Life + Weekly Picks

As much as I swore to myself that I would be back in the blogging routine, post every day this week, check up on all of my blog reading and reply to your comments, it just didn't go as planned. Late last week Dr. Ash and I were spawled out on the couches at my house when she mentioned one of her co-workers all of a sudden needing someone to watch her kids a couple of days a week this summer. And although I told myself a while back that at the ripe age of 28 I had made up my mind to never take care of another child {until my own comes along} or teach a classfull of children again I somehow heard a voice that sounded like my own saying, "Oh, that's perfect! I need something to do a few days a week." That, my dear friends, is what I am blaming the lack of posts on this week. The kids are perfect angels and we are going to have a great summer together. So far I've only pulled a leg muscle from doing the splits while jumping on a trampoline and eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. {Ok, plus a zillion other things.} All of this being said, I've got to get into a new morning routine, blog routine and exercise routine, so please be patient with me while I figure out how to juggle everything.

I have zero, zip, zilch, nada recipes to share with you this week. That is something that is dear to my heart and I want to make sure that I have more of those to share in the future. For those of you that read Monograms and Manicures, you are probably just as saddened as I to hear that Hopsy will no longer be blogging. If you are not familiar with her wonderful blog, I highly suggest reading her phenomenal site, which was one of the first blogs I ever read on a routine basis. She reminded me today how important it is to be my true self, both on my blog and in every day life. I think that is one of the reasons I have struggled with posts lately, I am just not into posting every day unless I put my all into it.

And now on to bigger and brighter things...like talking about how much this Tibi dress is one of my new favorites that has recently been put on the racks. I heart it--which is quite funny because I am not really a blue kind of girl. It is definitely one of those must-have "it" pieces.

Haute Look was having an Amrita Singh jewelry blowout yesterday and I ordered a few pieces. Recently I've been in a saving mode and haven't done any shopping. My favorite earrings used to be gold hoops exactly like these silver ones a few years back. These fancy looking ones I'm hoping will go perfectly with the dress I am wearing for my brother-in-law's wedding in a few weeks. Like many of you, I'm really enjoying all of the beautiful necklaces that are being worn by everyone right now. This pink one will go with multiple outfits for summer.

Do you have fun plans for the weekend? Bryan and I have a house warming party on Saturday night. Our friends have built a very eco-friendly house all on their own. Hopefully I will be able to get some good pictures of their amazing work. This week has really flown by since it was a short week. Enjoy your weekend!

Weekend Part 2 + Margaritas

The second half of the weekend was spent with our adopted family at the lake. RL {the dad} has recently decided to make it a running joke to deem what transpires as "blog worthy" or not. Something funny would happen and he would say, "Oh that's certainly blog worthy." My lovely Maui Jim t-shirt Hawaiian print koozie was proclaimed "blog worthy." The list could go on and on.

This is one of my favorite pics of the weekend. All except for the part where Bryan decided to put a hand on my head!! Why he did that, I do not know.

{Adam, Laura, me, Bryan}

My two favorite bikers-hippies-pirates.

My poor hubby was recovering from a sunburn last weekend and a slight one from working outside on Saturday morning/afternoon before the wedding. 

The kid is good at whatever she does. Here she is at the beginning of a jump.

Cathy {the mom} has a friend who makes the best margaritas that originally come from a restaurant in Dallas. She got the recipe and let me tell you, they are delish. Bryan decided to take over the making of them and he did a fine job. {Most certainly "blog worthy".}

I didn't get a good shot of the margaritas, but you get the idea. You can make them frozen or on the rocks.

Damn Good Margaritas

{I kid you not, this is the name.}

1 can frozen limeade (use empty can to measure)

1/2-3/4 can Herradura Tequila

1/4 can Cointreau

1/4 can Grand Marnier

Blend and add ice as needed or serve the frozen mixture over ice to enjoy on the rocks. 

Make sure to salt the rim and use fresh limes. Squeeze extra juice over the top of each margarita.

Weekend Part 1

I hope each of you had a great long weekend and holiday. The outdoor wedding Bryan and I attended on Saturday was simply perfect for this time of year. The groom was one of Bryan's friends from college. Other than the bride and groom I knew one person there, but it actually was fun since Bryan knew a handful of people and we made some new friends.

I had a new dress picked out to wear, but at the last minute went with this trusty dress that I wore for Easter, which I absolutely love.

