Fashion Friday- Happy 5th of July!

Posted in Fashion Friday, obsessions by

Happy 5th of July everybody! We had a great day yesterday, which included making peach smoothies using peaches from a generous neighbor’s tree. We have a deal with them: we get peaches and plums, and in exchange we give them veggies from our garden. That setup makes everybody happy!

peach smoothie 1 edited

peach smoothie 2 edited

In addition to the peaches, we threw in some frozen bananas, pineapple, and pineapple Greek yogurt. It was so refreshing, and a perfect summer treat.

peach smoothie 3 edited

We also went to a friend’s house for a BBQ, and then headed out to watch the fireworks.

final fireworks collage

To top off our super fun holiday weekend, we packed up and went jet-skiing, which is always a highlight around here. Everyone is pretty much exhausted now, and my mom has wisely decided that she might be too old to wake-board.

4th of july 1

Hope your 4th of July festivities were great- enjoy my Fashion Friday picks for this week!

LC Lauren Conrad Embroidered Cropped Tank

1347961_Majestic_Blue

I actually like the white version of this top better but it’s a little hard to see the detail on the picture. The blue’s pretty though too.

American Eagle Skinny Jeans

ae jeans

I own two pairs of these exact jeans, same wash, same size, because I love them that much. They are so comfortable- I can’t even describe how perfect they are. The stretch in the fabric is just right because they don’t get too stretched out after multiple wears. Also, because they offer three different lengths (short, regular, long), I don’t have to cuff them which is nice.

American Eagle often offers 40% off and/or free shipping, so definitely keep an eye out for those deals.

Del Mar Eyelet Dress

KYD500532_mint-cl-w1000

I limited myself to one dress this week, and I absolutely love this one.

Green and Orange Stone Stretch Bracelet Bunch

bracelet bunch

I love this! So sparkly and unusual.

AE Summer Skirt

1313_1378_616_ofCute!

Tabyana Beach Chevron Tank

FC10616-1_navy-cl-w1000

The lighter blue thread looks sort of metallic-y on this top – it’s so pretty!

Full Tilt Solid Tie Back Romper

215096100z

Love the simplicity of this.

Eyelet Swiss Dot Cotton Tee

swiss dot tee

Full Tilt Twill Womens Anorak Jacket

military jacket

I know. It’s July and I’m looking at jackets. But I’ve had my eye out for a cute military style jacket, and I came across this one, which I really like. I just sort of doubt that I’ll want to spend money on something that I know I can’t wear for at least a couple of months, you know?

Happy 4th of July – Summer Reading, Day 17

Posted in the important stuff by

god-bless-america

Hey! Happy 4th of July. Hope you are having a great day. We are busy doing chores and getting ready for a fun BBQ potluck with some friends and then off to watch our little town’s fireworks. Yipee!

I was doing my Bible reading today and came across these verses I wanted to share:

May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. Praise be to The Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen. Psalm 72:17-19

Have a fun and safe day!

Coffee Brown Sugar Body Scrub

Posted in obsessions, other obsessions by

coffee scrub 1 edited

Yes, you read that right. Coffee + Brown Sugar + Olive Oil = an amazing body scrub that my mom and I are both totally obsessed with.

saw-this-thing-on-pinterestI really do start an absurd amount of my conversations with that very sentence. Ever since I got a Pinterest account, I’m catching myself falling into the well-known Pinterest rut: repinning cool ideas, but never actually doing anything with them beyond that.

This Coffee Brown Sugar Body Scrub was one of the few things that I’ve seen, repinned, and then actually made. And it was so worth the energy it took to get up from my computer and walk out to the kitchen 😉

But seriously, it’s awesome. I love the yummy coffee smell of course, and my skin feels absolutely incredible afterwards. It’s so easy too.

Mix the coffee and brown sugar…

coffee scrub 2

and then add olive oil until desired consistency is achieved (I added olive oil until sort of moist, but definitely not watery yet).

coffee scrub 3

And that’s it! I use it every 3 or 4 days, though I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t use it every day. I put the scrub into a canning jar for the pictures, but I actually have it in a small plastic container normally, because I felt like a glass jar in the shower might not be such a great idea.

coffee scrub 4 edited

Coffee Brown Sugar Body Scrub

Ingredients:

3/4 cup coffee

1/4 brown sugar

olive oil

Mix the coffee and brown sugar and then add olive oil until desired consistency is achieved (I added olive oil until moist, but not watery).

Jordan

 

Brown Butter Tortellini with Toasted Garlic and Green Beans

Posted in main dishes, things we like to eat by

tortellini with green beans 1 edited

I am always on the look out for recipes that will work with whatever we currently have growing in the garden. While I was getting my haircut the other day, I came across this recipe. We have a lot of green beans in the garden right now- I especially love the purple green beans that turn green as you cook them. They are so beautiful and flavorful!

