Favorite Products & Purchases

After a super busy work week, I could definitely use a little downtime so my brain and body can relax.

The flowers in the photo above are from Valentine's day. I've said it before, I'm not a huge sucker for flowers but if you really want to give me flowers, carnations are my absolute favorite. They last long and are inexpensive. It's been almost two weeks and they look just as vibrant as in the photo.

On to some fashion, beauty, and home decor favorites...

The President's Day sales last weekend had me browsing and shopping around for good deals. I wasn't really in the market for new clothes but I picked up a few pieces for work and play at Kohl's.

one  /  two  /  three  / four

I was on the hunt for a cute yet smallish backpack for traveling and finally chose this one. Earlier this week I shared all the fun adult backpacks that Target has on the shelves (or online) so it was a tough decision choosing the right one.

I compare Formula 10.0.6 skincare products to the NYX brand in terms of great value for price. I've been using the skin toner for a couple years now and it's my absolute favorite...with a $6 price tag.

 The mattifying moisturizer works wonders with oil-control in the Florida heat/humidity (the only thing is it doesn't contain SPF.)

The newest product to me is the 3-in-1 Wash + Scrub + Mask which exfoliates and fights blackheads. I tried this mask for first time over the weekend and my face felt silky soft and so clean afterwards.

Happy Friday and I hope you have the best weekend!

Thanksgiving Weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. I wish I could say mine was a long weekend but in fact I had to work on Friday so we went to my in-laws on Thursday for Thanksgiving and then made the 2 hour drive back home that evening.

Friday was a very slow day at work so not very stressful. In the evening K and I went out for some dinner and then had a relaxing night at home. I avoided the crowds and did some Black Friday shopping online to finish up some holiday shopping.

On Saturday, K went to Tampa for the UCF game so I had a full day of 'me time' which was glorious. I went to get an hour long facial at a cute salon near home and then went to our local small business holiday market and bought some cute gifts from local vendors.

My favorite vendor was Katie Wu's LuLaRoe shop. I bought the softest pair of leggings which are also perfect as gifts since the sizing is very flexible.

I spent Sunday putting up Christmas decorations around the house and getting started on our tree. It's beginning to look like Christmas around here ~ my favorite time of year!

Joining the lovely Biana.

21 Gifts for Fashion Forward Ladies

Shopping has been on the back burner for me the past few months other than for the essentials and random things from Amazon. It's the pretty things I've been avoiding by not clicking on that email from my favorite shop offering BOGO on jeans or some other irresistible sale. Online browsing leads to online purchasing, well it does in my case, so I've done a decent job at avoiding it.  Until recently.

It just so happens the majority of ladies in my life (my sister, mom, favorite cousin, and a ton of girl friends) have birthdays towards the end of the year, and with 2016 technically being half way through, browsing happened over the weekend.

Building a wishlist has to start somewhere so these are some of my favorite finds:

I'm clearly adoring all the soft colors for clothing yet shiny and glittery for accessories. And those coasters are my favorite for the home!
 

 Off the Shoulder Dress / Kate Spade Glitter Stud Earrings / 'Surf' Flat Sandals
 Kendra Scott 'Elisa' Necklace / MAC Mascara / Sleeveless Knit Romper

 BaubleBar 'Bold' Necklace  / MAC Eye-shadow  / UD 'Naked' Palette

Strappy Tank Dress / Floppy Straw Look Hat / Timex Leather Watch

Lumino Gilded Coasters / LP Dry Shampoo / Paisley Off the Shoulder Dress

MAC 'Look in a Box' / Ray-Ban Sunglasses  / Bobbi Brown 'beach' Body Oil

Kate Spade Journal  / Red Carpet Manicure Kit / Crossed Arrow Bookends

Weekend Whereabouts

This weekend was the perfect break to recharge those batteries. Of course it's never long enough but I had no big plans so I took advantage of sleeping in and being productive around the house. On Friday night K decided to play chef and cooked up a nice dinner at home so it was a relaxing night.



