Beat the Heat With These Treats!

Wow, I really need to get better at this blogging thing. For the last two(ish) months, things have been so crazy! From my sister's graduation from high school (and her graduation party), my cousin's graduation from UT Austin, to my own trip to Indianapolis, plus everyday work exhaustion ... I have been spending all my free time laying on the couch watching Gossip Girl on Netflix. (If you haven't seen gossip girl, you must! Just be prepared to say goodbye to doing anything productive for the next few weeks).

Regardless, it is now July, summer is fully here, and the weather in Austin is making me want to move to Alaska. I really need a pool. But I have thankfully found a few (somewhat unhealthy) ways to beat the heat!

Behold:

 Shaved Ice. So delicious! This trailer in Austin has a huge selection to choose from, and my personal favorite is the Mojito flavor. Shaved ice spots have been popping up all over this summer!

Speaking of Mojitos, this is a (non-alcoholic) drink called the Moj-tea-to. It's sparkling iced tea with a hint of mint, and perfect for a hot day.

These are frozen bananas, dipped in chococolate, and then covered in toppings such as m&m's, granola, oreos, and graham crackers. They are as amazing as they sound. But are also very rich, so it's something I let myself indulge in every once in a while. These are also a treat you could easily make at home with minimal ingredients.

Frozen yogurt is always a go-to for me. I like making mine relatively healthy with vanilla yogurt, strawberries, and just a spoonful or two of crushed andes mints. 

You can never go wrong with a frozen margarita. Especially in Texas ;)

Stay cool,

D

Feeling the Love

 Having a special someone (whether it's a significant other or your best friend) to share your biggest dreams and successes with makes life that much more meaningful and worthwhile. I've been blessed to have people in my life that I can experience life's little pleasures with, and I hope everyone is able to have that at one time or another!

D

High School Nostalgia - PROM edition

A few weeks ago, I was deemed the official chauffeur of taking my younger sister to her makeup and hair appointments for her senior prom. Can I just say, girls these days have MUCH better fashion sense than when I was a senior. All her friends had gorgeous dresses, impeccable makeup, and hair to die for. If only I could go back and do mine all over again...

First stop was blo blow-dry bar to get her hair done. This was my first time here, and I'm glad she chose this place. The decor was awesome, and there were tons of girls getting all glammed up for prom. Plus, my sister got her hair washed, blow-dried, and then curled all for just $35! I mean, that just can't be beat.

 Next stop: Sephora. The makeup artist who did her makeup was great and really knew what she was doing. She was hilarious and had us both laughing the whole time. (Which makes it really hard to put makeup on someone).

 I had to get a corsage picture. The colors she picked out worked perfectly with her and her date's outfits.

I used this picture on an earlier post, but I am obsessed with those sparkly blue shoes! I really need to figure out where they are from. Everyone looked so gorgeous!

During my prom *ahem* 8-ish years ago, I remember obsessing over what dress I should wear and dragging my mom to a million different stores, before just settling on something. My hair was way too curly, and I don't even remember if I wore heels or not. Thank god I've matured since then and I like to think my fashion sense is a whole lot better now. 

:)

D

Small Stuff: Part 2

I got this adorable postcard in the mail earlier this week that just made my day. It gave me a great idea of sending postcards with cute sayings or inspirational quotes to friends/family as a little pick-me-up.  

I saw this gorgeous bird with the brightest blue feathers yesterday at a pet store. No, I'm not planning on getting a pet anytime soon but I was in there killing time looking at the cute animals before a dinner reservation.

This line of wine is a recent discovery of mine, and it has quickly become my favorite. The label is my naturally the best part since I am a middle sister, and middle sisters are the best type of sisters! :)

Have a great week!


D

Lunch Favorite: Avocado Grilled Cheese

Whenever I find a new recipe or come up with a new meal idea, I tend to overdo it and eat it multiple times a week. My new lunch obsession: Avocado Grilled Cheese. It really is as amazing as it sounds, and so incredibly easy to make.

