Friday Fall Frenzie

Last day of being a guest blogger on The Vintage Pearl!!

Check out that blog to see Friday Fall Frenzies!! 

Xoxo,

"E"

Southern Inspired Dinner

I am a guest blogger on The Vintage Pearl!!

Check out that blog to get this weeks recipes!!

Xoxo,

"E"

Win A Shopping Spree!!!

I have blogged before about using online shopping outlets to find the best deal possible on designer brands for less!  One of my favorite online shopping outlet Shop It To Me is giving away a $250 shopping spree just for following them and What I Wore on Twitter!!

Here are the deets:

Exciting news...in honor of the launch of style blogger Jessica Quirk's new book, What I Wore, we're hosting a rad giveaway. One lucky winner will receive a $250 shopping spree and hour long video chat sesh with Jess to talk fashion, shopping, blogging...you name it!

All you need to do to enter is follow @ShopItToMe and @whatiwore on twitter and tweet the following phrase:

Win a styling session and $250 to shop w/ @whatiwore! Follow @shopittome @whatiwore & RT to enter: http://bit.ly/ovIo8T #whatiworeSITM

So if you have twitter (and if you dont sign up ASAP) follow both Shop It To Me and What I Wore on twitter and tweet about the contest to enter!!!

You can also follow me for everything, "About E".

Xoxo,

"E"

{My} Fall Must Haves

So the most awesome sale of the season is going on right now, and you better hurry it

ends August 1st! What sale am I talking about?? The Nordstrom Fall Sale!!

I am so excited to stock up on my Fall clothes....even though in this Texas heat it will probably be

October before I can wear any of them!

Drum roll please......



Fall colored skinny jeans

A long blazer like Kim K

A short blazer like Kim K

Ripped Skinny Jeans...I am kind weary about these coming back in style since they were in 6 years ago when I was in high school

So right now, this second...this is what I want! I am sure as soon as we enter Nordstrom's doors and sashay around...I will find LOTS more I NEED!!

Anything you are dreaming of for your Fall wardrobe?

Xoxo,

"E"

Destin {Family} Trip

Finally got back to work today from being gone for the past 5 days from a very

relaxing and sun bathing vacation!

It was very nice to have the last vacation before our core family of 4 becomes 5!! (my parents however, kept referencing what they are going to do when they have grandchildren....we still have about 10 years for that...so no need to worry about "kid friendly" vacations)

Here are a few pictures that summarize our trip.....enjoy!



Destin will always be one of my favorite vacation spots!!! Hopefully soon we can go as a family of 5 and include Z!!

Xoxo,

"E"

Oh I {Miss} You

This is my current view (except this picture was taken in Cabo and I am in Destin, FL)

I have not been to Destin since the summer between my senior year in high school and my freshman year in college. I have been needing the beach like a fat kid needs cake..pretty serious

However my two favorite boys had to stay behind and I miss them SOOOOO MUCH!!

Xoxo,

"E"





Are You Ready For Some {Randonmess}??

I would like to start off by saying that I always hear people talk about "how busy" they are during the summer months and are always on the go. Well, not until this summer did I get the

full understanding of what "busy" during the summer months meant.

Honestly this has been the first summer out of college that I have been a serious, dare I say it, ADULT! (fyi kids..not what it's all cracked up to be! Seriously...stay living with your parents until your like 40 or until they kick you out)

I am sure a lot of it has to do with our upcoming wedding and the fact that we have kicked it in

overdrive on the whole planning process....We are officially under the 4 month mark!!

And now for the RANDOMNESS:

So...Z and I were strolling through Central Market, we normally are like kids on Christmas morning in there, and I stumbled upon this. All my little eyes saw was CHOCOLATE and WINE. I automatically

reached for it to put in our basket. Like who is the GENIUS who invented this? It must be a woman due to the fact it's our two favorite food groups as one...chocolate and wine.

(disclosure - I could only take about two sips out of it due to how rich it is....bummer)

While buying groceries at Target this past week for the 50th time I came across these! I love Starbucks Fraps and at 100 calories it makes it that much better!

My new current obsession..crafts. Crafts and cooking to be exact. Like hey why not take on more crap in my house to do while planning a wedding...all of this sounded glorious in my head!

(these are cute bags I decorated for some special ladies)

My new outfit and hair - I got my outfit at Delia's, anyone remember this place? I used to get there magazines in mail all the time, when I was in HIGH SCHOOL. Yep I shop at teenager hot spots! However this teenager hot spot gave me a $10 gift card for just trying on jeans! I take that as a good deal!

Lastly my new hairstyle....what do you think?



Xoxo,

"E"

***photographs of me in my new dress taken by my man! he is sooo sweet!***

Product Review {Doggy} Treats

Above is the light of my life as well as the biggest pain in my behind. He is a little on the hefty size,

however he is stocky and definitely never misses a meal. Sometimes he gets dinner twice because Z and I do not communicate. 

Really the only time he gets a treat is when he goes into his kennel. I try to praise him for getting in his kennel so its a positive experience for him. With this Texas heat I bought him this week at Target

some ice cream frosty treats just for dogs!

Needless to say he absolutely loves them and will do about anything you want him to

do....well almost!

Then one of his grandma's (Z's mom) got him this very loud squeaky donut from Bed Bath and Beyond. Ace is not really a big toy dog,  he normally only likes toys that other dogs

are playing with. However he loves loves this donut!

If you know of anything that will keep him from getting on my couch please share! I am willing to try anything, even possibly getting rid of the couch all together!

Xoxo,

"E"

{Goals}

A couple of weeks ago I tweeted my goals thinking that if they were out there for

everyone to see it would be that much more motivation to complete them.

One of my fellow bloggers/dz sisters/tweeters/college friend started tweeting her goals

and we were each other's accountability partners over twitter. (yes I function

on twitter like I am having real life conversations with the person)

Seeing how well that helped me, Z and I decided to start writing our goals down on Sunday

and posting them to the refrigerator. (disclaimer: please don't judge for the off white 90's fridge.

Our new and improved stainless steel one should be here in a week!)

So far as of today I have been able to cross two things off my list and after Friday will have completed

everything except walk my dog every AM/PM of the week. (another disclaimer: the previous sentence

shows how "not ready" I am for children anytime soon)

Some of Z's goals are pretty sweet. Cook dinner one night this week and take the trash out when needed. One of my BIG pet peeves....not taking out the trash when it is overflowing and/or not

putting a new trash bag in the trash can!

My goals are more about things that I struggle with on a weekly basis. Examples...we pay for

me to workout and tan...I was probably using those oh I say around 2 times a week. Z

expressed his frustrations on why pay for something monthly if I don't use it. So needless

to say I have working out and tanning on my goal list.

So far it has really helped both of us keep each other accountable as well as ourselves. Anyone

else have any goals they are trying to meet daily, weekly, or monthly??

Thanks to Shayna and Amber for keeping me accountable on my goals!!!

Xoxo,

"E"



{Weekend} Adventures

This weekend definitely started off with a few...er sparks we will say! One of my very good friends

and bridesmaid surprised me with Rihanna concert tickets! It was such a nice surprise

and I mean who doesn't love Rihanna!!

One thing I can say about what I took away from the Rihanna concert besides

my $35 concert T....Is what Rihanna looks like having sex (well just about)! She

is a whole lot more provocative than what I realized...but hey good for her!

****Rihanna on stage...my camera was doing weird things with the lights****

****Her first stage outfit...girlfriend was rocking some really cute outfits!****

****That is her even though it looks like a ball of fire! She came out in the crowd to play the drums!****

****Corrie and I so excited about the concert!****

***Corrie with her concert T***

****Me with my new $35 sleep T****



Opening for Rihanna was JCole...never heard of him but he just signed with JayZ that day.

I am sure he will be HUGE soon!

After seeing him on stage Corrie and I decided he may be our new Rapper/Gangsta crush.

****He looks super small...but we were like 50 yards away!****

While Rihanna is performing disaster strikes! She was singing and fireworks were
going off behind her and as soon as she stops singing she runs off stage and we notice
that above her there is a fire.

Literally people were running out of the AAC. The show was about halfway over
and they had to cancel it...sad but I am glad everyone was ok.

side note: (I have never seen more tight clothes on people that should not have been wearing tight clothes IN MY LIFE! Check the mirrors girlfriends!)

Saturday we sat in the scorching Texas heat to have a garage sale that was a complete flop...however I did get some good photos of course...notice to all garage sale goers, when someone has a real Coach purse out trying

to offer 10 cents for it is not okay. doesn't matter what country you are from! Thanks!

This was in my mom's stack of books...hmm book trash I think so!

