Hula Girl

Happy Monday!

Summer has officially put it's mark in Albany NY. We had really beautiful weather this entire weekend and I was able to sneak off to the pool for a couple hours to grab some rays. During the summer my weekend wardrobe is very simple: cool and comfortable. It's hot and I'm definitely more focused on finding an easy outfit to throw on before I head to the pool. So I tend to gravitate towards light weight tanks and laid back shorts for my day-time wear. 

This hula girl tank instantly made me wish I was somewhere in Hawaii sipping on a fruity drink. I'm not a huge graphic tee kind of girl but this one is super fun and I could see myself tucking it into a skirt to get lunch with friends as well. Also, I scooped up this Gia clutch from the Kate Spade Outlets a few weekends ago for $28, which is a huge steal. I love the bright neon colors and I will go with so many outfits this summer.

Tank // Shorts

Toucan Clutch Kate Spade Outlets (available on eBay here)

Sandals // Sunnies

Necklace Talbots, old // Bracelet Kate Spade, old

xoxo

Sunday Thoughts

Happy Sunday!

This has been a very busy past two days and I haven't been home much so I didn't have time to get a post up on Saturday, sorry guys! Summer gets quite hectic and I'm thinking about just taking a break from Saturday posts all together while the weather is nice. 

Just wanted to share this quote, which is basically my summer motto before I head out to watch episode 9 of Game of Thrones at a friends house. All your GoT fans know that episode 9 is always the biggest episode of the season, lets hope everyone makes it out alive, even though I'm  not counting on it.

xoxo

Bejeweled

What I'm Wearing

TGIF!

One of the biggest trends this summer has been the embellished sandal, and I was quick to jump on the bandwagon. First of all, I loved how it made the typical sandal appear dressier, especially now that I have to get more dressed up for work. As a girl who gravitates towards bright jewelry, I saw this as an opportunity to "bedazzle" my feet without being tacky.

If you're looking for an comfortable and affordable pair of embellished sandals, I can't recommend the ones I'm wearing in the above enough. They're G by Guess and I got them at Macy's. The best news is they're currently on sale for $30 (you can get them for $20 if you use a $10 off of $30 coupon, which is what I did), can't go wrong! I've gotten so much use out of mine already.

Check out some of my other favorite embellished options below:

Have you jumped on the embellished sandal trend?

Gold Multi-Colored Jewel // Coral Bejeweled

Gemma Jeweled Sandal // White Topshop Sandal

Black Double Strapped Sandal // Felix Crystal Sandal

Cobalt Blue Sandals

xoxo

The Best Sunglasses for Your Face

I'm a bit of a collector of sunglasses. I constantly change them up depending on what I'm wearing and my mood and keep a pair in all of my bags so I'm never without during those bright summer months. Personally, I don't have a specific style that I gravitate towards because depending on my mood I can go from classic, to feminine to colorful. However, it's good to keep in mind what style frames compliment your face the best. 

1. Heart Shaped Face (wide forehead and cheek bones with a smaller chin) - Frames that are wider on the top than the bottom tend to work best for this face shape -- think cat-eye styles and classic wayfarers or the club-master style . 
2. Oval Face (your face is longer than it is wide) - Frames that are oversized with a round or square shaped frame look best on you -- think these retro round styles or channel your inner Jackie O in these.
3. Square Face (you have a strong jaw, wide forehead and cheeks) - Try angular frames with a 'shield style' like these Warby Parker Frames or classic aviators  with soft lines and thin frames that soften your shape.
4. Round Face (round cheekbones with a narrower forehead and jawline) - Avoid round glasses, which will make your face seem even more fuller and opt for an angular frame wayfarer like these or an oversized aviator. 

What's your favorite sunglass style?

What I'm wearing:

Target Wayfarers // Oversized Michael Kors (similar style here)

Ray-Ban Blue Aviators // Kate Spade Cat-Eye Leopard (similar style here)

xoxo

Nautical Stripes

Happy Hump Day!

