Here are a few things I have on my shopping list to pick up for this summer! I’m trying to stick with classic essentials that I can wear this summer and again for future summers. What’s on your summer shopping list?
[ simple summer dress ]
[ leather sandals ]
[ plain tee ]
[ vintage sneakers ]
[ sunglasses ]
Normally, on a night no one is up to cooking I’d throw in a frozen pizza and be done with it. But if you’re anything like me (and are obsessed with pizza) a frozen one just doesn’t do it. Sure it fills you up and doesn’t taste horrible, but it’s definitely lacking in the flavor department. Because of this problem I’ve recently been interested in making my own pizzas. But when I began the research I was immediately intimidated by the thought of making my own dough. That’s when Publix came to the rescue when I discovered they sell pre-made dough in their bakery! (if you don’t live by a Publix I suggest you check out the bakery of your local grocery store). All you have to do is set the dough out an hour before you want to start making the pizza and then roll it out and you’re ready to go! Here are the two pizzas we’ve made since discovering this dough (both were equally delicious!):
Pesto Goat Cheese Pizza:
– Spread pesto over the dough
– Top with goat cheese, tomatoes and parmesan cheese
Margherita Pizza:
– Spread pasta sauce over the dough
– Top with fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and tomatoes
Any other good pizza recipes?
This weekend was yet another crazy weekend but a lot of fun too! My sister came into town with her boyfriend for the weekend to celebrate her birthday. It was her boyfriends first time in town so we tried to fit in as many Sarasota things as possible! I think we managed to fit in a ton.
Friday night we did a night out downtown that started at our favorite bar, State Street for some yummy cocktails.
The next day we attempted to go on the boat but the skies were pretty intimidating so we ended up doing a quick boat trip followed by lunch, naps and then dinner with my parents at Kazu’s, a great little sushi place. After dinner we made our way to a beautiful sunset on Siesta Key.
The next day we took a trip to Treeumph for our friends birthday. It’s an adventure course full of wood bridges and zip lines through the trees. Honestly I wasn’t very excited about going but I ended up having a really good time and it pushed me out of my comfort zone for sure. I definitely left feeling accomplished! (and completely worn out!)
After that we headed over to my parents to hang out by the pool and celebrate my sister’s birthday!
It was a great weekend that ended in a two hour nap and a whole lot of laundry to get done. Back to reality for me!
How was your weekend?
[a day at siesta key beach]
A few interesting things I’ve read lately:
A look into the life of one of my favorite people: Anna Bond.
This guide to LA will come in handy when planning our honeymoon!
The benefits of “slow parenting.”
Jessica Alba’s billion dollar company.
Enjoy :)
I find my productivity at work tends to go down a lot in the summer. I stare longingly outside at the blue skies and dream about sitting on the beach with a book but instead I find myself stuck in a freezing office all day long. I’ve come up with a few tips on how to fight off the summertime work blues and stay motivated!
1. Put on some upbeat music. Pop in your headphones and put on whatever music gets you tapping your foot and humming along. Lately this is the Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift or Vampire Weekend Pandora stations for me.
2. Buy some fun stationary or office supplies. When I’m writing in a pretty notebook or using a pencil with an encouraging saying on it, I’m immediately motivated to get more things checked off my cute to do list! Check out this, this or these.
3. Reward yourself. Set a timer (or use an app like this one) and stay completely focused for a set amount of time. Come up with a reward you get once the time is up. Some examples could be eating some chocolate, going for a quick walk or checking your Instagram feed. Whatever will motivate you!
4. Have something to look forward to. Plan something to do after work even if it’s just sitting on the couch with a glass of wine and a book. It will keep you energized during the day if you have something to work towards!
Any other tips? Feel free to share!
As summer quickly approaches it seems like all I want to do is find a sunny spot to settle in with a good book! Here are my top 5 must reads on my summer reading list:
The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain- This mystery novel has received great reviews and will be the perfect summer page turner!
“In The Silent Sister, Riley MacPherson has spent her entire life believing that her older sister Lisa committed suicide as a teenager. Now, over twenty years later, her father has passed away and she’s in New Bern, North Carolina cleaning out his house when she finds evidence to the contrary. Lisa is alive. Alive and living under a new identity. But why exactly was she on the run all those years ago, and what secrets are being kept now?”
The Best Day of Someone Else’s Life by Kerry Reichs- Sometimes you just need a fun chick lit book to indulge in while laying on the beach and this one seems like a perfect choice!
“Eleven weddings in eighteen months would send any sane woman either over the edge or scurrying for the altar. But as reality separates from illusion, Vi learns that letting go of someone else’s story to write your own may be harder than buying the myth, but just might help her make the right choices for herself.”
Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin – I always like to mix in an inspirational self help book and after reading one of Rubin’s other books, “The Happiness Project” I can’t wait to see what I can learn from this one!
“The author of the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers, The Happiness Project and Happier at Home, tackles the critical question: How do we change? Gretchen Rubin’s answer: through habits. Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life. It takes work to make a habit, but once that habit is set, we can harness the energy of habits to build happier, stronger, more productive lives.”
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr – I’m a bit behind the curve with this one. If you’re like me and haven’t read this yet, you need to add this one to your list right now! This New York Times bestseller seems to be on all the must read lists!
“From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.”
Any other summer reading recommendation?
