A Few of My Favorite Things Give Away!

Ohhhh yes, you read that title correctly, the give away I've been working on for two months is finally done!! I'm super excited because these really are products I use and love and I can't wait to share them with one lucky fan!! Ready for a looksie?!?! I'll stop rambling and get on with it!

Here's what this Give Away includes: 

 

*Out the Door Fast Drying Top Coat*

 

*8 J'adore notecards with matching envelopes*

 

*Soft Leather Journal*

 

*Philosophy Snow Angel Shampoo, Shower Gel, & Bubble Bath*

 

*Philosophy Time On Your Hands Exfoliating Hand Cream*

 

*Gold Bow Earrings with Pink Rhinestones*

 

*Lauren Ralph Lauren Home Coconut Lemongrass Candle*

 

*Kate Spade Graham Wellesley ID/Credit Card Holder*

Kate Spade Graham Wellesley ID/Credit Card Holder & Gold Bow Earrings with Pink Rhinestones!

Back Side of Kate Spade Card Holder! 

Lauren Ralph Lauren Home Candle {what it looks like outside of the box}


Just a tidbit on why these items are my favorite! Out the Door Fast Drying Top Coat is the next best thing to visiting a salon for a gel manicure! Not to mention it dries your polish in less than a minute! It keeps your polish shiny and chip free for an entire week! It's glorious and will save you money and trips to the nail salon! * I have a drawer full of notecards and thank you cards! You can never have too many! It allows you to send a quick hello to someone or a thank you for a nice gesture! I'm all about snail mail!! * I have tons of journals floating around our home! Most of the time I use them to jot down ideas {blog ideas} when they develop randomly! I've used one for tracking my health and fitness goals and another to keep track of future goals and dreams! Every girl needs somewhere private to write her thoughts out! * Who doesn't love bows? And on your ears no less? Enough said. * I adore Philosophy products! I do apologize that I didn't purchase a more springy scent {I bought this for the give away back in January!} but it smells divine! The exfoliating hand cream will help you skip those trips to the nail salon as well! Put it on at night and you will wake up with the softest hands ever! * I had to throw in something by Ralph Lauren {bet you didn't know I was named after him}! These candles smell absolutely amazing and will invigorate your entire home! I love the monogram holder that you can reuse once the candle has burned down! It's a class look you can't beat! 

So.... are y'all ready to enter?! Just follow the RaffleCopter rules below!!! Good Luck and have a glorious weekend!!!!!!! XoXo!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Weekend Recap!

Here we are, staring Monday straight in the face, again! Have you noticed how we all seem to live for the weekends?! Counting down the days starting on Monday, complaining how the week is so long and then moaning and groaning about the weekend flying by?! It's sad that we seem to live our lives for the weekend! Buuut why wouldn't we?! It's two days that we have off to jam in all kinds of "to-dos" "must-dos" and fun stuff! I want to try harder at not wishing my weeks away just to get to my weekend! Wishing it away is wishing time away and quite frankly I would like it to slow down just a bit! It's already the mid to latter part of March! Didn't we just celebrate New Years?! Anywho, enough of the serious philosophical thoughts... what kind of St. Paddy's Day shenanigans did y'all get into this weekend? Me?! Buying Bailey's Irish Cream flavored Irish colored French Macarons were about as crazy as I got for St. Paddy's Day!

Friday evenings for us, are usually relaxing nights in! We eat dinner at home, sip wine {for me} and beer {for the hubs} and chill out from our hectic weeks with the pup in front of the TV! This Friday was no exception, though I did grow a wild hair up my rear and decided it was time to tackle the daunting task of cleaning off our office desk. I kid you not, when I say, that there were bills {that have been paid, just needed to be filed} piled up on the desk since before Christmas! Ugh please don't judge! I've been procrastinating on buying a file cabinet and instead of putting everything in their designated folders, I've been piling it up on the desk! Well, I decided to pull out the folders and file it all away. While doing so, Baby Reef decided it would be a grand idea to nap... right in the middle of all my files. He even was brazen enough to move some folders and papers out of his way so he could make room for his napping spot! Silly Silly boy!

