Imaginary outfit: Summer wedding

I love this outfit for a summer wedding, and I realized after I put it together that it's kind of a fancier version of the sightseeing outfit I posted a week ago—they both feature similar feminine-but-muted colors, the exact same shoes and sunglasses, you get the drift. But seriously, isn't that dress perfect for warm summer nights? It looks like it would move beautifully. And flat sandals may not be appropriate for every wedding, but for the one I'm going to, they totally are. Add a gorgeous clutch (perfect for holding that pretty lipgloss and the sunglasses when the sun goes down) and a splash of my new favorite perfume and you're all set. I'd wear this in a heartbeat. (Click the image for all the shopping credits.) 

Hooray for summer. 

(Un)baked!: Banana bites.

I haven't been posting too many indulgent sweet treats lately because I've been trying to make healthier choices (and it's been working! Between a strict exercise regimen and, you know, not shoveling candy bars in my mouth, I've lost 11 pounds and my clothes are fitting like I want them to again and I feel really good, so yay for that).

But that being said, sometimes a girl needs something sweet. Particularly after dinner. Enter: Banana bites.

These are the easiest things in the world to make, and I am not joking. All you do is slice up a banana or two, spread some peanut butter on half the slices, and then make little peanut-butter-banana "sandwiches" with the other half. Put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and stick it in the freezer for an hour, until they bananas are super firm. Meanwhile, melt some chocolate chips—I nuked half a bag for 30-second intervals until the chips were almost completely melted, then stirred them until totally smooth (you avoid burning the chocolate this way)—and then, when your banana sandwiches are chilled, roll them in the melted chocolate and put them back in the freezer until they're firm again (another 1-2 hours). The coolest part of the process is that, if you use chocolate chips like I did (Ghirardelli 60 percent forever!), whatever emulsifier is in the chocolate chips creates a sort of pseudo-Magic Shell when the warm chocolate hits the cold bananas. It's pretty cool. And pretty delicious. Let me know if you make them.

P.S. You can see the complete archive of Baked! posts right here.

Photo by Joy the Baker, because everyone seems to be discovering the power of chocolate covered bananas, and also her photograph is so much better than mine it's not even funny. Those suckers are tasty, but hard to take a good picture of.

Signature scent: An update.

A few months ago, I wrote about my quest to find a "signature scent"—a perfume I loved so much that I could wear it every day. I also mentioned that I'd been wearing Dior's J'Adore in the meantime, since I'd been gifted a full-size bottle of it at a charity event and it functioned as a perfectly suitable signature scent stand-in. (And yes, using fancy free perfume while searching for a signature scent is definitely a first world problem.) And because I know you're on the edges of your seats wondering whether my perfume dilemma has been solved, I'll tell you right now that no, it hasn't. (Cue sad trombone.)

I've always been attracted to scents that remind me of Florida—orange blossom, for example, or gardenia. I've been dying to get my hands on a sample of this Coqui Coqui orange blossom perfume ever since I read about it on The Littlest Blog awhile back, but I've also been hesitant to take the plunge and spend money on it because I don't know if I'll like it, or that it won't fade or smell weird on my skin or give me a headache (which has been known to happen).

So I'd kind of resigned myself to the idea of using the J'Adore and that being the end of it, until I happened to spritz on some of Estee Lauder's Tuberose Gardenia the other day while out shopping with my friend Kate. You guys, I sprayed it on, rubbed my wrists together, and then proceeded to sniff myself every 15 minutes or so for the rest of the night. The gardenia scent is so true, and best of all, it lingered for a good long while. The lovely woman at the perfume counter was nice enough to gave me a sample to take home, so I can use it for the next few days before deciding if I want to buy it, but trust me, it's really great. Signature scent found? Finally, finally, the answer may be yes.

Any scents you're loving lately? Please share—I'd love to hear!

Photo: My own. 

What are you doing this weekend?

Happy Friday, friends! Did you have a good week? What are your plans for the weekend?

Since I'm traveling next week, I'm going to use the next few days to get my stuff in order—make a packing list, straighten up the house, pick up extra supplies for the kitties, do laundry, etc. So it'll be quiet, but productive (hopefully).

