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5.30.2013

memorial day weekend in philadelphia.

Sorry I haven't posted sooner. The long weekend seemed to linger into the week and now it's Wednesday, or is it Thursday?! -- and I haven't found the chance to put up pictures from my weekend. I have to admit something right now....as much as I love and adore this little blog, and I love sharing bits and pieces of my life on here, it's nice not to feel pressured to post EVERY DAY, and worry about "getting something new up" on the blog. If I get to it, I get to. If I don't, I don't. And I'm not going to stress about it. I've found this amazing thing happening where I wasn't as focused on documenting my life as I was living my life -- do you know what I'm saying? I do love blogging, but I also love living in the moment. So if that means I blog less in return of really being in the moment and living in the  now -- than bring it on! I'm not saying I won't be blogging anymore (far from it) but I want to bring more authentic posts which are created by living a more authentic life. And let's be honest. Not everyday is really blogworthy. Yup, I'll admit it. Nobody wants to see the days where I'm blogging in my sweatpants eating macaroni and cheese out of tupperware. Or do they?
Anyway....on to the weekend recap!

This little weekend getaway was spent in Philadelphia -- which was a home to both D and I before we met, which was why I thought it would be a cool idea to explore the city together. We stayed in the "Old City" section which is full of history and colonial buildings and cobble stone streets. 
stopping for milkshakes at an ice cream truck is definitely a must!
We stayed at this Bed and Breakfast called Penn's View Inn, which was just adorable. They actually booked us the wrong room, so when I nicely asked about it -- we got upgraded to the honeymoon suite --SCORE!
Hello high ceilings, fire place and jacuzzi tub!!
A view of the Ben Franklin Bridge (going into Camden, NJ) from Penn's Landing.
Because it was Memorial Day weekend, they had tons of historical reinactments taking place out on the streets. Ufortuntatly the lines to see the liberty bell were going down the block, so we opted out of that one, and just took in the sights of the free statues and memorials.
We spent most of the afternoon browsing cool little shops, vintage book stores, music stores and antiques.
cute little doxie made out of metal scraps.
later we went back to the B&B to shower and get ready for dinner.
D actually bought this dress for me a few weeks ago all by himself (what a doll he is) and did a great job in my opinion! It's the perfect summer dress because it's light and airy.
mango mojito made with vodka instead of rum. This is my kind of drink!
You can't go wrong with a dinner made up entirely of appetizers ; )
I've been so bad with remembering to photograph my outfits (remember the whole living in the moment thing)
but this is the closet thing I got to it. 
Outfit Details
Denim jacket: Old Navy (here) // Striped tank: Old Navy (similar) // Maxi skirt: Target (similar)
This was a Bed and Breakfast after all, so breakfast shots were a must.
One of my favorite things was the make your own waffle bar, complete with liberty bell imprinted waffles...AMAZING!
cute little egg cups -- which we might have taken as souvenirs.... ; )
Lunch was the most tasty Kobe beef burgers that were cooked inside a pizza dough crust, and baked in an oven. Sooooo delicious, especially with the pickles and "special sauce" -- which I'm pretty sure was fry sauce, aka ketchup and mayo mixed together. Nevertheless, so good paired with a side salad and some salt and pepper fries.
This post just made me realize how much we I love eating. We stopped at this famous ice cream shop called The Franklin Fountain -- which, would you just look at that long list of ice cream flavors!! Aside from that is was also a soda bar, served by soda jerks. What is a soda jerk by the way?
Our last stop before heading home was the Philadelphia Zoo. I haven't been there since I think a second grade field trip, so it was fun to do it together. My favorite animal by far was this rare and endangered monkey (see above) called a Douc Langur -- which had these really weird human like qualities, but also looked liked the fake monkeys from the original Planet of the Apes movie. The Philadelphia Zoo is the only zoo to have this endangered species in all of North America -- pretty cool fun fact of the day.
and lastly, just a fun photo as I mess around with some cool new apps.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend yourself, and remember -- it's okay to step away from your computer and live in the present moment. You and your blog will be better for it!

xo Steph





5.24.2013

memorial day festivness.

Whether you're heading down the shore for MDW, going to a BBQ or just hanging out -- Memorial Day is the unofficial kick-off to summer. Where did spring go by the way!? Pools start opening up, shorts and sandals make their appearance, and our hearts get just a little lighter with the thought of summer. But  let's also remember the reason why we celebrate, which is celebrating the wonderful women and men who protect us, make us safe, and allow us to live free and eat as many hot dogs we want --which by the way, I just heard the ingredient list of hot dogs on the radio and it is SCARY! No hot dogs for me....looks like I'll be sticking to the veggie burgers this year. But I digress.

