White Collared Shirt

There’s nothing better than a crisp, clean, brand-spanking new white collared shirt. The white collared shirt is a staple in my wardrobe and I wear one to work almost once a week – under a sweater or vest for a preppy look, with a statement necklace, or all on it’s own tucked into a great pair of pants for a simple, minimalist look.

The biggest necessities to look for when buying a white collared shirt are that it’s well tailored, fits you perfectly, and is long enough to tuck in, but not too long if you want to wear it out.
I also refuse to pay a lot for a white collared shirt, because let’s face it – anything white only lasts so long before a stain “appears” or dingy-ness sets in.
Well stop your search – a few years ago now, I found the perfect white collared shirt and continuously by the same one as needed:

– H&M
– $19.95!
– Men’s style but tailored for a woman’s shape
– Perfect length to tuck-in or wear out under a sweater

Note: This shirt does look cheap in some of the other colors they sell, but you can get away with the white looking luxe when paired with the rest of your outfit.

San Francisco Treats

When my husband and I travel, we always find local, delicious food to try. We went from treat to treat during our week in San Francisco…

Heirloom Tomato Panzanella Salad:

from il Cale Rosso
Organic Salted Caramel Donut:
from a vendor in the Ferry Marketplace
Chandon Sparkling Red:
from the Domaine Chandon Winery in Napa Valley
Various pieces of maki and nigiri sushi (and green tea!):
from isobune in Japantown
Kara’s Karrot Cupcake:

 

from Kara’s Cupcakes (this amazing cupcake didn’t last long enough for me to get a photo other than the great packaging).
Dungeness Crabs:
from a vendor at Fisherman’s Wharf
What a delicious trip!!

Outside Lands

It’s all about who you know…

While in San Francisco, a friend of mine was there too working at the Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park. She generously offered us tickets to the show, and it turns out they weren’t just regular tickets – we got in the VIP area!

I’m glad I packed a layered look for warmth (I’m wearing 2 shirts under this one) as well as fitting in with the rock n roll festival crowd. I did have to maintain my preppy look though with the yellow pants…

 

And this was our view of the show from our V-VIP soundboard spot (with open bar, fun night!)…

Marimekko

I just love Marimekko prints – bold, colorful, bright!

There is an amazing website where you can purchase Marimekko fabrics along with a customizable kit to create your own wall art.

http://www.txtlart.com/

Buy the fabric by the yard and the wood kit according to the final size wall hanging you want. Once you get the materials, you assemble the wooden frame, wrap the fabric around the frame, staple with a staple gun, and voila – wall art!

When we moved into our house I knew I wanted to create one in a large, dramatic scale with a vibrant but not overpowering print.

We hung ours in the dining room…

 

Behemoth Bouquet

We went to my cousin’s wedding last weekend up in the North Shore.

It was lovely – ceremony overlooking the ocean, cocktail hour outside, reception in an open air tent. Perfect summer night, not too hot, not too cool…
At the end of the night we realized the DJ never played a game or had a contest to determine who would go home with the table centerpieces, so one of our table-mates took ours and we took the one at the next table.
Well…
The one at our table was a traditional, petite centerpiece. The one at the next table was a nearly 5-foot monstrosity that when disassembled took up the trunk of our SUV. HUGE!
The next morning, as I saw that the centerpiece took up the entire top of the island in our kitchen, I realized I should disassemble the centerpiece into many arrangements throughout our house.
Here are a few…

Dining Room Table

Living Room

Kitchen

Living Room

These decorative twigs were sticking straight up out of the original centerpiece, actually making it taller than my 5-foot disclaimer above. I turned them along with the tall vase into a permanent installation in an otherwise dead space in our living room.

This behemoth bouquet was the best “wedding favor” I’ve ever received.

Basil-palooza

For some reason, our basil crop is growing extremely well this season (and the only herb in our garden actually growing at all, for that matter). We realized last weekend that we need to start eating it.