I normally don’t follow recipes very well, and today was no exception. The recipe in the magazine had asparagus and I wanted to use green beans. It also called for tarragon, and I wanted to use basil and parsley, so I basically completely changed it to make it work for us. Below is the modified recipe.

I have been noticing a bunch of cookie recipes with brown butter and I have been intrigued- in fact I have a brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe just waiting to be tried. So back to the pasta – It all cooks very quickly, which is awesome especially if you are gone all day and forget to take something out of the freezer. We served ours with cooked chicken, but it was hearty enough without meat. The only thing I would have done differently was double the recipe. We ate it all, we didn’t leave any leftovers! Try it, you won’t be sorry. If you need any purple green beans, come over and we can get them out of the garden.

Cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Drain.

tortellini with green beans 6

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic.

tortellini with green beans 2

Add the green beans, season with salt and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, for about 3 minutes or until the green beans start to soften.

tortellini with green beans 4

Increase the heat to medium-high and continue cooking and tossing, until the butter turns golden brown, about 2 minutes.

tortellini with green beans 5

Add the cooked tortellini…

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and toss again…

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and then add the fresh basil and parsley…

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and freshly grated Parmesan cheese and give it one more good stir before serving.

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Enjoy!

tortellini with green beans 12 edited

tortellini with green beans 13 edited

Brown Butter Tortellini with Toasted Garlic and Green Beans

1 lb. cheese tortellini
6 T butter
8 ounces of fresh green beans, cut into segments
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1 T fresh basil
1 T fresh parsley
Grated Parmesan

Cook the tortellini according to the package directions. Drain. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the green beans and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook, tossing occasionally, for about 3 minutes or until the green beans start to soften. Increase the heat to medium-high and continue cooking and tossing, until the butter turns golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the cooked tortellini and toss again and then add the fresh basil and parsley and freshly grated Parmesan cheese and give it one more good stir before serving. Enjoy!

tags: main dish, dinner, pasta, tortellini, green beans, garlic, butter, herbs, Parmesan cheese

Fashion Friday: Dress Obsession

Posted in Fashion Friday, obsessions by

My so-called Dress Obsession became very real to me a couple of days ago when I cleaned out my closet and counted my dresses. I have 25.

Seriously, I had no idea that I owned that many- I mean, really? 25? What does a 16 year old girl do with 25 dresses? Apparently I should wear them considering that I have almost enough dresses to wear one of them everyday for a month.

In honor of this obsession, I decided that this week’s Fashion Friday theme would be all about dresses with some jewelry thrown in for good measure. When I was searching for some great dresses to feature on this post, my mom informed me “that you have a problem”. I agree wholeheartedly- I’m obsessed with dresses. But that’s okay, because there’s worse things that I could be obsessed with 🙂

French Connection Women’s Orange Chevron Pattern Long Sundress

orange chevron sundress

Oh my gosh. This dress.

Not only is it waaaay out of my price range, it’s also out of stock, but that’s beside the point ’cause look how darn cute it is.

Brookings Harbor Floral Dress

floral

I love these colors.

Love is All Around Hoop Earrings

hoop earrings

So pretty.

Arcadia Printed Maxi Dress

blue arcadia dress

It’s a little hard to tell from this picture, but apparently this dress is peach and royal blue, instead of cream and royal blue as I originally thought. I still think it would be super cute though, and I really like the top.

Marnie Embellished Lace Shift Dress

lace shift

Adorable! Need I say more?

Cobalt Cap Sleeve Dress

blue weave dressThis dress looks like it might be a little short, but that could just be how it looks on the model. I really like how the tail is a little longer in the back, which is nice if you lean over or anything.

I love the color, and the neckline is so unusual and beautiful. It looks really comfortable too.

Desert Sun Maxi Dress

desert sun maxi

This dress isn’t something that I’d normally pick out, but I really like the top.

On The Coast Bangle Set

seaside bangle

Ellsworth Polka Dot Chambray Dressblue dot dress

I’ve tried on a ton of chambray dresses recently and I always end up looking like I just stepped off a farm. And surprisingly that’s not normally a look I go for.

But I feel like the polka dots and eyelet at the bottom of this dress might help.

Green Spaghetti Strap Split Bandeau Chiffon Dress

chiffon teal crossback

Okay, so I have a confession to make. Between writing and publishing this post, I bought another dress. Bringing my count to 26. I know, I know, I have issues. All I ask is that you don’t unfairly judge me because I have a strange and absurd obsession with a piece of clothing. Thanks 🙂