Memorial Day Weekend Wrap Up

J and I had a very fun weekend! So much fun that nary a pic was taken. :(

On Friday, we headed to Orlando and had dinner with my sister and her boyfriend at Seasons 52. Seasons 52 is a great, seasonally inspired restaurant. Two biggest surprises? (1) Everything on the menu is under 475 calories and (2) It is owned by Darden Restaurants, which also runs Olive Garden, Red Lobster etc. Personally, I tend to stay away from chain restaurants because I like to support local business. However I was intrigued by their concept. This restaurant did not disappoint! The menu was fun with good variety. The menu is changed 4 times a year to reflect seasonal changes in food availability. Also they have a section of the menu that changes weekly to reflect items that are more limited in availability. Everything was delicious!! There are locations in a couple of states, including one at the King of Prussia mall, for my blogging friend Lola!

On Saturday, we drove to St. Petersburg and happened upon St. Pete's revitalizing downtown area. There were some really interesting and cute restaurant selections. We selected a delicious tapas place called Ceviche. They have a few locations in the Central/Suncoast Florida area. We took advantage of the perfect weather and enjoyed a lovely lunch, al fresco. That evening, we headed to Tropicana Field for the Rays/White Sox game. Our seats were amazing! Even though the Sox lost, it was a great time.

On Sunday, we left St. Pete early so we could have brunch in one of my favorite towns, Winter Park. We had brunch at BriarPatch, which is a favorite of mine from my college days. Again, we scored with the outdoor dining, which made for fun people watching, while we sipped on our brunch cocktails (bloody mary for J; peach bellini for me). After a delicious brunch, we stopped by Croissant Gourmet to purchase some french pastries to enjoy when we got home.



It was a great weekend! For our Memorial Day, we have been lazying around and watching the new Cooking Channel! Back to reality tomorrow. Hope you all had a nice weekend!

Bloggy Fashion Friends--I need your help!

I'm wearing the below dress to J's 30th birthday party next Saturday. I am having a problem picking out what shoes to wear. I don't have the budget to purchase new shoes, so I need to make do with what I have (which honestly, is plenty!).

I also need advice on accessories!

Help me choose my shoes!!!

Help me pick my shoes! by natylite78 on Polyvore.com

Product: Michelle D "Limbo"
$40 - dillards.com

Naturalizer Camelot Leather Visitor Shoe
$40 - naturalizer.com

Jessica Simpson Lilian at 6pm.com
$32 - 6pm.com

Womens - Montego Bay Club - Whip-stitched Flat Sandal - Payless Shoes
$11 - payless.com

Ronni Nicole Yellow Cotton Eyelet Dress - Bealls Florida Department...
beallsflorida.com

Thursday 5.27 (but it feels like Friday!!!)

I could not concentrate on work even though there was plenty of work to do! It all started with a wardrobe "crisis" this morning. I had planned this outfit except I planned to wear my lilac J Crew Skirt (found at a consignment store). However when I put the skirt on, my poochy stomach was a little too prominent. Luckily, this skirt was waiting in the wings. I liked how this outfit came together. The heels made me feel a bit sassy today--someone even complimented my legs! Pretty funny considering I'm very short :)



Shirt: Ann Taylor Loft
Skirt: Merona, Target
Shoes: Visitor, from Naturalizer
Necklace: Brilliant, Premier Designs



J's birthday is next week. He has gifted himself with some new duds and shoes, as seen below!

Shirt: J Crew (just went on sale for $29.99 in stores)
Pants: J Crew
Shoes: John Varvatos Star USA, via Gilt

We're off to Tampa for the weekend--Going to a White sox game. GO Chicago!!

Wednesday 5.26

I haven't worn the pink/brown combo in a long time, but I still really like it. Makes me feel like I'm a strawberry ice cream in a chocolate cone!

UPDATE: Taylor wore pink and brown too on Wednesday. AND she also made an ice cream reference!!




Cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft
Shirt: Merona, Target (used by 20% off coupon so it was only $8!)
Pants: NY&Co
Shoes: Jessica Simpson, TJ Maxx
Necklace: Premier



J loves loves loves the Madras shirts from J Crew. I love the colors and the fabric is great!

