Friday Favorites

 

how sweet and summery are these old navy wedges? i will be picking up a pair this weekend.

 

i spotted this nail polish {lapiz of luxury} at tar-jay earlier this week and i just love it. wouldn't it be perfect as a pedicure peeking out from the above espadrilles?

 

 

i whipped up a batch of this snack mix this week.  the only problem with it is that since it's a cooking light recipe, i've convinced myself it's totally healthy.  which it is, but not in the quantities that i'm consuming it in.

 

 

i. am. OBSESSED.  our next furniture purchase will likely be a new dining table and chairs and i have always wanted bistro chairs. these are just too perfect!

have a terrific weekend!

Equality

 

I typically do not use this blog as a place to make political statements, but today I make an exception.

Tax-paying citizens should not be denied basic rights.  It sets a scary and dangerous precedent of government oversight when a not-so-large majority of voters in a non-general election vote can determine who gets rights and who doesn't.  I will never understand why some people are so determined to take away the pursuit of happiness from their fellow human beings.  It makes me incredibly sad.

The last line of the Pledge of Allegiance says "with liberty and justice for all".  While the majority of voters in North Carolina may not believe in that, I am so proud that we have a President who does.

Keeping Your Money Safe

When we moved to our new city this summer, the local paper was all abuzz with a wave of identity theft crimes that all seemed to be originating from a local movie theatre.  The criminals were eventually caught, but the damage was still done to numerous people's bank account.  I heard from one source that a local sheriff had $7,000 stolen from him.  Can you imagine?!

It was discovered that the criminals had been using a high-tech scanner carried in their pockets.  The scanner was able to "read" the magnetic strips on the back of credit cards, even if they were inside of a leather or fabric wallet or purse.  All the criminal had to do was walk by you at a close-enough range.  This type of identify theft was news to me, and totally terrifying!

Last week over lunch, a colleague of mine introduced all of us to a genius {and cheap!} way to protect yourself: the aluma wallet.

Apparently, RFID readers cannot penetrate aluminum.  So when you close the aluma wallet, your credit cards {therefore, your information} can't be read by someone with an RFID reader.

I just ordered one for me {silver} and one for M {black}.  I realize these aren't quite as chic as, say, my vintage Gucci wallet.  But if $8 and free shipping buys a little peace of mind, I'll trade chic for functional any day!

Hip Hip Hooray!

Last week I mentioned that our city's big Apple Blossom festival was this past weekend.  Along with a colleague, I was in charge of designing our school's float for the big parade on Saturday.  It was a bit of an adventure for us, as neither one of us had any clue what one needed to do to design a parade float.  But with a lot of hard work and a little creativity, we not only figured it out, but we also won first place in our division!

Menu Monday

This week was short on recipes.  I was busy, busy, busy!  I'm linking up over at In No Simple Language; check out all of the links for some great menu ideas!

Fish en Papillote {Laura Calder French Food at Home}

 

Delicious, delicious, delicious!  And very easy clean-up. Definitely a keeper.

 Black Bean, Quinoa, and Citrus Salad {Eat, Live, Run}

 

I only used one grapefruit {mistake} and added a little crumbled feta {brilliant}.  Fair warning: this recipe makes a TON.  Even eating this as an entree and noshing on leftover for lunch and dinner this weekend, we've still got half a container remaining.  Unless you're hosting a party, please halve the recipe.

I also made this, this, and this, but forgot to take pictures.  The pork and asparagus were delicious, but very time-consuming. I would make both again, but not on a weeknight. The kale salad was great; I added a poached egg on top of each for a little more body.

Bon appetit!

Friday Favorites

 i'm dying to try this shrimp dip! since tomorrow's cinco de mayo, we may be feasting on this for dinner.

just ordered a set of these glasses to use as toothbrush holders in our bathroom

beauty tips from a french model {she's the face of chloe}.  

 

in honor of the derby, one of my favorite equestrian-inspired vignettes. 

 The Webster for Target line debuts on Sunday and I plan to be first in line for this dress.

Happy weekend!

On My Bookshelf

 

Sarah's Key 

just finished

 

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption 

just started

 

Divergent// Insurgent

on deck

Sarah's Key just didn't do it for me.  I know a lot of people LOVED this book, but I just was not a fan.  I didn't dislike it, but I didn't like it.  I felt that it was entirely too predictable and not all that well-written.  But it did make the history nerd in me want to do more research on the Vel' d'Hiv roundup.

Have any of you read Unbroken? Or Divergent? If you read Divergent, are you planning on reading Insurgent?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  We've got quite a few wedding road trips coming up and I'm hoping these three books will keep me occupied.

Any others you would recommend?  I'm not much on chick lit, but since we're facing a total of 31 hours in the car {not including traffic}, I'm willing to give anything a whirl!