Warby Parker’s SPECTRUM Sun Collection

I don’t know about you, but I am looking everywhere for pops of Spring right now. With the excessively cold weather most of the country has experienced this winter, I’m craving light colors, sunshine, and sand between my toes. For an upcoming beach trip, a new pair of sunglasses is a must. I’m feeling the need for something really light and airy. I had the opportunity to preview Warby Parker’s new Spectrum line, and I must say, they have done a fabulous job designing this line. The best part is that they are being released today…just in time for Spring! These sunglasses are exactly what I need to kick off Spring and breathe some new life into my warm weather accessories.

The Spectrum line features sunglasses that come in nine different styles, and they are just plain chic. Each style is quite unique and versatile, so there is a little something for everyone. Along with having different frame styles to choose from, there are different lense options as well (triple-gradient lenses are an option on some) to fit your specific needs and wants. If you are like me, you’ll find several pairs that are calling your name. If I could choose only one pair, my favorite is definitely the PIPER Woodland Tortoise. I’m just a tortoise loving girl! However, I really am enamored with the HALL Cherry Blossom for a lighter pair as well. In true Warby Parker fashion, they are extremely affordable at only $95. And if that’s not enough, as always, for every pair sold, Warby distributes a pair to someone in need through their non-profit partners. I just love a company who gives back a little something! So head on over to Warby Parker to see this exciting new line, and have fun shopping for your new sunglasses for the upcoming days of Spring and Summer.

 

 

                           

                                                   

 

                     

                                                                                                 

 

 

                                                                                           

 

                 

                                                             

 

                 

                                                   

Technorati Tags: spectrum line,weather accessories,sand between my toes,cherry blossom,light colors,warm weather,cold weather,fabulous job,loving girl,target,frame styles,beach trip,different styles,tortoise,gradient,sunglasses,pops,piper,pairs,sunshine

Happy Thanksgiving Week

I hope everyone has a lovely week and a lovely holiday with delicious food on Thursday. Check back later this week for a pumpkin pie recipe, and possibly another recipe!

via

Freshly Juiced Lemons

I have enough lemon juice in my freezer to last at least a year now. We’ve had a hybrid citrus tree in our backyard for about 5 years. It hasn’t done much for us until this year. I’ve heard numerous times that citrus trees take a while to really produce anything worthwhile. Well, all of our dreams for this little (or not so little anymore) tree came true this year. As mentioned, the tree is a hybrid so we have key limes, meyer lemons, ponderosa lemons, and kumquats. We’ve gotten a few kumquats, and the ponderosa’s are plentiful, but not great yet. The key limes and meyer lemons made up for everything else this year. We had more meyers than I knew what to do with and I couldn’t let them go to waste like some did last year. So, I decided to make “lemon juice pellets” that I could freeze and use throughout the year. Here’s the process.

I washed all of my lemons thoroughly. I am estimating it was around 50-60 lemons. First I cut each end off. Then, I halved some of the lemons, quartered others. I juiced them using my Breville Juice Fountain. This produced several batches of beautiful and extremely fragrant lemon juice. I poured the juice into mini muffin pans and froze that for a few hours. After freezing, I popped out each pellet and filled freezer bags with them. Whenever I need lemon juice, I simply let a pellet melt, which only takes a few short minutes. I’ll also add that I left all of the rind on when I juiced them. The smell was incredible, this was beyond easy, and it’s so convenient to have lemon juice at the ready whenever I need it.

 

 

Technorati Tags: freezer bags,muffin pans,breville juice fountain,citrus trees,citrus tree,lemons,lemon juice,pellets,rind,kumquats,key limes,meyers

Five Favorites

 via

Instead of Lovely Links this week, I’m linking up with Moxie Wife for Five Favorites. Here are my five favorites.

1. White pumpkins! Or any of the non traditional looking pumpkins. The Lowes in my area had them on the cheap last weekend!

2. Fall is a favorite in general, which unfortunately has not arrived yet for us! Boo hoo.

3. These gluten free pumpkin muffins…yes, I know…more fall, more pumpkin!

4. Coconut oil sugar face scrubs = luxurious

5. Hugo Naturals Shampoo…I’ve used it for a while now and I love it more and more. It’s very kind to the tresses.

 

 

Technorati Tags: pumpkin muffins,coconut oil,face scrubs,lowes,target,pumpkins,naturals,shampoo,hugo

Lovely Links

via

We are desperately in need of some Fall weather around here. Until then, I’ll pretend!

1. Just discovered this site this week, and really enjoyed it.

2. These boots…holy SWOON! And, Seleta has a really great coupon for them, so visit her site to check it out.

3. Fell in love with this ring after seeing C. Style put it in the middle of two diamond bands

4. And since I am always talking about figs, I found this great resource from Martha in which she includes several awesome recipes. By the way, my fig tree is still bursting with baby figs and I’m so excited.

