Wedding China and The Big Tumble

On Saturday night we had the pleasure of having dinner on our wedding china for the very first time! Mr. Prepster and I hosted his parents for a second round of Christmas since we had been out of town visiting my family the week prior. I figured it was about time we got it out after having stared at the china and stemware in our display cabinet for more than a year. I was so hesitant to use it though because I am always terrified to break anything, but after "the big tumble" on Friday afternoon I figured my luck couldn't get any worse...

I have been trying to (slowly) collect the serving pieces that match our china. Mr. Prepster surprised me while I was at home with his 2nd (I hope annual) addition to my collection, the Open Vegetable Bowl (like this one but in my pattern pictured at left). Of course I was thrilled and couldn't wait to get it back home to use it for Saturday night dinner. Not so fast.

This dish had to travel on a plane with us on Friday afternoon. So I decided I would carry it on, all wrapped up in a box and shopping bag, and not risk checking it. This seemed like a good plan until Mr. Prepster opened my parents' SUV's back hatch at the airport. Guess what came tumbling out... yep, only the bag with the Herend box. The beautiful bowl was in about 100 tiny pieces, some of them on the sidewalk. I was so upset that I didn't really stop crying until we got on our plane an hour later. I just couldn't believe it wasn't coming back with us. Luckily, our friends at Clossons, where I had registered for my wedding, took pity on us and offered a replacement at a discount. And my mom is convinced I can use the broken pieces for something like a mosaic table top one day... we'll see if that really happens though.

So, has anyone else broken a piece of her wedding china? Do you use your china often?

Hello Again!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! I am back to work today after a wonderful break from everything and am looking forward to catching up on all of my favorite blogs and reading your comments. Christmas week was fantastic. Lots of celebrating with both my family and Mr. Prepster's family (we had two Christmas breakfasts and Christmas dinners this year!) and so many fantastic gifts were given and received. We were truly blessed. Hope everyone had fabulous holidays as well.

More Holiday-Inspired Polyvores

I'm back with a couple more holiday outfits. I just love wearing black and white - it is so festive! Hopefully I'll have a chance to add a Thursday recipe later today or tomorrow, but for now, enjoy the Polyvores!


Fancy Dinner by Preppy in Philly


Festive for the Season by Preppy in Philly

Busy Bee

So many holiday-related get togethers for me this past weekend and week. As much as I enjoy all things holiday, I almost can't wait for them to all be over so I can go home to my family and relax next week. One of my biggest stressors this season has been the eternal issue of what to wear. I made Polyvores with some of the looks I've gone with this week... more to come tomorrow.


Casual Holiday Sparkle by Preppy in Philly


Office Party Fab by Preppy in Philly


Afternoon Holiday Open House by Preppy in Philly


Drinks with Clients by Preppy in Philly

Holiday Mental Health Day

In the midst of all of the holiday shopping, cooking, hosting and decorating we've been doing lately, I decided I needed a little break from the office today. Plus it was so rainy out. So, I stayed home! I did have to work remotely for the morning hours, but since then, I've been drinking the yummy hot chocolate Mr. Prepster got me for St. Nick's day in my Christmas mug, wearing cozy sweatpants, baking peanut butter kiss cookies and red velvet whoopie pies and wrapping presents. It has been a wonderful day! And the best part is, only one more real work day before the weekend.

Holiday Tag

My Life in Pink and Green tagged me to list 6 holiday-related facts about myself, so here goes...

1. I almost always go shopping on Black Friday. Bring on the crowds, the decorations and the deals. There is nothing like it to get you in the holiday spirit.

2. My family has always celebrated both advent and St. Nick's Day. So every year on December 1 I get out my childhood advent calendar with little drawers numbered 1-25. Mr. Prepster and I alternate days so we get or give a small surprise to each other every other morning. On the morning of St. Nick's Day, December 6, we fill each others' stockings with the first gifts on Christmas.

3. My favorite Christmas cookies are very elaborately decorated butter cookies that have been cut into shapes like trees, stars, angels, gingerbread men, snowmen, etc. with colored icing and sprinkles. I love to spend a whole Saturday making and eating these pretty cookies.

