july pin-spired

I have been admiring the colorblocking trend on Pinterest for quite a while. I like the modern look of colorblocking, and I love the mixing of bright colors.

 
1. Pin here. (Banana Republic)    2. Pin here. (Target)    3. Pin here. (Jones New York)

I was in the market for a summery cotton dress. I had actually gone to the mall with another dress in mind (that I had tried on previously), but they were out of my size when I returned for it. Our mall is super tiny with little selection, so I was about to give up on finding another dress I liked. But when I walked past this one, I was immediately drawn to it, and it was on sale for $19.99! When I tried it on, it was so soft and comfortable. I was thrilled that it had a subtle colorblock as well!

Dress: Liz Claiborne Colorblock Drawstring Dress / Shoes: Yuu Cadalyn Embellished Sandals

Enjoy your 4th of July!  Happy 237th birthday, America!

If you are new to my blog, thanks for visiting!

Feel free to stay awhile, or follow along!

See my other months of Pin-spired:
February // March // April // May // June

I'm linking up with Shay, Mel, & Sheaffer for Pin-spired!

Also linking up with The Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday

I am currently away from my TV, so unfortunately Stephen and I won’t be posting a Bachelorette recap tomorrow. See you next week!

strawberry shortcake with cream cheese frosting

I haven’t posted a recipe in a while because I’ve been laying off the sweets a bit. However, when I saw this recipe for strawberry shortcake, I happened to have all the ingredients in my fridge, and it was really easy to whip up. They are very rich and reminded me of decadent doughnuts.

Ingredients:
1 can Pillsbury Grands biscuits (8 biscuits)
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1 package cream cheese (8 ounces), softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 splash of milk
carton of strawberries, sliced

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Roll the biscuits in the sugar mixture until they’re covered on all sides. Set them on a baking sheet.

Bake about 10 minutes, or until a golden brown.

Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk with an electric mixer until well-blended. Add little splashes of milk if it’s too thick—add powdered sugar if it’s too runny.

Gently break each biscuit in half, and top with the cream cheese mixture. Then arrange the sliced strawberries on top.

Thanks to this Mix and Match Mama recipe. She also has variations for Nutella, Coconut, and S’mores shortcakes. :)

ENJOY!

friends in michigan

Two weeks ago, we drove up to Grand Rapids, Michigan to meet up with my girl friends from college. My friend Ruth and her husband Jake just bought a house there, and we couldn’t wait to visit!


Nolan loved Ruth & Jake’s big backyard :)

So fun spending time with Emily!

I was excited to see our friend Stephanie! Matching cousins in yelllow.

Ruth made this cute Father’s Day brunch. I made a key lime cake.


Ruth’s amazing hutch from an antique store. They only moved in a month before, but everything was painted and decorated perfectly!

Mona, Emily’s husband Andy, Emily, and me

My guys on Father’s Day

Reading with his buddy Linnea.

The girls! Emily, Mona, Ruth, me, Linnea. We had so much fun as roommates our junior and senior years in Chicago. And we hadn’t been all together since the month we graduated four years ago.

Mona and me

me and Ruth

The whole group (Mona’s husband Jon couldn’t make it.)

Getting a tour of downtown.

Gaslight village. The guys checked out the lake, while we picked up some pizzas.

We were only there for two days, so I wish it had been longer! Thanks to my friends for making it such a nice time!

katie & grant’s wedding

On Saturday, we went to Steve’s cousin Katie’s beautiful wedding. She and Grant have been together for seven years, and were more than ready to tie the knot!

They were married outside on the golf course. Her dress was stunning!




The candy/cookie/dessert table.

Enjoying hors d'oeuvres—moving his cheese from one plate to another.

These were the place cards to find your seat at the reception. The table names were “Butterfly Garden, Zen Garden, Herb Garden, Rose Garden, Tropical Garden, Japanese Garden, Tree Garden”, etc.


The beautiful cake and mini cupcakes made by Grant’s mom.


Our table facing out onto the golf course.


ALL of the flowers and centerpieces were done by Katie’s mom (Steve’s Aunt Debbie). Each centerpiece was unique and amazing. The favors to take home were tiny succulents in silver pots.


Blurry, but still good!


Nolan dancing with his cute cousins!


With my sister-in-law Dana, brother-in-law Phil, and brother-in-law Josh.


Nolan had such a blast!

Thank you, Katie & Grant, for a lovely wedding! We wish you all the happiness in the world. Enjoy your island honeymoon!

pieces of june | non-stagrams

Picnicking at the park with our Hawaiian pizza.

We’d never been to this park before—it had a vintage-y feel to it.

This is not exactly the easiest way to eat pizza.

Our adventurous, curious, busy little boy.

One afternoon, our apartment began filling up with fumes (they were sealing concrete outside our window and also using paint thinner across the hall). Frustrated, I rushed Nolan and the dog into the car, and we went for a drive. We ended up in Amish country, and Nolan and I stopped in for a slice of pie.

Strawberry rhubarb.. mmm!

Picking up Steve from work.

Blowing bubbles at Grandma’s house.

Ivy loves being at Grandma’s house.

Practicing guitar with Daddy.

Playing outside at his other grandparents’ house.

We went to my friend Beth Anne’s fun “Summer Palooza” party.

Nolan enjoyed pouring out all of the bubbles over himself and the sidewalk.

Getting interested in learning letters & numbers!

Our 4th anniversary—dinner at our favorite Mongolian Grill.


It was nice to have a peaceful dinner!

Last weekend, we had a great time in Michigan with my friends from college. Here’s one photo that my friend Ruth took of us, but the rest will have to be a post of their own :)

Happy weekend-ing!