Long Weekend Favs

Happy Labor Day Weekend! So much to love going into this long holiday weekend.

1. Loving my new wedges I picked up at DSW with a b-day gift card. Such a pretty color and I love the embellishments. Perfect pop of color for neutral outfits.

Patrizia by Spring Step Pegasus Wedge Sandal

2. Paired my eyelet maxi on Monday with my green KS bow necklace and my bright TB sandals for some color.

3. My love for the B&BW 3 wick candles grew even more as I lit the Island Margarita and it made the whole downstairs of my house smell ahhhhmazing!

4. Had a farewell happy hour for one of my co-workers, gonna miss this chick!

5. I'm a huge Essie and OPI fan, but those polishes tend to chip after only a day or two. Can we talk about how I branched out and got the below color for only $1.99 and it has lasted for almost a week already. This pic is of 5 day old nails... super impressed!

Linking up today with Lauren for High Five on Friday and Amanda for Friday Favorites. Hop on over and join us! Happy Friday!

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Tory Burch Perforated Resin Logo Cuff

I'm still over the moon that Tory Burch sends you a $50 b-day gift to be used in their stores or online after signing up on their site. I ended up using my credit towards a beautiful cuff in neutral colors that goes great with almost everything.

Perforated Resin Logo Cuff

Always such pretty packaging....

Tory Burch

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Eyelet Maxi

One of my favorite new finds this past weekend was an eyelet maxi dress from Target which can easily be dressed up or down. I paired it with some wedges and simple jewelry, but also plan on wearing it with colorful sandals and a statement necklace.

Dress & Wedges - Target | Necklace - Express | Cuff - Tory Burch

How would you style this dress?

OOTD Target Tory Burch

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Skinny Whipped Cherries

Refreshing drinks by the pool are a summer staple, but most of the time they're overloaded with sugar and unwanted calories. I've always been a fan of the ready to drink Skinny Girl cocktails by Bethenny Frankel, but had never tried any of her vodkas until I received a bottle of the cherry flavored vodka for my birthday recently.

Ingredients

Skinny Girl Cherry Vodka
Three Olives Whipped Cream Vodka
Club Soda
Diet Cranberry Juice

**I usually do not promote diet versions of juices/drinks anymore because they contain artificial sweeteners, however I didn't mind using it for this since I was only adding a splash of juice to the drink**

Directions

Combine 1 shot of cherry vodka, 1 shot of whipped vodka, and about 4-5 oz. of club soda in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a "pool/beach safe" cup and add a splash of cranberry juice. Enjoy!

**We will be taking a break from Tuesday's Recipe Swap for the next two weeks (9/2 and 9/9) and will be returning in full swing on Tuesday, September 16th**

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Link-up Rules:

1. Follow Emily and myself on GFC and Bloglovin

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food related posts

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to both of our blogs

4. Be sure to visit other blogs and find new recipes!

Recipe

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Relaxing Pool Weekend

Life has been absolutely crazy busy lately, so it was nice to finally have zero plans this weekend. A spontaneous happy hour with the work peeps and lots of pool time was perfect after being so busy lately and some busy upcoming weekends.

On Friday, I went for a couple drinks with the work crew before heading over to check out my neighbor's gorgeous new pool. Cannon balls off their rock wall were a necessity... love night swims!

Saturday was for lounging around the pool, a little pool volleyball, eating pizza, some baby shower guest list planning with my momma-to-be friend, and some pre-season football. 

Sunday was a french toast on the patio kind of morning followed by more pool time. I gave the house a deep cleaning, and also played around with my new goodies from a Benefit gift set I got for my birthday. 

Joining Leeann and Kimberlee for Monday Morning Gossip

and

Biana for Weekending

and

Lisa and Bella for Weekend Recap

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Friday Favs

This week flew by, and I'm not complaining! I'm still exhausted from my b-day festivities last weekend, and am looking forward to a relaxing weekend with some much needed pool time.

1. Went to happy hour with Emily and a couple of our girlfriends to catch up over some drinks and yummy apps. Girl time is always good for the soul.

2. Enjoyed a b-day lunch with my team at work where I was of course embarrassed with a loud rendition of happy birthday.

3. I've been browsing Sephora online looking to use my b-day gift cards and I've fallen in love with Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Powder.

Can be found here

4. Finally cashed in my Tory Burch b-day credit (sign up now if you haven't already, and you'll get $50 to use on their site or in stores during your birthday month) and went with the cuff instead of the makeup bag because it was too small to carry my makeup brushes and Naked palettes. I know I know... first world problems..

Perforated Resin Logo Cuff

5. Continuing to bust my butt in Barre3, that class is NO JOKE! I'm sore for a few days after, but it's so worth it. I actually look forward to going to class and feeling that burn and am already loving the results. Such an amazing workout, and the hour really goes by fast.

Linking up today with Lauren for High Five on Friday and Amanda for Friday Favorites. Hop on over and join us! Happy Friday!

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Benefit's POREfessional Agent Zero Shine

My favorite time of year to order from Sephora is during my birthday month, and it just so happened that I was out of primer and foundation when it rolled around this year. So, I placed an order to restock my foundation and to try out the new POREfessional Agent Zero Shine by Benefit.

