Matching

I wore this to a Mexican place and soft serve for dessert. I haven't had soft serve in a long, long time. I love this ice cream print dress. It's comfy and adorable. This dress also comes in kids if you want to coordinate with your little girl.
I think this dress will get worn a lot networking.

Dress- Macy's (exact), Purse- Kate Spade (similar, steal), Shoes- Nine West (similar)
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Fourth

I've picked out some fun festive pieces for Fourth of July! And they can be worn many different ways. My favorites are the red top and the halter dress. 

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Bold

I wore this to the awards ceremony. I rented this dress and necklace for the occasion. I got it from Rent the Runway. I'd never tried them before and it was so easy. I love that they send two sizes!

Dress- Rent the Runway (similar), Shoes- JcPenney (similar), Jacket- H&M (similar), Bag- Kate Spade (similar)

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Gingham and Ice Cream

I wore this to a ladies networking lunch. This is such an easy spring outfit. I showed this gingham skirt in my last post and I've worn it a ton.

Skirt- Macy's (exact), Shirt- Loft (similar), Bag- Kate Spade (similar, similar steal), Shoes- JcPenney (similar), Bracelet- Limited (similar), Ring- Forever 21 (similar)

This bag is such a fun piece. I've got a carousel of fun ice cream bags at the bottom of this post.

Skirt- Macy's (exact), Shirt- Loft (similar), Bag- Kate Spade (similar, similar steal), Shoes- JcPenney (similar), Bracelet- Limited (similar), Ring- Forever 21 (similar)

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Gingham

Gingham is the perfect print for spring and summer.

This would be so cute at the beach. $60

I love how large and graphic the print is on this dress. $139

I have this skirt and have worn it a ton. I really recommend it. $49.50

I really like the larger print on this one. And it can be casual or you can wear it to work. $89

I like the nontraditional colors of this sweater. $88

Blue Florals

I wore this to go to dinner for my anniversary. We celebrated a few weeks late since I had a lot of work things to do.

Dress- Eliza J (similar, steal), Shoes- DSW (exact, similar sandal), Belt- New York and Company (similar), Bracelet- Vintage (similar)

Dress- Eliza J (similar, steal), Shoes- DSW (exact, similar sandal), Belt- New York and Company (similar), Bracelet- Vintage (similar)
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Dine N Dash DC

Last week Mike and I did Dine N Dash. I heard about it through a friend on Facebook. There were 30 restaurants to go to. We did about 9 but the MGM pop-up had  4 restaurants in it. There were two neighborhoods. We did Penn Quarter.

This is a rib and wine from China Chilcano. This was one of my favorite items. I also loved the fried taleggio from Grafiatto, California roll from Sei, the lobster roll from the MGM pop-up and ALL of the tacos at Oyamel.
Mike and I also enjoyed Bantam King. A few of the restaurants had live music and Zaytina had a streetwalker.

I also got to try a few kinds of wine. And an awesome pomegranate margarita from Oyamel. Instead of a salt rim it had a salt foam.
This was such a fun event. Mike and I want to go back next year. All of the proceeds go to World Central Kitchen.

Eyelet

Eyelet is such a great fabric for spring. It's lace's lighter cousin.

I love the bright color on this skirt. $79

This top has cute subtle bell sleeves. And with the sleeves it can be worn into fall. $41.40

I love the two different eyelet patterns in this skirt. $39.99

This is such a great color for spring. It would work great with cardigans and jean jackets. $98

Spring Scallops

I wore this to hang out with my friend. I took her to a cat cafe. It was pretty cute. I wish there was a puppy cafe. Then we got lunch at an Italian place.

Top- ThredUp (similar), Shorts- Macy's (exact, regular fit), Shoes- Sam Edelman (similar, steal), Bracelet- Mom's (similar)

I've been wanting scalloped shorts for a while and these are so cute. I love the scallop on the pockets. They are linen so they do wrinkle pretty quickly.

Top- ThredUp (similar), Shorts- Macy's (exact, regular fit), Shoes- Sam Edelman (similar, steal), Bracelet- Mom's (similar)

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May Budget

I was looking for two things in May, a dress for my awards lunch and some shorts.

