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!

Memorial Day Weekend

I'm just now getting back into the swing of things after such an amazing long weekend. 

Our CEO emailed us on Friday thanking us for all we do and said we could leave at 2. I was in St. Augustine laying by the pool at 3:30. What a blessing. 

St. Augustine is such a special place for my family and I was thrilled that we got to spend some quality time altogether in place that it so near to all of our hearts.

 After 3 amazing days with the family, I headed home to the boyfriend. We celebrated Memorial Day by playing drinking, eating and playing volleyball & beer pong! Our friend Mark is a Marine so we always spend this day with him and the boys drink Budweiser. (they say it's America's beer)

I can't explain in words how perfect this weekend was for me. Life has been somewhat hectic over the past few months. Sometimes getting away from everything and spending time with people that matter the most is all the therapy you need.

But seriously  is there any better way to celebrate all of the brave soldiers than living life to the fullest? I think not. 

My road to the gym..

.. with the help of some of mahhhh ladies.

This lazy, food lovin', couch potato is officially a member at the YMCA.

That's right, I've acquired my very first gym membership. <<pats on back>>

You may remember back in January when I actually thought I was going to follow through with a 2 month challenge using the couch to 5k app. Hah, that was a fun 4 days.

Typically, I pick up a new "hobby" for a week & you won't hear me talk about it again. Now that I've been gym'in it for 2 weeks, I think we've passed the safe zone where talking about it won't jinx my productivity. After all, it has been longer than I or anyone else expected.

My new normal:
Luckily, the gym is a mere 5 minutes from my apartment. My new routine includes waking up at 5:30, arriving at the gym by 5:40 & getting home by 6:45 to make myself presentable for work. My time management skills are quite impressive, I know. If I can't make it in the morning, I'll just go after work, although I definitely prefer the peacefulness a morning workout offers.
Come 6 o'clock, the Y be jammed packed, yo.

What brought on this sudden rush of motivation, you ask? Well, that's a combination of a few things. For one, bathing suit season is fast approaching here & I'm not bikini ready by any means.

Now, I know I'm not fat and I'll never be the girl that pretends I am, especially when I know the weight struggles that some women go through.. but I'm bigger than ever before and I don't feel good about it. Growing up, I was fortunate to be blessed with a fast mestabolism, but that slows down as you age. Homegirl ain't gettin' any younger. Ya heard?

What's that saying "If you're not happy, change it?" Well, that's exactly what I did. 

My thoughts exactly, Brandi.

Over the last 2 weeks, I have only skipped the gym one time. I know that I'll eventually slow down & I'm okay with that. In fact, I welcome it. But I wanted to wake my body up from this long coma (26 years to be exact) for the first few weeks.


I've also become pretty good friends with MyFitnessPal... because there is no point in doing all of that work if I'm still going to live off fried foods & Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Am I right or amiright?

Again, I'm not saying that I'm going to continue counting calories for the rest of my life or not have chicken minis every weekend (that would obviously be a lie), I'm simply testing this out to see how I feel and giving my body a break from junk. Food is & always will be the first love of my life, so I don't ever plan on completely cutting out the things that make me happy.
Everything in moderation, right? :)


On to what I've learned works for me and what doesn't...

Cardio:

My biggest downfall is that I can't seem to master how to breathe & run at the same time. And since breathing is essential, running was out. A friend suggested that I try walking on an incline instead of continuing to get frustrated trying to run.
I'm sure your reaction is the same as mine was..

I can walk at home.. or better yet, around the mall. I'm not going to the gym to burn a whopping 20 calories on a treadmill. Much to my surprise, in just 20 minutes I burned almost 200 calories by simply walking on a incline. This has now been added to my daily workout routine. I also do a quick 2 miles on the bike and throw in some time on the elliptical for good measure. I run into the same issues on the elliptical as I do with running. After 10 minutes, I'm spent.

Strength Training:
My goal wasn't only to lose a couple lb's, I also wanted to tighten my bum bum. To do this, I added these machines to the mix: Leg Curl, Leg Press, Hip Abduction. I use both of the Hip Abduction machines (pulling in & pushing out) because they work out two separate areas.

My Target Areas:
Honestly, I don't know my way around the gym to save my life. While I'm on the treadmill, I'm constantly eyeing different machines to see what they do and the correct way to use them. I have yet to find an ab station.
For that, I turned to Pinterest. What else? When I get home from the gym, I do both this ab (green) & butt (yellow) workout. They claim to tone your stomach and bum in just 30 days. That's all the convincing I needed.

