OOTDS (outfits of the dayS)

Ok April showers bring May flowers, not sure how much rain we will get this April that would bring May flowers but I will bring flowers out now especially since next weekend is Easter. For me, Easter feels more like Easter when I have a vaseful of daffodils. I will literally buy 60 daffodils. They open up so beautifully and will last. I want them to be open for Easter Sunday so I definitely will purchase my daffodils soon. Can you tell I love daffodils? That is the reason why I added a bouquet of daffodils with my Friday's Fancies outfit. I just love them and literally can't wait for Easter each year so I can buy daffodils!

The past two weekends we definitely have had rain here in Southern California, will this weekend break the trend? I hope so because I have running plans and wine tasting with some friends on Sunday. So no rain for me please! 

Ok onto the outfit! I don't have a pair of rain boots, nor a rain coat but I do have a trench which I thinks satisfies my need to buy a rain coat. If I did have the option to buy a pair of rain boots, I would head straight to the Hunter Wellies, no doubt! And apparently I would be naked under my raincoat because I didn't include any actual clothes underneath oops!

For my rain inspired outfit this is what I created.

Now for a few recent outfits of my own.

 I bought this polka dot top at Old Navy.

I feel like I am breaking some fashion rules here, black with brown with navy blue.
And a final outfit.

I love my red flats.
What are your weekend plans all?? Sean and I are going wine tasting with Katie of katie lately on Sunday down in Temecula, so excited to see her again and meet her husband!
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Hometown Series - Sarah of Total Basset Case

Dear henning love readers, I have an awesome guest post for you today. Sarah is sharing her hometown with us of Cincinnati, OH. Sarah is awesome, she has a totally cute basset hound and I think Sarah and I are style twins. Seriously everything she wears I would wear and we are both forever pinning outfits from each other on Pinterest. If we lived near each other, she would be my shopping buddy for sure. So read about Sarah, visit her adorable blog and read all the awesome things she posts about!If you have been following the series, you know the premise of the post, but if you are new then welcome. For this hometown series, I asked bloggers to write the post from the perspective that if I was coming to visit them, what would the blogger plan for us, where would we do, what would we do, see and eat.Thanks for writing Sarah and contributing to this wonderful series!   

Hello henning love readers!

I am beyond excited to be participating in Meg's 'Hometown Series'!

My name is Sarah and I write over at Total Basset Case

 and I am located in the midwest city of

CINCINNATI!

 I am a (fairly) new transplant to Cincinnati but I love it here!

Cincinnati is chock full of culture, beautiful sites and to see, and of course, yummy food.

I can't stay somewhere long if there isn't good food.

So if you were visiting for the day here is what we would do!

(Just fyi it's going to include a lot of eating... )

First we would start off by having brunch at 

NADA.

I. love. Nada.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's my favorite restaurant in Cincinnati.

It's that good.

Think fancy Mexican food.

After brunch we would head to IKEA for a little shopping.

I mean, if you are near one, you just have to go!

We would also stop by Jungle Jims

Jungle Jims is HUGE international market/grocery store full of food from around the world.

From their vast butter selection to their entire fire truck full of hot sauces, it is quite the experience.

After that we could head back downtown for lunch and a catch a bit of a Red's game.

For lunch I would take us to the new Moerelin Lager House.

 Moerlein is a Cincinnati tradition and they have recently opened a new brewery downtown.

The space is incredibly cool and the food is delicious.

Next we would stop by the Red's game.

 Red's game are very fun and a great way to spend an afternoon.

Our best bet is to grab some of the $5 tickets and take in the game for a bit!

After the game we can take a stroll through Fountain Square.

In the winter they turn the whole area into an ice skating rink!

For dinner I would take us out to Milford to Padrinos.

You can not beat this place for the food and the price!


After dinner we would have to get ice cream at Graters-

it is a Cincinnati staple and not one to be missed.

I would suggest the buckeye blitz if you really want to feel like an Ohioan.

Hope you enjoyed your tour of Cincinnati and please let me know if you are ever in town!

