DetroitDuchess, Author at Detroit Duchess

Fall Into Fringe

September 15, 2015 by DetroitDuchess 5 Comments

I’m not quite ready for fall yet. I am a firm believer that it doesn’t start until September 23rd, but I have to admit that it’s hard to ignore. My Fall Favorites and Fall Bucket List posts are coming up next week, but I couldn’t resist doing a little fall fashion today. One of the biggest trends for fall is fringe! My personal style is less bohemian and more classic, but there is something fun about fringe.

I’ve selected a few fringe pieces that I want to incorporate into my wardrobe this fall. I can’t wait to get these and share some fun outfit posts with you.

Michael Kors Fringe Hem Cowl Neck Sweater ($89.50)

I think this would be so cute with boots and jeans, now the only problem is figuring out which color to get!

Sole Society Faux Leather Fringe Hobo ($64.95)

This bag wins the case for white after Labor Day. It is stunning!

Karen Kane Fringe Pencil Skirt ($98)

I would wear this one to work, just enough fringe to be stylish.

BaubleBar Tassel Bracelet ($34)

Call it tassels or fringe, this is too cute to pass up.

Hinge Ombré Fringe Cape ($78)

I love that this is ombre! I think the grey is a good pick for fall, but I like the blue too!

Steve Madden Fringly ($99.99)

I love these in the blue suede, but I could go purple suede too. They would be great with a little black dress for a fun night out!

INC International Concepts V-Hem Fringed Tunic Sweater ($58.99)

This would look great with the leggings and boots I already have!

Street Level Suede Fringe Foldover Crossbody Bag ($78)

I LOVE this bag. I’m not sure that it’s totally practical, but I love it. It reminds me of the Prada bag Carrie had on Sex and the City at the premiere of Smith’s play that she had to hold up high the whole time…but it was SO beautiful.

Bongo Women’s Willow Taupe Fringe Western Ankle Boot ($39.99)

These are just enough to be cute and stylish. Some of the fringe boots I saw were a little too much for my tastes.

INC International Concepts Fringe Wrap Cardigan ($59.99)

I would wear this all weekend until spring!

Emperia Fringe Faux Leather Tote ($54)

I love pink.

Showgirl Fringe Strand Necklace ($58)

Previously seen on Nikki Ferrell in my Bachelor recap.

Steve Madden Sashi Fringe Sandal ($129.95)

If the blue suede is too much for you, these have just a hint of fringe.

Ralph Lauren Fringe Trim Long Drape Front Coat ($340)

This is a little on the pricey side, but this is the item I would use all my Nordstrom Notes for!

Jessica McClintock Fringe Open Handle Clutch ($45)

Perfect for a pop of style on a night out.

Rachel Zoe Remy Fringe Ear Cuffs ($95)

Fringe and ear cuffs combined! I love killing two trends with one stone.

Which one of these fringe pieces would you incorporate into your fall wardrobe?

For more fashion posts, click here.

Filed Under: Fashion Tagged With: fall, fashion, fringe

Summer Vacation 2015 – Kentucky Part 2

September 14, 2015 by DetroitDuchess 2 Comments

The third installment in my summer vacation recap is all about Jim Beam. You can read about the first stop in Cleveland and our first day in Kentucky via the links. On our second day in Kentucky we visited the Jim Beam Distillery and boy was John excited.

We arrived just in time for the tour and the first thing I learned is all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon. The U.S. government has a set of regulations that determines exactly what can be called bourbon.

John preparing for our tour!

One fun fact is that bourbon can only be made in the United States. In 1964 Congress declared that bourbon had to be distilled and aged in the United States and it can’t be called Kentucky Straight Bourbon unless it has been distilled and aged in Kentucky for at least two years.

Another bourbon regulation is that all bourbon must be aged in brand new charred oak barrels. Distilleries can’t recycle the barrels so they are purchased by all sorts of companies to use for scotch, sometimes wine and furniture among other things.

Each bourbon maker has it’s own mash recipe, but to be a bourbon the recipe must consist of 51% corn.

The color in bourbon comes from the barrels. The only thing that can be added to bourbon is water, if anything else like coloring or flavor is added you can’t call it bourbon.

Now for the fun part, John and I got to clean and imprint our own bottles of Jim Beam Knob Creek! Below is the machine they used to clean, dispense bourbon and label the bottles. When they clean the bottles they have to use the same bourbon that they ultimately fill the bottles with so they don’t alter the flavor in any way.

