Cococare Heaven

Friends, I have something wonderful to share with you today. As temperatures climb and summer approaches, don't forget your lips. This chapstick will change your life. It's smooth and almost has a beeswax taste-- I cannot get enough. I normally pick mine up at Wallgreens, and last time I bought 3 because they don't always have it in stock. Getcha some!

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Do you have a beauty product that you can't live without? Please share!

Delicious Sides

After a long day at the office, I love to relax by cooking. There's something therapeutic about methodical chopping-- call me crazy, but I think it's true. A lot of folks focus on the main dish and rely on a bagged salad for your side. Lately I've tried some delicious combos to compliment the main dish, and I'd like to share them with you! These are all super easy, and would be great for your next get together, or just a quiet dinner at home.

Roasted Potatoes and Lemon with Dill

(Photo & recipe from Real Simple)

Ingredients: 

New Potatoes

Lemon

Olive Oil, 2 tbsp

Salt and Pepper to taste

Dill, chopped, 2 tbsp

Directions:

Chop the potatoes into quarters and slice the lemon thin. Toss these in a bowl with the olive oil, salt/pepper, and fresh dill. After coating thoroughly, lay out on a baking sheet. Roast, tossing once, for about 25-35 minutes. 

The other side that I've been obsessed with lately is Kale with White Beans. I had a bunch of kale and knew I wanted to use it as a side- so I just mixed it with what we had on hand. Fantastic result! It's so so so easy and incredibly delicious. I love the crunch of kale paired with the smooth texture of the white beans.

Photo from Sweet Savory Planet

Ingredients:
Kale

White Beans, one can drained

Garlic, 2 tbsp

Olive oil, to coat skillet

 

Directions:

This is a recipe you can do in your sleep!  Heat olive oil in a skillet to medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add kale and white beans. Toss the beans and kale together, being careful not to smoosh (technical term) the beans. If the kale isn't getting soft, cover the pan with a lid to enlist the help of steam.

Do you have any go-to side dishes that are fun and interesting? I'd love to get some new ones in my repitoire.

*disclaimer: the photo of the kale recipe are from another blog. I'm horrible at taking pictures of food, and I wanted to picture to reflect a dish that you'd be interested in making.

Nashville Wedding Recaps: Post Ceremony

The last installment of wedding recaps left off with our ceremony, and today we're starting back up with the post ceremony. Photography was really important to us, so we made a point to schedule a 2hr block of time with Zach and Jody for pictures of us, our families, and our bridal party.

Immediately following our processional and all of our guests, we went back into the sanctuary for our traditional family portraits. As important as fun, creative photography was to Mr. SE and I, our parents were very interested in traditional portraits of our immediate and extended family. Here are some of our favorite family portraits:

FIL, MIL, ME, MR. SE, SIL, BIL

MOM, ME, MR. SE, DAD

UNCLE DICK, AUNT LINDA, MOM, ME, MR, DAD, AUNT SHARON

DAD'S SIDE OF THE FAMILY

MR. SE'S SIDE OF THE FAMILY

BRIDESMAIDS, MY CHOSEN FAMILY :)

MR. SE, COUSIN EMMA, ME

Once Zach and Jody grabbed these great shots, we hopped in the limos and headed to Centennial Park for the real fun. I'd like to note that my wonderfully fun (and always hungry) enjoyed a delicious burger and fries in the limo en route! I didn't mind as long as he didn't get any ketchup or mustard on my dress. Whilst eating his limo, my new husband got to open the 2nd part of his wedding gift. The album from my Sweets shoot was a sure hit- and he was so incredibly excited!

Honestly, this was the hottest I've ever been in my life. I've mentioned it before and I'll say it again- it was 100 degrees on our wedding day. Not like "omg, I'm so hot- it's 100 degrees in here". It was literally 100 degrees, and felt much higher! Also, being the traditional bride that I am, I opted for a ball gown and to wear my hair down. You don't have to tell me how smart I am-- the sweat sticking my veil to my back was enough of a reminder.

At Centennial Park, we hopped out of the limos and headed up to the Parthenon. It was the perfect spot for the high impact shots that Gray Photography is know for. Zach and Jody knew exactly how to keep everyone happy and upbeat. Included in my 12 page packet of fun, I asked all of our bridal party members to bring sunglasses. We knew it would be bright outside, and it also made for some fun shots.

 Once the group shots were complete, our bridal party hurried back to the limos where they were welcomed with air conditioning. Meanwhile, my new husband and I braved the heat to let Zach and Jody work their magic. Honestly, these guys aren't world renowned for nothing, I'm so happy that we were lucky enough to have them as part of our wedding day.

The shots within the columns are some of my favorites, especially the ones of Mr. SE holding my bouquet. My parents have a big print of that one in their house and it makes me smile so big every time I walk by!

After finishing up at the Parthenon we traveled to our second location, which was closer to War Memorial (our reception site). Since Mr. SE and I aren't from Nashville, and this was a destination wedding for most of our guests, I wanted some photos that were undeniably "Nashville". And the wall outside of Second Fiddle was just the ticket!

