Saturday, December 13, 2014

2014 Gift Guide

We all have those hard to shop for people, but I've compiled a list that hopefully will make your last minute shopping a breeze!




1. These boots from Bear Paw are on my wish list. Being from the Midwest, snow boots are a must and these are just too cute to pass up.

2. How ingenious is a microwave bowl mitt? TCKitchen nailed it with this product. Through a bowl full of food in this mitt, through it in the microwave, and don't burn your fingers on the bowl when it's time to take it out of the microwave!

3. For all of those coffee loves out there, get them a personalized coffee cozy! Their hands won't smell like the gross cardboard cozy that Starbucks gives you. And even better, it's reusable!

4. This facial mud mask is all natural. It detoxes your pores leaving your skin bright and glowing. Need I say more?

5. Beanies are huge right now. What better than a handmade beanie and supporting small businesses?! I can't get over how cute and cozy this hat is.

6. Northeast Nutmeg makes amazing smelling soy candles! Let's be honest, if I bought one for Christmas it would be under my tree for myself. Whether you're looking for a gift or want to pamper yourself, Northeast Nutmeg is definitely worth looking into!



Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Colored Pants and Cozy Scarves

I don't know about you but I get tired of wearing jeans every single day. With the cold temps I stick to pants this time of year to save myself from bare legs! One way I like to switch it up is with colored skinnies: my fave!



I found this sequined sweater a few years ago for $5 and all of the friends I was with made fun of me for liking it but guess what...I still love it!










I like to coordinate my pants and my scarves :) This is one of my warmest scarves, its huge!





Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Luck of the Irish

St. Patrick's Day happens to be my favorite holiday and all time favorite day of the year! Not only am I an Irish dancer, have Irish ancestry, love corned beef and (not so much) cabbage, and have traveled Ireland twice I also celebrate my birth on St. Patrick's Day.

I can't imagine a better way to spend my weekend than eating corned beef, cabbage, boiled potatoes, and soda bread! This weekend I'll be doing just that as well as teaching an Irish dance workshop at a friend's dance studio. I want to give the kids a little something after the workshop and these are a few of the little goodies I'm considering making:


 
For some actual food:
Tortillas for chips, you could also make quesdillas!
 
 
 
What are your plans for St. Patrick's Day?

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Spring is in the Air

The weather began to warm up a tiny bit and my hopes were high for spring. Unfortunately the cold has struck again. I wont let mother nature keep me down, my wardrobe lately has been bright and springy. Maybe if we all wear bright colors mother nature will get the hint huh?


 

I just looooove the colors of this tank top but the fabric is God-awful! I ironed it, drove to school and it was instantly wrinkled again! So awful, but so cute! The embrodiery is so tribal and festive, I couldn't pass it up for spring and/or summer.

 

Tank top// Maurice's
Cardigan//Old Navy (old)

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Healthy Pancakes

As I will soon be participating in a pageant I've been trying to be good and eat a little bit better. I was really carving pancakes but know that they're way out of my calorie allowance so naturally I took to pinterest. I was a little skeptical of the promises of delicious but healthy pancakes, until I tried one of the reoccurring recipes.

Now I didn't take pictures of any of this because I honestly wasn't expecting these to turn out so well (I will definitely be making these again so if anyone would like pictures let me know!)

This recipe is more simple than the box mix! And way fewer calories!
What you need:
2large eggs (70 calories a piece)
1medium banana (100calories)
Optional: chocolate chips (I could only use 7 to stay within my calories)
Optional (and highly recommended): strawberries (50 calories)

How to make them:
1. Mash banana (or puree in a blender)
2. Add the two eggs to the banana
3. Beat eggs and banana together (or puree in blender)
4. Spray a small skillet with cooking spray
5. Add just enough banana/egg mix to cover the bottom pd the pan
6. It only takes a couple minutes on each side and tada!


 I managed to make three cakes out of this mix for only 240 calories. Since I'm allowed 300 I topped my cakes with 50calories worth of strawberries (which ended up being around 6 berries) and 7 chocolate chips which o chopped up to make them go further! Now I expected these to be big fluffy pancakes, don't get your hopes up! Mine ended up more like a creep or Swedish pancake. obviously the cakes were quite banana-y but it was a nice change from the heavy floury tasting pancakes I'm accustomed to.
P.S. how cute is the pan handle guard? Its such a blessing for my pans because the handles of my pans always heat up while I'm trying to cook and then its impossible to touch the pan! You can find these HERE

What are some of your favorite low-cal quick and easy recipes?

