friday finds

T-minus 9 hours until the weekend ladies! It can't get here soon enough ;)
I'm linking up with the regular lovely group of bloggers for Friday's post!

one //

I found a fabulous new blog over the weekend - T.O. & Fro by Mar

She has some amazing looking home made recipes for beauty products like lotion bars and body scrub that I am dying to try out!

two //

Thanks to $25 in rewards bucks and a $25 Visa gift card from Xmas, I picked up these little Skechers Go Walk sneaks for only $7!! They are SO comfortable and will be perfect for going on walks and hikes with the dogs once the snow melts!

three //

I've also been on the lookout for a new casual everyday winter coat (since I'm still rocking the one I used in high school! Um, embarrassing.) I found this Jessica Simpson belted puffer jacket a Macy's, but they didn't have my size...so I did a little recon online once I got home and found it for $37 on 6pm.com! Queen of the deals this weekend ;)

four //

It's Old Navy Super Cash time! I earned $20 over the holidays and have been waiting for Jan 29th patiently to spend it! Going to get myself some new pjs this weekend ;) If you have it, be sure to use it by February 4th!

five //

And just a few funnies to kick off the weekend...

Bikini season is only like 4 months away!! 

I'm definitely guilty of this one...

Head over and join in the Friday Link-Ups at the blog listed below!

friday finds

Hiya ladies! This Friday's post is going to be more of five recaps from my past week, rather than my typical "favorites / finds". 

one //

After spying the LC Lauren Conrad collection (for Kohl's) on Biana's fabulous blog and falling in love with it, I finally got my hands on two items - the marled grey leggings and pointelle back knit sweater.

Leggings / Sweater / Slippers (BBW old, similar)

 two //

I'm loving Old Navy for cute kids clothes right now. Aubrey and I picked out this new outfit the other day and everything was on clearance! Sweater, tank, leggings, and boots all from ON! She's super excited because the boots have the tiniest wedge heel :)

three //

This little guy fits in Deedee's old pajamas! So he has been spending his days snuggled up in hand-me-down jammies...sometime chewing on them as you can see near the back leg ;)

 

four //

More products of my recent cooking kick...

Oriental Cole Slaw Salad and Classic Shepherd's Pie - I'll be sharing the recipes soon!

Both super easy to prepare and very tasty!

five // 

Aaron and I went out on Sunday night to celebrate my birthday. We go to the same restaurant every year, Cantina Laredo...it's one of my favorites, but pretty pricey, so that is why it's saved for my bday.

Ensalada De Camaron con Miel - so delicious!!

Grilled shrimp, jicama, mangos, roasted walnuts, and goat cheese crumbles with a tropical honey vinegarette dressing.

  And the main reason we love this place (besides the margaritas ;)...the dessert.

Well, one in particular. It is hands-down THE BEST dessert I have ever had.

Mexican Apple Pie

Sizzled in brandy butter and topped with cinnamon ice cream.

Aaron and I always share one, because hello! It's so rich and probably 1,000 calories if you ate it by yourself lol! I think we polished it off in less than 5 minutes ;)

And I know that is five, but I have one extra thing to share ;)

If you missed my recipe post on Wednesday, check it out here!

Home Made Version of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup

Have a great weekend and be sure to join in the Friday Link-Ups with some of the best bloggers around!

olive garden's zuppa toscana soup

I've been on a cooking-kick lately... trying a bunch of new recipes on the weekends...and a couple have been really tasty, so I thought I would share them!

I love Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup, so I went searching for a copy cat recipe and the one I found tastes EXACTLY like the restaurant's version - I was really happy with the way it turned out!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Italian sausage - I used mild
• 2 large russet baking potatoes, sliced in half, and then in 1/4 inch slices
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup bacon bits 
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups kale, chopped - I will add more next time I make this
• 2 (8 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 quart water
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream - I'm going to try using a healthier option next time (maybe half and half) 

Directions:

1. Chop or slice uncooked sausage into small pieces. - next time I am going to try and make them smaller, or maybe do ground sausage

2.  Brown the sausage and dump (grease and all) into your soup pot.

3. Add chicken broth and water to pot and stir.

4. Place onions, potatoes, and garlic in the pot.

5. Cook on medium heat until the potatoes are done.

6. Add bacon bits.

7. Salt (and pepper) to taste.

8. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

9. Turn to low heat.

10. Add kale and cream.

11. Heat through and serve! 

friday finds

Happy Friday ladies! And let's hear it for the 3 day weekend coming up! :)
Here's a little glimpse of my Friday five...

one // Lusting after a roller-ball of Patchouli oil after using some of my friend's the other week when I visited Akron on my vacation. The blend she uses smells amazing and I can't wait to have one of my own!

two // Do any of you have this Younique Fiber Lash mascara?? It seems to be the holy grail as far as mascaras go - just look up some of the before and afters! My friends have it and layer it on top of their everyday mascara and it looks like they are wearing false lashes!

three // Awesome crock pot recipes were posted on Katie's blog recently! They all look delicious, especially the Creamy Tortellini Sausage Soup and Loaded Potato Soup - if only there were diet friendly versions! ;)

four // Okay all my bigger-chested ladies...I need your advice. I'm on the hunt for some new bras and need suggestions! I have always defaulted to VS in the past, but would love to hear other brands that might be good - or your favorite VS bras...maybe I'm just wearing the wrong ones?? Either way, I hate the ones I have a need to find new ones asap!

five // Also loving the classic trench coat look...it's been added to my clothing wish list for spring. Do any of you have a classic trench? Where did you get it from? So far, it's looking like Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy, or Macy's are all options to look at...

