make the marinade for the chicken and you simply bake and it is truly a burst of beautiful flavors.  Now this is my type of recipe (quick, easy and full of flavor).  Here is the recipe along with pictures I snapped while making it.  

Well Monday is going by super fast in my world!  So it is no secret that Scentsy is one of my secret loves!  It is still on the top of my list of one of my favorite products for the home.  I have tried every home fragrance in the book and I have to say that Scentsy has been the one that has delivered as far as quality is concerned.  Truly an excellent product.  

Everytime someone walks into my home that is the first thing they compliment me on is the scent of my home.  I have to give Scentsy the big "Thanks" for that one.  So below are my top 3 favorite Scentsy scents for my home this summer.  

I just received a new shipment of  my favorite  scents in so I am so excited to see what  hubby thinks when he comes home and smells the new scents.  I am a true believer that you should change the scents of your home with the seasons.   Here is a description of my favorite three scents for summer: 

If you want to try Scentsy you can order from the link below.  I order this product a lot so a few months ago I signed up to be a consultant for the sole purpose of purchasing at the consultant rate and to be up on all the new products, which made since with how much I buy it.   My family and friends all order their Scentsy from me also so please feel free to join in and order from my Scentsy site at:  https://nicholeboyd.scentsy.us/Scentsy/Buy

What a beautiful Sunday!  Well anyone who knows me knows that I can be the queen of take-out.  Well hubby and I are really getting tired of all the take-out food.  So I am on a new journey to cook dinner each day this week.  Well in doing that I thought this would be the perfect time to share my spice organization system that I set-up in my home.    Here is a picture of my spice drawer: 

A few months ago a good friend of mines and I were talking and I was telling her about my dilemma with storing my spices.  I tried baskets in the cabinets (which I found not to be user friendly) and spice racks (which I am not a fan of displaying my spices).    Well she gave me the best solution which I loved!  She told me to get little spice jars and store my spices in a drawer instead of the cabinet.  I so loved this idea and the convenience is amazing!

So one weekend she and I headed to Ikea and I found these spice jars pictured below (so of course I loaded up on them).  You can find them at Ikea for $3.99 for 4.   You cannot order them online from Ikea so for those of you who do not live near a Ikea and want to try this you may want to try World Market.
They also have them for the same price and quantity.  I actually like World Markets better due to it has the shaker feature.  Tip:  Before purchasing the jars make sure that your kitchen drawer size can fit the size of the jar.

So I am using the drawer right next to the stove for convenience.  I broke out my trusty labeler and labeled the jars and alphabetized them so that when cooking I can easily find my spices.   As you can see, since setting up my system I have purchased more spices so I need to invest in more jars to keep a uniformed look. 

TIP:  Initially I was having a problem with the jars moving around when I opened and closed the drawer. Easy fix:  I purchased a small tension curtain rod and placed behind the jars and it holds the jars in place perfectly.

So I have to say that this system works great for me, and is so very easy to set-up and maintain.  Now it does looks like I need to go out and purchase another 3 sets of jars to get my spice drawer back in order (since I have purchased new spices).  Yet another item to place on my to-do list :).   Hope you all have a beautiful day.  

I blogged earlier this month about this amazing artist  Cori that makes these beautiful custom body forms.  Well I was so excited to get a message from Cori yesterday letting me know that my custom body form I ordered was ready!  She did a absolutely AMAZING job.  She is very detailed oriented and really puts your vision into her design.   She emailed me some pictures of my form which are below.  She is shipping it out to me Monday.  I cannot wait to put her in my office!

If you are interested in learning more about Cori's designs you can visit her Etsy shop at:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/autumnlady18

Happy Friday!  So hubby and I experimented with making a new cocktail today.   I have heard  several people say how yummy the Smirnoff Whipped Cream Flavor Vodka was, but I had never tried it until today.  So while out grocery shopping today I picked up a bottle of it to try it out.  The drink that I made was "The Whipped Sunset".  I must say it is very very very yummy!  Here is a picture of the drink I made.  I was in such a hurry to take the picture so that I could taste the drink (which resulted in my whipped cream topping being a bit of a rush job, so you will have to excuse the presentation on that part :)  If you would like to try it yourself, here is the recipe:

1 1/2 oz Smirnoff Whipped Cream Flavored Vodka
3 oz. sour mix
2 oz. Pineapple juice
1/2 oz. grenadine
Whipped cream as garnish

Mix all ingredients, except for the grenadine, in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Pour into your glass.  Then add your grenadine and top off with your whipped cream.  

So I know it has been a few days since I have blogged.  I have been in catch up mode since coming back from my girls weekend get-a-way to Washington D.C.   About a year ago, two of my girlfriends and I said we would have to do a girls trip to Washington D.C. one day, so we figured the time was now.  Was the perfect city to visit and a beautiful time catching up with great friends. 

Well I figured it would be great time to share some reviews from where I stayed and places we ate while in D.C.,  in case you are ever visiting the city.   So that is what I am going to share today.  I was also excited to be able to go visit my friends shop in Northern Virginia (which I will do a entire blog on her shop and some great finds I purchased  in a few days). 