4. I love hot chocolate, especially during the holiday season. For me hot chocolate should have at least one of the following accompaniments: whipped cream, marshmallows or a candy cane. One of my favorite holiday traditions from growing up is the hot chocolate my mom would make on Christmas morning. She would make a big pot on the stove with real melted chocolate and whole or 2% milk and top it with whipped cream and a candy cane for a stirrer. When the candy cane melts in it there is a wonderful peppermint flavor. We would get to take it in the living room in our snowman mugs and enjoy it while opening our gifts. Yum.

5. I like to open my gifts very slowly, one at a time, and organize them in piles to admire for the rest of Christmas day. I also save all the ribbons and carefully fold them so they can be re-used (mild OCD - maybe).

6. I have wonderful flannel PJs with holly and berries on them that I only wear for the Christmas season.

I tag these 6 preppy bloggers:
A Preppy Girl's Guide to Cross Country Living
Magnolias & Juleps
Preppy Sue
The Pink Tutu
The Prep-E Girl
Third Coast Preppy

Christmas Shopping - Can't Wait!

Tomorrow we are off to the mall to work on our shopping list! I can't wait. One big day of Christmas shopping and tasty mall lunch is something I look forward too literally all year long. (Just ask Mr. Prepster, I've been bugging him to "officially" schedule our day for a while!) I just love all looking at all of the decorated stores and choosing gifts and actually, seeing the crowds of people doing the exact same thing. It really gets me in the Holiday spirit. Of course we'll have to start out our shopping day with something yummy in a red cup too. To all of those with a similar Saturday planned, happy trails and good luck gifting!

Try a New Recipe Thursdays - Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

So the holiday season is in full swing! I've been so busy transitioning from Thanksgiving to Christmas that my poor blog has been neglected the past couple of days. This week we've gotten a lot of Christmas stuff accomplished though... we purchased and decorated a tree, adorned the rest of the house with all things Christmas, made a very comprehensive shopping list (to be tackled online and this weekend) AND ordered some adorable Paper Cafe Christmas Cards! Since it is already Thursday and time for a new recipe, I thought I'd share something I'm looking forward to making this season for a dessert party we will be attending. These taste even more amazing than they look.

Whoopie Pies

1 cup + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 Tablespoon red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour, baking soda, cocoa and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth. Spoon about 1 Tablespoon of batter about 1 1/2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and cookies spring back when touched, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes. Make filling/frosting while cookies chill. Once they are completely cool, frost the flat side of a cookie with a generous amount of frosting and sandwich with another cookie.

Frosting:

(Hint - you will only need 1/2 recipe of the below)

3/4 cup butter, softened

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/8 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2 tablespoons milk

2-4 cups powdered sugar depending on desired consistency

Cream the butter and cream cheese together in an electric mixer. (Be sure that the two are at room temperature, but not melted. Cold cream cheese or butter can make your frosting lumpy.) Add the brown sugar and vanilla extract, and beat for about 2 minutes. Turn off mixer and add 2 cups of powdered sugar. Turn the mixer on a low speed so the sugar doesn’t fly out of the bowl. Slowly add more sugar alternately with the milk until you reach your desired consistency.

Happy December!

I love December and was excited to start my advent calendar this morning. I'm very busy today though so I will have to wait to give a full update tomorrow... Hope you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving and L O N G holiday weekend!

50th Post!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We're headed to Mr. Prepster's parents house this afternoon and will be there until Sunday. I can't wait to have a relaxing weekend outside the city in a quaint, small town and am excited that as soon as Thanksgiving is over, Christmastime will be here! I love the month of December and will surely want to hurry home and put up our tree and decorate our house on Sunday. Some things I'm thankful for this year... a healthy family, a loving husband, a warm home, a rewarding job and wonderful friends in my still relatively new city, oh, and that the Phillies won the World Series. Some things I'm looking forward to for this weekend... seeing my little nephew and Mr. Prepster's family, helping cook a yummy meal, eating pumpkin pie, sleeping in, watching football and shopping for Christmas gifts on black Friday.

Can you believe Prepadelphia has 50 posts! Thanks for all of your support and comments.

