Momma Taught Me to Share!

So, since I have some free time, I thought I would blog about something ALL ladies must know about!

I think I heard somewhere that when you find something great, the best thing you can do is share it. I relate this saying to ya know, when someone comes up & says "Hey! I love your dress/shoes/headband/nail polish/eye shadow/whatever" & some girls I've said this to are very flattered but simply respond "Oh, thanks!" But come on girl, fill me in... I just gave you a compliment so hook a lady up! Where'd you get it?
{I must admit... I think I'm a little too quick to share, but honestly... When I find something great, that makes me look or feel great, & someone else notices, I have to share it!}

That being said, let me just fill you in on an ah-mazing website I discovered a few months ago!

www.justfab.com

Now, stop me if you've heard this one.... I was completely oblivious to this site before seeing an ad, oddly enough, on Facebook. Ya know... Those ads on the side? It said something like "All styles only $39.95" & I'm sure there was some fab shoe in the picture. Because I have a shoe shopping problem, I had to click. For some reason I had never heard of this marvelous site but since I've been using it I've noticed they have ads everywhere! They even have a commercial I just saw on the Style Network! Where the heck have I been?!

So here's the deal... You sign up at JustFab.com by answering a few survey questions about what style of shoe you prefer, {wedges, stilettos, flats, neutrals, colors, etc!} & based on your answers to the survey, which by the way you can go in & edit at any time, you get some selected styles sent to you each month in what they call your 'Boutique'! It's like walking into a massive shoe store, feeling overwhelmed, then telling the sales associate what you like & having them narrow it down for you & only you! & let me just say, I have gotten some ca-uuute shoes selected for me!

They select about 5-7 styles for you a month & you can order them or not. Literally everything on the site is $39.95 with free shipping both ways! Come on now, that's not bad! They even have purses, handbags, & clutches for you to select from... All $39.95 as well! They even sell inserts for all of us ladies that have to withstand a long day of Keeneland tailgates & gambling! Or even us ladies who substitute teach & refuse to settle for flats ;)

& I know what you're thinking... What's the catch? I'll be really honest, because JustFab doesn't pay me, the catch is that you have to give a card number when you sign up. You have to either choose a shoe/bag/whatever before the 5th of each month, or they'll automatically charge you $39.95 for no good reason. BUT! They send you an e-mail the first of the month, to let you know you have a brand new boutique available, & before the 5th to remind you! So if you don't want your card charged for nothing, just go to your boutique, click 'Skip This Month' & you're golden! & the beautiful thing? Just because you choose to 'skip' that month, doesn't mean you can't go back in later & pick a lil' somethin' up!

I love it, personally. I picked these little pups up last month :)

How gorgy?! I refer to the color as a 'dusty pink' & I think they are purrr-fect for some spring & summer fun!

I hope some of you ladies benefit from my little 'share night' & find some great shoes & bags!



Hope you all have a great rest of the week & weekend!
I'm off to create lists & prepare for a wedding weekend for my sweet momma!!
Pics of the festivities to follow:)
XO!!

Let's Catch Up!

I am the worst blogger lately! I have just been too busy to sit down & blog!!

But let's catch up, shall we?

First things first... My heart is breaking for my KY BBall boys! I'm still sad, 2 days later, we didn't win. BUT! I am so incredibly proud of these boys & all they've accomplished this season. It was a great season... They all grew as a team & I just want to give Coach Cal a big ole smooch for getting this program back to where it should be! It's tradition & Cal gets it!!

In honor of the game & my friend's birthday on Saturday night, yours truly hosted a little partay! There was yummy food, blue & white decor absolutely everywhere, & of course a few drinky poos! Because I've never truly had a very college-y house party, I made blue jello shots for the occasion!

Go Cats!!

The boo & his bro got their JORTS on!!

Again, I am so sad we lost, but so proud of how far the Cats have come!! Even Jay-Z was impressed after we beat UNC!!


Love him... He's so Fuh-LyyY!
But have you heard? He's evidently getting fined for being there! Because he owns the Nets, he was accused of recruiting the not-yet-draft-eligible kiddos. Psh... Like Jay Z is going to take time out of his ballin' schedule to actually go recruit.
& let's all just take note of how lucky these boys are to have this picture. Get it framed asap boys!

This week is going to be a busy one, so let me just apologize in advance for when I go bloggy MIA. My mom is getting married THIS Saturday!! Those of us in the family who are actually still left in Lex & nearby (my sister & I) are loading up the car & heading down to Eastern KY on Thursday for the event!! I will be sure to take many pics & do a follow-up post when I return!

But for now, I'm off to worky!
XOXO!!

March Madness!

I am a horrible blogger for being MIA for so long! It's all this pretty weather we've been having lately... I get spring fever in the worst way!