My mom and I have a running joke about clothes we gravitate towards when shopping. My mom never met a white blouse she didn't like and has a million of the same similar style in her closet ("Each one is different!!!"- mom) and I have way to many blue and white striped items. It's always the first think I go to when I enter a store and I have so many different styled striped items in my closet. However, I'm a firm believe the stripe is a classic look that never goes out of style and can be paired with so many items (kinda like my moms white shirts). 

So it was no surprise when I went to the outlets Memorial Day weekend that I was quick to pick up two blue and white striped dresses (two are better than one, right?). The first one is this great ponte dress with a zip back that I picked up for 50% off at J Crew Factory. It's one of those dresses that I can wear to work or out for drinks with friends. Plus, it's made of one of those soft comfortable cottons. I'm sure by the time summer is over I'll be picking up a few more striped items, but at least I know what I like, right?!

Dress // Belt // Sandals

Necklace J Crew Factory (similar) // 

Sunglasses Kate Spade (similar) // Ring

Bag Kate Spade, old (love this color block version)

Bracelet Lilly Pulitzer, old

What's the one style you continue to gravitate towards when shopping?

xoxo

New Recipe: Pulled Pork Nachos

Happy Tasty Tuesday!

BBQ pulled pork is probably one of my biggest downfalls in life. I like it on a sandwich, I like it in Mexican food and I even like it in macaroni and cheese. So when I had some extra pulled pork from a previous recipe lying around, I decided to make some nachos with it as the perfect appetizer/party 

snack!

Ingredients:

• 1 full pork loin
• 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
• 1/2 bottle of water
• 1 package of shredded Mexican cheese mix
• 1 bag of Tostitos chips
• 1 can of sliced olives
• 1 small jar of jalapeños 

Directions:

• Follow this recipe for delicious crock pot pulled pork. You'll have enough to get more than one meal out of it, but these nachos can be one of them. ***OR you if you're on a time constraint, you can buy bbq pulled pork from the store like this Jack Daniels one ***
• If you're pulled pork is fresh out of the crock-pot and warm you can set aside but if you're re-using leftover pulled pork you'll want to microwave it for 10 minutes so it's warm.
• On a cookie sheet layer nacho chips and cover in shredded Mexican cheese (you'll want to put more cheese on that you think, it's deceiving once it starts to melt).
• Sprinkle on jalapeños and olives.
• Cover nachos with warm pulled pork, spreading evenly over the nachos.
• Cook on 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is fully melted are starts to brown.
• Enjoy!

xoxo

Scallops, Hats and Bows, Oh My!

Happy June!

Can you believe that we're already into the first official summer month. It felt like it took forever for the warmer weather to get here and now it's already flying by! This past weekend we had a weird mixture of temperatures. On Saturday afternoon I was poolside, soaking up some rays but by Saturday night we it was raining with scattered thunderstorms (am I the only one who loves nighttime storms, they're perfect for snuggling up with a movie) and by Sunday we had a huge temperature drop and I was in a sweater shirt and leggings all day when I ran errand, oh Mother Nature! 

This particular outfit is going to be one of my wardrobe staples this summer. First I'm in love with this patterned short trend because it adds a dressier style to a short than a typical pair of jean ones. I'm particularly obsessed with the scalloped pattern on the bottom of them. I'm slowly reintroducing hats into my accessory pile. As a child I always had a baseball cap on but ever since then I rarely wore a hat out, but after I picked up this straw hat up in ALDO for my trip to St. Maarten, I've realized what a great accessory hats are. Don't tell anyone but I actually picked this hat up in the mens section. Finally I'm getting so much use out of my new Kate Spade tote that I picked up at the outlets during their huge Memorial Day sale (guys, they had 70% off all handbags!). Either way, this outfit is cute and comfortable and perfect for brunch with friends or a day trip to the beach.

Shorts // Top // Sandals // Sunnies

Necklace J Crew Factory (similar) // Bracelet // Watch

Hat ALDO (similar) // Tote Kate Spade Outlet (similar here)

Whats your go-to summer look?

xoxo