Summer Work Attire

Gem Shift Dress // Cutout Sheath Dress // Striped Shift Dress
Pleated Shorts // Pleated High-Waist Tie Shorts // High-Rise Twill Shorts

   

I don't know about y'all but living in Oklahoma I am always looking for great summer work attire. It is important for me to find pieces that will be versatile, easy to put together and most importantly breezy and cool! Once I get hot in the office I lose all focus and start to get cranky. And I definitely hate going into five o'clock traffic already hot and because those days are the ones where I want to skip the gym and open a bottle of wine instead!  

I'm constantly looking for outfits that not only will keep me cool but that are also easy to transition into fall with. I often lean towards dresses because they are so comfortable, cute and also can be worn well into the fall with tights and boots or booties and a light jacket. I have all three of these dresses and love them, bonus all are under thirty dollars! While I do love dresses I also love a great pair of work appropriate shorts. Dress shorts are great because they are simple to throw together with a cardigan and heels or even flats if you have a long day. They are also so comfortable and can almost guarantee a more comfortable and cool commute home from work! 

What are you wearing to work these summer months and what are your must haves?

Playdate without Kids + Mini Corn Dog Muffins

You guys have heard me talk before about my girls group that gets together every month, well this group includes all mommas but two of us. Last month it was decided that for our get-together this month it would include a playdate for the kids. So on Saturday a few of us met at my friend Megan's house with kids in tow...for those that haven't been following me long, I don't have kids. It was the best of both worlds for me, go play with all the cute babies then off they go with their mommas hehe!

 

Megan requested that we all bring a kid appropriate snack and being a non-momma I had no idea what to bring. I then remembered I had pinned a recipe for mini corndog muffins on Pinterest and thought it would be a perfect snack for the kidos! And what a opportunity to make them cause I don't see myself just whipping these up for dinner.

 

 

Mini Corn Dog Muffins

 

Makes approximately 35 mini muffins

Original recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff

 

Ingredients

 

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (or an additional 1/4 cup melted butter)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
8 to 10 all beef hot dogs, cut into 1 inch bites

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray, set aside.

 

In a medium sized bowl, stir together the melted butter, applesauce, and sugar until incorporated. Add in eggs and whisk together.  Pour in buttermilk and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the baking soda, cornmeal, flour, & salt. In two batches, whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients until fully incorporated.  Batter will be lumpy.

Place one tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. Stick one hot dog bite in the center of each muffin cup vertically.

Bake for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, until muffins are golden brown. Remove muffins from oven and cool in the pan for a few minutes.  Run a knife around the edge of each mini muffin and pop them out.  Place on a plate and serve with ketchup and mustard for dipping if desired.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  The leftovers taste great, just heat them in the microwave for approximately 20 seconds or so.

Mini Corn Dog Muffin recipe here

 

These were a big hit with the kids! They were so simple to make with little clean up and easy to take with me over to her house. Since they are just the right size it was easy for the kids to just help themselves. One of Megan's boys Kohen kept calling them corn dog cupcakes and at first thought it was so weird to dip the cupcake in ketchup. We had several left over so I sent them home with my friend Jennifer since she has four young ones I knew they'd be easy for her to serve as leftovers with a quick warm up.

 

 

I had such good time catching up with these girls and seeing their cuties! They are all rock star moms that are definitely rocking the job of being a mom and great friends!

Linking up today with Emily for Tuesday's recipe swap.
 

Friday Favorites: Nordstrom Sale to Ice Cream Dates

Y'all I almost don't know what to do with myself...besides a little girl's get-together tomorrow evening for a couple hours I have no plans this weekend! I am in no way complaining because my travel free weekends are about to come to an end so I will be taking full advantage of these next two. There are several items on my summer bucket list I would like to get checked off...like going to the peach festival in Porter Oklahoma, peach and blueberry pickin' and a little shopping at the farmer's market. With that being said who knows what I'll be up to this weekend but I know its suppose to be a very hot one here so I'm sure some time will be spent in the pool. Now, happy Friday and on to my favorites for this week.

 

ONE::  Double Scoop Ice Cream Dates

 

 

I love sending fun cards to family and friends at random...not just for the holidays but you know to wish them a happy summer filled with lots of double scoop ice cream dates too! I saw these cute cards back in spring and knew they would be fun to send out when summer arrived. I sent them to a few friends and family and I got these cute pics back of my nephews from my sister-in-law. She said Brecken, the one on the left, was trying to lick the card...I think it's time that Aunt Kristen take them on an ice cream date!

 

TWO:: Oklahoma Bloggers

 

 

Are you an Oklahoma blogger or do you know an Oklahoma blogger that I should know? Looking for my fellow Okie bloggers to connect with. I'm trying to focus more on my little space here and I would love to know more of local bloggers. Please let me know if y'all know of any!

 

THREE:: Backpack Search

 

 

I'm not going back to school nor do I have kids...not the kind of backpack I'm looking for. There have been several trips that I was on that I wished I had some sort of cute backpack when it wasn't easy to be carrying my purse. So, I've began a search and I'm looking for something leather, brown, reasonably priced and to have in time for my fall trips to Idaho and Utah. I've got my eye on this one from Aldo but I'm still searching because I'm not completely in love with it. Have you guys seen any on the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale that I may have missed?

 

FOUR:: Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Picks

I'm not a Nordstrom card holder so I just get the early sneak but it sure is tempting! I'm such a shoe lover and have a true love for riding boots, especially Frye boots, so it's no surprise that two of my picks are boots. I'm not sure I'll actually pull the plug since I don't need either pair but I love love love them! If they have the Kate Spade studs on the 16th when the sale comes open to non-card holders I'm snatching them up for sure at that price! {Click on the pics to shop the items}

 

FIVE:: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

 

Respect people's feelings. Even if doesn't mean anything to you, it could mean everything to them. You can't force someone to show you respect, but you can refuse to be disrespected.

