Chicken BBQ Burgers

Working full-time and running a household has forced me to manage my time better. Normally I put together dinner before I head into work so that it is ready to be placed on the table when I walk in the door. Last night I did tortilla soup in the crock pot using my favorite Vegetarian recipe from allrecipes.com, although I did throw in some leftover turkey fillets that had been sitting in the freezer. Tonight we are having BBQ Burgers. I improvised a little bit with what we had....

Chicken BBQ Burger

• Tear up two Slices of Bread into small pieces ( I used one of the end slices that always gets thrown away)
• One Egg (beaten)
• 1 cup of your favorite BBQ Sauce
• 1/2 Cup of diced fresh onion
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 tsp of minced garlic
• Ground Chicken ( I used Jenny O brand I think it was called)

Defrost chicken in microwave. In the meantime mix all other ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken. Use a spoon and your hands to form eight patties on plates. Cover and place in fridge. 

When Brian gets home I will have him throw two at a time on the George Foreman for about eight minutes. Then top with a mixture of bbq sauce and a little mayo. You can mix up to half and half of each and even add some brown sugar but I try to stay away from the extra sugar and mayonnaise.  

SIDE: 6 MINUTE Instant Potato Packs from the Produce Section. I threw these red skinned potatoes in the microwave and mixed with milk, butter, salt, pepper and some more minced garlic.

We always do a salad- tonight will be spinach, onion, sweet peppers and tomato. 

If you haven't tried Garlic Expressions Vinaigrette you are seriously missing out.

It can be ordered here:

http://www.amazon.com/Garlic-Expressions-cfuda/dp/B0010CBEY8

ThisIsPowerfulStuff

Amazon Child
Stella went to the doctor for her four month check up yesterday, she already weighs  close to 16 lbs and is  in unchartered territory as far as her height goes. She's off the charts! Our poor little girl is growing up so quick. The doctor literally measured her height twice because she thought she made a mistake but nope, Stella grew three inches last month alone.
I need a vacation and can't wait to head south on Thursday. Miami is calling my name.
This weekend is going to be Daddy and Stella bonding time!

TheThingsThatMatter

I spoke to my talented cousin, Serena last night who makes these fabulous bracelets. I'm in LOVE.  Currently you can buy her bracelets from her blog at Shop Material Therapy. Aside from that I am debating on ordering two new books from Amazon- why buy new these days? The Hundred Year Lie and The Things that Matter both seem like they'd be good reads. We'll see if I can decide! P.S Fish tacos, guac, and tortilla soup last night were the bomb. 

CincoDeMayo

Checking out drinks to serve at the wedding. Now I'm dying to try this!

Lava Flow Recipe

There are numerous variations for making a Lava Flow. This biggest difference is that some recipes use 1 oz. of light rum and 1 oz. of Malibu® coconut rum. When Malibu® coconut rum is unavilable you can use 1 1/2 oz. of light rum and 1/2 oz. of coconut cream.

Ingredients:

* 1 oz. light rum
* 1 oz. Malibu® coconut rum
* 2 oz. fresh or frozen strawberries
* 1 small banana
* 2 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice
* 2 oz. coconut cream

Preparation:
Blend the 2 rums and the strawberries in a blender to form a smooth paste. Pour this mixture into a tall (Collins or Hurricane) glass. Rinse the blender. Blend the banana, the coconut cream, and the pineapple juice in blender with crushed ice until smooth.

IwillBetheOneWhoLovesYoutheMost.

It was a good weekend. Shrimp Fest. House Searching. Dinner with friends. And I think locating the venue for our wedding reception. Yesterday we put in an offer on a condo and we should hear back any day now. Of course, I go crazy with the designing ideas and already had a Powerpoint presentation of half the rooms in our future house put together by the time Brian walked in the door from work. I spent a large part of the day on google searching images of modern living rooms, kitchens, furniture, dinnerware, towels, bedding.... I know what you're thinking, Brian is a brave soul to enter into a lifetime commitment with this lunatic.
Anyways, this morning Stella woke up early. I like when she does because for some reason I feel more productive. I went through Stella's drawers expecting to find a few things that no longer fit. To much dismay, about half of her things have gotten too small. It's really weird as a mother. You're in this limbo of being excited for your child's next milestones and then wanting them to stay just the way they are at the same time. I was actually sad folding her little newborn clothes while I looked over at her drooling and kicking around. She's growing up too fast and she's not even four months yet!
How am I going to handle the rest of her life? Cry at every birthday party? I need to get it together.

