Leather Panel

 

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Leather (faux) shirt-Bailey 44 (currently on sale!)

Jeans-Rag and Bone (similar style here)

Shoes-Sam Edelman (old)

Purse-Chanel

Cuff-John Hardy (old)

Pendant, Rings-David Yurman, Maison Martin Margiela

Sunnies-Karen Walker

Happy Wednesday everyone! At first glance, this black top looks very simple but the fact that the front of the shirt is faux leather gives it an edgier look than just your ordinary black shirt. The back of the shirt is a mix of spandex/rayon which makes it comfortable to wear when dealing with summer weather.

Have a great rest of the week. Xo.

Weekend Snapshots

 

This weekend I....

1. Invited a friend over for dinner. We haven't seen each other in a couple of months due to our work schedules (she's also a pharmacist w/ nonconventional work hours) but finally found a day to meet. Instead of going out for dinner like we usually do, I invited her over for dinner because there are just some days I prefer to dine in the the comfort of my home. I made baked tilapia with herb butter, couscous with apricot vinaigrette, caprese salad, and a trifle berry for dessert. The tilapia and couscous recipe have been bumped up to one of my favorite things to make--so good. The first thing my friend said after taking a bite of the fish was, "Linda....this is restaurant quality. Maybe better." Not sure if she was exaggerating but hey, I'll take it.  Our meal and conversation lasted for about 4 hours (we had tons to catch up on!) and she left happily stuffed.

2. Received a bucket full of fresh blueberries from my parents. They went berry picking at Butler's Orchard in Gaithersburg, MD and dropped off a huge bucket for me (thanks umma & appa!). One of the things I made with the berries was a berry trifle dessert. I bought some pound cake, made pudding, and layered it with the blueberries and strawberries. I had friends come over throughout the weekend and assembled this easy dessert for them to snack on.

3. Put together a little care package for my sister living in NYC. She's currently doing her anesthesiology residency and expressed to me recently that her program is wearing her thin. I decided to surprise and send her some of her favorite snacks and candy, along with a recent and highly addicting discovery (Justin's chocolate hazelnut butter spread). I've been shamelessly spreading it on everything from toast to bananas to apples, and just straight up eating it by the spoonful. The timing was perfect with the care package because she received it after working a 24 hour call. Mission accomplished.

4. Stopped by the Saks designer sale and came out with a Nancy Gonzalez crocodile purse, Alexander McQueen scarf and a pair of Michael Kors shoes. I also ordered some clothes online that should be arriving earlier this week....

5. Went to May's Restaurant for all you can eat crabs. Growing up in Maryland, this is a summertime tradition for me so when I read reviews on this place a couple of months ago, I put this place on my radar for places to try soon. I asked Mel if she was interested in going and she immediately said yes. I love having friends who have such enthusiastic attitude about food (a common thread amongst my group of friends). The AUCE comes with hush puppies, fries, and crabmeat soup which were all mediocre at best; but, the steamed crabs were good. All were good sized, seasoned with Old Bay (a must), with plump, juicy meat when cracked open. Will be going back again.


How was your weekend?

Easy Breezy

Photos courtesy of Sung Shin

Floral cropped jacket-Patterson J. Kincaid

Tank-Splendid

Denim shorts-Zara
Necklace-J.Crew
Sunnies-Karen Walker

There's nothing more easier in the summer than to wear cut offs, a plain white tank, and maybe a fun lightweight jacket to give it that something extra;)

Have a great weekend! Xo. 

NomNom: Watermelon Salad w/ Mint & Lime

You know what tastes like summer? This watermelon salad recipe I'm sharing with you today. It has all the it factors to qualify for a summer staple: easy, refreshing, tasty, sweet, and citrusy. You guys, this is legit summer on a fork.

I've been growing mint on my patio for several months now and have noticed that it's been thriving since then, which I'm sure has nothing to do with me. Green thumb is something that's not part of my life...like I killed my cactus plant. Who does that? Me. Yeaaaah....

When I proudly told my sister how much it's grown, she responded with, "Well it's not a herb...it's a weed." So matter of fact, that little one. Did you guys know that? I sure didn't but it definitely makes sense as to why it's been growing at such a rapid pace with very little effort from me other than watering it. Since I didn't want to waste my fragrant mint leaves, I've been on the search for recipes that utilize mint into their ingredients and surprisingly came across several recipes that use mint and watermelon together.

Ever since I discovered the bright flavors of mint and watermelon together, this salad has been on frequent rotation in my kitchen. A good friend of mine was over my place a couple of weekends ago so I made this as our dessert and she, too, was surprised at the amazing pairing of these two. We easily had second helpings of this salad/dessert, which by the way was after a very full dinner. But, that's just how we roll.

I wanted to share this recipe today seeing that tomorrow is July 4th and lots of BBQs/get togethers will be happening. If you're stuck with what to make and want something incredibly easy, refreshingly tasty, and impressively worth making, assemble this watermelon salad. Trust and believe this will wow your family/guests. They don't even have to know how simple it is---that'll just be between you and I.

Have a safe and relaxing holiday. Xo.


Recipe (Adapted from www.foodandwine.com) Servings: 8
8 cups seedless watermelon chunks (1 inch), from a 6-pound melon
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup mint leaves, torn
Salt

Procedure
1. In a large bowl, toss the watermelon with the lime juice and cayenne. Fold in the mint leaves, season with salt and serve.

*The watermelon salad can be refrigerated overnight. Fold in the torn mint leaves just before serving.

Weekend Snapshots

This weekend I....

1. Went to go visit my grandma, but not with out stopping by to pick up flowers for her first.

2. Tried Chasin' Tails in Arlington, VA for the first time. The first time I had crawfish was in Las Vegas several years ago at Hot n' Juicy and wasn't that impressed (they opened a location in DC) with the crawfish/flavors...I dunno. So much work for such little reward from those critters. The place wasn't bad but it wasn't mind blowing either so I never bothered checking out their place in DC. But, I was curious about Chasin' Tails since it's been consistently getting good reviews and am really happy I did. We ordered 1 lb each of the crawfish and shrimp which came in a steamed bag with corn and potatoes. What impressed me was the sauce smothered and marinated on the crawfish and shrimp. Oh my Lord. There are 3 flavors you can choose from (cajun, lemon-pepper, and garlic-butter) or you can choose to get the whole "shebang" which is a mix of all 3 sauces. Trust me on this--get the whole shebang. I was so happy there was leftover sauce in the bag for the sausages we ordered later to be dipped in. I will be coming back again. Soon.

3. Placed some orders from Shobop earlier last week when they were having an extra 25% sale items and the items finally arrived over the weekend. One of the purchases was this Maison Martin Margiela ring set which I've been wearing nonstop since getting it.

4. Have been experimenting with watermelon recipes. One of the recipes that's been a huge hit in my kitchen is a watermelon mint salad. It's so easy to make that I'm almost embarrassed to call it a recipe but I'll still share the recipe on the blog this week because sharing is caring.

5. Discovered a cute little wine bar in Bethesda, MD called Vino Volo. I met up with a friend to catch up on life over vino/cheese/charcuterie which is pretty much my happy place.

How was your weekend?