Oscars and Interiors

Award shows are great. The performances, the funny monologues, the performances, and yes... the red carpet. Who can pass up the opportunity to watch all of the hollywood greats walk down the red carpet in their gorgeous outfits and talk about their movies, nominations, and gossip on who their wearing and what their up to.

Remember my post last years Oscars and Interiors post? If not, you can read it here... and since the red carpet Sunday night at the Oscars was on point, I'm bringing it back today! Personally, I thought JLo was flawless. Who was your favorite? In no particular order, here are my favorites:

{all Oscar images via E Online}

Color: Red

Dakota Johnson // via StudioEM

Color: Blush

Jennifer Lopez // via Etsy Product

Color: Chartreuse

Emma Stone // via The Ladysmith

Color: Coral

Anna Kendrick // via Decor8

Color: Emerald

Scarlett Johansson // via Pinterest site not found

Color: Powder Blue

Reese Witherspoon // via Mias Interior

Color: Black

Margot Robbie // via Pinterest site not found

Spring

I am so ready for spring. Who's with me? I know we don't have the crazy amounts of snow that New England does right now {sorry mom and dad} but it's still pretty damn cold here in North Carolina. On a side note; the start of the NASCAR racing season reminds me each year that spring is right around the corner. And since yesterday was the Daytona 500...THERE IS HOPE! With all this talk about spring being near, why not share the hope with a colorful spring moodboard?

Friday Favorites

Who's ready for Valentines Day?? No matter what you're looking forward to this weekend, {cough cough, fifty shades of grey} I know everyone could probably use a little pop of Friday inspiration! I've gathered my favorite pins from Pinterest this week; a few for Valentines Day and a few for my fellow  decor lovers. On a side note... I think I'm really liking the six Friday Favorites instead of four! thoughts? Anything you'd like to see next week?

1. Valentines Day Bar Cart - Transitioning parts of your home for the holidays is something so simple but adds flair quickly and easily! This Valentines day bar cart with pink donuts, a fancy drink, and a themed banner create a sense of holiday spirit with minimal effort...And it's adorable too! {via My Style Vita}

2. Blue Chair - It's just so pretty and dainty isn't it? I love the color of this blue upholstered chair, the gold wood is flawless with the velour material of the upholstery. Future moodboard inspiration maybe?? {via Hey Wedding Lady}

3. Galentines Day Hot Cocoa Bar - I had so much fun creating this post for Valentines Day! And I think I'm even more excited to have a sugar coma tomorrow night with my gal pals and this lovely set-up! {via Defined Designs}

4. Breakfast in Bed - I love the idea of breakfast in bed! Even though I love sleeping in a little bit more... a girl can dream right? A simple wooden tray holding a chocolate croissant & coffee on all white bedding is music to my ears! {via Pinterest, site not found}

5. Organized Chaos - Working on an upcoming post on easy organizing and this bright bookshelf is one of my favorites that I've spotted recently. I love the mixture of boxes and books. {via Design*Sponge}

6. Vanity Mirror - I love this round vanity mirror. Thinking outside the box and adding a round mirror in a bathroom is very refreshing to me. It adds a nice decorative twist on something that is so functional within a space. {via Domaine}

Galentines Day Hot Cocoa Bar

Alright let's face it, the movie theater is already sold out for ALL of the valentines day showings of Fifty Shades of Grey and the only other thing that sounds appealing on the 14th of February is to spend it with your best friends chipotle, pino grigio, and the sofa.... I mean, your girlfriends.

What a better way to spend the sometimes dreaded Valentines Day holiday with all your single ladies than popping in your favorite trashy {or sappy} movie and lounging on the couch in yoga pants? What if I told you that adding a big bowl of popcorn, candy, and a MYO {make your own} hot cocoa bar would not only seal the deal with your gal pals but also be instagram worthy?! Sign. Me. Up. Am I Right? Let's dive right into the sugar coma I'm planning to have on Saturday night with my closest girlfriends, and you can too in just 5 easy steps!

Step 1: Start with colored tissue paper or colored wrapping paper to create a table runner on your kitchen table. This will not only look cute and set the scene, but it's great for an easy cleanup!

Step 2: Fill your table by laying out your coffee mugs, apothecary jars, bowls, trays, etc. Any decorative or kitchen items that you will be using to hold your food, candy and popcorn! This will help you organize where you want everything to go first {so theres no food mess before you dig in}

Step 3: Put your party favors or individual candy bags on a tray {shown} in a nice display. I like them near the mugs so your guests can grab one as they go and don't forget or get distracted by the MYO hot cocoa.

Step 4: Fill your containers with all of your hot cocoa candy and ingredients {coconut, chocolate chips, peppermint, marshmellows, etc.} Don't forget to fill your largest container with popcorn! I love the look of the popcorn in a tall apothecary jar {shown} or vase! I also grabbed some small paper bags from the craft store and filled them with extra popcorn for individual portions!

Step 5: Don't forget to set out your pretty napkins & Enjoy!

Check out a few of my favorite items below to re-create this Galentines Day Hot Cocoa Bar for your friends!

Valentine

It's that time of week again... It's Monday! Today I'm sharing the love with a little Valentines moodboard. I love picking out and browsing through all of the bright colors on Pinterest to create my posts each Monday! {but really, what would we do without Pinterest these days?} Follow along with all of my boards here.

