Turqouise Coverup


The warm summer months are the perfect time to enjoy family getaways and beach trips which calls for cute swimsuits and, of course, coverups. This Mikken pullover coverup in mermaid blue was too pretty to pass up and the price tag was very affordable. The crochet material is light and airy with a cute pom pom trim on the sleeves so I've loved wearing it out to the beach and pool this summer.




Jalapeño Popper Dip


A friend of mine grows all sorts of herbs, spices, and vegetables at home and often comes bearing gifts since she knows I love to cook. Last week she brought me a bag of jalapeños so I decided to make a spicy dip over the weekend. I recommend using reduced fat ingredients as you see necessary so the dip isn't too rich tasting, especially with the sour cream, cheeses, and mayonnaise.

Ingredients:
5 small/medium jalapeños, seeded & finely chopped
1 8 oz. block of cream cheese
4 strips of bacon, cooked & crumbled
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
 1 sprig of green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream

Topping:
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp butter, melted


What To Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Place block of cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl and soften in the micro for 30 seconds. 
3. Add sour cream, jalapeños, green onions, mayo, shredded cheese, and crumbled bacon to the cream cheese and mix well. 
4. Lightly grease a medium-sized baking dish with cooking spray and then spoon the cream cheese/jalapeño mixture into the dish while spreading evenly. 


5. For the topping, gently mix Panko breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese together with melted butter. Evenly spread over the top of the jalapeño dip.
6. Place in the oven and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the topping becomes golden brown.


Serve with chips or warm bread and enjoy!

Weekend Wherabouts


Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend! Mine was a nice break to feel recharged for this work week. It's unbelievable how quickly this year is flying by.  July and August are fairly low-key months so I'm enjoying the quieter weekends before more traveling in September and October.

Friday night was our usual date night. We went out to Texas Roadhouse for some BBQ dinner and then spent the rest of the night relaxing at home. We watched The Boy Next Door movie from Redbox which wasn't terrible.
 

 

On Saturday morning, I finally got around to watching 50 Shades of Grey (never even read the book) and it's not what I was expecting at all!  Anyways I'm glad I got that out of the way.


On Saturday evening we met up with some friends to watch the Orlando City Soccer game and to celebrate a friend's birthday. Someone ordered these glutenous fries smothered in bacon and caramel and surprisingly they were amazing!


Sunday was perfectly relaxing spent doing laundry, blogging, food prepping and catching up on some shows. I also organized my closet and will being doing a "shop-my-closet" sale soon with all sorts of goodies from Kate Spade, Michael Kors, BCBG, and more.


How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Urban Decay Naked Smoky Giveaway

Happy Sunday everyone!

Just a final reminder that there's only 11 hours left to enter our Naked Smoky palette giveaway for one lucky winner!


This palette contains: 
- 12 Naked Smoky Eye shadows in High (champagne shimmer micro-glitter), Dirtysweet (medium bronze), Radar (metallic taupe iridescent micro-glitter), Armor (metallic silver-taupe tonal sparkle), Slanted (light metallic gray), Dagger (medium charcoal micro-shimmer), Black Market (jet-black satin), Smolder (deep plum-taupe), Password (cool taupe matte), Whiskey (rich brown matte), Combust (soft pink-taupe), Thirteen (light beige satin) - Double-ended brush - Lookbook 

Friday Favorites + Urban Decay Giveaway

What can I say about this week? It really didn't start off too fabulous on Monday and Tuesday when I thought I was getting sick but by Wednesday all my energy kicked back in and I was ready to take on the world. I met up with a girl friend for Thai lunch on Wednesday which was fun catching up on our different travel adventures and life in general. 

I also had fun going through all my photos from Vegas and recapping my trip on the blog yesterday here. K and I cooked up healthy dinners every night because you know traveling can throw everything off so I've been trying to get back on track. I also somehow managed to crush it at work and get so much done which called for a glass of wine or two last night. At the end of the day, it turned out to be a pretty great week ;-) Now it's time to join Amanda for some of my weekly faves. 

Favorite Fashion Accessories: 
These adjustable Alex and Ani necklaces are so pretty and perfect for layering. I'm a big fan of starfish and sand dollars.


Favorite Makeup Lust:
Has anyone tried out the Ultimate NARS lip pencils? I love all three colors in this set. 
Favorite Recipe:
Tracie's Edamame and Bacon Succotash recipe looks like the perfect side dish for summer days.


Favorite Nail Design:
I recently tried out Jamberry nail wraps which come in every color and design imaginable. Check out my Jamberry post from earlier this week to see how they work along with some of my favorite designs.

Favorite Giveaway:
Of course the Naked Smoky palette giveaway hosted by Kate, myself and several other of my favorite bloggers. Only 2 days left to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy weekend everyone!