Shirt: J Crew
Pants: Banana Republic
Shoes: Converse

Tuesday 5.25

My workmates really love this shirt. I got like 5 compliments on it today! It's very cheery and puts me in a great mood! I also debuted the new Naturalizers, which were mad comfortable all day!






Shirt: Spence, via Marshalls
Cardigan: Gap
Pants: NY&Co
Shoes: Visitor style from Naturalizer
Necklace: Liz Clairborne
Headband: J Crew

J was having an in-depth discussion on cake with Ms. Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) herself:



Shirt: J Crew
Pants: Banana Republic
Shoes (not seen): Leather Sperrys

So excited for the finale of The Biggest Loser tonight!! Hope you all have a nice evening!

Monday Monday (5.24)

I felt pretty off all day, so I aimed for comfort today! Forgot to take a pic of J :(



Cardigan: Merona, Target
Shirt: Mossimo, Target
Pants: NY&Co (worn on the same day as Lola!
Shoes: Anne Klein via TJ Maxx
Earrings: Premier
Necklace: American Eagle (on my own chain)
Bracelet: Gifted (from mother in law)

Spent the work day eating baby goldfish crackers and drinking gingerale. Luckily I felt better in the evening. Laughed it up to How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory!

J's No Mayo Potato Salad

J's Bacon and Bleu Cheese Mayo-less Potato Salad

3 lbs of small red potatoes, cut in half
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Olive oil


Dressing
1/2 Tbsp finely minced shallot
1 teaspoon of fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 Tbsp Dijon-type mustard
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon Champagne Vinegar (can use white wine vinegar if you don't have this)
1/3 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground pepper

Topping
1/2 cup of bleu cheese crumbles (more or less to taste)
6 cooked strips of bacon, crumbled (give or take on the # of slices based on how bacon-y you want it!)
1 tablespoon chopped chives.


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Toss potatoes with rosemary, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste and bake on sheet pan for 30-35 minutes.
3. While potatoes are baking, whisk shallots, thyme, dijon mustard, salt, vinegar in a small bowl. Stream in EVOO.
4. Once potatoes are done, let them cool
5. Place potatoes in a large bowl. Toss with dressing (adjust amount of dressing to taste). Add bacon, bleu cheese and chives.
6. Chill for an hour before serving

This weekend

It got too crazy to take a picture of Friday's outfit so I did a little Polyvore set to show what I wore!

Friday work by natylite78 featuring Old Navy tops

On Saturday, J golfed with his dad. I had bagels and gossip with my other husband, N. Afterwards, I visited my parents and harvested veggies from their garden! I love this time of year. I got eggplant, jalapenos, broccoli, and herbs. From my uncle (he lives a few houses away), I got zucchini and sweet plums! Those goodies plus a visit to our local farmers market makes up our eats for this coming week!

I wore pretty much the same outfit from Mother's Day, except I wore my new Anchor flip flops, which were purchased last weekend.

Instead of a Saturday outfit pic, I'm including a pic of some of the awesome food J cooked for dinner last night!






From the top: Homemade BBQ sauce, Heirloom tomatoes (from Twinn Bridges farm) and onion salad, pork ribs (from Cognito Farms and broccoli from my parents' garden!

As far as Sunday is concerned, it is eventful for pretty much everyone but me, since the Lost finale is tonight! J will be watching with friends. I don't watch so I'll be spending a quiet night at home!

Happy Sunday :)

Thursdays are for laughing

Sorry gals, you only get my pic today! So glad Friday is right around the corner. Laughing caused by the NBC shows is a good way to bring in Friday.



Dress: Ann Taylor outlet
Cardigan: Bealls
Necklace: Tiger's Eye, Premier
Shoes: Jessica Simpson

So remember when I said I was looking for shoes so I didn't have to wear my tan wedges every day? I ordered these shoes from Naturalizer's website on Tuesday.




Shocking that I picked out shoes with higher than a 2 inch heel. Like my blogging friend Lola, I prefer flats. However I think these shoes, being they are Naturalizers, will be more comfortable. I hope I am right!

Then I went to TJ Maxx on Wednesday, with no particular agenda in mind (rarely do I have a clue when I walk in there!). My favorite section is the shoe clearance section. Lo and behold, these Jessica Simpson shoes were on clearance!



