"I like my money where I can see it, in my closet" -Carrie Bradshaw

I dragged my friend out to take photos with me and she was sweet enough to let me feature her along side me in this post.  Very courageous of her because I imagine if my friend had a blog and asked me, I'd be scared pant-less to have my mug shot for all the internet to see.

Head to toe Zara outfit for another housewarming I went to in Hoboken during the summer.  I patiently waited for this tropical skirt to go on sale, as well as this sleeveless silk blouse.  I saw both items online on Zara.com and circulating other blogs and they seemed like good items to add to my wardrobe.  Little did I know that they would go so well together.  You can't see in the photos but I painted my toes sky blue I was notified went perfectly with the skirt (this was unintentional to say the least).

(me: Zara head to toe) (friend: dress: Target | belt: BCBG)

Baked French Toast

I've never done a food post so here goes.  I saw a post about baked french toast on Cupcakes and Cashemere and immediately decided I had to make it.  She's definitely one of my favorite blogs, incorporating DIYs, food, and fashion all into a super adorable blog with beautiful photos (that usually make my mouth water).  Her blog has introduced me to many recipes that all end up delicious!

On to the recipe.. I substituted whatever bread the recipe calls for with challah bread because challah bread makes some of the BEST homemade french toast I've ever had so I figured why not use it for baked french toast.  The great thing about the recipe is that it can be made the night before and then popped into the oven the next morning (this way you're not waking up and slaving over an oven for breakfast).  My boyfriend and I prepared the recipe.. he cut up the bread into equal cubes (the original recipe from PioneerWomen says you can ripe up the bread into chunks but my boyfriend decided he is too OCD for that and needed to cut it into cubes with a knife).



I mixed together the wet ingredients and my boyfriend poured them over the bread cubes.



Next, my boyfriend attempted to mix the crumble together.  Note to anyone making this recipe.. don't make it in a 90 degree kitchen with no air conditioning.  We failed miserable and ultimately our butter melted so I ended up with a creamed butter cinnamon sugar mixture that I broke into pieces and put all over the top of the bread (this is not pictured because it wasn't as pretty as a crumble topping).  Also, if you don't have a pastry cutter, it's kind of hard to get this part to be a "crumbly" consistency.



Stick it in the oven and voila!  As you can see.. the top isn't a crumble.  The taste is pretty much the same it's just not quite as pretty and the texture is a little different.



Slice it up and serve with syrup.  I have to say the syrup makes it look and taste extra yummy.  The edges are extra good because they are a little crunchy which goes great with the softer texture of the center.  This was basically dessert for breakfast for us!

"Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and pull yourself together." -Elizabeth Taylor

Using a bicycle that isn't mine as a prop?..  Check.  At least I admit that the bike isn't mine, right??

I wore this Zara dress to a bbq of a friend of mine and when I went to go snap some photos of my outfit, my boyfriend thought it would be good to use this bike as a prop.  Of course you won't see the photos of me pretending that I rode it because I'm positive this bicycle is for someone about a foot taller than me that isn't wearing a dress.  This brings to mind the street style photos I've seen on blogs where women are dressed in intricate/fashionable outfits and are riding a bicycle (not just holding it and pretending like myself) in the middle of a road with what looks like cars in the background.  I'm seriously impressed by the ladies that have no fear of messing up their beautiful clothes or having a major spill whilst riding the bike and the possibility of THAT being photographed.


(dress & sandals: Zara |belt: J.Crew)

"Think of all the beauty left around you and be happy" -Anne Frank

A few weeks ago my boyfriend decided to use a Gilt City deal that he had purchased which involved driving an expensive car around a small track.  The blouse I wore was purchased during the Zara summer sale.  I had been thinking about getting it when it initially went on sale but had been putting it off because the photos online weren't that appealing until TheBlondeSalad wore it in this post which sealed the deal, I had to have it!  Lucky for me, the blouse was even more discounted at this time and my size was still available.  It was nice to get a good look at the detailing before actually purchasing it, though I tend to not worry when it comes to Zara because of their awesome free return shipping policy.

Anyway, I am in love with outfits like these where I get to mix casual (cutoff denim shorts) with semi nice (blouse) to make a functional and fashionable outfit!

(top & sandals: Zara |shorts: Ruehl |bag: Alexander Wang Marion |sunglasses: Karen Walker Deep Freeze)