foodie friday...lemon dill chicken and vegetables

i love anything lemon. i use a lot of lemon juice in things. a few weeks ago i was looking for something different to make for dinner. i started out with a plan to make lemon chicken and ended up with lemon+dill.

chicken breasts

fresh squeezed lemon juice-1/2 large lemon

1 tsp dried red onion

1 TBSP garlic

fresh dill

brussels sprouts

carrots

bake 350 degrees for 40-60 minutes depending on how much chicken and how thick

beauty time tuesday...bobbi brown haul

i have always heard really great things about bobbi brown products, but i have never actually tried the line...until now. melanie and i went to an event at nordstrom on saturday. 

we got our makeup done, and it was perfect to try out some bobbi brown products. i really like the products a lot and decided to buy a few. 

bronzer, concealer, color corrector in bisque, gel eyeliner, lip balm, mascara

we had a fun time getting our makeup done, shopping, and lunching. it was the perfect saturday.

random rambling...on being adventurous

that title is a little bit deceiving. if there is one thing i am not, it is adventurous. i am very loyal, dedicated, responsible, etc., but i would never describe myself as adventurous. i wish i was, but i am not. 

i made dinner plans with friends for this past weekend. the conversation went something like this...

l: let's go somewhere fun. ya?

t: yes somewhere fun...have you gals ever tried hot pot? you basically pick out what flavor broth you want for the table, and then you pick out all the meat and veggies you want and you cook it in your little pot. 

l: sounds fun to me. let's do it

me: sounds fun for tomorrow

i'm thinking this sounds kind of like melting pot-boiling broth, cooked food.the end.

we pulled up to the sketchiest looking place, and right away i knew i was over dressed in my heels. the place was fine on the inside but much different than i expected. we did cook our food in a pot of broth at our table. it was pretty good, and we had such a fun time.

i wish i was a little more adventurous. i was a little nervous instead of excited. i wish i could have more of a fun easy going personality sometimes,but if we were all the same that would be bad. this weekend definitely reminded me that i am not very adventurous. are you adventurous or more of a planner?

what would you do...with pink lipstick

this month we want to know...

WHAT WOULD YOU DO...with pink lipstick?

red lipstick was one of my favorite what would you do prompts so i was pretty excited when all my girls agreed to a pink lipstick prompt this month. i rarely wear pink lipstick so this was fun to do. i actually wore baby lips neon collection. it is pretty bright pink, but it looks much more subtle in the pictures.

urban outfitters cardi, nordstrom rack tee, old navy jeans, gap flip flops

grab the button and link up your pink lipstick

next month we want to know...WHAT YOU YOU DO...with pineapple.

Grab a Button and Link Up

<center> <a href="http://www.burkedoes.com/2016/01/what-would-you-do-1-hour-of-free-time" target="_blank"><img src="http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w41/Emilie_Lima_Burke/what-would-you-do-wednesday_zpsfili57qk.png" alt="Fit-for-me" border="0" /></a></center>

beauty time tuesday...

how often do you wash your makeup brushes? if you're anything like me, you probably don't wash them nearly as often as you should. i really try, but i am so not good at it. i got the most amazing tip from jen. i may not be as good at regular washing, but i spray my brushes every single day.

mix 1 part rubbing alcohol with 3 parts water, and you're ready to use. i put it in a spray bottle and spray my brushes after i use them each morning. do you wash your brushes regularly? if not, try this.

weekend happs

i got back from a 10 day trip to missouri and tennessee so late thursday night. by the time i finally got to bed and struggled getting to sleep, it was a short night of sleep. i was really looking forward to the weekend.

friday was crazy. we are hiring for a couple of positions at work. due to scheduling issues, we did 10 first interviews on friday. i love interviews, but having so many in one day was exhausting. 

i went straight from interviews to meet meredith and kimberly for dinner. we had the best time laughing and catching up. i'm so glad i got to see meredith while she was in town.

saturday ended up being busier than i expected. i got up super early (another short night of sleep) to run for a couple of hours. it was a beautiful morning, and i'm happy i got up to go.