WeekendsDon'tCountUnlessYouSpendThemDoingSomethingCompletelyPointless.

POP ART FUN ON FRIDAY! 

Today I've been emailing wedding venues. I want to save the money and have it in the back of Brian's parent's house, which is on the intracoastal, but he would rather have it at a venue with a separate place for the "guys" to hangout before the wedding. I can understand where he's coming from, I guess it might not feel too special to have a wedding in the house you were used to seeing every day of your life but I'm looking at the venues with dollar signs in my eyes. I'm not sure what I want for the wedding, the only thing I'm sure about is the guy that I'm going to marry. I guess that's the most important thing anyways. Everything else can be figured out over time.

The front wheel of Stella's jogging stroller fell off today. Unfortunately I had parked at the beach and walked all the way into downtown to get a sneak peek of the Shrimp Fest activities for this weekend... which means we were pretty far from the car. I also had Piper with me. I can only imagine how lame we looked as I tried to balance the stroller, Piper, Stella and a loose tire. Luckily we hadn't made it too far out of downtown so I backtracked into the local bike shop. They fixed the stroller in no time and also had success scaring Stella and Piper. I can't blame them, I was a little scared myself at the sight of two grown men making animal noises at the baby. 

This weekend we're going to look at a house near the beach. We're fairly new to the search but it's so exciting to think about. Both of us decided that when it came time to buy our own house we would love to acquire an older one that needed some rehab. That's exactly what we're looking into so we can add our personal touch!  

BohoWedding

I promise I'm not going to turn my blog into a wedding blog. Nor a baby blog. I'm still going to keep focus on Richard and Bancroft, however- I can't help from sharing some other aspects of my life that I'm excited about. This wedding has the perfect relaxed, boho vibe that I imagine for my own :)

PicturesOfPeopleBeinginLove.

I ran across this photographer's website advertising on Oncewed.com.... definitely beautiful pictures to look at as well as a brilliant website design. This guy has talent. Too bad I can't afford you...

                                                            http://www.wscottchester.com/

DIYproject

The gold, chunky, chain link bracelets can be found at every flea market, antique shop, and garage sale. 

Idea stolen from Wildflower Fashion Blog. xo

BabyGurl

A jewelry designer posted this picture of herself and her daughter. So cute. It warms my heart to think Stella will be this age in just a few years... a little person to have a special friendship with and to help guide through life! I've always thought in a  "Back to the future" sense of whether or not I'd be friends with my parents when they were my age, or even getting the chance to see my future husband when he was just a child. I think that's when you can truly get the real sense of a person's core. In a child you see the natural dispositions they were born with before the world and the media get a chance to saturate them. Obviously, people hold on to those characteristics throughout their lives- but I think it's less obstructed and therefore much more visible at such an early age. 
Two days until the look book photo shoot! In the meantime it's crunch time to find a trustworthy, talented and affordable sewing contractor to turn my only samples into sizes of XS,S,M and L. Soon you'll be able to buy Richard & Bancroft at your local boutiques if all goes according to plan :)

GetonThisLoveMachine

Happy Wednesday! It's almost been a week since I debuted the latest collection and I feel like I need to throw a badass dinner party to celebrate everything else that is to come. This weekend I'm meeting with a photographer to discuss the details of Richard & Bancroft's first ever look book over a cup of coffee. I plan on compiling the designs from my last three collections and posting them in an album on facebook this Friday or Saturday for everyone to vote on their favorite looks. I really want girls to be honest about what they would buy if it were in a local shop. From there, I'm going to pick a few of the select favorites to be photographed and mailed out to my future buyers and boutiques in a neat little book.

MarryMe.

