Fashion Week - Spring/Summer 2014

Zac Posen

Rachel Zoe

Michael Kors

Nanette Lepore

J Crew

All week i've been looking on my Instagram feed at all my favorite bloggers pictures of Fashion Week, and let me tell you i'm more than a little jealous.  I've picked a few of my favorite designers and a couple looks from each that I fell in love with.  As much as i'm looking forward to Fall these new collections have me looking forward to Spring even more.  

Top Row

The World is your Oyster, Un Deux Trois, Paris

Bottom Row

Love, Paris heart, Je ne sais quoi

I am loving these new prints that I found on Etsy and at Rifle Paper Co.  I have a little obsession with all these Paris, if you hadn't already picked up on that.  My house is already filled with prints of the Eiffel Tower but these will make a wonderful addition.  

Koi

Tory Burch Reva Flat, Tory Burch Reva Clutch, Asos Leather Pencil Skirt, Asos Knitted top

Vivacious

Coat, Bag, Dress, Bracelet

Acai

Tory Burch Caroline Flat

Samba

JCrew Cap-Sleeve Dress, Valentino Flat, Philip Lim Bag

Well it's official, summer is over.  I'm not going to lie i'm a little bit glad to see it go.  For one thing Fall is my favorite season and another I just love my Fall wardrobe much more than my summer clothes.  I've gathered up some of my favorite new Fall pieces in this season's trending colors.  I can't wait to get some of these in my closet!

{Images via Pinterest}

I am completely in love with the white cabinets and white marble counters that these kitchens feature.  It's hard to even choose a favorite so I listed them all!  Do you like the light and airy kitchens or do you prefer a darker cabinet with granite counters?

I have a confession, i'm a little obsessed with Pinterest.  Ok there I said it, now I feel better.  I have a habit of pinning a bunch of recipes that look amazing but never make them.  Well now that i'm on Weight Watchers I have to get creative when I have cravings.  So the other day when I REALLY wanted some buffalo wings I knew exactly where to go.  I had pinned awhile back this recipe from I Breath...I'm Hungry and figured I'd give it a try. 

The recipe is super easy and doesn't take much time at all.  My balls turned out to be more patties however they were amazing none the less.  I added some Kraft light ranch dressing and celery and voila the perfect meal to feed my craving.  Recipe is posted below, enjoy!

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

1lb ground chicken or turkey

2 oz Reduced fat cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

2 Tbl chopped celery

3 Tbl crumbled blue cheese

1/2 tsp black pepper

For the Sauce

1/2 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter

1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce

Instructions

         Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a medium bowl. DO NOT ADD SALT!!! The Frank’s is super salty as is the blue cheese so trust me you don’t need to add more. The mix will be sticky and gooey but that’s normal. Form into about 1 inch balls – remember these are cocktail/bite sized so don’t make them too big. Place them on a greased cookie sheet (with sides) and bake at 350 degrees (F) for 10 minutes.

         To make the sauce, combine the Frank’s and butter in a small saucepan on medium heat, or place in a microwave safe bowl for 2 minutes on high.

          After 10 minutes, remove balls from oven and dunk carefully (they are tender from the cream cheese and could fall apart if you are too rough) in the buffalo sauce. Put back onto the cookie sheet and bake for another 12 minutes. If you have leftover sauce you could pour it over the meatballs and bake for another 3 to 4 minutes if you want them really saucy. These have a subtle blue cheese flavor but I love the dressing so I added more and it was awesome! And of course, you must serve with celery sticks to be authentic!

Notes

Yield: Makes about 16 meatballs

Serving Size: 1 meatball

Approx nutrition info per “ball”: 132 calories, 11g fat, .6 net carbs, 8g protein

Recipe curtesy of I Breath...I'm Hungry

T-shirt with leather, Camo tee, Sweater with leather,
Clutch, Pants

I am loving JCrew's new fall collection.  Lots of leather, camo and pretty feminine prints.  Currently they are offering 25% off with code FALLSTYLE,  I think I'll have to head over and pick up a couple pieces.

The Skinny on Weight Watchers vs. My Fitness Pal

 vs.

For as long as I can remember I have been “dieting”.  I’ve tried South Beach, Atkins, Dukan, Weight Watchers, My Fitness Pal and now again I’m back on Weight Watchers.  In the past 7 months I really started to dedicate myself more to getting healthy and losing those pesky inches that I’ve been carrying around what seems like forever.  I had a lot of luck with My Fitness Pal, I lost 27 pounds following their plan.  I watched the calories I took in and worked out 6 days a week.  Then one week the weight stopped coming off and I was in complete stall mode.  No bueno!  My stall really deterred me from keeping going so I stopped and luckily didn’t see really any of the weight come back on.  I knew that I still had another 15-20 pounds I really wanted to lose though so I decided to try out Weight Watchers again.  

