Summer Nail Shades

                         

Summer is a nice change away from the dark, gothic nail colors we all gravitate towards in the fall and winter. I'm an avid nail painter, often painting my nails at least once a week, so I've accumulated quite the collection of nail polishes over the years. During the summer I love the muted pastel nail polishes and the vibrant fun colors that I use on my toes. The pastels are classy enough to be worn to work yet chic enough for a night out. There's just something so wonderfully feminine about having your nails painted a nice light pink! This summer I've been loving "spaghetti strap" by Essie, "lilacism" by essie, and for a fun pop of color for my toes I just discovered "turquoise and caicos".

   

Turquoise and Caicos



Bikini So Tiny

  

Lilacism



Spaghetti Strap



 

 













Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I am a huge foodie and I absolutely love Italian food! But since discovering I was gluten intolerant this past year, the way I've done Italian has slightly changed. Pizza is one of my all time favorite foods and I think it's just the quintessential comfort food. I've noticed a lot of hype about these new healthier versions of pizza that are gluten free. The secret? Cauliflower! I was skeptical at first because how can a pizza made out of vegetables be as satisfying as the real thing? But I was pleasantly surprised after making it for a dinner party with friends. The crust is nice and cripsy and the center is just deliciously gooey. Since making it with my friends this pizza has become a staple for me and since its made mostly from cauliflower there is a lot less fat and calories, making this dinner a non-guilty treat!

You'll need:
1 cup of shredded mozzarella
1 egg
1 cup of finely blended cauliflower
toppings of your choice
(serves 2)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Blend the cauliflower until you get it nice and fine. Then microwave the cauliflower for 8 minutes to dry it out. After it lightly cools, add the egg, cheese, and mix. Press the mixture onto an oiled pan or baking sheet making the shape of the pizza. The "dough" will not rise so make sure the pizza is not too thin. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Take out the dough and add your desired toppings and bake for another 3 minutes or until your cheese on top is nicely melted and browned.

Calories for margarita pizza: 298 calories for half

DIY beaded necklace

Tonight while watching the olympics my friend Sarah and I decided to multitask while getting crafty by making some necklaces. This summer has been all about ombre whether its a design on clothes or even in hairstyles (circa Khloe Kardashian)! So we decided to duplicate the trend by making ombre necklaces.




You'll need:

Gold chain with clasp (we used a 16 inch)
Gold wire
Pliers
Beads

First we cut the gold chain in half with the pliers and looped the wire through one end of the broken chain. We then put our beads on the open wire. After loading on all of our beads we loped the other end of the wire to the other end of the chain and secured the wire through the chains loops. The finished product was a beautiful purple ombre beaded gold necklace!

Clubmasters

Sunglasses are such a major accessory in the summer time that I think helps put the finishing touches on any outfit. My sister just came back from Italy the other day with a new pair of clubmaster sunglasses from Un Official that I've seen growing in popularity in the US. These sunglasses add a cool, laidback style to any outfit.

Ray Ban Clubmaster