Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Flouncy Floral


Every once and a while, I buy a piece for a specific outfit and end up being able to wear it with multiple others.  I just love that!  I picked up this tank top from Nordstrom when I was in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago.  I was exiting the store after scoring a super sale on two skirts at Anthropologie and saw this tank hanging on a rack by the door.  I knew I needed a black tank to go with one of the skirts that I had bought and it was inexpensive, so I picked it up.  The tank is cropped, which doesn't usually appeal to me, but it looks great paired with almost all of  my high-waisted bottoms, including these shorts.  I love these shorts but have struggled in the past to find the right top for them, they needed a top with just the right amount of flow.  I am so careful about what I buy these days, so it really makes my day when I can use a new purchase throughout my wardrobe.






Tank: Lush
Shorts: Free People (love these) 
Shoes: Crown Vintage (similar)
Clutch: L.A.M.B. 

Monday, July 28, 2014

Drugstore Pick-Me-Ups


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If I'm ever feeling down or in the mood for a little sprucing up, you can find me at the drugstore.  I just love the drugstore, lots of little pick me ups that I don't have to spend a lot of money on.  My main hits have always been CVS, Walgreens, and Target just because they have always been local to me, but I love to stop into an independent, old school type pharmacy if I come across one.  And I must admit, I sort of seek them out when I am traveling as well - Boots & Superdrug are a necessary stop whenever I am in the UK.  Here are some of my favorite drugstore pick me ups.

1. Baby Lips Dr. Rescue in Pink Me Up  - I bought the clear version of this lip balm last winter and loved it.  It's not too tingly, it just has a nice fresh mint feel and the idea of having the sheer, pretty pink color added in seems just right.

2.  NYX Roll On Shimmer in Nude -  I love these shimmers, I literally own all the neutral colors.  This one has been my current summer favorite, it looks awesome with a sheer pink lip.

3. Essie Nail Polish in Imported Bubbly - It is inevitable that I will leave a pick me up trip to the drugstore with a new nail polish, pretty nails always make me feel put together.  Essie colors are my favorite.  I love this color, it seems to me like a fancy neutral.

4 - 6.  Nugg Soothing, Revitalizing, and Exfoliating Face Masks -  Face masks always make me feel refreshed and renewed.  I loved doing these cheapish single use face masks when I was a teenager, I'm not sure how effective they actually are, but they always take me back to fond memories of sleepovers and girls nights.

7. L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara -  I love drugstore mascara. I usually have one department store brand and one drugstore brand on hand for alternating.  I have heard lots of great things about this new L'Oreal mascara and want to try it once my current one is ready to be replaced.

8.  Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask - This hair mask is amazing.  I buy this when my usual It's A Ten Hair Mask isn't in my budget.  It works just as well and is less than half the price - so, really, in writing this I just convinced myself to switch to this one permanently - ha!

9 - 10. Aveeno Positively Nourishing Smoothing Body Wash & Energizing Body Lotion -  When using drugstore body wash and lotions, I usually stick to Nivea.  On my last trip, they didn't have anything that I wanted so I gave these Aveeno products a try.  I was surprised with how much I loved them and I will definitely be purchasing them again; great product, nice scent, and amazing value.

xo Bridget

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Savory Cherry Quesadillas



I ran into Publix last week after work to pick up something for dinner and they happened to be sampling their featured recipe of the week, which was a Mango Cherry Salmon Dish and these Savory Cherry Quesadillas. Both samples were lovely, but I wasn't in the mood for cooking fish so I quickly picked up the ingredients for the quesadillas.  In my opinion cheese, fruit, and salad always works and I love this unusual combination. I will definitely be making these again.  The biggest challenge was pitting the cherries, but luckily my husband volunteered to do that .









Sunday, July 20, 2014

Easter Dress


A couple months back, I wrote this post about starting a new job.  My parents were here visiting the week before I started, so we spent a morning picking out some new work clothes for me.  I picked two practical work dresses, which I love and have gotten lots of wear out of.  This dress was my third pick, but my parents were insisting on buying and I didn't want to be greedy and take all three.  I really loved this dress too and I think they could tell, because about a week later it arrived on my doorstep.  It was a sweet reminder of their visit and it was just in time for Easter.  It was hard having to spend another holiday apart, but it really cheered me up having this dress to wear. 

