table in a bag

If you would like to be a part of our inner circle at Concerts in the Park, you must purchase one of these Table in a Bags from Crate and Barrel. When you are at the mentioned Concert in the Park, if you look around you will see that all of Ladera Ranch has purchased the entire stock of them over the years. It's super portable, we set up all our food on it and it's just plain cute! If you don't have one you can be a "guest" for the night, but if you want to keep coming back for more I suggest you hit up the local C&B (I'm kidding of course). Thank you to Lauren & Leslie for always keeping our tables stocked with yummy goodies for the whole night.

something quick

Garden Pasta Salad

Found a recipe on allrecipes.com for a quick pasta salad to take to Concert in the Park last night, wanted something easy to share. Turned out good and super basic. Lots of crunchy veggies. A good recipe to have if you need something really easy and quick to contribute to a bbq or party. I changed a few things to the original recipe so what I did is below.

INGREDIENTS

1 (16 ounce) package of uncooked bowtie pasta

1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots (I bought the pre-shredded kind in the bag)

2 stalks celery chopped

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

2 large tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 can black olives, drained

1 16 ounce bottle Italian-style dressing

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling water until al dente. Rinse under cold water, and drain.

2. Meanwhile, mix chopped carrots, celery, cucumber, green pepper, tomatoes, onion and black olives together in a large bowl.

3. Combine cooled pasta and vegetables together in large bowl. Pour Italian dressing over mixture, add Parmesan cheese and mix well.

4. Chill one hour before serving.

sweeeet!

So this time around I am not wanting many sweets at all. No ice cream or cake, maybe a smoothie or frozen yogurt. My go to treat both times was See's Candy, but even that doesn't sound good to me. I have made an exception though with the Trader Joe's, Almond in the Coconut.....ohhhhh yummmmmmmm!!!!!!! If you love Mounds or Almond Joy you will be in heaven. I bought a ton of sweets for our vacation and everything other than this is still in their box a week later (well the Trader Joe's strawberry licorice is always the exception as well). Try it!!!!!

an oldie

I know I've posted this before, but I am once again reminded during the summer months that InStyle magazine is my bible of fashion, beauty and decorating. I can't tell you how much I love it and even more sitting by the pool or on a hot summer night. My FAV!

i can't live without

My Oil of Olay Complete all day moisturizer with spf 15. I love it because no matter what I am protected from the sun, but it's also light and non-greasy. Perfect for all day in the summer.

trueness

I loved this quote from Liv Tyler in June's InStyle Magazine.

"There is no such thing as the perfect beautiful face. True beauty comes from having happiness in your life."

best summer dress

This dress is from Gap Maternity. It doesn't look that great in the picture but I am in love with it. Even though it's maternity, I would buy it not being pregnant! It's soft and so comfortable, plus I wear it strapless (the straps come off) and it's long and flowy on me. Perfect for summer nights!

yummmmmm

Sometimes you forget the simplest things. Seriously making smores is something you can do on the stovetop at home or even in 100 degree heat near a fire. It's a simple dessert that makes kids and adults happy. We have been rediscovering them lately and they never get old! Make them for your kids one night!

sonicare

In passing, my friend Corey mentioned how much she loves her new Sonicare toothbrush and how it was better than a teeth cleaning at her dentist. So I used my birthday gift cards from Target to get me one and I really like it! It looks like I got my teeth whitened when I use it. I laugh because the vibrating shoots toothpaste everywhere (I forget that you need to keep it in your mouth and then turn it off). It's a great fav!

I just did this shower invite for a good friend. It's one of my all time favorites. If you haven't been to my Creative Nest Designs Blog recently please visit it here to see what I have been up to!