Another Kate Spade Outlet Sale!

Another Kate Spade Outlet Sale!

Kate Spade is having another 40% off sale at their Outlet locations celebrating Memorial Day Weekend. The sale runs Thursday, May 26th-Monday, May 30th. At their last 40% off sale, I picked up a new handbag that I had been needing for a long time. I'm happy to see that this sale even includes clearance items unlike the last sale I went to.

Happy Shopping!

Ya snooze.. ya lose! :-P

Ya snooze.. ya lose! :-P

I was so excited when I got the email last week for the Kate Spade sample sale. I was eying a few of the lovely bangles marked down from $78-$98 to $25-$39. I looked through all of the sale items and then narrowed down my realistic wants to a wallet and a bangle or two, and decided to call H and "warn him" that I'd be making a few purchases for myself from the sale. He usually thinks my love for designer brands is ridiculous, but he agrees that certain items should be purchased at a higher price tag to ensure good quality and longevity. I was pleasantly surprised when he didn't seem put off at all by my impending purchases and he told me to definitely get the wallet since I needed a new one. I hung up the phone with him and went back to the site and the bangles I liked were gone! In just a matter of a few minutes! I've sure learned my lesson that if I see something online for a great price to just jump on it or else it'll be gone!

I did however purchase a new wallet from the sample sale. I got the Larabee Dot Stacy which is usually $95 for only $45.





I ordered the wallet on Tuesday, and it arrived on Friday! I was very excited to receive my new purchase as a kick off to the fun weekend that lay ahead.

Our friends flew in Friday night to stay with us for the weekend. Saturday, we got up early and I made french toast for us and then we got ready and went to Aquatica for the day which is the water park at Sea World. AMAZING! H and I caught some serious air one of the slides when he lifted our tube just a bit on the last drop.. so much fun! We also had a ton of fun in what we called the "Not so lazy river" which is a fast moving river where you don't use tubes.. there was a section that split off to two rows so every time we came up on it me and my friend B would try to race the boys who we both felt were always cheating! We only beat them a few times, but it was a workout in disguise and so much fun! We also loved the "Dolphin Plunge" which was a water slide that goes under the water into the aquarium and you can look out as you slide down at the black and white dolphins swimming around. They were so stinkin' cute! After a long day at the water park, we went home and showered and went out for dinner and drinks. 


Me and H before dinner


All of us after a fun day at Aquatica


Highlight of the night was H trying the firecracker salmon rolls

More pics to come of our day at Aquatica once our friends develop the waterproof camera we trotted around with all day. Hope everyone had a great weekend, and at least Monday is now overwith too, and we're that much closer to the long holiday weekend. 

Kate Spade Sample Sale!

Kate Spade Sample Sale!

I was so excited when I got the email this morning for the Kate Spade sample sale.



Happy Shopping!

I may have to indulge since I've been needing a new wallet and it will go with my new purse from their outlet sale a few weeks ago. And I'm also eyeing a bangle or two ;0)

Getting to Know You

Getting to Know You

Found these questions on another blog and thought it would be fun. Hope everyone had a great weekend! 


Getting to Know You Sunday with mannland5. Be sure to link up if you want to participate! :)



1. have you ever gone to see a movie by yourself?
No, I haven't

2. would you rather go through a tornado or a hurricane?
Definitely a hurricane... and I live in Florida which means they're inevitable. I've experienced both hurricanes and tornadoes, but tornadoes are definitely much scarier. If that funnel comes anywhere near where you are or your home.. everything is gone

3. have you made summer vacation plans?
Yes.. lots! Friends are coming down to visit next week and they've requested to go to Aquatica at Sea World and to go to the beach. 




Next month one of my best friends from high school (one of the ones who's preggers!!!) is coming down to visit since she's going to a wedding down here. I'm not sure what will be planned yet, but I'm so excited to see her!

End of next month, is our 1st wedding anniversary, our closing on our house, and my parents coming down to visit so we can go to my brother's graduation from the marines.




End of July, one of my best friends from college is coming down and he's looking forward to us showing him "everything" haha. He wants to go to Disney, bars in downtown Orlando, the beach, and the day cruise to the Bahamas out of Ft. Lauderdale.. big week but it'll be so much fun. 

In August, another couple that H and I are close to from back home are coming down so we can all go on a cruise together to Mexico and Central America. 



