Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!


Writing a quick Thanksgiving post via my iPhone Blogger app while my speed racer husband drives us to B-town for Thanksgiving dinner with his family.

I hope everyone has a happy & hearty Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

Emily

What I'm Loving Wednesday

It's our Friday everyone! Almost time for turkey, family fun and sleeping in for the next 4 days. Woohoo!!  Linking up with Jaime for What I'm Loving Wednesday.


I'm loving that we're heading out of town this weekend to see K's family and close group of friends. Always nice for a change of scenery!

I'm loving all the amazing deals flooding my inbox (very hard to resist going nuts shopping online)!
ULTA
Macaroni Grill

I'm loving my newly found creative skills being used for gift giving ideas this year. I made this Fall-themed housewarming gift for a friend a couple weeks ago.
Before
After

I'm loving that my friends send me random stuff to brighten my day.

I'm loving my recent Pinterest Fashion finds:



Of course, I'm always loving K:


Have a FABULOUS Thanksgiving weekend everyone!!



Tuesday Thankfulness

Only one more day and Thanksgiving will be here so hopefully everyone is in the spirit and focusing on what they are thankful for this holiday season.

I'm thankful for my loving husband who has been there for me for the past 4 years. 


I'm thankful for my supportive and generous parents who sometimes still spoil us like we're kids.

I am thankful for the amazing memories of loved ones that have passed, most recently my grandmother and college friend, Sally. 


I'm thankful for my job and all the fun parties and company trips they host. 


I am thankful for my close group of girl friends, whether they are near or far. Distance or time has never changed or weakened our friendship.

 
I'm thankful for my favorite cocktail ~ dirty martinis with blue cheese olives.  The perfect drink for dinner dates with K. 


I'm also thankful for: 
-  fuzzy socks, sweaters and throw blankets
-  coffee on a Monday morning
-  my little car that hardly gets affected by gas prices
-  that I live in Florida, especially during the "winter" months
-  that my birthday and Christmas are right around the corner

Finally, I am thankful for our lovely home that has been in work in progress for the past two years with decorating and furnishing and I'm sure we'll have more projects to share in the future ;-)

Thanksgiving Potluck

As much as Mondays come way too quickly and suck 99.5% of the time, we had our Fall Potluck at work today which was sorta fun.


There were about 25 entrees, sides and desserts which included chilli, pot roast, meatballs, various salads & casseroles and a ton of desserts - cake, cookies, pies. My favorite were the pigs in a blanket stuffed with bacon and jalapenos made with crescent rolls.


Some of the more interesting dishes were Spam & Green Bean Casserole (yuck) and Bacon Pumpkin Pie ~ I didn't try either although my coworkers were trying to convince me the bacon pumpkin pie was delicious. I do love bacon!


I'm thankful we only have 2 more days of work til the long weekend!

Emily

Sunday Funday At Home

I've been in the kitchen cooking potato salad from scratch for a pot luck at work tomorrow while K is glued to the TV watching football.

I made enough potato salad to feed an army so we're having some for dinner along with BBQ ribs. I think we've finally conquered the art of cooking delicious ribs that fall off the bone.

BBQ Ribs Recipe:
- Boil ribs for 45 minutes
- Mix BBQ sauce (any type) with 1/2 small onion, 1 tbsp mustard, paprika, salt and pepper
- Coat ribs with BBQ sauce mixture
- Throw on the grill 10-15 minutes (this gives them the best flavor)


I got a Trinidad-style potato salad recipe from CaribbeanPot.com that I love and always get compliments about. It has a lot of flavor and isn't bland like what you buy at the grocery store. I left out the celery and gherkins (pickles) though.


Potato Salad Ingredients:
6 large Potatoes
1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 can peas and carrots
1 1/2 cups mayo
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1 small red onion diced (1/3 cup)
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
5 eggs (hard boiled)
 
You can get the step by step instructions here: http://caribbeanpot.com/tag/trinidad-potato-salad/. Take my word for it, it's super yummy!

Looking forward to Thanksgiving next week and having a short work week!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday :-)

Emily

Christmas Gift Ideas for Him

So stoked that I got all of my Christmas shopping done online today for my hubby and girl friends. Found some amazing deals and saved over $50 with the Kohl's friends and family discount (Code: FFNOV20P).

Thought I'd share some gift ideas for your guy.

1. Sports Jacket
 
2. Money Clip

3. NFL Jersey

4. Workout Socks & Gloves

5. Alma Mater Grill Cover
 

Also bought myself this sexay new dress to wear at one of our many Christmas parties...couldn't resist!

What's on your Christmas wish list?

x Emily

Friday....We Reach!

I'm sure everyone is happy that it's finally Friday, right?

Thirsty Thursday last night was a lot of fun. It's always great hanging out with my marketing team outside the office. I'm sooo happy the weekend is almost here, although it's not going to be a quiet or relaxing one...

