Eyelet Top

It’s been a while since I have done a fashion board for you.  Basically the site that use to host my collages, shut down…..UGHHHHHHHH..So I not only lost everything BUT I have not been able to do fashion posts since the end of March…Luckily, I started working with another company and Voila.   So back to business…Everywhere I go I see that Eyelet blouses are the THING!!!  They are so crisp looking yet give an outfit that little extra fancy touch.  You can wear them with blue jeans, white jeans or black pants all summer.  A good selection of eyelet blouses are in most stores lately but here are some of my favorites!!!  Oh and please let me know if you like this new format!!!

Book Club Monday

With Memorial Day just a week away, my goal for the Book Club for the next few months is to find you great beach reads.  Fun light, and quick reading will be my main focus.  Sooooo for today, I have chosen, Searching for Beauty: The Life of Millicent Rogers, the American Heiress Who Taught The World About Style.  Doesn’t this sound amazing…I cannot wait to start it…Here is the summary:


Nobody knew how to live the high life like Standard Oil heiress Millicent Rogers. Born to luxury, she lived in a whirl of European vacations, exquisite clothing, and dashing men.
In Searching for Beauty, Cherie Burns chronicles Rogers’s rebellious life from her days as a young girl afflicted with rheumatic fever to her final days as one of the legendary chatelaines of New Mexico. She eloped with a penniless baron; danced tangos in European nightclubs; romanced Roald Dahl, Secretary of Defense James Forrestal, and Hollywood icon Clark Gable; and triumphed in the world of fashion. She was muse to legendary American designer Charles James, appeared in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and popularized Southwestern style by adopting turquoise jewelry, squaw skirts and short-waist jackets as her signature look.
With Searching for Beauty, Millicent Rogers enters the pantheon of great American women who, like Diana Vreeland and Babe Paley, put their distinctive stamp on American style. – Amazon.com

For more information or to purchase this book, click HERE.
image Amazon.com

A Royal Wedding and A Royal Party!!!!

This morning I went to a very beautiful breakfast party to watch the Royal Wedding.  In fact it was so much fun celebrating with our friends and so festive….. Who really needed to be at Windsor Castle??!!!!!!! !!  I have captured some great photos from the party and also shared some of my favorite photos from the festivities in London!!!!  Hurrah for Meghan and Harry!!!!!

All the British accessories around the room were fab!!!

Our Wedding Cake!!!!  Might have even been nicer than the real one!!!

Our amazing hostess…luckily for her hubby, Harry did not see her first!!!!!!!!!!

The happy couple!!!

The beautiful centerpieces…the chocolate did not last long!!!!!

We watched 2 different channels on a couple of big screens!  I was focused on the “Today” screen!!!

The party favor..Meghan and Harry commemorative mugs…I already used mine!!!  Oh and a tiara borrowed from a very stylish guest!

A close up of the cake!!!

Some of the beautiful fascinators worn this morning!!!

A closer up of the cake!!!

How Handsome is Harry?
How great was the cake topper??? 

                                Now Onto The Wedding!!!


Home Good’s Round Up

Its back!!!!…the Home Goods Round Up…I have not been to Home Goods since the last post so this was longgggggg overdue!!!!  I found some really great things, esp for Summer Entertaining!!  All of these items were found yesterday at the Home Goods in Port Chester.   Happy Shopping!!!

I love this square “boxwood” wreath for the front door!!

This is so great for a bathroom…the seat lifts up for storage.

I love these utensil holders.  They would look great on an outdoor dining table!!!  I need to go back!!!

I love this outdoor entertaining bar cart!!!

These outdoor planters are so cool!!!!

I also love this garden stool!!!

These plates are great!!!!

How cool is this wine holder!!!!
These lamps are fabulous!!!!  And there was a pair!!!!  I wish I had a place for them…

Remember my obsession with rattan last summer?  How perfect is this?  I am still dreaming about it.

There were so many really really nice beach towels!!!

I had to show you the entire beach towel isle.

This bamboo magazine rack is incredible!!!

These LOVE signs are perfect for a teen girls desk or a college dorm room.

These baskets are amazing!!!  I could see them in a pool house or in a cabana.

These water bottles make a great gift!!!!

These tiki glasses are a must-have for summer cocktails!!!

These drink mixes are so much fun!!!

My husband always asks for a new cooler…Voila!!! 

The planters would be so great out on a patio filled with succulents or mini ferns!!!

A Lemon Cake To Die For

I found this recipe on Pinterest  At Mother’s Day dinner, I noticed that the lemon desserts were so popular.  I started thinking that I really never bake anything lemon.  Soooooooooo I thought I would try this.  Also, I was very happy to read that it is Weight Watchers Friendly, i.e. LOW POINTS!!!!!  Bon Appetit!!!!!

image MarthaStewart.com

adapted from skinnypoints.com

Cake
1 box of yellow cake mix.
1 small box of instant lemon pudding mix.
¾ cup of oil.
¾ cup of water.
4 beaten eggs.

Glaze


2 cups of powdered sugar.




2 tbsps of melted butter.


2 tbsps of water.







⅓ cup of lemon juice.
Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a 9×13 baking pan.
In a bowl beat the eggs and mix in the cake mix, lemon pudding, oil and water until well combined.
Pour the batter in the pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze. Mix the powdered sugar, lemon juice and water until well combined.
Once baked, poke holes in the cake with a wooden spoon and pour the glaze over it.

An Organized Pantry

Over the weekend, I tackled my pantry.  It seems to be one of the most disorganized areas of my house.  Probably because, everyone is always going in there looking for something.  I bought chrome baskets for the shelves.  I keep chips, hot chocolate, pasta, crackers, mixes, ziplocs and foodwraps, etc. sorted in each.  On the top shelf I keep cans and sauces.  Because you can see through the baskets, it makes it very easy find everything and to put the groceries away.  I have not bought plastic storage containers, for cereal and rice, yet but thats next! (I think they will go on the bottom shelf)!!

Here are the BASKETS that I use in my pantry.  I also like THESE to hold canned goods.  And HERE is a great set of storage containers!!

image Decoist.com
image www.bhg.com
image www.classyclutter.net
image duoventures.com
image diynetwork.com
And my friend Karen, of K’s Kitchen was kind enough to share her 
“pantry essentials” list with us:
2 cans of chick peas/garbanzo beans
Jarred anchovies in oil
Jarred hearts of palm 
2 large cans crushed San Marzano Tomatoes
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
Peanut butter, smooth and chunky
Vinegars; champagne, balsamic, red wine, cider, rice
Good olive oil, extra virgin for salads and regular for cooking
Tahini (great in dips, sauces, stir fry)
Capers
Olives; black, Spanish, kalamata
Organic stock; chicken, beef & vegetable
Agave
Real maple syrup
Coarse kosher salt
Water chestnuts
Different shaped pastas
Different grains; rice, farro, Israeli couscous, lentils
Nut assortment; sliced almonds, walnuts, pine nuts
Soy Vay Teriyaki 
Sriracha sauce
Panko