Going Red for Addison + A Heartfelt Event with Kendra Scott

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson

RED DRESS || STATEMENT EARRINGS || NUDE HEELS

There is so much more to this red dress than just a bright bold color, a figure flattering silhouette, and a beautiful ruffle detail.  This dress has meaning...the reason I wear this red dress HAS meaning and it is all about Addison!

For those of you who have been regular visitors to KBStyled, you will most likely recall "Addison's heart story" that I have shared for the last 2 years.  

You see, Addison was born with a heart defect...her heart was a little less than perfect although she seemed absolutely PERFECT in our eyes.  From the day she was born, there was always a dark cloud that followed us around knowing that one day, Addison's tiny heart would have to be fixed.  What this meant is that our sweet baby girl had to undergo open heart surgery to mend her broken heart.

Surgery day came and went with much success and she is a thriving, spirited, funny, adventurous, loving, and smart 6 year old!  Read more about our "Addison's heart story" HERE!

Having gone through this experience with our sweet little girl we have become more aware about how we can give back in a way that benefits & supports others who may have a similar condition or who may have overcome heart related health issues.

For the last several years I have been involved with our local American Heart Association chapter.  Being able to share Addison's story and use my voice through KBStyled has been such a blessing.

Giving back to the American Heart Association is important to me and my family.  This year marks my 3rd year hosting an event with Kendra Scott to benefit the American Heart Association.  

On 2/13/18, I will be hosting an "give back" event with Nashville's local Kendra Scott where a percentage of the proceeds will be donated back to the American Heart Association.  My hope in doing this is that I will bring more awareness both locally and nationally.

I've included the details for our event below!  You don't have to be local to get involved.  If you wish to contribute to this cause, you are welcome to contact our local Kendra Scott store and purchase the "Addison earrings" (see pic below) or any other item so the proceeds will go to the Nashville American Heart Association.

To Order:

Kendra Scott Nashville

"Addison" earrings or any other item

Call: 1-615-600-4353

Every bit of involvement makes a difference!  Last year I heard from so many of you with personal heart health related stories and I imagine there are many stories to share.

If you live locally, I'd love for you to come out the evening of the event to meet, enjoy an evening out, and support a great cause!  I hope to see you there!

On behalf of Addison and our family, thank you for letting me share a bit about her story with you!  I appreciate you taking the time to read today's post and if you ever wish to share your own personal story, please don't hesitate to reach out!

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Valentine's Day Tablescape

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson

LACE TOP || DISTRESSED DENIM 

TABLECOTH || NAPKINS || CHARGERS || DISHES || SILVERWARE || NAPKIN RINGS || FLORAL TILE - MICHAEL'S || GLITTER HEARTS - MICHAEL'S || FLORALS - MICHAEL'S

I LOVED putting together this Valentine's Day inspired tablescape and I'm excited to share it with you all today!

When deciding how I would style my Valentine's tablescape, I knew that I wanted to create a tablescape that was perfect for a family dinner, a romantic dinner for 2, or for a Galentine's gathering.   I also knew that I wanted soft sweet colors so I decided on white, grey, and soft pink and I also knew that I wanted to create a more shabby chic tablescape.

When planning out the details of my tablescapes, my first decision is always whether or not to cover our table.  I love the natural wood of our kitchen table but I also love beautiful tablecloths.  Tablecloths create a polished put-together look!

This soft floral tablecloth was the perfect starting point for my Valentine's Day tablescape.  I then picked the white & grey check cloth dinner napkins.  Mixing prints adds a lot of visual interest.  You could also use solid colored napkins if you'd prefer but I love pairing florals with checks, dots, and stripes!

I decided on these gorgeous carved white chargers and these antique scroll white dinner plates to help create a shabby chic look.  These rose fern napkin rings also were the perfect compliment to the theme of my tablescape.

On to the centerpiece...

My initial plan for the centerpiece was totally different but I stumbled across a wall of floral tiles at Michael's and my plans quickly changed.  I love the way the floral tile looked and it was large enough to make a statement yet small enough to not overtake the table.

The tile was covered with only pink flowers on it so I bought some additional light green faux floral sprigs and eucalyptus at Michael's as well.  I strategically weaved the greenery into the floral tile and I finished the centerpiece by adding some baby's breathe, a few glitter hearts, and some tea lights.  To tie in the Valentine's Day theme, I tied pink glitter hearts to the napkin rings as well.

Add a couple of additional votive candles and voila, you have a beautiful Valentine's Day tablescape!

