Weekend recap

Friday, I took the day off and got a ton of errands done. The weather was crazy and while I was in Target, they lost power. Shopping in partial darkness was interesting to say the least. I came home and starting working on a craft, watched some Grey’s Anatomy, Dateline and read for a little while.

Saturday was my friend Danielle’s shower. She is due with her first baby boy next month and I’m so excited for her and her husband. She is one of my besties from high school and it’s so crazy that she is going to be a mommy. Her shower was beautiful and someone gave her the funniest and most creative gift. It was an after pregnancy survival kit complete with Tucks, wine, Excedrin, earplugs, etc. Everyone really got a kick out of it. Her stepmom also made the cutest cookies. It was great to see her and catch up with my other friend, Brit.


Danielle's Shower...cute cookies!

Saturday night, Kristen came over for craft night. I made some delicious dip (that I’ll share the recipe for tomorrow) and we enjoyed some Sam Adams Noble Pils. We decided to make yarn wreaths. They turned out really cute, but it was a lot of work (tutorial to come). The whole night was a blast and anytime spent with Kristen is always the best. We laughed until 3 in the morning. It was some much needed girl time.


My yarn wreath

Sunday I bummed around the house. I finally watched (500) Days of Summer. If you haven’t seen this yet, watch it. It was so good even down to the songs used in the film. I really like Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. This is one I’ll watch again and again.


A must-see

My mom came over for Oscar night and I made us chili and cornbread for dinner. It was a wonderful weekend!

Oscar Fashion 2011

Overall, I was impressed with the fashion at this year’s Academy Awards. I also loved the opening and think that Anne Hathaway and James Franco did an excellent job as hosts. Natalie Portman taking home the Oscar for Best Actress was a great moment and I’ve now realized that I need to see The King’s Speech.

Onto the fashion:

Best Dressed

Reese Witherspoon in Giorgio Armani Privé

Sleek and chic in black and white. She also gets my vote for best hair.

Jennifer Lawrence in Calvin Klein Collection

This dress fit her like a glove and I loved that she didn’t wear any jewelry. The gown spoke for itself.

Gwyneth Paltrow in Calvin Klein Collection
Glowing in gold. I don’t think anyone else could pull this gown off as well as she did. Gorgeous.

Mila Kunis in Elie Saab

Lavender and lace elegance. I think she is beautiful.

Anne Hathaway in Valentino

Red seemed to rule the red carpet and this was the first of many gowns (and even a tux). She looked beautiful all night long.

Worst Dressed

Melissa Leo in Marc Bouwer

This looked like a bad doily (and her speech was huge turnoff).

Nicole Kidman in Dior

I love her, but not this dress

Helena Bonham Carter in Colleen Atwood

She was celebrating film over fashion. Fine, but I don’t like it.

Cate Blanchett in Givenchy Couture

Beautiful color, I just wasn’t a fan of the structure.

Scarlett Johansson in Dolce & Gabbana

The wine color and lace was very pretty. The sheerness I didn’t like.

Photo source: Yahoo!

The Dahl House Giveaway!

The Dahl House and whitney j. designs is a boutique design company devoted to creating quality hand painted products for the home. Each of their painted products are hand crafted in the USA. They do not use any stencils and each one is entirely hand panted with water based paint that is better for our environment.

If you’re looking for a house warming or baby gift, The Dahl House is your answer. They have beautiful frames, ornaments, steps stools, stationary and much more.

Today, The Dahl House has graciously offered the chance to win a 5x7 hand painted frame of your choosing. The winner can have the frame personalized with their name spelled out or they can opt for a one or three letter monogram.

There are so many beautiful frames to choose from. Here are some of my favorites:

Classic Monogram

Timeless and good for any occasion

Lobster Frame

Perfect for framing your favorite beach photo

Mini Bows Frame

This would be a great gift for new parents to frame a photo of their little girl

Pineapple Frame

Great hostess gift!

Here are some of their other items I’m loving:

Bow Step Stool


Monogrammed Tray


Sailboat Notes in Pink


The Dahl House is also offering a discount to Chic & Pink readers of 20% off your purchase. Please use the promo code “Chic n Pink” during checkout. Thanks to The Dahl House for reaching out to my readers with this giveaway and extending a discount to me.

To enter:
Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite item from The Dahl House or what frame you would choose if you’re the winner.

Extra entries:
1. Follow my blog (+1 entry)
2. Follow ChicnPink on Twitter (+1 entry)
3. Send a tweet about this giveaway (+2 entries)
You can send this if you like: Enter to win a personalized frame from The Dahl House and @ChicnPink here: http://tinyurl.com/4n675f8 #Giveaway
4. Post about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post (+2 entries)

That’s a total of 7 possible entries!

