Pink and Green {emphasis on the Green}

I'm making more of an effort these days to reduce the number of plastic and paper bags that make it into our home and Lilly Pulitzer is making it easy with their sturdy, nicely sized, adorably-printed market bags. I recently ordered both the Creme Fraiche and Queen of Green prints from The Preppy Princess (great customer service and darling packaging):

I also ordered a couple more travel mugs - love these:

Lilly Pulitzer Thermal Travel Mugs in "Hanging Around" and "Later Gator"

my purchases arrived ready for gifting in festive pink and green :)

Thursday already... hope everyone is enjoying their week and looking forward to a nice weekend!

xoxo

OOTD 6.12.10 {print + gold + pink}

LOFT Printed Halter Dress in Chocolate, LOFT cardi in ivory (last year), TB Bombe Burch tote in Pop Pink, Jack Rogers Navajo in Gold, J Crew Chandelier necklace (last year)

(pedi is OPI Cajun Shrimp)

Only one more week till it's officially Summer! The sun has been shining and I'm finally thinking summery dresses & sandals. Hope everyone is starting out a great week!

xoxo

Anthropologie: dishtowels {+ an apron}

I've loved the whimsical, vintage-y dishtowels at Anthropologie for years and I recently found a couple sweet ones to decorate my kitchen:

Pineapple Peel and Chirps and Chats dishtowels (the names make me like them even more)

"Welcome Home" -- how nice to see when you walk in your kitchen :)

...and I've noticed that I am not always the neatest cook (and I am trying to cook more often), so I've finally purchased an apron. Anthropologie's range is so sweet and feminine - a great place to find one if you're so inclined!

3-D Toile Half Apron in "Crimson" (looks more hot pink to me) -- also available in "Aqua" (a pretty light blue)

Happy Friday tomorrow and wishes for a wonderful weekend ahead!

xoxo

Korres Friends & Family

Korres' gloss, Korres' pic

If you've never used Korres products, but would like to give them a try, this week would be a good time (or if you already like them, it's a good time to stock up): code FRIENDSANDFAMILY takes 25% off, plus shipping is free on orders over $35. The lipsticks and and cherry oil lip glosses are two of my favorites. Previous post on them here.

Promotion ends June 16th. Thank you to Editor's Secret for the alert!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

xoxo

Tory Burch Mini Tevin Bag

Several years ago I bought a big black nylon kate spade diaper bag... and I've been carrying around big ol' totes ever since. Even though I don't need to haul around baby gear these days, I still feel most comfortable with a big bag that can hold whatever I (or my children) may need, plus a magazine, book, or my new fav, the ipad.

So the Tevin mini bag was a bit of a departure for me... but there are definitely times when a small crossbody (converts to shoulder bag with double chain straps that pull through) bag is perfect and I am so happy with this one. I particularly like the combination of the casual soft/slightly slouchy bag with a dressy gold chain. The logo is pretty small and discreet compared to many TB items. I've only found this tan color directly from Tory Burch -- and most retailers seem to be sold out online of the colors they carried -- but stores can usually be called directly to order. I've seen it in red at shopbop, green at Nordstrom, and black at Saks.

Oh and it isn't really mini mini... it holds quite a bit. One cell phone pocket and one zip pocket are inside, along with a mirror on a strap. Photo next to the Burch Bombe tote below for size reference.

Here are some pics:

...and I was asked about the pink Burch Bombe (Pop Pink) compared to the pink Miller sandals (Hibiscus Pink), so here's a pic of them together:

Wow... June already, and Summer is right around the corner - hard to believe. We have a super busy week and weekend ahead, (also making plans for a jam packed summer - can't wait for some sun!). I hope everyone is starting out a great week!

xoxo

TB Bombe Burch Tote in Pop Pink

First off... sunshine! One of my kiddos has an outdoor event today that she is very excited about so I am happy for some sunbreaks!

On to the tote: the Bombe Burch... I know I still haven't reviewed the mini Tevin which arrived first, but I just had to carry this pretty pop of pink today. Actually, I'd call it more raspberry - a really beautiful hue. I was expecting more of an OPI Pink Margarita as I hadn't seen it in person before I ordered. Here are some snaps:

Inside, there are two pockets on one side that hold a phone/camera nicely and a zip pocket on the other side, with a zip closure on top; cute fabric lining.

For size reference, it's a little smaller than the Neverfull MM and Totally MM I've been carrying lately - but still roomy enough for all the essentials plus a book, magazine, or ipad. There are also four metal studs (just like the ones on the handles) on the bottom of the bag. The other side of the bag does not have a logo so you can just turn it around if you feel logo'd out!

I hope everyone is looking forward to a great weekend - it's almost here!

xoxo

White Bean with Spinach Soup (by Bethenny)

I'm not usually much of a soup person, but we spent this past weekend on Whidbey Island with weather like this:

...and came back to more rainy, gray drizzle and showers so I really felt like trying a new soup recipe. I recently bought Bethenny Frankel's The Skinnygirl Dish, so decided to try out the White Bean with Spinach Soup on page 116.

Here's my adaptation - I didn't quite follow instructions completely...

You need all this, plus an onion and a bay leaf:

1 tsp olive oil

1 yellow onion (I was out but luckily had some frozen chopped onion - good in a pinch!)

1 clove garlic

red bell pepper (Bethenny says use 1/2; I used a whole one)

4 cups vegetable broth

1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups chopped fresh spinach

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Heat the olive oil and saute the onions, then garlic & red pepper:

Add the broth, white beans, spinach, bay leaf, salt & pepper, and simmer for about 20 minutes. At this point Bethenny instructs you to remove the bay leaf and the garlic... well, I couldn't find the bay leaf after everything had cooked down and I had minced the garlic... next time I'll probably just omit the bay leaf and use a little less garlic. (update: you don't want to eat a dried bay leaf - so make sure to pull it out before you blend this up! thanks to Diana Draw for the comment :) )

You then puree with an immersion blender, but I poured everything into my Cuisinart. It came out great and I'll make it again (with my two adjustments).

I love how Bethenny includes "use what you have" variations for her recipes - for this one she had five variation suggestions. I definitely look forward to trying many more recipes from this book.

Wow... Wednesday already... hope everyone is having a nice week. My Tory Burch Tevin Mini Bag arrived so review on that coming up soon!

xoxo