How will you be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this year? Our local Coral Gables pub, John Martin’s Irish Pub, will be having a block party celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. There will be fish and chips and other yummy food and drinks. There will also be a U2 tribute band playing U2 covers throughout the celebrations. I can’t wait for the festivities to begin. I’ve been looking for something green to wear in my closet but I haven’t found anything. So I’ve been window shopping green dresses online, looking for comfortable dresses. I decided to share my final contenders with you. If you’re looking for a St. Patty’s Day outfit you might as well take a gander :)
I liked this dark green skater dress because it has a fit and flare silhouette. Fit and flare dresses are always the most comfortable while remaining flattering. I also like the tiny cutout in the front. It gives the dress a unique detail.
Everyday, I scour a long list of my favorite sites and pin all the awesome things to my Pinterest Boards. (Follow me on Pinterest – user: PinkghostFL) I stumble on some pretty cool stuff but not all of it makes it to the blog. So in an effort to bring some more of my Pinterest finds to Cool Gifting I decided to start a new feature: Wednesday Wishlists. Essentially, this feature will have the items I have loaded in my shopping carts during my daily internet window shopping. I hope you find great gift ideas for others and yourself in these posts :)
This dress made it into my shopping cart once I saw the back. I always fall for dresses that have cutouts in the back. My first dress with a cutout back had a square cutout and it was made by Vans. Ever since, I always check out the backs of dresses for a unique cutout. When I saw the cute circular cutout in this dress, I knew I had to have it. It’s a lower cutout that allows you to wear a bra without showing your bra strap. Aside from the nice cutout, what sold me were those coral buttons down the back. What a nice touch! Finally, the color combination of beige, dark coral and white feels a little like neapolitan ice cream. Sweet!
I have always loved polka dots. They are a classic pattern; they don’t really go out of style. However, there is a polka dot trend going on right now and polka dots are back in a big way. I have spotted dots on dresses, tops, skirts, shoes, bags, accessories, and even home goods! Needless to say, I am ecstatic. I can never have enough polka dots in my closet. No scratch that – I can never have enough polka dots in my life.
In my excitement to share all the beautiful polka dot goodies I found, I went a little overboard. Now I have so many goodies I want show you that I had to break them up into categories. I will not be posting a large image and description for everything because the post would be too enormous. So I have added these little javascript widgets that let you browse the goodies and decide if you want to look more into them. The only down side is that you can’t see these nifty widgets if you read the blog via our newsletter from your email. So I encourage you to visit the blog on a browser so you can see all the polka dots in all their glory.
I hope you share my love for dotted patterns. Let’s get down to business.
These 70s inspired Polka Dot wedges will go perfectly with your summer outfits. The platform will give you extra height while adding to the vintage vibe. Plus, look at that adorable ankle strap with a rounded buckle. As always, Alice + Olivia do the polka dot trend in style.
SPOLIER ALERT! If you haven’t finished watching the series there are spoilers in this post.
In honor of the end of the TV show, tonight I will be having a Parks & Recreation Viewing Waffle Party. I discovered Parks & Rec last year during the lull between the release of House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black. I remembered having watched a few episodes out of order some years back and not liking the show. Then, one lazy weekend, we decided to give it another try – from the beginning. I’m glad I waited so long that the first six seasons were available on Netflix because we binge watched them like maniacs.
Needless to say, I will be sorely missing these characters. I will miss the non-stop Leslie Knope – saintly go-getter and fierce feminist always looking out for her friends. I will miss her “Ovaries before Brovaries”, “Uteruses before Duderuses”, and “Galentine’s Day”.
I also loved the ongoing fictitious companies that made jabs at real life companies like Paunch Burger poking fun at fast food. Other things I will miss: Perd Hapley’s strange diction, Tom Haveford’s low key jokes (“nice tie dimple”), poor sad sack Garry, the cute relationship between Andy & April, insanely spoiled John-Ralphio & his sister Mona Lisa (played by Jenny Slate), and of course Ron Swanson. I’m so glad I can binge watch the new season of House of Cards this Friday to alleviate the sadness. Au revoir Parks & Recreation. I had a blast!
Shop Gifts Ideas For Parks & Recreations Fans
So keep an eye out. If you see anyone freak out over the show’s ending like me, then they have outed themselves as Parks and Rec fans. In the future, when you have to give them a gift, you can find them something related to the show they loved and recently lost. That’s what I do when I need to give someone a gift. I am alert year round to what they like and then I have lots of ideas when it comes down to picking a gift. I found some incredible fan art on Society6!
