Monday, February 25, 2013

this weekend, I...

Happy Monday!  This weekend was pretty low-key at our place.  Linking up with Sarah and Syndal for another round of...

This weekend, we got into the Easter spirit by building this bunny house that Chloe picked out at the store with Tony's mom.  This thing took forever to put together!  When we were finished, our kitchen table looked like it was hit by a glitter tornado.  That bunny is pretty darn cute though!


This weekend, I organized all of our “important documents”.  These files aren't very pretty, but it feels great to finally have all of our paperwork in one place!  Too bad I can’t find the title to my car anywhere…


This weekend, we made “couch-bed”, which is something we do when all three of us want to snuggle up for a movie.  “Couch-bed” is the highly complicated process of pushing our couch and love seat together and covering it with blankets and pillows.  Chloe’s a huge fan!


This weekend, I played “hospital” with Chloe.  We took turns giving each other casts made out of toilet paper and clear tape.  She also insisted that I get 17 shots.  Tough doc!


This weekend, I enjoyed some Dead Guy Ale while playing winning Mario Kart.  The only type of legal drinking & driving!


Tell me about your weekend!

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Friday, February 22, 2013

high five for friday

Last week I complained about the week dragging on.  This week it feels like it passed by at warp speed!  Once again, I'm linking up with Lauren for High Five for Friday.

1.  "Spice up your life!"  Earlier this week, Lynsey posted this oldie-but-goodie from our college days of yonder, and I just had to share it with all of you!  It was our Halloween party circa 2002.  That's me, aka Sporty Spice, with the giant ponytail on top of my head.  Love it! (Pssst...speaking of Lynsey, she's blogging again!  Stop bye and say hello!)

2.  My long-awaited Ipsy bag arrived on Wednesday!!  I canclled my Birchbox subscription after hearing lots of great things about Ipsy.  This was my first shipment, and so far I'm lovin' it!  It came with a Coastal Scents Shadow Pallette (love the colors!), Pixi Flawless and Poreless Primer (everyone loves a primer, right?), POP Beauty Mascara (haven't used this yet but I love mascara so this made me smile), MicaBeauty Gel Eyeliner (I already have a bunch of gel eyeliner but it can't hurt to stockpile!), and Lash Cards (probably won't use these but you never know).

3.  This week I signed up for Cammie's special health challenge!  It's an 8-week online competition that's based on a point system.  It costs $10 to join and the winner takes half the pot.

4.  Inspired by my recent post, I got my hair cut and colored!  It's not a dramatic change, but the color is richer and I have a few more layers now.  I think next time I'll have her add blonder highlights.  I was so happy to finally find a hairdresser in our little city that I think might be "the one".  She's Persian and amazing.

5.  My CANMAKE Lash Care Essence finally arrived yesterday!  It's similar to Latisse, but way cheaper and without the crazy side effects.  It costs about $15 for one tube on ebay (or $30 on Amazon).  After reading multiple reviews about it online, I decided I had to buy it.  I'm a total sucker for anything eyelash-related.  I'll be sure and post before and after photos of my lashes once I  notice a difference!

What were your highlights of the week?

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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

2 truths and a lie

You know, that awkward ice breaker that you're forced to play at work or on the first day of school?  (The one I'm super bad at??)  This oughtta be good...

Linking up with SarahJena, Lo, and Alexa for their one-day "2 Truths and a Lie" link-up.

Ok, here goes nothing.  Can you spot the lie?  (And for those that know me in real life, no spoilers in the comments, por favor!)

1) My all-time favorite meal is BBQ ribs with mashed potatoes and mac & cheese on the side.

2) In 7th grade I dyed my hair bright red to be more like my idol Angela Chase.
  
3) Even though I’m terrified of heights, I successfully completed a flying trapeze class.

Let me know in the comments which one you think is a lie, and I'll email you back to let you know if you're right! Make sure you're not a "no-reply blogger" so I can email you.

Good luck!

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Monday, February 18, 2013

this weekend, I...

Hi, everyone!  Linking up with Sarah and Syndal for another round of...
This weekend, I went to a belated Valentine's dinner with Tony at Tanglewood Grill in Gig Harbor.  Neither of us had ever been there, and it has pretty good reviews so we wanted to check it out.  I really loved the front doors.


The food was good (anyplace that serves mac & cheese as a side is a winner in my book!), and we even sprung for dessert.  As soon as we saw "house-made cheesecake in a mason jar" on the dessert menu, we had to order it.  Mainly out of curiosity! Sure enough, it really was in a mason jar.  So pretty!


