Houzzzzzzz

Have you heard of the website/app called Houzz?  I'm seriously addicted.  I love interior design, and I know exactly what I  like and what I want the rooms in my future house to look like but sometimes it's hard to piece things together.  That's where Houzz comes into play.   Pulled directly from their website, Houzz is the leading online platform for home remodeling and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish - online or from a mobile device. From decorating a room to building a custom home, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world.

Why do I love it so much?  Because it's all visual.  I am a visual person - I need to see real time things in order to understand what something will look like.  You know those people who can look at a horrible, god awful, 60 year old room and say "Oh well if we did this, and knocked out this wall, and added a splash of this it will be so much better"?  I'm not that person - I need to actually see it.

I think my three fav rooms in a house are my bedroom, the kitchen, and the closet (if we're going fancy I'll throw in the media/movie room and the bathroom which hosts my sauna).  I pulled some images from Houzz that I love and hope to see in my future house.  Duh, you guys can visit me any time! Fresh cookies from my white kitchen? Manolo's stored in my closet?  Absolutely.

KITCHEN

I LOVE an all white and marble kitchen...Yes mom, I know white gets dirty

Thinking I need this barn door to conceal my pantry as well

Again with the white...I can't help myself

I don't think this kitchen, BUT I do like the seating area, great use of space

Don't like this kitchen either, but OBSESSED with the sparkly back splash

BEDROOM

LOVE the curtains and obvi love the mirrored furniture

This chandelier gives me goose bumps.  Also love the over sized wall head board

I have a white bedspread currently and I'm loving the blue accent pieces.  Not a huge fan of built ins or that wall head board

Because my second house will be a beach house! Such a cute idea for kids

CLOSET - My Sanctuary

The organization in this closet makes me want to cry tears of joy

Do I love full length jumbo mirrors? Do I love white fur throws? What about chandeliers? YES, YES, YES

Trying outfits on is exhausting.  Thank goodness I have these built in comfy benches

I'LL PROBZ NEED THIS ROOM

By the time I have my own house, I'll probably have my own company, too. Taking over the world requires the most amazing in home office ever.

SHOES!

If you didn't receive an email from Bloomingdale's today then SUCKS FOR YOU! I'm only kidding... Today only Bloomies is offering an extra 20% shoes already on sale-just enter the code: SHOES20.  Not sure which ones to buy simply because there are so  many to choose from? Don't worry dolls, here are some of my favs.

You can never go wrong with a leopard print smoking show

These are so cute!! Can I pull them off? Probz not, but they would look cute displayed in my closet

Don't these Rachel Roy pumps scream summer?! Loving black and blue together, so pair them with a cute LBD

Recently snagged these amaze Vince Camuto boots...super comfy, and love the over the knee look

Girly girl?? these Kate Space flats are the best!

Moto boots are everything this winter - Rachel Roy hit the nail on the head with these

Can you tell I'm thinking about spring/summer?! These are SO cute- well played Kate Spade

SORRY- these are NOT on sale, but I couldn't not include them.  THANK YOU GUCCI FOR THESE!!

Oh to Be Young Again

I was born and raised in the Orlando area, and I can probably count the number of times I went to Disney while living there on my hands and feet.  It's one of those situations- when you live in the area you kind of loath going- traffic's a nightmare and tourists are dreadful.  I now live in the DC area and it's the same situation- I hardly ever go to the museums or monuments downtown. HOWEVER, the one exception is that I go when family and friends are in town.  This is actually the best excuse to go.  Here's the thing- Disney and DC museums are actually really fun and kind of cool, but often times the fear of being hit with a stroller outweighs that fun.  When family or friends come to town you have no excuse, you're forced to go, and it ends up being a good time!

So, when PR visited my fam this past holiday break, I decided to take him to Disney.  Not just Magic Kingdom though- we went to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios as well (sorry Epcot, no time for you).  Disney offers a one-day park hopper pass which means in one day you can "hop" from park to park. Because I wanted to be a great host and tour guide, I convinced PR to wake up at 6:30 a.m. so that we could head out at 7:00 a.m., get to the parks by 8:00 a.m. and "beat the crowds" (FYI if you're looking to "beat the crowds" I advise you to NOT go during the holiday season).

We arrived to Magic Kingdom first and started on our journey.  We only had to wait about 15-20 minutes for both Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain which is great because they are really popular rides.  After walking around MK for a little while longer, we made the executive decision to move along to Animal Kingdom.  At Animal Kingdom we decided to get our Safari on.  If you haven't been on actual safari yet, have no fear because the one at Animal Kingdom is actually pretty similar (minus the fact that the trucks are completely different and in Africa you can spend hours in the jungle and never actually see a cool animal...oh and in Africa the animals are actually wild).  We walked about the Kingdom for a bit, did a few other amusement things, and then decided to head to Hollywood Studios.  I was SO pumped for this because at HS they have the Christmas Lights show which is my ALL TIME FAV!! It's seriously so amazing- you have to Google it.  The Osbourne family (not the singer) are the masterminds behind all of the nights and their story is actually pretty cool. 

