H54F

Thankful Friday is here! Although I had a nice week with my parents visiting. We are heading out to the beach this weekend to get one last beach day in before the cold weather comes our way.

#1: I was pleasantly surprised to find out I won Stephanie's blog giveaway from The Fusion Chronicles. She mailed out a shiny gift card to Red Lobster.

#2: My company announcemed that our Holiday party will be at Epcot this year. So excited!

#3: My new iPhone 5s arrived yesterday and I'm in love. The thing is super fast and the fingerprint feature is pretty cool.

#4: Went golfing with my team yesterday (first attempt at golf) and I wasn't too bad. Was able to hit the ball but not very far.

#5: Japananese hibachi dinner last night with the 'rents. We go there every time they visit.

Linking up with Lauren for H54F and Darcie for Five on Friday.

Any big plans for the weeked?

Beach Bathroom Redecorating

My latest home project is redecorating our guest bathroom with a beach theme. I love starfish, shells and all the colors associated with the coast or beach.

I put together a collage on Polyvore for some inspiration:

Beach Bathroom by martinis-bikinis featuring a mercury glass jar

I'm very far from being an interior designer but a girl can try. Here's my progress so far:

It's a work in progress.

Where's your favorite place to buy affordable home decor?

Time For a Redesign

Hello ladies!

So my 1 year blogiversay is coming up and I'm ready to have my little space redesigned to something that matches my vision a little better.

I need you to point me in the right direction. Who designed your blog? Who do you recommend? I'm looking for affordable, elegant, flexible, creative and can have it done in a two weeks! Yikes, I shouldn't have wait until the last minute.

Thanks so much!

Sweater Season is Here

I'm loving patterned sweaters this year and thinking of purchasing a few as we get closer to winter. Here's a few casual styles that I love for work or going out with friends.

Forever 21 Crewnecks & Scoopnecks · Forever 21 Sweaters

Most of these sweaters are from Forever 21 but Express.com has 40% off sweaters going on now.

Where do you shop for affordable but cute sweaters?

Weekend with Family

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was pretty low key and relaxing ~ much needed.

~ On Friday we picked up my parents from the airport & took them out for dinner & drinks.

~ On Saturday, I went to the gym quickly while my mom shopped and then I met up with her to do some shopping too. Found some pretty blouses on sale for upcoming work events.

~ My in-laws came in town Saturday evening so both families could see eachother. We went out for Italian dinner at Carrabas (one of my favorite restaurants)

~ Later hung out by the fire at home with K, my parents and some wine. 

~ Sunday morning, we did some errands and then went out to lunch with both parents. 

~ I attempted to decorate for Halloween. And by decorate, I mean just put these 3 things by the front door.

~ Sunday evening was spent grilling out and watching football.

Joinging Sami for Weekend Shenanigans.

How was your weekend?

Finally Fall in Sunny Florida

The weekend is finally here! I'm excited to have my parents visiting this weekend so we'll be entertaining and taking them around Central FL.

1. Love my new blouse from Express. I wore it out to the Special Olympics Benefit last weekend. Express seriously has the best sales and if you're signed up for their mailing list, they send out a ton of coupons.

2. The weather is starting to cool down and finally feels somewhat like fall here in Florida. Sad summer is over but excited to use our fire-pit more often and pull out those cute sweaters that have been in hiding.

3. Yummy Chicken Stirfry dinner made by yours truly. Not to be confused with the Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe I shared earlier this week.

4. Have you tried UFO Pumpkin beer? So delicious! I love this beer and Shocktop's Pumpkin Wheat because neither of them are too sweet.

5. Sephora has the Beauty Fall Special going on this week. Simply enter your email address and take a tumble to find out if you win free samples, free shipping or 10% of your next purchase. I won free shipping which I'm waiting to use on payday ;-)

Joining Lauren for High Five For Friday.

What Fall shopping deals/specials are you digging?

Things I Love About Fall

 Honestly, the thing I'm loving the most this year is the pumpkin beer. Lush? Maybe ;-)

Cute Scarves and Boots

Costume parties
Guess who I went as for Halloween one year?

Giving out candy to trick-or-treaters.
Does that sound creepy? I honestly like doing this just to meet new people in the neighborhood and chat with our neighbors. The kids costumes are cute too.

