hello again

RT was not home this morning so an instagram of my outfit was as good as i could do {ha!}

i meant to blog yesterday since i haven't in so long but ya know sometimes you just don't have time to do everything that you intend to do in a day. we were extra busy with lots of things to do at the hoop and by the time i got home .. all i wanted to do was hang out with RT and the dogs. so that is just what i did :)

the girls trip was AWESOME! we had so much fun and i really felt like i got in some good quality time with my female family members. we are going on a cruise in about a month with the entire family .. there are about 40 of us .. and this past week spent with everyone got me even more excited about it!! we did a lot of exercising {hula hooping is my new favorite activity!!} .. a lot of eating .. a lot of getting relaxified .. and a lot of chatting! i totally loved it!!

hope you are all having a great week so far!!

happy tuesday!!

top: viola

pants: j brand

shoes: steve madden

temporary goodbye

clearly having fun with newly acquired photo apps :)

i might talk about the weather way too much but i just have to start this post by saying that the high around here tomorrow is in the sixties!!! this is very very very exciting news!!

ironically .. some more very very very exciting news is that i won't be here to enjoy it {ha!}. tomorrow morning my mom, audrey, tara and i are leaving town for some much needed girl time / r&r. we do this girls trip every year and I look forward to it so much.

i have said many times before how lucky i am to have the family that i do but it is times like this that really make me appreciate them. the fact that we can all go out of town together for a week and not only get along but truly enjoy our time spent together is so awesome. there are plenty of people out there who don't get along so easily with their family members and i don't take our situation for granted at all!!

this year my mom's two older sisters and a couple of my cousins are joining us as well. it has always been just the four of us so it will be fun to add some more girls to the mix :)

all of this being said .. i won't be blogging next week. i won't even have a computer with me and i'm not sad about that one little bit. sometimes it is just nice to really and honestly get away ya know?! i'm sure there will be some instagrams to show for my time away and i will do a vaca.post when we get home next week. so until then ..

happy weekend!

top: hand.me.down from nana

jeans: blank nyc

shoes: jeffrey campbell {not that you can see them ha!}

headband: anthropologie

connected

a week or so ago .. we got in a really cute top at the hoop. i tried it on and it was so much more amazing on the body than on a hanger that we wanted to post a picture on our facebook page so that people could get the true effect. within seconds there was a 'like'. awesome huh?! we post our new stuff on facebook all the time and i am always surprised how quickly tons of people flip through our pictures. it is awesome for the store. we always have people coming into the store and calling for things they have seen on our facebook page. social media at it's finest!

but it does get me thinking about how connected we all are. with facebook and twitter and  instagram and blogs and every other kind of social media. i follow/am "friends" with {if you can even call it that} all these people that post several things an hour. i am not exaggerating. most days i know and have visual proof of what some people are doing every second of everyday. oh wow you had cheerios for breakfast .. your outfit looks great today .. now you are walking to an appointment .. blt for lunch with an iced tea looks delicious! .. cute dog on the sidewalk .. check out those sunnies .. the view from that window is gorgeous .. finally home to a glass of vino .. night night time .. blah blah blah. and you know what? i actual look at it ALL OF IT!! it is weird.

clearly i am not bashing social media or how anyone chooses to use it. i think it is a great way to get yourself out there as a blogger or whatever and it is a super fast and easy way to connect with others. i use all of it. i look at each site a couple of times everyday. but it does make me want to stay in the shadows at least a little bit.

my sister would tell you that she is not on facebook because 1. she doesn't have time for anything extra {she has four children and her oldest in six .. CRAZY LADY} and 2. she doesn't want everyone knowing everything about her. i try to tell her that people only know what you choose to tell them and for me .. that is how i want to keep it. sure i post  pictures .. usually of my dogs sleeping in various places/positions .. on instagram and when i post a new blog i connect it through facebook and twitter and pinterest. but i am not the person who can remember to post every little deatil on every social outlet all day long every single day. it's exhausting! nine times out of ten i wish i had instagrammed something after it has already happened {ha!}.

i guess i crave a little balance for myself. to be connected but not to disclose EVERYTHING.

what about you? are you a post everything .. a post nothing .. or somewhere in between?

just a little random chatter on this lovely eighty degree friday!

happy wednesday!

dress: from free people

shoes: lauren conrad for kohl's

energy bites

a few months ago i found this recipe for "energy bites" from smashed peas and carrots on pinterest and they looked so yummy i had to make them. 

RT and i are hooked. i make a batch every week and we snack on them like crazy. i have had several people try them .. love them .. and ask for the recipe so here is how i make them .. 

are you ready for this??

it's pretty hard ..

in a mixing bowl, mix together

1 cup quick oats

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1/2 a banana all mashed up

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup extra dark chocolate chips

1 tsp. vanilla

put it in the fridge for half an hour or so and then use a tablespoon measure to scoop it out .. 

.. and roll into bite sized snacks ..

.. when you are finished they will look like this ^^^

i just store them in the fridge or the freezer and eat one or two at a time all throughout the week

hope you like them :)

happy monday!!

a day

yesterday RT and i had the day off together. you all know how much i love days like that :)

we got up and went out to our favorite diner for breakfast .. ran a few errands .. did some shopping .. had lunch sitting outside .. went to a matinee movie .. had a little down time at home with the d.o.g.s .. met my sister and brother in law and some friends at the food truck park for dinner .. and saw les miserable.
what more could a girl ask for in a day spent with her husband??

the only thing was that i am a musical theater lover in a big way but i wasn't all that impressed with les miserable. i have never seen it before last night and i have to hand it to the cast the singing was phenomenal but the play itself was not. clearly that is just my opinion. i know there are many many fans out there i just don't happen to be one of them.

happy weekend!!

solo dining

most of the time when RT is not home for dinner and i am eating alone i make something super easy and simple. pasta. cereal. sandwhich. quesadilla. something that will be ready is five minutesish and i don't have to worry about getting specific ingredients at the store. but last night i cooked for real for just me. shepherd's pie. i adapted it from this skinny taste recipe. 

instead of using ground beef i put a chuck roast in the crock pot on low covered with a packet of lipton onion soup mix and some water over night. i shredded up the meat in the morning and put it in the fridge until i was ready to use it. i also did my potatoes a tiny bit different. i mash mine with a little butter, milk, sour cream, salt and pepper.

so while the potatoes were boiling i mixed up the beef and veggie concauction in a large skillet and then i poured that into the bottom of a baking dish ..

.. then i spread the mashed potatoes on top. sprinkled the top with a little paprika for color. and baked it for about twenty minutes

when you pull it out the gravy has bulled up around the edges and it is basically the most deliscious sight you have ever seen.

so good i even brought it for lunch today .. and probably tomorrow too .. and the next day .. and the next day .. ok enough {ha!}

yum!!

happy wednesday!!

wise words from a favorite

i am a major humongous audrey hepburn fan. i love her movies i love her style i just really love her. my wedding dress was designed after a dress she wore in the movie sabrina for goodness sake. anyway .. the other day my mother in law sent me an email that included a poem that audrey wrote at some point when asked to share her beauty tips. i think it is so inspiring. it puts reality and true beauty into perspective ..

"for attractive lips .. speak words of kindness. for lovely eyes .. seek out the good in people. for a slim figure .. share your food with the hungry. for beautiful hair .. let a child run his/her hands through it once a day. for poise .. walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone. people, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed. never throw out anyone. remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms. as you grow older you will discover that you have two hand .. one for helping yourself and one for helping others"

happy monday!

top: joie

pants: genetic denim

booties: rachel comey