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Friday, June 28, 2013

Pet Peeves & Jamz

Nothing is coming to me on what to write about today, but I want to link up with mah girl Whitney so I figured I'd do another link up to give me something to write about!

Not to mention, Leslie is too cute for words and I always enjoy reading her blog. Win/Win.
The topic this week is pet peeves. 

Here are some of mine:
1. Slow drivers: Flat out can't stand 'em. It's not that I had the safety of driving 5 mph under the speed limit, it's that these people have no courtesy to other drivers on the ride and feel the need to do it in the fast lane.  

2. Negativity: People that only share the negative things. You know the ones that claim the world is out to get them and life is completely unfair, then decide to share it through their social media channels, as if the rest of us are just dying to hear how horrible their life is going. We all have good and bad days. Get it together and focus on what you do have. The only reason why you're unhappy is because you're choosing everyday to not see the good in the world.
3. People that cancel: I'm not, nor will I ever be, someone that cancels on someone. Now I understand things happen, but I absolutely cannot stand when people just plain cancel for no reason.  It's completely inconsiderate and just plain rude. Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a sticker with plans. If I expect you, I'll be upset when you say "you're just not in the mood." However, I hold myself to the same standard because no one likes getting canceled on. 

4. Mean People: We all know those people that would prefer finding something horrible to say about someone rather than look for the good in them. Most of it stems from insecurity but it still bothers me. Of course we're all guilty of it at times, but I've been taking a special approach on focusing on the good in people recently. I've never talked crap about people and felt really good about myself after. If you look, you can find something good about everyone. It's there, I promise you.
Being that I'm in the greatest mood today, it seems rather odd that this post is all about pet peeves. 

It could be due to the fact that it's Friday... or it's because I'm going to another fabulous Stella & Dot party tonight hosted by the bestie MissMrs. Kate (a year later & that's still weird.)
Tell us what your pet peeves are by linking up at A Blonde Ambition.

AND finally, my #backthatazzup song of the week.

When I think of #backthatazzup my mind always goes back to throwback jamz. And this was one of my favorites, regardless of what the meaning could have been about, because I never understood the meaning behind song lyrics or movie quotes until I was about 18. Sad, I know.

Happy Friday!

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Cherry Angioma

For the past 7 years, I've been plagued with what is known as a Cherry Angioma. These small clusters of blood vessels come in the form of a red dot.. & although they are completely harmless, it's basically a permanent looking pimple.  

Mine happened to show up right above my eyebrow. Le sigh. 
All of my friends and family claim to not even be able to see it. Quite honestly, whenever I  look in the mirror or see a picture of myself ALL I see is the Angioma. Crazy? Yes... but true.
It took me years to make a Dermatologist appointment to figure out what the spot was. Mainly because I thought it was something that was going to go away on it's own. Alas, it's not that simple. 

Once I was armed with the name of this uninvited guest, it was time to figure out what to do about it. Insert 3 more years researching home remedies and sitting through doctor's visits where they attempted to freeze it off with the Cryopen. After a few futile attempts, I decided that I needed to seek other treatment options.

After 7 long years of unsuccessfully trying to cover this thing with make up, I have a removal appointment on July 11th

You have NO idea how excited I am for this day to come. I even emailed the doctor today to check if she had any cancellations so I could squeeze in earlier, but haven't received a response yet. I'll obviously be having celebratory drinks later that night.

*UPDATE* They emailed me back and I have an appointment in 3 hours!

{insert happy dance} 

I'll admit that my life might sound rather pathetic if this is my idea of a reason to celebrate, but this is right up there with getting my braces off after 5 years & 11 days. I know, it's embarrassing that I was a metal mouth for that long. Therefore, it had to be documented on the blog. 

Plus, it was insanely hard to find people that had gone through the process of getting one removed. If anyone else is losing their pretty over an ugly red dot, let me know and I'll fill you in with all the deets. 

Monday, June 24, 2013

One for the books!

Let's get right down to it. 

