Pretty in Pastels

Happy Friday!  Happy GOOD Friday, that is!  =)

Hope you had a wonderful week - the sun is shining bright this morning, so I'm definitely excited about this week's Friday's Fancies theme.  It's all about candy-colored pastels!  I just am in love with this outfit below - from the floral and stripes, to the peach skinnies and perfect polishes.  

peplum top//coral skinnies//linen scarf//polka-dot wedges//butter polishes
floral bangle//aviator sunnies//lip gloss//monogram necklace//leather handbag

I actually prefer brighter colors on me like bold corals and turquoises, but these light hues are just so gorgeous for spring!  I may just have to scoop up a few of these pastel pretties.....anything to get me out of my black/gray/white rut that I've been in for 5 months :/

I hope you all have a beautiful day!


 ^"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Galations 2:20

Scalloped Love



 

Happy Tuesday, loves!  I have to say, I was so excited to see the sun shining and hear the birds chirping when I woke up this morning!  (Nevermind the fact that it snowed yesterday, and it is still 38 degrees outside......baby steps.) 

Needless to say, the fact that I could wear my sunnies on the way to work this morning, got me ALL in the mood for spring :)

 

Thus the bright and bold inspiration below :)

And this isn't just ANY colorful assortment of eye candy - it's chalked full of one of my favorite trends = SCALLOPS!

Whether delicately adorned on a fabulous bag, or subtly added to a pretty bangle, scallops add the perfect amount of feminine charm. 

And I always feel just a little more put together when wearing them.  

 

1. Bag  2. Back-less Top  3. Flats  4. Tiered Tank  5. Sunnies
6. Lace Top  7. Booties  8. Bangle  9. Shorts


Tell me, are you a fan of the scalloped trend?

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Heaven's Choir

Fixing our eyes....

Heaven gained the most incredible angel this week.  

My selfish heart is breaking, knowing that my friend's sweet smile and graceful spirit will no longer walk here on Earth with us. That her dear husband and precious children have to walk the halls of their home without her. 

But because of her great faith and God's great love, she is running into the arms of our Savior today.  

She is singing with Heaven's choir, this palm Sunday. 

The end of my dear friend's earthly life has come, but her life of eternity has just begun! And I am praising God through this darkness, and through this present storm.  

Hug your loved ones a little bit tighter and longer today - I sure am. I have been reminded this week of how short this life is, and how we only have this one life to live.  

What kind of mark do I want to make - what kind of legacy do I want to leave?  

I hope that I can shine just a little brighter each and every day, and that I will do great things while I have the chance to.  

And that in all I do, I give glory to our King!  

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

Simple Delicious Enchiladas

In the midst of the snow and sleet in lovely Princeton this past week, hubs and I decided to play pretend.   And in pretend land, we were on a tropical island sipping Mai Tais and eating our weight in guacamole.   And our roaring fire in the fireplace was actually tiki torches burning at the local luau.  

And it was amazing. 

So of course we got a hankering for Mexican food - I mean, that's actually a daily occurrence for me - and we ended up with this dish of deliciousness.

The Pioneer Woman's Simple Delicious Enchiladas :)

Ingredients:

Sauce: 

1 Tbsp Canola Oil

1 Tbsp Flour

1 (28oz) Can Enchilada or Red Sauce

2 Cups Chicken Broth

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Ground Pepper

2 Tbsp Chopped Cilantro

Meat:

1 1/2 pound Ground Beef

1/2 Medium Onion - diced

2 (4oz) Cans Diced Green Chilies

1/2 tsp Salt

Tortillas:

10 whole Corn Tortillas

1/2 Cup Canola Oil

Assemble:

3 Cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/2 Chopped Black Olives (optional)

1 Cup Chopped Green Onions

1/2 Chopped Cilantro 

Directions:

Step #1 – The Sauce:

In a large saucepan over medium heat, add oil and flour and whisk together to make a paste, cooking for one minute. Pour in the red sauce, chicken broth, cilantro, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30-45 minutes, while you finish preparing dish.

Step #2 – The Meat:

Brown the meat with onions in a skillet. Drain off fat. Stir in 2 cans diced green chilies and seasoned salt. Set aside.

Step #3 – Tortillas:

Heat canola oil in a small skillet over medium heat. One by one, using tongs, fry tortillas in oil until soft, not crisp – about 30 seconds per side. Remove to a paper—towel lined plate. Repeat until all tortillas have been fried.

Step #4 – Assembly:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour ½ cup red sauce in bottom of baking pan. Spread to even out. Dip each tortilla into red sauce, then remove to work surface. Spoon meat, a little grated cheese, a little black olives, and green onions in the center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam down, in baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Pour extra red sauce over enchiladas. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle cilantro over enchiladas before serving.

Enjoy!

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Hello There!

:)

Hope you have had a lovely weekend!  And happy St. Patrick's Day!

Things have been a little busy over here for the past week, so here's a recap in pics!

Last weekend - my wonderful Dad came into town!  We had such a great time!

Hiking along the lake, don't you love his Princeton pride?!  

We finally tried out PJ's Pancake House downtown, and it definitely did not disappoint!

