Tasty Tuesday

Father's Day is around the corner and what better way to a man's heart than through food? I have been dreaming up a menu for the "perfect" father's day BBQ inclusive of drinks and dessert! This year I am hosting a small BBQ for my husband and father in law and wanted to capture both of their loves the best way I know how... by cooking. I tried to find recipes that were a great combination of their two personalities, that were fairly easy and were just plain delicious! Bon Appetit!

The Menu:

The Drinks:
My father in law was born in the south and like a true southerner, he loves a good iced tea! My husband is an avid Bourbon drinker, so what better way than to combine the two?   I found this recipe on Sugar and Charm blog and it is perfect!

Sweet tea and Bourbon

 The Appetizers:
Grilled Pizza... If you haven't gotten into it, I highly suggest you do, and like now. I chose pizza as one of the appetizers, because well... pizza is delicious and you can essentially top it with any thing that you fancy. Rachel Ray Magazine    had some really great pizza ideas. There were many topping options, but these sounded the most delish to me!
 

For the salad I wanted something really fresh and something that screamed of summer! Blissful Blog
had this killer Tomato, Corn & Avocado salad that was everything I was looking for and more. My one slight change would be to grill the corn for some added flavor.

 The Main Dish:
Of course for the men in my life, this had to be a meat dish. I wanted something that involved bacon... Again, most men dream of bacon in any form in any given moment. I stumbled upon a few recipes and finally decided on one from Host The Toast.  Bacon, Chicken, Bourbon, BBQ.... I mean those are definitely a dream come true for the fellas I am catering to, and admittedly I am also dreaming of these delish kebabs!

The Dessert:
 Let me start off by saying that my husband's family love chocolate.. I mean who doesn't, but there is a deep, deep love of chocolate there. Therefore it is unspoken that the dessert I chose would in fact be something chocolate.  I wanted to keep a lighter feel with dessert, as sometimes dessert can put you over the edge ( even if it is totally worth it) I love taking traditional recipes and adding a slight twist and that is where I found a Mexican Chocolate Cream pie recipe on Pinterest
I know, I know who adds heat to chocolate??? Geniuses I tell you!! Trust me on this one and give it a whirl, you will be impressed!

Hopefully this turns out as amazingly in real life as it is in my head! Pics to follow post Father's Day! 




<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12363111/?claim=jvy56g8mnzq">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Whatcha' Wearing Wednesday?

Clothing defines me, well maybe that is an exaggeration, but it without a doubt punctuates me. How I dress is an expression of what I am feeling, how I want to be portrayed, and my aspirations. Whether we like to or not we tend to judge people on the clothing they wear without knowing what is behind the outfit. I started this blog not only to share my ideas, but to encourage, inspire and collaborate with my readers, even if there are only 5 of them. With that said, I dedicate Wednesday's to be all about what you are wearing and why? Share to the blog and tell me and everyone else why you picked your outfit today. It's less about the items and more about the attitude behind them :)

Denim Daze

Let me start out by saying, I pretty much live in denim. I am your quintessential "jeans girl". Dress it up, dress it down, in a shirt, in a pant, in a short; I wear it all, I don't discriminate.  Denim is every where and it excites a girl like me immensely, especially when it comes in the form of a romper and/or overalls... Yes, yes I know, insert eye roll here. We have been down this path many times and most of us don't like to go back, actually when I swore off overalls and rompers last time I didn't think I would be back. But, here I am once again, tongue wagging as I rank my most fav's, and believe me this isn't easy. I mean they are literally every where and in every variation!!  So I ask you, is it even possible that you need both a denim romper and a pair of overalls?? Yes, yes it is and here's why...   Actually the hell with it, get all 3!!!

The Traditional Overall:
1.  Splurge:  Le Garcon Overall $299.00
     Save: TopShop Moto Overall $96.00

The Romper:
2: Splurge:  Chambray Romper $258.00
    Save: BDG Chambray Shirt Romper $69.00

The Shortall:
3. Splurge: Courtshop Drew Overall Shorts $150.00
    Save: H&M Bib Overall Shorts  $39.95

Just Another Manic(cure) Monday...

Like every sane girl out there, I have jumped wholeheartedly on the gel manicure bandwagon, and why not? I mean who can resist a 2 week manicure? Of course there are pros and cons ( like the fact that it completely destroys your nails) but I am willing to overlook that for nails that are essentially low maintenance.  I am not usually the nails done kind of girl but lately I am into having fun with my manicures. The nail trends popping up are insane, and they definitely reach far beyond the "one nail a different color" trend that hasn't slowed since it sprung over 3 years ago.  Deciding which color or design  bi-weekly has become a bit of a game for me; the more unique, the better. So for today I share with you my "TOP 6" manicures:

The "IT" List:

1. Flash Your Metallics : An upside down French if you will with a hit of metallic. For me it would be a matte nude nail with a rose gold accent

2. The Triangle Effect : Skinny or fat whatever you desire. Best done with a nude nail and a black triangle

3.  Lined and Ready : Love the thin metallic line, however I would love to take this one step further and have a matte nail to really emphasize the metallic line

4. One Sided Story : I am OBSESSED! Love the white with the slim black lines

5. Star Crossed : Tiny metallic stars on a nude nail. Whimsical, understated perfection

6. Evenly Odd : An uneven French. Enough said especially in those colors, nude and black

 A special thanks to Pamela Bannon from A Little Glitter for helping me out with this post!

Let's talk lipstick...

I have been OBSESSED with finding the perfect shades of lipstick for... I guess, life :)

The search has been relentless as I have been focused mostly on varying shades of pinks and reds ( there are literally zillions), both are very of the "moment". Just yesterday I stumbled upon the Proenza Schouler collection for MAC and let me say it's beyond good.  Mangrove Matte is the perfect matte lipstick in the best shade of orange/red and their packaging is killer. To top it off,  it was free! Bloomingdale's is celebrating their 10th anniversary and handed me a $25.00 gift card as I walked in the door, so this was a MAJOR score!!