Baby Reef in the midst of all my organizing and filing! 

Saturday we slept in which was glorious since we had a morning rain shower come through and it was incredibly grey out. When we woke up, the sun was trying to peak through and the hubby headed off to baseball practice! Meanwhile I decided to accomplish a few things outside of the house since it was turning into a beautiful day! I packed up the car with stuff that has been taking over our dining room to donate to Goodwill and I grabbed my Tory Burch's and a pair of hard worn heels to take to the cobbler for some sprucing up and repairs. Mind you, I've never been to this cobbler, or any cobbler for that matter, and I wasn't sure if they would be able to fix the heels or my TB's. When I walked in the man at the counter stared at me intently, making me feel really uncomfortable. I explained to him that I had never been to a cobbler before and I wasn't sure if my shoes were fixable. He didn't say anything, just kept staring. At this point, even with how uncomfortable I was feeling, I felt I couldn't just turn around and leave. I pulled the heels out first and he paused and looked at them and said they weren't fixable; fine I'll just buy another pair. I then pulled out my TB's and explained that they were very special to me, and I just really needed them spruced up if that was possible. Meanwhile he is STILL staring and looking at me as if I am ET, himself. He took the shoe and said "I can polish them". At that point I was so eager to get out of there, I said OKAY, gave him needed information, took my ticket and ran! Once I got in the car all I kept thinking was I hope he doesn't hold my shoes hostage or something... I should've never left them with this dude! I mean he was just creepy. Thank goodness Baby Reef was tagging along in the car to help with my anxiety attack I was having! I will give the guy some credit! They did a nice job polishing them and they look very much to being almost brand new!!! I plan on taking them to another cobbler the next time they need some attention as to avoid the creepy guy, though. I'd rather not deal with the unsettling feeling again!

Once I dropped my shoes off, I headed to the grocery store to pick up some bread for the appetizer I was making for my best friend, Tatiana's birthday celebration later that night! Then with the windows down, music up, and a doggy hanging out the window, we headed to Goodwill! We dropped off quite a few things and I was immediately relieved to see it go! It was causing too much clutter in the house and needed to go months ago! I'm still purging and organizing so this will not be the last trip but knowing this batch is gone helps relieve some of the purging stress I have right now!

After dropping off the donations, Baby Reef and I headed into Old Towne Portsmouth to visit a local bakery, Artisans Bakery! I had inquired on their Facebook page last week if they sold French Macarons and they informed me that they would have St. Paddy's Day themed ones this weekend! They then commented to me Friday saying they were available for purchase during the weekend! I'd never been there before so I was really excited! Seriously.... cutest place ever! It's a full service bakery/cafe in a historically built home! Absolutely adorable and I can't wait to go back and grab lunch sometime, coffee, and more macaroons! I bought a dozen of them to take to the birthday party later that night! They were green, orange, and cream colored and Irish Bailey's flavored! Annnd they were tasty to boot!

Bailey's Irish Cream Flavored St. Paddy's Day inspired French Macarons! 

When we left there with the goodies we headed to Starbucks so I could use my gift card towards a Chai Tea Latte {my favorite!}. Once Baby Reef said his hello's to the Drive Thru girls we headed to an older neighborhood in the area to check out homes for sale! I love love love the Old Towne area with it's historic 18th century homes and gorgeous architectural buildings! I would love nothing more than to buy a home {renovated or we renovate ourselves} from the early 1900's! They have such character and charm and contain so much history! It's just difficult to find these houses in safer areas and in good school districts. Nonetheless it was really nice to just cruise with the pup and look at the beautiful homes!

Later, once we were all spiffy and ready to go, the hubby and I headed out to Tat and Kevin's house! Tat decided she wanted to have a "wine/cheese tasting" birthday celebration and she did not disappoint with the spread! Lots and lots of artisan cheeses, salami, nuts, olives, fruit, french breads, and even dark chocolate and of course more than a few of yummy wines for us to try! After all the girls caught up with their girl talk in the kitchen, we joined the the guys for a game of LCR. If you don't know what that is, check this out! I had NEVER heard of it but -oh my lanta- how fun! I'm not much of a gambler so it's not something I think would play ALL the time but it was definitely a good way to add some innocent fun to a party!