Saturday morning was spent cleaning and organizing the house before heading out to Target, Home Goods, and a few more stops to get some last minute shopping done for our trip this week. I love all the pride clothing that Target is now carrying.

 I didn't go too crazy shopping but I did get a gorgeous pair of rose gold sling-back sandals along with a matching crystal headband and a Stila Lip Gloss in Rose Quartz for my cousin's beach wedding on Saturday.

We all know shopping builds up an appetite so K and I went to Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen for some lunch and shared this delicious cocktail called a painkiller. I don't usually drink rum but all of the other ingredients hid the rum taste and it was so good!

I also bought these super comfortable dupe Michael Kors Espadrille wedges from Target that I've been eyeing for months now. They were 30% off so it was finally time to pull the trigger.

Before heading home for the evening, we stopped off at Publix to stock up on some groceries and I stumbled on this new blueberry beer from Abita. I always rave about Abita's Strawberry beer and this one was equally as good. Strawberry and blueberry happen to be my favorite flavors when it comes to pretty much anything. 

Sunday was another relaxing day. K left for a work trip around 6 am so Lola and I slept in a bit. Well more so her than me!

Then it was time for some breakfast, coffee and, blogging. I also got laundry and cleaning done, food prepped for the week, and put together this Jamaican Curry Chicken recipe in the crockpot to let dinner cook itself.

If you've been following my blog, you might already know that I recently bought a new house and posted that our previous house was sold pretty quickly. Well I spoke too soon and things ended up falling through with those buyers so life has been a little crazy trying to get it sold asap. Nobody wants two mortgages! Well not me at least!

We've had to put decorating and fully furnishing our new home on hold until we can get it sold which explains why I haven't posted many house photos. I'm praying that will change soon!

There's always the good, the bad and the ugly in life but the weekend was a good one and I'm counting down to our little vacay,

Have a great week!


Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekend linkup.

Weekend Whereabouts

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Mine was a fairly quiet one since K was traveling for work so I enjoyed lots of "me time" and tried to sleep in but early-bird Lola woke me up at 6 am on both Saturday and Sunday morning.

On Friday night I did a whole lot of nothing other than relaxing at home catching up on some shows.

On Saturday I had a hairdresser appointment which is always a process but I love how my hair looks after getting a trim and some fresh highlights. After the salon, I went to Pier 1 to browse some of their gorgeous mirrored furniture. I talked about some of my current home obsessions on Friday and a pretty mirrored nightstand was on the list - These are the two I have my eye on - one  / two

Kate and I met up on Saturday evening at Brio Tuscan Grille to catch up over some delish Italian dinner and wine. The sweet potato and chicken risotto was amazing even though it looks like mushy baby food in the photo (ha!). The rest of the evening was spent relaxing at home watching the movie Sisters with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler which had some funny parts but altogether not a highly rated movie.

Bright and early on Sunday the bestie and I drove out to Cocoa Beach for some sunshine and fun. We stopped at Ron Jon Surf Shop first to do some shopping and I bought my first floppy beach hat.

 It's so lightweight and comfortable which is perfect for the Florida heat!

Once we got to the beach, we went to Coconuts for some much needed frozen cocktails to sip on while we relaxed on the beach for a few hours. After getting some sun we went to Jazzy's Mainely Lobster & Seafood Company for some local seafood dinner and then made the drive back home.

The weekend was capped off with some food prep and house staging on Sunday night to prepare for the week ahead.

Joining the lovely Biana for her weekending linkup.

Scalloped Style

Happy May 4th!
Some people like to celebrate today (like my company) but I've never really gotten into the whole Star Wars thing. What I do love is fashion and shopping so today I'm talking about some fashion finds of the scalloped variety.

I actually don't own one piece of scalloped clothing but I do love the look so I was browsing some affordable yet cute options online and wanted to share some of my faves. Let's be real, some scalloped styles can be on the tacky side so with that in mind I was looking for more sleek and versatile dresses, tops, and bottoms. Here's what I found:

one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight

nine / ten / eleven / twelve / thirteen / fourteen / fifteen

 What do you think about the scalloped style?

