Fit For a Celebrity

This is the Celebrity Eclipse Cruise Ship! WOW, was it amazing! I spent Thanksgiving with my family on this fabulous ship! It was launched this year and it is state of the art, a floating resort.

This is the Sky Lounge, it's very chic and dramatic.

The curtains are metal mesh with up lighting. The gold is some sort of resin rocks that are permanent, but they look loose.

Silhouette Light Fixture

This is the main Foyer, three stories high. Back lit glass columns, marble stairs, amazing custom chandelier.

The Martini Bar - The Bar is frozen ice crystals, you can write in the frost. Very cool!

Quasar -The Nite Club

Public Restrooms - amazing glass sinks, carrara marble and wood walls

Solarium - The water danced with LED lighting. It was tranquil and soothing to watch. For adults only too.

Entrance to the 3 restaurants on the ship

Tuscan Grille Restaurant

Another Restaurant

Blu Restaurant

Cafe al Bacio- coffee bar

Cafe Ceiling Detail

Tree growing in the middle of the ship

This ship sails in the gulf of Mexico and Caribbean during the summer/winter and then in Europe in the spring/summer. Our cruise went to Miami, San Juan, St. Maarten and St. Kitts. Try this new luxurious way to travel ~ Brandy

DIY Friday - A Jar Full of Pie

Thanksgiving is next week and it's time to start thinking about what you are going to be cooking. There HAS to be pie, it's tradition. But, what if you make it a little more fun this year.

I stumbled across these adorable pies in a jar on Green Wedding Shoes and just had to pass along.

Here is how to make the cute Pie in a Jar treats from our Winter Wedding Shoot we featured this morning!

Ingredients:
Pie Crust Dough (fave recipe or pre-made)
2 12 oz. cans of cherry, apple or your favorite pie filling
2 Tb of sugar
1 large egg beaten

Supplies:
6 4 oz. mason jars, cleaned with lids and labels removed
Heart shaped cookie cutter
1 Cookie sheet

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Press the unrolled dough bit by bit into the jars a bit at a time (not too thick!) until the jars are lined with the dough up to the rims. Reserve some dough for toppers. Next, fill jars nearly to the top with filling of choice.

Roll out reserved dough to roughly 1/8 inch thick and cut out 6-8 hearts. Place the filled jars on a sturdy cookie sheet and place into oven.

Bake at 325 degrees for roughly 30-35 minutes or until dough becomes a light golden color.

At that time, arrange the dough hearts on the pies, brush the hearts with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes until dough is golden brown all the way around the jars. If needed, place foil over the tops of the jars to keep the hearts from burning.

Remove and let jars cool on a rack. Decorate with ribbon, tags, or labels on lids as desired and give to your family, friends or wedding guests!

Brought to you by your friends from Intertwined Weddings & Events and APictureLife Photography. Photos from the photo shoot (top and bottom left) by Candice Benjamin.

Note: Recipe adapted from YourBestBites.com

These pies store great in the freezer so you can make them up ahead a time and then pull them out and bake when needed. Just make sure you let them thaw for 1 hour before you bake them.

Another great idea is to use them as gifts. I came across these adorable pie labels that you can download for free and print to use as jar labels.

They even have baking instructions on them!! Thanks to LollyChops for your cute and free labels!

Happy baking!!!

~Jessica

"What Were They Thinking Thursday!!??" - Cream or Sugar?

We all set our remotes on them, prop up our feet on them and use them to put our drinks down. Coffee tables are very useful and most living rooms have them. But how do we accessorize them and make them look good. It can be quite simple but all too often people get it completely wrong.

Probably best not to serve tea from your coffee table.

Don't leave your shoes on the table. This is not an appropriate decor item.

This candelabra is way too tall to go on the coffee table.

Give Grandma her crochet doily back please!

Good try but still needs a little something. Should taken the box out of tray and added some books.

It's best to not let pets on the furniture, dead or alive.

Just ugly

Under-scaled and bad placement.

Weird. Pine cones and sand dollars with a lace doily?

Just needs something.

Yikes!

Not a place for laundry baskets, I don't care how small your apartment is.

Check out that nice bathroom rug under the table. Very classy.

Hahah, folding tables are not coffee tables! Way too big and too high. You can tell someone lives here that just wants to sit and eat in front of the television all day.

Find something to keep your electronics in and hidden. And lose the kiddy baskets, they might be to store toys but they don't have to look like it.

Beware of weird collections. Not everyone wants to see your nautical doll from 1946 in original packaging.

Coffee tables really aren't that hard to dress up. Some books, maybe some fresh flowers and you're done. Take a look at these tables and how beautiful and simple they look.

A simple vase of fresh flowers and family pictures looks great on this elegant coffee table.

Go green! Add some fresh herbs or small plants to your coffee table. Just steer clear of the fake stuff!

Cool sculptures add interest to this coffee table. Just make sure they aren't too tall and block people sitting on the sofa.

If you have an upholstered coffee table, a simple tray on top will allow for people to set their drinks down and it can hold a cool vase or something to dress up it up a little.

Stacked books are great on coffee tables.

Simple and elegant.

Add something cool like a found object or small sculpture that means something to you. You want it to reflect your personality and the feel of the room.

If your coffee table has lower shelves, simply stack books underneath or maybe blankets.

I hope this helps you accessorize your own coffee table. It's really not that hard, just keep it simple and personal. Make sure things are the right scale and you'll do great!

~Jessica