Moving Forward with Selling Our Home & Swooning Over Home Decor Styles

My husband and I have decided to move forward with selling our home and purchasing a bigger one. This was a decision that we had up in the air for several months. We are in no pressing state to have to move, we simply want to move to take advantage of the low home prices and get a bigger home at an amazing price while the market is currently where its at. We have our eye on a beautiful subdivision within the same suburb of Atlanta that we are currently living in and there is a particular 5 bedroom floorplan that we both think is beautiful and would be perfect for growing into. Homes in that particular subdivision used to sell from the high $300's to the mid $400's - and now....starting from the mid $200's. Same square footage - and even nicer floorplans than what was offered before. Isnt that crazy? I would hate to be the person who bought in there when the prices were high, but no one could predict that downturn of the market and how fast it would take a dive. I love walking through model homes and viewing various floorplans and imagining the possibilities should we purchase that particular home and make those spaces ours. So naturally I've been doggy-earing pages in my home decor magazines, desiring to implement some of the decor styles {in our new home} that make me swoon.

A few months ago when my Traditional Home Magazine arrived, I couldn't wait to go through its pages after seeing the front cover. How gorgeous is that staircase!?! I would love to pick it up and place it in our next home!!....

When I got to the article featuring the home on the cover, I was delighted to see that it was a home in Atlanta! Have a look inside {and be prepared to want to move in!}.....

Although I'm not crazy about the color of the cabinets, I love the grandness of the kitchen and the offset design and contrasting color of the kitchen island!The architect followed the homeowner's lead and designed a curvaceous wall behind the seating area off of the kitchen to echo the furniture's sweeping lines. How stunning!!!....

Onto the Master Bedroom....

And the bathroom!.... And the closet....

How sweet is this little girls room?! The cut out wood trim above the "nook" that was created -- love it all!! And although the homeowners only have one daughter, two matching beds are inside of the room for friends that sleep over....

The office/den.....

I would have loved to have seen more of this homes outdoor space, but what IS shown is stunning!! That stone fireplace is so grand and so gorgeous!! I would be eating outside practically all the time!!....

You can go here to read details about the home decor and see additional detailed photos of this beautiful home.

Smiley Faces - In the Form of Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

First, congratulations to the 2 winners of the book "A Fairy Godmom's Book of Reminder's"....

Amy Jean of Relentless Bride, and Pat of There's No Place Like Home. I hope you ladies enjoy this book! Please email me at MarriageToMotherhood@yahoo.com with your mailing info!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ONTO TODAY'S POST....

My closest friend Jennifer had a trajedy in her family recently. And then sadness struck a second time when her friend's mother passed away the following week. Jen has selflessly, and simultaneously, been there for her sister and her friend while also balancing the every day responsibilities that comes with being a wife and a mother of two. She's had little sleep, less than exciting days, and is giving of herself in more ways than one right now and is spread so thin. Aside from sending her a card a few weeks ago, I wanted to do a little something that would bring a smile to her face.

As noted in this post, I was going to attempt to make fancy cookies decorated with royal icing for Easter. And I did give it a go. But the sugar cookie recipe that I chose was a nightmare to work with. An absolute gooey nightmare. While although the actual cookies tasted good, the dough just didn't cooperate in the way that I needed it to as it soon became apparent that the recipe I had chosen just wasn't the best for rolled out cookies {despite the fact that the recipe said they were}. I did all I could to salvage the dough {because I made two big batches, adding fresh lemon zest to one batch}, but the process of getting the dough to be "manageable" so that the cookies wouldn't spread during baking was just proving to be soooo tedious - and no matter what I did {and I did a lot!}, it ultimately didn't matter because the cookie dough recipe was a big fat fail from the start {thus prevented me to even get to step 2 of actually applying royal icing to the cookies, which couldn't happen because the tops of the cookies need to be flat - not puffed up, which mine were}. I was peeved. Since decorating cookies with royal icing is usually a three day process, there was no way I could start all over again and have them ready to ship out to various friends and family in time for Easter. But there's always next year....and other upcoming holidays that are right around the corner. I see you 4th of July! ; )

But I wanted to give it a go a second time - sooner rather than later. And so last week I did just that. Except this time using a chocolate chip cookie dough recipe made for decorating the tops with royal icing. Could I do it?? Who knew. But I set out to! Because I wanted to send my dear friend Jennifer a batch of happy-face-chocolate-chip-cookies to brighten up her day!!

