Five on Friday

How did this week treat everyone? I'm sure you're thankful Friday is here as I am. I got hit with a 24-hour bug on Wednesday which sucked but thankfully I was able to work from home yesterday and keep quiet. I'm feeling much better already although not 100%. So lets just say I'm more than ready for the weekend to fully recover and relax. 

 A few other bloggers already pointed it out but Trader Joe's has outdone themselves this year with pumpkin any and everything you can think of. 

ONE:

I did fall victim to the pumpkin macarons from the frozen section because I've never tasted a macaron before and always see people raving about them. So I decided to treat my team (and myself of course) to some dessert and they were worth the calories! Very sweet though as I'm more of a savory person.  

TWO:
I also bought some of the cute mini pumpkins to decorate our dining room table for Fall. I just realized that I'll be in Barbados for Halloween this year so there's no need to carve a big pumpkin plus they don't last really long outdoors in the Florida heat.

THREE:

I celebrated my 5th work anniversary this week and received the sweetest card from one of my coworkers. You know who you are! She actually reminded me it was my anniversary since I forgot the actual date.

FOUR:

Work catered Chipotle for lunch on Wednesday since our team hit a major milestone with one of the services I'm responsible for marketing. Let's just say we've built the subscriber base to over 100,000 users in 3 years.

FIVE:

We also celebrated Breast Cancer Awareness Month at work with some Pink Ribbon Bagels from Panera for breakfast. 

Joining Amanda for her Friday Faves linkup. 

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!

Weekly Roundup and Some Faves

This week has been draining so I'm excited Friday is finally here and I can get a little break. Although I'm not sure how much R&R I'll actually get since my parents arrive today and, like any visitors, they want to get out of the house and do stuff. At least I'll get a break from the damn alarm clock. 

Things I did this week:

~ went to lunch with my team at a favorite Korean restaurant.

~ completed a module or two of the online photography course every night. I've really been pounding them out over the weekend and in the evenings so I only have 3 more modules before becoming certified!

~ started planning out the details of our trip to Barbados and my friend's bachelorette while there. It's about time since we're heading there in 4 weeks and I can say we may or may not have a fun boat cruise planned.

photo credit

~ ordered an iPhone case from Amazon for my new rose gold 6s phone only for it to arrive and then realize I accidentally purchased the 6s Plus size case. #Fail

~ stuck to our meal plan and cooked healthy dinners every night.

~ organized our house and the guest bedroom for our visitors. 

~ had the best cheat treat from Wawa. The pumpkin cheesecake smoothie is amazing!

So the week wasn't terrible but days without work is always needed. Now some random faves and joining Amanda for her Friday Favorites linkup. 

I saw this quote on Instagram and love the message it sends.

This Chicken Enchilada Casserole recipe I found on Pinterest looks out of this world!

I posted about some of my Fall Fashion Finds earlier this week which includes faux fur vests and I found these four beauties at Forever 21 for under $50.

One of my friends posted this joke on social media yesterday and it had me laughing on and off for 30 minutes straight. I don't even know why but I have the weirdest sense of humor.

Go enjoy the weekend you pretty thing!

That Rose Gold Phone Though

Has Blogger ever deleted one of your scheduled posts? That's what happened to my post for today and it isn't the first time. I logged in to see my post from Thursday had an identical duplicate and my draft for Friday had mysteriously vanished so I'm trying this again and it's going to be short and random.

My plan for today is to hopefully snag the new rose gold iPhone 6s on my lunch break. I hope I'm able to get through in time and that it doesn't sell out before I get there. Wish me luck!

I've mentioned before that my roommate and great friend from college passed away a few years ago from cancer. Her birthday was this week so I celebrated it somberly remembering all the fun times we had and still trying to grasp, 3 years later, that she isn't here on earth. 

Before Lola, I hadn't owned a dog since my childhood days. My first dog Rosie, who was a small fluffy yet feisty Pomeranian, was pretty much murdered by my neighbors' two Rottweiler dogs and it was a heart breaking moment for a child to witness. I didn't feel the need to have another pet since then probably because of the fear of facing a similar situation. Now that we have Lola though, I've learned so much and can see the true love a dog has for their owner and vice versa. (Sorry for two sad stories in one post).

Has anyone shopped the Kate Spade 75% off sale yet? I might have to pick up one of their pretty iPhone cases if I get through with the new phone. 

Happy Friday lovelies!

Joining the lovely Amanda for Friday Favorites.

Happy Friday

Friday is here and I'm thankful this week has come to an end. A fairly relaxing weekend ahead with some plans on Saturday if the weather holds up and I also hope to get a bunch done with my online photography class. I got a couple modules done this week but I'm usually too tired in the evenings to really get into it plus that's when I try to focus on writing my blog posts. It's always a struggle to find balance so I'll probably need to take blog breaks on Wednesdays or Thursdays until I complete the photography course.