This weekend, I went to my younger sister's 29th birthday party.  And I gotta say, the fact that the "baby" of the family just turned 29 doesn't exactly make me feel young!  My sister went all out and made tons of food, jell-o shots, and even spodie (aka jungle juice for all you east coasters).  It was a fun time!  I love how her friend totally photobombed us.


This weekend, I slept in on Sunday, went out to breakfast with Tony, and then took a super long nap after we got home.  Lazy?  Perhaps.  Amazing?  Definitely!!

This weekend, I had Chloe design her creature for the Create My Creature giveaway that I won last week, and I love what she came up with!  Kids are so darn creative.  You can ignore all the my notes, those just help Amanda "bring the creature to life".  I am so excited to see what she comes up with!


So, what kind of shenanigans did you get into over the weekend?  Hilarious stories encouraged.

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Friday, February 15, 2013

high five for friday

I can't believe it's FINALLY Friday!  This week goes down in the record books as one of my longest weeks ever.  And I can't even explain why.  It just felt indescribably long!

Luckily, some good stuff happened along the way!  Here are my five highlights of the week.

1) First off, I won the Create My Creature giveway on Hena's blog (she's awesome!), and I'm super excited about it!  Amanda at Create My Creature takes children's drawings and brings them to life.  And just look how cute they turn out!  I told Chloe about it last night and she's already brainstorming about what sort of creature she's going to create.  Her ideas went from "half cat-half dog" to "dog with a unicorn horn", then to "just a regular dog".  I'll be sure and let you know what she finally decides on, and what Amanda comes up with!
Image via
2) In celebration of a co-workers birthday on Wednesday, a group of us walked to the food trucks on 2nd & Pike.  The food trucks rotate every day of the week, so there's always something different available.  Originally I had my heart stomach set on the Grilled Cheese Experience, but decided on 314Pie at the last minute.  Food trucks aren't always vegetarian-friendly, but luckily they had a veggie & curry pot pie on the menu.  Delish!!
3) After work that same day, I had some time to kill while waiting for my ride.  I ended up wandering around Pike Place Market, which is something I rarely do.  Since I work a mere five blocks from the Market, you'd probably think I'm pretty familiar with it as this point, right?  Not so.  In the four and a half years I've lived/worked in Seattle, I've only been to the market a handful of times.  So it was nice to have a little free time at the end of my day just to walk around and explore different shops and restaurants.
4) Self-evaluations are due at work today, and I'm totally procrastinating.  Is there anything more awkward than trying to brag about how awesome you are without sounding like a tool?  I loathe doing these things.  But, thanks to Elle Woods, I thought I finally came up with the perfect solution.  Sadly, my boss didn't go for it.
5) Since Tony and I didn't have much time to celebrate Valentine's Day yesterday, we're going to do dinner and movie tonight.  Yay!  We haven't decided on where to eat dinner yet, but we'll be seeing Warm Bodies.  I hope it's good!  (Is it just me or is this picture very Twilight-esque?)
 
 Linking up with Lauren for High Five for Friday.

Well, that's it folks!  What were some of your highlights this week?


Thursday, February 14, 2013

be mine

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I know about half of you are probably anti-valentine's day, but I'm cheesy enough to still get excited for it every year.  And possibly even buy a special shirt for the occasion...

And now for a few V-day highlights!

1) Don't worry, I'm not going to get all mushy on you.  But I will say that today marks my third V-day with Tony!  (If you're bored, you can read about how we met here.  Hint: It involves beer pong.) We don't have any special plans for tonight other than taking Chloe swimming at the YMCA.  Who know, maybe someone there will be feeling all romantic and decide to return my phone!  But seriously, maybe this weekend we'll have a date night and go see a movie or something.  I really want to see Warm Bodies!  That's romantic...right?

2) Although I never got around to decking the halls with hearts this year, I did get a little crafty during my lunch break at work.  And let me just say, I think I got a blister on my finger from cutting all those dang hearts.  But now I get to stare at cute little hearts all day while I blog work away, so I'd say it was worth the pain!

3) I attempted to follow Kate's V-day nail tutorial, but as you can see, it's a little rough around the edges.  Note to self: must learn how to do my own cuticles.  Still cute though, no?

4) Valentine's Day Bunco!!  I go to a monthly bunco party with an awesome group of ladies, and last night they did not disappoint.  There was wine.  There was Bieber.  There was dancing.  Oh, did I mention there was wine?  And look, I'm even wearing the above-noted "special shirt"!

I hope everyone has an awesome Valentine's Day!!  And step away from that box of chocolates!

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Monday, February 11, 2013

this weekend, I...

Hope you all had a good weekend!  Overall mine was great, with one sucky part...