After they dipped the bottles in wax we each got to put our thumbprints on the top and then they would be down in the gift shop for purchase. I had some fun pictures of this process that got deleted (boo), but here is the bottle right before we put the wax on it:

They had quite the collection of special and commemorative bottles on display. One of which was the I Dream of Jeannie decanter. We learned that the bottle on the show was actually designed after this bottle.

The tour ended in the tasting room and we each got to pick three things to try.

We had a blast on our tour and I even got a fabulous Jim Beam candle to take home. It was definitely my first stop into becoming a bourbon aficionado.

What Jim Beam variations are your favorites?

For more travel posts, click here.

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Bourbon Trail, Kentucky, Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Travel, Vacation

Friday Favorites: Dog Edition

September 11, 2015 by DetroitDuchess 4 Comments

I introduced the newest member of our family, Sport, in a recent post here. But how could I resist showing you more adorable pictures of this cutie? I had to make this week’s five all about our new pup and the things he loves with some gratuitous pictures thrown in…

1. Dog Bed ($59.99)

We were in Bed, Bath & Beyond buying pillows and stumbled across this dog bed. Naturally, I wanted to spoil my pup with his own bed and this one is comfy and cozy. Sport loves it and it is very soft.

2. Crate Set ($150-280)

I saw this on Pinterest and thought it would be perfect for Sport’s crate! Right now we have it in the living room and this crate set would really help it fit in. We also tried to put a blanket on the top of his crate to make it more cave like, but he just ended up pulling it all the way through, so something like this would probably be better.

3. Leash Rack ($42.95)

I loved this personalized leash rack for Sport. I already know exactly where to hang it.

4. Martha Stewart Dog Toys

Sport loves any toy with a squeaker, especially this squirrel from Martha Stewart Pets. We are on his second squirrel, but he also has the rabbit, duck and moose.

5. U of M Pet Collar ($8.99)

I picked mine up at Meijer for something different and Sport looks SO cute in it. His name is “Sport” so he definitely needs various sports themed collars.

I’ll leave you with one more adorable picture of Sport. He likes to lay/sleep hugging his back legs:

I would love to know what your must-have pet items you recommend.

For more Friday Favorites posts, click here.

If you would like to join the Five on Friday with A Liz Adventures, The Good Life Blog, Hello Happiness and Carolina Charm just click the button below for more details.

You can join the Oh Hey Friday Linkup with The Farmer’s Wife and September Farm just click the button below for more details.

I am also participating in the Friday Favorites Linkup with A Little Bit of Everything Blog, Grace and Love Blog and Momfessionals. You can click the button below for more information and to join the linkup.

Filed Under: Five on Friday Tagged With: Five on Friday, Friday Favorites, Oh Hey Friday, Sport Sabourin

Throwback Thursday: Our Engagement Party

September 10, 2015 by DetroitDuchess Leave a Comment

As promised, here is my next Throwback Thursday post on our engagement party. You can read our engagement story here. Since I started this blog two years after our wedding I didn’t get to share all of these fun party details with you. Our engagement party was one of my favorite events in our wedding extravaganza. Since we had planned to have a long 32 month engagement we decided to host an engagement party to share our excitement with our friends and family. Since I had grand plans of a formal wedding, we decided to have a casual engagement party with a Michigan tailgate theme.

We hosted the party in my parent’s backyard with a big outdoor tent on one of Michigan’s away games in October. Every year Michigan has a theme for the season and in 2009 it was “All in for Michigan.” The official student shirt is designed with this theme and it happened to include a Big House Pledge:

We took this theme and made our party “All in for John and Liz” and re-wrote the big house pledge to suit our own purposes in our invitation:

John and I both wore our Michigan shirts to the party:

We had a great spread in the dining room and then a big tent out in the backyard for tailgating fun. And yes, I did wrap all of those utensils up in napkins and still had some in my basement until the big flood last year.

Here are some of the other fun pictures from the party:

One of our junior bridesmaids, Bella

Our cake!

John’s mom got us wedding themed ornaments from Frankenmuth

The flower girl, Kayla!

I loved writing this post, it brought back so many good memories. Even though Michigan lost to Iowa that night, I still felt like I had won the jackpot (if you couldn’t tell from my permagrin in these pictures).

