Friday, November 30, 2012

5 Things I Love



My fave people came in town last week!


We had our first Thanksgiving in our house...


I cooked all of Thanksgiving lunch minus the turkey, ham, and dressing. 
They are too important to be left up to me!
No one died so it was a success!


Christmas decorations are up!
Including this ornament that makes me tear up. #babyGus

 

And this just makes me smile. Hedgehogs!

Have a great weekend everyone!
Take a relaxing bath like that little fella :)

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Monday, November 26, 2012

Holiday Gift Guide - The Man in Your Life




man shopping guide




1. Ugg Ascot Slippers - Who doesn't want their feet wrapped in fleece? I've gotten these for every male member of Cam's family. 
2. Sephora Shave Sampler for Him - Any type of Sephora sampler is a no brainer for me. The package comes with Sephora's top products for shaving and a gift certificate for your guy to pick his favorite product.
3. Jon Hart Money Clip - It may seem small but it holds a lot of cards and is way more comfortable to sit on than a wallet. Cam loves his.
4. Fiero Grilling Kit - Our cheap grill tools are constantly falling apart. This nice kit is stainless steel and will store nicely under a grill. 
5. Breaking Bad Season One -  Crazy, intense show. But SO good.
6. Jack Black Collection Gift Set -  Fabulous shave stuff!
7. Apple TV - Gift for you and the man in your life :)
8. Barbour Beaufort Jacket -  Classic. What British Royalty has always worn. If it's good enough for Kate & Will well...
9. National Geographic Subscription -  My Dad is an avid Nat Geo reader and now I have turned Cameron onto it. Really cheap gift that will ensure some interesting dinner convos.
10. Microbrewery of the Month Club -  Gave this to Cam while he lived in California. He is still talking about this gift. Plus, you will always have a new and cool drink for guests.
11. Wild Abundance Cookbook -  Great cookbook for the outdoorsmen or wannabe chef in your life.
12. Onward Reserve Gift Card - One stop shopping for ANY of the great guys in your life! Perfect gift for a hard to buy for father-in-law or a great stocking stuffer!



I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I sure did!

For the next few days I will be posting my holiday gift guides.

Hope you enjoy them!



Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Girl Crush - Kristin Cavallari

I am been obsessed with Kris-ten Cavallari since the Laguna days.
I was so jealous of her hair.

Now I am so jealous of her body.

Her post-baby body is amazing!!!

I just know that I'm not going to be one of those women who is like "Oh it's the breastfeeding! I'm already back in my pre-baby jeans."

No way in hell that will be me.

The following pics are of Kristen post-baby.





Less than a a month after her baby was born. 



LOOK at her legs!!!!


She was a super cute pregnant lady too! Great style.







I'm still holding out hope that I could be a super cute pregnant lady ONE DAY too.


PS Dad, I am NOT pregnant. Chill. 


1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

Monday, November 19, 2012

Monday's Must Have - My New Venture

1. Closet Reinvention

Ever feel like you have a closet full of clothes but nothing you WANT to wear?

I would LOVE to help you!

I've recently started assisting friends and family in the organizing and analyzing of their closets.
I go through your current clothing and accessories and then determine with you what items should be kept,  thrown away, donated, sold, and suggest what you may need to purchase to update or enhance your wardrobe. 

I will go through and make outfits out of your current clothing and accessories or with the new pieces that you have purchased. I can also help you plan outfits for upcoming events or vacations. 



2. Personal Shopping

Need a gift for a person that's hard to buy for? 
Need a new outfit for an event or just some items to freshen up your look? 
Want help tackling your Christmas list? 

Let me help you!

I can work within your budget via email, in store with you, or I can bring the clothing to you!

Sometimes having another person's opinion can make finding the perfect gift or outfit so much easier!

I can go shopping for you just to spruce up your everyday wardrobe.



I seriously love to do this and would be so happy to help you!
Please message me for pricing and more details.


I look forward to working with you!
susannahstyles@gmail.com








Friday, November 16, 2012

5 Things I Love


Obsessed with this tablescape by Furbish




My new fave pic that I took on my iPhone leaving work yesterday.
Gorgeous Mississippi sunset.



"Hero Pig" saves a baby goat.
Animals are bad ass.



My family will be here next week! YAY!!!

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Thanksgiving Decor


So...


The name of this Thanksgiving's game is "Don't spend money on decor."


Woohoooooo

Fun theme. eh.


I have silver, not shiny silver, but silver chargers. 
I'm going to use my everyday china which is plain and cream with a monogrammed "A" on the salad plate.
I have linen napkins with a subtle silver and gold detail with gold tassel napkin rings.

My casual china is similar to this.


Here's the challenge :
I have nothing else "Thanksgiving-y" for my table.


So I started thinking about a rustic tablescape...



Pine cone place cards...Dipped in gold paint?







Cam's cousin has a FABULOUS yard and kindly lets me steal magnolia leaves and other beautiful plant things. Will def be taking advantage of that again this year. Thank you Chrysler!
I also heard that she has a pomegranate tree so maybe I will dry those out and incorporate some of those. 