So to start the review, we stayed at the Crowne Plaza (The Hamilton) which is located downtown Washington D.C. (a couple blocks from the White House).   I would absolutely recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Washington D.C.  The location was perfect, being in the heart of the city.  It is a luxury hotel with full amenities (even including a full-service onsite Starbucks), beautiful rooms and excellent customer service.  It also included one of Washington D.C. best restaurants "14K" which is regarded as "The place to meet" in Washington D.C.  Here are some pictures of the hotel:

Now you know we had to have a bar, and this hotel delivered.  Their bar was very cozy and chic. The perfect spot for my girlfriends and I to kick back, run up a hefty bar tab and laugh all night.   The drinks were well prepared and quite enjoyable :).   I only had two complaints.  The first complaint was to the bartender because he did not card me :).  I told him I would not report him this time, but to watch it :).  The second complaint was he was a bit slow getting my 4th or 5th mojito to me, but he resolved that by making it on the house :).   The bar is pictured below: 

So now on to the serious review...FOOD! :).  Saturday afternoon we had lunch at Cuba Libre downtown Washington D.C.   I love this place!  The atmosphere made you feel as if you were in sitting in Cuba.  They did a excellent job with the decor.  Here is a picture of one side of the restaurant.  It was huge and you could also dine outside. 

As for the food at Cuba Libre, it was YUMMY!  It was a tapas style menu, with a really good selection.  The only thing I would warn you against is the plantains.  They were a bit of a disappointment, but everything else was delicious.  One thing that impressed me, was their food presentation.  They did a great job with that.   I must say out of everything, my favorite was the guacamole.  It was infused with pineapples which gave it such a beautiful burst of flavor.  Here it is pictured below.  I highly recommend getting this if you are ever dining at Cuba Libre.   We also had our fair share of cocktails, which I had the tropical white sangria.   It had a nice and refreshing flavor and was the perfect afternoon cocktail.  The next time I am in D.C. I will definitely visit Cuba Libre again. 

For dinner Saturday night we ate at Chef Geoff's downtown Washington D.C.   This is a contemporary restaurant with a nice variety when it comes to their menu.  Of course I had to keep with my seafood, so I had a good healthy serving of mussels with sweet potato fries.   We also shared calamari as a appetizer which was YUMMY!  We then finished off our meal with a nice tequila shot, upon the recommendation of our waiter :).   I would dine at Chef Geoff's again.  Nice atmosphere, good food and excellent service.  On a side note, this is a great "date night" restaurant if you are ever visiting the city with your sweetie.

I have to also make another comment about Chef Geoff's.  If you have never tasted Saratoga sparkling water I highly recommend you try it.   Not only did it come in the most beautiful blue bottle, the water tasted exceptionally well!   I don't know what they put in it but I am sold!   I am going to have to start keeping some of that water at the house.  This is one of my new favorite things.    

So to sum it up, I really enjoyed the entire trip, and I can say that Washington D.C. is really a fun city to visit and I cannot wait to go back.  My girlfriends and I have already picked our next city that we are going to meet up in for another girlfriends get-a-way trip in January, which will be the great city of New York!  Can't wait!  

Well this week is a tough week.  I am dealing with toothache pain so really trying to distract myself with plenty of projects.  Yesterday after leaving the dentist my husband and I had about 30 minutes to waste while the pharmacy filled my prescription.  We decide to go next door to the dollar store to see if they had any mason jars (my husband needs some for his workshop).  So while he was looking for mason jars I browsed around and found some cute finds.  They actually had some nice black plates that were very simple and every day, but got my mind to spinning with a tables setting idea.  They also had some cute yellow flowers so I got two bunches of them.  The plates were only $1 along with the bunches of flowers.  Amazing deals!

So today I was thinking on how I could use these plates.  I love monogramed items (especially plates).  So I did this neat idea of printing out my monogrammed on regular paper and cutting it out the size of the bottom of a clear plate (which the dollar store had both white and clear plates but I already had some so did not purchase those).  I thought this would be so neat when entertaining due to you could put each guest monogrammed name on their plate so everyone knew where to sit.  

It is such a easy project and has such a great look.  Here is how you can create your own monogrammed look:

Well I am excited today!   I am having a custom body form made by and amazing lady named Cori.  She makes beautiful statement body forms that add such a beautiful vintage/parisian feel to your space.  

She notified me today that she has actually started on my piece today and I should have within the month...YAY!  This piece will be going in my home office.    It is definitely a conversation piece and makes for a great addition to my space.  

Cori is very detailed and makes the piece specific to your request.  It is truly a customized piece.  

If you are interested in learning more about Cori and her work you can check out her shop on etsy at: http://www.etsy.com/people/autumnlady18

She also has a awesome blog with beautiful pictures of her creations and her home which is beautiful at: starviewsonnet.blogspot.com 

I cannot wait to show everyone my finished piece!

Mother's Day is almost here!  Time to start thinking of that special gift for that special mom!   I would love to make a custom piece for you for mother's day, or please feel free to browse my site for some of the creations I have already made.  What a special way to tell mom that you love her by giving her a one of a kind piece.  

Well hubby and I had a beautiful relaxing Easter.  The weather here was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!  As you know I blogged earlier this week about putting together our back porch.  Well great thing we did, because I fixed hubby and I a nice Easter brunch out there.  It was so nice sitting out there having our brunch because the weather was perfect and a beautiful soft breeze was in the air.  

Here are some pictures from the brunch.  I also tried a new recipe that turned out fantastic!  Scotch Eggs!

Here are my scotch eggs.  The recipe is easy and they were fun to try.  Hubby loved them.  

I even added a extra touch by folding our napkins into a shape of a bunny :)

With the Scotch Eggs I kept is simple with fresh fruit (strawberries, blueberries, grapes and blackberries), greek yogurt parfait and croissants.  We had orange juice and coffee for our beverages.

Here is the Scotch Egg recipe in case you would like to try.  It is really easy!