Showing posts with label Lifestyle. Show all posts

2018 Year Recap: May - August


Hope everyone had a great Christmas on Tuesday. I shared Part 1 of my 2018 recap last week and so now I'm diving into May through August which, now looking back, were evidently heavy with travel and adventure.

Forgetful Me


I should probably be ashamed of some of the foolish/forgetful things I've done and/or continue to do. I will chock some of it up to being human but I often joke about having the memory of an 80+ year old and you'll probably think the same after reading this post.

My Worst Pillow

K loves to fall victim to new "breakthrough" products advertised on TV.  Specifically the ones where you have to call now to get some sort of urgent deal, not products from good old faithful Target or Home Depot.

Have you seen the ads for MyPillow on TV? Advertised as "the most comfortable pillow you'll ever own". K immediately wanted one and told his Mom that's what he wanted for Christmas 2 years ago, especially since it was a BOGO deal so I would get one too.
Worst pillow ever and for $80 each!

Even with the BOGO "deal" making it $40 each, these are terrible quality pillows. I know everyone wants amazing sleep so the advertisement draws you in thinking "yes, this is the answer". Nope it isn't. I used the pillow for one night and told K they were all his. I think he realizes now they really aren't anything special.      

My favorite pillows are from Kohl's for under $15 and they are heavenly to sleep on!

As we're on this topic, K saw an Ad on TV for the World's Softest Pajamas and decided this would be a perfect Christmas gift that same year. For "only $80" he ordered this PJ set from Pajama Gram.


They are comfortable but by no means worth the price and are just as comfortable as PJ's I own from Target and Victoria's Secret. Also what's up with the cowlick neck?

I guess the ad's content appealed to men wanting to gift their significant other/family member PJs made out of "fabric that's as soft to the touch as a baby bunny and as luxurious against the skin as the finest cashmere...She'll love you for it." Nope, not worth the price!

That's all for today...

Friday Funday: Q&A

 Happy Friday!




I started my new job this week so I apologize for being MIA while I try to figure out how to balance work, life & blogging.

Returning to the Cold + TBB Asks


Good morning friends! It's been a while since I've been able to connect with the blogging world. If you follow my blog or even social media (Instagram or SnapChat: emilyalisonb), you probably saw that I flew into Trinidad for Christmas and didn't return until this past Friday.

Happy New Year!



I Hope You Dance

2017 Year Recap: January - April


I always love reflecting back on the year to remember all my adventures and whereabouts. 2017 was a great year filled with celebrations, travel, and fun with friends.

Twice The Blessings, Twice The Fun: High Tea Party

After a busy work week, a quiet Friday night at home was just what the doctor ordered especially since lots were on the agenda for Saturday and Sunday.

I woke up bright and early on Saturday and relaxed a bit before prepping for the tea party of the year since twin girls are on their way! I made mini quiche and fruit skewers and headed over to my friend's' house to help get set up for the baby shower hosted by her family.


Friday Favorites


It's been a busy week but I've been focusing on some fun projects so I'm not complaining. Yesterday I went to Tampa for a work event and didn't get home until almost midnight so today better go by quickly. A weekend of pure relaxation is in order!

Today I'm linking up with Amanda sharing some favorites and things I've been up to recently.

Watching
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath

I already read and enjoyed her book Troublemaker since I knew very little about Scientology. The show sheds additional light on the church of Scientology from different ex-members and the stories are shocking.



Reading
The CEO of my company put the Hug Your Haters book on my desk and asked me to report back with an overview of how we can apply the strategies taught in this book to our company. It's not a bad read considering my marketing career and I feel like I've been getting some great insight on how to properly deal with customer complaints online and offline.


Planning 
Trips, trips, and more trips! I shared my 2017 Travel Plans earlier this week and I'm really excited that Europe is on the radar.


Cooking
K cooked up this Ribeye with Herb Butter recipe over the weekend except cooked it on the grill instead of pan searing and it was to die for.


Shopping
Well more like lusting at all the pretty home decor at Target on sale for 30% off.


That wraps up some of my favorites for this week.

Have a great weekend!

2016 Year Recap: Part 3


September

K and Lola share the same birthday on the 5th so we showered Lola with some doggie treats and then shortly after traveled to Nashville to celebrate K's birthday on Labor Day weekend.



We had such a blast exploring "Music City". I've never been a huge fan of country music but on Broadway Street you really hear some great talent which made me become an immediate fan.



The girls and I planned out Kate's baby shower and we decided on the perfect theme based around her love for travel (which we both have in common).



I shared all the cute details of her travel-themed baby shower which was probably the cutest baby shower I've attended to date! Not being biased or anything.



I traveled to Bradenton to go to my SIL's bachelorette party and it was so much fun. We did an Oktoberfest Craft Beer Tour through Sarasota and it was so surprised by all the local breweries we visited and that I never knew existed.


