Emerald Isle!

We are back from the beach weekend (to Emerald Isle) and had a glorious time! We spent the weekend enjoying delicious food, spending time w/ my aunt and uncle, celebrating my uncle's bday, watching a turtle nest hatching, biking to the beach, and swimming in the ocean. We had perfect weather and can't wait until our next trip!

Enjoying breakfast on the backporch :)

My aunt - the cook!

Biking to the beach!

Bennett :)

On our way to the sea turtle hatching!

Digging to see if there are any turtles that are still trapped under the sand.

There were!!

The baby turtles making their way to the HUGE ocean - they now will have to swim 25-35 miles out to the sea (where they are considered "safe".)

XOXO

Steak and Broccoli Stirfry

Steak and Broccoli Stir fry

(adapted from Lipton Recipes)

1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 lb. boneless sirloin steak, cut into 1-inch strips 1 package (10 oz.) frozen broccoli florets, thawed 1 envelope Lipton® Recipe Secrets® Onion Soup Mix 1-1/4 cups water 1 Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar 1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1.	Heat olive oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and brown steak, stirring occasionally. Remove steak and set aside.
2.	Stir in broccoli and Lipton® Recipe Secrets® Onion Soup Mix blended with water, brown sugar and soy sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, 3-4 minutes.
3.	Return steak to skillet and cook 1 minute or until steak is done. Serve with hot cooked rice or noodles. (I served with these Teriyaki Noodles.)

Enjoy!!!

Feliz Cumpleanos!

(a.k.a. Happy Birthday!)

We recently celebrated Katie's birthday at a wonderful mexican restaurant, called Dos Perros, and it was a blast! Our table filled up on the muy delicioso chips and salsa before our meals even came, but the food was really good!

For dessert, we enjoyed Katie's home-made strawberry cake! Sooooo yummy.

Happy Birthday Katie!!! Thanks for including us to celebrate your big day!!!

Beach Trip!

This weekend, hubs and I are headed to the beach! We are traveling about 2 1/2 hours away to the beautiful beaches of Emerald Isle, NC. Growing up, ever since I was a baby, my entire family (dad's side) would spend a week there during the summer for a family reunion. I have TONS of amazing memories of playing on the beach, boogie boarding, watching my very first soap opera, eating grandma's famous cookies, performing plays with all of the other cousins, and just spending great quality time with so many family members.

After the reunions ended, my aunt and uncle decided to build a house there, and we are so excited to be able to stay with them this weekend! (And we will be celebrating my uncle's birthday!)

So long, and happy weekend! We are off to the sand and the sun! :)

xoxoxo

Fashion Friday - Lace

A big trend I've noticed for fall is lace. Not the scandalous, revealing type of lace, but more like a sophisticated and refined version. I'm actually loving lots of the tops I've seen, and I think they would look great paired with a pair of skinny jeans and cute pumps, or even boyfriend jeans to make it more of a casual look.

What do you think? Is lace a trend you would try?

Tilly

Old Navy

Banana Republic

Stella McCartney

Asos

Charlotte Russe

Delia's

Elizabeth and James

Asos

Yigal Azrouel

Happy Bday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GORGEOUS AND AMAZINGLY INCREDIBLE

ASHLEY E. COGGIN!!!!

I love you to the moon and am so thankful for the many many years that we have had together. I couldn't ask for a better friend and soul mate, you mean the world to me!

I wish I could be there to celebrate with you....so I've come up with the perfect birthday day spent together:

1. Breakfast at Bagelheads

2. Head straight to the beach with windows down and music blaring (probably "Show me Love" or "Killing me Softly")

3. Lay out all day, just talking and laughing our heads off.

4. Walk to Subway for lunch (Meatball for you, Turkey for me....Doritos, Cokes, and Cookies for both of us.)

5. Head back into town, stopping for a few mins at the Cervantes/18th stoplight, dancing and singing while everyone stares.

6. Dinner and drinks at Fish House.

7. A slumber party, filled with Oreos, more Cokes, a fashion show, a dance party, and a midnight showing of "Clueless."

:)

Love you so much Ash-pop -- Happy Happy Birthday!!

Em-cicle

XOXO

Happy Weekend!

Happy weekend lovely bloggers!! Johnny and I just finished

a delicious dinner here, and now are settling going to enjoy a little bit of this....

Hope your weekend is wonderful! xoxo

Animal Insticts

Ever since I saw Ali's adorable Alex Woo elephant necklace on The Bachelorette, I started noticing animal-inspired jewelry all over the place...

And I really like it!!

Here are some other finds that I've spotted....

so tell me, do you like the "animal jewelry" trend, or it is it a little too wild for your taste?