Swarovski Rhody Blogger Event

We are very excited to share with you our experience at the Swarovski Headquarters here in Cranston, Rhode Island.  We were invited to take a peek at Swarovski's Fall Collection and introduce us to another side of Swarovski… Touchstone Crystal! More details below. 

We were like two girls in a candy store!!!  We loved everything and could envision us wearing a lot of pieces! Here are a few of our favorites and an inside view to their employee store.

Here we are trying out some bling bling for our  a stacked bracelet look - which we learned was called an "arm party".  We have no idea how we didn't buy these! It took a lot of will power. We weren't alone, we met some amazing local Rhode Island bloggers that we were able to interact with.  

Now, the highlight of our evening.  Swarovski now has a direct selling brand, Touchstone Crystals and here at Stylish Mama meets Organized Chica, we love it!! 

Best part was we were given a $250 gift certificate to go shopping in their fall/winter catalog! Who doesn't love free jewelry?! We have to tell you though, we had such a hard time picking how were going to spend our money.  It actually took us a couple of days to narrow down our list.  So many favorites and all so reasonably priced!  Yes, we said reasonably priced!!

Stay tuned to see what we chose and how you can purchase this exclusive jewelry line from Swarovski!

Love,
Stylish Mama meets Organized Chica - xox

First week of Fall

This week brings fall.  And with that means two things I am not too fond of...Falling Leaves and Cold Air.

However there are lots to be happy about!

Here are just a few that I am excited about:  (disclaimer if you are hungry...most of my list is food related!)

1. PSL (for all of you who are not familiar that would be Pumpkin Spice Latte!)
2. Apple Pie 
3. Apple Picking
4. Cider Donuts
5. Sweaters
6. Boots
7. Scarves
8. Apple Cider
9. Baking 
10. Crock Pot Meals

So that last one on the list brings me to why I am posting today...
Crock Pot meals are essential during the cooler months.  A great way to come home on a cold day is to come home to something warm and ready for you to enjoy for a meal.

Here is a go to recipe that I have made time and time again...also a popular one on football Sunday...notice that was not a favorite on my fall favorite list.  Boo to football...however I am a good wife and love to make my hubby happy.  And this fall dish certainly makes my man happy.

Diablo Chicken Chili

1 to 2lbs of boneless chicken breasts cut up into small pieces
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tsp. of chili powder
4 tsp of ground cumin
1 green pepper chopped
1 red pepper chopped
2 small onions chopped
1 8oz package of sliced mushrooms
2 carrots chopped
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can of tomato puree
1 jalapeno pepper chopped
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of black beans
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp brown sugar

Its as simple as this - mix all the above ingredients - dump into a crock pot, set the crock pot on high for 8 hours and its ready to be enjoyed!

I always serve this with a topping bar - I use sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, green onions sliced, and corn bread sliced with warm butter and honey on the side!

Enjoy and bundle up!! 

Love, Stylish Mama

Summer loving had me a blast, oh yeah Summer loving happened so fast!

Now that we have that Grease song in your head...we have got your attention!

We're back! Did you miss us?

Anyone else feel like summer has come and gone way too quick?  Both of us are such summer girls that its hard to think that summer is slowly escaping us.  Only a few more warm sunny days left this year...quick, time for one more margarita, one more squeezing into that bathing suit, one more time to wear flip flops, and possibly wearing white before you get too many crazy looks!

We thought a good way to catch up is to talk a little about our summer and some of the things we were up to. 

Stylish Mama:

My family and I really had fun enjoying all that our fabulous New England has to offer!  We started our summer vacation enjoying the local area...we went to the Southwick Zoo, Boston Commons (swan boats are just as wonderful as I remember from childhood), Cape Cod (Dennis, MA), Great Wolf Lodge in Northen Mass, Story Land in NH, Lincoln NH, and lastly Maine.

Wow, looking over all my summer photos we really did do a lot!!  

There has been some changes in my life...including my daughter attending preschool two days a week.  For those of you who talk to me on the regular basis you will know this has become one of the biggest struggles thus far in my life.  My daughter hasn't warmed up to the idea of being away from us and my parents who have helped watch her the past 4 years.  Separation anxiety in full swing...hoping the months ahead will be good ones.  (anyone have that margarita yet?)

Well there is nothing like blogging to keep your mind off the stressful times and all the mind clutter it brings with it.  I am fully ready and motivated to start blogging and getting this mind onto the things I do actually love about the fall months approaching...like pumpkin everything, cozy sweaters, hunter boots, and warm comfort food.  

Organized Chica: 

Nooooooooooooo!!! Summer can't be over in 4 days!!! Why? Oh man, back to my miserable self I guess.  I'll be in hibernation if anyone needs me. (I wish!)

Wish I could say that I went away somewhere on vacation but the truth be told, I worked hard none-stop. Being promoted right before Summer took a toll on all summer plans.  I would punch in but not know what time I would punch out.  I've been trying really hard to simplify my schedule since I was trying to do too many things at once in addition to my 9-5 job, not a realistic or healthy choice so I started cutting back.  I'm still tweaking things but at least I'm starting to feel that I can breathe again, sometimes.

I was looking forward to my summer to enjoy it to the fullest but that didn't quite happen.  Although I did do a few fun things and made sure to make it to the beach twice at least.  Summer this year in New England was a bit weird.  We had our really hot days but most of the time it was cooler weather then what we are accustomed to, although I know of many that preferred this weather overall.  

So what did I do this Summer?

I was able to visit Hampton Beach in New Hampshire.  This beach is awesome, it's very clean but watch out for the crowds, better arrive early or you'll be caught in the crowd.  I also visited a few of Connecticut's vineyards which we were absolutely beautiful.  Vineyards is something that was introduced to me by a dear friend a few years ago and ever since I've been hooked. Went to NYC for a few days, visited local beaches, had an awesome Girls Nite Out with my ladies and tried to soak in the sun whenever it was possible.

Two new things for me that I started this Summer was joining the gym and couponing.  I have so much to share with you on the new things I've learned.

We appreciate how some of you were asking if we were going to continue with the blog.  We had friends tell us that they missed reading our posts.  That itself was a nice reminder that we do matter, even if its just a little.  Between work and summer plans, our energy was consumed and we felt that we couldn't really dedicate the time the blog deserved.  We won't promise you that we will post everyday or every other day because things are still very hectic.  We want the blog to be meaningful to us and you.  We want to enjoy having this little "baby" and seeing it grow but all at it's time.  We want to transmit to you what we have been up to and what we are loving in the moment and not feel the burden of just posting about something meaningless to you or us just so we can post.  We will do our best to post as much as we can and that is OK with us.

On that note, thank you for not forgetting about us.  We are back to stay!

Love,
Stylish Mama & Organized Chica