Jamaica Bound

Happy Friday!

I hope you have some fun plans lined up for the weekend. I've been looking forward to this day for a few months now because we're en route to Jamaica for my cousin's wedding and will be spending the next few days with my family in Montego Bay. The last time we went to Jamaica, we spent the entire trip in Negril so I'm excited to explore a different part of the island.

For once I planned nothing for this trip and will be going where the wind takes us around whatever wedding festivities we have to attend. I'm hoping to go on an excursion or two but I'm waiting to explore the options while we're there. I'm most excited about lounging on the beach and hopefully returning home with a nice tan.

Enjoy the weekend!

Travel-Size Essentials

                                
We travel quite often so I have a toiletry bag that's always packed with travel size products for when we decide to take off for a weekend trip or even a longer vacation. While I'm known to over pack in the clothing and shoes department, I have my toiletry selection under control. Other than the basic necessities like toothpaste, shampoo & conditioner, deodorant and a razor, these are some of the other essentials I take with me on vacation (in travel-size).

Neutrogena Wet Skin Sunblock  /  Morning Burst Facial Scrub  /  Vicks ZzzQuil Nighttime Sleep-Aid

Gentle Eye Makeup Remover   /  Yes To Cucumber Face Towelettes  /  Victoria's Secret Lotion

OFF!® Insect Repellent  /  Nivea Skin Creme   /  TanTowel Express Self-Tan Kit 

 A few other travel-size things that I also pack are dry shampoo, body spray/perfume, hand sanitizer, a good quality chapstick, and aloe vera (for tropical destinations).

When it comes to getting adequate sleep on vacation, I usually also bring along some melatonin for those restless nights. Until recently when I tried ZzzQuil Nighttime Sleep-Aid (sample from Influenster). I went out and bought a full pack because it helps you fall asleep within 20 minutes and doesn't leave you feeling groggy the next morning.

I've talked about being a non-morning-person before, probably because I'm the exact opposite and prefer to stay up late but that isn't practical when you have a 8-5 pm gig and need to be up at the crack of dawn. So I really like how ZzzQuil helps you sleep soundly for about 7-8 hours. The best part is the ingredients are non-habit forming because it's solely made for sleep and not for pain or sickness. While I wouldn't take this every night, I definitely need it from time to time when the night owl in me decides to come out to play.

I received a sample packet of ZzzQuil Sleep-Aid complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.  The review above is my true and honest opinion. #ZzzQuil, #SleepLovers, #ad, #gotitfree @Influenster

Weekend Whereabouts

This weekend was the perfect break to recharge those batteries. Of course it's never long enough but I had no big plans so I took advantage of sleeping in and being productive around the house. On Friday night K decided to play chef and cooked up a nice dinner at home so it was a relaxing night.



Saturday morning was spent cleaning and organizing the house before heading out to Target, Home Goods, and a few more stops to get some last minute shopping done for our trip this week. I love all the pride clothing that Target is now carrying.

 I didn't go too crazy shopping but I did get a gorgeous pair of rose gold sling-back sandals along with a matching crystal headband and a Stila Lip Gloss in Rose Quartz for my cousin's beach wedding on Saturday.

We all know shopping builds up an appetite so K and I went to Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen for some lunch and shared this delicious cocktail called a painkiller. I don't usually drink rum but all of the other ingredients hid the rum taste and it was so good!

I also bought these super comfortable dupe Michael Kors Espadrille wedges from Target that I've been eyeing for months now. They were 30% off so it was finally time to pull the trigger.

Before heading home for the evening, we stopped off at Publix to stock up on some groceries and I stumbled on this new blueberry beer from Abita. I always rave about Abita's Strawberry beer and this one was equally as good. Strawberry and blueberry happen to be my favorite flavors when it comes to pretty much anything. 

Sunday was another relaxing day. K left for a work trip around 6 am so Lola and I slept in a bit. Well more so her than me!

Then it was time for some breakfast, coffee and, blogging. I also got laundry and cleaning done, food prepped for the week, and put together this Jamaican Curry Chicken recipe in the crockpot to let dinner cook itself.

If you've been following my blog, you might already know that I recently bought a new house and posted that our previous house was sold pretty quickly. Well I spoke too soon and things ended up falling through with those buyers so life has been a little crazy trying to get it sold asap. Nobody wants two mortgages! Well not me at least!

We've had to put decorating and fully furnishing our new home on hold until we can get it sold which explains why I haven't posted many house photos. I'm praying that will change soon!

