Silk Boyfriend Blazer

May 31, 2012



 

{Tribal Bodycon Skirt ~ Forever 21+ / Black Tank ~ Target / Black Silk Boyfriend Blazer ~ Thrifted / Black Leather Wedge Pumps ~ Nine West / Bangles ~ H&M and Thrifted}

I have truly underestimated the cuteness that is The Boyfriend Blazer {last seen here, buttoned up}.  I just adore the slouch and length that it provides, I think it balances this bodycon skirt out really well.  I can also see it with some leggings and cute a t-shirt on the weekend. Provided it's not too hot.  ...although this blazer is silk, it has a lining and its black, so I was pretty warm with it on.  Outside, that is... it is always FREEZING in my office.

I felt the accessories needed to be kept simple with this outfit and I love that I have been giving my baubles a rest lately.  I did pop on 2 bangles before leaving the house and jangled all day with them on. Lol!

xoxo, thanks for reading! ♥

Glow

May 29, 2012


  

{Super Thin Denim Dress ~ GAP / Yellow {iLL} Phillies T-Shirt ~ Street Vendor / Yellow Ankle Tie Wedges ~ UrbanOG / Head Scarf ~ Random Fabric}

Yes, that is sweat that you see on my face, I call that my summer glow - achieved by applying zero make-up, LOL!  :)

It was super HOT {and humid} this past Memorial Day weekend and I LOVED IT! Much fun was had and the weekend can be summed up with my favorite F-words ~ food, family, friends and FUN!  Throw in many many delicious margaritas and you have the perfect unofficial start to the summer.  If this is what summer 2012 will be like, I am ready!  

I was also able to relax a bit, which was nice.  I finally watched the first season of Scandal. OMG!  Do you watch it? I love it!  I am officially hooked and cannot to wait for the second season.

I hope you had a nice weekend!

xoxo, thanks for reading! ♥ 

Currently Craving...

May 25, 2012



...Potato Salad!


I plan to make my mom’s potato salad this Memorial Day weekend using her no-measuring-just-put-it-all-together-and-taste-as-you-go recipe {hopefully, I’ll get to take take pictures using measurements and post about it soon - so creamy and soooooo good!}, but couldn’t help browsing the web looking for other great potato salad recipes to get inspired before the weekend. 
Here are a few that caught my eye {and yes, lots and lots of chopped boiled eggs are a MUST in my potato salad!}:





Have a wonderful {for those in the US: Memorial Day} weekend!

xoxo, thanks for reading! ♥


Houndstooth Sheath

May 24, 2012







{Black and White Houndstooth Sheath Dress ~ H&M / Nude Patent Pumps ~ Guess / Large Button Earrings ~ Vintage.Thrifed / Sunnies ~ Vintage via Etsy}

I can come up with so many ways to style this cute little dress from H&M, but no matter how much I think I want to throw a blazer, pile on the necklaces or pop on a wide belt, simple works best for this silhouette.  It's a teeny bit shorter than I normally go with dresses {is actually borderline tunic length on me} but I just adore it and felt like a lady with it on. :)


xoxo, thanks for reading! ♥

The time has come... SHOPPING BAN


Yes, my friends.  My self-imposed shopping ban has officially started. {it actually started last night!}  I am smack dab in the middle of Day One and I feel fantastic.

After being excited about making it home before 6pm last night, I came straight in the house, upstairs to my bedroom and into my closet to peel my work clothes off and change into something comfortable to start dinner.  I took one look at my closet; jam packed with way too many pieces, scarves strewn all over the place, shoes all over the floor, handbags and clutches almost falling off of the shelves, my beautiful work of color-coordinating my closet no longer in existence - and almost had a panic attack.  Oh. My. Goodness., is what I thought.  My shopping is out of control.  Where did all of this crap come from?

