Growing up in Connecticut, I was always *very* familiar withe Lilly Pulitzer — let’s face it, I have a dozen of her dresses hanging in my closet right now!  But as my personal style has moved slightly away from the typical Connecticut-preppy (or, frankly, Texas-preppy) style, I might have actually been surprised if you’d have told my that a Lilly Pulitzer item would be one of my favorite pieces in my closet!

But how could you resist this romper?  It could go everywhere from a country club dinner to a New York city brunch, to a Texas day of doing just about anything.  I’ve basically been wearing it nonstop — it’s the perfect combination of cool-preppy with casual style!

Gifted Lilly Pulitzer Coleen romper and Ashley Wedges, Miu Miu bag, Forever 21 and Ben Amun bracelet, Kate Spade necklace.

It’s funny how when you’re so used to sharing what’s going on in your life over the internet, it can feel really strange when you have to hold something back.  For the last few weeks, there’s been something I haven’t been able to tell you — being painfully superstitious, I didn’t want to say anything until we were certain. 

But… we bought a house!

One of the reasons that Chad and I moved to Houston was the amazingly beautiful houses that you can buy for the same price here as, oh, say, a junior one bedroom in the far reaches of Brooklyn.  After the bar exam, we pretty much devoted every weekend to stopping by open houses, scouring real estate websites and eventually… found our dream house!

Now, keep your fingers crossed for us, because although most of the big steps are past us, we don’t have the keys just yet.  But I’m so excited to show it to you guys as soon as we’re settled in!  (I’m going to have my own separate shoe closet, if you can believe it!)

For now, though, I’m focusing on decorating.  Like many couples, Chad’s and my furniture is sort of a mish-mash of things I bought, things he bought, things my parents bought us, and a lot of it is old enough that my taste has changed pretty substantially since we picked it out.  (You can see some of it on Glitter Guide’s feature on our NY apartment a few months ago!)

But now that we’re increasing our living space by a lot, I figure it’s the right time to settle on a design style.  My gut is leaning toward contemporary, but I’m a sucker for odd and eclectic pieces — I want everything to feel like it makes sense together, but not get too bogged down in a single theme or style.  So in that vein, I’ve been picking up some pieces I love over the last few weeks, and wanted to share them with you guys! 

Wish us luck — I am so excited!!!

Clockwise, from top left: (1) Bookshelf, $111 from Target, for our front entryway; (2) Paper Mache Rhino head, $68 from Anthropologie, for our family room; (3) Runner (Rug), $99 from Gilt Home, for our front hallway; (4) Union Jack Barstools, $148 for both from Overstock.com, for our bar area; (5) Ceramic Elephant, $99 from Z Gallerie, for our living room; (6) Space Chair, $790 from Modani, for our living room or bedroom; (7) Vase, $69 from Gilt Home, for our front hallway.

I sort of lost track of the seasons this year, so it was funny to see that spring vegetables like asparagus and rhubarb (soon!) were suddenly available in our grocery store, when I’ve been feeling like it’s been summer for about the past 11 months.  But that little reminder that the rest of the world is just starting spring made me focus on some yummy seasonal recipes!

This is actually part 1 — after eating about half the asparagus in this batch, I took the rest and transformed it into an equally delicious recipe that I’ll share with you guys next week.  Healthy and perfect for springtime!

Simple Roasted Asparagus

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound of asparagus, ends trimmed
3 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt
Ground pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Toss asparagus with olive oil, sea salt, garlic powder and freshly ground pepper, and place it in a roasting pan.  Roast the asparagus for 15-20 minutes, turning the asparagus once, until the asparagus is cooked through and crispy on the edges.  Remove the asparagus, set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

Serve with roasted aioli or just plain!

I was actually running late to meet some friends when I took these photos, and in all the crazy running-late-ness, I totally didn’t realize that the battery on my camera had apparently died.  Not to be foiled, I grabbed my old Canon Rebel, the camera I had when I started this blog, and figured I’d do some shots with that.

Except… the last time I’d carried my Canon Rebel was apparently Fashion Week, because it was set with a super high ISO, resulting in the weirdly dark and gritty photos in this post.  Some days you just can’t win!

