Weekend Recapping on Tuesday

I hope everyone had the best weekend!  I meant to get my weekend recap post up yesterday (it's been forever since I've shared one!) but running errands took precedence.  We were gone most of the day getting things done - anyone else's Costco trips take forever??  Oh my!


Anyway, I'm here recapping a day late for you all.

It has been raining basically non stop here, but we still managed to do a few things and have fun.  Friday night we met up with our couple friends and had a parent's night out!  We went to Funky Budah and had the best time sampling beers, eating delicious food and being able to carry on conversations without any kids interrupting - priceless and totally worth the drive in the pouring rain :)

Saturday we spent at home all day.  We had a quiet morning: coffee, candles burning and Saturday morning cartoons.  I got some chores done around the house and then got sucked into the Fixer Upper marathon - I could seriously sit and watch Fixer Upper all day!

In the evening my brother-in-law and sister-in-law came over to play with the kids.  We decided to order sushi for dinner, sushi is always a good idea!

Sunday we were invited to our friends house for Mexian night.

I threw on my go-to outfit, my striped shirt from Loft, Express jean leggings, my pink stone necklace from Dolce Ave. and my leopard ballet flats.  Do any of you have an outfit that's your go to when you don't know what to wear but want to look cute?

shirt (similar) | leggings | flats | necklace (similar)

We all had a blast - we ate enchiladas, queso dip, and guacamole.  The kids all played together and we adults played beer pong, haha.  It was my first time playing, it is fun!

And just like that our fun weekend was over and it was time to get ready for the week!


What were you up to over the weekend?

Weekending | Outfit Hits and Misses

How was everyone's weekend?  Ours was pretty uneventful for two reasons 1) it rained ALL weekend and 2) I have been sick with a cold, and pretty much have no voice.  Gotta love flu season and all the germs the kids bring home from school.

The bright side about being sick while it's rainy is that I got to nap and binge watch Netflix - which is never a bad thing!  On Friday I went shopping at Trader Joes to get some snacks for the evening since my sister was coming over to hang out for a little.  I always love trying new things from them and their food never disappoints!

I also got my new pillow from Bows and Burlap which I'm in love with.  It's so well made and pretty!

Since I didn't do anything exciting this weekend I figured I'd share my hits and misses from my Norstrom and Express sale.  The pictures were taken with my iPhone - I apologize in advance for the crappy quality.


First up my Jane & Hudson Long Sleeved Maxi - I wanted to love this dress, and I think it's such a cute pattern and would look adorable on someone else, but the neckline made my shoulders look wide for some reason.  So I'm sending it back.

SP Skinny Jeans - these are my first pair of skinnies (I know!) and I really like them  They are really comfortable, and a little high wasted.  I never thought skinnies would look good on me because I'm so thin, but I really like these.... or I'm just growing more comfortable in my own skin.

Trixxi Glitter Lace Body-Con Midi Dress - I love this dress, but it was a bit too big under my arms and in the back.  I'm still debating whether to have this altered or not.  Because it's lace I know it's going to cost as much as the dress to fix (if not more).  What do you all think?  It looks great from the waist down.

 

Malibu Native Keys, Wallet, Cell Phone Tee - this shirt is the cutest!  I've worn it out and got compliments from it.  It is rather thin, so an undershirt was necessary for me.

On to Express

This plaid shirt and these distressed jean leggings are heavenly!  I'm so happy I got them.  

Another win was this One Eleven V Neck Tee - It's just your basic tee, but so soft.  I want to get more in other colors - it's so comfortable!

All in all I'm happy with my purchases and my wallet will thank me for the few returns I need to do :)


Have a great day!

Recipes to Try This Fall

I hope you all had a great weekend!!  We had so much fun with our families.  I carved out all of the weekend to hang out with family that was in town  - and I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend it! Family is the best.  We ate, laughed and ate some more. 

This time of year is when I want to start baking pumpkin flavored everything - as most people do I'm sure.  It's also the time of year when soups and chilis make a come back.  I've gathered some recipes that I would love to make this Fall.  To me these all capture the essence of Fall.... even if it's still 90 degrees here ;)

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup - this looks and sounds delicious!  It's also gluten free for all of my friends that are sensitive to gluten.

Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash - we LOVE squash as a side here, even the kids eat it.  We usually make acorn squash with butter, agave and cinnamon.  This recipe would probably have a similar taste, but I'd love to try it.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread - pumpkin + chocolate = enough said.

Carrot Cake Banana Bread with Thick Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting- this sounds heavenly for breakfast and I think the kids would love this - minus the nuts for the kiddos and their nut allergy.

Sausage Potato Spinach Soup - my uncle makes something similar to this and it's delicious!

Pumpkin Cheesecake - I made this last Fall and it came out so good!  I can't wait to make it again this year.

What are some of your favorite Fall recipes or ones you'd like to try?

Weekend Recap

Haaaapy Monday everyone!


I hope you all had a good weekend!  Ours ended up to be really fun.  Friday was more of a run errand and TCOB kind of day, we went to Costco and did our shopping and then came home and ordered E her lunchbox and backpack for kindergarten.  It's getting so close!!  I also had a little time to drink some vino and read my Better Homes magazine - don't those ice cream bars look delicious?

Saturday we were invited to a kids' party.  It was awesome!  They rented a huge water slide, had water balloon fights, a pinata for the kids or as E called it a Pina Colada, can you tell she's my child? haha.  They had so much fun eating hot dogs and as much candy as their bodies could handle!

Sunday my mom invited my sister and I to a cooking class at Sir La Table.  Although the 3 of us see each other all of the time, it's not that often that we do something fun together, so it was a treat to hang out.  The class was so much fun.  We made manchego and quince empanadas, grilled shirmp gazpacho, a melon and arugula salad with prosciutto and a sangria sorbet - it was all so delicious!

How was your weekend?

 

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Weekending!

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Good morning!!  It has been a while since I've linked up with Biana for Weekending, so I figured I should share a few snip-bits of my weekend.  It was a good one - we cooked and ate a lot, in my opinion that always makes for good times!

Friday began with me taking over The Blog Love Project's Instagram which is always fun.  It's neat to "meet" other bloggers.

Of course I shared a picture of my cutie Paris - I seriously think she poses for the camera, she is a ham!  I also talked about my obsession love for candles and wine (shocker!) and one of my other favorite things - sunsets and luckily there was a gorgeous one to share on Friday night!

Saturday was a yucky rainy day.  The kids were getting a little cabin fever so we baked browine cupcakes.  E wanted to use ALL of the cupcake cups we had so we mixed and matched.  It was a fun little distraction for her.  She LOVES to cook and watch us cook - she also loves watching Giada - a girl after my own heart!

We also added some touches to J's Star Wars room.  It's coming out so cool, I can't wait to show you all once we're done.  Of course my husband is having a little too much fun with the decor - they are kids at heart!

Yesterday we had some friends over for dinner.  I cooked a chicken recipe that my mother-in-law passed down to me, it's so easy and delicious I need to share the recipe.  I also made this Butternut Squash Risotto - seriously, make this!  It's SO good!

What were you up to this weekend?

PS - Wednesday is Wino Wednesday!  I can't wait to hear about some new delicious wines!

Weekending + Giveaway!

Ah, Monday we meet again!  I hope everyone had a fab weekend.  Ours was pretty good.  It started off with my husband's promotion  ceremony.  He's a fireman and was promoted to Battalion Chief, we're all so proud of him.  He's worked so hard, and is the youngest Battalion Chief ever in his city.  Later that evening we went to a local brewery with our good friends.  I tried this coconut/chocolate beer that was AMAZING, it tasted like an Almond Joy!

Saturday hubby worked.   My mom, the kids and I spent the day together and did a little Home Goods shopping and ate at Chic-Fil-A (the kids' favorite lunch spot).  I basically wanted to buy everything I saw at Home Goods, they had such a great selection of things.  It makes you want to refurnish your whole house! I did end up with a few cute finds one being a cute vase for the dining room table and another a big distressed blue J for J's big boy room!  The evening ended with playing outside with our pup Paris and some wine. 

Yesterday we went to lunch with some friends and hung out at home and caught up on some laundry.  I wanted to go to Target for the Lily Pulitzer line, but that didn't happen.  Plus, with all of the talk out there, I'm sure I saved myself some sanity.  We finished off the weekend watching about half of the ACM Awards, I love Blake and Luke as hosts!  We'll finish watching the rest tonight I'm sure.

Now on to the fun part....

