It's a Miracle

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the e.l.f. blemish stick, that is.

I've been blessed enough to have pretty clear skin growing up

and it's rare that I break out, but when I do, it takes 

forever for my skin to clear up. 

Friday morning I woke up with a bump on my chin (which is where I always break out)

I applied the e.l.f. stick a couple times throughout the day and when I woke up on Saturday it was 

completely gone. as in, you couldn't even see where it had been. 

looove :)

The day got away from me yesterday and I didn't get a chance to post, so 

you lucky ducks get my weekend recap today. 

better late than never, right?!

I had off on Friday for my mom's birthday. 

My dad took her out to lunch and then they went out for a little shopping. 

We didn't get to go out to dinner because Olivia was going back to school the next day and 

the cars still had to be packed up. So we did the next best thing - ordered pizza and got cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. 

holy deliciousness.

Saturday was move in day for Liv but I stayed behind to watch little man. 

I was a little productive but the rainy afternoon got the best of me and I fell asleep watching the Colts game. My favorite way to spend a Saturday afternoon :)

Of course I had to get some PF Changs to end the night.

yum!

Sunday I got to go shopping and got myself some goodies.

2 necklaces from forever21 for $4 total!!

A navy & grey striped skirt.

and 2 new pairs of shoes.

Did I mention I got all of that for less than $50!!

and just because I'm watching the Hunger Games again...

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Now it's time for me to catch up on all of your blogs. 

happy tuesday!

xoxo.

Happy Happy Birthday!!

Happy Friday loves!!

And a big, humongous 

happy birthday to my mom!

While we're spending the day celebrating, 

check out my guest post for miss Ali

over here. 

Happy weekending!!

xoxo.

When the Boys are Away the Girls Will Play

morning lovers.

did y'all have a good weekend....and uh, monday?

I'm a day late and a dollar short but here's my weekend recap. 

but first, you can find me over here today talking about what happens

when the bikinis get put away...

I had such a fun, relaxing weekend with my richmond bff Audrey. 

Friday night we went for mexican & margs, drank sangria & wine, and watched the movie

Bachelorette. 

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Have you guys seen this yet? I'd never even heard of it til we went to watch it. 

$10.99 on demand my friends.

$10 freaking .99!

Anyway, I highly suggest grabbing some gf's and getting together to watch this. 

totally worth the money

Saturday I spent the afternoon with my sister.

left to right: skinnygirl dog toy, my sandwich at lunch, sweet tea :)

That night Audrey and I had dinner at Brio, followed with some shopping at one of the

outdoor malls here in town. We found this store called Love Culture (anyone?) that's pretty 

much like a smaller Forever21. huge fan.

I got 2 skirts and this cute little owl necklace

We were gonna go out but she wasn't feeling too hot so we did the next best thing.

Wine and the Hunger Games. 

and a dance party.

How's this for being real?

helloo glasses....aka nerddd :)

Sunday we went to brunch at this cute little place in the fan called 3 Monkeys.
They are known for their mimosas so we each got a watermelon & raspberry one.

yum!

weekend perfection :)
Oh, and in exactly 1 month I will be partaying it up in Hotlanta for my bday with
some of my favorites.

her / her / her / her / her

& maybe this girl

I so citedddd!! :)
here's to a fast week!!
and my blonde hair that I'm getting back today!
xoxo.

A Birthday Giveaway!!

Today is my sister, Anna's, 23rd birthday. 

Happy birthday bebe sister

(anyone remember helga's older sister from hey arnold?)

Here's to you and there never being a dull moment!

I hope you have an amazing dayy!

Love you!! :)

And to celebrate lil' sista's bday, I have a special little giveaway for y'all.

The lovely family from Tookies is sweet enough to be giving one lucky 

reader a jar cake of their choice.

Now, who is tookies?

"We are a small family owned business in the south. We consist of 6 immediate family members :) Every one of us has creative genes...guess it just runs in the family. We run on the fuel of God, love, prayer and LAUGHTER! We are a practical joking family, none of us can live without humor and being the next big/best practical joker. We have a big family, including 3 amazing boxers! We are also a full military family and we love our troops. Being patriotic and supporting our military is one of the most important things to us.

Why the name Tookies?

When our son was little, he couldn't say 'cookie' so he said 'tookie' and this is what we have all always called cookies :)

how cute is that?!

I have to just say that they have been such a pleasure to work with. 

This is their second month sponsoring this blog and they have been nothing but delightful :)

A few weeks ago, I received a little package in the mail and when I 

opened it, it was stock full of goodies! 

 2 jar cakes

gourmet cheesecake marshmallows

cookie-wiches 

y-u-m!

Everything was so cute and delicious!!

My favorite treat was most definitely the

cheesecake marshmallows.

o-m-g!!

I may have eaten them all myself. 

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Is your mouth watering yet?!

Mine too.

Now, here's how to get a jar cake of your very own.

The giveaway will end next Sunday and the winner will be announced 

next Monday, July 23rd.

Good luck!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xoxo.

Dad's Birthday Recap & a Recipe

A week ago today we celebrated my dad's birthday.

It's been so crazy since then that I haven't had a chance to post about it yet. 

It was a crazy week and of course my sister and I were busy getting ready to go out of town. But birthdays are big in our house. We always have a big family dinner, usually on a Sunday night so the grandparents can come. Since last year, we decided to celebrate on the actual day. I mean, why the heck not?!