Tom and Donna’s Treat Yo’ Self escapades were an ongoing gag throughout the series. Now, if I’m on the fence on a splurge you can bet I yell out “Treat yo self!” when I pull the trigger. Hee hee :) This artwork is also available in other colors and in mugs, shirts, iPhone cases, pillows and more. So check out the site for more goodies.
This week I started watching the Breaking Bad spin off, Better Call Saul. Holy moly, it’s so great! I was left with a tv show void once the finale of Breaking Bad aired. There hasn’t been a show that truly grabs me since the Walter White saga ended – until the premier of Better Call Saul.
WARNING! SPOILER ALERT! (Skip this paragraph if you don’t want to read a spoiler.) What I love about this show is that it uses the same story telling and character development as Breaking Bad. So, even though Walter White is not in the show, it feels like you’re watching an episode of Breaking Bad. I actually might end up liking this show more because it builds on Breaking Bad. Characters like Mike and Tuco cross over and appear on Better Call Saul. So you get to watch the new show with a new story line but you also get to be on the look out for easter eggs referencing Breaking Bad. Yes, I am a total Breaking Bad fangirl and I love it! Things like the nail salon Saul Goodman tried to get Walter White to use as a front for their drug business turns out to be the place where he very first started. James Mcgill, Saul Goodman’s real name, starts out by renting a dingy little space as his first office in the nail Salon.
Spring is right around the corner and the floral pattern trend is in full bloom. From shoes, to dresses and accessories; flower prints are everywhere and I like it. It makes you want to have a tea party in a garden or at least a dinner in a back yard with stringed lights. I have put together a collection of floral patterned items, which I have stumbled upon lately. I hope you like it :)
This dress caught my eye because it has a beautiful cream color and the floral print is mostly on the skirt. If you look closely only a few flowers peek through the top of the dress giving it the feel of an actual garden. I am a sucker for small details like these in clothing. Looking at this dress I am reminded of flowers trying to grow, ever reaching for more sunlight. Other details I like about this dress are the delicate shoulder straps and the unique racerback finish in the back. The final reason this dress made it into my shopping cart is the A-line silhouette. I find the A-line cut to be the most flattering style in dresses and skirts. This is a definite must have for spring. It is perfect for outdoor events and looks gorgeous with the Kate Spade New York Licorice Too pumps in powder patent.
For those who like water sports but don’t like losing their swimsuit while they do it, I present these chic wetsuits & rash guards. Don’t get me wrong, if you like wake boarding in a string bikini go right ahead. I’m not judging you. Maybe you haven’t tried it yet. After all, no one warned me not to wear a bikini the first time. The first time I went wake boarding and fell, I had water up my nose, my ears, and other places; but most importantly, my bikini was a pair of useless rags that were not fulfilling their purpose of covering up my body parts. Now I know better and wear one piece bathing suits, preferably wet suits.
Rashguards are the modern pool t-shirt. In the past, when I was going to be playing in the pool all day my parents would make me wear a t-shirt in the pool because no amount of sunscreen reapplication tops a layer of clothing. Now a days, you can look stylish while you protect you skin. Plus, I love how rash guards give you the surfer look.
Boyleg and block halter neck swimsuits are all over the place. This vintage inspired swimsuit look is trending big time. Here are a few I fell in love with. I especially like the ones by Seafolly and the ruched fabric look.
I know there has been a backlash against strange cutaway swimsuits because they leave interesting tan lines. To those naysayers I say, “Are any cool looking tan lines?” I don’t think so. For those of us who are not prone to going to nude beaches (for whatever reasons) then we must deal with those pesky tan lines. So why not make it an interesting pattern while we are at it? Cutaway maillots are so cute. They add a little flair to your beach attire. Fun!
Flagpole Swim’s ‘Joellen’ swimsuit comes in a bold burgundy and crimson palette. This one-piece has a sporty cutout front and back to reveal a hint of skin. It’s made from a quick-drying Italian fabric that has built-in UPF50+ for added sun protection.
Retro inspired high waist bikini bottoms are back! Now you can recreate your grandmother’s swimsuit photograph but with a modern twist. I actually don’t have a picture of either of my two grandmas by the pool but I do have this adorable photo of my mom and her mom. It seems like everything in that moment was fantastic :) Doesn’t it? Anyhoo, here are some vintage inspired bikinis I liked!
Anyhoo, here are some vintage inspired bikinis I liked! 
