Friday, April 29, 2016

Friday Faves | Last of April

Happy Friday friends! This week luckily went by fairly quickly and it's the freakin' weekend!

favorite song


...and because I said freakin' weekend, of course R. Kelly's best song ever came to mind. Here's a little throwback for your Friday to start off your weekend right!


favorite workout


Amanda pinned this on Pinterest and I knew I wanted to start this for the month of May! I know my workout partner/sister will love this too since she claims to be working on her "pancake booty".


favorite summer looks

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Can you tell I'm super into the comfy and casual look for the Spring/Summer?!

funnies (Queen Bey version)


All hail Queen Bey, lol! But for real, who else was totally loving on her new album, so fierce and seriously such great songs that I've been listening to on repeat, thank god iTunes made it available for download :)!

Linking up with Amanda for Friday faves!

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Would You Rather | Beauty Edition

Happy Friday Eve my lovies! When I saw this beauty tag on Cara's blog, I knew I wanted to participate because who doesn't like playing games :)!



1. Wear only one eyeshadow color or only one lip color for the rest of your life?
Definitely only one eyeshadow color because I can pick a neutral that works for everything, but being stuck with one lip color is torture.


2. Live without makeup or without nail polish?
Without nail polish hands down, I would be lost and sickly looking without makeup.


3. Have dark nails or bright nails year round?
Dark nails, I feel they are more neutral and could go with a range of looks.


4. Give up makeup brushes or mascara?
Makeup brushes. I hardly use any anymore considering you can basically do everything with a beauty blender/sponge. 


5. Leave the house with an obvious foundation line or overdone blush?
Man, this is tough....probably overdone blush because at least it looks finished, an obvious foundation line is just sloppy.


6. Have no eyebrows or sharpie drawn ones?
Goodness gracious...is neither acceptable?! If I had to choose, probably sharpie drawn because hopefully I can figure out a way to use some brow powder and make it look better.


7. Go out with messy hair/nice makeup or nice hair/no makeup?
Easy...messy hair/nice makeup! Usually in the mornings I spend too much time on perfecting my makeup that my hair usually gets zero attention, if it's combed and the frizz is battled, I'm good to go!


8. Have a bad haircut or bad hair color?
I guess a bad hair color because that can be fixed much quicker than a bad haircut.


9. Be able to buy only drugstore makeup or only high end makeup?
High end makeup...seeing as how Sephora is my happy place, I could survive on high end products, my wallet may not though!


10. Spend $1,000 on clothes or makeup? 
Another easy one, makeup! I'm pretty low maintenance when it comes to clothes, definitely not a fashionista and I feel like $1,000 on makeup can stretch further than clothes.


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Now it's your turn, go ahead and answer these yourself! If you do a post let me know :)! 

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Wedding Wednesday | Signature Drinks

Happy Wedding Wednesday loves!

Today I wanted to talk about the signature drinks that A and I decided on having at our wedding reception! I wasn't planning on having this originally, but after going to the comedy club last week and re-discovering my favorite drink, we knew we wanted to. 

Of course I wanted some cute signage for the (3) bars we have so I turned to Etsy and searched for the perfect design and shop. I finally settled with shopMKcreative and I'm so glad I did. I loved the colors, design and overall look of the sign, plus she was super quick with the turnaround...not to mention the super affordable price! Instead of paying an arm and a leg for a sign to be printed and shipped to me times 3..I went with the digital print route.


I'm so happy that I got to work in a little Queen Bey in my drink name ;)! Did you guys have signature drinks? Were they individual or a couple's drink?

(I did not get compensated in any way for this post, I really did love the work the Etsy shop did and I paid for the product in full.)

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Now it’s your turn to link-up and share your wedding tales. 

Macy and I love reading all about your big day, someone else’s wedding adventures, or anything else wedding related. We just can’t wait to read all about it!

make.up.HER





Tuesday, April 26, 2016

The Man Behind The Blog

So just recently, I confessed to A that I'm a blogger...I figured I needed to tell him before I moved down there and had him become my personal assistant to all things blog related lol. His reaction was basically as expected...

Me: Soo...I have a blog
A: Oh ok, cool

That was that, he asked when he would be able to see it and I told him maybe never, he was alright with that lol. I did want to do a little getting to know A post after seeing P!nky's post about how well she knew her husband.