October

Many relaxing weekends were had compared to the months prior. Our Bahamas cruise was planned for early October but Hurricane Matthew swept in and the cruise got cancelled.


We started decorating our home and I shared some furniture and decor style I picked out for our home.
I shared some delicious recipes for Fall along with some cute swimsuits with coverage (in anticipation for our company cruise) and fun tips for hosting brunch at home.


We attended my SIL's wedding which was beautiful and had amazing food!

 
I got to meet Kate's baby fashionista and loved every moment of snuggle time with her.


November

We hosted a housewarming party for friends.


I talked about starting a series called "Never a Dull Moment" and shared our Family Vacation Edition which came with many mishaps and misfortunes sprinkled into all the fun.


We drove up to St. Augustine to celebrate a good friend's birthday and enjoyed exploring Florida's oldest city and all the good food and history it has to offer.


December

Our company cruise to the Bahamas got rescheduled for early December so I shared the details of that trip and cruising on the Majesty of The Seas ship and exploring Nassau.



We started decorating for the holidays and I also shared some girl friend gift ideas.


My birthday is in December so K planned a weekend getaway to Islamorada in the Florida Keys which was an amazing little vacation.


The following weekend Kate and the girls planned a birthday brunch to celebrate my 33rd.


My job threw a company luncheon to kick off the holidays and gifted everyone with Citizen watches which was a huge surprise.


We celebrated Christmas with family in Florida and this was the holiday card we sent out to family and friends this year.


Wrapping the year up and looking back, I'd say 2016 treated me very well and I'm looking forward to new adventures in 2017!

Read my previous 2016 Year Recaps:

2016 Year Recap: Part 2


Life got very busy in May and June because we were in the midst of selling our house and purchasing a new home. Things went pretty smoothly with purchasing but we had a bit of a nightmare selling since three buyers went under contract and then for one reason or another backed out so it took about 3 months to sell. But there were tons of fun moments tied into the angst of selling our home.

If you missed it, here's my 2016 Year Recap: Part One.

May
I got lots of bestie time on the weekends while she was in town visiting. We most often went to Cocoa Beach but we also tried new things like Yoga in the Park one weekend and walked around the huge Farmer's Market Downtown Orlando.


I spent a lot of time browsing for home furniture and decor for the new home although we were waiting for our house to sell before making these purchases. I shared some of my favorite decor in this Home Edition post.


K and I traveled to Colorado at the end of May and I did a quick recap of our long weekend trip exploring Denver.


I apparently shared quite a few Fashion & Style inspired posts in the month of May.

I talked about my US Cities Loves and Lusts and got to cross quite a few lusts of the list including Denver, Nashville, and The Florida Keys. We have a trip booked for Boston early next year and I'm working on crossing the final city lust off my list which is Charleston.


June
I got around to sharing all the details of our Denver trip which was such a fun city to explore.


The bestie and I did a girls weekend getaway to Cocoa Beach with Lola in tow. It was the perfect vacation refresher before starting a new job.


We moved into our new house and I started the new job right around the same time so things were busy settling into both new environments.


I attended Kate's Gender Reveal Party and wore pink because I "knew" it was a girl! Funny enough more people at the party wore blue.


The Pulse Nightclub shootings happened here in Orlando in June which rocked our city in a bad way but it was heartwarming to see our community come together to support the victims and the LGBT community. I talked about my love for the city I live in ~ The City Beautiful.


I shared the recipe for one of my favorite Italian dishes - Chicken Marsala - but slow-cooker style. It was my first attempt at making it in a crockpot but it came out so much better than when I tried the traditional recipe as a novice.



July
We traveled to Jamaica for my cousin's wedding and I did a quick recap of our time spent there with my family.



Clearly my fashion posts slowed down but I talk about some of my Faux Fashion favorites.

I shared a recipe for Festive Rice Krispies Treats which I decorated in pink and blue for Kate's gender reveal party. I also made these for 4th of July in red, white & blue so you can really make them work for any "festive" occasion with the topping colors.


August
I got around to sharing the full details of our family vacation in July to Montego Bay.


I shared some of my favorite Girlfriend Getaway Destinations along with some cute gift ideas for the Fashion Forward Ladies in your life.



I attended my first Blogger Tasting Tour and got to try different dishes and drinks from 3 amazing local restaurants I had never eaten at before.


The event was hosted by Order Up Orlando which is a food delivery app for your phone and they really did a spectacular job with picking the restaurants and getting some food bloggers together to do the tour.


I capped off the month with a weekend trip to Canada to spend time with my family and attend our Family Reunion in Toronto.

Looking back, I clearly kept super busy but got to celebrate so many fun occasions and fulfill my passion for travel.