ALOHA

My neices Birthday party is this weekend and she has chose a LUAU theme! I can't wait.. flamingos, tiki houses, swimming, shickabobs, pina coladas and lots and lots of sunshine!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY REESE!

Beach Vacation Gear

I'm going to Florida with the BF in 2 weeks and I'm thinking...
I totally need an outfit like this for my trip.

Thank goodness I'm going to NYC next week so I can stalk up on some new gear

Summer Makeup Make Over

When summer time rolls around I love giving my makeup bag a good cleaning out and only keeping the essential summer glow necessities...
This year those include my very favorite bronze highlighter and blush from Nars. They come in a handy Blush-Bronzer Duo at Sephora for $40

I opt for the Orgasm Blush and Laguna Bronzer
(Thanks for the intro Anna!)


The best mascara EVER made from Lancome -Hypnose Drama for $25









...and some pretty lip gloss!
Clinique's SuperBalm Moisturizing Gloss is my pick mostly because it's cheap ($14), not too sticky, I can get it in J-Town and it's super light with just a hint of the perfect color (My favorite 2 for summer are Currant and Ginger)

Girl Crush!

Every since Mila Kunis was in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I have LOVED her!
I can't wait for July 22nd when Friends With Benefits comes out!
Timberlake and Kunis together = PERFECT COMBO for a fabulous night at the movies theater... and we all know I love a good night at the Movies!

Gimme S'MORE Please

Toasted S'mores Bars?
Yes, PLEASE!
These bad boys are going to be the very next thing I attempt to bake (which will hopefully happen within the next 6 months)
Click here for the recipe, I have a feeling you won't be dissapointed!

(Yes, Mandy this post is for you)

Chick Lit Mania

Lauren Weisberger NEVER disappoints - I just finished reading Last Night at Chateau Marmont and of course - it was beyond fabulous! A definite must read!

Movie Madness

Valentine's Day is only 6 days away and I believe that deserves a top 6 best romantic movies list...
1) Love Actually (Duh)
2) The Holiday (DUH DITTO)
3) Someone Like You
4) Sex and the City #1 (OBVIOUSLY - #2 was ok but for sure not to top 5 material)
5) Sweet Home Alabama
6) The Wedding Singer
This order is suject to change depending on what mood I am in while watching :)

Time to Play Catch Up

In the last year I have...
Moved back to my hometown, Jeff City (AKA Jeff Vegas) Bought a new house with B and I landed a new gig! So as you can see - some MAJOR life changes! It has been a busy year (actually that all happened in the last 6 months... impressive right? scray is a little more like it) Change is good but too much of it at once can be a little intimidating - thank goodness I've had my family and friends to help me through this super exciting/super crazy new lifestyle adjustment!

I'm Back!

OK. OK. OK I suck at blogging. Apparently, the last time I updated my blog was 11 months ago - unacceptable! I'm officially a blog-posting-loser. This time around I will post regularly - I promise (or more accurately, I promise to try really really hard) I will be a super star blogger from here on out!

Seasonal Shopping Spree

Next week I’m going to Chicago and my main goal for the trip is to do serious damage to my debit card at H&M (Chicago has the best store ever - it is 3 floors!!!)

I Hate Buffets

For many reasons but the #1 reason is because this is what happens when I go to them --- I waste SOOO much. I just don’t have the discipline to not pick up every single item that looks good.
Did I mention I took this photo after I was finished eating - this was all left over :(

Typical Tourist

I went to my first Vegas Show! Planet Hollywood’s PeepShow (don’t worry it wasn’t actually a peepshow:) actually, it sort of was and no I did not know this before I went… BUT it ended up being super entertaining anyway and hey it’s Vegas a little riskay show never hurt anyone) Holly Madison (E’s Girl’s Next Door) was the star and it totally exceeded my expectations for a real Vegas show (burlesque, dancing, singing, acrobatics, and crazy creative costumes)

Girl Time

Saturday’s road trip was totally worth it! I love these girls – we always have a great time! The boys went to some dirty bar and spent their entire day there while we ladies decided to have a little pub crawl of our own - then we all met up again and went to a really fun dinner at a japanese steakhouse --- they are the best date restaurants EVER!

I Usually Don’t Gamble..

but then I saw this --- SEX AND THE CITY slot machine! Needless to say – I dropped a quick $20 but it was totally worth it! I can’t wait for May – Sex and the City 2 is the thing I look forward to most this spring! Is that sad?

