Category: friday favorites

Hi Friends! After a vacation to North Carolina to spend a few weeks with my parents, I am excited to be back to work in Philly. It was so nice to be in warm weather and lay out by the pool, reading magazines and doing some laps in the pool. We had cousin camp so every day was a new theme of meals and activities to do with my family. We were all joking that by the end, we all needed a vacation because we were tired from so much fun. Summer is in full swing here in the city and Jake and I are busy scheduling some fun things to do in the next few weeks. I love summer and the warm weather so so much! We were only gone for two weeks but the weeds took over our backyard, so I spent a few days getting the yard back in shape. I love our backyard and I try to lay out and read on the grass everyday. I’m sure we will have dinner outside at least once this weekend. Happy weekend! Hope you all have some fun and enjoy the nice weather.

After two weeks with no time to watch tv, I’ve been trying to catch up on my shows. This week during lunch, I’ll watch an episode of the Real Housewives. I am so behind so it’s a nice excuse to get cozy on the couch and catch up with all of the drama.

Last night while Jake was playing video games, I watched the Kardashian reunion with Andy Cohen.  I have to say I wish we had more of these reunions during the Kardashian franchise. I loved his questions and the insight on the series after all of these years. Finally sat down and watched Housewife and the Hustler yesterday and was texting my friend the whole time because the show was full of very interesting information we did not know before.

Jake and I just finished season 4 of Dexter and since I already saw this show a few times, it was interesting to watch Jake watch that very dramatic season finale. I swear he just sat there in shock with big eyes because he did not see that coming!

When I was packing my suitcase for two weeks at my parents house, I had to be very intentional about what I was going to bring with me. With a shorter trip, I can just bring the basics and sometimes my skincare routine will be lacking but it’s only for a few days. But with two weeks away from all of my products, I knew I needed to bring the right products to keep my hair and skin healthy. 

• Suave Kids Detangle Spray
• Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum
• Not Your Mother’s Way To Go Leave in Conditioner

• Beekman 1802 milk drops
• Peter Thomas Roth Moisturizer
• Dermalogica Clear Start 
• Lancome Eye Cream 

I picked ups some more faux florals to use in vases around my house. Buy them once and they look good forever!

I saw this wood tray all over Instagram and I just needed to have it! I’m still working on styling it in the kitchen but it is great for decorating on my kitchen counter and then for serving at a dinner party.

Hobby Lobby’s spring shop is 50% off so I went to just browse and walked out with such pretty artwork under $10 for the house. We also picked up some cute new plastic plates for outside and some hand towels because I can never have enough!

Ordered this new bikini for our cruise in August and wore it around the pool last week. It’s a bit itsy bitsy but will be fun to wear on our trip!

I’ve had these books in my shopping cart since forever and finally hit the check out button when I saw them on sale.

Now that our social calendars are getting a little busy, now is the time to pick up a few dresses for easy outfits. Rounded up a few cute options here.

Picked up Chipotle for dinner on Tuesday night while running errands and got the veggie bowl. I’m trying to eat healthy after being on vacation for two weeks and eating non stop.

Highly recommend this shampoo and conditioner line if you plan on doing a lot of swimming and washing your hair this summer. I used it while on vacation and I swear it saved my hair from getting dry and brittle with all of the chlorine and washing.

Miss having my morning coffee by the pool every morning but now i get to have it with Ed in the backyard. It’s fun to watch him chase the birds.

Hello, June! It is so nice to see you. As much as we avoid it, there is change all around us. It’s something we often dread and drag our feet when we are confronted with it. There are at times like these rare instances of change are welcomed. For instance this change in weather and promise of sunny days for the next few days. This summer will be very different than the previous one. My social calendar is filling up faster than ever and I’ll admit I am getting a little anxious about how to socialize again. I forget how to properly pack, get out of the house on time and even put together outfits. Change can be scary, however this time around I’m looking forward to getting back into the busy life. For those who are also nervous about a new season, a time of change and expectations society and even we put on ourselves, take a deep breath. We got this!

