Birmingham Love

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A Little Reckless Holiday Spending, Anyone?

12/29/2011 in Beauty, Guilty Pleasures, Hair, Maintenence, Product, PSAs, Random Musings, Tricks of the Trade by Lauren | 2 comments

December 29 is a dangerous time. Santa was good to you…particularly with gifts that come in envelopes. Or maybe you’ve got that extra check from Grandma or a little Hanukkah gelt left in you pocket (and I don’t mean the chocolate kind…) What to do?

I’m pretty sure if you ask Greg, he’d suggest a lovely Orange Savings Account or a Roth IRA but if I were you, I might opt for the following:

1. Oribe Royal Blowout

I am pretty much obsessed with Oribe. It all started with the Anti-Humidity spray (blogged about here) and then the “Beautiful Color” shampoo and conditioner. But I was recently introduced to Royal Blowout and I’m never turning back. You just spritz a little of this weightless-greaseless product into damp hair and bampf! – perfectly straight, glossy-yet-somewhat-voluminous hair. And of course it has the signature Oribe scent which is AMAZING. I love this stuff.

2. Trish McEvoy Beta Hydroxy Pads

These are the most amazing exfoliating pads…ever. I used them forever ago, but I quit because at $65 for 40 pads…they’re pretty pricey. But I’m back on the bandwagon now. My skin looks absolutely amazing and I feel like these babies take care of those hard-to-exfoliate places like around your nose and such. Basically, they dissolve dead skin cells to make your face glowy and help to prevent breakouts. So worth it.

3. Hammitt Viper Holiday Clutch

You guys – I had never even HEARD of Hammitt before I fell in love with this clutch and now I’m planning nights out just so I can carry it. The leather is DELICIOUS, it’s SO spacious (I love the new “oversized clutch” trend.) and it’s the perfect amount of glam and rock and roll. The entire line is to die for – but this clutch made me really happy. (I got mine at Gus Mayer in Birmingham– but you can find them on Facebook or search for them on your Google Machine)

4. Alora Reed Diffuser in Due

G got me one of these as part of my Hanukkah gift and I LOVE IT. First of all, it’s gorgeous. Secondly, it smells absolutely AMAZING – jasmine, cucumber, basil and ylang ylang. (What is a ylang ylang, you ask? I have no idea. But it smells good.) The best part is how the scent fills my whole room without overpowering it. I recommend.

So there you have it. Nothing you need…but all fun stuff. Happy December 29^th!

xx, L

Tags: Birmingham Love, oribe, Things that are awesome..., Things that are GORG, Things we love!, Trend Alert, Yowza.

Girls Weekend 2011/Santa Fe Soup

12/11/2011 in What we're Cooking, What we're Doing by Lauren | 2 comments

It’s been an amazing week.

I was off Monday and Tuesday and got to play house(almost)wife, I started a new j-o-b on Wednesday, and on Friday, my 3 best friends from HIGH SCHOOL traveled from near and far to visit the ATL for a little girls’ getaway.

From left: Mary Bradley, Leslie, Lucy, and me. Baby Frank and Baby Drew are also present in this picture!

It was DIVINE. We ate our way through the city (Noche – Murphy’s – JCT – Flying Biscuit) pausing only to shop, have our nails done, and laugh uncontrollably.

Things I learned:

We canNOT drink the volume of wine we used to… but that’s probably a good thing due to the fact that as our age advanced, so did the caliber and price tag of the wine we prefer.
Nobody can call you out on your own BS better than people who saw you through your braces and acne phase.
I am the last person in our friend group to be clued in on the easy and delicious dinnertime miracle – Santa Fe Soup. I made it for Greg this evening and is is DELISH and totally easy and I thought I’d share it with you!

