Happy Wedding Wednesday! Today, we’re talking hair pieces…

kate moss via vogue

via casidy’s iphone

If you are looking for a new summer dinner favorite (think fresh, light and filling) then look no further. These “tacos” and salad are it. They are super healthy and most important, delicious.

:: how to do it ::


Tacos:
For the tacos, use a big leaf lettuce instead of the normal tortilla. (I prefer cabbage or butter lettuce.) For the filling, I rinsed and drained 1 can of black beans and mixed it with a diced up summer squash. (I flash-sauteed my squash but you can certainly eat it raw) For the dressing, mix up olive oil, honey, cilantro, salt and half of a fresh squeezed lime. Toss everything together and sprinkle with non-fat feta cheese. (optional, of course) 


Salad:
This tomato and avocado salad is stupid-good. I saw it on pinterest and thought knew I needed to try it. It seemed like the perfect compliment to my lettuce tacos and luckily, I was right Here’s the recipe I used.  The balsamic vinegar adds the extra (sweet) punch that really makes this salad aaaamazing. 

Happy Eating!

We’re back with another Friday Happy Hour! Since it’s unbearably hot outside, let’s try and beat the heat with this cool and refreshing cocktail.

recipe

What are your favorite summer cocktails?

:: bottoms up ::

We are just a few hours away from a mid-week holiday celebration. With the 4th landing smack-dab in the middle of the week, it makes traveling very far a little tricky but, either way, I’m so excited to have a day to relax and celebrate with friends in the city.

here are a few outfit inspirations for your day-to-night festivities tomorrow.

jcrew top | paige shorts | aldo shoes | baublebar earrings

aritzia blouse | nordstrom jeans | jcrew bracelet | tory burch wedges

:: have a safe and happy 4th of July ::

the mister and I spent the weekend visiting our wonderful friends in Minneapolis. It was a jam packed but relaxing weekend of eating, baseball, boating, grilling, oh and eating more- mainly state fair fried pickles (which are amazing by the way). We had the best mini-vacation and we are seriously fighting post-vacation-on-top-of-monday-blues today.

:: here are a few highlights from the trusty instagram ::

It’s been awhile since I posted a recipe so I thought I needed to share this yummy dish I made the other night… stuffed pattypan squash.

I started with my pick of produce from the weekend’s market.

Next, I cut open and “gutted” the pattypan squash.
helpful hint: cook the squash on stove for about 6 mins to get it soft. It’s much easier to “gut” that way. 
I knew I wanted to pack them full of yumminess so I took my other veggies and chopped them up to make the stuffing.

Once everything is filled chopped and you’ve added your favorite spices, stuff the squash.
extra step- I wanted a little bit more out of my stuffing so I {quickly} made some barley and then folded the veggie mix into the barley. 

Once the squash is stuffed, put them in a baking dish and bake for about 20 mins at 375. Once the squash is soft and the stuffing looks “cooked”, they are ready to eat!

Throw the little “hat” back on and enjoy! I served mine with a big mixed green salad and fresh fruit.

What’s your favorite summertime squash dish?

Monday are always a little hard. You’re coming off your weekend high and still starring at 5 full work days ahead. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and in a routine of going through the motions. I’m totally guilty of it. We all are. So change it.

I’m currently re-reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. (If you haven’t read it, you should absolutely pick it up immediately.) Within just 5 pages, Gretchen makes a great comment that we should all remember on a daily basis: your life isn’t going to change unless you make it change. Whether it’s your job, your relationship, your friends, where you live, etc- you are the one that has to recognize your needs/wants and then be brave enough to make the change.

As I continue the journey of owning my own (still-very-new) business, this book serves as an awesome reminder for me that I am doing what I wanted. And, even though I have really hard days and long hours, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be and that’s all that matters. (at least for today)

:: these cute wooden spoons would be great for that summer ice cream social ::