The wedding theme was a rustic-outdoor look with lots of burlap and twisted vines. I thought the bride did an excellent job of picking out everything and putting it together. She used peach to bring a little color into the neutral palette.

The reception tables all had different centerpieces, but each had some sort of greenery or flowers, candles and coordinating (but not matching) prints and frames. I think the tablecloths were a very pale green, so the burlap runners went perfectly on top.

What I really liked was that nothing was over-kill. There was just the right about of lace, burlap, pops of color, iron and greenery to make the whole thing come together beautifully.

There was a fantastic band and we danced until the party shut down. After the wedding we headed to the lake for the rest of the weekend. Tomorrow I'll share lake pictures and the recipe for yummy margaritas that we made.

Friday's Fancies: Memorial Day

How excited are you about this long weekend?!? Bryan and I have a wedding to attend on Saturday and then we're hitting the lake for the rest of the weekend. Hello sunny skies, blue water and drink in my hand! Click over to {av's} Friday's Fancies to see all of the fun outfits so many creative ladies have put together.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and I'll see you back here next week!

Weekly Update

My Internet has been so sporadic the past few days that it is enough to make a gal go crazy. I decided to quit messing with it and hoped it would go back to normal. Ivy and I have been back and forth to my parents' house the past week. We got a little pool time in, which made both of us happy. {Ivy really wanted her toes painted.}

Bryan and I went to the mountain bike trail on Monday night. We He rode it after I fell within the first five minutes. I decided that it was getting to dark for me to see, so I ran while he rode. We came home and grilled salmon. I sliced lemon and put it directly on the grill, with the salmon then on top of it. Flip it once and it is pure perfection.

Yesterday I started a new project--distressing and painting a desk for Dr. Ash. It got sanded and now has one coat of paint on it. I was hoping to get it finished today, but it's not going to happen like I thought. Everything always takes longer than you originally plan.

Did you vote on Tuesday? We are so fortunate as Americans to have the freedom to choose who we elect into office. It is detrimental to our future and the future of our children to take action and exercise this freedom. I've been continuously reminded lately about my many blessings, which has made me more mindful to be constantly thankful and have an attitude of joy. I saw these reminders and thought they would be nice to share.

Trendy Tuesday: Tortoise Necklaces

With my kind of coloring, tortoise has always been one of my favorite designs {colors} when choosing sunglasses. In fact, I think just about everyone looks good in tortoise. Lately I have been seeing a lot of tortoise necklaces and I think I need one of them in every shape and size that they come in right now. I just cannot get enough of these eye-catching gems. I think they are very versatile and go with many different outfits and colors.

via

My current favorite style is the tortoise resin links. This one is currently at J.Crew and has some bling mixed in with it.

This necklace is on their weekly outlet sale, and I actually think that I like it better for wearing every day.

 And of course there is the knock-off on eBay, which is pretty cute, too.

The best part about this trend to me is that tortoise is such a classic look. Dress it up, dress it down, it is going to look great any way you style it. Here are a few of my other tortoise necklace picks.

Banana-Chocolate French Toast

This weekend I drove from one end of the state to the other and then back home. Laura aka "the kid" played in the state soccer finals in Fayetteville on the University of Arkansas campus on Friday night. Having never played soccer before this season, Laura was recruited to be the goalie by the coach at the beginning of the year. As I've said before, Laura doesn't do anything without excelling at it, and this position is no different--she is an awesome goalie. Her team lost the game, but they played their hearts out and I could not have been more proud of them.

..........

I recently made some banana-chocolate french toast for breakfast because I had seen the recipe in Cooking Light. I know you're thinking that chocolate for breakfast cannot be healthy, but if used in the right way it actually is great. Y'all, this was an absolutely delish breakfast that is going to become a regular at our house.

Banana-Chocolate French Toast

1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 (1 1/2-ounce) slices whole-grain bread

4 1/2 tablespoons hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)

1 cup thinly sliced banana (about 8 ounces)

2 teaspoons canola oil

1/2 teaspoons powdered sugar

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a shallow dish.

2. Spread each of 3 bread slices with 1 1/2 tablespoons hazelnut-chocolate spread; arrange 1/3 cup banana slices over each bread slice. Top sandwiches with remaining 3 bread slices.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working with 1 sandwich at a time, place into milk mixture, turning gently to coat both sides. Carefully place coated sandwiches into pan. Cook 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Cut each sandwich into 4 triangles. Sprinkle evenly with powdered sugar.