Our wedding video

I really have no words, besides that I have watched this video about 130 times.

Click Here

Enjoy!

Weekend Report

This weekend we celebrated our friend Dawn and her little bambino that will be making his grand entrance in just 4 weeks.

 

Our Friend Kristin hosted the shower for the mom-to-be at her parents home in Tarzana. Everything was so well done and it was so much fun talking babies for the entire afternoon.

 

Dawn got lots of great presents for her little guy and since it's the first baby for this California bunch, we all had a little too much fun shopping for him!

 

I gifted Dawn a little bath time set and I'm dying to get a glimpse of the little guy in his new shark towel.

After the shower we hung out in the backyard, grilled out, and had a few glasses of wine.

 

It was a great Saturday and we can't wait to meet you Baby P!

 

Beyond the shower, the rest of the weekend was really low key. We are picking up my friend Jenna at the airport tonight as she makes her way from South Korea to Los Angeles. It's been almost 2 years since I've seen her and I can't wait to spoil her with all things America! 

Tomorrow I'm posting our wedding highlight video so make sure to come take a look!

Friday's 4

:::1:::
 I have been out of it all week. There's tons of different reasons why, but I just struggled to be present this week, and I've felt like I've been walking through a cloud since Monday morning. I'm hoping to snap out of it soon and get on with living in moment.

::::2:::
 It was so hot this week, and clearly, because I'm not living in present, I decided to try and do a little fall shopping. I came home with this sweater from H&M and cannot wait until the temps drop and I can wear it. I think it would love great over a white or jean button down.

And finally you can buy off the site here. 

::::3:::
Finally TODAY is the day that I get my wedding photos and video. Yesterday my vendors emailed me that they didn't think they were going to meet their deadline (today) and I about had a mini-stroke. A few friendly but bossy emails and they were both able to 'getter done! I'm refreshing my gmail like every 22 seconds.

:::5:::
This weekend Joel is heading down to San Diego to finally catch a Cubs baseball game this year, and I'm heading to a baby shower for my girlfriend Dawn who is due in September!

 

Avacado Chicken Parm

I'm not normally a chicken person, but this recipe had me singing it's praises. I'm trying to do no-carb this week, which has been tough with Joel's birthday, but this dinner fit the bill and we were really impressed with it. It's easy, quick, filling and healthy.

The Goods

 

3 Chicken Breasts (cut length wise) 

3/4 cup Flour

3 eggs

2 cups of breadcrumbs (I used gluten free)

Olive Oil

Marinara

Sliced Avocado

Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese 

Pre-Heat Oven to 400

1. Cut breasts length wise and place into a large zip lock bag and bang them flat (I used a rolling pin)

2. Organize Flour, Bread Crumbs, and Eggs like below

3. Dip chicken each chicken strip in Flour, egg, breadcrumb and place on baking dish over aluminium foil. 

4. Spray chicken with olive oil and bake for 10 minutes

5. Remove chicken and layer a heaping serving of marinara on each strip, then layer avocado and mozzarella. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake for an additional 8-10 minutes.

 

Serve with a garden salad and bottle of cab

 

This will be a crowd pleaser! 

26 Reasons

Why I love the boy I'm lucky enough to call my husband

1. He brings me flowers when I get really, really mad at him

2. He eats anything I make - and takes it for lunch the next day too

3. He makes me try new things

4.  He will sit through Real Housewives

5. He is obsessed with our dog

6. He is the first person to read my blog and checks in all day to see the comments

 7. He goes along with my traditions and celebrations

8. He opens the car door for me

9. He calls his mom every Sunday

10. And checks in on my sisters

 

11. He is the most dependable person I've ever met

12. He tells really bad jokes

13. He appreciates good food and wine

 

14. He is really nice to waiters

15. He brings me coffee in bed

16. And wakes me up every morning

17. He lets me cry when I need to just cry

18.  He works his ass off 

19. He wants to be a really good dad

20. He gets upset with me when I text and drive

21. He isn't afraid 

22. He has good taste in clothes and knows how to dress

23. He makes me healthier

24. He remembers everything

25. He loves Chicago as much as I do

26. He treats me the way I hope my sisters and friends are treated by their future husbands

Happy 26th Birthday Joel- here is to many, many birthdays together

I love you

My Quick Cleaning Go-To's

Since I work at home, I feel like I have to keep my house extra, extra clean to keep my sanity. With a shedding dog and a lot of dust, it's taken me a long time to find some of my favorite cleaning products that actually work.

I try to wrap up my errands and work day around 4pm and always do a clean sweep of the house. Every week day I use this Multi-Surface spray around my whole house. I take a huge clump of paper towels and wipe down every surface in the house.