Hanging out and drinking wine by the firepit

Thanksgiving!
Family and endless desserts.

Funny Halloween Costumes

 

What are you dressing up as for Halloween this year?

Becoming a Martini Connoisseur

I'm far from being a connoisseur but I do love to drink them. Now I just need to master the art of making them at home instead a paying $10+ for a martini when I go out.

My personal favorite are dirty martinis (vodka, not gin) with blue cheese stuffed olives so that's my recipe for today. Here's what we're gonna need to become a martini connoisseur:

Dirty Vodka Martini w/ Blue Cheese Olives

Vodka of choice:
Grey goose is the best in my opinion but I'm often stuck buying slightly cheaper brands so whatever fits your budget.  We'll need 3 oz of vodka per martini.

Dry Vermouth:
Only need a splash or about 1 oz per martini.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives:
These can actually be purchased in liquor stores or you can make your own by stuffing queen size olives with blue cheese crumbles. Will also need about 1/2 oz olive juice per martini.

Shaker:
 Fill shaker half way with ice and shake all liquid ingredients well. A variety of shakers can be found at Amazon such as this one:  Premium Cocktail Shaker Set - 24 oz Stainless Steel 

Martini glasses: 
Serve in cute martini glasses & garnish with blue cheese olives.

I have this set at home and, for $9.99 from Amazon, you can't go wrong. (It makes you feel drunk just looking at the glasses) Kidding. But seriously, they're really cute and durable glasses.

Libbey 4-Piece Z-Stem Martini Set

 Hopefully it turns out looking something like this:

Cheers!

A Chinese Recipe You Won't Screw Up

I cooked Sweet and Sour Chicken for the first time last night and it came out really good so had to share. I searched several recipe sites and decided to go with this recipe from the Food Network. The recipe was very easy and didn't require any out-of-the ordinary ingredients.

Sweet & Sour Chicken 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 boneless chicken breasts, cut in cubes
Salt & pepper
1/2 cup chopped red pepper

1/2 cup chopped green pepper
4 teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with 4 teaspoons water
1 cup canned pineapple chunks, drained with 1/2 cup reserved juice
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons vinegar
1/4 cup chicken stock (I used a little more)

Directions:

Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet pan or wok. Season chicken to your liking and add to pan. Cook chicken until golden and remove from pan and set aside.

Add red and green peppers and cook for 1 minute. 

Stir in pineapple chunks, juice, sugar, vinegar and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer until sauce begins to reduce. Stir in cornstarch mixture and bring liquid to a simmer. Stir in chicken strips and cook for 5 minutes. 

Serve over rice.  I used brown rice.

Joining Jessica and Ashley for Taste of Tuesday.

Enjoy!

Weekend Whereabouts

I've gotta admit, the only thing I love about Mondays is recapping the weekend and going through all the photos I may or may not have taken. Luckily, I had another great weekend with some fun photos. 

Friday Date Night:

~ Dinner & drinks at TGI Fridays. I get the Tropical Berry Mojito every time I'm there. So good!

~ We tried the Mac & Cheese bites as an appetizer which were pretty good.

~ After dinner we went over to a local Entertainment center/arcade place and I kicked some a** in skeeball. (I usually suck at this game but somehow got a lucky streak).

~ Finally ended the night with some Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat beer.

Saturday - Special Olympics Benefit:

~ On Saturday night we attended a fundraiser for the Special Olympics of Central Florida. I got a picture with the painting I helped paint for the auction.

~ We played some black jack for "funny money". Both K and I got black jack and won some gift cards. Yay!

~ There was also live music, free cocktails, and several tents from local restaurants offering food samples.

~ This was a really fun event and all the Special Olympics athletes got sponsored from the proceeds.

The event ended early so K and I went home and hung out around the new fire-pit we got in our backyard with a glass of wine.

Sunday - Lunch with Friends & Football:

~ We met up with some friends that were in town visiting for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants.

~ Had a peach martini and the bang bang shrimp tacos are to die for!

~ The rest of sunday was spent relaxing at home with some football. 

Joining Sami for Weekend Shenanigans.

Cheers to a new week!