daily inspiration: scallops and sequins

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I have noticed that I may or may not have a slight obsession with shorts. I own over 20 pairs of printed shorts from j.crew and countless other pairs from other various places but I would trade them all for the shorts above.

Aren’t they just beautiful? Why is it as women we are so drawn to things glittery and sparkly? I think it may be because wearing these items make us feel beautiful. Or maybe it’s because we are like those birds that just are wired to collect shiny things to build their nest. I could live in a nest filled with glitter, that’s for sure.

weekend in Port Huron

{heading to orientation!!}

My mom and I headed up to Port Huron this weekend for my pageant orientation! It was such an amazing time…it’s crazy to think I only have a month to go before the actual competition. I know preparing for it has taken my time away from blogging and I apologize.

Port Huron is a cute little port town in the thumb of Michigan. We went to the most AMAZING coffeehouse/café called The Raven. The atmosphere was so cool, the coffee drinks were the best and the food seriously was delicious!

{pumpkin latte}

{asparagus tomato, asiago, pesto pizza :)

Enjoying my view of the river from my hotel room :)

Daily Inspiration: Ruffle

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I know this photo is old and everyone has seen it all around the internet. But it has me inspired and swooning :)

deep dish cookie pie

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I’m a big chocolate sucker…big, huge sucker.

However I know how unhealthy sweets are for if you want to eat them everyday like I want to.

This deep dish cookie pie however is an exception…because well it is healthy.

shhhh don’t tell anyone….

I found the recipe over at Chocolate Covered Katie. I follow her blog and admire the things she makes but up until this dish I have never had the courage to try out any of her recipes.

BUT let me tell you. Not only is this cookie pie low in sugar, full of protein, gluten free & vegan…IT DOESN’T TASTE LIKE IT! It tastes like a delicious gooey cookie brownie :)

So I can feel free to eat two, three or maybe the whole pan?!?!

 

Deep-Dish Cookie Pie

• 2 cans white beans or garbanzos (drained and rinsed)
• 1 cup quick oats (I use flax meal but is your preference)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3 T canola oil
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips (I used almost a whole bag :/ )

-Blend everything (except the chips) very well in a food processor.

-Mix in chips, and pour into an oiled pan.

-Cook at 350F for around 35 minutes.

-Let stand at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan

Daily inspiration: adventure

image via pinterest

Isn’t this beyond the greatest photo ever? Such an amazing quote and the coolest tutu!

a green shorts awkward & awesome thursday

 

blouse & sandals: UO, shorts & belt: jcrew, tote: coach

Awkward:

-I happen to be extremely accident prone...my friends say I should put myself in a bubble so I don't get hurt. Currently I have a bruise the size of Oklahoma on my leg from where a cooler hit me two weekends ago. So of course the other day when I went bowling with friends I would find a way to slam the ball into my shin while attempting to bowl. I completely knocked myself flat on my butt while my ball went rolling into the gutter. Real attractive over here.

-My mother and aunt are kind of like witch doctors, anytime anything is wrong with your health they always come up with some pill, cream, tea or concoction to cure the symptoms. Since I slammed a bowling ball into my shin I currently have a bruise developing the size of Florida to match the other one. My aunt swears that honey is the cure to helping heal bruises and pain, so I thought why not. I walked around the whole day with honey on my leg...dripping and things getting stuck to it. Cute.

-So I have this burn mark on the side of my neck from me not paying attention while curling my hair (accident prone I tell ya) that I am sure totally looks like I spent five hours in the back seat of some car

-My dog...as cute as he is...literally has the worst farts I have EVER smelled in my life, he can literally clear a room. The looks on peoples faces when they smell it are priceless before I try to explain it was my dog and not me!

Awesome:

-MY GRANDMOTHER SURVIVED HER SURGERY AND IS DOING JUST FINE!

-One of my little sisters takes her road test tomorrow and I couldn't be more than excited for her to get her license. Such an epic moment in a child's life...I still remember how excited I was.

-I have to confess…I am completely 100% obsessed with Pinterest. I literally could spend hours upon hours on the site pinning things. For those of you who don’t know what it is, you can ‘pin’ or tag pictures of things you see on the internet to boards. So cool.

-How absolutely excited I am getting for the Lucky FABB conference & NYFW….ugh what to wear?!?!?!?

prayers needed today

My grandma went in for her second open heart surgery this morning. She needs a new heart valve and they need to replace two arteries. I can’t be there with her because she is in Arizona. I could lie to you guys and tell you I am handling it okay over here but I am not.

So some extra prayers for my grandmother would be appreciated :)

She is the strongest and bravest person I know.

Sweet Caroline Bean Salad

 

My step-grandmother, Caroline is probably THE best cook and baker I have yet to meet. Holiday dinners and occasions leave me plump & satisfied beyond control, everything is so amazingly good. I stopped by her house the other day and she had the most amazing  bean salad in the fridge. So of course I got the recipe and made some to keep in my fridge.

