Fairytale Shower & Weekend Recap

This weekend was such a great one! I headed up to Akron early on Saturday for Abby's baby shower. This is her first baby, and we were all so excited to celebrate and shower her with gifts! The theme of the party was "Rustic Fairytales" and it turned out beautifully - thanks to our amazing friend Andrea (who should be a party planner)...she thought of everything!

Note the gorgeous (and absolutely delicious home made cake pops ;) 

I may or may not have had like 4 of them.

We had the shower at Uncorked Wine Bar in downtown Akron 

(for us, this is a totally appropriate and acceptable location for a baby shower ;)

I completely forgot to snap a picture of all the gifts, and the painted canvas I made her for the baby's room! DIY fail. I'll have her send me a picture of it hung up in the nursery so I can share it with you! I was nervous about it because I'm not such a crafty person, but I think this turned out pretty good, and she absolutely loved it!

Belle of the Ball (Abby) and my other gorgeous bestie, Alissa.

Big Sis and I <3

Funny story (funny now - not when it happened)...Andrea was making punch and asked me to come help...and just as I walked over, a container of bright red juice concentrate (you know the frozen kind?) burst open ALL OVER my white lace dress. Time literally stood still and it looked like someone had just been murdered...all over me. But, thanks to a little whole bottle of seltzer water and fast acting, we were able to get every last speck of red out! These pictures were taken after it happened...which is ah-mazing, since I thought the dress was for sure ruined!

Andrea, Alissa, Abby, and yours truly.

We are each others soul mates. I feel so blessed that we found each other in life...it's so crazy when we talk about it, because there are so many things that happened just perfectly for us all to end up together...it was fate :) 

On another note - we have been bffs for almost 10 years and this is one of only two pictures of the four of us that is perfect. All others are not quite as sober or appropriate. ;)

Easter Weekend

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a nice weekend, whether you were celebrating Easter or just enjoying a couple of sunny days off from the work week :)

We had a great weekend with two of our best friends ~ Abby and Zack, who came down to visit us from Akron.

Saturday night we went out for pizza and beer (or Sprite in Abby's case since she is 30 weeks pregnant ;) ...at our favorite local place, Yellow Brick.

 

Me and big Sis <3

The boys being doofs - taking a "duckface selfie" haha!

Sunday started out slow - we slept in and then went out for lunch at Olive Garden (really craving their soup, salad, and breadsticks!) and then Abby and Zack had to head home.

 

I was supposed to be studying for finals, but ended up falling asleep upstairs with this cutie for nearly 3 hours - whoops! 

After waking up, we went on a quick ice cream run to Graeters (where else?) 

And then (after actually getting a bit of studying done) I had some snuggle time with these two cuties while watching Game of Thrones. Deeds looks so enormous in this picture! :)

It was a great weekend - we didn't really do anything Easter-related, but just had a wonderful time with good friends, enjoying the beautiful weather!

Which reminds me, after the semester is done this week, this is my new motto for bikini season...

Hiatus

Happy Friday ladies!

 

Don't worry ~ I'm still here...just taking a little hiatus for the next week or so. It's finals week here in grad school land, so all my spare time will be dedicated to studying, finishing papers, and wrapping up projects / presentations.

 

Hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend full of {finally} some beautiful spring sunshine! xx

Five on Friday ~ 4.11.14

Happy Friday ladies!

It feels like forever since I've done a link up for Five on Friday!
(in actuality, it's been more like 2 weeks ;)

So let's get right into it...wanted to share some new things I am loving...

1. Pure Vitamin E Oil

Ok, you know my struggle with dry skin (pretty sure I've whined about it countless times) - especially when it comes to the skin around my nose. Well, honestly I got to the point where I was thinking it was a problem that would just never get solved...I had tried everything. Literally. I scrubbed it, I used every lotion in the book, smothered it with Vaseline, even did this weird ice cube thing I read online (still a little embarrassed about that one ;) ...but nothing worked. The next day, I'd put makeup on, and within minutes the area around my nose would look awful.

Then, I remember one of my besties had mentioned Vitamin E oil to me ages ago when we were talking about skin care. I looked it up and found out I could get some at the CVS right down the street, so I picked it up the other day. I went ahead and got the tiny bottle (that cost more) but it was pure Vit E Oil, instead of a watered down mixture. This lady needed this high-potency stuff!!

Anyway, I'm not even kidding, after one use - the dry skin was completely gone. Vanished. It's not sore, red, flaky...it's amazing! Why didn't I try this stuff before? It's an odd feeling, like putting honey on your face, but sign me up if it's going to get rid of my dry skin problems! I'm on day 3 and the skin around my nose is smooth and I couldn't be happier. Totally worth $7.

