Month: January 2016

Off the Shoulder Everything

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I am obsessed with anything and everything off the shoulder for this spring. There is something about showing a little shoulder and collarbone that instantly takes an outfit to the next level. Here are some of my favorites to get you in the mood for warmer weather and a little less clothing.

Elliatt ‘Sculpture’ Chevron Stripe Woven Sheath Dress
BB Dakota Manda Dress

Elliat ‘Sculpture’ Chevron Stripe Woven Sheath Dress is from Nordstrom (on sale!)

BB Dakota Manda Dress is from Revolve

VAVA by Jon Han PIA OFF THE SHOULDER ROMPER
Love Cold Off Shoulder Romper (on sale!!)

VAVA by Jon Pia Off the Shoulder Romper is from Revolve

Love Cold Off Shoulder Romper from Asos

Free People Tiny Flounces Cami
Forever 21 Off-the-Shoulder Crop Top

Free People Tiny Flounces Cami

Forever 21  Off the Shoulder Crop Top

Self Portrait Off-the-Shoulder Jumpsuit
Warehouse Off the Shoulder Jumpsuit

Self Portrait Off-the-Shoulder Jumpsuit from Neiman Marcus

Warehouse Off the Shoulder Jumpsuit from Asos

xoxo
Blair

Follow me on Instagram –@bewithblair

 

Crock Pot Honey-Garlic Chicken

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Happy Thursday! Today I am sharing one of my husbands favorite meals, Honey Garlic Chicken. This recipe is from Diethood and it is seriously SO easy and delicious, you can’t not make it.

You will need:

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • ⅓ cup honey
  • ½ cup ketchup (you can also use low-sodium ketchup, if available)
  • ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
  • ½ tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (I didn’t have sesame seeds so I did not use them)

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Instructions:

  1. Arrange chicken thighs on the bottom of your slow cooker; set aside
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, oregano and parsley; whisk until thoroughly combined.
  3. Pour the sauce over the chicken thighs.
  4. Close with a lid and cook for 6 to 7 hours on LOW, or 4 to 5 hours on HIGH.*
  5. Remove lid and transfer chicken to a serving plate.
  6. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
  7. Serve

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Enjoy!

Until next time.

xoxo

Blair

 

 

 

Cozy Wednesdays

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Sometimes, ok most of the time, I just want to be as cozy as possible at work, today was one of those days. A big oversized sweater, cotton pencil skirt and wedge booties did the trick.

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Sweater: Forever 21 (old but similar one here)
Skirt: RACHEL Rachel Roy (similar one here)
Booties: DV by Dolce Vita (similar ones here)
Hat: Betsey Johnson

xoxo
Blair

Saturday at Bogart’s Doughnut Co.

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Today was the first time we went to Bogart’s Doughnut Co. and all I have to say is yum!! Such a great way to kick off the weekend! Their sprinkled cake donut was to die for.

AND the best part was that my cute Sundry Clothing “Love” shirt matched the store 🙂

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Photos by Nicole Michele- Follow her on Instagram @nicolemich

Shirt: Sundry Clothing

Jeans: Wit & Wisdom (bought at Nordstrom)

Booties: DBDK Fashion (got them on Hautelook but you can find them on sale here)

Have a great weekend!

Until next time

xoxo

Blair

Follow me on Instagram @bewithblair

Real Simple Spicy Shrimp and Farro Soup with Winter Greens

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Brrrr!! It is freezing in Minnesota and the only thing I crave is soup. There are so many amazing recipes out there but I found this super easy soup recipe in Real Simple. It was absolutely delicious, and did I mention, super easy!!

You will need:

  • ¼cup olive oil
  • 4large shallots, coarsely chopped
  • 1large carrot, coarsely chopped
  • 1 to 2fresh hot red chilies, sliced, plus more for serving
  • 4cloves garlic, sliced
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 115.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 8cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1cup whole farro
  • ¾pound peeled and deveined medium or large raw shrimp
  • 5ounces (8 cups) torn Swiss chard (from about 1 small bunch)
  • Torn basil leaves and crusty bread, for serving

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  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, carrot, chilies, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are just tender, 6 
to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices along with the broth and bring to a boil. Add the farro and cook until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
  2. Stir in the shrimp and chard and cook until the shrimp are opaque, 2 to 4 
minutes. Transfer the soup to bowls and sprinkle with the basil and additional sliced chilies. Serve with the bread.