Last but certainly not least, we'll be wrapping up our summer with a long weekend in Miami and Key West. We're on the quest right now to recruit friends to join us. 

Love the summer time! And I love that we moved to FL... we don't need plane tickets for any of our summer fun this year! 

4. what's your favorite accessory? 
My H :0)

Material things.. probably my new Kate Spade purse and definitely my engagement and wedding rings! 

5. have you ever been thrown a surprise party?
Ha.. my parents tried throwing me a surprise Sweet Sixteen... but I found out about it from my big mouth high school boyfriend. I still had the party, it just wasn't a surprise anymore :-P

6. are you friends with your neighbors?
Right now, no because we're in an apartment complex and counting the days until we move into our house. We've already met a few of our neighbors in the neighborhood we're moving to and they seemed really nice so we'll see... 

7. what's the last movie you saw in the theater?
It was either Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part I or Little Fockers.






8 what's your favorite food network show?
I don't watch the Food Network but I love HGTV. I used to watch $40 a Day with Rachael Ray, but I'm not sure if that's even on anymore. 




TGIF

TGIF

Nothing's better than some Skinny Girl Margaritas on a Friday evening. Happy Friday! :0)

Backyard Beauty

Backyard Beauty

This spring I became aware of yet another beautiful landscape here in Florida. Aside from all the beautiful palm trees that remind me and H every day of how beautiful the area is that we live in now (especially during all those winter months that our original home which was Connecticut was dreary, cold, and everything was dead) my new love is for Magnolia trees which are only found here in the south. About a month ago, I started noticing these beautiful trees that looked almost perfect with shiny leaves and big beautiful white flowers blossoming from it's branches. I asked around, and was told they are Magnolia trees.

Magnolia Blossom

Magnolia tree without the flower blossoms





When H and I met with the builder last week for our home, we also went over landscaping. We told him we'd like a mix of tall and short palm trees and a few magnolias. I'd like a few in the backyard so they can cross pollenate and they'll be gorgeous to look at in the spring when they're in full bloom from our back patio and pool.

Pretty Things

Pretty Things

I had been holding onto a $50 gift card for Coach to use towards the purchase of a new handbag, but I took advantage of the big sale at the Kate Spade outlets a few weeks ago and got a nice new bag there. So I decided to use my gift card to get a new wristlet. I have a great Coach wristlet that's gold, but I've been wanting a silver or black one as well. So I picked up this one and only had to pay an extra $1.37 because of taxes after using my gift card.



And I'm not the only one who got something new! Roxy got a nice new collar this weekend since her old one was getting worn out and dirty. She's pretty in pink! (and sleeping of course)

I Love Surprises!

I Love Surprises!

First of all, Happy Mothers Day out there to all the beautiful mothers and mommys-to-be. I recently found out that two of my best friends that I've loved since high school are expecting and are both due in December. So exciting!

Unfortunately, my mom was without both of her children for the first time this Mothers Day since I'm down in FL and my brother is in SC for basic training for the Marines. When I talked to her earlier, she said she still hadn't received a phone call from him yet today but was hoping he'd be able to call today. We're all so proud of him and it's been hard not being able to just pick up the phone and call him or go back and forth with him on BBM (blackberry messenger for all you iphone and droid users). I got my first letter from him this week, and it was so great to hear from him and both H and I can already see how much he's changed. I can't wait to receive his next letter and hear his thoughts on the events that took place last week in Pakistan.

Me and my brother at my wedding last year

H and I were so happy to finally hear the news that all the permits had FINALLY been approved by the city and the county for our house and scheduled our pre-build meeting for Friday afternoon. We were under the impression that they wouldn't begin until after our pre-build meeting, so we received a big pleasant surprise when we showed up at the meeting and they said they had already started, were ready to install the plumbing on Monday, and we're still looking at a close date for the end of June! Which is great news since that's when my parents are flying down to visit before we all drive up to Parris Island for my brother's graduation from the Marines.



H and I on our lot

Historical Weekend Indeed

Historical Weekend Indeed

I'm just amazed at everything that happened this weekend not just for our country, but for the entire world. The only thing I'm sad about is that the Endeavor shuttle launch was postponed from Friday, and was supposed to be rescheduled for today, but now they're saying it won't even happen this week. I'm so happy to be living in FL so I can now witness the shuttle launch and watch it go up from outside. When the Discovery launched back in February, it was such an amazing moment to be able to witness it with my own eyes. I'm so sad that the space program is shutting down here in the U.S. and I hope it will be reopened in the near future. *Fingers crossed*.

