Summer Beach Reads

I wanted to share my most recent Kindle downloads for vacation reading.  A couple of them have been featured on several blogs as the most popular books for Summer 2014.   I'm going to start the Maria Semple novel right away, I've heard so much about it already and I don't want to have the ending spoiled for me.  And no I didn't color coordinate my summer reading on purpose.

 The Vacationers, The One and Only, and Where'd You Go, Bernadette

I realize that this is a young adult novel but sometimes can't we bend the rules.  Everyone is discussing The Fault in Our Stars right now and this one is being heavily compared to it.  I'm super curious and I may purchase this one when I finish my other three.

I love when people recommend books.  If you've read something good recently please comment below!

Summer Dress Loves

A few new dresses for these hot summer days...

 French Connection Elliot Two Dress.  Super versatile in a stretchable breathable fabric.  It's my favorite new find that can be dressed up or down and is even appropriate for work with a sweater or blazer.

Did you see the sale Old Navy is having on dresses right now.  Holy smokes!  I had to get in on that action and these two beauties are now mine.

 Striped Sheath - I purchased mine in the pink stripe which is no longer available sadly. However the black stripe and the gray stripe still have several sizes in stock online.  I'm loving stripes this season!

A Line Ponte Knit Tank Dress.  I own this in bright coral-pink and loved it so much I wanted it in black.  Perfect for travel because it doesn't seem to wrinkle easy and it can be worn for day and night.  I love that I can wear it to work with a cardigan, my pink one is a regular work staple.

Meet Lady Belle...

It's been a while since my last post...our adopted Bluetick has been adjusting to our schedule for the past week and a half.  Every afternoon we have enjoyed long walks and playtime with her.  She desperately needed to learn leash manners and I purchased an Easy Walk Harness from Phydeaux Boutique in Raleigh to help get her started.  She is a quick learner so far and such a joy to have in the house.  Here are a few photos from her first week with us.

She will be visiting the beach with us soon and we will get to test her in a new environment around dogs, family, and sand.  Her official trial adoption ends on Friday and we couldn't give her back if we tried.  She has become so attached to us, especially my husband, and she fits in well with our little family.  Once the trial is up we will pay her adoption fee and she will officially be ours.

Five on Friday

We have a new love joining our family today!  We are adopting this sweet girl from a local rescue and we pick her up for a "trial" period this afternoon.  I don't think there will be any problems with our trial, so I've already gone shopping for her as a permanent family member.  She is a bluetick coonhound, approximately 4 years old, who was likely used for breeding in her past.  Apparently she has been in a car accident and has some lameness in her back legs but she runs and walks normally...homegirl can't jump though.

I decided my five on Friday would feature some goodies that I've purchased for her this week while I've been anticipating her arrival.

1.  The foster mother suggested a few different brands of food.  We are going to mix her current food with one of the suggestions, Taste of the Wild. She has only been eating grain free food so I think we will stick with it.

2.  Homemade Pupsicles, also known as homemade Frostypaws.  An easy snack for any dog trying to get familiar with a new environment.  I whipped up a batch Wednesday night with some plain yogurt, natural peanut butter, and a banana.

3.  A new dog bed.  Our girl can't jump on the couch and I want her to have a nice soft place to lounge during the day while we are at work and of course somewhere to sleep at night.  Our last dog snubbed pet beds so we didn't have one in the house.

4.  Every coonhound needs a raccoon toy, right?

5.  A padded harness.  Our girl can walk on a leash but she is a "puller", it's going to be something we will be patient with but diligent to try and teach her leash manners.  I hope it will make our walks more comfortable for her.  We also bought a short lead by the same brand.

This isn't a full list...we bought meat jerky, a new brush, and bullies for her as well.  We have also started looking for a nice leather collar for her as well as some durable interactive toys.