Cute Paper Cafe Recipe Cards

I was so enamoured with the recipe cards I won from The Paper Cafe on MMM's blog giveaway that I decided to order them for my Mom, Mother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law. The cards are so cute, personal and make a fab gift for the bargain price of $25 for 20 cards. Actually, I think these would work as holiday gifts for assistants, co-workers, hair stylists, nannies, etc. who love to cook. Below are pictures of the ones that I chose. You can find more designs if you search "recipe cards" on The Paper Cafe's website or you can design your own!

For my Mom:

For my Mother-in-Law:

For my Sister-in-Law:

Preppy PJs

Like so many others, Mr. Prepster and I are going away this Thanksgiving. While it would be fun to host someday, we are still at an age where it is nice to relax at his parents' house for 4 days rather than having to worry about putting on the whole shebang ourselves. Here's the thing though... Mr. Prepster's family tends to like to "get comfy" shortly after dinner and so everyone puts on sweats/pjs/robes, etc. and hangs out in them for the rest of the night. As you can imagine, I suffered through a couple of awkward holidays there in the last several years with my really inappropriate and/or uncute sleeping garmets on full display for my new family. Luckily I remembered this "tradition" in time to get some cute new PJs to take with me this year. I found these preppy, comfy pants from Old Navy and this cami and henley from Gap for ridiculously cheap, and now I'm all set for comfy family time this Thanksgiving!

Try a New Recipe Thursdays - Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

These potatoes would make a unique Thanksgiving side dish and would provide a nice savory complement to the sweetness of the traditional candied yam dish so many people make. Bonus points because it is easy to prepare and can be made ahead of time. Turkey day is only a week away, so get cooking!

3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup whole milk
1 onion, chopped
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
4 ounces soft fresh goat cheese (such as Montrachet), crumbled

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, bring milk, onion and butter to boil in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Drain potatoes and return to pot. Add hot milk mixture and mash. Add goat cheese and mash until blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Note: dish can be prepared 2 hours ahead of time.) Let stand at room temperature. Before serving, stir over low heat until heated through. Sprinkle with parsley or chives for added flair.

Yield: 6 servings

Is it too early to talk about Christmas decorations?

I hope not because I am very excited to decorate a real house for the first time this year! Granted I've had a few good tiny apartment Christmases, but I've never had a substantial space inside or outside to decorate. Plus, seeing all of the holiday catalogs and December magazines has really gotten me in the mood to start brainstorming what to do this year. We are definitely going to put candles in our windows and lately, I've become obsessed with the idea of hanging small wreaths from red ribbon in our windows too. The windows are very tall, so I think it might be ok to have both a candle and a wreath, as long as the wreath is up high.

The wreath look I want is basically a combination of what is in the pictures below. I like the look of hanging the wreath in an outdoor window like the picture on the left, though I would hang it higher up, but I like the actual wreath better in the picture on the right. I am excited to hear what others in the preppy blog world are doing for their Christmas and holiday decorations, so feel free to share your favorite ideas.

Christmas Lists!

Mr. Prepster and I made up our Christmas lists this weekend. Until I got married I didn't really buy in to the concept of a Christmas list. In my family we were always just surprised with our gifts, but I have to admit it has been fun to pick some things out on put them on a "wish list" the past couple of years :) So here are some of the suggestions I gave my in-laws this year. What's on your list?

Victoria Ruffle Cami from J.Crew

Cashmere Heirloom Henley from J.Crew

Lulu Leather Ballet Flats from J.Crew

Mariposa Pearled Pie Caddy

Mariposa Pearled Small Square Platter

Mariposa Pearled Spreaders

Footed Soup Tureen and Soup Bowls from Crate and Barrel

Sunday Soup cookbook

Stainless Steel Charger Plates from Crate and Barrel (these were on my wedding registry but I didn't get quite enough)

Oval Vegetable Dish in my formal china pattern, Herend Queen Victoria

Cardy Ugg Boots

Cachepot from To Bee Named

Desk Calendar from The Paper Cafe

Notecards from The Paper Cafe

Try a New Recipe Thursdays - Banana Bread Pudding

This week's recipe is inspired by New Orleans and is just as incredible as it looks in the picture!Banana Bread Pudding with Banana Rum Sauce is a fantastic cross between the classic bread pudding and Bananas Foster, the great flaming bananas and ice cream dessert.