And that’s when it dawned on me: I don’t need to buy another thing for a really really long time. Even though at times it feels like I have closet full of nothing, refraining from purchasing shoes, belts, jewelry, handbags, clutches, bathing suits, blazers, pants, tops, sweaters, ANYTHING {including thrifting!} until my birthday at the end of July just feels like the right thing to do. So here we go!

After being suggested by my friend C via twitter last night, I was thinking about doing a “challenge” here on the blog.  A series, if you will - of ways to shop my own closet, but I don’t think I need to.  What a great idea but I don’t think shopping my closet should be a challenge.  It should be something that I am doing daily.  Anyway.  And that is what I plan to do. :)

As a “style blogger”, it is so easy to get caught up in wanting the latest and greatest.  Wanting to click and buy something that looks amazing on one of the beautiful bloggers that I follow.  Creating wish-lists and posting about my current cravings - feeding into the self-induced frenzy of HAVING to have something just because it’s cute. Nope, it stops here. And I will be the first to admit that this won’t be easy.

Admittedly though, I don’t think I spend too much on shopping for myself.  There is no secret that I am a fan of thrifting, which doesn't put too much of a dent in my pocket. I almost always shop clearance / sales and use a coupon code whenever possible, but those purchases count and boy do they add up.  The money that I did spend on shopping will now go towards meaningful things.  Like our Myrtle Beach family vacation in July.  Or summer-time fun that we can’t wait to have.  Or the sans-kids cruise that Cory and I plan to take in October.

Who knows? Maybe this ban will last far longer than July 26th.  I would be thrilled if it does! :)

Have you ever gone on a shopping ban? Any words of encouragement for me?  

xoxo, thanks for reading!  ♥

Black Maxi

May 23, 2012

Wore this maxi skirt on both Saturday and Sunday this past weekend.  So comfy and oh so easy. :)

Threw on a t-shirt, slung this adorable new {to me} bag on and some jewels and was ready for anything. Anything included: running errands, to the park with the kiddies and then relaxing at home with my sister: eating crabs and sipping margaritas. PERFECTION!

I could not be happier that maxi skirt / dress and sandals / flip flops weather is here!  


...even if you can't see my sandals.  Cory was so cute and kept telling me to lift my skirt up during our photo shoot so that the sandals would show.  "Nope", was my response... I love me a ground-sweeping maxi skirt. That's the whole purpose of wearing one.  And yes, he thinks I'm crazy. :)
 
Do you love to sweep the floor in your maxis?
 
{Black Maxi Skirt ~ Forver 21+ / Pink T-Shirt ~  Old Navy / Pink and Purple Vintage Leather Handbag ~ Etsy / Lionshead Necklace ~ H&M / Gold Watch ~ in LOVE! was a Mother's Day Gift! :) / Jumbo Hoops ~ Beauty Supply / Pink Strappy Sandals {barely shown - seen here} ~ UrbanOg}
 

xoxo, thanks for reading! ♥

 
 

Currently Craving...

May 21, 2012



...vintage gems on Etsy!
 

In addition to the absolute prettiest handmade items, I am loving the abundance of vintage shops on Etsy.  And although I prefer to physically comb the racks at a thrift store, I've found some pretty fab pieces.  I can spend way too much time browsing and favoriting one-of-a-kind items, my "favorites" page is really out if control, LOL! 
Here are a few of my favorite vintage shops on Etsy:

 
http://www.etsy.com/shop/houseofstylevintage
http://www.etsy.com/shop/honeymoonmuse
http://www.etsy.com/shop/leasvintage
http://www.etsy.com/shop/redangora
http://www.etsy.com/shop/FASHIONRERUN
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Starstruckladies
 
Do you vintage shop on Etsy?

