Friday Favorites + $325 Nordstrom Giveaway

Can you believe Thanksgiving is already next week? My favorite time of year is about to kick off which means many busy weekends ahead until the end of the year. We have our first Holiday party to attend on Saturday night but otherwise it should be a fairly low key weekend.

ONE:
This week we had our annual potluck at work and there was over 20 dishes plus the dessert table was out of control. It was hard deciding what to chose! I made a delish broccoli salad (recipe coming soon) to add to the spread. I posted some potluck dish ideas yesterday if you didn't catch it.

TWO:
I was putting my wish list together for the Holidays and my birthday in December and stumbled upon this 2016 Blog Planner from Amazon. I know they have free printable ones but it would be ideal to have everything recorded in one book and you can always go back and see what you've done in previous weeks.

THREE:
On Wednesday I went out for a happy hour girl date at our favorite sushi spot downtown to celebrate JQs birthday. It was fun catching up and getting our sushi fix.

FOUR:

We received these Wellness Petite Treats from Chewy.com and they are probably my favorite treats to date. Turkey, pomegranate and ginger are a unique blend plus they're healthy and grain free which is important when choosing treats for Lola.

FIVE:

For the next week, I'm teaming up with Pamela from Sequins & Sea Breezes and 20 other fab bloggers to give away a $325 Nordstrom Gift Card right in time for the holidays! The more ways you enter, the more chances to win! The giveaway end on Friday, November 27th at midnight and the winner will be announced on Monday, November 30th. Good luck!

Hosted By:

Sequins & Sea Breezes

The Gorgeous Co-hosts:

Cheshire Kat Blog | B Loved Boston | Champagne & Suitcases | Going The Distance | Love & Bellinis

Green Fashionista | Kids & Cabernet | Pink & Fabulous | From Here To Eternity | Martinis & Bikinis

Pink Persistence | Miss in the Midwest | A Memory of Us | The Sequin Notebook | Birdie to Be

MakeupHER | Christina Lea Loves | The Wandering Weekenders | Medicine & Manicures | Meet @ The Barre

$325 Nordstrom Gift Card Giveaway

Joining my fellow Floridian blogger Amanda from Meet at the Barre for some Friday Faves.

Lucky Friday 13th

Despite my spooky picture, I actually love Friday 13th because I was born on the 13th and have had many birthdays fall on a Friday which means reverse bad luck for me! Well at least that's always been my twist on things.

Other than closing a pretty big deal at work and ordering our Holiday photo cards (Thanks Kerry for the recommendation), this week was pretty uneventful so I'm going to get right into some randoms.

ONE:
K was traveling for work at the beginning of the week so I had my hands full with Lola who requires all your attention. Forget about using a computer or phone in her presence.



K bought me a cute gift from IHeartDogs.com which seems to suggest otherwise. Of course I love my Lola but I am a blogger and need contact with technology in the evenings since early mornings aren't my thing. The drinking wine part is true though.

TWO:
With Thanksgiving coming up, I'm always scrambling to find new dishes for the potluck at work, our family Thanksgiving dinner and sometimes even "Friendsgiving" get-togethers. One of my favorite side dishes around the holidays is broccoli casserole although I've never attempted to make it myself.  This Broccoli & Cauliflower Casserole recipe looks a great side dish for the holidays.

THREE:
I had to buy this song on iTunes and have listened to is a gazillion times cause I just love her voice.

FOUR:
I finally found the secret to amazing smelling laundry ~ Snuggles Scent Boosters.

I've always used good quality detergent (usually Tide or Gain) along with laundry softener and I also clean my washing machine often yet my laundry would still come out smelling just okay...clean of course but just not fresh smelling after all the expensive products I'm using. Not anymore though. My laundry smells amazing after using these scent pacs, especially for sheets and bath towels.

FIVE:
I haven't shopped online in a long time (other than for the Holiday photo cards if that even counts) but I can picture this being me around the holidays. I haven't even started shopping for Christmas gifts.

Happy weekend everyone!

Five on Friday

 I'm looking forward to having no big plans this weekend and going where the wind takes me, preferably to the couch and my bed...although we'll be out and about on Sunday for a local festival. I'm volunteering at the Hunger Project for Feeding Children Everywhere today with some coworkers so the day should go by quickly.

ONE:
Last night I attended a charity event held by our local Victim Service Center (for victims of sexual assault). My company has sponsored the organization for the past few years so the event was held in appreciation of sponsors and community partners. We mingled at a new restaurant downtown and enjoyed some appetizers and wine.

TWO:

Lola cracked her rear molar last week from chewing on something unknown to us and had to get the tooth extracted which meant unforeseen vets bills right before our trip so now I'm seriously considering pet insurance. Does anyone have advice or experience with insurance for dogs and if it's worth it? I've heard mixed reviews. Otherwise she's one the mend and feeling good with her pain meds.

About time for a new doggie bed? She fits like a pig in a blanket. lol

THREE:
Kate Spade's Champagne at midnight watch makes me super excited my birthday is coming up. My wishlist-making has been begun, and while I'm at it, the Champagne bottle iphone case will be added too. 

FOUR:

I didn't mention it in my weekend recap of our trip to Barbados but two adorable cats adopted us while on vacation. I say adopted us, because they would just wonder into our apartment and make themselves comfortable every morning while we had coffee and breakfast. They were very sweet cats and never traveled without each other. I also tried to feed them a slice of bread (limited options okay?!) but I guess cats don't like bread, well at least these two smelled it and walked away.

FIVE:

Martinis & Bikinis' 3rd anniversary is this weekend and I can't believe I've reached this milestone. It's been a fun time slowly growing my space and meeting some amazing ladies while I'm at it. I usually try to throw a giveaway for my blogiversay but time got away from me this year with all the traveling.

 

Luckily I'm already co-hosting an awesome giveaway for Tif's birthday and we're giving away some gorgeous Kendra Scott statement earrings plus a $105 Sephora gift card so don't forget to enter!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enjoy the weekend!

Joining Amanda for her Friday Favorites linkup.

Five Friday Faves

Happy Friday everyone! I'm in shock that October has already come to an end. This year is zipping by and in only two months it will be 2016. Crazy!

As I mentioned on Wednesday, I'm in Barbados for a friend's wedding and today is the big day so I'm up and at it super early today to start the hair and makeup process. It's going to be a LONG day but I'm so excited the day is finally here! I've been fairly distracted this week so I'm going to get right into some of my favorites for the week. 

ONE:

Wrap-style bridesmaid dresses. This is the second wedding I'm in that I'll be wearing a wrap dress which can be styled over 15 different ways depending on your preference. I love the versatility and the color options for these dresses.

TWO: 

This Fall Turkey Chili with Pumpkin from Trader Joe's looks amazing and I like that it has pumpkin in it. I don't cook things with pumpkin often enough. 

THREE:

I love these Doe Eyed Deer costumes and makeup for Halloween. I found a deer makeup video tutorial to recreate the makeup and another DIY tutorial to make the deer antler floral headband.

FOUR:
Comfortable and casual airport outfit ideas. Of course comfortable walking shoes are a must but also the plane is usually freezing so layering up is a good idea.

FIVE:

Amanda from Voyage of the Mee Mee posted about the Which Golden Girl Are You? buzzfeed quiz earlier this week and I was curious to see which Golden Girl best matched my personality and surprisingly I got Rose. I personally think I have qualities from all four of them but I'll take Rose even though she's on the ditzy side of the fence. I've always loved her because she reminds me of my late grandmother (because she's super sweet not ditzy)!

Enjoy Halloween weekend safely and I look forward to catching up with everyone next week!!
xoxo

Friday Weekly Recap

I'm excited Friday and the weekend are here but I have to say this week was a pretty good one. You don't hear me say that too often because I'm, more often than not, overwhelmed and stressed out about work. But things this week just went smoothly and my stress-level had a chance to run normally.

The best part about this week was celebrating Kerri's birthday yesterday with the ladies after work. We met up at Parkview to have some wine flights and catch up. Fun times as always with Kate, Pamela and the birthday beauty Kerri!

Some other happenings for this week:

Tried:
I went to check it out a new Asian Boba Tea place on my lunch break. The coffee boba (which has fruit jellies at the bottom) was so amazing and I'm not kidding when I say it's better than Starbucks.

Accomplished:

The second best part about this week: passing my photography exam and becoming a certified photographer!!

Now, I just need to practice, practice, practice and learn my camera's settings 100% before I feel fully confident with my skills. 

Watched:

On Wednesday our team got to leave a little early for Back to the Future Day and head to the movies to watch the trilogy. We also had a work costume contest. Of course, I forgot to dress up. 

Ate:

I just discovered the Teriyaki Chicken bowl from Publix which is made fresh on the spot and, for only $6.99, it's a nice and affordable lunch or dinner. 

Feeling:

Loving:
Dog treats from Chewy.com have been a life saver for helping to train Lola. When she's doing something naughty like jumping on top our patio table. I just say "treats" and she'll go running to the pantry where I store them. It's probably the only way to get her to stop what she's doing because #spoiledbulldog.

Browsed:

The Loft has 50% off this week online and up to 60% in the store. Who doesn't love a good sale, especially for good quality clothing? 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday Faves

 

via

We made it to Friday! Now we just have to make it to 5 o'clock, well 5:30 for me. This week was fairly uneventful with the usual routine although I got zero modules of the online photography class done since we still have visitors. Oh well, everything should get back to normal next week.

I took Monday afternoon off of work so I could spend time with my parents and take them out shopping. Naturally, I had to pick up a few things for myself. Who knew high rise jeggings could be so comfortable? I'm slightly ashamed to admit that but seriously they fit me perfectly and it's not like I'll be wearing a short top to show off the high waist. The tunic blouse and peacock necklace also go perfectly together and have already been worn to work this week.

 

For anyone with a backyard or garden, I love these cute DIY Garden Ideas to spruce it up a bit depending on your style.

 via
 

This One Pan Balsamic Chicken & Veggies recipe not only looks healthy and amazing but of course the one pan aspect helps to cut down the clean up time. Who likes washing dishes?

In case you missed it, I reviewed some of my favorite beauty/hair/skin products on Wednesday. Some of these products will probably stay in my rotation for the rest of my life because they're just that good.

This meme reminded how thankful I am no social media existed while growing up (Not sure why the bear looks so sad). It's crazy how social media has changed the transfer of information/gossip/embarrassing photos etc. which I can't even imagine how it affects the younger generations.

Who remembers ICQ? That was my jam.

Joining my fellow Floridan blogger Amanda for her weekly Friday linkup.

Have a great weekend everyone!