Orange You Berry Loved

Posted in Celebrate, Food Lovers by

photo-6

Valentine’s Day is just another day around our house. We don’t do flowers or presents or fancy dinners. It’s not that we’re anti-Valentine’s Day. We just live life as John often sums it up, “I tell you and hopefully show you that you are very loved every day of the week. I, on the other hand, have had so many work projects and volunteer commitments lately that I’ve been MIA, which leads me to deal with extreme guilt when I walk in the house at night and see everything cleaned, laundry folded and dinner plate waiting on the stove. Knowing that I likely haven’t expressed ample amounts of my love and gratitude toward my husband, and knowing we have a strict no gifts policy, I decided to take the tried and true route cleared by so many women before me. You know, “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” It’s true. A wise woman once told us before marriage that love starts in the kitchen. A favorite around our house is anything with oranges and cranberries, so this little muffin recipe dressed up in parchment cups from Paper Chef was the perfect “You are loved today and every day” gift for my valentine.

photo-5

photo-8

photo-7

Happy Valentine’s Day to you. I hope you feel so loved.

Be My Valentine

Posted in Celebrate by

photo

As a little girl, I always made handmade cards for each festive occasion for my parents and brother. While much cheaper than a fancy Hallmark card, the sometimes crooked letters and loose glitter of a handmade card have much more sentimental value to me than a generic poem. So this year, I decided to let my inner little girl spend a rainy Sunday afternoon with glue and glitter.

photo-4

Martha Stewart Ribbon, Glitter, White and Pink Card Stock, and Trusty Elmer’s Glue

photo-3

A steady hand is not a requirement (obviously). You’ll be amazed at how much glitter can hide.

photo-2

photo-1

Southern Sweetness

Posted in Food Lovers by

Pecans are a staple in any Southern woman’s kitchen, and each year, my dad picks, shells and packages pecans for me to freeze and use throughout the year. As I was looking for a sweet treat last night, J grabbed a bag of pecans from the freezer, and a few minutes later, we had the perfect fall snack.

I started with a 1/2 cup of butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Then I added 1Tablespoon of sugar and 1 Tablespoon of ground cinnamon – mixing for a few seconds until both dissolved into the melted butter. Then I added the pecans, stirring continually for about 4-6 minutes. Once finished, I poured the pecans onto a pan and tossed them on and off for about five minutes.

To top it off, I sprinkled a touch of cinnamon and sugar over the caramelized pecans to give them a bit of added sweetness.

Little Sluggers

Posted in True Love by

 

On Sunday, my oldest nephew (age 6) played in his first All-Star baseball game. I can’t tell you how stinking cute the game was. After the “line-up” was announced, the national anthem played from an old-school boom box, the ump yelled, “Play ball!”, and the Big League Chew was passed around the dugout. Number 2 was on deck, and I couldn’t help but have a lump in my throat. Talk about one proud aunt and godmother. He may only be six, but he loves the game of baseball. Always the first on the field and “baseball ready”, it is an absolute delight to watch him play the game. Even more, the little smile I get from the dugout between innings. It may not be cool to give your aunt a big hug in front of all your friends, but that sweet smile says it all.

 

The cutest fan is LMK’s little brother CEGK, also known as Catfish, and most recently “Chippah” (Chipper Jones, that is). Another little slugger, this three-year-old stud doesn’t miss a play. He’s right behind home plate when his big brother is batting, and can’t wait for “Logo” to make a game-changing play, and don’t be fooled, it DOES happen quite often. Little Chippah loves to step up to the plate after LMK’s games, bats like “The Babe” (literally) and can round the bases at record speed for age three.

My favorite little guys are growing so quickly, and I’m just so lucky to have their love.

Going for Four

Posted in Celebrate, True Love by

 

Yesterday, J and I celebrated our third anniversary. Third! How on earth did that happen? Oddly enough, this is the first anniversary we’ve ever spent together, and wouldn’t you know it would fall in the middle of the week. We celebrated with a low key dinner at our favorite local spot, Harvest Moon, and then I spent some time admiring my now dried bouquet with cotton from my grandparents’ farm, flipping through our guest book and toasting my husband with the flutes used on our wedding day ( a special gift from my brother and sister-in-law just after our engagement).

In an effort not to sound like a Hallmark card, I’ll simply tell you that I love him more today than at 4:20 PM on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 when we were pronounced Mr. and Mrs. John Reed Freeman. We’d be the first to tell you that 2012 has been a year of surprises and hiccups, but one thing is for sure, love never fails.

So, here we are three years later: a house, a dog and many new pairs of shoes. I’d say this marriage thing is working out pretty well.

