Misc Monday!

Monday comes no matter what you do huh? 

Well then, let's make the most of it shall we? I think a Misc. Monday is in order to start the week off right. I'm putting a little spin on it. 

Some of my misc. makeup favs for summer.

When it's too hot for blush, bene tint is my favorite go to. It's a rosy cheek stain that is super light feeling and cheery to boot. 

I've recently discovered Laura Mercier lip stains. Perfect for the lip color obsessed gals like myself. Plus, since you will rarely catch me without something on my lips, this stays put forever.

I've been wanting to try to Chanel Mimosa but was not feeling the price tag for such a trendy color. Thank you Rite Aid and your Sally Hanson Lightening. Definitely got my yellow fix.

I got a sample of the Bumble and Bumble Thickening Shampoo from Sephora on Friday. I'm not sure it thickened my hair but it smelled great and I had a pretty good hair night.

Once again, Laura Mercier to the rescue. Her tinted moisturizers are heaven. Plus, summer is not the time for full foundation. Just a little tint and your ready to roll.

I saved the BEST for last. I had read lots of great things about this mask so I finally tried it. They were not messing around!! This was unreal. After drying for about 20 minutes, I peeled it off and literally had a new face. I will never be without this again. Dramatic? Yes. Worth every penny? Absolutely.

I forgot to do this while it was cloudy on Saturday:( We sat and read at the beach all day. I should know better. Sunburn is not a good look for me.

Hope everyone has a great start to the week!

Let's Eat!

Happy Friday!

Happy Weekend! 

I discovered this little gem this morning and just had to link up. Go check out the cuteness.

I'm posting the  I eat this entire thing myself   Peach and Gorgonzola Chicken Pizza via Cooking Light.

Yall, when I say this is weird yet amazing, take my word for it. 

Why? Because I make this whole pizza, then pretend that I forgot my husband doesn't like it, and THEN proceed to eat it all in one, maybe two, sessions. A little rude? Maybe, but he does ok.  The man loves cereal for dinner. Who am I to get in the way of that?

I digress, here it is, in it's amazing glory. 

Please make the salad and throw it on top.

 You'll thank me.

Ingredients

• 1 (10-ounce) prebaked thin pizza crust (such as Boboli)
• Cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1 medium unpeeled peach, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 
  

Prep

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Place pizza crust on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Brush 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil evenly over crust. Top evenly with 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, chicken, Gorgonzola cheese, and peach slices. Top with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella. Bake at 400° for 11 minutes or until crust browns.

3. Place vinegar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 5 minutes). Drizzle balsamic reduction evenly over pizza. Cut pizza into 8 wedges.

Arugula Salad

 Combine 1 teaspoon minced shallots, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon honey in a large bowl; gradually whisk in 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Add 4 cups loosely packed arugula and 1/3 cup vertically sliced red onion to bowl; toss gently to coat. Yield: 4 servings.

Now that I've posted that, I need to make it for dinner. I hate when that happens.

On a side note: I do make my husband dinner on a nightly basis. I love to cook.  He does not live off of cereal alone. But he would be happy if I let him. I'm just saying. 

Thoughts on Thursday

Good Morning lovelies!

Over the next four days, I'm getting in some serious gf time by indulging in the following...

All images via Pinterest. Heart.

Enjoying my coffee and morning walks/talks with E

Lounging with mags/books...leading a life of leisure :)

Dining...ALOT. Al Fresco, at breakfast, dinners out. Yes, please

Wearing fancy sparkles and shorts? I don't know, I just loved this pic 

The gal is getting married, lot's of new outfits need to be secured.

Hittin' the beach. Probably not with Jackie though, but how classic?

getting mani's, pedi's, blowouts, whatever.

And it goes with out saying, indulging in some yummy bevs!

It's almost the weekend! Enjoy!

Lovin' much

Happy Wednesday lovelies!!!

 It's Wednesday and in my world, that means it's time for WILW with sweet Jamie. Link up and tell us what's making your weeks!