 

I just wanted to throw that in there...if you are dealing with someone that isn't respecting you then be strong enough to not tolerate it. Just a touch of advice that I'm trying to take myself.

 

Happy weekend y'all!

   

Confession Talk

1|| I confess that I get really anxious over things I cannot control...I’m a huge worrier and I realize that helps nothing and it drives me crazy. I really wish I could work on this but I’m just not even sure where to start.

2|| I confess that I wish I was more of a morning person but I’m just not. I wish I could wake up bright and early for a morning workout and in time to cook a good breakfast all before work. BUT I’m lucky just to get up and ready to be on time to work. 

3|| I confess that I am my own worst critic. I set the bar WAY too high for myself in most things and I'm not quite sure what my vision of "success" really looks like. I'm terrified of failure and it scares me so much. 

4 || I will gladly confess that I love shoes... like a lot.

5 || I confess that people that people that don’t take the time to say “thank you” or “you’re welcome” drive me absolutely insane. I think it is completely rude! It’s the small things with me.

6 || I confess that sometimes I forget to tell the people that I love that I do in fact love them... something I need to be more adamant about doing. I know that words of affirmation is definitely one of my top love languages as it is also for many others.  

7 || I confess that a lot of times I will start a post but I’m just not sure how open I want to be on here for the entire world to potentially see. Then I get nervous and delete the draft.

 
8 || I confess that my eating habits lately have been sub-par and it shows... yes I'm working out and doing great in that area, yet I know I will never get the results I want if I am consistently saying yes to carbs, dessert, and my other fav foods.

 
9 || I confess that I’m not a fan of Kendra Scott. *Gasp* I know I know, unpopular opinion. I do think a couple of her items are cute but for the most part ahh not a lover. 

10 || I confess that I am way too trusting. I never think about being in a bad area of town by myself or leaving valuables alone where they shouldn’t be left. I’ve got to stop that!

Anything you've been wanting to share and/or confess!?

  

Weekending: Born in the USA

This weekend was spent almost entirely in the sun and in the pool or lake and it was pure bliss. I feel like I should recap all of last week since I was off work and it felt like a seven day weekend but I'll share more on my stay cation in another post. On Friday I left for Oklahoma City about noon for my friend Jessica's thirtieth birthday party. I got into town a little early so I could go by the hospital and see my friend Becca and baby Adah. After seeing little A I headed to Jess's party. It was a pool party so I was more than thrilled to just relax with friends and new friends in the water. 

 

 

 

Jess made watermelon jello shots and I thought they turned out so cute, I just had to take a pic! PS, I knew Laura, the girl in the pic with me, for about two minutes before this picture was taken. I said "These are so cute, I know you don't know me but lets take a pic cause they are just too cute!" haha  After lots of swimming, attempting to ride the paddle boat, cooking out and meeting new friends I headed back home. It was such a fun night and I'm so glad I got to be there!

 

 

Saturday morning Kyle and I headed out to Grand Lake early. We made a quick by the donut shop, cause what is a holiday without a donut stop!? Then made our way to the lake. He had a quick meeting with a few of his customers and then we met some friends and headed out on the water. It was such a fun day and we had an A-mazing view of the fireworks on the lake that night. Sadly, my phone died at about noon that day so I have one picture of the whole day, bummer! 

 

 

Sunday morning Kyle left early to his deer lease in Kansas. Yes, deer lease. Yes, it is July. Yes, hunting season isn't until October. Yes, he's crazy. Anyways, I was exhausted so I slept in some and then met my sister and brother-in-law for the late service at church. Afterwards I ran a few errands, grabbed lunch and then was back in the pool again. My nephew Brecken just got done with his first swim lessons so it was so fun to see him loving the pool this year. He's getting really good at understanding the whole kicking concept to swim. He also really loved eating the watermelon then throwing the rinds over the fence.

I ended the weekend and really the whole week getting ready to head back to work this morning. It was definitely a rough start today but I'm glad ok with having a routine again. I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend!

   

Perfect Summer Ikat Maxi Dress

 

I first saw this Abstract Ikat Maxi Dress worn by Natasha on Hello! Happiness and I immediately went to Forever 21 to find it. Honestly, I spotted it and didn't even try it on! I thought it looked like nothing special hanging on the hanger and Natasha is tiny so I thought it does hang without shape and I just knew it would make me look like a cow. So, then she post again wearing it and I fell straight in love. Only to go back to my local Forever 21 for it to be sold out, of course. I try to order it on their website, sold out. I requested to be notified when it was back in stock online. I got the email that it was back and within forty five minutes of seeing the email and logging in it was already sold out again! If you know me at all you know that I am very persistent when I'm not able to find something I love. One mad search later I found it in a small and medium in Oklahoma City and asked a friend to pick them up for me, mission accomplished!

 

I ended up keeping the size small and I am absolutely in love with this dress! It is not fitted at all, which was why I was a little hesitant at first, but is super cute and comfortable! The straps are adjustable and it hangs just at the right length. It is thin and breezy and I'm trying my best not to wear it weekly but I'd really just like to live in it this summer.

Sadly, it is sold out again and not sure its coming back online but you might be able to grab it in your store. If not a very similar found here, same fit and back with a little different tie design on the front...I'm thinking I might need it as well, it is only twenty three dollars!

 

What are you wearing on repeat this summer?