Healthy Kale and Berry Smoothie Making healthy smoothies in our home is a regular thing, we either make them in the morning for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. My kiddos love fruit (thankfully) and I want to introduce it to them in as many ways as possible. I'm...
Guys, have you ever wondered how to frost a rose? You have? Me too! I recently discovered cakes and cupcakes covered in the most glamorous pink roses at Alina's Patisserie in Connecticut. Several weeks ago, I was collaborating with Alina on a Red Carpet Cupcake for my...
Academy Awards Party Ideas Are you ready for the Oscars? We are! Hollywood's most glamorous evening, the 88th Annual Academy Awards will begin at 7:00pm on Sunday, February 28th on ABC. If you are thinking about hosting an Academy Awards party, I've assembled some...
How to make chocolate lollipops The Home & Leisure channel is one of my indulgences. Once our children are in bed for the evening, I love me some HGTV, Travel and basically all the food networks. I watch it all! A couple of months ago, I stumbled upon Ina Garten,...
Welcome to day three of tips on how to host a fabulous Academy Awards Viewing Party! The Oscars are all about celebrating the best of film, whether it is the actors, the music, the directors, the screenplay writers or the cinematography - this is an evening of...
Welcome to the second day of this week-long series on ideas and tips for hosting a fabulous Academy Awards Viewing Party! The Oscar theme this year is "We all dream in gold" so I brought it. I love bringing friends together and entertaining. In yesterday's post, I...
Hollywood's most glamorous evening, the 88th Annual Academy Awards will begin at 7:00pm on Sunday, February 28th on ABC. If you are thinking about hosting an Academy Awards party, I've assembled some ideas and tips that will help inspire you! And don't think that you...
Maybe someday I will tell you about the boy I followed to Hawaii after college, but it's not for today's post. What I do want to share with you about Hawaii is that it was the first place I ate Japanese Gyoza, also known as "pot stickers" which are actually...
Crispy Brussels Sprouts {Crispy Brussels Sprouts Recipe from Connecticut in Style} I've often wondered if the reason people don't like certain foods is simply due to the fact that they haven't been cooked correctly. When my husband and I first started dating, I would...
{Trader Joe's Broccoli Slaw and Kale Salad with Grilled Chicken} I'd like to introduce you to my latest lunch addiction. Meet Trader Joe's $3.99 Broccoli Slaw and Kale Salad with Grilled Chicken. It is a bright and colorful salad that covers a lot of important food...
All-in-one meals make sense to me. Especially when the flavor combinations pair really well like ham, cheese and eggs. They remind me of farm to table food. Ham, cheese and egg cups is a great twist on breakfast. I used sliced ham for these cups, but partially-cooked...
I have a very good problem. I have more ideas to share with you than days allow. Therefore, my monthly Birchbox Subscription Review for December had to take a back seat to all the holiday-related content (no disrespect to the makeup Goddesses). Opening up my monthly...
Happy New Year's Eve! To wrap up the week-long series about hosting a Chic New Year's Eve party, I wanted to share the elements needed to create memorable New Year's Eve photos! Thanks to Jess at The Confetti Bar for collaborating with me on this fun post! To set the...
{Banana Republic Fringe Hem Dress and Adelia D'Orsay Pump} My husband does really well when it comes to buying gifts for me. He always seems to have a handle on what's on my lust list. However, if he's ever stumped, he has a fail-safe backup plan that he knows that I...
These gorgeous glitter champagne flutes add instant glam to your New Year's Eve Party! Here is a quick and super easy do-it-yourself project to make your New Year's Eve celebration more festive. Using plastic or glass champagne flutes, simply spray them with spray...
{A Chic New Year's Eve Party - Ideas and Inspiration} If you celebrate Christmas, I hope that it was wonderful! We are savoring the last helpings of Christmas Dinner leftovers: prime rib sandwiches, pan-fried Brussels sprouts with crispy bacon, chicken sausage...
