happy birthday!

Happy Birthday To My:

Best Friend

Soon To Be Husband

Partner In Crime

Other Half

My Dearest

YT

I hope that you thoroughly enjoyed the two months that we share the same age, 

for you are once again the old one in this relationship! 

BEING HAPPY.

This weekend I'm taking a short road trip to Michigan for a dear friends bridal shower. I can't wait for the pretty party and all of the other fun that we'll be cramming into the weekend. There's lots of it. Aside from my weekend plans, here's a short list of some of the small things that are currently making me happy. 

1. Reading all of the Maui advice from this post. I got some many emails and great tips! Thank you everyone.
2. Stepping on the scale this week. My non diet, diet is working.
3. Less than a month until our wedding!
4. I ordered two new bathing suits - this VS one in confetti, this on from J.Crew. I haven't bought a new bathing suit in years, so this is a big deal.
5. The breeder we have been in touch with told us that puppies will arrive mid June and will be ready to go home mid August. We already have a name picked out!
6. My second Fresh Picks box.
7. YT is done with med school! We survived :)
8. I've been reading more than I've been watching TV.
9. I have an arts and crafts project lined up for the week!
10. I have a new car!
11. I get so see my mom on Sunday, unexpectedly!
12. Tonight I'm getting a home cooked meal that I didn't make - this never happens!!
13. I think there's some 70's in the forecast next week - keeping my fingers crossed.

Happy weekend to all. Hope it's filled with lots and lots of goodness. 

on the hunt.

I'm sad to say that I do not own a maxi skirt. I own nothing of the maxi length - no skirt, no dress, no gown. It's seriously a shame because I love the look, and whenever I see others sporting one of these lengthy numbers, I tend to have outfit envy. I believe it's about time that I invest in one, don't you? 

I'm drawn to the soft jersey fabric, basically because they are like the skirt version of sweatpants. It can be dressed up, or down, and can really last in a closet through most seasonal changes. In terms of color, I'm thinking black, a bright color, or a nice neutral stripe - so basically I've made no decision here.

I think it's a investment worthy piece of clothing. Now which piece to invest in is the question... 

Splendid, Thakoon Addition, Dorothy Perkins, Tibi, Joie

Orange You Happy ....

When yt travels, I like to make all of the foods I know he hates. He happens to hate Asian foods of all kind, which kind of sucks because I love all kinds of Asian food - Thai, Chinese, Japanese - all of it. This weekend I made orange chicken and ordered in lots of sushi - just to get my fix in. But, since I'm trying to count the cals, I kept my orange chicken on the healthy side. It was absolutely delicious. I served it over a bed of brown rice, and next to a bok choy salad and edamame. 

Here's what you'll need...
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

2 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces seasoned with salt and pepper
1 green pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil

Here's what to do... 
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and add chicken and green pepper. Cook for 5-8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add all sauce ingredients into the skillet through cayenne pepper and bring to a simmer. Mix together cornstarch and water in a small bowl and add to sauce. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Add chicken and pepper to sauce and stir to coat. Serve over rice.

YUM.  

HEALTHY HABITS

So I've made this comment on the blog before - but I'm not really into "diets". I don't believe in them, I'm not good at them, and in my opinion,  life is too short to completely cut out the good stuff. With that being said, every once in a while I take look at my habits of consumption, and see that there's a bit of room for improvement. Last week was one of those times and as a result I'm trying to make the three below changes. 

one: I'm limiting my carb intake (breads, rice, pasta, cereal, pizza, etc) to one meal a day and swapping out white flour for whole wheat versions during this meal. I refuse to go crazy and count carbs in fruits and veggies, but this is a happy medium. It prevents me from having a muffin for breakfast, a sandwich + chips for lunch, and pizza or pasta for dinner, which is pretty much what was happening every day. My meals have consisted of lots of fruits, vegetables, and proteins - and I don't miss the carbs at all only miss the carbs a little bit!

two: I'm forcing myself to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. I say forcing, because I don't get thirsty.  I usually drink a latte in the morning and then NOTHING, seriously nothing, until a few sips of water with dinner. Talk about dehydrated!! I've only made it to the full 8 glasses a few times, but I'm definitely drinking a ton more than I was before. Baby steps. 

three: I'm limiting my alcohol intake to once a week. I'm a girl who likes wine, and by likes, I mean love - so this has been a bit of a challenge. My body is already thanking me. Again, I refuse to give up alcohol completely, but it's nice to pick and choose when I'll be indulging in a cocktail {or two}!

Do you have any get healthy goals you're working on?

have you been to...

MAUI?!

With most of the wedding planning check list crossed off, we're finally thinking a bit about our honeymoon. It's been on the back burner up until now, and the only thing we really have planned are our flights and hotels. While I'm sure that it's hard to go to Hawaii and not have the best time - I'd love to go with a short list of must see/must do items. 

For those who have been before - what do you recommend? Thanks friends! The countdown is on - 33 days until the day. 

my first frittata.

