Shenandoah Sugar

Happy Friday, and happy Easter weekend! I haven't done a Happy Hour post in a while, so today I'm coming at you with two different recipes; one I loved, and one I didn't.

I was in the mood to play with something new after using and abusing St. Germain for several weeks, so I picked up a bottle of Chambord black raspberry liqueur after seeing this recipe for a French martini. The recipe is simple and looked really good, so I researched some more Chambord cocktail recipes to find some others I'd be interested in making, especially with spring in the air and berry season on the way. That's when I came across this recipe for a "bramble" cocktail, which is gin-based and has fresh lemon juice, two of my favorite things in a cocktail!

First, I tried the French martini recipe:

Ingredients:
1 oz vodka (I used Absolut Citron)1 oz Chambord2 oz pineapple juiceDirections:

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake for about 30 seconds to create foam. S…

Pink and red aren't just for Valentine's Day, girl! They're the cutest way to exude femininity ANY time of year. From sundresses to fuzzy beanies, you can incorporate this color combo into any season. I'm focusing on more warm weather pieces today with springtime settling in, but while browsing I did also see some great pieces for colder weather too, like knitwear and outerwear.

Ruffle dress: If a dress has ruffles, game over, it has to be mine. This one is so girly and darling, while being a statement maker at the same time.  Toile Dress: Julia Engel is doing everything right with her Gal Meets Glam Collection, and this dress is no exception. The classic toile pattern is so feminine and elegant, and the unexpected pink and red combination gives it a certain flirtiness. Earrings: While the actual styles change, statement earrings will be around forever, so they're a great way to rock a trend (LIKE the pink and red trend, or the shell jewelry trend!)Sneakers: These a…

Happy Monday! I hope you had a good weekend. Mine was really fun! On Friday, Kenny and I finally got a chance to see "Us" in theaters which was really freaky and we both really enjoyed. Also, I ate the majority of a large popcorn, which is one of my vices in life.

On Saturday, we went to the JMU spring football game because Kenny was invited to a suite with the company he works for. They were giving away a $20,000 prize to a local business, so during the game we all went down onto the field and they announced the winner, which was so cool!


I didn't think I'd be going onto the field since I don't work for the company, but they invited us all down! I also got to catch up with an old church friend whose fiancé works with Kenny come to find out, so that was really nice!


On Saturday night, Kenny and I had a date at one of our favorite Lexington restaurants, Taps. They have the BEST homemade red wine ketchup, which is basically 50% of the reason we go, ha! We were goi…

Girrrrrl I LOVE a good dupe. Especially for a trendy piece, or for something ridiculously expensive that I wouldn't buy otherwise. Zimmermann dresses are filed under the "ridiculously expensive" category at this point in my life. I have loved Zimmermann for years now, but strictly as a dream, with most of their dresses ranging between $500 and $1,500.

If you use the LIKEtoKNOWit app, then you know the disappointment of screenshotting a post to get the outfit details, and checking the link only to find out that the piece you fell in love with has a price with waaay to many zeroes to ever be yours. As soon as spring temperatures began to show themselves, I started seeing this dress on Instagram, and I was sure it was going to be one of those cases.


Much to my shopaholic/dress addict delight, I discovered that this dress was NOT insanely priced, it's actually from Chicwish and under $100! And what makes it even better is that after doing a little more research, I disco…

Paperbag-waist bottoms: these pieces have been ruling both the business-casual and casual-casual scenes for the past couple of years, and they're not going anywhere anytime soon.

The term "paperbag waist" sounds like an insult akin to "muffin top." But it's DESCRIPTIVE, it tells you exactly what it looks like, which is a paper bag cinched around your waist with some sort of belt or tie. Today I'm covering paperbag bottoms of all sorts; pants, skirts, and shorts.

This trend was huge last spring/summer, and I was all about it. I got a pair of black paperbag pants at H&M and they quickly became a wardrobe staple for me. In fact, I'm wearing some to work today!


While I think this trend can be rocked year round, it's best styled in the warmer months due to the breezy cut. Something that's crucial to the versatility of a piece is the ability to dress it up or down, which is easily achieved with paperbag-style bottoms. They can be smart with…

Happy Monday, I hope you had a good weekend! Kenny and I spent Saturday in Richmond running around, we went to some of his favorite shoe stores and I got to nose around the adorable Quirk Hotel downtown. We did some shopping and ended the night as we ALWAYS do at Cheesecake Factory, yum! We had a lowkey day yesterday, we slept in and then spent some time walking around the arboretum and taking some photos. Then Kenny took a nap and worked on cleaning up some shoes and I stayed up to watch the ACM awards. I don't usually agree with their choices, but it's always fun to watch!

Spring has FINALLY arrived in Virginia (knock on wood, we have still been having some super cold nights and mornings this past week) and I am SO ready to start dressing accordingly! Don't get me wrong, I love sweaters and layers for winter, but  I'm so tired of all my winter clothes! I'm ready to start wearing more spring colors, sandals, and dresses! Today I'm sharing some pieces I've…

Happy Friday! Today I'm coming at you with a recap from my January trip to Phoenix, Arizona! This is a post that I've been really excited to publish, I love reading travel posts and I had SO much fun reliving my trip while writing this one.

The trip was a Christmas gift from the best person on earth, aka Kenny, for me to be able to see my favorite band, The Maine, put on their own fest in their hometown. I absolutely LOVED it there, which is a little bittersweet considering that it's so far away! Arizona in the winter is absolute perfection, and everyone who we talked to while we were there said that the weather was particularly good that weekend. Kenny and I spent Thursday traveling, our flight left from Charlottesville at 11:00am, and we had a layover in Philadelphia. This was my first time flying! I had actually flown once when I was four years old, but I don't remember that so I don't count it, ha.


Thursday Night
After traveling all day, we were pretty whippe…