Style Parade 7.25.12

Last week the mister & I joined friends for a week of camping on the Colorado river near Parker Dam. I found this great one-piece at Old Navy. It was part of their Studio Spotlight design series. I love the bold red stripe pattern - makes me feel a bit retro.

It was a nice to "unplug" so to speak. No phones, no internet. Staying up late, playing games, sleeping in and of course sun & yummy cocktails.

Swimsuit: Old Navy; $29
Heart sunglasses: Urban Outfitters
Fedora: TJ Maxx

Style Parade 7.14.12

This is what I wore to my friend's birthday celebration. It's the coveted look from this post. We hit up our usual haunts in Downtown Fullerton - Stubrik's for dinner, followed by drinks at The Spirit Room.

I love dresses with back detail or in this case, a surprise sheer back. Please excuse my craptastic hair. It's been humid (so humid that it's 90 degrees and raining) and I'm 3 weeks overdue to see my stylist.

Dress, belt: Forever 21

Collar: H&M

Flats: Old Navy

Clutch: Target

DIY modern house number

I came across the pic above on the Real Simple blog and fell in love with the bold and modern way to display a house number. But with a hefty price tag of $185 it was no deal. Did I mention that my little town now has a Hobby Lobby? Well, we do and while I was there stocking up on popsicle sticks I came across some oversized cardboard numbers.

I used acrylic paint from Folk Art in Citrus Green, then sealed it with Rustoleum Crystal Clear Enamel. I love the bit of modern it adds to the entry way. I wish we could paint our front door a fun color as well but I'm pretty sure the association would frown on that.

Style Parade 7.12.12

This is what I wore to the Mrs Lilien Cocktail Swatchbook launch & book signing party last Thursday. I'm simply smitten with my new frock from ModCloth. It's so bright and fun - the weather that evening, eh not so much. I swear, it felt like a tropical rain storm outside.

I don't mean to brag but I love how clear and radiant my skin looks in this photo. The day before I went for a facial at Burke Williams in Mission Viejo. My very skilled friend Tina worked wonders...if you're in the Orange County area and looking for an esthetician, I highly recommend her.

Here's my friend Alicia & I with the lady of the hour - the Mrs herself! Forgive me, I'm a little blogger starstruck. I'll save the other details of the party for a later post.

Dew It Like This Dress - ModCloth; $45

Earrings: Kohl's; $14

Sandals: Payless

Makeup pouch used as clutch: Forever 21; $5

Bracelets/watch: Target

Smart and charming

A lady should be two things: Smart and Charming.

Enjoy!

encyclopedia book clutch; $20 Asos

wallet; $20 Urban Outfitters

wire heart readers; $16 Urban Outfitters

flask; $18 Urban Outfitters

initial bangle; $68 Urban Outfitters

and my personal favorite gloss balm

smith's minted rose lip balm; $7 Sephora

Picnic pics

Some more pics from the In-N-Out picnic this year. I love our group shots. So fun!

Pantry organization

Admittedly, I am not the most organized person at home. I struggle with it daily. My mother could tell you tales of the horror that was my junk pile bedroom. I don't enjoy living in visual chaos, but that's my natural state of being. I do however enjoy spending a lazy Sunday purging junk, reorganizing and labeling spaces. It's so satisfying when I'm done and I enjoy the high for a week or two until it slowly becomes chaos yet again. Oh bother...

I decided to finally tackle the kitchen pantry mess. I've been putting it off for a while because I figured if it doesn't look like this when I'm done, why bother! I mean seriously, is that not the most gorgeous small pantry makeover you've ever seen? Like OCD porn.

Anyway...there is no "before" but I'm sure you can imagine. Nothing but plastic bags with half-full packaging scattered about. This is the much improved "after". I'm mean, it's no dream pantry, but it's way more efficient for daily use.

I visited a neighboring Target and scored these black & white canisters for $2 each (on sale). I love the modern aesthetic as well as the functionality. They are well-sealed for freshness, easy to stack and the level window shows when it's time to resupply.