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Valentine's Day

Ahh the lovey-dovey holiday is upon us. Although I blogged about planning early for gifts, I have once again found myself last minute rushing to find a gift for my man. It seems no matter how much I plan these things, they never fail to sneak up on me.

Such cute tights!



Hunter boots have my heart!















Too cute















If only the weather were warmer

















Unfortunately I have to work tonight so I will not get to spend the evening at a fancy little restaurant. Even though Valentine's Day isn't necessarily the biggest holiday for my boyfriend and I, we still wanted to do a little something to celebrate so we decided to go out for brunch on Sunday. What are your plans for the holiday? Cheesy movies and pounds of chocolate? Sounds good to me!!

Happy Valentine's Day all of you love birds!

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Keeping it Simple

Keeping it simple in these freezing winter temps. It can be really hard to stay warm yet stylish and keep it a simple outfit.

I'm truly in L-O-V-E with Old Navy's vintage v-necks like this grey one. I have three of them and would wear them every day if  I could, thats how much I love them! I've been participating in a FabInFeb challenge on instagram and the other day was "pop of color." Now in person my necklace is muuuch brighter (its lavendar) but it refuses to photograph properly (stubborn accessories!) and for a little extra warmth I added a grey jean button down and my warm and cozy black jeans!

black jeans // old navy
grey v-neck // old navy
grey jean button down// OLD
 
 

Friday, February 7, 2014

Winterize Your Maxi

Winterizing the maxi.

I love a good black maxi and just because its in the negative degrees outside does not mean we need to keep our maxis hanging in our closets. I love pairing mine with a long sleeved shirt and scarf such as pictured or a warm and cozy long sweater. I dressed mine up a little for class Wednesday, keeping in mind that "Wednesdays we wear pink" (a statement I live by!)


 
Skirt//vanity
Scarf// old (old navy)
Shoes//my favorite Toms
 

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Fit For a Queen

My boyfriend's birthday is towards the end of the month but I set up an early little surprise for him with some of his friends. Friday night we attended Medieval Times, one of his favorite places. This trip we were seated in the Green Knight section, who happened to be a Thor look-a-like, and I was fortunate enough to catch one of his flowers!

On a recent trip to a local mall I stumbled across a going out of business sale at Aeropastle. Now normally I don't shop there but I thought I'd just look around since everything was 80% off. Glad I did because I scored this cobalt blue dress for only $13. The dress even has pockets, which I normally HATE but with the pleats of this dress, I feel you don't even notice the pockets.



I also scored this necklace for $4 at Cato, these booties for $12 at Target, and this cardigan for $14 at J.C.Penney


So, we are getting ready for some more snow in "our neck of the woods" (as my favorite weather man, Al Roker, would say). How was everyone's weekend? Any exciting Valentine's Day plans?
 

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Valentine's Day Ready

Who is ready for the mushy, gushy, chocolately, and stuffed animally holiday of Valentine's Day? It certainly always sneaks up on me and I find myself browsing the aisles of Walgreens last minute. This year we won't be caught off guard by the holiday, so let's start prepping for it now!
Get crafty and original this Valentine's Day!

Little gifts




 














100 reasons why you love your loved one! Although this is a cheap gift it definitely looks like it might take some time. It would be a very thoughtful and fantastic gift though!













Easy peasy! Who doesn't love chocolates for Valentine's Day? This makes the chocolate feel a little more thoughtful and looks fancier than the M&M bag. Did you know you can specially order M&Ms with print or pictures on them too? That could be a lot of fun!


















Not a crafty fellow, here's something for you! LOVE this idea! Hang it on your keys and its a cute little reminder of your significant other :) You can order one of your own on Etsy

Now on to the delicious side of the holiday!













Chocolate covered strawberries are the perfect Valentine's Day treat. What could be better than heart shaped chocolate strawberries?!

 
 














Staying healthy this holiday? YAY! Try some heart shaped fruit! These fruit skewers couldn't be any cuter and you can use any type of fruit to preference!



What are your Valentine's Day plans? Hope you have a special day with those you love!

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Venturing Out

Is it spring yet?! Due to waaaay below freezing temperatures school has been cancelled the past couple of days. I definitely do not mind missing school but I cannot wait for warmer weather! Since I didn't have school and I can't wait for warm weather I decided to take a drive today to venture out to a big grocery store to score some more tropical fruit.




I don't wear hats. EVER! But I'm trying my best to wear everything in my closet at least once and I bought this hat almost four years ago because it was on a great sale at American Eagle and I have never worn it until today!

 
Stay warm everyone!
 
Tan shirt and button down // american eagle
Jeans // hollister