With Style and a Little Grace: June 2015

Summer Stripes

I used to love really dressed up looks but recently I have been gravitating towards casual, cool. Don't get me wrong I am a high-heels girl all day long but in the summer heat a comfortable stripe dress and converse is stylish and easy breezy. I feel like this look would be great for your families 4th of July BBQ. Or you could just stay in your bikini the whole weekend which is what I plan on doing.

One more day down in the short week y'all! Are y'all into the Dawson's Creek re-runs on ABC Family? I know I have talked about it already but I am loving the 90's throwback. So good - they don't make em like they used to. I'm old ;) Also Pacey is still adorable!

Have a fab day and thank you for reading!

Chicken Enchiladas

Holy moly you guys - I made these chicken enchiladas last night and had to share as soon as possible. They are definitely the best homemade ones I have ever made. I made two batches and froze the other ones individually for Henry to cook for lunches. These are great to make ahead and freeze if you are doing meal planning. I did a smaller portion version of this recipe.

I love a great Mexican food night - what's your favorite Mexican dish?

You Need

Meat Mix

3 small onions chopped

2 4 oz cans chopped green chilies

4 cups cooked and shredded chicken

3 packages taco seasoning

2 cups water

3 T cooking oil

Cottage Cheese Mix

3 cups cottage cheese

1 cup sour cream

salt and pepper

Other

20 8" tortillas

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3 10 oz cans of enchilada sauce

Instructions

Heat your oil in skillet - sauté onions and chiles - add chicken, taco seasoning, and water - cook until water is mostly evaporated

Set aside

In medium bowl mix cottage cheese, sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste

To Assemble

Heat up tortillas until soft ( 1 minute in microwave )

Spoon out meat ( 4 T )- then cheese mixture (3 T)- then top with shredded cheese (1 tablespoon)

Role up and place in baking dish

Repeat with all of them

Cover in enchilada sauce and shredded cheese

Bake on 350 for 20-30 minutes

* This makes at least 3 containers of enchiladas and they are great for freezing - if you freeze do not put the sauce on them until you thaw them out.

They are so good y'all - let me know if you make them!

Army Green

Hey Monday and welcome to a short week! I am looking forward to the long weekend on the water. What are y'alls plans for the 4th? We are grilling out, riding in the boat, and lots of reading/swimming/relaxing with the family. My mind is already there and it is only Monday.

I went down to the river this weekend and as you can tell I should have applied a bit more sunscreen. My body had not seen the sun yet this summer and I am definitely paying for it with a bit of a burn. This adorable little romper is so comfortable and easy to throw on for a hot summer day. I am also really into this green army fatigue and I love a good military vest in the Fall.

Don't forget you can still get a free month to try out Rocksbox using my code graciejoxoxo at check out. They have so many gorgeous designer baubles. Lots of festive 4th of July posts this week! I love the 4th of July! Looking for a great outfit for the 4th - check out some of my past favorites here and here.

Thank y'all for reading!!

Sunday Stock // 07

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Sunday Stock

Making: buttercream 4th of july cupcakes - yum yum coming this week

Drinking: lemonade and sweet tea with lemon + tons of water gotta stay hydrated y'all

Reading: The Andy Cohen Diaries - yes I finally finished The Nightingale - great book but I did have a hard time getting into it. Andy Cohen is hilarious, I will finish this one really quickly. Slowly checking off that summer reading list - I might do an updated list with everything I read at the end of the summer - would y'all want to see that?

Wanting: 4th of July weekend to be here already

Watching: all my usual shows plus True Detective and Ballers on HBO they are both great so far - loving PLL last week - I feel like we are finally getting answers. I also kind of started watching The Whispers but can't decide if I want to commit.

Listening to: James Taylor Greatest Hits * one of my favorite cds ever - have y'all listened to his new stuff yet? and Selena Gomez's new song Good for You

Eating: watermelon, pickled cucumbers, and fresh tomato sandwiches on repeat

Smelling: Blueberry cheesecake Scentsy - I really want some new candles but I am on a saving spree right now

Wishing: I didn't have a sunburn but I am excited about having a little color on my skin

Enjoying: rainy afternoons

Learning: more about photography and how to work our camera - I think that is the next class I will take

Loving: long summer days

Wearing: my rocksbox jewels on repeat

Favorite blogpost of the week: this gorgeous post from Classy Girls wear Pearls - so festive for the 4th!

