4 Ideas for your Memorial Day Party!

Memorial Day weekend is just around the corner and we'll all be celebrating the official (or un-official if you like to hold out for that summer solstice) start of summer!  Here are a couple of ideas to help you prep for an amazing Memorial Day Party!

1. Let the Cocktails Flow!

As everyone knows, it's important be on top of your cocktail game on holidays like Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Halloween, St. Patty's Day, Christmas... OK on every holiday. Memorial Day is a great day to whip up a signature cocktail, but allowing guests to make their own cocktails along side a berry bar can also be fun!  Remember that since it's the start of summer, keep your cocktails and mixers light and fresh! Beers for the boys are fine, but ladies are getting ready to be in a swimsuit for the next 3 months. Here are a couple Cocktail Recipes I like for Memorial Day...

Blueberry Lemonade (recipe from Damn Delicious)

for my touch on the Blueberry Lemonade, add 1 part vodka!

The Paloma (recipe from Drizzle & Dip)

Strawberry Gin Smash (recipe from the kitchn)

Sunday Special: Fresh from the Farmer's Market

Walking over to the Brentwood Farmer's Market is a great way to start a Sunday and get ready for the week ahead.  I don't know about you, but I feel great when I eat fresh and natural foods. Matt and I did a cleanse (of sorts) a couple weeks ago and are thinking about doing another one, but until then our fresh finds from the farmer's market will do:

• We got a Red Cure from The Raw Juicery to share while we walked around
• 3 Ruby Red Grapefruits (one of which I am eating right now)
• Oyster Mushrooms
• Mixed Berries (blueberries, raspberries and blackberries).  I love berries for snacking and for topping my greek yogurt (plus a bit of honey, of course)
• A bunch of Thai Basil.  We'll use this for adding flavor to meals throughout the week and maybe even make some fresh pesto.
• Avocado... duh.
• Alfalfa sprouts to top avocado toast and put on sandwiches
• Last, but not least, a bunch of White Snap Dragons.  These are one of my favorite flowers and they will last a full week in vase.

And now off to do my taxes.  Yes, I have waited until almost the last possible day.

Friday Favorites

Are you making any of these 12 Deadly Decorating Sins?

Get healthy this weekend with these 5 Easy and Delicious Kale Recipes from FitSugar.

I'm loving Inspired By Charm's DIY Colorful Artwork inspired by this Melbourne home.

Starting to think about summer vacations?  Check out these beautiful Italian Beaches. If you can't plan a trip, at least you can buy a print!

Get ready for the weekend with this guide to the Ultimate Nude Lip.

Don't miss J.Crew's 25% off your full-price purchase and 30% off sale items with coupon code HEYSPRING.

What's In My Bag

On any day of the week my purse is probably stocked with a few more things than I'd like to admit, but here are my the necessities...

Phillip Lim Pashli Satchel (similar steals here, here and here)
Chanel Quilted Wallet (similar here): This wallet was a gift to myself that I bought in Paris about 5 years ago.  It has been favorite accessory ever since.  
L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream
iPhone 5s in Gold
Vaseline:  We all know how important Vaseline is, especially after Tyra told us so!  Nothing is better than Vaseline for soft lips 
Ray Ban Aviators in Gold: When I was blonder, these were perfect for me.  Now that I am more of a dirty blonde/light brown, I think I will need to buy a pair with black lenses.
Chanel Glossimer Lipgloss (Favorites are 46 Giggle & 165 Volupte)
Gum Soft-Picks: Gotta have clean teeth!
5 Gum (Cobalt is my favorite)
Luxxe Bands Hair Ties:  I have thinner hair, so I can't do much with it.  But these hair ties help give me a great bun... way better than standard rubberbands.
Hello Kitty Band-Aids:  Safety first!

Sunday Special: Link Love

Here are a few of my favorite things I've seen or found over the past week.  Enjoy!

Strangers Kissing: This video of strangers kissing.  It's so awkward and real.  No wonder it's gone viral.

Love Lust: If I had forgotten why I love Sarah Jessica Parker, this video of her brought it all back.  SJP is intelligent, interesting and beautiful.  Vogue's 73 questions with SJP is a must watch. 

Movies: 3 movies you should watch if you haven't already: Cinderella Man | The Way, Way Back | About Time
I may be the only person who hasn't seen Cinderella Man since it came out in 2005.. but if that's not true and you haven't seen it either. Watch it.  It's an amazing underdog story.  The Way, Way Back is an indie coming of age movie.  After I watched it I had to have a good cry.  About Time is not what you think.  It's not just a romance about a guy who uses time travel to get a girl.  About Time is a sincere and sentimental story about life.

Luck of the Irish: Check out these St. Patty's Day DIYs from Lark & Linen.

Career Girl: Check out this interview with Caitlin Moran of Style Within Reach and Glitter Guide on Career Contessa.  Great story of how she got started in the blogging world.

30 before 30

click image for source

Here is a list of the 30 things I want to do before I turn 30.  I'm 27 plus a few days, so I've got just about 3 years to make these 30 things happen! 

1. Run a marathon (my new apartment is on the LA marathon route, and watching all of those runners last weekend was inspiring)
2. Go wine tasting in a new region once a year
3. Learn to play tennis and win a match against Matt
4. Go to South America (Rio for the 2016 Summer Olympics would be an ideal way to cross this one off the list!)
5. Brush up on my Spanish
6. Go on a service trip
7. If opportunity of planning a wedding should arise... plan said wedding for $10k or under 
8. Go for a whole month without watching TV
9. Go skydiving
10. Get a puppy
11. Sleep under the stars
12. Go to Alaska
13. See an Orca in the wild (NO Sea World!)
14. Run a Mud Run and/or Color Run
15. Take a cooking class
16. Frame 3 of my travel photos
17. Figure out my heritage
18. Spend more time volunteering at LA Goal
19. Start a successful business
20. Be able to do the splits again
21. Plan a trip to Southeast Asia and visit my friends in Vietnam!
22. Eat only local and unprocessed foods for a week, at least.  
23. Guest post on 4 blogs
24. Work with an artist on a unique header for Magnolia Styles
25. Have 4 bloggers guest post on Magnolia Styles
26. Go to Austin City Limits with Jessica
27. Take an art class
28. Have an around the world cocktail and/or wine tasting party
29. Plant a garden
30. Inspire someone else to make a list

What's on your list??

Weekend Getaway: Solvang

Matt and I made the trek up to the Santa Ynez Valley for a little wine tasting and relaxation over the weekend.  Despite the weather being a bit gloomy and rainy, we had a great time!  Here are a few of our favorite spots from the valley... 

We arrived in Solvang on Friday night and asked the hotel concierge for dinner recommendations.  After being a little surprised that he suggested an Irish pub and Chinese takeout, we decided to walk around the little town of Solvang and see what we could find on our own.  We ended up finding a cafe and wine bar that was right up our alley... the cozy industrial decor, great wine and local fare was just what we were looking for.  Thank you, Succulent Cafe Wine Charcuterie, for a great dinner.

We had an afternoon wine tour planned with Wine Canyon Tours, so we stopped in for a quick lunch at Fresco Valley Cafe.  Fresh, organic and sustainable.  I had the turkey burger, which was delicious.  After lunch we were picked up for our wine tour and spent the afternoon with 2 other winos and the wine guide.

The highlight of our trip was dinner at Sides Hardware and Shoes - A Brothers Restaurant in Los Olivos.  Don't let the shabby exterior and out of date decor fool you, the food is amazing.  We had an appetizer of oysters and for our main courses we had pork cheek and sea scallops.

On our way out of town we stopped at  Sunstone Winery.  We split a flight and enjoyed the beautiful grounds.