100 Dreams Project - Vol. 6


Happy Friday dreamers! What kind of dream crushing are you cooking up for the weekend? Me? I'm going to catch up on some reading that is going to help me with something I am very excited about, but can't announce yet. It is a step towards something that is on my dreams list already. Sorry to be so vague, but in the meantime, here are the next 10 dreams on my list!

51. Ride in a hot air balloon
52. Attend a summer Olympics
53. Make $100,00 in one year and then increase it every year forward.
54. Be invited to the White House (Hopefully under a different administration all together)
55. Be published in a magazine
56. Visit Singapore
57. Appear in a movie
58. Have a garden/greenhouse that feeds my family through the year
59. Zipline through the jungles of Costa Rica
60. Commit to keeping a journal for 1 full year

Happy dreaming!



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BLT Pasta Salad for 4th of July



I don't know about you, but when I think of Fourth of July I don't just think red, white, and blue. I think fireworks and pasta salad. I feel like everyone wants to show off their new pasta salads like it's a new car or something.

"OMG did you see Susan's pasta salad? It had some kind of seeds in it. Yes SEEDS!"

Oh Susan. Always trying to one up the next salad. I'm pretty sure I'm Susan in this story so I'm gonna share my pasta salad recipe that is currently packed and ready to roll.

BLT Pasta Salad

What you need:
1 lb of elbow pasta
1lb of bacon
1 container of cherry or grape tomatoes
2 to 3 green onions
1 cup mayonnaise 
1-2 tbsp of white vinegar

Prepare your elbows to al dente. It should look like this when done:


While your elbows are boiling, fry your bacon. Once bacon is complete chop into small pieces. Follow with chopping up your green onions. Stems only. Then cut your mini tomatoes in half. I use kitchen scissors to cut the onions and tomatoes.


Mix together your pasta, bacon, tomatoes, and onions. Once they are tossed together add your mayo and vinegar. 


Voila! You have a pretty impressive salad that takes under an hour to prep. You can save time by cooking your bacon the night before. Just put it in a pretty red or blue bowl and it's all festive for the 4th!


Presentation is everything guys.. Look at that mayo all over the side of the bowl. So pretty.. Oh and that water bottle in the background is super sexy.. yeah. woops!



Take that Susan! I may have also made a fruit salad....

So tell me. Are you a Susan?

I hope you have a wonderful 4th! Stay safe out there kids!



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Amazon Purchases Vol 1

Like many people these days, I do A LOT of my shopping on Amazon. Having a new baby in the house makes it hard to get out and shop, so throwing stuff in my cart and having Prime really makes life that much easier. I mean if I am being honest, I don't like to go out and shop, so I have been shopping this way since wayyyyyy before the baby. #lazyshopper

Let's see what I bought in June... (This post does include affiliate links btw)

We have been trying REALLY hard not to buy new furniture until we buy a house next year. I purchased this H.VERSAILTEX slipcover in the pretty blue to keep things fresh (and cover the damage my cats cause from thinking the couch is a scratching post!)

I really like this cover. It was really easy to put on and the price was pretty sweet ($45.99 and Prime approved!). We bought a pretty expensive one after our wedding back in September of 2016 and this one is comparable, but it almost feels more durable. I am excited to see how it goes.


Now that I am getting more serious with my blog again (and I really like to take selfies) I decided to try out a ring light for my phone. We all know we use our phones WAY more then we want to admit when it comes to taking photos (and pretty much everything else in life). This light by QIAYA is pretty great. For $12.99 and Prime approved, it is worth the try. It has 3 different lighting options and easily clips onto your phone.
 
We drink a lot of coffee in my house and we use a Keurig. It was time to get some new reusable K-Cups, and this 4 pack from iPartsPlusMore seemed to fit the bill. Now we have 4 to use so there is no more washing each one out immediately to make the next cup of coffee. At $10.85, I call that a win, plus we are saving the environment but not throwing away all of those plastic cups.
 

 
 Last, but not least, I purchased this swaddler by Love to Dream for Baby Bloob. I came across a link for it in a group I'm in and like a million moms swear by it. It offers a design that allows your little one to have their arms up above their heads rather than swaddled at their sides. Baby Bloob does not like his arms confined and will wiggle his way out of a blanket swaddle in no time. This has been a pretty great purchase. It's lightweight too, so it doesn't overheat the little one in the summer heat.
 
 
Do you have any of those items? Do you need any of those items? They are all pretty great. No fails here which makes me happy! How often do you shop on Amazon?
 

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The 100 Dreams Project Vol 5 & Friday Chat

Happy Friday! I am so ready for the weekend! What about you? I have a few things to chat about today as well as my next set of dreams for my 100 Dreams Project

1. 100 Dreams


41. Have my family be close again.
42. Have a space just for me dedicated to writing, yoga, meditation, etc.
43. Confidently promote myself.
44. Be a great parent.
45. Be a mentor.
46. Land a sponsorship that pays me to vacation.
47. Figure out what my "dream" job is.
48. Own a Range Rover Sport SVR in Estoril Blue.
49.Start a benefit/foundation that helps women with body image issues and mental health.
50. Dance like no one is watching. I need to get over the fear of people watching me.

