Happy Easter Weekend

Happy Friday! This week went by rather quickly, and I'm looking forward to 2 Easter celebrations this weekend. One with friends and one with family :)

1.) We had a mix of beautiful sunny days and some dreary rainy days. However, even on the rainy days there were beautiful views to be had....



2.) My nails are Easter ready with Essie's "Nice is Nice" and "Turquoise and Caicos"










3.) Bellinis and mimosas are on the menu this weekend YUM!







4.) Finally got to jump on the bandwagon that is Frozen this week when it came in the mail from Netflix. Such a cute movie! Disney movies haven't been as good as they used to be, but Frozen and Tangled are 2 of their best releases in recent years. Oh and I'm officially obsessed with Olaf and Sven!








5.) H ran in the corporate 5k around the lake downtown, and it's always a big event. Company tents everywhere, live music, and even a fireworks display afterwards.





Linking up today with April for 5 on Friday and Lauren for High Five on Friday. Hop on over and join us! Happy Friday!

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Ready for Easter Weekend

I feel like we were just happily announcing the arrival of spring, and now it's already time for Easter weekend.
Easter Ready

Easter Ready by greenfashionistablog 
I love all of the colors of Easter weekend.... pretty pastels and beautiful flowers everywhere. Feminine dresses and light makeup are perfect for Easter church service along with floral jewelry.

Easter egg hunts, bellinis, and sliced spiral ham will be on the agenda for a relaxing day with family.

What are you favorite things about Easter?

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Recipe Swap Tuesday: Queso Chicken Pasta

I know I just posted a recipe for Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Pasta a few weeks ago, but this recipe is different and it happens to be H's favorite dinner. It drives me nuts because as easy as it is to make and as yummy as it is, it's a pain to clean up after *gotta love cheese* but I promise it's worth it ;-)



Ingredients

1 box of rotini pasta
Extra virgin olive oil
2 bags of reduced fat cheddar cheese
1/4-1/2 yellow onion, diced (adjust to your tastes)
1 can of original Rotel
Diced grilled chicken (I throw in about a handful)
Pepper to taste


Directions

 Boil rotini for 11-12 minutes and then drain, set aside
In a large pot over medium heat, saute diced onion and chicken in olive oil
Add cheese and Rotel and mix well
Add pasta and mix until combined
Add pepper to taste
Serve with salad and refrigerate any leftovers









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Link-up Rules:

1. Follow Emily and myself on GFC and Bloglovin
2. Link up your favorite recipes or food related posts
3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to both of our blogs
4. Be sure to visit other blogs and find new recipes!


Martinis & Bikinis

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Leonard... I'm Sick...

Being sick on a beautiful weekend means lots of lazing around the pool and stuffing my face....



My throat has been killing me the past several days combined with achy joints and weakness. I did the dumb thing and googled my symptoms and everything came up from strep throat to mono and even the ebola virus. Yeah... do yourself a favor when you're sick and don't look up your symptoms on the internet....

Saturday, I thought I was feeling better so while running some errands we picked up some Bud Light Limes to enjoy by the pool. I whipped up some Spicy Ranch Dip and we spent the afternoon in the pool enjoying BL Limes out of the bobber (floating cooler... cuz you know who wants to get out of the pool each time you need a refill?). Welp... that evening my throat was on fire reminding me that I was in fact still sick....

Sarah was kind enough to sing Soft Kitty to me to help me feel better :)


*If you're not a fan of Big Bang this may not make sense*


I smartened up on Sunday and floated around the pool sans beer, and spent the rest of the day on the couch watching movies. Perfect lazy Sunday... capped off with a pot of H's favorite dinner and some Super Mario Yahtzee.







How was your weekend?

Don't forget to link up your favorite recipe tomorrow with Emily and I for Tuesday's Recipe Swap!

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19 comments:

Beautiful Friday

Another beautiful weekend is on the horizon, and I'm looking forward to working on some house projects and relaxing by the pool. I love this time of year!

1.) Happiness is when your Sephora order arrives at the door




2.) Painted my nails with Essie's Ballet Slippers which is a beautiful soft pink. I had a lot of big meetings this week, and was looking for a pretty understated color. This shade was perfect....




3.) I couldn't be happier that it's finally shorts and sundress weather again. 


Top & Shorts - ON | Sandals - Kohls | Watch - Michael Kors | Necklace - Express



4.) The weather has been perfect for enjoying drinks by the pool. So, I cracked open a bottle of Skinny Girl Sangria which I hadn't had in a while and now I want to go out and stock up on several more bottles....




5.) I may have moved away from CT, but that doesn't mean I wasn't beyond proud of my Huskies sweeping the NCAA tournament for the 2nd time in 10 years. Amazing!








