TGIF - Whatcha Up To?

TGIF~~  note to myself: short weeks never feel short!!  Those 3 day weekends always spoil me.  Anyways, Friday's finally here and I'm full of happy thoughts! Like eating lots of fruity popsicles.

how to make this from here

Doesn't this look so good? and healthy?  I love the little notes on the sticks.  

With the weather warmer, I'm definitely favoring salads over warm comfort foods.  I've always loved a good nicoise salad like this one. 

how to make this from here

This salad has my favorite proteins (eggs and tuna) with potatoes for just the right amount of carbs.  I would personally add artichokes to this, but I know that grosses some people out (sorry!).  Oh btw, the first time I figured out that this salad isn't NI-KOISE salad,  and instead, it's pronounced "NEE-SOOAH", I felt instantly fancy despite the very simple ingredients of this salad.

I noticed among bloggers that Madeline Weinrib is the latest go-to for beautiful rugs. Upon visiting her website, this is what I found and LOVE (just not the price tag).  

buy it here

Who knew she had non-rug goodies? Btw, don't we just love all these tribal prints?  Can't seem to get enough of them!  Speaking of what the bloggers are loving, I saw this on Vmac & Cheese and had a good lol moment. 

There's more to this "sh%t bloggers wear" series.  Check out the artist's tumbler site here.  Note:  I'm a blogger and I don't wear this kind of sh%t.  Don't get me wrong, I'd love to!

In between doing my usual weekend stuff (running, cleaning up the house, etc. etc. yawn!), I'm going to be listening to Ellie Goulding's 'Anything Could Happen'.  I wish I had a convertible to drive in while listening to this song, you know, with my hair blowing in the wind and all.  Ha! 

Also, Ellie Goulding covered one of my all time favorite Elton John's song, "Your Song".  It's very pretty the way she sings it.  Check it out here.

I hope you all have a wonderful and summery weekend!

Sales = Pinterest Away

Is it me or are there seriously way too many sales going on? I'm not complaining but boy, is my will power tested to its maximum. I just have to sit tight and Pinterest away all the things I want.  Here's a little sample of what I Pinned away. (Note:  I did hunt down this J.Crew top in my size finally, so I did cave in a little over the weekend). 

a. Tory Burch hardshell Iphone 5 cover // b. J.Crew Swoop top in punk floral// C. Tory Burch Robsion transit pass holder// 

d. Salvatore Ferragamo Tote// e. Sergio Rossi rubber thong sandal// f. Bop Bijouix Leather ID Bracelet

Latest Choice of Drink

Good Tuesday~ Yeah,it really sucks to come back from a long weekend, doesn't it??  And I'm starting this week with a full load too.  BUT, it is a short week and I do have a vacation waiting for me at the end of this month, so I march on with my glass half full! 

Actually, I should march on with my glasses completely full as I am constantly dehydrated. I noticed this trend of drinking cucumber infused water (or has this "trend" been around and I just didn't know??) I'm always looking for ways to drink more water and this new trend might just help me. I gave it a try over the Memorial Day weekend and I have to say, I'm loving this trend.  Here are some pretty photos of cucumber infused drinks from Pinterest  

grapefruit & cucumber

Lime & Cucumber (what I tried) (add mint too)

Straight Up Cucumber

These pictures just set the right tone for the upcoming hot and muggy summer days, don't they?  

Have a great week~~

TGIF - Whatcha Up To?

TGIF!!  And happy Memorial Day Weekend!  I can't believe I'm actually saying that.  Wow, we are almost in the month that ends the first half of this year. 

I have no huge plans this weekend, but I surely wish I had a party to attend like this from Goop. 

Isn't this the cutest summer invite? Perhaps I'm biased by my love of lobster :) 

Although there will be no big party for me, I'm happy to start off the weekend with a girls night out with Nancy.  I've been really good about keeping my vino calories on the low side.  Well, tonight's going to be a nice break from that!