Oh, and in the meantime, here are three fun links:

Ashley's amazing—and amazingly detailed—Paris travelogue (part I, part II) is only fueling my desire to get to that city someday soon. Also, the photographs are stunning (I mean, the light). Yeah, totally not helping the wanderlust...

I like this song and its message a lot.

Martha Stewart doesn't give a damn.

And in case you missed anything here this week: A happy list, an imaginary outfit for sightseeing in San Diego, the easiest no-cook summer salad with burrata (!) and the Year of Lettering project.

Have an excellent weekend, friends! See you here Monday. xoxo

Photo via Hither and Thither

The year of lettering.

Have you heard of Kelly Cummings' "year of lettering" project? It's really lovely: She started it to practice her lettering skills and posts her progress often, featuring fun/funny/inspirational quotes. I am not any good at calligraphy, but at some point I was exposed to it at school (I had a legitimate calligraphy pen for awhile and loved writing with it), and it's one of those things I wish I could force myself to do again, because it's so pretty. For now, though, I'll just check Kelly's site to get my lettering fix. (Don't you just love that Fitzgerald quote? Ah, the romance.)

A quick, easy summer lunch.

There's this restaurant in Sarasota, Louies Modern, that serves an heirloom tomato and burrata salad on a pink sea salt block, and I am in love with that salad. It's bright and refreshing and sweet and salty—your basic caprese with the ante pumped way, way up. Seriously delicious.

So when I was thinking about what I wanted for lunch the other day, that salad kept coming to mind. Now, I don't have huge pink sea salt blocks laying around my house, but I did have a box heirloom cherry tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Maldon salt (the best), basil and—thank you, Trader Joe's—burrata. So I sliced up half the container of tomatoes, plopped half a ball of burrata on top of them, tore up some basil leaves that I picked from my plant (!), drizzled the whole thing with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkled some Maldon salt on top—and that was it. Friends, it was delicious. I had to keep telling myself to slow down while I was eating it. Even better: Absolutely no cooking involved. Total win.

What's your favorite summer lunch? I'd love to hear.

Photo: My own.

Imaginary outfit: Summer sightseeing

As you know, because I've been talking about it ad nauseum, I'm headed to San Diego next week for my little brother's wedding, so I thought it would be fun to put together two imaginary outfits: This one, which would be perfect for walking around and seeing the sights, and another, which I'll post next week, for a sunset wedding on a boat. I love the neutral colors in this outfit—something about the nudes in the top, bag, shoes and sunglasses just makes it feel relaxed—and of course a good book is a necessity, as is a pop of pink, just because.

P.S. Click on the image to see item credits! 

A happy list.

Today, just a little list of 10 things that are making me happy:

1. ACS. (Hi.)

2. The bright pink roses (eight for $3.99!) from Trader Joe's that are happily hanging out in a gallon-sized Ball jar on my coffee table.
3. Coffee. I love you, coffee. Particularly the Coava Kilenso beans I picked up from Perq recently.

4. The memory of the toasted marshmallow milkshake I had this weekend. Oh my God, that was good. A totally-worth-it indulgence and the perfect accompaniment to an awesome burger. (P.S. Here's a marshmallow shake recipe I'm dying to try at home on a special occasion.)

5. The tiny bubbles that flew out of the top of the dish soap bottle when I squeezed it this morning. So cute, and really, is there anything happier than a bubble? 

6. The weather report for San Diego next week. You guys: Highs in the low 70s, lows in the 60s. Those are, like, late-fall temperatures to this Floridian. The thought of weather like that makes me so happy I want to cry.

7. New books! Three, to be specific: Two Kate Atkinsons and one called Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart. Books are the best.

8. The crazy amounts of rain we've been getting lately. This doesn't make me happy all the time, I admit, but there are some nights when there's nothing better to do after work than curl up with the kitties, a cup of tea and a book or a movie. 

9. My porch garden! The lemons are still growing, and now, thanks to ACS, I have herbs--thyme, oregano, basil and parsley--and tomatoes. Sadly, I've killed all but one of the tomato plants, but the one that's still alive just sprouted a blossom, so, you know, fingers crossed.