Banana Republic was kind enough to send me this dress, and I had it shortened by about a foot and now absolutely love it. It felt sort of retro, thin-Betty-Draper-esque to me, which isn’t usually the style I gravitate towards naturally, so tailoring the length made it a little more “me.”  Paired with this too-cute purse from Nine West (some bags are “bags” but this one is for sure a “purse”!), all I need is a time machine. 

Actually, let’s face it, if I had a time machine, I’d go the way of Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris.  And then go to the future, DUH!  How cool is the future going to be?!  They’ll be all, “oh, skinny jeans and platforms, so retro!”

Gifted Banana Republic dress, gifted Nine West purse, Jimmy Choo heels, Forever 21 and Ben Amun bracelets.

When Madewell sent me these jeans, I was so excited to expand my non-blue denim wardrobe, and I figured yellow was the perfect way to branch out!  These are as comfy as any I’ve worn, and I absolutely love the color — bold and fun for spring, but not in-your-face neon.

So, obviously, I had to pair them with these heels, which can probably be seen from space!  They seem to glow in low light, as you can see in some of these pictures, so I plan on having some fun with that!  I found them at Zara a month or two ago, and I’m shocked they haven’t sold out by then — only $89! 

And the bag — if you haven’t checked out the Remi and Emmy line yet, go now!  I am in LOVE with this little snakeskin number.

Last but not least, if you want to see a video tutorial for my fishtail braid, go here!

Gifted Madewell Skinny Skinny Colorpop jeans (size down, they’re a little big!), gifted Remi and Emmy bag (called the Glastonberry Woodstock Satchel), Topshop tank top, Zara neon heels, gifted Samantha Wills necklace, Alexis Bittar bracelet. 

So, some of you already know, but Chad and I got big news yesterday — we both passed the Texas Bar Exam!  Which is very fortunate, because I’m not sure I could have gone through it a second time.  I’m writing this post about two seconds before we meet up with some friends to celebrate, and mostly I’m just happy that the OMG-the-test-is-tomorrow-and-I-haven’t-studied nightmares will now cease.  Hopefully.

But coincidentally, this recipe has something to do with the bar exam (sort of).  A couple days after it ended, Chad and I headed out to the Rodeo, where I was introduced to the phenomenon of food on sticks in a big way.  Like, every food on earth on a stick. 

Like, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough On a Stick.

And once I was done scarfing that down, I thought of this recipe.  Because salad on a stick doesn’t quite have the same ring as fried chocolate chip cookie dough, but this was still really fun to make.  It’s an easy, healthy appetizer to serve for your family or friends — probably mostly with ingredients you already have in your kitchen!

Salad on a Stick

INGREDIENTS
2 bell peppers, yellow and red, cut into 1″ square pieces
3 large ciabatta rolls, cut into 1″ squares and toasted
24 Pitted kalamata olives
Romaine Lettuce
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
24 wooden skewers

DIRECTIONS

Roast the pieces of bell pepper on a sheet of tin foil at 400 degree for 15 minutes.  Allow to cool.

On each skewer, layer pieces of lettuce, pepper, olive, and toasted bread.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil and vinegar.  Serve.

I.  DIE.  Over this dress.

Sorry to bombard you guys with maxis, but can you really complain when they’re this fun? 

And just in case you were starting to think that Houston was nothing but abandoned parking lots, construction sites, and railroad tracks, let me tell you: there are some really beautiful neighborhoods.  Want to know where I am in these photos?  On somebody’s street.  Yes, seriously — a random residential street has a roundabout with a hundred individual rosebushes, and probably its own gardener.  Oh Texas. 

How many of you guys saw this same skirt on Gilt yesterday?  Total coincidence, but I was actually invited to a really fun lunch (in Houston!) with Gilt last week — I kind of have a love-hate relationship with them, because 1) I love them, and 2) they take all my money.  But it was such a fun time (and so great to get to know some of the other fashion writers in Houston) that I’ll give them a pass.  (Check out a few of my pics here, here and here!)

Alice and Olivia maxi dress (sold out on Gilt, but you can still get on the waitlist), gifted Rachel Roy Ghana clutch, gifted Chanel sunglasses.

A few weeks ago, I came home to an amazing package — a selection of gorgeous spring dresses from Haute Hippie!  I had to wear this one first, because how often do you find the absolute perfect maxi dress?  I love how the cut lets you wear a maxi and still show a little leg, and how the colorblocking makes this so unique!  In Houston, this will go straight through summer and into next fall.