Here’s to number four…

 

Guest Book: Jenni Bick Bookbinding; Champagne Flutes: Tiffany & Co

On Hiatus

Posted in Uncategorized by

ImageHello. Have we met before? I’m Ali. The blogger chick who really loves new finds, but abandoned said blog and her followers since mid-July. Awful. Seriously awful. I’ve missed you!

Here’s the deal. Sister landed a new job! A job I began on July 2nd, and since then life has been off the charts busy…busy in a good way, of course! My desk is always a mess; the work of a genius right? I’ve got non-profit work galore and a nearing “Follies” production that is consuming life. Still, there’s nothing I’d change. J also started a new job the week before I began mine, so we’ve been adjusting to new schedules and learning curves. So much has happened over the last four months, but I’m skipping those details; otherwise I’d be writing for days. I’m back, and I’m renewing the commitment I made when I started Oh So Ali. My deepest appreciation to those of you who follow.

I look forward to returning from my blogging hiatus. More to come, I promise. 

xx

A

Georgia Peach

Posted in Styled by

Nothing says summer in the South more than an ice cold Coke and fresh peaches, which were the inspiration for this weekend’s outings with friends.

T-shirt: Gap (similar here); Jeans: Target; Shoes: Diane von Furstenberg; Bag: Shiraleah (similar here); Scarf: Target (really loving this one on sale at Barney’s); Sunglasses: Missoni; Earrings: Unknown; Watch: Michael Kors; Bracelets: Kate Spade, David Yurman, Unknown; Wooden Bracelet: LOFT (old, but similar here)

A Fresh Coat

Posted in Perfectly Placed, Styled, True Love by

After purchasing our 1957 ranch-style home four years ago, we have experienced the highs and lows of home ownership. Always the couple searching for a new project, we have found ourselves to ALWAYS have something to do. For us, the interior was what we wanted to tackle first, and the exterior was just a paint peeling, 1,500 square foot, brick building. After a few quotes from painters, we decided we’d just have to live with the chipped pieces. Then, the home renovation angels began to rejoice for my dad volunteered for Freeman Home Improvement Project 2012! Hallelujah! My dad is not one for hearts, butterflies and long walks on the beach, but I can tell you that working from before the sun came up until after the sun had long set to make sure everything at our house was just perfect before he left is just one of the many languages of love my dad speaks to me. I’m a lucky girl to have such a talented dad who gives so generously of his time. Enjoy!

The front door and wreath (after).

Before: As you can see, the dark shutters and dark door do little to give our house the personality of the people who live inside. It’s simply flat and boring. Also, I failed miserably to capture how terrible the paint looked. I also failed to snap any during pictures. Which you should thank me for that because dad, mom, John and I were one dirty and paint-covered bunch. Anyway, aside from a few blooming plants, it’s rather dull and boring.

Before, again.

This just makes me shout, “TADA!!!!” A front porch with personality! I’m slightly obsessed with the front door. When I applied the first coat of paint, Dad and John’s eyes looked the size of softballs. After the third coat, we all agreed, I was RIGHT…as usual.

New numbers on the front gable.

Jack couldn’t be more excited about our new porch benches. We do hope you’ll stop by, enjoy a glass of sweet tea and visit with us for a while.

The inside of our little castle has even more personality…more on that later.

Potted hydrangeas on the front porch.

What I really need to say is a GIANT “THANK YOU” to my parents for all of their hard work this past week. I should also probably say “I’m sorry,” to all of our neighbors. Please forgive the loud pressure washer you heard every night until around 11PM. The before and after shots really don’t do all the work justice, thought it does explain why I’ve been MIA for two weeks (week one was the laundry room redo…more later).

Unfortunately, my dad didn’t have a relaxing Father’s Day, but we did buy him a new orbit sander. I cannot promise I do not have a project in mind! Here’s hoping your dad had a Happy Father’s Day!

Bullseye

Posted in Styled by

 

 

 

 

**Apologies for the mid-morning update, but some of the pictures were not loading properly, and I was a bit excited about this mostly-Target ensemble. I must give credit to my Ma for this fashion lesson…as long as you’re wearing a great pair of shoes and carrying a nice “pocketbook,” the cost of the dress (or jeans and top here) doesn’t really matter.

Jeans, Shirt & Sunglasses: Target; Trench: Ann Taylor (similar here); Shoes: Tory Burch; Purse: Louis Vuitton; Earrings: Unknown; Bracelets: David Yurman, Kate Spade, JCrew, Alisa, Unknown; Watch: Michael Kors; Necklaces: Tiffany & Co, Unknown