Jake is back in the office so that has been an adjustment for all of us, including Ed the cat. Last weekend, we packed up the car to head to Bayhead, New Jersey to stay with my family friends. It ended up being a very rainy weekend but we ended up having more fun than just a day at the beach. I took Jake to a local favorite of mine for lunch before walking around town to see the shops before warming up in a coffee shop. Of course when the rain started to pour and we had some time before dinner, we went to the aquarium on the boardwalk to stay dry. Even though it was raining, it was nice to go to the beach on Memorial Day Weekend. The next morning we were up early to go to the bakery to grab some treats to enjoy while sitting by the water for a bit before heading home.

This week I’ve been packing my large suitcase to spend a few weeks in North Carolina with my family. Of course I’m excited to spend time with everyone but I’m most excited to spend time at the pool lounging around and drinking sweet tea while I read a few books.

Since we had a few rainy days here I’ve been watching a lot of shows while I’ve been getting work done. It was nice to have something to look forward to every Sunday while we watched Mare of Easttown. SNL has been creating some amazing skits based off of the Philadelphia culture and the show. I’ve always been a fan of period pieces so I quickly binged through Victoria on Amazon Prime. An amazing show about Queen Victoria and her reign that shaped England. Of course season 3 ended with a cliffhanger and production for season 4 is delayed with filming restrictions. In one night I binged Zelda the Beginning of Everything, also on Amazon Prime. I knew of Zelda Fitzgerald but didn’t really know her story until I watched the series. Wish it kept going to watch the final downfall of Scott and Zelda because the series was so well cast. Somehow the show The Romanoffs slipped my radar when it first came out and I’ve been watching it while I pack. I won’t give too much away but each episode is a mini movie with a different cast telling the story of where the Royal Russian family are today.

Using this shampoo and conditioner to keep my hair healthy after a recent haircut. I forgot how nice it is to have soft silky smooth hair!

I use this skincare product every night for an extra cleanse and I cannot believe how much dirt comes off of my face even after I wash it.

For extra moisture, I have been using these milk drops and this serum at night.

Best faux plant for $5 that looks real and won’t die.

Comfy sandals that are great for summer.

• Went to the movies for the first time since 2019 to see Cruella.
• Shared some patriotic outfit ideas on the Blonde Rosie Facebook page.
• Looking for a new nude lip combo? Found the best duo here.
• In honor of the Friends Reunion, here is an article that breaks down what Rachel Green’s life would have really cost.
• Packing this top for North Carolina for when we go out to lunch.
• Put together a little round up of what I’ve been up to and some shots from Instagram on the blog. It’s nice to look back and see what I’ve been up to the last month.
• Kind of weird but there is no more mask mandate in New Jersey so that was a bit of a shock.
• Walking around Point Pleasant with a warm cup of coffee in my hand last weekend.

Happpy Friday! We have been having such great weather lately and I have been taking advantage of it everyday! I’ve been reading in the backyard and going on long walks around the neighborhood in the evening. It’s been HOT but you won’t hear any complaints from me. The world is slowly starting to get back to normal so we are excited to leave our house and do errands again. Jake and I were excited to run errands last weekend because we had a car and didn’t have to carry what we purchased home. This weekend, we are going to Lowes to get some supplies to finish our backyard. I did all of the weeding and prep work this week and I’m excited to make this space pretty.

It was just announced that there is going to be a revival of the tv show, Dexter in late 2021. I binged it in college twice because it was so good! Turns out that Jake has never seen it so I’m doing a rewatch while he watches it for the first time. In my free time, I’ve been watching the Real Housewives and at night I’ve been watching an episode or two of the HBO show, Big Love. I started it years ago and then got busy so I never finished it.