Let me know what other throwbacks you would like to see. I’m hoping to do one every month. Did you have an engagement party? What was your theme?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Engagement Party, Michigan, Throwback Thursday

Wine of the Week: Belle Glos Pinot Noir

September 9, 2015 by DetroitDuchess 2 Comments

I have been saving this Wine of the Week for a while. This is hands down one of my favorite wines, but it’s a bit of a splurge so we only get it every once in a while. What really drew my eye to it in the beginning is how the bottle is dipped in red wax, sort of like Maker’s Mark. Come to find out that it is made by the Wagner family who also makes another one of our favorites, Meiomi Pinot Noir. This week’s favorite is Belle Glos Pinot Noir.

Belle Glos Pinot Noir was created by Joseph Wagner to honor his grandmother, Lorna Belle Glos Wagner. There are four different types of Belle Glos from each of the four vineyards the grapes come from; Dairyman, Clark & Telephone, Las Alturas and Taylor Lane. You can see the layout of the vineyards in this map:

I love the taste of this wine. Wagner describes it “like a taste of Christmas, all year long.” It has a rich berry flavor with a hint of caramel. When I want to get a nice bottle of wine this is my go to, it’s wonderfully decadent and the bottle presentation definitely makes it something special.

Have you tried Belle Glos Pinot Noir yet? I would love to hear what you think about it.

For more Wine of the Week posts, click here.

Filed Under: Wine of the Week Tagged With: Belle Glos, Joseph Wagner, Pinot Noir, wine of the week

What is Micellar Water?

September 8, 2015 by DetroitDuchess 8 Comments

I recently heard about a product called micellar water. This is surprising because it’s not often that I come across a beauty product that I’ve never heard of before.

Micellar water has been around for more than one hundred years, first gaining popularity in France, where it was used to help deal with the region’s harsh water supply. Micellar water is made up of micelles, which are tiny balls of cleansing oils that are attracted to dirt and makeup.

When you combine them with a cotton ball they act like a magnet to attract dirt and makeup from your face. It requires no rinsing so it replaces your nighttime routine of taking off your makeup. Cotton is hyrdophilic which means ‘water-loving’ and means that it will absorb oil and dirt. Micellar water draws out impurities in your skin without stripping it or drying it out so it is a win-win cleaning and hydrating at the same time.

I’ve been using micellar water myself for the last month and have loved the results on my skin! This will take off all of your mascara and hard to remove makeup. Here are some of my recommendations and ones that I want to try.

I do have to start this off by talking about my experience with Caudalie’s Micellar Cleansing Water ($28). This was recommended to me and I had a bad reaction to it. I have since discovered that some people have a negative reaction to the grapeseed oil in this product. Some people loved this, but if you have sensitive skin like I do just be careful about products with grapeseed oil.

After my mishap, I started using Sephora’s Triple Action Cleansing Water ($12) which I LOVE! This product takes off all of my makeup and makes my skin feel refreshed before bed. I highly recommend this to anyone.

The gold standard in micellar waters seems to be Bioderma ($26.89). I read something that said that many models use this backstage because with so many makeup changes their skin would be raw without it.

There’s been a lot of buzz around Simple’s Cleansing Micellar Water ($6.99). It adds vitamins B3 and C for a extra punch plus it’s easy to find at any local drugstore.

La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution ($18.49) is a French solution that has an added antioxident called Selenium which helps your skin fight free radicals.

If you like a higher end product Gucci has a Purifying Cleansing Water ($49) that has a really nice dispenser.

The Dior Instant Cleansing Water ($38) includes pure lily extract to give you an extra glow.

Lancôme Eau Fraiche Douceur Micellar Cleansing Water ($38) includes a soothing Rose de France.

Have you tried micellar waters before? I would love to know which ones you recommend!

For more beauty posts click here.

Filed Under: Beauty Tagged With: beauty, micellar water

Summer Vacation 2015 – Kentucky Part 1

September 7, 2015 by DetroitDuchess 7 Comments

As you saw in my first vacation recap post, on our way out of Cleveland, John and I got a late start and stopped for a fun lunch. But we were so excited to get on the road and get the heck out of dodge.

We had to make a pit stop for gas and I couldn’t believe where we randomly stopped…it’s like they knew I was coming!

We finally made it to Kentucky and had to take the obligatory welcome shot:

We didn’t get to our final destination until a little later on so I didn’t have to much to report for the first day. On day three we decided to go to lunch at Mark’s Feed Store.

