Chick's Pick: Amazing Free Art!

Thanks to one of the websites that I follow fairly religiously, I recently became privvy to an amazing piece of free artwork that you can print out to adorn your home.

I love art, and I love nature, and this piece encompasses both. Throw in the fact that you can personalize this artwork to reflect the love you have for someone special in your life and you've got an instant winner!


Check it out:

Source

Isn't it fantastic? I absolutely love it, and we have the fabulous people over at Kiss The Groom to thank for it! This piece is called The Kissing Tree, and I think it's neutral enough for anyone to use it! You may not be able to read the "carving" inside the heart on the tree, but mine says:

miss c.w.
+
mr. c.w.

I even created a personalized version for one of my best friends who is getting married a little later this year, so I think that's a great idea for this little project - it's so easy to do, even if you normally are more likely to buy-it-yourself than do-it-yourself! So head on over to Kiss The Groom and make a version for someone you love: your parents, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, child, pet - the possibilities are endless!

Hope you enjoyed this fabulous find!

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing

Weekend Recap Sneak Peek!

Click to see larger!

More to come...stay tuned!!!

Until next time,

Miss Chicken Wing

Quote of the Day!

Just saw this and had to share!

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

-Anonymous

Give a friend a hug today!

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing

Holy Hiatus, Batman!

Hey, Peeps! I am so sorry for the lack of posting recently - there's so much to recap on! April has always been one of the busiest months of the year for me, and since I started dating Mr. Chicken Wing, it's gotten even busier!

Before Mr. Chicken Wing, April was busy for me because Little Brother Chicken Wing's birthday is in April. Daddy Chicken Wing passed away in April. April Fools' Day is in April. And it's just an all-around busy month at work, and it seems that everything is due in April.

Throw in Mr. Chicken Wing, and you get, in addition to all mentioned before, our anniversary, Mr. Chicken Wing's stepfather's birthday, and both of Mr. Chicken Wing's brothers' birthdays! Our little brothers are literally a week apart - to the day! It's a very cool family dynamic, actually!

So, we have lots to celebrate and even something to be sad about in April - it really is a volatile roller coaster of emotions. To tell you the truth, when I step back and take a look at this month from 10,000 feet, it really takes a lot out of me.

I can only say that I am sorry for the delay, but I am excited to be back to share the highs and lows with you! After all, that's what life is all about - the lows make you appreciate the highs.

Stick with me, Peeps! :) Can you believe that May will be here this weekend?

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing

A VERY SPECIAL DAY, INDEED!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

I hope you have the best 20th birthday ever, and I love you very much! I won't care when you're 60 years old - you will always be my little brother.

I will never forget the day you were born (I had chicken pox, so I couldn't come to see you at the hospital. I had to see you for the first time through a car window). Growing up, you were sweet (when you wanted to play together) and sometimes a pain (when you got me in huge trouble because you just had to have your porcelain mug that had your birth details on it, so, being the great big sister I am, I gave it to you. You then proceeded to run full speed down the hallway and smash it on the tile floor. I got spanked for that, you know.).

Regardless of the times I wanted to (or maybe tried to) kill you, I'm much happier having you around. I'll always be here for you, and I hope you never forget that.

Chicken Wing sibs...typical behavior.

Me and Little Brother imitating Tyler Hansbrough's "face"

Until next time,
A very-old-feeling Miss Chicken Wing

First Thought of the Day

When I checked my email this morning, the Real Simple Daily Thought was this:

"Behind every successful woman...is a substantial amount of coffee." -Stephanie Piro

I had to laugh out loud because, for me, that's absolutely true! I never used to be that way - I was the girl that could not stand coffee, and I couldn't just "drink it because it was cool." When I was a kid, coffee was like smoking - young people were doing it to be part of the adult in-crowd.

And just like smoking, I never could bring myself to start coffee.

That is, until this past Christmas.

Enter the gift the Chicken Wing siblings (and Mr. Chicken Wing) gave to Momma Chicken Wing.

And, the gift that Mr. Chicken Wing's Momma gifted to us that very same Christmas.

Can you hear that? It's the angels singing. Source

It's the Keurig Coffee Maker. It's extraordinary. It's perfect for us, and so, so fast. There's no fuss and no mess, and no coffee grounds that I have to deal with. It was with Momma Chicken Wing's Keurig on Christmas morning that I discovered that there actually is a coffee that I don't mind.

**GASP!**

Who am I kidding? "Don't mind?" I LOVE IT! It is the best coffee that I've ever had that isn't a frappucino!

Van Houtte's French Vanilla K Cups (Available lots of places - Bed, Bath, & Beyond's where I get them).

And the perfect complement to this one-cup wonder, also from Bed, Bath, & Beyond?

The To-Go Cup by Copco. It's plastic, dishwasher-safe, and eco-friendly. (I bought the pink one because it's proceeds go towards breast cancer research...a 2-for-1 do-gooder's dream!)

I absolutely love taking this to and from work in the mornings. I don't drink coffee every morning, but on the days I do, it's a wonderful process.