*banana and chocolate chip pancakes*

My Dad and I got to go into Philadelphia a couple of times - one time to meet my mom for lunch and shopping!  And the other time for a doctor's appointment for me.  

We had a great time checking out the King of Prussia mall (oh-my-stars-huge), 

and eating lunch at the Reading Terminal Market!

We also found our new favorite sushi spot in Princeton - 

Asian Bistro - soooooo good!  Is it bad that this is turning into a post about when and where we are eating?!

During my daily weekly Target run this week, these spring beauty products caught my eye - 

couldn't resist these pastel colors!

*lip butter, gloss, lip butter*

I also picked up this necklace at Target!  LOVE.

And last but not least - some cooking of the week:

Our favorite veggie side = kale chips!

And while all of our southern friends and family were tweeting about their beach and golf outings this weekend, we decided to pretend that it wasn't 35 degrees and snowing.  

And we whipped up some fresh squeezed lemonade, delicious guacamole.....

and enchiladas!  

and had ourselves a little fiesta! :)

Friday Dreamin'

Happy Friday!  I woke up this morning to a beautiful blanket of snow on the ground!  And since it's my day off from work,  

I plopped myself down on the sofa, made a fire, and watched a "Smash" marathon.

Oh, yeah, and started day-dreaming of warmer weather...

Today, these pretties made their way into my day dream.  

Can you blame me?  

1. collar necklace  2. essie polish  3. tory burch earrings  
4. kate spade pouch   5. chubby lipstick 6. dvf wedge sandals 
7. mini mac bag  8. mara hoffman bikini  9. fox bangle 10.  j.crew hat

Now go away snow, I'm ready for spring!
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend - I'm headed to pick my dad up from the airport!
Here's to a fun family-filled weekend!  We plan to hit up all our favorite food spots (here and here), play board games (any suggestions?), take a day trip into Philly, visit the King of Prussia mall (hello shopping!),
and go see OZ!

What are you day-dreaming of today??  Any fun weekend plans??

Beauty Haul!

Over the past 4 weeks or so, I have managed to buy a few new beauty and makeup items!  I had a few gift cards from Christmas, and other items were just found at the drugstore and Target.

Really excited about some of these products - especially some of the bolder lipsticks for spring and summer!   Enjoy my fabulous video-making skills - I still cannot figure out how to do multiple takes/frames, so I have to do it all on one take.  

products mentioned:

urban decay naked palette//benefit they're real mascara//nyx blush

rimmel eye liner//jordana eye liner//wet and wild blush//

maybelline color whisper lipstick//

maybelline color tattoo "inked in pink"//maybelline color tattoo "barely branded

maybelline shocking coral lipstick//maybelline fuchsia flash lipstick//hand food hand cream

what I'm wearing:
striped top 
necklace
earrings


Have you tried any of the items mentioned?

Any great products you've been loving lately?

Poconos, Peplum, and Products, Oh My!

Last week, I was so excited and thankful to have a meeting that will hopefully turn into a wonderful job opportunity!  I'll be able to share more once it's official, so stay tuned!
To celebrate the meeting that went so well, and because an amazing mall was in between the meeting and my house, I just HAD to stop and get myself some fun treats!

LUSH Goodies:
twilight bath bomb, butterball bath bomb,
the comforter bubble bar, and yuzu and cocoa bubbleroon

FOREVER 21 Goodies:
(the softest!) chambray shirt, nail stickers, ruffled swim top


My OOTD :)



peplum top, monogram necklace


Friday night, our church group set out for a weekend in the Poconos!  We stayed at Camelback Mountain, and had the best time exploring the State Park....






And spending all day Saturday, hitting the slopes!
Errrrr, tubing the slopes, I should say!








It was seriously so much fun - I think I laughed for 3 straight hours!


On the way home from our weekend getaway, John and I stopped for dinner and noticed that a Pei Wei is going up right near our house!  We I squealed with delight - we LOVE Pei Wei!

And last but not least,

I have heard a lot of buzz about these two skincare products, so I'm planning on trying them out...apparently Dr. Oz has raved about them, and has said they are the best for wrinkle prevention, and dark spot/pigmentation correction.

moisturizer  

$5.99

cocoa butter stick

$2.99

And at these prices - might as well give them a try!  

Happy Monday, Loves!!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!!

(P.S. Did anyone else get a kick, or should I say "punch" out of all my "P" alliterations? I'm such a word nerd.)

Smoked Salmon Appetizer

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+

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amazing, delicious, and EASY appetizer!! 

yep, just 3 ingredients!  

triscuits

mascarpone cheese

smoked salmon

spread the cheese on the crackers, cut the salmon into bite sized pieces and place on top of cheese!

enjoy!!  :)

Let's Get Fancy

Today's Friday's Fancies is all about the "Bling"!  And if you know me, you know this theme is right up my alley :)  I love my jewels!

Here are some of my picks of fancy bracelets, earrings, AND necklaces...

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9

1  2  3  4  5  7  8

1  2  3  4  5  

See, I told you I was into this one!  Which set is your favorite??
HAPPY FRIDAY!!

{hop on over to long distance loving for more bling!}