We were a little to late to do any bourbon tastings (most of the places closed at 3 p.m.) so we found a winery instead! We stumbled upon Broad Run Vineyards which was sort of in the middle of nowhere. We were the only people there and spent a few hours getting a one-on-one tutorial with the owner. I think we both learned a lot and I really appreciated the passion the owner had about wine.

Our hotel, the Embassy Suites in Louisville had a complimentary happy hour every day that we made it back in time for. I tried a Bluegrass Sunrise!

We made dinner reservations at Proof on Main which had a cool, artsy ambiance. The food was great and John was able to get a bourbon flight to kick things off. For dessert they even brought cotton candy to the table for us!

We had a great time during our first few days in Kentucky and were pumped to finally start hitting the bourbon trail.

For more travel posts, click here.

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Kentucky, Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Travel, Vacation

Summer Vacation 2015 – Cleveland

September 2, 2015 by DetroitDuchess 5 Comments

John and I finally decided to take a vacation that we had been planning for two years…the Kentucky Bourbon Trail! We originally had planned to visit for one of John’s milestone birthdays, but life happened and it didn’t work out for us. I never forgot about it and planned to make it happen for him for his birthday this year. We decided to make a road trip out of it since we had to make a stop in Cleveland before heading down to Kentucky.

My dad’s birthday is in July and I always get us tickets to go to a Yankees game (we are lifelong fans) and this year they happened to be playing in Cleveland. So I figured we could all meet up for the game and then John and I could continue our trip down to Kentucky.

I must preface my vacation recap by saying that I took some awesome pictures on our trip and then the day after we got home my phone crapped out on me and I lost everything back to February (when I last backed up). I am happy to report that I am backed up to the Cloud now, but those pictures are gone. I had to piece my recaps together with what I had posted on social media and the pictures John took – but just know that I had some really great pictures for you.

We drove down to Cleveland mid-afternoon and checked into our hotel, the Aloft Cleveland which was pretty close to the stadium. Cleveland is a great town to explore – for ideas check out my previous Cleveland trip.

We headed over to meet up with my dad at Progressive Field where the Cleveland Indians play. If you’ve never been it is a fun stadium to go to. Plus I love hearing John Adams play his legendary drum.

I’m going to show you a little before and after picture, because this ended up being a crazy game lasting for 16 innings! You can see in the second picture that nobody is left. I found this article that had some crazy numbers from this game. The final score was 5-4 and the game took five hours and four minutes to play. How weird is that? Even though the Yankees lost it was still a great game to watch and since it was only the second Yankees game we got to attend this year we definitely got our money’s worth!

The next day before we took off, we stopped for lunch at The Willeyville next to our hotel.

: Courtesy of The Willeyville as my photo was lost from the great phone fiasco.

This will forever be remembered as the day I introduced John to a Bloody Mary. I didn’t realize that he hadn’t had one before or else I would have tried before now. He loved mine and ended up getting one for himself.

We had a blast and I will tell you more about the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in my next post! What are your favorite places in Cleveland?

For more travel posts, click here.

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: #ThisisCLE, Cleveland, Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Vacation

Happy Second Blogiversary!

August 8, 2015 by DetroitDuchess 6 Comments

This post has been a long time coming as my actual blogiversary was in May, but didn’t want to skip the celebration. I wanted to use this opportunity to thank YOU, my loyal readers, for sticking with me. I can’t believe we’ve made it to two years with this blog. (Click here to read last year’s Blogiversary post). This past year has been a little more hit or miss with consistent posting, but I’m hoping to change that in year three.

I also wanted to use this post to give you an idea of what to expect in the upcoming year and learn more about what you would like to see. I am loving my new Splurge vs. Steal series that kicked off last year and can’t wait to do more. I also want to re-commit to getting more Wine of the Week features on the books. I’m still drinking it, I just haven’t been documenting it as much as I would have liked to. I also promised more Throwback Thursday posts and think I only ended up with one, so expect a few more of those. My most popular post by far has been Be the Best You in 2014 with the 100 Day Yoga Challenge. This tells me that you guys are hungry for more yoga, so I am working on a fun way to incorporate that into the blog. I also really miss the Pinspired series linkup and want to continue doing those monthly posts. In the comments please let me know your favorites and what new things you want to see.

Now, let’s get to the good stuff.