So, HUGE THANKS to Mr. Chicken Wing's Momma, who obviously loves us very much. (We hope she knows how much we love her back!)

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing

'Tis The Details That Inspire Me

I find that I get inspired by many different things, and right now, fashion is something that leads the list.

It's amazing the mood-altering power that an article of clothing or an accessory can have on you. Sometimes, I have to happy clap when I put on a statement necklace. Ladies who wear hair flowers are girls after my own heart. (I am a HUGE fan of the hair flower, and wear them pretty regularly). When I get a new purse or pair of shoes, it's obvious in my strut. And, one of my favorite things concerning fashion? When you can get it on the cheap!

I'm all about being as thrifty as possible, so I keep Forever 21 in my favorites tab, and I check in on them from time to time. Today was one of those days, and look at the pretties I found, complete with flowers, bows, ruffles, lace, and layers!

Take the 'Chiffon Rose Trim Top.' It's absolutely beautiful - fun and feminine, and completely work appropriate! I can so see this with a pair of tapered leg black pants and your favorite heels! And for $17.80...come on now! To get this top, go here.

This little darling is called the 'Billions of Bows Top,' and I think it is absolutely precious! I really like their take on the bow situation, because bows are making a comeback! Rather than a super-sized version, this top almost looks ruffled, and I think the detailing is fantastic. And, $19.80? Makes you wanna smack your momma! Get it here.

Meet the 'Lace Peplum Top,' in all her gorgeous navy lace glory! This just screams, "WEAR ME TO THE BEACH!" I see this top and I love all the elements: the halter top, the corset detailing, and the layers - this top is all about the details, and it's easy to get inspired when you look at it! The best part? It's only $28! That's not bad at all! To get this look, go here.

If you love ruffles as much as I do, you have to start getting creative in where you place them! I have ruffled skirts, and ruffle-front button-down shirts, and even ruffled shoes. This t-shirt, called the 'Striped Capsleeve Top,' embodies just the creativity I'm talking about! The ruffles are featured subtly on the sleeves and I am all.about.it. It's $17.80, which is decent for a t-shirt as adorable as this one, and you can get it by going here.

Finally, say hello to my little friend! "Hello, 'Ruched Sleeve Knit Cardigan,' you saucy minx!" I need to get into this cardigan right stat! I love the draping, I love the pockets, and I love the relaxed sophistication. The only downside, in my opinion, is that there aren't more color choices. This would be one of those wardrobe staples...it would be a sin to not buy in every color, but the only one is heather grey. Not that I have a problem with that, because as you can see, it's absolutely beautiful! This one is the best deal of all at $12.80! Kiss my grits, and give me this cardigan! (You want one, too? Go here.)

I hope that you've enjoyed today's lovelies, and that you might have found some inspiration along the way. As always, I don't own any of the rights to these images - Forever 21 does...I just want to have them all hanging in my closet! Haha!

I'm curious if I'm the only one that gets a spring itch when it comes to being inspired by fashion. In fact, I look for inspiration in everything, so help me out, Peeps.

I want to know...what's inspired you lately?

Just leave a comment here or on facebook!

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing

Decorawesome!

You've heard of decorating. How about decorawesome?

No?

Oh, that's because I just made that word up! Remember the gorgeous table and chairs set that I recently blogged about here?

I wanted you to see them, in all their glass-and-oil-rubbed-bronze beauty.

If you look in the top left corner, you can see my wine racks - the first craigslist purchase I made!

And, with a little damask goodness, naturally! :)

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing

Let's Hear It For The Boy!

Why?

Because I lurrrrrvvvvveeee him!

I was having an iffy day today, just because the weather was crap - it was cloudy, gloomy, and POURING buckets of rain on the ground, and on my parade.

Plus, I was doing TONS of work in Microsoft Excel today...can we say spreadsheet hell? I can only take so much of that at a time, and this type of day only happens to me a few times per year, so I can't really complain too much. I know that I'm still blessed.

But, either way, as you all know, the weather can have a MAJOR effect on your mood, and that's just what had happened to me today. That is until....

...I received a call from our receptionist that said, "Hey, Chicken Wing, you have a package up here."

What??? I didn't order anything, and I wasn't expecting anything for work. I hustled my way up to the front desk and there sat a box from 1-800-FLOWERS.com.

"No way."

"Waaaaay."

So, I very excitedly ran back to my desk, ripped open the box (very carefully), and found these:

Aren't they gorgeous and springy???

They give my new table and chairs that extra something!

Here's the super sweet card that came with them!!!
(See, I told you the whole Chicken Wing persona was born because of him!)

They smelled amazing - everyone in the office loved them!

It was amazing how such a small gesture made such an impact in my day. I think I was especially happy because one of the differences in Mr. CW and me is that romance is at the top of my needs list, while it's not as important to him. It's been one of the constant struggles in our relationship. In the past few years, though, Mr. Chicken Wing has really made an effort to be more romantic - whether it's sending me a sweet text wishing me luck on a project or sending me the most amazing bouquet of flowers - just because.

S o b a s i c a l l y , M r . C h i c k e n W i n g . . .

