Dark to Light

 {Zoya – True}
It\’s that time of year again – where I put away my dark polishes and break out my spring pastels and nudes. All the major nail polish companies have also released their spring collections, and I am loving the colors that are currently gracing the shelves. Will you be buying any of these polishes?
 {China Glaze – ElectroPop}
 {OPI- Holland}
 {butterLONDON Spring/Summer 2012}
{Essie- Navigate Her}

What girl doesn\’t love flowers?

I love to have fresh flowers in my house, and try to buy some each week. I always buy the flowers that are in season since those are the freshest and will last the longest.  My top three favorite flowers are; peonies, tulips and hydrangeas. What is your favorite flower?

Skinny Lemon Bars

I love my mum\’s lemon bars, but I hate the amount of calories and Weight Watchers Points that come along with them. So while I have been home my mum and I revamped her traditional lemon bars into ones you don\’t have to feel bad about eating. Of course I had to share the recipe with you!
Skinny Lemon Bars
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter; color – cut into small pieces
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice; I just used an organic bottle from Costco
3 teaspoons lemon zest

Directions 
• Preheat over to 325 degrees.
• To make the crust: mix flour and brown sugar until fully incorporated. Add the cold pieces of butter into the flour mixture and use a pastry blender to mix together the dough should appear lumpy. Sprinkle crust into a 13×9 glass dish; press down with a spatula to create a packed surface. Bake until golden; about 20 minutes.

• Lemon topping: beat eggs in a medium bowl until well blended. Add vanilla and powdered sugar; mixing until the powdered sugar is completely dissolved. Then add the lemon zest. .
• As soon as the crust is finished, remove it from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees, and immediately pour lemon mixture over the hot crust.
• Bake for about 30 minutes allow to cool. You\’ll want to keep this in the refrigerator.

Yields: 24 bars at 3 weight watchers + pts.

Five Things

 {Look both ways before you cross a train track}
 Last Friday I skipped town and took the Amtrak to New Orleans. Saturday at 10 am we were in Yazoo, Mississippi when the train hit a truck. Honestly the only reason I knew we hit someone was the big puff of smoke and smell of gas (I was in the front car). Everyone on the train was fine- of course the driver of the truck was killed instantly. Aside from the train wreck my trip has been filled with plenty of po-boys, beignets and pralines.
 {fences littered with colorful beads}
 {Beignets at Café Du Monde}
 {Pralines at Aunt Sally\’s}
{the beautiful St. Louis Cathedral}

Garden District Celebrity Homes

 {previously owned by Ann Rice}
While in New Orleans I decided to go on a tour of the gorgeous Garden District. The houses are all absolutely stunning, surrounded by gates and tall shrubbery. The Garden District is the place celebrities love to live it is quiet and the paparazzi does not bother them. Here are some gorgeous homes owned by some well names including Ms. Sandra Bullock!
 {previously owned by Nicolas Cage}
 {the Manning household where Peyton, Cooper and Eli grew up}
Their parents still live there
 {Sandra Bullocks current home}
{previously owned by Trent Reznor; currently owned by John Goodman}