late girl's guide | date night dinner

If there's one golden nugget of mom advice I've gotten regarding food that I stick to, it's this: if you love to eat, you'd better know how to cook. And trust me, I love to eat. That said, the older I've gotten the more excited I am about cooking (especially now that I have someone to cook for. If it were just for me I'd just survive off of whatever was in the pantry.)

The one thing that gets in the way of that these days is time, or the lack thereof. Eating at restaurants are more convenient but it'll leave you thinking, "did I spend that much on eating out this week alone? Good lord." To save money and use the little time I have wisely, I've been experimenting with faster recipes like this flavorful one for lemon pepper tilapia.

Once you've got all of your ingredients, you're set.

1. Season the tilapia according to your taste.
2. Butter the baking dish and put dabs of butter on the fish. 
3. Squeeze some lemon juice over the tilapia.
4. bake at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes if fresh or 15-20 if frozen. 
Lemon pepper tilapia is light, fresh and flavorful. It goes well with just a salad, mixed veggies or rice pilaf (from a box to save time, obviously). 

a walk in the park

Finals are finally over and it's safe to announce that my summer has officially started. What am I going to do with myself? All this time and no classes to attend? What's a girl to do? 

While I don't have major summer plans as of yet, I'm slowly realizing out how much I love going to a park, laying out with a good book and some good company and relaxing. I say slowly because, well, parks used to freak me out. Well, mostly the bugs would to freak me out. And the heat -- it can get hot and sticky and gross. But, I've obviously matured past that. 

To combat the heat I stick to light dresses for the appropriate ventilation. This one is Madewell's Cami dress and is 100% silk. It feels like wearing air. As for the bugs, well, instead of running from them, I wear them. These Queen Bee earrings are a favorite of mine and I'm 100% positive they've helped me get over my fear of being attacked by a swarm of bees. 

All in all, it's good for my mental health to get up from behind a glowing screen and get some fresh air. Giving up wi-fi and indoor amenities for a while is no big thing for me now. I'm practically a hippie.

find it here