Top

Blissful Bluegrass

Lifestyle Blogger from Lexington, KY

/ Style

Beach Family Portraits, What to Wear

We recently took a family trip to the Cayman Islands and to say it was a blast is an understatement.  We cannot wait to go back!  We went two years ago, but this was the first time we visited the Island as a family of five. I am hoping we can make this a yearly family tradition.

After we booked our trip, I knew I wanted to have professional photos taken of the family on the beach near our resort.  I immediately started researching different photographers.  After multiple e-mails and phone calls we decided on Cathy Church’s Photo Centre.  Our photographer was Lin @linfrondaphotography and she was amazing.

Once we booked our photographer, it was now the best part, what to wear!  I knew I wanted us to match, but wasn’t sure if we should go with the khaki and white look or matching outfits for Daddy & MP and me & the girls.  I ended up finding an amazing deal on pink seersucker dresses for the girls and blue seersucker outfits for the boys.

The girls’ dresses are a complete steal.  I ordered them from amazon for $5.99.  I believe the price has gone up a couple dollars, but still a great deal!

Girls Seersucker Dresses, amazon

My dress is from Mud Pie.  I absolutely love Mud Pie clothing for myself as well as the little ones.  They have so many cute options and I can usually find great deals.  I believe they are sold out of the dress I have on, but I will link some similar options.

My Mud Pie seersucker dress (found it in a few sizes), similar in white, similar in blue, Mud Pie seersucker top, another pink seersucker dress option.

For my little man and Hubby, they wore a white Ralph Lauren Polo with seersucker accents.  Michael wore seersucker shorts and MP wore seersucker suspenders from Mud Pie, so adorable!

Michael’s seersucker shorts, MP’s seersucker suspenders, Michael’s Ralph Lauren Polo with blue horse, Ralph Lauren Men’s Polo sale, MP’s Ralph Lauren Polo

These pictures are such a wonderful way to remember this family vacation by.  And of course, I couldn’t forget a picture of me and my love!

Lots of Love! Holly Jo

 

 

/ Recipes

The most amazing & easiest Chocolate Pie Recipe

My Mom has been making this Chocolate Pie Recipe for years.  I don’t know the exact name of it, however when my Aunt comes to visit my mom always makes it for her and she calls it, you might not want to say this out loud if there are little ones in the room, “Better than Sex Chocolate Pie”.  hahaha!  Not exactly sure how she came up with it, I guess she just really loved the recipe. With that said, my entire family loves this chocolate pie.  I have brothers who will ask my mom to make it in place of their birthday cake.

You only need one medium size pot, a stove and 4 ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 – Kraft Cool Whip Containers, 16 oz.

1 – Hershey’s Bar, Pack of 6

1 – Hershey’s Bar, XL Size

1 – Keebler Graham Cracker Crust, 9 oz.

Turn your oven stove-top on the lowest heat setting and place all 6 Hershey’s Bars into the pot.  You want to continually stir the chocolate so it doesn’t burn.  I sometimes add half of the XL Hershey’s bar to make it extra chocolatey.  Once the chocolate is completely melted you want to cover the Graham Cracker Crust Pie with a thin layer of the melted chocolate.  There should be quite a bit of chocolate left in the pot after cover the Graham Cracker Crust.

Next, you want to add half of the first Cool Whip Container to the melted chocolate.  Fold in the cool whip until it is completely blended with the chocolate.  Pour 2/3 of the chocolate whip cream combo on top of the chocolate covered pie crust, leaving 1/3 in the pot.  You will repeat this step two more times.  Each time the chocolate layer should get lighter and lighter.  Always leave 1/3 of the mixture in the pot after layering in the pie.  You should now have 3 layers of the chocolate and whip cream mixture.  Leave 1/3 of the second cool whip container for the top of the pie.

The topping will be cool whip only.  You will take the remainder of the cool whip and cover the last chocolate mixture layer.   Once the cool whip is evenly spread over the pie you will use the XL Hershey’s bar to create small decorative chocolate shavings on top.  I usually use a potato peeler to create the shavings.

Stick the pie in the freezer overnight and the pie will be a big hit the next day!  Below is a link to a video I created that may be more explanatory.  Hope you enjoy!

Lots of Love!

Holly Jo

/ Gift Guides

Valentine’s Day Gift Guide for the Men in your Life

I’m sure most of us have a special man in our lives, whether it is a husband, boyfriend, dad, brother or just a really good friend. Well, I feel as though guys get left behind in the Valentine’s Day department, so I thought I would share some possible gift ideas for them.  These are specific gifts I thought my husband would enjoy receiving.

1. My Hubby loves to grill, especially on his Big Green Egg.  Our neighbor was helping us grill a prime rib and he brought these meat claws with him.  I laughed at first, but when he showed how you can use them, they are actually a really neat grilling tool.  They help lift large pieces of meat off the grill onto a serving platter, shred roasts or pork easily and are dishwasher safe.  Perfect for the grilling man in your life

2. Pizza in the shape of a heart!  Need I say anymore?  What man doesn’t like a good pizza.  Last year Papa Johns, Papa Murphy’s and I believe Pizza Hut all offered heart shaped pizzas.  I haven’t seen advertisements this year, but I’m sure we will see some ads coming this weekend.