Pudding:

6 cups bite-sized pieces of day-old French bread
3 cups milk
3 large eggs
⅔ cup plus 1 tb sugar
2 large very ripe bananas
¾ tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ cup seedless raisins
½ cup roasted pecans

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

¾ cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 300F. Put the French bread pieces into a 9x12x2 inch baking pan. In a blender or food processor, blend the eggs, milk, 2/3 cup of sugar, bananas, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla until smooth. Pour this mixture over the French bread pieces. Fold in the raisins and the pecans and let the mixture set for 20 minutes. Top with small pieces of the butter. Cover the pudding with aluminum foil and place the pan into a larger pan. Add warm water to a depth of 1 inch in the larger pan. Bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and bake uncovered for 15 minutes until set. In a deep, medium bowl, whisk the cream just until it begins to thicken. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla. Continue whisking until soft peaks form. Cover and chill.

Sauce:

⅔ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup packed light brown sugar
6 large ripe bananas, quartered
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons dark rum
2 tablespoons banana liqueur
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat a large saute pan or skillet over low heat. Add the butter, sugar, bananas, cinnamon and nutmeg. Moving the skillet back and forth, cook until the butter and sugar become creamy and the bananas begin to soften, about one minute. Remove the skillet from heat and add the rum and the liqueur. Return the pan to the heat. Tilt the pan, avert your face and and light the liquid with a long match. Shake the skillet until the flames subside. Add the vanilla, remove from heat and keep warm.

To serve, place a large scoop of bread pudding in the middle of each serving plate or bowl. Place 2 slices of banana on each plate and top with about 3 tablespoons of sauce. Spoon the whipped cream over the bread pudding and serve immediately.

Eating our way through NOLA!

Wow, is this city fabulous for those who enjoy all things rich, fried and generally delicious! I have a feeling I'm going to want to step up the workout routine when I get back, but boy is it worth it since I get to enjoy all of the delightful cuisine here. Tonight we had the pleasure of dining in a New Orleans landmark, Galatoire's, and I have to admit, it lived up to its rep. With the whole old-fashioned "jackets required" rule, the dining room made me feel like I was in another era! Everyone was dressed up and it was tremendously southern. I'd definitely recommend it if you are looking for a fancy, memorable date night. Tomorrow morning we're getting up early to venture to the famed Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter for coffee and beignets (French doughnuts) before work. If only all work travel could be this much fun.

More Fab Freebies from Blog Friends

Wow, Christmas is coming early this year for a couple of lucky blog readers. Check out MMM to win one of these or Adventures of a Southern Newlywed to win one of these! Both items would be absolutely perfect on a desk at work and would get you through some long, cold winter days. Thanks girls for being so generous and special thanks to the Paper Cafe and Keurig for sponsoring. One lucky Prepadelphia reader won MMM's last giveaway, so let's hope we can repeat. Good luck!

Blogging from the Big Easy

Sorry for the lack of updates these past couple of days. Everything seems to happen all at once for me lately. After the busiest week at work I've had in a year(!), I had a weekend that included a baby shower, a housewarming party, a birthday party, a baptism and a flight to New Orleans! That's right, I'm coming to you live from this lovely French Quarter hotel where I'll be spending the rest of the week. I'm here on a business trip, but should have time for some sightseeing, shopping and dining, so any recommendations from those familiar with this town would be much appreciated. I have to say New Orleans has made a great first impression so far. When I arrived at my hotel a little while ago I was greeted with a "bedtime snack" in the lobby that included a PB&J bar, milk and a hot chocolate bar (with whipped cream and marshmallows). Yummy.

Try a New Recipe Thursdays - Cranberry Chicken

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I'm getting to be in the mood for some cranberry flavor. I'm thinking of making this dish tonight. You should try it too.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts - you could also use any other type of chicken you prefer (thighs, bone-in breast, etc.)
1 can cranberry sauce
1 packet onion soup mix
1 small bottle of Russian dressing (ff you can’t find Russian dressing, use Catalina)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Wash and dry your chicken and set in the baking dish; salt and pepper to taste, In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Pour cranberry mixture over chicken, covering generously. Bake covered with foil for approximately 45 minutes (cooking time will vary depending on the size and type of chicken you select).