After work on Friday I went to see NKOTB, 98 Degrees & Boys ll Men in concert.

Happy Hour before, standard. Shots of Fireball, necessity. Excited fans, you betcha.
 These boys (now men) did NOT disappoint. I don't think I sat down for more than 3 minutes the entire concert & that was while they were in the process of switching acts. My feet were not so happy with me come Saturday morning, but it was COMPLETELY worth it. 
 I'm not sure if it was the alcohol, the energy, the 13-year old in me or what, but I literally had the time of my life... & I think I said that numerous times during the show. 
Yes, I was that girl screaming "this is the best day ever!" Oh wells.
New Kids on the Block had more energy than I ever would have been able to muster myself. And surprisingly, and thankfully, they don't look much different than they did 15 years ago. Swoon.
Saturday morning we spent the day at the pool with my little sweetheart of a Nephew. He could cure a multitude of ills, including a hangover, with one giggle. Love him to pieces.

After the pool day, I decided it was time to head to the dealership and purchase a new car. I've been needing a new car for quite some time but I hadn't found one that I just adored, until I passed the Mazda dealership this week and saw this beauty sitting out front. Obsessed is an understatement. After a grueling negotiating process, I drove home my new 2014 Mazda 6.
On Sunday, I just organized stuff around the house, went grocery shopping, cooked dinner, caught up on my shows and, of course, took my car for a spin a few times.

I believe I had a pretty successful weekend if I do say so myself.

Link-up with us & share what kind of Shenanigans you got into this weekend! :)
Sami's Shenanigans

Friday, June 21, 2013

#backthatazzup

The 10-year old girl inside of me will be having the time of her life tonight.

Why, you ask? 

I'll just be listening to some classics, such as "I'll Make Love to You," "The Hardest Thing,"  and "Please Don't Go Girl" to name a few.

If you haven't caught on just yet, I'll be attending the concert I've been not-so-patiently waiting for since the day they announced the tour back in January. 
Oh hey, Joey McIntyre!

You can bet your bottom dollar that I will be uploading my very first Instagram video while dancing, singing and trying not to spill my drink everywhere. 

It's a tough job, but someone has gotta do it. 

And with that, I leave you with one of my New Kids jamz. 

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Cheers to 4 years!

Yesterday, Justin & I celebrated 4-years together.

That's equivalent to surviving all of high school or college together, which we all know is next to impossible to achieve.

Last night, I shared this photo on my Instagram with the caption "Celebrating 4 years of dating bliss" & didn't get any comments about my joke. I mean, let's be honest people, nothing is pure bliss.
except for bang bang shrimp, but that's a whole other story for another time...
With that being said, it's extremely fun to get the opportunity to look back on all the memories you have created with someone, something you wouldn't be able to do if you gave up at every bad turn. Sometimes I forget how blessed I am to have a guy that still opens my car door and enjoys making me feel special. If he starts standing up when I excuse myself to the ladies room, we may have a problem. But, I'll take the other gentleman-like qualities any day :)

Our anniversary falls directly in between our birthdays and since our birthdays are only 3 weeks apart, we typically don't do much to celebrate. Last night, we even considered switching our anniversary date to October to break things up a bit, but decided we'll just wait until it's a wedding anniversary... gasp.

Justin began our celebration by sending some pretty flowers to the office.
... followed by a romantic dinner at The Capital Grill. If you know me, you know that my dinner preferences are about
as fancy as Ariel at her first dinner party on land. 
Since Justin is very much the wining & dining type, sometimes I just humor him and try to enjoy his fancy taste. It appears that restaurants are stepping up their game because they brought us the wine list on an iPad that have food pairings for each wine. Sometimes that boy knows what he is talking about because my food was some of the best I've had. 
Justin gets embarrassed by my photography so I'm usually only allowed two photos with flash per meal, which is why the photo with Justin searching the iPad for his wine choice is dark. How girls get their guys to take photos of them for their blog is beyond me. Justin just laughs at me and thinks this whole blogging thing is for the birds. 