Delicious but Just Not Enough

My Parm for Adults Popsicles (AKA mini chicken balls covered in spicy marinara and mozzarella) were super tasty but I could have gone for another ½ dozen of them. I guess this is why the girls in Vegas are so skinny (this is it and it was on the entrée menu) even though they believe in anorexic people sized portions I would definitely recommend STACK at the Mirage.

Hello Sunshine

I missed you…

Typical Sunday Drive-Thru Meal?

On my Drive home from Jeff City on Sunday evening I decided Taco Bell and a Coke wouldn’t do – I needed a special treat – SUGAR and LOTS AND LOTS O’ Caffeine
I LOVE Starbucks Lemon Cake --- it is basically wedding cake that you can get 24/7

A Hard Day of Work

Me being interviewed by Exhibitor magazine at my conference I can’t wait to not wear tights everyday – just a few more degrees higher and I am tossing all my over worn tights from this fall/winter!

Lady GaGa Might be a Weirdo but…

I am obsessed with her new lipstick at MAC (Viva Glam) I used my girlfriends last weekend and it was love at first swipe. I will for sure be stopping by MAC this week to get this spring’s must lip color (at least according to me) and it is only $14 ½ the price of Chanel – SCORE

I Heart Pretty Hotels

Just check out that mirrored armoire – I want one of those for my loft

My Favorite Relationship

Is with my DVR!!! I missed you Gossip Girl and Life Unexpected! Not to mention all my Showtime series (US of Tara, Nurse Jackie, Dexter, Weeds and Californication) US of Tara and Nurse Jackie are new starting this Sunday – WOO HOO! Have you heard about Jessica Simpson’s new show, The Price of Beauty? It premiered on Tuesday and I missed it but I will give it a try next week.(9pm Vh1) I was sort of obsessed with Newlyweds!!! PS here is a picture of her on her wedding day to Nick Lache – I think it is the epitome of perfection for a wedding day do

Best Dinner Ever

Apparently I Am Too Old

When I picked up my copy of LC’s new book Sweet Little Lies guess where it was displayed… Teen Favorites – yup… was I embarrassed? YES. Was I embarrassed enough not to still purchase the book? HECK NO! I am already ½ way through and I love it!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow... You're Only a Day Away

Tomorrow is reunion time we're road-tripping to my girlfriend’s house in Springfield – she's a big girl now - she is a teacher, mother, wife and homeowner! Here we are at her bachelorette party last year – crazy fun times!

Date Night

Nothing is better than a classic dinner and movie. For dinner we are headed to Native Stone Winery (which is just about the coziest winery ever) and for our movie – I am letting B pick (sad face) some boring army movie with a conspiracy theory (Green Zone with Matt Damon) So I plan to get a large popcorn and cherry coke to entertain me during the bloody fight scenes (happy face)
PS the photo of B and I is one of my favorites that I just wanted to share (happy face)

Current Lip Fetish

Chanel Lip Stick – Rouge Coco #34 for a more matte drama color $30

Chanel Glossimer Lip Gloss – Levres Scintillantes #147 “Bel Air” for a more neutral and shiny everyday color $27

They are more pricey than most lip sticks/glosses BUT completely worth it – I got hooked on Chanel lips about a year ago and I REFUSE to use anything else now – Go ahead splurge for it – you will be pleased!

Warm Weather Fashions

Obviously my wardrobe will be filled with skirts and dresses this summer but I also want to incorporate a few staple pairs of shorts (dressy and casual)
I like these Express satin shorts - I think they could be cute with a blousy top or a cotton tee...

Nail Polish Must Have

The new Hong Kong Collection is out from OPI and I am PUMPED! I need at least these 3 colors but don't get me wrong - I would take the entire collection!
I'm Chop-sticking to My Story
Dim Sum Plum
Meet Me on the Star Ferry

Yummy

Last Week I hosted game night for some friends and as one of my appetizers I made baked brie and it was SUPER EASY and delicious! Try it!

Baked Brie Recipe

Ingredients
1 large sheet of puff pastry dough or 1 tube of refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 round or wedge of Brie cheese (do not remove rind)
Raspberry Jam, or other sweet jam

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2 On a stick-free cookie sheet, lay out the puff pastry or the crescent rolls flat; put brie round or wedge on top.

2 Spread jam on brie, fold dough over top, cutting off excess dough.

3 Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes, pastry should be golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with crackers and apple slices.

If I Had a Country House...