Friday!

Happy Friday!

Or is it? We're actually, finally, moving this weekend.

I'm a little nervous for the upcoming mess/disorganization, but thankfully we're just moving up the street. Not letting myself get stressed about this one.

I'm even going out for Girls night tonight, in the midst of moving. 

Chris is pretty awesome to be okay with that, given he'll be moving stuff while I'm out.

To be fair, girls night has been planned for a month and we had no idea when we were moving...got the final word on Wednesday.

 I also don't get many girls nights, so I'm not about to miss out. 

It's just not happening!

I bet I'll have some interesting stories on Monday. Or not, because we won't have tv/internet for a few days. Hopefully one of our new neighbors has an open wi-fi network ;)

We're not totally packed but have a few days so will just be going back and forth a lot. This was my progress the other day...

Well, at least I got it all out of the cabinet. 

I usually get so stressed about these things but have had so much other stuff going on, moving has kind of been put on the back burner.

I really don't have any other pictures from the week. It's flown by. I can't believe how quickly things change. Life's pretty crazy like that sometimes.

So, this is probably the most boring post of all time.
I did buy new skinny cords, and then realized they're not too different than the color of my skin. It looks like I'm wearing no pants, so that's cool.
Good thing I don't care and am wearing them anyway.

(Cords: LC by Lauren Conrad (Kohl's), Top: Limited, Scarf: Gap, Flats: Lucky Brand)

Happy Friday loves!!! Hope you have a great weekend!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

This time of year, I just love pumpkin in anything.

These cookies are no exception! They're light, fluffy, and have the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor.

Ingregients (Yields about 5 dozen cookies):
1 stick butter
1/2 cup shortening (I use Crisco)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
3 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Mix butter, shortening, sugars, pumpkin and egg with electric mixer until well incorporated.  Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix well.
Chill dough in fridge for ~30 minutes.
At this time, I would preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Roll dough into tsp size balls (I use a cookie scoop).
Mix about 1/2 cup white sugar with 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (I made my own):
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves or allspice (I prefer cloves, but whatever you have on-hand)
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Roll dough balls in this mixture, place on cookie sheet.
Bake 8-9 minutes until slightly browned.

Adapted from this recipe

Enjoy!

Let's Rewind a Couple Days...

Can we go back to Friday?
You know, so I can have another weekend.
That'd be great.

I finally got my Birchbox. Let me just say, it's been a little disappointing lately. The samples are tinier than they were when I first subscribed. My skin is so sensitive- I need big enough samples so I can fully try out the products. If the samples are too small, I can't fully try them out, so I don't end up buying the products. That's a little frustrating.
Here's what I got...

Lulu Organics® Lavender + Clary Sage Hair Powder- I haven't used this yet, but I'll give any dry shampoo a shot!

LUNA Bar- I'm not a huge fan of granola bars (especially 180 calorie ones like this), but will definitely put this in my purse for a morning where I don't have time to eat breakfast.

Karuna Hydrating Treatment Mask - I'm really looking forward to trying this... I love a good face mask

Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentrè (24-Hour Miracle Cream)- This cream is actually great. I don't like the little packets it came in, but I could definitely see myself buying this 
cream...assuming it doesn't make my face break out the next couple times I use it.

Naked Princess Naked Shine Luscious Lip Gloss- This is the tiniest tube of lipgloss I've ever seen. I actually love the nude color, it's perfect for a neutral lip. It's not sticky and lasts a long time. I'd buy it.. except $26 for a tube of gloss? Uh, no thanks.

Moving on...
Next color from my cheap nail polish spree is this lovely gray color (NYC Sidewalkers). I've been looking for a grey polish in just the right shade and this one is a winner. It's actually done a great job of not chipping over the past day and a half. I'm pretty impressed.

The weather was gorgeous this weekend and I can't believe I still have a few peppers growing on the balcony. Isn't it a little cold for that?

Saturday night was spent with wine and Blogger. I was so exhausted from the crazy week and pretty much felt like sleeping every time we were home.

Sunday I went to the mall with my friend Katie and got a bad migraine. I felt so bad that I had to leave after just an hour of shopping. I felt so sick that I didn't even buy anything. That's when I know it's serious! After some rest, meds, heat pack, and a nap I started to feel better later in the afternoon.