You will need:
1. Two slices of multi-grain bread (Any bread can work but multi-grain just adds so much to the flavor)
2. Butter
3. Avocado
4. Jalapeno Jack sliced cheese

First, slice the avocado into about 8 small pieces, or enough to fill up the length of your bread.

Then, put a very thin layer of butter on one side of each bread slice.

Place cheese on the non-buttered side of one bread slice, and then lay the avocado pieces on top.

Put the other slice of bread on top, (with the butter side up) and then place the whole sandwich on the pan on medium heat. Flip it every minute or so to make sure both sides get grilled. 

Cut in half and enjoy with some sliced strawberries or a smoothie!

D

Small Stuff: Part 1

This marks the beginning of what I hope to be a weekly recurring post, containing things I encountered during the week that are small reminders to savor the small stuff.

Rows of palm trees in southern California from a trip I took earlier this year. Palm trees just give a sense of summer, beaches, and good things to come.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am officially obsessed with Peet's Coffee. They really need to open up some shops in Texas. Actually, maybe it's a good thing they aren't in Texas yet because otherwise I would spend all my money on their soy vanilla lattes. 

This ring that I got from Madewell is one of my all time favorites. It's small enough to wear everyday, and also just the right amount of girly-ness for my taste.

Birthday margaritas: the best kind of margaritas. This one is from Chuy's, where I had my birthday dinner with my family a few weeks ago.

This is a picture from my younger sister's prom last night. Notice the abundance of nude pumps. (I really need to invest in a good pair). I absolutely adore the blue sparkly shoes in the middle!

D

Pray for Boston and West

From the unfathomable bombings at the Boston Marathon, to the explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, it has been one extremely tough week. We really need to savor every moment and cherish the little things in life. Live every moment to the fullest and without any regrets. Life is too precious to do otherwise. 

Stay Safe!

D

Easy DIY Polka-Dot Nails

Here is a short little tutorial on how to jazz up your nails using polka-dots. I chose to do polka-dots on an accent nail instead of on all my nails so it was more suitable for work. 

 You will need at least two different nail polish colors: one for the base coat, and one for the polka-dots. (I chose to use Chinchilly by Essie for the base coat, and Bikini So Teeny by Essie for the polka dots). You will also need a pair of scissors, nail polish remover, and a few q-tips.

The first step is to cut one of the q-tips in half. Try to cut it completely straight across instead of at an angle, so it is as flat as possible on the cut side. 

 Paint your nails like you normally would using whatever color you chose for the base coat. Let your nails dry completely.

After your nails are dry, take your cut q-tip and place the cut end in the nail polish color you chose for the polka-dots. It is easiest to use the nail polish that is laying on the rim of the bottle, or to even use the brush to paint the underside of the q-tip.

 Now here comes the fun part! Make sure the q-tip end is completely covered in the nail polish. Then, just place down on the nail, and  voila, you have a polka-dot! Continue to cover the whole nail with dots, trying to space them out as evenly as possible. After your nails are completely dry, you can dip the end of another q-tip in some nail polish remover and clean up the edges of your nails.

Your finished product! 

I'm excited to try out other color combinations as the weather warms up. There is something about freshly painted nails that makes your whole outfit seem more refined and complete. Happy painting!

D

Hooked on the Delirium Trilogy

This past weekend I finished a new book series that one of my co-workers recommended. I was skeptical at first because I wasn't too keen on the name the author had chosen for the book. However, I am SO glad that I decided to start reading them. I was instantly hooked! The series is called Delirium by Lauren Oliver. The three books in the series are: 

1. Delirium

2. Pandemonium

3. Requiem 

The series is profiling a future world in which 'love' is a disease. People are 'cured' of this disease, amor deliria nervosa, on their 18th birthday. It reminds me of the Hunger Games series in the sense that there is an uprising and revolution happening throughout the books. It is very well written and you get to know the characters really well and start feeling for them emotionally.