These shoes (closeup below) were part of Timo Weiland’s Spring 2012 collection, in collaboration with TSUBO — I love getting to see how styles move from the runways to stores.  These are almost exactly the same pair that went down the runway (see a pic here), and they’re such a cool mix of urban, contemporary, and still feminine enough to pair with a beautiful dress like this. 

And my Mark. earrings!  I almost never change my earrings — once I find a pair that I love, I basically wear them until something forces me to change them, and I adore these.  I didn’t get a great close-up in this post, but you’ll definitely be seeing more of them!  And if you want a sneak peek, they’re online here — only $16!

Gifted Haute Hippie dress (not online yet, but similar here!), gifted Timo Weiland for TSUBO “Tarrata” heels, Kate Spade necklace via T.J. Maxx, gifted David Yurman sunglasses, gifted Mark. earrings. 

In honor of taking care of your skin, Simple Skincare asked me to put together a quick list of ways that you can be kind to your skin on a day-to-day basis!  All sorts of little things can harm your skin, so it’s so important to remember the small ways you can minimize the damage!

First, if I were to pick any skincare tip, it would be SUNSCREEN!  I know I make a big deal of this every year as summer rolls around, but I wish someone had been there to tell me when I was seventeen how awful tanning is for your skin!  Tanning beds awful for your health (I put them on par with smoking) and for your skin!  Obviously, no one wants skin cancer, but you want to try to avoid wrinkles too!  So stay FAR away from tanning beds, and out of the sun (or at least, protect with SPF 30+ on the beach and Simple Skincare’s Vital Vitamin Day Cream with SPF 15 for all day skin protection and moisturization — even for days you’ll be indoors)!

Second, keep your hands (and everything else) away from your face!  Scrubbing down too often can irritate sensitive skin, so less can be more when you’re being kind to skin!  I try my best to keep my hands, cell phone, sunglasses (basically anything that can pick up grime) away from my face as much as possible, so that I only have to cleanse twice a day!  You want to keep your face free from irritants like sweat or dirt, but not strip away all of your natural oils, so be sure to use a great sensitive skin cleanser like Simple Skincare’s Refreshing Facial Wash Gel –- it leaves your skin cleansed and revived. 

Last, all the things that you do to stay healthy in your day-to-day life help your skin too!  Things like eating unprocessed food and healthy fats, keeping stress under control, and getting eight hours of sleep per night are crucial to your beauty routine *and* your overall well-being!  So be kind to your skin by being kind to your whole body!

What are your go-to tips for being kind to your skin?

I’ve recently been on a major breakfast kick — not necessarily a healthy breakfast kick, but at least I eat *something* in the morning, and don’t just wait until 2 pm lunch to try to squeeze (no pun intended) some food in!  (Today it was ice cream… no judgments, ok?)

So I was particularly excited to be asked to work with fabulous and healthy applesauce brand, GoGo squeeZ!  They have the cutest containers of squeezeable applesauce that are all natural, 100% fruit, grown in farms an orchards that care about the environment — oh, and gluten, dairy, and nut free.  Basically, everything that your food should be and rarely is.  If you guys have kids, this is the perfect thing to throw in your bag (or their lunchbox) for a daytime snack!

And even if you’re an adult, applesauce is still deliciousl I used their apple mango flavor for this recipe and it was so good.  They’ve just announced their new packaging over on their Facebook page, so be sure to look for it in your grocery store! 

And once you find it, make this!

Raspberry Mango Applesauce Parfait

INGREDIENTS
1 package GoGo squeeZ Apple Mango
~6 ounces vanilla or plain greek yogurt (I used nonfat)
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1 tsp powdered sugar, to garnish

DIRECTIONS

Layer approximately 4 ounces of greek yogurt in the bottom of a single-size serving dish.  Spoon over it about 1/4 cup fresh raspberries, reserving some of the prettiest ones to garnish.  Squeeze one package of GoGo squeeZ Apple Mango over the raspberries, then pour on the remaining yogurt (reserve 1 tbsp) and add the additional 1/4 cup raspberries.  Spoon out 1 tablespoon of additional yogurt and a few raspberries on top, and dust on some powdered sugar.  Serve!