weekend recap Archives - Page 8 of 21

:: Manic Monday ::

April 10, 2017

I love this gigantic, two-story mosaic tile display with stingrays in the Marriott’s lobby!

I’m home after an amazing trip! It ended with a cancelled flight Saturday, checking into a hotel for Saturday night after a long day at the airport, and then another long day not getting home until 9PM Sunday night. But with all the bad travel luck so many people had the past week I can’t complain! And the week was incredible and incredibly gorgeous. I’ll have more photos from the trip this week.
Back to work and reality today, but at least my DVR is full!

Yesterday (and Saturday’s!) Travel Outfit :

// SANDALS // WHITE JEANS // NECKLACE // old topshop tank // DENIM JACKET // BRACELET FIT BIT // TURQUOISE CUFF

I was only able to see Southern Charm (Oh – Em – Gee) so good. So good is an understatement.

And the Finale of Beverly Hills, which was good, but I am excited for the reunions more. I’ll have recaps of last week and this week’s shows for this Thursday’s Coffee Talk!

Today I was going to share a few things I came across in my magazine page flipping while traveling.

For Victoria Beckham’s cover feature on InStyle they featured this Tiffany T Bracelet that is identical to the steal version I posted last week. Tiffany’s is $1,200 and up depending on the size — this one is only $37!

:: GOLD CUFF ::

Are any of you using this Simple Micellar Cleansing Water as your make up remover?

I need to switch my make-up remover, but no matter what, none seem to get EVERYTHING. I wash my face after doing the make up remover wipes, and there is still a tint of my tinted moisturizer coming off on my face towel. And my eye make-up. I need one that is super gentle so let me know your thoughts!

I am in love, love, love with this one-piece swimsuit.

:: TOMMY HILFIGER SWIMSUIT :: they have 30% off $150 right now

I also love this under $90 navy + white striped suit; such a classic print, cut, everything.
(the print blurs in the images but is super cute when you can zoom!)

:: TOMMY STRIPED SUIT ::

I read about this Tan Luxe “The Water” hydrating + moisturizing self tanner. I was very intrigued – a clear self tanner?

It claims to be transparent tanning…. the InStyle Magazine tester gave it good reviews, and it seems like as long as you’re good with applying it you are streak free with no smells or anything.

Loved this striped skirt for spring.

:: STRIPED SKIRT :: under $100 !

I had never seen a ring holder quite like this – low how fun it is!

:: RING HOLDER :: on sale for $10

The price on this Kate Spade dress is insane, but I am so in love with it! I wore Kate Spade for my rehearsal dinner and if I were engaged now and on the hunt for a dress, I know I would have walked straight up to to this dress to try it on in a heartbeat. I’m sure it’ll go on sale soon (?)

:: KATE SPADE DRESS ::

Happy Monday Everyone!
Hope you all have a great start to the week!

image via Pinterest Quote Board

weekend recap

:: weekend recap ::

March 20, 2017

view from the plane flying in

I hope you all had a great St. Patrick’s Day and weekend!
We flew to NYC to visit some of our best friends, and our OTHER two besties from Chicago flew in and surprised us late Friday night. It was such a fun weekend, and Kip’s first time to New York. Not even the cold rainy wintery mix on Saturday kept us from painting the town.

We had a great St. Patrick’s Day Friday night at a local Irish pub.
Saturday we went to China Town, where I had never gone before. Our hosts knew the perfect spots to take us and the highlight was definitely these insane pork buns. I wanted to get two more orders and stuff them in my purse to pull out the rest of the day.

Then we headed to the West Village to watch some basketball at a local bar, and then headed to a drag show! Our friends know one of the drag queens and it was an amazing afternoon hiding out from the rain. We were at Boots + Saddles, and it is about an hour comedy to start and then just tons of singing and hilarity. And crazy cheap drinks. We laughed so hard I cried! Then we headed out to dinner and out to a few more spots for cocktails.

Sunday we drove out of the city to an adorable little town called Tarrytown. It is where our friends are getting married in October! I wanted to take a peek at the venue and wanted Kip to get to see it because he is a groomsmen in one of his best friends weddings the same weekend, so unfortunately he’ll miss their big day and I will miss his. But at least he got to see the town and it was a great little activity before heading to the airport.

