Friday's Fancies - Short & Sweet

As part of my (non-intentional) blogging hiatus, I've managed to miss out on some fabulous Friday's Fancies themes.  But I think I came back just in time, as this week's theme is Short & Sweet.  I imagine a lot of outfits will revolve around shorts, but one trend I'm really loving lately is high-low skirts and dresses, and, in my mind at least, they are totally applicable to the Short & Sweet theme!

Friday's Fancies - Short & Sweet by wpolanco featuring diamond bangles

I would totally wear this out for dinner and drinks with Esposito or a group of friends, and love how the girliness of the skirt is contrasted by more masculine accessories. Head on over to Long Distance Loving to see the other Friday's Fancies posts!

Loving Lately ~ Potting Benches

One of the best things about summer is spending time outdoors, and Esposito and I really try to make use of our yard by grilling dinner and eating al fresco every night that the weather permits.  Though our patio area has taken a backseat to other house projects we have pending, now that we are making more use of our yard, we are starting to long for a prettier space to enjoy.  Of course, budget considerations won't let us do too much too soon, but I am looking forwards to making it a prettier space no less.

One look I'm loving lately is potting benches.  Now, I don't have the greenest of thumbs so I don't do much gardening (you should see what my herb garden looks like now - poor plants!) but I think a potting bench could be so useful for entertaining as a place to put beverages, utensils, and food while still serving its utilitarian purpose when not entertaining.  Plus, a potting bench tends to look so charming when staged.  Behold:

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I must figure out a way to make one of these ... stay tuned! Do you have a potting bench?

Positive Affirmations Jar Favor

I created these favors for a sorority function last year, and it received such rave reviews that I was asked to create them again.  I thought I'd pass along the idea/steps for any of you that may have events you are planning for.  What I love about these favors is that they are easy to make, relatively cheap and also meaningful.  There's little I dislike more than receiving a favor that just becomes clutter in my home. 

I started off with a list of affirmations gathered from a variety of inspirational quotes websites.  In this case, I used mostly quotes having to do with women and achievement as that was the audience.  But the quotes can be tailored to be as generic or specific as necessary.  I added the affirmations to a table in Word, and printed them out on colored paper.  Each column of the table of affirmations includes the same affirmations, so that I only used half a sheet of each colored paper per jar.

I left the gridlines on the table in Word for printing, so that I had a natural template to cut across.  This is probably the most tedious process of the entire project - cut each affirmation into a strip, and then fold into a tiny square and fill each jar.

I used a label template to find a circle that would fit the top of each lid (just google mason jar lid template) and also printed labels for each jar.  Cut and attach (the jars I used had a removable top that I affixed the label to - you could also use a hole punch and ribbon to tie the label around the jar instead).

Assemble and display - a quick and easy favor that the recipient is sure to love.

And then it was my birthday...

So I know I've been a bit MIA... May was a crazy month.  I went on vacation the first week (to the Dominican Republic, with my family) and then came back and had 2 weeks to prepare for a major work trip to Mexico City that consumed all of my time.  And then I came back from Mexico City and it was memorial day weekend, and then all of a sudden it was my birthday (May 31) and I realized the whole month flew by and I had only blogged once!  Ooooppss!  But I'm back now, hopefully stronger than ever, and even one year older ;). 

I had a fabulous birthday courtesy of Esposito, who for all the crap I typically give him still knows how to make a girl like me, who is rarely satisfied, feel special.  A massage, lunch al fresco and a bit of shopping rounded up my day, and a fabulous dinner at a new local hotspot rounded out my evening. 



Hi-low floral dress - LC Lauren Conrad // Shoes - Jessica Simpson via Marshall's

Bloggers always look so cool posing backwards... not too sure it worked as well for me!

Isn't my guy handsome?

The only thing better than being in the city, is being right in front of it!

It's only fitting to drink Mojito's if you're eating at a Cuban restaurant!  I meant to take pictures of the food too, but alas the drinks got to me first!

Needless to say, we were having a good enough time that we brought the nightfall in.

And finally, my presents.  A new computer (now I really don't have an excuse for not blogging) and flowers from my friend (I know, I know my arrangement isn't the prettiest, but hey - I never said I was a florist!).

Though I did the bulk of my celebrating yesterday (I like to keep things low key - I plan on being under 30 forever so there's no sense in celebrating getting any closer to that age!) I'm pretty sure my birthday fun will continue into the weekend.  I'll be back Monday with some more snippets!  Hope you all have a good one!