2. Updates

Yay for blog updates! I am finally sprucing the place up a bit. New layout and nicer photos. I am actually taking time to either take my own photos or buy stock photos to make everything a little more clean around here. I can't believe how long it has been since I did any kid of housekeeping here. It is super exciting for me. Maybe not so much for you. Sorry about that.

I'm giddy about writing a new "about" page and adding some more focused topics here. This will always be a lifestyle page, but I truly believe if you write about what you love, it will be effortless and the passion will shine through to your readers. That is my main focus now. Write what makes me happy. If it goes viral great! If not, that's okay too.

3. Speaking of going viral..

So I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that a link from my blog was posted on a Reddit thread. Well it is apparently getting some hits because that post is now the top post on my blog. See exhibit A:



Not bad for a post I wrote in 2016.. Mind you this was the page views for one week.

Moving on.

4. Letter boards

Guys, I think I have found my new passion in life. Maybe even my "dream" job. Sorry dreams post, I think I just scratched one off the list before you were even published. So I got myself a letter board at Target (Also speaking of Target, I think I go there 900 times a week now that I'm a mom.. but that's a whole 'nother post) for a project and now I own 3. Mind you I went to Target on Sunday, like this past Sunday. Yeah I have a problem. Check out my 2 first masterpieces on Instagram. Follow me while you're there. I'm sure there will be MANY more great letter board works of art to come.

5.  Who likes it HOT HOT HOT?



If that's you, move to Central NY. It is going to be SO HOT this weekend. Like it's going from being in the upper 60's and rainy all week to the mid 90's this weekend with full humidity! Seriously! I am already roasting just thinking about it. I will NEVER complain about the heat after the winter we just had, but can we at least ease into the fires of Hell? Thanks!

How was your week? I hope it was fabulous! Have a great weekend! Stay hydrated!



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Stitch Fix # 18

The more I photograph these fixes, the more I realize I love fashion. I was never a "fashionista" growing up. I just wore what was comfortable. I don't think I had a specific style per say. Although I do specifically remember a moment in my early 20's when I got to a friends house and she made a comment that I always looked so put together. Her and her boyfriend had been discussing how nice I always looked.

That make me feel awkward at the time. I never thought about what I wore. I just put clothes on and went out. Thinking back, I think I was more fashionable than I gave myself credit for. I suppose that fits my personality though. I am always so naïve about my talents, or my looks, or anything about myself really.

I remember standing in front of my closet two years ago and the wheels started turning. I started seeing pieces of my clothing matched with each other. Pieces I would have never put together normally. I got excited. I was always the girl who did the awesome makeup. Not the girl who had awesome fashion sense.

I had thought about subscribing to Stitch Fix for awhile, but always thought it would be a waste of my time. I told myself I already knew what I liked to wear. I told myself it would be too expensive. I told myself I wouldn't like to wear clothes someone else picked out.

I was so wrong about all of those things. I finally bit the bullet early last year. I was going to try one box and then cancel. I was so sure I wasn't going to like it enough to keep it going. Now here we are at fix number 18.





Stitch Fix has allowed me to try on pieces that I would never have picked out on my own. I have found quality items to add to my closet that again can be mix and matched with my existing wardrobe. It makes it fun to get dressed.

It also makes it fun to photograph. I love modeling the clothes I get sent. Even if I don't keep the items, I still get to freeze them in a frame to post here for you to see. I have been inspired to do more and more fashion posts because of Stitch Fix.

Now on to the photos. It was such a bright and cheerful fix that popped to the backdrop of my backyard.

 For those of you unfamiliar with Stitch Fix, it is a monthly clothing subscription where you get a personal stylist to send you 5 pieces according to your profile. You have the opportunity to write your stylist a note each month further customizing your fix. You pay a $20 styling fee each month to receive the fix, which is then deducted from the cost of anything you keep from your fix. If you keep all 5 items you also receive a 25% discount. Pretty great right? If you have interest in trying out the fix, I would appreciate it greatly if you used my affiliate link.

First up is this Fortune + Ivy wrap dress. I have come to realize since I have given birth that wrap dresses just do not work for me. This one is also a bit too short for my liking. It is a pretty color, but not my style. This went back.

  

I really loved the color of this Papermoon blouse. I paired it with these really comfy joggers from my last fix that I kept. I already have something similar in my closet so I sent it back.  Bonus here is seeing the rear end of Rick. He is such a photo bomber! Ever since he was Mr. May in the local SPCA calendar he demands the spotlight. Such a diva!




I really love this outfit. The Alice Blue top is simple and cool for the summer and pairs nicely with the  RD Style shorts. The shorts are the only things I kept from this fix. They are comfy and have pockets!



Not pictured because I some how forgot to photograph it is this pink Nine West Crossover.  I thought it was really cute, but was not in the need for a new bag right now.
All in all I loved this fix. There were pieces I would never had picked out myself (hello shorts!). When it first arrived I thought maybe they sent me someone else's fix because it was so out of my comfort zone. But this is why I keep getting Stitch Fix. It forces me out of my comfort zone.

I also realize I need to do better on my photos for these posts. I am just lucky I got it done while it was still daylight to be honest. I literally ran down from my office after work and did this before I went to the gym. I only have so much "me" time now with the baby. Oh well! I am just glad it got done.

Which piece is your favorite?



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