The Birthday Girl!

The amazing spread! 

Some of the delicious wine!

Tat and Kevin's sweet puppies Bosley and Kenya! They just so happen to be brothers and are the sweetest little souls! 

LCR

Tat and I have an appreciation for some of the finer things in life and we share an obsession for Louis Vuitton and Christian Louboutins! We also share an unhealthy obsession with Paris too! Neither of us have a pair of Louby's but we often chat about buying our first pair one day! Because we share this love, I haaaaad to buy her this wine bottle holder {this isn't the exact one but very similar}! She loved it and I told her that was the closest I could get to giving her the real deal!! I hope when we both can buy our first pair, it's an experience we can have together! And yes, it is that serious when it comes to Louby's and LV!

I had to but the polka dot gift wrap paper! 

Yesterday we did absolutely nothing! And when I say nothing, I really mean nothing! The weather was grey and damp all day which made if difficult to get motivated! I did manage to watch Why Did I Get Married? and Why Did I Get Married, Too? on TBS! I have to give Tyler Perry credit... he makes some movies that really pull at your heart strings! I haven't seen all of his work, but the ones that I have seen always move me, usually to tears, but they do make me laugh too! I did give myself my weekly manicure as well, but other than that and watching the movies, we literally did nothing!

My manicure - Essie Pink Lemonade 

How was all of your weekends?!?! It felt good to be somewhat productive on Saturday! The winter weather has a way of making me want to stay in bed under the covers so it was great to get out in the warm sunshine and accomplish some things! Hope everyone is having a stellar Monday so far! XoXo!

Divan, Divine, It's Really All the Same!

Remember last week when I told you here, that I finally decided to crack open the recipe box I received at one of my bridal showers {nearly 2 years ago} and give some of the recipes a go?! While meal planning last week and picking out the Honey Chili Salmon recipe in the box, I decided to try another one in the box as well! Sharon, who has been like a big sister to me practically my whole life, gave me this recipe for Asparagus Chicken Divan, in which now I am crazy excited over it, because it was a huge hit! While she mentioned that the leftovers weren't that great, I thought they tasted just as well for my work lunch the next day! None-the-less the recipe was easy and perfect, yet again, for a quick and easy week night dinner {y'all know I'm all for that}! You should definitely give this one a shot!

The Recipe Card

What You Will Need:

Nutmeg-Whipping Cream-Mayonaise-Asparagus-Chicken- Parmesan Cheese-Cream of Chicken Soup-Worcestershire Sauce

1 pound Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts 

2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed {I only used a pound}

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

3/4 cup mayonnaise

Directions:

 

Broil chicken 4-6 inches from the heat for 6-8 minutes on both sides or until juices run clear. 

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, bring 1/2 inches of water to a boil. 

Add asparagus. 

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender.

 Drain and place in a greased shallow 2-1/2 qt. baking dish. 

Cut chicken into thin slices. 

In a small bowl, combine soup, Worcestershire sauce and nutmeg.

Spread half over asparagus. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. 

Top with chicken. 

Spread remaining soup mixture over chicken; sprinkle with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. 

Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. 

Fold whipped cream into mayonnaise; spread over top. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. 

Broil 4-6 inches. from the heat for about 2 minute or until golden brown. 

Serve alone or over brown rice {as I did}!

I really do enjoy cooking and finding recipes that work with our schedule and tastes! I know I sound like a broken record but I love recipes that don't require a lot of prep time or cook time for our work week! I also enjoy using our slow cooker, especially on gym nights! Are any of you fans of Chicken Divan?! This was the first time I had ever had it and had no idea it was actually a pretty popular "casserole" dish that is normally made with broccoli! Learn something new everyday right?! 