I ' m s o l u c k y t o h a v e y o u .

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing

Easter Weekend Recap!

Hello, everyone! I hope you had a fantastic weekend, and a really wonderful Easter! I know that my weekend was fabulous, and I can only wish that my Peeps had smiles on their faces!

Here's the Chicken Wing Weekend Recap:

Friday night was actually fairly tame for me, as I had to get any chores done that were going to be done. I had plans for the rest of the weekend! You cannot let chores interfere with your plans, now can you?

Saturday morning, Little Sister Chicken Wing and I took a little field trip because I wanted to check out a new table and chairs set that I'd seen on craigslist. Seriously, if you've never been on http://www.craigslist.com/, you should go there now. It's an internet yard sale extravaganza, and you can find just about anything on there! Now, I know that using craigslist has the potential to be dangerous, as you don't know the people who have the goods you want, and you have to meet up with them to get the goods, but so far, I'm 2 for 3 on my purchases.

The first purchase was a matching pair of mosaic-topped wine racks that I scored for only $20! Big win! After that, I looked into updating my coffee and end tables set...I had been wanting slate-topped tables for quite awhile, and I found them on craigslist! SCORE! I emailed the lady that owned them and expressed my interest - I told her I'd even drive to her (she was in a neighboring state even!). And she never emailed me back. Boo! Hiss!

So, after a minor temper tantrum about those tables, I decided that they weren't necessarily practical when I actually really needed a smaller table and chairs set for our eat-in kitchen. We had a gorgeous (and HUGE) dining room table in the kitchen that Mr. Chicken Wing's family had for years - it was one of our favorite things from his family's former home, and so I had to figure out some way to work things out. (Don't worry, Peeps, there's a fun project that's coming out of that!!! Stay tuned!)

So, my third crush was on a beautiful set in a city a few hours away from the Casa de Chicken Wing, so I drug Little Sis out to go with me. Did I mention that she drives a Ford Expedition? But, I really wanted company, too, so off we went on Saturday morning. We got to the couple's house, I loved the set in person, and the transaction was made! I was proud as a peacock about my fantastic find, and we even got to have a mini field trip on the way back home.

You see, I've mentioned before that I have the attention span of a gnat, and I saw this water wheel on the way to get the table and chairs. I decided that I must stop and see what it was about on the way back. Needless to say, I had no idea where I was, but some of the places looked familiar to me, like I'd been there before. It was strange. Then, lo and behold, we came upon the entrance to none other than Monticello, the home of third President Thomas Jefferson! We had each taken an actual school field trip there when we were children! The water wheel belonged to historic Michie Tavern, and we spent about an hour exploring.

Bum, bum, bum - water wheel!!!

Want photo evidence that Michie Tavern is an awesome place?

Sister shot!

Please excuse my attire...I was only planning on moving furniture that day!

Beautiful gift shop and restaurant on the property

Our "sister" dogwood flower rings - what can I say? We were representing our state!

Then, after all of that fun, we spent time sunbathing on the patio (because you have to start building your tan early!), and then got ready for a farewell party for one of our colleagues and best friends. He has taken a new job in a neighboring state, so we wanted to throw a dinner for him to celebrate the past three years! Here are some fantastic photos from the event - we will miss you, Mr. Fisch!

Mr. Fisch is in the white polo - all of us in the picture work together!

Little Sister Chicken Wing, the Weatherman, and yours truly

A Fisch sandwich!

And now that you've thought that there couldn't be any more fun to be had by the Chicken Wing family, we all gathered at Grandma & Papa Chicken Wing's house for Easter lunch, dinner, a tiny bit of Easter candy and Mexican domino tournament!!!

If you don't have this game, go buy it.

And that pretty much wraps up an incredibly fun weekend. As you can see, it totally wore us out...just ask MuChi!

It's Snuggie time!!! (Who's not ashamed?)

I think it's great to spend Easter with your family - it's a reminder of God's love for all of us, and the long lineage of love that brought us all into the world!

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing

Hallelujah!

If you've never heard the remarkable song by Leonard Cohen, it's a good thing I'm here to save you!

This song is absolutely amazing, but this rendition in particular moves me and gives me insane chills. The group is The Canadian Tenors, and they are one of the most outstanding sounding male groups I've heard in a very, very long time. They sound fantastic individually, but they are heaven when singing in unison!

This particular video that I'm going to share with you came when The Canadian Tenors were guests on The Oprah Winfrey Show. They were talking about musical influences in their lives, and they all mentioned their respect and adoration for Celine Dion, arguably the most successful mainstream Canadian female singer.

Little did they know that Oprah, the woman famous for making people's dreams come true, had a little surprise for them! They thought they were just getting an opportunity to showcase their incredible voices on her large television platform - they had no idea that someone was there that wanted in on the song!

Have a look and a listen, and enjoy the song and the group. They are equally phenomenal.

Source

P.S. - How incredibly attractive is the first guy that sings?!?! His name is Fraser Walters, and he is a cutie! If you want to learn more about them and hear more of their amazing music, please go to their website by clicking here.

Until next time,
Miss Chicken Wing