Easter Weekend Getaway

So Monday may not be my best friend but recapping a fun-filled weekend definitely makes up for it. K and I had a lovely yet short getaway spent in St. Augustine, Florida. It's an enchanting little city with lots of history and sites to see. It kind of reminds me of Savannah, GA but with it's own different appeal which comes in the form of antique shopping, cute restaurants, and the Castillo de San Marcos fort which is the oldest American fort built in the 17th century.

K and I both had Good Friday off of work so we headed north to St Augustine after dropping Lola off at Kate's who kindly agreed to puppy sit. We arrived around lunchtime which was perfect to grab some Spanish/Cuban style cuisine at the famous Columbia Restaurant. Their Mojitos are on point and the 1905 Salad is a must!
 

 

I plan to recap all the wonderful things St. Augustine has to offer for our Wanderlust Wednesday travel link on April 13th. Don't forget to join Kate, Kerri and myself with your favorite travel adventures whether it may be new or old.
 

We spent all of Friday walking around and exploring the historic district. It was an overcast and rainy day but we didn't let that ruin our fun.

 

For dinner we settled at Harry's Seafood Bar & Grill for some amazing New Orleans style food. This place is a must if you're ever in St Augustine.
 

After dinner we capped the night off with a dirty martini from the Tini Martini bar and had a relaxing night after that.
 

Saturday morning came too soon but we started the day with some amazing Brunch from Casablanca Inn after checking out of our hotel. We walked off the food by exploring the bay front and some other historic sites.
 

On Saturday evening we picked up Lola from Kate's house and we all headed out for an early dinner at 4th Street Bar & Grill. I didn't manage to get many photos but it was fun catching up with Kate and her hubby.

I hosted Easter dinner yesterday for close friends and will post the details and yummy recipes tomorrow.

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Friday Faves

Today happens to be a company holiday so K and I decided to take a little road trip to St. Augustine, FL to explore the historic city and get a change of scenery. The one and only time I went to St. Augustine was for a wedding so it was a quick trip. In the little free time that we had, we did manage to explore most of the historic district, the Castillo De San Marcos National Monument and finally had some amazing Spanish/Cuban cuisine at the famous Columbia Restaurant. We'll definitely be returning to Columbia on this trip!

Before I get into some Friday Faves, I have to say that I was so infuriated on Monday to realize that someone left a hefty scratch on my brand new car from a shopping cart at Publix. The car is not even 2 weeks old! I'm still slightly upset but choosing to focus on some brighter & better things linking up with Amanda.

Fave Recipe
I'm a big fan of Chipotle so when I saw this Fiesta Chicken Burrito Bowl recipe I knew I had to try it. I've recreated Chipotle's salads at home many times but haven't tried my hand at a burrito bowel.

Fashion Fave
Rocksbox sent me this Kendra Scott Jamie Bracelet in Platinum Drusy and I decided to purchase it even tough I wasn't really in the market for another bracelet. It's so shimmery and goes so well with my watch so it's been on major repeat this week.

Wedding Favor Ideas
For all the brides-to-be, I recently attended a wedding and received this wedding favor saying they made a donation to the Children's Cancer Center on our behalf. I love this for a unique and thoughtful wedding favor for charitable donations. 

Funny Photos
My mom actually sent this article to me but I thought it was too funny not to share! Check out some of these photos showing dogs with no understanding of personal space.

Sushi.
Enough said right? The day job decided they were going to spoil us with some sushi on Tuesday for lunch. Of course I enjoyed all the sushi possible and had a fun time chatting with coworkers over lunch.

Enjoy the weekend and have a fabulous Easter however (and if) you plan to celebrate it!

Silky Hair & Stylish Gear

Healthy hair and cute yet comfortable clothing and shoes are a continuous improvement battle in my life. I often buy things that just don't work so I tend to stick with products for a lifetime when I do find something that works 100%.

A big part of the battle is finding products that are actually effective for my hair type which is naturally very thick and wavy. I blow-dry my hair after washing to get the straight look that I typically rock on a daily basis. On top of being thick, it can be very frizzy in the Florida humidity so hot tools and hair serum are a necessity for me!

I shared my torturous hair drying routine two years ago in this post but since then it became significantly easier when I discovered the Revlon Hair Brush Dryer. Having explained my hair type, I have to say all three of these products provided to me by Influenster couldn't be more perfect!

I received a VoxBox of goodies from L'Oreal Paris' new Extraordinary Oil product line and I was immediately shocked they sent full size bottles. I was excited to try them but honestly a little hesitant because the name of these products led me to believe they have a very oily consistency. That was definitely not the case.

