BOLD and beautiful...

My little sis has this fabulous job as a makeup artist... I really couldn't be more jealous. She gets to make everyone look their very best everyday. When she was in town last weekend, I of course wanted her to teach me the latest tricks of the trade and show my all the hot new colors for the up coming season.

Out with the "blah" and in with the "WHOA!" This season is ALL about the color. She had me try on this ridiculous pink lip stain, yes stain, and it lasts a lifetime... initially I was unsure of the shade, but after wearing it and having a few people telling me how fantastic it looked, I thought, "I could get used to this bold makeup me." I found a few pictures to show you how bright this fall will be. Enjoy!

BOLD eyes.

BOLD lips.

i think so.

sunnies+lips=fab.

i might need to try this one.

bright red cherry lipstick.

this is pretty close to the color I tried...

back in business...shepard's pie and warm apple cobbler...

Hello again! It's been way too long, but I am here, refreshed, re-inspired and ready to share with you :) I was sitting at work today on this seriously dreary, dreadful, rainy day thinking (of course) about food. What am I going to cook tonight? I would say that I have spent a large portion of my life over a stove, which is where I seem to find the most joy, but especially about this time of year, I start longing for comfort foods... soups, casseroles, chili, hot breakfasts, gourmet coffee and,of course, desserts. What is it about this time of year that just makes food more enticing?

My family was in for Labor Day weekend and we had so much fun. We went to Chattanooga for the first time. We checked out the Tennessee Aquarium (awesome.), proceeded to the Chattanooga Choo Choo and then on to Ruby Falls! It was such a fun day. By the time Sunday rolled around we were exhausted, but not too exhausted for a Duncan family tradition, Sunday dinner. My parents taught me the joy of cooking, so it is always a good time to cook with them. Don't think we didn't do it big. Fried chicken, homemade mashed potatoes, skillet gravy, sauteed green beans, salad, rolls and homemade apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream. We don't mess around. Food is love in our house. I thought I would share a recipe I made tonight with the leftover mashed potatoes... I mean, they can't go to waste, right??

Shepard's pie was on the menu tonight. This is a rather new discovery to me, but it is so easy and delicious. I wouldn't call it low cal, but you can make a few changes to make it a little more skinny jean friendly.

B's Shepard Pie

1 lb lean ground beef, browned and drained

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup diced white onion

1 cup frozen green peas

1 cup chopped button mushrooms

1 tbsp minced garlic

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 cups leftover mashed potatoes ( or feel free to make them fresh!)

1.| Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef, seasoning with 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Drain and set aside.

2.|In a separate skillet, drizzle olive oil and heat. Add minced garlic, carrot, onion and mushroom. Season with salt, pepper and other half of balsamic vinegar. Cook until onions are transparent. Add peas. Season again with salt and pepper, then combine meat. 

3.| Simmer over heat about 4 minutes.

4.| Coat medium casserole pan with nonstick spray. Pour in meat and veggie mixture and top with mashed potatoes. 

5.| Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until mashed potatoes are slightly browned! Serve piping hot with a glass of red wine.

6.| Have leftover apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream and then tell me life gets any better ;)

And for dessert....

Don't forget to serve warm!

Recipe to follow....

fruit pizza... don't knock it 'til you try it...

Fruit pizza, sounds sick right? It has become a family and friend favorite. I have never put a plate down and watch something disappear so quickly! It will forever be a poolside staple. If you like shortbread cookies, cream cheese icing and fresh fruit then we are in business. This recipe is super simply and can be made to be a whole "pizza" or you can make adorable little individual pizzas for all your guests. Love it.


Fruit Pizza Crust
1/2 lb. butter, creamed
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
1/2 c. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. plain flour


Cream Cheese Icing
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 c powdered sugar
1 block cream cheese
1 tbsp milk


Fruit topping
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 c strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup kiwi, sliced
1/2 cup bananas, sliced
1/2 cup red raspberries 
{whatever other fruit looks fresh to you!}


Add 1 ingredient at a time to make shortbread cookie. Spread evenly on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 325 to 350 degrees for 15 minutes. When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar if you like. For the icing, mix together softened butter, softened cream cheese, milk and powdered sugar{a little bit at a time}. MIx throughly until all ingredients and incorporated. Spread liberally on cooled shortbread crust. Top with fresh fruit and store in fridge for 2 hours. Cut into pretty little slices and serve with mimosas poolside! Yummmm!