This weekend should have been spent packing, because we're supposedly moving next weekend...
However, we're waiting to hear the final word. The other tenants are supposed to be moved out any day now, and we're just waiting for them to turn in their keys so we can move in to that unit. Waiting to move is just not a good situation at all. So, we didn't want to pack too much, in case it doesn't happen until the next weekend. 
Isn't that annoying?

I hope you all had a great weekend!
Linking up for Weekend Update :)

Influenster

What is Influenster?

Influenster is a community of people who review and answer questions about products and experiences. Members can get exclusive deals for products, promotions, and more!

I joined a few weeks ago and am working on a few "Expert Badges" which match my blog's focus: "Pop Culture", "Sweet Tooth", "Beauty Queen" and "Fashionista". You can earn badges and improve your score by completing surveys, answering questions, and completing reviews. You can unlock 5 badges, so pick categories you're interested in. There are 16 Expert Badges to choose from.

I haven't gotten into it too much, but I'm loving the ability to review products and give my honest opinion, as well as answer other people's questions.

So if you're interested in sharing products, experiences, and have an active social media life, head on over and see what it's all about! 

High Five for Friday!

Happy Friday!

Who's ready to get the weekend started?! I know I am.

This week was busy, but good. Actually, very good.

{1} Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

I made these for my lovely co-workers to celebrate bosses day! They were a hit. Recipe coming!

{2} Cheap nail polish shopping spree. I wanted all the colors. So instead of buying one Essie bottle, I bought 4 cheaper bottles for the price of one Essie!

The Wet n Wild is actually decent and hasn't chipped at all in the past day.

{3} We went to Chris' first work dinner this week. I'm sure this is the first of many to come over the next 30+ years. 

This is how I felt about it:

I know, it's an attractive face. I figure if you've made it this far, you should be subjected to my weird faces.

The actual dinner was okay. We looked adorable, as always. Also as always, I totally forgot to take a picture together. 

{4} It looks like we're moving soon... like fo real, fo real this time.

We thought it might be this weekend, but realistically it'll probably be next.

So... this weekend = PACKING!!!!

{5} After a few hard months, things are finally starting to look up.

I mean, everything. It's such a relief. I can't wait to share more very soon :)

What plans do you have this weekend?? 

I hope everyone has a great one!

Loving Lately: Greek Yogurt

I have a secret love that I thought I'd finally talk about.

Greek Yogurt.

Yep.

I tried it a few years ago and yuck. It tasted so bitter and way too creamy. I don't know if there are just more varieties lately, or if my taste buds have adapted to like it, but I can hardly imagine life without it.

My most recent Greek Yogurt find was Healthy Choice's Greek Frozen Yogurt, found in the frozen food aisle. 

Also, I'm obsessed with anything blueberry, but that's for a different post.

Each cup has a little inspirational note. Cute!

Greek Yogurt is full of protein and super filling.

It can also be used in cooking as a substitute for heavy cream {well, just use the plain flavor for this. Not blueberry. Obviously.}

We also like making tzatziki {really yummy Greek cucumber yogurt dip} and eating it with pita. Yum!

Just be careful and look at the nutrition facts... some varieties aren't low-calorie. My favorite low-cal variety is Dannon Oikos, Fruit on the Bottom (Fat Free)

I'm all about eating healthy food that tastes good and is filling.

Greek yogurt is totally all of those things!

If you haven't tried it, go ahead! If you have tried it but didn't like it, try another variety. You might just like it!

Does anyone else love Greek yogurt? Hate it? Have any great recipes that use it?

So, that's what I'm loving lately :)

Weekend Update!

I hope you all had a great weekend.

This weekend was pretty uneventful...

Packing, relaxing, eating, football, and scarves&boots :)

Saturday morning pancakes!

Zoya/Bevin

 Chillin.

 Gorgeous weather this weekend... chilly on Saturday and about 70 on Sunday.

This time of year is so unpredictable here, but it's beautiful.

This pasta was so yum.

So, we're not exactly sure when we're moving but it looks like it's going to be happening, hopefully before the end of the month. I can't wait to be able to sleep through a night! It's going to be amazing.