Rules:
1. This giveaway is open to US Residents only
2. This giveaway will close on 3/4/11 and the winner will be drawn via Random.org and announced 3/7/11

General Mills Retro Cereal Giveaway - Week 1

I’m thrilled to be working with General Mills for the third time to host another fantastic giveaway!

General Mills conducted a national survey, which asked consumers to pick their favorite Retro package designs from the 50s, 60s and 80s. The top packages chosen include Cheerios® (1956), Trix® (1968), Honey Nut Cheerios® (1984), Cinnamon Toast Crunch® (1984) and Lucky Charms® (1989). These limited-edition Retro packages will be available now through mid-March in Target stores nationwide. After the packages reach the stores, consumers can go to http://www.grocerysavvy.com/ and view some cartoons from the past, while enjoying a fun morning with family and friends over breakfast.

For the next 5 weeks, you will have a chance to win the following Prize Pack:
1 Retro box of Cheerios® (1956)
1 Retro box of Trix® (1968)
1 Retro box of Honey Nut Cheerios® (1984)
1 Retro box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch® (1984)
1 Retro box of Lucky Charms® (1989)
$10 Target Gift Card
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Frisbee

Seeing these packages brought back a feeling of nostalgia of days gone by as a kid eating some of my favorite cereals on a Saturday morning watching cartoons. I have to say my favorite was Lucky Charms. I used to try and eat the oats and save the marshmallows for the end. This was a “special occasion” cereal around my house and getting it was a treat. We usually had Cheerios and the like.

Each week, the spotlight will be on one of the cereals that are part of the promotion. This week: Lucky Charms. Do you remember Lucky the Leprechaun? This package was introduced in 1989 when The Cosby Show was the most popular show on television and a gallon of gas was 97 cents. Barbie also turned 30 and George Bush Senior became president of the United States.

To enter:
Leave a comment on this post

Extra entries:
1. Follow my blog (+1 entry)
2. Follow ChicnPink on Twitter (+1 entry)
3. Send a tweet about this giveaway (+2 entries)
You can send this if you like: Enter to win a General Mills Prize Pack & Target Gift Card from @ChicnPink here: http://tinyurl.com/4houyl3 #Giveaway
4. Post about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post (+2 entries)

That’s a total of 7 possible entries!

Rules:
1. This giveaway is open to US Residents only
2. This giveaway will close on 3/1/11 and the winner will be drawn via Random.org and announced 3/2/11.

Good luck and if you don’t win this week, you still have 4 more chances!

FTC: General Mills provided me with the prize pack and information for this giveaway.

California Dreamin’

The best thing about blogging is the relationships formed from it. Leeann at Join The Gossip is someone I originally connected with over our taste in music and have grown close to ever since. Though we live on opposite coasts, I consider her my friend and know the day will come that we’re actually able to meet in person. Her blog is one of my favorites and she is truly an awesome person.

This brings me to a swap we decided to do. Since we’ve never been to each others hometowns, we decided to bring a little of that to each other and did a city swap. It was so fun shopping my own city to get a package together for her and receiving fun souvenirs in return from L.A.

Here is what I got:
Pretty postcard of the L.A. skyline with a nice note on the back
Hollywood magnet
Hollywood mints called “Hollywood Hottie Cinnamints”
Hollywood star keychain
California book that has the cities and sights that are a must-see. There are some beautiful photos in it and I look forward to reading the whole thing.
Hollywood mug that’s super cute. I’ll be enjoying many large cups of coffee out of it!
Mix CD that was so creative. It’s easy to forget how many songs are about California until you see them all together. This will be a perfect driving mix!

Track listing:
1. Just A Girl – No Doubt
2. The River – Good Charlotte
3. California Gurls – Katy Perry
4. Party in the USA – Miley Cyrus
5. California – Phantom Planet (this song reminds me of The O.C…loved that show!)
6. All I Wanna Do – Sheryl Crow
7. Hotel California – The Eagles
8. Corona & Lime – Shwayze
9. Free Falling – John Mayer
10. Wake Up – Hillary Duff
11. California Love – 2Pac & Dr. Dre
12. Going Back To Cali – Biggie
13. Beverly Hills – Weezer
14. California Dreamin’ – The Mamas and The Papas
15. Santa Monica – Everclear
16. Californicaton – Red Hot Chili Peppers
17. Hollywood Nights – Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
18. Walking in L.A. – Missing Persons
19. California Sun – The Ramones

Thank you, Leeann! This was so much fun. If you want to see what I sent, click here.

Weekend recap

Friday was spent working most of the evening because last week was absolutely insane. I did manage to breakaway with Geof to take the dogs for a long walk. The weather was gorgeous and a much needed spring teaser.

