28 is going to be a GREAT Year!

There is nothing like a birthday to make a girl feel very LOVED! I turned 28 yesterday and had a great day! I celebrated with my Boston Besties on Thursday night and we drove home to NY yesterday for a fun filled weekend. Celebrated with my family last night and we are headed into NYC tonight for another celebration with friends. I feel truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. Those people include you too! I love how blogger friends turn into real friends, you all make everyday and this blog so special! Thank you!

My birthday started out with a wonderful gift from the Hubs!

A new camera, LOVE IT!

Beautiful Cupcake made by C! Love them :)

Lots of Love

Thoughtful birthday prezzies from my girls!

Cute gifts!

Arrived home to NY with a birthday balloon waiting for me!

And a homemade cake, Mommy is the best!

By the way...

Bridier Baubles has a new home! We grew too fast for Etsy!

Visit us at www.bridierbaubles.com

We also have a fun birthday GIVEAWAY going on at our Facebook page!

Check it out!

I wore my Gumball Jaune Necklace to my birthday dinner last night!

Love it!

Color-Blocking

I am loving the color-block trend this Spring. So fun and fresh. However, with all trends I like to buy wisely and try not to spend to much $$$, who knows if you will ever wear the look again. I had to spring for these great steals and stock up on some color-block threads! Are you wearing this look?

Such a cute dress and is only $41!

If it is really short, I might wear it over white jeans.

Fabulous clutch by Truvow...a steal at $64!

Comfy cardi by Gap...perfect price at $55!

Spring Looks from J.McLaughlin!

I have always been a big fan of J.McLauglin dresses but I am absolutely loving the looks in the Spring 2012 line. I am heading to Florida on the 6th for Easter Weekend and I need to pick up a few new frocks before I head south. Here are my picks...

J. McLaughlin Spring 2012

The Panama Fizz Dress

The Maria Zig Zag Dress

The Olivia Dress

I used my Kingston Clutch by J.McLaughlin this weekend.

I got some many compliments - love it!

Bridier Baubles!

Our Starfish Cuff is HOT this week!

So happy everyone is loving the baubles!

Spring Cleaning for Your Closet...DIY with Katie!

Time for a little spring cleaning for my walk-in closet. This DIY is not that exciting, but totally necessary for most people at least once a year.

My husband and I share one walk-in closet in our master bedroom. Its definitely a tight squeeze- that boy has a lot of clothes for a guy who is wearing hospital scrubs 99% of the time!

This is what our disaster zone looks like- eek!

So time to pull EVERYTHING out and start fresh. I made three piles- Keep, Donate, and Toss. Everything that I kept I had worn at least 2 times in the last year. Donation items were things that were still in good shape, just didn't fit or not my style anymore. And toss items included stained or ripped pieces.

You can see my bedroom look liked a bomb blew up in it, but it really helped getting everything out and taking a real inventory of what we had.

Once I rid the empty closet of the gross dust bunnies that made a nice little nest in the corners, I decided that I wanted to do something a little fun with the one wall that you can actually see. I have been swooning over large graphic stripes and I thought it wouldn't be too time intensive to do it in this small space.

All I needed was a measuring tape, pencil, and Scotch Blue Painters Tape. I measured from the top of the baseboard to the ceiling and it came out to be 89.5" (which I rounded to 90" for my own sanity). Then I decided I liked the look of 9" thick stripes.

I marked the wall (at 8 different points) 9" from the top of the baseboard. With the tape, I made the line all the way across the wall and made sure I pressed it down firmly. I knew I wanted to have the last stripe that would be against the ceiling remain tan, so that meant that the bottom stripe would need to be white. The one tricky thing to remember is where to place the tape when you are doing a contrasting color.

Example: Lets call color white "A" and the tan base color "B". When you are taping for an "A" stripe, then the tape will be on the outer edge of the line you marked. When you are taping for a "B" stripe then the tape will be on the inner edges. It will look a little funny when the tape is up because they won't look even, but once the tape is removed you will see why you did it that way.

Then I just moved up the wall until all of my lines were marked and taped. I did not measure from line to line- I always started from the top of the baseboard in case something got out of whack. So my lines were at 9", 18", 27", 36", etc...

Then I broke out the white paint and filled those suckers in!

It took me three coats because I didn't use a primer, but the wall was so small that it didn't take too long. I removed the tape as soon as my last coat was up. When doing graphic lines I have learned it is best to remove the tape quickly to get a crisp edge (like in my memo board tutorial).

Here is the finished wall!

Now it was time to for the tedious part- putting back all of the clothes- ugh...

The Hubs clothes go on top, mine go on the bottom, and shelves were organized accordingly. All winter sweaters are stashed up top because we (hopefully) won't be needing them for a while :)

I had a mirror and a cute bench that I brought in now that there is a little bit of free floor space.

Ta-da!

Ok maybe not that exciting for everyone, but when there is clearly not enough closet space in our condo and any

de-cluttering is an improvement.

I love turning a very blah and neglected space into something cute and consistent with the style of the rest of the place. It makes it feel a little more cohesive.

Plus look at the cute view I now have from my bed!

Hopefully you all get some time in the next few weeks to de-clutter your lives and breath in the warm spring air!

XOXO Katie

P.S. Don't forget to buy your Spring Pom Pom Scarf over at Bridier Baubles.

Get them while they're hot!

Make-Ahead Meal!

This is great recipe and even better that you can make it ahead of time! The chicken can be marinated and the salad can be prepared up to 12 hours in advance. Make the dressing, add the beans and onion, then top with the arugula (but do not toss); refrigerate, covered. Toss before serving!