Great Final Sale Deal at J.Crew

Are you lusting after a soft, warm cashmere sweater in a pretty fall color or a nice pair of wool slacks? Take advantage of this extra 30% off coupon for final sale items at J.Crew, now through Saturday, November 8. Enter EXTRA30 when you check out to redeem the coupon. I'm very tempted by the cashmere turtleneck sweater in bright saffron. Happy deal-catching!

Get out the Vote!

Just a friendly reminder ladies - do your American duty tomorrow and vote for your favorite candidates! Remember, every vote counts, especially for those of us in the 11 states that are considered "in play" for this election and could go for either campaign - PA, VA, NC, FL, OH, IN, ND, MT, CO and NV. I, for one, can't wait to vote in my third presidential election ever (and the first with a real, non-absentee ballot).

Try a New Recipe Thursdays - Stuffed Peppers

Need a hearty meal to warm you up on cool fall evenings? Try making these yummy, healthy, stuffed peppers. I recieved this recipe during a kitchen/cooking shower that was thrown for me by friends of my mom almost two years ago now and it continues to be one of my favorite week night go-tos. It is also a great way to use leftover ground beef and/or rice.

1 lb. cooked ground beef (or ground turkey)

1 cup cooked brown rice (1/2 cup uncooked)

1/2 small onion, browned

1 packet taco seasoning

4-6 green peppers (depending on how large they are)

1 cup tomato sauce

shredded cheddar cheese

Wash and core peppers, removing seeds and membranes. Mix together cooked beef, rice and browned onion with taco mix (if you don't have leftover beef, you can brown the beef with the onion). Fill peppers and place in baking dish. Poor tomato sauce over the tops of the peppers. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle cheese over top. Bake for 5 more minutes or until the cheese melts. Enjoy - the picture at the top shows my last batch of yummy stuffed peppers!

Exciting Wins!

Wow, what a night last night was for Philadelphians! The Phillies Phinally won the World Series. I am young enough that I've never been alive for a Phillies World Series title (they last won in 1980), so it was really amazing to see how celebratory the whole city was last night. Walking Broad Street after the game was absolutely a ridiculous sight to see and if it is anything like the pandamodium last night was, I can't wait to attend the victory parade tomorrow!

Last night also brought another fun surprise. I found out I won the recipe cards giveaway on Magnolias, Marriage and Manhattan!! I just adore these cards designed by the Paper Menu and can't wait to have some signature stationery to share my recipes on courtesy of the Paper Cafe. So special thanks to MMM and to The Prep-e Girl who posted on MMM saying she was sent to the contest by me. Props to you both for your fun blogs that I really enjoy reading daily.

Washed Out!

Mr. Prepster and I are great big Phillies fans. We endured this last night and are ready to go back for more of Game 5 when the weather allows. I can't believe I was actually at a baseball game in my North Face ski coat, Uggs, long undies and a horribly ugly enormous yellow poncho and was still wet and freezing. P.S. I am still feeling wet and freezing 12 hours later! Let's hope for better luck for us and for our beloved team tonight!

Recipe Cards Giveaway on Magnolias, Marriage and Manhattan!

Happy Friday! Be sure to check out MMM's fantastic recipe card giveaway today. She found adorable recipe cards designed by Paper Menu at the Paper Cafe and is giving away a personalized set of 20 to one lucky reader. Click here to see all the products by the Paper Menu that you can buy or win and be sure to leave a comment on her blog about your favorite design. You may just be the lucky one! My favorite is the pink and green striped recipe card with a circle monogram shown in the picture to the left. If you found the contest here, do me a favor and mention Prepadelphia in your comment.

Try a New Recipe Thursdays - Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Icing

I've decided to start a new feature to share some of my favorite recipes. Here is a yummy one for fall weekends that is so easy, and it was a big hit at a World Series gathering we attended last night.

Pumpkin Bars:
2 cups pumpkin
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cups canola oil
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
2 cups flour

Cream Cheese Icing:
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 stick butter, softened
1 2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 T milk
(you can also cheat with a store-bought variety)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together pumpkin, sugar and oil. Sift flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and add it to the pumpkin mixture. Bake in an ungreased medium-sized jelly roll pan for 25-30 minutes. A fork should come out clean when it is done.