One HUGE difference between WW and MFP is that with WW I really have to watch what I’m eating, not just the calories but how healthy it is.  With MFP I could eat a few high calorie items but feel ok that I didn’t go over my 1300 for the day.  That method does not fly with WW.  I really have to plan my weekly meals out in order to stay at my points and not go over. I do have to say though that I like that about WW’s because the main thing is that I want/need to be eating healthier and that wasn’t happening with MFP. 

So far on WW I’ve lost 3 pounds in two weeks, which I’m pretty happy with.  I think the first ten are going to be the harder than the last ten.  I’ll be sharing my progress in the weeks to come, as well as some great and healthy recipes that I’ve made.  

Thanks for reading!  Hope you enjoy, as always please feel free to leave comments.

 

Face Wash, Mask, Moisturizer, Toner

Now that i'm in my late twenties and the big 3-0 is right around the corner I've started to pay more attention to what i'm putting on my face. I look at the products I use as an investment and therefore don't mind spending a little more on them.

1. Origins Checks and Balances – The first time I tried this face wash I was absolutely hooked. I love the slight minty smell and the way my face feels after I wash it off. I have been looking for a good face wash for what feels like forever. This my friends is a keeper.
2. Origins Clear Improvement™ Active Charcoal Mask To Clear Pores – I don't normally use masks all that often however when I do I am loving this one. It goes on super easy and you really feel like your getting especially clean after you take it off. My skin looks totally refreshed and glowing after one use.
3. Origins Brighter By Nature™ SPF 35 Skin Tone Correcting Moisturizer – Ok last Origins product I swear. I know that the first three on the list are Origins but their products are seriously amazing. I love that this moisturizer is not at all greasy and it's got SPF 35, total bonus!
4. Kiehl's Ultra Facial Toner- After I've used my Origins Checks and Balances I always follow it up with some Kiehl's toner. I bought the larger bottle and let me tell you that thing lasts forever, well not exactly but it's worth it to buy the big bottle because a little does gone a long way. 

Over the fourth of July weekend I took a trip to the Emerald City to visit my boyfriend.  I was expecting rain and clouds and gloom.  What I got was four days of the most beautiful weather.  I was  in shock that it did not rain once while I was there.  Seattle is very much a hipster town, and I am very much not.  I honestly did not think I was going to love the city as much as I came to though.

I have a pretty amazing boyfriend and so was lucky enough to have a limo waiting for me at the airport to pick me up.  However if you are not so lucky there is a train that takes you from the airport to downtown for super cheat and gets you there in no time.  We stayed at the Grand Hyatt which was situated in the perfect location for everything I wanted to do.  It is only a few blocks from Pikes Place Market, and a stones throw from all the greatest shops; JCrew, Tiffany's, and the original Nordstrom.

On Saturday we took a road trip and spent the day at Mt. Rainier National Park.  I am not an outdoorsy girl by any means but this was by far one of my favorite places that I've traveled to.  I had done a ton of research on the park before I left and Pinned a bunch of pictures of the park.  None of the pictures do it justice, the views are amazing.  If you do get the opportunity to go, check out the maps they have on their website, they give you a good idea of the roads to take to make sure you see all the things you want to.  Not everything can be seen in one day obviously so it's nice to be able to pick and choose the route to take.  Oh and take note there is NO cell service.  I made the mistake of putting all the way points into my phone of all the sites I wanted to see, that was an uber waste of time.  On to the next trip!

Hope you enjoyed the pics.  Until next time.

Top, Denim, Necklace,
Tote, Kicks

One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is go to brunch.  Living in a city like Chicago there are endless possibilities of restaurants to choose from.  Sometimes I think I spend more time planning my brunch outfits than my going to dinner outfits.
  
Last weekend my girlfriend and I went to Nellcote, I cannot say enough good things about the yummy food and ambiance of this restaurant.  I love all things french so sitting out on the patio sipping a mimosa I felt like I was transported to the streets of Paris.  If you go definitely try the quiche lorraine and the starter plate, my personal favorites.

I chose to wear my new favorite top from Jcrew Factory store, I bought one in every color that's how much I love it, comfy jeans, cute flats, a stellar necklace and can't forget the pièce de résistance my Tory Burch Robinson bag.   Hope you all are having a great week, thanks for reading!

Johnathan Adler smartphone dock, Tape dispenser, Cork Board, Print, White frame, Stapler

Ok so here goes my first official post.  I'm lucky enough to where I not only have one but two offices.  So that means I get double the fun of decorating both of them. My office in the suburbs is pretty much completed as that is the office I spend the majority of my time at.  Now onto decorating my downtown office, otherwise known as my favorite office.  I have very much neglected that space, and currently only have a monogram mug from Anthropologie sitting on my desk.  I've dedicated this post to me making some much needed updates to that space.

Bonjour!

Hi and welcome to my blog!

My name is Sarah, and i've created a site that is a mixture of fashion trends, interior décor, travel, beauty reviews and other lifestyle related items.

I am so excited to finally be starting this blog and show you all things i'm passionate about. Please feel free to leave any feedback and comments you may have.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy!