Birthday Bridal Shower

An amazing bridal shower/birthday weekend, the end of my school year coming up next week, and many other busy moments in my life have been keeping me from this blog.  But I refuse to wave the white flag.  Next weekend marks the beginning of my summer vacation, and I'm promising to get back on track with some well-planned outfits.

In the mean time, settle for a picture of a dress I purchased months ago from Banana Republic.  I loved this dress so much, I knew it had to be saved for something very special.  

Dress: Banana Republic

Heels: Nine West

Pearl Earrings & Pearl Bracelet: Ross Simons

Bow Bouquet: My beautiful family and friends

Bold Stripes

Shirt Dress: Gap

Sandals: BC Footwear

Summer Quinoa Salad

I've experimented with quinoa and all of its superfood goodness a few times, and I finally reached a favorite recipe!  I mixed many of my favorite summer foods together and found a great dressing for this super easy salad.

• 2 cups cooked quinoa 
• (I cook it in vegetable broth rather than water, just to add some flavor.)
• 1 avocado
• 1 large tomato
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• chopped cilantro and parsley (to taste)
• 1 cup frozen or fresh corn

Dressing:

• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• salt and pepper
• 6 tsp olive oil

*Let the quinoa fully cook before mixing in the other ingredients and adding the dressing.
*Add some chopped jalapeno for a punch!