Traveling? Take a simple pair of black pants and a cream top looks finished with the right accessories! Great travel outfit!

Traveling? Take a simple pair of black pants and a cream top looks finished with the right accessories! Great travel outfit! by theda-stemler-blackwood featuring black pants

VILA short sleeve shirt
$33 - vila.com

Chesca black pants
$145 - johnlewis.com

Diavolina high heels platform
$155 - styletread.com.au

MICHAEL Michael Kors crossbody bag
bloomingdales.com

Here's a casual, fun and stylish look to take your kids to college! Layered for comfort, stylish to wear to lunch or dinner!

Here's a casual, fun and stylish look to take your kids to college! Layered for comfort, stylish to wear to lunch or dinner! by theda-stemler-blackwood featuring chino pants

Fat Face waterfall cardigan
$39 - fatface.com

Wallis chino pants
wallisfashion.com

Stuart Weitzman heeled sandals
$465 - harrods.com

MICHAEL Michael Kors logo messenger bag
bloomingdales.com

What do you think?

What do you think? by theda-stemler-blackwood featuring slim jeans

Forever New batwing t shirt
$36 - forevernew.com.au

Mango slim jeans
mango.com

Heel cap
madisonlosangeles.com

A "GO-TO" Salad for Summer

If you are busy... you need a "go to" recipe to prepare for your family or to bring to a picnic!    The home made caesar salad will get lots of compliments and will get eaten!  You won't bring anything home!

This is a recipe I discovered a few years ago and now it has become one of my signature salads!  YUMMY!!!   I hope you enjoy this fresh salad!  You can also add grilled chicken or shrimp to this dish for a great meal!

Keep your fridge stocked with Romaine Lettuce, Wedge of Parmesan Cheese.   Purchase a baguette of fresh bread and the rest is in the details!   Let's begin!

Let's start with the croutons!   Just purchase a baguette of bread at the market and cut it into crouton size  cubes and put in a gallon zip lock bag.   Drizzle olive oil and throw in a few tablespoons of minced garlic and a approximately a tablespoon or so of sea salt.  Feel free to add some pepper if you like too!    Toss the bread cubes to coat each piece and spread out on a baking sheet and broil to toast - turning lightly until perfect!     When croutons are cool, store in a fresh zip lock bag to use for the week.

Dressing:   

1 cup of Mayonnaise

1 Tbs of Lemon Juice ( or one half lemon squeezed)

1 tsp Worcestershire 

1 clove or Garlic minced ( or 1 tsp minced)

1 tsp Anchovy Paste

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

milk or half and half for consistency

You can store this in a plastic container to use as needed.

Cheese:  Shred your parmesan cheese and store in plastic container and use when needed.

Wash and simply CUT your romaine lettuce in  1' strips for easy eating....  add lettuce, croutons, cheese and toss with dressing for a fabulous and EASY caesar salad!   

BUSY as Usual

It has been a SUPER busy month!!!  Family first!   So the "busy bee" was busy being a mom first..... with confirmation and 8th grade promotion to a week in NYC with my daughters dance nationals... it was nuts!  Oh... and I have a son too!  :)  It just so happened that my daughter had lots of memorable events this month so it seemed to be a month consumed with her activities.   We are home for a short time before we leave for a week in Colorado to celebrate with my Sara Blaine for Willow House friends on a year of great accomplishments and a New Beginning for our new company!

I'm excited to be able to have a career that allows me to be home for my kids while allowing me to have something for me that is FUN and keeps me busy! After all, in just a few short years, I'll be an empty nester and I will definitely need to stay busy to keep my mind off of that!   

Speaking of family and flexibility.... we celebrated the birth of our newest nephew yesterday and went to visit him in the hospital, and while I won't post his photo to allow his parents to do all those honors, I wore my Bali Scroll Blue Quartz collection in honor of a new nephew! 

I had my pink Aubree Collection ready if it was a girl.... but Blue was definitely the color of the day yesterday!       I hope that you are embracing every moment of summer and enjoying the lazy and the busy days of summer!   It seems as if it will be a short summer.... at least for us in the North East since we lost so many school days to Hurricane Sandy but we are enjoying each day to its fullest!   

Technology :)

Oh my goodness!!!  I love technology... but sometimes it is challenging!    I just created my first Time-Lapse Video to share lots of "looks" with my clients and it was a fun project for sure but so much to learn!

Click HERE to watch the video :)

So what software do you use to create the "intro" and the "end" and do you know any good, fun, energetic songs to put along with them?    

The song, alone, can be overwhelming... I mean, I don't listen to music as much as my kids do and I want to be current :)    What would be your favorite "fun song" to put along with this video or future videos?   I'd love the help!

Theda

Packing for a trip!

Summer has begun in most places around the country so you may be packing for a trip!   After lots of packing for trips in the past, I've found it most helpful to hang up entire outfits with accessories to help you select what to bring.    Do this about a week prior to your trip and start with all laundry clean!    Start setting aside all your favorites for your trip... work around a color scheme to minimize shoes ( if that is possible)  One thing I've learned recently is that your jewelry can really take your outfit up a notch!   It's so fun to take something casual to something special with just a few fun earrings, bangles or necklaces - and jewelry is small... easy to pack!  Totally loving it!   You may know that I represent a jewelry designer... and her collection is something that can be mixed and matched so it's not so overwhelming to take jewelry anymore!  I'd love to show you in person.... but.... let's get back to packing!   Pack your underwear and socks inside shoes to keep them from squishing and to save room.    I use my exterior pockets of my roller board for the zip lock baggies of toiletries, that way they are easy to access when you are in an airport.    Pack an extra squishable bag in there too for extra goodies or even for laundry you take home.     Always pack a sweater or wrap.... it sometimes gets chilly in a restaurant.    Always pack an evening bag or smaller clutch and travel with the biggest purse or comptuer bag you can because the airlines don't let women carry a purse and a briefcase and a roller board.    It's all about "looks".  Finally, don't forget emergency items like sunscreen and pack that bathing suit in your carry on so you can access it when you get to your location!   Have a great summer!