A fellow blogger (Amber) posted about this product on her Instagram and it's been a game changer since I found it at Target. Since I can use it on every surface in my house, it's a one stop shop. It de-dusts and shines everything quickly and painlessly.  I'm not a big fan of the "glade"  artificial smell, I hate all febree-ze like products, but I light a bunch of candles afterwards and it fades quickly.

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Along with that bad boy - this vacuum has literally changed my life. 

I have to vacuum 4x a week, and before this I had to sweep afterwards too. It was a long and dreaded process.  Since "the shark" I have not picked up a broom once - and I even bought a new one when I bought the vacuum and it still has tags on it.  The Shark works perfectly on my rugs, hardwood, and tiled bathrooms. Plus, it has a super long cord and I can literally do our entire condo without having to unplug the thing. A good vacuum may be a secret to sane wives everywhere.

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I had complained daily about all of my wine glasses getting water stained, cloudy and never looking actually clean. When we received our Riedel wineglasses as shower presents I was determined to find the solution to making them shine all the time.

Insert: Micro-fiber towels from C&B

 

I do hand wash the glass with dish soap and warm water but they instantly dry with these magic makers, and all of my wine glasses look like I pulled them out of the box yesterday. Gems these bad boys.

Do you have any quick cleaning fixes that I need to know about?? 

Spill! (and then clean it up! Ha!)

Weekend Recap

This weekend was Joel's Birthday Week Extravaganza.

On Friday night we planned an indoor camping trip. We don't have a backyard, so we had to improvise and it was so much fun. 

We got really into it - no sitting on the couches, no electricity, the whole nine  yards. 

Camping started promptly at 6pm so I changed into my most "camp like" outfit and got ready for a night of fun.

 

We spent as much time outside as we could. We decided to grill hot dogs, drink beers and margaritas and just enjoy hanging out with the two of us without the distraction of ipads, phone calls, or the tv.

 

And the best reward for camping? 

  

Once it got dark, we moved inside and played four rounds of Trivial Pursuit Party before falling asleep on the hardwood floors. Joel cheated and moved the the couch around 5am, but for the most part, we stood strong and had such a good time. 

On Saturday we went for a hike and I snuck away to get a massage with a girlfriend - which was beyond lovely after sleeping on the floors. 

Saturday night we had a whole birthday night planned in Malibu. 

 

 Our first stop was happy hour at the Malibu Beach Inn which is a boutique hotel right on the water with a top notch restaurant on the main floor. We had a few martini's in their small bar and took in their amazing view.

 

 

 

We have family coming to visit in September and while we were enjoying our cocktails we made the call to bring them here for dinner. I can't wait to try it out.

 

 

After our drinks we headed down the street to Nobu Malibu. It's an enormous restaurant and I knew it was going to be a night to remember when Eric Dane held the door for us to enter the restaurant. 

We were seated in their main room next to my new buddy Eric and had one of the best meals we've had since being in California. 

A few more martini's and a round of stellar food made for a very happy Shields family! 

 

 On Sunday, we had breakfast at NY Bagel in Brentwood and then played tennis and ran some errands.

It was a perfect weekend with lots of together time and lots of indulging. 

Time to get back on the no carb train this week and get back to the grind!

Friday 5

1. The MAJOR update this week has been a face lift to our master bedroom. I don't have before pictures, but here she is now!

Previously we didn't have a headboard and those bamboo prints (I have 3 of them) were in a straight line over the bed.

A few updates and  I feel like the room has completely transformed. It has so much more style and elegance and I feel like it looks like a Master bedroom.

 

 That gold star burst mirror is one of my most favorite finds ever. It's Martha Steward from Home Depot and cost me $35 bucks. I have been searching for a perfect gold burst and had almost come to terms that I was going to have to spend more than I wanted to when this little beauty popped up on my search!

2. In other news, it's been friggen hot here in LA. When I'm not working from home and I actually have to go outside in the blistering heat my wardrobe is a light dress and blazer.

 

I'm already missing the fall that I won't get to have...

3. I have a baby shower next weekend for a girlfriend here in L.A. and I decided to order a new Lilly for the occasion. I plan to wear it to the shower and again while we are on our trip to Scottsdale. I'm seriosuly crossing my fingers that it gets here in time and looks as cute as it does on the model.

 

I figure I can wear it with a white blazer and wear it to work meetings too. 

4. My wedding pictures and video are due at the end of next week!!! I'm equal parts thrilled and terrified. 

5. Have I told you that I am obsessed with Sister Wives? I especially love this season as they are all moving into new, huge houses. I often find myself thinking about how I would constantly be trying to be the best wife - which, I know they have their lifestyle for religious purposes - but don't you think it would be such a competitive way of living?

 

This weekend we are celebrating Joel's birthday which falls on the 21st! We are camping....inside...tonight (details to come) and heading to Nobu in Malibu on Saturday - a perfect juxtaposition.