avocado ice pops meet nautical stripes

This week has been absolutely crazeballs, you guys! But finally, I have an outfit for you... from last week. Like I mentioned previously, Purple Week has been moved to next week, so send in those purple outfits to amy.kelinda@gmail.com to be featured! I'll be talking submissions throughout next week, too.

Work has been hectic, and I've been trying to train myself to wake up earlier to work out in the mornings before trekking off to the ol' job. I found that a lot of the time, I skip exercising after work because I'm just so freaking tired after spending 8 hours behind a desk. So, working out when I'm still fresh and new (and too groggy to make a compelling case as to why I shouldn't be on the elliptical at this hour) should help me stick to my "get healthy!" regime. Wish me luck!

And now, a pretty straight-forward and basic OOTD:

top, j.crew
cami, cotton on
jeans, gap
sandals, lauren by ralph lauren
bangle, kate spade
evil eye rope bracelet, kiosk
skull ring, ebay
gold ring, f21

You can't tell by the way I'm dressed, but it has been in the triple digits over here, temperature-wise, for the past few weeks. Whenever I'm not freezing in the office, I'm broiling outside. It's ridiculous. But for those of you who are also suffering from "it's way too damn hot"-itis, here's a cool remedy:


Avocado ice pops. I know it sounds weird, but I swear that they are delicious and absolutely refreshing. The recipe is simple, too.

2 avocados, pureed
1/2 cup sugar dissolved and boiled in 1 cup water, then cooled to room temp
1 tablespoon lime juice

Mix it all together in a blender or food processor, scoop into popsicle molds, and freeze. A perfect "see ya later, summer!" treat.

polka calico

When I saw Kendi in this outfit, I knew I wanted to try my hand at the whole "polka-dotted top over a dress" thing too. I mean, how adorable is her ensemble?! Now, I don't have the lovely pieces she has in her outfit, but I do have a little cropped top from F21 and a calico number from Anthropologie, so here's my version of "polka printing" --

top, f21
'collected calico' dress, anthropologie
wedge flats, cole haan
brown belt, urban outfitters
ring, f21
bangle, kate spade

I retrospect, I think a sleeveless top may have worked better so I don't look so upside-down triangle on top. Next time!

I'll leave you all with a Monday bite -- browned butter rice krispie treats with sea salt! The recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, and it's a winner every single time I make it. Enjoy!

mucho maxi

I snapped some photos of my outfit yesterday, but I looked decidedly cracked out of my mind in all of them (well, more than usual, anyway) so I decided to not post them. Instead, here's an outfit from a few days ago...

shirt, gap
cami, cotton on
skirt, zara
belt, mom's
ring, f21
bangle, kate spade

I'm living in maxi skirts this summer. They're just so easy to wear! Not to mention that they are the most logical choice for me when it comes to enduring the typical triple-digit temperatures of Houston. I mean, whenever I hear that the high is going to be 110 degrees, my first instinct on wardrobe options is "NAKED," so it's excellent that I have an alternative to that.

A while back, I did a guest DIY post for one of my absolute favorite bloggers (Infinite Whimsy), and there was a good response to my crafting skillz (with a 'z' which is how you know it's for real). Unfortunately, I don't craft all day, every day, so I can't do craft-type DIY posts regularly. But, I do create different and new dishes/desserts on a regular basis, so I will include some recipe successes whenever I come across them and count them as pseudo-DIYs. Sound good?

Today, I present to you one of my new favorites light lunches/dinners -- asparagus with a fried egg and pecorino cheese:


I got the recipe from Steamy Kitchen, and you can find it here. The only changes I made is that I used pecorino cheese instead of parmesan because it's what I had on hand. The result was still outrageously delicious for something that's only 3 ingredients, if you don't include the salt and pepper.

a little rockabilly (just a little)

Yesterday, I made a salad that was so delicious that I absolutely have to share it with you guys:


It's a ribboned zucchini and basil salad and I highly recommend.

I apologize in advance for the completely crazeballs coloring and focus for this post's pictures. Yesterday morning was all kinds of gloomy, so my camera essentially gave up and said, "Everything's just going to have to be slightly blurry and yellow!"

Quitter.

Also, I'm considering investing in a nice beginner's DSLR, so if you have any suggestions, tell me in the comments! Maybe owning a (much) (MUCH) nicer camera will encourage me to venture to new locations for these OOTD shots...

picture frame blouse, anthropologie
cardigan, lacoste
skirt, madewell
jolie flats, j.crew
gold ring, f21
gold bangle, kate spade

In retrospect, some fun peep-toe heels could have made this ensemble much more kicky. Next time.

On a completely unrelated note, these are craziest pants I've ever seen. You've really outdone yourself this time, Forever 21...

friday link time

So sometimes I wake up an eensy bit too late (15 minutes, which is like 257234810 minutes in the AmyK time spectrum) and end up not being able to snap a picture pre-work. And then sometimes I come straight home and strip before I'm able to snap a picture post-work (8 feet through the front door and I am already putting on my loungin' pants). And sometimes both of those things happen on the same day, leaving me with no OOTD to post.

But, fear not, for the Internetz provides!

Check out my awesome floral nails!

To learn how to do it yourself, go to this post from Jelly's Nails for the design tutorial. I swear they're supposed to look more like flowers (and less like pink amoebas with green feet), but I am what some would call "tragically uncoordinated."

Ribboned asparagus salad, anyone?

I made this a few nights ago for dinner and it is YUM. Thinly shaved raw asparagus, lemon, olive oil, salt + pepper, toasted pine nuts, and shaved Parmesan. What better way to celebrate the return of spring/summer vegetables? Make it over the weekend. You won't regret it. Scope out the recipe over here from smitten kitchen!

Have a good one!