I really have been pretty busy... My mom & sister have been in town & have been staying at MY house for the past week-ish! My sister goes to school in Berea {& is actually already gone... She was on limited spring break time & had to go back last Thursday!} & my mom has been bouncing back & forth between Eastern KY {with my grandpa} & Illinois {with her fiance!} Lexington used to be home base for everyone... We were pretty much all here, but now it's just me! Needless to say I've been busy being the hostess with the mostest & lemme tell ya, it's a full time job.

Just wanted to pop in & let everyone know I'm still alive & kickin' & planning a catch-up post very soon! I love springtime & I feel like I get super-busy in the spring... Or maybe I make myself busy because the pretty weather motivates me to get out & go?! I haaate, hate, hate winter & I never want to leave the house during winter so the refreshing sun & warm temperatures gets this tushy off the couch without fail!

Before I go, let's all have a rousing chant together, shall we?

Ohhhhh C-A-T-S! CATS CATS CATS!!!!

{I know my KY girls can relate}

That's right bb's we're headed to the Sa-weeeet 16 & I couldn't be prouder!!
Although I will say this is about the time of year those KY boys send my heart to near destruction! I am way too obsessed with KY Basketball & the thought of us coming close to losing, ever, makes me so anxious!
I love college basketball & March Madness is neck & neck with Christmastime for my favorite season. Come on... College ball all day/every day PLUS the weather starts getting nice?! How can you not love it?!

That's all I have time for at the moment.... But you better believe I've been Listing it up with ideas for future blog topics. All to be tackled very soon!
XOXO & GO CATS!!

Check it!

Check out my sassy new title header! Just finished crafting it & I am so proud of myself! Especially since I have the patience of a 3 year old when it comes to most things techy!

In lieu of this ridiculous snow/rain mixture we're currently experiencing in Lex, complete with snow accumulation in my front yard, {absurd} I thought I would share this little gem I found that made me think of spring & summer! Despite this minor wintery setback I am still hopeful.

This is so me. I have never been the outdoorsy type. In fact quite the opposite. An early afternoon tailgate, a day soaking up sun & booze at Keeneland, followed by a trip to Harry's gorgeous patio bar is about as outdoorsy as this girl will get. I'm the girl that would fake a sprained ankle on a ski trip just to be able to sit in the cabin, with my poor little ankle propped on a cushy pillow {gotta' keep up the lie, of course} with a fire going & glass of Riesling in hand. Bo gets so annoyed with me because I refuse to bring flat comfy shoes when we go tailgating. He is the appointed purse/drink holder when the terrain gets rough & mamma needs two hands to walk;)

& as a side note... I got rid of my acrylic nails, ohhh... maybe a month ago? I decided to go to a more natural look for summer & I am struggling to grow my real nails out & get them healthy. As I mentioned above, I have the patience of a 3 year old, {unfortunately, not just for techy things!} Do you all have any suggestions for my poor pitiful nails? Trying to get them in shape because I'm tired of looking at them in such poor condition!

Spring is coming girls... It just has to be!
XOXO

WooHoo!!

Alright girls... Lemme get a "WOOHOO!" from all of you that are as pumped as I am for the return of the Real Housewives of OC!!

I love those ladies! I honestly got hooked on Bravo because of season one of this show, believe it or not. Vicky is my all-time favorite! I relate to her in so many ways & she cracks me up! I actually got in a liiiittle trouble a couple years ago because of an ill-timed 'WooHoo' @ Keeneland. But we'll save that story for another day!

In all honesty, I'm kind of glad Lynn is gone. I'm curious about her situation now, & what went down that caused her to split from Bravo {according to press & statements from her, she wasn't 're-signed' for another season... Sounds juuuicy!} but half the time, I couldn't stand her. She was a complete moron. I did feel bad for her when the other girls talked badly about her & called her stupid, I'm not completely heartless, but come on... She kind of was. Not to mention she didn't even know she was getting evicted. Really? How does that happen? I understand letting the financially savvy person in the relationship deal with the finances, that's what Bo & I have chosen, but come ON. Help yourself out Lynn! Stay informed!!

"Hello, Lynn? This is Real-Life calling. I've tried to reach you several times but you never seem to return my calls/texts/tweets/e-mails/letters/telegrams/smoke-signals/messenger doves/etc. I was just trying to let you know I'll be stopping by soon to give you a big ole' bitch slap in the face!"

Don't even get me started on those two little brat daughters she had. GAHHH they killed me. In all reality I guess it's not their fault... Their parents are really the ones to blame because they let their children get away with murder. I.E. Season 5 finale - Lynn's girls show up drunk to the end-of-season party... I don't even need to tell you they weren't 21. But the worst part? They rode in the same limo as their own parents! Lynn of course acted oblivious... Sorry Lynn, limos aren't that big.


