My first step in making a home was to find beautiful, unique furniture to put inside it. But just as important, in my opinion, is finding interesting glassware or pottery to display and to use for entertaining. It’s taken me a few years to collect furniture we love, and will take many years still, but recently I’ve had my mind on collecting nice barware and vases for our home too.

Murano glass vases would be my dream collection, with their quirky glass-blending techniques and unique, handmade appeal. These collector’s items are handmade by glass artisans in Venice, Italy, which makes them high value pieces whose value will only increase through time. They’re certainly not a dime a dozen, so maybe I could start out a collection with a decanter for our bar? I’m sure all of our friends would be so impressed at our next cocktail party.

The Murano glasses pictured above are from www.yourmurano.com, an exclusive dealer who cuts out the gallery middleman so that collectible glassware is more affordable for people like you and me. They’re located in the heart of Venice near the island of Murano where the glass is made. When you shop at YourMurano, you can be sure that you’re buying authentic, certified Murano glass made according to the high standards of traditional practices. After you make a purchase, your glass will be carefully packed and shipped with insurance. If you change your mind about a purchase, you can even return it. Check out the links to my favorites below!

Spyder vase by Simone Cenedese | $1,027
Gatti Cats by Formia International in black, in transparent | $189
Ottavia decanter by Gambaro & Poggi | $241
Goto Garbin glass by Dipi | $87
Impero vase by Formia International | $637
Scacco Matto by Polychromy | $2,210
Stagioni by Simone Cenedese | $384
Mars by Gambaro & Poggi | $1,287

Your Murano is a sponsor of Making Nice in the Midwest. For sponsorship opportunities, click here!

It’s pretty fun figuring out new ways to mix up old clothes. I love filling my wardrobe with separates that I can mix and match depending on the season or my mood. This time I indulged in some drama with a long skirt (I’ve just been able to fit into again! Woo!) and a bit of fun with polka dots. I had picked out a dramatic hat to match, but it seemed a bit much, so I settled on a soft angora beret instead. The whole outfit made me feel like a modern day Eliza Doolittle!

P.S. The last time I wore this shirt and vest together was the day before Lucy was born!

O U T F I T   D E T A I L S :

shirt: thrifted | vest: thrifted | hat: thrifted | skirt: ASOS | shoes: Etsy

I love a good creamy cocktail, but am not a huge fan of all of the calories that come with it. Thankfully, my long-time blogger friend, Danielle Thompson of Kitschy Digitals, is here to share a low cal Irish cream recipe with us! Here’s what she has to say about the drink:

Around the holidays last year, I was wanting to make sure that I could splurge on sweets (since I have a major sweet tooth!), but not overdo it. I also knew I’d be drinking lots of cocktails around this time (drink and be Merry, right?) and I knew those would be a lot of extra empty calories. So I opted for a low-fat, low-calorie version of my drink of choice, Irish Cream (adapted from this recipe) – and believe it or not, it is heavenly! I still love drinking it now, even after the holidays, and with St. Patrick’s Day coming up soon, it fits the theme.

• 1 clean empty bottle with a secure lid to store your Irish Cream in the refrigerator
• 1 1/3 cup Irish Whiskey (I used Bourbon because that is what we had around the house. If you want to be a purist, by all means, use Irish Whiskey! You can read an interesting post on the difference between Bourbon and Irish Whiskey here if interested.)
• 1 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk
• 2 tbs Sugar-Free Chocolate Syrup
• 1 – 14 oz can Fat Free sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp instant coffee
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp almond extract

Just mix them all together on high speed in a blender! Super easy. Once it’s thoroughly mixed, pour over ice.

To make the candy garnishes, you will need:

• Four Leaf Clover Chocolate Mold (I bought mine locally in Atlanta here but you can also find them on their website)
• Green or Mint Colored Melting Wafers
• (Optional) Edible Green Pearl Dust to give it a shimmery look (I used this)
• (Optional) Paint Brush

Put your melting wafers in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for a minute and then take out your bowl and mix your chocolates with a spoon. Keep heating the wafers in 20 second intervals and stirring in between. Once they are thoroughly melted, spoon a small amount of chocolate into each clover in your mold. Once they’re filled, lightly tap the mold on a counter top to remove any air bubbles and to even out the chocolate. Carefully set your filled mold in the freezer for 10 minutes. Pull them out and tap on the back of your chocolate mold to release the four-leaf-clovers. You can leave them as-is, or brush on your Green Pearl Dust, making sure to get into the crevices of the clover with your paint brush. Serve them with your Irish Cream, or add one to your drink as a garnish!