Weekend Pampering & Football

Happy Friday and last day of January! Even though I no longer live somewhere that gets bitterly cold, I still think of the end of January as light at the end of the tunnel that warmer weather is on it's way.

Tonight, I'm going for a much needed pedicure and eyebrow wax at my favorite nail spa. I haven't been since before Christmas so needless to say my eyebrows look like 2 caterpillars about to meet each other and my poor little piggies are in serious need of some moisturizing and fresh polish.

Tomorrow, I'm getting my hair done for the first time since October. Bye bye fried blonde hair and split ends. I'm looking to go darker this time around as I like to switch up my look each time I go to the salon.

And we all know hair appointments are wasted unless you have somewhere to go afterwards to show off your new do.... so I'll be heading out to Downtown Disney for a friend's b-day celebration. Can't wait to celebrate and have Mickey approved cocktails.

Sunday, I'm looking forward to relaxing all day before whipping up some buffalo chicken dip for the Super Bowl party we're going to. Can't wait to hang out with good friends and over indulge in apps and beer.

What do you have planned for Super Bowl weekend?

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Perfume Mirrored Tray

I used to keep my perfume on my vanity in the bathroom, but moved them out to my new dresser and mirror set when we finally upgraded to an adult bedroom set a few months ago. But, I felt like something was still missing.

I decided to order a mirrored tray from Amazon for the top of my dresser and love the way it transformed the area.

It gives a nice feminine touch to the area and I feel it looks much more organized too. Cheap and easy update.

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Everyone needs a sparkly blue scarf

Forever 21

Everyone needs a sparkly blue scarf

I've always admired fashion bloggers who post outfits that are mixed with affordable pieces and Shanna has been one of my biggest inspirations. She always looks amazing and she shops at a lot of the same affordable places that I do which is awesome. When she shared that F21 was offering an additional 50% off their sale items, I couldn't resist and ordered a few new tops and a beautiful sparkly new scarf.

Sweater - AE | Gap skinnies | Scarf - F21 | Flats - Target

Yep... these "photo shoots" are still awkward... I'm hoping they get easier...

What would you wear this scarf with?

Forever 21

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Flourless Fudgey Cookies

Recipe

Flourless Fudgey Cookies

Oops Pinterest did it again... I've always wanted to try making flourless cookies, and when I found this recipe on Pinterest I decided to try it.

I was a little weirded out by the texture since it's more moist/runny than typical cookie dough. I tried not to fret since I knew the batter didn't consist of flour or butter which was a huge win to me. Cookies without flour, butter, or egg yolk was very appealing to me.

Ingredients

~ 3 cups of powdered sugar

~ 3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder

~ 1/4 tsp. of salt

~ 4 egg whites (no yolks!)

~ 1 tsp. of vanilla

~ 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

~ Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

~ Line a cookie sheet with a silicone baking mat (I used wax paper, and I highly advise against that... epic fail on the 1st batch!) and spray with non-stick cooking spray

~ Whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Then stir in vanilla and egg whites just until batter is moistened.

~ Stir in chocolate chips

~ Scoop batter by the teaspoonful onto baking sheet and space cookies about 2" apart.

~ Bake for about 8-10 minutes at 350 or until the tops of the cookies are glossy and starting to crack

~ Store any leftover cookies in an airtight container

The absolute best part about these cookies (other than the chocolate of course) is that they're only 68 calories each. Hear that ladies?! -- Only 68 calories!

P.S. I'm guest posting today over at Nikki's blog while she's in Denver *jealous* hop on over and check it out :)

Recipe

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Wine & Cookies

I'm not sure whose bright idea it was to air The Bachelor Wedding and The Grammys at the same time last night, but I think the choice was pretty clear when trying to decide. For me, it was the wedding of course. The winners list for The Grammys is always immediately available and let's be honest that's all anyone really cares about. No one needs to see the camera panning in on Taylor Swift a bazillion times... ever.