If you're still reading at this point-- thank you! This was a super long, picture heavy post for sure, and I appreciate you staying along for the journey. There are more posts to come in this series of recaps and I look forward to continuing to relive this wonderful day. Thank you for traveling with me- it means the world.

Other Recaps

Rehearsal Dinner

Girls Getting Ready

Boys Getting Ready

First Look

Ceremony

Living Room Update

Decorative Pillow

Aside from ticking stripes, there's another pattern that's hot hot hot this season- Ikat! This fun print is defined as a fabric in which the yarns have been tie-dyed before weaving

In a Room

Texture Close-Up

One of my birthday gifts this year was a gorgeous rug from Pottery Barn. I'd been eying this rug for awhile, and Mr. SE made it happen. The neutral tones, and natural fibers really compliment our living room. I love how the color looks against our warm wood floors and dark brown couches. The texture is chunky and thick, and it looks great layered with the leather of our sofa and love seat.

To add with the room update, I'd been crushing major on a new lamp. Our table lamp was oiled bronze and narrow, with an outdated shade. My mother in law gave me a gift certificate to HomeGoods, and the old lamp is now history! Our new lamp has a gorgeous gourd shape, and a classic drum shade in linen. The gourd is white w/a gold overlay.

Because the main pieces of our room are neutral, I can really punch up the fun with decorative accents. One of my favorite ways to add color to a room is through throw pillows. They're inexpensive, and easy to change around. Luckily, my mom is quite the seamstress and recently sewed us fantastic designs for almost every room. Obsessed doesn't cover it.

I'm head over heels with Ikat pillows right now. I love how beachy, summery, and fun they are. In shades of blue and tan, they're so soothing. Here are some of my favorites.

A Pair of Pillows Packs a Punch

Vivid Ikat Pillow

Bright and Cheerful

Bright and Cheerful

What do you think? Are you on the graphic pattern bandwagon too (quatrefoil, chevron, ikat, trellis)?

New Baby

Friends, I am so filled with love today. Mr. SE's brother and his wife welcomed their firstborn into the world yesterday at 4:10 AM! Carter Reece is so beautiful and perfect, and I cannot think of a better birthday present. If this is how it feels to have a nephew, I can't even imagine the love that you can feel for your own child.

Pretty Patio

We had great weather on Saturday, and I got up early to run errands and get some shopping in. While at Ross, I found some fun odds and ends to spruce up our patio. Citronella candles are a must in the south, and this one is the cutest I've ever seen! Did you get out and enjoy the spring weather this weekend?

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Ps. My birthday/our dating anniversary are right around the corner this week! And don't forget to send a card to your mom!

Royal Wedding & Another Exciting Announcement

Like many other crazies, I woke up early this morning to catch a live peek at the Royal Wedding! I've looked forward to this wedding since Prince William first stepped out in public with the lovely Kate Middleton. She's so classy and timeless- I'm always intrigued to see what she'll wear to events. I love her approachable demeanor and hey genuine likability. All in all, I'm thrilled for the future of these two lovebirds.

More on the Royal Wedding later..but for now I have another exciting wedding announcement. I've officially become a part of the Simply Stunning team! Weddings have been a passion of mine since an early age and I'm glad to finally have made the jump. This has been a long time coming, and I'm beyond excited to share this news with you. Please visit the Simply Stunning blog for more on this fabulous new adventure. 

Storage Wars

Bonus Room: Pardon the Blackberry Picture

Does anybody else watch that show? Mr. SE and I love it. Maybe it has to do with my love of yard sales, maybe it's just the thrill of finding a good deal. Regardless- we can't get enough.

Rooms to Go: Capetown

After the purchase of our sectional last fall, our bonus room (man cave) started to take shape. Shortly following the sectional was the TV, and we had ourselves a legitimate room. The functionality was there; couch and tv, but it was lacking in decor. I started accenting the "ryegrass" wall color with burlap curtains in "spice". It's sort of a dark orange reddish color and really blends well with the dark brown couch.

The piece de resistance is Mr. SE's media center! He couldn't find a center big enough (and less than $2k) for our TV, so he decided to make one on his own. My handsome husband doesn't have any experience in woodworking, and I'm proud to say that he created this masterpiece all in his head. As in without any plans, just an idea and some elbow grease! We were so excited to have this behemoth of a stand upstairs, and to place our TV on it's final resting spot. 

The color is a dark, warm brown and I love how it lends to the man cave aesthetic that I had planned. The original palette was "ryegrass" with different shades of brown and tan. Along the way we've chosen to accent with navy blue, spice, and pops of red (more on that later).

 
It's become such a cozy room that we've enjoyed spending time in. While the main pieces are all set, I'm still working on making the room feel more layered and lived in. My first step towards the lived-in look is bookcases. Initially I wanted two traditional bookshelves to flank our large window, but decided on a ladder style. My smart friend Jessica pointed out that the light shelving would compliment the heavy pieces already in place. So I just purchased these for myself, as an early birthday present. These can go together or separate- and I'll be using one on each side of the window. 

And that's what brings me to the title of this post, storage. I suppose that was a round about way to get here. And maybe I should have titled this post "Sarah Rambles About Bonus Room Details Nobody Cares About", but Storage Wars sounded catchier.