L'Oréal® Nourishing Shampoo & Conditioner 

I'll start by saying that all of these products contain lightweight oils which are nourishing for dry or damaged hair but not noticeable. The shampoo lathers up so well which is great for thick hair and I love how the conditioner left my hair feeling super soft and silky. I will definitely purchase again!

L'Oréal® Lusturous Oil Serum

This serum has ultra-light oils and absorbs very quickly in my hair to fix the frizz without leaving an oily look. I absolutely love this serum and use it after blow-drying to soften and style my hair.

Outfit Details:

Off Shoulder Top (similar) * AEO Denim Skirt (similar)
Tory Burch Sunglasses * Kate Spade Glitter Stud Earrings
Alex & Ani Bangles  *  Tory Burch Thora Metallic Sandals 

L'Oreal Paris provided these products for review purposes via Influenster. This review is my true and honest opinion based on actual product use.

Grilled Mexican Street Corn

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I made this delish recipe a while ago but didn't manage to snap many good photos. The original recipe has much more enticing photos if you want to check it out. This was my first time trying Mexican Street Corn and I really love how it turned out. I left out one or two ingredients that I didn't think were necessary and adjusted the cooking method slightly so here's my version of the recipe.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serving size: 4

Ingredients:

For the Spread

4 ears fresh corn, husked
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
2 tbsp. light sour cream
1/4 tsp. garlic salt

For the Topping

1/4 cup grated Cotija cheese
1 teaspoon paprika

Chopped cilantro

What To Do:

1. Soak 4 wooden skewers in water for about 20 minutes. 
2. Pierce a skewer halfway into the end of each corn cob.

3. Preheat the grill to medium heat (about 400 degrees F).
4. Combine the spread ingredients in a bowl and the topping ingredients in a separate bowl. 
5. Smear the spread over each cob and sprinkle on the topping mixture.
6. Wrap each corn individually in a piece of aluminum foil securing it so the toppings don't fall out.
7. Place the foil wrapped corn directly on the grill, cover at let cook for a total of 20 minutes, turning often until the kernels are tender.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Here are a few other Mexican Street Corn recipes I found if you want to experiment with different/healthier ingredients and cooking methods.  

Recipe links: 1 * 2 * 3

Weekend Whereabouts

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. I'll start by saying my whereabouts were pretty minimal the past few days. It was a rainy weekend so it was perfect for catching up on some R&R since I have a few busy weekends of travel ahead.

I did venture out on Friday afternoon for some puppy playtime and a quick dinner.

After dinner we watched the movie Steve Jobs at home and had a quiet Friday night which was much needed!

 On Saturday I stayed local to get some errands done and rest up at home. I shopped around for some essentials for our Easter dinner party, did a ton of laundry, took some naps and spent lots of couch time with Lola watching TV.



Some inevitable online retail therapy happened on Saturday night since I had all the free time to browse. Maybe this is why I try to keep myself busy on weekends?

On Sunday, I went to Kohl's to pick up a dutch oven I had ordered to make the Guinness Beef Stew I posted about last week for my Friday Faves. It came out amazing by the way and I have to thank the lovely Andrea for helping me out with a few secret tips!

 Of course I ended up venturing over to the clothing department in Kohl's but not too much damage was done. I purchased these cute coral-colored shorts and navy crochet shorts for the Spring/Summer time weather and used a 30% off coupon.

 I'm so excited this is a short work week (we get Good Friday off) and I'm looking forward to our quick road trip adventure this coming weekend.


Joining the lovely Biana for her weekending linkup

Friday Faves

Happy Friday everyone!
Daylight savings really made this week feel like it was dragging so I'm pretty relieved the weekend is almost here.

Last night my coworker and I met up with a business partner visiting from New Jersey at Marlow's Tavern for some dinner. No green beer this year for St. Patrick's Day but lots of others greens in the form of a delicious Ahi Tuna Salad with avocado!

How about some faves for the week?

Favorite Find
How adorable are these pet name tags from Tags For Hope? You can customize it for the state you live in and add all of your pet's information as well as your phone number (where I blocked out below). I love this idea for a tiny pet ID tag to hang from their collar.

Favorite DYI Project

This is such a cute and easy DYI guide for making a key holder out of a picture frame. I already have a key + mail holder on my wall but I think this would be cute for beach/vacation homes or cottages.

Favorite Memories
Some of my favorite St. Patty's Day photos for a quick Flashback Friday.

