My Favorite Things

Being in the retail industry, my taste changes very quickly.  We could get a new shipment in and I will LOVE a top, until a week later after I've looked at it all week and suddenly I hate it.

Currently there are a few things that I have been consistently obsessed with.  From fashion, to beauty, I thought I would share.

#1  My Chambray Top

 This is the exact one I have from BP in Nordstrom.  I am OBSESSED!  I wore it today paired with black skinny jeans, a white v-neck tee, and a cute turquoise skull scarf.

#2  The Sock Bun

 I wore this today, too!  I am actually surprised that my hair stays up in this, being that it is so thick, but this is the only way my hair will stay up.  It's out of my face, it looks cute, and I can wear it dressed up or down.

#3 MAC Mineralize Blush

This is a recent purchase for me.  I use the color "warm soul".  It's just pink enough, but still gives me the bronzing that I want for my recently more tan skin.  Plus, it has a hint of shimmer, which I love.  I purchased mine at Nordstrom.

#4 Maxi Dresses

 

This is currently my favorite maxi that I have hanging in my closet (OK, on the back of my door...). I am rather short, so the hi-low hemline isn't as noticeable on me.  But, for my fellow shorties, I have gotten in the habit of tying my dress into a knot to make it shorter so I don't have to pay for a hem, and it looks super cute and showcases your shoes!

#5 V-Neck Girlfriend Tee

 I simply could not live without this t-shirt.  It is hands down my favorite t-shirt that I have ever purchased.  I just purchased 2 more for myself at the Nordstrom Half Yearly sale for $12.90!  What a steal!

Well, there you have it!  My 5 favorite things.  Until next time!

Confessions of a BIG Loser

Back in February I joined some co-workers in my store for a "Biggest Loser" challenge.  I started off the first weekend HORRIBLY, since we spent that weekend in San Francisco doing pretty much nothing other than eating and drinking.  I thought for sure I had already failed at this challenge, and wondered why I had ever gotten myself into this.  

We didn't weigh in until two weeks after the sign up.  I still had not done any sort of exercise, but I had cut out some guilty pleasures in my life such as soda and fast food.  To my surprise at that first weigh in, I had lost 4 pounds!  

I guess all that walking in San Francisco, and cutting out that soda and fast food really did pay off!

Seeing that scale read 4 pounds less than it did two weeks prior was the kick in the butt that I needed.  That night I went home and had a solid game plan ready to share with John.  I couldn't do this alone.  I needed John to do it with me for moral support.

I gave up pork, soda, fast food, and decided to cut my red meat intake to twice a month.  I switched my normal pasta to multi-grain or wheat pasta, switched our regular milk to soy milk and almond milk, added more grains to our diet such as quinoa and brown rice.  I didn't realize how much those simple changes made such a difference.

I have added more fruits and veggies to my diet, I drink much more water, and when I am craving soda, I'll drink green tea or lightly sweetened black tea instead.

At first,  a lot of this was tough.  Some of these things are an acquired taste, and I didn't want to give up certain things.  I try really hard not to deprive myself of things that I crave, and give in every once and a while.  At the end of the day, I have found that it's just about making conscious decisions.  Now, we are at the end of the Biggest Loser challenge, and I am ready to join part 2!  This time I am going to add exercise 3-4 times a week to start.  Along with my healthy eating, I will be fit and healthy in no time!

Oh, I guess I still haven't shared my round 1 results....

To date, I have lost ELEVEN pounds!

Round 2 of Biggest Loser lasts until July, soooo until then! 

Broadcasting Live from B5

It's amazing how time flies.  A year ago John and I moved into our first apartment together (and ever!).  We have survived our first year out in the real world.  Yipee!

I have to admit, at first it was a little hard getting our apartment to feel like a place to call home.  I felt limited.  I knew we could hang things on the wall, but didn't want to disturb the neighbors with all the pounding.  But, I eventually got over it because hey, that's apartment life for ya!  

After many trips to Home Goods, Pier 1, Target and various other home decor places we went from this...

To this...

Now, I love to call this place home!  I enjoy coming home to cook dinner in our kitchen, relax on the couch with a glass of wine and light my favorite scented candle, having people over to BBQ and hang out on the patio, and so much more.

We have had a whole year of memories in this place, and we can't wait to make more!

Our First (Married) Valentine's Day

I've never been one of those sappy romantics.  Sure, I am like most girls and I get my altered visions of romance from movies and TV.  But, life doesn't always play out like that.

This year, I decided to go the DIY route for my Valentine's day gift for John.  I had it all planned out.  I was going to come home from work, and make him a nice romantic dinner with a bottle of wine and then we would cuddle on the couch and watch a movie.  But, to my disappointment, John ended up having to work at his second job that night.

I did my best to not be a Bitter Betty, but at first I let it get to me.  I over came this small struggle, because in all reality, what did I really have to be upset about?  My wonderful sister-in-law reminded me that "February 14 is just a date.  You can celebrate Valentine's Day any day."  

When I came home from a long day at work, I came home to this...

When I opened the fridge to put away my leftovers from lunch, I also found two trays full of chocolate covered strawberries :)

I haven't even gotten to the gift I gave yet!  Yes, I am very proud of myself for this one.  I had mentioned before that I planned to make dinner and have a movie night in.  So, I decided to make up a little basket.  Which turned out like this...

