Life Lately

I had some fun plans lined up for Saturday night to celebrate a friend's birthday but caught a stomach bug and was curled up in bed until 10:30am on Sunday. No fun at all!  K went out for the birthday celebrations and had a blast. I guess the silver lining is that I got lots of rest since life lately has been insanely busy at work.

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 Thanksgiving!

Just popping in to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and express my gratitude for all the lovely blogger friends I've meet over the years.

TBT For Thanksgiving

As I count my blessings this Thanksgiving Day, know that you are among them - my family, my friends, my husband and my Lola are my world and I'm definitely thankful for all the genuine friendships I've made through blogging!

I wanted to share one of my favorite Thanksgiving memories in sort of a Throwback Thursday style...

It began when Lola came into my life the week before Thanksgiving.

She was dropped off at my office in the pouring rain and my heart just melted. I hadn't owned a pet since living at home with my parents so there were a lot of uncertainties in my mind.  Probably explains why it took me more than 10 years to take the plunge.

 The right opportunity was dangled in front of me and I couldn't say no to this gorgeous bundle of wrinkles.

Since then Lola has grown into her full bully frame but has a heart of gold for children and other dogs of any size, She shows K and I never ending love and loyalty.... sometimes to the point where she can be a Stage 5 clinger but, Boy has she redeemed herself from the puppy and potty training days.

I don't have kids so my adoration goes to Lola and I'm so grateful and thankful for her companionship over the past few years.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family and fur-babies!

TBT: Bringing Lola Home

When K and I decided we wanted an English bulldog baby to join our family, we almost fell into a "too good to be true" scam for a very cute bulldog named Coco. Luckily after back and forth correspondence, we realized there were discrepancies in the person's story and the photos before sending any money. We moved on with our search and finally found a reliable breeder in Florida that was willing to deliver her to us at which time payment will be made.

This was the first photo the breeder sent us and of course we fell right in love and were sold.

On November 25th, 2014 the breeder drove Lola up from Ft Lauderdale in torrential rain to Orlando. It was a work day so I arranged for them to meet at my office at lunch time and for K to come with a crate to transport her back home since he has a flexible work schedule. It was storming outside so she got soaked in the exchange but luckily I remembered to bring a towel to the office.

K took another 20 minutes to get there so while I sat in the lobby bundling her shivering body to warm her up, word spread around the office that a cute puppy was there so a bunch of coworkers came to meet her, give her hugs and just play. She was a good sport being the center of lots of attention and I immediately felt attached to her.

When I got home that evening and after spending some play time with her, we decided that the name Lola Chanel Brand suited her personality perfectly. In the next days coming, we worked on getting her acclimated with us, the house, her bed and of course the most dreaded potty training.

 

 

That same week also happened to be Thanksgiving on Thursday so Lola took her first 2 1/2 hour road trip to my in-laws for the weekend. With her not being potty trained, the trip was challenging with a few smelly mishaps but I have to report that she's become the best travel buddy that just sleeps so I'm really happy we got her accustomed to road-tripping from young. She actually can't get in the car fast enough to go somewhere!

With us being the social people we are that like to go out on the weekends, we've been taking her out to play with other dogs and lots of people since she was tiny so today she really gets along with just about anyone and is such a social butterfly!

Shortly after Thanksgiving we were back on the road again to spend Christmas with family and a night with friends and their basset-hound which went much smoother than the Thanksgiving trip. Potty training had started to kick in and we were seeing some light in the tunnel. Lola quickly became attached to us just as much as we became to her so the pieces of the puzzle came together nicely and our little family had begun.

So that's my story about how this bundle of cuteness, joy, and MISCHIEF joined the Brand household.

Feel free to share any TBT memories of your fur-babies!

PS: She's ecstatic in these photos, don't be fooled by the English bulldog resting pouty face LOL

Friday's Best

Happy Friday!

I've been having some serious wanderlust since we traveled to so many amazing places in 2015 and it seems we've now come to a hiatus after the busy holidays. With K being in a new job, he doesn't feel comfortable taking too much time off of work so I've been figuring out how we can squeeze some long weekend trips in for the very few holiday weekends we get in the US and then one international trip to Jamaica for my cousin's wedding. #ThatTravelItchTho

In other news...

Super Bowl Sunday:
So with the Super Bowl being this weekend, I was looking for some healthy recipes and found this Honey Mustard Baked Chicken Wings recipe which looks amazing.

Things I Love:
This mug. I recently stumbled upon LookHuman.com and posted about the Mascara & Mimosas clothing line they have. Kate bought the sweatshirt and I bought the tank top which are perfect for our Sunday brunches. They even have some funny and sarcastic Valentine's gifts.

Best Smelling Award:
 Goes to Bath & Body Works' Wild Honeysuckle hand soap. I just recently did another haul from B&BW and I can't stop smelling my hands after using this soap. That probably sounds weird but it's true.

Favorite Reads:
Amanda's (Meet @ The Barre) photography guides found here, here & here offer great tips for professional/fashion photography. I did an online photography class late last year and learned all the technical details but honestly haven't had time to practice. These guides have convinced me to spend some time this weekend really figuring out what is what.

Lola Says:
"I love my Merrick's Cowboy Cookout treats gifted to me from Chewy.com."

I swear she loves treats more than life itself. As soon as I open the pantry where I store her treats, she coming running like a bowling ball.

Genius Award:

Goes to Publix for this Ice Cube Tray Sushi recipe. Sorry to feature two recipes in one post but I think the sushi lovers out there might just love the concept.

Have a fabulous weekend! 

Finally Friday

The broken record in me is here to say how happy I am we've finally made it to Friday and the weekend, of course. I finished up most of my gift shopping on Cyber Monday earlier this week so I'm so happy to check that off the list!