I am excited to shake up my look with these new shoes!

Wednesday 5.19 aka Lilly Day

M Lilly bag from Rue lala came in! More on that in a bit. Disclosure: While I did wear this dress to work, I did not wear the belt. However remembering how great Andie always looks, I decided to try it with the belt for my after work photo shoot! I will definitely wear this with the belt from now on! The belt really dressed it up compared to when I wore it last weekend.



Dress: Ann Taylor outlet
Belt: Ann Taylor (from another dress)
Shoes: Anne Klein via TJ Maxx
Necklace: Brilliant, Premier

J loves this new shirt from J Crew. The shorts are former J Crew pants. Shoes--Sperrys. Beer--Magic Hat #9 (haha)



On to the purse! I'm so happy it came in today! It is bigger than I thought it would be, which is fine by me as I schlep a lot of stuff around! I *may*...okay, I DID change my outfit before going out to dinner, so I could use my new purse!



Cardigan: Target
Shirt: Old Navy (from 3 years ago!)
Skirt: Vineyard Vines
Shoes: Sperrys
Purse: Lilly (of course!)
Necklace: Starfish, Premier

Hope you all have a lovely evening!

Tuesday 5.18

The day went by very slow. Hate those work days! Anyways, here is the outfit. I didn't wear these shoes to work--they are against dress code :( However I couldn't bear to have another picture with the same tan wedges I've worn over and over again. After work, I met J at our Town Center. He picked up some new shirts from J Crew, then we went to Banana Republic for their in-store event. There was a promotion of 25% off your purchase of $100. They had apps from a local restaurant, wine and other goodies. It was a nice event -- felt like a boutique party more than a Banana Republic. I tried on some shoes but no luck.



Shirt: Merona (Target)
Capris: Jones NY via Ross
Shoes: Payless
Bracelet: Premier



J's outfit was all Banana Republic, except for his shoes, which are Clark's. Oh, and the apron, which my mom made for him! Gotta protect the new clothes!

Now back to shoe shopping...

Monday 5.17

Debuting a few of my weekend purchases! I *may* have planned the outfit around a headband. :)



Skirt: Vineyard Vines
Navy Blue Tank: Merona via Target
Cardigan: ATL
Necklace: Liz Clairborne
Headband: Tommy Hilfeger
Shoes: Michelle D via Dillards
Purse: From the Twitter Party...

Twitter Party, you ask? Yes! I participated in a Twitter party for TJ Maxx and Marshalls. I won a prize. Two prizes actually! One was the purse shown in the picture. The other prize: Armani Exchange Sunglasses! Thanks to Fashion Me Fabulous for hosting the party!

See a theme here?

As I mentioned in the last post, we (me and mother in law) shopped shopped shopped on Saturday. We went to the Mall at Millenia and I found the Tory Burch boutique. I tried on my first pair of Revas and while lovely to look at, my feet hated them. They pinched my pinky toes and the heel kept slipping. Oh well, it wasn't meant to be! My sis met up with us for a while and we did have fun with the sunglasses! We also hit Macy's and Bloomingdales, which turned up some buys as well.

We ended the day at the outlets before heading to dinner. We also spent a few hours shopping at another outlet today.

Here are the goods!






Skirt: Vineyard Vines
Headbands and Starfish flops: Tommy Hilfiger
Anchor flops: Marc Fisher via Macy's
Hat: Polo
Shoes: Sperrys
Costume Pearls: Liz Clairborne

I also bought a dress at Ann Taylor, as shown in the last post. Finally, I picked up new lipgloss from Borghese.

I and I are enjoying the opportunity to wind down after a busy weekend. Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Saturday 5.15

Saturday was spent in Orlando. J played golf with his dad and shot his best game ever: 76. Yay! I shopped till I dropped with my mother in law. For dinner, we went to Emeril's restaurant at Universal City Walk. Food was excellent and service was terrific. My favorite parts of the meal include the lobster mac and cheese and the banana cream pie! Below are pictures before we headed to dinner.