Pool Side Love.

Ruggedly Chic Post for {Wit}...

Excuse my month long "blogcation" but I have returned after weddings, company and business galore! I have searched high and low for some new recipes, fashion trends and other fabulosity to share with all the wonderful readers. I pinky promise to never go that long without a post again. Thank you for your patience! Now- for what I am thinking today, I promised a somewhat long time ago that I would post on fashionably funtional rain/outdoor attire. This came about when a few friends and I went to the US vs. Paraguay soccer game here in Nashville. A friend was kind enough to give me his Northface rain jacket since it was drizzling. I was all decked out for work because I had to have my photo taken {blah} however, I was loving the look. Office chic meets rugged, so I thought I would post a few fun looks with for the ladies and gents that want to look ruggedly chic. Thanks for sharing with me Wit!

These guys aren't scared of the wildlife because they look good.

Gone fishin'

Rain chic.

Work in the rain.

Hello style.

Caution- Stylin rain gear causes extreme fun.

Happy Feet...

here

Hello! J. Reasons here after a great long weekend with some visiting family.  Sorry we have been out for a couple of days, but here we are again.  At the end of this month Mr. Reasons, and I will be taking a trip to Paris to celebrate our 2 years married:)  After our recent trip to Disney, we both realized that we are in need of some better walking shoes.  I chose these sweet little things.  I started wearing them right away to make sure they are broken in for Paris, and I have been surprised to see how many different ways I can style them.  See my inspiration below...J

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meet me on the east side...

"And den I bought a house." LB

Please view my home away from home in the very near future

.Adorable right? This would be my old roommate {and wonderful friend's} new home! LB purchased her first big girl house on the east side and she has hired me to decorate... twist my arm...Side note-apparently this house was voted "cutest house in Nashville" and will be featured on HGTV in the near future! If I owned it I would go around telling everyone that I lived in the "cutest house in Nashville" and that I had proof! I have been daydreaming of some fun ideas for her new dwelling and I have been reading my House Beautiful magazines religiously. If you are into home decor, PLEASE, trust me and order this magazine. It's full of fabulous ideas and great inspiration for anyone wanting to make a few changes or completely revamp. I am going to visit the house tomorrow to take some measurements and brainstorm a little with LB. First order of business, I am making her set a budget and give me a few color schemes she likes so we can get the ball rolling. Yay for the weekend! Hope everyone has some fun plans.. Here are a few enticing pics from House Beautiful if you need a preview before ya order....

notice the checked floors.

where do I find a red tub?

love the texture and color scheme

I'll take it.

black as midnight...

vT loves color probably more than anything. Bright, bold and every color of the rainbow... but every now and again its nice to throw on head to toe black. Look ten pounds thinner and chic at the same time. I feel like I can stare at my closet for days... what to wear? Thanks to j.doolittle, my closet is perfectly color coordinated, however, I often find myself drifting to the darkest section when I am feeling picky. I feel as if often times, some of my favorite designers wear head to toe black. Maybe they let the color of the world around them shine and inspire them? Let us let black remain the new black....

If she can do it so can we...

black biker boots.

couture.

Street style.

chic.

no words...

j'adore les crepes...

Ricky Bobby: 'Oh, I love the crepe suzette.' Jean Girard: 'With the sugar and lemon juice...'
Ricky Bobby: 'Yeah, the sugar and the lemon juice. Sure.' Jean Girard: 'Grand Marnier.'
Ricky Bobby: 'I wish I could crawl into one of those right now. I'd eat my way out from the inside.'

We are sorry about our post being invisible yesterday... we don't know what could have happened :) Miss "be.hind" duncan here. I have felt two steps behind on everything this week! Anyway- enough about me, let's talk about food. I had the less than fortunate pleasure of visiting the Waffle House this past weekend after a wedding. I am sorry for those of your who love this place, but I can say with confidence that it will not be on my bucket list of places to grab a bite to eat. One would think that a waffle at the WAFFLE house would be the best around, but I can assure you, whatever they brought me was not a waffle. After leaving hungry and driving back from the Blue Grass State, I came home and dug through my recipe box. I  found a crepe recipe that I made for my International Business class in college and immediately starting making plans to make them this weekend. The beautiful thing about crepes is that they can literally be filled with whatever makes your heart content. Fruit, cheese, meat, veggies, or my personal fave, Nutella. So forget about visiting the "Subpar Waffles For All" Waffle House and make some yummy crepes for your guests this weekend. I know I can't wait to!