& I'm just curious, does anyone else agree that they should definitely bring back RHONJ?


I miss them! They were the 0RiGiNAL Jersey Shore... Minus all the stupid GTL & fist pumping!

In other news...
Remember in my last post, the pic I showed of my mascara & how RiDiC my vanity was in the background? & I said it was on my ToDoList to organize?

Voila!


It still looks busy, but believe me... It's come a long way.

Brand new make-up caddy that I purchased last week {Target of course!} is finally stocked & organized to my liking!

XOXO

& the award for Crazy-Girl goes to....

I feel like I've been bloggy M.i.A! So I'm going to jump right in & share a few current events!

This is a quick pic I took earlier today.... I was elated!


Eeee! Spring is really coming!!

Also......


It has become clear that I am unhealthily obsessed with mascara. I use all of these {interchangeably of course, not all at once} & I love all of them!!
{Please disregard messy & grossly unorganized vanity in background... It's on my ToDo List.}

& now I must make a real confession. If you plan on judging me, you might want to stop reading now because this is just going to make you sick. I joined a website this week & I am incredibly ashamed.

www.ProjectWedding.com

I know. *Hangs head in embarrassment.*

Why am I so embarrassed/ashamed/etc? Because, as some of you know, I'm not even engaged. & if I am being completely honest with myself, probably not very close to becoming so. I've been dating my boyfriend for 4 & 1/2 years now, we live together, & really, I couldn't be happier with our life together. But getting married/engaged just isn't on our radar yet. We both still have school that needs finishing & grown up jobs to acquire. Our lives just aren't in the place we want them to be in order to take that 'next step'. I have no doubt in my mind that I want to spend the rest of my life with him. It gives me butterflies, makes my heart flutter, & I get a little excitably flushed when I think about marrying him & spending the rest of my life with him. I was never the type of little girl, or young woman, to fantasize about my wedding. I always knew I wanted to get married, but I didn't really ever give it much thought... I just figured it would eventually happen. But when I met & started getting serious with Bo {the boo} I was actually able to picture a wedding. It sounds so sappy, but he made the idea of marriage in my life real & not just an afterthought.

I love spring & summer with all my heart & with the warm weather, poolside lounging, & strappy sandals also comes something else.... Wedding season. I love weddings. LOVE them. I'm the crazy loon in the back that gets teary eyed & choked up when the happy couple says 'I Do'. Seriously. & I promise they're not bitter, wish-it-were-me tears! I just get emotional at weddings. I'm obviously a huge nerd. {Remember that part earlier about 'stop reading now'? Dontcha' wish you had?!}

I feel like lately I've seen TONS of engagement notifications on good ol' FaceBook. {Reason #495 to delete my own.} & a lot of them are my friends from high school... Last summer & the summer before, the weddings I attended were for friends of the boo, my own friends' older brothers or sisters... Now it's my friends! I saw one in particular & re-started my quarter-life crisis. Remember in high school, they would ask you where you saw yourself in 5 years? I'm nowhere near where I thought I would be. In a way that's ok with me because life happens at the pace it does for a reason. But seeing all these engagement notifications & getting these invites to weddings... I just can't help but think about my own life & where I really & truly believed I would be by now.

Anyway... Because I'm a glutton for punishment I was looking at rings, dresses, flowers, cakes, hair, etc. & came across Project Wedding! As it turns out, it's an awesome website if you're planning a real-life, actually-going-to-happen wedding! You can shop for your dress, your bridesmaids dresses, even your flower girl's dresses! All by style & price. Pretty convenient! It also lets you create checklists to stay on track! You can shop for invites, favors, & it even gives you ideas for songs if you're having trouble choosing your own! You can see pictures other brides have uploaded from their special day to get ideas & they maintain a blog packed full of helpful tips, creative ideas, & the latest & greatest wedding-related fluff!

My favorite part of the website though, is this nifty & fun little tool that let's you create an 'inspiration board'. {It reminds me of the 'mood board' the designers on The Fashion Show had to make to establish a theme for their collection.} It's a great way to just put pictures of ideas you have & see how everything looks together. It's my biggest fear that I'll have so many ideas for my big day that I'll end up with a hodge-podge looking wedding. This way you can see if it's cohesive & just put all your ideas in one place!

Do you even have to ask? Of course I made one of my own.


& let me just go ahead & say... I am not the type of person that needs a big, flashy, sassy, gorgeous, heart-stopping, event of the century, wedding. I love Bo so much, I would be just as happy to go down to City Hall & get married that way. Or fly out to Vegas & elope in one of those tacky little casino chapels. Our families would be ticked & kill us both, but I would be happy to do it that way as well.

