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Nicole Plowman
These simple apple recipes are absolute hits with my husband, family, and the office. Apple pie, apple sauce, and apple cider are simple to make and are perfect for autumn celebrations. Is there anything better than apple picking in the autumn? (Spoiler alert: There’s not.) Nothing beats the cooler fresh air and that first bite into a crisp freshly-picked apple. We have a small orchard on our property, but our apple trees have been absolutely ravaged by the wasps this year. If anyone has suggestions on how to deal with those, let me know. Luckily, my husband…
When traveling to the British seaside, especially in unpredictable weather, it’s important to make sure you’ve got the right gear. I’ve put together this Yorkshire Coast packing list for the hiker and the sightseer alike, based on what got me through our recent trip. Martin and I (plus Tucker and Grace, our rescue dogs) just returned from the most amazing holiday to the North Yorkshire Coast. We rented a National Trust dog-friendly cottage near Ravenscar and spent hours upon hours hiking along the Cleveland Way, played on the beach, ate tons of fish…
Ten years ago, my husband Martin and I went on our first date – an Indianapolis Indians baseball game. Ten years on, we’ve been on hundreds more dates, adopted two rescue dogs, gotten married, and moved a quarter of the way across the world. In those ten years, we’ve grown up together, supported each other, taught one another how to be better people. We’ve taken this week off of work to travel to a remote cottage on the North Sea to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of our first date. Just us and the dogs, we’ve pared…
If you’ve been around here for any period of time, you know I swoon over blue and white everything. This blue and white table setting is totally a reflection of my personal style, and I loved putting this table setting together. In case you’re doubting my blue and white love, I’ve never seen a blue and white dress I didn’t like, and we tore out the kitchen in the cottage and installed a blue island with white quartz countertops. And I’ve had to make a concerted effort to stop buying clothes in navy…
Moving abroad has given me the joy of discovering some new British clothing brands that I wasn’t exposed to in the states. I’ve always been drawn to classic style – the likes of J.Crew, Ralph Lauren, and Kate Spade (luckily, all three are in the same two blocks on Regent Street, so they’re never too far away). But the Brits have classic style perfected. Think tweed jackets for the country, Breton tops for the seaside, wool sweaters for the winter, and wellies for the rain – all with the tailoring and fit that makes it polished. I’ve…
You ever get to the point where you’ve been away from fitness for long enough that you’re just getting antsy to move? And your body starts to crave fruits and veggies? That’s been me these last few weeks. (Side note: our parents warned us about the veggie cravings. Never believed them until I was an adult.) After coming back from the states, it was a mad rush to catch up with everything from being gone. It was manic! So I took a break from fitness and eating well to focus on literally everything else…
Last week, I spoke to a group of nearly 100 university students and recent graduates about leadership. I started with a few points about how my degree in music education – though it isn’t my current profession – shaped the leader I am today. But what seemed to really resonate with the students was this idea of bold decision-making steering me to the most incredible opportunities. To open the session, each of the speakers introduced ourselves, giving a bit of background and a synopsis of our careers. And then we split up into groups, each group led by one…
When it comes to classic style, you can’t beat a Breton shirt. They can suit every style and have been seen on the likes of Bridgitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, and Duchess of Cambridge (aka Kate Middleton). Rumor has it Coco Chanel brought this iconic garment straight from the French Navy into her fashion collection. It’s literally been in style since 1917, so I have a feeling that it’s style will endure at least another hundred years. If you’ve followed my style for a while now, you know I’m obsessed over navy, white, and stripes…
Maintaining a long distance friendship can be one of the hardest parts about moving away – whether that’s abroad or just an hour down the road! For this week’s blog post, I invited my best friend Audra to join in on the blogging fun and share how we’ve kept our friendship alive over the last fifteen years. Nicole: Welcome Audra! Will you tell the readers a bit about yourself? Audra: Oh I hate this question! It feels like a dating site question. Is that what’s really happening here – you’re setting me up a dating profile disguised…
Friday afternoon, I got the incredible news that my work has been recognized by our city’s Chamber of Commerce by being shortlisted in the Future Faces Awards for the Future Face of Sales, Marketing and Communications for the whole of the Greater Birmingham area. Holy smokes! I’m still in a bit of disbelief! The Future Faces Chamber of Commerce is a branch of the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce for 35-and-unders and focuses on professional development and networking for the area’s young professionals. Future Faces has been a huge part of my personal growth here…
