Golden Style Book

I love weekends that are filled with a sense of accomplishment, but also have enough down time so that I feel refreshed on Monday morning.  This weekend was just that. It was filled with a trip to the farmers market, thrifting for furniture, and a movie/ dinner with friends, amongst other things.  

On Saturday I found the cutest polka dot shirt from Old Navy. It is lightweight with out being too sheer, and is just long enough to wear tucked into jeans. Because I have absolutely no patience I had to wear it immediately.  I decided to pair it with pearls for church today. This Sunday was unique because we visited a church that we normally don't attend. My husband Kris is a GC and his company just finished building a new 2,000 person sanctuary for Church by the Glades in Coral Springs. This was the first weekend that they worshiped in the new church and it was amazing!

Here are some pictures of my polka dot and pearls outfit, and a quick collage of the different pieces because it's a bit difficult to see them in the pictures.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! 

xoxo

Meggan

Hi lovelies!
I don't know about you but I have always felt that beautiful wrapping adds to the anticipation and excitement of opening a gift. I love to be creative when wrapping gifts, so I recently decided to make my own gift wrap. I am going to show you tutorials for two different types of homemade patterned gift wrap: roses and polka dots. 

 I used a tutorial from the wonderful Creature Comforts as my inspiration for the rose paper.

- Scrap paper (I used legal sized copy paper)

- Large celery stalk (in a bunch)

- Blue acrylic paint

- Small paint brush & foam brush

- Twine or ribbon (optional)

I first saw a ruffled cake here, and I immediately fell in love with how the ruffles easily transformed the cake into a piece of art. Since then I have seen several varieties of these ruffled beauties, and to my delight I found a tutorial on how to make your own butter cream version here! . It is perfect for those of us that are not experts in cake decorating, because a bit of messiness only makes the cake more pretty and unique. How perfect would these cakes be for a shower or birthday party? 

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includes a tutorial!

I have always loved the thrill of finding great deals, and since shopping is my favorite hobby (yes I admit it!) I have had lots of practice finding said deals. I wanted to share my favorite buys with you in a new blog feature called Five Finds for $15 (or under). In this feature I will showcase pretty items for your home, wardrobe or office that I have found for $15 or less.  

Breton Grey Notecard Set by The Sweet Unfolding
$10

Was $19.80, On Sale for $15

$15.80

I know this shirt is not $15 flat, but as my husband can attest, when shopping I tend to round down!

$4.50

 I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!

Meggan

Earlier this month, model Natalia Vodianova hosted a whimsical and over the top ball at the Chateau de Wideville (owned by the one and only Valentino). The castle was the most perfect location for this fairy tale love ball, which raised funds for Natalia's charity to build imaginative play areas for children in Russia. I found these pictures via Vogue and fell in love with this party immediately. I love the ethereal and magical motif mixed with couture designs; definitely a fashion fairy tale.

 

One of my favorite things about living in South Florida is the strong Latin influence. In college I was a Spanish major and I lived in Madrid for six months. Although my ability to speak Spanish fluently has dwindled, I love getting to practice it often. 

In addition to improving my Spanish speaking skills, I have learned how to cook some amazing Cuban dishes, while living in South Florida. One of my good friends is super healthy and taught me how to lighten the traditional Cuban version of Picadillo (basically ground beef mixed with veggies, etc). 

This recipe swaps out the traditional ground beef for lean turkey breast and adds delicious sweetness with craisins. I love this recipe because it is the perfect mid-week healthy meal! I recommend serving it with lettuce wraps or brown rice.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1lb of ground lean turkey breast

1 diced red pepper

1 diced small sweet onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced 

Spices to season meat/vegetables: complete seasoning, cumin, salt & pepper

1/3 - 1/2 cup craisins

1. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat

2. Add the turkey, red pepper, onion, jalapeno, and garlic to the pan

3. Season this mixture with complete seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper 

(there is no exact science to this...you can season to your liking. I used about 1 tbsp of complete seasoning, 1 tsp cumin and dashes of salt and pepper)

4. Cook until the turkey is about 75% cooked through

5. Add craisins to the turkey and stir

6. Reduce heat to medium-low or medium and cover

7. Cook until the turkey is cooked through and the craisins have opened up enough to caramelize the onions (about 5-10 minutes)

8. Remove from heat and serve with lettuce wraps, brown rice, or just by itself

 

Rachel Bilson was photographed shopping in Santa Monica, California a few days ago wearing the cutest bright red shorts. I love her street style and casual but chic look.

What I love most about Rachel's outfit is that you can probably find some of these pieces or a variation of them in your wardrobe. Here are my suggestions for getting her look! 

1. Dark Colored Blazer

Asos blazer

 Central Park West  via Piperlime


 Aryn K via Piperlime


2. White t-shirt

 J.Crew v-neck

3.  Red Shorts

Urban Outfitters

 
 Junipa Short

4. Black ankle boots

Happy Wednesday! I am linking up today with This Kind of Love and Jamie's What I'm Loving Wednesday party.  Here is what I am loving today...

I'm loving these super cute rompers by Tibi

  jade and blush are my two favorite colors right now, and I want both of these

I'm loving this striped Zara dress...and it's on sale! 

I'm loving Gwyneth Paltrow's new ad campaign for Coach

 She makes beauty look so effortless. Stunning.

I'm loving whimsical and vintage feeling pictures with balloons

I'm loving the beachy and bright Florida style recently shown at Miami Fashion Week

pictures via {here and here}

 Did anyone see Kristin Cavalleri's glass shard bikini here shown at Miami Fashion Week?

I mean she looks amazing, the color of the bikini is gorgeous, but I would have been so scared to wear that!

 I'm loving

this beautiful floating vase from 

This will definitely be my next project

I am thinking of hanging three in my living room

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!