Recipe: Summer Salad

My mom is hands down the best cook ever! I'm sure I'm bias, but I am also very positive that if you ask anyone who has ever eaten anything she has made, they will back me up on this. 

Even her salads are better then anything I could think of on my own. So today I share with you a salad I've eaten with her twice. I kid you not that she mixes it up each time and it ends up being the best salad I've ever had!

I give you, the perfect summer salad:

Ingredients:

Power greens (use any greens you'd like)

Grilled Corn

Black Olives

Yellow tomatoes

Broccoli 

Pine nuts

Cucumber

Celery

Carrots

The dressing used this day was a vinaigrette.

 

The second time she made it she added diced egg, avocado, bacon, and poppy seed dressing:

I am obsessed with this salad. I think the grilled corn just makes it, no?

What's your favorite summer salad? Do you think your mom makes the best meals ever too?

#APMusicSeries

I jumped at the chance when I was asked to attend 311 at Northerly Island over the weekend. Thank you to Live Nation and The Illinois Lottery Anything's Possible Music Series! This is something I will never forget and you can enter to win tickets to see your favorite bands this summer too: "With over 30 concerts, weekly prizes and your favorite artists, the Anything's Possible Music Series is your ticket to an unforgettable summer soundtrack."

I was given 2 VIP tickets and had no idea what to expect, other then to have an amazing time, obviously!

Here is what I wore:

Dress: Blu Pepper (via TSF Box Service, only size L still available)  // Shoes: Target // Necklace: Piperlime // Bag: Just Fab // Druzy Ring: EG Jewelry

This was one fantastic night!
We got into the venue very quickly (thank you VIP entrance) and went straight to the VIP Club area. There were tables and chairs under umbrellas, with views of not only the stage, but also of the skyline and the lake. As the sun set, the views got even better! What a great place to see live music.

We had actual seats too, but we used this lounge area to eat, have a few drinks, and people watch before 311 took the stage.

This is where our actual seats were. We had the first section of the first row, under the canopy in the bottom level. They were the most amazing seats!

I mean, you can't not try the nacho bar with beer cheese.

Summer of passion continues. Such a fun date night out for us!

I have to say, it looks fun in general admission, but the VIP experience (private air conditioned bathrooms, wait staff, multiple seating areas, all you can eat buffet, the views, and the actual concert seats) made this concert an experience I never knew I always wanted! I don't know how I'll ever enjoy a show this big again and not have VIP! lol  #spoiled

The show was outstanding!
This was my first time seeing 311 live and I have to say, they sound the same live as they do on their albums. The crowd's energy was amazing and by nights end, this one went down as one of my favorite summer nights so far!

Have you entered to win your very own tickets yet? What live shows are you going to this summer?

Link up with Us! Summer Cutoffs Style

I was super excited when Johanna of 101 Things I Love asked me to join her weekly link up challenge.  I am not only a big fan of Johanna's style (I mean I LITERALLY own some of her clothes from her Because I Shop Too Much closet) but she is also a fellow mommy blogger who I am honored to call my friend.  Plus, I love the idea of everyone sharing their cutoff style for inspiration. You can never see too many ways to style denim, can you? I think not. 

Here are our summer cutoffs style:

Johanna went with a casual denim look and I went with a dressed up version. All we knew is that we were both going to be wearing denim cutoffs. I kind of love that we both chose to wear muscle style tees with our looks. What can I say, great minds think alike!

Here are more photos of my dressed up summer cutoffs style:

Blazer: Piperlime // Tank: JC Penny // Shorts: Gap // Shoes: c/o Just Fab // Bag: Forever 21 // Sunnies: Ray Ban // Necklace: XO Veronika // Charm Bracelet: Alex and Ani // Ring: Lili Claspe // Watch: Fossil 

What do you think of our looks? Show us your style!

Here are the rules to post:

I hope you'll join us for today's link up! The rules are simple:

1. Follow Johanna on Instagram. Follow me on Instagram.
2. Link back to Johanna or to myself  
3. Meet new friends, leave comments and have fun!

An InLinkz Link-up