This past week, I really had the blues and putting on this super cheerful dress with all the good vibes it holds really brightened my day, ah the power of clothes!  The season for wearing this dress is quickly coming to an end - I need to remember to pull it out and give myself a bright boost a few more times before the Summer months end.






Dress: Cynthia Rowley
Bracelets: Lily and Laura
Shoes: Sam Edelman
Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs (similar)
xo Bridget

Friday, July 18, 2014

Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale Picks

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Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale starts today - woo hoo!  I look forward to this sale every year, it's a tradition that my mom and I head out to Nordstrom on the first day and make it a day of relaxing, lunching, and doing a little fall splurging on ourselves.  The sale always falls two weeks before my birthday, so I usually get some really amazing birthday gifts from the sale too! Sadly, we could not be together to shop this year, but we consulted with each other throughout the pre-sale and tried to enjoy it anyway.  It's a unique sale, because it's all new fall merchandise that they markdown for two weeks and then put back onto the floors at full price once the sale is over.  Some of my most favorite things have come from this sale, I definitely get lots of use and wear out of everything that I purchase.  These are a few of my favorite things on sale this year.

one: Nars Cheek Palette - I passed on this palette last year and regretted it, it was definitely a must this year.  It iterally includes every cheek color that you could ever need!

two: Julep Nail Color & Treatment Duo - I just recently starting using Julep nail colors.  They are 5 free (which I love), the colors are richly pigmented, and most importantly they don't chip easily.  These colors are gorgeous for the fall.

three: Wildfox La Femme Deluxe Sunglasses - The wildfox sunglasses that I purchased are now sold out, but these were my second favorite, especially if you can pull off the cat eye.

four: Liebeskind Anny Leather Crossbody Bag - I have a love for Liebeskind bags, they are made well, out of the softest leather, and they are reasonably priced - even more so with this sale!

five:  Tildon Scoop Back High/Low Shift Dress - I had to have this. I can just see it with tall boots and a furry vest for the fall.

six:  Voluspa Maison Jardin Candles - My mom bought a couple packs of these last year and paired them with fancy matches to give as gifts.  I was on the receiving end of one of them and loved it so much that I am getting a whole set for myself this year.

seven: Philosophy Coconut Frosting Shampoo, Bubble Bath & Shower Gel - I am a sucker for Philosophy and coconut.  You can't beat that value!

eight: Converse Snake Embossed Leather Sneaker  - These just look cool, I would pair them with some dark jeans, a hoodie, and #4 for the perfect casual fall day outfit.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Goat Cheese and Asparagus Pasta


I love a good Summery pasta dish. This one is light, super easy, and really delicious.  If you like goat cheese, lemon, and asparagus - you must try!  I pinned this recipe for Pasta with Goat Cheese, Lemon, and Asparagus a couple of years ago and still love it.






xo Bridget

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

All Bangled Up


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Lately, I have had a real obsession with bangles. I can't get enough of them and Summer is the most perfect time to wear them, because all arms are exposed.  These are some stacks I'd love to rock!

xo Bridget

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Vanilla Coconut Muffins


A couple of Summers ago, my two best friends and I drove up to Bethany Beach, Delaware for the weekend.  My friend's mom has a house there and it's a lovely place for a weekend getaway.  On our last night, we went out for a relaxed meal at a local seafood restaurant (I wish I could remember the name) and the waiters came around with this huge breadbasket full of all sorts of breads and muffins.  I picked out what I thought to be a corn bread type muffin, but to my surprise it was full of sweet flakey coconut.  I had never had anything like it and I do love coconut, so I vowed to find a recipe to recreate these coconut muffins.  The other day, while I was on pinterest and going through some old likes that I had tucked away, I saw a recipe for coconut bread which reminded me that I still hadn't recreated those muffins.  Coincidentally, I came across a bag of coconut in my pantry that I had put away for Macaroons.  Well, I decided that was a pretty good sign to make those muffins and change the destiny of my purchased coconut.  I did some google-ing around and came up with this recipe for Vanilla Coconut Muffins.  If this sounds good to you - give them a try.  Turns out that I like this recipe as more of a breakfast muffin that a dinner bread, but I think you could serve them at dinner as well. They are particularly delicious warmed up with some butter and apricot jam!


