Versona Giveaway

Happy Monday readers!

Did y'all have a good weekend?

Ours was great!  It included a trips to the rivah and farmer's market, as well as puppy sitting for this guy:

Meet Jake!

While puppy sitting, we decided to kill two birds with one stone and I got Bryce to take pictures for my Versona Accessories giveaway today.  If y'all remember from this post,  fellow blogger and friend Eloquently Emily and I went to their Grand Opening together.  Versona was kind enough to send two gift cards to us each, one to treat ourselves and the other to treat our readers to a giveaway.  Today I am excited to share what I bought not only for myself, but also to giveaway to y'all!

The winner of this giveaway will get both a beaded necklace and coordinating bracelet!

 

The jewels proved to be the perfect dog walking accessory!

I love the easy feel of the necklace with wooden beads and grosgrain.

The frogs on the bracelet I'm giving away are adorable and were the perfect addition to my stack!

Close up:  I am giving away the frog bracelet, seen to the far left!

The giveaway will last for 10 days and the winner will be announced on Thursday, July 24.

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

3 Years!

Happy Thursday readers!

Have y'all had a good week?  Mine has been great and I actually have today and tomorrow off.  I am looking forward to having some time to get some things done around the house and also give this blog some much needed attention!

Those of you who follow along on Instagram saw that this past Monday, July 7, marked the three year anniversary of my first date with Bryce.

If you're a long time follower, you'll remember the early days of our relationship.  After first meeting him and setting the date, I remember debating long and hard whether or not to mention him on the blog. Being that I had a really good feeling in my gut, I decided to bite the bullet and share the news of my upcoming first date.  I am so glad I did and have enjoyed sharing our journey with you.

I also laugh at myself now, over the stress I felt about revealing the blog to Bryce.  I would like to think that this blog is a good reflection of me and who I am in real life, but you never know how others perceive you through your blog.  That being said, it was a big deal to share this part of my life with him.  I didn't want him to read and form an opinion of me without getting to really know me first.  Now the blog is such a big part of our lives together, and he is often helpful--sharing ideas and taking lots AND lots of pictures.

I feel so lucky to have found Bryce and am proud of the life we have worked to build together over the last three years.  It hasn't always been easy--we've stood side by side through issues with family, friends, career...you name it, really, but we've stuck together through every trial that's coming our way. We've also been side by side through a a lot of good and exciting times and have made lots of wonderful memories together.  I can't imagine a better partner and am excited to see what the future has in store for us.

Okay...now mushiness aside, I did want to share our 3 year date night with you!

The night started at home when Bryce surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  He requested that the florist use stargazer lilies and snapdragons (some of my favorites) along with red roses.  The bouquet is breathtaking and I am enjoying it more and more each day as the blooms continue to open up.

We had a cocktail at home and Bryce graciously snapped an outfit pic for Instagram before hitting the road.

I patterned mixed greek key and ikat, by wearing a favorite Alice & Trixie dress that Bryce bought me this spring and carrying a Stella & Dot clutch!

I also thought it would be funny to share one of the rejected photos..there are always lots of those, ha!

After taking the perfect picture we got in the car and headed to Can Can, a French restaurant in Richmond's Carytown.  Our first date was at Can Can on July 7, 2011.  Every year now, we go to dinner there on the 7th of July to celebrate, AND, we...go...all...out!  In fact, I ate a teeny tiny lunch on Monday in anticipation of our feast!

We started out with drinks and two appetizers: the zucchini fritters and seared scallops.  They were both delicious, but the zucchini fritters were out of this world!  If you are in Richmond, go to Can Can and order them!

Next we ordered entrees and a side of frites!

I ordered the pan seared chicken, Can Can's spin on chicken and waffles.  It came with a cornmeal waffle and was served over an amazing salad of arugula, asparagus, snap beans, bok choy, strawberries, pecans, and goat cheese!  Bryce ordered the braised shortribs which came with blueberry corn fritters (ah-mazing!) and a medley of peppers, zucchini, snap beans and more!  For the frites, we ordered both a bacon aioli and truffle aioli which were both equally delicious!

We had decided to skip a favorite, the macaroni grueyere, BUT...when it was served to the table next to us, we realized we couldn't resist and put an order in for that too!

We barely put a dent in this delicious mac and were able to use the leftovers for dinner on Tuesday!

After all that gorging, we decided to forego dessert and have a second cocktail instead.  I've found that a full-bodied red wine can usually satisfy my dessert craving and we enjoyed just taking time to chat over a final cocktail before heading home!

Do you still go back to the spot of your first date?

How do you celebrate big milestones in your relationship?

Have a great day!

Versona Grand Opening

Happy Tuesday readers!

Did y'all have a good 4th of July weekend?

Ours was good, but jam packed with activities!

Those of you who follow along on Instagram, know that Emily of the blog Eloquently Emily and I recently were invited to the Versona Accessories Grand Opening in the Short Pump mall here in Richmond.

The store was huge and had accessories galore!  I felt like a kid in a candy shop!

Jewelry displays were organized by color scheme and/or style which made it easy to find exactly what you might be looking for to complete an outfit!

Emily and I had a lot of fun playing dress up with all the pretty baubles!

Being a bracelet girl, I found myself making lots of different stacks:

Emily was partial to the statement necklaces and we both were obsessed with this one:

We also both really liked their wide selection of simple gold stud earrings.

I also found this big bow ring and these colorful studs to be adorable.

When it comes to trendy jewelry, I don't like dishing out a lot of dough, and all the jewelry at Versona was very affordable!

Versona has stores throughout the country (most are located in the South), so check here to see if there is a store near you!

And now friends...it's your lucky day!  Versona was kind enough to send me two giftcards:  One to spend on myself and one to spend on YOU!

Next week, I will be giving aways two pieces of jewelry to one lucky reader!

One of the items featured in this post is in the giveaway.  Can you guess which one?

Do you embrace jewelry trends or just stick to the classics?

I try to mix it up with a little of both!

What are your favorite places to buy fun jewelry?

Have a great day!

Spiked Cream Soda

Happy 4th friends!

I hope you are having a wonderful time celebrating!

I thought today I would share a yummy cocktail with you!  I will certainly be sipping on these during the weekend's festivities.

The recipe is nothing life changing...actually it's quite simple:  Vodka + Cream Soda.  That's it.

You can also put a spin on it, by using orange vodka...Dreamsicle anyone?   A splash of grenadine is quite yummy, too!

What will you be sipping on this weekend?

Any fun plans?

Our weekend has been off to a great start!  Last night we had happy hour and dinner at one of our local favorites, Estilo!  Today we have a pool party to attend and then later are heading to a 4th celebration at Bryce's country club.  It should be lots of fun!

Estilo

Have a safe and happy 4th!  

4th Fashion

Happy Hump Day friends!

Can you believe that July 4th is just two days away?!

Any fun plans?

We are keeping it low key this year!  Bryce has been traveling a ton for work, so we are excited to just kick back and relax in town.  Conde Nast named Richmond as the best place to celebrate the 4th (see here), so I'm sure we will find plenty of fun things to do!

Today I am sharing some 4th of July looks I put together!  These looks should work for any event you may attend and of course are filled with red, white, and blue!

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Do any of these looks channel the style you're going for on the 4th?

What will you be wearing?

Have a great day!