THE WEEKENDER

{a shot of the Lion's Gate Bridge I took while visiting cousins in Vancouver last summer}

I can't believe its already the weekend again.  And I'm already headed back to the east coast!  My cousin is graduating from Dartmouth and we are on our way to celebrate with him.  I'll be driving through some familiar territory (a similar route I used to take when I would drive to school in Dayton) and some new (hopefully beautiful!) areas of the country I haven't seen before.  Here are some fun weekender links for you....

This is my favorite playlist to listen to while spending an evening cooking, eating, and enjoying wine in the kitchen with my family.

Have you seen these funny and interesting maps of the United States?

Safe Haven was my first Nicholas Sparks book and I liked it so much that I'm going to try out this memoir during the drive to Dartmouth!  I heard it's a little different than his others so I'm really excited.

I'm also going to be reading this.  Alex was reading it on the beach last weekend and it seemed so uplifting and interesting.

As a fresh graduate with no current employment I have been scouring Netflix for a new show and ran across Private Practice.  I'm a huge Grey's fan and am always a little late on TV shows so it's so perfect for me.  I've been loving it!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

PIZZA PIZZA

I made the most amazing pizza for my family last night.  I found the recipe on one of my (new) favorite food blogs The First Mess.  I was a bit wary about adding the mint at first but it was the perfect addition and the extra touch that made the pizza as delectable as it was.  I used my own sauce recipe and paired it with a delicious (and cheap!) bottle of red table wine from Trader Joe's.  Try it out and enjoy!

Sauce:

one can of tomato paste

three spoonfuls of Trader Joe's Red Pepper Spread with Eggplant and Garlic

two garlic cloves, minced

a squeeze of lemon

salt and pepper to taste

CRAVINGS

{browsing a vintage store in paris last summer}

I am craving some new pieces in my wardrobe now that there is finally a hint of warmth in the breeze coming through my window.  With my days left living in Milwaukee slowly dwindling it may be time to take one last visit to my favorite vintage store in the city.....hopefully I'll be back soon with some beautiful new additions!

DUNE DAZE

{the dunes on the shores of Maryland}

My weekend was full of indulgences and constant conversation.  We had so much fun laying out on the beach, catching up on the last two years, and reminiscing about our travels together. I tend to be distracted by the moment but here are a few that I was able to catch before they were over.  Hope you had as wonderful a weekend as I did!

{waking up to this in the mornings. bliss}

{sushi is possibly my favorite thing and we indulged (twice!)}

{seafood just tastes better in the salty ocean air}

 

{we had to hide between the dunes to escape the wind. but it was still so beautiful}

{i had so much fun with you two! lets do it again soon}