Friday, May 26, 2017

For Those That Won't Come Home



On Monday, we'll honor those that fought for our freedom and gave the ultimate sacrifice...their life. We are so blessed to live in a country that is free. We are free and it's because of the countless men and women serving every day to protect us. Our country is indebted to those that gave their lives for the cause of our liberty.

While we should always be thankful and grateful to those that serve, Memorial Day is when we honor those that died in service. Those that won't come home.

So to all those parents, spouses, children, grandparents, brothers and sisters who live on...know we are eternally thankful for what your family member did. We are a grateful nation.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Things That Give Me Headaches

It's been a hot minute since I've done a "things that make me" post. (Links to the others at the bottom of this post.) I'm sitting here writing this post with a headache so it got me to thinking...what else gives me headaches? For the sake of this post and given my current physical condition I'm talking literal and proverbial headaches.

Things That Give Me Headaches



Rain
This one is a literal reason for headaches and most likely the culprit for today's headache. When it's been dry for a few weeks and rains for days I get bad headaches. It never fails. I know it's allergy related because I'm allergic to...life...so it's the norm for me!


Dumb Drivers
Since my job change my commute has been drastically reduced...which is awesome...but that doesn't mean I don't encounter traffic. I work in the largest city in my state and the city with the second worst traffic in the southeast. (Second only to Hotlanta.) So traffic is a given. However congestion is different from bad drivers. Nothing irritates me more than people not obeying traffic laws and trying to merge in at the last moment from a lane that's ending. And don't even get me started on people that don't drive the appropriate speed limit. Proverbial headache though I'm sure it may have resulted in an actual one.


Dealing with Insurance People
Dealing with insurance people in any capacity is something I'd never wish on my worst enemy. Whether it be health insurance, home insurance, car insurance...they are generally a group of people I try to always avoid. No offense if you work in insurance and you're normal...unfortunately all the rest of your counterparts have sullied your reputation.


Cats
Sorry cat lovers...but I just can't deal. I'm highly allergic to them and they give me major headaches along with the typical sneezing, watery eyes, coughing, congestion, etc. But they make for really cute memes and gifs.

//Things That Make Me Roll My Eyes
//Things That Make Me Rage (Office Edition)
//Things That Make Me Rage (Travel Edition)
//Things That Make Me Panic

Monday, May 22, 2017

Showered in Love


I recently posted about my sister's wedding back in April. This weekend, we had her bridal shower and the theme was a mash-up of "Southern", "Rustic" and "Casual". My sister is NOT the typical Southern belle that's into monograms and pearls and seersucker (BUT I AM! WE ARE SO DIFFERENT!) so I wanted to emphasize casual.

The Southern Elements

  • Cheerwine punch
  • Chicken & waffles
  • Bojangles biscuits and seasoned fries
  • Grits buffet
  • Mason jars
  • Pimento cheese
  • Cotton blossoms
The Casual Elements
  • Farmer's market flowers (instead of arranged bouquets)
  • Sangria! (Although any excuse for sangria is good enough for me!)
  • Mini doughnuts
  • Location (small, modern local art gallery) 
  • No monograms! 
  • Buffet style food and no assigned seating
The Rustic Elements
  • Metal/galvanized decor and serving ware
  • Wood accents including handmade food description card holders 
Here are some photos. I'm pleased with how everything turned out and it was a great way to celebrate the bride with some of her closest friends and family.









Wednesday, May 17, 2017

The Summer Swimsuit Trend I'm Obsessed With

There's a women's swimwear trend I'm really, REALLY into and I'll tell you why.

1) It's modest (which is something I'm a huge fan of)
2) It's supportive (duh!)
3) It's CUTE

The trend is the halter or high-neck swimsuit. I've seen these in both one and two-piece sets. Many of them are tribal printed or crochet/macrame material which just adds to the overall fun and trendy vibe. Not only are halter necks better for actual swimming (because they are supportive and keep everything tamed!) but they are mega cute and the neckline shows off your shoulders! Now you don't have to worry so much about a big wave robbing you of your swim top and your dignity. (Tell me I'm not the only one this has happened to...)

I've long been a fan of a halter neck anything and this trend is just right up my alley. I've put together some of my favorites below with links if they are available. I actually just purchased the crochet tankini top for a beach trip next month!



Black Macrame High Neck Tankini // Crochet High Neck One-Piece // Cropped High Neck Swim Top // Crochet High Neck Bikini Top // Black Jewel Mesh High Neck Swimsuit

How do you feel about halter/high neck swimsuits like these? Would you wear?

Friday, May 12, 2017

Venturing into Vegetarian (First 5 Days)



Well it's been a full work week of eating vegetarian and so far it's not been that difficult. Yes, it does require some creativity and sometimes double the dishes but it's not as hard as I thought.