My mother also thought it would be funny to put this out for Ace. My poor baby!

After the garage sale Z and I were pretty tired from going to bed late, waking up early, and then sitting in the heat from 7 - 1.

We got home from the garage sale and decided we would take a nap before going

to see a movie and have date night. Both of us laid down at 330pm

and did not wake up until Ace jumped up on the side of the bed at 630am!

Guess we needed the sleep!

We tried out a new church Sunday which we both liked, went and consumed more calories than one is suppose to at

in and out burger (totally worth it) and bought a new shower curtain!!! I am super

excited about the new shower curtain!!

 Hope everyone had a great weekend just like us!

Xoxo,

"E"

Recipe of the Week - Something healthy and Something {Not}

I found this smoothie recipe in a Women's Health Magazine this past weekend and decided to make it this week for mine and Z's breakfast. 

With it being 10,000 degrees here in Texas, it has been nice to have a cold treat in the morning.

Cherry Bomb

Blend 3/4 cup frozen cherries

1 kiwi, peeled and quartered

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup coconut water

3/4 tsp agave nectar

3 ice cubes (I only put two)

Serves 1, 159 calories

(this is Z approved and taste AMAZING!!)

So the something "NOT" healthy is a really good ice cream dessert that I had at one of my parents dinner parties

and I just made Wednesday night for our friends the Maxfield's! This recipe is also very very 

easy - the hardest part is not eating it while you make it!

Ice Cream Sandwich "Surprise" 

(the surprise is how good it taste!)

line a pan with 12 ice cream sandwiches (yikes I know!)

top with cool-whip

drizzle caramel and chocolate syrup

freeze until ready to serve

Calories...we won't discuss!

Xoxo,

"E"

{Great} Holiday Weekend!

Z and I had so much fun on our holiday weekend away to Austin! We really had an eventful packed

weekend and Z was such a good sport about letting me explore Austin!

Friday we pretty much ate our weight in Frank's goodness! They have the most amazing unique hot dogs!

Z and I decided to get two and see which one we liked most....and the winner is....

1st PLACE - AKA Thunder Dog

This baby is deep fried topped with nacho cheese, onion, tomatoes, and jalapenos! Yummy in my tummy...literally!

2nd PLACE - AKA Picnic Dog

This hot dog is topped with potato salad, onion rings, and BBQ sauce. The potato salad was not my grandmother's 

and the BBQ sauce kind of tasted like chili...this one still needs a little work.

They also had these amazing fries...

AND they had my all time favorite drink...Big Red AKA Red Delight! 

After eating at Frank's and feeling like we could roll anywhere, we decided to go kayaking on Town Lake. From where Frank's was the closest kayaking place was 2.2 miles....me being the optimist that I am talked Z into walking! Well we ended up only walking 1.2 miles to kayak but in the Texas heat it felt a lot further!

I couldn't bring my camera on the kayak due to being clumsy and possibly losing it for good, but these are the photos got!

We had so much fun and got to see some beautiful houses on Town Lake. Next time we are trying the surf board like things that you stand up and paddle on!

Our whole weekend pretty much revolved around food....not that WE are going on our honeymoon in 4 months or that

 WE are trying to stay fitting in our wedding dress. But hey we can just workout harder right?

Saturday we drove a total of 70 miles to go eat BBQ. Z and his dad share this love affair with BBQ, that makes them 

do crazy things like load everyone up in a car on a "pool side" Saturday and drive 70 miles for BBQ. 

Sunday when we got home we went on "date night", which I love have date night with Z! I still get so excited like

 we don't see each other every day...corny? Yeah I know! 

We had dinner at Gloria's and then went to Tilman's Road House over off of 7th Street. They really don't have the best food for the price, however they have the most AMAZING margarita you have had in your life...really! It's called a Ricky Rita, so if you are looking for a place for drinks...get the Rickey Rita.

While we went to only have a Ricky Rita, the bartender talked us into getting the smore's dessert. After he discovered we had never had the smore's before he insisted we order the whole thing....please see below

This is AMAZING as well and could probably be a meal on it's own. Tilman's makes their marshmallows home made and they come in coffee, hazelnut and orange. They are all really yummy but we decided the orange flavor is the best!!

So literally after this holiday eventful weekend....I will be surviving off of water...Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! 

Only 4 day work week again!! Yay!

Xoxo,

"E"