This basket, well tub actually, contained:  A bottle of wine to serve with the dinner that I will be making tonight, garlic and butter shrimp served over pasta with garlic cheesy bread, his favorite See's candy chocolate covered marshmallow, the two boxes of chocolates are kind of just an inside joke, two candles, the movie "Crazy, Stupid Love" (romantic, but not too girly) and three jars which contained 12 total cut out hearts each with a pre-planned date written on it for the next 12 months...

Most of the dates were things that don't cost any money, and I tried to theme them based on what month they were planned for.  For example, December is "Light Night", and I wrote something cute and witty that stated we would stop at Starbuck's for our favorite holiday coffee or hot cocoa and then pick a neighborhood with the best lights display and walk through and enjoy!  Other dates were "Disney Date" since we have our passes, "November Night In", "Pumpkin Patch Party" for October, and some other fun ones.

Now, we have a whole year to look forward to a date a month.  I thought this would be a fun, thoughtful idea to promote us spending more time together.  

This could be a cute idea for Anniversary's too, just sayin'.  :)

Foodie

Who isn't obsessed with Pinterest these days?  I am one of millions who have fallen head over heels in love with Pinterest.  I could sit on there for hours searching everything under the sun and be completely content/amused.  One thing Pinterest is particularly good at is making me hungry.  I have found endless amounts of recipes on there that I can't wait to make.  I have recently been experimenting with a few of these recipes and have been pleasantly surprised.

This was the first recipe I tested out.  Pesto stuffed chicken with Parmesan and garlic linguine.  YUM.

This is something I will definitely be making again!

I still like to think of myself as a beginner chef.  I never cooked much before John and I got our own place.  The extent of my cooking ability didn't steer far from macaroni and cheese and scrambled eggs.  The recipes I've been finding are very beginner friendly.  Some seem more advanced and I have "pinned"  those as well for when my skill grows a little more. 


The next recipe that I made was spinach and ricotta stuffed shells.  I am a sucker for anything pasta, so this was a good new recipe for me to steer away from the classic spaghetti and meatballs.

There was not a single shell left!  I was hoping for leftovers, but couldn't resist myself from going back for seconds.

That's all I have for now.  More to come, I promise!  


Bon Appétit!

New Year, New Attitude

John is always telling me that I need to find a system that works for me to accomplish things that I have on my goals list.  I feel this is always hard, because old habits and daily regimens are hard to break and start new!  I have decided to come into this New Year with a few really strong resolutions and a whole new attitude about how to make them reality.

1.)  Go to the gym at least twice a week.
      -  In the little planner that I keep in my purse I have my work schedule written in for the rest of the month.  Whether I am off, or I close that night, I have gone through the whole month of January and written in "gym" on certain days.  Most weeks, it is more than two days out of the week, but I feel that by planning it ahead and giving myself more options of when to go, I can up my gym goings to maybe even 3-4 times per week.

2.)  Get serious about saving money.
      -  One of the ways we decided we were going to get serious about saving money is by eating dinner at home more often.  With our crazy schedules it is always so hard to find time to go to the store and get stuff for dinners, but we have to find the time!  I went through my little planner again and on nights that I am off, or I have an opening shift I have written "dinner".  This is going to help me get in the habit of planning ahead with my shopping trips and not just shop for one night of dinner.  I am going to get in the habit of planning out dinners for the week and shopping ahead!

3.)  Explore with more new recipes!
      -  Since we have moved in together, I have found that I actually really love to cook!  Thanks to my recent interest in Pinterest, I have found so many recipes that I can't wait to try out!  Back to my handy little planner again, I have gone through and written "NR" for "New Recipe" on about 2-3 days out of the week.  I have written them on days that I am off, so that I can have more time to really enjoy the process.

4.)  Blog more!
      -  I have always loved to write, but lately I have found that I really love to blog!  I have only written maybe 5 entries so far, but I have noticed that I find myself being more open to things in everyday life.  I watch people more, I am more aware of what is going on around me, I feel I have a new attitude towards things because writing it out helps, and I am more open to new things so I can turn around and blog about it!

John told me the other night that in his eyes the worst thing a person can do in a relationship is stop bettering themselves.  I am making a resolution to never stop bettering myself.  For John, and for me. 

The Past, Present and Inspiration

Tonight, I began thinking about friends, friendship and family.  Past friends, present friends, future friends and family that lasts a lifetime.  How does that quote go?  

"People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime."

I am sure we all have people who stick out in our minds from each of these situations.  For me, I have friends (and family of course) that are in the lifetime category, friends that are in the reason category (and I know the reason, and in some cases turn into a lifetime),  and others that have (sadly) fallen into the season category.  

Bottom line is, these people have (in some way or another) left a mark on our lives.  Whether it's good or bad, we remember these people for a reason.

I began looking at photos and thought that I would share some of my favorites.  

Love this picture of me and Kandace.  This was taken 4 years ago before we had an interesting night out at the Branding Iron.

Another good one from when John and I had just started dating.  I had so much fun at this Wedding with John and his family.  We will be having a lifetime of memories together.

 

I am so grateful to have childhood friends that I still keep in touch with and look forward to seeing!  These ladies are responsible for so many memories I have as a little girl, and they are great memories!

Oh the camel...these ladies came into my life when I was still learning a lot about...well...LIFE.  Still love them and am thankful for them every day.

Life changing events will happen with your friends, and you can't wait to be there for them.

At the end of the day, whether you are pictured (or mentioned) in this entry or not, but you have been a part of my life, YOU inspire me.  Each and every day.  You inspire me to be who I am.  And I thank each and every one of you for that.