Long Weekend Part 1: Work Holiday Party Plus Some

Such an epic long weekend for my company holiday party and ringing in my 32nd birthday with friends. My husband was traveling for work so Kate stepped in as my date for my work party at a Universal Studios resort on Thursday night. Luckily they gave us Friday off because lots of wine was had! The night consisted of dinner, wine, karaoke, dancing, wine, casino table games with funny money and more wine.

On Friday morning I went to brunch with some coworkers at Hash House a Go Go which was amazing and much needed! I've been dying to try out their brunch menu. The portion sizes are out of control so I had leftovers for days.

On Saturday night I went out with my friends from college visiting from near and far which we'd been planning for months. We met up at a sushi restaurant downtown and then rang in my birthday at 12 o'clock at a bar downtown before calling it a night like the old fogies we are. ha!

Sunday brunching for my birthday happened which I'll cover tomorrow since this post has gotten long enough. Luckily I took this morning off of work to use up the remainder of my PTO and slowly wean back into the work week after all the celebrations over the weekend.

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Birthday & Holiday Gifts for Her

Tonight is the start of a long weekend for me with my work holiday party this evening and the day off tomorrow. It also happens to be my birthday on Sunday so there will be lots of celebrating going on which means I'll be MIA until next week.

I put together this wishlist/gift guide a few weeks ago but didn't get around to posting it. This year I want to keep it simple and wish for a spa day for Christmas, specifically a facial and massage. It's been a hectic year and I feel some pampering is in order to refresh for 2016 but I do have my eye on this Marc Jacobs Decadence perfume and this Kate Spade Champagne at Midnight watch for my birthday. Everything on the list I think would be perfect gifts for the ladies in your life whether it may be your sister, girl friend or mom. Ulta and Sephora have some amazing gift sets this year so I'm planning to purchase a few different ones for Christmas gifts.

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What's on your holiday wish or gift list? 

Wanderlust Wednesdays: Negril, Jamaica

 

I visited Negril in Jamaica a few years ago for my cousin's wedding and to celebrate our honeymoon a little late since their wedding was only a month after ours and couldn't swing two big trips. We flew into Montego Bay Airport and took a shuttle for about 1.5 hours to get to Negril. We stayed at the Riu Negril Resort which is an affordable all-inclusive resort located along Negril's seven mile beach. About 25 family members and friends made it to Negril for the wedding so our days were spent doing water sports and hanging out on the beach and at the pool bar. 

Most of the trip was spent at our resort since there was everything we needed in one spot including lots of entertainment and water activities however K and I made sure to plan some time alone for our "honeymoon". We went on a private boat tour up Negril's coast stopping at several spots to snorkel, have lunch or a drink, and eventually cliff dive at the famous Rick's Cafe.

Margaritaville Negril

Some of the locals are professionals at diving off the cliff and even our cruise tour guide got up there and took a back dive off the cliff.

There's a big possibility we'll be going back to Jamaica next year for another cousin's destination wedding so I hope she choses a different area such as Ocho Rios or Montego Bay since we got to see all that Negril offers. That coast is just beautiful though!

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Holiday Cheese Ball

I made this recipe for a friend's holiday party a few weekends ago and it got so many compliments. The good news is it's incredibly easy to make and only takes a few minutes to put together. I'll definitely be making this recipe for future gatherings and parties.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1/3 cup green onions, chopped

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1 cup sliced almonds (or more as needed)
Serve with crackers



What To Do:
 Soften cream cheese and mix together with mayonnaise. Add all remaining ingredients except the almonds in a large bowl and use a hand mixer on low speed to blend well. One mixed together well shape the cheese mixture into a ball. Layer of piece of plastic wrap on a plate and cover with sliced almonds. Roll the ball around until it become fully covered with almonds. Cover the ball with plastic wrap and refrigerate for approximately 2 hours before serving.

Enjoy!

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Let The Holidays Begin

Another warm and sunny weekend in Florida. We thought a cold front would be coming through but no such luck. The weekend was pretty relaxing and I only ventured out on Saturday to Kate's annual holiday party which was a blast. She really did it up with great food and drinks plus a photo booth and white elephant gift exchange which is always entertaining. So here's Saturday in photos...

The host and hostess.

I scored a pack of Cards Against Humanity from the white elephant gift exchange.

Festive Roxy

Lots of fun was had and I'm ready to take on more holiday parties ahead.

How was your weekend?

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

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!

Swim Lover's Holiday Gift Guide

Luckily Florida doesn't stay cold for very long so beach/pool weather is usually in our favor. As you can probably tell from the name of my blog, I'm a big fan of swimsuits and beachwear in general. The holidays is the perfect time to stock up on some new suits for the year ahead and I usually pick up a thing or two for the husband and my girl friends as gifts.



SwimOutlet.com contacted me to review their online store and merchandise and of course I agreed. I purchased the Volcom Wild Marks Bikini top and matching Brazilian cut bikini bottom for myself and the Rusty Men's Boardshorts for K with the gift card they provided. I have to say the material of the bikini is so incredibly soft you can tell it's great quality. Actually same goes for the shorts. I also love that they kind of (not on purpose) match each other.



From growing up in the Caribbean I've always been a fan of good quality swimsuits and beach clothing that will withstand the salt and sun. Luckily SwimOutlet.com carries most of my favorite brands including Vix, Betsey Johnson, Volcom, Roxy and Kate Spade just to name a few. I picked some faves for Him and Her that would be perfect for gifts or just to gift yourself.

Gypsy Road Kimono / Wrap Bikini Top , Bikini Bottom / Pineapple Kaftan Cover Up
Free Spirit Dress / Jaime Bikini Top, Bikini Bottom / Pineapple Paradise Tank

Desert Fringe Crochet Shorts

Pineapple Paradise Beach Bag

One / Two / Three / Four / Five / Six

Garmin VIRB X Action Camera

They offer a whole lot more than just fashion swimwear like for competitive swimmers, techies, kids, and water sports such as surfing and water polo. The fashionista in me naturally drifted to the beach clothing and bikini sections of their online shop.

If you're looking for gift ideas, SwimOutlet.com's Holiday Gift Guide is a good place to start as they offer some great ideas for different types of swimwear and equipment. I also like that they offer free shipping on purchases over $49, which always helps to cut the cost of shopping online.