  While I was reviewing my pictures, I realized that perhaps I whisked my eggs too hard (I don't think I was supposed to beat them - ha).  I think this resulted in tougher muffins, but who knows.  They were still delicious, but if you make them - try not to whisk your eggs as much as I did!







xo Bridget

Monday, July 14, 2014

Summer Maxi


Last week, I was working in Atlanta and just happened to be staying next to one of the nicer malls there; Perimeter.  I couldn't resist a pop around the shops after my work day was through.  I was thrilled to see they had an Anthropologie and even more thrilled to see that they were offering an extra 20% off sale merchandise.  I took my time browsing through all the unique pieces and ended up with two long skirts to try on.  What kind of nut wants to try on long skirts in the Summer in Georgia? Me.  They were both great Summer Maxi Skirts (both cool and comfy), and with the already reduced prices and extra 20% off, they were SO sold.

I love this one with a breezy white tank and silver sandals, I wore it to run some errands on Saturday and loved how cool, yet cozy it felt - good fabric!







Sandals: Luchiny (cute!)
Bag: Juicy Couture

xo Bridget

Thursday, July 10, 2014

LBR




LBR is my acronym for Little Black Romper, a new favorite basic for me.  Last week while I was home my mom and I did some light shopping, because I wanted a cute romper to wear with heels for a night out. I tried on loads of styles at a department store in the mall, but none of them fit just right and I definitely couldn't justify spending $70-80 on something that didn't fit well.  We left the mall and popped into Marshalls to see if there were any good steals, and when I wandered over to the Juniors section I couldn't believe how awesome the stock was.  I ended up buying two rompers for under $25.  I was so thrilled with the fit and quality of this romper that I decided it's a new basic; easy to throw on, easy to style, and cool for this Summer heat!










 Romper: One Clothing (similar)
Shoes: Born
Bag: Liebeskind (similar)
Sunglasses: Betsey Johnson
Necklace: Urban Outfitters
xo Bridget

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Blackberry Lemonade


A couple of months ago, I picked up a bottle of Blackberry Syrup at HomeGoods.  It looked so tasty and I loved the idea of adding it to foods and beverages as a fun surprise.  So far I have used it in homemade iced tea and on pancakes.  While I was in my kitchen doing some brainstorming on posts, I thought that making some homemade lemonade and adding the blackberry syrup would be great. My mom has made Ina Garten's Lemonade in the past and I knew it called for superfine sugar, which I didn't have and I wasn't in the mood for trying to make my own!  I did a quick search and came up with this recipe from the Pioneer Woman, which uses granulated sugar to make a simple syrup.  The lemonade turned out great, but if I can get my hands on some superfine sugar, I will try Ina's next time and choose my favorite.  This is a great recipe to use and the addition possibilities are endless - I must say I really loved the pinkish tint that the  blackberry syrup gave this lemonade though.  Maybe next time, if I had it, I would add some fresh mint .. yum!

What you need: A dozen Lemons, Granulated Sugar, Water, and Blackberry Syrup.

The first thing that I did was mix 1 cup of sugar and 2 cups of water on the stove on medium heat until the sugar dissolved to make a simple syrup.  I transferred the simple syrup into a glass measuring cup and cooled it in the fridge.


Next: Juice your lemons.  I juiced 6 and got a little over a 1/2 cup of lemon juice.


Next: Pour the lemon juice in a pitcher and add 2/3 of the simple syrup, stir.  At this point I added 2 cups of cold water and taste tested.  In the end I just added 1 more cup of cold water and left the remaining simple syrup out (the blackberry syrup will replace it).


Add blackberry syrup to taste. Mix Well.


Ready to pour, love the color!




xo Bridget
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