Most nights I'm up at 1am, 3:30am, 4:30am, and finally at 6:30am because of the upstairs neighbors stomping around.

Yep, that's what we've been dealing with the past 9 months.

Not fun! Needless to say, I'm more than excited to finally move to a different apartment.

How was your weekend? I hope it was great!

Linking up with Sami, Dana, and Leeann for Weekend Update :)

Friday

Happy almost weekend!

Um, this might have been the longest and most stressful week ever.

Thankfully there were some nice things thrown into this week that made things a little bit brighter :)

{1} I saw my former college roomie Katie this week! We live so close to each other and haven't seen each other in a couple months. I hate when life gets in the way of seeing good friends... especially those worth keeping :) We got fro-yo (her first time!) and of course it was amazing. I didn't get a picture, so here's a throwback from college. (I'm sure you won't mind... right Katie? ;) )

{see, I started taking outfit pics in the mirror way before blogging. ;) }

So many memories! :)

Even though we don't see each other as much as I wish we did, I<3 you!

{2} A little retail therapy...

Shirt on left: $9

Scarf: $12.99 clearance

Sweater on right: $10

all Gap Outlet

...seriously? I feel like I stole all of this. Talk about some great sales!

{3} Charm City Cupcakes.

There would be pictures if I hadn't scarfed them it down

To be fair, I did share one with Chris.

You can trust me, they were good. I'll probably be back there during lunch break tomorrow.

{4} Chris took me to dinner last night at Bobby Flay's. We went there once before and it's really good. The grilled cheese is the bomb. Again... no pictures. I'm bad this week. For all you know, I'm totally making all of this up.

After that I totally got a 10 minute massage at the mall. It was amazing.

{5} There's a new Express opening today at the above mentioned mall 5 min from my house. I thought about standing at the doors and waiting all night last night, but decided against it. I could see in the windows and it looks like a dream. I'm pretty sure all I think about lately is shopping. It's okay...I could have worse problems.

{6} Bonus: Gchat date with Leigh and Dani last night! If you don't know these ladies, you should go visit them ASAP.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Linking up w/ Lauren :)

Loving Lately: Blazers

If you've been around here before, you probably know that I loooove my blazers. 

(If you haven't been here before, then Welcome!)

I'm especially obsessed with this Navy blazer that I've worn as much as possible over the past month. Yeah, I have other blazers, sweaters, shirts, but I love this one the most. It's popped here up a couple times recently...

It's only $25 from Kohl's! I'm going back to get more colors!

You can find it here

Here are some other lovely blazers I'm lusting over...

H&M, $39.95

so many colors to choose from!

H&M, $49.95

This one has no collar which changes the style a bit but is even more chic in my opinion

The picture on this one won't show, but it's lace. And it's love.

So is this striped one. Both from Express.

So if I end up with a million blazers in my closet, the only one complaining will be Chris because we won't be able to buy groceries. At least I'll have a closet full of blazers that will never go out of style. Love love love them (is that obvious yet?)

What are you loving lately?

An update...

Happy Monday! 

I hope those of you who had today off had a great day.

I was lucky to have a long weekend but got super sick today and was pretty much out of it all day! Ick.

This weekend was full of productivity! 

Chris and I were both off work on Friday. It was so nice!

We brought both of our cars in to get some needed work done, got my emissions done, and saw Finding Nemo in 3D! I love that movie and it was totally worth it to see the 3D version.

Gotta love those styling glasses.

We also got word that we'll be able to move into a different apartment next weekend (we're been dealing with these nightmare neighbors if you don't remember). So, we started packing. It looked something like this.

Then today, we get word that it's not a final thing. In fact, we might not be able to move at all. Insane. This whole ordeal has been going on since February and we're so tired of it. Hopefully we'll be able to get things straightened out tomorrow but in the meantime the place is a mess!

I also wanted to say thank you for all your supportive comments on Friday! 

It's tough to write about the tough times, especially when you're like me. I tend to act like things are going well, even when they aren't. It's a coping mechanism and one that's worked for a long, long time.

I'm not doing that anymore. I'm not afraid to put things out there, to seek support from loved ones, blog friends, and strangers who may read this if they so choose. 

