What To Wear To A Music Festival - OUTFIT INSPIRATIONS

OUTFIT INSPIRATIONS

If you're wondering what to pack for a festival, make sure you bring clothes that are comfortable, good for the weather, and feel free to show a little bit of skin! The majority of the girls there will be, so let loose and have fun with your outfits! Bring a few bikini tops, band shirt, tank tops, kimonos, distressed denim shorts, skirts, and lots of fun, boho jewelry and hair accessories. 

An awesome and comfy outfit idea is to wear a vintage-inspired band tee, distressed jean shorts, long kimono, flower crown, and cute floppy hat! 

 And, a romantic and feminine inspired outfit is also a wonderful option! Wearing a girly babydoll dress with some crochet details, wavy hair, and an oversized flower crown is sure to be adorably boho!

Southwest Inspired T-shirt 

What To Wear To A Music Festival - FOOTWEAR + SHOES + SANDALS

FOOTWEAR - WHAT TO WEAR TO A MUSIC FESTIVAL

I always opt for flat shoes, with some padding or support if possible, whether they are sandals, sneakers, or boots. The benefit to closed toe shoes would be that you can wear ankle socks underneath them. I like to wear something with some cushion - YOU WILL BE WALKING AND DANCING A LOT! I do think it's fun to go a bit dressier in style, rather than your oldest kicks, as shoes can make or break an outfit. Just know that whatever shoes you wear will get dusty and dirty, so don't bring your nicest shoes, or ones that you can't replace. And, make sure they are versatile for whatever outfits you create. I love the idea of embellishing your own boots, too! There are tons of tutorials out there! 
Click on the images to learn more about any item. 

The Mexicali Sandals, below, offer a nod to the Southwest and are made of leather, so they will last forever!

 And, Birkenstocks are always comfortable and you can walk quite a long distance in them. 

 These cute, boho sandals have a lot going on, but are definitely in the festival spirit! They remind me of friendship bracelets, and could possibly be replicated with the help of some beads, twine, and ankle bracelets. So cute!!

 And, of course, Free People always knows what's up! I love how they have paired some more industrial (and practical!!!), tall boots with a maxi skirt with a high slit! Perfection. 

What To Wear To A Music Festival - HATS + SUNGLASSES

Summer is fast approaching, and many music festivals already have tickets on sale, and initial lineups announced. If you are lucky enough to be attending a music festival or two this year, here are a few fashionable suggestions. I always tend to go for more boho styles, and have been to about 20+ festivals, and hundreds of concerts.  Also, for TONS of inspirations, check out my Pinterest Board called Music Festival and Concert Fashion.

Hats are a MUST if you're going to be out in the sun all day. They not only protect your beautiful face, but they help keep your hair tamed while you are camping. You may even want to bring some dry shampoo, in case a shower isn't as easy to find as expected. Make sure you bring a good SPF, too!! Make sure you drink plenty of water (in addition to whatever else you drink!!), stay in the shade when possible, and try to avoid heat exhaustion and sunburn, as it will completely ruin your festival experience.

SUN PROTECTION / HATS / SUNGLASSES

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Yummy Heart Chocolates - Makes A Great Gift!

I had SO much fun creating these heart chocolates. I made them in several varieties, and I am going to tell you how each one turned out! I used the highest-quality ingredients, mostly from the baking aisle and craft stores (for the heart mold and sprinkles). These turned out so well! 

 These would be the perfect Valentine's Day gift for someone who loves sweets but is hard to shop for! These aren't super expensive to make, like some seasonal recipes are, either! 

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INGREDIENTS:

Silicone Heart Mold - Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips - Ghirardelli White Chocolate Melting Chips - Andes Mint Baking Pieces - Chopped Walnuts - Heath Baking Pieces - Festive Sprinkles

*Note - do not use almond bark or candy melts for this method*

For best results, use a spoon to place toppings in heart mold. Let's begin the fun! 

Here are my "toppings" from left to right. 

Heath - make sure to only use a light, single layer of these or they won't all stick to the chocolate.

Andes - My favorite! Fill with Andes about 1/3 of the way.

Sprinkles - Look best on white chocolate, rather than milk.

Chopped Walnuts - Use only a light layer, similar to Heath.

Larger Sprinkles - use a single layer for best results.