Agent Zero Shine primer

I've always loved every Benefit product I've tried, and I've been on the hunt for a primer that'll keep me shine free throughout the day and fight against the Florida heat and humidity. I was really excited about this new powdery primer they released recently thinking it would be the answer to my oily problem. 

After using it for about a week and a half I can say that it works better than other primers I've tried, but I'm still *meh* about it. I still find myself reaching for blotting papers by lunchtime and having to re-apply powder to get rid of the excess shine. I've also found that layering it with the creamy version of POREfessional provides better coverage, but with the price tag of both products combined that's a lot of money for a daily primer regimen. 

Loving this year's b-day gift. The mascara works great on my lashes and the lipstick is a fabulous color that'll transition into fall.

Have you found a primer that works great for you and actually lasts like it promises to?

Benefit Sephora

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Jade Green & Polka Dots

I love bright colors, they can cheer you up even on a dreary day.

Skirt - Express | Top - H&M | Necklace & Bangles - Kate Spade

Still loving my bright green KS bows

What are some of your favorite bright color pieces?

Express H&M Kate Spade OOTD

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Buffalo Chicken Casserole

I'm a total sucker for anything buffalo flavored, so when you can add a bunch of my favorite ingredients together like pasta, cheese, and buffalo sauce I'm sold!

Ingredients

16 oz. of penne pasta, cooked
Diced grilled chicken, fully cooked
1/2 cup of Franks Red Hot Buffalo Style
3/4 cup of light blue cheese dressing
2 cups of reduced fat (or fat free) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Boil pasta for 10 minutes on high, drain and set aside
Combine red hot and blue cheese dressing in a bowl
Mix together, chicken, cheese, and cooked pasta and add to the buffalo sauce mixture
Pour into a greased casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees

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Link-up Rules:

1. Follow Emily and myself on GFC and Bloglovin

2. Link up your favorite recipes or food related posts

3. Grab our Recipe Swap button and link back to both of our blogs

4. Be sure to visit other blogs and find new recipes!

Recipe

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Birthday Weekend Love

I don't even know where to start in re-capping my amazing birthday weekend... a very hectic/amazing/interesting three days and I am exhausted so I'll just leave you all with a photo dump.

Kicked off my b-day weekend on Friday with happy hour. I honestly am not a fan of taking shots, but yet they always end up finding their way to me. This one tasted like pancakes *yum* and the look on my face is pretty typical even if it tastes yummy.

"Jake from State Farm" made another appearance...

Tried taking a pic with the guys and got photo bombed by a bunch of teenagers. Sounds fun right? Nope.... then my friend (and I use that term lightly now lol) hands them my phone so they could send themselves the pic. One of those little boys then proceeded to text me for the rest of the night. Lesson learned... don't hand off your phone to anyone. My idiot friends kept responding to this poor kid who bless his heart was trying way too hard to spit game. So.freakin.embarrassing... 

Saturday was my hibachi birthday dinner with friends which was filled with scorpion bowls, delicious food, sake, a pathetic attempt at using chopsticks, and a hibachi chef who was killin' it with the jokes. If you ever go to hibachi and have a chef named Tam-Tam tell him I said whats up!

*Blessed doesn't even describe how I feel... love them all*

Sunday was my actual birthday, and I started the day off with my free Starbucks b-day drink and made the drive out to Tampa to see my Yankees take on the Rays. I got to see Kuroda pitch, Jeter get some great hits, Teixeira hit a home run, and I even pet a ray *so slimy* in the ray tank. 

A stop off at Epcot on the way home was necessary, and so was a Disney birthday pin and a spin on Test Track. 

Lots of fabulous gifts from family and friends including Sephora gift cards, the cutest Kate Spade app plates, an Alex & Ani bracelet with a Yankees charm, and a beautiful wine glass from Emily paired with a yummy looking bottle of wine named after one of my favorite things... butterflies!

Joining Leeann and Kimberlee for Monday Morning Gossip

and

Biana for Weekending

and

Lisa and Bella for Weekend Recap

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Kicking Off the Birthday Weekend

Well hello there birthday weekend! Looking forward to a weekend full of fun including hibachi with friends, going to see my Yankees, and maybe a stop at Disney.

1. Last night, I went on a happy hour blate with Emily and Pam for some yummy martinis and apps.

2. I also went to a quick happy hour with some girls from work on Wednesday, and they had the best sangria I've had in a while. Definitely going back for another one soon :)

3. Loving my new Sephora goodies including my annual free b-day gift which is from Make Up Forever this year.

4. Yesterday's OOTD with some funky early morning lighting before work.

Top - H&M | Skirt - Express | Necklace & Bangles - Kate Spade

5. Excited to cash in my birthday reward from Tory Burch. Trying to decide between a cosmetics case or an arm cuff.

Robinson Printed Small Classic Cosmetic

Perforated Resin Logo Cuff

*If you haven't already, sign up at ToryBurch.com and they'll send you a $50 birthday reward to use during your b-day month*

Linking up today with Lauren for High Five on Friday and Amanda for Friday Favorites. Hop on over and join us! Happy Friday!

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