Ruffle Bikini Under $30!

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 I LOVE summer and love the beach even more.  So when it comes time to finding great bikinis, I’m always on the hunt for quality at a great price.  Victoria’s Secret has been my go-to for years, so when they announced back in 2016 they were no longer going to carry swimwear, I freaked! 

Thankfully, we can all rest assured because their PINK line still carries a ton of styles!!  

I’ve been super into olive green lately so when I can across this ruffled triangle top bikini for under $30 I was ecstatic.  However I was a little worried about what the quality would be like. To my surprise, it is awesome!

The bikini is fully light and has light removable padding in the top.  As with most of their stuff, it runs a bit small so here I’m wearing a Medium for the top and Small for the bottoms. It also comes in a ton of colors and prints!

Best part about all of this?! It’s only $29.95!!!!  

Gotta Love a Red Dress

Found this BEAUTIFUL BCBGMAXAZRIA Red Dress for an afternoon law school graduation party at Russo's on the Bay.  It's perfect and lightweight for summer and can be paired with so many fun shoes.  

Find it HERE in Red.  Also available HERE in black. OVER 50% off!!

Shop these fun chunky heel shoes HERE!

Weekday Date Nights

Anyone else get stuck in the rut of becoming a recluse during the week?  Guilty as charged.  

After we moved from NYC to the “burbs” my hubby and I found ourselves staying home a lot more. 

And as easy as it is for us all to fall into the same weekly routine, it’s also important for overall mental and physical health to get out once in a while! 

The perfect way to do so is by planning an impromptu date night.  I’m talking T-minus one hour notice that we will be going on a date, type of night.  

It doesn’t have to be anywhere fancy, I think keeping it casual during the week is best.  It’s also a great excuse to explore a place in your neighborhood! 

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When we decided on a date night at the last minute, I knew I’d have to throw together an outfit in five minutes.  Sometimes, not overthinking your outfit is best.   

My Outfit

Peplum Style Top - It's not available online but HERE is a really cute, similar option. 

H&M 'MAMA' Maternity Jeans - I've already raved about these jeans..they are my go-to!

Shopper Tote - This Sole Society 'Dawson' oversize tote in dusty rose ON SALE NOW!

Sunglasses - My favorite Celine sunnies in the style HAVANA (obviously this makes me love them that much more)!

    Shoes - That gorgeous bag is hiding them, but you've all seen them before, the most comfortable  Vince Camuto shoes for spring and summer!

    The Date Spot 

    So as I was saying earlier, date nights are the perfect opportunity to try something new in your neighborhood.  Living in the city, I was completely spoiled with the amazing restaurants everywhere.  Unfortunately, in the suburbs, there just aren't as many really amazing spots.

    But...last night BURRATA Wood Fired Pizza in Eastchester completely changed my mind.  

    Every single thing we ate was absolutely delicious and my husband and I both cannot wait to come back.  They have a variety of traditional Italian dishes with modern twists as well as really amazing wood fired pizza.  They also have some really unique and delicious looking cocktails that I cannot wait to try after the baby is here! 

    If you are in the Westchester area, or even if you are in NYC, it's totally worth the 30 minute train ride from Grand Central to come and check out Burrata.  There was also live music to make the experience that much better! 

    Arancini Alla Piemontese  - arancini with white truffle and mushroom - SOOOOO GOOOD

    Arancini Alla Piemontese  - arancini with white truffle and mushroom - SOOOOO GOOOD

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    Costolette - pork ribs with a balsamic glaze and porcini 

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    J. Sexton No. 2* - one of many amazing wood fired pizza choice (all with organic flour BTW!)

    tomatoes, garlic,  burrata, basil, EVOO, black pepper, parmigiana - simple and delicious 

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    And for dessert....ZEPPOLES 

    I literally ate all but one..and that was only because my husband ate that one.  These were paired with a perfect custard vanilla sauce and were oh so delicious! 

    So there you have it, a weekday date night can help you find your new favorite restaurant and it doesn't have to be over-the-top or planned for that matter.  

    Sometimes changing up your weekly routine can give you a whole new outlook on the rest of your week! 

    xoxo

    Jamie 

    Hosting the PERFECT Bridal Shower

    Keeping it STRESS FREE for the Bride-to-Be

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    BRIDE-to-BE

    Tips for an AMAZING and stress free bridal shower!

    If any of you out there have planned or are in the process of planning a wedding, you know all too well that it can quickly become STRESSFUL!

    Planning a Bridal Shower is just another thing on the seemingly never ending to-do list and it wasn't too long ago that I was scrambling to make sure everything would be PERFECT for my own shower.  

    STOP!

    If I can give you one piece of advice for anything wedding related it is that not everything is going to be perfect and exactly the way you want it.  If you can accept that very early on in the planning process, you will enjoy wedding planning much, much more and save yourself a lot of sleepless nights and unwanted breakouts.

    Okay....now back to the shower! 

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    TIP #1

     

    RECRUIT HELP!

    (What else are sisters for??)

    My first tip is to ASK FOR HELP!  I am the queen of multitasking and sometimes to a fault.  I am always eager to take on a lot of projects at once and sometimes I find myself overwhelmed.  With your Bridal Shower especially, try to let go and hand the majority of the planning over to someone else.  Luckily, I have 3 sisters and a lot of amazing friends who were willing to help out to plan my shower.  