1. ML Pucker Up Dress- This is from Rent the Runway. I looked around for something to buy but this really stood out to me and I couldn't find anything else that was as fun as this. My awards lunch isn't until June so I won't know how it fits until then. Rent
2. Scallop Shorts- I've been wanting a pair of scallop shorts for a while and these are perfect! I love the color and even the pockets have a little scallop detail. I got the curvy fit. $23.99 Exact, Regular Fit
3. Kate Spade Necklace- This is another Rent The Runway piece. I could get $25 off of $75 so I added this necklace and it's nice to know I'll have an accessory with the dress when it gets here.
4. Polka Dot Shorts- These are the same brand as the scallop shorts so I got the curvy fit as well. $29.59 Exact, Regular Fit
5. White Shorts- I wanted a pair of white shorts because I think they look so fresh and summery. This comes in a lot of nice colors.  $29.59 Exact, Regular Fit

Macy's Order $83.17, Rent The Runway (70+15 - 25) $60  Total $143.17

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Pineapples for Summer

Pineapples are a fun trend this summer. I've rounded up some fun pineapple picks.

This is a fun retro take on the pineapple trend. It can be dressed up and down. It also comes in plus size. $78

These Dolce & Gabbana heels are so whimsical. They are out of my budget but still fun to look at. $1197

This Betsey Johnson bag is so fun! And it's an extra 20% off right now. $66

These Old Navy shorts will look great on vacation. I like the gold and white together. They are a deal at $12.45

This Anthropologie skirt is such a great length. $118

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Palm Print

I wore this to do a little shopping. I tried on some shorts and ordered them today.

Dress- Old Navy (very similar), Jacket- Made by Me (similar), Necklace- Charming Charlie (similar), Shoes- JcPenney (similar), Purse- Kate Spade (similar, steal)

This dress was great last summer. Old Navy released the style again this year. They have a similar palm print it just doesn't have the pink. There's also a great red floral.

Dress- Old Navy (very similar), Jacket- Made by Me (similar), Necklace- Charming Charlie (similar), Shoes- JcPenney (similar), Purse- Kate Spade (similar, steal)
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6 Great Pinterest Recipes

I'm working on improving my cooking skills and Pinterest has been very helpful. I still like to use cook books and I can always fall back on salad but it's fun to try new things. I have a board where I pin all of the recipes I've tried that have worked for me. I'm going to share 6 of my favorites so far and the changes I've made.

Grilled Shrimp and Vegetable Bowls from Skinnytaste-  (pictured) This was so easy and quick! I did this indoors on my grill pan because I don't have an outdoor grill. I left out the smoked paprika because I couldn't find it and the shrimp were still great. And I did tomatoes instead of zucchini. Next time I think I'll add some pico de gallo instead of plain tomatoes. I think grilled onions would be awesome as well. 

Cheater Korean BBQ Beef Bowl from Damn Delicious- I made for meal prep one week. I added carrots and broccoli in my bowls for a little bit of veggies. This was easy to make. The sauce has a great flavor. 

Buffalo Chicken Bake from Inside Bru Crew Life- (pictured) I've been on a buffalo chicken kick so when I saw this pasta I had to try it. I did about a half a cup of ranch dressing and  half a cup of buffalo wing sauce because that's the proportion I use when I make the dip. Using a rotisserie chicken makes this really easy. 

Greek Chicken Meal Prep Bowls from Damn Delicious-(pictured) This is my favorite meal prep bowl. I've made it a bunch. I do use pre-made tzatziki and I like to add feta. This is very simple to make. It's also good over lettuce if you don't feel like rice. I think the onions and cucumbers get soggy if you leave it in the dressing too long so I cut those up and put the dressing on that morning. 

Baked Chicken Parmesan from Skinny Taste- The directions were easy to follow and this was a hit. My chicken breasts were very thick so the cooking time was good for me but you may need to adjust if yours are on the thinner side. They reheat pretty well too.

Ricotta Gnocchi from Recipe Tin Eats- I had a good amount of ricotta leftover from baked ziti and I can across this recipe. I've never tried making potato gnocchi so I can't compare this difficulty but this was easy to do. I froze half of it and it froze really well. I served it with the chicken Parmesan. 

I hope these recipes can help you out. My successful recipes board is here. Let me know if you'd like to see more posts like this. 

Scallops under $75

Scallops are great for spring. They add a little bit of whimsy to an outfit.

I love the two layers of scallops and the color is nice and bold. $29.70

I love the faux wrap on this skirt. $39.99

The scallops make a pair of white shorts more interesting. It also comes in navy. $34.99

The scallops on the jacket make it look cute and retro. $40.99

Mother's Day

I wore this to get lunch with my mom and grandma for a belated Mother's Day. This leopard dress is my go-to dress.

Dress- Trashy Diva (similar, steal), Shoes- Payless (similar), Shirt- Mom's (similar), Bracelet- Charming Charlie (similar)
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