Not So Sunshine State + Friday Favorites

Happy Friday everyone! 

We had another hot yet rainy week here in Central Florida and you know what rain does? Yup, it makes people forget how to drive... which then causes major traffic and just when you're running late, the train decides to go by. The struggle is real but I know it could be worse. Much worse.



Yesterday consisted of sitting in the car outside of Trader Joe's for 20 minutes while it poured and then finally taking a run for it. All for the love of wine and cheese. Both of which I'll be enjoying this weekend.

It looks like the rain is going to continue for the next few days so it should make for a fairly low key and relaxing weekend. OK enough bitching about the rain and getting into some fun favorites for the week.

Cutest Article:

Loving this article about 21 Things Only a Bulldog Parent Would Understand. All very true!

Vacation Planning:
I should actually say vacation lack of planning. Our trip to New Orleans is coming up in a few weeks and I've done nothing. We do have a hotel booked so that's a start. I'm usually a big planner and have a loose itinerary to follow so I really need to get on this. Maybe I can start off with some suggestions from you... restaurants, tours, sites & scenes? I'm all ears here.

The last time (and only time) I went to NOLA was for a bachelorette last year (recap here) and as you can imagine, we really only covered the bars and party areas. I want to cover a lot more ground on this trip and learn the history, go site-seeing, indulge in some good food, and do a couple of tours.

Shopping Finds:

I've actually been on a shopping freeze since we're saving up for said trip but my mom generously gifted me with some new blouses for work. All light and airy tops yet professional looking.

1. High Low Bow top (pictured below)
2. Burgundy V-neck Top
3. Floral Peasant Top

Everyone knows I'm a sucker for anything with bows.

Healthy Recipe:
This Chickpea Avocado & Feta salad looks delish and a perfect salad for the summer.

Some Friday Funnies:

Cheers to the weekend! May 5 o'clock come sooner than later :-)

Linking up with Amanda over at Meet at the Barre.

Pink & Rose Gold

Pink and rose gold, when paired together, is such a fun, feminine, and classy look. I'm no fashionista and rarely get to dress up other than for weddings and the occasional work or charity event. I also wasn't a big fan of pink up until recently but I've slowly been adding more pink clothing and accessories to my wardrobe. Here are some pretty pink and rose gold pieces that can be mix and matched together to create outfits for work and play:

1. Motif Pavé Triangle Pendant Necklace  2. Cap-Sleeve Sheath Dress  3. Benidorm Square Flash Sunglasses

4. Flared Poplin Shirtdress  5. Pave Huggie Earrings  6. Opi Nail Laquer, Kiss Me On My Tulips

7. Samantha Cropped Floral-Print Pants  8. Mac Flat Out Fabulous Lipstick  9. Jet Set Crossbody Bag 

10. Rose Golden Bradshaw Chronograph Watch  11. Boucle Tweed Bustier Dress  12. Padlock Toggle Bracelet, Rose Golden

13. Graphic floral resin iPhone case  14. 'Glam' 57mm Retro Sunglasses  15. Samantha Cropped Shantung Pants

Mount Dora Day Trip

A few weeks ago K and I planned a day trip out to Mount Dora in Lake County, Florida which is about an hour away from our home in Orlando. The small city is quaint, historic, and overlooks Lake Dora and a few other lakes. I thought it would be the perfect day trip and a great way to spend a Sunday.

We started off in the cute downtown area and walked around browsing different antique shops, a tea room, a doggie bakery, and a few other shops.

We then went on to check out some historic buildings and architecture scattered throughout the downtown area.

We also stopped by to check out the atmosphere and menus of some of the restaurants. A few of our favorites were Cecile's French Corner, Pisces Rising and The Goblin Market.

It was a hot summer day in Florida, so we decided to settle at The Lost Parrot for a cold drink before continuing along. The bar area was quiet with only one other patron but it was a nice spot to cool off and listen to some music.

Finally we headed to check out Lake Dora which was fairly quiet with a few people walking around and some others boating and jet skiing on the lake.

It was a nice day to walk around and explore somewhere new. We were also really impressed with some of the restaurant menus so would love to go back for lunch or dinner one weekend.

<div align="center">
<a href="http://peridotkutie.blogspot.com/" title="Wanderlust Wednesdays"><img src="http://i60.tinypic.com/14ttvdc.jpg" alt="Wanderlust Wednesdays" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Link-up Rules:
1. Follow Kerri, Kate and myself on Bloglovin
2. Link up your favorite travel recaps or travel related posts
3. Grad our Wanderlust Wednesdays button and link back to our blogs
4. Be sure to visit other blogs and build your travel bucket list!

Baked Pesto Salmon & Tossed Balsamic Salad

Baked pesto salmon is one of my favorite dinners to make during the week because salmon cooks very quickly. We usually eat it with a side of veggies such as broccoli or zucchini but this time I tried it on top of balsamic tossed salad and wanted to share the recipe because it's a quick and healthy meal.

Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh Wild Sockeye Salmon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp. pesto
1 tbsp. minced garlic

Tossed Salad:
 Romaine lettuce, chopped
Raw pecan halves
Dried cranberries
Crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Light balsamic vinaigrette



What To Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash salmon in cold water and cut in half to make two 1/2 lb fillets.
3. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, pesto and minced garlic. Use basting brush to evenly spread pesto mixture on top of the salmon fillets.
4. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray and bake salmon for 18-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the salmon fillets.
5. While the salmon is baking, prep and toss salad with all the ingredients listed above.

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.

Weekending

Another relaxing and quiet weekend for the books. 

Friday night consisted of happy hour drinks after work, takeout dinner from Jason's Deli, and a movie from Redbox. We watched Get Hard with Will Farrell and Kevin Hart which was pretty funny. Nothing spectacular to write about but good enough for some casual unwinding after a long work week. Lola of course enjoyed the quality couch time.

Saturday was an overcast day so I got a bunch of errands done along with grocery shopping, cleaning and blogging before heading out to meet up with some friends at a local watering hole.
 

Sunday was another lazy yet productive day around the house - laundry, crockpot cooking, blogging and relaxing. I'm enjoying the downtime while it lasts before some more traveling and busy weekends in September and October.

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending Linkup.