Friday Favorites

Alright the only issue with my Friday Favorites post this week is the simple fact that there were so many things on Pinterest this week that I couldn't narrow it down! It was so difficult to just pick 4 items, I just had to bump it up to 6! Maybe this will be a common occurrence?? What do you like seeing each Friday?


1. Pattern Mixing - The one thing I've realized most people are afraid of are patterns. And next to that, it's mixing them... No need to be afraid, especially when we have a friendly little pal called Pinterest! I'm loving these bright, bold patterns mixed together. {via domino}
2. Valentines Milkshakes - These beauties are almost too pretty to drink! These would be perfect for a girls night in with all of your friends catching up over popcorn and a movie... and milkshakes! {via  sweet style}
3. Pink Rug - Speaking of patterns.... Look at this rug! I want it. Enough said. {via Pinterest - site unknown}
4. Blank Space - Kind of like the oh-so popular TaySwift song... This room is beautiful with it's tall ceilings and wood floors, I want to move in! {via Pinterest - site unknown}
5. Chocolate Covered Pretzels - Everythings better with chocolate. And sprinkles. Am I right? These would be perfect to make for friends, roommates, or coworkers for Valentines Day next week! {via leanne bakes}
6. Comfy Reading Nook - I love this built in reading nook, it's such a good use of a small un-used space. Also including the perfect kind of light for reading and some hidden bookshelves! {via stylowi}

Hosting a Bachelor Viewing Party

Every Monday night you gather with your friends in front of the TV to binge in your favorite guilty pleasure along with every other female with a trashy tv obsession. Already know what I'm talking about? Thought so. The Bachelor/ Bachelorette on ABC is Americas favorite guilty pleasure. When we aren't drooling over the guy {farmer Chris, yes please!}, gossiping about the girl's dresses for the rose ceremony and talking about who's the most psychotic on the show, we're also crammed on the couch with a bottle of wine and a spread of food to indulge in throughout the show. {just admit it, we all do it..}

It's like the Victorias Secret Fashion show but it's even better. And I mean every Monday better.. If you're not on top of your viewing party game yet there's no need to worry. Call up your friends, make a Facebook event, start an obnoxious group text and hit the store. I see tons of baked brie, cheese platters, and fancy drinks in your future! Here's ten items you'll need to host your own fancy shmancy Bachelor/ Bachelorette viewing party:

1. Wine Glasses or Champagne Flutes - for the obvious

2. Drink Napkins - fancy or funny, your preference

3. Drink Coasters - glitter and monograms encouraged

4. Tray - fill that baby up with drinks or snacks and center it on your coffee table to start off the party

5. Snack bowls - for the munchies; chips, pretzels, crackers, etc.

6. Cheese platter/ server - you know you want some cheese with that wine...

7. Cheese Knives - for the cheese

8. Condiment & Dip Platter - hummus, salsa, spinach artichoke dip... yum

9. Serving Spoons - so the dips aren't too messy

10. Cake Stand - sweets, sugar... no one is on a diet when it's the Bachelor!

365 in 365: January Update

Whoa I can't believe it's already February! I feel like I could blink and we'll be watching the ball drop for 2016... too soon? Alright I'll stop. If you've been keeping up with the blog this year, then you know what my 365 in 365 is, but if you're new around here, you can read the first post here. And keep up with how the list is going here. But for today, let's just recap a little about what I've checked off the list this month!

First things first, as much as I would like to try to avoid talking about the fact that I STILL haven't actually finished coming up with a complete list of 365 things... it's been an elephant in the room for me for a while now. Let's just be real. Coming up with a list of 365 things is hard. Real. Hard. Especially when I want them to be at least somewhat realistic and achievable. {if i ever want to cross off #5} What did I get myself into...

BUT - I've checked 16 items off my list so far and I've got a few that are partially completed! Fun fact, I've tried 4 new restaurants this month {see #219}! Most importantly: I've saved $160 - see #365 on the list! Alright, Shall we discuss this crazy list I got myself into??

Instagrams from January

COMPLETED:

4. Inspire someone to create a list of their own Brittany, one of my sorority sisters from college has started her own also! And yes, she said getting 365 things down is also the hardest part.

20. Map out ideas for a new series January 2015
29. Start a hashtag {#DefinedDesigns365} January 2015
45. Compile all of my Moodboard Monday posts from 2014 into one post January 2015, see it here
72. Update 'About' page on my Blog January 2015, see it here
73. Superbowl party post January 2015, see it here
87. Learn more about 'no follow' links January 2015

186. Buy coffee for a friend January 2015, I did this on new years day!

189. Try a Barre exercise class January 2015 via Classpass

203. Donate a bag of clothes I don't wear January 2015

276. Sign up & take gym classes 3 days a week for 2 weeks January 2015

280. Explore a new brunch place in Charlotte Toast in Dilworth

289. Try a new gym class I've never done before January 2015, barre exercise classes are no joke!

295. Try re-organizing my living room January 2015, success!

299. Try a new hairstyle/ color/ or cut January 2015, I finally committed to the long bob & I love it!

302. Organize my apps on my iPhone January 2015

Stay tuned for next month's update to see how I'm doing with my #365in365 list!