Weekly Roundup and Friday's Favorites

Happy Friday!

I have a fairly low key weekend lined up and looking forward to taking Lola to her first puppy training class tomorrow. My toes and furniture will thank me later!

Last night K and I went to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate his promotion at work. The manager came over and ended up comping our dinner since their restaurant and K's company do business together. Win win!

Late photo recap of NYE night because I just received these photos from a friend's camera. We're a classy but more so, a crazy bunch. 

Linking up with the lovely Amanda for Friday's Favorites.

Favorite Recipe:

Chicken and Asparagus Stirfry

Favorite Gift:

Kate gave me this cute bulldog magnet as a birthday gift and it's now up on my fridge. I definitely agree life has been better since we got Lola!

Favorite Seasonal Beer:

Blue Moon Mountain Abbey Ale

Favorite Giveaway:
Mine & Sarah's of course! Enter now and daily (until next Wednesday) for additional chances to win an awesome set of Bose headphones and a $25 iTunes gift card so you can load up on your favorite tunes for 2015.

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Favorite Funnies:

 

 Also linking up with Tif, Caitlin, Katie and Della for their new High Five for Friday linkup.

 

Giveaway: Bose SoundTrue™ Headphones + $25 iTunes Gift Card

Sarah from Coffee & Glitter and I have teamed up to offer our lovely readers a chance to win 1 pair of Bose SoundTrue™ Headphones ($179 retail value) plus a $25 iTunes Gift Card!

The giveaway will run from today until next Wednesday, January 14th at which time one winner will be selected at random. Enter now and stop by each day for additional chances to enter.

Good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winner will be announced within 7 days of the closing day. Once the winner is chosen, they will relieve an email from me and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be randomly selected.

All entries will be verified and reviewed at the discretion of the giveaway hosts. Any falsified entries will be disqualified. Please note this giveaway is open to US residents only.

Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

This soup was amazing! I looked up several different pumpkin and butternut squash soups online and kind of just adjusted the ingredients to my liking. You can use less seasonings & spices for a milder soup but I like mine with a little kick.

Ingredients:

3 lb. butternut squash, cut in cubes

3 tbsp butter

3/4 yellow onion, diced

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 1/2 cup chicken stock

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp minced ginger

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup sour cream

Black pepper to taste

What To Do:

1. In a skillet, melt butter and saute chopped onions and garlic for 5 minutes on medium heat. 

2. Add cubed squash along with chicken broth and sprinkle with black pepper.

3. Cover and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes or until squash is soft enough to mash.

4. Add mashed squash to blender or food processor and puree. Return to pot. 

5. Heat stove to low/medium heat and add all remaining seasonings along with the whipping cream and sour cream. Stir all ingredients until well blended and heat for another 10 minutes.

6. Serve and enjoy!

1. Follow Kate and myself via GFC and Bloglovin. 

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food-related posts.

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to our blogs.

Weekend Lounging & Epcot Adventures

I'm thankful things are starting to quiet down after the holidays although I always seem to find a way to make plans for the weekends so it's never 100% relaxing.

I did get some relaxation on Friday night. We watched the movie Let's Be Cops, which was pretty funny. Definitely a Redbox quality movie, if you know what I mean, but good enough for a quiet night at home.

On Saturday morning we met up with a couple friends at Epcot and went on some rides including Soarin' (my favorite) which is such a cool simulated ride where you fly above California in what seems like a helicopter but with your feet dangling below. 

After the rides we had some beer in Germany and some wine in Italy before heading to Morocco's Tangierine Cafe for a quick lunch/dinner.

Sunday was spent at home taking down some Christmas decorations, getting back on track with my recipes and of course spending time with K and Lola.

I love how she sleeps with her tongue sticking out.  haha

How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana for weekending.

NYE Recap & Friday's Favorites

Happy New Year!

This week has been weird with NYE being smack dab in the middle of the week, no work yesterday but then right back to work today. Let's just say I'm ready for the weekend already and so happy it's Friday!

We went to a NYE party at a friend's house and it was a fun night with good friends, jello shots & delish food. But after working a long & stressful day I was ready to go home after the ball dropped and spend the rest of the night with Lola.

Joining the lovely Amanda for Friday's Favorites.

Favorite Sites: 
I'm loving that the weather has been in the 70s with beautiful sunsets at night. It must be a record high because wearing flip flops and shorts on Christmas day is not the norm!!

Favorite Recipe

Pumpkin soup by Sarah from Coffee & Glitter (recipe found here). Im a sucker for a good soup and might even attempt to make it this weekend if I have some extra time.

Favorite Product & Shopping Finds

These are some of my favorite items I scored in 2014 -- 50% off Bath & Body Works 3-wick candles this week (I've already stocked up) --  MK purse (in grey) -- TB sunglasses for my birthday -- Versace Bright Crystal (smells amazing) -- VS lace undies -- TRESemme Keratin Smooth hair products to control frizz and tame hair -- Smashbox concealer -- Tarte foundation (both provide excellent coverage) -- comfy PJs for lounging at home. 

Favorite Funny:

And of course my favorite baby girl, Lola.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone has a great NYE night and I'm looking forward to making many more bloggy friendships in the new year!

Fifteen Goals For 2015

I cant believe 2014 has come to an end but it was a fabulous year for me with lots of travel, weddings, and fun with family and friends. I did a complete 2014 year review last week you can read here. I'm excited about the unknown and already planned adventures that 2015 has in store for me and I have some goals that I want to achieve in the new year.