Hope y'all are having a fabulous Sunday and here's to a short week!

Lilly Pulitzer 2014 - 2015 Planner Review

Today I am excited to be doing my very first planner review. I have always been into planning and having an actual paper planner. Recently though, I have started getting into the whole stickers/additional options that add to planning. I know I know it might seem a little weird but I like it and it's fun for me. It helps me feel organized. This Lilly Pulitzer planner is the first one I have ever purchased and I have really loved it. Looking back I definitely would have purchased the large planner. There are some great features but with all the blogging/social media I am doing recently it does not offer all the bells and whistles that I really want.

I am going for the new Erin Condren planner in rose gold with the vertical lay-out. I think the horizontal version is great if you have school assignments or are just jotting down daily reminders. The vertical is better for me because I make lists of everything that needs to be done that day.

In the front there are two pockets to put any additional info you need - I put my stickers in them/my want to buy list.

- love the adorable built in sticker sheet - the stickers are so cute - I would have loved a few more options

- notes pages and dates to celebrate for all your bdays/anniversaries

- full month layout for every month - the design is so gorgeous for each month

- week at a glance - this is the main portion that I want to change - since I want the vertical option - I like to pre-plan with post-its and then go back before the week and write it in, just in case I want to change anything

- the notes section is great for running lists

All in all it is a fabulous planner and the designs are gorgeous. I am just ready to try something different and that I can be a bit more organized with. I will probably try this one again in the future.

Have y'all used either one of these planners? Are you into the whole stickers/planning thing?

Let me know and thank you so much for reading!

Friday Four

- beautiful rosemary plants that I wanted to take home

- nothing beats a mid-week pick me up - yummy cold soda in a glass bottle in the summertime

- gorgeous drawer organizers that made my day when they were on sale at Target - I have been needing to organize my kitchen drawers

- full review of my Lilly Pulitzer planner coming later today. I will tell you what I loved and different reasons I will be getting a different one.

It's finally Friday guys! Ready for the weekend and next week is a short week for the 4th of July! I am so excited about some fun collaborations coming up on the blog and for our summer trips that all happen to be in July. We finally got to watch the new True Detective and I am really loving it. I was a little worried it wouldn't be as good as last season but it is definitely good - love Rachel McAdams. She is great in it.

Happy Weekend and Thank you so much for reading!

Lilac Maxi

I bought this gorgeous maxi last year for our friends beautiful beach wedding in Puerto Rico and it is still my favorite maxi I own. The material is so soft and it is the perfect item to dress up or down. Easy and breezy in this summer heat. A maxi dress is a must for Summer. I really want a few more casual options in everyday colors like this black one.

I love a good braid when it is scorching outside! Tomorrow is Friday - are y'all ready for the weekend? I know I am.

Summer Polish

What is your all time favorite nail polish? I don't know if I can pick just one y'all. For the Fall I love WICKED by Essie. for formal events BALLET SLIPPERS is always beautiful and girly. For Summer the colors of the rainbow are always acceptable. I gravitate towards polish in every drugstore/beauty store I enter. It is such an easy, cheap, and fun way to change up any look. I thought I might round up my top summer shades right now. Some of these are new and some are old favorites. Essie is obviously one of my most purchased brands but I am starting to branch out and try some other options.

As Pictured

What are your favorite polishes for Summer? I would love to know and thank you so much for reading!

Strawberry Butter

Sweet or savory what is your breakfast of choice? Growing up we were mostly a savory breakfast house- biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon and eggs. I frequented my best friend's house quite often and on those dates I was introduced to their mothers amazing strawberry butter. It was something their family made for big family breakfast occasions and over the years it was always something I looked forward to getting when I visited them.

I asked them for the recipe to add to my recipe book because it is one I definitely wanted to make for my family, along with my families breakfast casserole. I also decided to whip up a little bit since I haven't had it in several years - it was every single bit as delicious as I remembered. I ate it on an everything bagel and oh my gosh the sweet and the savory. Just right! We always had it on homemade biscuits which is just perfection too. It's good on everything y'all!

