Post- 21 month break.

Hiiiii.

Life has been FLYING by since the last time I posted in February 2014. I now have a fulfilling, wonderful job, can’t complain or stress about the same people/things that used to hold me down, the bf is doing great, the kittys are excellent as usual, and I am all around in a much better/happier place than ever before. 🙂

I miss sitting down in my own little world and typing out blog posts, so I think that perhaps I shall come back to this. I still love my subscription boxes, products, sharing fun ideas, eating + taking countless food porn pics, organizing, and all my other weird tendencies hahaha- SO I SHALL CONTINUE TO SHARE (if anyone is even reading haha).

What have I been up to the past 2 years…. well hmmm i’d say a TON because it’s flew by faster than any other years before… here are some things that have been making me happy recently 🙂

Wedding fun with the fam// Bears game drunk walk selfies// visiting Iowa to see my old roomies!!

we took a mini getaway to lake geneva and had sooo much fun eating out, boating, golfing, and so much more. this trip deserves a full post tho – coming soon 🙂

as usual i’m still obsessing over food – i have recently become somewhat of a masterchef (that’s what i like to pretend haha) and cookin up some interesting dishes// cod with pickled grapes, spaghetti squash, summer shakshuka//

some of our spooky halloween decor// the adorable kittens i’ve been feeding for weeks that live under our porch named Timon & Pumbaa// OBSESSED with my fitbit – my tan line agrees// beautiful bridgeport sky

I take a million pictures all the time so I have tons more to share, which is another reason I wanted to start this blog back up again – I loved being able to go thru my weeks and see all the fun things I’ve been up to…. I can post 852452 more pictures but that wouldn’t be fun. Will save those for another organized post 😉

So glad to be back to blogging!!!
HELLLLOOOO + GOODBYE.

meowy monday

Double Aria’s: kitty Aria & PLL Aria!

With little precious monsters like this, I seriously don’t understand how people can “hate” cats. They are just so freakin adorable!!!!!

the worst part is the truth; you’re just like everybody else {new music tuesday}

Soooo for some reason I forgot to hit “publish” and just kinda left this sitting here all day, sooo now it’s a day late. Oh well, here it is now! This week there wasn’t much that really caught my attention, but that’s okay because the fact that We Are The In Crowd’s new album was released made it all better!
Weird Kids
by We Are The In Crowd
released: Feb 18
I have loved this band since their inception because of their great male/female vocal leads. They kind of sing back and forth the whole time and the songs are always so catchy and easy to sing along with…. Excited to really get into this new album, already sounds great!

“I Wanna Get Better”
by Bleachers
released: Feb 18
I’ve never heard of this band before but this single caught my attention, kind of gives me a summer vibe that sorta feels like it’s happening today with all the sunshine and 40 degree temps! : )

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“Legs”
by Jer Coons
released: Summer 2009
DISCLAIMER: Do not let the young dorky looking picture of the singer fool you. This song is not bubblegum pop, it’s very chill and I’ve been obsessed since the first time I heard it playing at Hollister (when I worked there and then ended up having to listen to it 489094325 times…. and I still love it, so that should be saying something.) This song always calms me down and puts me in a great mood, a beautiful  melody, a cute voice, adorable lyrics, what’s not to love?! The name of the post is one of my favorite lines from this song… Go download LEGS right meow!!!

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Shuffling through 5,578 songs in my iTunes….
Random recommendations from my library to yours 🙂

“Here We Go”
by *NSync
released: May 26, 1997
Startin’ it off with an epic *Nsync throwback. This CD consumed my time back then. I knew (still know) every word to every song on this album, along with half the other little girls on the planet at the time… They were (are) amazing and I can never get sick of these bad boys! Crazy to think I was barely 7 years old when this was released….

“Larger Than Life”
by Backstreet Boys
released: May 18, 1999
Hahahah I swear I didn’t do this on purpose, iTunes just threw out two throwbacks by opposing bands back to back, but I’m not too upset about it.. .Another great song, although I was always more of an Nsync over BSB kinda girl. This is one of my favorites by them though!

“Better Off This Way”
by A Day To Remember
released: October 1, 2011
This is a great song for a beginner-listener of ADTR, maybe someone who isn’t quite ready for the harder/screamish side of them. Amazing song by an even greater band.