Because we have what I believe to be the greatest group of friends ever, we decided to spend the remainder of the night playing games with them. I'd be willing to bet that we have more game nights then most groups of children, but that's not something I'll ever be ashamed of.

The boys were pretty excited about the new game that they spent 20 minutes at Target picking out. It's called Loaded Questions and we all had to give the guys a pat on the back because it was a total blast. After an intense game, we got the itch to deep fry every type of food we could find. Yes, that's a cookie, banana, grilled cheese and mozzarella stick you see in the photo below.
We also made fried pickles and tried frying ice cream to no avail.
Needless to say, Justin and I have now added a deep fryer to our shopping list.

Getting home at 2 a.m and having to be at work at 8:00 a.m. is not ideal, but I don't regret it for a second. Sometimes you just need to go with the flow and have a carefree night with friends. It's good for the soul. 






Wednesday, June 19, 2013

IPSY Glam Bag!

My June IPSY Glam Bag is here! This is only time of the month where I anxiously await the mailman's arrival because he is bringing my something other than the typical mounds of bills. 
1. Everything that came in this month's glam bag!
2. J. Cat Beauty UN13 Eyelashes & Glue ($4) - UN13 Perfect length and density.
3. NYX Blush in Spice ($5) - Sheer, silky color that creates a natural glow that claims to stay on your face for hours. 
4. J. Cat Sparkling Cream Palette ($5) - I'm not a huge sparkle person but that also means that I'm not going to purchase a sparkly palette. However, I have found certain occasions where I wanted to add some sparkle to my look so I can already tell this is going to come in handy. Perhaps at a concert that I'm attending on Friday? I think so. 
5. Chella Ivory Lace Highlighting Pencil ($18) - Visibly lift your eyes when applied to the brow bone, 
dark circles, blemishes and red spots. 
6. Starlooks Lip Pencil in Tipsy ($12) - Creamy, moisturizing highly pigmented lip pencil glides on 
smoothly and helps extend the wear of your lipstick.

Two of my friends signed up for IPSY's Glam Bag after listening to me rave about it every month so they also sent me a BaubleBar O-Ring Stud Wrap Bracelet. She has officially been added to my daily arm wear starting today! 
This month, I scored $50 worth of items AND a new bracelet!
As always, you can sign up for IPSY for only $10/mo and you too can be receiving this monthly bag of surprise goodies.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

In the past two weeks, I've made this delicious recipe twice. Maybe it's the fat kid in me that thinks I'm 
getting pie for dinner or maybe it's just that amazing. You be the judge. 

It's extremely easy to make and the prep only takes about 20 minutes!

Ingredients:
- Boneless Skinless Chicken - 1 lb (cubed)
- Vegetables - I used carrots and celery, but peas are also a good addition!
- 1/3 cup of butter
- 1/3 cup of flour
- 1 3/4 cups of chicken broth
- 2/3 cup of milk
- Salt & pepper
- 2 Unbaked 9" Pie Crusts - you can find these where you get canned biscuits and cookie dough. **most come with 2 in the box!
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Throw in the chicken, carrots, celery and peas and continue boiling for 15 minutes. 
2. While this is boiling, combine the butter, flour, salt and pepper in a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Slowly add in the chicken broth and milk. Cook this over medium low heat until it starts to get reasonably thick, stirring occasionally. This takes about 15 minutes for me. 

3. During this time, you can unroll the pie crusts and place in the pan. 
4. Strain the chicken and vegetables and add them to the bottom of the pie crust. 
Once the mixture is somewhat thick, pour it over the top.
5. Roll out the additional pie crust and place over the top. Seal the edges and cut away the excess dough. Make a few small slits to allow the steam to escape. For the pie look, I used a fork to add birds feet around the edges :)
6. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes at 425 degrees. Allow to sit for 10 minutes after you remove it from the oven.
Bon Appétit

Monday, June 17, 2013

Weekend Update!

We celebrated the boyfriend's big 28th birthday this weekend.