Then it was on to decorating the house with outside lights, stockings, random decorations, and of course the Christmas tree being the biggest time-consumer. All was completed this week and luckily my tree is fake and pre-lit so that makes the process a bit easier.

My online shopping haul from Express (all items 50% off last week) arrived and everything fits perfectly which is a huge relief since I guessed my sizes. A friend of mine was raving about how comfortable the mid-rise jeans and leggings are and she wasn't kidding. I purchased two pairs (here and here) and won't be going back to regular fit. I also bought a couple of their silky zipfront tops which come in a variety of pretty colors, a portofino blouse for work, and the softest tunic sweater for any occasion. 

Did you happen to catch my guest post over at MakeupHER's blog about some Wedding Day Tips for soon-to-be brides? I also included a picture recap of my wedding to relive my big day and give inspiration for future brides out there.

Ok here I am talking about shopping again but I love that Ulta has OPI nail polishes on sale right now for 3 for $19 (plus you can apply this coupon to get $3.50 off a $10 purchase).

I made my way over to the Ulta store on Wednesday night and they were sold out of a lot of the colors but these are the three that caught my eye: Suzy and the 7 Dusseldorfs, Peace, Love & OPI, and In The Cable Car Pool Lane.

I'll leave you with a weird fact about my Lola. She has a fear of iPhone cameras ever since we got her as a puppy. Well not fear but she shuns them and will look away as soon as you pull out your phone to take a photo. BUT as soon as I bring out my big girl camera, she will sit still and pose as if she's a Victoria's Secret model. She's has some work to do in the fashion model department and maybe some braces to boot (kidding) but I love that she'll let me take photos with one of my cameras!

Linking up with my fellow Floridian blogger, Amanda from Meet At The Barre.

Happy weekend everyone!

Weeked Happenings

Since I was under the weather last week, this weekend was the perfect break to feel healthy again.

On Friday evening we took Lola to a doggie event hosted by her trainer from when she was a puppy. We wanted to show our faces and let Lola socialize with some other dogs for a bit.

We then met up with some friends for an impromptu dinner at Maxine's on Shine downtown. We love this place because it's dog-friendly and serves an mean brunch with live music. The bruschetta we shared as an appetizer was amazing but our dinner entrees weren't anything to rave about. We still love the relaxed, eclectic atmosphere and the owner Maxine even stopped by our table to chat for a bit.

On Saturday I spent a couple hours at the hairdresser getting highlights done. As they say beauty is pain and upkeeping my blonde highlights is definitely the most painful part of my beauty routine but thankfully I love my hairdresser and we usually spend the whole time chatting and catching up.

 On Saturday evening K and I headed to Disney's Hollywood Studios to walk around and check out a couple shows. Our season passes are expiring in November so I'm trying to hit all the parks when we have a free day here and there.

We didn't go on any rides, just browsed several shops and saw the Muppet Vision 3D show. Finally we stopped off at the Hollywood Brown Derby Lounge for some martinis and a meat & cheese plate followed by dessert. Everything was excellent!

 Sunday was all about relaxing and get my usual house cleaning, laundry, cooking and blogging done. Perfectly productive with some lazy to feel refreshed for this new week. I also finished my last online photography class module on Sunday night so now I just need to sit the exam to hopefully get certified! I've been good about doing the classes but have had little time to practice so that's my next challenge.

How was your weekend?

Blinged Out Pet: Rhinestone Dog Collars

My personal friend owns BlingedOutPet.com and since Lola already outgrew her puppy collar, I needed to get her a new everyday collar and then decided a sparkly collar would be great for special occasions. Yes, I am that pet mom. Every girl needs a casual outfit and then one for fancy occasions so why not our furbabies?

I reached out to Laura to get one of her rhinestone collars made for Lola. The crystals are sewn and glued on to the collar for stability and she includes extra crystals in case any need to be replaced. The collars also come in a variety of sizes and colors. 

I picked a pink medium-sized collar with 4-rows of rhinestones which is so pretty and gets tons of compliments. These collars are perfect for show dogs or just spoilt ones like Lola.

After telling Laura about my blog and that I was thinking of posting a review on her collars, she generously offered the coupon code EMILY to give my readers 20% off the retail price.

You can check out more of their rhinestone collars on BlingedOutPet.com and on their Facebook.

Weekend Recharge

Thank you everyone for the well wishes on Friday! I really appreciate the sweet messages and positive energy sent my way. Times like this make you realize how amazing the blogging community is. This weekend was the perfect break to relax and recharge. 

K and I went downtown after work to have some patio drinks with a beautiful view of the lake. It was the perfect place to clear my mind and just breathe.  

After hanging out by the lake, we went for dinner at my favorite sushi spot downtown (Shari Sushi Lounge) which has $4.25 rolls everyday from 5-7pm. Dinner consisted of garlic edamame, tuna sashimi and a few different sushi rolls. It was the perfect date night and way to spend Friday night!

On Saturday morning I headed to the hairdresser for some pampering and then did some quick shopping at Petco, Total Wine and a few other errands. 

It was a beautiful, sunny day so we took Lola for a walk around the neighborhood and had a relaxing rest of the day at home. We watched the Kentucky Derby and I got to catch up on some blogging and more importantly R&R after a stressful week. 

On Sunday, we cooked up some brunch at home. On the menu was Eggs Benedict and pineapple mimosas.

Also got to spend lots of QT with my honey who now thinks she's an acrobat.

And then headed to our neighborhood pool to catch some rays and take a dip in the pool.

I feel recharged and I'm ready to take on this new week. Things are looking up! 

How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.