Weekend Happenings

Hey loves! Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend.

On Friday I had a lunch date with Kerri and Kate which was fun catching up with the ladies at one of my favorite Thai restaurants. After work I went for happy hour with coworkers and the rest of the night was spent relaxing at home with K.

Saturday was spent being productive around the house and then out and about for some swimsuit shopping at Victoria's Secret, lunch with K at East Coast Wings, and then some grocery shopping scoring some BOGO Shocktop Belgian White beer. I also finally caved and signed up for Victoria's Secret Angel card. It only took me about 10 years to decide but I'm loving all the extra coupons.

 

Later in the evening I went to a coworker's housewarming party which was fun hanging out with everyone outside of work. I came bearing wine and homemade artichoke dip.

On Sunday, K and I headed to Mount Dora, which is a quaint city one hour outside of Orlando, to do a day trip and explore.



We walked around in the 100 degree weather and finally settled for a beer and live music.

On the way home from Mount Dora, we stopped off in Sanford to meet up with Pamela, Kerri and Kate to celebrate with the birthday girl and have a couple drinks. Happy official birthday today Pamela! 

Such a fun weekend! I'm also super excited this is a short work week before I fly out to the west coast to celebrate our anniversary (late) and 4th of July weekend.

How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana for Weekending linkup.

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday lovelies!

Hoping this week treated you well. Mine was draining and I just couldn't seem to get enough sleep so I'm excited to say hello to the weekend. The countdown is on...10 more hours!



I have a few fun things on the agenda for this weekend but we'll just have to wait until Monday to recap that. Since my brain feels fried and my week was fairly uneventful other than work, I'm going to get right into some weekly faves for Amanda's Friday linkup.
 
Favorite Nails:
I just got these pretty "Ka Boom" nail wraps from Jamberry in the mail to get my nails prepped for 4th of July weekend... which is only a week away! Is anyone as excited as I am for the long weekend next week? Vegas on my mind + full review of Jamberry nail wraps coming soon too.

Favorite Fashion Find:
I'm in need of a compact purse for traveling and I'm really loving this Michael Kors crossbody which comes in twelve different colors. I do already have a cute Kate Spade crossbody but it's bright pink and not very practical so I'm leaning toward a more neutral color. 

Favorite Tattoo Ideas:

I have one tattoo that I got during freshman year of college. It's a hummingbird on my ankle (the thought behind it was "island girl flying away to college/better things"). It's old and faded and I don't particularly like the location I chose. I've been thinking of ways to brighten it up and I'm loving the watercolor look for tattoos.

Favorite Recipe Find:

Quinao Wrap with Black Beans, Feta and Avocado from Skinny Mom. We eat super healthy dinners during the week but our recipes seems to be on repeat (which is why I end up posting more cheat meal recipes from the weekend). My focus is to get back on the healthy train on the weekends too because #summer #bikinibody.

Summer Outfits: 
I'm always on the hunt for cute outfit inspirations. I'm definitely one of those girls that feels she has nothing to wear yet my closet is full and I have enough accessories to dress up an army in drag. Instead of buying new things, I need to learn how to transform old pieces and make it into a new outfit.

Favorite Quote:

Enjoy the weekend!

Rustic Wedding Ideas

It's been 3 years since I planned out my wedding without any help from family or a wedding planner. My mom doesn't live close by and I opted out of having a full-time wedding coordinator due to the expense. I did have a coordinator for the day of our wedding which I highly suggest unless you have family/friends that can handle those responsibilities. 

Every detail and decoration was figured out in my head despite not being the most creative person. I had a hard time envisioning how things would look and Pinterest was not so much a thing then. Despite those challenges I think my wedding turned out quite amazing with the beach/caribbean theme I went for yet but with more sophisticated colors of champagne and eggplant. The starfish was our symbol found on our wedding invitations and subtly hidden in our decor. You can read our wedding recap here.

Although the tropical theme was perfect for my style and personality, I've always loved the look and feel of rustic-themed weddings. Surprisingly I've never attended a rustic wedding but I wanted to share some ideas for future brides out there looking for inspiration. 

Wedding Ceremony Decor:

Wedding Reception Decor:

Wedding Flowers: 

Wedding Hair: 

You can find some more hair ideas here. 

Wedding Attire:

Wedding Cakes:

Wedding Invitations:

Pesto Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage

Special thanks to Trader Joe's for making this recipe extremely easy to whip together.  I bought the frozen gnocchi and the roasted garlic chicken sausage from TJ's and kind of just made up the recipe over the weekend. The creamy pesto sauce mix can be found at your local grocery store, mine being Publix.

Ingredients:

1 16 oz bag Gnocchi al Gorgonzola

1 cup sliced white mushrooms

1 packet creamy pesto sauce mix

1 12 oz package chicken sausage, sliced

1 cup 2% milk

1/4 cup olive oil

I love these roasted garlic chicken sausages from Trader Joe's and will definitely use them again in the future to create different recipes.

What To Do:

1. Cook gnocchi according the directions on the package.

2. Cook pesto sauce in a small pot with milk and olive oil according to directions on the packet.

3. Combine all ingredients in dutch oven and simmer for 10 minutes or until the mushrooms are fully cooked. The chicken sausage is already fully cooked so it just needs to heat up.

This meal can feed about 4-6 people and takes 20 minutes to prep and cook so I recommend it if you're looking for an easy recipe to whip together for dinner during the week or whenever your strapped for time. 

Enjoy! 

Weekend: Pure Relaxation

Hello friends... I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend!
Mine was, as stated above, pure relaxation which was much needed. I don't have a whole lot of fun stuff to share just the simpler things in life that make it ever so fulfilling.

~ Friday night was dedicated to catching up on Orange Is The New Black. I also watched a few more episodes on Saturday and Sunday but still not caught up yet. Let's just say I suck at binge watching anything but I'll get caught up soon hopefully. 

~ Cheap but pretty nail polish. China Glaze's "Too Yacht To Handle" is so pretty for summer.

~ Jimmy John's delivery impresses the hell out of me. Ordered lunch on Saturday and they arrived in 12 minutes. Considering they're located about six minutes away, that's awesome. Way to go JJ and the turkey beach club on whole grain bread is my fave!

~ Went to the hairdresser for some "maintenance". I just love my lady hairdresser and I'm going back again soon to add some burgundy streaks to my blonde before 4th of July weekend.

~ Loving my three new swimsuit coverups from Macy's but disappointed the Jessica Simpson black one (size small) can fit about 3 of my bodies in it. Debating whether to return it or take it to the seamstress to get it altered.

~ At least the JS wedges are comfy and Vegas approved for heavy walking. 

~ I've been on a cider kick recently. Redd's Apple Ale is delish, light, and refreshing. They also have a Strawberry Ale that's seasonal and so worth the calories.

~ Lola was the best snuggler all weekend which made it that much better.

How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.