Flashback Friday: Fun in the 1980's sun

The sweltering heat has me thinking about summer fun and the good ol' days. Time for a flashback Friday!
I LOVED Zinka sunblock, always wore yellow. And it smelled so good, mmm, like coconuts.

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Board shorts were all the rage and we loved California Jams.  Mom bought us the cheap imitations, she wasn't about to spend $35 on a name brand.

My favorite swimsuit; attached on the sides, bare in the middle. It was the perfect option for an indecisive gal like me.

This one too.  Had the orange one and loved it.

Look, she's rockin' the zinka!

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Hello 1989. Aviators then...(I'm on the right with the lovely bangs)

And now. HA! It's a good bet I'll still be wearing these puppies in another 20 years. I have no shame.

Go have yourself a fun weekend!!

Refreshing

Mix a lot of this

with a splash of this (Italian Blood Orange Soda / Trader Joe's)

and you have my favorite pre-5 o'clock summer drink--sparkly, but not too sweet! Served in a mason jar of course.

Randomville

Since I got my iPhone I've kind of been ignoring my Nikon. The iPhone is so easy to whip out at a moment's notice. But yesterday I loaded up the real camera and my 2 favorite boys, headed to the park, and shot a few summer pictures.  I'm having such a fun summer with these guys!  No camp, no schedule, no plans, just figuring out the days as they come.  We try to go on one little adventure a day.  Good times!

And I'm adding photography class to my Fall bucket list. 

Last week I mentioned a Gap maxi skirt that I was loving. Well, I just couldn't figure out how to wear it. Every time I put it on I felt like a fortune teller. I returned it and got this maxi dress instead. Found it in Nordstrom's junior department and it's so comfy!

The hubs and I cannot stop eating Trader Joe's chocolate almond biscotti.  It is the perfect evening treat.

I'm loving Clinique's long last glosswear in Bonfire. It's a very glossy, pretty neutral color and it has no smell or taste (a pet peeve of mine!). New summer fave!

The weekend: iPhone picture overload

This weekend flew by: here it is in iPhone pics.
Tennessee's so pretty! I pass this farm all the time and I want to jump on a horse and gallop across a field.

Clockwise from top left:
+CJ sporting his fave zebra sunglasses
+Sweet C chilling in his carseat
+Newly repaired Tory's (The thong pulled out {you should have heard me weeping} and my handy hubby fixed them right up with some wire and epoxy?) He's McGuyver, I love it.  Oh, and perhaps I should invest in a pedicure sometime soon..one lonely toenail has no color!
+My boys taking a break from major yardwork

+My new favorite breakfast via Valsocal. I forgot the feta but it's still easy and delicious

+Farmer's market basil that made my whole kitchen smell so wonderful
+Farmer's market heirlooms

+My sweet boys and I have a new thing--we go once or twice a week to Sbarro and The Cookie Co. and have lunch and a treat. It's wonderful because for a short period of time I don't have to bark orders at anyone--we're all happy!
+PINK Jcrew shorts that I cannot get enough of

Beeautiful, yes?

Hope your weekend was great!
Linking with some fun peeps (Dana, Sami, Leeann) for the Weekend update and with Alli from Life on Leroy too:)

Colorblock Friday

This week's Friday Fancies is about rocking the colorblock.  I love love love pink and orange together (see my header?:) so when I saw this dress it had to be my pick!  I went with simple neutral accessories since the dress is bright and has such an intricate pattern.  Didn't want anything to compete!  

Colorblock by courtco featuring clutch handbags

Lace dress
$198 - neimanmarcus.com

J.Crew wedge heels
$228 - jcrew.com

Clutch handbag
$96 - etsy.com

Stella dot jewelry
$44 - stelladot.com

Linking up here:)

So glad it's Friday, woohoo! Have a fun weekend!

Books, wine, and jewelry

I finished reading The Marriage Bargain.

