Thankful Fridays

Happy Friday, friends!

Bauble Bar

To see other weekly thankful posts from other bloggers...here.

Recipe: A New Orleans Food Review

New Orleans is one of my favorite places to eat. Cajun food is one of my favorites. We cook it at home, but nothing quite compares to being in the Big Easy and eating all that yummy, authentic cajun food. Here's a look at what we ate:



Thin fried catfish at Middendorfs




Crawfish Cakes at Chartres House Cafe




Beignets and Cafe Au Laits at Cafe Du Monde



Fried Shrimp and Hushpuppies at Acme Oyster House

Shrimp and Grits at Grand Isle

Shrimp Poboy at Grand Isle

Pasta Jamabalaya at Crescent City



Stuffed Shrimp at Crescent City

Oh, man...looking at all these photos has made me hungry again. I might have to whip out my favorite jambalaya recipe and give it a whirl. I'll share that one soon.

Happy Thursday, friends!


Polished: LUSH

Happy Wednesday, friends!

LUSH (USA website)

Big

Rub Rub Rub

Coco Lotion

Outfit: WISH

Well, I'm back! Back from vacation, back to my routine, and back to blogging. I know you're overflowing with happiness.

As you may remember, New Orleans is home to my favorite clothing store in all the world: WISH. When we go to New Orleans, I save up for months to be able to shop to my little heart's desire. You will probably notice a lot of new WISH pieces in my outfit posts coming up. I got some really great pieces! 

Here's one of them now...the perfect maxi dress. This one is perfect for several reasons:

1. A maxi dress is the most comfortable thing you can wear to work. Remember, it's like wearing pajamas at your desk. This one is no exception...so soft!

2. This dress is easy to style.  A belt. A scarf. A cardigan. Different shoes. Dress it up, dress it down. Whatever you wish!

3. Color blocking.

4. Modest.

5. From WISH.

Also, I have been trying to air dry my hair more and use less heat styling on it this summer. Still getting used to it, but my hair is very soft styled like that.

I hope you all have a very happy Tuesday. Thanks for reading!

So much food...

Basically a New Orleans vacation consists of eating and shopping. We ate some amazing meals and I am planning on sharing them soon! Thanks for hanging tight while we get back into the swing of things!

We're home!

We are home from vacation!

It was a wonderful time. I can't wait to share with you what we ate, bought, and wore!

Have a happy Wednesday!

Thankful: Vacation!

Have you picked up on the fact that we are going on vacation?

Ethan and I have not been on a proper vacation in years. We are very excited to get away! We are going with another couple and we are very much looking forward to some good food, lots of laughter, sitting by the pool, and enjoying the city of New Orleans...

I'll be back on the blog next week updating about our trip, so see you then!

Have a happy weekend!

Polished: Vacation Ready Part 2

When traveling, you want to look and feel your best. Here are some beauty items that will help you in that process! All are courtesy of Birchbox.

For a bright skin

For a natural looking glow before you hit the road

1 item for both cheeks and lips...can't beat that!

A great natural sunscreen

Tinted moisturizer with SPF 20

I hope you have a very happy Wednesday!

Outfit: Vacation Ready

We are going on vacation!! We haven't been on a true, restful vacation in a few years, so we are really looking forward to it! I hope to take some outfit photos while we are there, but I wanted to show you some items that are vacation ready and super adorable. All of them are from Target, so they are affordable and easy to get your hands on!

A great floppy hat for the beach or the pool

Small cross body bag for all the walking around while shopping

Sandals with a pop of color

Versatile chambray tunic to wear with shorts, skirts or dresses

Bright colored shorts, love this lime green!

Botanical print top that is breezy and cool in the heat

Fab, flowy maxi dress

Modest swim suit bottoms

Coordinating swim suit top

I hope that you find some time to get away this summer, even if it's just for a night nearby to rest and rejuvenate. I can't wait to not have a schedule, shop til I drop, sit by the pool, and eat lots of yummy food that I don't have to cook!