Linking up today with April for 5 on Friday and Lauren for High Five on Friday. Hop on over and join us!


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Practice Safe Sun

With warmer temps here, it's important to remember to practice safe sun. After my biopsy 2 years ago at the dermatologist, I'm much more conscious of protecting myself when I'm out in the sun. It's so important not just because of skin cancer concerns, but also to fight against aging. Skin that has been overly tanned and/or burnt is going to wrinkle faster.
Practice Safe Sun





I start off by applying a moisturizer that contains SPF in it, and then apply sunscreen (I usually buy sport so that it doesn't wash away after sweating or swimming) . Try to find special facial sunscreens that also fight off shine and acne at the same time.

Don't forget to protect your lips too! Most chapsticks contain SPF in them and even my favorite *albeit pricey* lip sugar coral contains SPF. And don't forget to reapply throughout the day if you're spending it by the pool or at the beach. I also try to make sure I'm wearing a hat which further protects my face from sun damage.

And if you do end up getting too much sun, rigorously apply aloe "after sun" lotion to not only cool the burn but help it heal quicker and not to peel. Make sure you have any questionable spots checked out by a dermatologist, and it's also a good idea to have a full exam each year so if anything pops up, it's caught early on.

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Maxi Stripes

I love when I find clothing pieces that I not only love, but are versatile. I scored a great deal at The Gap the day after Christmas, and picked up a beautiful striped maxi for only $12, marked down from $60. It's a dress, but can also be folded over to be a skirt. I've worn it both ways, and love it either way and it's super comfy.

Dress - Gap | Necklace - Express | Bangles - KS | Sandals - Tory Burch



*ignore my hideous tan lines* yipes!














*Flashback to February where I wore it as a skirt*


Perfect outfit for brunch with friends


My favorite go-to warm weather outfit is definitely a maxi dress and sandals. Effortlessly pretty and comfy :)

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Homemade Red Sauce

I grew up spoiled in the sense that my mom made pretty much everything from scratch which meant that I had a home cooked meal almost every night. Don't get me wrong, we still ordered pizza every once in a while or had something quick and easy, but most of our dinners were made from scratch. Because of that, I am a snob when it comes to pasta. I just can't do jar sauce.... I've tried and I can't do it.

Enter my mom's simple recipe for a pot of homemade red sauce. I've tweaked it a bit to our tastes and it's super easy and you'll never eat jar sauce again.



Ingredients

1 yellow onion, chopped and then minced
A few cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb. of lean ground turkey (or lean ground beef, whichever you prefer)
1 small can of tomato paste
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
Extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. of pasta, cooked and drained

*I use Hunts tomatoes as they are the only brand that peels their tomatoes with steam, all others peel theirs with chemicals*


Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, pour in olive oil to moisten bottom of the pot
Chop up onion and garlic and mince in a food processor, once minced add to the pot
Allow onion and garlic to saute for a few minutes, then add meat
Cook meat thoroughly
Add tomato paste and stir
Add 1 can of water (using tomato paste can) and stir
Add crushed tomatoes and sauce and stir
Let sauce simmer for at least an hour (or all day in a crock pot if you want)
Serve over cooked pasta with garlic bread and/or salad










**********************************************

Link-up Rules:

1. Follow Emily and myself on GFC and Bloglovin
2. Link up your favorite recipes or food related posts
3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to both of our blogs
4. Be sure to visit other blogs and find new recipes!


Martinis & Bikinis




Continue Reading →
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Ice Cream, Beaches, & Food Trucks Oh My!

We're still enjoying the last few days with my parents before they begrudgingly fly back to Connecticut, but we jam packed the weekend full of things they can't enjoy up north until it finally warms up.




My dad has been enjoying taking Roxy on lots of walks around the neighborhood and she even got to sniff play with Apollo her friend down the street. Friday evening, we cooked out and enjoyed some mango-ritas... which by the way are sooooo much better than the original Bud Light Lime-a-ritas. Afterwards, we went out for some gelati YUM!

Saturday, we drove out to the gulf coast for a beach day and we were greeted by this gorgeous view:



Absolutely beautiful beach day :)


Super grainy pic... I zoomed in a lot but we saw dolphins!




We spent the day enjoying some drinks and food from a great beach bar on the water and I floated away in the beautiful water. My mom got us another set of Tommy Bahama beach chairs... so now we have 4 which was nice so we all had a place to sit for the day. I even snapped a cute pic of my parents enjoying the beautiful water together. 



We made it back into town just in time for the food trucks. My mom was super excited to experience the food trucks and was amazed at the huge selection.





And my mom always comes through and brings a bottle of my favorite wine from one of the Connecticut wineries:

Stone House White from Gouveia Vineyards








How was your weekend?

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