10. Getting to see extended family next week in California, especially in such an unfamiliar location. While I've had some mixed feelings about this trip, the excitement about seeing family has definitely not waned. Can't wait to see them.

What's been making you happy lately?

Photo of San Diego via. Looking forward to dipping my toes in the Pacific, too.

What are you doing this weekend?

Happy Friday, everyone! Is it just me, or does it feel like next week should be the start of August? I keep having these weird moments where I think that I'm heading to San Diego next week, when in fact it's the week after. And while I'm kind of glad for the extra time (packing and getting ready to go is going to be a bit nuts), it feels weird. Please tell me I'm not the only one!

Anyway, what are you doing this weekend? ACS and I are celebrating our two-year anniversary next week (aw), but since, you know, we've got the long-distance thing going on right now, we're getting together this weekend. We don't have anything special planned—I think we're pretty much just going to hang out—but since the next two weeks are going to be cer-azy (little brother's wedding, milestone birthday, etc.), I'm really looking forward to the relaxation.

Oh, and if you're in the mood for some reading this weekend, here are three great links:

Saying yes when you should say no: This Fast Company article is a really great read, because saying no (and the consequences I make myself think come with it) is really hard for me and a lot of others I know. (via Kate)

I can't wait for Homeland to start again (obsessed). Love this interview with Claire Danes, with bonus Damian Lewis photos.

I really like this post about blogging from Helen Jane. It's a year old, but I think it's still relevant.

And in case you missed anything here this week: Anna Maria Donuts (my new favorite place), a personal challenge (scary, but so far, so good—thank you so much for all your kind comments), Ask Amy (as in, Poehler) and beautiful goods from Proud Mary.

Have a magical weekend with the ones you love, friends! xoxo

Photo via 

Proud Mary.

I've been a fan of Charleston, S.C.-based Proud Mary for awhile now, and for good reason: In addition to being beautiful, the products are fairly and responsibly manufactured by artisans all over the globe, from Mexico to Morocco. "We want our goods to be seen as a celebration of the people and cultures that created them," says owner Harper Poe.

And seriously, isn't this all gorgeous? That rug has been on my wishlist for months now, and I'd happily take both the tote and the clutch/cosmetic case on my upcoming trip to San Diego. But best of all, this is the kind of stuff I feel good posting about. Conscious consumerism. Yes. I can dig that.

Ask Amy.

This is by far one of the best things I've come across on the Internet lately: "Ask Amy," in which the amazing Amy Poehler responds to questions about life that are submitted by teenage girls. Topics range from stress to crushes to body image to anxiety, and Poehler's answers are funny, of course, but they're also well-thought-out and kind and insightful. Watch the one about makeup, above, and you'll see what I mean. Love. 

Personal challenge.

I know it's sort of gauche to talk about money in public, but I thought putting this out here would make me more accountable. So here goes: I am putting myself on a spending freeze. With the exception of food (and by food I mean groceries), gas, my prescription, and two other pre-freeze-planned social activities, I am going to try not to spend any "extra" money over the next two weeks. No clothes shopping, no 2 p.m. coffee runs (tear!), no social activities that require fundage other than the gas it takes to get to them. The extra money is going straight to my savings account.

(Eeek.)

There are several reasons for this freeze, the main one being that (even though I stick to a budget) I've been feeling kind of spendy lately, but the other one being that after posting Bri's awesome living room pictures last week, I got that itch to buy "stuff." You know what I mean, I think: The burning desire to buy just to buy; to have something delivered that I'll probably stare at lovingly for a few weeks or months, but that will eventually most likely be relegated to a cupboard or closet. It wasn't a good feeling; in fact, it made me really uncomfortable. I mean, yes, I want to redo my living room, but not at the expense of my savings account, you know?

So when I got my last paycheck, I decided to institute the spending freeze. And I'm not going to lie, it's a bit scary. I did a big grocery shop on Sunday, so I'm set with food for the week (meal-planning helps a lot with that), and my week is pretty well planned out, so I have a good idea of what to expect. And you know, even though I have that "OMG-I-have-no-money" feeling for some reason, it's nice to know that the extra is sitting happily in savings.