I always love visiting New York and every trip is always completely different and just as amazing as the last. We were exhausted and I ate a late dinner in bed while watching Big Little Lies before crashing early last night. Waking up this morning and heading to spin class was a rough one, but as always, worth it!

Happy, happy Monday everyone!!!

weekend recap

:: Weekend Recap ::

March 13, 2017

My sister, mom, and I spent the weekend in Duxbury, Massachusetts visiting my brother and his new addition to the family, Riggs!

He was such a sweet little angel man; I wanted to munch on him and his new baby smell all weekend.

We rented a VRBO in town and I am not kidding it was THE CUTEST thing I have ever seen!

It was a one bedroom little cottage that also had a loft with two twin beds. It was the perfect amount of space for us, and even with the freezing temps and snowfall, it was SO bright and sunny and warm in there. And seeing all of the snow outside from all of the windows was so pretty. If any of you are visiting that area ever and need a place, I’ll shoot you over the info because we couldn’t recommend it enough!

Between the time change, the flight, and lots of quality family time, I am exhausted and didn’t get my planned post finished up on the airplane.
I *did* finally finish The Good Girl, and I really liked it!! I would definitely recommend it!

I’m already loving the time change….. it was still bright out after 7 PM last night! Heaven!
but, unfortunately, I’m still exhausted so I am heading to bed for now….

Don’t forget about The Bachelor finale (*FINALLY*) tonight!

Travel, weekend recap

:: Scottsdale Recap ::

February 21, 2017

I was lucky enough to spend Presidents Day Weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona for an annual girls trip with friends. My friends parents have a gorgeous place right next to Old Town and despite the weather really not cooperating on Saturday and Sunday, we couldn’t have had a better time.

Friday we soaked up as much as sun as we could since we knew it was unlikely that we would be able to lay out again that weekend, and that night we headed to dinner at The Mission in Old Town. All of us loved it. We went out after dinner from there in Old Town and cruised from bar to bar in golf carts that zip you around all over! I wish I could go from bar to bar in a golf cart every weekend! Saturday we woke up to torrential downpours that had started overnight. We knew our planned hike was unfortunately not going to happen, so we hopped in the car and drove to a Flywheel Class. We were all VERY proud of ourselves for doing this 🙂

After spinning, we headed to La Grande Orange a brunch/lunch/grocer/bakery we had frequented last year and had some mimosas and brunch.

We had planned to try dinner at a new spot, but we all loved Sumo Maya from when we went previously and we all didn’t want to try anything else.

SumoMaya is not only a beautiful restaurant, with insanely amazing food, but they have a DJ and it is very fun and lively on Friday + Saturday nights! It is Asian-Mexican fusion and every thing tastes better than the last.

We went to The Montauk afterwords in Old Town for some after dinner drinks – it’s a super cute bright and summery place that reminded me of Hampton Social in Chicago.Sunday, the clouds and rain continued! Seriously. While the whole country was having a heat wave, Scottsdale had rain that it never sees and a complete drop in temps. So we went to The Sanctuary for massages and some time at the Spa. I had never been to a spa before except for one time in Mexico when a treatment was included in our stay, so this was quite the experience! We tried to make a full morning of it and spent time in the hot tub, sauna, etc.

After our Spa morning we headed to The Henry for brunch.

We had heard such amazing things and it even exceeded our expectations. The restaurant is large and BEAUTIFUL. They had a gorgeous outdoor area with a fireplace that looks like it is so fun to eat at when the weather is nicer. The bartenders were all SO incredibly nice and they made killer bloody mary’s for us. We noshed on a few things and had cocktails while we waited for our table and then ate even more once we were seated 🙂

We had to practically be rolled out of there. Our favorites : The Original Egg Sandwich was the best I have ever had, breakfast hasbrowns, potstickers, the Pastrami sandwich on a pretzel roll, Quinoa Breakfast Burrito, Truffle Fries, and seriously I think we had even more than that?? We tried to order their new special Girl Scout Doughnut but of course they had just SOLD OUT. Darn!

I knew I was going to love it because when I lived in Scottsdale years ago for work my favorite restaurant spot was Olive + Ivy, and The Henry is the same owners. (A reader also recommended North, which is part of the same restaurant group, but we didn’t have time to make it – I’m sure it’s just as delicious because any restaurant of theirs is so good!)

A friend from college was in town for the weekend too visiting her family so we went to her house Sunday night to finish off the weekend!

I hope you all had a great, long weekend.

Cheers to a short week!

Lifestyle, weekend recap

:: monday things ::

February 13, 2017

Happy Monday Everyone!!

image

Just a quick follow up from Friday’s Post :

I got lots of e-mails and comments about Bethenny and Jason, so I just wanted to say that I am relieved so many of you are as conflicted as I am 🙂
Perhaps we should start an emotional support group…..

also, I did a post Saturday with my favorite Guilt Free Chocolate Dessert
so check it out for a sweet Valentine’s Day treat!

What did we think of the Grammy’s last night??

Kelsea Ballerini is 100% Dorit from RHOBH’s doppleganger.

During her performance they were straight up TWINS.

watch part of the performance here
I like her a lot and think she is adorable.

I know I may be struck dead for saying this,

but I just don’t really care about Beyonce (and haven’t for quite some time)?

And I really didn’t care for any of her performance last night.

There is nothing more obnoxious than someone treating their pregnancy like the Second Coming of Christ.

WE GET IT. You’re pregnant. You aren’t the first or last person to carry a child. Or two.

and at the end of her peromance we MUST have a full standing ovation and 20 seconds of just everyone admiring her.

(I can hear people gasping and cursing me already….. how dare I!!!)

but enough about the Grammy’s……

I did a rare thing and went to the mall this weekend,
and it was a serious reminder why I NEVER go to the mall.

It is truly torture.

and that’s before you even think about having to try things on in those horrifyingly lit dressing rooms.

Free shipping and free returns from the comfort of my couch is ten times better.

editors note :

I went to the mall so that I could go to Lululemon to get shorts for Kip for Valentine’s Day.

I gave them to him this weekend and told him I had debtated getting him shorts from this company called Birddogs where its built in underwear and you can workout in them or wear them as swim trunks.

(Kyle from Summer House’s company)

AND GUESS WHAT HE SAID.

“Yeah. I know Birddogs.”

WHAT?!

So now I am truly wanting to order a pair of these shorts for him to try….. and I am thinking it’s because they have this cute seersucker pair that would be a cute swimsuit for him, but in reality I think it’s because I am a wee bit obsessed with Kyle and think he is hilarious so I want to support him by buying a pair of shorts. read : I am a lunatic.

But really….. the website is hilarious. There is humor everywhere you look.

On the DESIGN tab they talk about the

Ball Pouch : It contours instead of mashes, with enough room for a summer squash.

and

Go ahead. Dip your cone into these Dippy Pippy’s.

(It clearly doesnt’ take much to amuse me.)

And they offer 3 length options too so you can go as frat as you like and show as much pasty man thigh as your heart desires.

but I digress…..

so I went to the mall…..

There were a few things that I saw and loved while diverting my eyes in Nordstrom and trying not to look left or right but go straight to Lululemon to buy him his present.

I wouldn’t have looked twice at this top online – it looks unflattering and matronly,
but in person it is the most beautiful color and cut.
It was entirely sold out in the store but luckily they still have it online!

// VIVID DOT SILK TOP //

Same thing with this dress….
I wouldn’t have stopped scrolling online because you can’t see any of the details,
but in person the lace is simply stunning.

// LACE COLD SHOULDER DRESS //

This navy coat was EVERYTHING.

It looked very Tory Burch to me?

It was GORGEOUS and looks like it costs like a million bucks.

// NAVY COAT //

Directly across from Lululemon was Zara…. soooo I kind of had to take a peek.
Let me tell you, it was a nightmare.

It’s just so overwhelming in there which is a shame because they have SO much good stuff, but I was in an out as quickly as possible (except for the 20 minute line to check out. literally. couch + free shipping for the win once again).

I loved this pink ruffle top + the black and white striped shorts, but decided to wait.
The top was $50 and I wasn’t sure it was worth the price.
I did snag this floral romper that looks like a dress.

