memorial day

This past weekend was full of cocktails, sunshine and laughing. I don't think it could have been better! Saturday mom and I started off the weekend strong by going to the gym. We knew there was a lot of eating and drinking to be done and we should be proactive about it. From there we went to my Aunt's house to lounge by the pool and hang out for a while. Eventually, when thunderstorms came rolling in, we went shopping for the bigger party on Saturday. Four hours and a car full of food later, we were back at my Aunt's house to drop it all off.
Sunday morning I made another trip to the gym then went for a walk with my (very pregnant) sister with our dogs before heading to the party. Once we got there, we were in full swing getting all of the deliciousness ready. More food than you'd imagine, sangria and (my cocktail of the day) mojitos! I'll be sharing that recipe next week for sure! Then I did a bunch of drinking and hanging with my favorite people in the world.

wednesday is for pinterest

This short week is going crazy fast! I can't believe hump day is here already! I'm pretty excited about it though. Last week I shared a million summer barbecue related pins, this week I'm going to diversify a bit more. I have a hodge-podge of things to share with you!

Source: itsy-bits-and-pieces.blogspot.com via Theresa on Pinterest

Curtain tie backs with a soft, girly feel. I adore these.

Source: eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com via Heather on Pinterest

Quinoa broccoli casserole sounds amazing. I think I need to make this very soon! Next rainy day!

Source: artcafe.bg via Lynnie on Pinterest

The yellow bathroom is gorgeous. I adore how soft and sunny it is. I suppose it would definitely wake you up in the morning.

Source: freestylinbeth.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Seriously?! I LOVE this. It is a tutu....ON a bed. What an adorable concept for a little girl's princess room!

Source: thingswemake.wordpress.com via Mary on Pinterest

Raspberry macaroons. Oh my. I'll be making these this week to bring to our next barbecue.

Source: tenniswarehouse.com via Liz on Pinterest

I'm always on the hunt for new workout gear and this shirt is just gorgeous! I adore it.

Source: makeanddogirl.com via Connie on Pinterest

Not only is this a sunny, beautiful picture but I would love that wall art in my house. The sentiment is wonderful.

I hope you're having a great hump day....I'll be back tomorrow with a weekend recap!

blog-aversery!

Sunday was this little blog's first birthday! I celebrated with a few mojitos and a huge family barbecue! Our weather was beyond fabulous and I had a great time. I'll be sharing some of the best moments from the weekend on Thursday. But today's post is all about celebrating the past year.
I've been insanely lucky to "meet" some wonderful ladies and share some really awesome experiences with you all.

Thank you so much for following along with me! I appreciate every single comment, every page view and every little tidbit shared with me!

memorial day

I hope you're as ready for this long weekend as I am! I think we have a pretty awesome weekend planned! We're barbecuing every day (in case you hadn't assumed that from all the yummy posts this week) and hopefully lounging by a pool Sunday, Monday AND Tuesday as long as the weather stays nice. Sunday there is a parade in my hometown. I think the whole family is going to that, including my super pregnant sister and cousin! As a side note, Jess is 36 weeks on Sunday and ready for Branson to come out any time now! I'm really excited to celebrate with everyone and consume some delicious food and drink! I think I'll be consuming one or two of Jenna's cherry mojitos on Sunday.

I love this outfit! I themed it all around the tank top and the bathing suit top. I fell in love with both instantly and I love how they sort of coordinated with one another.

memorial day by rundreamcook featuring bow earrings

Source: Uploaded by user via Julie on Pinterest

Don't forget to be Sun Savvy this weekend! Wear sunscreen, and don't forget to reapply!


Hope you have a great (and super safe!) long weekend!!

drinks!

I'm so looking forward to this long weekend lounging by the pool! I'm not sure what the exact plans are, but I know between hanging out with my family and Mike's family we will have lots of delicious food, some awesome cocktails and oodles of glorious (and safe!) time in the sun.
Here are some of my recent Martha Stewart cocktail finds that I'm debating for this weekend!

Source: marthastewart.com via Julie on Pinterest

lemony spiked sweet tea. I love that this one is spiked with Rum and not vodka. Plus, I drink gallons of unsweetened iced tea during the spring and summer, so why not continue that with my cocktails?!

Source: marthastewart.com via Julie on Pinterest

Lemon drops on the rocks. I'll never forget the first time I had a "lemon drop" shot. I was at a bar in Boston with my two college bffs, Anne and Kristyn, and Anne offered to go grab a round of shots. Kristyn and I were a little indifferent as to what it should be so Anne suggested lemon drops. She comes back with shots of vodka and pieces of sugared lemon. That was the last time we let her convince us that a shot "tastes like candy!"

Source: marthastewart.com via Julie on Pinterest

Pineapple-rum cocktails. Yum! Nothing says summer like a rum cocktail. I really love pineapple too. We pretty much always have fresh pineapple on hand during the summer and this tool makes it SO much easier to cut one up! Plus, you end up with an in tact shell to fill with drinks!

Source: marthastewart.com via Julie on Pinterest

A classic rum punch. I like the fresh ingredients in it, like freshly squeezed lime juice. Sounds good to me!

Source: marthastewart.com via Julie on Pinterest

A watermelon mojito. This one is probably the one I'm most hesitant about. While I'm sure it is delicious, the last time I tried to make a watermelon cocktail it was a horrible (disgusting) disaster. Mojitos are pretty darn amazing and I think the light touch of watermelon in it might actually be delicious. I'll report back on how it turns out!

summer kick off weekend

Summer weekends in my family mean huge pool-side gatherings at my Aunt's house. We get together, barbecue and lounge in the sunshine. This weekend is looking to be gorgeous and I'm super excited to ring in the start of summer with a weekend of barbecues!