I've also learned what a Blurpee is and how much I hate them. Let's just hope it's worth it...

& that, my friends, is how I've been up in the gym workin' on my fitness..

  

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

It's been awhile since I've linked up for What I'm Loving Wednesday, so I figured what better time than the present!

I'm loving..

..that only a few hours are what is separating me and Happy Hour with these two pretty ladies.

...that I'm feeling extremely blessed lately. With all of the recent tragedies that I hear about almost daily, it really makes you stop and think about the little things that we tend to take for granted. 

..this amazing tank holder from IKEA. Um, can you say life saver? Every hanger in my closet has at least 5 tanks on it. 

I mean seriously, who has space for every tank to have its own hanger? 

Ladies, we are not working with Lisa Vanderpump's closet here... unfortunately.

..that in a few days I'll be in one of my favorite places on Earth, St. Augustine. Complete and total relaxation, mixed in with some family time. We'll be spreading my Papa's ashes and I can't think of a better place to do it. Our entire family has grown up frequenting this beach and it's become somewhat of a symbol to us. He will definitely be with us in spirit.

...these quotes.

What are YOU loving today?

Join in on the link up over at Jamie's blog!

Zach Sobiech

The video below has been making its way across the interwebs today and it's too incredible not share with you guys. This courageous teen is featured in a documentary about his final days. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend taking the 22 minutes out of your day to watch it. You'll be inspired and look at life in an entirely different way. I know I will. 

Zach lost his battle with cancer yesterday, just 3 weeks after his 18th birthday. He will clearly be deeply missed. It's heartbreaking that we lost such a wonderful person in the world, but his beautiful legacy will continue to live on.

Weekend Update!

I'm an extremely punctual person, to the point where it's annoying.

But, I just can't seem to get a weekend update post up on Monday.

So, here it is. A day late & $600 million short.

Damn you, Powerball.

We ventured to Bahamas Breeze on Friday night for two my favorite things:

Chard (obvi) & the Wood Grilled Chicken Breast #nom

After dinner we met with some friends and ended up staying out until 3 o'clock in the morning. Seriously, who am I?

On Saturday, Justin & I got to sneak in a visit to his Nephew.
There is honestly nothing more captivating to me than a brand new life. It's dazzling, really.

Asher is no exception. He is so tiny & sweet. 

I want one... just not yet!

Kate & I are always down to do promotion work. I mean, wouldn't you if they were offering free food, drinks and cash?

We did one this weekend out at the New Smyrna Speedway for a local law firm. We literally handed out koozies to people as they entered for less than 2 hours. They supplied us with booze and food to keep ourselves entertained...& moolah, duh.

Imagine my surprise, when Vienna from the Bachelor showed up to work with her Mom & they set up a booth right next to us. I played coy and didn't say anything at first. We chatted a few times, but before I left I had to let her know that I knew who she was and try to get a few Bachelor secrets out of her. We were instant besties. 

Proof:

She is moving back to Orlando so we exchanged numbers & plan on hitting up downtown sometime in the next few weeks.

 Once we were finished with the promo, we headed to Flagler to dance.
And dance, we did. The only time we left the dance floor was for a quick potty break.

Yesterday, my gorgeous new mousepad came in the mail and I just adore it. The Etsy seller was quick, easy and cheap. She literally shipped out our package in less than a few hours of us placing the order. I almost love the packaging as much as the mousepad itself! Take a look at her Etsy shop here. I'll definitely be keeping her in mind for any upcoming monogram purchases!

Glam Bag

It's that time of the month again...

ISPY's Glam Bag is here!

1. My Goodies, My Goodies, My Goodies, ALL my goodies!

2. Zoya Shimmering Pink Nail Polish ($9)

3. Mirabella Color Sheer in Posy ($22)

4. Yaby Concealer Refill ($5): I haven't used this just yet, but I was in need of some new concealer so I'll definitely be trying this soon.

5. Anastasia Clear Brow Gel ($22): I've also tested the Chella Eyebrow gel in the past and this one bows it out of the water. I give this product a thumbs up!

5. Pacifica Island Vanilla & Tahitian Gardenia Perfume Roll-On ($12): Honestly, when I first rolled this on my wrist, it smelled like straight alcohol, but after a few minutes I could definitely smell a nice light garden scent.

In April, they ran out of the pink & white bag that they were giving out so they sent me a pretty blue one. They emailed me letting me know they would be getting more of the pink in and would include it in my May bag. They also included a beautiful Urban Decay eye shadow for my "troubles." How sweet is that?

The winning streak continues

IPSY > BirchBox