Birchbox is at it again with a collaboration with another one of my all time favs: Emily Schuman of Cupcakes and Cashmere, one of my top 5 favorite bloggers. So basically this was all I needed to be convinced to try Birchbox for another month (not to mention it’s kind of addictive). In this month’s box I received:
– Beauty Protector Beauty Wash Body Cleanser: This body wash smells amazing! The wash lathers great and the scent seems to linger a bit which I don’t mind at all!
– Coastal Scents Revealed 3 Eyeshadow Quad: Of the 4 eyeshadows in this sample, I’m loving the dark brown and gold ones. I’ve been using the brown daily and sometimes adding a little bit of gold in the creases. The other two colors are a dark purple and a sparkly purple and I’m not sure I will ever use those.
– Harvey Prince Sea Salt Texturizing Mist: I just tried this today for the first time and it smells great! It didn’t seem to have too much of an effect of my straight, thick hair though.
– Vasanti Cosmetics BrightenUp! Enzymatic Face Rejuvenator: I love when you can feel an exfoliating scrub working but it’s not too abrasive like this one. It seemed to leave my skin a little bit smoother and brighter!
– Yu-Be Moisturizing Skin Cream: This cream is popular in Japan and can be used all-over from your heels to your lips. I’ve tried it on both and it seems to do it’s job. The only problem I have is the smell, it’s awful! It does go away after a minute when it soaks into your skin but when I use it on my lips I have to hold my breath!
I had already pre-ordered Emily’s new book “Cupcakes and Cashmere at Home” before receiving this Birchbox (this months Birchbox included a special offer to spend $55 at Birchbox and receive the book for free) and received it shortly after the box. I’m reading it now and I love getting a chance to peak into her house a lot more than we get to see on her blog. It’s definitely inspiring and the pictures are beautiful!
Memorial day is fast approaching! If you haven’t had time to come up with something to cook for the occasion yet then I’m here to help! This crockpot pulled pork recipe couldn’t be easier. You can throw everything in the crock pot first thing in the morning and enjoy the rest of your day outside while a delicious meal is busy cooking itself inside.
These pulled pork sliders are not only delicious but the recipe makes a ton of food. One pork loin is enough for around 8-10 people. When we make it for just us two we tend to be eating it for the entire week (and I’m not complaining)!
I served it with cucumber avocado salad (recipe here) which would be a great easy side dish for a Memorial day party!
Pulled pork sliders
– one pork loin
– enough bbq sauce to generously cover the pork loin (usually an entire small bottle, I use Sweet Baby Ray’s)
– one package of Hawaiian rolls
Instructions:
– Place pork loin in a crockpot
– Cover with bbq sauce
– Cook on low for 8 hours
– Serve on Hawaiian rolls
*best served with a cold beer and a cute koozie :)
These past few weeks have flown by and been packed full! While it’s been fun, I’m ready for this coming weekend when we don’t have any serious plans and can relax a little more at home. I wanted to document some of the pictures I’ve taken over the past few weeks, enjoy!
Made an after work trip to The Ringling Museum of Art to catch an art exhibit and enjoy the view:
Jake and I at wedding number 1 (of 2) at a house on the bay on a freakishly cold and windy evening for FL in April. We made the best of it and had a great time! (even if we did spend a lot of time around the heaters).
The weather went from cold to hot again really quick and I think it’s safe to say we are going to stay hot for a while now. Plenty of boat days in the future :)
We went to a polo match (my first one!) which was super fun besides the sunburn I had afterward. That wasn’t so fun.
We took a short trip up to Tampa to watch the Lightning game (my Valentine’s gift for Jake) and hang out with a few friends while we were there.
The living room renovation is officially complete! (more pictures to come of that!) Here we are enjoying our new couch for the first time. For some reason this is my new favorite photo :)
I was a bridesmaid in wedding #2 and so we had festivities to partake in for the whole weekend! Even though it took place about 15 minutes away from where we live it still felt like a mini vacation. Here you could see them setting up for the wedding from our hotel room:
In previous posts I have expressed my hatred for beauty samples (see here) but my love for Rifle Paper Co. conquered all when I saw the Rifle Paper Co. + Birchbox collaboration. I’ve always been a little intrigued by Birchbox so this collab was all I needed to cave in and give it a try! I got my first box last weekend and it was just as pretty as I’d hoped it would be.
My box included a perfume sample, CC cream, body/face lotion, a 3-minute peel and a lip and cheek stain. I love the jane iredale Just Kissed Lip and Cheek Stain and have been wearing it on my lips and cheeks since I got it. This is one I may have to order again! The Supergoop!® Daily Correct CC Cream SPF 35+ is great too, I’ve been using this every day as well. It’s a high SPF but doesn’t feel too heavy! The Temple Spa Peace Be Still Calming Face & Body Balm smells really good and lotion always comes in handy but it didn’t seem like anything special to me. I haven’t tried the Real Chemistry Luminous 3-Minute Peel yet but I will definitely give it a try soon! The only product I absolutely didn’t like was the Harvey Prince Yogini perfume sample. The smell wasn’t terrible but it just wasn’t for me.
Overall I would say I was happy with my box and I will give it another try next month! As long as I use up the samples I get as soon as I get them or throw away the ones I don’t like, I can hopefully keep the amount of samples laying around to a minimum! Have you tried Birchbox? What do you think?
Simple and Lovely 