Loving Lately: Fashion

 

Spring is a tricky season to dress for here in Florida because it can surprise you with 80-degree weather one day followed by a random cold front bringing in 50-degree temps. Typically the days are warm and the nights can be chilly so you need to have to be prepared with a good mix of Spring and Summer outfits.

Over the last couple of years, Express has been my go-to store for good quality work and weekend clothing (other than my occasional bargain shopping at Marshall's or T.J. Maxx). I was recently searching for some outfits with cute patterns and pops of color that are comfortable and versatile for this time of year.

Blue Halter Romper  *  Floral High-Waisted Skirt  *  Marled Cowl Back Tee

Handkerchief Sundress  *  White Distressed Jeans  *  Chevron Halter Top

Elastic Waist Caftan  *  Deep V-Neck Bikini Bodysuit  *  Floral Sundress

My motto when it comes to clothing and shoes has always been comfort is key so that's what I was going for here. I know that anyone residing up north will probably classify these outfits as summer wear so I'm not trying to skip the seasons with these fashion finds. You can definitely be thankful you don't have to deal with the sweltering heat of Summers in Florida.

There's always that silver lining, right?

Friday Faves

Thank heavens! I know I say that every week but that's seriously how I feel by the time Friday rolls around! Anyone planning to do anything fun this weekend? I plan to get some rest and make it out to the beach if the weather plays nice which it's been doing for the most part this week. So, as usual, just a quick weekly recap and some of my favorite finds.

Freebies!
Anyone run over to ULTA this week to get the free Clinique Chubby Stick? No purchase necessary so it's completely free. Go get it while supplies last. I went yesterday and it looked like they had a good amount left but that could easily run out this weekend.

Beauty Department
Last week I spoke about winning a box of goodies from Amanda's giveaway and I was excited to try the Pixi Rose Oil Blend. I've applied it to my face every night this week after washing my face. It makes your skin soft as a baby's butt face the next morning. I will definitely purchase this again (sold at Target) and the good news is it costs half the price of other rose oils I've seen in stores.

Food Trucks
The food truck trend really hit it big in Orlando a few years ago and has died down since. They still have food truck events on the weekend but it's hard finding one for lunch. Unless they pull right up to your office! The Toasted Food Truck blessed us with their presence on Tuesday and came bearing fancy variations of grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Win!

Shopping

I should say TOO MUCH shopping. The past two weekends got a little out of control with shopping in Coral Gables and then last weekend with the bestie. In my defense, mostly everything is from Marshall's or Target so it was more like out of control bargain shopping.

One of my favorite finds is this cute graphic tank beach coverup from Target. Having said that my spending freeze has begun!

Health Eating
I've been sharing some delish salad recipes for the warmer months ahead. It's already quite warm here so I've started making different variations of salads which I shared here and here.

That's all for today. Have a wonderful weekend!

Linking up with fellow Floridian Amanda.

Weekend Whereabouts

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! It was fairly relaxing for me but I had a fun girls day yesterday with my bestie visiting which was soooo good for the soul!

K and I didn't do much on Friday night. Lola was sick on Wednesday and Thursday night so I wanted to stick around to take care of her.  We had some Vietnamese food for dinner and caught up on some shows. Steph gave me a recipe for upset stomachs so I wanted to get that prepared for Lola for dinner and her next few meals. It worked wonders and she hasn't gotten sick since. Thank you Steph!

On Saturday K and I spent most of the day looking at new construction houses in the Orlando area. We've been wanting to customize a home since our current house lacks some features we think are important. We saw some amazing floor plans but I'm not sold on the location so the search continues.



After about 5 hours of house viewing we settled for some dinner at Lee and Rick's Oyster Bar which is seriously the biggest hole-in-the-wall restaurant but no one has better oysters around here.

 

Sunday morning came quickly (thankfully!) because it was time to meet up with my bestie of 25 years who's in town visiting to do a course for the next few months. We had SO much fun catching up over pedis at the day spa, lunch at Wich Wich, and TONS of shopping.