So, whats her name?  Well we don't know yet.  She currently has a beautiful, exotic name but the shortened version that her foster mother uses also happens to be R's mothers name.  That won't work.  I cannot call our dog by my MIL's name.  We are going to toy with it over the next week and see if we want to keep her full current name and not use the shortened one or if we want to change it to something else entirely.  I will reveal it on the blog as soon as we decide what to call her.  Right now she is just "pretty girl" when we look at her picture.  Seriously, look at that gorgeous face!

Five on Friday

I didn't want to miss out on the fun today...

1.

My new pillow covers from East and Nest.  I wouldn't hesitate to order from her again, they are beautiful.  I went with the spa blue ikat pattern and I purchased a set of 20x20 covers for my 24 inch down pillows.  Even R thought they were fantastic.

2.

We had a delicious cocktail over the weekend that I affectionately named a Mintberry Memorial.  It's certainly not a revolutionary combination of ingredients but definitely tasty.  We mixed lemonade and raspberry vodka with muddled fresh strawberries and mint.  I think I have found my favorite pool-side cocktail.

3.

It's almost time!

4.

This Pier1 table may be coming home with me this weekend.  Oh and look...that's our chair in the ad alongside the table.  I loved the way it looked in the photo and I haven't found another round table that I liked as much as this one.

5.

I bought an open sun hat on Amazon a few weekends ago.  It's perfect for the pool, rolls up for easy packing, and the velcro is less likely to damage my hair than the sun hats with the tie closures.  I had no idea I ordered from China, I'm surprised the postage was so inexpensive! Now I can wear my hair in a top knot and my hat will extend over my entire face.  I chose the black one shown on the model.

Everyone have a happy and safe weekend!

Beauty Wishlist

Because sometimes it's fun to try new things...

Beauty Wishlist by carolinabelle84 featuring hourglass cosmetics

1.  I'm finally getting bored of my Naked 2 palette.  I've used it regularly for almost two years and it's time for a change.  This palette is the stuff of dreams.  

2.  I will need foundation in the next month or so and I'm looking for something new.  I've heard great things about the Hourglass Immaculate foundation, since I have oily / combo skin, I'm definitely interested in it's claims to control shine.  

3.  Speaking of Tarte, the lipsurgence pencil in Amused could be the best summer berry color for my skin tone.  

4.  Not sure if I'd feel comfortable spending this kind of change on blush but I've heard the best things about Hourglass ambient powders and the Diffused Heat is so beautiful.

5.  As soon as my Nars bronzer is finished I'm going to try this one from Tarte.  

Our Summer To Do List...

Summer actually starts on June 21st this year but we all know Memorial Day is the first official (non-official) day of summer.  R found a pin listing fun ideas for summer activities, the list was geared more towards families with young kids but it initiated a conversation where we made our own summer goals.  Anytime I post on the blog it keeps me accountable so here we go... family fun for Summer 2014.

via

*Make homemade ice cream...a new flavor that we've never made.
*Attend an outdoor concert.
*Make S'Mores after a cookout.
*Go to the community pool as much as possible.
*Go to the beach, obvs. We have all our favorite eateries, activities, and shops in Nags Head.
*Outdoor movie, we love the NC Museum of Art.
*A drive-in movie, we wanted to do this last summer and didn't have a chance to.
*Farmers Market Saturdays
*Make our own sushi...we've been meaning to do this for a long time.
*Antiquing.  Lots and lots of antiquing.
*Thursday music in the park.
*Summer cocktails!
* Read at least one book each month and catch up on my magazines.
*Work on my fitness...outside.
*Try new summer salads and meals that require no heat.  Unless that heat comes from a grill :-)
*Catch a baseball game, we have a decent local team.
*Try a new restaurant each month.
*Build a piece of furniture...or three.  R has an ever growing list.
*See some fireworks.
*Attend an outdoor festival, our small town has one coming up in about a week.
*Take some much needed naps in our hammock.
*Grill pizza with a new topping combination.
*Check off some DIY projects.