Pop of Stripes

May 17, 2012







{Fuschia and Black Printed Dress ~ Thrifted {found here by a reader - for $16!!!} / Black and White Cardi ~ Target {was a tunic/dress} / Black Sandals ~ Target / Silver Handbag {loving this at the moment} ~ Daisy Boutique}

I'm sure a lot of you would agree that stripes make everything better, no? This little dress would have been just fine on it's own but I thought the addition of this striped "cardi" was just too cute.  It was actually a dress/tunic  from Target {seen here} that I cut down the middle to wear as an easy and open cardigan for outfits just like this one.  Simple but cute.  You guys know that's what I'm all about. :)

These sandals from Target {from last year} are actually really comfy for them not to be platformed.  And that's what I love about them.  I have been really into shoes that do not have a platform lately.  Sure, the platform makes them more comfortable, but the ones without are so sexy to me. ;)

xoxo, thanks for reading! ♥

Taco Night - 3 ways!

May 16, 2012

So this isn't a recipe, per say - but it's what was put together one weeknight a few weeks ago and was too good not to share what I did with you guys. :)  This was so completely random; we were all in the mood for tacos but I decided to switch it up a bit.  Here's what I did:

{Of course I started off with the Lexy Medley - diced red pepper, diced green pepper and diced onion.  I used about 1/3 cup each.}

{I sauteed them in a bit of olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet, until they got soft and started to brown.}



{I decided to use ground chicken breast this time around and let me tell you. SO GOOD! I mean, so much better and has much more flavor than ground turkey. I will be using ground chicken for everything now.}

{I added the ground chicken to the pan of onions and peppers, drizzled a little more oil and let it begin to brown.  It needed to be crumbled quite a bit.}

{I then lowered the heat and added a packet of taco seasoning.  I sprinkled in a bit of cayenne pepper too, we like things extra spicy. ;)  Add about a tablespoon of water to the pan too, the chicken is really lean and can be dry.}

{Have you seen this brand of rice in your grocery store?  It's over with the other delicious Spanish items.  It's so flavorful and delicious! And easy!  While the chicken was simmering, I put the rice on.}

{Here's what the chicken looked like - so nice and flavorful!  I checked here for seasoning, didn't need any salt but I did add a bit more cayenne.}


{Ok, now here's where it got really good.  I know, I know - having queso cheese in a dish for a weeknight dinner isn't the healthiest, but it was a DELICIOUS addition. I swear I could eat this stuff with just about anything. LOL!}

{I also pulled out a can of corn and chopped green chiles.  Being honest, I NEVER use canned veggies, I like frozen best - but we didn't have frozen corn in the fridge, so canned it was.}

{I poured the queso cheese into a small pot and let it warm over low heat.}

{I also mixed the corn and green chiles in a small pot and let them simmer together. yum!}

{So now it was time to put this all together.  first idea: Nachos! These multi grain tortilla chips are pretty much amazing.  They are the only ones I ever buy.  The texture is perfection and they are a bit sweeter than the regular corn tortilla chips. We love them.}

{Second idea: lettuce wraps! Yup, using good ole iceberg lettuce leaves. Extra cold and crispy, was perfect.}

{Meanwhile, as per the cooking timer, the rice was done! Didn't take long to cook at all.  And it always comes out nice and fluffy.  It's my favorite for sure.}

{Third idea: soft tacos!  Can't go wrong with soft tacos.}

{To a warm tortilla shell, I added the chicken mixture, a drizzle of the warm queso cheese, some of the rice and topped it with the corn and chili mix.  Was absolutely divine!}


{For the nachos, I simply drizzled the queso sauce over a layer of the tortilla chips.  I topped it off with the spicy chicken mixture and was done!  They were served with a side of rice and corn.}

{Lastly, the lettuce wraps came together well too!  To an icy cold iceberg lettuce leaf, I started with the chicken and then topped it with rice and cheese. The contrast in texture and temperature was so perfect.}

We all had a little bit of everything, it was a taco feast indeed and was loved by all.  I think the lettuce wraps may have been my fave. :)

So, how do you do taco night?

xoxo, thanks for reading! ♥