This week I sat down to write and schedule a bunch of product reviews that I typically share on the blog on Sundays. I’ve been trying a lot of products recently and I’m excited to share them with you. On Monday I have a hair appointment so I am so excited to get my hair cut and styled. The last few weeks my social calendar has been getting busier and busier so I’ve been having to do my hair and wear makeup. My hair needed some TLC after all of that heat so I’ve been using my Redken shampoo and conditioner. There will be a full review of what I’ve been using this week so come back to the blog to read more. I have also been using this eye cream every night to help with my dark circles and puffy eyes. I’ve seen a difference after only a week so I will definitely be repurchasing!

We went to Target last weekend and it felt like Christmas morning walking through the store doors! Of course we went in without a list and Jake was nice enough to let me walk up and down every single aisle. I picked up this dress that I featured on the blog this week, this white eyelet top, and some new sandals. Can you tell I’m excited for summer?

Last week I finished reading The Jane Austen Book Club and just started The Virgin Queen since I’ve been on a historical fiction roll. I also ordered the Bridgerton books and found the books with the original covers for $5. Sharing my link here to get them.

On Sundays, we like to have pasta and try different recipes. I wanted to keep it simple so I made my own red sauce with a can of tomato paste, can of diced tomatoes with 3 chopped roma tomatoes and a bunch of seasoning. In 2020, we stopped eating processed food and I’ve had a fun time making our meals from scratch. I used to think it was really intimidating or would take too long but this year has taught me that I love to spend time in the kitchen. This love has been put on hold however because our dishwasher broke. We had someone come look at it and it’s still broken. Now dinner is whatever won’t dirty a dish!

• Trip to Target last weekend. Seems silly but after not having a car for more than a year, we get excited about errands now.
• Full fridge this week after a grocery run.
• A lunch date at Panera with Jake.
• Took advantage of the nice weather and walked to Rittenhouse in this outfit.
• Reading everyday in the backyard has become a favorite part of my day.
• Staying committed in working out every single day. After months of working out I am finally starting to see a difference.
• Shared a round-up of some fitness clothes I have my eyes on right now.

Hopping on real quick to share what I’ve been up to and realized I forgot to share last weeks favorites because life has been so busy! Last weekend my parents came up from North Carolina to spend a few days with us so they got the full tourist treatment. I shared what we did in this blog post. On the night they got to Philly, I hosted a little happy hour at our house for my parents and cousins who also live in Philly before we headed down the street for dinner. We tried a new place called Sally and not only was it so great to go out to dinner again but I could cry tears of joy for the happiness I felt with my big family all at one table again. It had been too long! Jake and I are celebrating because we also finally purchased a car together after being car less for a year plus. We cannot wait to use it for trips to the beach this summer and most importantly to be able to go to the grocery store with a car. Jumping for joy over here!

Jake has been working until 3am every day this week which means I get full control of the tv. I’ve been catching up on the Real Housewives and the new HBO show, The Nevers. Hopefully we can find time this weekend to catch up on Mare of Easttown which has quickly become one of our favorites. If you didn’t watch the SNL skit they did about the show recently, it’s worth watching!

Used this sample size Lancome Idole mascara this week and I am very impressed! I’ve always been a big fan of Lancome mascara and this one adds volume while looking very natural.

I shared a review of the Loreal Everstrong shampoo and conditioner on the blog this week. I was shocked by how much volume I was able to get with my hair when I blowed it out with a hair dryer and even when I let it air dry. This morning in the shower I ran out of shampoo and kept squirting the bottle to make sure i got every drop out!

Made a stop at J Crew Factory while in New Jersey last week and fell in love with these sneakers right away. Super comfy and I love the subtle pop of pink. This headband is also a great dupe for the ones I saw at Anthropologie but a much better price. Last weekend I wore my new headband and sneakers to the zoo and I’ve worn both pretty much every day since. It’s so nice to buy new things to wear and actually get to wear them outside of the house 🙂

This week I finally finished reading The Jane Austen Book Club and started reading The Virgins Lover by Phillipa Gregory.