Tomorrow, I'll have another movie date night with Randy.  We are planning on watching... Hangover III.  Yes, I loved the I and II and have blatantly and openly been waiting for this last one.  

If I am ambitious enough, I would LOVE to make this gluten free strawberry shortcake this weekend. 

And try out a little DYI like this. 

One thing for sure, I'll definitely be listening to the Gatsby soundtrack.  I can't stop listening to Lana Del Ray's 'Young and Beautiful'.  SO GOOD! 

Have yourself a relaxing, fun, margarita-filled Memorial Day Weekend~

Random Mix

Here's a random mix of goodies I've been dunking into various online shopping buckets...

a. Toms; b. Bookhou tote;  c.  PB Vintage Glass Frame Hangers;  d.  Anthropologie Cats Wallpaper

Which one of these will end up at my door?  :) 

We are almost there to TGIF!

CC Is What I'm Looking For

I have a three day trial coming up RIGHT AFTER the Memorial Day weekend.  UGH. I just realized that earlier this week.  And to make things worse, I'm like, what the heck am I going to wear?? 'Cause you know, that's super important for a lawyer, right?! I tend to wear a lot of cardigans to work and accessorize to look more dressed up.  I am now realizing that I really need more summer suits that will make me look corporate chic. The one below from J.Crew (of course) is seriously so sweet. The rest is pretty sweet and corporate chick too. 

Gold Knot Earrings... Scalloped Jacket... Tassel Necklace...
Nude Heels... Blue Tote...

Happy Wednesday~  1/2 way there!!

E-Design: Neutral

When it comes to furnishing my home, I tend to favor neutral tones. Grey, beige, more grey, more beige :) I want my home to feel light, airy, and simple, but peppered with artwork or other accessories that will prompt interesting conversations among guests. I would love to see something like this in my home.   

 mirror//  Paris// iris silk pillow// Sofa// Rug// coffee table 

Btw, West Elm just opened right around the corner from where I live.  I'm in trouble...

Monday's Look Back & Forward

Good morning!  Where did this weekend go? I want it back!!
I had a super busy weekend as I had to go into my office both Saturday and Sunday.  I managed to sustain just one paper cut and did not stress eat too much.  

I also managed to enjoy cooking a bit, purchase more peonies, stare at my puppies, shop my own closet and marvel at just how many striped boatneck t-shirts I could possibly own in my closet.   

So, a couple of changes to come here.  I realized it makes sense to talk about my weekends right AFTER the weekend instead of in the middle of the week. Thus, the discussion of my weekend today.

Another big change: This place is getting a make-over and I am working with just the right designer.  Sara Mueller (her blog is 'A Dose of Pretty') and I have been emailing for the last couple of days and we are getting SO close.  I'm too excited for words!!!  

Have a great week - we do have a 3 day weekend to look forward to!!

TGIF - Whatcha Up To?

TGIF~~  If I could, I want to be where she is below, preferably with a bottle of wine and Diptyque candles.

Photograph by Julia and Yuriy Manchik 

Style Me Pretty Living

I really need to unplug, go wireless, and try the old fashion relaxation thing.  (Although I wonder if it's not in my nature to "relax"...)

Yesterday, I read this blog entry, "Life Lately" by Kendi of Kendi Everyday. Reading entries like hers is one of the many reasons I love this blog world.  While there's much celebration of the luxurious lifestyle and goods and beautiful objects in the blogging world, there is reality among all bloggers and it's nice to be reminded of it by an honest and open disclosure of personal struggles, such as suffering from depression which happens to be the case for Kendi. Now, including myself, there are the shy and private peeps who remain shy and private.  I hope you respect that as well.  

So, I talked about going back to running outside last Friday.  I hope I continue this redeveloped habit.  To motivate myself, I should buy myself some new running outfits?  Hehe :) I'm eyeing these pieces. 