I would love to hear your thoughts as well as if you are enjoying these types of posts!  I sure do enjoy putting them together for you.

What do you have planned for Valentine's Day?!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

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Caprese Has My Heart - Valentine's Day Appetizer

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson

PERFECT VALENTINE'S DAY RED DRESS

Planning to spend Valentine's Day celebrating at home with your significant other, family, or maybe planning a Galentine's Day brunch/dinner?!  If so, I'm sharing the most delicious and very simple Heart Caprese Salad recipe with you! 

Caprese salad is a crowd pleaser (one of my family's favorites) and is very easy to make!  It doesn't take much time to put together, which gives you more time to focus on your main dish or maybe a fun dessert!

HEART CAPRESE SALAD

- pre-packaged mozzarella cheese - whole or pre-sliced *I bought pre-sliced and the cheese was cut into about 1/2 inch round slices

- basil leaves

- ripe sweet tomatoes

- light olive oil

-balsamic glaze

- salt & pepper to taste

- small heart cookie cutter *I purchased mine from Michael's

Use your heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out your mozzarella hearts.  Cut your tomatoes into thick slices.  Lay down your tomato slices onto your serving tray, place a whole basil leaf on top and then place your heart mozzarella on top.  Drizzle with a little bit of light olive oil and then drizzle with balsamic glaze.  Sprinkle with pinch of salt & pepper.  Voila...enjoy!!!

How will you be spending Valentine's Day?!  

As always, thanks so much for stopping by...have a great day!

Our Session with Little Nest Portraits

Photography by Little Nest Portraits

It's not often that we have family photos taken in a studio but I'm so glad that we got to enjoy a family session with Little Nest Portraits here in Franklin, TN.  When Little Nest Portraits reached out to me sharing more about their boutique photography services, I immediately knew that I wanted to schedule a session.  I'm so glad that I did!

We arrived to our session on a December Sunday afternoon at 4pm and we were greeted by such a delightful and professional team.  Of course we were a bit rushed getting there (no matter how much you plan in advance, getting kiddos ready for a photo session is never was) and I was a bit frazzled.  We had forgotten Reins' shoes at home...YIKES.  Peter rushed back home to pick up his shoes (luckily we only live 5 minutes from the studio) and in the meantime, Reins and Addison played in their beautiful lounge area and I got a tour of the studio.  In that moment, I was so thankful for such a sweet & UNDERSTANDING team...they helped but this Momma at ease.  When Mommy is relaxed, everyone else is relaxed.  Am I right?!

While Peter was to an from home picking up his shoes and after a little play time (and my tour), our Photographer started to capture some candid shots of Reins & Addison.  They worked around Reins' missing shoes and still captured some beautiful shots of he and Addison.  I also sat in for some shots with both of them until Peter got back.

The entire team was relaxed and our Photographer, Miranda, was wonderful!  She worked so well with Reins and Addison and made them both feel comfortable.  This was one of the more relaxed and comfortable family sessions we have ever had.  Being inside of a beautiful studio certainly helped but the team also played a big role in our overall experience too.

I should back up a little and share that before we went in for our session, I spent a lot of time exchanging email communications with the Little Nest Portraits team.  We decided on some backdrops before our session date so I knew going into our session what to expect, which also helped with the planning of our outfits!  They offer very neutral backdrops, which I personally LOVE, and they also put together special backdrops for various holidays throughout the year.  Everything is very classy and not overdone.  The studio and backdrops create an environment that enables you/your family to stand out...in other words, you will be the focus of the final image, not the backdrop!

Back to our session...

Our Photographer shot with us for about 30 minutes, which was plenty of time to capture exactly what we were looking for.  Depending on the package/session that you choose, you may be able to see your images same day or your may need to schedule a follow up appointment where you go in, sit down with the team, and review your hand-selected images, which is what we did.  

The team creates a beautiful slideshow presentation of about 25-30 images.  You will then go one by one and either mark them as one that you love or one that you don't love (or as a maybe that you want to revisit).  During that meeting, you will select your final images that will then be sent off for final retouching.  If there are any specific aspects of the image that you wish to have retouched, you can make those requests during your session.  For example, Reins' ears were a bit red so I asked that they tone down the red in his ears.  This type of personal care and customization was so nice!  You truly know what you will be receiving!

Little Nest Portraits also offers customized framing as well.  So if you know you want to have a specific image framed, you can select all of the details during your meeting as well.  They have a variety of frame styles, colors, etc.