Does anyone else get anxiety before they leave the house these days? I do and found this article about social anxiety and the pandemic very interesting.

• Most importantly, we got our second dose of vaccine. WOOHOO!
• After being carless for a year +, we finally got a car.
• Had fun exploring the city with my parents and I’m excited to do more things in the city this summer.
• Our roses are starting to bloom in the backyard
• Fun trip to Jersey to see old friends
• Went to the Philadelphia Zoo to see the new dinosaur exhibit. It was so cute!

It’s been a busy week getting ready for my parents to visit us for a few days before we head to New Jersey together for a short visit to see friends and family we haven’t seen in a few years. Jake and I also did a ton of adulting this week like making arrangements to buy a car, making dentist appointments and had to do all of the steps to get a passport. The one perk of Covid is that you have to make an appointment at the post office to file the paperwork and because they can’t have more than one group at one time in the office, we were in and out under 10 minutes. Jake was shocked because he had to wait on line for 3 hours to get his even with an appointment when he got his passport a few years ago. Sometimes procrastinating works out!! We are exhausted but happy to see our lives getting back to “normal”. I’ve been spending as much time as I can outside because the weather is finally getting warmer so I’ll start my day taking Ed on a walk around the backyard while I drink my coffee and then bring a big towel to lay out on to read a book in the afternoon. A few weekends ago, we did a big heavy duty clean up of the backyard and it is looking really charming right now as the tree starts to grow green leaves and the flowers blossom. I’m excited to get a car this week so we can go to Lowes and get some mulch and more flowers for the backyard. We are so lucky to live in a city and have a backyard to enjoy. Next project is getting a kiddie pool 😉

I’m watching very little tv these days but I am making time to watch the new HBO Max show, Mare of Easttown because it was filmed in the Philadelphia suburbs. Great mystery and the story draws you in on the first episode. A show I didn’t expect to love so much is The Nevers also on HBO Max. It’s unlike anything on tv right now and is a great show to watch when you have seen it all after a year of watching too much tv. In honor of Helen McCrory, I’ve been rewatching the Peaky Blinders while I cook or clean and want background noise.

I was gifted a bottle of Lancome Clarifique and I have been using it everyday for more than two weeks and I noticed results in my skin right away. It’s a bit pricey but it is a cleanser, hydrates and keeps your skin hydrated for hours. Click here for a more detailed review on the new Lancome Clarifique Dual Essence.

Not that exciting but I did spend $50 at Trader Joe’s this week to make a cheese board for when my parents come to town. A bit extreme but after not being able to entertain in our house because we were both so busy at work and then a pandemic, I am so excited to host! Trader Joe’s is where we get our cheese even if it is a long hike because it’s so inexpensive we are more likely to try a new kind each time we visit.

Reading the last few pages of The Jane Austen Book Club right now. It’s been my go-to book this read while I lay out in the backyard and read. Ed and I are both enjoying any excuse we can to spend more time outdoors!

Trying to eat healthy so most days I have been making a smoothie for breakfast/lunch to keep me full and prevent me from snacking! Frozen mixed fruit, a banana, handful of spinach, one scoop of Vital Protein Collagen Powder and a few spoonfuls of vanilla yogurt.

This week I made breaded chicken breasts for a healthy-ish dinner. The next day I used the leftovers to make wraps using Garden Spinach & Herb Wrap Tortillas, Trader Joe’s Greek Style Feta Dressing, tomatoes and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Quick, easy and delicious!

A friend send me Courtney Cox’s Reel on how to make 4 ingredient lemon pasta and it looked easy and tasty so I decided to try it! We were big fans and it might be our new go-to summer pasta recipe!

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• Warm days and hot days. I have been loving this 90 degree weather!
• Getting my 10,000 a day step goal in
• Staying committed to my goal of working out every day using these work outs
• Early bedtime and waking up early. Trying to become a morning person!
• Discovered a podcast called Dreamy that has bedtime stories on Spotify so I’ve been listening to one a night while I fall asleep.
• Swapping over my closets to make room for my summer clothes
• Treated Jake to frozen yogurt the other night after dinner and it made me excited for summer

Happy Friday! It’s been a while since I have shared what I am loving on the blog so let’s get started!