5. This is a great, pretty affordable store that I just discovered over the summer.

 

Technorati Tags: collections shoes,fig recipes,affordable store,fall weather,recipe guide,seasonal produce,diamond bands,target,product detail,fig tree,figs,boots,pizza

Coconut Oil

I am rarely ever without a jar of coconut oil. It is so versatile, and it’s uses range from cooking oil to facial cleansing oil, to everything in between.

Here are eleven ways I use coconut oil:

to coat vegetables that are are going to be roasted
for sautéing veggies
when baking, as a substitute for other oils
when making homemade granola bars
in salad dressing (mixed with other ingredients)
as cuticle moisturizer
as after shave leg moisturizer
in hair to tame the frizz
on the scalp to help dryness
as a makeup remover
as a facial cleanser

I use coconut oil quite often in my kitchen in place of other oils. I’m also loving it as my face cleanser. I’ve cleansed only with oil now for the last 6-8 months. This method really agrees with my skin as my skin tone has evened out greatly and I rarely ever breakout. Makeup comes off very easily with coconut oil as well.

I’ll leave you with a recipe for my favorite facial scrub.

Coconut Oil Lime Sugar Scrub

1 tbs coconut oil
1 tsp lime juice
1 tbs sugar of your choice

Mix together and slather this on your face in circular motions. You will wake up the next morning with fabulously bright skin!

 

Technorati Tags: homemade granola bars,html target,everyday minerals,coconut oil,circular motions,bright skin,makeup remover,lime juice,choice mix,frizz,cleansing oil,face cleanser,facial cleansing,facial cleanser,cooking oil,cuticle,skin tone,tbs,moisturizer,salad dressing

Lovely Links

 via

1. These stamps from an Etsy shop are really cute, and very useful too!

2. Another Etsy shop I am loving…I could totally have one of these prints in my house.

3. After switching to all natural beauty and cleaning products, I would like to move to healthier candle options now. These look like they would fit the bill quite well.

4. Just discovered this blog and I’m loving it!

5. And here’s another “new to me” blog that I’m enjoying.

 

Technorati Tags: science posters,all natural cleaning products,scented soy candle,etsy,target,poppy,stamps,prints,blog

Fig Pizza (gluten free)

I’ve been wanting to try this fig pizza since last summer. As you know, I absolutely love figs and can get them pretty easily during the summer months. I based my recipe off of Kate’s, and it did not disappoint. Well, it was actually FABULOUS!

I used this crust recipe, which is my “go to” gluten free pizza crust recipe. It’s delicious, but you may want to double the batch for a larger pizza. I also added 2 tbs. fresh basil, garlic, and onion powder to the pizza dough for a little flavor boost.

Cook the crust by itself for about 10 minutes on 350.

Add toppings. I added sliced figs, Sara Lee honey ham, green onions, black olives, shredded mozzarella, and crumbled bleu cheese.

Put entire pizza in the oven on 350 until cheese becomes golden brown. It took 20-25 minutes to turn golden in my oven. Enjoy!

 

Technorati Tags: pizza crust recipe,onion powder,black olives,free pizza,green onions,pizza dough,sara lee,target,honey ham,paleo,figs,tbs,basil,garlic,cheese,love

Bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Lovely Links

 via

Happy Labor Day weekend! As the end of summer nears, here are a few things that have me happy!

1. Cannot wait to try this salmon

2. These from Tina look refreshingly delicious

3. These shoes have me totally smitten and ready for cooler temps

4. Have been wanting to try this raw tart from Joy for the longest

5. This chicken would be a perfect Labor Day lunch menu item

 

Technorati Tags: mint chocolate chip,chocolate chip bars,apple tart,dessert recipe,labor day weekend,maple cream,lunch menu,jeffrey campbell,nordstrom,target,free recipe,labor day,news health,salmon,honey,shoes

Fresh Picked Figs

A couple of weeks ago, I got to go pick these beauties. If you know me, you know that I love figs and get excited each summer when they are in season. We ate a bunch of these plain, as they were sweet as honey. I also gave some away to family and friends. I did a little cooking with them; threw them on salads, in yogurt, and the like. But, the best thing I did this year was make fig pizza. The recipe will be up next week, so stay tuned!

 

Technorati Tags: yogurt parfait,sweet as honey,target,figs,beauties,salads,family and friends,pizza

Lunch Salad

I don’t know about where you are, but it’s pretty sweltering here today! I’ve been in and out of my house everyday this summer trying to get this kitchen renovation finished. Looks like we’re getting close! On days like this, I find myself needing a really cool lunch. Salads are perfect for this. Who am I kidding though? I eat some variation of a salad almost everyday of the year for lunch. I need my greens on a regular basis!