It was nice to have a quiet weekend sandwiched in-between 2 busy weekends and that's exactly what I had. Friday night, we stayed in and had happy hour at home and then I baked my first batch of flourless fudge cookies while enjoying some wine and Super Mario on the Wii.

Saturday, I worked out and then we went to lunch. How much better is lunch on a Saturday than any other day? I'll take my Italian Margarita any day over the boring water I typically have with my lunch. We came home and worked on the house a bit and then settled in with some Rum Chata & Fireball which together tastes like Cap'n Crunch -- you're welcome and had a movie night. Anytime ABC Family is running a Harry Potter weekend everything else stops. Of course I have all 8 movies on DVD, but there's just something about them airing on tv that I just love and it doesn't hurt that they include extra footage too.

Sunday, H went out to pick up not 1 but 2 bottles of the new Pinnacle Cinnabon. Emily's husband K texted H on Saturday when he found a display at Publix Liquors for 2 bottles for $12 plus a $12 mail in rebate. So, you're basically getting 2 bottles for free. Insane good deal! Thank you Emily and K! I also enjoyed some of my favorite coffee while planning out my week and blog posts before doing another outfit photo shoot outside. Which by the way is still insanely awkward.... I sure hope it starts to get easier :-P

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Planning for an unplanned weekend

Happy Friday! After the craziness of last weekend I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend... all I want is to sleep in, enjoy home cooked breakfast on the patio, watch copious amounts of Netflix, and indulge in some junk food and wine. I was also thinking about baking a new recipe... cozy weekend indeed.

Even though I'm heading into a fabulous plan-free weekend, I'm excited that I received my planner from ninjandninj that I won from Kym's b-day giveaway.

Make Time Not Excuses ~ well said!

I especially love the pearly finish on the cover... so pretty!

Already filling up the pages, and I love that there's a notes section where I can jot down ideas for future blog posts.

It's not too late to order your 2014 planner, and you won't be disappointed with a planner from ninjandninjj head on over and check out their fabulous Etsy shop

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Origins CC Cream

Origins

Origins CC Cream

For the longest time I had no idea what CC cream was as I was just only getting the hang of BB cream and proud of myself for that... But recently I was looking for something that would help give my face a flawless finish and color correct some imperfections.

When I placed my last Sephora order I decided to try out Origins Smarty Plants CC cream which includes SPF 20 in it and is formulated without parabens and sulfates. Already winning right there...

Origins Smarty Plants CC Cream

I started using it last weekend for a night out instead of using primer and just brushed some finishing powder over it and loved the result. My skin appeared smoother and it provided great coverage without the stickiness I get from using primer. I've also been using it in place of primer all week for work and have gotten the same results.

I like that it feels lighter and less sticky than using primer and foundation, and a little bit goes a long way so I know it's well worth the money and will last a while.

Have you tried CC cream? What did you think?

Origins

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Travel Plans?

Traveling is hands down my favorite hobby... I would much rather go see new countries and amazing places around the world instead of having the newest electronics or those beautiful red soled shoes I've been lusting after since forever. H and I always make sure we have something in the works so we have a trip to look forward to. It honestly gives you something to wake up and go to work for every day knowing that you're getting closer and closer to that next vacay.

So when Lisa and Kristen asked what everyone's travel plans are for 2014 for today's Inspire Challenge I was excited to join in the fun.

We keep saying we need to go on one more big trip before TTC... last year it was we'll wait until after Punta Cana then it was waiting until after our friend's 30th b-day cruise. Now, we're hoping to fulfill our dream of finally crossing the pond and country hopping a bit in Europe.

The problem is we can't decide between flying into London and taking in the city for several days before taking the chunnel to Paris. I would also like to add Amsterdam to that trip, but H seems to think it would be too much. Ughh... men....

... or do a Mediterranean cruise out of Barcelona. Thankfully, cruising in the Mediterranean is in the same price range as cruising the Caribbean. The difference is the cost of the flight to cross the pond instead of a short flight to San Juan or a short drive to a cruise port here in FL. We're prepared for the extra costs, but can't decide between a fabulous cruise that'll stop in several countries to get a taste of them or really diving into London and Paris by site seeing ourselves over the course of several days.

We're looking at the Norwegian Epic which would stop in Italy, France, and Spain's Balearic Islands.

How pretty are the balcony staterooms? My biggest advice when booking a cruise is to always book a balcony room. It's definitely worth the extra $$ and you will enjoy having the extra space, natural sunlight, and your own private balcony to enjoy room service breakfast (which is always free) or drinks before dinner on. Plus, waking up to views of Italy and France from our stateroom would be magical.

We're also hoping to spend a weekend in Chicago or Denver to catch either a Cubs or Rockies game. We need to cash in a voucher on Jet Blue by this summer or we lose it. Eating my way through deep dish pizza in Chicago or drinking our way through breweries in Denver sounds like the perfect way to spend a weekend :)

Decisions....decisions...

What would you pick?

~ In the spring: London & Paris or Mediterranean cruise?

~ In the summer: Chicago or Denver?

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Sephora Makeup Brush Set

Sephora

Sephora Makeup Brush Set

I had been looking around for a good stippling brush that wouldn't be too expensive. I've heard amazing things about MAC #187 Stippling Brush, but I came across a beautiful rose gold Sephora brand brush set that included a stippling brush and it was on sale. I got 5 fabulous new makeup brushes for less than the cost of just purchasing MAC #187 on it's own.

Sephora Collection Rose Gold Mineral Brush Set - currently on sale for $25 down from $48

It even comes in a beautiful rose gold travel case, perfect for my next trip.

I can't get over how pretty these brushes are

This item runs out of stock pretty quickly, so put it on your "loves list" and sign up for the email notification for when it's back in stock. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Sephora

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Disney + Giant Mimosas

Disney World

Disney + Giant Mimosas

Another successful surprise weekend has come and gone and left me with nothing short of exhaustion. Monday please speed up and move out of the way please and thank you.

I picked up H's best friend at the airport on Thursday, and we had to resort to "Plan B" to surprise H as he beat us home. I caught the surprise on video, but it's terrible quality... boo! But epic surprise #2 was a success. He was totally shocked and his reaction was priceless.

Thursday night, we fired up the grill and the fire pit and enjoyed being outside as much as we could considering how ridiculously cold it's been in FL lately. Not cool mother nature.. not cool!

Friday, we made our way to Disney World. Animal Kingdom was our first stop (if you've never been make sure this is the 1st park you hit up next time you're in O-Town. The safari is incredible and you actually feel like you're in Africa for a bit. And their Expedition Everest roller coaster is nothing short of amazingness.) and then we headed over to Magic Kingdom.

We were hoping to get over to Epcot for some drinks around the world, but our feet were killing us and we were all exhausted. So some Mexican food and margaritas were on the to-do list. YUM!

Saturday, we went to lunch at a place with an all day happy hour on Saturdays and then enjoyed some more beers at World of Beer. Fruity pebbles beer shots are always on the agenda and so are Target grocery runs with 2 "children".

Sunday morning, we said goodbye *tear* as H brought him back to the airport and I slept off the previous day's escapades before getting ready to meet up with friends for brunch. Emily and I made brunch plans before she left for Vegas and what was originally going to be just us and our husbands turned into a group of 12. There's always enough room for good friends and giant mimosas.

Perfect end to a fantastic weekend :)

Disney World

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It's a surpreeze!

Since we moved down to Florida 3 and 1/2 years ago, we've had a lot of friends and family from Connecticut come to visit us. But H's best friend is the one who has come to visit us the most including the 1st time he visited being a total surprise. He came again the following summer, but wanted to make it a surprise again this time around.

I picked him up from the airport yesterday afternoon and H had absolutely no idea. Classic! The best part of these surprises is his grand entrance that totally catches H off guard.

I'll share all surprise details on Monday in my weekend recap because for now we're off to Disney World for the day. A little safari at Animal Kingdom and some drinks around the world at Epcot are on the agenda.