 Million Dollar Decorators. It is such a  HOOT. I can't decide who my favorite is but they are all true characters. A client is only in La Jolla one month a year , maybe, BUT they spent 3 million on furniture for the house. Well obviously, they are one their yacht the rest of the year. Naturally.

My house is spotless. What an amazing feeling. Laundry folded,  all the sheets are clean, sparkling kitchen, and only one dirty glass. A gals gotta have something to sip her vino out of right?

My JL girlfriends. There is a group of 5 of us that love a good happy hour. Last night, one hour turned into 5. We ate, drank and seriously laughed until we cried. We were THAT table. It was something so silly but we emailed about it all day long. It made my heart full.

Time with my husband. Tonight, he got home early enough to grill. We sat on the patio, grilled, sipped on wine and enjoyed the weather. The last few weeks have settled down for him at work and I've gotten him on the weekends too! Can I get an Amen?

Today is my Friday because Em.B is on a plane to Cali!!! One of my all time best gal pals is headed to visit! I've elected to take the rest of the week off so we have plenty of time for lounging, shopping, beaching, walking and talking. Heaven. She's the best and just what I need to jump start my summer. 

Her flight gets in at 9 PM and she has requested to head straight to In- N- Out. I knew we were friends for a reason.




Have a fabulous Wednesday!!

Misc Monday!!

Yikes. It's been crazy, busy wonderful around here and the blog has once again fallen behind. 

I thought I'd throw some  misc. things I'm loving out there on this Monday.

  
           For my weekly nail color choice I did something a little crazy. I'd been seeing all these pics of turquoise-y nails so I bit the bullet and tried the trend. I'm loving it. Essie's Turquoise and Caicos

We are moving AGAIN. 

I know that may seem nuts but this is our final one haha... We were starting to feel like we needed to go ahead and find a more permanent place. We'll in typical us style we were on a walk one day and found it. Its 6 houses from the beach, you can see the water from the front, has amazing courtyards and room for us to grow. For now, a small pic of the windows and french doors to the center yard.  It's a 1940's spanish ranch style,  built in a 'u' with such great flow. Once we get out stuff inside it will be an amazing place for us to stay.

The new house is much larger then our current place soooo you know I'm glued to design sites. 

I'm with Carrie on this one. I am loving jean shorts for summer. 2 years ago I would have sworn on my life I wouldn't have worn them ever again. Wellllllll, a flowy top and some jorts are just what I'm rocking these days.

This blog {here} and this party. Both amazing. She's a mom of 6, almost 7 and threw the most amazing Easter party for her kids. In all white. In her carport. Seriously, go check it out.

The Help was amazing. I just finished it and can't wait to see the movie.

 Have a happy happy Monday!!!

WILW

And I'm back.

I'm linking up this week to kick off my blogging return with Jamie for a good old fashioned "What I'm Loving Wednesday" . Couldn't think of a better way to start my day.

I'm LOVING.....

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Essie's Sand Tropez makes me squeal.

I normally am a very dark polish girl but this neutral really does the job for summer.

Where has this been all my life? You spray, let dry a minute and comb through. It is the perfect boost after a long day when I don't feel like showering again. It gives volume, shine and a little pizzaz if I do say so myself.

I've been sporting purple lined eyes for a few days and I'm definitely loving my Chanel violet smoke eyeliner. Its a gray/purple so a little smudged around the line with some mascara has been my go to in the mornings. 

I'm loving my Trader Joe's hydrangeas are still blooming and making my dining room happy. 

I'm beyond loving Cooking Light's peach, gorgonzola, chicken and balsamic pizza. Sounds bizarre, tastes like heaven. Cooking Light kinda goes out the window when you eat 3/4 of the pizza yourself. Whoops. In fact, I make no apologies.

Ina Gartens Roquefort Souffle. Enough said. I made this just for me for dinner one night when hubs just wanted chicken. By the time I bought the ingredients, ran out and bought the right size souffle dish and whipped it up, I had spent about $60 bucks on this one dish. IT.WAS.WORTH.IT.  

I'm loving that I dug my jean jacket out of the closet and sported it to work the other day with a long black maxi. It's California, anything goes.

