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November 20, 2013

Gift Guide for your Wine-O Friend

Did you realize there are only 34 days left until Christmas? This blows my mind. I have a feeling I'm going to break a cardinal rule this weekend and go ahead and decorate for Christmas. Waiting until after Thanksgiving just doesn't give me enough time to enjoy everything!

Apart from my daydreaming of covering our house in tinsel and cheer, I've started coming up with ideas for gifts! I love picking out gifts for friends and family, though I know sometimes it can be a challenge!

If you love wine like I do, or have someone on your Christmas list who adores wine, here are a few (I thought) pretty unique gifts! Some of these I use every day weekly and a few I just discovered today!

 
1 - Stainless Steel Wine Glasses - I actually bought a pair of these from a local kitchen store and they've been a definite hit! They keep your white wine cooler longer than a traditional glass, and I adore the modern look.

2 - Insulated Wine Tumblers - I first saw these a few months ago and I've been in love ever since. *hinthint* Wine to go, and no worries about spills!

3 - Rabbit Wine Stoppers - I own a ton of these (they're cheap!) and I can't rave about them enough. No more struggling the get the cork out the second time with these stoppers! Great for a stocking stuffer.

4 - Outdoor Wine Glass Holder - I can't attest to how well these work, but I love the idea! Perfect for those summer nights playing baggo in the backyard - but without worrying about your drink spilling over!

5 - Corkcicle Wine Chiller - I keep one of these in the freezers, perfect for those impromptu guests or for when you just need to chill a bottle really quick. Plus it just looks kind of cool, huh?

6 - Wine Marker Metallic Pens - I have a ton of those cute wine charms and guess what? They all sort of look the same so it doesn't do much good, and that's if I remember to even dig them out of the bowl. These markers would be great for a party - guests can write their names or the host can put fun messages on themselves! 

7 - Cocktail Napkins - There are a bagillion different options out there but I really liked these wine glass blueprint napkins. This would make a great print to have framed for your kitchen or bar area, no?

8 - Insulated Wine Tote - These are great for BYOB occasions. Plus it comes with it's own teeny front pocket to hold the wine screw!

Hopefully this inspires some Christmas shopping for your favorite wine-o (or for yourself, I won't tell!). Happy shopping!

November 13, 2013

Sometimes..

Sometimes it's okay that the only victory you have is a glass of wine at the end of the day.


Though you never turn away a squish snuggle.


Cheers, friends! There is always tomorrow.

November 11, 2013

Seasons Greetings

I know we haven't reached Thanksgiving yet, but I still can't help but start to look at Holiday cards!

Last year I found a great card through Vistaprint. I love Vistaprint because they are always having some sort of sale and if you don't find an option that suits you, you can always upload your own creation!

This is what ours looked like last year - I loved the single photo option for one of our wedding photos, and the phrasing was my absolute favorite.



This year nothing on VistaPrint really tickled my fancy, so after a little bit of googling, I landed at tinyprints.com. A little pricier than VistaPrint but I don't usually order a ton so I figured this year I would splurge.

Here are a few of my favorites!

I love the shape of this one.


Same shape but I love the pop of red. 

The back is even cute!


Perhaps one that features a Moose all cozy and warm?

I love all the fun shapes. This one would be cute with a fun ribbon!

 
It's hard to choose with so many fun options but now is the perfect time to order! Hopefully I can narrow something down in the next few days.

Have you picked out your Holiday cards yet?

November 10, 2013

Stone's Throw Brewery

I've been hearing about a new local brewery here in Little Rock for a few weeks now, and finally this weekend Engineer Husband and I decided to stop in and check it out.

Located in history MacArthur Park near downtown, Stone's Throw Brewery is the brain child of four Little Rock residents who met in a local home brew club. Through the support of family and friends, and even strangers through the Kickstarter program, Little Rock now has this unique brewery to call it's own.

Photo Courtesy of Arkansas Times
Though not much on the outside, once you enter in it's pretty quaint. And on a Saturday night it was pretty hopping. Thankfully it was easy enough to find two seats at the small wrap around bar.

As we entered, they were beginning a tour of the facilities. Unfortunately we were in a time crunch to get to dinner, but it's something we definitely want to check out next time.

Stone's Throw offers 8 beers on tap, two from their own brewery  and six guest spots (Diamond Bear, another great local brewery was featured), all that you can keep up to date on with their website. We tried the Stout and the Pale Ale, both of which were really good! Both darker than I expected, but not so dark that the faint of heart would turn up their nose.


And while Stone's Throw doesn't haven an in-house kitchen, they make sure you're taken care of if your stomach starts rumbling. No, not the bowl of pretzels, but food trucks!

Food trucks have recently started becoming the new it thing, and Little Rock is not lacking. On Saturday they featured a waffle truck - complete with a Southern favorite - chicken and waffles!

You can also buy the growler's and fill up on your favorite beer to take home and enjoy.

Photo Courtesy of KickStarter Website

So for all you locals, make sure and stop by Stone's Throw for a fantastic brew. Their hours are a little strange, but as their popularity grows I imagine they'll start opening up more. Make the time to pop in! I think it will become your favorite regular spot soon.


Stone's Throw Brewery
401 E. 9th St.
Little Rock, AR 72202
www.stonesthrowbeer.com

Let me know if you get a chance to stop by and what you think! I know you won't be disappointed.

November 9, 2013

CARTI Festival of Fashion

Hello y'all! Sorry it's been so long! 

This past week has been a busy one, but some fun things nonetheless!

Last Wednesday my Step Mother-in-Law invited me to tag along to the CARTI Festival of Fashion Show. CARTI is a great organization that has been helping cancer patients and their families for over 40 years, so I was happy to go and show my support!

For those not into cocktails and fashion, CARTI has events all week long with something to cater to everyone, so definitely check it out next year. 

Sincerest apologies for the poor quality photos. I made a mental note to take my nicer camera next year to get blog-worthy pictures!

First we started with perfect dirty martini's at the Capital Hotel.

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If you are in Little Rock and need a fancy place for dinner or drinks, definitely hit up The Capital Hotel where you can have fine dining at Ashley's, or perfectly concocted drinks at The Capital Bar and Grill, located on opposite ends of the main lobby. I am biased because Ashley's is where we got engaged, but I would suggest either regardless!

Once we had our cocktail (or two), we headed across the street to see the show! Several of the best local boutiques volunteered their time and outfits to give us this fabulous fashion show. Little Rock is definitely not behind when it comes to style if you ask me!

Indigo (located in Park Plaza Mall for you locals) is one of my favorites. Lots of leather and faux fur, both of which I love.



Another (literal) pattern I saw from each of the different boutiques were the fun patterned pants. Some were definitely out there but it might be a trend to try this fall!


I wish I had gotten a better picture of Beyond Cotton's - the dress on the far left was to die for in person. 


I've never shopped at Vesta's but I'll definitely give it a shot after this show!



I wish I recall who these two ladies belonged to but I loved both outfits. One for a girl's night out and one great for work or even a Holiday party.


There were several other local boutiques (like E.Leigh's - my fave!!)  that had great shows, but unfortunately were pretty hard to see in my pictures. It definitely opened my eyes to venture out to some new boutiques!

At the very end, Korto Momolu from Project Runway season 5 came on stage to auction off some of her fabulous dresses! This yellow dress was my favorite but she had so many that were just amazing.


So in the end, a night of cocktails, fashion and the proceeds go to a great cause? The CARTI Festival of Fashion was an obvious victory. Their week-long festivities are wrapped up this year, but makes sure to get your ticket next year.  

Do you shop at your local boutiques, or are you an online only type of shopper? Little of both, like me?