My Bags Are Packed & Ready to Go

The bachelorette party we've been planning for months is finally here...I'm flying out in a few hours with 7 others girls to NOLA to paint the city red or just eat tons of good food & drink hurricanes!
We've planned one dressy night but the rest of the trip we're going to keep casual, which is just my style. With the amount of bar hopping & walking that will be taking place, I'm going to need some comfy shoes and outfits ~ shorts, skinnies, flats, maxi dresses and cute accessories.
Mostly everything above is from Express and even better Express.com has 30% off all dress now until 04/15. Don't know what I would do without Express in my life.

I also got a personal stash for the plane....catch you next week!

Get The Look: Eyeliner Tips


I typically go for the soft or precise looks but I've really wanted to master the winged look without looking too cray cray. I have to admit I have a pretty shaky hand so I tend to keep things simple but these tips are a big help.

Sigma Beauty has every type of makeup brush for the face, eyes, brows, lips, etc. I love their eye brush collection and the E75 angled brow brush to experiment with different looks.

Happy hump day everyone!

Chicken Marsala with Whole Grain Pasta


Marsala is my favorite Italian dish so I had to try my hand at it.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts, pounded 1/4" thick
1/2 cup flour
1 egg
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 pack mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tbsp Italian seasoning/ parsley
salt & black pepper to taste

1.  Beat egg in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix flour, Italian seasoning & some ground black pepper. Dip each chicken breast into the beaten egg and then coat generously with the flour mixture. (I cut each breast in half so they would cook faster)

2. Heat 2 tbsp Olive oil in large skillet coating the surface of the pan and add 2 tbsp butter. Once butter has melted, place chicken fillets in pan and brown for about 8 minutes.

3. Remove chicken and set aside in microwave or warm oven.

4. Add the remainder of the olive oil & butter to the pan until melted. Add mushrooms and cook for 4 minutes. Pour Marsala wine, chicken broth, mustard powder and black pepper into the pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the Marsala sauce mixture starts to thicken.

You can either add the chicken to the Marsala sauce & mushroom mixture or just pour the sauce over the chicken, which is what I did.

Serve with pasta or mashed potatoes. I used Healthy Harvest's whole grain noodles.

Optional topping: Grated parmesan cheese

Enjoy!

Martinis & Bikinis
  
Rules:

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.

4. Be sure to visit other blogs and spread the love! ;-)

Weekend Recap: Beach Weather is Here

Hope everyone had a great weekend!
I finally made it to the hairdresser to my hair done before I head to New Orleans for a bachelorette on Thursday. Got some highlights and side bangs. The salon I go to also has the cutest boutique that sells pretty statement necklaces and jewerly so it's such a temptation not to buy everything.
Still have swollen cheeks over a month after the wisdom tooth surgery. Ugh!

On Saturday night, K and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the basketball games and have some dinner & cold ones.

On Sunday morning we headed out to the beach. Nothing makes me happier in life than relaxing on the beach so I'm excited the weather is finally warm enough in Florida to start working on that tan!
It was a gorgeous day and the perfect end to the weekend!

Joining Molly & Carly for Funday Monday.
still being [molly]

April is Here & Sports Fanatics Giveaway!

Can you believe it's April already? I'm definitely excited about the sunnier days and more beach trips ahead.

#1: Did you know that April is Autism Awareness month?  My company encouraged us to wear blue on April 2nd for "Light it Up Blue" to support World Autism Awareness day and they served blueberry bagels, muffins & my favorite yogurt for breakfast.

#2: My first Ebates check came in the mail. Thanks Jordan for introducing me to this rewards program. I have to say it's pretty sweet getting paid to shop!
 

#3: I got this save the date email from work. They're taking us on a 3 night vacation to St Pete beach, FL! How sweet is that? Might I add, St Pete is one of my favorite beaches!

#5: Healthy home cooked dinners this week:
~ Baked pesto salmon & asparagus
~ Chicken fajitas
~ Baked tilapia & steamed broccoli
~ Chicken & broccoli casserole (recipe here)


#5: For the sports fans out there, these lovely ladies and myself are throwing a giveaway for a chance to win a $75 giftcard for Fanatics.com. The winner will be announced on Friday April 11th and will be notified by Kristin @ Hopelessly Ever After.


Joining Lauren for H54F and April for Five on Friday.

Have a great weekend everyone!
  

Welcome To Mi Casa


The 3 year anniversary of becoming a homeowner just passed and it's been a work in progress with some ups and downs in our home. I remember our realtor bringing us to see this house and I immediately fell in love the with Mediterranean style. We looked at 20+ houses and nothing compared so, when it was appraised within our budget, we were immediately sold!