I took a girl friend out for lunch on Wednesday for her birthday at a new Thai restaurant in town called Pop Thai which was amazing! It was nice catching up with her over an amazing lunch.

Yesterday afternoon work threw a tailgating party. Everyone wore their team jerseys/shirts and we mingled over some beers, tailgating games, and the typical non-healthy football party food. I didn't manage to take any fun photos.

Since it's (finally) Friday, it's time to join Amanda for some weekly favorites and funnies.

These Slow Cooker Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sliders look perfect for Football Sunday dinner. Planning to make them this weekend.

For those who cook often, wouldn't it be nice to have a live growing spice rack in your kitchen? I would need to pay someone to keep them alive but one can dream.

I saw this T-shirt in New Orleans and was tempted to buy it but then I remembered kids do exist in public and their parents would probably hate me for promoting bad words.

Thank the Man above for spell check! That is all.

 Because it's Fall...Seriously, what next?

The older I get, the more this becomes a reality. At least it's the weekend and bras and responsibilities aren't always required.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Friday Smiles

 

I'm not going to lie, this week has been pretty rough getting back into the swing of things after experiencing all that New Orleans has to offer last weekend. I have so much catching up to do it's made me lose my mojo for several things including blogging so I'm taking a little break from the usual posts and leaving you with five smiles for the weekend.

#1: If someone notices you with an open zipper, answer proudly *shaking your head*: professional habit.

#2: A bachelor is a man who believes in life, liberty and the happiness of pursuit.

#3: Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.

#4: Old people always poke me at weddings (in my case, baby showers) saying "you're next". So I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

#5: This is my husband.

Happy weekend and hopefully I'll be back in full swing next week!

Weekly Recap: All The Cute Things

Hi everyone and happy Friday! The long weekend is finally here. I've been awaiting this weekend for months because its not only a long weekend, but it's also K's birthday and we're heading to New Orleans to celebrate and explore. I will probably be MIA for the next few days but you can follow me on instagram and snapchat (emilyalisonb). Hopefully I'll actually remember to post my whereabouts.

This week I ventured over to Woof Gang Bakery to get some treats for Lola. This place is seriously the cutest pet bakery and grooming place in Orlando. I wanted to buy all the treats but I managed to walk away with the one treat I had in mind.

We celebrated Lola's birthday last night. She got lots of healthy grain-free treats from Chewy and Amazon so hopefully they will last her a while but the Happy Birthday cookie I bought at the bakery was the cutest.

It is also K's birthday this weekend so I got him a Milky Way cupcake from Jillycakes in Winter Park. That makes two cute stores I visited this week.  

We had some dinner and pumpkin beer at home last night and that was the extent of his birthday celebration until we get to New Orleans tonight.

I'll leave you with a quote that I love. Enjoy the long weekend everyone!

With Monday being a holiday, our Recipe Swap scheduled for next week Tuesday (09/07) is cancelled until Tues 09/15. 

Our Wanderlust Wednesday travel linkup is still on for next week so please feel free to share and linkup your travel-related posts!

Linking up with Amanda.

That Feel-Good Day

Friday is always a feel-good day that brings some light at end of the tunnel knowing that relaxing days are ahead. With it being the end of the month, I've been swamped at work so my energy has been low for everything else but hopefully the weekend will be a good recharge.

We've had our eye on tropical storm Erika which could be hitting Florida by Monday but I'm hoping it turns out to be nothing too serious. A work-from-home day would be nice though. Nobody wants to be driving in 75 mph winds/rain.

I've been on SnapChat for a couple months now but failed to actually use it. I'm terrible with keeping up with ALL the social media out there. I can't even keep up with Twitter which is terrible for a blogger, I know. Anyways I finally got around to doing my first SnapChat post this week. Let's just say it was a test run.

 #WTFfortunecookie (and it was stale too so I'm calling this prediction null and void.) Feel free to follow me - emilyalisonb - and hopefully I'll get the hang of it in time for NOLA next weekend.

I also posted this photo of Lola on Instagram earlier this week not knowing it was National Dog Day on Wednesday. I didn't bother to post another photo on Wednesday cause this one was cute enough to last the week. 

Favorite Recipe:

I shared this Shrimp Scampi Zoodle recipe on Tuesday. A light and healthy meal for summer.

Favorite Funny:

Favorite Giveaway:
Enter the Rafflecopter below to win a $25 Jamberry Gift Certificate so you can try out some fun and fabulous nail designs.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enjoy the weekend!