DIY pinatas via REFINERY29.

A beautiful Mexican inspired beach wedding via Style Me Pretty.

MOJITOS, MOJITOS, MOJITOS!

{image via Style Me Pretty photography by Elizabeth Medina Photography}

I’ve been wanting to stop by the Cottonseed Cafe in Martindale, Texas ever since they opened the doors.  The restaurant is so adorable and I really enjoyed the food.  I think as long as the atmosphere is good the food tastes better.  Definitely my kind of place!  You can check out their menu online and get so additional information about hours of operation. Stop by and check it out for yourself!

If you grew up circa 1985 then you remember having a pair of jelly shoes!  Oh, I loved my jellies.  While in JCrew this weekend, I saw a bin of jelly flats that were so cute (see No.1 below) and it made me think back to my jelly wearing days.

These easy-going shoes have made a comeback throughout the years and I think I need to get a new, modern pair for the summer.  Have a fun Tuesday!

No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

What’s going on with everyone?  Anyone have any super exciting weekend plans?  I’m really looking forward to this weekend because for once I do not have any major plans!  Hopefully I’ll get some work done out at our place in Charlottenburg.

I do have something fun I want to share with you all as we head off into the weekend.  My cousin, Ashley is studying abroad in France and has created her own blog about her worldly travels.  It’s really cute!  Check it out HERE!!!

BONJOUR, y’all!

Also, throw a French style dinner party over at Camille Styles!

WOW, you have to see this lavish Paris wedding video  I originally found at Style Me Pretty!

{image via}

YAY! It is another fabulous Wine Wednesday, friends!  I mentioned in Monday’s post that the next couple of wine posts will be focusing more on specific bottles vs. the broad grape varieties, but today’s post should be the last for a while that focus specifically on the grape.  Let’s get started!

Viognier (Vee-yoh-N’YAY) .  A Viognier wine is a white wine that seems to be a little high maintenance.  To grow Viognier grapes is a challenge due to the fact that they mold extremely easy and they can only be picked when the grape is at the perfect maturation.  This is not a wine for the cellars, folks.  After about three years, the Viognier looses its signature floral flavors and can fall a little flat.  Go ahead and indulge if you buy a bottle and enjoy at the peak of freshness.  You will notice slight floral aromas and a really light, smooth taste and finish.  This would be a great wine served chilled on a hot summer day.  VOILA! That is the Viognier, my friends!  Enjoy!

VIOGNIER RECOMMENDATION: Grape Creek Vineyards Viognier

Moving on to the garden…This home had vegetation everywhere!  I do not know if I could keep up with a yard of this size.  Take a look at all the creative gardening ideas they came up with.

I saw this little outdoor eating area with the grown over trellis and the candle chandelier and  I was in love!  I must have one of these someday.

We stopped at three wineries we have never been to before:  Grape Creek Vineyards, Hilmy Cellars, & William Chris Vineyards.  All three were GREAT yet very different.

Grape Creek Vineyards prides itself on being a Tuscan style winery in Texas.  Check out their website, you can buy a few their wines online!    Definitely worth it!

Hilmy Cellars was my favorite!  They just opened up their winery but the wines are superior.  I also really enjoyed the atmosphere they created.  It has a contemporary meets southwestern design (see below) and a laid back environment.  The staff was super friendly and I cannot wait to see what their wine maker has in store for the future.

William Chris Vineyards was our last stop and Brian really enjoyed their wines.  This little winery has a rustic feel to it.  They took an old cabin built in the late 1800′s and really fixed it up.  They used old doors as their ceiling in one room (see picture below) which I thought was so creative.  You can also buy their wines on their website.  Our William Chris recommendations:  The Hunter &  Mary Ruth

The interesting thing about these wineries is they all have no intention of putting their wines on the shelves of major retailers.  These are small, intimate businesses that want to keep their wines as true to the vines as possible.  We learned that with a lot of the major wine labels they have to put a lot of additives in their wines to keep them tasting the same every time.  As a result, it becomes a doctored up version of what it was intended to be.

We really enjoyed our little tour.  Hopefully we can go back in the next few months and try out several more!  Have a great day everyone!

I’ve discovered that it’s bad news to leave books on my nightstand. Y’all, I’m one of those people that gets engrossed and must know what happens in the next chapter. Results: Staying up way too late during the week and baggy eyes at work. Please tell me y’all have been there before.

So I prefer to indulge in magazines instead to help me wind down in the evenings. My absolute favorite is Real Simple magazine. I find myself loving everything from cover to cover. They have struck the balance between practicality and still making everything look really beautiful–decor, clothing, recipes. All very accessible. And their organizing tips…AMAZING! I can’t recommend it enough and swear you’ll be just as hooked as I am every month. The only downfall is I don’t have a subscription, so I usually end up stealing my sister’s copy. Anyone out there want to help me fix that?

Not a darn thing!  I finished 4 Blondes by Candace Bushnell two weeks ago and it was alright.  She wrote the Sex and the City series, but this was not her best work.

Hey, friends!  Nothing gets me more excited than when I see that my J. Crew Style Guide is in the mail.  I am obsessed with J. Crew clothing and I love checking out how they mix and match all the fun, bright colors.  I can honestly say that this is the one read I always look forward to flipping through.

My favorite go to, have to read, absolutely LOVE magazine is…dun, da, dun…Southern Living.  Surprise, surprise, right y’all?  This month as I was reading the beautiful pages front to back I saw that this month’s “dishing with…”  (“Dishing with” is a Q&A with some of the South’s best of the best) feature is NICHOLAS SPARKS!  Ok, girls I know your hearts just skipped a beat because this is the man who brought us our generation’s most incredible Southern love stories.  Maybe you remember a little book/movie called The Notebook…um, yeah I thought so!  So, when Southern Living asked him what his favorite set-in-the South novel is, don’t you know I got on Amazon and ordered it right then.  Nicholas’ response to the question was To Dance with the White Dog.  I am not too far into the book just yet, but I can say that I wanted to shed a tear by page 6!  You can see the full Q&A with Nicholas HERE!

Sangiovese  (san-jo-VAY-say).  This is an oldie but a goodie.  If you look up the history of Sangiovese wines, you will see that it dates back to Roman winemaking.  Wow, that is a long time ago!  If you are looking for a nice glass of wine to pair with your simple spaghetti and meatballs, then this is the wine for you!  It is a dry, red wine with a really nice aroma of  berries but does not contain the strong oaky flavor as most dry red wines.  The taste is simple yet delizioso!  With hints of berries and a very slight spice, you cannot go wrong!  Oh, and all my fellow tasters agreed that this wine is the most fun to pronounce-very Italiano.

BOTTLE TASTED: Rubizzo Sangiovese DI Toscana 2009