Have a glorious Monday my darlings!!! The weather seems to be improving this week and I am loving the warm temperatures and the shining sun! It's good for the soul! 

XoXo! 

Four Favorites - Link Up!

I'm linking up today with Let it be Beautiful and Fancy Things for the four things I am obsessing over this week! It's a random mix of awesomeness that I think y'all will be obsessing over too! Allow me to just cut to the chase!

Macaroon Ring Box*Jennifer Lawrence*Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pastry Crisps*Fascinators

1. This Macaroon Ring Box! How flipping precious is this?!?! And what a fun gift they would make for your gal pals! I'm simply dying over their cuteness! Ordering one is definitely on my agenda. Now, if only I could decided on what color to choose?!

2. Jennifer Lawrence is most definitely my girl crush! She's actually been a girl crush of mine since I watched her in The Hunger Games back in October! She is so laid back and humble! I love love love her Hollywood innocence! She really has no idea how huge of a star she is and I believe her fabulous gold man won't even allow her to realize that she's made it to the big leagues! Love the girl! She can do no wrong in my book! And falling while walking up stairs?! It makes me love her even more! She's real and honest and flawed and she's not afraid to admit it! She is genuine to the bone. What's not to love about her?!

3. Kellog's Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pastry Crisps. I am a huge fan of Pop-Tarts but they are not the most healthiest treat to eat! My most favorite flavor is Brown Sugar Cinnamon and I literally jumped for joy in the middle of Harris Teeter when I found this box of Pastry Crisps next to the Chocolate flavored ones I was looking for! I feel like I've hit the jack pot! Brown Sugar Cinnamon 100 calorie pastry treats that taste JUST LIKE POPTARTS!? Talk about guilt free!!! Pick your own up at your local grocery store!

4. I've always loved the English. The accents, the Monarchy, and the hats! I would love nothing more than for American women to start wearing hats and fascinators to formal events and not just the Kentucky Derby! I'm starting the trend or at least trying too by wearing one to the YAAA! event on Saturday! I can't wait! If you love fascinators and hats as much as I do, you should start wearing them as well! Take photos, lets blog about wearing them, and start the American trend!!!!

Have a fantastic Hump Day my dears!!! Just think, half the week is already finished and we have half to go until the weekend! Wooohooo! XoXo!

If you missed my post yesterday please take a read of it here! We are still accepting donations and would love for you to assist in helping us raise money to help find a cure for Alzheimer's! Follow this link and just click on the green donate button! 

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Truth be told I really missed you all yesterday! I hope you were able to head over and check out the guest post and learn about some great spots to visit while in my neck of the woods! Now that is Wednesday you all know what it is on the agenda for today - WILW!

1. The Return of White Collar! Thank you Jesus! Enough said. I am so ecstatic that my Tuesday night dates with Matt Bomer have finally returned! Did any of you watch this?! Not going to be lie, but at the end of the episode when Neal becomes overwhelmed with emotions and starts to tear up, yea well I teared up too! Nothing worse than seeing a man cry!

2. Not having to cook dinner for two nights in a row! As much as I love whipping up meals in the kitchen, sometimes it is nice to come home and just relax! Gym nights are usually easy meals, but Monday we opted for left overs or whatever was quick. Last night, the hubby had an evening meeting at work and he gets the perk of having dinner provide. Me? I had a sandwich, which was perfectly fine with me!

3. Replacing picture frames to match our library/office decor. If you read regularly and/or follow me on Instagram, you know that I have been working on redecorating our home office. I want it to be somewhat masculine like a library but incorporate some feminine touches. Since I am going for a French decor theme with golds, browns, silvers and creams I decided to replace current framed photos with appropriate ornate frames! It's turning out to look really great and I can't wait to replace them all, move furniture around, find a large cream area rug and add a few more pieces to the room! If I was smart I would have taken some before photos but you can see from this photo that the large 16 x 20 frame are the types of frames I am replacing!

Yea, photo quality is crap... I really need to buy my new camera! 