The weekend kicked off with the highly anticipated Royal Wedding. I'm sure a lot of people are sick of hearing about it by now (I know I was before it even started) but it sure was an event of our lifetime and as overhyped as it was, I'm so glad that we were able to witness it. I admire Kate Middleton and think she's got a great head on her shoulders, is beautiful, and seems very much in love with her prince. They seem like they have what it takes to make it work and shouldn't have the troubles that Charles and Diana had. I also think that since they waited a while and had many more years to get to know each other and were a bit older than Diana was when she married Charles, that they'll stand the test of time.

I have to say I was very surprised by her dress. I was expecting so much more since we all had heard of the $400k+ price tag before the big day. She looked beautiful and radiant, but I honestly thought the dress would have more of a wow factor than it did. But, she did look like a princess and her happiness shone through. Her sister, Pippa looked gorgeous and I absolutely loved her Maid of Honor dress. Is it bad that I liked her dress more than the brides?

I was also a little underwhelmed by her bridal bouquet. I was expecting something more extravagent, but what I did love was that she was carrying "Sweet William" in honor of her prince. It was classic and understated and it fits her personality more than a big extravagent bouquet, I guess I was just surprised.

So sweet, and they are just perfect together. My favorite was the young bridesmaid who was seen covering her ears and sulking in a lot of the pictures of them on the balcony. Apparently, she had had enough of the noise coming from the crowds below which is a lot for a 3 year old. Too cute!

Princess fairytales aside, Friday was also a great day for H and myself since we FINALLY got all the permits approved and we can move forward with the building of our house. To make a long story short, we have been under contract since Superbowl Sunday in early February. We chose a lot, but the building permits were denied due to the size of our house and how it would sit on the lot, and it didn't go within the county's guidelines, and the lot has since been deemed unbuildable. So, we had to choose a new lot. We were upset because we loved the original lot, but we were able to obtain a corner lot on a culdasac which is even better, we're just losing the pond view that we had at the original lot. Well, it's amazing how quickly they denied the permits for the first lot, but that it took over 2 months to get the permits approved on our new lot. We had to resign all our contracts and paperwork, which we did quickly, but the county was taking forever. So, we should be having our pre-build meeting this week and the house should be underway. I can finally start taking pictures of the progress, instead of just going to visit our empty lot which will be very exciting.

Saturday, we went to a housewarming party and again were amazed by how much farther the dollar goes in real estate down here in Florida compared to Connecticut. Another young newlywed couple, with a larger new build home, and they spent a third or a quarter of what the house would cost up north. Incredible! Every day, when I step outside and the warm air hits my face and there's not a cloud in the sky, I'm just so thankful for our new life down here but not just because of the beauty of the area, but that we'll be in our dream home and it'll be our "forever home" since we have plenty of room to grow into it.

Yesterday, we went to the beach since a friend of ours was down visiting so we went to meet up with her and spend the day relaxing at the beach. Everything was great until we realized there were a ton of jellyfish so we couldn't really enjoy riding the waves, and then H found this man-of-war washed up on the beach:



Needless to say we were done playing in the water after this! Yipes!

The rest of our Sunday was relaxing, we came home and I cooked a pot of sauce and I enjoyed the rest of the I Love Lucy marathon playing on the Hallmark channel and then Real Housewives of Orange County at 10:00. I am ashamed to say that the news of Bin Laden's death came to me when Real Housewives was over, and Andy Cohen announced it at the beginning of Watch What Happens Live. My jaw dropped and I didn't believe it, we immediately turned the channel to CNN to watch the live coverage. We were so ecstatic and jumping for joy, until it hit me that yes this is a huge milestone in the war on terror and we finally found the despicable mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, but with the death of him, may come retalliation. I just pray that our country will stay strong after this huge accomplishment, and that our safety is never put into question or jeopardy ever again as it was almost 10 years ago. My brother enlisted in the marines because of this man and his organization. I can't imagine how happy he is and what the celebrations must be like for all the basic training recruits on Parris Island right now. I can't wait to hear from him and hear what he has to say about all this. I'm so proud of him and every other soldier out there fighting for our country and for the innocent lives that were lost due to the evilness behind Bin Laden and his followers.

God Bless America! I hope this is the beginning of the end, and not the beginnning of more unforseen evil.