Favorite Recipe
This Guinness Beef Stew recipe is on the menu for Sunday dinner and keeps up with the whole Irish theme I'm going with this month.

Favorite Funny:

Speaking of Jameson, did you happen to catch my Irish Mule recipe yesterday? Since the weekend is here, I figured why not share it again.

The ecard definitely describes me in previous years but, as I mentioned above, I celebrated or didn't at a business dinner but I have to say it was still fun even though it was work-related.

We also did a lunchtime celebration at work with some corn beef and pastrami sandwiches, beef stew and all the shamrock desserts possible.

Did you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

Linking up with Amanda for Friday Favorites

Happy St. Patty's Day

I don't have any big plans to celebrate St. Patrick's Day tonight because #Thursday. I do plan to wish my best friend (since we're 5 years old) a Happy Amazing Birthday because she deserves nothing but the best! She's my sister from another mister (and of course mother) but you know how that saying goes.

Since it's St. Patrick's day and everyone knows I love experimenting with new recipes, I thought I'd share a fun Irish cocktail recipe.

The Irish Mule

Ingredients:

1.5 oz. Irish whiskey

½ lime squeezed juice 

Ginger beer

Slice of lime for garnish (optional)

Copper Moscow Mule Mug

via

What To Do:

 Fill up your copper mug with plenty of ice

Squeeze in half a lime on top of the ice

Pour in the whiskey

Top off with ginger beer and stir 

Dash of bitters (optional)

Garnish with a slice of lime (optional)

Cheers!

Please drink responsibly today and always!

Summer Essentials

When I think of summer, I think of weekend days lounging by the pool and a few trips to the beach for some sun, sea and sand. Luckily I already have a few trips planned so I'm excited about that! With the weather almost being summer-like here, I have my favorite essentials ready to go.

Packed Beach Bag
I have a beach/pool bag that remains packed with some essentials all year round. Can I go to the pool or beach all year round? That would be a no. But why unpack everything when I can have my beach bag ready to grab and go for that one perfect weather day.

Here's what's in the bag:
* his and hers beach towels
* waterproof bluetooth speakers
*  SPF sunscreen
* SPF tanning oil spray
* Lip balm with SPF
* hand sanitizer
* small body spray
* small hair brush
* a fedora hat



Swim Suits & Cover-ups
Of course some good fitting swimsuits and cover-ups are needed and, from the name of my blog, you can probably tell I'm all about cute bikinis and just swim wear in general. PHAX Swimwear, a fashion focused swim/surf brand out of Colombia, contacted me about their brand hitting the shelves in the USA and asked if I would be interested in ordering some of their products. Of course I was interested!

I chose a beautiful jade-colored bikini to go with the Samburu cover-up from their Spring 2016 Ortulivo Beah Lookbook. I can tell that all of these pieces are great quality because of the super soft material. Their swim suits contain LYCRA fiber which helps the material to move and stay true to your shape to get that perfect fit.

PHAX is offering my readers a generous 30% discount at checkout with the coupon code: shopmartinisbikinis

 

What I really like about PHAX swim wear and clothing is that their product line is very fun and vibrant which is perfect for summer. Everything is also hand made (from cut to stitch to embroidery) so that's pretty impressive! I get nervous ordering swimwear and underwear online because you really need these things to fit perfectly for your body. Thankfully the sizes for the bikini top and bottom piece were perfect. The cover-up (pictured below in blue) I ordered a small but it runs more like a medium. The good thing is loose fitting cover-ups are comfortable so it doesn't need to be returned.

 

Sunglasses
I have a few pairs of sunglasses that I rotate depending on the outfit and occasion. My current favorite are these Michael Kors Aviators pictured below. They have purple mirror lenses which you can't really tell from the photo.



Hydration
Never leave home without some cold water or sparkling water bottles to stay hydrated and if you're looking for some spike in your refreshments, I'd definitely recommend Skinny Girl Cocktails. They are all light and refreshing but I happen to love the Mojito and  Cosmo cocktails.

Waterproof Flip Flops
I mean this goes without saying. Comfortable shoes in general are always needed throughout the year but when it comes to summer, cute flip flops are a must. My current lust are these beauties from Tory Burch which are also waterproof.

Activities & Fun
If you're heading to the beach or the pool some entertainment might be needed. This could be reading material or water/land activities and sports such as volleyball or racket ball. Whatever peaks your interest, make sure to pack it in your beach bag so you don't get bored.

What are your summer essentials?

The PHAX products were provided to me complimentary in return for my honest review of the products. All opinions stated above are honest and accurate based on my true experience.