3. A big trend (at least with my husband) is to wear socks that stand out or compliment your personality and likes.  I think these pink Under Armor Breast Cancer Awareness socks are super cute and the perfect sock for a man, whether he is wearing them with a suit or to the gym.

4.  I don’t know many men who don’t like ice cream.  This specific set of ice cream pictured is the Funny Valentine Premium Collection and the best part, they are shipped to your loved ones doorstep.  This makes a perfect Valentine’s Gift for the man in your life who lives in another city.

5. I love a man who is confident enough to wear pink.  This Vineyard Vines shirt is the perfect pink shirt for any age.  It can be worn to work, out for drinks at the bar or on a chilly day at the golf course.  I also love that Vineyard Vines is still a family owned company.

6. This is probably my favorite gift of all.  If you know a man in your life who wears a suit regularly I’m sure they have an assortment of cufflinks.  These American Flag cufflinks are classic and represent so much more than a man’s accessory.  Proud to be an American!

7.  For the guy in your life who likes music or is into tech items, this Wonderboom waterproof bluetooth speaker would be a great gift.  It can be used in the shower, at the lake or the beach.  The best part, it can play continuous music for ten hours.

8. This may not be the most fun gift to receive, but is a necessity for men as they age.  I also, thought it looked like a fun way to trim nose hairs.  This gun nose trimmer can also be used to trim ear hairs.

Hope you enjoyed and can find something special for the men in your life!

Lots of Love! Holly Jo

/ Gift Guides

Valentine Gift Guide for Ladies

Valentine Gift Guide for Ladies

Valentine’s Day is getting close and I thought I would share a few gift guides with Y’all.  V-day is usually known for flowers & chocolates, but wouldn’t it be nice to give or get something a little different?  Here are few items I have and love and a few that are on my wish list.

  1. Miss Dior is such a unique fragrance.  It is light and has a citrusy floral scent.  Not sure how Dior was able to pull off both citrus and floral notes, but the combo smells amazing.  Every time I walk past a perfume counter I always stop and give myself a little spray.  This is definitely on my Valentine wish list.
  2. I bought my Hubby a Google Home Mini for Christmas.  It is very similar to the Amazon Alexa, however, he has expressed to me multiple times that the Google Home outperforms Alexa in many ways.  Great gift for the tech lady in your life, and it’s pink!
  3. OK Y’all, I am a major sucker for any type of cute graphic shirt.  Isn’t this sweater adorable?!  It’s pink and says Friday.  Need I say anymore?
  4. I have been wanting this exact Rebecca Minkoff Regan Satchel Tote in blue since I can remember.  Now I think I love this blush pink bag even more.  Did I mention it’s on sale?  Love!
  5. The Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette is one of my fav and go to eyeshadow palettes.  I love how beautiful the colors are, how easily they blend together and most importantly they smell like chocolate!!
  6. We have a Yeti cooler and a couple of the Yeti cups.  They really are such an amazing investment. I left a cup of ice water in the kitchen one night and the next morning it was still cold. AMAZING!  And love the pink.  The site I linked will let you add a customized monogram.
  7. The girls, especially sweet Sadie Jo, have been loving Barbie.  We watch a new Netflix episode everyday and I have to say I am enjoying it too.  I remember playing with Barbies and absolutely loving them.  I am a total sucker for cute pajamas and these barbie pjs definitely pass the test.
  8. Tiffany’s necklaces are such a classic piece.  This would be a really nice piece from a boyfriend. Girls always love to show off a new piece of jewelry from their beau!
  9. Ray-Ban Aviators are my all-time favorite type of sunglasses.  I think they look amazing on every face frame.  These copper mirrored sunglasses look amazing pool side and spring/summer is just around the corner.  I also found a great deal on these, click on the ray-ban link to see.

Lots of Love! Holly Jo

/ Family

Hi Y’all! Welcome

Hello Y’all!  Welcome to my blog.  I’m nervous and excited to be sharing my first post.  Let me start by sharing a little secret, I’m not the best writer.  Shocker, yes I know!  I’m sure you’re asking, why is she starting this blog?  First and foremost, I want to share everything I am loving with as many people as possible.  I used to be somewhat private with my life, but I have realized that giving people an insight into my life is so much more rewarding.  And lastly, I am hoping it will help improve my writing skills.  Fingers crossed!

The more you get to know me, the more you will realize that my family is the most important thing in my life, after God of course!  I have been beyond blessed to have the most amazing parents (Mooma & Daddyman), a gorgeous sister (my BFF), the sweetest sister-in-law, and four loving brothers.  I also have the best in-laws a girl could dream of.  My husband’s parents and sister have always made a point to make me feel like family.  After four years of dating and five years of marriage, I couldn’t imagine a life without them.  And, lastly, but certainly not least, I met the most perfect man to start a little family with.  Long story short we met in 2008 and almost 10 years later we have two gorgeous baby girls, 4 & 2, and a handsome little boy, 4 months.  I pinch myself every day and ask God, is this really my life?  YASSS!!!

At Blissful Bluegrass, you will see everything from fashion to makeup and recipes to home decor.  I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I think you will.  One more thing, I LOVE CHAMPAGNE!  Give me that bubbly.

Lots of Love! Holly Jo

@blissfulbluegrass

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No posts found.

Make sure this account has posts available on instagram.com.