Puppy Shopping & Holiday Kickoff Party

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I'm so excited Thanksgiving is almost here. Definitely looking forward to some family time and a few days off of work. 

This weekend we started our search for a baby bulldog. We've had an empty nest since Skyh passed away and think it's time to adopt a new furbaby.

Friday night looked something like this. Well, it looked exactly like this. Chinese takeout, Redbox movies and homemade dirty martinis.

On Saturday, I used the pamper package gift certificate I won at a charity event a few weeks ago. I got a facial, mani & pedi and my hair styled. The package included a few more things but honestly I don't have enough patience to stay more than 4 hours in a spa so that was good enough for me. 

Saturday night, was our first Holiday party for the year with friends and it was a blast!

Sunday: we cooked up some brunch at home and continued our search for a new puppy. We finally found our furbaby and she'll be arriving this week from the breeder!!

 K also thought pineapple mimosas with blueberries were a good idea to celebrate.

How was your weekend?

Joining Biana for Weekending and Leeann for Monday Morning Gossip.  

Weekend Relaxation, Fun & Pampering

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I had a good one spent in and around town with no major obligations so just going where the wind takes me. Definitely much-needed sometimes!

On Friday, K and I went out for dinner at Tony Roma's to use some free drinks coupons and to check out their new menu. Of course I got a martini and the chopped salad was delish!

On Saturday, I got all my errands done before heading out for lunch at a local oyster shucking place. Just like my obsession with sushi, I crave oysters and try to get my "fix" during oyster season. I know some people either love or hate oysters (possibly due to the texture and appearance) but if you love them like I do, you actually crave them!

After lunch we stopped downtown to meet up with some friends and spend time with a girl friend who was visiting from out of town. We hopped around to a couple bars and then called it a night.

On Sunday, I got to sleep in which felt amazing! LOL It's just one of those little things in life that make it so much better.

I did the usual weekly food prep, laundry, cleaning, blogging and put together this cream cheese chicken chili in the crockpot to cook for dinner. This recipe was featured on Kate's blog a few weeks ago and I just had to try it for myself. So good and easy!

I ended my Sunday afternoon relaxing at the spa and getting a pedi. K won a gift certificate at work and I got to reap the benefits since he has no interest in doing his nails.

Opi's "Warm and Fozzie" is a great color for Fall and has a nice sparkle/shimmer to it. 

Aren't relaxing weekends the best to refresh and recoup for the week ahead?

Joining Biana for Weekending and Leeann for Monday Morning Gossip.  

Friday's Favorites, Food & Funnies

My parents left on Monday and Crystal, my best friend from childhood, arrived last night so my 3-day weekend starts today to take her wedding shopping and spend some time together. She was the maid of honor in my wedding and I'm going to be her MOH in February so off we go to get started on her wedding shopping.

I came home from work on Monday to find these roses from K. He said they were for my parents leaving? I told him thanks but a bottle of wine would better do the job right now.

Skyh's birthday would've been this week and we received this gift in the mail from her vet clinic. She passed away two months ago for those new to this space. I had no clue they took her paw print.

My weekly meal plan typically runs from Monday to Thursday night and we eat out on the weekends. Last night we went out for dinner since Crystal was in town but otherwise stuck to the plan.

Monday: Chicken & veggie stirfry

Tuesday: Pork chops w/ veggie medley (aspragus, carrots & mushrooms)

Wednesday: Mexican fiesta salad with chicken

I did some pampering on my lunch break to get a long overdue pedi with some awesome iced coffee from Dunkin. The past two weeks have been exceptionally crazy at work and then trying to stay afloat in the blog world, it feels like I work all day, everyday. I needed this one hour to just unplug and relax.

All day conference and training yesterday was painful but at least they provided a good breakfast and lunch as well as coffee to keep my eyes open. Thought this BlaBlaBla artwork right outside the conference room was cute.

Favorite Funnies:

Catch you next week and happy weekend!

Joining Amanda and Lauren today for their weekly Friday linkups.

Beach Bound for the Long Weekend

I've been looking forward to this weekend for months now since we plan to spend it with friends out on Florida's west coast. We're going to a wedding tonight at a resort on St Pete Beach and the rest of the weekend will be relaxing on the beach, catching up with friends, BBQ-ing and inevitably drinking way too much. Let's not fool anyone here!

*Announcement* Tuesday Recipe Swap will be taking a break next week 05/27 due to the holiday on Monday.

I met up with Kate for lunch on Wednesday since her new job is literally walking distance from my office so we got to catch up and start planning our trip to Chicago later this year. We'll be meeting up for more lunches & happy hours in the future since we work so close together now.

I was most excited to come home to find this package from Blue Avenue waiting for me. The dress is just as gorgeous in person and fits perfectly. Blue Avenue is Jordon's brand new online clothing store with some pretty fabulous pieces (plus free shipping). Go check it out!

Last minute trip to the nail salon to get my nails prettied up for the weekend. I swear I love walking into the salon and hearing "Hello Emily" by all the ladies and they remember exactly what I like to get done. They also get me in and out quickly on my lunch break so no waiting around.

