Antipasto Pasta Salad

Hope you had a great weekend! Ben and I had a relaxing time at the shore...I will be posting about it soon. We also spent the majority of Sunday afternoon picnicking and relaxing at the park. Picnics are one of my favorite warm weather activities.  Antipasto pasta salad is my go to picnic meal. I have seen many delicious recipes for this salad but below is the one I have made up based on this one. Mine has a few tweeks in an effort to keep it reasonably priced...I think it is pretty delicious. Enjoy...xoxo!

Ingredients:

1 pound rotini pasta

1/4 pound pepperoni sausage, chopped

1/2 pound swiss cheese, diced

1 green bell pepper, chopped

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 (.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix

3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

salt and ground black pepper to taste

1-Cook the pasta. Drain, and cool under cold water. 2-In a large bowl, combine the pasta, pepperoni, swiss cheese, green bell pepper and tomatoes. Stir in the envelope of dressing mix. Cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour. 3-To prepare the dressing whisk together the olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Just before serving, pour dressing over the salad, and mix well.

All the ingredients.

All the chopping.

Once I have mixed the ingredients I add the dry italian dressing, cover and refrigerate.

Adding the dressing and parmesan cheese.

Ready to eat...I serve it with kettle chips and a blood orange soda...yum!

Favorite Four

Happy Friday! Ben and I are headed out for a little getaway to Atlantic City this weekend, thanks to a great Living Social deal.

This week's favorite four (clockwise from top left) 1-We had friends in town for part of the long weekend and we were able to show them many of the sites Philly has to offer. It was extremely hot when they were here and we needed a break from the heat so we, along with many others, put our feet in the LOVE Park fountain. I have to say it was pretty awesome...such a fun memory. 2-An iced mocha is my new favorite summer drink...it definitely hits the spot on these warm days.  3-My mom sent me running shoes this week wrapped up in these fun bows. Love her! 4-Last weekend I took a day trip to NYC with my girlfriends. We were excited to get burgers and fries at the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park, however the line was at least 45 min long so we hit up another burger joint to satisfy our craving...yum! Have a great weekend...xoxo.

DIY Chandelier

Hope you are having a great week! After having this Urban Outfitters chandelier in our dining room for the last 2 years I wanted to liven it up a bit.  I am currently obsessed with anything yellow so I decide to spray paint it Sun Yellow. Here is how it turned out...xoxo

Supplies: Chandelier, spray paint and drop cloth.

I took apart the chandelier and spray 2 coats.

I put the chandelier back together and sprayed it one more time.

Before and After.

The final product hanging in our dining room.

Holiday Weekend Attire

This past Memorial Day weekend was filled with BBQs, picnics, and just lots of time spent outside. A dress keeps me the coolest during these hot days so this is what I wore this warm holiday weekend...xoxo!

Dress: American Eagle, Shoes:Old Navy, Bracelet:Charming Charlie.

Terrain at Westport

Good morning! Hope you all had a fabulous long weekend. Sorry I am getting this post out so late today, it was a fun weekend here and time got away from me.

 Today I am posting about the new Terrain at Westport. The original Terrain at Styers is just outside of Philly and is a must see if you are in the area...yes, it is at the same level as seeing the Liberty Bell if you ask me. I always try to incorporate it into a weekend when we have guests. 

 Terrain is a beautiful garden store by the same people that started Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Free People. So if you know anything about those stores you know Terrain will most likely be incredible. Besides the great garden selection and other fun buys you can eat in their garden cafe where they serve 'local/organic meals'. If you haven't been to one of the two Terrains it is definitely something you need to check out if you are ever in Philadelphia or Westport, Connecticut. Here are a few picture of the Westport Terrain for you...xoxo.

My favorite chairs of the moment...love the bold stripe.

Beautiful garden displays.

Fun yellow finds.

Terrarium station.

And the garden cafe.

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day...see you tomorrow! xoxo

Photo taken at Foster's Court, outside the Boston Harbor Hotel.

Favorite Four

The long weekend is finally here! Looking forward to a mini trip to NYC and lots of down time at home.

This week's favorite four (clockwise from top left) 1-Peonies are hands down my favorite flower but sadly they have such a short life...this time of year I enjoy them as much as I can. They are so beautiful! 2-This past weekend we had friends come for a staycation in the city and we attempted to take them to as many of our favorite places in our neck of the woods while they were here. This picture is of a wall in one of our favorite cafes where we got brunch. 3-As previously stated Martha Stewart Weddings is one of my favorite magazines and since it is only published 4x a year I get super excited when it comes in the mail. So naturally I drop everything and curl up on the couch to read it...this picture was basically my Monday night. 4-Yesterday I got to celebrate Julia's 3rd birthday she is one of the little girls I nanny...this was her delicious cake. Crazy to think we have spent almost everyday of her short life together...love her!

Have a great holiday weekend! xoxo

Clothing Swap

"A clothing swap is a type of swapmeet wherein participants exchange their valued but no longer used clothing for clothing they will use. Clothing swaps are considered not only a good way to declutter and refill one's wardrobe, but also are considered an act of environmentalism." -Wikipedia

On Friday my girlfriend and I hosted one of these at her home. It was a huge success! Everyone who came went away with many great pieces. It was a fun night with the girls...I totally recommend it.

 Here is what you do: 1-Send out invites telling the ladies to bring a bag of clothes they want to 'swap' and a bottle of wine. 2-Have food and tables to set the clothes out on. 3-When the ladies arrive tell them where to lay out their clothes and then come back to mingle, eat and drink. 4-Once everyone has their clothes on the tables say go and everyone can run in to look and take the clothes. Ours wasn't quite as aggresive as I was hoping but it was still a good time. 5-Once everyone finds what they want it is fun to  show off what you ended up with.

Thanks to all the ladies who came! xoxo

Chatting, eating and drinking before 'swapping'.

'Swapping'

Check out those labels...Marc Jacobs and Juicy!

Someone's pile of treasures to bring home.

Showing off what we found.

Boston Attire

Since we walked everywhere while we were in Boston I needed to base my outfits around my shoes. These gold flats are my most comfortable so this is what I wore with them....xoxo!

p.s. Thanks for taking the pictures mom! And the photos were taken in the beautiful Boston Commons.

Dress:Urban Outfitters, Shoes:Famous Footwear, Jean Jacket:TJ Maxx, Scarf:Francesca's, Purse:H&M,  Sunglasses:Charming Charlie, Bracelet:Charming Charlie, Ring:Forever 21, Camera:Lumix

Boston:Day 2

Our second and final day in Boston happened to be Mother's Day (for our first day in Boston click here). I had done a little research looking for the perfect brunch spot to take my mom and it was South End Buttery that I ended up finding thanks to Rue Magazine! So after an early walk on Boston's greenway i.e. "emeral necklace" my mom and I headed over to the South End. It was the perfect place to spend a Sunday afternoon. It is filled with gorgeous homes, cute shops, restaurants and the incredible SoWa Open Market. Here are a few photos from our Mother's Day in Boston's South End...xoxo.

Beautiful homes in the neighborhood.

Food trucks, crafts, music, art and even a fashion truck at the SoWa Open Market.

So many great little shops...here is Hudson...

...and Gracie Finn. We also loved M. Flynn and their beautiful jewelry creations.

And South End Buttery where we had a delicious Mother's Day brunch.