DIY Wreath

I have been looking for a new wreath for our front door for a while, I wanted something bright and fun but also personalized (of course!) I pinned this wreath a while ago, as well as a similar one with a monogram instead of the numbers. Ultimately I decided on the numbers because it is less predictable for me :) 

I had so much fun picking out the colors and painting the numbers! It was such an easy and fun project for a Sunday afternoon!

 

Happy Sunday! :) 

A girl can dream...

I am in LOVE with these sandals, I thought of at least two dozen events I would wear them to, and how cute they would look with a fun colored pedicure and a good tan! My single girl self really got caught up there for a minute, I had minimal bills, worked overtime and "splurged" more than I should! I have yet to find a suitable alternative to these, not sure I ever really will but for now I will continue to drool over these until I do!

Blue Apron Review

You have heard me say it time and time again, we are adjusting to our new schedule, it is getting easier week by week and I find we make the effort to have plans on the weekends again which is so nice! One thing we had really improved on was meal planning, and shopping for those meals. Well that just got a whole lot easier, thanks to Blue Apron!

A sweet friend of mine, Erin, sent us a trial link and we figured why not! For those of you who aren't aware Blue Apron is a meal delivery service, they send three or four meals per week depending on what you choose. Everything is premeasured and labeled, including all of the spices, meats and sides you will need. The instructions are super easy, and the meals have been wonderful so far!

Here is our first meal- Corned beef spiced flank steaks with braised cabbage & buttered red potatoes!

Our Weekend: Celebrating, Shopping & Fun

I was able to get out of work a little early on Friday which was so great! Oliver picked me up and we headed straight home. I promptly headed into the kitchen and whipped up some berry margaritas! We sipped our margs and caught up on our shows from the week. It was a blissfully uneventful night snuggling with my two favorite boys! :)

Saturday I hit the mall for a little spring shopping trip! The mall was insane it was so busy, likely due to all of the great sales going on. I was able to check off several bridal shower gifts, it is so fun when you are able to buy something for the bride that you love and are excited to gift!

I also picked up a few pieces perfect for spring including these Jack Rodgers Jelly Sandals they reminded me so much of the jelly shoe days from my childhood I had to have them! (in two colors)  Use the code SAVE at Lord & Taylor they are having the buy more save more sale!

 I was almost out the door, and then I laid eyes on this Ted Baker skirt and I fell in love! I love the pattern, the fullness of the skirt & of course the pockets! Keep an eye out for how I style this in the very near future! 

My love for NARS Satin Lip Pencil is no secret, I stumbled upon this color and HAD to have it! :)

Saturday night we got dressed up and headed to one of our favorite places to celebrate my parent's 30th wedding anniversary! We had a great dinner, amazing company and really enjoyed the night! :)

Outfit details: Dress- Old Navy (old)  similar Necklace-JCrew (now at factory) here,  Bracelet- Stella & Dot here, Crossbody Bag- Kate Spade (old) similar, Lips- NARS Satin Lip Pencil- here

Stitch Fix updates you don't want to miss!

I just received a very exciting email from Stitch Fix, they are expanding their options for clothing!

Personally I am thrilled about this because one of the new options is Petites! I have been saying for quite some time that I would love to get a well tailored pair of pants in my fix, and finally I will! :) They are also expanding to include Maternity clothing for all of my pregnant readers and friends.

Both of these changes can be made in your profile, I really feel the petites is going to make a big difference for me! I look forward to sharing my next fix!

If you haven't signed up yet you can using this link :) You will not regret it!

Sunday Funday- for your skin! :)

I have always struggled with my skin, I break out easily which means I would pack on the make up to cover it up which then causes increased breakouts! Ugh the cycle of it all!

There are few rules I learned in college:

1. Never go to bed with your make up on (no matter how many drinks you've had!)

2. Less is more- the more you try to cover up the worse it looks

3. Find a routine and stick to it (see my "favorites" page for what I use)

4. Clean your make up brush often

5. Moisturize

#4 is by far my favorite- my roommate & I would love to clean our brushes weekly! To this day I still update her when I clean them because she is the only one who understands this crazy obsession!

I have purchased a variety of cleaning products over the years, some more expensive than I am willing to admit! Then along came Pinterest (seriously what would I do without it?) and I found a homemade version which actually turned out to be better for me as I have pretty sensitive skin. I was using blue Dawn because that is what everything said to use, however I found myself buying Dawn specifically for this, so I substituted Method dish soap (which is what we use in the kitchen) and it worked just as well!

Brush Cleanser:

1 cup of warm water

1 TBSP white vinegar

1 TBSP dish soap

Soak the brushes in the mixture for 10-15 minutes, rub through the brushes to loosen anything that might be stuck in the bristle. 

Rinse through with warm water rubbing the bristles until the water dripping off the brush is clear. Leave flat to dry.

Check out these "before & afters!" 

 I also take an antibacterial wipe to the handle just to get the excess makeup & germs off :)

 In case you were wondering what the water looked like after I soaked all of the brush for some time take a peek at this! It is pretty gross to think all this came off, but also super satisfying to know they are now clean :) 

TGIF

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! There is a cold glass of bubbly with my name on when the clock strikes 5 o'clock :)

Like any crazy dog parent I just added a page dedicated to my sweet boy! Feel free to check out all the details about our first child!