Tonight we're going to a charity event for the Special Olympics of Florida hosted by my work. We'll get to enjoy some live music, food tasting from local restaurants, open bar, black jack, auctions and raffles to support Special Olympics programs.  We went to the same event last year and it was a good time.


I'm hoping I can pull together a cute last minute outfit for tonight after I rush home from work ;-)



Saturday night we have a friend's birthday dinner followed by some drinks at some local hotspots and I'm hoping Sunday will be somewhat relaxing.  Me, couch and browsing online for Christmas gifts sound amazing right now! We'll see how that goes...

I'm excited that next week will a short 3-day work week and then we get to celebrate Thanksgiving!


Enjoy your weekend!

Emily

Thirsty Thursday

I'm still trying to figure out my way around the blogging world, especially how to get more involved and get connected with people with similar interests. I'm also not 100% settled on my design and layout but it will have to work for now. I'll get there sooner or later.

ANYWAYS, I'm pretty excited about this evening! The CEO of my company is hosting a happy hour event right after work for my team so tonight will indeed be a Thirsty Thursday. Yay! It's being held at a local hotspot so I had to come to work dressed up for the occasion and also be work-appropriate (which is usually business casual).


With the help of Pinterest, I've gotten a bit better at putting outfits together. I was so happy to find an outfit in my closet that matched my shiney new blue & silver ballet flats. I think the blue blazer made that easy enough ;-)
 

I purchased both the blue blazer and the ballet flats at Kohl's department store. Kohl's always has good deals and sales going on so I've been somewhat hooked!

Enjoy your Thursday....thirsty or hungry?


Emily

Product Review: Tarte Pure Maracuja Oil

A couple months ago I received this small purple bottle along with some items that I ordered online from ULTA. I had no clue what Maracuja oil was so I put it to the side and kind of forgot about it. Last week I decided to do some research online.
Turns out Maracuja oil is a nighttime facial moisturizer. After reading about all the benefits mainly the 3 listed below, I decided I must try it:

Smoother: Moisture-rich formula replenishes & hydrates skin
Firmer: Nutrient-rich essential fatty acids repair & rejuvenate skin
Brighter: Vitamin C awakens skin for a healthy, radiant complexion

I have been using it every night for the past week and I LOVE it!  It makes your skin extremely smooth and is perfect for this time of year when the cold weather tends to dry out your skin. It isn't oily and absorbs very quickly also it doesn't have a bad smell...it smells okay. For the past 10 or so year, I was using an Oil of Olay facial moisturizer daily and nightly and so far I prefer how my face feels and looks with Maracuja oil, at least for the nighttime. 

Instructions: After you get out of the shower, rub 2 to 3 drops into the palms of your hands and then spread evenly on your face and neck.

Downside: The tiny bottle of Tarte Maracuja oil is $46 retail at Sephora and Ulta, which is a huge bummer!!


Happy Hump Day!

We're half way through the week and I wanted to share some motivation and positivity that helps us all focus on what's important in life.


Smile...Friday will be here in no time :-)


Whatever your personal goals are START TODAY and make it happen. I'm working on my fitness & health with the goal of toning up and building muscle mass (nothing too crazy). My goal is to slowly increase the intensity of my work out routine, while also surviving the craziness and calories that come with the holidays ;-)

Weekend Festivities

As we approach the end of the year, it seems there's something to celebrate every weekend - weddings, birthdays, housewarmings, and the list goes on. On Friday evening we went to a friend's wedding at Paradise Cove, the same venue where we got married as I talked about in a previous post. The bride looked gorgeous in her dress and we had a great time!


I love the tropical feel of this venue and how serene the lake is. Friday night was a little chilli (at least for us Floridians) so a light sweater was needed.
They had a photo booth at the wedding which we had to make use of ;-)


Saturday night we went out to celebrate a friend's birthday and there happened to also have a photo booth there so I had more photo booth fun with my friend Emily.

 
After our Friday and Saturday night festivities, I'm enjoying a day at home relaxing (somewhat) - also cleaning and baking. I made a spinach & mushroom quiche and also a ham & cheese quiche, which we dug into right away. We now have enough quiche left over to feed a large family, and there's only two of us in this household. 


Spinach Quiche recipe (found online at AllRecipes.com but I tweaked it a little bit):

3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 onion
6 oz mozzarella cheese
6 oz. cheddar cheese
1 small can mushrooms
3/4 package frozen spinach - thawed and drained
2 tbsp butter
3 bunches of green onions
1 deep dish frozen pie crust
salt and pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F 
  2. In a medium skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Saute garlic and onion in butter until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Stir in spinach, mushrooms, mozzarella and 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into pie crust.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into the pastry shell, allowing egg mixture to thoroughly combine with spinach mixture
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle top with remaining Cheddar cheese, and bake an additional 35 minutes or until set in center. Allow to stand 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!


Emily