PINK FRILLED TOP // STRIPED SHORTS // ZARA ROMPER //

The dress/romper is under $50 and the detailing at the back is super cute.
It has a large key-hole opening and then a black bow.

I was trying to figure out if I could wear it with my OTK black or grey boots to dress it up for nighttime and think I like it with both?
So that’s why I have the weird photo with two different shoes 😉
I can hear my mom saying out loud “that is hideous” as she reads this already…..

// ZARA ROMPER //

Two other pieces I loved:

This navy open vest/waistcoat that will look super cute with jeans, a tank, and booties.

// ZARA WAISTCOAT //

And this striped ruffle tee.

// STRIPED TOP //

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Some Monday Motivation + Links :

I am obsessed with the show This Is Us, and I know I am not alone.

Chrissy Metz ia already down 100 pounds and uses the show as added motivation.

and no spoilers, but if her character does what they are hinting at, I will be very upset!

50 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Make Someone Happy

3 things genuinely happy people do daily

This quick 10 minute body weight workout has only 3 moves.

If you still need a quick Valentine’s gift idea for your significant other, these love books are a great idea.

I gave the “What I love About You” one a few years ago!

and 32 affordable gifts for the ladies!

Lifestyle, weekend recap

:: weekend recap ::

January 30, 2017

I hope you all had a great weekend!

We went out to dinner with friends at St. Cecilia’s in Buckhead Friday night and loved it.

Our favorite was the Cacio a Pepe pasta dish and these amazing Sticky Pear Tarts.

I’m not a pear dessert person but it was insane! The beet salad was delicious too!

It’s definitely one the prettiest restaurant I’ve been in yet since moving back to Atlanta.

and the floors were gorgeous.

Friday nights outfit :

I wore a top I recently snagged at Stein Mart for $20.

I have been finding the best stuff at Stein Mart + TjMaxx/Homegoods here.

Saturday’s Outfit :

The Theory silk blouse was a top I bought as a bridesmaid to go with a long skirt, and it is truly one of my favorite things to wear over and over again. It was not only the cutest bridesmaids outfit but the only one I actually wear again.

This notched collar blazer (similar) is getting a ton of use still,

and will definitely be coming with me to Vegas on Friday!

seriously how amazing were these bridesmaids looks?

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also… side note:
I missed the Vanderpump crew in Vegas by one week!

They were all there this weekend! Argh!

The Cupcakes + Cashmere Draped Trench that I had ordered from Nordstrom arrived and it was not a success.

It’s obviously very wrinkled in this photo, but I didnt bother steaming it because I knew right away it was a no. The material is super thin, and this was an XS but it just kind of hung and as shapeless. I’m sure Belted it would be cuter but the l didnt feel like I was tall enough to pull off the length and shape and just didn’t love it. Definitely didn’t look as cute as it had on the model. Oh well.

Kip said I looked “like a woman living in a cardboard box.”

I thought I looked more like I was wearing a lab coat. Either way, not good comparisons.

The under $25 sunnies were a much cheaper and successful purchase so it was technically a win win! I wish I had ordered the other tortoise color too so hopefully they restock, but this brown tortoise is still available.

// TORTOISE SUNGLASSES //

On Sunday Kip and I went to a Flywheel class together, keeping up with the daily workouts.

This is hilarious to me because we were a bit hungover, and even if we hadn’t been, it was never an activity we would have done on a Sunday in Chicago.

I said “you know what we would be doing right now?” and at the exact same time we said “eating.”

We went over to my moms for family dinner and time with the kiddos.

My sister made the prettiest salad and some delicious cornbread muffins with chili.

There is a trundle bed I had been wanting to snag sitting in one of the upstairs bedrooms and we finally disassembled it and took it to our place!

at this rate there will be nothing left at my mom’s house at all….. seriously.

Our “office” seems like such a waste of space to me. It gets used because I use the treadmill and then I do some blogging from the desk so that the room is used more, but I felt like the trundle bed would make it so much more useful.

Plus we already have two occasions in April where we have 4 people staying at once so just having the guest bed wouldn’t be enough.