Beltline walk with Brooke and Darcy!

Beltline walk with Brooke and Darcy!

When you are really wanting to steal away to the beach for a weekend, it is not a good idea to take a look at some hypothetical future honeymoon resort options. Look at this couple! They are having dinner basically IN the pool that they can swim up to their room from and there are candles on the table. All for the low price of somewhere around $500 a night. 

When you are really wanting to steal away to the beach for a weekend, it is not a good idea to take a look at some hypothetical future honeymoon resort options. Look at this couple! They are having dinner basically IN the pool that they can swim up to their room from and there are candles on the table. All for the low price of somewhere around $500 a night. 

In the office alone and seriously jamming out and chair dancing when I realized I was doing a lot of hand twirling as part of my dancing, so basically I am about 80% along in my transformation into my mother. 

In the office alone and seriously jamming out and chair dancing when I realized I was doing a lot of hand twirling as part of my dancing, so basically I am about 80% along in my transformation into my mother. 

Finally got the room back to some semblance of order. I also packed away all the wedding items in a box to go to storage, but I kept out this vase, cake plate and framed photo of my dad and me as daily reminders of the big day! I’m also insanely pleased to have a functional dresser.

Our bedroom didn’t look perfectly clean before I left this weekend, but I had made a point to pick up my side for the most part. I came home to every thing in the house that doesn’t really have a home living in our bedroom. Add my laundry and luggage from the weekend away and this is what you’ve got. Time to get to work!

The Magic Of Nick Saban: Everyone Wants To Go To Alabama

“For the admissions office, more applications mean more selectivity. Six years ago, 64% of students applying to the University of Alabama were accepted. By 2012, the acceptance rate had dropped to 53%. About one in four students from the 2012 freshman class carried a 4.0 high school GPA. The class also includes 241 National Merit Scholars, more than any other public university in the U.S.

‘The quality of our students has never been higher,” says Mary Spieigel, executive director of undergraduate admissions. “Our recruiters across the nation emphasize all aspects of the University.’”

 I love this look at how Nick Saban’s success on the field has played a part in attracting smarter students in larger numbers from all over, which means more money for new buildings and dorms and everything else you see that is under construction when you drive down University Boulevard. The school is so different than when I entered in 2005, in the very best way. Love my alma mater. 

I’ve kept these two little guys alive on my desk at work for almost 5 weeks now. Slowly working on that green thumb. (PS I have to use a straw to water them with droplets lest they get too saturated!)

I’ve kept these two little guys alive on my desk at work for almost 5 weeks now. Slowly working on that green thumb. (PS I have to use a straw to water them with droplets lest they get too saturated!)

a much needed calming break for the workday

no shame, i also just downloaded the iphone app. serenity anywhere!

Reminding myself of this today. 

Reminding myself of this today. 

Wednesday

  • i’m gonna need everyone to send super positive vibes my way today as i’m waiting for a very important email to hit my inbox and i’m starting to freak out a bit about it. k thanks.
  • sometimes i feel a bit disappointed in where i am, job-wise, but then i remember that i have super flexible hours, i’m wearing yoga pants and a burnout comfy top today, the atmosphere is super relaxed, i’m getting a chance to work with some big-name clients, and i’m continuing to learn more about my field. so maybe money isn’t always the answer, but i’m learning that it sure effects how i feel about where i am in my career.
  • pure barre seriously kicked my rear last night - so sore today. 
  • i need a house elf to please come to my house and get it in order because our bedroom is starting to look like a hoarder lives there with all the clothes and bags everywhere, and we can not for the life of us find a place to store all of our new glassware.

Gap knows how to really speak to me - by sending me emails that are entirely about striped items of clothing. 

Gap knows how to really speak to me - by sending me emails that are entirely about striped items of clothing. 

on my shopping list a new candle to replace the beloved french baguette - i’m interested in checking out both Lakeside and Boathouse Row, so c’mon with a 2 for $30 sale, Bath and Body Works! I have some Birchbox points + a 25% off promo code burning a whole in my virtual wallet, so I’m trying to decide what to try next. I’m leaning towards this Cargo Waterproof Blush (I can never have enough blush - it’s a problem) and the Benefit Fake Up concealer for these under eye bags.  I got a great fancy new spring/summer handbag from my mom and Gary for my birthday, but I’m looking for something that can  kick around the pool or running quick errands to Target on weekends. I don’t know why, but I am drawn to this straw number from Target. Waiting for a sale for that guy. I didn’t think I wanted any of the Essie resort collection until I saw a bunch of beauty YouTube girls raving about this color - First Time. I have mint and darker greens in my collection, but none that are more mojito colored like this. May have to pick it up at Ulta soon.  I’m almost out of my Neutrogena Anti-Residue shampoo that I like to use once every week or two, but I found it a bit TOO cleansing and left my hair sort of dry. I heard some reviews about using this Garnier Fructis Pure Clean shampoo as a clarifying shampoo, and would love to try that. Added to the Target list.  I also like to use a deep conditioning treatment on the ends of my hair every week, especially after using a clarifying shampoo, and would like to try this new Tresemme Platinum Strength one as I’ve been a bit disappointed with the L’oreal and Garnier Fructis ones I have tried lately. If this one is no bueno, then it’s back to the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle. 