Ok so check it – this is all you need:

1lb ground sirloin
1 can white shoe peg corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 large onion
1 packet Ranch dressing mix
1 packet taco seasoning mix

Then you just:

Dice your onion and sauté it while you brown your meat and drain
Season the meat and onion with the ranch dressing and taco seasoning packets
Dump the rest of the ingredients in and bring to a boil
Cover and simmer for 2 hours.

D-O-N-E. Mary Bradley told me to put a can of water in to stretch out the pot, which I will try next time – but it makes a HUGE pot of delicious and hearty soup as is. Top it with a little sour cream and cheese and it’s AMAZING.

It’s also pretty healthy – I’d estimate it’s between 7-8 WW points before toppings.

Now back to my emotional hangover…miss you guys already!

Enjoy!

xx, L

Tags: Birmingham Love, careful cowboy!, don't judge, funny people, I'm just saying..., i'm on a diet., Ladies Who Lunch, Moxie? We got it., PLU, Recessionistas, very important people, You Can Find Me in the A

A Few of My Favorite Things

05/10/2011 in Birmingham, Deals + Steals, Guilty Pleasures, Hair, Jewelry, Spa, Where we're Shopping by Lauren | 4 comments

Ok, so I’m not Oprah. (ssssigh.) but I did make it home to Birmingham over the weekend where I did some SHOPPING at Gus Mayer….so have a few recent Favorite Things to share with you!

Without further ado, here are the loves of my life right now:

Brightly Twisted Scarves

Check out these gorgeous one of a kind hand tie-dyed summer scarves:

I am obsessed. Gus has an amazing supply, but you can get also these darlings at Intermix or Tootsie’s here in Atlanta.

Oribe Hair Products

Ok I have blogged about the Anti-Humidity spray before (check it) and I still swear by it… I just picked up some “beautiful color” shampoo and conditioner and it’s amazing.

My color looks great, my hair feels super healthy and This. Stuff. Smells. Incredible.

Shoes!: I am the proud new owner of a couple of pairs of fantastic wedges for summer!

First, to continue the tie dye trend – I scooped a pair of these bad boys by Bacio 61:

Bacoli Tie Dye Wedge in Lily Purple

I happened to wear a pair of white pants and a black top Saturday when I spotted these and they complimented my outfit so much – I asked Katie to box up my Torys so I could wear them out! Who (past the age of 6) does that?

I also scored super cute pair of black and raffia Franco Sartos I plan to LIVE in this summer:

Trish Beauty Booster Cream with SPF15

I’ve officially replaced my regular SPF15 moisturizer with this marvelous “Anti-Fatigue” cream, which acts as a moisturizer and primer while brightening and firming… and protecting you from the sun’s harmful rays. Talk about a bang for your buck!

(Helpful hint for Alabamians: All of the above can be found at Gus Mayer at the Summit in Birmingham!)

Other recent MVPs:

The gorgeous and perfectly neutral Kendra Scott earrings I wore with my watercolor Halston Heritage dress to Camp Dance:

(Scored them at Nordy's)

My new Laura Mercier lipstick/gloss combo:

Hibiscus Bloom Gel Lip Color/ Bellini Lip Glace

and the Triple Oxygen facial at Bliss Spa.

I’ve blogged about it before, and I’ll blog about it again. Go to the midtown location inside the W Hotel. Ask for Anila. Tell her I sent you. You can thank me later.

And that, as they say, is that!

Enjoy!

xx, L

Tags: Beauty is as beauty does., Birmingham Love, fashion, gus mayer, makeup, shoes!, spa-la-la-la-la, Things that are awesome..., Things we love!, trish, You Can Find Me in the A

The Best Thing I Ever Ate…

08/30/2010 in Birmingham, For Men, Where we're Shopping by Lauren | 6 comments

…is the heirloom tomato salad at Hot & Hot Fish Club in my hometown of Birmingham, AL. True story.

Heirloom tomatoes. Fresh peas. Fried okra. Corn. Applewood smoked bacon. Balsamic vinegarette. Chive aioli. (+ crack cocaine?)