XO

On a lighter note...

10.5 inches lighter to be exact! It has taken me some time to get this post up mainly because styling this new do has been a challenge. For almost five years I have had long hair that I could (and did) top knot whenever I didn't feel like dealing with it. That is no longer a posibility however I do love this look, it makes me feel a bit more grown up and put together.

I have worn it straight, curly and up I am still working on how to get that "effortless beach wave" stay tuned it will happen after I have a little session with my girl Marina I will have it down pat :)

Weekend Recap (a bit late...)

Happy Wednesday Everyone! Officially half way through the work week :)

Our dinner party turned out to be a big success, but I will get to that soon!

Friday afternoon was spent going from grocery store to grocery store collecting all of the ingredients for Saturday night. There were four stores in total, luckily Friday nights aren't exactly a happening time to be food shopping! The one item which was the hardest to find was Okra, I almost gave up and went with another green, and then Whole Foods came to the rescue!

After we shopped, we came home to clean the house. It was one of those move all the furniture to vacuum, dust the ceilings cleans, which are basically the bain of Oliver's existence but he happily (I knew he was faking) played along.

We woke up Saturday morning to a limping puppy, it seemed he had broken his nail, so off to the vet we went. They pulled it and gave us some antibiotics, he immediately stopped limping which made me feel better. However I spent the rest of day giving him extra treats to make up for it!

Then the cooking began, I have to say it went incredibly smoothly. I had time to nap, curl my hair and get my eyebrows done which is unheard of in our house on party days! Oliver always teases me that I worry too much about things being perfect, my response: "I get it from my Mom!" I don't think there is one party she has thrown that wasn't perfection!

When our guests arrived I was so happy to see everyone! The food turned out amazing (thanks to Oliver) and the company was the best! We have had a lot going on lately, so it was amazing to have a night to forget about all of that and be with people who make us laugh!

 Here are a few (I need to be better about pictures!) from our Southern Inspired BBQ! Hope you enjoy :)

I re purposed the burlap from Thanksgiving and used my favorite Anthropologie napkins. These fresh blooms were a great addition thanks to Trader Joe's!

 I was the bartender a lot of the night, my signature drink was Old Fashions. I used my favorite Kate Spade His & Hers glasses, good whiskey drinking glasses! also made Southern Spiked Sweet Tea & Vodka Lemonade. I will admit I cheated on the lemonade and used already made lemonade (I felt guilty but there just isn't enough time in the day!)

 

A Southern Inspired Dinner Party

You all know I love a good themed Dinner Party! We are having a few of our couple friends over this weekend and I am SO excited to plan our little get together!

I had a few ideas for themes which as per usual started around the cocktail. The boys are into Whiskey so I immediately thought BBQ. What goes better with Whiskey than an array of smoked and rubbed meat? I can't think of much. So I am going to do Whiskey on the rocks, but I also wanted a fun cocktail. So I decided to use my favorite Southern Sweet Tea recipe and kick it up a bit by adding some rum! I am throwing around the idea of doing a Spiked Lemonade as well, but it will all come down to timing!

I have a lot of the sides nailed down, Oliver will take care of the meat which he is on Cloud Nine about, and for dessert... Maple Bacon Donuts. Easily one of my most favorite things Oliver makes! He candies the bacon to top the Cinnamon donut and makes a maple glaze. No one said it was healthy but I promise it is 100% worth the calories!

Here is my recipe for Spiked Sweet Tea- I have found that I sometimes add a bit more Rum that this calls for, but I start with this and add if needed as I am pouring out the drinks!

7 Cups of Water
6 Orange pekoe tea bags
1 1/2 Cups of Sugar (the recipe calls for regular sugar I prefer coconut palm sugar- better flavor!)
1 1/3 Cups of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Cup Bacardi or any dark rum
Fresh mint & lemon wedge to garnish

Directions: Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan, adding the tea bags in ( I usually tie their strings together to make getting them out easier). Removing the pan from heat, cover and let the tea steep for 5-7 minutes. Remove the tea bags. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add in the last 3 cups of water, continue to stir. Let it cool, adding in the lemon juice and rum before serving.

Make sure to check back, I will have all the details up on the blog this weekend!

Happy Sunday

I first want to start by apologizing for my break lately. To be honest I am not even sure how it happened. It was "I am taking just today off" then it quickly escalated to almost two weeks!

It has been a much bigger adjustment than I could have imagined transitioning to a Monday- Friday job.  I finally understand how people feel when they only have two days at the weekend to get everything done- it can be really difficult. We are currently working on finding the balance between enjoying our weekends and still getting things done to prepare for the next week.

With all of that being said I LOVE my new job! I am learning a lot of definitely being challenged in really different ways. I value the time I get to spend with my patients and seeing them when they are well instead of only in the ICU. Overall I couldn't be happier in taking on this new role! 

I really hope to work towards making a routine of my blogging to keep it going. It is a great outlet for me and I love hearing from all of you! 

Make sure to check out the blog's Instagram account @passthebublyblog I usually try to get some #OOTD posts up there a few times a week!

Thank you all for bearing with me through this transition. I promise lots of good content to come! 

XO