April Birchbox

I know it's already May, but I wanted to finally share my April Birchbox with y'all. I know, I know... what took me so long? Forgive me please. 

Juice Beauty Stem Cellular CC Cream

CC Creams seem to be dominating my makeup routine lately. While I'm a big fan of juice beauty, this product was a bit of a miss for me. I didn't love the smell and the coverage was minimal, but I will say that my skin looked noticeably more radiant after a few days of use. If you don't need much coverage I would say go for it, but this was a miss for me.  

Beauty Protector Protect and Detangle 

I mentioned this product in my april favorites, but I need to talk about it more. I will never be without this spray ever again. I can't even tell you what a change I've seen in recent weeks. The spray smells AMAZING, and my hair looks so healthy. My ends aren't as dry, no frizziness even as the humidity increases around here. 

Caudalie SOS Morning Eye Rescue

I really really wanted to love this product, but I don't. It smells great and goes on so smooth, but as someone who definitely suffers from morning eye puffiness I saw little to no reduction beyond the aid of a cup of coffee and a splash of cold water on my face. Plus for the cost... there's no way.

Yes to Grapefruit Daily Facial Scrub

I'm a big fan of "Yes to..." products, and this one is no exception. I absolutely loved then scent and the scrub was effective, but not overly rough. I like the idea of exfoliating my face everyday, but you definitely need a gentle scrub, this one fits the bill.

Yes To Carrots Lip Butter

This has been one of my go to lip balms for years. I've strayed a bit for my love of EOS products. I have the mint and the berry. Super moisturizing, long lasting and they smell so good.

My favorite view in all of DC

The weather in DC has been so fabulous lately. So one day last week I grabbed my camera and ran outside during lunch to try and capture a small piece of the majestic capitol building. I'm so lucky, because I get to enjoy a view of this beautiful building every time I go to work. I know that I might never get that chance again, so I'm trying my best not to take it for granted. 

I mean come on, how gorgeous does this look with the perfectly green trees and the bluest of blue skies?

The monuments are all amazing, and I don't take as much time as I'd like to enjoy them but the capitol building will always be my favorite sight in this city. 

Someone once told me that when the sight of the dome stops taking your breath away, it's time to leave this town. For some reason that little antidote has stuck with me for years. I see the dome driving to and from work, walking around the office, or any time I leave for a meeting. But I try to take a moment each day to appreciate how lucky I am to be here. Working in DC and on capitol hill for the last three years has really been a dream come true, one that I will not soon forget. As frantic and stressful as life can be at times, I really appreciate having such a beautiful view to remind me just how lucky I am.  

*All images are original to Blue Dog Belle. 

Cocktail Hour: Strawberry Lime-arita

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo and the perfect weather in DC this weekend I decided to whip up a fun frozen cocktail to enjoy. I'm not a huge fan of super syrupy frozen drinks, so I made my own frozen margarita of sorts. Really, it's more of a daiquiri, but I used tequila (you have to celebrate 5/5 right?). This was pretty easy to whip up, and I just threw everything in the old magic bullet. Hope y'all enjoy

Strawberry Lime-arita 

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen strawberries (I threw in some very ripe fresh ones too)
• 3 oz Tequila
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1 1/5 TBSP simple syrup

Directions

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend. Add ice or additional syrup until you reach your desired consistency/sweetness.  Enjoy.

Now I will tell you this is tangy and delicious, and it creates a pretty big margarita so you could easily share it with a friend.  I garnished with a slice of kiwi because it was pretty. Hope y'all enjoy!

All images are original to Blue Dog Belle unless otherwise noted. 

Friday's Fancies: Floral Fun

For this week's Friday's Fancies we are featuring our favorite florals for spring. Personally I'm not a huge fan of floral prints, but I'm trying. I came across this gorgeous pink top from j crew and I knew it would be the perfect piece to build a floral outfit around. The only problem? I've fallen for too many floral pieces! Who knew?

pink j crew top / flounce skirt / floral skirt / evening high heels / Flat shoes / kates spade watch / green bracelet / Pink earrings / gold earrings

On the left I feel like the shoes steal the show, but with some bright color blocking and a gorgeous kate spade watch I think it balances well. But if you wore this outfit you certainly couldn't be afraid of color!

On the right the floral combo is a little more traditional. Add in some fabulous flats, a little sparkle (y'all know I had to) and a fun bangle and you're all set for a spring brunch.

As always come join the fun over on {AV}'s blog!

Now for a new tradition on this blog, Friday Link Love!

I loved getting to catch up with Alissa this week, especially because she was wearing this fabulous outfit! I love her in florals and neon!

Meg is one of my go to blogs for beauty advice and I loved her April favorites post.

Tabitha never fails to make me laugh out loud, this post featuring her attractive bald fiance M had cracking up.

Allyssa had a great mother's day gift guide which has definitely given me some great shopping ideas.

Congratulations Liz on your big announcement this week! I'm so excited to have another blog friend navigating the craziness of law school!

As for the weekend, I'll just be hanging around town trying to enjoy this gorgeous spring weather we've been having. Soaking up as much DC time as I can!!! What do y'all have planned?