Friday, March 7, 2014

Things I'm Loving Friday I

Today I am off of work and will be heading away for the weekend with my mom for a ladies retreat! If you remember, we went on the same retreat last year, but this year it is hosted in a different location.  The plan is for us to head to the nail salon this morning to get pedicures, then head up to the hotel early and get some shopping done! 

Over the past month or so I have been seeing so many fun "Friday Favorites" posts on other blogs and I have been inspired by them to start a series of my own! If you would like to check out a few other options, check out PBFingers and IowaGirlEats.  There are also several other bloggers that use this practice, just check out the list from Google!


Things I'm Loving Friday 


I gave myself the assignment to read this book in the month of March and I am almost done with the book six days into the month! If you are looking for a book to read that will help motivate you to manager your schedule and help you prioritize your life, then you should definitely check out this one! I cannot wait to share my review and worksheets with you at the end of the month! 



If you are anything like me, you find the song #SELFIE by The Chainsmokers to be super annoying, yet it somehow gets stuck in my head every.single.time. I hear it.  However, when I came across this Vine yesterday I could not stop laughing at the pictures and the faces that they made.  If you have never seen BatDad before, you should definitely check out this compilation of his vines.

  • These Jeans from Vanity


When you are only 5'3" but have wide hips, thick thighs and curvy calves, shopping for jeans becomes almost near impossible... until I found these jeans at Vanity! Last week Danielle and I made our way to the mall to shop for some new jeans and work pants for her, and our first only stop we ended up making was at Vanity because they had jeans that worked for both Danielle and myself.  If you do not have a Vanity near by, make sure to check out their website.  

With Michigan's weather being so bitter the last few months, I have been practically dousing myself in lotion to keep my skin from cracking.  I have found that this lotion works the best with my skin and it smell amazing! If you have sensitive skin like I do, you need a lotion that is not too scented or too heavy and this lotion falls right in that category.  I can put it on in the morning and feel moisturized for the entire day without feeling greasy

  • This weekend's weather forecast!
Michigan has only seen temperatures over 30° once since the New Year, so us Michiganders are very much looking forward to the warm weather this weekend! It will be nice to be able to leave the house and not worry about having to have your hat/scarf/gloves/boots when you walk out that door for the day.  


Question of the Day:
What are you loving this lovely Friday?

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Weekend Adventures

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone! I am struggling to believe that we have already reached March and that we will be starting Lent tomorrow! This year is quickly flying by.  My coworker brought in paczkis for everyone to eat and I made sure to get my favorite: lemon!

If you are super confused as to what in the world a paczki is and have no idea what I'm talking about, take a look at this link to get some background on Fat Tuesday and paczkis.  It is such a wonderful, delicious, jelly-filled tradition.  Yummy!


This past weekend, Justin and I made our way up to a friend's cabin for the weekend and we had a blast! On Friday after work, we all met up at my parents house before heading out for the weekend.  About maybe ten minutes into our trip, we had to pull over because some guy was waving at us like a maniac.  Turns out we had left the back of the truck open... whoops.  At least we only lost a gallon of orange juice.  The rest of the trip up went smoothly and we got there in time to relax and have a fun evening playing Euchre.

Of course, I had the perfect hand for clubs, and my partner called Hearts! That was a rough hand to say the very least.  Altogether we played three games because the wins were tied and the guys ended up taking it all.


On Saturday we slept in a little and had a wonderful homemade cowboy breakfast with hashed browns, egg whites and dairy free cheese.  Once everyone was up and fully awake we made our way out on the snowmobiles.  Can I just say, what in the world?! 

About twenty minutes into our trip, we went over a mount of snow which lead us to the snow piles of death.  Or at least that is how it felt.  Josh made it up the hill with out too much issue, Caroline made it up the hill but got stuck at the top, I made it a little ways in before the snowmobile started tipping over and I had to jump off of the machine.  Thankfully, the snow was about three feet deep and mostly fluff, so I had a soft place to land on.  However, the snow caked into my visor from falling off was not very pleasant, but it was rather comical. 


The snow was so deep and so fluffy that we were struggling to just move around and eventually all gave up because we could not move very well.  But we were able to get the sled out and get me un-rattled and head on our way.  Because of how deep the snow was, we ended up only going for a little over two hours before heading back to the cabin to make lunch and relax for the evening.


Saturday evening was spent playing more games and relaxing around the fire because it got super cold in the cabin.  Michigan is still not out of the deep freeze and it's looking like we will not be out of it for a while.  My fingers are crossed that we see Spring weather no later than Easter next month.  

Sunday we spent making breakfast and cleaning up the cabin before heading home to take care of the kitties.  We had such a nice time up at the cabin and I really hope we can make our way up there again sometime soon!

Question of the Day: 
What is your favorite flavor of paczki (or if you're not from around me, jelly-filled donut)?

Sunday, March 2, 2014

St. Patrick's Day 2014 Craft Roundup

Hello Readers! How is your weekend going so far? It is looking like Michigan is going to see another round of nasty weather today but thankfully Justin and I are up north with my friend, Caroline and her boyfriend for the weekend.  

It is so hard to believe that we have already hit March 2014! Where has the year gone? It really is true when people say that time flies.  Because I was sooooo lacking with my decorations for Valentine's Day, I figured it would be fun to gear us all up for the next big holiday: St. Patrick's Day! Today's post is dedicated to some of the cute projects I found on Pinterest to celebrate this lucky holiday.


Each one of these projects is very cost effective (besides maybe the burlap wreath) and fairly simple to make and I plan on making all of them before St. Patrick's Day arrives on March 17!

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Clover Garland by Keep Home Simple 




St. Patrick's Day Tea Towels from Blue Cricket Design 




Paper Banner Tutorial from Lil Luna 



[Subway Art] Lucky by Eighteen25







Lucky Wreath from Miss Lovie



Lucky in Love by iHeartnaptime



Paper Strip Shamrocks by Sugarbee Crafts



Green Vases by eighteen25



Rice Krispy Clover Treats from iheartnaptime


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I am so excited to try making these crafts over the next week or so! It will be fun to come of with my very own twist on all of these crafts! If/when I get a project done, I will make sure to share my result with you.  I also have a few other fun projects pinned that I would like to try.  Aaaaannndddd I will be working on a fun blackboard artwork in honor of St. Patrick's Day too so be looking for that on my Instagram or Facebook page.  

Question of the Day
What is your favorite St. Patrick's Day tradition?