SLAM Film Series

This Friday we had a wonderful evening with great friends at the Outdoor Film Series hosted by the St. Louis Art Museum.   It was also James' half-birthday!!

Every Friday the Art Museum stays open late.  But in July there's a really fun opportunity to see the museum, go to a Food Truck festival & watch an outdoor move in a gorgeous setting!  How fun!

Art Hill  

Left:  LULU's Local Eatery  I had the sweet potato falafel & their specialty 

lavender lemonade! I was wonderful!!! 

Right:  Seoul Taco  James had tacos but the beef was korean seasoned.  

Very delicious.  I'll always be true to Tex-Mex but he loved them! 

You can't pass up dessert!  I for one disbelieve anyone who says that cupcakes are last season.  I hope they're around forever!  Please read the description for "Drunken Pig" above!  

Our cupcakes!  I got Vanilla Caramel Toffee :)  On right ~ the brave soul who tried Drunken Pig! 

Due to the weather looking like it could rain any moment (and the movie was Roman Holiday not Princess Bride like we thought) we decided to skip out early & head to the rooftop bar at the Moonrise!  So fun I hope we go back soon!  And if you're in STL looking for a very eclectic boutique hotel with an awesome bar check them out! 

Back to School

Today I spent all day in Continuing Education for my Insurance license.

OMG how time crawls when an 8 hour lecture is not relevant to your life.

I was quite surprised at how quickly my behavior today reverted back to college-esque.  What time did CE start? 8 am.  What time did I wake up? 7:30 am.  :)  I also wore super comfortable clothes... I did have a 30 second argument with my self about yoga pants vs. jeans.  I was totally prepared to rock the yoga pants but my left brain kept reminding me, "Every time you're at CE there are usually a handful of people from The Firm there.  Do you want them to see you in yoga pants?  Last time one of your Partners was there!"  "But I don't think she recognized me!"  Oh, that crazy internal dialogue.  I'm pretty sure a good 15 of my morning routine was packing my tote full of food & things to keep me occupied during the day.

Pretty much the only saving grace of the day (besides the iPad, who am I kidding?) was the instructor.  He is OLD and says CRAZY stuff :)

"If your pager goes off, please step outside to handle it." (I'm sorry, is it 1995?)

"Did I make all this crap up, carrot breath?"

"Medicare don't care about you!"

When he was taking role he asked, "Why are you sitting on the back row by yourself?" and I said, "So my iPad can stay plugged in to this outlet" and he said, "I don't even know what that means, but ok."

The morning session was titled "Medicare" and the afternoon "Annuity Suitability" but it was really a lot of people complaining & then getting the instructor rilled up so he would go on a long tangent/rant about Obama-care or market crashes or government spying or a random socio-policial topic.

However, I did get all my fav blogs added to bloglovin', figure out what I'm going to use my ULTA coupon for, added a lot of things to my Nordstrom wish list, read every article possible about the royal baby & grabbed lunch from one of my favorite places Pastries of Denmark.  They give you a small cheese cake with every order!  All in all I was happy with the outcome of my day :)

Bloglovin'

www.bloglovin.com  Go here!  Or click on the button on the right!


Sounds like McLovin in my head :)  I am in love with bloglovin' to keep up with all the blogs I follow (and if you're sore about losing Google reader this is for you!).  I didn't really use google reader because I used a many layered folder approach to categorize everything.  But bloglovin' lets you organize the posts you follow!  Can you tell I love them?

And they have this cute iPhone app!

More organizing for me... but check it out for yourself!

Happy Things!

Things that make me happy...

 I am sooooo in love with these flip flops!  They are super comfortable!  And Nina Garcia recommends them.  I can not imagine her wearing flip flops - ever - so you know these are great! Probably the best $20 I've spend so far this summer! 

 Our wedding album arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So gorgeous!  I loved re-living each moment of our special day :) 

 Birchbox!

My fancy new calligraphy set!  Trying out a new hobby :) 

 There are so many little bunnies in our neighborhood!

My Seester is getting a baby kitty!  I'm so excited :) 

Reflections

I'm not sure where I came across it... (lesbihonest probably Pinterest), but Jessica Alba wrote a book called "The Honest Life: Living Naturally and True to You."

I picked it up from the Library and was glad I did.  I've been recently trying to prioritize a more natural lifestyle.  One recent conviction revolves around some medical things that have popped up.  I've always felt better health wise when I make a priority to eat organic.

The book covers the following topics:

• food
• clean
• beauty
• style
• home
• baby
• inspiration

Her personal inspiration for living naturally revolves around her kids, and so does much of the book.  I still found a lot of it relevant, I think my mommy-friends out there would probably get more enjoyment out of it.

My thoughts ~ 

I appreciated how honest Jessica is (ironic?) and she doesn't come off as "I only eat organic, it's easy I have a errand boy to go to the grocery store and a cook to make it" but as a down to earth working mom with kids.  She also prioritizes each chapter on the most important things to be natural and "keeping it real" good second-choices for those times when it is too difficult/ short on time for the natural version.  The book is not written in a judgy voice, she presents ingredients to stay away from and tips on how to live naturally.  She also peppers the book with fun how-to's along with each chapter from how to host a dinner party to perfect red lip.

