It's a Doggy Birthday

It's a Doggy Birthday

The other day was Roxy's 4th birthday, and since we missed it last year since we were house sitting I was determined to make sure we celebrated it with her this year. So, I went to this doggy bakery actually called a "barkery" (TOO cute!) and picked up some doggy friendly cookies for her that are made with shortbread and no sugar.



Birthday cake cookie


This one was my favorite



The birthday girl enjoying her first cookie

The doggy bakery said next time to call in advance and they could have a doggy cake waiting for her... I'll have to remember that for next year!

Weekend Shopping Overload

Weekend Shopping Overload

I've been so good these past several months ever since we were under contract for the house with my spending, and this weekend was the first time I felt like I overshopped in a while. But I do have a good excuse.. or two.. both of which I gave to H for my online and in store shopping sprees. The first being how good I've been since February and the second being that I need new clothes and stuff for our cruise that's coming up in a few weeks.

First, I made an online order to Sephora for some new primer since mine is running really low. I've used MAC's Prep & Prime for a while, but feel like it was leaving my face too oily and greasy. I ended up deciding to try out Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15  which had great reviews, plus I love that it has SPF built into it for extra skin protection. 



Then, I got another email from Body Central that their clearance items reduced again. Very hard to resist especially after I scored 3 great dresses from them for my last cruise for $9 each! So, I ventured over to their site and ordered the Border Print Kimono Sleeve Dress and the Embroidered Flutter Sleeve Top.



Then.... was when I threw all caution to the wind and made my first Victorias Secret order in 7 months. I can see the multiple catalogs arriving in my mailbox already. Any time I make an order, I start receiving multiple catalogs from them weekly, and as my orders stopped, I slowly watched the amount of catalogs arriving in the mail decrease. Too funny... 

The gold bikini that I mentioned I wanted in my Wardrobe Wants Wednesday post was on sale so I picked that up along with a new bathing suit coverup, tank dress, and a strapless bra. (Mine is on sadly on it's last leg and H has been chuckling at it, so it was definitely time.)




Then H and I went to Old Navy and Marshalls today, and I picked up a new black bathing suit top since I had a mishap with the top half of my black bikini at Aquatica I knew I needed to replace it. And since women's bathing suits are on sale for $6 for each piece right now I jumped on it. At Marshalls, H picked up a pack of Nautica white t's and we both got some new sunglasses. He got a pair of Guess sunglasses marked down from $75 to $13 and I got these Jessica Simpson's marked down from $50 to $10! 


How was your weekend? Did you go on any shopping binges? 

Chicken Sausage.. who knew?

Chicken Sausage.. who knew?

Those Hillshire Farm commercials for chicken sausage caused me to build up a craving to cook with it. You know this one:



So, tonight for dinner I decided to try a new dish using chicken sausage instead of italian sausage which has a lot less fat.

.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10 minutes or until al dente; drain and reserve.

In a large pan or skillet heat olive oil and chicken sausage. Cook through until the meat is no longer pink. 

Add diced onion and garlic to pan.

Add a can of chicken broth, 1 tsp. dried basil, and cherry tomatoes.

Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, then slightly reduce heat.

Add 10 oz. spinach cover and let simmer until spinnach is tender (I skipped this step since H doesn't like spinach)

Add pasta to pan and mix together. Sprinkle with shredded parm cheese and serve. 

Very yummy and good for you! 

Speaking of good for you, one of the things I'm not a fan of is high calorie cocktails. Well, I'm a fan of them, just not the calories. I've been a huge fan of Bethenny Frankel's Skinny Girl Margaritas and am eagerly anticipating the release of her Skinny Girl Sangria later this month, and I was very curious to try those MGD 64 Lemonades I keep seeing advertised. 


So, H and I picked some up a few weeks ago, and I keep forgetting to review them on here. At first, I thought they were terrible. I was expecting them to taste like a light version of Mikes Hard Lemonade, but what they really taste like is a watered down beer with a hint of lemon favor mixed with splenda. I was turned off by them and let them sit in the fridge. A few days later I decided to give it another try, and this time I enjoyed it more. Still not a big fan, but much better than the first try. My final verdict is that it's good enough if you're looking for a refreshing drink at a summer campfire or at the beach, but it's not amazing.