Join in the Friday fun here and have a great weekend!

wedge sneakers

I'm not much of a sneaker girl. In fact, the only pair I own is a basic pair of Nike's to wear to the gym or when I take the dogs for a hike. However, there are a few less traditional sneakers that I have had my eye on recently...

One is the wedge sneaker. I know I am wayyy late on the bandwagon with this one - but I just decided the other day that I might just need a pair. I saw a girl in Target with a killer outfit and realized she was wearing them and they looked so cute and funky!

I'm not looking for anything too crazy now - no metallic, or big straps, or bright colors...just a basic neutral pair.

From top left, clockwise:
Xhilaration Shayenne - Target (sold out)
Generic - Amazon
Brand Unknown - Nomorerack
Top Moda Sammy - Amazon
Aldo Arewia - Heels.com
Puma Sky - Amazon / 6pm

As for outfits to wear with the wedge sneakers...I found a few ideas from some bloggers and celebrity shots.

Source: Sincerely Jules

Source: Polienne

How do you feel about wedge sneakers? Love? Hate?

heart shaped pizza & skull shaped vodka

Thank you for all the birthday love yesterday! It was a really nice day - pretty low key. 

We will go out over the weekend, so yesterday we decided to stay in and snuggle with the fur babes and watch the college football championships...and Aaron had arranged for our pizza place to make a heart shaped version of my favorite pizza for my birthday :) 

My gifts were amazing - as always. Aaron is so great a picking things out for me! - he always remembers things that I have mentioned, even if it was ages ago. He surprised me with one of my new favorite movies (I love Chris Pratt) and a bottle of Crystal Head vodka.

The iPhone was my gift to myself - it's okay to buy yourself bday gifts, right? ;)

Snuggle bugs - these two hate the winter cold! They hog all the blankets :)

 

It was amazing to have a Buckeye win for the first College Football Playoff National Championship! Not only am I a grad student there, but I also work at OSU - so, despite being more of an NFL girl - it has been exciting and the energy in Columbus and on campus has been awesome! Needless to say, everyone was in a great mood at work today :)

year 27

...Taking a break from the blog today for some birthday celebrations...

Will be back tomorrow with a new post :)

friday finds

Happy Friday! 

This week was a rough one - just because it was my first full week back after a nice long holiday break from both work and school. I'm happy it's nearly the weekend though - my birthday is Monday, so we will be doing a bit of celebrating over the next couple of days!

one //

My birthday present to myself this year...replacing my ancient iPhone 4 with a gold iPhone 6...I'm so excited! Actually what I am most excited about is the camera... I can't wait for better quality pictures since I use my phone camera so much, and the 4 just takes grainy pictures all the time.

two //

 I attempted "Pinterest worthy" Christmas wrapping this past holiday...I got close...well, at least way better than years before - but it's still a work in progress! I think it's much more challenging than it looks, and a pretty expensive endeavor too! I never realized how pricey all the gorgeous wrapping materials are!

But I've already found my inspiration for next year's wrapping over at The Honeybee :)

three //

 I found this lovely ivory Old Navy coat on eBay and scooped it up for just $22.00!

It's the perfect winter white jacket for this season :)

four //

Favorite new song

five //

Love the look of this awesome recipe from Jaclyn's blog - Love and Bellinis!

2015 and life lately

Happy New Year everyone!

I know I'm a little late to the game as it is now January 8th - but the holidays have been crazy, and my schedule is finally getting a bit back to normal. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years - I've been keeping up with all your posts and it seems like everyone did! 

I started back at work this week after a lovely 12 days off - it was hard to come back, you get so used to being off and having all of that free time! Although, I didn't get much of a chance to catch up on sleep since the pups got us up between 5:30 and 7:30 am EVERY SINGLE DAY. Those of you who know me, know how hard this is for me since I covet sleeping. It's literally one of my favorite things ;)

We had a great holiday though! Lots of time with family, friends, and even some quite days where Aaron and I just got to veg out all day watching Netflix with the dogs...those days are perfect sometimes!! 

Here are a few snaps from the past couple weeks...

 // New bottle of Flowerbomb from my man! He knows it is my favorite and I was running low.
// Got my hands on the fabulous plaid blanket scarf from Target, and have been wearing it on the daily!
// My favorite Christmas gift - new MK tote (also from Aaron)...he spoils me ;)
// These babies finally arrived on my doorstep the other week! But then it dumped tons of snow in Columbus, so I haven't gotten to wear them yet...

I also got the Restoration Hardware faux fur blanket that I have been lusting after for over a year now! But this little man instantly Debo-ed it and is under the impression that it is his...and he's just too cute for me to tell him no ;) On another note - little man isn't so little anymore! He's nearly 40 lbs (and not even 5 months old) so I think we are gonna have a big boy on our hands!

As for NYE - Aaron and I were super lame and fell asleep on the couch with the dogs around 9:30 pm haha! We woke up at 11:30 pm, went straight to bed and missed the ball drop completely - 26 years old going on 60! 

Hope you are all having a great week and staying warm! It is -6 here right now...I was hoping for a "snow day" but Ohio State almost never calls off, so I'm here in my office with my space heater blasting! xx