So, we made a basil-focused dinner of grilled chicken with homemade pesto with a tomato and mozzarella salad and a side of grilled garlic bread.

Grilled Chicken
Drizzle chicken with olive oil and season with a little s&p. Grill 5 mins each side.

Pesto
fresh basil leaves
1/3C olive oil
1/2C parmesan cheese
1/8C toasted pine nuts
small garlic clove
Place ingredients in the Magic Bullet (or blender) and mix until ingredients comes together.

Tomato Mozzarella Salad
2 tomatoes
fresh mozzarella
chopped basil
Slice tomatoes, place on platter and lightly salt. Slice mozzarella and place on top of tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and top with freshly chopped basil.

Grilled Garlic Bread
loaf of french bread
3T butter
chopped garlic
garlic powder
Cut loaf in half length-wise, place bread side down on oiled grill. Once bread is at desired crunch, flip over and coat with butter/garlic mixture. Heat on grill, crust-side down until desired crunch is achieved.

This quick basil-focused meal was just delicious….perfect for a mid-week, light, summer dish!

Wedding Thank You’s

Sure, Emily Post requires all Wedding Thank You notes to be sent within 3 months of receipt of gift. But, when it’s a gift from your husband’s friends, thus requiring HIM to write the note…I think getting it out the door no matter what the time-frame is a success!

We received a lovely wedding gift the day before our First Wedding Anniversary from 3 couples (Emily Post rule followed by the skin of their teeth!). I make all of our Thank You notes by hand and remembered a year ago rushing through the construction of 100+ Wedding Thank You notes as soon as we returned from our 2-week honeymoon. I didn’t love how they turned out, but I did get them all out the door within the 3-month rule, phew!

Well, I was inspired after we received this last gift to spend a little more time on this round of notes, I only had to make 3 – and I knew I had the time since it would be a good 2 months or more until my husband felt motivated enough to actually write the notes.

In keeping with our ocean/beachy wedding theme of starfish and incorporating our wedding colors of tangerine orange and ocean blue, I came up with these:


Let’s be honest, I think I am still feeling a little wedding planning withdrawal (a year later) and this project allowed me to revisit even if it was just for a bit…

Back Deck Mexican

To me, summer dining at home equals a light meal on your back deck with a delicious ice cold beverage. There’s nothing more enjoyable than this Homemade Mexican Dinner for two…

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Main Meal:
Grilled shrimp Tacos
Mix shrimp (3 to 4 shrimp taco per taco) with olive oil, s&p, and cumin. Grill 2 mins per side. Serve in a warmed tortilla.

Homemade Toppings:
Guacamole
2 ripe avocados
juice of 1 lime
a little minced onion
a few chopped cilantro leaves
a bit of minced garlic
chopped jalapeno to taste
dash of salt
Mash avocados, combine with all other ingredients.

Pico de Gallo
chopped tomatoes
diced onions
chopped cilantro leaves
olive oil
lime juice
Combine with a dash of olive oil, squeeze of lime, and s&p.

Home-edited Side Dishes:
Warm black beans
1 can of black beans
1 garlic clove
Put beans in a pot with the garlic, heat for 10 mins until the liquid has reduced.

Mexican Rice
Box of Goya Mexican Rice
Prepare according to box directions, garnish with chopped cilantro leaves for added freshness.

Beverage: Sangria (of course)
2 or 3 pieces of fruit
1 bottle Spanish Red Wine
about 1/3C Sugar
about 1/3C Triple Sec
Club soda
Night before: cut up desired fruit (we use 1 green apple, 1 orange, 1 lime) and place in a pitcher with red wine, sugar, and Triple Sec. Let sit overnight in the fridge.
To serve: pour club soda into fruit/wine mixture, stir, garnish with leftover limes and oranges! I also like to garnish each individual glass for an extra touch.

Ambiance: Even it’s just the 2 of you…add a touch of style by lighting a few candles, set out a vase with flowers, set the table nicely, and ENJOY!

Some recipes adapted from GOOP and my sister’s delicious guacamole recipe.