Saturday was the best! Jes and Amanda (our friends from the cruise) were in town from Minnesota for the weekend for the Parachute and Plain White T’s concert. We met them on South Street for drinks at Copabanana. They have some fantastic margaritas. It was so great to catch up and share some laughs. It’s easy to lose track of time being around these two. We left Copa and went to the TLA for the concert. A lot of people we knew were there and it was nice to see old friends and make some new ones. The opening act was Miggs and then Parachute came on. Their set was really good, but too short. Plain White T’s was the main act their played for what seemed like forever. During their set everyone ended up socializing and we made it a great night.


At Copa


Parachute


Good times


Me with Nate from Parachute

After the concert we took the girls to Barnaby’s and finally capped the night off at Jim’s Steaks. It was a late night to say the least and I cannot hang like I used to. It was all worth it and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Sunday we got the girls from their hotel and wanted to take them to PYT for a burger. The wait was ridiculous and we were told 20 minutes. After 40 minutes we took off and I vow never to go there again. We took them back to our neck of the woods and hit Pinocchio’s for lunch before dropping them off at the airport. It was fantastic seeing two of my favorite ladies and I can’t wait until the next time we meet again!

As a side note, I received my order from Allora Handmade and the earrings are gorgeous and even more beautiful in person. Highly recommended!


Pretty rosette earrings from Allora Handmade

Fashion Friday Nautical

With expected near record temps today, I’m feeling nautical and in the mood for spring. I can just see this outfit being the perfect fit for a day exploring the city, brunch with girlfriends or even an afternoon date.

Nautical by Jules7127 featuring tunic blouses

Happy Friday and have a fabulous weekend!

Late weekend recap

Friday I took a long evening nap and then Geof and I ran some errands. The nap kept me up the rest of the night, so I caught up on the DVR and blogs. It was just the quiet night in I needed after a long week.

Saturday, Geof and I went down to Delaware for some shopping and Don Pablo’s. I know that place is a chain, but the food is darn good. I’ll also take any excuse to go to the Christiana Mall for some tax-free shopping. That was the perfect Valentine’s Day celebration for me. It’s actually weird being home this year since we were in Connecticut last year and Vegas the year before that.



Valentine's Day gifts from Geof. The blush is gorgeous!

Sunday, we went to the gym and then Kohl’s. You have to love the shopping trips where you go in for one thing and come out with way more. It was all on sale though. Geof even got some good stuff. We headed straight home, my mom came over and I made dinner for all of us while we watched the Grammy Awards.


Goodies from Kohl's


Valentine's Hot Cocoa w/heart shaped marshmallows and all!

I hope everyone had a great weekend and a Happy Hearts Day!

Grammy Awards 2011 - Fashion & Memorable Moments

Best Dressed


Selena Gomez in J. Mendel & Jennifer Lopez in Emilio Pucci


Jennifer Hudson in Versace & Eva Longoria in Ashi

Worst Dressed


Nicki Minaj in Givenchy & Miley Cyrus in Roberto Cavalli

Memorable & Shocking Moments

Aretha Franklin tribute by Yolanda Adams, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride, and Florence Welch

These ladies were incredible. I especially loved Florence.

Lady Antebellum wins big

5 awards in total

Katy Perry's pretty performance

It was sweet and I love that she shared part of her wedding ceremony. I also don't mind hearing a little Teenage Dream.

Cee Lo Green

A cross between a Muppet and a Peacock...wow. Loved that Gwyneth came out to sing!

Lady Gaga

She was having an egg-cellent adventure. Was it over the top? Yes. Do I still love her? Always.

Shameless

This is hands down my new favorite show. Similar to The Office, it originated in England and is now taking off with the American adaptation Sunday nights on Showtime. I went in with low expectations and was hooked from the first episode. It’s fast paced and there is always an interesting storyline.



It follows the lives of the dysfunctional Gallagher family and their cohorts. The cast is great and I couldn’t imagine anyone besides William H. Macy playing the role of Frank, the alcoholic father on disability because of migraines. His eldest daughter, Fiona played by Emmy Rossum is more of a mother to her other 5 siblings than a sister since their mom took off. The kids all work together to keep their lives afloat by doing odd jobs and putting their money together. Fiona’s boy toy, Steve, played by Justin Chatwin is also a great character and some nice eye candy.


Just another day in the Gallagher house


Steve (Justin Chatwin)

My favorite character from a humor perspective is the Agoraphobic mother, Sheila played by Joan Cusack. Her daughter is the girlfriend of one of the Gallagher kids and she is hysterical.


Sheila (Joan Cusack)

If you’re offended by foul language, bad behavior and overall shenanigans, this might not be the show for you. Watch out for Rossum as she gives an outstanding performance. I sense a Golden Globe nomination next year.


Fiona (Emmy Rossum)