The standard Happy Birthday card just wouldn't do this year so I decided to get creative. Since he has a bigger sweet tooth than I'll ever understand, I decided to go with a candy card.
We started by eating at one of his favorite restaurants, Texas de Brazil. After completely stuffing our faces, we decided to get an ab workout at the Improv comedy club. We frequent this place quite often and two of the performers this particular time were definitely my favorite. We headed to the local Ale House to meet up with some of his friends to continue the birthday celebration.

I planned a day of fun for Justin on Saturday. We slept right through the time that we were supposed to be at miniature golf so we headed straight to our laser tag reservation. This, my friends, was no joke. Thankfully, we refueled with my favorite BBQ place of ALL time, 4Rivers. I realize that's a bold statement, but if you've tried it, you'd understand.
Later that night we went to see the new comedy This is the End. Honestly, I thought I saw the entire movie in the previews and was not looking forward to it. I was wrong. That hardly ever happens and when it does, I rarely admit it, but this movie was HILARIOUS - the end being my favorite part. Once you see it, you'll know what I mean. My heart was exploding with LOVE! We ended the night at another Ale House with different friends. We're not creatures of habit or anything ;)
I think I partied a little too hard this weekend because I had nothing left in me when I woke up Sunday morning, not even a voice. I felt like crap all weekend but I tried to power through it so Justin could have a good birthday celebration.  I headed to the doctor Sunday morning and he gave me some antibiotic. Hopefully I'm on the road to recovery! :)


Sami's Shenanigans

Friday, June 7, 2013

Stella & Dot


Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've heard of Stella & Dot - the amazing boutique-style jewelry that is popping up everywhere over the last few years. 

Even some of my favorite females in Hollywood are turning to Stella & Dot for their fashion needs. 
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of attending a friends Stella & Dot party that was hosted by one of our co-workers. To say it was a blast would not be doing it justice. It could have been the fun, carefree and wild girls that I was with that made the party so memorable, although the breathtaking jewelry also played a key role in the success of the night. I think it's safe to say that this was probably the craziest Stella & Dot party that Jaimie (our stylist) has ever attended. Let's just say, things got a little crazy towards the end. 
The setup deserves two thumbs up. Jaimie had all kinds of jewelry for us to try on. The pieces are timeless with a modern twist and the quality is truly top notch. In the right corner, you can see the items that I purchased. Can you believe that they arrived only TWO days later? How is that for good service? I'm even sporting my new gold hoops today!
If you spend over $50 in the month of June, you receive a $25 credit to be used between July 3rd-11th. I decided to stick with those two pairs of earrings and then treat myself to those gorgeous Ivory Fiona earrings using my credit in July. One of my favorite pieces in the Stella & Dot collection is the Renegade Cluster Bracelet. It's the perfect addition for all you arm party lovin' ladies like myself. I also wouldn't hate it if those teal teardrop beauties made their way into my jewelry box ;)

Moving on to an item that I think is so fabulous it's on the top of my birthday wish list (are you listening boyfriend?) - the Bring It Jewelry Roll in Espresso. I seriously fell in love with this bag at the party. One of my least favorite things about traveling is packing my jewelry. No matter what I do I never manage to make it to my destination without my jewelry being completely tangled together. The demo that Jaimie gave us on what you can do with this little number far surpasses what the photos shows. It's a must have ladies!
Originally I thought Stella & Dot was a bit above my price range. I was surprised to find that a large amount of their inventory is rather inexpensive. Knowing that I can wear these gorgeous pieces more than once without them breaking makes me feel like I won the jewelry lottery :)




***This post was not sponsored by any means. I'm just that obsessed with everything they have to offer and it's too selfish of me to keep it all to myself!

This is the first time I've linked up for Whitney's #backthatazzup Friday and I'm thrilled to finally join in on the fun! The song I'm picking may or may not have been played at the classiest Stella & Dot party in their history ;)

Happy Friday everyone! Link up with us & get yo'self pumped for the weekend.
I don't know about you but I can hear happy hour calling my name!