2. Dry Shampoo

Why am I so late to hop on this bandwagon? Who knows, but I finally remembered to pick up some dry shampoo the other day and I'm pretty happy with the results after my first use! I don't think I used enough, but I definitely saw results. The only gripe I have is the smell - but that may just be because of the brand I bought. What dry shampoos do you ladies recommend??

3. MochiThings Slim Purse Organizer

 

I came across this on Megan's recent "What's in My Bag" post and I just love it! This would solve all my big-black-hole purse problems :) When it comes to organizers of any kind - sign me up! And it's reasonably priced at about $40.

4. Younique 3D Fiber Lash Mascara

 

Do any of you ladies use this? I've seen / heard about it multiple times now and I am so intrigued! It supposedly works wonders on eyelashes, and basically makes them look like you could be wearing falsies! I have decently thick lashes, but they aren't very long, so if this helps with that, I'm all for it! I have thought about purchasing to try - but I'm going to do a bit more research before, as it is about $30 a set. 

5. Fit Body Program (by Savannah Nevuex)

I think I mentioned this in one of my last posts, but I started a workout / exercise program about 2 weeks ago, and I am loving it! It's created by Savannah Neveux - who obviously knows what she is talking about... 

I found her on Instagram (@muffintopless) and was inspired by her posts and all the women who are posting their amazing results using her programs! So, for only $10 - I thought it was definitely worth a try. 

I love it so far, and even though I am only 2 weeks in (12 week program) I am already feeling better and stronger...and I'm super excited to share my results when it's over! 

Check out her site here!

Join the link up here... and have a great weekend!! xx

Life Lately

 

I realized the other day that I have a few photos to share from the past couple of weekends (slap on the hand for being a slacker blogger ;) ...so here is what's been going on in March!

 

St. Patrick's Day Parade with Aubrey - She's in Irish Dance classes and got to perform in the parade. It reminded me of all the parades I did as a kid for my dance studio, they were always so much fun!

 

 

We were early and waited in the car for awhile since it was so chilly outside! Good thing the green army jacket I ordered had just shown up that week, otherwise I wouldn't of had any green to wear!

 

 

My favorite little performer after the parade!

 

That same weekend Aubrey and I also went to a fun dance class at my friend's studio in Columbus. The class is called "Little Jasmines" and is belly dance for little girls - they got to wear coin skirts and learn a cute combination...they just loved it!

 

We danced, had snacks, and there was even an amazing face paint artist there!

Aub wanted to be a cat ;)

 

This weekend, Aaron and I had a lot of running around to do...but he has recently joined a baseball league, so we made time to stop at the batting cages. He played in high school and college and is so excited to get back into it...and I am super excited to go watch the games!

 

 

On Sunday, I FINALLY got to the garden center and picked out some adorable tiny succulents for my planter (if you remember - this was a Christmas gift from Aaron and has been sitting empty in our room since December).

I just love them, they are literally the cutest plants ever :)

 

 

And finally, a photo representation of how I feel about this Monday...

 

 

April Favorites

1) Post It Tabs - A life saver when it comes to organizing all my school work... we have so many power points, articles, etc to print out each week and I have come to love these little tabs that help me keep everything labeled!

2) Dream Angles Heavenly - I used to wear this all the time, and haven't had it in a couple years...but Aaron got me a fragrance sampler from VS for Christmas, and this was one of the scents. I put it on the other day and fell in love all over again! When the sample runs out, I will definitely be purchasing a full size bottle - don't know why I stray from what works? Guess I got tired of it before, but I'm so glad I have rediscovered it!

3) VS Sports Bras - There's no getting around it, working out can be difficult when you are well-endowed in the chest department, especially if you don't have the right support. I spent years in dance trying to tame the ladies with double sports bras and constricting tank tops...but I'm so happy that VS is finally carrying athletic wear! A good sports bra is definitely worth the $50 price tag to me...especially since I am spending 5-6 days a week at the gym since starting my new workout program (will share in a post soon!)

4) Bridal Hanger - I can't stress enough how much I love Etsy :) I've been able to find such cute, unique, and personal gifts for so many occasions...and I was so excited to find these personalized bridal hangers to get my best friend for her wedding day! I think it will make for a beautiful photograph with her dress hanging on it!

5) Brown Gel Eyeliner - I think I have finally come to terms with the fact that I am getting a bit older and jet black eyeliner just doesn't work on me all the time (still ok for evening though ;) I am going to pick up some dark brown gel liner to use during the day - I think it will look a lot better with my light skin and a lot less harsh compared to the black I've been using for years. 

6) DIY Canvas with Quote - I just LOVE Elise's shop on Etsy...and she inspired me to make a really personalized gift for one of my bff's upcoming baby showers! I'll post pictures soon, but I ended up using her nursery colors (lavender and silver) and a quote in French since her nursery theme is Parisian. Check out Elise's gorgeous custom canvases at Cheers Ya'll Shop!!

And by sure to head over to Emily and Ally's blogs to link up with your April Favorites!! xo