happy memorial day...beach bag essentials

happy memorial day, ladies! i hope many of you are beach-bound this weekend. i'll be heading up north to oklahoma for a few days at the new choctaw casino...yes, a casino in oklahoma...yes...i know. anyway, i plan to spend a lot of time at the brand new pool and spa so i broke out the old beach bag to make sure i pack the sunning essentials...

forever 21 sequin anchor bag ($10ish i think), clarins sunscreen spray oil-free spf 15 ($32), neutrogena sheer ultra-dry spf 30 ($10), softlips spf 20 ($2), ray-ban aviators ($70-$120), target ruffle eyelet bathing suit ($15 each piece)

today's outfit: grey and white sailing stripes

loving this season's nautical touches. oh, and i got nick to take the photos this morning...

club monaco sweater ($50), ny&co white jeans ($20), dolce vita able sandals ($120), heidi klum earrings ($40), ray-ban wayfarers ($80)

recipe: my mom's potato salad

if there's one thing that tastes like summer, it's my mom's potato salad. i made it earlier this week in preparation for the official start to summer this coming memorial day weekend. here's the "recipe" (in quotation marks because it's just kinda a list of ingredients and the technique for putting it all together)...

step 1: chop a bag of red potatoes into bite-sized pieces, leaving the skin on. rinse and submerge in boiling water until tender, being careful not to overcook or they'll turn to mush.

step 2: while the potatoes are cooking, hard boil four eggs and let cool. once cooled enough to handle, peel and cut with an egg-cutter (or dice as if you were making egg salad).

step 3: also while the potatoes are cooking, chop about four stalks of celery and about half of a medium/small onion. you should have two-thirds celery and one-third onion.

step 4: after the potatoes have cooled, combine all ingredients (potatoes, diced eggs, celery and onion) in a large bowl. add equal parts mayonnaise and sour cream, topping with just a drop of spicy mustard - overall, just enough mayo and sour cream to evenly cover the potatoes. salt and pepper to taste and mix well. serve nice and cold as a delicious side dish.

today's outfit: romping around like a cowgirl

today felt like a cowgirl kinda day...

ny&co romper ($20), j.crew rosette-ruffle cardigan ($38), old gringo salome boots ($430), forever 21 necklace and ring, OPI on collins avenue nail polish

doing my nails out in deco

i've mentioned before how much i love stocking up on OPI and essie nail polish colors and doing my nails every week or so. my latest favorite color is OPI's done out in deco and i took photos of my step-by-step process of manicuring at home. it's a pretty basic process but thought i'd share anyway :)
step 1: after cutting nails nice and short (long nails are SO 1997), prep nails with a base coat of OPI's nail envy to strengthen weak nails ($8 - $12).

step 2: cover nails with two thin coats of polish, patiently letting each coat dry fully before moving on to the next. this'll help avoid bubbles. the photo below is after one coat.

step 3: top off with seche vita's dry fast top coat ($3-10).

all done!

oh and here's my toes in essie's marshmallow, as i promised last week!

today's outfit: braiding in a rush

nick had me rushing out the door this morning so i didn't have time to blowdry my hair. my go-to-non-blowdry style is a "bang braid" with a low bun. comfy and out of my face all day.

club monaco dress ($60 on sale last summer), necessary clothing wrap belt ($10), steve madden kobraa flats ($60), banana republic gold hoops ($22), yves saint laurent muse bag (regularly $1,200+ but my awesome hubs ebayed a very gently used one for me for our first anniversary)

sprucing up a bare white wall

i think i've mentioned before that nick has a strict no-painting-when-renting policy. however, i've been decorating a purchased house in my imagination for a while now so keep buying white frames for our white walls - thinking one day i'll live in a house with painted walls. either way, i wanted to share my new wall of family photos. it makes me happy to see all of their faces as i come and go every day...

step 1: i bought my favorite photos from snapfish - all in black and white and in all different sizes.
step 2: i then bought frames to fit the sizes and laid them all out on the floor to make sure the arrangement worked with the space on the wall. i decided to work around the "keep calm and carry on" poster (buy it here on etsy) i put up when we first moved in.




step 3: enlist a man to help you measure and level all of the photos. just kidding - he held the nails for me as i measured and nailed. i'm a very good eyeballer, ha.


step 4: take a step back and enjoy.



i love the punch of yellow in the middle of all of the black and white photos. i can't wait to move into a house with a painted wall so these photos will really pop.

today's outfit: yumi kim devon dress

today's outfit is pretty straightforward. i'm wearing yumi kim's devon dress and i like to keep it simple because the fabric is so gorgeous. and yep, that's my father in law in the background - he rode his harley all the way down from maryland!

ps. why does it look like i don't have an upper lip in this photo? i need that tripod stat.

yumi kim devon dress ($60 on super sale last summer), steve madden sandals from two summers ago (they're about to fall apart but i won't let them go), danielle stevens monogram necklace ($78)

toms shoes introduces a wedge - part two

remember when i blogged so long ago that TOMS was introducing a wedge? fellow blogger melanie reminded me on friday that none of us have been able to find them in store. well, look what i found - sign up on the TOMS website to be notified when the shoes are available. you better believe i entered my email address as soon as i found that page and i hope you do too!

wearing white before memorial day #5 / TOMS shoes

few things make me happier at the end of the work day than taking off my work shoes and throwing on my TOMS for the walk home. i've practically worn out the gold sequin pair my mom gave me for christmas and my next pair will be the $44 white canvas classics. rock them with jeans or a skirt and feel cute and funky at the same time. the best part? you can throw them in the washer to buff up the whiteness.

toms shoes are exempt from any no-white-wearing rules considering they give a pair of TOMS to a child in need for every pair purchased. heart them!

wearing white before memorial day #4 / nail polish

i love wearing nail polish on my toes that brings out even the faintest hint of a fresh tan. essie's "marshmallow" polish is the best white i've found. not too shimmery, not too matte, not too bright white. i plan to replace my "done out in deco" toes with "marshmallow" this weekend.

you can usually find essie on amazon.com for about $3.50 or $4 rather than the usual $8. i picked up marshmallow at ulta last week during a buy two get one free sale. they have them regularly so stop in every once in a while.

wearing white before memorial day #1 / a third outfit in action

today's outfit was chosen with comfort in mind. i have to drive to houston tonight for meetings tomorrow so wanted something cute yet comfortable.



dolce vita able sandals ($120), banana republic skinny cargos (super sale for $12.50), no name top from emeralds here in austin ($20), banana republic gold hoops ($22), forever 21 belt ($8), tjmaxx overnight bag (gift from my favorite mother in law)

wearing white before memorial day #3 / summer dress

the "no white before memorial day" rule goes out the window as soon as temps hit 75. this stone harbor haltar dress from shopmamie ($98) is the perfect dress for a backyard bbq, family member graduation party or for a stroll to the mr. softee truck for ice cream. plus, it's really cream, not white. stay warm once the sun goes down by topping it with a colorful cardi like this one from j.crew.

wearing white before memorial day #1 / another outfit in action

aaaaand here is today's outfit. kinda similar to yesterday's due to the fact that i'm wearing the same style shorts but in a different color.

club monaco cardigan ($80), vince silk tank ($40), ny&co gramercy shorts ($17.50), banana republic belt ($20), steve madden heaven flats ($40), gorjana key necklace ($65)