so i'm stylish, eh?

a big thank you to marie from wild, then child for bestowing upon me the stylish blogger award.  i'm completely flattered : )

so, in order to accept this lovely award, here are the rules:
1. link back and thank the fabulous person who honored you with this amazing award : )
2. share 7 things about yourself
3. award 7 other deserving and great bloggers
4. contact the other bloggers to let them know of their award.

so, here goes nothing...

1. i start my days (well, my mondays through fridays) with a workout.  it's nothing super intense or crazy (though i am a p90x veteran...but that's a story for a different day), just something that gets me up, moving and feeling a bit more connected to myself.  often it includes some yoga : )

picture credit {here}

2. i eat the same thing for breakfast pretty much every day.  i just love me some cereal.  but not just any cereal.  i mix up a mean concoction of all my faves, add in special extras like pecans, dried fruit and banana, sprinkle it with cinnamon and nutmeg and cover it with soy milk.  omg...sooo good.

3. i live in a cottage.  an honest to goodness cottage with my fiance and our cute little dog.  our kitchen is so tiny the fridge doesn't even fit in it, but we call it home.  plus it has a cozy fireplace which makes me happy.

4. i love to cook.  and i think adding sauteed or caramelized onions makes just about any meal better.  i rarely follow recipes but love to read them (and food blogs) for inspiration.

our dog baby, olive : )

5. i am a dog mommy.  craig and i adopted our little girl, olive in november of 2009.  she's beautiful and adorable and makes me smile non-stop.  last week she turned 2, and we had a little get-together with her doggie friends.  yes, we spoil her, but she totally deserves it!

6. happy hour makes me happy.  craig and i go to our favorite happy hour place, bobby simone's, just about every day week.  i just love that the bartender now knows our drinks.  being a "local" is fabulous : )

http://www.ilovebobbys.com/

7. i love my blog.  lifestyle maven is my true passion, and (full disclosure) i want to become a full-time blogger.  i enjoy nothing more than sharing my ideas, tips and techniques for well-living with my readers.  you guys are the best!  thank you.

so...who do i think is super stylish and wonderful?

 

lauren @ busy bee lauren

jillian @ cornflake dreams

jenna @ eat, drink, pretty

brenna @ le fabuleux destin de brenna

melissa @ tasting, touching, hearing, seeing
megan @ the oatmeal diaries
brittany @ les reves d'une boulangerie

seems like a french/breakfast theme as far as my honorees go : )  congrats ladies - you're fabulous (and stylish of course)!

what did you do for {heart} day?

picture credit {here}

"my ideal vday would be with the boy that i like...so middle school! but i've always had fun valentine's days with my friends. we cook fun meals together and write love notes. what could be better?"
-brenna

"for valentine's day this year we're planning on museum-hopping in philly and then grabbing a pint at an irish pub that just opened up in my hometown. to say i cannot WAIT would be a vast understatement."
-melissa

pizza & wine <3

"i love dates with my husband. we have a tandem bicycle and my favorite is our standing year round saturday date (rainy days excepted) where we head south along the coast and after about 15 miles or so stop for brunch and then head back home. so important to still date your spouse!"
-jermaine

"i think i'm going to make fondue for my valentine's day date this year : )"
-megan

melted chocolate...yum!

"i think my favourite would be a day date if you have somewhere nice to wander around. i live in saudi arabia as an expat and it's quite restrictive here, so when my hubs and i manage to get out of here, it's quite a treat to have a wander around somewhere new and just take our time, taking it all in."
-robyn

"an ideal date for us is a nice dinner out, with tropical cocktails then a movie and some cuddles on the couch!"
-stylish

homemade pizza

what did i do?

“valentine’s was spent in our pjs, lounging on the couch with olive, watching jeopardy & the bachelor.  for our meal, craig and i enjoyed homemade (heart-shaped) pizza & red wine and for dessert, hand-dipped chocolate covered strawberries…and chocolate covered oreos.”

-cailen, for the recipes click {here}

dessert!

isn't olive the cutest?!!



{heart} day menu for two: pizza & wine

picture credit {here}



this valentine’s craig and i are staying in. we celebrated with an evening on the town this past saturday.  cocktails at left bank libations.  sushi dinner at our favorite japanese place, ota-ya.  after-dinner drinks at marsha brown’s upstairs bar.  so tonight, we’re keeping it low-key.  but low-key does not have to mean boring or not special…

ever since we started dating, our “date-night-in” default has been pizza & wine.  it’s become such a tradition that craig and i have developed pizza & wine telepathy.  we can just glance in each other’s direction, and we’ll simultaneously blurt out “pizza and wine tonight?”.  we sometimes go for gourmet, homemade pies…sometimes for papa john’s.  either way, it’s the perfect date-night-in menu.  so when it came to our february 14th meal, i couldn’t think of anything more us.  i mean really, what could be better than a homemade (possibly heart-shaped) pizza and a bottle of red, white, rosé or bubbly (whatever your preference) to make it extra special?!

picture credit {here}

dinner – homemade pizza for two

use ¼ of bread dough recipe or buy prepared pizza crust or dough at your grocery store or from your local pizza place

my toppings of choice: caramelized onions, sautéed red peppers, mozzarella, provolone & parmesan, any fresh herbs on hand, good red sauce (but really, top it with anything you love)

the essentials: salt, pepper, olive oil

preheat oven to 425
place dough on oiled (and “cornmealed”, optional) baking sheet or pizza stone and spread to desired thickness/shape
arrange toppings (the more, the better : )
drizzle with olive oil. sprinkle with salt and pepper.
bake for 20 or minutes until golden brown and bubbly
sprinkle with fresh herbs
allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting (or eating!)