4. One of my Christmas presents shipping out today! Yes, you read that correctly! The hubby ordered one of my most wanted gifts off of my list before Christmas, however he missed the cut off date to have it delivered for Christmas day. Totally fine in my book - I had plenty of other awesome gifts to open that morning! The order status for the last two weeks has read that it has been 'waiting to be shipped' so we've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting. Finally after enough waiting, we inquired with the company about the status and they informed us it is shipping out TODAY! I can't wait to show you all what it is!!!

5. Strongbow - England's Dry Cider! No I have never been to England but I do enjoy English beverages, including tea AND Strongbow! I am not a huge beer drinker. Actually I am not a beer drinker at all except for cider beers {which are actually considered 'Apple Wine'}, including WoodChuck, Strongbow, and BoldRock! Funny story though, my baby sister used to date a boy from England and he informed us a time ago that Strongbow was actually the Natural Light of English Beers! I don't know how accurate that is considering I have never been there but regardless I enjoy it! There is a nice six pack in the fridge as I type!

I'm hoping you all are having a stellar Wednesday! Baby Reef is at doggie daycare today, I'm going for my 2.5 mile lunch time powerwalk {in 32 degree weather...yuck}, and will be ending the two day cookless streak with a homecooked meal this evening! Oh yea and I'll throw some work in there somewhere too! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for my Sponsor Thursday and get to know a new friend!!

Friday's Letters!

Has anyone else noticed this week was a bit slower than the usual or was it just me? It may have been all the Holidays off that spoiled me with three and four day work weeks. A girl can get used to that... and well... this girl did get used to that!

Via

Dear 1 hour weight session last night at the gym, Thank you for allowing me to wake up with jello for arms! I couldn't even lift my toothbrush to clean my pearly whites and I had a really difficult time slapping on my makeup! If anyone sees me today and notices I look like a clown, it's because I started crying while blending and gave up trying to raise my arms to finish my makeup application! Dear Hubby, when have I ever brought a basket of unfolded clean clothes upstairs and set them in the hallway? Never. So why would you assume the basket of rumpled up clothes in the hallway were clean? Thank you for making me rummage through my dresser trying to determine which clothes were dirty and thank you, my love, for making me laugh endlessly when you tried to blame it on me! Oh how I love you and your humor! Dear Weekend, I am really looking forward to you and the warmer temperatures you are bringing! I see organizing, cleaning, redecorating, antiquing, thrifting, and even possibly beach going with Baby Reef in the plans! Dear Brent Musberger, I don't believe you were out of line, what-so-ever, for accusing Katherine Webb of being BEAUTIFUL! What female wouldn't want to be referred to, on national television, as beautiful!? You were only stating the obvious and I am appalled at the backlash you have received for such statements! If Katherine has declined your apology and sees nothing wrong with what you stated, than the rest of the world needs to get over it! What is with the general public these days? Damned if you do, Damned if you don't! You can't even say something nice or compliment anyone anymore! Lastly, who cares if you said it while commenting the game, Notre Dame was having their behinds served up on a silver platter and your comment was more exciting than the umpteenth touchdown Alabama scored. Keep being a gentleman! It's definitely more becoming than the douches that complained about your comment! Dear Flash Sale Websites {Joss&Main, OneKingsLane, HauteLook, GroopDealz, etc.}, You make it really difficult to save money! Each day your little daily sale e-mails appear in my inbox AND they always contain something I'm looking for! Like Vintage French Decor, a Sideboard-Buffet, sexy kitten heels and the perfect accessory to complete ANY outfit. Not to mention all the little extras that I sit and drool over! Maybe if I wasn't having so many taxes taken out of my paycheck, I'd feel less guilty about buying all of these awesome finds!

All my loves, I hope you are having an extra fantastic Friday! I'll leave you with this photo I found yesterday of my man, Matt Bomer and Ian Somerhalder at the People's Choice Awards Wednesday night! Considering these two are rumored to be in the running for Christian Grey, which would you prefer!? Y'all already know where my heart resides.... Oh Mr. Bomer. And while I'm at it, did any of you by chance see the confirmation of the rating the movie will carry?! I'm going to have to have y'all research that for yourselves as typing it out makes me blush!