Feel free to come visit me over at my blog!

Big thanks to Meg for letting me take over today!

Definitely would love to take an afternoon baseball game, shop at IKEA and eat yummy Mexican food. Thanks again Sarah for sharing Cincinnati with everyone, that is one city I need to visit for sure!

Oatmeal Jam Bars

There is nothing like a layer of oatmeal cookie sandwiching a layer of jam, whatever your favorite type of jam. This recipe is super simple and when I served these at bible study last week, the guys couldn't stop eating them. I think that is a compliment for sure and a sign you must make these bars. Also these bars remember me of the thumbprint cookies my mom would make for Christmas each year, and it was featured during my Christmas cookie week.

 The recipe is a The Pioneer Woman Cooks and she uses apricot jam but I had a jar of blackberry jam so that is what I used.

Also since this recipe has oatmeal in it, can it be a breakfast food? I absolutely think it is!

First, gather together your ingredients: 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 1/2 cup oats, 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 3/4 stick butter, 1 jar (10-12 ounces) of your favorite jam. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In your mixing bowl, combine the flour, the oats, the brown sugar and the baking soda. Mix the ingredients together well before you add the butter.

Cube up your butter and then add the cubes into the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl. 

Mix the ingredients together until the mixture looks crumbly and resembles sand. In a greased square pan, press 2/3 of the oat mixture into the bottom. 

Spread the entire jar of jam onto the oatmeal layer. 

With the remaining 1/3 of the oatmeal, sprinkle it over the jam layer. 

Bake the bars for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. 

Let the bars cool, then cut, serve, eat and enjoy!

Hometown Series - Carrie of Living it up in U.P.

Happy Tuesday! I might have mentioned it before but back in January I started running with a friend and it has been great. My running in general has been so much more enjoyable and when you are working with someone towards a goal since we signed up for a half marathon in May, there is a purpose to the running. Honestly if any of you have work-out partners, you know what I am talking about. If you need to find a work-out partner, do it, it will help your work-outs like you wouldn't believe.
Today is another installation of the hometown series. Today we are in the northwest with Carrie of Living it up in U.P. If you have been following the series, you know the premise of the post, but if you are new then welcome. For this hometown series, I asked bloggers to write the post from the perspective that if I was coming to visit them, what would the blogger plan for us, where would we do, what would we do, see and eat.
Take it away Carrie!



Hi everyone!  My name is Carrie and I blog over at Living It Up in U.P.  I live in University Place, Washington, which is a suburb of Tacoma, Washington.  Tacoma is about 35 miles south of Seattle.  Some snobby Seattleites like to make fun of Tacoma, but Tacoma is actually a very cool city.  I’ve lived in both cities, and each has its positives and negatives.

 

If you were coming to visit Tacoma, I would suggest you stay at the upscale Hotel Murano.  Hotel Murano is a newer hotel in downtown Tacoma that has been named in in Conde Nast's top hotels list the previous few years. 

 Hotel Murano Lobby

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Savi Day spa is attached to the hotel lobby, so if you need a relaxing massage or a pick-me-up facial on your visit, you won’t have to look far!  

    The cozy dining area of Babblin Babs Bistro

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We’ll start our day in the Proctor neighborhood with breakfast at Babblin’ Babs Bistro.  They have the most amazing, unique menu.  I highly suggest the "No More Frenchy." It is toast layered with pesto, tomato, red onion, Jambon ham, a custard egg and Brie cheese. It is so delicious!

The “No More Frenchy” breakfast}

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After our bellies are nice and full, we can walk around the neighborhood a little and look at local shops such as Megs & Mo Upscale Retail, Flourish, and Envy.  We can also pop into Sugar, which has a variety of vintage candies. 

The breathtaking view of Chambers Bay

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After letting our stomachs settle I suggest we take a walk in my city, University Place, at the public Chambers Bay Golf Club.  Chambers Bay will be the site of the 2015 U.S. Open.  The golf course was recently named the best municipal golf course in the country by LINKS Magazine.