Obvi the lights don't start until it's dark out which was about 6:30, so we had some time to kill.  I didn't think this would be a problem since we have to take a bus from park to park and then once we get to  Hollywood Studios we can eat lunch and go on a few rides while there.  Well, we ate lunch and then.... We didn't actually make it on any of the rides because the shortest wait time in the park was 90 minutes.  Yes, we had time to kill but no we didnt want to stand in line for over an hour. The place was ridiculously packed. So, PR and I decided to enjoy a beer, hit up a comedy show, and patiently wait for the lights to come on.  The lights did not disappoint.  They were absolutely beautiful- so pretty that I started to tear up a little (I'm a sucker for Christmas, what can I say).

Please do not let this post deter you away from Disney World.  When they say it's one of the most magical places, it's so true.  I'm almost 27 years old and I was blown away by some of the things Disney has to offer.  Just mentally prepare yourself for crowded parks, long waits, and overpriced food and drinks and you'll be good to go!

LOVE that sign behind us..great memories

Disney has the best decorations!

Cindy's castle- Suri Cruise once stayed in the hotel room located at the top

Thunder Mountain

The Safari Truck

Look at those horns

Hollywood Studios

The comedy club stage- when in Rome

SO pretty!!!!

I really regret not buying this hat

THE LIGHTS SHOW!!!!

Are you crying from happiness yet?

What's a trip to Disney without a selfie?!

Candy apples- again, when in Rome

Hello Snow Day

Am I that crazy/annoying person that takes pictures of their surrounding landscape after it snows acting like they've never seen it before?  YUP and I love it.  I think we got two inches last night.  Love waking up in a winter wonderland...until I have to step outside and drive to work in that so called "wonderland".

15 stories up

See anything interesting in the park??

I'm Hungry

As I previously mentioned, it had been a year since I was last in Orlando. In the weeks leading up to my Christmas visit, my mom and I plotted and planned activities and things to do - especially while PR was visiting.  One thing she suggested we do and was excited about was dinner at Cask & Larder - a newer restaurant in Orlando that features a brewery inside.  Clearly my mom knows us to well.  She even went above and beyond by reserving the private room for us - the table is situated in the middle of the brewing room.  Not only are their beers delicious, but the food is even better.  The menu focuses on seasonal, fresh and local ingredients and changes accordingly.

To start, PR and I both ordered the beer flights: 5 mini beers of our choice, one being the Holiday Cookie (tasted like gingerbread).  The beers were delish and made us hungry for dinner.  We started off with 2 apps - the boiled peanut hummus and pimento cheese.  The hummus was exactly what I expected and PR said the pimento cheese was really good.  For my main course I had the kale salad which came equipped with avocado, apples, beets and  granola.  LOVED that combination and instead of using the house vinaigrette I decided to top my salad with white BBQ sauce (throwback to my days in BAMA, soo yummy)! PR ordered the Nashville Hot Chicken which came with mashed potatoes and mac & cheese. It was SO much food and he was the last to finish.  I sampled his potatoes and they were heavenly.  Another thing to try is their fries - HOLY amazing.  I absolutely love a good curly fry and I swear they used season salt on them (this was a big debate the next day because my mom and PR both swear the fries had cinnamon on them...ummmmmm no, that's not right). If you're ever in the Orlando area and looking for a good beer and fresh cuisine, I would def recommend Cask & Larder.

After stuffing our faces, we obviously had to go play a few rounds of bowling!  I haven't been bowling in YEARS, so this was quite the treat/experience.  Side Notes: @salspals33 wiped out completely while attempting to bowl, I beat PR the first round, and the Butera parents have a horrible habit of stepping over the line every time.

Inside the brewery room...thinking I need this in my future house!

Nashville chicken and mac & cheese= heaven

Kale salad- love the granola on top

Sometimes I feel bad that I make him take so many pictures....sometimes

Such great form - look at that kickback

Product Review - Spiralizer

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope everyone had a great holiday! This Christmas, one of the gifts I received from my parents was a meatball grill basket.  1. I LOVE meatballs 2. I loved grilled, crispy meatballs...Naturally, this was an ideal gift for me; however, I do not eat meatballs that often to truly appreciate the grill basket.  So, I to head over to Williams Sonoma to exchange the grill basket for something else.

My mom hates clutter, especially in the kitchen - and I have to admit I'm right there with her.  BUT this girl definitely loves kitchen appliances.  So much so that PR surprised me with the food processor I've always wanted (I've already made homemade almond butter and mashed potatoes). So I knew I would have no problem exchanging the grill basket for something else.  I've had my eyes on a new gadget called the Spiralizer.  I first came across it when reading through some vegan blogs.  Basically, this machine turns potatoes, veggies (like zucchini and carrots), and fruit (like apples) into noodles or fries.  I even read really great reviews about it - some stating that with sauce on top the zucchini noodles are the best pasta replacement.  The machine comes with three different blade attachments so that you can create the noodle/fry shape you are looking for.

Yesterday, I turned in my meatball grill basket for the Spiralizer and I've been hooked ever since.  I had a sweet potato on hand, so I decided to make sweet potato curly fries.  They turned out so delicious and the Spiralizer was so easy to use and clean up.  Next, I plan to try making zucchini pasta.  If you like pasta, veggies, and curly fries, I definitely recommend this product - 4 out of 5 stars!

The meatball grill basket- such a genius idea

The Spiralizer

The sweat potato- locked and loaded, ready for spiralizing

With a few turns of the wheel, curly fries are created