I'm so used to following the Nestle Tollhouse recipe that after I made this new chocolate chip recipe, the dough seemed "off" and I got nervous...but once the cookies were done baking, they were so gooood!!! After they cooled, it was onto decorating them!! I read on a cookie blog that when just starting out with decorating cookies with royal icing, it's best to just use one or two colors of royal icing so that the process doesn't overwhelm you from the start. That was a great piece of advice and these smiley face chocolate chip cookies were a great start for a first timer like me!

My circles weren't perfect and the icing on every cookie wasn't applied impeccably but I felt that they turned out pretty good being that it was my first time decorating cookies with royal icing.

I packaged each cookie individually, wrapping them first in wax paper and then placing them in a sealed cellophane bag to preserve their freshness. And then I placed them in a cute little circular box, ensured that none of the cookies shifted {to avoid any from breaking during transit}, and then placed them in a box wrapped in pink wrapping paper and off they went to California!....

I mailed my box out last Friday and Jen got the cookies on Monday! She said they were fresh and yummy and that they did indeed bring a smile to her face! Mission accomplished!!

Although my first attempt at doing royal icing cookies was a bust, I'm glad that I tried again. I have since found a delicious sugar cookie recipe that will be my "go-to" recipe for when I make cookies decorating with royal icing in the future. Because yes...more attempts will be made. And as the saying goes...practice makes perfect ; )

My Day Today {With Cell Phone Pictures!}

I had such a GREAT day today. It wasn't filled with anything super special....it was just one of those days that I found myself breathing easy and enjoying the day.

Our day started early. After breakfast we headed out to run a few errands and then we headed to ROSS. Lately I have been scoring some sweet deals on lots of cute things! Last week I left with a few shopping bags full of stuff that I didn't plan on buying but just couldn't pass up - mostly things for Ilah. When I got Ilah buckled in her carseat, I looked back and snapped this cute picture of our happy, happy girl!

Ilah was so patient and such a good girl when we were out so I got her this "My Little Pony" toy. Looks like a my-little-pony mommy and her baby : ) .... in a car {that looks just like Ilah's riding toy!} with doors that open and close and seats that spin! Fancy fancy! Ha!

Ilah's puppy, Rufea, goes everywhere Ilah does. Did you notice she had it at her side in the first picture? So onto Abuela's house we all went in the early afternoon. I put Ilah down for a nap when we got to my mom's house and then I headed out to Hobby Lobby crossing my fingers that the cupcake decor that I spotted there weeks ago {wanting to get some pieces for Ilah's 2nd Birthday Party} was still on the shelves.
And it was! PTL {Praise the Lord!}. I loaded up my cart with lots of "sweet" cupcake themed pieces {at 50% off! Woo-Hoo!}. I couldn't believe that weeks later, these adorable pieces hadn't been purchased. I had gone to two other Hobby Lobby's and neither of them had these pieces so I was afraid that when I went back to the one by my mom's house, that they wouldn't have them either - but they did! When I got to the register, I was told that these items were a one time in-stock item and that they would not be getting any more in. I was SO thankful that these cupcake lovelies were still there and that I got them today! Not shown in the pictures below are a few matching cupcake trays and some darling scrapbook paper {in the same color scheme} that I bought to make party hats out of!


I came across these darling cupcake cookies, perfectly matching the color scheme above, and will be making them for Ilah's special day!....

I purchased these mini cupcake wrappers that compliment the color scheme that I am going with. Cupcakes of all sizes, and a variety of flavors, will be homemade by yours truly! I have already started making my list and bookmarking recipes to try!
After a successful shopping trip at Hobby Lobby, I went on to have a relaxing lunch {table for 1 please!} at a yummy Italian eatery located inside of a beautiful forum of shops that is near my moms house. It was such a beautiful day; I ate outside on the patio....