Rosemary Chicken with Arugula and White Beans

*recipe from Real Simple*

Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 15m | Total Time: 50m

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 15.5-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
• 4 cups baby arugula (about 3 ounces)
• 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced

Directions

1. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, whisk together the vinegar, rosemary, garlic, 2 tablespoons of the oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the mustard, 2 tablespoons of the remaining oil, and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Add the beans, arugula, and onion and toss to combine.
3. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade (discard the marinade) and cook until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Serve the chicken with the arugula and beans.

Deals & Steals and The Gramercy Bangle...

Happy Spring! It's safe to say I have SPRING FEVER, we are having unreal weather in Boston this week. Today it was 73 degrees and by Thursday it's going to be 83! I'll take it :)

There are a couple of good deals going on right now that I wanted to share with you.

You all know I am loving colored denim right now...so I was very excited to see this U Scoop deal in my email today.

Check it out!

Cape Madras is offering FREE SHIPPING through 3.23.12!

Stock up on their coveted tunics!

Bridier Baubles!

We have just added our Gramercy Bangle and have already sold 10!

Love it!

Our Brilliant Bangles are becoming very popular!

So exciting :)

A fun weekend!

I love St. Patrick's Day. It's such a fun, festive day. I was so excited that it fell on a Saturday this year which meant everyone would be ready to have a good time! We actually celebrated on Sunday in South Boston, where the parade was. A friend hosted a late brunch before the parade and it was great to see everyone. The weather was so nice which made the day perfect. How did you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

BAG rocking the Erin Go Bragh Bracelet by Bridier Baubles

Some of the girls :)

C being very festive!

Oh you know...

Making the screwdrivers a little too strong...

Coming soon to Bridier Baubles:

The Cluster Earring!

We LOVE it!

Our 1st Wedding Anniversary Trip!

We have booked a trip to London and Paris for our 1st Anniversary gift to each other!

We are kind of staying with tradition, I mean plane tickets are paper right?

We have been to Paris together a few times but never London. I think it will be really fun and I can't wait! I am looking into hotels in Paris, we want to try to stay in a different area. We usually stay right in the heart of Saint Germain and I absolutely LOVE it but I am ready for something new. We are thinking about the staying over by Rue Cler. What are your favorite spots in London and Paris? Can't believe it will be 1 year in June! Time flies...

Can't wait!

Fav way to eat lunch in Paris!

Standard pic, we get one every time we go!

You have to be a little touristy!

One of my favorite pictures. Big smile for the boyf (now Hubs) taking it,

so in love ending our first trip to Paris together.

Don't forget to enter the Bridier Baubles Giveaway!

Bridier Baubles Giveaway!

As many of you know, I have embarked on a new venture, Bridier Baubles! It's a very fun and whimsical line of jewelry. Our baubles can take you from a college campus, to an office, and right on to a cocktail party. As we like to say, think modern-day Bushies and Kennedys having lunch on Nantucket! Most importantly, the price is right! I wanted to create a line of baubles that would become the go-to gift for girlfriends. Something to show you were thinking about your bestie but you weren't forced to max out the Amex to buy it. I hope you love the line as much as I do. Product is constantly being added!

I am so excited to host my first giveaway!

To enter, simply visit our store and find your favorite item. When you do, head on over to our facebook page and become a fan then leave a wall post letting us know which bauble is your favorite.
Come back here and let me know you have done the above things. The winner will can choose any bauble they would like. PomPom Scarves are excluded. Giveaway ends on 3.19.12 at 12 noon EST!

DIY Memo Board with Katie!

My kitchen was sorely lacking any kind of message or memo board, and with sticky notes piling up covered with to-do's I decided a chalk board was the way to go. I saw this one form Ballard design,

but at over $150 it was not an option.

So I kept an eye out at the local thrift shops and I found this beauty for a whopping $8. I was just the right size to cover a not-so-strategically-placed electrical box that was an eye sore and needed a good cover.

I had a scrap piece of really thin (1/4") plywood that would be a good backing for the chalk board. I just traced the opening of the frame on to the plywood and measured 1/4" beyond that line so that it would snuggly fit in to the back lip of the frame. The plywood is so thin that I could cut it by scoring it with a utility knife a few times.

Using a 1.5" foam brush I painted on two coats of Rust-Oleum Chalk Board paint.

I thought it needed a little detail action so I broke out the 1" 3M Scotch Blue Painters Tape and my fave gold leaf paint. Then I taped off the edge and repeated this again on the interior of the chalk board- leaving 1/4" border exposed.

With a quick coat of the gold leaf, I painted between the two pieces of tape. One tip is to remove the tape right after you have finished painting the boarder- that will help you get those clean, crisp lines.

I left it to dry for an hour and the just set it into the frame.

All done!

Not bad for an $8 frame and stuff I had around the house. This would look great in an office or a mudroom for those last minute reminders and grocery lists.

Always keep an eye open in thrift stores or at garage sales- there are always hidden gems and with an open mind you can recreate things you see online or in a a magazine for a fraction of the cost!

XOXO Katie

PS! Be sure to check out my Pom-Pom Scarf over at Bridier Baubles!

Nerd Alert...

I absolutely cannot wait until the new Polaroid GL10 printer comes out. It's awesome. Take a picture on your phone, send it to this mini photo printer, and out comes an old-school three-by-four-inch shot. The ink is stored in the paper, so no cartridges needed. How cool?!

Polaroid GL10

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

I am off to Nantucket :)

Make sure to follow me on twitter and Instagram (kgb27)

for fun photos of ACK!

Just added to the Bridier Baubles line up:

The Pom-Pom Scarf!