I’m working on a longer list of all of the shows and movies I have watched so far in 2021 but I wanted to share what we watched this week first! We got the new streaming service HBOMax when it first came out and at first I didn’t really scroll to see what it offered but lately, it’s all that we have been using! We caught up on all of the King Kong and Godzilla movies on our date nights to get ready for the new King Kong vs Godzilla movie that was released in theaters and HBOMax on the same day. The service also has a ton of old shows that are hard to find, like our recent binge What I Like About You, that early 2000s show with Amanda Bynes that is laugh out loud funny!

I recently spent an entire afternoon organizing my cabinets of products to donate to my mom, put some in my shower so I’ll use them, and then used a giant travel pouch to keep all of the skincare products I’m currently using so they are all in one place. I then cleaned out my vanity and put extra beauty products that I haven’t opened up yet that are just taking up room in this loaf bag that looks cute and hides the extra clutter.

On the blog this week, I talked about the Olay Retinol cream I have been using every other night and shared the new to me Hollywood Flawless Filter that is great for barely there makeup days. One of my goals this year was to really commit to a skincare system that worked for my skin and more importantly, would take like 5 minutes at night to apply. I’ve noticed that my skin tone looks more even and I have more glowy skin now that I’ve been consistent with this skincare routine. By having all of my skincare products in one bag, I do a better job of applying toner, serum, and a moisturizer at night. Find a system that works for you and I promise your skin will love you back!

I don’t need more clothes but I couldn’t not take advantage of the Nordstrom Rack Clearance Event going on right now. When I saw the Madewell cardigan with a cult following only for $14, I had to get one along with a Rachel Parcell dress and a few tops.

Keep an eye on my Amazon Finds page because I’m working on a big round up of our recent orders.

The Target Dollar Spot is overflowing with cute summer accessories and activities! This week I walked the long mile + way there to get a few things and my parents got some cute pool floats that we are all excited to use this summer!

I was in a reading slump for a few months because I was reading a very boring book but I’ve never quit reading a book and had to finish it! Since then, I’ve moved on from So 5 Minutes Ago and quickly read The Last Wife of Henry VIII. On my nightstand, I have Little Women and The Jane Austen Book Club. Follow along with my reading list here on Goodreads.

Meals we have been loving recently are:

• Teriyaki chicken with roasted sweet potatoes
• Gigi Hadid’s penne vodka
• Salad with chicken ( I heat up chicken fingers and then cut them in little pieces. Easy and delicious!)
• Pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes and basil and sweet sausage mixed with olive oil and parmesan cheese
• Quesadillas with cheese, leftover chicken, tomatoes and peppers

• We did a big grocery run recently and it’s nice to have a full fridge!
• A neighbor posted about giving away two outdoor chairs in our neighborhood Facebook page for free and now they look so nice in our backyard. SCORE!
• I ordered a new hose nozzle and the jet stream was strong enough to power wash our front sidewalk and our backyard. Took a few days but every leaf and clump of dirt is gone!
• Ed has been loving the warmer weather because we let him spend an hour in the backyard (while supervised) every morning. I’ll water the flowers and enjoy my morning coffee in our new chairs while he roams!
• At least every other week we have been ordering Panera for lunch and the seasonal salads are SO GOOD!
• This Funboy x Barbie collaboration is amazing.
• Thank goodness for Jake’s craving of a burrito the other night because we tried Jackass Burrito and it’s now our new go-to burrito place!
• We had a few days of really warm weather and sunshine so I took a long walk to Rittenhouse Square.
• We got our first vaccination last week and get our second dose in May. We are dancing with joy and can’t wait to have a fun summer now that we can safely leave the house and see people.