Of all the great restaurants in all the cities in which I’ve lived – NYC, Austin, Atlanta and Birmingham – The Hot & Hot is still the reigning king of my little wanna-be-foodie heart.

It’s always my first choice when I’m home to visit. I love everything about it. I love the open counter with a direct view of the chefs in the kitchen wearing long-brim fly-fishing hats,

the historic building it’s in (once was the home of “the Upside Down Plaza” – apparently a seedy, yet supa-popular nightclub from “back in the day”), the AMAZING amount of hometown gossip you can glean from loitering in the ladies’ room long enough, and, of course, the SPECTACULAR food that I’ve enjoyed there for years.

BONUS: Last night we got to have a little chat with chef and owner Chris Hastings! He’s such a cool guy – we chatted restaurants and food and he filled me in on his favorite Atlanta spots and asked me about mine. We had a brief convo about restaurants with beautiful food and snotty service, during which Chris made a comment that “Food church is dead.” I couldn’t agree more… these days it really is all about good food and an earnest attitude – which is exactly how I’d describe his restaurant.

Food church may be dead, but chef as a celebrity certainly is not. I heart you, Chris Hastings!

Chris Hastings and Greg!

If your travel plans ever take you to Birmingham (or you have an extra couple of hours to spend on a dinner commute from Atlanta) I suggest Hot & Hot 100%.

Sidebar: in other Birmingham news…

1. Gus Mayer is moving to the Summit somewhere around February 2011 and the plans for the new digs are unREAL.

2. Speaking of Gus Mayer, I came home with the MOST amazing Pour la Victoire black suede pumps, Mark Nason over-the-knee boots, and most importantly, I GOT GREG IN SOME PSYCHO BUNNY! Happy day!

3. Last but not least, some Jewish Guilt: My gorgeous Grandmother is one of our #1 readers and casually dropped the fact that though she reads daily, her mug has never graced the pages of the Q+DD. Well, Miss Henni? This one’s for you!

Love that my grandmother will sip bloodys with me on a Sunday morning..

What a wonderful weekend. I miss Sweet Home Alabama already! Thanks DK+DK!

xx, L

Tags: Birmingham Love, DK+DK, fashion, G$, I'm just saying..., Miss Henni, oh so hipster, Table for Two, Things that are awesome..., Things we love!

Happy Friday!

06/18/2010 in Events, Random Musings, Sports by Lauren | No comments

I just thought I’d leave you for the weekend with a few things that are awesome.

1. I pre-ordered my iPhone 4. It only took about a day of my life, but I am certain it’s going to be worth it. If I’m not mistaken- preorders, which began Tuesday of this week, will extend through the 21st and the magic iPhone fairy will be delivering the phones around 06/24. I just don’t know how I could be any more excited. Witness a video here.

I love you.

2. Vocab word for today: Vuvuzela. No, it’s not a South American country and no, it’s not something for which you need a prescription of antibiotics. It’s that almost constant buzzing noise that has become the 2010 World Cup ambient music. Yep – a Vuvuzela is a South African blowing horn and although I have personally had juuuuust about enough…if you are soothed by this sound you can enjoy it 24x7x365 by visiting Vuvuzela.fm. You’re welcome.
3. In mere hours, I will be making my way to Birmingham to witness the nuptials of this adorable couple:

precious people

4. ONE WEEK FROM TODAY:

5. You know what else is awesome? You. You are awesome. Thanks for reading.

Oh, and have a great weekend!

xx, L

Tags: Birmingham Love, Festive, funny people, gratitude, I'm just saying..., PLU, Things we love!, very important people, You Can Find Me in the A

Big Success!

06/06/2010 in Events, What we're Doing by Lauren | 6 comments

There were over 300 participants at the Walk for Lupus on Saturday, raising around $25,000 and TEAM KATIE came in second place…missing out on first by a VERY narrow margin of only $30!