Into this salad, I threw about 2C of lettuce, 2tbs. golden raisins, 1/2 apple, 1tbs. garden fresh green onions, 1tbs. shredded smoked gouda.

My “go to” salad dressing usually consists of:

horseradish mustard
pepper jelly (homemade, from a friend)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

I really don’t measure much, but the mix of sweet and salty in this salad with the dressing was outstanding.

 

Technorati Tags: kitchen renovation,pepper jelly,green onions,golden raisins,chicken salad,salad dressing,target,watermelon,lettuce,vinegar,olive oil,mustard,salads,greens,lime,lunch,variation,apple

Watermelon, Lime, Berry Granita

I don’t know if it’s hot where you are, but it’s HOT here! It seems that in the last few weeks a heat wave has been moving across the country. July is always rough for those of us in the South. I’ll (hopefully) be escaping the heat in a few short weeks for some cooler temps. In the meantime, this watermelon, lime, berry granita is sure to keep us (and YOU) cool and refreshed!

First, make a simple syrup by boiling 1/4C water. Add 1/2C sugar to the boiling water and stir until sugar is dissolved. Take off heat and let cool about 30 minutes.

Once simple syrup is cool, add it to a blender along with 2C watermelon, 1tbs. lime juice, 3/4C mixed berries, and 2C ice. Blend until ice is crushed, but not liquefied.

Enjoy this as a fabulous afternoon refresher!

Technorati Tags: lime juice,cocktail hour,simple syrup,granita,target,heat wave,watermelon,boiling water,moving across the country,blender,berries,porch

Cocktail Hour on the Porch

On Friday, we started a friend’s bachelorette evening with “cocktail hour on the porch” at my house. It was really nice and casual, and very easy to prep for. We had mojitos and water (for hydration!) with fresh mint, lemon, and lime. We had dinner reservations, so I kept the food really light, only serving tortilla chips and salsa. All in all, it was a great start to the evening and everyone enjoyed themselves!

 

Technorati Tags: lemon and lime,cocktail hour,tortilla chips,mojitos,dinner reservations,hydration,bachelorette,porch,mint

Our Little Beauty

This is Cami, our five year old King Charles Spaniel. Isn’t she fabulous? We happen to think so. She’s a joyful little thing, and has brought us years of happiness. We hope for many more years of continued happiness with her. Her 5th birthday was July 1. So, I guess this is a belated Happy Birthday to Cami post!

 

Technorati Tags: belated happy birthday,5th birthday,cami,spaniel,happiness,july 1

Zucchini Chips

These are so easy to make, and they are quite the tasty treat.

To make, I thinly sliced 3 zucchini. Then, I tossed the slices in olive oil with salt and pepper and (my favorite) chipotle. I laid them on my dehydrator sheets, and set them to dehydrate for 7 hours on 135. They were not completely dehydrated at this point, and could have gone longer, but I like them a little softer, so I stopped dehydrating at 7 hours.

via

 

Technorati Tags: salt and pepper,chipotle,zucchini,olive oil

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Peppers

Happy 4th! I have made these peppers the last two years to bring to our July 4 gathering, and they are always a big hit. I made a slightly different version this year by leaving ground beef out of the cheese mixture. Feel free to add it, if you like. I think they are great either way!

1 bag of small red, yellow, orange peppers

2 small containers of cream cheese

1 pack of bacon

fresh basil and thyme finely chopped

salt, pepper, chipotle seasoning to taste

Wash and dry all peppers, cut off tops of peppers. Set aside. Make cheese mixture by mixing all cream cheese, herbs, and seasonings together. Blend well. Fill peppers with cheese mixture. Cut bacon slices in half. Wrap peppers with bacon. Secure with a toothpick. This year, we put 5 finished peppers onto a skewer, and laid the skewers on a pan. We cooked these in the oven on 450 for 30-40 minutes. You can also grill them. Just be careful because the cheese may leak! Sorry, I don’t have a photo of the finished product. We were rushing to leave!

 

Technorati Tags: cheese mixture,bacon slices,orange peppers,cream cheese,salt pepper,skewer,ground beef,skewers,seasonings,toothpick,basil,containers,july 4,herbsaint,tops

Chicken Salad

I love chicken salad and experiment with different recipes all the time. My latest experiment was fabulous, so I thought I’d share the recipe.

Combine:

1 chicken breast, seasoned and grilled

2 hardboiled eggs, chopped

half of an apple, chopped

1/4-1/2C of chopped walnuts

1/4-1/2C green onions

3 tbs mayonnaise

1tbs horseradish mustard

Nature’s Seasoning and Chipotle to taste

       via                                                                                                          

 

Technorati Tags: horseradish mustard,chopped walnuts,hardboiled eggs,green onions,chicken breast,chipotle,chicken salad,tbs,recipes,apples

Fall Trends – My Closet

Well, hello there! So, apparently, I took a brief blogging break. I apologize. My life is quite hectic during the school year, so there may be sporadic breaks!