This weekend, I planned a "Chloe and Rachael day" while Tony spent the day snowboarding with his BFFs.  For those who don't know, Chloe is Tony's 6-year-old daughter, and she lives with us half the time.  We started out at this awesome place for kids called Discovery Village, where we made Valentine's, played on the giant toys, and ate ridiculously huge cheese quesadillas.  Once we were sufficiently stuffed, we headed over to the YMCA where Chloe climbed the indoor rock wall and got to the very top!  I was so proud of her, I literally almost cried.  And I do not cry.  After that we went swimming, also at the Y, and the lifeguard was nice enough to turn the water slide on for us.  Finally I got a chance to use that slide!!  We ended our day with frozen yogurt at Menchie's.  I was being good and chose only non-fat flavors with fruit as my topping.  Chloe, on the other hand, chose probably every candy option available, loaded with multiple sauces and whipped cream.  Yum!

This weekend, I lost my new iphone at the YMCA.  Major bummer!!  I had just used it to take so many photos of our day together, which I had planned to blog about, plus a video of Chloe kicking butt on the rock wall to show her dad.  I think I left it in the locker room before we went swimming, but nobody has turned it in yet, so I guess someone applied the finders-keepers rule to my phone.  I do however have this photo, only because I texted it to Tony.
That's a look of determination right there!
This weekend, I took Tony and Chloe to the zoo to meet up with my friend Kim from high school and her adorable daughter, Isabella.  She's only 3, but has been to the zoo so many times that she was leading the group!  We also happened to run into our friends Drew and Cassie with their two little girls, so Chloe made lots of new friends that day. Still sulking about my lost phone, I didn't even bother to take any photos with my Droid.  I was in silent protest of having to use my old phone.
This weekend, I watched the season premier of The Walking Dead with Tony.  Finally!!  I feel like I've been waiting ages to see it.  I know not everyone was a fan of the episode (ahem, Christi), but I thought it was great!  I won't say anything else, in case you haven't seen it yet.

This weekend, I  made another batch of Jamie Eason's Pumpkin Protein Bars.  I love these things!!


What did you do this weekend?

Friday, February 8, 2013

lunchtime shopping spree

It's Friday, whoot whoot!

I got a little wild on my lunch break today.  Forever 21 is only about two blocks from my work, so I stopped in with the well-meaning intentions of getting "just one thing".  (Yeah right, like that ever happens!) 

Ever since my V-day post earlier this week, I've been thinking about that pink and gray heart sweater and how badly I want to wear it to our Valentine's-themed bunco party next Wednesday.  Sadly, I couldn't find it in the store, but I found something similar in mint and black, so I grabbed that instead. It's actually part of a pajama set, but that can be our little secret! 

I also accidentally left the store with just a few other things...

In my defense, the four items on the bottom row are birthday gifts for my younger sister.  Hope she's not reading this!  And the coral and gold heart bag will be part of Chloe's Valentine's Day present.  Also, I know the 90's are over and all (*sob*) but I will always love Nirvana. And I gotta be honest, this shirt looked really cute on me.  I mean, not to toot my own horn or anything, but it really did!  So, toot toot!  I grabbed the teal nail polish as an afterthought, because I really want to paint a heart on my accent nails for V-day.  From past experience, F21's nail polish really sucks but it's so cheap that I couldn't resist.

Okay, I've officially got the shopping bug out of my system...for this week anyways!

Have an awesome weekend everyone!

Xoxo,

Thursday, February 7, 2013

bringing sexy back


Do you ever look in the mirror and just think “Ugh, what happened to me?!”  Well I do.  I've been getting pretty darn lazy with my beauty regimen lately, people.  I hate to think I've become one of those girls who lets herself go after being her with boyfriend for so long but, *gulp* I think I may have reached that point!  It’s just little things that I've let slide, like painting my nails, getting my hair done regulary, etc.  So I've decided to set some beauty goals to help me get back into the swing of things!

1) Hair
My hair is in that awkward phase between cuts and colors.  It’s now shoulder length, but has absolutely no shape to it anymore.  Not to mention the color has faded and my highlights have some serious grow-out going on.  Christi from Mascara & Madness (she's hilarious!) just went from blonde to brunette and it’s totally motivating me to make a change!

I found this image of Laura Croft on Pinterest and I’m really loving the cut and color.  Without the bangs, of course.  Been there, done that, wasn't a fan!  What do you think?  Should I try it out?
Source: David Becker/Getty Images North America
 2) Skin
There’s no way around it, I’m pale.  Like, Edward Cullen pale.  Years ago I had a slight addiction to Jergen’s Natural Glow.  I loved how it gave just a subtle hint of color.  For one reason or another, I stopped using it and have returned to my natural ghostly shade.  As you can see, in 2008 I was nearly as tan as my friend Cheyenne, who's half Mexican.  That's got to mean something, right?  And in 2012, white as rice.  (Don't be jealous of my elf costume!)