I love pretty party supplies and I keep a large stock on-hand. These bins from Home Goods were perfect for storing them. Not only do they match the new canisters but they are made of oilcloth, which works as a chalkboard. Extra bonus: They were the cheapest option I came across - $2 each in clearance. 

Plastic cutlery is ready for use in this numbered tin.

I save coffee tins for all sorts of re-purposing. These worked great for holding small, loose items.

Some basic tips for organizing your pantry:

1. Group items by shape. Originally I had them by function- baking stuff, dried goods. If you notice, all my boxed and odd shaped items are on one shelf while all others are more uniform.

2. Store bulk items elsewhere. Our pantry actually goes deep into the wall but isn't accessible for daily use. By storing things in smaller canisters and pushing "refills" to the back, I was able to keep the visual space clutter free.

3. Relocate items that don't belong in the pantry. I had all sorts of random dishes, even candlesticks in there. Things that could easily be stored elsewhere.

4. Use a small bin for miscellaneous items like spice/dip packets and individual bags of tea.

The tale of the coveted dress

True story.

I was on my out from Forever 21 when I spotted the dress out of the corner of my eye.

Giddy with excitement I tried it on. It was a perfect fit.

Links:

Dress as seen on Asos

Dress as seen on Modcloth

Forever 21 dress

H&M necklace

Forever 21 Bow Belt

Days of Summer

summer entertaining via real simple - outdoor shopping - fabulous sparkles at forever 21 - tabletop s'more bar

5 year journal - red, white & blue manicure - boozy popsicles - star ice cocktail - fireworks in the park

Just a few snippets of my summer thus far. It's shaping up to be rather magical- full of friends and new adventures. I hope you all had a lovely 4th of July.

Lemon Blueberry Cake recipe

A few friends and readers have requested that I share the cake recipe from my last post. I have a confession...it's boxed cake. I usually bake when I'm hosting a dinner or event and by the time I'm done cooking and preparing everything else the last thing I feel like doing is baking a cake 100% from scratch. So, yes. This is boxed lemon cake and it was delicious. That said, here's the recipe...

Lemon-Blueberry Cake

• 1 box lemon cake mix (prepare mix as directed on box)
• Add 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries to the batter. They will sink to the bottom while cooking, creating a blueberry layer. If you want them more mixed in, add the blueberries halfway through cooking.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• (1) 8oz package of light cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 stick of butter (1/4 cup), softened
• 1 lb. powdered sugar
• (1) tsp. bourbon vanilla extract
• Zest & juice from 1/2 a lemon

1. With an electric mixer, blend butter & cream cheese
2. Gradually sift in powdered sugar to the butter & cheese mix
3. Add vanilla and lemon zest & juice

Candied Lemons

1. Bring 3/4 cup water and 3/4 cup sugar to boil in a small saucepan. Reduce to light simmer.
2. Thinly slice half a lemon and gently place into the simmering pot. Cook 5-7 minutes or until tender.
3. Remove lemon slices with a slotted spoon, placing on a paper towel. Let cool before placing on the cake.

A seaside Father's Day dinner

It's been a couple of weeks since Father's Day, but I thought I'd share a few pics from the dinner the mister & I hosted for my family. The weather has been amazing lately. We've entertained out on the patio twice this past month. The menu: grilled blue cheese stuffed filet mignon, wrapped in bacon. Baked potatoes & a peach-kiwi, red onion green salad.

I went for a neutral seashore tablescape with pops of blue. I used driftwood with succulents in place of flowers and I crafted the coral and shell votives using tissue paper and mod podge.

The metal and glass lanterns are from Ikea and I found the woven napkin rings at Home Goods. The napkins were a DIY project. Details here.

After dinner we nursed our full bellies by relaxing by the fireless firepit circle (yes, still working on that one). I made this beyond amazing lemon-blueberry chiffon cake, topped with lemon cream cheese frosting and candied lemons. 

Happy Father's Day Dad!

I love you.