I think it's hard for anyone to write a book when you have a company in the industry.  She does have a plug for The Honest Co. often.  It is not over the top, but that is a pet peeve of mine :) Some of the chapters were not earth-shattering.  I would recommend this book for someone who is considering making some natural changes or wanting to learn about strategies for the first time.

The chapter that most convicted me was the beauty chapter :)  She does admit that a lot of times we expect to sacrifice quality or cost to get natural products, but more companies are entering the market.  I do agree I should be careful what's going on my skin.  The book was lacking in that she says moisturizer/base layer makeup is most important because it's right next to your skin, she says she looks up her products on a data base that gives safety scores (ewg.org/skindeep) and aims for a 0-2.  That's it. What?  For an informational book that's not a lot of information!  Hopefully the database is more informational.  The chapter discussed each type of makeup & may have a brand recommendation, but the practical application was definitely missing!

Take aways~

I'm glad I got the book from the library, probably won't buy it.  I will bookmark some of the websites :) I will start taking a better look at cosmetics... I knew this was the case for food- but the EU has much stricter regulations for cosmetics as well.  I looked up some of the products I use (in the above link) a little scary!

Estee Lauder BB Cream - score of 7 !!
L'Oreal Power Volume 24 Hour Mascara - score of 4
The Balm Blush - score of 2

I don't plan on going all crazy, but as I run out of products I plan to be more conscious about the ones I use to replace them.  My strategy is to look for European brands that meet EU standards.

I found these fun links to the best French skincare (who wouldn't want to look Parisian?):
Goop post "The French Pharmacy"
Refinery 29 post "Do French Girls Really Do Beauty Better?"
Vogue UK post "10 French Pharmacy Buys"
Birchbox post "Beauty Trip: French Skincare Favorites"

Good news is a lot of the same brands/products were mentioned many times.  Can't wait to try!

4th of July

Happy birthday 'merica!

We had a lovely & relaxing day!  In the morning I went to the driving range with James.  Apparently my Dad has spoiled me with Top Golf.  I asked if this place had margaritas & I got a weird look.  Oh well :)

Bucket of balls & a beautiful day! 

I took a few swings myself!! 

In the afternoon we went downtown for Fair St. Louis.  This is my first year in STL where 4th of July has not been 100 degrees & 100% humidity.  (remember the Cards game last year friends??)  Fair St. Louis is pretty awesome, there are food vendors, air show, concerts & a mega firework show all at the park under the Arch at the riverfront.  I think a million people go every year!  If you saw my Instagram already sorry for the repeats :)

 The concert this year was Trace Adkins

Yep.  We're VIP's.

 Fireworks under the arch!  Spectacular as always :) 

New Summer Recipes

For some reason late spring / summer puts me in the mood to try new recipes!  I love cooking & experimenting in the kitchen! Maybe it's all the new fun looking seasonal produce or the fact it's not dark when I get off work anymore & my body isn't telling me to go to sleep :)  James enjoys cooking too, and although we are working through the "two chefs in the kitchen," it is great activity for us to enjoy together!

~Salmon Packets En Papillote~

I love cooking in packets!  So easy to prepare & clean up :)  I improvised from several websites using what we had on hand.  I also learned that this technique is called "en papillote" ~ how fancy! I am never saying packets again!

1) Coat foil (or parchment paper) packet with olive oil
2) Season salmon filets with salt, pepper & spice mix from Trader Joe's Dukkah
3) Layer lemon slices, salmon, lemon slices, chopped garlic & scallions
4) Drizzle olive oil & white wine on top
5) Seal up the packets like little tents with room for steam
6) Bake at 425 for 15 minutes

The seasonings made all the difference!  Lemon & pepper is perfect for summer :) 

 The side dish ~ Roasted Asparagus

The finished product!

~Grapefruit Cocktails~

I used a margarita recipe as my starting point.  In Texas many places will have grapefruit margaritas and I was craving one!  I could not find ruby red juice in the store :(  that would be my preference... but in the mental debate of best flavor & squeezing juice by hand vs. less flavor & drink sooner, the latter won out :)  If you do have fresh ruby red juice nearby, please use it!  Without the ruby red the drink was good but tart!  I enjoy a more tart beverage over sugary in the summer.

2 oz Grapefruit Juice
2 oz Tequila
2 oz Lemon Simple Syrup (recipe below)
1 Tbsp Lime Juice

My sweet cousin got us a party glassware set with wine, martini, beer & shot glasses!  It also included a fancy shaker/strainer with recipes on the side!  It was perfect for making the cocktails :)  Thanks Kara!

~Simple Syrup~

I wish this was a food group.  Or socially acceptable to drink on it's own :)  There are 1000 variations of a simple syrup recipe, I wanted to make lime for my tequila cocktail, but in MO it's hard to find produce sometimes and the lemons looked considerably more ripe.  I plan on making a batch of tea to use the rest of it with (if there is some left over!).  Simple syrup seriously takes 10 minutes & is the best 10 minutes you'll ever spend!  Not only do you get to lick the spoon :) but putting it in drinks vs. sweetener or sugar is INCREDIBLE!

Recipe credit:  Martha always knows best!

1 part water
1 part sugar
1 lemon zested & the juice

It's pretty simple, heat to boiling, stir often, cool down, strain & enjoy!

 I don't have a teeny strainer... this is my MacGyver approach!

Ready to make cocktails & tea !