Tank from here//Skirt from here// "Time Out" sweats from here

And if I actually keep it up the rest of the summer, I will treat myself to this without ANY guilt. 

Image via here

Ah... happy happy thoughts.  

Have a GREAT weekend, friends~~

Last Weekend...

 i. I went back to running outside, at least on Saturdays.  It's been such a rewarding experience and the weather has cooperated for the last 3 Saturdays - yay!!
ii. Peonies are in season - It's about freakin' time. 
iii.  I finally succumbed and purchased this pillow from Ikea.  And I'm glad I did. It goes perfectly with the black and white Pollack print and the settee in my kitchen. And oh, excuse the ipad charger cord...
iv. Who can resist $0.99 flamingo glasses?  (From Ikea)

v. Weekend tradition I recently developed - brewing coffee via chemex. Another rewarding experience.  #happysmallmoments 

vi. Korean bakery goods are the best!!  Tx, Mom!

vii. Tired husband and I finally get to cuddle on the couch.  Wy does my forehead look so big though?  #immagonnaembraceit.

viii. One of the 5 stems of peonies from the above picture.  LOVE how they bloom so big.  

We are half way there to the weekend!!  Happy hump day~

Planning Ahead

OH - it's another day closer to the Memorial Day Weekend and my mind is racing with thoughts on what to do, eat, wear, etc.  I also have a vacation planned at the end of June, so that's got me thinking about the same things.  

Here's an outfit perfect for the upcoming summer days (ok, I'm sorta pushing the suede pumps, which are more appropriate for now) that will be perfect for both work and play.  

Mac Cremeblend Blush in 'Lady Blush' - I wear this every day, with or without any other make-up.  Because it's a cremeblend, it stays on your face for a long time and it feels incredibly soft on your skin.  It looks very bright but when you dab a little and spread it on your cheeks, you'll look as fresh and dewey as a little bambi :) 

Anthropologie Blockshift Dress - I have to admit something.  I saw this dress on another blogger, Sara Mueller of Sara Mueller Designs and I had to share it with you as well. Btw, her blog is as pretty as she is and I'm totally obsessed and will be reading all her archives while I'm on my hourlong treadmill torture. (Girl Crush Alert!!  #isweari'mnotastalker)

See By Chloe April Big Duffel - What can I say?  I have a crazy weakness for anything mint colored.  And this design is so sleek yet friendly.  The price tag, however, isn't friendly.  A girl can dream though, right?!

Nine West Sandals - 'Weslies' - I'm short so I contemplate ever buying this.  But they look so darn comfie and stylish.  Sexy, actually. That's my kinda jam - comfie & sexy. 

Madewell - the 'Frankie' Suede Pumps - I heart these.  I've shown this this blog before and I'm showing it again!  It can go with so many things and it's so office friendly too.  I'm waiting for a further slash down in the price department. 

How about you?  Are you already planning for the upcoming holiday and/or vacation? 

Monday E-Design: Kitchen Goodies from C&B

Happy Monday~  
Did you have a good Mother's Day weekend?  I had a wonderful dinner with my parents and my brother and sis-in-law.  We bought lobsters for dinner and cooked them at home. Of course, despite this being her day, my mom did all the cooking and even sent me home with bags of food.  The giving NEVER ends when you are a mom.  

My mom spends a lot of time in the kitchen.  And I feel as though, to my surprise, I do too.  It's probably because I cook almost every meal at home.  Of course there are times when due to work or social get togethers that we skip a night or two of eating at home.  And we do make a point of eating out at least once a week.  But for the most part, I cook.  Nothing fancy but quick stuff.  In that regard, I love looking for the next pretty thing to use in my kitchen.  It makes cooking all the more fun, doesn't it? 