I know my day will come, & it will come when the time is right for me & my life. I could sit around all day & be jealous of others, but that would just make me a bitter old biddy. So in the meantime, I'm going to focus on being happy for the people who's 'right time' is now!

XOXO

P.S. When you join the website, it asks you to 'save the date' of your wedding & it has a running countdown at the bottom of the page at all times. I have to laugh because currently it says 'Welcome Austin, 803 days until your wedding!' haha!
What? You all thought I would pick a date that was remotely soon? Joining the website is delusional enough... I'm not going to kid myself any further!

5 Things I Can't Live Without

I've been tagged & I am so excited!!! My FiRST tag ever! My girl Jess over at Polka Dots, Pearls, and Pink...Oh my! {what a cuuute blog name, right?!} tagged me! I have loved getting to know this girl through her blog... We are so similar it's ridiculous! Every time I read something she's posted I think "OMG... Me too!!" Check it out because she is the sweetest!! & much better about posting than me! ;)

So here we go! The 5 things I cannot possibly live without:

#1.


My iPhone... I am completely obsessed! I really don't know what the hay I was doing before I got my iPhone. I literally would never need my laptop if I could print from this little baby! I'm sure writing papers on it would be kind of tough, but it's possible at least! Apple has got some serious game... I'm currently debating on whether or not I want a Macbook or an iPad next!
& I have a lot of fun accessorizing it! Take a look at these ridiculously cute cases that are completely impractical but that I would totally have if they didn't cost an arm & a leg!



{Sugar Daddy?! Are you out there?!}

#2.
I don't think I have to justify this one! I think I know a few girls who can't live without our fave, Diet Coke! I seriously am addicted to it!! I really need to cut back & am trying to alternate DietCoke-Water-DietCoke-Water here lately, but sometimes, nothing hits the spot better than an ice cold Diet Coke!

#3.

My Lilly planner & accompanying supplies!
I am nothing if not organized... Check out this post & definitely this post for further explanation!
I am at a complete loss without a planner... This is the one I chose for this year, & I have to be honest, I'm not in love :( It's too tiny!! I love Lilly Pulitzer, don't get me wrong, but when I ordered it I failed to notice in the description that this was the 'pocket' size. I ordered it from a seller on eBay that doesn't take returns! How rude!! Anyway, I'm workin' with it the best way I can but will be ordering the larger size {from Lilly P's website this time!} as soon as it's back in stock! Trust me, I've been checking regularly. But! I'm making the best of it & am writing small!

Now let me briefly explain the rest... I love love LOVE office {& school} supplies! & because I failed to read carefully before I ordered my planner I use these little babies to further stay organized.
The large black & white polka dot notebook is used mainly when I'm subbing... I keep it near me at all times because when I get a sub call I have to write it down quickly! I also keep a {very cute} folder in there with all of my sub-stuff {school phone numbers, addresses, start/end times, FCPS office personnel & numbers, etc!}
The pink notebook with the white swirlys is what I use to keep my finances/expenses straight. I rely heavily on a checkbook & OnLine banking as well, {that I obsess over} but since I'm the one in the house responsible for paying all the bills I take it very seriously & like to stay organized! I keep bills that are due in here & an up-to-date list of when each is due & the amount. It's just a quick little at-a-glance list to keep me on track!
The black notebook is for almost everything else... To Do Lists, Grocery/Shopping Lists, etc!
Can you tell I'm a liiiitle compulsive about my life? But in my defense, these routines & ways of doing things, while odd & weird, totally keep me on track & make me feel calm!

#4.
Oh my gaaahhh... Please tell me y'all feel me on this one. I don't know what I did with myself before I found Hobby Lobby. Their prices are aaalways right, & I can find just about anything there!
& since we're on the topic.....

Target also holds a special place in my little shopping addicted heart!

#5.
Ok, ok... So I know we're doing 'things' here, but it's my blog & I can do what I want! So for numero cinco I'm going to say my closest friends & family! They are truly a support system for me & I don't know what I would do without them!!
I could write/post pictures for hours about that, so I'll spare you!

I spent today doggy-sitting a sweet little girl named Sam! I make up nicknames for pets all the time & will rarely call them by their given name... Why, I don't know but Sam's is Samalama, {Samantha if she's in trouble!}
She's been right by my side all day & I've loved it! We're going for a walk tomorrow if the weather turns out to be nice!

One other thing before I go...



Emma Kate {remember her from here, here, & here?} is growing up so fast I can't stand it! & in my opinion, getting cuter every single day!! Her momma sent this picture on Sunday & I just had to share! I think Boski & I are going to stop by on Thursday! Eee! I can't wait!!

XOXO