I have been very productive at home though recently. I’m not sure if it’s the (non) Fall air or what. But I’ve been organizing more around the house, and I find everything is more peaceful when it’s neat. Which brings me to my closet…I’m always donating old clothing and shoes. I really like to do this, so that my closet does not become too crowded. My closet is a nice size, and there’s no excuse for it being cluttered except me collecting too much! With that being said, I have decided that each season (we really don’t have seasons where I live- it’s basically cool for 3 or so months and warm/hot the rest of the year) I will try to get a few new fashionable items. As always this will be done on a budget cause that’s just how I like to shop. Why overpay, right?

Here’s what I’m looking for this Fall:

Black patent flats and leopard flats
   

via

         

Peplum something! I love it and think it’s just fabbb!

Two simple long sleeve t-shirts

One new lightweight, possibly gauzy, scarf

Two nontraditional sweaters/jackets
     I saw something just like this at TJMaxx last weekend.

 

via

I would also like a pair of these Frye boots, but they’re super pricey, and I’m not sure enough about them yet. Yep, they sure are beauties!

via

I am determined to stay under $100 for these items. Obviously, the boots would bust my budget. There are some great used ones on Ebay for close to half the price of new ones.

On a different note, I’ve been cooking a lot, and I have some yummy recipes coming soon. Stay tuned.

 

Technorati Tags: yummy recipes,ebay,boots,budget,long sleeve t shirts,scarf,sweaters,frye boots,beauties,size,target,school year,patent,black,leopard,shoes

Weekend Happenings

I had a very restful and rejuvenating weekend, which I really needed.

On Saturday morning, I ditched my workout….to go shopping! I’m not so proud of that, but it happens. When a friend calls and says that the entire Ann Taylor Loft store is 40% off, all other plans are immediately halted. I happily arrived at the store at 10am sharp to find a bunch of very eager shoppers just like myself. It was like a party in there and you could just tell that all the ladies were excitedly looking for new Fall pieces. I browsed for a while, and then…the dreaded line to the fitting rooms. It ended up not being too bad of a wait, and it only took me about twenty minutes to get a fitting room. I bought two pairs of cords, a black and reddish/orange color. The red/orange color is just something that’s fun to have, and the black pair are classic and will be so practical and versatile. Here they are.

I decided to give myself a pedicure when I got home. I had a real pedicure about six weeks ago, and it was time for a trim and new polish. I love painting my nails, and I’m good at it. I kinda stink at pedicures though. I took my time and was determined to get it right this time. I wanted to do it well so it would last. As I said, I can usually get about six weeks out of a real pedi, which, I think, is pretty impressive. My pedi looked great and I was so happy to be letting my toes dry all afternoon. Well, we decided to go for a walk on the Lakefront later in the day. I strapped on my exercise socks and shoes. We had a lovely two mile walk with our puppy, Cami. BUT, when we got home and I was taking off my socks and shoes, I had to literally peel my socks from my nails. Yikes…sheer horror! My beautiful pedi now has sock material print all over. As my husband says, it looks textured now. Not the look I was going for!So, I’ll try again tomorrow. I want pretty toes…for free.

We threw together the simplest dinner ever on Saturday night. I marinated chicken tenders all afternoon and we threw them on the grill (ignore the burgers in this old pic). So juicy and tasty, and I cooked extra so we would have leftovers. Yay for leftovers! On the side we had microwaved sweet potatoes with butter. Normally, we go all out with sweet potato toppings: cinnamon, almond butter, maple syrup. But this time, we both wanted them rather plain, with only butter. They’re so delicious in their natural state that I can easily eat them plain.

It was my pick for movie night, so, of course, it was a girly one: The Lucky One. I loved it!

Sunday, I finally got in my scheduled workout. I shoot for exercising three times a week while I am working, four or five times a week when I’m not working. I consider three times a week an accomplishment, as my job is physically demanding and I am on my feet (getting a workout!) almost eight hours a day. It always feels good to work the muscles properly though and really sweat.

Well, that rounds out another weekend for us. I know…we’re such a wild and crazy couple! Now, I’m looking forward to a few more cool fronts to hit. One is actually on the way right now! The official start of Fall is this week and I need some pumpkin in my life real soon. Maybe next weekend…

 

Technorati Tags: weekend,ann taylor loft,shopping,red and black cords,shoppers,sale,pedicure,exercise,walk,simple dinner,chicken,chicken tenders,marinate,sweet potato,pumpkin,the lucky one