From time to time, I'll go to Crate & Barrel and find so many practical and reasonably priced items, with simple and stylish designs.  This weekend's trip resulted in a purchase of this very small carafe, ($1.95!!) which I will use as a decanter to pour wine.  I bought 2 of them.  While we have a decanter already, it's huge and hard to clean.  So, when you are drinking only a glass or two of wine during a casual dinner at home, this will definitely be more practical and useful.  The rest are on my wish list for now :)  

carafe//  To-Go-Containers// Airtight Glass Bottles// Canisters with Chalkboard Surface//   13.5x9.25 Zigzag Platter// Conversion Dishtowel

TGIF - Whatcha Up To?

TGIF!!!  The sun is out and I am ready to chill out!

This Sunday is Mother's Day.  My mom and I kinda celebrated already by going shopping last weekend.  We took advantage of the crazy sale going on at  Ann Taylor Loft.  It was such a blast.  We were like two little girls on a shopping spree, going in and out of the dressing room multiple times. We made out like a bandit, let me tell you.  Love a great sale, right?!  I'll still visit her this weekend and we'll have dinner together. Maybe I'll attempt to bake make this bake-less dessert. 

Lemon Cream Icebox Cake

Doesn't it look so delicious?  And no sweating over the heated oven!  

As with every weekend, I have a project in mind. I hope to finally get my shoes storage dilemma straightened out and I think I finally found the solution.  

Yup, it's from IKEA and the measurements fit where I currently have my shoe rack.  I hate seeing a whole bunch of shoes at the entry of our loft.  Ugh.  Hopefully, this will be THE solution. 

I don't know about you, but the spring pollen in the air is definitely causing major irritations to my eyes.  I am waiting for this set of new eyes to arrive any day now, and relieve me from relying on my contact lenses during the day every day. 

It's from Warby Parker (Ainsworth).  I've tried it at home (tx to their free at-home-try system) and really like them. Cannot wait!!

I've also had my eyes on this hobo bag from JCrew.  My friend Nancy has it and it's really cute and very wearable all year around.  It's on sale, 30% off... now may be the time... I'll try to sleep on it and see :) 

Finally, I am looking forward to watching this movie tonight. Both Randy and I had a pretty tough week and we can use a little date night. 

YUP, so excited!  Btw, Leo is now 40?? Time flies, right?

Have a great great weekend~

Yucky Days

The last two days have been truly yucky thanks to work and rainy weather.  It was POURING yesterday in the morning on my way to work.  This was the view from my loft.  To my surprise, this Insta came out like a cute postcard so I'm sharing with ya'll.    

By 11:00 p.m., the rain had subsided but things were still yucky with work.  This is how I looked: 

Yup - utter frustration.  Luckily, all's resolved,I THINK.  Let's see what happens when I walk into the courtroom this morning!

The good thing about being busy at work is that it makes the week goes faster. And before you know it, it's almost TGIF~~

Fancy Schmancy Dress Up

Once or twice a year, I attend a somewhat fancy schmancy cocktail or black tie event that requires me to dress up.  No, these events involve no celebrities or anything like last night's Met Gala.  My events are work related and attended by a bunch of lawyers, judges, DA's, and prosecutors.  So, yes, definitely toned down and conservative.  BUT, if I could, I would love to show up looking like Nicole Richie from last night. 

image via here

Can you imagine?  Everyone would have like the "WTF" look on their faces.  Hilarious.  So, ok, she may have looked "prettier" if she didn't white powder her head, but this is COOL!!  I love it.    

Now, toning this look down to something more presentable at a local bar event, I'd love to be brave enough to wear this white mini. 

dress from here...

Together with these pretties...

shoe from here...

earrings from here...

Ah... if I just lived in some kind of a la-la land where dressing up like it's the Met Gala night every night...

Happy Tuesday~~ (and happy day dreaming...)

Monday E-Design: Never Enough Pillows

I love, I mean LOVE decorative pillows.  Like a really good haircut, good pillows can make or break a room.  Arranging throw pillows around your home can be frustrating as you want to make sure the pillows' colors and patterns are cohesive with the overall theme or vibe of your house.  I recently came across this shop, Zincdoor and they have a really great collection of throw pillows.  I have the following pillows pinned on my Pinterest board.  And no, they don't all go together but I want them all!

i. ii. iii.  iv.