Let’s go fly a kite at Chambers Bay!

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I’m not much of a golfer, so I prefer to walk the 2.9 mile loop around the golf course, taking in the views of the south Puget Sound and islands. 

 

 our cheese plate at Stink
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After our walk we’ll want to relax with a wine happy hour at STINK.  We’ll order one of their $4 specials of whatever wine they’re serving that day and enjoy a cheese plate. 

When we feel adequately relaxed, we’ll hit the town for a last bit of sightseeing at a popular Tacoma Attraction, The Museum of Glass. 

          

The Museum of Glass
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There are a few different galleries of glass artwork to look around in.  The last time I was there my favorite was the kid’s gallery.  In it there were glass works that were made from drawings that little kids drew.   We can make our way to the “Hot Shop” where they show hot glass demonstrations of artwork being made.  After we’ve seen everything inside, we can venture outside to walk over the Chihuly Bridge of Glass. This is really cool because there is so much glass artwork on the bridge. It is really impressive!

The Museum of Glass
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After our full day, we’ll want a delicious dinner before we end the night.  We’ll drive to Ruston Way and have dinner at the always fantastic Lobster Shop.  While we eat our fresh seafood or steak we can take in the beautiful views of Commencement Bay. 

          

The Lobster Shop

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After dinner I’ll drop you off at Hotel Murano where you’re sure to get an excellent night of sleep.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of Tacoma and University Place! 


Thanks Carrie for this post! I have been up to Seattle but definitely need to take a visit to Tacoma for sure.

Shine and the weekend

*Thank you for your sweet words on my Friday post about being tired. Feeling a bit more refreshed, although I might make some changes here on the blog or even change up the content some to give me a burst of energy and creativity!! You guys are the best, seriously do you know that??
The past two Saturdays I have set my alarm at 6am to get up for plans early that morning and every time I heard that alarm go off, I thought to myself, why am I up this early? It is only for great reasons, of course, the Nordstrom cosmetic trend show and then this past Saturday, the Shine Project beach clean-up down in San Diego. That and meeting the fabulous Stesha of Classic and Bubbly along with some other blogger friends. I love the blogging community and how it brings people together for a cause or just make a connection between two people who might otherwise not meet. 

So the beach clean-up down in Mission Beach, a two hour drive for me, I got my cup of coffee on my drive down there, enjoyed the songs that were blasting out of my radio and before I knew it, I was there. As I mentioned I finally met Stesha and of course I met Ashley of the Shine Project. Several other bloggers were there that I had met before (Amira, Magan, Tammy) and then some new blogger friends (Bonnie and Reannah). I think Bonnie's blog has become my newest favorite blog to find DIY projects and recipes. Check her blog out, you won't be disappointed.

We walked around Mission Beach for about 2 hours picking up the trash and trying to make the world a cleaner place. It was a slightly chilly morning, at times the sun was shining and it was just very enjoyable walking on the beach, watching people run, bike or skateboard on the sidewalk. Other groups were setting up for what look like a great day of playing beach volleyball. There were families there to enjoy playing in the ocean. There were plenty of smiles and laughter. 

Enjoy the photos from the day!

When you get bloggers together, this is what you get, three THEIT bags.

Do you think this photo could be an advertisement?

I call this photo, hanging by a thread. It was a shirt literally hanging by a thread on the beach wall.

Just a few more...

 Bags filled with trash

The rest of my weekend was hanging out with girlfriends, which I won't complain at all. Husband was busy all weekend with a team fundraiser. After the beach clean-up, I saw my bff, Laura who I have known since 4th grade, and both of us are military brats who moved quite a bit, so the fact we are still friends all these years in a real testament to our friendship. I love these lifetime friendships where you pick back up right where you left off from the last time you hung out, no matter how long it has been since you last saw each other. 

Yesterday morning, I went for a long run with my running partner, Sarah. On the trail we were on, we crossed paths with a deer, a bobcat and a bunny.

That was my weekend! Now tell me about yours.