Another thing that I love about Little Nest Portraits is that you can join their Heirloom Membership, which is perfect for someone who has a newborn that may want to capture images throughout their child's first year.  Not only is this great for Newborns but it is also great for a family who may want to  capture images together throughout the year around the various holidays.  They change their session decor for holidays such as Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, Christmas, etc.  The decor for these holidays is very subtle and again, classy and not overdone.

Little Nest Portraits has various locations within the US and continues to grow their boutique photography brand.  Here in TN, there is a location in Franklin and in Knoxville.

I highly recommend that you consider Little Nest Portraits when booking an in studio photo session.  We had such a wonderful experience and I feel confident in saying that you will too!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful Sunday afternoon!

Floral Fluffy Winter Sweater

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson

FLORAL SWEATER ||  DENIM || EARRINGS || RINGS || BOOTIES

What's not to love about a beautiful floral winter sweater that is fuzzy (not itchy), comfortable, and of course super warm?!  The soft peach backdrop with the burgundy floral print immediately stood out to me and the minute I slipped on this sweater, I knew it had to find its way to my closet.  I mean...a girl can never have too many sweaters, right?!

This sweater is affordable (priced right at $75) and I can assure you, will be grabbing for it time and time again.  I also snagged these jeans which are my new favs...because I am 5'4" they cut off at the right place and the fit is soooo good!  Both the sweater and denim fit true to size!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope you have a great start to your week. 

Green Patchwork Blouse - Sale Alert

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson

MOTO JACKET || PATCHWORK BLOUSE (on sale for under $20) || DENIM || HANDBAG || EARRINGS || LEFT HAND RING || RIGHT HAND RINGS || BOOTS

I've been drawn to green lately...you never see a lot of green in stores so when you do, it stands out and I gravitate towards it.  All shades of it including this pretty kelly green patchwork top.

The subtle all over print with touches of blue also caught my eye.  This top is perfect for everyday where with denim and it is also perfect to dress up for a more professional, office appropriate look.

Even better, this top is currently on mega sale and is priced at under $20 right now!  All sizes are still available as well!  For a size reference, I am wearing a size small.

Snag this one before it sells out...who can resist such a pretty versatile top at under $20?!  Sales always get me!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

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Apple Pear Chopped Salad with Apple Cider Dressing

Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson 

TOP || DENIM || NECKLACE || EARRINGS

CACTUS DINNERWARE || FLATWARE || SERVING TRAY || WOOD SALAD TONGS

I've always LOVED salads...I have memories of eating salads at a very young age.  My love for salads started early and it has only grown over the years.  Often times my nighttime meal throughout high school and college (and of course ever since) would be a large chef or chopped salad.  I've gotten creative over the years and have really enjoyed mixing different ingredients together to make some very tasty salads.  Anything goes!

I've even turned our kiddos on to salads!  Patting myself on the back over here...I feel like I'm winning in the Mom department when Reins & Addison ask me to make them a salad for lunch or dinner.  They LOVE my chopped salads, which is great because it is an easy way for me to fuel their tummies with lots of veggies and nutrient rich foods!

Most of you know that I am back on the eat well health crusade to be a happier healthier me so of course salads are a daily staple around here.  So for today's post, I'm sharing my Apple Pear Chopped Salad with Apple Cider Dressing.  Being that I am currently on Whole 30, I do have to adjust a few things with this particular salad but even without the adjustments, it is a good for you meal.

WHAT'S IN THIS SALAD?!

ROMAINE LETTUCE (I prefer leafy romaine vs romaine hearts)

RED APPLE (any red apple will do)

BARTLETT PEAR

DRIED ORGANIC CRANBERRIES

CRISP BACON (I use Paleo bacon...find at Whole Foods or health food store)

RED ONION 

FETA CHEESE

NUTS OF YOUR CHOICE (I used walnuts but slivered almonds would be great too)

p.s you can use candied walnuts to add a little extra sweetness

p.s.s add chicken for an extra oomph of protein

**Chop all ingredients and mix all together...add a dash of salt & cracked pepper.

APPLE CIDER DRESSING 

1/2 CUP APPLE JUICE

1/2 CUP OF APPLE CIDER VINEGAR 

1/2 CUP OF OLIVE OIL

2-3 TABLESPOONS OF HONEY

2 TABLESPOONS DICED SHALLOTS

DASH OF SALE & BLACK PEPPER

**I mix all ingredients together in a mason jar, shake, and store in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving, allowing the flavors to meld together.  You can also make ahead of time...the longer the flavors set, the more flavorful your dressing will be.  Adjust salt to taste.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  I'd love to hear if you end up making this Apple Pear Chopped Salad!

Have a great start to your week!