I took her questions and basically quizzed A, although I knew the answers to almost all of the questions it was fun to get him involved...without further adieu.


















(tsk tsk...always on his phone)


1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what's on? ESPN or CNN, probably switching between the two.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Salad?! He never would be caught dead ordering a salad.

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Pineapple surprisingly enough, although he'll drink the juice.

4. You go out to eat and have a drink; what does he order? Jack and Coke, which is his signature drink at the wedding.

5. What is his nickname for you? Babes...I know we're gross lol.

6. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Soccer or football cards.

7. What would he eat every day if he could? Chicken fried rice.

8. What is his favorite cereal? Honey bunches of oats.

9. What would he never wear? Women's clothes, lol...but really probably a necklace.

10. What is his favorite sports team(s)? Soccer- Manchester United/ Football- Houston Texans/ Baseball- Houston Astros/ Basketball- Houston Rockets...obviously he's a Houston fan lol.

11. Who is his best friend? Me obvi, but besides me probably his cousin.

12. What do you do that bothers him? I can become a bit hyper for his liking, also my cursing..he's not a fan.

13. What is his heritage? 100% Indian.

14. You bake him a cake for his birthday, what kind of cake? Chocolate.

15. Did he play sports in high school? Yes, soccer.

16. What could he spend hours doing? Watching sports, literally hours...

17. What is one unique talent he has? Gambling. Lol really he is pretty good at it, Vegas is his playground!

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Hope you had fun getting to know A some more!

Monday, April 25, 2016

Weekending | The One With My Momma's Birthday

Yipes another weekend in the books! This past weekend was seriously so beautiful and the perfect Spring-like weather, luckily the warmth seems to be sticking around for good now!! 

On Friday my sister and I took my mom out to dinner for her birthday at our favorite Mexican place! I was so starved that I chowed down my food in 10 minutes!!


Looking at this pic, I'm craving these enchiladas and the rice again!!!

I gave my momma her pretty birthday tulips and she loved them. Unfortunately they started drooping, but I tried a trick Katie had blogged about, by adding a penny that's older than 1981 and it'll straighten those tulips right up. To my surprise, the trick worked like a charm and there hasn't been any dropping since!


I was also pleased to see that I got chosen for the next #VoxBox, it's been a hot minute since I've gotten one so I'm excited to see what cool products I'll get!


On Saturday (my mom's actual birthday), we woke up and ate a yummy breakfast before cleaning up and purging a bunch of my shoes that I no longer wear. My sister and I gave my mom her birthday gift that we had gotten and she absolutely loved it! 


We got her each of our birthstones (the ruby doubles as my sister & dad's birthstones).

That evening I was my sister and cousin's personal Uber driver to and from the Justin Beiber concert. Going there was a breeze, but when it came time to pick them up after the concert it was such a hot mess and I was in a rage the entire time! I literally didn't move in the traffic for 30 minutes...never again!


On Sunday, I woke up late which was much needed! After finally dragging my butt out of bed and eating something, my mom and I set out to start some gardening. It was such an incredibly sunny day out and I was definitely sweating being out there planting marigolds and roses. I just pray that my peonies bloom this year!!! I managed to snap a selfie when we went for a mulch run.

(I was parked, don't worry)


This week is shaping up to be a busy one, we have our decorator meeting later this week and I'm excited to finally pick out all the nitty gritty details!

Linking up with Biana for Weekending!

Friday, April 22, 2016

Friday Faves

Hey lovebugs! So in case you live under a rock or haven't looked at a computer/TV/radio/etc in the last 24 hours, you probably have heard about the death of Prince. He was such a pivotal and influential musician and his music will live on for decades to come. Definitely listened to a bunch of Prince yesterday and will probably be jamming to it at work today.



I've been listening to this song on repeat, you're welcome if this is now stuck in your head as it is in mine.


Yesterday was $1 subs at Jimmy John's and I was so excited, but when I drove past one on my way to an appointment, the line was insane and out the door. I then decided to wait it out and head to get my sub a little later in the afternoon after the lunch rush and decided to drive a little bit further to a hidden store that isn't well known about. Well I lucked out because I was hardly in there long waiting for my sub and it tasted glorious!