The show last Thursday went alright. Already, my eighteen piece collection was following a great, new designer who had thirty pieces. Because of this, I was nervous that although it was my favorite collection I've done as far as fabrics and inspiration go, that it would seem super short in the audience's minds. To make an impression I had saved my favorite two dresses for last and somehow there was a miscommunication backstage and all of my models rushed out for their final walk before the last two girls were able to. Needless to say, I'm not sure the guests actually took notice of my last two favorite dresses. And if they did, they were unsure as to why they were now in the finale and hadn't walked out yet on their own.

Unable to do much about this, I rolled with the punches and walked out with my little girl, Stella. After walking up and down the runway I was on my way back and noticed Brian standing in the center of the main stage. Initially I thought how handsome he looked and that he was so cute to hop on stage and take Stella from me. I gave him a quick kiss and went to hand him our daughter... but he wouldn't take her. So, I handed her to him again. And he was sort of brushed her off back to me. This was when I started to get a little confused. "Brian, what are you doing?" I asked. Then he started to get down on his knee and in return I started to loose my breath and shake uncontrollably. His eyes were a little glassy when he looked back up at me this time and I knew now what was going on. So, as most of you now know- we're ENGAGED!

The next day my friend texted me to ask how it feels as an engaged woman. I know for some it might feel different, but- Brian and I already have a daughter together and we live together... so we sort of jumped the gun in that aspect, but life throws you curve balls and you have to adjust. I feel the same, but even more in love with the direction my life is heading. I am so happy with the man I have to call my future husband and my beautiful little family that I couldn't imagine my life any other way than it is now.

Also, Project Runway wrote me an email saying that they would like to see me enter the casting for season 9! I'm not a huge TV buff but I've seen the show a few times and I'm blown away that they would even be interested in me. Needless to say, I'm going to take the plunge and fill out the 25 page application form. If I don't make it, there's always next year. If I do and I'm the first one kicked off- everyone in America will know about Richard & Bancroft, a big improvement from a few people in Jacksonville, Florida. Winning.

ToughAsNails

How do you think the ladies at the nail salon will react when I show up with this picture?

I might need someone to knit me this incredible dress.

Fifth Avenue Frolic

Listen up all of your Jacksonville fashionistas- tonight at 7:00pm Saks 5th Avenue at the St. Augustine Outlets is hosting an event for Jacksonville Fashion Week. A $10.00 entry at the door gets you shopping discounts, a sneak preview of the designer's collections, music, swag bags, etc. Definitely flipping the switch on a normal Jacksonville Friday night, which is all the more reason to make the drive out.

This is the longest I've been away from little Stella and my heart is already beginning race a little bit. I know she's in good hands with her dad and Grammy and I need to be taking advantage of the events that are planned in the upcoming weeks to market Richard & Bancroft's Spring/Summer collection.

I'm going to try and get some waves going in my hair for tonight's occasion... I can't wait for beach weather. Only a few more weeks! It's honestly one of my favorite feelings to keep the salty ocean water in my hair and on my skin the entire rest of the day. xo

FoodForThought

I'm still semi-bitter that I missed out on this over the knee boot and sock trend that was going on all Winter. I figured it would have been a death sentence traipsing around in these while I had a 20 lb bowling ball resting in my stomach... although I'm sure I would have earned quite a few interesting looks from the public. Next Winter I'm wearing them every day until my feet can't handle it anymore.

Now it's time to focus on Spring/Summer. Working on my mexican themed collection definitely has me yearning for an exotic vacation to go sun bathe and pick up some new accessories. Until then a girl will have to settle for Goodwill and antiques shopping for some one of a kind items. Speaking of antiques... yesterday Stella and I strolled into one of the shops in downtown Fernandina Beach and picked up an old deviled egg plate. Meet my new earring organizer...

StellaSeed

It's a girl! Meet Stella Rivi. How cute is she?

"Motherhood has a very humanizing effect. Everything gets reduced to essentials." I ran across this quote and it perfectly describes what I've been feeling for the past month a half since Stella has arrived in our lives. Normal activities such as brushing my teeth, sitting down to eat, going for a jog, or sleeping...(did I mention sleeping?) are now a struggle. When you do have free time you're prisoner to questions of when she'll wake up or when she needs to nurse next. It's funny to look back at my first few days with her. I was so careful and meticulous handling her. A barely wet diaper was immediately changed. A small cry and she was instantly picked up and cuddled until she was calmed back down to sleep.... as a mother you learn quickly that you can't continue in this manner or you will lose your independence, and soon after that... your mind.