Beat softened cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar and milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Allow bars to cool before frosting them. Add a piece of candy corn or a mini candy pumpkin for a garnish if you wish. Store bars in the fridge until you are ready to serve them.

Exciting New Arrivals at J.Crew

I've been following J.Crew a fair amount lately thanks to one of my new favorite blogs, J.Crew Aficionada. They have some fabulous new arrivals for late fall/holiday that are a bit more creative and well-styled than their old standby cords and cardis (not that I don't love those too). Here are a few of their new things that I'm seriously coveting.

Victoria Ruffle Cami in Bright Fushcia:

Cashmere Heirloom Henley in Bright Papaya (or really any color):

Boucle Tweed Penny Jacket in Honey Glaze:

Can you tell I adore bright colors? What do you want from J.Crew?

Pictures of Harvest Table Setting

Here are some pictures of our new dining table centerpiece I described in my post earlier today. I set it (partially) with some of our everyday china for the photos. Not quite Pottery Barn store display worthy, but it definitely has some autumn spice now.

Harvest Table Setting

This weekend I made a special trip to the Pottery Barn to cash in on my "Family and Friends 20% off your Entire Purchase" coupon. I'm not quite sure why the Pottery Barn thinks it is my friend... hmm, maybe because we moved six months ago and gave them way too many of our $$ for furniture? Likely. In any event, I have been wanting to change up our dining room table centerpiece for a while but haven't had any brilliant ideas. So I went to good old PB for inspiration and ended up finding a very inexpensive way to put our table together with some fall flair. I will post pictures of the whole set up later because very few of the items I used are available on the PB website (so check back!), but basically, I purchased an orange table runner, some ivory linen hemstitch napkins, cute green napkin rings and several different vase fillers - pears, acorns, pinecones, etc. and went to work. Luckily I was able to use three small square vases and one large square vase I already owned and all of the different vase fillers were 30% off in the PB store right now, even before the additional 20% off coupon! All of the colorful filled vases placed together on the table looked great against the orange runner. This idea could be dressed up with a few votives or tealights and used for Thanksgiving dinner.

World Series Here We Come!

Mr. Prepster and I are huge Phillies fans and are beyond excited that they made the World Series this year. Congrats to the Phillies and best of luck in the next round! Here are some cute items for the preppy girls who are Phillies fans.

Preppy Things I Love: Mariposa

I hope everyone has a nice fall weekend! We had some friends over on Friday night so we had the occasion to use some of the entertaining items we received as wedding gifts. I was reminded how much I adore the Mariposa "string of pearls" serving pieces. You don't ever need to polish these items like you do traditional silver - Mariposa items stay glowing and gorgeous without effort on your part.

Since I discovered Mariposa's website this morning and they have many more items than I ever thought existed, I wanted to share favorite items with you all (though I can't copy the pictures, you can click on the links below). A lot of this stuff is going on my Christmas list!

Things I have and love:
-Pearled round platter with wood insert - perfect for cheese and fruit
-Pearled sauce dish - I use this on my cocktail table for pistachios or other nuts
-Pearled cake stand - this can be used to display cookies too
-Pearled round serving tray - so pretty for champagne service
-Pearled wine coaster - especially good for white bottles to guard against condensation
-Beaded box with butterfly weight - cute cocktail napkin holder (see more napkin holders, they are a Mariposa specialty)

Things I want:
-Pearled pie caddy - this would be beautiful on a Thanksgiving or Christmas table
-Pearled oblong casserole caddy - fancy lasagne?
-Pearled cupcake tier - who doesn't love cupcakes?
-Pearled cracker caddy - to match the cheese platter above
-Pearled spreader set - more cheese-related items

Any one else adore Mariposa as much as I do?

Cool Pink Stuff

Support Breast Cancer Awareness this month by purchasing any of the items featured in my Polyvore set below. Visit the websites for Coach, Polo, Kitchen Aid, M&Ms, Aveda and Bumble and Bumble to get more details and score one of these preppy pink products.
Show off that pink!

More from Cali

As promised, here are a couple of pictures of the beautiful wedding we just attended in the Napa Valley... I still can't get over how cool it was to have dinner in the wine cave. What a fantastic touch.