on my shopping list

  • a new candle to replace the beloved french baguette - i’m interested in checking out both Lakeside and Boathouse Row, so c’mon with a 2 for $30 sale, Bath and Body Works!
  • I have some Birchbox points + a 25% off promo code burning a whole in my virtual wallet, so I’m trying to decide what to try next. I’m leaning towards this Cargo Waterproof Blush (I can never have enough blush - it’s a problem) and the Benefit Fake Up concealer for these under eye bags. 
  • I got a great fancy new spring/summer handbag from my mom and Gary for my birthday, but I’m looking for something that can  kick around the pool or running quick errands to Target on weekends. I don’t know why, but I am drawn to this straw number from Target. Waiting for a sale for that guy.
  • I didn’t think I wanted any of the Essie resort collection until I saw a bunch of beauty YouTube girls raving about this color - First Time. I have mint and darker greens in my collection, but none that are more mojito colored like this. May have to pick it up at Ulta soon. 
  • I’m almost out of my Neutrogena Anti-Residue shampoo that I like to use once every week or two, but I found it a bit TOO cleansing and left my hair sort of dry. I heard some reviews about using this Garnier Fructis Pure Clean shampoo as a clarifying shampoo, and would love to try that. Added to the Target list. 
  • I also like to use a deep conditioning treatment on the ends of my hair every week, especially after using a clarifying shampoo, and would like to try this new Tresemme Platinum Strength one as I’ve been a bit disappointed with the L’oreal and Garnier Fructis ones I have tried lately. If this one is no bueno, then it’s back to the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle. 
some favorites lately I got this The Body Shop Mango Body Butter as my free Ulta reward this period, and I am loving it. It is a great spring scent (I love mango anything) and is super rich, which I love. I tend to go for body butters so that I can use them on my hands (which are insanely sensitive to being dry) and my feet (which are insanely dry right now) as well as the rest of my body. Thumbs up on this freebie!  While I was at Ulta, I figured I’d grab a body scrub as well. With my uptick in self tanning lately, I was in need of something to help correct goofs and get my skin ready for another round of tanner. I ended up getting this Tree Hut Shea Sugar Body Scrub in Coconut Lime (as well as Tropical Mango, but that one is still hanging out in the closet waiting its turn.) I’d read some good reviews of it online, and I love a body scrub that is really exfoliating and course but also moisturizing enough that my legs aren’t the Sahara afterwards. This also smells INCREDIBLE. Tree Hut is buy one, get one 50% off through Saturday (I think) at Ulta, and combined with a $3.50 off $10 coupon, you can walk out with two scrubs or a scrub and a body butter/lotion for about $8. Not too shabby! In my quest to not be too pale for my new white shorts but also not give myself skin cancer, I have been trying out a lot more self tanner routines than I ever have before. I read on here that a lot of you ladies like to use the L’oreal towelettes and then follow up with the Jergens Natural Glow products, so I ordered these two bad boys. I got the facial moisturizer in medium/tan and the body lotion in fair to medium for no rationality of than I wanted to. This new formula was supposed to have no scent, and to their credit it didn’t have nearly the scent it used to when I applied it. However, as it developed throughout the day I could smell it a bit more on my arms, and WHOO BOY did it smell when I went to Pure Barre or ran. (Sorry to everyone in class around me.) I thought it was great at helping even out streaks from the towelettes and keep the color going longer, and has really helped warm up my face. I know these are about $8 or $9 at Target, but FYI- Drugstore.com has a code for $3 off 2 right now, as well as a 20% off markdown, so you can get two body lotions for about $10, 2 face lotions for about $13, or all four for less than $25. Add something else small to hit $25 for free shipping. (No referral links or anything, I just love this site.) L’oreal towelettes are also on sale there.  The world’s best sister-in-law gave me the new Kate Spade Live Colorfully perfume rollerball for my birthday, and I am obsessed. So obsessed that I know already that I will be paying the ridiculous price of $75 for the full size once this runs out, which I’m sure will be in the next few months.  We have been burning this BBW French Baguette candle religiously upstairs and I will be sitting shiva for its imminent death as we have burned it down to its last waxy centimeter. I wish there was a way to get another other than pay $32 to this crackhead on Amazon. Thanks for the rec back in December, Tumblr ladies. These Lulu Work It Out shorts are legit. They don’t have an inner liner, which I love because I still haven’t gotten on board with not wearing underwear while running even when there’s a liner, and the cut is supposed to be for more “athletic” thighs. (Also, the new Power Purple CRB is super great quality as it was made in Canada, not China, and is my new favorite color tank.) And these chips are the reason I need a pair of shorts cut for thunder thighs - Lays Kettle Cooked Mesquite BBQ. Fun story - we went for fancy drinks at the Ritz before a bachelorette dinner a few weeks ago, and they brought us out bowls of nuts and some kettle cooked BBQ chips that, hand to God, were the best thing I’d eaten all week. (Probably because I was famished.) Anyway, now I eat these and pretend I am at the Ritz and all fancy and not sitting at work talking about pizza. 