I just catched up and watched part 1 of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion and can I just say how excited I am for part 2?! Also I girl crushed even harder on Erica after this, she's just so fierce and fab!



Now I'll leave y'all with some funnies!


I mean his hair is pretty perfect!



But seriously?!


Could not be more true, why haven't they invented the perfect hair tie?!


Every work day morning...glorious coffee!


And because this song has clogged up the radio.


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I hope all you chickens have a perfect weekend. I'll be celebrating my momma's birthday with dinner tonight and being her little minion helper all day tomorrow! 

Linking up with Amanda!

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Wedding Wednesday | Finding The Perfect Tux

Happy Wedding Wednesday folks!

This last weekend when A was in town, we made sure to head over to the tuxedo rental place to check out some styles and get measured. I had definitely allotted a few hours to get this process done with, but we literally spent 30 minutes in the  store!

We definitely had an idea of what kind of tux we wanted as far as colors, so it was just a matter of picking out the specifics with tie color, vest, etc. The rep that helped us was super knowledgeable and helpful which totally makes a difference in making sure it was an easy trip. To go with our colors and since I'm wearing the pink part, A is going with a dark navy blue tux with black lapels.


I can't wait to see how dapper he looks at the reception in this, I really like how dark the navy blue is that you can hardly tell which was a big plus with him too. When we picked all the specifics, A got measured and we were on our way. Seriously guys so much easier than bridal and bridesmaids dress shopping!

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Now it’s your turn to link-up and share your wedding tales. 

Macy and I love reading all about your big day, someone else’s wedding adventures, or anything else wedding related. We just can’t wait to read all about it!

make.up.HER





Monday, April 18, 2016

Weekend Happenings

Man is it Monday already?! How does the weekend seriously go so quickly. I definitely think this past weekend flew by because A made a quick trip for the weekend. He got in on Friday evening so after grabbing some dinner, we rented The Big Short. I really liked the movie, because it made sense of the housing market crash...definitely recommend watching!

Saturday started out with brunch with my bestie and her hubby at Honeyberry Cafe. It was such a delicious meal and even better time brunching with friends!


Afterwards we headed to the outlet mall to have A pick out goodies for his birthday gift (have I mentioned how incredibly hard and picky he is for picking out gifts for?!) After we had done plenty of shopping, we headed downtown because it was a beautiful day in Chicago, finally!!! We decided to hit up Lincoln Park Zoo along with the rest of Chicago. It was fun seeing the different animals and was totally enamored with the flamingos, they are just such beautiful creatures!!!


Then we headed to grab an early dinner before heading to The Laugh Factory Chicago



It was such a fun night and I even got to meet/take a picture with LaRoyce Hawkins who was the host for the evening. If you don't know him or think you may recognize him...he plays Detective Kevin Atwater on Chicago P.D. That is one of my favorite shows so meeting him I was definitely giddy. He was such a nice guy too and I definitely told him more than a few times how much I love the show :)! 


We capped out the night with drinks with our friends before calling it a night. Sunday was such an absolutely beautiful day outside (almost 80 degrees!!!) so we definitely wanted to be outdoors. We ran to the Tux rental place to get A measured for his tux which was super easy. Then we grabbed some lunch before heading to the airport to say goodbye until next month :(. It was such a quick, but fun little trip with him this time and it'll be his last time to Chicago until the wedding!!


After coming home from the airport, my sissy and I headed for a nice stroll around the park and just enjoyed the heat and sunshine! 


Also can we talk about how amazing the "Coachella" flower crown filter is on Snapchat?! (p.s. follow me at npat62). Love that it also matches my tank perfectly :)! 


Definitely had a blast this weekend and am bummed that Monday is here and another work week is ahead of us. Here's to hoping your coffee is strong and day goes by quickly!

Linking up with B!