This picture settles it, I'm going to pick up some Jergen's tonight!

3) Nails
Looking down at my hands right now, I see naked nails of varying lengths and shapes.  Not cute!  I typically don’t get manicures because I’m cheap and would rather just paint my nails at home.  So starting tonight I’m going to try and keep my nails looking prettier.  Besides, I can’t have ugly nails when Tony finally puts a ring on it right?? Hehe, jk Tony!

4) Face
Um, hi, can my pores be any bigger??  Not a good look.  I was reading a blog post the other day about a homemade mask made of milk and unflavored gelatin that basically creates one giant Biore strip.  I’m so going to try this.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

5) Eyebrows
Operation: Grow Eyebrows Back begins now.  I went crazy with the tweezers in high school and my eyebrows have never quite recovered.  I literally tweeze probably twice a year now, because there's basically nothing there.  I searched online for tips on how to re-grow skinny brows, and think I may have found a solution.  Hint: it involves Rogaine.  I will update you a few months from now and let you all know if it worked, with before and after pictures.  But for comparison’s sake, here’s a picture of my 13-year-old eyebrows, compared with me current eyebrow situation.  This is how they look after I fill them in, and they are still tiny!


Glasses + braces = totally hot, by the way.

In other news, I’m happy to report that I've been following Jamie Eason’s LiveFit workout and meal program for 23 days now (with a few tweaks of my own), so at least I haven’t “let myself go” in that capacity.  Believe it or not, her program has helped me find a new-found love for the gym!  Tony usually meets me there after work and he’ll swim laps while I do Jamie’s workouts.  I haven’t lost any weight yet, but that’s because I've been focusing on strength training rather than cardio, which gets added in later.

So, have you ever gone through slumps where you get totally lazy in your beauty regimen?  What helped you bring sexy back?

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

sharin' the love

I heart February.  I really do!  Even though the whole idea of Valentine's day can sometimes be a bit on the cheesy side, there's just something about seeing pink and red hearts everywhere I go that adds a little cheer to my day.  So, in honor of this mushy holiday, I've rounded up some romance-inspired items to share with you.  Hope you like love!!
1// Heathered Heart Pullover- Forever 21 - $17.80
2// Mossimo Colorblock Scarf - Target - $14.99
3// Heart Bangle Bracelet - Etsy - $15.95
4// Teardrop Necklace - Caroline G - $19.99
5// Mossimo Crossbody Handbag - Target - $19.99

7// V-day Racerback Tank - VS - $24.50
8// Solid Heart Studs - Forever 21 - $1.50
9// MAC Lipglass - Angel - $15.00

Speaking of L-O-V-E, Charlie over at Lipstick and Lemon Drops is sharin' the blog love by choosing me as her February Featured Reader, so check it out!  And give her some love too!

Ok, I think that's enough love for one post....

Xoxo,

Friday, February 1, 2013

high five for friday

Whoohoo!  It's Friday and payday (at least for me!), and that's the best type of Friday.  Once again, I'm linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk for her weekly High Five for Friday.

It hasn't been a super eventful week for me, but I did have a few blog-worthy highlights.

1) Charlie at Lipstick and Lemon Drops nominated me for the Liebster award.  Thanks, Charlie!!  If you are like me and have never heard of this award, it's given to up-and-coming bloggers that have 200 followers or less as a way to promote their blog.  Look for my official Liebster post a little later!
 2) Ever since coming across this photo on FashforFashion, I've been obsessed with getting a watch this color.  
image via
I happened to be at Target earlier this week shopping for work out clothes, when I spotted this watch for only $12.99!  Score!

3) On Wednesday my team at work was moved to a different floor, and I lucked out and got this awesome view of downtown Seattle from my desk!  Much better than staring at a cubicle wall like before.

4) If you haven't seen Kevin Bacon's new show, The Following, then you should change that!  The second episode was on this week, and I can just tell this is going to be an awesome show.  There have already been so many twists and turns in just two episodes!  It's the perfect show to keep me satisfied while waiting for the current season of Dexter to show up on Netflix.  Warning: this show is not for the faint of heart!
5) As I mentioned in my post about joining a gym, I've been following Jamie Eason's LiveFit program for the last few weeks.  Last night I finally tried her recipe for Pumpkin Protein Bars, and let me tell you, they are DELICIOUS!  I could probably eat this whole pan.  You can probably tell how anxious I was to try one by the fact that I stopped cutting them halfway through so that I could eat a piece.

This weekend I'm looking forward to actually having no plans, and lounging around with Tony all day. What were your highlights this week?