dessert – chocolate-covered strawberries
melt chocolate over double-boiler (i.e. a glass or ceramic bowl over a pot ½ full of slow boiling water)
dip fresh strawberries (cover generously : ) you can also dip banana chucks, apples, pineapple, marshmallows, graham crackers, cookies, brownies, rice krispies treats, spoons, fingers
place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper
allow to cool in fridge for an hour or so (make no more than 2-3 days in advance)

picture credit {here}

drink – red wine
buy
chill for just 20 min prior to drinking to bring down temp slightly
uncork
drink

and remember, don’t worry if your pizza’s not perfect. ugly pizza tastes just as good : ) happy {heart} day!

so, are you red, white, rosé or bubbly?

and congratulations to karina cifuentes!!! the winner of the raymer’s gourmet chocolate giveaway! <3

for the love of chocolate (giveaway)

today i had the complete pleasure of visiting a local chocolate maker, raymer's homemade candies, in doylestown, pa.  mark and sue raymer have been in the candy business for years.  mark learned the trade from sue's dad, and many of their recipes date back to the 1880s and have been passed down in the family.  (i tried to get some secret recipe info out of mark....no luck : )

my visit this morning included a tour of their shop and work space.  they work only with real belgian chocolate and make everything on site.  and when i say everything...i mean everything.  they make their own caramel, all their own fillings, and they even roast their own nuts!  but the real secret to their success - besides fabulous chocolate - lies in their dedicated customer service.  not only did they take two hours of their time (4 days before valentine's day) to meet with me, but they also sent me home with over 2 pounds of their delectable treats!  (a pound for me and a pound for one lucky reader.  yes...you read right.  a 1lb box of their delicious homemade chocolates could be yours!  get excited : ) 

my fave treats of the several i was lucky enough to sample today:
-peanut butter meltaway - amazingly buttery, creamy pb center enrobed in silky milk chocolate.  to die for.
-salted caramel - literally the best caramel i have ever tasted.  very smooth, not too chewy and made from real cream (you can definitely taste the difference)
(fyi: both are included in the 1 lb sampler that could be yours!)

besides their standbys, mark also experiments with adventurous items.  like cinnamon, chipotle chocolate bark made with 72% cacao.  i tried it, and it was fabulous!  perfect balance of rich chocolate and subtle heat.  awesome.

if you are ever in the doylestown area, you need to stop by raymer's.  not only are their chocolates and candies amazingly delicious, but sue & mark completely love what they do and welcome you into their shop like it's their home.  (...or...of course, you can always have their chocolates shipped...)

so, how can you get your very own 1lb box of

homemade chocolates?

raymer's one pound sampler = divine

- follow lifestyle maven and leave a comment below:

what is your favorite chocolate treat?

chocoholic?  for extra entries:

- follow lifestyle maven on twitter

- like lifestyle maven on facebook

- tweet about this giveaway

please leave a separate comment for each entry! 

winner will be announced on <3 day : )

a picture's worth 1000 words

my dad is a very talented photographer.  as a new element of lifestyle maven, i will be featuring some of his photography each month : )  his pictures are really awesome, and he's finally starting to get the true recognition he deserves.  so enjoy.  feel free take/borrow/use/share, just please provide a link back if you do.

here are some lovely winter images in honor of all the snow we "enjoyed" this winter.

 
so, if a picture is truly worth 1000 words...what would you say about these?

loving lifestyle maven? 

check out the other fabulousness in store this month {here}.

love got you tongue-tied?

as much as we’d all love to be able to write profound, epic, heart-string tugging, earth-shattering words for our loved ones (especially this time of year). sometimes it is best to leave it to the professionals. you know, the old-school pros who definitely got it right. below i’ve compiled a short (but sweet) list of some of the best-loved (and longest lasting) words on love. so this year, if you’re feeling a little tongue-tied, maybe let someone else do the writing.

picture by m2 photography - our amazing wedding photographers

for the poet: (may know it from “did you hear about the morgans?”)
shakespeare sonnet 116:
let me not to the marriage of true minds
admit impediments. love is not love
which alters when it alteration finds,
or bends with the remover to remove:
o no! it is an ever-fixed mark
that looks on tempests and is never shaken;
it is the star to every wandering bark,
whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
within his bending sickle's compass come:
love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
but bears it out even to the edge of doom.
if this be error and upon me proved,
i never writ, nor no man ever loved.
 
for the traditionalist: i love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach.
-elizabeth barrett browning
 
for the sentimentalist: the best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.  they must be felt with the heart.
-helen keller
 
for the non-conformist: one should always be in love. that is the reason why one should never marry.
-oscar wilde

engagement photo shoot with m2 photography

 what else does lifestyle maven have in store for february?
check it out {here}.

some dandy date ideas

so with february being the month of love and romance, i figured sharing some date ideas could be both fun and useful.  craig and i love our dates.  whether they're thoughtfully planned meals at home or nights on the town.  or happy hour at bobby's.  dates are fun.  period.

when thinking about what dates i find especially fun, many ideas came to mind (too many), but i narrowed it down to three, as not to overwhelm : )

o day date – coffee shop, wander cute town (if you're in or around the bucks county, pa area doylestown, new hope or lambertville, nj won't disappoint), movie

cute town to wander

visit the county theater : )

o dinner out – cocktail lounge, fabulous dinner (at tinto restaurant in philadelphia or similar amazing foodie haven)

cool restaurant

o at home –fireside picnic, home cooked meal, champagne & something chocolate

so cozy...fireside date : )

the perfect something chocolate for {heart} day



so what's your ideal valentine's day???