I'm dedicating this week's oh how pinteresting to barbecues and summer nights!

Source: ivillage.com via Nora on Pinterest

I adore this fire pit setup. The back yard with the Adirondack chairs, it kind of begs for s'mores!

Source: housebeautiful.com via Cecilia on Pinterest

Oh my goodness, I adore this setup! The outdoor kitchen, the seafoam green accents, rustic and perfect!

Source: greenweddingshoes.com via K on Pinterest

I'm loving the speckled serving dishes. The food here looks delicious too!!

Source: bystephanielynn.com via Tina on Pinterest

A bbq in a jar! I know some people who would love it just like this!!

Source: talesofadesignlife.com via Siobhan on Pinterest

Grilled Mexican corn is one of my favorite summer time treats!

Source: thebestpictureontheinternet.blogspot.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Love this, too perfect for what our bbqs are like, but being that close to the ocean would be awesome.

Source: theyummylife.com via Blake on Pinterest

I'll be making these and bringing them this weekend. The display is too cute!!

Source: kinfolkmag.com via Nataly on Pinterest

Every one of these things look awesome. Loving the lemonade mason jars the most though!!

Source: lilblueboo.com via Nicole on Pinterest

I love me some vinegar based barbecue!

Source: pages.mapsofworld.com via Patricia on Pinterest

Last but certainly not least, the United States of 'Mmmerica!


Have a fabulous rest of your week, hopefully you have great long weekends with family and friends!

barbecue sauces

This is apparently the week of barbecues! Going into memorial weekend, I'm ready for summer and ready for lots of bbq-ing!
Pinterest is FULL of barbecue sauce recipes, I can't wait to try these:

Source: krissys-creations.com via Eve on Pinterest

What I love about this one is that is completely from scratch. A lot of the recipes I found use a ketchup base. Not that I'm opposed to ketchup (I really love it!), I just like the idea of making a sauce from the ground up!

Source: urbanstrawberries.wordpress.com via Kaatje on Pinterest

A peach sauce sounds amazing! Especially using fresh peaches on top of chicken - yum! I have a couple family members that are allergic to raw peaches, but they can eat cooked - this would be a great way to let them eat (real!) peach flavor without having a reaction.

Source: homesicktexan.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

A spicy barbecue sauce! With a bonus chopped beef sandwich recipe that sounds divine!

Source: bakedbree.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Baked Bree can do almost no wrong and this sauce looks divine!! Can't wait to try it!

weekend

A weekend in cupcakes!
Saturday I entered into another cupcake contest one town over from where I live. This time I entered two categories, best tasting and best hudson valley themed cupcake. At the festival they had the cupcakes on display and people were encouraged to put pennies in the mason jar that corresponded with the cupcake that they deemed to be the prettiest in each category. When I checked, my best tasting one was in the lead!
They haven't announced the winners yet, but we'll see!

Cupcakes before the frostings! Cinnamon cupcake, apple pie filling and then chocolate cupcake with ganache filling

All ready to go. Empire State of Mind cupcakes (empire apple filling)

Samoa cupcake

On display at the festival

Finishing it off with a picture of Cooper snuggling with
my stuffed monkey

Sunday we went to the dog park and then to my aunt's house to barbecue. It was really awesome spending a relaxing afternoon just hanging out and chatting with family. It was really a great day!
Happy Monday!

chambray for summer

We have one heck of a weekend coming up! We've had 2 days of beautiful weather and the weekend is only going to get better. And to top it off my weekend is fun of good times. This evening Mike and I are taking the dogs to a new dog park that opened about 5 minutes from the house. I'm pretty excited about it because the next closest dog park (the one we go to almost every weekend) is about a half hour drive away. It'll be nice to get there in just a few minutes. Then tomorrow I'm participating in another cupcake festival. I'm entering in two categories, best tasting and best hudson valley themed cupcake. I'm not sure what I'm naming my hudson valley cupcake yet, but I think it's going to be all local ingredients and be apple/caramel flavored. We'll see how they come out when I make a test batch this morning. Sunday we're heading to Connecticut to visit Kristyn's bakery. Talk about yum!

Now on with some fashion for me to drool over! This week's Friday's Fancies is all about chambray. I'm not one to normally wear it, but I have seen some gorgeous looks on pinterest where they mix chambray with simple lace to dress it up. I love the combo so that was my inspiration for this week's look.

chambray for summer by rundreamcook featuring an essie nailpolish

Dorothy Perkins lace shirt
$21 - dorothyperkins.com

Old navy shorts
$25 - oldnavy.gap.com

Pierre Dumas ankle wrap sandals
$30 - piperlime.gap.com

Miso mesh jewelry
£10 - republic.co.uk

Carved earrings
jewelry.1stdibs.com

Ettika gold tone jewelry
$36 - endless.com

Miu miu sunglasses
$310 - miumiu.com

Essie nailpolish
$8 - macys.com

so sore

After the half, I became a slacker. My running took a major hit and even my trips the gym became less frequent. I even managed to gain 5 of the pounds that I had kept off for the last year back. So two weeks ago I decided to cut the bs and get myself back to the gym.

Source: iowagirleats.com via Sara on Pinterest

I read a lot of healthy living and healthy eating blogs almost daily. One of my favorites is definitely The Fitnessista. Earlier this week she posted that she did her "Shweaty May Workout" and was really happy with the burn. So Tuesday I decided to give it a go. First off, oh.my.gosh. I barely got through it. I was good all the way up to the stability ball leg lifts. I think I died a little bit on the mat.
That was NOTHING compared to how my legs felt yesterday and still feel today. The squats and lunges definitely did a number on my quads. I can barely move!
So if you're looking for a workout that will kick your butt, I really have to suggest this one!