“My Next Thirty Years”
by Tim McGraw
released: May 4, 1999
I didn’t get into country music until well after this album was released, but when I did discover the goodness of country in highschool, I found myself downloading song after song by Tim McGraw, soooo I guess that means I like his stuff! This song especially always made me smile, I think the lyrics are clever & fun.

“All Night”
by Icona Pop
released: September 24, 2013
I’m sure everyone already knows this song by now… but if not, download right MEOW. Great upbeat tune!

“Bitch Came Back”
by Theory of a Deadman
released: July 8, 2011
I was addicted to this song when it came out. I remember blasting it on my drive to class, and I love it still the same today. Great rock out song along with some clever funny lyrics.

“Bad Girls Club”
by Falling In Reverse
released: June 14, 2013
When I discovered how amazing Falling In Reverse was I got obsessed. Than this album came out last summer and I didn’t love it as much as I loved their previous one, although there were still a couple songs I couldn’t get out of my head; and this was the main one! Bad Girls Club is a clever, catchy song with some great one liners.

“You & I”
by Anarbor
released: March 10, 2009
Another song that when I found it, it was constantly on repeat! A great beat and sing along song, always puts me in a great mood and reminds me of spring of ’09!

“That Don’t Impress Me Much”
by Shania Twain
released: November 4, 1997
I love this song, but this whole album though… Who didn’t dance around in their pj’s at sleepovers to this lady?? Shania was da bomb diggity.

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all love & smiles,

 

Happy Blogiversary to Me!

A year ago I started this blog, right after I quit my job, and I was just looking for somewhere to spend some “productive” time online when I was too sick of applying for job after job after job. This time around, I have a second part-time job, the bf has two wonderful jobs, and I knew exactly what to expect when I walked out of those corporate life-sucking doors. I knew that it wasn’t always going to be easy, especially when you’re used to living your own lifestyle, but things change and I was SO READY to ride those changes for the better. No more hating myself for being fake to the worst person on the planet (my old boss, voooomit), no more coming home 5 days a week and bitching/complaining/crying to Michael about how terrible my day was and how much hate was growing inside me for that woman (slowly turned into the whole place in general). I hated who I was becoming. I am not a miserable, negative person. I am actually known to be quite the opposite, with TOO much energy, TOO much cheerfulness, too many smiles. I wanted to be myself again, and since it was clear that I was working in a toxic environment and this woman was going to make it as hard as possible to stay positive, I knew I had to leave. What other choice would I have? Thanks to the second casual job and Michael’s two jobs, I am so thankful to God that he let me escape that corporate prison. No more bullshit, it’s just me now and I’m free to live happily, just the way He intended : )

ANYWAY, to make a long story short, it’s been a crazy wild ride of a year, and I’ve learned SO MUCH from the various issues that were thrown my way. I’m looking forward to this next year in the blog world to be filled with even more memories, pictures, and amazing experiences. I’m proud of myself for sticking to something for over a year (there were some periods of time where I fell off the blogging map, but I always came back!!!) and I’m so happy that it became a favorite hobby of mine!

I don’t want to take a look back at my entire year, because honestly that’s just boring and you could do the same thing with more details by just clicking through the pages… This will just be a look back at the THE BEST WEEK EVER, aka the Week That I Was Brave Enough To Stand Up To The Antichrist We Called Our Boss! AND IT FEELS SO FREAKIN GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* My lil bubbas helping me with my nail polish project, Dexter making a fantastic day trip with me, the amazingly thoughtful Valentine’s day gifts from Jordan, the kittys again being curious while opening the Popsugar box, valentines day pic I made with my Beautiful Mess app, been playing an outrageous amount of Flappy Birds until it was taken down and I accidentally deleted mine… but no worries.. there is now FLOPPY FISH!, painting my nails new colors again, & the kittys got a brand new awesome water fountain *

As far as my delicious meals I’ve been eating this month…. Here’s what I’ve been obsessed with lately!

Annie’s mac & cheese = amazeballz, yes that is taco bell SMOTHERED BURRITO and it was only $2.99 and I had to try one!, sushi at work, amazingly delicious and healthy chili from Protein Bar, chips & salsa, kitty bites aka pigs in a blanket (with cheese and our own special concoction), Freshii’s my favorite noodle bowl on earth!!!, homemade mac & cheese with jalapeños, mushrooms & corn, some french toast the bf made me on valentines day, and of course, a Whopper craving was necessary.

