Bright Lights, Big Ass Book Review

A few months ago I posted about the book Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster and how much I loved her style of writing.  When my brother gave me a $50 gift card to Amazon for Christmas, I knew exactly what I was going to do with the gift card: BUY MORE BOOKS!

Since I loved her first book so much, I decided that my next read would be Bright Lights, Big Ass: 

A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me?

Brief Overview

Jen Lancaster hates to burst your happy little bubble, but life in the big city isn't all it's cracked up to be. Contrary to what you see on TV and in the movies, most urbanites aren't party-hopping in slinky dresses and strappy stilettos. But lucky for us, Lancaster knows how to make the life of the lower crust mercilessly funny and infinitely entertaining.

Whether she's reporting rude neighbors to Homeland Security, harboring a crush on her grocery store clerk, or fighting-and losing-the Battle of the Stairmaster- Lancaster explores how silly, strange, and not-so-fabulous real city living can be. And if anyone doesn't like it, they can kiss her big, fat, pink, puffy down parka. (Overview from Amazon)

My Review

Just like her first book, Lancaster was able to get my to laugh out loud within the first five pages of her book.  Lancaster is able to take something that would otherwise be a mundane day-to-day task and make it seem hilarious.  From the stories of the evil squirrel on the back porch to the stories of her four pets, I found myself laughing with every chapter.  

As I mentioned before, I appreciate that Lancaster is not afraid to say things exactly as they are, even if that requires a slew of curse words to tell you the story.  I often felt, while reading the book, that I was sitting right in the room with her and we were having a conversation about the happenings of our day.  She does an excellent job of painting you a vivid picture without going into the tiniest of details.  

If you are looking for a lighthearted read, then look this way.  She is sure to not disappoint!

Additional Reviews:

• Write Meg 
• Shh I'm reading
• So Many Books, So Little Time
• Strand Update

Make sure to check out the rest of Jen Lancaster's books as well!

Birthday Weekend Part 2!

My birthday celebration finished off with one of the most fun things I've ever done: The Color Run! My cousin's ran it last year and said that they had an absolute blast, so of course I HAD to run it this year.

The purpose of The Color Run, in case you did not know, is to get as much color on you as possible.  It is a 5k race where every kilometer they splash you with color.  Luckily, the color is edible and only stains clothes if it sits on there for too long because it is made out of corn starch and food coloring.

Don't we look so fresh and so clean? This was us as we were waiting in line to start the race.  I guess some 20,000 people came to run the race so when we got in line we were in the VERY back of the group.  They started doing waves every minute or so to allow for the color tossers to get the color prepared for the next group of people.  We ended up being in wave 12 which seems like a high number but there were a ton after that! 

After the race, the color run has a huge party where everyone is able to throw their color packets into the air.  It is so unbelievably cool to see all of the different colors flying into the air and to see all of the people jumping and soaking it all in.  I do have to note that even though this stuff is edible, I would not recommend opening your mouth while running through a color station.  It will turn your teeth different colors. haha

Danielle did not run the race with us, but she did come along to grab some pictures of us at the color party afterward.  Unfortunately, she got hit by a color packet and got quite a bit of green on her.  Such a suitable color that does not match anything on her person.  Thank you Danielle for grabbing some great pictures of us! 

After the race, we all headed back to the hotel to grab some showers before heading home for the day.  Overall my birthday celebration was a blast and I am so thankful for everyone who made it so special! I cannot wait until next years event! It's bound to be something fun!

Question of the Day:

What is your favorite thing you've done for your birthday?

Medical Update + Birthday Weekend Part 1

Okay, looks like I need to get the yucky stuff out of the way first.  I got the results from my HIDA scan and it appears that my gallbladder only functions at 6% which is way too low to even consider trying to change my diet and kick start my gallbladder again.  So it looks like surgery is going to be in the books for me in the somewhat near future.  As I go through this process, I will make sure to continue giving you updates.

Now onto the good stuff! This year for my birthday, I wanted to do something super fun and super exciting so I chose The Color Run! I sent out a note to all of my friends to see if anyone was interested in doing the race with me and we made a plan from there.  I had two takers for the race and it was SO much fun!

On Friday night, a group of us headed down to Ypsilanti, MI for the night.  Instead of getting our butts up super early, I figured it would be better to get a hotel room for the night, so that's what we did! We headed out to dinner at Hayden's Bar and Grill .   If you're ever down in the Canton area, I would definitely recommend going to this restaurant! It was delicious and their fried pickles were to die for.

Delicious Fried Pickles!

Sarah and Reggie being silly.

Nick and I!

 The group for the weekend!  

After dinner, we decided to go check into the hotel and try to hit the hot tub before going to bed.  Unfortunately, the hot tub/pool are was filled with tons of kids and by the time they would be heading to bed, the pool would be closed for the evening.  So Sarah, Danielle and I headed out to this awesome hot tub place where you go in and you rent a "hot tub room" for the hour.  It was awesome being able to relax at the hot tub for a bit before heading to bed for the night.

This was just the beginning of a fun birthday weekend! I will post the second half of the birthday fun later.

Question of the Day:

What is your favorite thing to do for your birthday?

Infantly Cute Boutique Grand Debut Weekend

Good morning everyone! I seriously feel as though my life has not stopped moving since last month and that is okay! Just trying to play catch up - again! 

I do not think I have mentioned anything about me helping my mother-in-law open a business before on the blog due to the fact that it was somewhat a secret, until now! The first weekend in May, my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and myself had our very first Debut for the business, Infantly Cute Boutique! We sell all things baby: from quilts to pacifier clips and even a few other fun things like diaper bags! 

My mother-in-law has been talking about maybe selling her wonderful hand made products for years, but until now, the timing was just not right.  Last year after a few major changes occurred in her life, she found herself with the time and the energy to start up her very own baby product business, and that is where we are today!

Our grand debut weekend consisted of us setting up our very first booth at a consignment sale up in Fenton, MI.  It was so exciting and nerve wracking because we had never sold our product to the public before and this weekend was going to be the tell all of how well the product would sell.  

At the debut we sold: burp cloths, bibs, pacifier clips, minky blankets (seen below), fleece blanks and quilts. Our goal was to sell around what the cost of the show would be and I can excitedly announce that we sold almost 10X what we were hoping to sell! Overall, the weekend went really well.

One of the best parts of our product is the fact that they come in individual pieces that when put together make a full set.  As you can see from the picture below, the burp cloths, bibs, pacifier clips and quilt all match! It's almost like Vera Bradley for babies!

All of the boy stuff linked together! Do you see the bicycles on the white blanket? Those are my favorite for little boys! 

Our booth set up for the first day of the show! 

I am so excited to see where this journey takes us all and I am excited to see what my mother-in-law can do with her wonderful talent!

If you would like to see our collection or purchase any items you can find us here:

http://www.infantlycute.com/

OR

http://www.etsy.com/shop/infantlycuteboutique

OR

https://www.facebook.com/InfantlyCuteBoutique

Or if you would prefer, you can contact me right through this blog and I can connect you with our wonderful products! 

**I should note that all of our products are hand made here in Michigan in a pet free/smoke free home, all products have been washed twice in gentle, hypoallergenic soap to guarantee the quality of the product and all items can be made to custom order.  If you see a pattern that you like but do not see the product online, do not hesitate to ask for it! We can make it custom made.** 

HIDA Scan and Surprise Date Night

I'm a HIDA, you a HIDA, everybody a HIDA.  Yet, aint nobody got time for that. 

Have you ever seen that YouTube Video? I always get a good laugh out of the video when I see it and when I found out that I was going to have yet another test done, that is exactly what I thought.  "Ain't nobody got time for that". 