I get to see this gorgeous gal for dinner Thursday while she's passing though. On her way to HAWAII. You can throw her a pity party later, but since we are sistas I'll pretend I'm not jealous. But I am. 

I got Christmas Company Special Events for my JL placement. Super pumped. Super excited. Super jazzed. Do you super get it? Regardless, I'm ready to dive in and get this gala rolling.

And Finally, I'm LOVING  LOVING that my job is taking me to Paris for a healthy part of December. A little work, but mostly play. Who are we kidding, I'll be too busy eating baguettes with cheese at cafes and drinking wine. You know, being Parisian.

Around 2 weeks to enjoy...

Walking the cobblestone streets..

..marveling at the architecture

...taking in the City of Lights

Christmas time in Paris? A dream come true. Seriously. I smile about it everyday. You know what makes me smile even bigger? The fact that J gets to go with me :) 

Happy Wednesday Lovelies!

A novel length catch up

I feel like I've been to the edge and back.... a whole month with NO BLOGGING.  Let me explain, it's been a crazy ride.

I'm sitting in my half-clean house, door open, ocean breeze blowing and I'm starting to feel normal again.

Here's how it happened. Let's call it the longest month in review.

Easter came and went.  So much fun. So much family time. So So much wine. To say it was a blast would be an understatement. What's not to love about strolling across to the beach , coffee cups in hand, bundled up because it's slightly chilly, chatting and laughing with family on Easter Sunday? Not to many things at all. 

Easter faded and I put on my " parent planning mode" to make sure everything would be ready for their visit the following week. Too busy to blog. Too excited to sleep. It had been months since I'd seen them. That on top of the j-o-b about sent me into a spin. When I got home, if J got to come home before 5 am, all I wanted to do was spend some time with the couch and a bottle of vino. When your husband is as cute as mine who can blame me?

That Tuesday I get a call that my granddad is fading fast. My parents can't make the trip to Cali that Thursday, he won't last much longer. They can't in their right mind board a plane to the other coast. COMPLETELY understand. Completely bummed about the trip and my granddad. Start to look into flights for next few days so I can head home if the worst happens. 3000 miles away.

Make it through the weekend. Have a great weekend actually. Hubs does everything in his power to take my mind off things. Monday, granddad is stable, I'm feeling pretty good. I call my mom at lunch, she sounds funny but I shrug it off. I get a call at 7 PM. One of my aunts has died. My dad's sister.  She just didn't wake up that morning. That sudden. Seriously? I panic, try to figure out how to get home. Listen to my parents talk about logistics about getting all my sisters to Savannah for the funeral and fast. My mom waited to tell me until I was with J at home. Thank God for that. 

I board a plane at the crack of dawn Wednesday, fly into Atlanta, meet my sister at the airport. I get to see my nieces for a night before we head over to Nevils, GA to meet my family for the funeral. It is beyond tragic and beyond sad. Open caskets are horrible. She was buried in the dress she wore to my wedding. Devastated is the only word to describe it. Seriously devastated. The whole family is in shock.

Still reeling from the funeral, we get in the car to head back to Richmond so I can see my granddad, 8 hours away, while I'm on the East coast. We learn, when my mom returns the 6 missed calls from her brothers and sisters, that he's died that morning. While we were at my aunts funeral. Looks like I need another black dress. 

We head straight back to Richmond, re-group and head to Lynchburg to be with the other side of the family. My dad is still in Savannah trying to help my grandmother deal with my aunts sudden death. We see family, visit with my grandmother and get things ready for his funeral. My dad meets us at home Saturday. The viewing was Sunday, funeral Monday. We visited with family and hit the road to the Richmond airport Monday night. We flew through the night into LA in the early early morning.

Now we are home. After the longest whirlwind of my life. Two funerals in 5 days, 2 cross country flights and 15+ hours of coastal driving. I'm tired and sad and trying to get back into the swing of things. I got caught up after taking 5 unexpected days off work and things are slowing to a normal pace. I'm coming back to blogging. I'm attempting to do some laundry and I'm ready to sit on the beach all day Saturday and re-group. Yep, thats my plan.

xo