Strawberry Butter

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 stick butter

10 oz frozen strawberries

Thaw strawberries

Put in blender with other ingredients and mix

Store in refrigerator

Let me know what your favorite breakfast treat is - Thank you so much for reading!

Charlie's Favorite Things

If you are new to my blog - Charlie is our fur baby and our 1st child * he is an only child right now :) He is 4 years old and spoiled rotten. Some of his hobbies include: hunting, swimming, picking up turtles, chewing on bones, and relaxing on his favorite couch. Must be a tough life. Today I wanted to round up a few of his favorite things for all you dog moms and dads out there.

1. Cabela's Baxter Dog Couch - Charlie loves his bed and it is seriously the best one we could have purchased. He is a very large lab ( 120 LBS) so this gives him plenty of room to stretch out and the orthopedic cushion is very comfortable for him.

2.) His favorite treats right now are the Blue Buffalo Blue Bits and the Exerhide beef twists. The Buffalo Blue Bits are for little dogs but Charlie is obsessed with them. I got them from Chewy and they have an amazing selection of dog treats. Plus they deliver.

3.) Toy Storage- Charlie has an insane amount of toys so I got him this adorable basket from Target to store them and wrote his name in chalk on it. It is so cute and now he knows exactly where to go to pick out his favorite toy of the moment.

4.) Toys - Charlie loves plush stuffed toys ( those only last about an hour if we are lucky), squeaky plastic toys, balls, and his absolute favorite are yellow rubber ducks ( that's right the kind that little kids play with in the bath he LOVES THEM). We try not to promote tug of war games with him so we tend to stay away from rope toys etc.

Yellow Rubber Ducks

Kong bones

5.) Food - Iams Sensitive Naturals Ocean Fish & Rice - Charlie had really bad allergies when he was younger and we had to take pretty much everything extra out of his diet at one point. He is tons better now but we still swear by this food. It has really helped with them.

5.) Collar - Cabelas personalized id collar in hunter green. I love their collars we have had about 3 of them through his growth spurts and they are great quality. His is in the picture above - couldn't get a great photo of it from their website.

What are your pets favorite items and things that you can't live without?

Let me know and thank you so much for reading!

Quintessential Summer in Lilly

It's not really summer until you break out your favorite Lilly Pulitzer dress. I have grown to love Lilly so much over the last few years and this little dress I scored in the semi-annual sale several months ago. It is actually the first Lilly dress I have ever owned and I know it will not be the last. The prints just scream summer, vacation, and palm beach. I love it!

I wore my dress is honor of #nationalwearyourlillyday and then I surfed the website filling my shopping cart with all the items I wanted to buy. #fakeshoppingissad #bitchesonabudget. There were a lot of hash-tags in that last sentence ;)

Lilly Pulitzer dress last season loving this, this and this | sandals similar here| tory burch earrings | assorted bracelets local boutique

The humidity was so bad on Sunday my hair frizzed as soon as I walked out the door. Any tips on hair and humidity help a girl out?? Just another product of summer in the south. Tell me what your favorite Lilly print is? I would love to know!

Happy Tuesday and thank y'all for reading!

Dauphin Island

I was honestly not ready for this weekend to be over at all. We spent Saturday on Dauphin Island roaming around - we went to Henry's parents lot on the island and dreamed of them rebuilding. They lost it during Katrina and we are pushing hard for them to rebuild. Summer beach house yes please!! Dauphin island is such a perfect little getaway. It's my idea of an old school beach town where you bring your groceries for the week and just relax. We brought in summer the right way with snow cones and boiled peanuts from the fruit stand on our way home.

Stripes, stripes, and more stripes is totally my summer motto! I picked up this top at Forever 21 on Friday because I wanted a breezy thin stripe top. All of mine have sleeves and are a bit thicker and with the heat of summer they are too hot to wear. This one was only $10 and I love it. They have tons of great options right now.

F 21 stripe top | j.crew linen shorts | target sandals old similar here | tory burch earrings | rayban sunnies

What do y'all have going on this week? Check out my other stripe top obsession here - by the end of summer my closet might be an extremely nautical theme. Thankfully stripes never go out of style - am I right? I have also been wearing my white shorts on repeat - I really need a cute casual white skirt that will go with everything, suggestions are always appreciated.

Happy Monday and as always thank you for reading!

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