I started off with a glass of Sangria. And let me tell you. It was THE BEST Sangria that I have ever had....
And then out came the bread - with a balsamic and olive oil concoction. I have been having the waiters hold the bread when we eat out - but today...after I saw it....I just couldn't resist. Bad Jessica!!....For lunch I had a pesto chicken panini with mozarella and tomatoes, with a side caesar salad. Because of how much bread I consumed waiting for my lunch to come out, I removed the bread from my sandwich : ) The food was soooo delicious!!!

While at lunch I noticed there was a Homegoods across the way so after lunch I headed over but it was under construction and wasn't opened yet. I noticed this paper taped up on the inside of the store and took a picture of it. The person who wrote it did a wonderful job of delicately conveying what many may probably feel about the demise of Bin Laden. Click on picture to enlarge.

While walking away from Homegoods I noticed there was a "Children's Place" across the way. I hopped in real quick to see if they had any white dress shoes that I've been meaning to get for Ilah to wear with her cute little church dresses. They did have some...and they were on sale : ) My mom picked up some ruffle socks to go with them while she was at Macy's this week!....My last stop of the day was Trader Joes! I hardly ever go there because of how far it is from where I live but I was on that side of town today so I stopped in to pick up a few things. I got back to my sweet Ilah by 3:30 p.m.; I was only away from her for a few hours. My mom always tells me that there's no need to call two and three times to "check in" when I'm away from her and that I shouldn't pay attention to how long I'm gone....but rather I should just enjoy being out and about. And today I did just that. I exhaled, enjoyed a few hours to myself, and reveled in the lovely day I was having.

Today was a great day. I hope yours was too!

Mothers Day Plans!

A few years ago, around the time that I was planning my wedding, I came across an online article highlighting a florist, who at the time was the sole floral designer for all weddings taking place at a gorgeous new winery - called Monteluce - that had opened up about an hour outside of Atlanta, in the city of Dahlonega. A beautiful winery, close to Atlanta? It peeked my interest and I googled "Montaluce" and my jaw dropped. Dele and I had been to Chateau Elan {a winery 40 minutes outside of Atlanta}, and although it was/is outwardly stunning, it left less to be desired once we got inside; we were simply underwhelmed.

But Monteluce. It is breathtaking. At first sight, the grounds of Monteluce look more like Tuscany. And having actually been to Tuscany, I can say that! Montaluce sits on four hundred acres in the North Georgia mountains, and the vineyard occupies forty acres of that land. Based on the photos, Monteluce appears to be exquisite. On Sunday, for Mothers Day, Dele and I will be going there to have brunch and will marvel at the beauty of Monteluce up close!






Inside of the main building, you can taste a variety of splendid wines, prior to, or following, a tour of the winery. Monteluce has two very experienced winemakers. The master winemaker is Stefano Salvini, who hails from the Campodelsole Winery in Bertinoro, Italy. The on-site winemaker, Maria Peterson, came to Montaluce after years of winemaking in some of the best wine regions of the world. She has worked at wineries in South Africa, France and Australia and also at Rutherford Hill in Napa.
Montaluce is also the home of Le Vigne, their on-site restaurant, which is situated high above the vineyards and overlooks the winery grounds. For the state of Georgia, Le Vigne has won: #1 Ambiance, #1 Scenic View, Top Ten Wine list, Top Ten Lunch, Top Ten Brunch, Top Ten Romantic. Needless to say, I can't wait to get there on Sunday!

You can also get married on the beautiful grounds of Monteluce. I love the beautiful, intimate space of this particular terrace area....

Be prepared to be blown away further. Not only is Monteluce a winery, with an onsite restaurant, but there are several Tuscan-style homesites that sit on the grounds. Whether you care to be a full-time resident, or make one of them your second or vacation home, the option is yours. Perhaps you don't want to make a permanent commitment....no problem...you can rent out a 1, 2, or 3 bdrm cottage for a weekend retreat.

I have a strong feeling that Monteluce will be a place that we will be returning to often. Monteluce always hosts a variety of splendid events, which include "Dinner & A Movie" Night. On Friday nights, you can have dinner at Le Vigne followed by a complimentary movie. The movie begins just after sunset and is the perfect romantic date night!
Needless to say, I am looking forward to Sunday rolling around! I hope all you other mommy's out there have wonderful plans as well!