Memorial Weekend 2015

Sometimes sleeping in on a Monday is all you need to feel refreshed for the new week. That and knowing this will be a short work week makes it that much sweeter.

After work on Friday we headed two hours west to Sarasota to visit my in-laws for a couple nights. We all went out to dinner to celebrate my MIL's birthday at Texas Roadhouse. It was good to spend some quality time with them. After dinner we met up with some friends downtown for some beverages and catching up. I didn't manage to snap any photos from this night.

On Saturday morning, K and I headed to Siesta Key beach and luckily got perfect weather.

 We lounged in the sun for several hours and then we went to Siesta Key Oyster Bar in the village for some lunch.

On Sunday morning we started our short road trip home. Lola also came with us for the weekend and stayed with my in-laws while we went to the beach and out and about.

Sunday afternoon was a friend's baby shower which was fun catching up with friends and seeing some new babies in the group.

Monday was pure relaxation. I binge watched Kendra On Top while blogging and then got some stuff done around the house. Late in the evening K and I did some grilling for dinner to cap off Memorial Day.

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Long Weekend Excitement

Happy Friday!
I feel so relieved the long weekend is here. What a difference one extra day of relaxation can make especially since we (in the US) get to skip over that dreaded Monday.

This week consisted of me going back and forth via email with Bloglovin's a-hole support staff who tried to place the blame on me for my feed not working. I would have possibly believed them if there wasn't several other bloggers complaining about the same issue. It's fixed. For now. Only took a week.

Other than that BS, the orange sunset from my backyard wasn't too shabby on Wednesday night.

So let's get right into some weekly faves and joining the newly turned Mrs. Amanda for her Friday Favorites linkup. Hoping she's enjoying her honeymoon in European paradise!

Favorite Fashion Finds:
Some Memorial Day-themed outfit ideas. Keeping it casual of course. I especially like the Marilyn Monroe top and the sunnies.

Favorite Hair Inspiration:

This Relaxed Half-up Braid looks pretty and easy to recreate.

Favorite Recipe
Skinny Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Skinnytaste.com seriously has the best recipes. I would post their recipes every week if it wasn't for other great recipes on Pinterest and, of course, from other bloggers I follow.

Favorite Funnies:

I think this is my first thought almost every morning when the alarm goes off...

Cheers to the weekend!

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Siesta Key, Florida

I couldn't be more excited to finally make it out to one of my favorite beaches in the world this coming weekend. The sand at Siesta Key feels like white powder, the water is crystal clear, and the overall vibe is soothing.

If you've never heard of Siesta Key Beach, it's located on Florida's west coast close to the city of Sarasota, which is where K grew up and my in-laws live so we try to make it out to the beach when we're in town visiting family. 

Ever since Siesta Key was ranked #1 beach in the US by Trip Advisor (in 2011), it's popularity has grown quite a bit causing certain weekends to be crowded and making parking a stalking game but once I'm settled on a beach chair near to the water it's literally my definition of heaven on earth. 

Things you may or may not see at Siesta Key beach:
~ tons of colorful beach umbrellas and tents. (guaranteed)
~ lots of beach activities including volleyball, ladderball, casual football and lots more.
~ NYC's famous Naked Cowboy and his female sidekick (yes that did happen)
~ Policemen on horses patrolling through the crowds (maybe)

After laying out in the sun for a few hours and taking a dip in the ocean, we always head over to the Siesta Key Village for a cold daiquiri at Daiquiri Deck and some seafood lunch at Siesta Key Oyster Deck (SKOB).

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.

Spicy Jalapeno Coleslaw

This is a great side dish for Summer BBQ's and coleslaw is ridiculously easy to make when you buy the already prepared dried coleslaw because seriously why would I torture myself any other way. 

Ingredients:

8 oz. dry coleslaw

1 cup light mayonnaise

1-2 jalapeños, minced and deseeded

1 tsp white vinegar

Black pepper to taste

What To Do:

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. (I only ended up using 1 jalapeño because I found it to be spicy enough)

2. Ready to serve immediately or can be refrigerated for a couple hours before serving. 

I paired this side item with Kristen's Crockpot BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches to create a delicious weekend meals for the husband and I.

Enjoy!

Weekend Whereabouts

Hey pretties!
We meet again on this Monday morning (which came too soon) but I'm ready to tackle this week after a fun weekend spent celebrating with friends.

On Friday night we went out to a local sports bar/restaurant for a friend's going away party and to have some dinner and drinks. They had a huge turnout out to send the newly wed couple off for their move to Tampa.
 

On Saturday morning, I got a bunch of errands done including some shopping and lunch with the hubs before we went to Kate's house for her BBQ/pool party. I made my Cranberry Cream Cheese Pinwheels to add to the spread. Kerri and Pamela also came out so we had fun catching up and playing Cards Against Humanity which is always a riot.

On Sunday I slept in until 10 am before getting up to do some laundry, food prepping and blogging. K and I then took Lola out downtown to Vanbarry's dog-friendly restaurant for lunch with some friends.

How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

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Friday Favorites

I hope you have something fun lined up for the weekend even if that means relaxing at home. 

I only realized yesterday but it appears Bloglovin has failed me starting on Tuesday and hasn't been publishing my posts to the feed. Anyone else run into this problem and happen to know the solution? I'm waiting to hear back from their support team. 

I'm stumbled on the world's most dangerously delicious smoothie this week from Wawa. If you have a Wawa in your area, I definitely recommend this Strawberry Cheesecake Smoothie. It's certainly a guilty treat but I used it as a meal replacement and declined on the whip cream topping. Does that count for being healthy? Probably not but not sorry.

In case you missed it and you might have because of Bloglovin issues. Kerri, Kate and I started a new Wanderlust Wednesday linkup this week which will run every 2nd Wednesday of the month so if you love traveling (or dream of it), come just us for the next linkup on Wednesday, June 10th. 

Now on to some my weekly faves and joining the lovely Amanda who is off on her honeymoon for her Friday Favorites linkup. 

Favorite Shopping Finds:

This White Deep V-Neck Coverup is on my wish list for upcoming beach trips since it's already 80+ degrees in Florida. 

Favorite Recipe: 

Emelia's Maxxed Up Moscow Mule sounds like an adult beverage I would certainly enjoy especially on a Friday like today.

Favorite Truths: 

Favorite Funny:

This girl. And that tongue...

Happy weekend!

Anjolee Jewelry Review & My Lost Wedding Band

What girl doesn't love diamonds or a keepsake piece of jewelry?

I was contacted by Anjolee.com about reviewing one of their pieces and I accepted because, after browsing their website, I realized they offer really pretty diamond and gemstone pieces that can be customized and designed online. *Online* being the keyword here because, other than groceries, I do about 99% of my shopping online due to convenience and stress-free browsing.

I wish I knew about their website when I was in the market for an engagement ring and wedding band but those days have come and gone. Although they do offer more than just wedding/engagement rings. Diamond/gemstone earrings, necklaces and bracelets are great gifts for momentous occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries (K, are you reading today?) LOL. I'm only kidding. 

What I really like is that all of their pieces can be customized online according to your preferred metal type, carat weight, diamond/gemstone quality, and ring size. You can also add custom engraving and I think their prices are pretty reasonable for the quality and styles they have to offer.

I chose to review this beautiful eternity ring because I sadly lost one of my two wedding bands recently and thought it would help fill that void.

The reason I had two rings in the first place was because K and I essentially had two weddings (a small one with very family/close friends and then a full-blown wedding two years later).

Soon after our first wedding, I decided to solder the first wedding band together with my engagement ring so it stays perfectly lined up (and doesn't get lost, let's be honest). The second wedding band I kept separate because I like wearing just a band for certain occasions like going places that include water and traveling to possibly unsafe destinations.



I also really don't mind rocking a simple wedding band because sometimes less is more.

Ring Pairing:
For the ladies & gents that are in the market looking for an engagement ring or wedding band. 

I think the diamond band I have featured above would look amazing with this engagement ring.  This is entirely my style and not all girls will agree. 

After reading through Anjolee's company policies, I found the complimentary size adjustments on jewelry to be an excellent perk, the 30-day return policy to be very fair and the free FedEx shipping (2-day shipping on orders of $500) to be another added bonus of buying online from their jewelry store especially in rushed situations. 

*I was provided with this ring complimentary from Anjolee.com for testing and reviewing purposes but all opinions expressed above are my true and honest opinion.*