Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Things To Do This Summer




Whether you have a shed in the backyard or not, I love the idea of building your own sanctuary in the backyard. A little den, reading nook, office, man cave, whatever your heart desires make it your own space where you can enjoy some quiet time. And if you have kids and want to make it a summer project, get the whole family involved in making the coolest backyard/tree house ever. 

(image via vintagerevivals)

Monday, June 29, 2015

Weekend Wrap Up...

the prettiest door knob you've ever seen, straight from the plaza.
 getting prepped for the fourth with endless boxes of sparklers. 
 imperfect peach manicures, pink and studs. 
trying out new makeup and loving this american inspired cap. 
good reads, weekend showing of my favorite doctor show,
sparklers and fresh soap. 

(images taken for sit and stay awhile)

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Summer Braids

Summer Braid Go To Look: 

Step 1. Wash hair and towel dry 
Step 2. Apply this awesome surf spray
Step 3. Create a deep side part
Step 4. Separate two inches of hair from the part and loosely braid half of the strand. 
Step 5. Secure braid with tortoise bobbi pins

(image via hellofashionblog)

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Five Things To Love About Summer

Five Things to Love About Summer: 

1. Growing up in Southern California, there is nothing better or more relaxing than a trip to the beach. Hauling a packed car full of beach towels, foldout chairs, a cooler and snacks, arguing over which song to play during the drive (I'll never forget the trip where my sister begged and cried for my dad to play The Bodyguard soundtrack)  plus the endless toys for the little ones, a weekend or an extended stay near the coast is quintessentially summer. 

2. Hosting movie nights ideally projected on a large screen in the backyard with friends on old family quilts with appetizers and desserts. Now that my kind of night :) 

3. Now I am not suggesting to purposely go out and make trouble, but summer means being a little footloose and fancy free. (Think Squints in The Sandlot: being banned from the public pool for trying to kiss the lifeguard). As soon as my sister and I would wake up during the summer months it meant getting to our friends pool as fast as we could. And for us that meant hopping the fence into our backyard neighbor's yard and hopping their side fence to get to our friends house. I'm pretty sure my mom told us not to do it but we just couldn't wait the ten minutes to run from our house to our friends. 

4. One of my favorite things to do in the summer was hitting up the library with my grandmother. I grew up in a really small farming town and there wasn't much to do during the hot summer months. So when my grandmother needed to return her books she'd take my sister and I along with her (she read between ten to twelve books a month and practically lived at the library). While she would mull over Danielle Steele and Jackie Collins books, my sister and I would pick a few books and go check out the coolest doll house you've ever seen. 

5. Five words left: Cheeseburgers, pickles, chips and dip.  

(image via pencil box)

Monday, June 22, 2015

Weekend Wrap Up...

 do it yourself manicures with essie's peach daiquiri.
 taschen book snob. 
 firey nights. 
  nightly routines with my favorite products. 
summer means gorging yourself on thrifty's 
rainbow sherbet.

(images via instagram) 

Saturday, June 20, 2015

this week's favorites...





I hope your weekend is filled with plenty of ice cream, dancing, fresh blooms, bare feet, lazy time with friends and a little dancing. Happy Friday :)

(1,2,3,4,5)

Friday, June 19, 2015

Friday Morning...

Hello and Happy Friday readers, besides the awesome mood I am in from a very successful first week of library activities, I am exhausted. So I am especially looking forward to the weekend and not having any kind of plans except for possibly seeing Jurassic World, again. What are you plans? 

Check out this awesome desert festival.

If the Harry Potter series were written from Voldemort's perspective. 

The world's most dangerous foot path.

(image via gala darling)

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Denim and Oversized White Shirts



My summer go to outfit includes an over-sized white blouse, light blue jeans, au natural hair, tortoise colored sunnies and my favorite Sam Edelman slip ons. What's your favorite summer outfit this season? 

(images via making magique

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Drinks Are On Me

It's only the third week of June and it's literally 112 degrees out, I cannot handle this extreme heat so early in the summer. A day after work mean getting my swerve on and this spritzer sounds pretty excellent. 