Maybe add some pine cones and pears as well. 


I have pheasant feathers that I plan on using on our tree this year.
They could easily be added to the table.


Basically, I have A LOT of ideas and materials but have NO clue how to incorporate metalllics and rustic pieces...

SO we will just have to see how I end up decorating my table for Thanksgiving. 

Hopefully it is a "Southern Living-Martha Stewart-like-but-still-Susannah-Albriton dream holiday table."


aaaand if it's not, well the name sounds fabulous :)


PS


As if I wasn't confused enough about how to steer my Thanksgiving tablescape and decor, I have this guy on my front door 


He does not go with my style or taste what-so-ever but I think he is just the CUTEST.


That turkey makes me smile every time I pull into my driveway.


It's corny and silly and I. love. it. 






Get your own Happy Turkey Day door hanger here.


Now I want this one...






1/2/3/4/5/6/7

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Skinny Baked Potato Soup

I took a little break from blogging to refresh and recharge my batteries and now...

I'm BACK!


I've been trying to cook lighter meals lately with the holidays right around the corner.


I have a hard time finding recipes that are both healthy and comforting.


The Skinny Taste Baked Potato Soup recipe is just plain awesome. It's so simple and delicious that I plan on making more today to freeze for later.

The best part about this recipe is that it allowed me to sneak CAULIFLOWER into my husband's meal without him knowing. When he ate and enjoyed the soup, I almost died. Small victories! 


I changed the recipe a slight bit so this is what I used:

3 Russet Potatoes
1 small head of Cauliflower
1 1/2 cups Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
1 1/2 cups of Reduced-fat Milk
Salt
Pepper
Butter
1/2 cup Light Sour Cream
Reduced-fat Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Chopped Chives
Turkey Bacon



1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry the potatoes. Poke holes into each spud with a fork. Bake for one hour.

2. In the meantime, wash the cauliflower and steam it. I put a small amount of water into a pot. Brought it to a boil. Added the cauliflower and salt and covered it. Cook until tender. 



3. Once the potatoes are cooked through, let them cool and then peel them. Or don't and burn your fingers like I always do.

4. Add the potatoes, steamed cauliflower, chicken broth, and milk to a pot. Bring to a boil.



While the mixture was boiling, I used a large fork to break up and mash the potatoes and cauliflower.



This is what it looked like after boiling and mashing for a few minutes.



For the next step you will need an immersion blender, regular blender, or food processor.




5. I opted for my food processor. An immersion blender would be ideal but I don't have one. So I used my ladle to spoon the mixture directly into my food processor. I had to do half of the "soup" at a time. Got kind of messy. 




This is what it looked like after blending more a few minutes, too much like mashed potatoes. So I added a splash of chicken broth and milk. The flavor wasn't exactly "hopping" so I added butter too :)




Once you have pureed or blended the soup to your liking, transfer back to a pot on the stove.





6. At this point the puree didn't have a ton of flavor so I added more butter (naturally), salt, and pepper.
Then I added the sour cream, and chives and cooked it on low until Cam got home about 15 minutes.


I got bored while waiting on him so I decided to look up how to make a cheese crisp.


You know what I learned?


A cute, dainty little cheese crisp is the EXACT same thing that Taylor Strickland's mom Pat used to make for my chubby childhood self like every day. 


Place parchment paper on a baking sheet.
Make teaspoons sides mounds out of shredded cheese.
Bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes.


Once the edges are browned, take the baking sheet out of the oven and slide the parchment paper and cheese crisps onto a cold surface. My granite counter tops worked perfectly.


and Voila! Perfect cheese crisp! 






I finished the soup off by adding fried Turkey Bacon bits, sprinkled some cheese and chives, added a dollop of sour cream, and dunked my crisp into the soup. 



This soup was uh-mazing. Like seriously. So good. Cam was going to town on his bowl of soup when he looked over and saw my grin. Cauliflower surprise!


Muahahaha 


Enjoy!




Friday, November 2, 2012

5 Things I Love - Popcorn

Lately, I am LOVING getting in bed super early and watching movies or TV shows on Apple TV.

Here are 5 popcorn recipes that I know I would LOVE to add to my nights in bed.


















Thursday, November 1, 2012

Girl Crush - Julia of Gal Meets Glam







How cute it she?


I'm obsessed with her hair.




She even makes a topsy tail look amazing! Am I the only one who remembers a topsy tail


I'm thinking about taking the previous pic to my hair stylist to see if she thinks I could pull off Julia's hair color.

Besides her to-die-for style, I really love the videos on her blog.


Here are my faves:


"How to use a clipless curling iron"




"Makeup Tutorial"




So yes, I am currently obsessing over Julia and her blog.

I read that she uses Latisse, so I am def looking into that!

I have also added her favorite lipsticks and a clipless curling iron to my wishlist! 



I love how versatile her look can be with the addition of a few low lights or highlights and changing her lipstick.

She's just the cutest.


Be sure to check out Julia and her fab blog Gal Meets Glam

and another fave of mine, her online boutique The Glam Shop