Have you guys ever done something like this? Does it freak you out as much as it does me? If I can calm down about it, I think I'm going to try to do it more often, but we'll see how the next two weeks go, I guess. I'll keep you posted.

P.S. Just so I don't come across as a total hypocrite, I'll still be posting about pretty things/products that I love, simply because I like cataloging them here. But hopefully I'll be talking more about the story behind the brand/product, as opposed to how much I want to click the "buy" button on the website.

Photo by Ivana Rosario

Anna Maria Donuts.

This might very well be called denial, but I'm going to choose not to talk about all the craziness that is happening in Florida right now and instead talk about doughnuts. Yes, doughnuts. Specifically Anna Maria Donuts, which is located on Anna Maria Island and which is my new favorite place.

I'd been meaning to get to Anna Maria Donuts ever since I heard it had opened, but Anna Maria Island is a 30-ish minute drive up Longboat Key from downtown Sarasota, where I live and work, and yes, that is not all that far in actuality, but it still requires some planning—especially since AMD is only open from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Happily, as you know, my mom was in town this weekend, so I suggested that we take a trip up, and after a great brunch on the beach at The Sandbar, we yielded to the siren song of the doughnuts and headed over to Pine Avenue.

Here's the deal with Anna Maria Donuts: You start with a homemade cake doughnut, and then you choose your frosting (chocolate, vanilla, maple, caramel or classic glaze) and your toppings. You can put anything from rainbow sprinkles to bacon to Fruity Pebbles to peanuts to crushed graham crackers on top of your doughnut, and you can also trust that it will be delicious. Seriously: You get the fried, not-too-sweet flavor of the cake, then the rush of sugar from the frosting and the crunch of whatever topping you've added. I am not kidding when I tell you that I probably could have eaten three of these and not looked back, but you'll be happy to know that I restrained myself.

You know, I've always loved doughnuts, ever since childhood, and I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that my grandfather—my mom's dad—would always stop and get me whatever Dunkin' Donut I wanted after Mass on Sundays (usually a powdered-sugar-coated vanilla cream-filled one). I've obviously had other doughnuts throughout the course of my life, but something about biting into this one brought me right back to those Sunday-morning after-church excursions, and it was a really lovely moment. (I am nothing if not unfailingly nostalgic.)

Anyway, if you're local, make the trip to Anna Maria Donuts, please. Like, now. And if you're planning on visiting, make sure you add this little doughnut shop to your list of must-eat spots. OK? OK.

P.S. I keep wondering: donut or doughnut? I am clinging to the latter spelling, but the former seems to be pretty generally accepted these days—thoughts?

Photo: My own.

What are you doing this weekend?

On Wednesday night, I took a walk on the beach with two friends, and on the way back to our cars we saw a couple getting ready to send off one of those fire-lit paper lanterns. The sun had set at this point and a storm was starting to roll in, but the sky was still pink and purple where we were, and watching the lantern float up, up and away was a nice reminder that taking a moment to breathe (and spend time with your friends) is always worth it.

And happy Friday, friends! This weekend my mom is coming to visit, and I'm so excited to take her to all my favorite spots, new and old: The farmer's market, Perq Coffee Bar, Artisan Cheese Company, etc. Depending on the weather, maybe we'll get to the museum, too. Who knows? My schedule is wide open and I couldn't be happier.

How about you? What are your plans? Oh, and if you're looking to do some reading over the weekend, here are three great links:

Emily Henderson's blog (which I'm currently obsessed with since I'm on a mission to figure out what to do with my house) is so good. All of it.

Ooh, summer reading suggestions.

Yay, an interview with Miranda July (and Jonah Peretti) about We Think Alone.

And in cased you missed anything here this week: The best pasta ever (making it again tonight), an awesome budget makeup find, puppy hugging (!!!), and my dream living room (can't stop staring at those pictures).

Have a wonderful weekend. xoxo

Photo: My own.

Dream living room.