Anyway, we're Italian and any chance we get to eat Italian food, we do.

So of course, for my dad's birthday dinner he wanted a pasta dish. Unfortunately I didn't actually get a picture of the pasta cause it was so yummy and we ate it all too fast.....ooops! 

The menu looked a little something like this -

- Wedge Salad with blue cheese & balsamic drizzle

- Rigatoni with Artichoke Tomato Sauce

- Sherbet Cake (recipe below)

The food was delicious. 

The conversation was fun.

The gifts were opened.

(of course we didn't get any pics of us....shame on me)

Overall I think he had a pretty good day :)

(we kind of got halfway through before realizing to take a picture....so sorry it looks a little torn up- ha)

Don't forget to enter my blogiversary giveaway!

And I still have just a few spots left for June sponsors so if you're interested, email me here

xoxo.

I'm On a Boat

happy tuesday lovebugs!

and welcome back :)

I hope you all had a great holiday weekend.

I spent mine at Smith Mountain Lake; where apparently another famous blogger was vacationing as well. Unfortunately we didn't have a chance to meet up...but there's always next time! :)

The weekend was ah-mazing and I only wish we could go back and do it again.

That being said, enjoy the photo dump.

 Wearing all the neon I own. 

Super excited about that if you couldn't tell.

 We toasted.

 We sat in fun beach chairs.

 We jet skied 

 We drank lime-a-ritas

 We were on a boat.

now that song is gonna be stuck in your head all day

you're welcome :)

 We stayed up til 6am.

We learned to Dougie.

We celebrated.

We had fun

and we didn't want to leave.

How did you spend your memorial day weekend?

xoxo.

Happy Birthday

to my sweet dad :)

I hope you have an amazing day; you deserve it! 

And you know dinner will be good tonight....cause I'm helping cook...duh ;)

Loooooove you!! 

Also, I'm accepting sponsors for June.

There are still some free spots available so email me here if you're interested.

Happy Thursday peeps!!

xoxo.

Birthday Booooooy :)

you guessed it.

today, little man turns one! 

I can't believe it....he's growing so stinkin' fast!!

I don't know what he looked like until I got him but I would guess something like this -

he went from 3lbs at 8 weeks

and was only supposed to be 8lbs...

to a whopping 20 lbs my friends.

twenty pounds!

needless to say, we will be celebrating tonight :)

lots of pupcakes and goodies are in store for this little guy.

happy birthday toby!!

love, 

mama

Birthdays, Parties, and Everything in Between

Happy Friday loves!

I'm ecstatic we made it to the weekend. All I can say is finally!

I'm so excited to be spending this weekend with friends and family again. Olivia comes home from school tomorrow and I couldn't be more ready. Several surprises await her arrival ;)

Today is my lovely friend, Jenny's birthday. I seriously love this girl to death. I always describe her to people this way - "She's so small but she's one of the feistiest people I know. You hurt someone she cares about and she'll kick your a$$." Jenny, now you know how you're perceived :)

 I'm pretty sure we were dancing here....

but who knows.

Happy Birthday pretty girl!! :)

Tonight I get to go to yet another Christmas party and the theme is naughty or nice. Could be interesting ;) and then I'm off to little miss J's bday dinner. Can't wait! 

What are y'all doing this weekend?

Have a good one! :)

xoxo.

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday lovelies!

Did y'all have a great weekend? I'm still looking for that extra hour we supposedly gained....ah! So tired today. I've got so much to tell you and it's all going to come out super random and I am totally okay with that today. 

So here goes-

{one} 

As I posted on Friday, my baby brother turned 18 on Saturday. Ah, so sad. Poor boy had to take the SAT's that morning, but then he had a lunch date with a certain female friend {aka homecoming date} Bow-chica-wow-wow. :) He had some friends over to partayy later and they ended up smoking cigars before the night was over. Well, you know I had to get my hands on one, just to say I've tried it. Let me tell you, I did it and I don't ever feel the need to do it again. But it wasn't bad....I just don't see the point.

Check it- Personalized cigars. 

Moving on.

{two}

One of my bestest friends in the whole wide world was having a party Saturday night as well, to 'celebrate/mourn' the fact that her boyfriend got an amazing job.....in Louisiana. Boo. Anyway, this party had a theme. What was it you ask?

Flannel & Fifths :)

Fun that night.....not so fun Sunday morning.

And half these guys had to get up to go play in a football tournament. I honestly do not know how they could function. But not only did they play 3 games, they won the whole freaking thing! {I definitely want to play next year :)} 

{three} 

I bought this liner for Halloween and wore it to said party and I love it!

Reasons why I love this little baby:

1. It was only $1

2. I suck at using liquid liner and it was super easy to put on

3. Did I mention it was only $1? 

{four} 

Please tell me you watched my boys play yesterday. Well "my boys" are my Colts, who once again lost yesterday. Woo 0-9 baby! At least when we commit to something we go all in. Let's get that draft pick. 

But I'm asking if you watched my men. 

See below :)

I love you. Both.

Nothing makes me happier than seeing Tom Brady upset. So proud of my Eli <3

And Tim Tebow, well, he's just easy to look at. :)

Hope you're all having a great Monday! 

xoxo.