Friday, April 15, 2016

Friday Faves | Currently

Happy Friday lovebugs! We've made it through the week and thank god for the weekend! A is coming into town today and this will be his last time in Chicago until the wedding (which is exactly 3 months & 1 day away!!!!!!!) I'm ecstatic for him to be here this weekend and thankful that it's going to be nice and warm, finally! I wanted to do this Friday's post differently and do a 'currently' post!

listening to


watching


I was glad to catch up with this season because the drama in just the first episode was enough to keep me intrigued. Although the second episode wasn't as "drama-filled", I do love Cameran and loved watching her become domesticated...or at least trying! Who else is obsessed with this show?

reading


Guys, I am loving this book. I don't know what has taken me so long, but I'm almost done and I just don't want this to end. I really really hope they adapt this to a movie, but I mean it's basically loosely based on Will & Kate and I just love that. 

dreaming of


White sand beaches and ocean blue waters in Mexico. We decided budget-wise unfortunately Hawaii was out of the question (because we really really want to buy a house soon), so our honeymoon will be in Riviera Maya!! I am so so excited and have already started looking into resorts and excursions. I guess the whole "surprise" thing didn't work out for A, whoops!

laughing at

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When people literally have a play-by-play of their entire lives on facebook...

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Happy Tax Day!

via
How I felt during the VIB sale, but knowing I had to stick to my budget and list...

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This happens every single time!

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Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend! Linking up with Amanda!

Thursday, April 14, 2016

FabFitFun Spring 2016 Box

Hey guys! So earlier this week I talked a bit about how I got my very first FabFitFun box in the mail. I was really looking forward to this box after seeing so many people get these seasonally. I love the fact that these aren't small little sample sized items you're getting, you really are getting great size and quality products for only $49.99 per season (get $10 off with this link). Each box is specially curated to go with the season and you can tell there is a lot of thought that goes into picking the right products.




This was the jewelry portion, this adorable gold bar necklace is from Jook & Nona (value-$65). I had been wanting a bar necklace for weeks now and was so so close to buying one, but good thing I didn't. I have been wearing this necklace on repeat since I got the box. 

The two cards are gift cards to purchase from the sites Sterling Forever (value-$30) and 31 Bits (value-$25).


I am slightly excited for this little herb garden from Makers Kit (value-$35) that is included because I've wanted to try growing my own kitchen herbs and this is the perfect opportunity. It seems simple enough, but hopefully with my black thumb I'm able to grow these babies. I will update y'all on the progress of this.


The Marrakesh Argan Oil (value-$22.99) that was included is something I am excited to use. I am a sucker for argan oil because it tames frizz and adds needed shine. 

The Jus D'Amour Bath Bomb Trinity (value-$28) has 3 different bath bombs that smell equally as ah-mazing. I don't have a bathtub right now, but hopefully in the near future when we buy a house it'll have a great bathtub that I can use these in.

The last bottle is a lotion which is meant to make your legs look even more smoother after shaving...I'm excited to try this out and pack it in my Miami bag. (value-unsure)


This skin nourishing Keratin Glove & Sock (value-$10) pack is something I definitely don't think I would have chosen for myself, but this could be a neat treat. I plan on doing this treatment before my trip to Miami to make sure my hands and feet are nice and supple. 


When I got a sneak peek into what was in this box, this ISH Contour Kit: Light/Medium (value-$32) was definitely something I was looking forward to. I love that it comes with 2 contour colors, a highlight and blush. I haven't used this yet, but definitely can see myself using these colors.


Finally, the Mat Strap Plus (value-$14.99) was included. I was honestly unsure about what to think about this. At first I was bummed because I don't really do yoga where I would need a mat strap, but after reading some more into the product, it can be used while exercising which could come in handy during resistance training, stretching, etc. Not entirely thrilled, but definitely will make do with what I got.


Overall, I am super pleased with my very first FabFitFun box. If you were ever curious and want next season's box (maybe even could snag the Spring box) use the link above for $10 off your first box! 

Here is the value breakdown of this box:

Jook & Nona (value-$65)
Sterling Forever (value-$30)
31 Bits (value-$25)
Makers Kit (value-$35)
Marrakesh Argan Oil (value-$22.99)
Keratin Glove & Sock (value-$10)
Mat Strap Plus (value-$14.99)
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Box Total: $262.98

I'd call that a pretty great value, so what are you waiting for..go get you some girl!


(I did not receive any compensation for this post, all opinions are my own. Using the above link will direct you to my link where I may receive credit.)