Weekend!

Hello Everyone!  After a long week of job interviews for me (Kate) and two job offers (yay!), we were able to relax and have some very fun times on Friday night.  Doug had poker night with the guys, and I enjoyed a fabulous ladies night with at K.C.'s home with Marisa, Meredith, Kelley, of course our host. :)  K.C. made us a fantastic multi-course Italian meal & Marisa made her famous and amazing flan,  and we enjoyed some fancy drinks (even the red ones--lol).   We  sat around and had lots of laughs--thank you for the fun evening ladies, and thank you for hosting K.C.! 

And, Doug and I were so happy to have Steve, Valerie & Liam (my brother -in-law, sister, and nephew Liam) visit us for the first time in our new home this weekend.  We had a whole lot of fun with them.  Our time included a visit to our favorite place in Middleton, "The Hubbard Street Diner", relaxing, shopping time for Valerie and I, lots of playing with Liam, "The Great Dane"  in downtown Madison, a lovely evening restaurant, homemade birthday cake for Steve, and just having fun being together with everyone.   We are so grateful for them.  They are family, but also very close friends whom we genuinely love spending time with. 

Here are some pictures from the weekend.... Enjoy! :)

Doug & Steve relaxing on our comfy furniture (yep, we are still waiting for our sectional to be delivered!)

How cute is he?!?!  Liam posing for a picture before eating.

Valerie & Steve

Friends!

We feel so grateful for our new friends in Madison.  Doug genuinely enjoys spending time with a group of co-workers who are continually becoming very close friends. And, I have LOVED spending time with the ladies of the "Gamers Wives Club" (as dear K.C. has named us).  We have been getting together multiple times during the week, and they are all fabulous ladies and great friends.   This morning, K.C. and I were able to head over to Tracy's home to hang out with Tracy & her precious little ladies, enjoy some french press coffee (next time we should invite SF-H! haha) And, tomorrow Meredith, Marisa (R.), K.C. & I are heading out to a French restaurant in the city (we'll miss you Kelly & Tracy!)

Anyway, here are some pictures from one of our nights out....Enjoy! 

K.C. & Kelly

Marisa & Meredith

We had a great time in Florida! We Moved! Blake Visited Us!

Hello Everyone!

I am sorry it has been so long since our last post. As the title implies, this has been a 

event filled time for us (all great things though!)

We had a wonderful time with the Crawfis & Ortiz families (my sisters & their families) in Florida. It was really relaxing....good times and good laughs. Here are some of my favorite Pictures from our time together!

Then, we literally came home to Madison and Moved the next day. We are really loving our new house. It is on a really quiet street across from a huge Forest Preserve and compared to the city condos we are used to, our new home (to us) feels huge. Doug has already set up his "Man Cave" in our finished basement. It is complete with his 57" HD TV, and a ping pong table and other fun things are to come. I am loving decorating. My dear friend, Aubrey (who I have known since my college days at ONU),  is an interior designer for Walter E. Smithe furniture, and she is coming to visit and help me to better situate things this Friday. I am really excited to spend time with her and get new ideas.

And, right after we moved in, we were SO happy to have a visit from Doug's brother Blake (My camera was still boxed up, otherwise I would have pictures of the two of them). It was a great time full of great conversations, lots of time in the "Man Cave" with Doug, good food (yay Happy WOK & Hubbards), some 'August Rush', and Doug and Blake were able to go out for drinks together (the first time since Blake turned 21). Of course, Blake did not get carded (he looks older than 21...Stud!!).  We love you, Blake!!

Until, next time!

Katie :)

Favorite Fashionable Finds !

Okay! Another Friday, another "Favorite Finds" piece. So, here are just a few things I have been LOVING for spring. Hope you do too!

#1-  Neutral Bags:  Although white bags are always super classic, an  off-white or skin colored bag is what's a little more trendy this season.  I like these more neutral colors better because they are just easier to keep clean (or at least look clean).  This particular bag is really cute!:)

http://www.stevemadden.com/BPHOENX-BONE-PARIS

#2- Zebra Print: Move over Leopard print (it is still in, but coming in 2nd place for this Spring) , Zebra print is the hippest skin of the season. I have seen more Zebra Print on hand-bags, shoes, scarfs, swimsuits, and Posh Spice than I believe. And, I LOVE it....Here are just a couple examples:

http://www.stevemadden.com/BSAFARIT-ZEBRA

http://fbpstore.stores.yahoo.net/zelecyha.html

#3- Scarfs:  They are so classic ( I personally LOVE them) and they are especially trendy this season.  Here's just an example from Old Navy:

http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/product.do?searchCID=26519&pid=505334&scid=505334042&vid=1

#4 Ruffled tanks and tops: I love ruffles and frills (tastefully done, of course). I think it adds so much feminity, beauty and a whimsical feel to so many pieces. I bought a few of these tanks--they are SO comfortable, stylish and at $4.99 (the current sale price in stores), they are very economical! :)

http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/product.do?cid=7524&pid=536122

#5 Chunky Bold Jewelry: This is my favorite cocktail ring for the season.  Personally, I would wear this ring everyday (and I do!)---looks great with jeans and a tee-shirt or a cute dress...love it. :)

http://www.bananarepublic.com/browse/product.do?cid=13895&pid=562276&scid=562276002

Until Next time, fashionistas!

Kate

More Snow!?!

Well, the city of Madison is bracing itself for yet another Snow Storm. Considering the snow record we already set weeks ago here in Madison, there are not too many happy faces around here. Doug is back at work today for his first full day since his surgery and I went out with girlfriends this morning, which was great fun. We call our ladies group the "Gamers Wives Club." They are all awesome, and we are headed out again for dinner tomorrow night.

Before we left Chicago, we were able to say goodbyes to a bunch of our friends (sadly, not everyone) in between the holidays, our trip to France & Switzerland, and our move. Here are just a few photos of some dear friends of ours. If I had actually remembered to bring our camera to many get-togethers, we would have many more photos to show! ;0)

This is a picture of my Chicago Pals at our Goodbye dinner night, C-Pal , K-Pal & K-Pal (Carloyn, Kristi & Katie (me). I really miss these ladies. C-Pal is now in Italy working on design concepts...nice, right?
Look, C-Pal, I put up picture #2! Ha!

This is me & Ash. Ash is one of my best friends of 8 years now. She visited me in Chicago and we took a nice stroll along the lake by our old condo. We took a picture with this exact pose 7 years ago. wave & ash :)

Doug's old roommate and good friend (and my good friend), Aaron. He is a great person and has the best sense of humor. Goodbye Cheers with milk!

This is a picture of Doug & I with the Heincker family (minus Amy , Drew & Ella) before we went to the Phantom of the Opera. I love these people and have known them for years.

This is me and my BFF Erin, who visited us just before we left. She is moving back to Illinois and I moved out...bummer!

Thanks for sharing these photos with me. Hope everyone had a great Monday!
~Kate

Favorite (Fashionable) Finds Friday

Happy Friday!

Doug was back to work today, and he is now worn out!  I know his body is still recovering from the surgery, but we are glad he feels a little bit better everyday.  And, we are thankful for weekends!

Alright, I am always researching fashion trends, fun & unique items, and great buys.  So, here are a few that I found lately that I love!

First, recently, my wonderful tech-savvy husband bought me an I-Phone, which I am still trying to figure out, by the way. And, I found the cutest I-Phone/I-Pod/cell phone cases by  Chloe Dao.  I love this case with its black and white houndstooth design, but when you look closer you can see that the houndstooth design is actually hundreds of miniature High Heels designed in such a way to look classy and cute.  And, from a non fashion-first standpoint, it really is a super comfortable case and its design allows very easy use of the touch-screen. Love this item!  Chloe Dao has a deal with Kohls Department store, so you can now order her item online or pick one up at your local Kohls store.  I believe the case costs $29.98. Here's the link to her products.

Find #2 

I have the hardest time finding Stylish luggage tags.  Then, I was introduced to the designs of retro & eclectic designer, Anne Taintor, at a boutique this fall in Boulder, CO.  All of her items are retro-cute and humorous.  Among other items, she designed coin purses, card holders, cards, magnets, purses, and, of course,  my favorite...her luggage tags. I receive a lot of compliments on these.  The price of these tags are $8. Here is the link: 

 http://www.annetaintor.com/luggage-tags.html

Find #3

Trader's Joe's Lavender Scrub.  It is the BEST--really, it is!  It's $6.95 for a tub that lasts months.  The strong fresh lavender oil smells awesome. And for anyone who pays attention to celebrities, Jennifer Aniston raves about this particular Trader Joes scrub also. Hey, it's great and it works!  I could not find a link, but you can find this item in the soap/personal items aisle at any Trader Joe's store. 

Find #4 

O.P.I.'s nail color in Russian Navy.   I love love this color! Dark nail colors have been trendy for some time now, but for spring, we need to put our black and brown based dark nail colors aside, and use a dark Blue/Purple dark .  This dark shade is fresh and current.  Here's the link:  http://www.opi.com/Russian.asp

Find #5

Rose Gold Flats at Target.  What a steal?!  These flats by designer  Loeffler Randall , will only be available for a limited time and they are a "must have" on a lot of style guru's lists for spring. Enjoy! Here's the link: 

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=/qid=/ref=br_1_br_1_13/601-4149806-0352113?ie=UTF8&node=3429561&frombrowse=1&asin=B000W43F6K&rh=&page=1

Also, I have heard a few people mention that they are still looking for Ugg boots, but everyone is out of stock.  Well, I looked on Zappos.com and there are still Ugg boots in most every color available (as of yesterday anyway).  Hope this helps!

Enjoy! 

I am heading out to catch a movie....so, have a wonderful weekend!  

~Kate

Welcome to the Smith Family Blog! ;)

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to our new blog!!!! We are really excited for another way to be communicating with you! Doug was great and let me have fun decorating our blog (obvious from the pink girly design-ha!)

So....what a week!
For those of you who are not aware, Doug had emergency surgery on Saturday for appendicitis. We were out for a Valentines Day celebration dinner at a French restaurant here in Madison when Doug started to feel ill. Soon after, we rushed Doug to the E.R. He is now on the mend and feeling better. Although, of course, Doug is antsy to get back to work and resume his normal pace of life. We really appreciate everyone's thoughts, prayers, emails, calls, visits etc. Thanks a bunch!!

We are also long overdue to posting some photos of our home to be. We are SO excited to move into our first home and make it our own. I have already been out shopping for decorative pieces and finally bought a stylish address stamp that I have been wanting for a while (It's the little pleasures in life, right?) There are so many great personalized stamps on this site....below is just one example. Here's the link, if you are interested in purchasing for yourself and an example of one of them below. :)


Anyway, Doug has been equally excited and has been researching and dreaming of a 52" flatscreen for 'his' basement, a ping table and other fun things . Needless to say, we are pretty pumped, and looking forward to sharing memories with all of our closest friends & family in our new place. So, here are just a few photos...Enjoy!

Sincerely,
~Doug & Kate

P.S. Special thanks to Dad & Mom Smith for their warm visit and gifts. And special thanks also to Julie & Dad Stern for their visit and for taking a day off work to work hard inspecting our new house yesterday and giving us a lot of peace of mind. Thank you--Thank you!!!