I'm sure you're wondering what in the world a HIDA is? Well let me tell you! A few weeks back, after receiving my ultra sound results, I learned that I would be in need of a HIDA scan.  The purpose of this test is to see how well your gallbladder functions.  Like the bone scan, you are injected with a radioactive tracer that goes into your system and (also like the bone scan) glows up on the camera.  So they give you an IV of the tracer that slowly "leaks" into your system as you watch your organs start to show up and glow on the screen.  After your liver and gallbladder are nice and shiny, they inject you with the HHK which helps stimulate the digestive process.  It is during this part that camera takes pictures every few seconds to see how much of the HHK the gallbladder pushes back out.  So fascinating, really.  The only cool thing is the images you get to see.  I couldn't take any, but I managed to grab one off Google that would suffice for my purposes.

Not too exciting right?

On a more exciting note, Justin planned a surprise date for us that was so fun! He has been working so much lately that he had generated some overtime and that he wanted to spend some of that overtime on me.  He told me that we would be going to dinner and be going shopping for something but wouldn't tell me what.  You will never believe what he took me shopping for! Christian Louboutins! Oh my gosh that was so crazy and exciting! But I did not buy a pair.  They just were not comfortable enough for me to justify the amount that they charge.  Nope, no sir.

For dinner, Justin and I went to The Capital Grille and it was wonderful! They had some of the best steak I have ever had! I also had a vodka infused pineapple martini that was to die for! I wish I could make that at home.

 


Justin and I also split the crab macaroni and cheese and it was to die for! Oh my goodness.  I wished that my stomach was bigger so I could eat it all.  But that's what take home boxes are for right?

After dinner, we decided to shop around a little bit more and I ended up buying some Michael Kors stuff! I have been dying to get some Michael Kors for a long time, but due to the fact that it is expensive, I have been putting it off.  Until Now!

Justin let me get a tote, a purse and pair of shoes and I am absolutely in love.  I have been using them every.single.day since I got them.  Justin is just too good to me.

Questions of the Day:
What has your significant other given to you that you absolutely love?
If you could buy anything, what would it be?

Townsend Baby Shower - April 27

Hello! Oh my goodness I cannot believe how quickly time has slipped away from me! As you can guess, life has been just a tiny bit hectic, but I will do the very best I can to catch everyone up and fill you in on the on-goings of my life! 

It has been an exciting year for my mom's two best friends, Tracy and Melody! Both of their daughters are pregnant, both are having boys, both are named Rachel and both are due in July! I'm sure you can imagine my mom's jealousy/excitement that her best friends are becoming grandma's this year! 

A few weeks back, my mom and I helped Melody get ready for Baby T's baby shower.  Melody had the cutest theme picked out and asked for our help setting up the candy buffet.  At our wedding, we had a wonderful candy buffet that my mother-in-law made for us that was super delicious.  But those beautiful vases have been sitting waiting to get used for the past two years until now!

Our Candy Buffet

Melody asked my mom and myself if we'd be willing to do a candy buffet for the baby shower and of course we said yes!  The colors were blue and green and we had blast picking out the candy and organizing the jars.  (Special thanks to my mother-in-law for letting us borrow all of the vases!)

Overall, the shower was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

Each chair sash was tied into the shape of a men's necktie and pinned with a pair of baby feet! It is definitely the tiny details that make all of the difference.  

The drinks we were served were blue and green Jones soda, water with lemon and hot coffee.  I managed to grab a picture before the drinks were all ready, but even the presentation here was wonderful! 

Melody spent so much time working out every last detail from the ultra sound picture on the Jones Soda to the matching tie banners, matching tie chair sashes and matching bunting.  She even went so far as to match all of the picture frames to the entire theme.  Such a well though out and put together shower and the food was wonderful! I am so sad that I forgot to grab a picture of the fruit salad and quiche.  Yummy!

From left to right: My mom, me, Tracey, Rachel B, Rachel T & Melody

The Hostess with the mommy and daddy to be

 And as always, my favorite part of the shower is the gifts! I LOVE watching mommy and daddy-to-be open their gifts and see the smile on their faces as they are experience all of the tiny onesies and knick knacks that come along with having a little one! 

Overall, the shower was wonderful and I look forward to meeting Baby T when he arrives this July!

Congratulations Rachel and Josh!