As we're approaching bathing suit season (for some of us it's already here), many have been amping up their workouts.  How fun would be nice to have some fresh workout gear for the season?  A few of my favorite bloggers and I have teamed up to giveaway at $200 gift card to Lululemon. We all know their clothes are not cheap, so the lucky winner can go on a shopping spree on us to get a jump start on their workout wardrobe for the warmer months.

A Little Glitter | On the Daily Express | Deborah Yanni | My Borrowed Heaven | As the Wine Cork Turns | The Sequin Notebook | Medicine & Manicures | Cheshire Kat | The Kay Times | Martinis & Bikinis | Green Fashionista | Coffee & Glitter | Make Me Up Mia | Pink and Fabulous Kids and Cabernet | Dream Big and Buy the Shoes |

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Have a great day!

Linking up with Biana

It's Monday!!!

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Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a great weekend!  We did, it was jammed packed with activities which is fun, but it always leaves me dragging on Mondays.  We went to a Farmer's Market, I had a girl's night and made the best Roasted Vegetable pizza (recipe to come), went to a party at the park and visited my aunt.  The weather was amazing here too, which made it all that much better!

My mother-in-law found a butterfly in her driveway that had a dwarfed wing, so naturally she gave it to us for the kids to play with.  We've made her (we call it a her) a little habitat and soaked a cotton ball with sugar water for her to eat our homemade "nectar".  The kids are having the best time watching the butterfly and letting her crawl all over their arms.

What were you up to this weekend?

PS - Don't forget to link up with us for Wino Wednesday this week!

Have a great day!



Linking up with Biana

Weekending?

Guys.  Am I the only one trying to survive this daylight savings?  I don't understand why we have to always change the clocks, can't we just pick one time and stick to that?  I'm always dragging when we change the clocks, funny how one measly hour can really mess up your day, ha.

This weekend was a total relaxed one.  I wish I could say that I got tons accomplished or did a lot around the house - i.e. tackle a little Spring cleaning, but nope!  We just hung out,  did laundry, played outside, and had family pop in and out.  I cooked on Saturday and am hoping to make these Korean Short ribs sometime this week too (thanks, Amanda for the delicious recipe).  I'm just hanging low until I can get with the program here and get on this time schedule.  I am excited for the extra hour of daylight though, I love extra long days of sunshine!

In the meantime, I figured I'd share how I feel (if I haven't already ;))...

Too much? ;)  Happy Monday!



linking up with Biana

Weekend Fun

Good morning!

Well, that was a fast weekend, it flew by for me - I can't complain thought because it was a really good one!

On Friday the kids asked my mother-in-law if they could sleep over her house, so that left hubby and I to go out on our own.  We had plans with a group of friends to go to a food truck event they always have the first Friday of every month.  I was so excited because I have been wanting to go for a while and try some food truck food, which didn't disappoint.  Hubby and I shared conch fritters in a scotch bonnet sauce, which surprisingly wasn't very spicy on top of two tostones (fried green plantains) it was DELICIOUS.  Then my husband had a Chicago Dog and I had my first lobster roll and of course topped it with a habenero hot sauce - I'm a huge spicy food lover!

I wore my makeup staples on Friday, I'm still in love with the Naked3 and I was able to wear my   tassle-trim blouse which is a little big but I made it work.

On Saturday we went down to my dad's and went strawberry picking with the family.  E had so much fun picking and trying a few along the way!  We came home with tons of yummy strawberries and I plan to make a strawberry cake with her today.  After picking we went to my dad's and had drinks, cheese and chorizo and then went to a Mexican restaurant.  The restaurant was such a cool spot.  It was originally a pottery store, so they had tons of awesome pieces all around which were all for sale.  A little dinner and shopping ;)  they also make their salsa table side and it was delicious!

Yesterday was spent being lazy at home and watching the Grammy's.  Can I just say I miss the old Grammy's, back when music wasn't so weird.  Remember the N'Sync, B. Spears, Christina Aguilera days?  All the music back then was so much better!  I did love Ed Sheeran and John Mayer's preformance as well as Mary J. and Sam Smith and of course Adam Levine is always great to watch ;)

The best part of the award shows is seeing what everyone wears, Taylor Swift and Gwen Stefani were my favorites

Can we talk about how horrible Kim K and Rhianna looked?!  Kim looked like she had a bathrobe on!

How was your weekend?