Perhaps there is no greater time of year than Christmas to continue old traditions. Baking cookies and making gingerbread houses are some of my treasured holiday traditions. Every year I challenge myself to experiment with a new design or style. I've been on a "gold...
Healthy After School Snack from Connecticut in Style I enjoy making healthy after school snacks for my children, Jackson and Catherine. We really like smoothies consisting of fresh berries, organic whole milk and yogurt. But, I've found that when winter is upon us,...
As you all know, chocolate and mint are a classic flavor combination. I think I was first introduced to it via Andes Crème de Menthe Thins and then the Girl Scouts of America eclipsed them with the best cookie ever. Thin Mints (Tip: Thin Mints preserve fabulously in...
Balducci's Food Lover's Market {burrata +basil + crisps + balsamic glaze = heaven} Have you ever eaten something so delicious that you can't get it out of your mind? It happened to me several weeks ago when the kind folks at Balducci's invited me to their Westport, CT...
Life's too short not to eat cake, at least once in a while. But we totally indulged in Halloween sweets and treats and on top of that, our son got the biggest candy "haul" ever. He and his friends (and extremely fun parent chaperones) must have walked miles filling...
Happy Friday! Where we live, the kiddos in our community Trick or Treat on Halloween night, regardless of the day of the week. Most of the time, there's school the next morning which means that the fun has to end at a reasonable hour. There's something special about...
I don't know many people that are a fan of spiders, but if these little guys don't make your Halloween guests smile, I don't know what will. I found these chocolate spiders at Balducci's in Westport, Connecticut and I knew that I needed to find a way to use them for...
Happy Monday and yay! Why am I so excited? Because it is Halloween week and I've got so many fun posts planned! I can't wait to share each and every one. A couple weeks ago, I started curating some cute ideas for Halloween and when I saw this Mummy Juice Box, I had to...
Last week, I blogged about Fall Front Door Inspiration (here). I found my inspiration (yippie!) and headed to a few of the local farms in the area to hand pick the pumpkins, mums and a few other items. As I was driving home, I saw a lawn crew putting the most...
Today is National Dessert Day! In honor of the occasion, I've put together a round-up of my favorite desserts. I bake what I love to eat the most, so in this list there are several recipes that I have made. I actually took a stab at ordering them in priority from my...
I recently purchased a dress designed by one of my fashion icons, Diane von Furstenberg. It is one of her classic wrap-dresses in a vivid print. Getting the dress is one thing, putting the entire outfit together is another. I felt like I owed it to the dress to...
I love apple crisp. Even the name sounds delicious! Last night, my husband brought a business associate over for dinner and thankfully, he gave me plenty of notice so I could prepare. I knew I was going to make pork chops and I immediately thought of a dessert with...
I'm still smiling after the Greenwich WINE+FOOD Festival. It surpassed my expectations on all levels from the size of the crowd (over 5,000 very happy people) to the delicious and never-ending samples of drinks and food that were generously handed out by the hundreds...
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with David White, Executive Chef at Vespa restaurant in Westport, Connecticut. He was selected as one of the 2015 Innovative Chefs for the Greenwich WINE+FOOD Festival where he will participate by bringing his unique style to...
I'm so excited to have the opportunity to attend the fifth annual Greenwich WINE+FOOD Festival this year! The festival begins on Wednesday, September 23 and ends on Saturday evening, September 26th. The lineup of celebrity chefs, entertainment and events is simply...
Gifts for the Traveling Man You may be wondering what milk and cookies has to do with a traveling man. Here's the story. Today is my husband's birthday (Happy Birthday honey!) and instead of a traditional birthday cake, he got his favorite chocolate chip cookies. The...
Mixed crystal jewelry from J. Crew - my favs this fall on CT in Style, a Connecticut-based lifestyle blog. Mixed stones. Mixed crystals. This fall's fashion trend is to mix it up on your ears, neck and your wrist with a burst of colorful and bright jewelry to make you...