The good memories have been limitless but we've also experienced a few crazy times starting with a tornado blowing through our neighborhood knocking down fences and blowing shingles off the roof. No one was hurt but it was one of the scariest days of my life. Then a few months later our house flooded from a broken pipe causing the downstairs to be completely gutted. All the hard work. Gutted. Things have been back to normal recently and I've been able to focus on some fun remodeling and redecorating projects.
Living Room
Dining Room
Beach-Themed Bathroom
Recent Home Decorating Project: Gallery Wall
TV/Family Room
Kitchen
Recent Project: Kitchen Backsplash
Recent Home Addition: Backyard Patio
Ongoing Project: Master Bedroom Decorating
Master Bathroom Tub

Thanks for stopping by and take a virtual tour of my home!

Where do you look for inspiration to remodel or decorate your house or apartment?

Purple Makes Me Happy

It's a color that I used for my wedding, my blog is designed with purple, and if I could afford a dark purple convertible, well that would have been done a long time ago!  But, purple can also be a bit gaudy if overdone or used too much for decorating.

Luckily it's is a pretty color to accessorize with and I would definitely rock some purple skinny jeans if I found the perfect pair:

Chicken & Broccoli Pasta Casserole


Ingredients:
1 bag frozen broccoli
3 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 bag whole wheat pasta or egg noodles
1/2 cup milk
1 cup cheese, divided
1 can broccoli cheese soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 packet Ritz crackers
Salt & pepper
Garlic powder
Cayenne (red pepper)

Boil chicken breast for 15-20 minutes and then cut into small cubes. Season with garlic powder & sprinkle with cayenne pepper.

- Cook broccoli in microwave according to instructions on the packet. boil half bag of pasta 7 minutes or according to directions on the packet & drain well.
- Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray or grease with butter.
- Mix all ingredients in large bowl and our into baking dish.
* I used 1 can broccoli cheese soup but I would recommends using 2 cans for a creamier casserole.

- Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese.
- Crush Ritz crackers and sprinkle over cheese.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake on middle shelf for 20 minutes. 

Enjoy!
Martinis & Bikinis

Rules:
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.

4. Be sure to visit other blogs and spread the love! ;-)

Weekend Relaxation, Girl Time & Home Decorating

Hope everyone had a fun weekend! I enjoyed the "me" weekend I had planned while K was off with his friends in New Orleans for a bachelor party.

On Friday night I watched the Wolf of Wall Street at home and relaxed with a glass of wine. The movie was really, really good despite it being 3 hours long!

On Saturday, I had a massage appointment and got a bunch of errands done before meeting up with some girl friends for dinner and drinks.

After dinner, the girls and I headed to a hole in the wall Karaoke bar. The age group was anywhere from 20's to 70's singing karaoke so that was quite entertaining. Somehow I totally forgot to get any good photos from Saturday night.

On Sunday, I went to the gym, cleaned up the house and started redecorating our master bedroom. I'm in love with my new throw pillows and bed set! The rest of the room is still a work in progress.

On Sunday evening I tried my hand at a new casserole dish for dinner.  I try to experiment with new recipes on the weekend to share for our Recipe Swap Linkup every Tuesday. Dinner was ready by the time K walked in the door exhausted from his crazy weekend with the boys in NOLA.
K probably drank enough to intoxicate a small village on his trip so I enjoyed my favorite beer - Sea Dog Blueberry - by myself ;-)

Joining Bella & Lisa for Weekend Recap and Molly & Carly for Funday Monday.
still being [molly]Dateless in Dallas

Ways to Enjoy Some "Me" Time

Happy Friday!

K left for a bachelor party in New Orleans yesterday so I'm holding down the fort/house until Sunday. While I've been dying for some alone time, I also don't want to be completely bored so I've come up with some fun things to do over the weekend. 

#1: Treat Yourself
Book a massage, mani/pedi, or a hair appointment. This is a great way to spend a few hours relaxing and getting spoiled. I haven't had a massage in forever and found a great deal on Groupon so that's my plan for part of Saturday.

#2: Own The Remote
 Catch up on all the chick flicks and shows you love that he usually refuses to watch. This girl loves the Little Couple. Yup!

#3: Girl Time
Meet up with your girl friends for happy hour or a brunch/dinner date.

#4: Shopping/Online Browsing
Whether you prefer to go to the mall or shop from the comfort of your couch, this is always a fun way to keep yourself occupied. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars, just go window shopping or browse online with a set budget in mind. 

#5: Relax in the Tub
Enjoy a nice, looong bath with some bubbles, wine and candles.

If all else fails or you have a tight budget, you can always depend on the good, old faithful - Blogging.

What's your favorite way of getting some "me" time?

Joining Lauren for H54F and April for Five on Friday.

Have a great weekend!