Patriotic Pretties

There have been several patriotic outfits floating around the web recently. Here are some of my favorite red, white and blue outfits to give you a little inspiration for 4th fashion!

images in order via Sequins &Stripes (my fav), Brooklyn Blonde, Atlantic-Pacific, Classy Girls Wear Pearls, Luella and June and Hello Fashion

My 4th of July look is coming this afternoon. God Bless America!

xo annie

Bites of My Life

I'm sorry for my bites post coming a day late, but lucky for me because I had a three day weekend! After a spur of the moment girls trip to Fort Worth, I am left feeling a little sad. We had such a good time I didn't want it to end. Also June is over. Not that July may not be as great, but if you have been keeping up with the blog you know how well June treated me. Nothing amazing happened, it was just all around wonderful!

-I was so excited to make some friends a tassel garland for their new house! And howcute does it look against their light purple fireplace?

-Matching my nails to my ring with Essie's new "beach bum blu"

-How crazy is this caramel popcorn cake I had for dessert at a lunch event this week? Crazy, but delish!

-Finally used the grill last week, honestly because I didn't know how. My pesto shrimp and tomato skewers came out great! I served them with parmesan spinach orzo and a blueberry spinach salad.

-I'm on a green smoothing kick again. {My go to recipe is a handful of any frozen fruit (pineapple or bananas are my fav), 1 cup of almond milk, a big ole spoonful of greek yogurt, 1 scoop of protein powder, and 2 big handfuls of spinach}

-My people all together in Fort Worth!

-Weekend in "the Fort." Spotted this sign at an amazing brunch at Fred's.

-Last stop at Yogi's before heading home. Felt pretty girly with my pink and purple bagel. {Strawberry bagel with blueberry cream cheese} Not pictured is the incredible chocolate almond coffee I had.

June is over but I still have things to look forward to this week! Two good friends are moving to Norman for the rest of the summer, it's a holiday week, and I'm heading back up to the lake for the weekend! 

xo annie

Links for Your Weekend

Wahoo it's Friday! I have a spontaneous trip to Fort Worth planned for the weekend! I'm looking forward to lot's of girl time, laying by the pool, and good food! I'm sure my Instagram will be constantly uploaded with pictures over the weekend! For now, enjoy some links to things I'm loving around the web this week!

1. Emily's roundup of her favorite Fourth of July treats! I can't resist the sweet and salty combo of a chocolate dipped pretzel!

2. Yesterday The Everygirl showed how-to style wire shelves. If you are like me, you probably had one of these in your dorm room. Use this how-to to transform it into your current space!

3. 10 ways to style cut-offs. Cut-offs are a summer staple in my wardrobe. To my mother's despair, my favorites are an old pair high waisted ones from Goodwill! 

4. I recently subscribed to The Skimm. It is a daily email that sends you the short version of the important news headlines. They also break it down in terms that make it easy to understand!

5. 5 ways to perfect the art of a brain freeze. Call me crazy but I love brain freezes because brain freezes mean ice cream, and popsicles, and milkshakes etc!

6. Target's summer Pinterest board #summerup! All things summery in one place.

7. Ashely Brooke's newest mug design! Too legit to quit.

xo annie

Dear Diary...

Yes, I'll admit I keep a diary. Instead I like to refer to it as a journal. A journal doesn't sound as middle school drama queen as a diary does. 

-quick disclosure- 

Go ahead and just excuse my sappy diary like post today. Instead, just sit back while I "journal" real quick. My blog is definitely not as personal as some, but a little more personal than others. I like it that way, but today I'm feeling the need to just chat about life.

  I am feeling so refreshed lately. This summer has treated me right and I have never felt so happy-go-lucky. I love my     internship, I love the times spent with friends, I love the time spent with family, I love the opportunities and experiences     I've been having, I've loved blogging etc.

image via pinterest

{how could you not love life if this was your backyard?}

After catching up with a new friend last night, who seems like an old friend because we can't get together without talking for hours, I knew this post was going to be about how much I've been loving life lately. We were on the same page about everything and everything the future holds. I feel like so many people these days are so narrow minded about life and what's ahead. Go to college, get a degree, get a job in that field, get married, and go on your way. Um hello boring. (If that's your future there is nothing wrong with that, it just isn't for me.) I'm not saying I'm about to drop out of school to go travel the world and never look back, I just want to keep things exciting. I realize more and more how important it is to me to have fun, try new things, see new place and fill my life with only things and people I love because really there is no reason to waste my time doing anything I don't love. 

I get anxious and giddy when I think about what I want to do in the future. Is it own my own business, move far away, work at a company I love? Who knows, but I know I won't settle for anything less. 

College in general has really made me think about life; like it does for most. Everyday I get more inspired from things which make me confident everyday that I am in charge of what my life holds, so I'm going to do whatever it takes to make it great. 

So here's to loving the people around you, the things around you, and the opportunities around you. Love your life people because I am loving mine!

-end of sappy and obnoxious love everything post-

xo annie

2 in 1 One Recipe Post

Today I have a round up of a couple recipes I made the past two weekends. You may have seen them on my instagram. They are both delicious and completely dad approved (as well as being approved by the rest of my family). I made a Bourbon Bread Pudding for Father's Day and Carrot Cake for my dad's birthday this past weekend. I highly recommend both recipes!

First up, the bread pudding. This was a classic bread pudding using french bread, raisins and spices like nutmeg which gave it awesome flavor! It was then topped with a bourbon sauce to send it over the edge.

{Bourbon Bread Pudding}

Bread pudding may seem daunting, but this recipe was far from complicated! 

Next is carrot cake! Yum yum yum is all I have to say about this cake. You can't go wrong when the recipe is The Pioneer Woman's. She shows the cake being baked in a sheet pan, but for visual effect I baked it in a bundt pan! After I smothered it with a pecan cream cheese frosting, we dove in to this delicious birthday treat! It was so good, my family and I decided it was a perfectly acceptable dinner. Nothing like cake for dinner, and breakfast, and lunch, and probably an afternoon snack!

{Carrot Cake}

Use this recipe and it won't disappoint! We had a slight carrot cake disaster at Easter, so it was nice to find this recipe that I believe is foolproof!

There you have, 2 recipes in 1 post. Now excuse me while I slip into a sweets coma. 

xo annie