My whole backseat was filled with shopping bags but mainly for her. I can't wait to wear the cutest beach coverup from Target (pictured below) next weekend.

I also can't wait to see my bestie next weekend for more girl time at the beach!

How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Spring Casual

When I think of Spring fashion, comfortable florals and colorful outfits come to mind. My closet once used to be very black and white but I've been adding lots of colorful tops and accessories over the past few years. I don't however own many floral pieces probably because I'm very picky with florals as they can't be too "flowery". Does that even make sense? I guess I don't like too much noise in my outfits. This cute yet subtle floral top from Forever 21 has been in my closet for over 7 years and I still love it! It's has a super comfortable elastic waist and is light and airy for Spring and Summer in Florida.

 

We took these photos while exploring the historic district in St. Augustine over Easter weekend. One of my favorite (and must-have) accessories for traveling is a good size cross body purse that can fit more that just a couple credit cards and a lipstick. My pink Kate Spade cross body purse is the perfect travel companion (this particular one is sold out but they do have similar cross body purses in a variety of colors).

I don't consider myself a fashion blogger and I don't have a professional photographer sidekick so these photos come to you as they are - unedited and imperfect. I love fashion and will share some favorite outfits from time to time.

Has anyone tried mid-rise jeans as yet? They are life-changing!! At least they are a life-changer for me and my particular body type. Express has a good variety of styles and after wearing my first pair for a few weeks (the Dark Wash Mid Rise Supersoft Jean Legging that I'm wearing in these photos), I've gone back and purchased two more styles.



Mac's Flat Out Fabulous matte lipstick is still one of my prettiest lip colors and it was the perfect touch for this spring-inspired outfit.

While we were exploring downtown St. Augustine, we had to make a stop at one of my favorite spots,  Sangria's Wine & Piano Bar to cool down and have a refreshing glass of fruity sangria.



I bought these adorable Purple Flash Mirror Aviators in Las Vegas last year from the Michael Kors store with some winnings from the Wheel of Fortune slot machine. Purple is my favorite color so I couldn't resist but they definitely don't go with just any outfit. Luckily I was able to wear them out that weekend with the outfits I packed.



My latest Kendra Scott addition (purchased from Rocksbox) is this adjustable Jamie Bracelet in Platinum Drusy which I love because it sparkles in the light. Rocksbox just sent me the matching necklace and earrings so temptation is running high to purchase those as well. I mean they're meant to be worn together, right?

Shop The Look

Express Mid Rise Jeans * Michael Kors Watch * Kendra Scott Jamie Bracelet * Kendra Scott Elisa Necklace * Kate Spade Cross Body Purse * Michael Kors Chelsea Aviators * MAC Flat Out Fabulous Lipstick


What do you love about Spring fashion?

Weekend Whereabouts

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. I'll start by saying my whereabouts were pretty minimal the past few days. It was a rainy weekend so it was perfect for catching up on some R&R since I have a few busy weekends of travel ahead.

I did venture out on Friday afternoon for some puppy playtime and a quick dinner.

After dinner we watched the movie Steve Jobs at home and had a quiet Friday night which was much needed!

 On Saturday I stayed local to get some errands done and rest up at home. I shopped around for some essentials for our Easter dinner party, did a ton of laundry, took some naps and spent lots of couch time with Lola watching TV.



Some inevitable online retail therapy happened on Saturday night since I had all the free time to browse. Maybe this is why I try to keep myself busy on weekends?

On Sunday, I went to Kohl's to pick up a dutch oven I had ordered to make the Guinness Beef Stew I posted about last week for my Friday Faves. It came out amazing by the way and I have to thank the lovely Andrea for helping me out with a few secret tips!

 Of course I ended up venturing over to the clothing department in Kohl's but not too much damage was done. I purchased these cute coral-colored shorts and navy crochet shorts for the Spring/Summer time weather and used a 30% off coupon.

 I'm so excited this is a short work week (we get Good Friday off) and I'm looking forward to our quick road trip adventure this coming weekend.


Joining the lovely Biana for her weekending linkup