Eventually you have to find a balance in making time for yourself, your boyfriend or husband, your friends, and your kids. I'm trying to learn that and wrap my mind around it- which these days is usually kicking on five or six hours of sleep.

Stella will continue to take up my energy and sleep for a long time, but I am looking forward to watching her grow and be a large part of her life. I now watch kids talking back to their moms in public and cringe. I want to yell. "Do you know how many hours of sleep she lost? How many hours she kept walking with you in the middle of the night even though her back ached and her arm was asleep? Do you know that you spit up all over her new shirt when she tried to gather up some energy and put herself together for a rare date with your dad?"

But, it's a cycle. We all start out as babies with mothers that sacrifice and want only the best for you. Whether or not we live up to those expectations and make them proud is our own story. I don't think we ever really understand that until we're a parent ourselves. I didn't.

I now realize I made some stupid decisions, which I will be telling Stella about so she doesn't do the same. I realize I was in relationships that I was disrespected in, and I pray she never experiences the same. I am so proud to call Brian my boyfriend and her father. I am so glad that she can look to him and know how women should be treated.

As far as this R&B Spring/Summer Collection of 2011 goes... it's going. I would be lying if I didn't say it has been really tough. But, I also feel it is going to be one of my best. I am having so much fun with the mexican theme. The bright ethnic prints are so brilliant and fun. Hope to see you at the show!

Thursday March 24th

7pm @ The Casa Marina in Jacksonville Beach

www.JaxFashionWeek.com for tickets :)

SweetBreakfastFix

I woke up this morning craving cinnamon rolls, but after much dismay I realized the average recipe takes close to two hours to make. This is unfortunate for someone who is starving. Pillsbury really struck gold in creating virtually instant cinnamon rolls in a nice little pack with their sugary icing....

I did learn that yeast recipes are much quicker- only about 45 minutes... which was still too long for my craving to wait but I'm holding this recipe in the vault for next time.

Cinnamon Rolls

INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter, softened
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp water (eliminate if you’re opening a new package of brown sugar)
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Mix the first six ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, mixing thoroughly until the dough forms a large ball. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine brown sugar, butter, water and cinnamon.

Divide the dough into ten pieces, and roll each one into a 2″ by 10″ rectangle. Spread the dough with the cinnamon mixture. Roll each strip into a tightly formed roll. Place rolls in a 9×13 inch baking pan, allowing some room for the rolls to expand. Bake the rolls until just starting to turn golden, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, and confectioners sugar. Spread frosting on the rolls before serving.

Makes 10 cinnamon rolls.

Patience is a Virtue

I spent this morning looking at newborn photography and had to share this little guy. How cute is he with all of that hair? Round two at the doctor this week. We'll see what he has to say! Hopefully we're getting closer to meeting our brand new babe!

N Y E

We did miss out on NYE celebrations this year, I was actually passed out by 11:00 pm and managed to steal my New Year's Kiss before then. However, next year I plan on making up for it. Beginning with these shoes....

Let's hear it for the New Year

This past year has flown by. I've lived in New York City, gotten my first real world job, accomplished two large fashion shows, realized I found an amazing guy, and found out we're expecting our first little one any day now. What a whirlwind year! It's really unbelievable to imagine that we have the ability to create another human being that will possess a mixture of different characteristics from the two of us. I've been dying wondering what color eyes or hair the baby will have. Whose smile or quirk the baby will inherit....2010 was definitely a life-changer and aside from Jacksonville Fashion Week and meeting our child I'm not exactly sure what 2011 has in store- but I'm really excited to find out.

Today is my first day off work. It feels weird. I actually dreamt that I showed up anyways.

Since we're prepared for the babe I decided I need to relish any free time I have and place it into the upcoming show. The theme is South of the Border, this Mexican direction has made it quite difficult in finding local textiles and fabrics. I'm going to bite the bullet and order textiles online today. This will not be between 9-10 a.m, as Regis, Kelly, and I have a reunion that I have been planning on for months.

Cheers to 2011! Stella or Julian, we can't wait to meet you.