i met up with a friend for a little shopping. i got in trouble for having old eyeliner and eyelash curler so i did a little more shopping. i thought i would get home later than i thought. it was nice not to have any plans. i got a lot of cleaning and other things done.

the weekend was a good mix of fun and productivity. how was your weekend? any exciting happs?

gift ideas especially for parents

i love giving gifts. i love finding the perfect gift. i love the reaction when someone opens the perfect gift. i love my parents so much. does anyone feel like giving gifts to parents is a major challenge. it's hard to find the perfect gift because if they want something, they usually buy it themselves. we have a few standard gifts we often go to.

1. bath bombs for my mom

2. gift certificates for a facial

3. shirt and tie (not my fave)

4. something electronic

5. tickets to a play

my parents don't necessarily expect the perfect gift, but i always want to find the perfect gift to give. this year we finally found the perfect gifts.

we bought my dad a new DSLR camera. it was the newest model just before christmas. he loves to take pictures and is constantly working on his photography. he was so excited and he loves it. 

we found one of the most amazing gifts for my mom. she loves pebble ice so much. we got her an ice machine. unfortunately she doesn't have it yet, but she is so excited to get it.

another great idea is religious materials-books, music, jewelry, bags, etc. i found a great place online to buy things. the lds store has pretty much anything and everything you could want.

the website is so easy to navigate. it's quick to find what you are looking for and place your order. since we got bigger gifts for my parents we called it good for chrismas and their birthdays, but mother's day and father's day are right around the corner. it looks like i have some shopping to do.

i've teamed up with the lds store online to give one of you a $30 giftcard to their site. comment below with your email address and what you would buy either as a gift or for yourself.

giveaway is open to US residents only. winner will be selected on friday, april 22. winner will be selected at random from the comments.

this post was compensated by the lds store. as usual all opinions are my own.

a combination of favorites

this is going to age me...but there was a time in my adult life when there was no social media. i never got into myspace so i can't even talk about that. i remember when facebook first came out. it was only for college students, and i was already done with college. i talk all the time about being older than i look. i basically just proved my point. i had to wait until facebook was available to everyone or be invited by a student or something like that. it's hard to imagine a time before facebook, but there really was a time before facebook.

on of the first photos i was tagged in on facebook in 2007

maybe you're thinking "you're old. what's your point?" my point is, i moved far far away from home and all of my friends from my childhood to attend college. i stayed pretty close to my college town, but a lot of my friends from college moved away. before facebook and other social media, it was a lot harder to stay in touch with friends-even with the best of intentions. i remember letters in the mail and emails, but those were hard to keep up with. slowly i lost touch with a lot of friends i thought i would stay in touch with forever. thankfully i have been able to reconnect with some but not all. i am a huge relationships person. i love meeting new people and staying in touch with old friends. 

you know what else i love??? reality tv. i mean we all know that right? if i watched more tv, i would probably just watch more reality tv. don't even get me started on is reality tv actually real. i recently found out about a new reality series coming out soon. it's the perfect combination of the 2 things i love the most-friendship and reality tv. it is completely real and authentic and focused on reconnecting lost friendships. doesn't it sound great? they are currently casting for the show. if you are someone you know is interested, check out the details below.

i received compensation for this post

wear it wednesday...styling a t-shirt 1

are you a jeans and t shirt kind of girl? i am not necessarily a jeans and t shirt girl, but that is the style that is most conducive to my life/job. even when i am in jeans and a t shirt, i usually want to dress it up a little. i am starting a new wear it wednesday series-styling a t shirt. 
this month i added an army jacket, ballet flats, sunglasses, and a necklace. i love a good white v neck t shirt, but i want a little more style with it.

costco jacket|walmart v neck|old navy jeans|toms flats|target sunnies|cents of style necklace

what's your favorite way to style a white v neck?

beauty time tuesday...dirty hair don't care

just in case you think you are reading last week's beauty time tuesday, you aren't. we are talking about hair again though. i talk about my lack of hair washing and hair brushing all the time so it's only fair if i tell you all my secrets.

this picture is old-we can all tell because i am tan. winter is following me everywhere i go so i have absolutely no color right now. i took these pictures on a monday which means i was on day 3 of hair. i usually go a full week but always at least 4-5 days. i can't stand how long it takes to wash and condition my hair, and blow drying wet hair is also the worst. therefore, i do them both as infrequently as possible. it's been a work in progress, but i feel like i have finally mastered the art of not washing my hair.