Ingredients: 
3 oucnes Lillet blanc, chilled
2 1/2 ounces natural Pomegranate or Raspberry Lemonade, chilled
1 ounce St. Germain Liquor
2 ounce soda water, chilled. 

Mix well and enjoy :)

(image and ingredient list via sweet c's designs)

Monday, June 15, 2015

Weekend Wrap Up...

 summer nights on the patio...
 desert beaches...
palm springs style.
 salton sea yacht club...
veggie burgers and good reads. 

(images via instagram)

Thursday, June 11, 2015

The Librarian Suggests

What I'm reading at the moment: I'm currently rereading the Harry Potter series with my boyfriend and thoroughly enjoying our discussion and his thoughts on one of the best children's series ever. I also just got Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol which is fantastic even though I'm only fifty pages in. If you have never read graphic novels but are kind of interested, this would be the first to read. The illustration and story is simply a masterpiece (I also just finished This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki, another great read). What I'm listening too: A few nights ago while working on a playlist for work I created this summery treat and have been listening to it nonstop: getting ready for work, on my lunch hour and pretty much all night lately. What I'm watching: I've only seen a few lip sync battle clips, but this particular one seriously had me laughing for like half an hour. Jimmy Fallon preforming Kelly Clarkson's Since You've Been Gone is just so choice. So I've been trying to catch up with Spike TV's Lip Sync Battle. What are you reading, listening too and watching?    

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Top Five





It's summer season and I'm ready to hit the beach...all over the world!!! On the list of all the places I want to travel to, beach resorts are at the top. My top five beaches include, Bali, Greece, Spain, Italy and Thailand. What is at the top of your list to visit? 

(1,2,3,4,5

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Cilantro Lime Shrimp Tacos

Whether it's date night or just making dinner for the family, try this tasty shrimp taco recipe. It's perfect for a warm summery night. Shrimp tacos and sangria, yes please!!! A few weeks when I went out with my parents, my dad suggested I try the swordfish tacos, they were indeed delicious! So as a substitute I plan on making this Cilantro Lime Shrimp Taco recipe a lot over the summer :)

INGREDIENTS: 
  • 2+ jalapeno peppers, cut in half and seeded
  • 1/2 cup sour cream or greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro
  • 1 small clove garlic, grated
  • green onion, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • salt to taste

  • For the Roasted Corn Slaw:
  • teaspoon oil
  • 1 cup corn
  • 2 cups cabbage, shredded
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 1/4 cup roasted jalapeno crema
  • FOR THE TACOS:
  • 1 pound cilantro lime shrimp
  • 12 small corn tortillas
  • 1 large avocado, diced
  • cilantro to taste

DIRECTIONS:
For the Roasted Jalapeno Crema: 
-Place the peppers on a baking sheet with the cut side facing down. Place the baking sheet on the top shelf in the oven and broil until the outer layer of the skin has blistered and blackened, about 8-14 minutes.
-Place the peppers in a sealable container, seal and let them cool until you can handle them, about time minutes before pinching off the skin.

-Puree everything. 

For the Roasted Corn Slaw: 
-Heat the oi in a heavy skillet to medium high, add the corn, toss and let it sit cooking until charred, about 6-8 minutes, mix it up. Let it char again and set aside. 

-Mix everything. 

For the Tacos: 
-Assemble the tacos with slaw on the bottom, topped with avocado, shrimp and a dollop of roasted jalapeno crema along with a garish of cilantro. 


(image and recipe via closet cooking)

Monday, June 8, 2015

Weekend Wrap Up...

 my favorite pink and floral dress this season. 
 sleepy little baby...
 new york city museum treats.
 so not ready for the desert summer heat, but it 
was a perfect cloudless day this past sunday. 
hauling out one of my favorite gifts to decorate
the kitchen...

(images via instagram)

Saturday, June 6, 2015

this week's favorites...





Loving these finely dressed ladies in these beautiful dresses. 
Happy Friday :)

(images via draw this dress)

Leading Ladies

Five Things to Know About Bernadette Marie: 1. Trained and completed two degrees, an AAS in Communication Design and BFA in Textile S...