Making a frittata is just about as easy as making scrambled egg (which means everyone in the world can make a frittata except for my father - he burns his scrambled eggs... every time). It's amazing that I've made it this long with out making a frittata given the fact that I love eggs.  Once I realized that I had never attempted one I had to change that immediately. I was inspired by my fresh picks box, which I raved about on the blog yesterday. It had a huge bunch of perfect asparagus and a large bag of fresh spinach - the wheels began to turn and I wound up with this....

Here's what you'll need... 
6 eggs
2 tablespoons 2% milk
3 oz shredded cheese (I used monterey jack)
10 stalks of asparagus chopped into 1-2 inch sections
2 cups of torn fresh spinach
1 shallot chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Here's what to do... 

Whisk together eggs, milk, and shredded cheese. Set aside. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high heat and sauté asparagus and shallots for 4-5 minutes until tender. Add spinach and continue cooking for 2 minutes or until wilted. Turn heat to medium and pour in egg mixture. Allow to cook over medium heat until egg mixture is mostly set. To finish cooking, place under broiler in the oven for 4-5 additional minutes until golden brown and completely set. 

I'd suggest everybody make this Saturday or Sunday morning... 

an awesome new find.

A week ago I had never heard of Fresh Picks and now I'm convinced it's the best thing ever. Fresh Picks allows you to order the freshest produce from local farms and have it delivered right to your doorstep. I like to compare the Fresh Picks box to the basket on the Food Network show Chopped (yep, I'm cool) - So many new ingredients that I would never think to pick up at the grocery store. It's pretty phenomenal. The price is also totally doable. 

This week my chopped basket Fresh Picks box contained bibb lettuce, spinach, watercress, asparagus, ramps, and sunchokes. Some of these are ingredients I would definitely pick up for dinner - but some were completely foreign - like sunchoke. 

WTF is a sunchoke? Great question. 

They look similar to a ginger root, which is what I first assumed they were. Their texture is very similar to that of a potato, with a slightly sweeter taste. Here's what I came up with in the chopped kitchen - aka in my kitchen with a fiance who humors me. 

Here's what you'll need... 

2 cups of sunchokes, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces (1/2 inch)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of butter, melted

1 tsp dried thyme

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Here's what to do... 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss olive oil and spices with sunchokes to coat. Roast for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed. 

Menu idea...

I served my sunchokes besides roasted pork tenderloin and a large green salad! 

Next up...

Asparagus and spinach frittata using the rest of the ingredients from my Fresh Picks box! 

THREE ITEMS

.... that I'm wishing were in my closet. 

ONE - James Perse, J.Crew, Alexander Wang

TWO: Rag & Bone, J.Crew, ASOS

THREE: KORS Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Dolce Vita

What kind of items are you craving right now?

GIRL TIME!

What an awesome weekend. 

I tried to pare down the pictures as best I could,  which was semi easy because there are a lot of intoxicated girls and phallic objects, which may or may not be blog appropriate... 

But also difficult because there were about two hundred photos, I have beautiful friends, and there were a lot of moments that needed capturing. 

Please enjoy, and try not to judge too harshly! 

yummy dinner at paris club with special menu cards. thanks mi amour! 

and a veil that makes me look slightly like a nun :)

all sorts of goodies to come home to after our afternoon activity. 

including, but not limited to: 

sprinkles cupcakes, silly bands, loads of confetti, balloons, banners

and a bride tank top (which I obviously sported all night). 

afternoon snacks and vino to compliment 

our very own male model painting class. 

we are almost as good as pablo and vincent, 

our skills were only slightly hindered by the intake of wine. 

first drinks

followed immediately by a change into pajamas. 

followed immediately by games. 

some of which yt was involved in 

and had me laughing hysterically

and hanging my head in shame. 

we also played kings with lilly pulitzer cards and bud light. 

because thats the classy way to do it. 

i was left with a hangover. 

a fridge filled with leftover pizza and alcohol. 

a floor covered with confetti. 

and a wall of stellar art work. 

all signs of a successful bachelorette weekend, 

if you ask me. 

HAPPY.

This is such a genuinely happy time for me. This weekend was filled with so many friends, so much love, lots of laughing, girly giggles. It was a huge reminder that I have it really, really, good. I'm excited to share some of the pictures from my bachelorette weekend, but for now, I just want to post this one. 

I am a happy girl. Seriously happy. 

$50 GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY!

I'm so excited to be partnering with Shabby Apple for an awesome giveaway!

The prize? A $50 gift card, to be used on any of the gorgeousness that can be found in their shop. 

Need some examples of the gorgeousness I'm referring to? Please see below. 

Every outfit is work appropriate, easy enough to be weekend wear, and trendy enough for a girls night out.  What more could you ask for!? So here's how to enter:

You must "like" Shabby Apple on Facebook & follow Simply Irresistible via GFC. Leave a comment letting me know you've done both and which item you would like to get your hands on!

I'll announce a winner next Wednesday! You have until then to enter. Good luck friends! xo. 

LIP LOVE

I'm constantly buying new lip balm, lip gloss & chapstick (mainly because they always seems to be lost and forgotten about in the bottom of bags, behind the bed, in the couch cushions, and in coat pockets). I've racked up a short list of favorites and would love to hear your go to lip care! 

Do share.