#1: Paint master bedroom

#2: Get back on a regular gym schedule

#3: Cook healthy meals for lunch and dinner during the week and no carbs at dinner. Cheat meals allowed on the weekends.

#4: Experiment with a gluten free diet

#5: Do a photography class

Photo credit

#6: Cut back on alcohol

#7: Get more sleep during the week

#8: Visit Napa Valley while I'm out in California for work

Photo Credit

#9: Take Lola to a 6-week puppy training program

#10: Plant new flowers in garden and give lawn/shrubs a good manicure

#11: Book and plan trip to Barbados in October 2015

Photo Credit

#12: Get a new Macbook computer

#13: Declutter garage and get the roof fixed (the torrential thunder storms and semi-hurriances in Florida have caused major water damage)

#14: House shopping for a new construction home

#15:  Save 10-15% of my paycheck to put away in savings and put toward 2015 trips and new computer.

Sunday Brunch: Pineapple Mimosas

I'm a huge fan of brunch on Sundays and mimosas are often a staple. The thing is, I'm not a fan of orange juice so I started experimenting with other juices and pineapple juice has become one of my favorites. Top it off with a strawberry or blueberries and you're all set with a delicious and refreshing brunch beverage!

I fill each glass half way with champagne and the remainder with juice of your choice and then garnish with your favorite fruits.

Enjoy!

Tuesday's Recipe Swap will resume next week. I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas break and the holiday season!!

Christmas Weekend

What a fun-filled yet relaxing (at times) Christmas break away from work and spent with those that mean the most - family and friends. I feel refreshed to start this new week and I'm already looking forward to celebrating NYE this week.

I apologize in advance for overloading you with Lola photos.

On Christmas Eve, we drove 2 hours west to spend Christmas night with my in-laws and extended family. We did a white elephant gift exchange and K & I ended up with Busch Gardens park tickets to use in 2015. Pretty sweet!!

We also decided to open gifts the night before Christmas this year. Lola got a new bed and I got lots of gift cards, camera accessories, some Alex & Ani bangles, a pearl necklace from my Mother In Law and some other goodies.  

On Christmas day, we had a huge lunch with family and then went over to spend the night with some friends so Lola could meet and play with their Basset Hound, Snuff for the night. We drank lots of wine and played some cards.

On Friday, we headed back home and got our house ready for a Christmas party with friends. We played Cards Against Humanity which was hilarious and had some Eggnog and finger foods.

Saturday was a relaxing days at home. We went for dinner and drinks at Chili's and relaxed the rest of the night at home.

On Sunday, we did some shopping and then went for lunch with friends to watch football with Lola at a dog-friendly restaurant. Later in the evening we drove an hour to meet one of my best friends from Trinidad to have dinner with her family and 3 kids.

 
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas weekend!

Joining the lovely Biana for her weekending linkup.

Holiday Home Decor

I love decorating for Christmas and purchasing a few new items each year to add to my collection. Some of my favorites from this year is our new wreath, star tree topper and stocking holders. I posted my Christmas decorations here a few weeks ago. I've also started collecting tree ornaments as souvenirs from our travel ventures. I found most of my decor at Home Depot, Khol's, and Amazon.

Where do you shop for Christmas home decor and ornaments?

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas holiday and I'll catch you next week!

Merry Christmas to You

Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season!

I'm out of town visiting my in-laws and extended family for a couple days so I will be away from the blog world. I hope you are able to surround yourself with love this Christmas and appreciate all the things you have as you reflect on the past year! I, for one, am very thankful for so many things especially my loving parents, husband & family, fantastic and always entertaining friends, and of course my cute baby girl, Lola.

Puppy Shopping Checklist

I'm sure this shopping checklist is a no-brainer for the veteran dog owners but, before Lola, I hadn't owned a dog in many, many years and was honestly worried I would forget something important before the night of her arrival. I spoke with several friends and got some great advice for my initial shopping list.

Aside from the initial essentials, there's a few other specifics you may need depending on the breed or age of your new pup.

Puppy/Dog Toys: 

Chew/Rubber toys

Fetch balls

Rawhide

Cleaning Supplies:

Puppy shampoo
Puppy cleansing wipes

Nail clippers

Pick-up bags

Pooper Scooper

Training Supplies:
Pee pads
Training treats
Crate that comes with a divider

Puppy Walking: 

Small collar
Harness (for certain breeds)
Retractable leash

Funny story is I bought a harness (pictured above) that was small enough for a cat or very tiny puppy so had to return it for something bigger/thicker for a baby English bulldog.



I also bought her a cute Christmas collar that's adjustable for when she gets bigger each year.

 

Puppy Healthcare:

Dental supplies

First-aid kit

Flea & tick treatment

Vitamins & medications

The venison formula pictured above was also a lifesaver to make meatballs and hide her meds/pills inside. She loved them!!

Enjoy your new bundle of love!

Holiday Card Linkup

I was so happy to be paired up with the lovely Emelia from Dream Big & Buy The Shoes. I had never visited her blog before so I was immediately introduced to a new blogger friend. We both agreed neither of us are exactly the crafty type but she spoiled me with two cute Christmas cards as well as a Starbucks gift card.

Loved Emelia's sweet message in her holiday card and she really went the extra mile by including a gift card. Thanks lady!

Starbucks Frapuccinos here I come!!

And a bonus card came in the mail from the girls at The Sequin Notebook.

Thank you again Emelia for the lovely cards and gift card and also a thanks to B & M from the Sequin Notebook for hosting the Holiday Card Swap.

Happy Holidays lovelies!