Punta Cana Recap by Kate

Today I'm excited to have Kate guest posting while I'm on my way to the Dominican Republic for a friend's wedding. It also happens to be our wedding anniversary so the husband and I will be celebrating in style in the tropics.  Kate offered to share her trip to the DR so I'm excited to have her be the host today!

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I can't begin to explain how jealous I am that Emily is on a beach enjoying endless frozen drinks in Punta Cana. I've been all over the world, and my trip to Punta Cana last year was hands down my favorite vacation ever. Such a beautiful and amazing place!

We stayed at the Majestic Colonial which was magical. I felt like we got so much more at this resort than any other resort we've stayed at.We upgraded to a club room which honestly wasn't that much more expensive especially for all the extras it includes. Club rooms are on the adults only side of the resort which is new and has 2 adults only pools with swim up bars and day beds to lounge on. There's also an adults only beach with it's own beach bar and servers who come out to your palapa. Perfection! We had a jacuzzi tub in the room which our butler (yes I said butler!) drew a bubble bath for us at night. We also had 4 liquor bottles and a bottle of champagne in our room free of charge, access to the club lounge which was always stocked with hot and cold food, more booze, water bottles, an espresso machine, free wifi, pretty much the works! Staying on the club side also meant private check in and check out where we were greeted with a freshly popped bottle of champagne and were escorted by our butler to our room. Amazing doesn't even describe the whole experience.

Champagne was the theme at the resort it felt like. We had mimosas every morning at breakfast and were greeted with a glass every night before being seated at dinner. And as soon as you looked like you were half way done, they came by to refill your glass. We enjoyed dinner in the hibachi restaurant, the French restaurant, and the steakhouse. I was blown away at how delicious the food was at an all-inclusive.

I can't wait to see Emily's recap of her fabulous vacation. I'm sure I'll find myself back in the D.R. before I know it!

If you'd like to read more about my travels, hop on over and visit my little corner of the internet Green Fashionista. My travel tab now features our recent trip to Spain, France, and Portugal. And next up on the agenda is an end of the summer trip to Chicago with Emily and K... can't wait to eat our way through another fabulous city with great friends.

Vegas Style: Daytime to Nighttime Outifts

I visited Vegas earlier this year in January when the weather was a bit chilly but now that it's warming up, I'd love to go back. Although I spent two full days site-seeing (and the rest working a convention), there's still so much I didn't get to do. I didn't get to experience any of those "legendary" pool parties or see any shows at night.

Comfort is key and since Vegas requires A LOT of walking, a good pair of shoes and a sundress, romper or pair of shorts is ideal for me during the day. Or a pretty coverup if you plan to lounge by the pool. Especially in the summer, the weather is blazing hot.

Photo via Aria Resort

Pleated Racerback Romper  •  Ruffled Surplice Romper • 2 Inch Cutoff Denim Shorts • Ruffled Zip Front Romper • Purple Scarf Print Tube Dress •  Ruffled Zip Front Romper

Whether you're going out for a dinner date, to see a show or clubbing at a popular club such as Aria's Haze, people dress to impress at night in Vegas.

Photo via Aria Resort

Lovely Lace Dress • Posh Lace Peplum Top • Colored Zippered Skinny Jeans • Subtle Sequined Shorts • Bombshell Sequined Dress • Parker Red Lip Smack Dress

I think the biggest challenge for me is finding comfortable shoes for nighttime wear. I simply cannot walk for miles in high heels or stilettos.

What shoes do you find work best for nighttime in Vegas or large cities?

Recipe: Turkey Salisbury Steak

I made this for the first time on Sunday with mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes and it was excellent! Mashed cauliflower is actually much easier to make and healthier so it's a win win. I posted an easy recipe recently you can use.

Ingredients: 
1 lb ground turkey
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 packet brown (or mushroom) gravy mix
1 cup water
Black pepper to taste

Serving Size: 6

 

What to Do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

2. Mix ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and black pepper together in a bowl and form into 6 oval patties. Arrange patties on a greased baking sheet and bake in oven for 20 minutes.

3. Saute onions with a little olive on medium heat for 6 minutes and then add mushrooms. Cook for another 6-10 minutes until mushrooms are fully cooked.

4. Whisk together water, cream of mushroom soup and brown gravy and bring to a slow boil, stirring frequently. Lower heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until sauce has thickened.