I'm terrible at book reports but here's what I thought. I'd probably give it 3 stars out of 5 (or maybe 2.75).  It was predictable and cheesy yet I kept flipping the pages.  It was the first book I read after Fifty Shades so of course it would seem boring and predictable.  But for a quick summer read (only 200ish pages) it wasn't bad.

Reading this now.

Very good writing, should be a page-turner.

SO looking forward to this though, release date July 24th. I've enjoyed all of Emily Giffin's books and this one sounds intriguing.

Since wine goes well with books, here's one that we've been enjoying. Crisp and fruity for summer.

And my new statement necklace with my semi-new Gap dress. Very difficult and weird to photograph oneself!

Stuff I like

I'm in love with this dress I just saw on Pink Peonies. It's at Nordstrom for $68? I want it! The navy white obsession continues..

I was in Finish Line Athletic store the other week (the day of our horrendous escalator ordeal) buying my husband new sneakers for Father's Day when I saw these cute running shorts.  Oh I'd love to run in polka dots.

I picked up my first maxi skirt at Gap.  I've been afraid to wear one because I'm not tall and I don't want to look frumpy but you know how it goes: I see lots of other gals wearing them and looking adorable so I'm going to try one and see if I can pull it off.  This one is a slinky material that I like, it hangs pretty.

I also love this t-shirt from Gap.  It's so perfectly comfy and deliciously pink.  It's snug but loose.  After a long hiatus I'm loving Gap again.

Loving my new mascara. I was hanging out with a friend the other day and kept noticing her eyelashes.  She laughed when I asked about her mascara (apparently she's had that question before) and said she uses Loreal Double Extend.  I love it too --  it doesn't smudge AT ALL (which is major for me and my poor easily irritated eyes) and yet it comes off easily. Win win!

Family life lately

When I returned from running the other night this was on my computer:

If my husband sees that I've posted this he will surely crawl under his desk and hide. But how sweet! It's the little things. (Shh, don't tell him he misspelled phenomenal:)

I have a chalkboard in my kitchen that I write menus on.  Saturday it looked like this.

But what I love is that when my 5 year old saw it, he created his own menu board featuring peanut butter and jelly.  This melted my heart. How seriously precious.

And I'll end with a recipe.  I made this last night to use up my farmer's market golden zucchini (which tastes just like green zucchini).  It's pasta with salami, golden zucchini, tomatoes, feta cheese, and fresh basil.  Found the recipe here and let me tell you, it was easy, light and delicious.  Don't be discouraged by my ugly food photography.  It was super yummy and husband approved:)

The Weekend

We had a really great weekend! Friday night the husband and I went on a date to our favorite restaurant.  Scenes from Franklin...

 Red Pony has the most amazing shrimp and grits I've ever had but I decided to try something different this time.  The scallops were divine but I missed my grits!  Christian had black drum fish that was yummy.

Saturday we headed off to the farmer's market and picked up some golden zucchini, kale, and fresh local grass fed beef (oh, and donuts!).  We had friends over for dinner and made the best hamburgers ever.  They were cabernet balsalmic burgers with sauteed mushrooms and onions, blue cheese, and arugula. Recipe here.  These burgers were a lot of work but very worth it.  Definitely one of the best burgers I've ever had.  Can't wait to make them again! I should've taken a picture, grrr, but after all the wine we drank it slipped my mind.

 Father's Day was a great day that started with blueberry pancakes, presents for daddy, and a looong bike ride that we SO needed after burgers and donuts.  It's been action packed but relaxing at the same time thanks to a date night. We need more of those!


Linking up with five30three, JoinTheGossip, & Sami's Shenanigans for the weekend update:)

It's Friday:)

I have so much fun looking at cute outfits and getting inspiration from blogs that I decided to join in the fun!  One of my favorite blogs {blonde ambitions} always puts together adorable Friday outfits for Fashion Friday/Friday Fancies and when I saw that the theme was outfit crush I knew this would be an easy one for me.

Here's my crush--navy and white. I always love it.

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Sassy, yes?

Here's my version.

Navy and white by courtco featuring stella & dot jewelry

Simple I know, but I could live in this!

Linking to....

Happy Weekend!!