Rice Crispy Treats Three Ways

Jacqueline O.

If you know me at all, you know I'm not much of a cook. I do my best to make dinner during the week, but am relieved to hand the reins over to my husband during the weekends. I do, however, enjoy dabbling in a bit of dessert making when the mood strikes me. I love rice crispy treats when I have a sweets craving, but want to make something simple. I always end up making the super simple recipe, which I love, but I thought it would be fun to try out some more "grown up" variations. Here's what I came up with.

Microblog 07 | An Oliver Update

Jacqueline O.

Oliver has now been a part of our family for close to seven weeks now. As I had mentioned before, I had waited a very long time to get my poodle. We purchased him off craigslist, and while the logical part of my brain felt it was shady we were meeting my potential new puppy in the parking lot of a Circle K, the emotional part of me didn't care. We were told that he would grow up to be a teacup poodle weighing no more than five or six pounds.

After a couple weeks of major growth (he is now over five pounds at around 14 weeks) we were resigned to the fact that he was going to be bigger than we thought. We were also suspecting that he was not a full poodle, but possibly a mix, since his wavy hair was straightening. Fast forward to last Monday, I had dropped him for at my in laws for his daily play date, gotten to work in time for our morning meeting, then I noticed something. Little whisps of brown hair covering my all black work uniform. I came to the realization that we never had our poodle. 

Wears | 03

Jacqueline O.

Ah, spring is finally here and so are all the wildflowers! One of my very favorite things is the desert in bloom. I'm also super into all the 70s vibes going on with spring fashion. While I love the look, I'm still testing the waters while adding in a few elements with these adorable brown mules. 

Vintage Muse | 01

Jacqueline O.

If you've been around the blog for awhile, you'll know that I have a love for all things vintage. I love the challenge of finding ways to incorporate pre-loved items in a way that fits modern style 

The Bee's Knees | 01

"What we're currently crushing on! The trendiest trend stuff everyone really loves but I'm not sure why! Buy this thing that is super in right now!"

:(

I don't know about you, but we're tired of all that. There is such an over saturation of products being marketed at us and and endorsed by people we don't know these days, that we can never really be sure what's real and what isn't. It feels like high school again. "What? You don't have one of these?! How do you even, what is life?" It almost makes me feel... bad (sometimes) but mostly uncomfortable.

But I suppose that really is the point.

Here at The Sunshine District, Jacqueline and I are quite similar in a number of ways but we have a LOT of varying interests. Many times they are things that don't exactly fit within the perimeters of our blog and sometimes they do. Regardless, we want to enjoy and celebrate the things that we love. Because those things are special to us, and possibly other people will find them special too.

They may be products that work for us, other blogs we read, music we have just recently discovered (even if it's 15 years old), books we're currently reading, the list can go on. The Bee's Knees feature is our opportunity to share those things with you!

We won't focus on the trends of the day/week/month, rather we want to share with you things that make us feel good and happy. Possibly some of you will feel the same and wouldn't that we wonderful?

We think so.

Why don't we start then!

Wears | 02

Jacqueline O.

Here's part outfit post, part my favorite animals at the zoo. I was invited last minute to the Wildlife World Zoo by my in-laws, and with the gorgeous weather we've be having, I jumped at the chance! This zoo is huge, which is great because they have such a variety of adorable creatures to look at, as well as an aquarium. 

5 Tips For Looking Great On A Budget

Jacqueline O. 

I'm am such a fan of fashion and trying out the latest styles, but that always isn't in our budget. Over the years, I've had to learn through trial and error how to come up with looks I feel great in, while spending little to no money. Instead of keeping these little nuggets of knowledge to myself, I thought I'd pass along my top 5 tips to looking great while on a budget.

Wears | 01

I'm so excited to be bringing you guys my first outfit post in a year and a half! I have to admit, I almost didn't want to do outfit posts at all and just focus solely on the lifestyle aspect of the blog. I just wasn't really feeling it anymore. After getting in front of the camera a couple of times and shooting with Sky, I began to feel a little of that old spark come back, and I realized how much I missed it.

Microblog 01 | A Little Fresh Air

Growing up, I was never very active, aside from the mandatory time spent in gym class. I preferred to spend my time catching up on the latest episode of Dawson's Creek or flipping through Teen Vogue than get any kind of fresh air. The word exercise was a four letter word in my mind. Then, at eighteen, I met my husband.

Locals Only 01 | My Favorite Coffee Shop

Peixoto - Chandler, Arizona

11 West Boston Street, Suite #6

Chandler, Arizona 85225

Peixoto (prounouned "pay-sho-tow") is located in the heart of downtown Chandler in the south eastern part of the Phoenix area. My biggest regret is that they didn't exist eight years ago when I was still living in this part of town. However, I still think that the 45 minute drive is well worth it. 

I'm still relatively new to exploring great coffee. Up until about a year ago, I was perfectly happy ordering my tall black Pike Place and occasional soy latte. They say ignorance is bliss, and they would be right. I was ruined from the moment I took my first sip of my first cortado. This happened to be at Peixoto. My husband and I were having dinner with friends at our favorite sushi spot in town, and the sushi chef (who also happens to be a friend of ours) recommended this little coffee spot nearby. My husband works in coffee and was excited to try it out. It was love at first sip.

A Fresh Start

If you are a returning reader, we are so happy to have you back! If you are a new reader, welcome! We wanted to start out this relaunch by giving you a little bit of the background story behind The Sunshine District.

I started The Sunshine District in the summer of 2011 with a couple of other friends. It began as a creative outlet for me, as well as a way to share my passions with others. Eventually, I became the sole Author, and after three years of juggling blogging along with a full time job and running a household, I became burned out. Creating content for the blog by myself began to feel more like a chore and it became less rewarding for me. Right before I stepped away, my cousin Skyler, who is an artist, created a blog banner for me, which I absolutely adored. 

Flash forward to the end of 2015, I began to think about my blog again. I started to have conversations with Skyler about going back to it, and possibly starting up a paper goods business together, all while trying to convince her to move to Arizona with me. (That still hasn't worked!) The more we talked, the more I started to feel that old passion inside me again. Skyler and I both have a deep love for vintage style and thrifting. She loves to cook (and we both love to eat), and the idea of working together was really exciting to us! So we began planning a relaunch, introducing Skyler as co-author and designer. We both bring different skills to the table creatively, so it's a perfect balance!