6.14.2012

Longing for Lilly

UPDATE FRIENDS:
I was just informed by a bloggy friend that Bloomingdale's is currently having a sale on some of these Lilly products!  All links with a * next to them are on sale right now, so hit the link and score big!!!

Happy Thursday chickadees!!!

Hope you're all having fabulous weeks!  Mine has been bittersweet-tomorrow is the last day of school and I am SO excited for summer vacation but am also getting really sad because I'm going to miss all my sweet kiddies terribly!

It's been a while since I've done a Lilly related post, but, just the other night I was perusing their site and WOWEE, Lilly has outdone itself!  I've always been a huge Lilly lover but I'm especially swooning over this summer's looks!  I have a gift card I received for graduation and have a feeling I'll be making a trip to The Pink Palm very soon!  Let's take a look at some of my favorites...


Remember my blog post from last June--To Romp or Not to Romp?  This romper has me screaming ROMP!!!  This might be the top of my current Lilly lust list!


I love the mix of the chic lace with the playful green!

It's no secret that I'm a sucker for cardigans and I'm just smitten with this Bee In Your Bonnet print!

I posted about my love of Lilly's Callahan shorts here and I have a feeling these Buttercup Shorts will become a favorite too!
*Seersucker and Toile Versions on sale here and here!*

This would be just perfect for a summer wedding!

I just know I would feel so pretty in this feminine, pink top!

AND....I think I'll stop there, because I could literally go on and on!!!  I love just about everything Lilly right now!!!

What are your favorites?

Have a Lilly loving day!!!

6.08.2012

Operation Smile

Happy Friday readers!

The countdown is on...the last day of school is just 7 days away!  I'm actually getting pretty sad about saying goodbye to my students, but I am definitely excited about summertime!

For today's post I wanted to share an organization that is near and dear to my heart:  Operation Smile.

Operation Smile is an international charity that works to help children with facial deformities such as cleft palates.  Their main goal is to bring smiles to kids faces...you KNOW that's something we support here at Sundresses and Smiles!


What I didn't realize until researching for this blog post, is that these deformities are not just a cosmetic deformity.  They can affect a child's ability to eat, speak, socialize, or smile.  Additionally, these children are sometimes shunned by society because of their deformity.  Every three minutes a child is born with one of these deformities.

Since 1982, Operation Smile has worked to give children their smiles back and provided them with a better life.  Through the help of medical volunteers and generous donations, Operation Smile has provided more than 2 million patient evaluations and over 200,000 free surgeries to children and young adults in more than 60 countries.


What's even better is...there's an easy way you can help!  I was recently contacted by Campus Book Rentals.

I know that many of you, my readers, are college students.  Well, not only does Campus Book Rentals offer great deals on renting textbooks...BUT...a portion of their proceeds goes to Operation Smile!  In fact, this year alone, Campus Book Rentals has donated over 1,000 surgeries to Operation Smile!

Their textbooks are  rented at 40-90% off bookstore prices, they offer free-shipping both ways, you can highlight in the books, AND, Operation Smile gets a donation for every textbook rented!  SO...for those of you that order your textbooks online or like to rent, bookmark this website NOW and help adorable kids smile!

Have a great weekend!!  I'm SO excited that summer is near and I can get back to blogging!

6.01.2012

Hash Brown Quiche

TGIF readers and Happy June!!

Hope you've all had delightful weeks!  Mine has been great--a few weeks ago I had hit kind of a teaching low. Fortunately, Memorial Day weekend last week (aka a few days off) rejuvenated and left me ready to tackle the next two weeks before summer vacation!  I have pictures and such to share from the holiday as well as some other recent festivities, but I'm just going to have to sit down and do a huge life catch up post in the next few weeks to cover all that.  If you need a picture preview, stop by the Sundresses and Smiles Facebook page, here!

Today, though, I thought I'd share a little recipe I've been dangling at you for a while (mentioned here and here).  It is none other than Paula Deen's Hash Brown Quiche.  This quiche is one of my go-to's.  I make it for my family every year on Christmas morning and find a few excuses throughout the rest of the year to make it as well.  Bryce and I even made it together on one of our first dates (yes, I know a way to a man's heart...).

What's even better is:  it's super easy, always a crowd pleaser, and something you could change up according to your mood.

The last time I made it was for an Easter brunch Bryce and I had for my family on Good Friday.

the spread

That day I doubled the recipe and for the first time tried cooking it in a casserole dish.  All other times before I have simply cooked it in a pie dish.  For the purposes of this post, I will post the original recipe (aka not doubled!).  If you would like a casserole sized portion, like in the picture above, simply double the recipe!

Ingredients
3 cups shredded, frozen hashbrowns (thawed and drained)
4 tbs (1/2) stick butter, melted
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup half and half
3/4 cup diced, cooked ham 
          (I either buy a ham steak and cut it up or just get chopped 
         ham from the salad bar)
1/2 cup diced green onions
1 cup shredded cheddar
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 450F

2.  Gently press the drained hash browns between paper towels to dry them as best as possible.  In a 9-in pie plate, toss the hashed browns with melted butter into the plate.  Press them into the bottom and up the sides to make a crust.  


3.  Bake 20-25 min until golden brown and starting to crisp.

4.  Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl combine the remaining ingredients.  (I have found over time, that it is better to not add the onions yet--rather I sprinkle them on the top at the end, this way they do not get soggy in the egg mixture.)  


5.  When the hash brown crust is ready, pour the egg mixture over it.  (This is when I sprinkle the onions on top.)  Return to the oven.




6.  Lower the temperature to 350F

7.  Bake for about 30 minutes until the quiche is light golden brown on top and puffed.

like this!

8.  Enjoy!

my more stuffed plate...
funny story--I initially forgot to add extra time to the cooking due to doubling the recipe, thus while the eggs are runny in this pic!  don't worry though, we put it right back in the oven and it still came out deliciously!

Are you ready to run to the store and get all the ingredients to make quiche this weekend?  I might have to!

Any fun weekend plans?  I've got another busy one--a meeting today after school, a friend's birthday celebration tonight, and my cousin's high school graduation party tomorrow!  Sunday calls for some relaxing by the pool, grading, and more job search work!

Have a good one!