etsy update: ombre soaps

i've had summer on my mind lately with my latest shop creations.  this ombre soap creation reminds me of the colors of the ocean:  the frothy white foam to the shades of blue of the ocean. 

and ombre???  everyone is loving the ombre trend right now.  Ombre Coconut Soap $6.

summer hats

love this image from anthropologie.  i have always been in love with giant floppy summer hats...evokes summer perfectly for me.  next week....beach vacation with my sis!  <3

date night

as usual, blair is workin' it in this TIBI maxi that is to die for.  WANT WANT WANT.  and i've been wearing my hair in similar sloppy updo as of late.

tonight matt and i had a date night out and went to see Men in Black 3 in 3D.  a little outside the box for us but totally fun.  i also had an entire bag of popcorn drenched in delicious movie theater butter.  and i cried at the end behind my 3D glasses because i'm pathetic *lol*

today was my first day at my "new" job--aka working from home on my Etsy shop.  a lot of behind the scenes hours being clocked in--i'll be excited when it reflects in the shop more. 

featured on the front page of Etsy this memorial day morning

stylemint: the venice stripe tee

stylemint is having a memorial day sale, so i snatched up this cute color-blocked stripe tee.  i am hoping it is a thin lightweight material that i can wear in the summer and layer with a boyfriend blazer for fall.  i love the color combination and i love anything and everything striped.  *yay*

etsy: vegan lip balms

so excited to add some new products to my Etsy line.  i'm splitting my shop up with kitsch + fancy focusing on beauty and home products.  i made these adorable little vegan Blood Orange lip balms today.  i also made a tinted version since i love a hint of color with my lip gloss.  the product development part of this is fun!  on my near future agenda.... soy candles!

it's been so much fun researching and making stuff while watching Ru Paul's Drag Race.  my new life at home has been awesome thus far.

lunch at Luna's.

last day at Luna's.  bittersweet.  had some fun times-- and it was nice to be back in the rowdy environment of a kitchen.  a nice break from retail but reminded me how it's back breaking work and i probably am too old for it!  it was nice to be re-inspired by food again after a few years of terrible food court meals at the mall.  for my last day i ordered the Spinach Parmesan Temptation.  Luna's Spinach Temptation! You'll get an abundant serving of raw Spinach, Onions and Cherry Tomatoes tossed in out home-made Brazilian Nut "Parmesan" Dressing, accompanied by a marinated Carrot and Beet Salad! 

lunch at 3 amigos.

the chorizo-queso at 3 amigos.  3 amigos is a local cantina in plaza midwood

with a big following.  known for their awesome specials and staying open late

on the weekends.

the perfect balance.  a light sprinkling of spicy chorizo, sweet caramelized onions,

and smooth, creamy queso.

2 empanadas.  one chicken one beef.  they were huge!

i loved that you could see the fork marks from them 

pressing the empanadas closed.  a little dry--but still delicious!

carne asada plate.  a tad bit dry.  i am always bad about ordering steak at

places i probably shouldn't.  haha, stick to the classics.

 matt doesn't know where to start with his giant chalupa.

so huge, delicious, and hand-fried with chicken and mexican cheese.

their tiny tacos are amazing.  they are fried almost like a little packet...

so the ingredients stay tucked inside perfectly.  this is our new go-to 

Mexican joint for sure!

recipe: spaghetti and meatballs

sometimes i just want/need carbs for dinner.

 

sooo yummy.  turkey meatballs, vegetarian sausage grounds, sliced olives,

a slightly sweet tomato basil sauce, a sprinkling of parmesan and homemade

garlic toast.

stylemint wishlist.

dixon convertible skirt, stylemint $59.95

okay when i first joined stylemint... i was a little annoyed that it is a "club" that charges your card monthly.  you basically accrue credits at $29.95 a month for one credit and then use those credits to purchase items from the site.  i have seen things i want every month so the club is totally worth it *haha* --i've also worn my striped tee to death already.  anyone who knows me knows how much i LOVE great knits in basic colors/ stripes which is what this site focuses on.  stylemint's silhouettes and styling are super modern, which i love. 

here is my current stylemint wishlist.  the dixon convertible skirt/dress comes in both heather gray and black...i want both!  i love anything you can wear two ways and this piece allows you to try the asymetrical skirt hem trend.  i would love this as a traveling piece that you can throw on with sandals and a great necklace or layer with a slouchy tee, belt and heels for evening. 

a summer heel

these platforms are so summery.  love<3

so many...owls on my desk

hoot hoot

recipe: BBQ Baked Chicken

now that i'm doing the self-employed thing....well, 8 days of working life left!  i will need to find more ways to scrimp and save until i start making money *lol*.  number one way is by cooking at home.  i like cooking and cook most of the time anyway but it is fun to do it on a tight budget because it forces you to get creative.  and we are trying to maintain our weight so being health-conscious is important to us as well. 

this BBQ baked chicken was super easy and light.  matt LOVES BBQ anything as long as it's sweet so i used a honey bbq sauce.  toss with a bunch of local summer veggies (zucchini, squash, tomatoes, red onions, carrots).  toss with olive oil and season well.  for a whole chicken, bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees to render the fat (this gives you crisp skin), then 15 minutes per pound thereafter for perfect chicken.

lunch at 7th Street Public Market.

matt and i spent the day downtown because we heard through the grapevine about the 

"Top Chef" tour coming through.  didn't really know what to expect, but we are huge

fans of the show so we definitely wanted to go.  ended up being a tad boring--we 

didn't know the 2 chefs cooking off, but glad we went anyway because we found

the 7th Street Public Market we'd been hearing about.

7th Street Public Market is still a work-in-progress but sooo cool so far.

Reminds me of the specialty markets found in big cities like the ones I've been

to in New York or Charleston.

 

Pure Pizza creates gorgeous artisan pizzas in unique flavor combinations

 we split the pulled pork pizza topped with purple slaw (what's with this

great purple slaw we keep seeing everywhere?!) on sprouted grain crust

served with a local honey/ cinnamon mixture for the crust.  *delicious*

 

Cloud 9 Confections for dessert.  Matt had the tuxedo cake which

he loved and i had a mediocre chocolate chip cookie.

 

inspiration

 

just got this lovely print by Handz on Etsy $20, for inspiration in my studio room