Latest Obsessions

Oh hey everyone! It's me. You know, that girl that used to blog every.single.day and just fell off the face of the earth. I know, I've been a bad blogger. I keep on telling myself I'll get better and start blogging again, but it just hasn't happened. I guess you could say I'm in some type of blogging slump. Lately, all I have been wanting to do when I get home from work is snuggle up with the nugget and watch The Glades (which I've watched almost two seasons of in a matter of days...)

Part of the reason I started this blog was to share with you all some of my current obsessions, hence the tag line. And since it's been a century and a half since I have last done so, I think today would be the perfect time.

{Similar Here}

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw this picture I posted last week of my new favorite maxi skirt. I found this bright fuschia, chiffon overlay maxi skirt with a side slit at Nordstrom Rack a couple weekends ago and fell in love. I'm pretty sure I could wear this outfit all day every day. The semi-sheer skirt gives it an edgy feel. I might just go back and buy this skirt in every color they have!

{Here}

Am I the only Northern girl who loves a good monogram? I've been obsessing over the Marley Lilly website, basking in all of it's monogrammed glory. The only problem is I'm in that awkward "what monogram should I get?" stage. I could get my initials, J.A.S., but that S is going to be turning to a B really soon. But, since the wedding is only 3 months away, I decided it wouldn't be too weird to get my soon-to-be new monogram. And this mason jar?! I think I might start carrying it around with me.

{Here}

When I opened my May Birchbox to find another Miss Jessie's sample, I jumped for joy and cried at the same time. If you're a curly hair chick like myself and you've tried Miss Jessie's, you know why I was so happy and sad at the same time. Miss Jessie's makes, hands down, the best products for curly hair, but they cost as much as your first born son. You really expect me to drop 35 bucks on a tube of curl cream? Once, I tried the Jelly Soft Curls sample, I was in love. It gives me the hold I need for my fine hair but doesn't leave my curls crunchy and crispy like every other gel. And the best part? It's only $14! Sure, $14 isn't exactly cheap for gel, but compared to $35, I'll take it.

Well, I can't talk about my latest obsessions without talking about Riley now, can I? I'm pretty obsessed with this little pooch. He's been keeping me pretty busy lately, driving him back and forth to the vet at least once a week. The nugget had a respiratory infection that turned into pneumonia. But don't worry, a couple rounds of antibiotics and turning my bathroom into a sauna for him, the little guy was deemed healthy by the vet last night! He's quite the fighter and pretty darn spunky. He's quite the chunker too, weighing in at a whole 3 pounds 4 ounces. And if you're wondering how housetraining is going... it's been better.

Honeymoon? Check!

Yesterday, Justin and I booked our Honeymoon! Our budget is super tight right now and I was afraid we weren't going to be able to afford a tropical Honeymoon like I had wanted, but thanks to Groupon, we found an amazing deal! We'll be spending 7 nights in Playa del Carmen, Mexico!


The Reef Coco Beach Resort -- where we'll be staying!

 I couldn't be more excited. Playa del Carmen is my favorite place to vacation in Mexico. I've spent a couple of vacations in Playa del Carmen with my family and with my girl friends on my Senior Spring Break. It's the perfect vacation spot! This will be Justin's first time traveling to Mexico and I can't wait for him to experience it.

Since booking our Honeymoon, I haven't been able to stop thinking about all of the must-have vacation items I will need to pack!

My Must-Have List:

 

*A large assortment of bikini's, since it will be my main form of clothing. I prefer to bring a couple bottoms that will go with many tops. The less you have to pack the better. Ain't nobody got time for luggage fees!

*Oversized sunnies. It's important to protect those eyes when you're out lounging on the beach all day -- and look stylish while doing it.

*Neutral sandals and wedges. Again, the less you have to pack the better. Packing a couple pair of shoes that match every outfit is key.

*Sunscreen and lip protector. The Mexican sun is intense! Even though I tan very easily, I always wear 30 SPF. It's also important to use SPF on those lips. Crusty-crusts are not attractive.

*A carry-all beach bag -- for the obvious.

 

What are you vacation must-haves?

A Lesson To Learn From Children

This week at Head Start, our classrooms are participating in the St. Jude's Trike-a-Thon. The Trike-a-Thon is a week long event dedicated to bicycle safety, as well as, an opportunity to raise money for the children at St. Jude's. Since we are a Head Start program and 90% of our families live at or below the poverty line, I did not have very high expectations for how much money we would raise. Regardless of that, it was still going to be a great opportunity to teach our children that there is always someone less fortunate than us that we can help.