I recently scored a pair of totally awesome mid-century modern chairs from an Orlando thrift shop (they have the same shape as the ones in the first photo above, but with arms and different fabric—like this), and am so excited to get them down to Sarasota, because my living room is in dire need of some help. My lovely furry roommates have clawed up the single chair in it, and while I have a pretty large sofa, if more than three people come over, someone inevitably has to sit on the floor (it's usually me, and I totally don't mind, but others might). So among other things, more seating is required.

And actually, when I first saw the new chairs, they immediately made me think of Bri's amazing living room makeover, shown above, and how I want to decorate my future home. I seriously think hers might be my dream living room—I am smitten with mid-century details and the bright colors and how each piece has so much personality.

My house and putting effort into decorating it is something I struggle with, and something I've gone on about ad nauseum before. It really does look like I'll be moving again sometime within the next year, hopefully to a bigger place (fingers crossed!), so I often think it makes more sense to wait to do anything, but at the same time, I want to love my apartment now, you know? Also, while moving is likely, it's not like there's a date set, so there's no guarantee, you know?

I guess furniture can always move with me, so there's probably no harm in looking for cool pieces that can easily be painted or refinished at local thrift shops and Goodwills (Sarasota's are legitimate treasure troves—you can get amazing things on the cheap). And maybe it's time to start (slowly) saving up for a new sofa, which would make a huge difference.

What's your decorating philosophy? How do you renters choose when and how to invest in your places?

P.S. In addition to the chairs, I also recently got my paws on an awesome vintage bar cart—this actually a present from my mom; it just needs glass—from the same thrift shop. I may not be able to do the whole vintage clothing thing, but I'm kind of proud of my furniture-hunting skills right now.

Photos by Laure Joliet for Designlovefest. 

Puppy hugging.

Sort of random, I know, but as part of my upcoming birthday celebrations, I've decided to make ACS go with me to Southeastern Guide Dogs, an awesome local organization that provides guide dogs to the blind, for puppy hugging. I mean, is there anything better than that? You get to spend 30 minutes playing with fluffy, wriggly guide-dogs-to-be, which helps them get comfortable with people and develop their social skills, and makes you feel happy because, hello, you are hugging puppies. I. Am. So. Excited.

P.S. I have a personal attachment to Southeastern Guide Dogs because I've seen firsthand what incredible work the people and dogs there do, thanks to a story I wrote for work a few years back. They have a genius billboard advertising campaign that features a dog wearing a Southeastern Guide Dogs vest with the slogan "It's not a coat, it's a cape" (click here to see it), and I swear I cry every time I drive by one of them because it's true: Those dogs are heroes. I can't wait to go hug them!

Photo credit

Budget makeup find: Sonia Kashuk blush.

I've talked here before about my love of NARS' blush—Orgasm has been my go-to for years because it's seriously the perfect peachy pink. I love it; in fact, I'm currently trying to coax every powdery drop out of my almost-empty tray.

That said, at $25 a pop, NARS blush is not cheap, and I am not always able to get to Sephora to pick up a refill (I could order online but why pay shipping, you know?). So I present to you Sonia Kashuk's Beautifying Blush in Flushed, which rings in at under $10 and whose color, I'm finding, is an excellent reflection of its name. It's bright, so you don't need a lot, but it does the job. Pretty and inexpensive? Win/win.

Photo credit unknown; please let me know if you know it and I'll update!

The best pasta ever.

A few weeks ago, while I was visiting my parents in Orlando, my mom—as she is wont to do—sent me off with some random foodstuffs, among them a box of De Cecco gemelli pasta. I'd never seen this shape of pasta before (it most closely resembles fusili) and was excited to use it (yes, pasta excitement is a thing!), but wanted to save it for a dish that was a little more special than one like cacio e pepe or basic pasta marinara. So I put the box away and pretty much forgot about it.

Then, last week, I read Molly's post about Yotam Ottolenghi's pasta with yogurt sauce and was immediately intrigued. Greek yogurt, peas, olive oil and garlic are whizzed into a sauce in the blender and tossed with pasta, feta cheese, more peas and basil, and the whole thing is topped with pine nuts toasted in olive oil and red pepper flakes. Something about the combination of flavors kept me thinking about the recipe all week, and I figured it would be the perfect excuse to use the gemelli, so, on Saturday night, I finally made it (thanks in no small part to the fact that ACS made me an herb garden and I now have abundance of basil on hand, which makes me unspeakably happy).