Crepe Ingredients
3 large eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted

1.| Sift together flour, sugar and salt; set aside.
2.| In large bowl, beat together eggs and milk with an electric mixer. Beat in flour mixture until smooth; add melted butter.
3.|Heat a lightly oiled griddle or fry pan over medium high heat. Pour batter on griddle {about 2 tablespoons per crepe} Tip and rotate pan to distribute evenly and thinly as possible.
4.|Brown on both sides and serve hot.
5.| Fill with whatever you want... strawberries, bananas, spinach, cheese, chocolate... the list goes on. bon apetite! *vT

Fresh berry crepes

Spinach and cheese crepes

{Initial Here}

I have fond memories in playing in my sweet Mumsey's jewel box both as a child and as an adult.  One item that I always found myself drawn to was a beautiful necklace with a pendant of her initials.  Over the years I have had a couple of special pieces....my wire "Jessica" necklace, my simple "J" necklace, and my "JKM" initial bracelet.  But none have been as special as the one above. As you can see since there is no "J" to be found these are not my initials, but rather Mr. Reasons' initials.  Since he travels every week from Monday to Thursday, I have found it to be a sweet reminder of him that is held close to my heart.  Sappy...I know, but I wanted to share.  This sweet Max & Chloe piece comes in a number of different sizes, metals, and prices.   Take a look below at some of my other faves and one shot with a Max & Chloe piece worn three ways...vT

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Objects in mirror are closer than they appear...

{b.duncan here}I once had to get published five times in this class in college in order to make an "A." Sitting there, after I was given the assignment, I thought, "What is the world do I know enough about that others would even care to read about?" After two solid days of thinking, my mom pointed out that I have always had a knack for "turning trash into treasure," Ah ha! That is exactly what I wrote about for my first published article. My mother's statement never rang more true than when I moved into my first "adult condo" and all of the college decor had to go. No more "glued back together" coffee tables, hand painted hot pink and orange picture frames and no more milk crates for chairs... ok it wasn't that bad, but still... Decorating on a budget really isn't so bad once you get started. I just realized that I didn't have to take everything so literally for what it was, which is why I am going to share a few pictures of objects that are no longer as they seem :)

{Windows or headboard?}

{Old books and empty window frame make fab nightstand decor}

{Towel rack=Jewelry display..this was j.reason's idea!}

{Broken gate=wall decor or headboard.. whichever you like}

{Piggy watering can= nightstand buddy}

{Silly ol' rocks= custom jewelry piece}

Bowtie + Oriental Rugs + Head Piece + Jewels

I know after the egg pizza post yesterday and the title of today's post you might be worried we are losing it.  Hopefully after trying yesterday's recipe and taking a peek at the sweet pics up top, you are not so worried.  Mr. Reasons and I took these pics during a little love shoot for our New Year's card.  Our photographer Eden  had scoped out this oriental rug store in the Franklin Factory.  I would have never thought to take pictures here, but we loved them.  See you back here tomorrow for some home design ideas...vT

{Egg on My Pizza}

So we know this might be a little weird.  In fact, we know some of you might be grossed out.  If you like pizza and your eggs sunny side up then read on.  If you don't like either of these foods then check back with us tomorrow.  J. Doolittle and I had both had this dish at a local hot spot, and we could not wait to try it out for Blair to taste.  City House in Nashville is an amazing place to dine featuring unique twists on Italian dishes.  One of these unique twists...add a cracked egg to any of there homemade pizzas.  Who would have thought it would be amazing?  Looking for a quick meal to make for ladies night, I picked up a magarita frozen pizza, used the directions on the back of the box, and cracked the egg on top of the pizza with about half the baking left.  I will admit I got a little freaked out and left it in for some extra time on a higher temp to make sure the egg was cooked.  This was the wrong move as our egg was a bit over cooked, yet still delicious.  Seriously, just use the general directions on the back of your pizza box, crack the egg on top of the pizza with half the baking time left, and turn the temperature up 25 degrees with 2 minutes to go.  Hope you like it..vT