seasonal dining

A couple of nights ago I was in the mood to try cooking something new, and I came across this recipe for zucchini cakes. We had an abundance of summer squash laying around so I substituted that for the zucchini and was delighted with the result. The cakes were flavorful and really simple to make. Paired with Rachael Ray's corn and black bean salad and glasses of Skinnygirl sangria (with added fruit), it made for a perfect summer meal.

london games

With the Summer Olympics kicking off tomorrow, I thought I'd put together some pieces worthy of any sophisticated Brit (no Union Jack required). If I were attending the Games, I'd pack every single one of these in a happy heartbeat.

1. Helmut Lang Relic Twist Blazer
2. J.Crew Tippi Sweater in Polka Dot
3. Urban Outfitters Braided Felt Panama
4. House of Harlow Two Tone Horn Stack Ring
5. Tory Burch Horsebit Jaden Tote
6. Steve Madden Chaufur Loafer

strawberry pizzettes

One of my favorite parts of summer is always the variety of fresh seasonal ingredients available. Last week I picked up a huge package of almost-too-good-too-be-true strawberries at the store, and to prevent them from going to waste, started cooking up ways to use them right away. My first were these pizzettes, basically individual-sized portions of fruit pizza.

This recipe is super easy and a great summer dessert. Start with a package sugar cookie dough mix and prepare and bake it according to the directions on the package for roll-out cookies. Once the cookies are out of the oven and have cooled, mix up the topping: 1 8-oz. package of cream cheese, 1/2 cup of white sugar, and 1 tsp. of vanilla. Then spread on each cookie and top with sliced strawberries. Also you'll want to keep these refrigerated until serving, since the cream cheese topping will get melty if you don't.

happy summer

As I mentioned in my last post, today was the last day of my school's summer session. So I'm officially on break for a few glorious weeks. In that time, I've got lots of projects to do, recipes to try out, and a trip to the Northeast that I can't wait to share with you. For today, I've put together a little summery montage to kick things off.

{freshly transplanted succulent garden}

{can't wait to make it through a whole stack of magazines and catalogs like this one}

{my wardrobe of choice for a fun summer run}

{go-to summery nail picks: essie's ballet slippers + OPI's koala bear-y}

P.S. Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale officially kicks off today (my favorite time of the year), and if you haven't already browsed the offerings, get on it!

happy weekend

One more week of my school's summer session means one more week until every day feels like a weekend. Until then, here are some ways I'm savoring these two sweet days off:

{my new breakfast obsession: peanut buttered french toast}

{impulse buys on a recent trip to target}

resources

As I have mentioned before, I love love love interior design. It is one of my favorite hobbies, and when I don't have a project going on, I like to keep up on trends and get new ideas from design books and magazines. I would highly recommend my three favorites below (all available on Amazon), which I could page through over and over again and still find inspiration.

nailed it

Having my nails done makes me feel put-together and adds a little color to my often-neutral ensembles. I own more nail polish than one girl should, but I just can't bring myself to pare down my collection. Nails are a great, non-committal way to add a little trendy vibe in since they can be changed almost as easily as your outfit. And speaking of trends, as you can see from the photos below, I'm a big fan of an accent nail (or two). I usually use it as a way to incorporate a broader color palette or add just a dash of a bold color that might be overwhelming on all ten nails.

 {OPI's most honorable red + extra-va-vaganza}

 {essie's sand tropez + loose glitter + sinful's rise and shine}

{OPI's you don't know jacques + essie's tart deco}

fireworks

Today is a day to celebrate all things American, and may I suggest we start with choice of outfit? Then pull out your sparklers and show off your patriotism! Happy Fourth!

{STARS: cut 25 star-print silk dress}

{STRIPES: j.crew dree dress in deck stripe}

{FULL-ON FLAG: topshop american flag shorts}

discover

I finally got a chance to sit down with West Elm's newest catalog a couple of days ago and what I found completely delighted the interior-design-lover in me. Some of their newest items were inspired by a trip to South Africa and the artists the company discovered there. I always find wonderful things at West Elm, but here are a few of the items from this collection in particular that I'm coveting:

{kuba crescent bench} 

{traditional masai choker decoration}

{source bench}