Now, I will just have to wait for them to go on a massive sale!!

Have a great Monday~~

TGIF - Whatcha Up To?

TGIF!!! My favoritest day of the week~~  
I am hoping the weather turns out great like last weekend!

Here's something I would LOVE to bake during this warm season. 

Gluten Free Rhubarb Coconut Tart.  Whaaat?!  Sounds too good to be true.  I do need a scoop of vanilla ice cream with this one though! 

Weekend means cleaning and straightening up the house.  Check out this Loft tour that just makes me want to copy everything for my place.  

During the weekend, I also enjoy finding new blogs and reading up on all the old entries (kinda like the way I discovered Homeland and watched all the back episodes in like 2 days!).  That blog this weekend will be the Matchbook Magazine. Wherever have I been??!!

I hope I have a good mail day as I am patiently waiting for this. 

I had a $50 reward coupon from Piperlime plus 10% off sales on wedges. Yup, that means under $20!!  This will be my work shoes for the summer :) 

Hope you guys have a great, fun-filled, and relaxing weekend~~

Spring Wardrobe Deals Continue...

Have you noticed lately how pretty Ann Taylor Loft has gotten? 
They are having an extra 60% off sale items, so of course, yours truly had to stop by after work. No offense to AT Loft, but it's gotten SO MUCH better in design, quality, and size!  Here are my favorites from yesterday's trip. 

I ended up getting the skirt, peplum top, and the dress.  Only the skirt is on sale, BUT if you purchase a St.Jude's card, you get an additional 25% everything (over a purchase of $125).  So, I actually did end up saving on the rest of the purchase and felt really good about making my little small contribution to a good cause.  The shorts are super super cute and on sale online for $30.  The scarf, earrings, bracelet are really pretty and hopefully, they will go on sale soon (like all things seem to go on sale all the time these days).  These all look so much prettier and more colorful in person. 

So, there's my foray into spring and summer wardrobe shopping.  Have you purchased anything to spruce up your wardrobe for the warmer days to come?   

Weekend...beer pong, pickle back, Whitney, etc...

Yesterday, I hinted at how fun my weekend was.  Here are some pictures with brief descriptions.

I decided to run outside for a change.  I mean, after all, I live by the Valley Forge National Park and a trail that goes through several different parks.  I'm glad I did because look at these photos! 

Lately, I've been buying flowers on the weekend.  I must be getting old b/c I now love looking at flowers and plants. 

This was me post my hour run outside.  I grabbed my younger one, Littlez (aka Speedz/ aka Winston - yes, that's a new name we randomly decided to impose on Speedz).  I took this picture before I completely conked out. 

I also mentioned about playing beer pong and flip-the-cup with a group of 20 something college grads.  No, I have no pictures for those moments and I never will.  The story is that we have new neighbors, a young couple, who are fresh out of college.  They invited us to their housewarming party and being good neighbors that we are, we showed up with some fancy schmancy wheat beer from Wholefoods.  And there we were, with a group of doe eyed post-college guys and wrinkle-free gals, looking at us like we came from the Mars.  Through a couple of rounds of beer pong and flip-the-cup, both of which I never actually played in college, we got over the awkward phase pretty fast. Oh, at some point, the kids all screamed and when I turned around, Randy had won a game of beer pong. That's my guy!!

Right before we left, my neighbor played Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" in honor of us, the 80s kids.  Man, I felt old and young at the same time as I sang those words, "I wanna dance with somebody~~~~~ yeah I wanna dance with somebody" over and over again.       

p.s. I came THIS close to downing a shot of pickle back, which is something I've never heard of.  I'm proud to say that I did not cave into peer pressure and politely declined the repeated offers.