It is very easy to make, so healthy and full of protein. Perfect for vegetarian me :)

 

Sweet Caroline Bean Salad

-1 english cucumber

-1 yellow pepper

-1 package of grape tomatoes

-2 cans of white beans

-can of olives (I like spanish olives and I cute around the seeds but you can get regular green olives)

-olive oil

-salt & pepper

1. Open and drain beans in strainer. (Let beans drain while cutting up veggies)

2. Cut tomatoes, cucumber, pepper and olives in small pieces and combine in bowl.

3. Add in beans and mix.

4. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper to season.

I like to put it in the fridge because it tastes better cold but that’s my preference.

 

Free People August catalog

I just love some of the outfits and pieces from the new Free People collection. Perfect setting in Venice…just makes me want to step into these photos wearing the clothes. But I guess that’s the point of fashion isn’t it?

Check out all the new fall things here!

a cute dress & fruit = happiness

My mom and I head out to Dearborn the other day to go to a costume shop to find an applique for a dress only to get there and the shop was closed. total bummer. so what a perfect time to take random outfit photos on the street before we went to the fruit market. lol. we are random if you haven’t noticed.

{has to be one of my favorite fruits}

dress: anthropologie

belt: target

bracelets: forever 21

sandals: sam edelman

bag: from italy

awkward & awesome thursday

 

top: UO, shorts: tj maxx, shoes: coach, necklace: vintage, bracelet: pieces of terra

 

Awkward:

-The simple fact that I think my dog is way cooler and loving than any man I will ever meet. Carrie Underwood said it best with her song “The More Boys I Meet The More I Love My Dog”…true words Carrie.

-My little sister went to the University of Michigan basketball camp last week, the super fun kind where they stay in the dorms and everything. My stepmom dropped her off on Sunday so I could get her settled in on Monday in the dorms. While my sister and I were waiting in the registration line and I was chatting with another parent she asked “Is this your daughters first year here?” umm if I were to have an 11 year old daughter…I would have had her at 12!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

-How almost every person I know is getting married/married/having a baby/had a baby…seriously am I reaching the place in my life where I need to find new single friends or something?

-Getting your ex-boyfriends phone bill stating that his phone service is being shut off…hmm maybe he should change his address?

Awesome:

-My sister being able to stay the night with me before I took her to camp…so much fun :)

-This past weekend I had such fun and memorable times with some of my best friends up at Lake Houghton.

-Getting all the details of my NY trip booked for NYFW & the Lucky FABB conference!

-Being happy and content with my life at the moment!

daily inspiration

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The above image is of a 14 year old girl and I don’t think she has any idea how she has inspired me completely. I love everything about this photo.

stop and think

I realized last night that I have never really talked about my faith on the blog which is surprising because it plays such a strong role in my life. I could quite possibly be committing social suicide by writing this post but I just had to share.

I grew up catholic and with all respect to the catholic religion and church I spend almost all my life not knowing God. Church was boring to me and I never understood anything they were talking about, so I chose to not go as a teenager.

Some time in the past six years my mother found an amazing non-denominational church that our family now calls home, North Ridge If you live in Michigan, I highly recommend you stop by one weekend. North Ridge changed my view of church because it wasn’t boring and the pastor connects things to real life and teaches you valuable lessons. Changing my view of church led to changing my view of God, which helped me realize that I needed to accept him in my life. The journey to that acceptance is never easy however.

There are about a hundred bazillion things that get in the way of that acceptance for me. A family members health fails, someone breaks our heart, a natural disaster happens, and you find yourself questioning why the almighty God would allow such things to happen. And even though church can be helpful, people who are apart of the church community can taint the view of what you thought it means to accept God in your life.

So you are left feeling confused, a bit empty and with a desire to question things.

By accident I stumbled upon a book I am now reading called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Now that I have begun reading the book I realize that it was not an accident at all I found the book. Francis is an incredible pastor in California, that makes me desire to live in California even more. He is real, just like that pastor at North Ridge and through this book he is helping me realize that accepting God in my life is something that I have to do on my own. I am still learning from the book so I do not have any lessons to teach you at this time. However I wanted to share a video that completely took my breath away.

Go out and buy the book today! You will not regret it!

Wrap bracelet winner!

image via weheartit

Maddie! YAY!!

So happy you won, email me your address so I can send you your new bracelet! And thanks to everyone who entered!!

something to make anyone smile

 

Isn’t he just the cutest little thing ever? I needed something to make me smile and he is always the one :)

You can read all about him here

love a romper

Just a few pictures from this past weekend with my mom in a little town outside of where I live, Chelsea, MI. Such a cute little town, that has an amazing shop, The Potting Shed and a great little restaurant, The Common Grill. A great little Saturday :)

 

romper: UO

scarf & necklace: vintage

sandals: old navy