Dry Shampoo Review

Dry Shampoo Review

I have very fine hair and have to wash it every day or it gets even more limp and oily. I usually shower and
wash my hair after work after my workout, but yesterday was the day I had been waiting for.. for several years. It was the release of the final Harry Potter movie. It was raining when I got home which means it was humid outside and I was feeling extra oily and icky, but had no time to wash my hair before going to the movies with H. After trying out the dry shampoo from Tresemme a few months ago I wasn't impressed, but I kept hearing great things about Suave's dry shampoo and decided to buy it. I hadn't used it until last night and the results are... I loved it! It worked a lot better than Tresemme's and it also smells amazing! It has a very fruity smell that H noticed and said, "OOooh what are you wearing?" I laughed and said, "Nothing, it's my dry shampoo". The Tresemme's dry shampoo was a "quick fix" while I felt this dry shampoo did what it was supposed to do and replaced washing my hair to go out for the evening. Perfection!


My hair instantly felt a lot cleaner and got the body back that was there when I had blow dried it the evening before and again.. it smelled great! As for the movie.... INCREDIBLE! I blubbered like a baby and was super emotional the entire time. So sad to see it end, but so amazing at the same time. The world has spent the past 10 years reading the books and watching the movies, and it all ended this weekend. 

Target's Daily Deals

Target's Daily Deals

If you don't know already, I have a serious love for Target! So when I see something I like in their daily deals I get excited. Today, their online deal is the Mossimo Women's Sateen Dress for only $10 which is usually $27.99, plus it includes free shipping so you're not paying $10 + shipping costs.

The dress comes in 4 different color choices: Purple, Beige, Black, or Military Green. I originally wanted to order the dress in purple to pair it with nude heels, but alas they were sold out of the purple except for size 14. So, I ordered the dress in beige as I don't have anything else like it in my closet.


I love the dress and think it'll be a great addition to my Monday-Friday wardrobe.

You can find the dress on sale here but remember the sale is good for today only. Happy Shopping!

Urban Decay 15th Anniversary

Urban Decay 15th Anniversary

If you loved Urban Decay's Naked Palette but were looking for a little more pop of color, then you'll love their 15th anniversary eyeshadow collection that was just released (and to no surprise already sold out). But have no fear, they do have a email notification that you can sign up for when they become available again.


You can find it on the Urban Decay website.

I love Urban Decay eyeshadows because the pigment in them is a lot better than other eyeshadows I've worn including MAC. Plus, combined with UD's Primer Potion, they last all day/night.

On a completely different note may I just mention how super pumped I am that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II will be released in less than 2 days?!!!!


LOOOOVE this poster of Neville! It's his time to shine!




Good Reads

Good Reads

I realized I never did a review of Lauren Conrad's book "Style". 


I picked it up at Target (my happy place) and loved it so much that I picked up another copy the following week to send to one of my best friends for her birthday. (we both share a love for all things LC)

The book is great for showing how to style your clothes, how to best pack and dress for a plane trip, and what closet staples you should have. She has great hair and makeup advice as well. Out of all the celebrities out there, I feel like I associate with her style the most and covet her closet more than anyone elses. I don't ever recall thinking to myself, "What was she thinking?!"


The book also helped my ever growing love for a pair of Christian Louboutin heels as Lauren is seen wearing in the above picture, first outfit on the left. 


As for what I'm currently reading.. I just finished "Water for Elephants" and I can't rave about it enough. The book was incredible, and one of the best books I've read since I dug into the Harry Potter series a few years ago. And the best part is, I LOVED the ending! As some know, I gave the Twilight series a try a few months ago and definitely thought the books were better than the movies, but was highly disappointed with the way Stephanie Meyer ended the series, it was just so anti-climatic to me and I was thinking "This is it?! Are you kidding me?! Everything led up to this?!" *Sigh* So it was nice to be extremely satisfied with a book's ending especially one that has been made into a movie starring Robert Pattinson. That was more of a Twilight reference (or Harry Potter.. loved Cedric Diggory!) than a "because he's hot" reference. 


Now that I finished "Water for Elephants" I've been re-reading "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" to refresh myself before the final movie is released this week. *Insert heart pounding enthusiasm* There's just so much incredible detail in the Harry Potter books that they can be re-read over and over again. 


Loooooong Weekend

Loooooong Weekend

Actually the weekend went by too quick as usual, but it was jam packed with lots of great things.

We closed on our house! But.... we didn't even have a chance to really enjoy it because after closing, we had to drive up to South Carolina for the night for my brother's marine graduation the next morning.


My brother's platoon marching out


Me and my little brother the marine!

It's amazing how much he's changed, but how much he's still my little brother. So proud of him!


One of my friends from work watched Roxy for us when we went up to SC for the night. She's never tried Skinny Girl Margaritas so I got her a bottle to try out as a thank you.

New pics of the house to come once we're more settled and I'm not as exhausted :-P

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend!