san diego blogger
DIY Kitchen Backsplash
Wednesday, January 17 • california, design, farmhouse, fashion, how to, interior decor, san diego, san diego blogger, style
Backsory: I am a part of a Facebook group called White Walls (if you're a military spouse and aren't in the group you need to go join it now). It is a group for military spouses to show how they decorate their "white walls" in base housing or in rental housing. Since we all move around a lot, we can't really make each house our own. However, some of the people in the group have done amazing things to their rental houses that have completely changed the look! One of them being the removable wallpaper that I'm going to explain in the post!
Last weekend, I went to Target and saw this wallpaper for about $30. I had seen it on the Facebook page awhile back and it sparked my interest. I wasn't going to buy it but my friend told me that she would help me put it up if I got it... so I left Target that day with something I didn't go in there to buy (story of my life LOL).
On a Saturday night, two of my good friends came over and we ate pizza, drank wine and put up wallpaper! (You know you're getting older when ladies night turns into decorating your kitchen.) The wallpaper was a bit challenging to put up because you had to line the tiles up just right and make sure the fake grout colors matched. Lucky for me, my friends were pro at it and they had a system down so that they could line it up perfectly! Overall it took us the whole roll of wallpaper and about 2 hours start to finish.
I highly recommend this to pretty much anyone who wants to make their kitchen more "Joanna Gaines" without it being permanent. We did have to take a couple pieces off after we put them on and the pieces peeled right off the wall with absolutely no damage at all! I was throughly surprised with how real the subway tiles looked and I am absolutely obsessed with the way it turned out. It makes my kitchen look like a whole new kitchen!
Target also has a lot of other patterns so if subway tile isn't your thing or you are looking to do a whole wall, they have you covered! Let me know if you try this wallpaper and what you think of it :)
Pumpkin Pie Recipe
Wednesday, November 22 • california, cooking, diy, how to, quick guide, recipe, san diego, san diego blogger
Pumpkin Pie
1 can of pumpkin (15 oz)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14oz)
2 large eggs
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (plus a little extra because I spilt it in the mix lol)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pillsbury pie crust (no, I didn't make my own crust)
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1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Whisk together the pumpkin, condensed milk and eggs (it is very easy if you throw it all into your Kitchen Aid on level 3, like I did).
3. Stir in the spices - you can add more if you want your pie to taste a certain way.
4. Lay pie crust in the dish and pinch sides to create the crust design.
5. Pour pumpkin mixture into crust.
6. Bake at 425 for 15 min. Then, lower temperature to 350 and bake for another 30 min or until the pie is baked all the way through.
7. Serve with a dollop of cool whip on the top and a glass of milk on the side!
I hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving full of happiness!
October Faves
Friday, November 3 • about me, beauty, california, fashion, girly, quick guide, round up, san diego blogger
Rimmel London 107 Lipstick - I love this perfect fall color! Even though the lipstick tends to come off quickly, it has been my favorite color lately. Added bonus: it was only $5 at Target! Head over to my Instagram to see what the color looks like on.
Jergens Natural Glow - With the change in weather, I usually lose my summer sun-kissed skin (aka my still pale completion since I wear tons of sunscreen). But, with this after shower moisturizer I can keep that summer glow year round! My only complaint is when I first started using it, it looked blotchy until I used it enough to build up full coverage.
Backpack Purses - I have never ever liked backpack purses. I always thought backpacks were meant for school, not shopping... but boy was I wrong! I picked up a backpack purse for our trip to LA last weekend and I seriously love it! It is perfect to hold all of my stuff and it takes the weight off of just one shoulder. I think I might actually purchase another backpack purse in the future.
London Fog Lattes - When the seasons start to change, I find that my morning drink starts to change as well. I usually transition from coffee to tea for the fall. My go-to Starbucks drink is now a London Fog Latte! A London Fog is earl grey tea, steamed milk and vanilla syrup. If you haven't tried one yet, I highly recommend it.
Apple Watch - I finally picked up an Apple Watch for my birthday and I love it! I was pretty iffy on getting one because I already had a Fitbit; but after talking to my friend and trying her's on, I decided I really wanted to get one. It is really nice to see your notifications and be able to text people back from your watch. I also love using the "breathe" function twice a day and the fitness apps work great. I am still trying to figure out all of the functions but so far it is an amazing little wearable device!
Honorable Mentions:
Shows - Stranger Things and Riverdale
Food - candy corn, apple pie and soup
Adventure is Out There: San Diego Edition
Friday, October 27 • adventure, advice, california, hiking, quick guide, round up, san diego, san diego blogger, travel
About six months ago, my husband and I moved to San Diego and have been exploring something new whenever we have the chance! So, in today’s post I want to share a few tourist things I have done recently that have been a lot of fun.
One of the best things about moving around is all the new experiences and adventures you get to go on. I can’t stress enough how you need to get out of your comfort zone and explore the world around you. It will definitely give you a new perspective and change your life. Moving to San Diego was quite a drastic change from our little town of Milton, FL and it was really hard to adapt to the change at first. We didn’t know what to do on the weekends or where to get our groceries, and we were definitely not used to the “Cali lifestyle.” So, we got out and we explored! We have already made so many new memories and are determined to leave here saying "wow, San Diego was great!"
So without further adu, here are 4 things to do while visiting San Diego:
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| Enjoying Disneyland with my amazing friends Katie and Jill while they visited from Washington. |
Disneyland – Okay, so I know this one isn’t in San Diego but its my favorite place on Earth! It is about an hour and a half drive up to Anaheim from San Diego so it isn’t too bad for a day trip. Usually I try to get there 30 min before the park opens and stay to watch World of Color or the fireworks and then head home. It does make for a long day but it is 100% worth it.
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| Biking riding and getting smoothies with Ryan, Hannah and Daniel while Ryan and Hannah were visiting over Spring Break. |
Bike Riding on Coronado Island – This is an activity that I have actually done three times now because I love it so much. My favorite place to rent bikes is Kruiser King in downtown Coronado. Their beach bike rental is $7 per hour or $20 per day. I really love renting bikes because you can ride them down to the Hotel Del Coronado and then along the beach, or you can ride through the neighborhoods and see the beautiful houses. As some of you know, I’m obsessed with HGTV so riding around and looking at houses is the highlight of my day!
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| Enjoyed a delicious meal at Cafe Gratitude with my Military Spouse friends. |
Eat – There are soooooo many good places to eat here! I could make a whole post on my favorite places to eat here but I’ll try to keep it to my top 3 (that I have tried so far). In no particular order, I have loved eating at: Buon Appetito in Little Italy, Café Gratitude in Little Italy and Havana Grill in Clairemont. Each restaurant is quite different so it really depends on the type of food you're looking for; but they are all delicious!
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| Hanging out on Potato Chip Rock with my friend Rachel when she was visiting from Pensacola. |
Hike - San Diego has some great trails to hike! There are trails for everything from a nice walk along the cliffs to a 7 mile trek up the mountains. For beginners, Torrey Pines is great! It offers beautiful views while not being too challenging of a hike. On the other hand, Potato Chip Rock is pretty tough. If you do the backside of the hike you gain about 2,000 ft in elevation in just 2-3 miles (it was killer on the legs)! My personal favorite hike is Cowles Mountain. It is a good workout while not being too strenuous; and offers beautiful views of the entire city at the top. I think no matter what trail you do, you won't be disappointed by hiking in San Diego!
I’m know there are more places that I haven’t explored yet, so I’ll keep you all updated as I explore more! Next on my list to do here is Balboa Park, the Zoo, skiing and camping!
What to Wear - Navy Ceremonies
Monday, September 25 • attire, fashion, girly, milso, quick guide, san diego blogger
Its that time of year again.... Ball Season!! I am a total sucker for a reason to get dressed up (sometimes I dress up just to go out to dinner with my hubby) so when ball season comes around I get really excited!
I remember Roxy (from Army Wives) being worried about the "dress code" she would have to abide by after Trevor went to OCS. I found this part of the show funny because there isn't really a dress code for spouses on a normal day. I have definitely shown up to spouse meetings in my Navy sweatshirt and leggings but have also show up in a preppy Lilly dress so I personally think anything goes. However, when it comes to events and balls, there is definitely an unspoken dress code. From what I've experienced, it is best to wear modest clothes but still show off you sense of style - you can do this by wearing a chunky necklace or some adorable peep-toe heels!
I wanted to share some of the outfits I have worn to Navy ceremonies since Daniel has been in. Also, I am the kind of person who doesn't want to spend a ton on formal clothes since I don't really get a chance to wear them that often. So, all of the dresses I listed below are $80 and under!
OCS Dinner - The OCS dinner was more on the formal side so I opted to wear this red dress that I picked up from H&M almost a year prior. I didn't have a good sweater to wear so I paired it with my professional blazer to give the dress a professional/formal look.
OCS Graduation - OCS graduation was a little on the less formal side. It was in an auditorium and was a short ceremony so I didn't dress up too much. I ordered this dress from Red Dress Boutique about a month before heading to Rhode Island. I knew it was going to be chilly there so I made sure to pick up a cute oversized scarf to wear with it. If I could change one thing about this outfit, I would ditch the heels. We did a lot of walking and heels weren't really the best choice for shoes.
Merlot Dress (linked similar) // Heels
Navy Ball - This was my first ball so I had no idea what to wear! I went shopping with my gal-pal who had been to a Marine Ball before and she helped me pick out this dress. I originally found a dress similar to it at the mall but didn't want to pay over $200 for a dress I would wear once. So I headed over to Lulu's online and found this perfect dress for the perfect price! A simple yet elegant dress is always a good option for the ball. However, I did see some cinderella style dresses that had sequins and I also saw 3-5 ladies wearing short dresses. So I guess it is whatever you feel most comfortable in!
Wining Ceremony - Again, I had no idea what to wear for the winging ceremony! A couple senior spouses had told me to wear nice Sunday church attire so I tried to match that. Keep in mind that you will be going on stage (above the crowd) to pin on wings; so, when finding an outfit, think about how it will look from the audiences' point of view (aka not too short). In the end, I think my simple black long sleeve dress was perfect. It wasn't too dressy but it didn't look casual either. I would recommend either a simple dress or a cute summer dress for an event like this!
I hope you all have a wonderful ball/ceremony with your military member!
Shop more ball dress styles here:
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