Dress: Ann Taylor outlet for $19! Bought same day :)
Cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft
Sandals: Nine West
Headband: Tommy Hilfiger
Earrings: Local boutique called Ellie Bing
Necklace: Premier



Shirt: J Crew
Pants: Banana Republic
Shoes: Sperry

Coming up next: The fruits of my shopping "labor"!

Thursday 5.13

I had a goal to wear all skirts and dresses this week. However, I just wasn't feeling it this morning! I like this look--it feels a tad nautical to me, n'est pas?



Shirt: Antilia Femme via Ross (love the adorable gold button detail on the sleeves and top button)
Pants: NY & Co. - Look like denim but they are actually denim like dress pants
Shoes: Merona for Target
Necklace and Earrings: Forever 21

J was very non preppy today! I call this his "Cute boy in Wicker Park" look. Wicker Park is/was the ultimate hipster neighborhood in Chicago! He wanted me to take the picture while he was making me dinner (which he does pretty much every night!)



Shirt: Some internet store--not Threadless but similar
Jeans: Gap
Shoes: Converse

Lilly P on Rue lala --A testament to teamwork!

I spotted this lovely on the preview for the Rue lala Lilly Pulitzer sale. Knowing I would not be able to buy it at work (not allowed to make purchases using their computers), I contacted my hubby to be available to purchase it for me. He has his own Rue lala account, if you can believe that :) I sat with bated breath for the clock to strike 11am and quickly refreshed my browser. There it was--the Beachy Keen Bag! For $49 bucks! SOLD! A breathless call to J and just seconds later, the bag was mine! I logged back in an hour later and all the bags were sold out. Whew!



We are going away for the weekend so I won't be posting till Sunday. We'll bring the camera though and maybe have a little weekend fashion photoshoot!

Hump Day 5.12

The temps are rising steadily, so I can't bear to wear anything but a dress or skirt/top to work. I did notice I'm wearing the same shoes for the third day in a row. I need to buy another pair of summery tan shoes!

This dress is an oldie but a goodie. I wore it one of my wedding showers and to my rehearsal dinner. It's comfy but I still feel a bit put together.

Eeep I just looked at the pic and it looks like my stomach is so there. I"m chalking it up to the angle and lighting--yeah, that's it!



Dress: Dress Barn
Shoes: Michelle D
Necklace: Starfish from Premier
Earrings: Pave diamond balls from local boutique

Onto J. Doesn't he look ready for a J Crew photo shoot??



Polo and Shorts (formerly pants!!) - J Crew
Shoes: Sperry
Sunglasses: Aviators via American Optical

Tuesday 5.11

Today I'm wearing a dress you may have seen if you read What Andie Wears! I bought it at Target several years ago and it has been a staple of my wardrobe. Not sure why it looks like it is below my knee, because I swear it isn't! Like many things I own, it could use about an inch off the bottom.



Dress: Merona via Target
Cami: Gap
Shoes: Michele D
Necklace: Premier
Earrings: from a local boutique


Close up of necklace



Shirt: Gap Listed on the website for $41.99, but J just said he paid $34.99!
Pants: Banana Republic Bought in the store for $29.99, not $49.99, like on the website! Crazy to have such price differences!
Belt and Shoes: Clarks

Monday 5.10

I planned to work out after work (which I did! yay!) so I did a "real live polyvore" on my outfit of the day.



Shirt: Mossimo via Target
Cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft (Summer 2009)
Skirt: Ann Taylor Loft outlet
Shoes: Michele D via Dillards



Shirt: J Crew
Pants: Gap
Shoes: Clarks

Friday 5.7

Aside from the shoes, I am a Target poster girl with this look!

Mother's Day!

J and I spent time with our mommies on Mother's Day. I took my mom bargain shopping at TJ Maxx, Marshall's and Ross. The trifecta of great deals! We had a blast!

I met up with J at my in-laws house for dinner. J cooked a rib roast, potatoes, corn and salad for us! We dined outside since the weather was a balmy 75 degrees and little humidity. Bliss!



Shirt: Ralph Lauren via Marshall's
Chinos: Ralph Lauren
Shoes: Knock off Stephen Bonnanos via Payless
Necklace: Starfish, Premier Designs



Shirt and Pants: J Crew
Shoes: Sperry
Dog: KC!!!