With school starting soon, today's post is about the snacks and lunches that I pack for my children. However, before you read any further, this is my disclaimer: I am not a certified nutritionist. I'm a Mom that wants her kiddos to eat well balanced meals. Yes, we try...
One of the many reasons I love summer is the extra time I have with my kiddos. In the summer months when school is out, everything slows down and starts later. I especially love the lazy mornings because my children sleep a little longer, my husband and I can enjoy a...
CT in Style Product Crush - Monica Rich Kosann Lockets I recently inherited a pair of Tiffany earrings from my mother. She knew that I was coveting them and surprised me with them as a gift on my last birthday. They had been given to my mother by my father after I was...
Papaya and Lime Snack CT in Style, a Connecticut-based lifestyle blog serving up Papaya and fresh lime juice! Papaya and Lime Snack Growing up on a tropical island was sublime. Fruits like mangoes, bananas and pawpaws (papaya) were an everyday staple and we...
Next to authentic strawberry shortcakes with fresh whipped cream, peach cobbler is my favorite dessert. I wanted to share a link to my favorite recipe Fresh Southern Peach Cobbler. I think it is best served warm with vanilla ice cream, Enjoy! Combine the...
Connecticut Bloggers - CT in Style is a Connecticut-based lifestyle blog. Elevate your style. Flowers make me happy, which is why I cannot leave a supermarket without my arms or cart filled. They always make my days brighter, and it's not just because they are so...
I was a Barista. The summer before I went to Penn State, I worked in a really unique place in Westport, Connecticut that was a combination of a dry goods and fresh produce store, charcuterie, restaurant and espresso bar. I got the early morning shift working the...
CT in Style - A Connecticut-based lifestyle blog by Sarah O'Brien With warm weather finally here to stay, I love to dine al fresco with friends - and they love it too. Recently, a group of us gathered at my friend Lisa's home for a book club dinner and as I turned the...
As with all great recipes, the one I have for peanut butter cookies is one that has been handed down through the generations. Mrs. Dot's Peanut Butter Cookie recipe has been in my family for many years. The 3x5 index recipe card is stained with butter, but the bright...
In honor of the July 4th weekend I made a classic blueberry pie with a patriotic theme. Blueberry pie just happens to be my husband's favorite dessert so I know he's looking forward to this. I modified the Blueberry Pie recipe from The Silver Palate cookbook, by...
About five years ago, I got hooked on cupcakes. Not from eating them, but from watching Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. Prior to Cupcake Wars I only had the garden variety type - yellow cake with chocolate frosting. I watched in amazement as these bakers made Salted...
As we welcome in the warm weather, the layers come off in favor of clothes that are more streamlined. I'm seeing lots of airy, light weight summer dresses that are very simple and beautiful. While I am in favor of simplicity, I also subscribe to the French phrase je...
I love everything about Ginger. I love the spice. I love Ginger Snap Cookies. I love making Gingerbread Houses. I love my friend Kim's homemade Ginger Lemonade. I love saying the word. You get my drift. One of the desserts that I have on Christmas Day is Bobby Flay's...
CT in Style, a Connecticut-based lifestyle blog - Creating a Welcoming Guest Bedroom The official start of summer is only a few weeks away and with the kiddos out of school, this is the ideal time to host family and friends for a visit. As a child, I eagerly awaited...
CT in Style - A Connecticut-based lifestyle blog - Erica O'Brien cakes It's the first day of June and I am already daydreaming about all the glorious weddings that will take place this month. The brides-to-be have been in planning mode to ensure every detail is...
Mornings in my home are pure chaos. From 7:00am-8:20am we are changing diapers, feeding two kids, making school lunch, checking homework, showering, dressing, getting one kid on the bus and the other to nursery school. For a couple years straight, almost every...
I love anything that has lemon in it, especially cake. I have a fabulous recipe for lemon cake from my childhood in Jamaica, but it requires lemon jello mix and I didn't have any so I ended up trying out a new recipe. It calls for fresh lemon juice and lemon...