 

5. After 20 minutes, flip patties and bake for another 10 minutes.

6. Once everything has cooked. Serve by first adding a scoop or two of mashed cauliflower (or mashed potatoes), top with a turkey patty, then layer with sauteed mushrooms & onions and finally pour gravy over the top.

Enjoy!

 

 1. Follow Kate and myself via GFC and Bloglovin. 

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food-related posts.

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to our blogs.

Weekend on FL's West Coast

Hope everyone had a good weekend! I had a pretty busy weekend out of town.

After work on Friday, K and I headed to Sarasota to spend the weekend with my in-laws. We took them out to dinner to celebrate a late Mother's day and early Father's Day. After dinner, K and I went over to the local watering hole for some drinks.

 

Has anyone tried cinnamon toast crunch shots? It's made with Fireball and RumChata and tastes just like the cereal. So good! We finished the night at World of Beer and then called it a night.

On Saturday we headed to Siesta Key beach which has been rated #1 beach in the US. It's absolutely beautiful with powder white sand. We hung out on the beach for a couple hours then headed over to the Village for some seafood and beach cocktails. 

We then met up with some friends at Bahi Hut which serves the strongest Mai Ta's in town. K and friends love going here but there's a two Mai Tai limit because they're that strong!

 

We went back to K's parents house and had dinner with them and spent the rest of the night watching movies and relaxing at their house.

On Sunday, we hung out with the in-laws for a couple hours then hit the road to head back home. We stopped for lunch at Bahama Breeze and a quick trip to Victoria's Secret (because I'm good at negotiating) to get a new bikini for our trip to the DR this week.

I love VS's new Itsy bikini bottoms.

Joining Molly for Funday Monday and Biana for Weekending.

Sometimes I Do Stupid Sh*t

Does anyone else get a shitload of spam comments? There's this Anonymous person/s that spams the crap out of my blog and so this week I decided to start deleting the 2,000+ comments that had racked up over the past few months from this spammer. 

Except I hit the wrong button and deleted about 100 recent comments from my actual readers and friends. I feel like a total clutz and I don't think there's any way to reverse it now. This includes all the comments on my giveaway which is currently running. I am mortified!

So first off, go F yourself spammer...

And secondly, I'm so sorry for those that commented on the giveaway and other posts, which have now been deleted accidentally. Rafflecopter will still pick a winner randomly for the giveaway on Wednesday 11th June.

Does anyone know how to prevent or block said spamming?

It's been so time consuming & annoying deleting all the email notifications from these "Anonymous" junk comments. Hope your Friday is going much better!

Volunteering, Southern Cooking & Travel Planning

Friday is here and I'll be traveling out of town yet again! This time just a 2 hour drive to visit my in-laws for a late Mother's Day/early Father's Day. We're also planning to hit the beach and hopefully grab some oysters and seafood.

K brought home this pretty bouquet on Wednesday. Carnations are probably my favorite flower, even more so than roses, and well anything purple just wins my heart!

I volunteered at the VA Medical Center this week and hosted a bingo night for about 18 vets, mainly from World War 2. It was such an amazing experience and will be volunteering more often now that I've introduced myself to the staff and program coordinator.

A new southern cooking restaurant opened in town called The Coop and I'm in heaven! You would think (due to geography) Florida would have "southern" food but there's really no where nearby with traditional southern cooking and, as you can see, the line is out the door at The Coop. 

 

I tried the chicken pot pie this week and will be going back again to try their chicken & waffles, shrimp & grits and all the other southern fixins.  

I picked up this new Miss Manga mascara by L'Oreal. I think the package sold me, I'm not exactly sure why.  It's comparable to Falsies by Maybelline which has typically been my go-to drug store mascara.

Kate and I have booked our trips to Chi Town in September! I'm so excited to explore the city and meet up with a couple bloggers that live in the area. The countdown is on to exploring another new city.

photo via

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

If you haven't already done so, don't forget to enter my Beauty Basket Giveaway below in my previous post!

Joining Lauren for H54F and April for Five on Friday.

Giveaway: Beauty Essentials Basket

I have an exciting giveaway today with a bunch of my favorite beauty and hair products along with some Starbucks and fashion jewelry ~ $100 retail value!