Soooooooooooooo here’s to another wonderful week free of stress & full of laughter, smiles, and organization!!!!! : )

all love & smiles,

Freeing Myself from ‘The Man’

It’s hard to believe it’s February 2014 and I’m basically in the same place I was in February of 2013.

I guess I can’t really say that though because this time I have a part time job and this time there was literally NO WAY I could stay.
Let me rewind to yesterday morning when in a flash of a little over an hour I was officially finally escaping the hell hole that I called “work” Monday through Friday.

I had a boss worse than the ones on Horrible Bosses and I can’t begin to explain the stress, letdowns, anxiety, and overall terrible depressing feelings I got from her. Since I quit this morning I have been smiling from ear to ear and it literally feels like this GINORMOUS weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I realize I may have said this when I first GOT the job, but honestly, I was happiest at Links of London anyway. It was nice having 2 paychecks, but I never enjoyed waking up for work Monday-Friday, and that’s a sad thing. On the weekends I still knew I had to work, but I didn’t dread going to sleep knowing that I’d have to wake up and possibly face the devil in disguise, aka my superior. The whole situation was very sad and hurtful, and just knowing that she gets to get away with treating employees like this is absolutely ludicrous. As happy as I was to go, it still upsets me that she gets to continue this act and keep on hurting people day after day after day, bringing anyone down than gets in the way.

As hard as I tried, I really, really do not fit into the corporate world. I can’t handle the constant BS day in and day out, no one being honest in the least bit and no one caring about anyone in the room but themselves. I know it would be easier if I could just not get too invested in it and just go for the paycheck, but unfortunately, that’s just not who I am; I NEED to get invested in what I do. It’s literally what I do when I do pretty much anything. I make it become my obsession for the moment and figure out the best possible way to complete that task. This job gave me absolutely zero room for that, and I had a boss who made sure there was no moving forward or credit for anything you deserved anyway. I just am not cut out for a place like that. Maybe that makes me weak, but I’d take being weak over stepping foot in that office ever again any day. I have to stay true to myself, and I couldn’t be anyone I’d even want to be there.

DON’T MATTA NOW THOUGH, I AM FREE OF THE DEPRESSING NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENT THAT WAS MY LIFE 8-5 MONDAY-FRIDAY!

Now I can focus more on the simple things and get projects and my health lifted!!!

I’m ready to start a new string of happy days!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

all love & smiles,

Popsugar Must Have Box February 2014 Review

Popsugar Must Have is my all time favorite subscription box. For $39.95/month you get amazing hand selected items in beauty, fashion, home, fitness, & food! I’m literally obsessed with this box and so sad to say this is my last for a while since boxes are out of my budget at this time without my full time job! This was the hardest box to “unsubscribe” from [insert tear]. 😦

Every month they wrap it up all nice so it feels like you’re opening an awesome gift just for you! They always include a fold out on all the products featured and a note from Lisa Sugar. Let’s see what I got this month!!

• MUST HAVE FASHION •
Gorjana Brooks Jewelry Roll
Retail: $45
This will be purrrrfect for my trip to Louisiana in April. At first I wasn’t sure about it, but it’s actually pretty nice and I know it’ll be a great way to remind myself to pack cute matching jewelry! My pictures are clearly horrendous but I received it in the color “Berry” so it’s a little darker than it appears in the pics.

•MUST HAVE BEAUTY•
Nourish Organic Pure Hydrating Argan Face Serum
Retail: $23.99
First off… look how tiny the little bottle of serum is compared to the huge box it comes in!!!! If I bought this in the store thinking I was getting a product more the  size of the box I would be highly disappointed… Anyway, this stuff smells and sounds pretty nourishing for the skin, I was so glad to get the tip to use on my cuticles from Liz over at My Subscription Addiction! Since my cuticles are soooo bad from me constantly chewing on them, this could be the start to new fresh cuticles!!

•MUST HAVE HOME•
K Hall Designs Peony Travel Candle
Retail: $11.00
This smells SO GOOD!!! I love candles, this is perfection : )

•MUST HAVE BEAUTY•
Modelco Lip Pops Duo Lip Gloss & Lipstick
Retail: $20.00 {estimated}
At first I didn’t even see this came in the box until I saw it on the information card, then I didn’t even realize it was duel ended. The colors aren’t bad but I usually don’t wear anything on my lips… gotta start somewhere! I got the price from comparing to their other lip products and packages on their website.