some favorites lately

  • I got this The Body Shop Mango Body Butter as my free Ulta reward this period, and I am loving it. It is a great spring scent (I love mango anything) and is super rich, which I love. I tend to go for body butters so that I can use them on my hands (which are insanely sensitive to being dry) and my feet (which are insanely dry right now) as well as the rest of my body. Thumbs up on this freebie! 
  • While I was at Ulta, I figured I’d grab a body scrub as well. With my uptick in self tanning lately, I was in need of something to help correct goofs and get my skin ready for another round of tanner. I ended up getting this Tree Hut Shea Sugar Body Scrub in Coconut Lime (as well as Tropical Mango, but that one is still hanging out in the closet waiting its turn.) I’d read some good reviews of it online, and I love a body scrub that is really exfoliating and course but also moisturizing enough that my legs aren’t the Sahara afterwards. This also smells INCREDIBLE. Tree Hut is buy one, get one 50% off through Saturday (I think) at Ulta, and combined with a $3.50 off $10 coupon, you can walk out with two scrubs or a scrub and a body butter/lotion for about $8. Not too shabby!
  • In my quest to not be too pale for my new white shorts but also not give myself skin cancer, I have been trying out a lot more self tanner routines than I ever have before. I read on here that a lot of you ladies like to use the L’oreal towelettes and then follow up with the Jergens Natural Glow products, so I ordered these two bad boys. I got the facial moisturizer in medium/tan and the body lotion in fair to medium for no rationality of than I wanted to. This new formula was supposed to have no scent, and to their credit it didn’t have nearly the scent it used to when I applied it. However, as it developed throughout the day I could smell it a bit more on my arms, and WHOO BOY did it smell when I went to Pure Barre or ran. (Sorry to everyone in class around me.) I thought it was great at helping even out streaks from the towelettes and keep the color going longer, and has really helped warm up my face. I know these are about $8 or $9 at Target, but FYI- Drugstore.com has a code for $3 off 2 right now, as well as a 20% off markdown, so you can get two body lotions for about $10, 2 face lotions for about $13, or all four for less than $25. Add something else small to hit $25 for free shipping. (No referral links or anything, I just love this site.) L’oreal towelettes are also on sale there. 
  • The world’s best sister-in-law gave me the new Kate Spade Live Colorfully perfume rollerball for my birthday, and I am obsessed. So obsessed that I know already that I will be paying the ridiculous price of $75 for the full size once this runs out, which I’m sure will be in the next few months. 
  • We have been burning this BBW French Baguette candle religiously upstairs and I will be sitting shiva for its imminent death as we have burned it down to its last waxy centimeter. I wish there was a way to get another other than pay $32 to this crackhead on Amazon. Thanks for the rec back in December, Tumblr ladies.
  • These Lulu Work It Out shorts are legit. They don’t have an inner liner, which I love because I still haven’t gotten on board with not wearing underwear while running even when there’s a liner, and the cut is supposed to be for more “athletic” thighs. (Also, the new Power Purple CRB is super great quality as it was made in Canada, not China, and is my new favorite color tank.)
  • And these chips are the reason I need a pair of shorts cut for thunder thighs - Lays Kettle Cooked Mesquite BBQ. Fun story - we went for fancy drinks at the Ritz before a bachelorette dinner a few weeks ago, and they brought us out bowls of nuts and some kettle cooked BBQ chips that, hand to God, were the best thing I’d eaten all week. (Probably because I was famished.) Anyway, now I eat these and pretend I am at the Ritz and all fancy and not sitting at work talking about pizza. 
Welcome to the family, Bouncer It’s Me! You’ll be on my nails tonight.

Welcome to the family, Bouncer It’s Me! You’ll be on my nails tonight.

Saturday night fro yo with @brklyn and Blake. Mundy night!

Saturday night fro yo with @brklyn and Blake. Mundy night!