I'm sick of pretending that everything is always okay when it's not. Although I can't reveal details all the time, I really want to be as transparent as possible.

We're going through several "life transitions" at this point, and although things aren't great I'm certainly thankful for the things that are: our family, friends, and health.

Life isn't perfect, but how boring would it be if it were?

I'm a strong believer that everything happens for a reason.

And no, I'm not just saying that. Even during tough times, I always have believed that.

So if I can help someone by revealing my feelings and how I've dealt with things, it'll be worth it.

We've all got our own struggles, but we also have a lot in common.

The past few months have been trying and a huge learning experience. 

I started to write about it in this post... and mentioning it today certainly won't be the last.

So, the point of today's post really wasn't to talk about my unexciting (but nice) weekend. I'm not linking up anywhere. I just wanted to get that all out there :)

I hope everyone has a GREAT week!

It's Friday...

Happy Friday!!!

I'm so excited to be off work today and Monday, making it a 4 day weekend!

The best part....we hardly have any plans and are just going to do whatever we feel like the whole time.

I wanted to go away this weekend, but have hardly been home lately. It feels like a vacation to just be sitting on the couch. We might just do some day trips and other fun stuff.

5 of the best things from my week are...

1. Take-out sushi from Wegman's. Not only is Wegman's my favorite grocery store ever, the sushi is the bomb. And the ginger helped my stomach which has been upset all week! Win-win

2. Lots of candy. Okay, Target had a "buy 2, get a $5 gift card" deal. Naturally, we bought two huge bags. There might be a LOT of trick-or-treaters and we have to be prepared!

In all reality, I'm sure we'll just eat it ourselves

And look at that adorable glass pumpkin candy bowl! Target, $5.99

(it holds a lot of candy, too!)

3. Pumpkin Pie spice coffee creamer. I need coffee right when I wake up in order to function. I look for this every year around this time and it's so good.

4. That versatile blue blazer! It's my new favorite item of clothing. It has so much potential! (Kohl's, Elle Brand)

5. New slippers! Again... Target! $9 (on sale!)

They're so comfy and warm, and totally cute. I don't buy expensive slippers. The last time I did, they wore out the same way as cheap ones. Especially when I wear them outside and every moment of the day when I'm at home. Cheap slippers like this are the way to go for me. Do you agree?

6. I get to add something else today.

We've been through some really hard stuff lately. It's been really difficult to stay positive. It's also been really hard to keep up with blogging. I'm trying to do it all, so if I'm not around as much, don't be surprised. 

I haven't had time for original posts. I can't even remember the last time I posted a recipe. I hate that, but once my life gets back to "normal" (ha, what is that?) I'll get back with things.

I love blogging, but I had to cut down on the sponsors/giveaways this month. I hope you understand and keep reading because I truly love all of you and interacting every day!

On the bright side, things are slowly starting to look up for us and I'm taking things day by day.

I hope everyone has a great, relaxing weekend!

Linking up with Lauren :)

Weekend Update!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

We had a fun and eventful one for the most part.

On Friday we went on a Haunted Pub Crawl in Annapolis.

It was a lot of fun! 

We didn't see any ghosts...at least I don't think so!

We visited several bars and a cemetery  We got drinks at each one and our tour guide told us stories about the ghosts that haunt each building.

at the cemetary... see any ghosts? 

(that's our tour guide.. she was awesome)

After a fun night, we took it easy the rest of the weekend.

We watched some movies... including Friends with Kids and Wanderlust. I really liked them both!

Sunday was football day, so we made potato skins for the game and then chili for dinner.

(Yeah Redskins!)

Yum! It was turkey chili, so a little more healthy than regular chili.

If anyone's interested in the recipe, I can figure it out and post it (We kind of just threw it together).

It was a little spicy but sooo good. The best part? Having tons of leftovers to freeze for an easy future dinner.

Win-win!

I also got a Klout perk... Essie Stylenomics nail polish!

It's a dark green, which is currently on my toes. 

I wasn't sure if I'd like it for my fingers (green polish kind of weirds me out) but I love it as a pedi! 

I'm not posting a picture of my toes. So, here's what the polish looks like...

Linking up with Sami, Dana, and Leeann for Weekend Update!

What did you do this weekend?