Via

Under the Tree for Me!

Here are a few things that I'm hoping Santa brings me this Christmas!

A monogrammed necklace to adorn my neck!


Order Here

All past seasons of White Collar {So I can watch Mr. Bomer anytime I want}!

Order Here

The Remington Large Curling Wand! I tried the mini one and it works wonders, however for my long hair I think the large one would be easier!

Order Here

 A glass engraved jewelry box with my married monogram! There is something so classic about this and I know it would look beautiful on my dresser!

Order Here

Two of these Bergère chairs for our home office!

Order Here

I haven't asked Santa for much this year but hope he comes through with a few of these items!

Happy Thursday loves! XOXO! 

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I was so surprised with how many bloggers actually participated in yesterday's Blogger Day of Silence in honor of the precious children and victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy! There were sooooo many of us who participated and I am so proud of the blogging community for this! Healing will happen, one step at a time, one moment at a time, one prayer at a time.

Found here

Now that I'm back to blogging full time, I could not be more excited to get back to WILW! Ready to see my list?! Me too!!

1. All the thoughtful phone calls, texts, blog comments, instagram comments, and facebook posts I received Monday, in honor of my 28th birthday! I felt so loved and appreciated by all of you and I am extremely grateful for everyone who thought of me on my special day!

2. The plans to purge and redecorate our home after Christmas! I adore our home, but much of our decor followed us from our apartment that I first moved into 6 years ago. To say my tastes have changed is an understatement! I'm planning on going a more classic route with french influences speckled throughout! If you follow me on Pinterest, you'll see a whole board dedicated to 'New Home Decor'. Purging is a necessity! We are at max capacity in this house and if I receive one more knick knack I may just flip!

Found here

3. My continuous effort to gain more experience in PR and Marketing to land a new job in the future! About a month ago, I finally decided I needed to beef my resume up to appeal to hiring managers and companies in the PR and Marketing field. Yes, it's what I majored in and studied in school, but they don't care about that! They want the hands on experience... and... well... I'll be the first to tell you, landing a job without the experience is nearly impossible! After mulling over ideas I finally decided I would volunteer my extra time {what extra time?} and help organizations/ companies with PR and/or marketing work! I just finished working with VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads on a campaign to help them win a $7,000 grant! Unfortunately, I floundered! Or at least I feel I did as they won 4th place, however, they did win a $2,000 grant so I assume that is better than nothing at all! I plan to continue to help them when I'm needed! I am also currently in the process of helping a local photographer as her acting PR representative. I have a lot of research and work ahead of me but I am looking forward to working with her! Lastly, starting in January, I will be helping the PR division of YAAA! Hampton Roads {Young Adults for Alzheimer's Awareness}. I know I will be extremely busy in the next few months but I am looking forward to it because I know the outcome will be more than my little heart desires!

4. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge expecting!!! I know this news is a few weeks old but holy moly I am so excited for them!!! While I do wish they had waited a wee bit longer {so her and I could be pregnant together} after watching TLC's A Royal Baby Story I have a new understanding of the pressures they are under to produce another heir to the throne. I think for American's it is difficult to totally comprehend the monarchy, their traditions and expectations. Ultimately it is Will and Kate's decision and I think they are perfectly capable of making the decisions that are right for them! I know having a boy is preferred but I secretly {not so secret now} hope they have a little girl! It doesn't really matter what they have because of the rule change that even if it's a girl she can still take the throne! Girls rule and boys drool!

Found here

5. The world Darling! I seriously believe I am going to make this my new favorite word, next to Fabulous of course. What is it about Dah-ling? It sounds sophisticated, endearing, eloquent! Classic as it gets! I do believe hunny is being replaced with Darling... asap! Now if only I had the English accent to accompany this beautiful word!

I hope you all are having a wonderful week so far! I've been busy starting and finishing up Christmas shopping! I have already promised myself that I will not wait this late next year! WIll NOT!

XoXo my Darlings!!!