This week I've had:

Monday
Lunch - Taco salad (black beans, lettuce, pico, cotija cheese, salsa)
Dinner - Scrambled eggs with pan-fried sweet potatoes

Tuesday 
Lunch - Pimento cheese on crostini
Dinner - Whole grain macaroni & cheese (Annie's) with sweet peas

Wednesday
Lunch - Sides from a local BBQ joint since it was catered at work
Dinner - Leftovers from Tuesday night

Thursday
Lunch - Hibachi veggies (zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, carrots) with rice
Dinner - Homemade tomato soup

Friday
Lunch - Egg salad on whole wheat with sautéed yellow squash
Dinner - Cheese pizza

Okay, so looking at this...eh I admit it's not the healthiest of weeks but I'm trying to get more comfortable with eating out. Also I realize that I shouldn't use going veg as an excuse to just eat cheese and carbs. MEH. On deck for this weekend is a huge pan of roasted veggies (which I will eat off for a few days) and some homemade succotash. I also want to try some of the Morningstar brand "meat" items like their veggie burger and buffalo chicken bites. I've heard great reviews on those particular things. This week I'd give myself a C- for a score since yes, I technically didn't eat meat but I didn't necessarily eat super-healthy. I hope that now I've got a few days under my belt I'll be able to make wiser choices next week.

Also I could pretty much eat a taco salad every day. It's so dang good. And there's a latin street food place within walking distance from my job. SO....yeah... :)

Monday, May 8, 2017

Venturing Into Vegetarian


For awhile now I've considered, debated and thought about venturing into being a vegetarian. It's mostly for animal-rights reasons and part of a larger effort I'm making to pursue more cruelty-free/vegan products for things like beauty and cleaning. I've also considered it for health reasons as well since heart disease runs rampant in my family and eliminating meat is a step towards health from a heart-perspective.

So, I decided that from today through June 5th (4 weeks) I'm going to attempt to not eat any sort of meat. In theory, I'd like to also try to eat fewer carbs but I'm worried that if I try to do too much at once I'll fail. So I'll be quasi carb-conscious...especially at dinner...and 100% meat conscious.

I've decided that a lot of my favorite meals/foods/dishes (think pasta dishes, soups, etc.) already are or can easily be made vegetarian so this will be helpful in meal planning. But if any of you have any vegetarian-friendly recipes or meal ideas, I'm all ears! Even if it's something I could omit the meat from. Ready? GO!

Monday, May 1, 2017

The April Edit: Hits and Misses

It's been a quiet month on the blog...partially because of dealing with some treatment setbacks with my mom and partially because it's been busy with my new job. But I wanted to make sure to blog about April's hits and misses since I had quite a few to cover! Here we go...

Hits


Links: Blue floral dress // Keds Chillax slip-ons // Colour Pop pressed powders // Colour Pop Super Shock shadow // Colour Pop Ultra Satin Lip in Jiffy //Rose Gold Aluminum Apple Watch Series 1 (available from many retailers)

First off, I must say that I'm becoming way more of a makeup junkie than I'd ever have thought...partially in thanks to a coworker telling me about Colour Pop. It's an American cosmetics company with budget-friendly prices (think e.l.f.) but incredible selections and formulas. I am now obsessed with their eye shadows both the pressed powders and the super shock (which are cream to powder) formulas. Their lip items are just as great! I've tried the ultra matte lip and the ultra satin liquid lipsticks and I'm a fan. I didn't include the ultra matte lips in the hits collage because I have one issue with them...they dry down WAY darker than they look in the tube. And for a pale chic like me some of the mauve shades I ordered are borderline Goth. However, the ultra satin lip doesn't have quite the color discrepancy and the formula is...well...insert 100 emoji.

I recently purchased an Apple Watch when it was on super sale at Target and I really have enjoyed it. I've never been much of a watch person and I had bad luck with fitness trackers (they all kept breaking or just stopped working) so this is a a nice hybrid...plus about a billion other things. But honestly, the most nifty part of it is I can ding my phone from my watch to see where I left it. I'm always leaving it somewhere around the house and even if it's on vibrate I can find it. DUDE WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE?

These Keds slip-ons are adorable, comfy and nostalgic for me (and many other 80s/90s kids). They are an updated version of the school uniform from my childhood. They are cute and perfect for spring and summer!

I got this dress at Target for my sister's surprise wedding and got so many compliments on it. It's comfortable (though I belted it because it's a bit shapeless) and I love the fun neckline and sleeves. I will say it's a bit low cut so you might have to wear a cami under it for work.

Misses



Links: Wild Meadow dress // Colour Pop super shock shadow in Co-Pilot // Floral wrap dress

Okay so I obviously went a little crazy on dresses this month. I purchased the ivory/gray frilly one first for my sister's wedding thinking it fit the occasion more. But I quickly discovered I am just not built to wear that style of dress. Thinking I needed to go back to the silhouette that I know works for me, I purchased the floral wrap dress from Amazon. The dress, had it remotely been the correct size, would have been a dream. However, the sizing was so off, it wouldn't have fit a child. It was like 4 sizes too small even though I ordered a size larger than I normally wear. I'd say it was on par with a women's small. UGH.

The Colour Pop eye shadow is in this list more because of the color than the formula. The formula is AMAZING and it lasts all day. However, this shade, which I thought would be a pale pink, look white on me. Like a frosty white shadow. Not bad and usable but I already have plenty of shimmery white shadows. UGH.

Have you tried anything I listed above? Similar or different experience?

A look back > The March Edit

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