I don't think I looked up from my kindle throughout my entire 4 hour flight to California, when I first started reading the trilogy. When I finish a particular good book, or series of books, I don't feel like reading else because I feel like nothing else can live up to what I just read. But, now I have something almost as good to look forward to: FOX has picked up a pilot for a Delirium TV show! I think this is so much better than creating a movie because there are so many different directions the TV show can go, and it doesn't limit it to a specific time frame. Can you tell I'm excited? I don't know when the pilot will air, but when I find out, I will be counting down the days!!

Check out Lauren Oliver's website to find out more about the series and TV show. She has also written some smaller books that focus more on different characters you encounter in the series, and explain their story. Now, I'm off to figure out who is going to be cast in this show... Hmmm...

D

Bridal Shower for the Ultimate Book Lover

About 6 months ago my sister, 'P',  got married, and I (along with our other sister, 'A') were in charge of putting together the bridal shower. After weeks of trying to figure out a theme for the shower, I finally thought to myself, "What would 'P' do all day long if she had the chance?' READ!

Therefore we decided to create a literary themed bridal shower. Complete with a library card printout as an invitation, and decorations made from old book pages.

I never thought of myself as much of a crafty person. I've always loved painting and making different things here and there, but I never thought I would have the patience to make something extravagant. But, making the decorations for the shower was so much fun, and we really went all out! Below are some of the gorgeous pictures that 'A' took of the shower!

We made about 12 of these book wreaths, and put a different picture of her favorite book in the middle of each of them. She was so surprised that we got all of her favorite books right! (Considering all she did was read growing up, I better have gotten them right!!)

We took all of the hardback books we had lying around the house, tied them together with twine and put them around the living room where the shower was taking place. Can you tell I come from a family full of Harry Potter fans?

This wreath was meant to have a welcome sign across it, but we forgot to add that part in during the rush getting everything set up. It was still a big hit though, and it was a little clue as to what the theme was for the shower since guests saw it outside on the front door before they came in.

These little jars were so fun to make! Twine makes everything have such a vintage look to it. 

I have to give credit to my sister, 'A', for making these rose bouquets.  No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the hang of making the little roses. She did a great job though!

These flowers were pretty time consuming to make, so we only made around 10 of them, but they really added to the shower decor.

For the actual food, we made a lot of mini brunch-type items. We didn't get pictures of all of them, but they consisted of mini pancake stacks, mini quiches, mini bagels, tea sandwiches, mini cinammon rolls, fruit skewers and fruit parfaits. I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting right now, but we had so much food leftover! For drinks, we had mimosas and lemonade :) 

We also played some games during the shower that stuck with the book theme, such as guessing what books different romantic quotes were from, and having all the guests fill out mad-lib cards for the bride. We played the "What's in Your Purse?" game, which is where we called off various items from a list that we generated beforehand, and whoever could present the item from their purse first would get a point. It's always surprising how much stuff gets accumulated in girls' purses!

We gave out prizes for the games that consisted of barnes and noble giftcards, calendars, and bookmarks. We used old book pages as wrapping paper. 

Overall, I think people had fun and I'm glad it went well! I was so nervous beforehand, but 'P' said she loved it, so I guess it was a success!! :)

D

Life Is...The Small Stuff

Finally! My blog is up and running. I have spent way too much time trying to think of a name for this blog that was both witty and genius, and also screamed "This girl is the most amazing person ever!" Sadly, I came to the realization that I am really not that witty, and I have serious issues with working under pressure. Anyways, so after a weekend and half a day of trying to look up synonyms for 'chaotic' and 'blissful', I gave up and promptly went to take a nap. And lo and behold a name just came to me! (Amazing, I know).

So, Savoring the Small Stuff is officially born. This is going to be a blog about life: traveling, fashion, cooking, crafting, and anything and everything else. I have always been the type of person who gets way too excited over picking out a new nail polish color, or trying out the new hazelnut macchiato at Starbucks (It's delicious). It's the small things that make life exciting and worth living! I hope you enjoy it, and learn to savor the small stuff.

D