*The prettiest ones were the little nonpareils (tiny ball sprinkles) in a single layer*

Now, melt the chocolate! I used a double boiler method (explained here - but do not add any butter). I used a shallow, medium pot and filled it about 1/3 of the way with water. I placed two 2 Cup Pyrex measuring cups in the water for a double boiler. Melt 1 package each of the milk chocolate and white chocolate in separate cups. Slowly melt the chocolates, and stir frequently. They should be smooth and move easily. 

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Once your melted chocolate is smooth, remove the cups with an oven mitt, and place them onto a towel near your work space. Get a little bit of chocolate onto a spoon, and begin adding milk chocolate to half of the hearts...

And, white chocolate to the other hearts. Be careful not to get chocolate everywhere, so your end result is prettier.

Carefully, slide the hearts onto a baking sheet or cutting board to transport them into the freezer. 

Here they are after being in the freezer for less than an hour! Make sure they are completely cooled and hardened before you move them. 

One of my favorite parts was removing the fresh chocolates from the molds and seeing my creations! I liked most all of them, and think they would look adorable packaged up all cute for Valentine's Day! 

Strawberry Muffins with Pink Icing

I wanted to make something with strawberries for Valentine's Day and here they are! The muffins don't need the icing, but it sure made them cute. I used mini muffin tins, and they were perfectly bite sized. These muffins were very moist, so make sure you cook them thoroughly. 

STRAWBERRY MUFFINS FROM SCRATCH 

2 C. all purpose flour

1/3 C. sugar

1 T. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

2 large eggs

1 C. milk

1/4 C. vanilla yogurt

1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 1/2 C. fresh strawberries, hulled and finely chopped

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Mix all ingredients except for strawberries. 

Here is my muffin batter before I added the strawberries and sugar. 

Below, I pureed the strawberries and added them to my batter. I also added 2 drops of food coloring to enhance the pink color for the photos :)

Bake the mini muffins for 15-18. Now, make your icing. 

I made a simple icing in my food processor. Add all ingredients, and process until combined. Scrape sides to incorporate any extra ingredients. Pour into smaller bowl to spoon onto muffins. 

ICING INGREDIENTS -  Original Recipe

1 Tbsp Butter - 1 C. Powdered Sugar - 1-2 Tbsp milk - 1/4 tsp vanilla - 2 tsp. fruit - Food Coloring

Thanks for stopping by! These were even great the next day. Enjoy! 

A Bouquet Of Bacon Roses

These bacon roses are so great! You can't exactly surprise someone with them, as the smell of bacon does tend to be pretty prominent while you're baking these. 

But, you could definitely surprise someone when they got home from work with these for Valentine's Day!

Here is how you make them. They're pretty easy!

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Long skewers, green florist's tape, wired leaves, 1 package of thin cut bacon, waxed butcher paper (optional - to wrap bouquet), scissors, and toothpicks. (Also, a baking tray covered in foil and a wire rack to bake the roses on. I used the one from my toaster oven).
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1.) Preheat oven to 350* F. Spray non-stick spray onto your wire rack. Place rack onto your foil lined baking sheet.

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2.) Using a cutting board as your work surface, roll each piece of bacon into a "rose" shape and insert two toothpicks to hold the spiral in place. I use rubber gloves for this part! Roll the roses so the white, more fatty part is downward. Secure with 2 toothpicks.

3.) Place each bacon "rose" onto the wire rack and bake for 25-30 minutes. 

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4.) While the roses are baking, grab your skewers, green florist's tape, and scissors. Wrap each skewer with the tape, beginning at the pointy end. At first, wrap the tape around a few times and press to secure onto skewer. Then, at more of a diagonal, run tape the rest of the way down the skewer. Rip off the tape at the end of each stick, and use fingers to secure any loose ends. Repeat as many times are you have bacon slices.

NOW, add the leaves to the sticks by winding the wires around skewers and securing tightly.

5.) Carefully remove the bacon roses from the oven, making sure not to spill any grease. Let them sit until they are almost cooled. This won't take long. 

6.) Put your gloves on again, carefully remove the toothpicks, and stick each leafy skewer stick so the pointy end does not show.

That's it! You're done. And you have a beautiful bouquet of Bacon Roses. Aren't they amazing?!

To eat them, just use a fork to remove the bacon roses from the stems, and serve on a plate. 

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