5 for August...

August obsessions...

My Oakley Frogskins...these were a must for lounging poolside!

Bikini so teeny by Essie is such a fun pop of color when taking a break from Alpine Snow!

My all time summer favorite...Alpine Snow!

Fun everyday anywhere arm party! I found the rubber stripped bracelets at Paper Source last summer and the three beige beaded bracelets were given me to me by a friend this past February. Loved mixing these together this month.

Black tiered crochet shorts from Nordstrom to wear casual or dressy! 

Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend Everyone!

Try It Tuesday with Kale...

As of last weekend I had never made Kale chips! 
After stopping into Whole Foods and sampling theirs for $9 a box I thought it was time I tried making my own. 

I'm not quite sure if there is a better recipe so maybe some of you can give me some pointers for next time.

My way...

I tossed one container of baby kale in Olive Oil & Sea Salt.

I divided the container to make different flavors of chips. I made a sea salt batch and a pecorino romano batch.

I roasted the kale at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes. They came out very thin and crispy, but delicious.

So delicious that I couldn't eat just one! I ate both bowls and Oops! there wasn't any left for the family to try. Next time I will try using curly kale as it seems it might hold up to roasting a little better. I definitely liked the sea salt over the cheese but would love to try other flavors as well.

How do you make your kale chips? 

Try It Tuesday...

I watch MTV once a year for the...

 VMA music awards!

The red carpet was a little disappointing for me this year but these two girls were my favorite of the night.

Selena and Taylor are two class acts and wish I could say the same about Miley. 

JT aka "President of Pop" did not disappoint last night and the N'Sync rumor was true! They brought the crowd and myself at home to our feet! He is one talented guy and can rock the stage like no other. In case you missed his performance you can watch it here on People Magazine's website!

Have a great week!

Thursday morning...

It's Thursday Morning and I'm thinking...

* I can't believe that school is starting Monday.

* Where did the summer go?

*Not sure I'm liking my new runners...do I look for another pair?

*Does it really matter what my runners look like?

*Can't wait for the Video Music Awards this weekend.

*Are the rumors of N'Sync performing together true?

*Should I wake my sleeping beauties to get them ready for school next week or let them enjoy sleeping in?

*Do I take my girl Junie B on my run this morning?

*Ughhh I'll feel so guilty if I don't...

*I'm dying to take a Barre class but don't know where...

*Need a new case for my iPhone but which one?

*Time to hit the pavement...

Green Dream Try It Tuesday...

I'm trying a new protein, superfood powder to add to my morning smoothies and I'm really digging it. 

Isn't it just beautiful?

A few people have asked me about this so
here's the 411on the Green Dream superfood powder!

Her name is Sophie and she started a company called Philosophie...fitting right?
Here's the link to Philosophie's website where you can purchase and read more about this dreamy powder among others.

This is why I like it: Most importantly there are NO fillers and it's non-GMO. 
It's organic, gluten-free and raw. 
It doesn't have a strong taste like a lot of green powders on the market.

The above smoothie has 1C of water, 1T Green Dream, 1 banana & 1C of spinach.

A lot of times I add blueberries, bee pollen &/or flax seed to mix it up!

Try it out for yourself and check back to let me know what you think.
BTW no compensation was received for this post. Just wanted to share some good stuff with y'all!

Try It Tuesday...


I

Music we chilled to...

I like how our summer is going and not sure I'm ready for it to end. One week from today my kiddos go back to school which means that the dog days of summer are coming to an end.

 This past weekend we soaked up the sun and lounged around the pool. Here are some of the tunes we chilled to:

Random I know but hope one of these songs strikes a chord with you...

Have a great week!

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Weekly wears...

What I wore this week:

shirt/Free People

jeans/Abercrombie & Fitch

shoes/Flogg

shirt/Free People

jeans/Free People

shoes/Rag & Bone

shirt/5/48

shorts/True Religion

shoes/Boutique 9

necklace/Stella & Dot/charitylittle

sunglasses/Ray-Ban

TGIF!

Makeup Brushes...

How often do you clean your make-up brushes? 

O.k. don't judge me here but I don't get around to cleaning mine very often. Dirty I know and I'm sure if you are in the makeup business you are probably cringing reading this! They did get a bath this morning and can't wait to use them.

 On the other hand, how long does makeup cleaner last?  I've had mine for oh, I'm going to get in trouble for this one I'm sure of it, probably 11 years! See the bottle in the above pic? This is  the one that I bought at the MAC store in the Cherry Creek Mall in Denver years ago. Probably time for a new one right?

How often should I wash my brushes? What do you clean your brushes with?

Monogrammed Shower Curtain for Try It Tuesday...

Shower Curtain Inspiration!

monogrammed shower curtain

We're still in the process of Ryan's room/bathroom re-do and I wanted to share our recent update.

We found this gorgeous quilted shower curtain at Restoration Hardware Outlet for $6.99, originally 89.99!  It was pink, it was on sale and it was ours!

 I thought it needed a little something extra as in a monogram. I've seen numerous monogrammed shower curtains on-line that are tres chic but tres expensive. I thought by taking this to someone locally wouldn't put too much of a dent in my pocketbook. 

After three stops at different embroidery stores I finally found a place that could do it. I originally wanted her full monogram at 12 inches in height. With that size, they have to do a special stitch so it won't snag which takes a lot of stitches.  After seeing what the cost was going to be we changed our game plan and decided on a R. I didn't realize how pricey this embroidery can get! I'll just say that this R ended up being a lot more than the price of the curtain! 

For the price and not having to wait 6-8 weeks for a custom shower curtain I think it turned out beautiful! It's simple and Ryan is loving it.

Here are a few other monogram shower curtains that may inspire you:

photo courtesy of mad for monograms

photo courtesy of The Pink Monogram

photo courtesy of mad for monograms

Try It Tuesday...

Tax Free Days Are Here...

Tax free weekend is here in Texas!

 I'm not sure if I want to stay away from all the crazy in the stores this weekend or if I want to join in on the savings. 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

It can't be as bad as black Friday right?  I am looking for a new pair of cowboy boots so this may be the weekend to bite the bullet. 

Check here for a breakdown of the items that will be tax free this weekend.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Where will you be shopping? 

Weekend Getaway...

I know we have been gone a lot this summer but I just looked at the calendar and realized we didn't spend one weekend at home in July! Wow no wonder we needed another getaway just to relax and not have to be anywhere at anytime! 

 We started August off with a mini-vacation to the JW Marriott in San Antonio. We packed up our bags again to head out to our perfect little weekend getaway to recharge our batteries for the last month of summer!

pooltime!

they made their own ice cream in a baggie!

pool sharks!

morning walkovers!

decorating her duck for the race!

One of our favorite places to spend a weekend with the kiddos and can't wait to go back!

Life After Baseball: Try It Tuesday...

Life After Baseball: Try It Tuesday...: At home manicures can get messy...well I find that mine do most of the time! I always end up with polish where it shouldn't be especial...

Try It Tuesday...

At home manicures can get messy...well I find that mine do most of the time! I always end up with polish where it shouldn't be especially because I keep my nails short.

 I've used polish corrector pens in the past to touch up around my nails but I feel that they dry up fast and they are hard to use. 

So today I'm sharing my solution to the perfect at home mani!

Do this after you have finished painting your nails...yes after your top coat!
I use an old eye shadow brush to remove unwanted polish around my nail! Just dip it in a little nail polish remover and brush around your nail. 

It's super easy and much cheaper than buying the nail corrector pens!

Try It Tuesday...

Tessa...

Fall is right around the corner and I always look forward to seeing the new lines that come out. 

Refreshing your fall wardrobe with a couple of versatile jewelry pieces is key. When choosing your pieces make sure you can wear them casually or dressy to maximize your purchase!

Stella & Dot's fall line debuted last month and I'm loving the Tessa Fringe Necklace.

Tessa Fringe Necklace

A little edgy but you can wear it with a plain black t or dress it up.

It also has a hint of navy and gold nylon threads in the middle to make it a little more casual.

TGIF!

Home Sweet Home...

Is it really August 1st? 

I still can't believe how fast this summer is flying by. We have been a family on the go

and

this time last week we were back in Illinois for a whirlwind visit. 

We did spend some time in St. Louis at my sister's,  A.K.A. the mad crafter,  house

 and had a wonderful time just hanging out. Yes, she did have a craft for the kids to do! She always does and probably always will. This trip it was friendship bracelets...

 Check out her blog if you're looking for a cool craft for your kiddos to do.

 There is never enough time to see everyone we would like when we go "home."  My team always needs a little down time wherever we are so fitting everything in just isn't possible! We did get to most of our restaurants although we didn't make it to Crown Candy to test it out for ourselves. Hopefully we can check it off our list next time we're in town along with the people we didn't get a chance to see.

I won't bore you with a ton of pics but here are a few from our trip. And if you're visiting in the St. Louis, Mo/Edwardsville, IL area I highly suggest you try out our favorite places!

The new sea lion exhibit at the St. Louis Zoo. BTW the admission is ZERO dollars and it's one of the best zoo's around!

Cutest pic of the kids with my sister at The Boathouse watching the dog races. 

It's the perfect place to unwind after visiting the St. Louis Zoo.

Sweetest pic of Jack and Max walking their GiGi out of Peel restaurant.

Ry finally sinking her teeth into Cleveland-Heath's deviled eggs!

Hope some of you had a chance to go "home" this summer break...