    Pick ONE person to be in charge, however...with wedding planning, its very easy to get too many "cooks in the kitchen".  I gave my sister Jess the task of spearheading the operation and she did an AMAZING job.

    She made sure to ask me about the types of things I wanted at my shower, but handled all of the nitty gritty details herself and also recruited my other sisters and close friends to help with planning various aspects of the party. 

    Dont forget, this is still YOUR BRIDAL SHOWER so if you know there is something you absolutely WANT or DON'T WANT, speak up!  I knew I wanted a giant charcuterie board as part of my shower and I was adamant about relaying that throughout the process.  I also knew I didn't want cheesy party games, so I made sure that Jess knew all of these things early on in the planning process. 

    TIP #2

    SECURE YOUR VENUE & SEND INVITES EARLY

    THE VENUE

    There is nothing worse than knowing exactly where you want to host your shower and then finding out it is unavailable! With all things wedding, make sure you call to secure any venue early on, especially if you are planning any event from mid-spring through fall! 

    Also, don't think you need to spend $$$$ to get a fancy venue.  Chances are, you are already paying a pretty penny for your actual wedding day, so planning your shower or engagement party at your home or the home of someone you know, a park, etc., is a great option.  I personally LOVE hosting in a home because you don't have to deal with food or drink minimums (also budget busters) or guarantee a certain amount of people.  The atmosphere also tends to be a bit more laid back and you don't have a bunch of restrictions on decorating or making things exactly how you want them!

    Decor - You can do a lot with the space that you have!  Balloons, banners, and fresh flowers can make any space go from blah to BAM! AMAZING!  For my shower, we utilized the pool and blew up giant balloons to float as well as a big INFLATABLE RING and SWANDA.  It gave an otherwise normal pool, a pop of fun! 

    Chairs/Tents - if you know you will need chairs or any other types of materials that require a rental company, make sure you get those early as well.  Again, these companies book quickly during the busy season.  I used these Garden Style Chairs that run about $3.00 a piece to rent.  You can find all sorts of different chairs out there to fit your theme and budget!

    THE INVITES 

    Another thing to make sure you get done and sent out early are your invitations.  Remember, if you are having a summer Bridal Shower, people plan vacations, graduations, and have other events pretty frequently.  Make sure that once you've secured a date, you send those invites out ASAP!  I would say at least 1 month in advance, but I always err on the side of caution and do a 1.5-2 months, depending on the time of year.

    Invites are another thing you don't need to break the bank for!  You can easily create invites from free online templates or even pay a few dollars on sites like Etsy to download a fully created invitation that you just print yourself at a place like Staples or FedEx.  If you (or someone in your group of those you've enlisted to help) are somewhat creative, I say go for making your own!  We created the bridal shower invites from on online template and used this amazing Heidi Swapp Minc Foil Machine to add a touch of glam to the invitations.  It was a great investment because we ended up using it for the wedding invites too!

    TIP #3 - The Food

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    As I mentioned earlier, I knew early on in the planning process that I wanted to have an AMAZING charcuterie board for my shower.  After all, any charcuterie board and a nice glass of vino are two of my most favorite things in the entire world.

    I got the inspiration for the charcuterie "grazing" table from none other than Pinterest and my sister and aunt really helped to execute it perfectly!  There were so many varieties of Italian meats and various cheeses as well as fresh fruit and also some desserts.  I had about 20 people at my shower and this table was more than enough food to keep everyone happy.  You don't need to go crazy with planning an all out sit down event for a shower..I actually find those a bit annoying as a guest because its much harder to mingle and socialize.  Having some good food and lots of wine and champagne kept my guests happy throughout the shower.

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    I mean seriously.....

    How good does this look?! 

    (Obviously I was too busy eating it to get great pics)

    TIP # 4

    Party Games & Entertainment

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    Okay so I usually HATE party games.  I don't know why, but I've never liked them and I really didn't want to have any at my shower.  BUT, my sisters and friends assured me that they wouldn't plan anything too painful!

    I actually ended up LOVING what we did at the shower in lieu of "games".  There were scratch off lotto tickets for everyone and some revealed that a guest had won a prize..easy enough!  They also planned to have everyone decorate a mug instead of wrapping each other in toilet paper, which I was totally fine with.  There were easy to follow directions, as well as a ton of different patterns and sayings for everyone to customize their mug with.  

    Decorating the mugs allowed for everyone to continue to enjoy themselves, socialize, and also create something customized that they could take home as a favor - win, win!

    The mugs ended up being so cute!  Obviously I need to touch mine up a bit, but you get the picture.

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    Wine and Frenchies... really all I need in life 

     

    TIP #5

    HAVE FUN!

    This might seem like an obvious one, but I mean it, HAVE FUN!

    It is really easy to get caught up in all of the things going on and wanting to make sure everything is perfect for everything wedding related, but take a step back and just try to enjoy the moment!

    All of the people around you on your Bridal Shower day are there to celebrate YOU.  Try to relax and take in all of the love and happiness surrounding you on that day.

    I guarantee you will have a ton of laughs and it will be a day to remember! 

    Thanks so much for checking out this post!  I wish you the best of luck with planning your Bridal Shower or next event.

    For any questions, feel free to email me at jamie@ahintofgoldblog.com or reach out on Instagram!