Enjoy!!

Until next time.

xoxo,

Blair

 

Follow me on Instagram @bewithblair

Wedding Bells

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These past few weeks engagement news has taken over my Instagram and Facebook feeds. ‘Tis the season for shiny blingy rings to make their way on to girls ring fingers. I LOVE seeing all of the engagement news because getting engaged and planning a wedding was truly one of the most fun times I have had to date. If you are like me and are as Type A as they come you have already read every “top 10” list, month-by-month countdown, “best of” vendors, and everything else you can find on the internet to help you plan that perfect day to a T.

But here’s the thing, I wish I would have been told that it wasn’t all fun and games all the time. I only ever read the fun stuff about planning a wedding, never did I read anything that made it seem like this wasn’t supposed to be the most fun thing all of the time. So I want to share a few things I wish I would have known while I was planning a wedding. This is a very honest post about my experience planning my most favorite day of my life.

First, no one prepares or warns you for how stressful this exciting time can be. Real talk, there will probably be tears somewhere along the way and they will not be happy tears. Personally, I was naïve going in to the wedding planning process and wish someone had prepared me or at least warned me that some stressful times were ahead.  Putting aside the obvious of setting a budget, finding vendors or sticking to your budget (because if you haven’t been told this already– you will probably go over it any way), the stress is inevitable when planning the day that you begin your lives as a married couple.

Second, there will be A LOT of opinions. When I say a lot of opinions, I mean A LOT OF FRIGGEN OPINIONS. From the people that my husband work with telling him “what are you doing getting married?! why would you do that?!” to others telling you that they have the BEST vendors that you have to use or asking WHY you would do something a certain way, everyone feels like they know what’s best. But guess what, this is the one weekend that it will be all about you two as a couple. This is truly the start of your life together no matter how long you have been together because now you have the new title of husband and wife, or wife and wife, or husband and husband.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying completely disregard the opinions. But it is definitely a balancing act between making everyone involved happy and staying true to who you are as a couple and what will make you two happy. Be prepared to balance.

Third, your life is going to become consumed with wedding planning. Leading up to the big day I had multiple dreams about our table linens… who dreams about table linens!? Brides to be dream about table linens, that’s who. And if you are laughing at that thought right now, just you wait… it will happen to you. 🙂

But just as fast as your life is consumed by the details, you have to cut it off and take a step back. The BEST advice that we got from one of our very best friends was to cut it off before the wedding. Give yourself a deadline where you and your fiancé agree you will be done talking anything and everything wedding. We got married on a Sunday so we decided that the Wednesday before, we would be done chatting about anything and everything wedding. We had planned our hearts out and nothing we were going to say or do 4 days before the wedding was going to change that. CUT IT OFF!

Fourth, your partner is your safe haven. It is SO easy to get caught up in all of the glitz, glam and details of planning a wedding but don’t for a second forget why you are planning a wedding in the first place. You found your one true love who you want to spend the rest of your life with. Don’t forget to make the day about the two of you, because it is quite easy to do.

Fifth, and finally, HAVE FUN!!!!! There were so many times that I felt like it was a job to plan the wedding because THERE’S SO MUCH TO DO!!!! I looked at my husband multiple times and said “should we just go to the courthouse?” The details are endless and the planning is non-stop but looking back at it I wouldn’t have changed a thing. It really was the most fun 14 months of my life planning our wedding.Our wedding day was everything I could have ever imagined. It was like a dream, so even though it involves a little stress, some tears, and a whole lot of planning- it is all totally and completely worth it in the end.

Enjoy yourself during this time. Have fun and congratulations!!!!!!

Until next time!!

xoxo

Blair

Follow me on Instagram @bewithblair