Blogiversary Giveaway

This year I am planning to give away a month’s worth of prizes! Enter the giveaway below and each week I will choose another winner.

Week 1 – August 15 The winner of Week 1 will receive MAC’s Flat Out Fabulous Lipstick, worn by The Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe and featured on my Summer Favorites.

Week 2 – August 22 The second winner will get the Ily Couture Dual Pearl Studs, one of my Splurge vs. Steals. Check it out here.

Week 3 – August 29 The third prize ties into my Yoga goal. It’s the Hugger Mugger Ultra Yoga Bag in the color of your choosing. I featured it in a previous post here.

Week 4 – September 5 The Fourth prize is the Wine Cork Candle Set featured in my previous Hostess Gifts post here.

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Blogiversary, Detroit Duchess, Giveaway

Introducing Sport Sabourin

July 28, 2015 by DetroitDuchess 17 Comments

In case you missed my announcement on social media, John and I are expanding our family. Two weeks ago we adopted an adorable Cocker Spaniel named Sport.

How did this all come about you ask? Well I was at work on a Wednesday, when I received a text from John saying “Can we keep him????” with the attached Facebook post:

And then the conversation sort of went like this:

Me: “Oh he is really cute.”

John: “I want him.”

Me: Asking a number of questions about him, who was giving him up, etc.

John: “…I was only half serious.”

Me: “I’m not opposed. Is he potty trained? Well, we were going to each get one anyways so I’m not opposed.”

And after many more texts, he was ours.

John: “Ok. Let’s do this.”

Me: “He’s our boy, lol.”

That was a paraphrase, but I wanted to remember the highlights. As the conversation was happening, I was messaging with the owner to get more information and set up a time to meet Sport. Then we just decided to go for it and set up a time on the following Saturday to pick him up and take him home. My birthday was the day before and this made it the best one ever.

When we went to pick him up, we instantly fell in love with this sweet boy. We brought him home and spent the whole weekend spoiling him. On Monday, we started Sport in his new routine. For those of you who know me, you know that I am not a morning person, but I have been getting up at 5:30 a.m. every morning to take Sport on an hour walk. I think John is blown away that I have kept it up for two weeks already!

On Tuesday we took him to the groomer to get him cleaned up, which wasn’t his favorite thing, but I’m sure he felt a lot better:

We just love our little fur baby and we can’t stop photographing him:

Sport does have a little separation anxiety, but that is to be expected. We found out that we are Sport’s third owners. His first owners bought him as a puppy and only kept him for two weeks. Then he was with his last family for about three years until this past year when he was moved to a temporary situation. His world has been turned upside down and it sort of breaks my heart that he’s had so much upheaval. He is the sweetest little pup and I am so happy to say that he is in his forever home with us.

Sport snuggling in his new bed

He’s been doing great since we brought him home and is settling into his new schedule. John and I couldn’t be happier to have him. We can’t imagine our lives without him and he is the perfect addition to our family.

This little guy just melts my heart. We are so lucky to have him in our family. Stay tuned for many more pictures of this handsome pup!

Filed Under: Sport Tagged With: Cocker Spaniel, Dog, Sport Sabourin

Keep in Touch

Michael Kors Fringe Hem Cowl Neck Sweater ($89.50)

Sole Society Faux Leather Fringe Hobo ($64.95)

Karen Kane Fringe Pencil Skirt ($98)

BaubleBar Tassel Bracelet ($34)

Hinge Ombré Fringe Cape ($78)

Steve Madden Fringly ($99.99)

INC International Concepts V-Hem Fringed Tunic Sweater ($58.99)

Street Level Suede Fringe Foldover Crossbody Bag ($78)

Bongo Women’s Willow Taupe Fringe Western Ankle Boot ($39.99)

INC International Concepts Fringe Wrap Cardigan ($59.99)

Emperia Fringe Faux Leather Tote ($54)

Showgirl Fringe Strand Necklace ($58)

Steve Madden Sashi Fringe Sandal ($129.95)

Ralph Lauren Fringe Trim Long Drape Front Coat ($340)

Jessica McClintock Fringe Open Handle Clutch ($45)

Rachel Zoe Remy Fringe Ear Cuffs ($95)

1. Dog Bed ($59.99)

2. Crate Set ($150-280)

3. Leash Rack ($42.95)

4. Martha Stewart Dog Toys

5. U of M Pet Collar ($8.99)

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