The Busy Season

Well well well...  I do not know from where to start. Summer here has its way of making me busy until I lose track of the days. Besides the home / family responsibilities, it's  also the high social season in Sweden... once I tick off an event or gathering on the list, I find the next one coming right away. And I got to admit that it takes a lot of energy from me ... especially now with the mommy lifestyle thing and its pressure when around relatives / people.

I can not wait for our next getaway this Friday....just our little family together! with more focus on us, and our little one. 

Bring Back The Feminine Style

Hi guys! I've been busy lately and I missed planning couple of  blog posts for the rest of June. Now I am back with this cool shopping inspiration for summer.

If you are just like me, tired of the minimal and basic outfits and would like to brighten up your look for this summer here are some recommendations for dress and mini crossbody bags shopping from favorite online stores StyleWe and JustFashionNow.

You can also check out my Feminine Outfits pinterest board for inspiration.

Red Spaghetti Strap Dress 

Black Dresses Styles For Pear Body Shape

Hello buddies! I am back with another personal style post and how I found the perfect dress style for my pear body type. Few years ago I was googling looking for dress styles for pear body shape and I found this different dresses image, unfortunately it did not link to the source. I saved it in my computer and I thought next time I go shopping for dresses I will follow this tip and look for these styles to try on.

And ... Just like magic... at last! now I go directly to the styles that fit me without wasting time trying many many dresses that end up make me look round or make my body shape look unbalanced. During our Greece vacation last week, we went shopping and I bought this lovely black ( shorts ) dress in the photo above. I wore it on our last night / dinner in Crete Island. By the way I gained 3 kg during the vacations because of the chilling and all inclusive good greek food. Now I am back to my healthy routine and I already lost 1 kg in two days doing my cardio workouts and eating less calorie food. 

These hourglass shape dresses will look gorgeous on you too if you had a pear body / curvy shape even if you were a bit over weight. It balanced the size of your narrow upper body with your wide hips. Take a look at my own photo during a New York trip where I actually bought my first double skirt dress. I hope some of you find this useful! enjoy :-)

Family Vacation Celebrating Birthdays

We were invited on vacation to celebrate my mother in law's and my hubby's niece birthday in the greek island crete. It was a wonderful week of sunshine, great food, drinks, beach, pool and entertainments. We had lots of fun and family bonding time. We rarely get a full week with David, so it was a great for Julia to be with her dad longer as she is growing and developing new skills and senses everyday. 

As lucky as I usually am... my birthday happened to be on the 5th of June during our stay there. I got a lovely chocolate cake from the Hotel Panorama Hotel . My parents in law bought me a "massage experience" in Ageo Spa which was outdoors with sea view and sea breeze. 

The mediterranean fish and other oriental dishes were also a gift from heaven to me. I soooo missed lots of these things while living in a completely different environment from where I grew up. The island gave me the feeling of being home again.   

I gave myself treats by visiting a nail bar spa and got myself a good beautiful feminine long nails which I don't usually do hehe... and a great feet treat and of course pedicure. 

More photos here

Taco Casserole Recipe

Social media followers has been requesting this recipe and I promised I will share it as soon I have time. This is a very easy flexible recipe you can get creative with. I usually follow my taste and family perforation. I make my own pie dough because I like it a bit thicker. I also cook my bell pepper with the ground beef because I don't like it raw that much.  Sometimes I add sour cream sometimes not, the same for jalapeno and corn...

The basis of this recipe is the mexican spice mix, sauce, ground beef and the cheese.. the rest you can add or remove whatever you usually like in your tacos. Enjoy! 

Ingredients 

1 ready pie dough or homemade

450 g = 1 pound ground beef

1 package taco seasoning mix

2 1/2 cups coarsely broken tortilla chips

1 cup shredded cheese 

1 can mexican taco tomato sauce ( choose your own level of spice ) 

Salad

1/2 medium bell pepper, chopped 

1 medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 medium cucumber 

Method 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Lay the dough flat on the bottom of a square cake pan and bake according to package directions.

Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the taco seasoning, tomato sauce and stir together well. When dough is done, remove from oven and place meat mixture on top, then layer and cheese, and then top off with the crushed nacho chips.

Return to oven and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

Make a mixed salad from the cucumber tomato, onion, bell pepper and top the casserole with when ready to serve.  

Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

Hello food lovers! I tried this recipe for the first time couple of weeks ago and I adored it so much. The original recipe comes from Eatwell 101. Unfortunately I didn't have fresh thyme when I made this recipe so I used dry thyme. There are also another similar recipe I found on Pinterest which uses parsley instead. Both methods are the same but there is a slightly difference in the ingredients. Make sure you check them both and choose the taste you prefer. Enjoy!   

Ingredients 

1 head of cauliflower

Fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

4 cups (1l) vegetable or chicken stock, more or less, depending on the size of the cauliflower

1/3 cup (70)g melted butter

Fresh cracked pepper

Method 

1. Preheat your oven to 400ºF (200°C). Trim the bottom of the cauliflower and remove all the leaves and the stem, but without breaking apart. Give it a quick rinse and pat dry.

2. Place the whole cauliflower in a pot and cover with stock, add fresh thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and simmer for 12 minutes.

3. Drain and transfer the cauliflower head in a cast iron skillet or any oven proof pan. Ladle a little of the cooking stock over the cauliflower then drizzle with melted butter on top. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and pepper.

4. Roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of your cauliflower, until golden. Baste with cooking juice from time to time. Check with a knife, if it slides in easily, then it’s cooked. You can broil for an extra 2 minutes if you want to give it a bit more color, but keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.

5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh thyme. Slice, and serve with an extra drizzle of the buttery cooking juices.

Note: For a smokey non-vegetarian version, add crumbled bacon on top of the roasted cauliflower.