Our goal for the Trike-a-Thon event was $200 and you can imagine my surprise when a child turned in her donation packet with a check for $160. A four year old raised $160 -- five of those dollars being from her own piggy bank. I couldn't help but tear up. She took to heart the lesson of helping those less fortunate.

So far, the children have raised close to $300 and I couldn't be more proud of our babies! It also got me thinking about how reserved I am with donating my money. If these families who are living paycheck to paycheck find even a few dollars to donate to the cause, why am I, a young professional making a good living, so quick to find any reason as to why I can't "afford" to donate?

Now, this doesn't mean that I need to give $160 a month to a charity I believe in. And it doesn't mean that I only need to give monitarily, because giving your time is just as important. But I do want to be better about supporting other organizations outside of the one I am working for.

I've been blessed beyond belief with the life I was born into, and I never forget that. That is why I chose to become a Social Worker and give my life to serving those less fortunate. I need to be better about giving both my time and my money. If a child who has nothing has the ability to give so freely, I have the ability to do the same.

So, I challenge you all to do the same. Give freely. Find something, a charity, an organization, that you're passionate about and donate your time or your money -- or both. Sometimes we think that our little contributions aren't making a difference, but they are. Even if one life is changed for the better, it was a success.

I'm A Hoarder

You guyssssss.....

Something really sad happened recently. I found this gorgeous orange/red Essie polish at the store and was so excited so get home and slap it all over my fingers. I got back to my lovely {actually really disgusting} apartment, turned on the Real Housewives of Orange County, and then it all hit me.

Don't I already own this color?

Why yes, yes I did. That's when I was forced to come to terms with my nail polish hoarding. I own 19 bottles of Essie polish. Which I think means I need one more to make it an even number, right? If the fact that I own 19 Essie polishes doesn't make you question my sanity, then the fact that those Essie nail polishes are only a fourth of my polish collection should. 

But, since every girl needs a good polish collection {in my opinion} I thought I would share a few of my favorite Essie colors.

Play Date

Hip-Anema

Butler Please

Stylenomics

I could keep going on with my favorite Essie polishes, but then before you know it, I would have listed all 19. I think it's safe to say I need to seek nail polish counseling. Any recommendations on a good therapist?

What Essie polishes are your favorite?

Happy Wednesday!

They Lie About Wedding Planning

You know how every says, "Wedding planning is so much fun! You get to make all of your fairytale dreams come true... blah blah blah." Well, guess what....

They all lied.

I know I'm not the only one who has come to hate wedding planning. Maybe if you're one of those lucky real life princesses who has all the money in the world for the most extravagant wedding planned by an uber organized wedding planner and you don't have a daily 9-5, you might enjoy wedding planning. But for the 95% of us who live in the real world....it kinda sucks!

Now, don't get me wrong, I am so so soooo excited to get married to my best friend, but this whole wedding planning stuff is stressful. So stressful, in fact, that Justin and I have been procrastinating like none other. I mean, hello, we're getting married in less than 4 months and we still haven't locked down a DJ!

I'm sure it's obvious that on my social work salary and Justin's baseball coach salary, we're as poor as poor can be. And while we're planning on a budget and getting pretty great deals, this shiz is still expensive. If I didn't hate planning so much, I would definitely become a wedding planner.

While we still have a lot of planning and little details to attend to, my top priority at this moment is booking a honeymoon in Mexico... a must. Who cares if the wedding looks a hot mess, at least we'll be soaking up the sun in my favorite country, afterwards. Well, and of course, we need a place to live after the wedding. I guess that's pretty important.

The one thing I've learned during this whole wedding planning ordeal: We plan weddings to impress those we invite. Since when do we need to have an extravagant party worth thousands of dollars in order to celebrate love? I don't need to spend $8,000 on food to make my wedding day the happiest day of my life. The amount of pressure 'society' puts on a bride to plan the perfect wedding just proves how much importance we put on materialism. While it is important to me for my guests to have fun and enjoy their night celebrating mine and Justin's marriage, I'm not going to spend a ridiculous amount of money. Those who will be attending our wedding will be there for the right reasons, and those who aren't... well see ya.

So all of you brides-to-be and wifeys, your advice is needed. With less than four months to go, what do Justin and I need to know in order to make the rest of this planning smooth sailing?

Happy Wednesday, lovlies!