•MUST HAVE FOOD•
Sugarwish Mini Red Cinnamon Hearts
Retail: $6.25
This was the absolute cutest packed candy I’ve ever seen!!! Made me feel special just opening the little adorable box. I also love cinnamon candy so that part didn’t hurt either 😉

•MUST HAVE BEAUTY•
NCLA Rodeo Drive Royalty Nail Polish
Retail: $16.00
LOOOVE this red! I tested it on one nail and in one coat it already looked great! Love the creamy finish and the classic, beautiful red. Found my new  go-to!

•SPECIAL EXTRA•
Dial Vitamin Boost Body Wash
Retail: $4.00
Ok, first off, this item just looks SO out of place in this box. Yes, yes, I know, but after my initial shock, I realized that this soap actually smells suuuuuper good & we’re running a bit low on my current favorite soap: Ponche bodywash from Lush. I am actually happy to get this, it will go to great use, therefore making it an excellent valued item for me! : )

Overall, a great box, but I don’t really think I’ve ever been really unhappy with my Popsugar boxes!!

all love & smiles,

Office/Craftroom Creation Step #1

Ok, sooo I’m like reallllyyy lucky and get to live an apartment with not one, not two, but THREE bedrooms. Since it’s only me & the bf (+ our 3 furry friends), we were able to get creative with the extra bedrooms. We converted one to become our shared walk-in closet, and the other for the office/craft room. (Oh, and did I mention that we also have a backroom/den that is considered the “kitty bedroom”? hahaha yuuuup)
Safe to say, I had all these rooms, all this potential, but I was so overwhelmed I just didn’t even know where to start… We moved in October 2012, so it’s been well over a year of living here, but I’m just getting around to finally making each space an area I love, starting with one of my favorite rooms: the office/craft space!
I forgot to take real “before” pics, so this was mid-cleaning when half the stuff was already thrown out in the hallway or in garbage bags or re-dispersed throughout the house, etc.
WARNING: These pictures may be extremely disturbing to a neat freak/someone who doesn’t understand messy chaos! haha Like I said, these were in the middle of moving everything out in the kitchen and trying to sort through things, packing piles, to basically start from scratch in the room. 

this is michael’s corner of the office… he sold his iMac about a year ago & the desk slowly turned into a junk pile… this corner still needs work, but this entire room is still a work in progress 🙂

After taking an entire day to sort through stuff, throw away garbage, do some cleaning, and overall turn the entire room inside-out, it felt AMAZING to actually see the floor and have open, un-cluttered space to work in!

starting a randomly awesome art corner

i’m obsessed. favorite artwork on my wall without a doubt.

It’s still certainly a work in progress, but I’m so happy I finally have some fun pictures on the walls that make me smile and room to move around! Plus, having a nice clean desk just entices me to blog, edit pictures, start projects, etc.! Thanks to my wonderfully creative friend Jordan, I’m repurposing her Valentine’s gift packaging for adorable decor on my desk. This simply cute + organized desk is pure happiness for me!

all love & smiles,

Fake Bakin’

I’ve been using this daily on my face for the past 6+ years. Seriously a game changer.
I found it at ULTA around my senior year of high school and I have yet to change it up.
For $13.25 (when I started using it I’m pretty sure it was upwards of $20 but maybe I’m just crazy haha) you get a good enough amount for over a half year, probably even more depending on how much you actually use it.

Details according to Ulta: “Self-tanning lotion gradually bronzes your skin without having to set foot in the sun. The Face Anti-Aging Self Tanning Lotion by Fake Bake is infused with Matrixyl-3000 from Sederma to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. 2 fl oz.”

Don’t let the dark brown color scare you away, it spreads in very nicely and easily to your face. I have always just used my (clean) hands to spread the lotion on my face, making sure to wash my hands again afterwords so that my fingertips don’t stain! (the color is never a fake orange anyway, it just almost darkens your fingertips the same way it does your face)
When there is no more coming out of the tube, I cut it in 2 and keep it in a ziploc baggie so as to not waste ANY of my precious tanning product! hahaha! Safe to say, I am OBSESSED!!
I literally just bought myself a new one on Amazon for $11.50… such an amazing, budget friendly face tanning solution!!

all love & smiles,

Music Tuesdays Begin!

Yay yay yay!
New music tuesday time where I post about new songs from the week,
my all time favorites, and have fun with iTunes on shuffle!