I was supposed to get my hair done last night just in time for the wedding today but my hairdresser cancelled on me last minute so I stopped for some happy hour drinks after work. I'm pretty bummed my hair is going to look like crap for the long weekend. Ah well!

I NEED to remember this for the weekend!
(and well, for every wedding, birthday celebration, bachelorette, etc...)

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Memorial weekend!

Joining Lauren for H54F and April for Five on Friday.

Weekly Recap: San Fran, Pretty Nails & Juice Cleanse

Happy Friday! I have a busy weekend ahead with a Magic basketball game tonight, St Patty's party tomorrow and preparing for a trip across the country next week.

#1: The Best News First
I found out I'm heading to San Francisco for a work convention next week!! This is another beautiful city that I've never visited and flights are not cheap coming from Florida so I'm excited to get a free trip out of it!

Other than the Golden Gate bridge, what else is there to see? It's so last minute, I haven't had a chance to research things to do on my free time.

#2: OPI's Eurso Euro Nail Color

I'm loving this new royal blue color from OPI. I got a much-needed mani and pedi earlier this week.

#3: Abita Strawberry Beer

I was so excited to see my favorite seasonal beer back on the shelves this week. I had to pick up a 6-pack and enjoy a cold one on my back patio after work.

#4: Mac Work Station
It's no secret I'm a lover of all things Apple. I have a Mac laptop at home as well as an iPad and iPhone so using a PC at work wasn't my idea of fun. The IT guy at work surprised me with a new Macbook along with a wireless mouse and tiny little keyboard, which I'm still getting used to. Now I feel like my office is complete :-)
 

#5: Two-Day Juice Cleanse

I started a 2-day cleanse earlier this week. I felt great during the process but realized I am not a huge fan of juice. I barely ever drink juice so not sure what I was thinking when I mentally signed up for this.

It took me 5 hours to juice and bottle 6 different types of juices (12 bottles total) so there was no backing out of this. I had to drink 6 juices per day so it wasn't exactly fun and, honestly, I wasn't able to stick to it 100%. The grocery list costed about $50 for the two days as opposed to buying pre-made juices for $200+. The cleanse worked great and helps you go to the bathroom quite often which is the whole point of a cleanse and detox diet. I'm glad I tried it but not sure I'll ever do a juice cleanse again. The next time I drink juice it'll probably be mixed with champagne at brunch!

I'll post the recipes and more details on the cleanse if anyone interested in trying it out.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Joining Lauren for H54F and April for Five on Friday.

Ice Cream & Painkillers + $100 Giveaway

Hope everyone had a fun/relaxing weekend!

I had a low key weekend after my wisdom teeth surgery on Friday so nothing super exciting to share and NOBODY wants to see selfies of my puffy cheeks. The highlight of Friday night was mint chocolate ice cream & catching up on some blogging.

K and I also watched the movie Adult Children of Divorce (A.C.O.D) from Redbox, which wasn't terrible. I think we've already drained the nearby Redbox of all the good movies available.  

On Saturday, my cabin fever had already kicked in and I had to get out the house for a couple hours. I went with K to get some errands done, chipmunk cheeks and all.

 Later that night I cooked Kate's delicious French Onion Soup recipe for dinner and painted my nails with Sally Hansen's Chrome nail polish.

Sunday was a beautiful day so I ventured into my backyard to get some sun. The pain & swelling in my mouth was quite bad so I didn't want to go in public but didn't want to be stuck inside.

Finally got to use my zero gravity lounge chair to catch some rays.

Giveaway time: $100 Michael's Gift Card!

Hosted by Jennifer @ Lovely Little Fawn and co-hosted by myself and several other lovely ladies. This gift card is perfect for DIY wedding projects, home decorating, party planning, and crafting in general. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

*This giveaway will run from Monday, March 3rd @ 12:00 A.M until Monday, March 10th @ 12:00 A.M.  One random winner within two days and contacted via email from Jennifer @ Lovely Little Fawn.  A new winner will be drawn if there's no response within 72 hours.

Good luck!

Joining Bella and Lisa for Weekend Recap.

 

Cheers to a new week!

Weekly Friday Recap

#1: I'll start off by apologizing for being MIA most of this week. I was at a Digital Media conference for work and have not had much time for myself. The convention was fun though and got to network with a lot of professionals in my field.

#2: I was excited to find out from Stephanie over at Fusion Chronicles that I won the Red Lobster gift card she was giving away. Coconut shrimp and cheesy biscuits are calling my name!

#3: Love my new nail color. I wish I could remember that exact name but it's the newest turquoise gel color at my nail salon.

#4: My latest accessory purchase: a Florida pendant & necklace. You know those cute little boutiques? My hairdresser's new salon now has one and I'm VERY afraid. The jewelry and accessories are gorgeous!

#5: My cooking experiment for this week included pesto & parmesan crusted pork chops with spaghetti squash which had chopped mushrooms and zucchini sprinkled with feta cheese. Both K and I really enjoyed the pork chops and the squash was pretty good for my first attempt. I'm going to experiment with different spaghetti squash recipes since it's a healthy alternative to pasta.

Joining Lauren and Darcie today for Five on Friday.

Enjoy your weekend!!