And you guys, I have to say, this pasta is even better than I imagined, and I had very high hopes. I used an enormous clove of garlic in the yogurt sauce, which made it deliciously spicy and an even more excellent partner in crime for the chile oil. Add to that the hot crunch of the pine nuts, the creamy saltiness of the feta, and the cool sweetness of the peas and the basil, which balances everything out, and you have one of the best dishes I've made so far this year. Plus—and I don't say this lightly—the ingredients are things you probably already have on hand, which really means you should make it. Now. And then you should call me and we can have a pasta lovefest and talk about what a magician Yotam Ottolenghi is. Happy times all around.

We Think Alone.

Have you heard about Miranda July's new project, "We Think Alone"? Every Monday from July 1 until November 11, July is sending a dedicated list of subscribers a compendium of emails about various topics, written by the likes of Lena Dunham, Kirsten Dunst, Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and more. I signed up as soon as I heard about the project and was excited to see the first installment in my inbox on Monday (the subject was money; one of the emails was Dunham emailing her assistant that she'd decided a custom-made Swedish couch was just too expensive; another was Kirsten Dunst letting some third party know that one of her friends was buying her car for $7,000).

In its simplest form,  July says "We Think Alone" is all about how we comport ourselves in the emails we write to other people, and how intimate getting a glimpse into each other's inboxes can be. I mean, think about it: Would you want total strangers having access to your Sent mail folder? I definitely wouldn't, even though pretty much everything I send is totally benign (minus the occasional gossipy note).

Also, for me, the tone of an email is exceptionally important—I want my sentences to convey pretty much the exact same emotion they would if I were talking to someone face to face, although I know that's not as important to other people as simply getting the point across (I've been the recipient of many a curt email—or text message—that I thought was kind of rude or unnecessarily direct, only to realize upon further communication or an in-person follow-up that the sender was actually being neither of those things; they just wanted to get the message across as succinctly as possible). So maybe that's why I feel like email is so intimate, as well, because I try to make my notes as similar to in-person dialogue as possible.

So anyway, July's project is fascinating to me—and especially timely in the wake of national discussions about privacy—and I'm looking forward to the next batch of emails. Have you signed up to receive them? Would you be OK with someone going through your inbox?

Photo by i.anton

Flamingo dress.

I'm going to San Diego for my little brother's wedding at the end of this month, and while I have plenty of dresses in my own closet that I can wear, I am smitten with this flamingo-print shift dress (left) from Anthropologie. The wedding's on a boat at sunset, and my brother and his groomsmen are going jacketless and wearing khakis, so I think the whimsical print and easy cut of the dress would fit right in. (There's just something delightfully kitschy and Old Florida about it, too.) Would you wear it?

Crepe myrtles.

It's that time of the year in Florida when it's almost painful to go outside—when you try to run from your air-conditioned car to your air-conditioned office building/lunch destination/whatever as quickly as possible; when even the most seasoned Floridians—including the ones like me, who were born here—complain that they never get used to the heat. "It's hot as balls," I actually said to my mom yesterday morning, and it's a testament to how true that statement is that my normally prim mother, who would never say something like that herself, nodded and replied, "It really is."

Anyway, when it feels like you're melting the second you step outside, it's sometimes surprising to look around and notice that not everything else is, too. Thanks to the afternoon and evening thunderstorms we've been having lately—par for the course around these parts in the summer—most lawns are a brilliant green, and the crepe myrtle trees are practically throwing a party—their white, pink, fuchsia and lavender blooms waving cheerfully as you drive down the street. I love crepe myrtles; they're actually one of my favorite plants (we always had a tree or two in our back yard when I was growing up), but I tend to forget about them until this time of year.

I encountered the crepe myrtle above this weekend in Orlando, when I was out running errands with my mom, and something about the pink and the green and the light (oh, the light) felt so summery that I had to stop and take a picture. I'm glad I did, too: It's nice to take a minute to remember that there's beauty all around, even when it's, ahem, hot as balls outside.

Photo: My own.