Have a happy Tuesday, friends!

Recipe: Spinach Salad

Happy Thursday!

It's pretty gloomy here today, but we can still have a happy day! I've got a second cup of coffee so my day is looking better and better!

I know salads are nothing new, but we've been trying to eat healthier/cleaner this summer. We are drinking only water and coffee and trying to eat a salad for either lunch or dinner. Lately, my salads have consisted of this:

1 cup of baby spinach
cucumbers
red bell peppers
carrots
avocado
broccoli
strawberries
blueberries
blackberries
almonds or pecans
freshly grated cheese
rotisserie chicken

I put about a tablespoon of comeback sauce on it.

I've been eating it with cantaloupe, watermelon, or pineapple. Also, we've been eating hummus with red bell pepper strips.

It's actually very filling and I feel a lot better with a big vitamin boost from all those veggies!

Again, I know salads are nothing new, but I hope you're inspired to eat more veggies and maybe throw some things in your salad that you've not tried before. There are endless combinations!!

I hope you have a happy and healthy Thursday!

Polished: Shellac Manicure Review

Hi! Happy Wednesday! One of my friends, Amy, got a shellac manicure about a month ago. I was completely impressed with the color and shine of the polish and also very curious to find out just how long these things last. I asked her to take regular pictures of her nails for me to share on my blog as a review of how she liked the polish. So, here we go:

What is a shellac manicure? It's a special kind of nail polish, formulated not to chip or peel. Dry time is done under a UV light. Most shellac manicures guarantee a finish that lasts for 2 weeks!

Amy had her manicure done at a salon for about $35. Here is her review:

These are Amy's real nails with a beautiful pink shellac polish.

Still going strong!

No chips, not peeling, no breakage.

Starting to see new nail growth at the bottom, but still looking good!

More new growth, but no chips.

You can see the new growth pretty well at this point, but over 2 weeks in and there are NO chips!

24 DAYS! New growth clearly visible and looking a little weird, but the tips of the nails are still going strong!

Amy went to the salon to have the polish removed professionally. The rumor is if you try to do it at home, you'll damage your nails. She immediately had another shellac manicure done in a beautiful purple color because they lasted so long and looked so beautiful, it was worth the money!

I hope you found this helpful! Has anyone ever tried this before? What did you think?

Thanks, Amy, for taking the time to review your manicure!

Have a fun day!

Outfit: Color, Coffee, and Princess Kate

Happy Tuesday, Friends!

Sorry for the lack of a good picture...busy day. But this is what I wore yesterday...

So comfortable. So bright. I love it. And that cute Anthro coffee cup is a cute accessory! (Thanks, Kimmie!)

Breakdown: shirt, Target; skirt (actually a dress), Forever 21 (2010).

Also, how awesome has Princess Kate looked during all this Diamond Jubilee celebration?! Gorgeous!

 

Have a very happy day!

Episode: May Birchbox Review

Thankful: 5 Things

Happy Friday!

I didn't have time to make a video for today, but I am thankful for many things so I wanted to share them with you!

1. My health. I've been complaining a lot lately about not being in shape and not looking the way I want to, so I started working out some. However, this morning it hit me that I am so blessed to be able to work out. I may not be as in shape as I want to be, but I'm so thankful to the Lord that I am healthy.

2. My new necklace. Ethan gave me a necklace with my monogram on it for an early anniversary present. I'll post pictures later, but I absolutely think it's fabulous and I have worn it almost daily.

3. Gevalia coffee. We usually drink Yuban, but we got a bag of Gevalia on sale and it was amazing.

4. Flowers. We have some purlase and lantana oustide on our porch and they make me smile every single day. Flowers make me happy.

5. Pedometer. For $5 at Wal-Mart, Ethan bought me a pedometer to keep up with all the walking I am doing to try to get healthier (see #1). It has been really fun to see how much I move and it is keeping me motivated to keep walking.


Thanks for reading! I hope you have a happy and thankful Friday!