I haven’t been up on my music game in a while, so that is half the reason why I want to devote time each week to discovering new bands, something that has always made me so happy! I love learning new songs before they hit it big on the radio (if/when they ever do) and getting “obsessed” with a new song to play over and over and over! These are the singles I found worthy of downloading this week:

“Air Balloon”
by Lily Allen
released: Jan 20
Up in my airrrrrr ballooooon, airrrrr balloooooon…. super catchy, love her! Great single and eager for more…

“Get Low”
by Dillon Francis & DJ Snake
released: Feb 11
hahah grreeat jammin dancin song, love it

“Real Man”
by Laura Lee Bishop
released: Feb 11
At first I wasn’t really sure I liked this song, but then I found myself singing it and wanting to “preview” the song again.. and again… and now I love it! It almost sounds countryish/popish/alternative…. it’s addicting though!

“Don’t Say Goodnight”
by Hot Chelle Rae
released: Feb 8
I’ve loved them since before they were big & popular soooooooo I can’t resist the catchy new tune : )

“Shot Me Down”
by David Guetta feat. Skylar Grey
released: Feb 10
Super strange & crazy but I love it… good song to jam in the car to or around the house cleaning… anywhere you can be crazy with it!
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“Swim”
by Jack’s Mannequin
released: September 29, 2008

Andrew McMahon (the frontman of Jack’s Mannequin) is my all time favorite artist.
This song is my absolute favorite, after all, I do have the lyrics tattooed on my body….
After looking around online, I found that there are many, MANY other lovers of this song, which makes me even happier : )

All the beautiful lyric fan art is mesmerizing me!!!

You’ve gotta swim
Swim for your life
Swim for the music that saves you when you’re not so sure you’ll survive
You gotta swim
And swim when it hurts
The whole world is watching
You haven’t come this far
To fall off the earth

The currents will pull you
Away from your love
Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave
Begging to tear down the dawn
Memories like bullets
They fired at me from a gun
A crack in the armor
I swim for brighter days
Despite the absence of sun
Choking on salt water
I’m not giving in
I swim

You gotta swim
Through nights that won’t end
Swim for your families
Your lovers your sisters
And brothers and friends
Yeah you’ve gotta swim
Through wars without cause
Swim for the lost politicians
Who don’t see their greed as a flaw

The currents will pull us
Away from our love
Just keep your head above

You gotta swim
Swim in the dark
There’s no shame in drifting
Feel the tide shifting and wait for the spark
Yeah you’ve gotta swim
Don’t let yourself sink
Just find the horizon
I promise you it’s not as far as you think
The currents will drag us away from our love
Just keep your head above
Swim

Although I’ll be listing my all time favorite songs every week, I think this song truly takes the cake as my #1.

{Listen to ‘Swim’ here}
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Shuffling through 5,565 songs in my iTunes….

Random recommendations from my library to yours 🙂

“Drunk Girl”
by Something Corporate
released May 20, 2002
..Speaking of Jack’s Mannequin, this is Andrew McMahon’s first band Something Corporate. This was actually the first song that I heard from him, and I guess you can say it was love at first listen.

“Slow Down”
by The Academy Is…
released February 6, 2005
Happy 9 year anniversary to this song! Love this song, so catchy and addicting… hollywood hills & suburban thrills, hey you! who are you kidding?… LOVE!

“Black and Yellow”
by Wiz Khalifa
released March 28, 2011
This song….. oooooh the good ol’ days of college… will never get sick of this. Ever. makes me dance every time. also got me obsessed with Wiz.

“All For Love”
by O-Town
released January 23, 2001
haha love this throwback, remember the greatness that was Making the Band? i seem to remember loving a guy named Ashley on that show..?? great throwback

“The Hook Up”
by Britney Spears
released January 1, 2003
I have all of Britney’s albums and I love a lot of her songs that were never really popular, like this one… great pop/dance song : )

“My Own Life”
by Long Beach Dub Allstars
released September 28, 1999
Love the easy going, socal feel of this song… puts me in a great mood everytime. listen meow to relax & chill out.

mmmmk there ya go! 6 great songs to jam to during the wretched morning commute!

all love & smiles,

meowy monday

some tongue action from aria.

a dainty pose by charles.

 

oh yeah, and these pants happened. thanks target, i knew there was a reason i loved you so much.

all love & smiles,