scenes from my {birthday} weekend

This weekend was fantastic. Why?

1. The amazing, amazing people I get to surround myself with. I have the kindest and most fun friends and family.
2. Flowers. Flowers in every shape, size, color - all in bloom. Buttercups that line the road to sprouts of tulips...all of it triumphantly announcing spring's long-awaited arrival.
3. It was 75 and 80 degrees this weekend - perfect for walks with Scout, gardening outside, and iced tea. It felt like (and even smelled like) summer time.
4. Mother-daughter bonding time was perfect; kicked off the weekend with pedicures and ended it on Sunday night over a new episode of Cosmos!
5. Birthday cake! And a cookie cake! And trick candles!
6. Dreaming up future plans for travel, bucket lists, and other little things to get excited about.
7. Being SO excited over the new watch S gave me - the lululemon scarf from my best friend (outfit post this week!), the trench coat of my dreams, and a real coffee diary from my sister! eeeek!
8. Everything moved sloooow. For once it didn't seem like the weekend flew by.
9. Fresh baked banana bread and tea after a few rounds of spring cleaning.

Productivity and fun don't normally coexist in one weekend for me but somehow this weekend did. I cleaned, got stuff done, and happened to actually do everything I wanted to - you know, that imaginary picture in your head of what you want your weekend to look like. This well-blended weekend happened to include probably the nicest weather of the year, which made it even harder to stay inside and glued to one task. The only thing I didn't do was stick to my lower-carb "diet"...oops.

More on that later. I know everyone says this but I cannot imagine being more lucky. I am beyond blessed, to have the family I do, to be surrounded by the coolest and nicest and most generous friends in the world. You know who you are. :) I loveeee them! And they are pretty much the reason why this weekend rocked. It's gonna be tough to top this one. :)

Okay, Monday, I'm ready for you...

ciao, xo!

scenes from my weekend

Hi there! So as you can see, I am failing you again with my lack of weekend photos. That, and it is mid-week, so a bit late on the scenes from my weekend post, eh?

Well, the weekend was a good one, spent with friends and time outside. It was a beeeeautiful few days. I had the Friday-night-drive-from-work-giddies and drove by a nearby CVS and piled up on new drugstore goodies - including the nail polish from Revlon I've been dying to try (note: I don't think the smell works...)

One thing I decided that I definitely need to do is revamp my eating/exercising habits. Last week I switched up my hair, and now I feel like I need an inside-out make over. I am thinking of doing a serious cutback on carbs (two days down, woo!). Which is kind of comical, ESPECIALLY after I posted this recipe. ha! But in all seriousness, it's a needed change, and I know I will feel better after a few weeks of missing pasta eating healthier.

So...how are you?! How's your week going? Sorry for being so in and out.
ciao! xoooo

oricchette & pesto

I don't know what happened to me last week. I went to work, THEN worked out, and THEN made my own dinner. (!!!). Guys, this is a breakthrough. After a long and cold winter of pure laziness, I have been the queen of take out and eating food that other people have prepared. Like...I have befriended waitresses and have a "usual." Not that this is a bad thing. ;) BUT, for the sake of my wallet and my self-respect - I need to be a little more proactive more often.

Which brings me to this dish. Inspired by somewhere on my pinterest board, I whipped up this easy four-ingredient dinner. If you take out the salt, OO, pepper and the spices on the chicken, it is literally four ingredients...

Orricchette and pesto
1 cup (or however much you want, lets be real) orrichette pasta
2 spoonfuls basil pesto
1 grilled chicken, sliced
A few slivers of cheese (I used pecorino romano, but mozzarella is a tried-and-true favorite)

So, pesto and I go way back to my Siena days  as a wee study abroad student. I used it on everything. And I developed a love for it. But for me you need to have the right pasta with pesto - my preferred go-tos are penne and/or oricchette. I am not a chef by any means, but as I type this I feel satisfied and just-right full, for having consumed pretty much an entire 200 cals of pasta. YUM :)

ciao! xo

hair chop

A healthy hair chop a few times a year is something I completely believe in. Long, mermaid-like {real} hair that is fishtail-able and timelessly beautiful is hard to keep healthy. Especially if you're styling it all the time, with hair straighteners, wavers and curling irons. And processing it with highlights or some other sort of chemicals.

So, a few days ago I cut about three inches off my hair. And I feel naked. And awkward. And sort of like a second grader. During the cut, I was all, "yessss!" but then the days that came later, I tugged at my short ends and wished I could do what I used to. So my goal is, for the next few weeks, post some ideas for styling shorter length hair with some of my spring posts. A new start is always refreshing, no?

ciao, and happy friday! guys, aren't you proud that I posted every day this week!? :)