Red, White, & BBQ Recipes

Happy Fourth of July Weekend! I hope everyone has been enjoying the amazing weather and patriotic decorations. I have been super busy between work, beach days, boating, and going to the fireworks so apologies for having this up at night instead of in the morning. Anyways, with all of the festivities commencing tomorrow, I thought I would share two super easy red, white, and blue recipes that you could bring to a BBQ.

Right now berries are at the height of their season and it seems that every single box has been delicious, so I wanted to try and incorporate some fresh fruit into my recipes. The first being fruit kabobs, which are definitely on the healthy side of a BBQ menu. I purchased a pack of wooden skewers at the grocery store and then just arranged the strawberries, blueberries, and watermelon into a fun pattern. If you are making these right before you leave, you could also include banana slices to add white to the pattern, but I didn't want them turing brown for the sake of the presentation :) The second recipe is also easy and will satisfy your sweet tooth. I made a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, but you could totally use any recipe- I think coconut cake would be amazing! Then I arranged the berries into an American flag to keep everything in the spirit of the fourth! Do you have any recipes you are planning to make tomorrow?

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! I can't believe that my first full week of summer has officially come and gone, and that it's already July! On Monday I started my first summer job bussing tables at a restaurant. Although each shift is spent completely on your feet and can be tiring, I really like having a schedule in place as it helps me be productive. This week I worked three lunch shifts which start at 11 am, so I have been waking up a lot earlier to squeeze in a run, shower, and possibly a blog post before heading out. I have this weekend off so I can't wait to finally spend time relaxing at the beach!

One: the Beach

I am so happy to be on the Cape for the entire summer and can't wait to spend lots of days at the beach! Although there are nice beaches at home, nothing truly compares to a long day spent by the sea on Cape Cod with friends and family. My mom and I went for an hour or two yesterday afternoon and sat by the water's edge reading out books. The ocean was s calm and the temperature was ideal after a hot and humid morning. 

Two: jimmyCASE

I am loving my new iPhone case more and more every day! It has proven so useful this past week for quick trips to the ice cream or candy store #guiltypleasures. The case holds just the right amount of cards and cash for any summer adventure- plus who doesn't love a good striped pattern?!

Three: Black & White Favorites 

Recently I have been trying to limit my shopping, however there have been a few items that I just could not resist. In addition to the off the shoulder trend, I have been loving all things lace up this season. A lot of the lace up shirts I have seen have been super low cut and not practical for everyday wear, however when I stumbled upon this top for under $20 I knew it was meant to be. The colors match with practically everything, and it will be great to have on cooler summer nights. Additionally, I ordered a pair of black Jack Rogers (20% off on Amazon) that I have had my eye on for a long time. I definitely did not need another pair of Jacks, however I did not have any black sandals and thought that I would just opt for a brand that I know and love instead of risking it with a different style. Needless to say I have been really loving black and white this month.

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

Fourth of July Favorites

bracelet | shorts | sandals | hat | croakies | clutch | wedges | earrings | red dress | bikini top | blue & white dress

Forth of July is by far and away one of my favorite days of the year. I love the sea of red, white, and blue, the immense patriotism, fireworks, and of course all of the BBQ's. I have grown up in a town that take the 4th pretty seriously which I believe is why I love the holiday so much. Our picturesque Main Street is lined with beautiful white colonial homes, each of which displays perfectly hung flags. Throughout the morning, the floats make their way down town following the annual road race and tossing candy into the crowds. Later, friends and family gather at cookouts, or by the ocean to celebrate the holiday. The festivities and the way the town comes together are 100% my favorite thing about where I live.  

Now onto the next best part, the outfit! Navy and white is my all time favorite color combination, so needless to say I never struggle too much with getting my outfit together for the day- though sometimes I need to hunt down the perfect pop of red. I am not quite sure as to what my outfit will entail this years, but look forward to an outfit post on the 4th of July! In the mean time, shop my current favorite red, white, and blue pieces! Do you love America's birthday as much as I do?!

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea

Book Review: Me Before You

One of my goals for the summer is to read a book every week. It's to be determined if I will actually stick to this plan, but I do want to do a bunch of reading this summer. I feel like there are so many books right now that I want to read, and summer is perfect time to blow through a ton of them. That being said, I just finished Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. My friend Clare recommended it to me, and told me I had to read it before seeing the movie. I realized my time frame for reading the book was quickly closing, as the film had already been in theaters for a few weeks, therefore I read the book in 3 days after school got out.

I'm certainly not the most well-read person you'll come across, but I have read my fair share of novels and I think that Me Before You might be my favorite ever. From start to finish the book is as heartbreaking as it is funny and clever. It lives up to all of the hype. It follows main character Louisa Clark, a young, quirky woman in her 20's who's family is struggling with money, as she takes a job providing care and companionship for a man, Will Traynor, who was left a quadriplegic after a motorcycle accident. Louisa helps Will to try and make the most of his life as it is now, whereas Will finds purpose in convincing Louisa to live her life to the fullest, and have dreams bigger than the sleepy hometown she has barely ventured out of her entire life.  The relationship they develop during the time they spend together is magical, and you never want the book to end. The best way I can think of describing Me Before You is intelligent; it's so well written that you feel challenged as a reader while being completely engrossed in the story. The book made me cry on three separate occasions, and I've only ever cried at one other book in my life.

As a bonus, I went and saw the movie the day after I finished the novel. I thought it was well cast an certainly kept the essence of the book, yet I just felt it was missing something invisible that I can't necessarily put my finger on that the book seemed to have provided and the move didn't (real specific, I know). I'll admit to being hyper critical, I did finish the book only the day before and therefore clearly noticed when the plot veered from what was true to the text (I'll note that this did not happen very often, thankfully!) The movie is 100% worth seeing, but I would highly suggest reading the book before.

There is a sequel to Me Before You, titled After You that came out last year. I've heard that this 2nd novel doesn't nearly live up to the first, and for some people actually tarnished the beauty of the first book for them. For this reason, I don't think I'll be reading it, but if any of our readers here have read it and have a different opinion I'd love to hear it!

Have you read Me Before You or seen the movie?

xoxo,

Julianna 

Preppy by the Sea

June Playlist

I was looking at the calendar this morning and seriously could not believe the fact that June is practically over. Because we got out of school so late this year July is quickly sneaking up on me. Now that I have so much more free time, I have been listening to a lot of music on Spotify to start my summer playlist. The radio stations on the Cape are slim to none which results on me solely relying on the aux and my own music every time I get in the car. My two favorite songs at the moment are definitely H.O.L.Y. and No Church In the Wild, but I am desperately looking for some new ones to add to my list- any recommendations are welcome! 

xoxo,

Catherine

Preppy by the Sea