~ Starbucks Vanilla Lattes (5-pack)

~ Schwarzkopf BC Bonacure Shampoo

~ Macadamia Natural Oil Nourishing Leave-In Cream

~ Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque

~ Macadamia Natural Oil Heating Oil Treatment

~ Bath & Body Works AIR Lotion

~ TRESemme Platinum Strength Shampoo & Conditioner

~ Schwarzkopf BC Bonacure Hot Oil Conditioner

~ Baby Pink Drop Earrings from Forever 21

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter on Wednesday June 11th and I'll email them directly for shipping information. A new winner will be selected within 48 hours if there's no response.

* Open to US residents only due to international shipping costs.

Good Luck! 

Chicken & Broccoli Divan

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 head of fresh broccoli

1 can broccoli cheese soup

1/2 cup milk

4 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/4 cup butter

What To Do:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Steam broccoli with about 3/4 cup water until broccoli is tender.

3. Boil chicken breasts about 15 minutes until fully cooked. Cut into small cubes.
4. Cut cooked broccoli in small pieces and place at the botton of a greased baking dish. Layer the chicken over the broccoli.
5. Mix broccoli & cheese soup with milk and pour over the chicken.

6. Top with shredded cheese.
7. Mix breadcrumbs with melted butter and sprinkle over the cheese.
8. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Let cool for 10 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!

 

 1. Follow Kate and myself via GFC and Bloglovin. 

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food-related posts.

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to our blogs.

Weekend Fun in Sun-Storm State

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I had a relaxing one spent in and around town, which is all that I was hoping for and more. If you know me, you know these weekends are few are far between.

On Friday night, K and I went out for a dinner date to one of my favorite restaurants and then rented Delivery Man (with Vince Vuaghn) from Redbox. I was pretty exhausted from the week and was in need of a chill night at home.

On Saturday morning I got woken up from a surprise phone call from one of my best friends, who currently lives in the UK, to ask me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding next year August....in Barbados! So ladies and gentlemen, I'm now a bridesmaids x3 next year in both Trinidad and Barbados. Donations are welcomed at this time!

Totally kidding and totally honored to be there for three special girls that I've spent half my life with getting up to mischief, sharing girl advise and now seeing each other get married to their loves.

As you may or may not know, I'm no longer a natural blonde so I have to pay to get highlights done. My hairdresser is pretty awesome though so I love catching up with her while getting beautified.

On Saturday afternoon we headed over to Kate's house for a pool party & to celebrate her husband's birthday. The weather was pretty shitty so we didn't get much pool or sun action but it was a great time catching up. I actually didn't get any photos of our night, except of her ham, Roxy, who's always such a trooper and loves hanging out with everyone.

Sunday was rainy and gloomy so it was a nice lazy day at home spent cleaning, blogging, prepping food for the week and just hanging out. We're going to be traveling for the next few weekends so my house needed the TLC.

How was your weekend?

Joining Bella & Lisa for Weekend Recap and Molly & Carly for Funday Monday.

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

After going out of town last weekend and then the holiday on Monday, it's been hard keeping up with the blog, the job and life in general. I'm hoping this weekend helps me get back on schedule and catch up on some things around the house, blogging and my favorite thing ever - sleep!

Reminiscing from last weekend in St Pete Beach, FL & watching pretty sunsets from the hotel room. 

Some other things that made me smile this week...

My orchid started blooming again after I thought I'd officially killed it.  It just started budding like crazy last week and then came this pretty flower. Maybe I do have a green thumb? 

These beauties showed up in the mail yesterday - scored them from the Kate Spade 75% off sale.

Despite being completely unmotivated all week, I managed to make a few dinners at home. These were skinny ground turkey fajitas until I added cheese but everything's better with cheese ;-)

The 2-week countdown is on until we're in Punta Cana for another wedding & to celebrate our anniversary. I follow the resort on instagram and they've been posting the most beautiful photos. I can't wait to be there with friends and unlimited frozen cocktails!

Even though it was a short week, I'm ready for the weekend and some R&R.

Did anyone else feel like the long weekend kicked them in the a**?

Joining Lauren for H54F and April for Five on Friday.

Summer Dresses & Sandals

Maxi dresses, rompers and thong sandals have been the object of my affection for summer. I've actually been able to find some cute summer dresses at Kohl's for very reasonable prices including this dress I wore over the weekend to a beach wedding.

I've always wore solid colors but all the new prints now available on the rack have grown on me and who doesn't love a pretty pair of sandals to go with it?

 What's your favorite clothing or accessories for summer?