Memorial Day BBQ


Snag up some red, white and blue goodies for this patriotic holiday:

Maxi dress (cute option) // Tory Burch shoes // Tory Burch straw bag // Red bubble necklace // Straw fedora hat // Deborah Lippmann Red polish // Deborah Lippmann white polish  // American Flag Trays

D and I are spending the weekend down in Philly to get out of dodge for a while. I just realized we have not taken any weekend or overnight trips in I can't even remember. It seemed like last year I was complaining all the time how I was living out of a suitcase because we were traveling so much, and now we have the opposite problem! We decided to book a Bed & Breakfast in the Old City section of Philly and act like little tourists. This is extra special for us too since we both used to live in Philadelphia but didn't know each other. So exploring the city together for the first time together should be fun. Check out the liberty bell, get a cheese steak, run up the Rocky stairs....you know the deal. What are your plans for Memorial Day weekend?

Hope you all have a great weekend and -- Happy unofficial start of summer! : )

xo Steph

5.22.2013

food and other lovely things.

It's no secret -- I love food, and I love eating. There, I said it. It's nothing to be ashamed about. However, when you are trying to lose some winter weight to get ready for your vacation {more on that later} it can be frustrating. Food restriction and dieting {ugh the D word} is just gross and no one wants to do it. 
Right now I've decided to get back into a work out routine (4-5 days a week) to supplement my love of food. I'm hoping to see some results and I'll be posting some work out tips from a non-workout person soon. But for now......enjoy the food post. 
I noticed a heart carved into our table when D and I went out for dinner the other night. Sushi love. 
there's nothing like sushi to really hit the spot, and not leaving you feeling disgustingly bloated.
brunch is one of our favorite meals. and when D orders his steak and eggs, I always make sure to sample : )
cappuccino with cinnamon. yum!
you can never go wrong with fresh fruit and a little powdered sugar!
a few weeks ago we went over to D's aunt and uncles house for dinner. His uncle is a chef and owns his own restaurant {shout out to the Italian Cucina in New Hope, PA} so needless to say, we get nothing less than 5 star meals when we're visiting. Seen above is fresh asparagus soup.
followed by homemade fettuccine alfredo made from scratch. This one had a lot of freshly ground black pepper so it gave the dish a nice kick.
raspberry mouse.
and the desserts.....oh, the desserts.
we celebrated D's belated birthday too with a coconut/vanilla cake which was seriously to die for.
Yup, we had cake among the other desserts seen above. We had to be rolled out that night.
and the first brunch you can eat outdoors at one of our new favorite brunch spots. This is something to celebrate. 
Seriously spring, where have you gone??

Hope you enjoyed the food lovin' and hope you all have a lovely day!

xo Steph



5.21.2013

I got a makeover : )

Well, I didn't get a makeover as much as my blog did. But I felt like it was time for a fresh look and to change things up a bit. So I present to you the new Pretty Little Things blog after her lovely makeover with the help of the wonderful and talented Carrie from Carrie Loves Design. Carrie was great to work with and in the end, created a look that I couldn't have designed better myself. Well, if I actually knew how to design blogs. Me and html coding do not have the best relationship. Carrie was able to create a look with just the right color palette and channel my love of chalkboards into the subtle chalkboard/charcoal background which I am now, in love with ; )
Anyway, the content of Pretty Little Things will be the same, so no changes there. Just a fresh face to look at every morning. And that's something I'm excited about!  
Hope you all enjoy the new design as much as I do!

xo Steph

5.20.2013

bright and early.

This weekend has left me feeling refreshed and ready to take on the week -- so bring it Monday!
Bright colors are the perfect way to jumpstart you're morning and week. Hence the hot pink blazer.
 Outfit Details
Blazer: Old Navy (similar) // Striped dress: Express (cute option) // Belt: Old Navy (same) 
Necklace: Tiffany & Co (same) // Tights: Target (similar) // Watch: Michael Kors (same)
Wedge heels: Tory Burch (same)
Also really proud of my self mani. I'm getting better at this whole doing my own nails thing!
The polish color is {Dreamer by Revlon}
 Alright Monday -- let's do this!
Hope you all have a lovely day : )

xo Steph

Also linking up with Still Being Molly