There's always the good, the bad and the ugly in life but the weekend was a good one and I'm counting down to our little vacay,

Have a great week!


Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekend linkup.

Festive Rice Krispies Treats

This is seriously the easiest dessert recipe I've ever tried and it goes a long way for entertaining guests. I made a pink and blue batch for Kate's gender reveal party and then another festive batch for the 4th of July weekend.

The Original Rice Krispies Treats recipe on the back of the cereal box is more or less what I followed but I doubled the ingredients since it was for a large group and added a few more marshmallows. Of course the colorful topping is optional but adds a festive touch for certain occasions.

Serving Size: approx 30 bars

Ingredients:

25 oz large marshmallows

12 cups Rice Krispies cereal
6 tbsp butter

Pearlescent sugar or sprinkles

Cooking spray

Two 15-inch baking sheets

What To Do:

Melt butter in a large nonstick saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir frequently until completely melted and then remove from the burner.

Add Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal to the mixture and stir until the ingredients are well mixed together.

Use cooking spray or butter to grease the baking sheets. Also grease the spatula or spoon you will be using to prevent the mixture from sticking as you transfer over to the baking sheet.

Carefully transfer the mixture over to the baking sheets and use greased wax paper to press mixture evenly.

Let it cool for about 10 minutes before adding the topping of your choice.

Side note: I'm not a baker and rarely make anything of the dessert variety so my initial thought process was to use food coloring to do a batch of pink and then a batch of blue treats to go with the gender reveal theme. Thank goodness I couldn't find pink food coloring and I stumbled on those gorgeous pink and blue sugar crystals because everyone's mouths at the party would have been "undelightfully" colorful.

 

Once completely cooled, cut into 2-inch squares and they are ready to be served!

What I love the most about this recipe is that is takes just under 30 minutes to complete because it requires no baking time. And, not to mention, they are a light and delicious treat to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Enjoy!

Life Lately

Hello friends and happy Monday! I know I've said this before but life has been so busy lately that I can't seem to find much free time for blogging. I've settled into my new job and pretty much settled into our new house yet my days seem to be packed full. Quiet Sundays at home have been my saving grace for getting caught up and organized for the week ahead.

I love my new job and the people that I work with. I have the cutest, bubbly intern that cracks me up and the projects that I'm working on are so much more fulfilling than anything before. Last week Wednesday the CEO of our company got tickets to a private event at the Amway Center for the Orlando Pro Summer League so I got to tag along and network with local business people which was really fun.

Since the shootings at Pulse Nightclub, Orlando has really come together as a community and it makes me happy to see all the signs of support and little reminders as I make my way around town.

On Friday evening I made it home from work feeling more than exhausted but agreed to go out for dinner with K to try a new restaurant close to home.

 

I'm so happy we decided to try Canvas because the food and lakefront atmosphere was amazing plus we caught a beautiful sunset while eating dinner. I can't wait to go back to try their brunch.

It started storming as we were leaving the restaurant so we just headed home to have a quiet night. This is how we were greeted by Lola when we got home and, honestly, I couldn't wait to join her! lol
 

Most of Saturday was spent getting errands done and cleaning up around the house. In the evening we entertained some friends and made Fresh Watermelon Martinis with cucumber infused vodka (a copycat recipe from Bonefish Grill) which were so light and refreshing.

Our guests brought us this amazing basket of goodies for a housewarming gift which was so thoughtful and unexpected.

 

The four of us then headed out for dinner at 310 Nona and spent the evening chatting and catching up over a nice meal.

 Sunday was spent relaxing at home and getting all the things in the land organized which was a great end to the weekend. Lola got her tan on in the backyard while I hid in the shade from the unbearable 100 degree heat we've been experiencing.

The countdown is on for our trip to Jamaica - 11 days to go!

Joining the lovely Biana for her Weekending linkup.

Faux Fashion

When it comes to faux fashion I automatically think of faux leather or fur vests but there are so many other cute styles out there that are worth taking for a spin in the dressing room. I've always loved faux leather tights but they are not flattering on my body type yet I do love how they look on women in general. The relaxed fit of faux suede has been on my radar along with some other faux pretties under $50:

one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten / eleven / twelve

I've only just begun dipping my toes into faux fashion but I hope to add some of these cute and affordable pieces to my closet when the prolonged shopping freeze comes to an end.


Do you have any faux favorites?