Pineapple Pool Party!

Have you guys joined in on the pool float craze yet? I finally caved and had to buy this fun pineapple! No regrets here! In fact, I think it might have started a bit of an obsession to start a whole collection! By the time I'm done, you might not even be able to see the pool anymore xD I mean come on though, there's everything from popsicles, to donuts, to unicorns, which are some of my favorite things. I think that justifies needing them all. I had a pool party the night I got this pineapple, and had to remind my best friend to be gentle with it! He then reminded me I need to have more pool parties. Guess I'll need more floats ;)

Photos: Emily Joanne Photography 

Pineapple float: Francesca's Collections, Bathing suit: Victoria's Secret, Hat: Flea Market 

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

When I think of a summer, I think of boating, bonfires, and ballgames! And although I'm no baseball buff, I do love the atmosphere of a game! Especially participating in the wave, that's my favorite part ;) The cheers, chants, and claps make it all that much more fun to "root, root, root for the home team!" I've been to my fair share of Detroit Tiger's games, along with a Washington Nationals game in Maryland, and a Pittsburgh Pirates game in Pennsylvania. Let's just say I've got a fair amount of friends who want to make it to every stadium in the United States! This past Wednesday though, we did something a little different! My family and I went to see my sister's best friend play in the All Stars game at Comerica. Since it wasn't a normal game, we had the luxury of open seating, and got to explore parts of the park that are normally too swarmed with people to see. I also got to live out my "5 seconds of fame" on the big screen. You can clearly see on my face that I got a little too excited for that moment xD It was great to spend the evening with family and friends watching someone we know play on the famous field. It was a fun change of pace, but for every other home game of the year, let's "EAT 'EM UP TIGERS!"

4th of July Recap!

Let's just say this 4th of July was dazzling ;D Well, I mean we did have a few mishaps...like an exploding smoke bomb and some tipped over fireworks, but we all made it out alive! Besides that, it was a day filled with more food than we could eat, impromptu amateur baseball, plenty of pyrotechnics, and ukelele campfire sing alongs. So overall, a very successful holiday with family and friends! Emily and I decided to go all out, wearing AND eating the red, white, and blue! We made a tray of patriotic chocolate bark, and cookies and cream cookies that were a hit! I've left the recipes below for my bakers out there! The colors can be variated for any occasion or holiday. I hope everyone else enjoyed their 4th as much as I did, and made it out with no mishaps ;)

Photos: Emily Joanne Photography
Earrings: Target, Necklace: Guess, Watch: Michael Kors, Belt: Target, Cami: Express, Cover up: Francesca's Collections, Jeans: White House Black Market, Sandals: Fergie Brand

Patriotic Bark

Ingredients 

16 oz Brown (or white) candy melts
6 oz Blue candy melts
6 oz Red candy melts
Red, white, and blue M&M's
Handful of Oreo cookie chunks
Red, white, and blue sprinkles 
  Instructions 
Line a 9x13" pan with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Set aside. Place 3 small saucepans on the stove and simultaneously heat brown, red, and blue melts on low. Use a rubber spatula to stir until melted and smooth. Pour melted brown melts into pan and use rubber spatula to smooth into an even layer. Alternate drizzling melted red and blue melts over the surface of the brown melts, and use a butter knife to swirl the red and blue on top. Sprinkle surface with Oreo pieces, M&M's, and sprinkles. Refrigerate until hardened. Lift edges of aluminum foil to remove bark from pan, and break into pieces.

  Cookies & Cream Cookies 

Ingredients 
1 Vanilla cake mix
8 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
4 Ounces cream cheese, softened
2 Cups Oreo cookie chunks
3/4 Cup red, white, & blue M&M's
1/2 Cup red, white, & blue sprinkles
Instructions 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the cake mix, butter, egg, and vanilla until soft dough forms. Add the cream cheese and mix again. Stir in the cookie chunks, M&M's, and sprinkles gently. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to an hour. Roll into 24 even dough balls. Place the dough balls on the cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on the cookie sheets.