1. start using dry shampoo on day 1(after your hair is dry) and for sure day 2 before your hair gets too dirty

1a. spray the dry shampoo like you would a root spray-all around the crown of your head

2. blow dry (either the sweat back in or just blow dry the dry shampoo in). use your brush while you blow dry

3. style as usual (i often wear my hair straight for a day or 2 and then curl. by the end of the week my curling wand is the best way to style)

3a. don't touch your hair. touching your hair makes it even dirtier

3b. only brush if you need to (get the tangles out with your fingers)

done and done. i was going to wash my hair today, but it won't quit raining. washing my hair when it's raining feels like a big waste so i'm going to put it off another day.

random rambling...my autism story

april is autism awareness month! each year i do something a little different to celebrate the month. i've worn blue everyday of the month, gotten my co-workers to wear blue tutus, hosted blue polish nail swaps among other things. this year i am wearing my puzzle piece alex and ani bracelet everyday to remind me and everyone else that autism is everyday.

autism is more prevalent than many other childhood disorders. in the past 10 years the rate of incidence has gone from 1/166 to 1/68. almost everyone either know someone with autism or knows someone who knows someone. there is a lot of promising research in the autism world but there is so much more to be done. autism speaks has a lot of great information. some common characteristics or red flags of autism are

limited eye contact

hand flapping or other sensory behaviors

language delay

poor social skills

difficult behaviors

repetitive behaviors

potential physical and medical issues

sensitivity to light, sound, touch, etc.

the things about autism is everyone is different. it is called a spectrum disorder because that is exactly what it is. everyone has their story with autism, and every story is a little different.

my story about autism started when i was a kid. my cousin was diagnosed with autism when he was 3. we lived clear across the country from them so i did not actually see much of it or know much about it. all i knew was that he didn't talk as well as other kids his age. 

fast forward a lot of years until i was almost done with college. i worked at the library part time. i wasn't looking for another job, but for some reason i looked at the job ads in the paper. yes newspaper-i'm older than i look. there was a post for an in home therapist for a child with autism. for some reason i called, had an interview, accepted the job, started working with children with autism, and my life changed forever.

i ended up working with several kids with autism during and the year after college. i loved it so much, and it led me to my current job. my story with autism doesn't end there. that's really only the beginning.

i have the opportunity to work with many children with autism and their families. i see the challenges and the accomplishments, the tears and the laughs and most of all the love. my life has been so richly blessed by all the people i have worked with and continue to work with.

if you have concerns for your child or someone you know, go to autism speaks for more information.

everyone has a story with autism. tell me yours.

kenzie turns 1

i am lucky to have a really flexible job. it fits well with my work hard, play hard motto. i like to go visit my nieces and nephews for their birthdays. kenzie turned 1 the middle of march. my mom and i both went to california for her birthday. since we were in town, chelsea kept things pretty simple. 

 

this kids were so excited for kenzie to open her gifts. i don't know if she did much opening. she definitely had some helpers.

 she was excited about everything.

she loves babies so much. it's the cutest thing. funny side not-my mom gave her this baby doll and her other grandma got her the exact same doll. 

the cake and topper were so simple to make. we made the topper the night before, and i quickly decorated the cake right before the party.

 she loves balloons!

 pictures with the birthday girl-with karlee

with grandma 

 with me

 she was excited when she saw the cake. this girl loves food.

 facetiming with ashley. her cute little smile says it all.

kyler liked the cake too. 

 i talked about the banner already. i still love it and can't wait to make another sometime.