Spa Day!

Lately I have been feeling a little sad and down and I realized that the winter blues were really getting to me this year.  I have a tendency to get a little depressed in the winter anyway, but knowing this, I am usually pretty good at heading it off with simple things like keeping my stress levels down, taking my Vitamin D, getting lots of sleep if I need it and being mindful of not taking on too much etc.

So fast forward to last week.  I noticed I was sad just a little too often and kept watching movies that take place at the beach on Netflix.  Yep!  This girl needs some help...STAT before she gets a little too mopey!  My husband said he couldn't afford to fly me out to Hawaii on the spur of the moment and I was really needing some pampering self care since I was daydreaming of running away to a destination spa so I decided to get my girls together for a little fun!  I had a friend who knows oils and massage come over to teach us some massage techniques.

I decorated the house with paper lanterns I had from a Chinese party earlier.  Look at the pretty glow they make!  I decided they would be really pretty to use as Christmas decorations sometime.  I hope I remember that come Christmas time again!

I broke out the wine glasses so my girlfriends could sample some of the Slim & Sassy water that I love so much and had yummy spa-like finger foods out to much on {which I forgot to take a picture of...doh!}. 

Before the party I had to run to the store to buy a few more wine glasses because some of my others had broken over the years.  The cashier asked if I was having a wedding or something.

Um...no.

Then she wondered if I really liked to drink wine or something. 

I was just left to shake my head.   I have never had a drop of wine or alcohol in my life!  But who says you have to use wine glasses for wine anyway???  They are beautiful...fun to hold...and are lovely for water or juice!  I like to use them frequently and even let the kids use them if they want.  They aren't expensive to replace if they get broken plus I think its good to let them get used to using nice things while they are young.

Anyway, I digress!  My husband is excited for me to teach him the new massage tips ~ mostly because that means he will benefit from getting a massage during the process!  Which is fine with me because then I get a nice massage afterwards too!  And this makes for a happier me!  

It's fun to get together with my girlfriends!

I had a good time at our spa day ~ I hope my friends did too. 

~ ~ ~

What do you do to combat the winter blues?

Oscar Night Fashions

Oscar night is always fun to watch celebrity fashions.  I always dream up a dress or two of what I would wear on the red carpet.  I love designing evening wear in my head!  This year I wondered if I were a classic movie star, who would I be?

Well, Kay of Movie Star Makeover, has a fun little quiz you can take to see which classic movie stars you are most like.  I turned out to be the Lively Girl Next Door and happily join the ranks of Debbie Reynolds, Jane Powell, Ginger Rogers, Doris Day and Betty Grable.

via Movie Star Makeover

Lively Girl Next Door
Like Debbie Reynolds, you are the Lively Girl-Next-Door. You are warm, friendly, full of joy and a little zany with a vibrant, unsinkable spirit—you’re the sunshine girl! People love to be around you because you have such a positive, upbeat attitude and it seems there’s nothing you can’t handle. You are the go-to girl when there’s a project, because you know how to get it done and still have enjoy yourself in the process. If you have children, they probably have the best parties in the neighborhood, because you have a great time right along with them. You’re strong, sturdy, earthy at times, fast on the draw, and seem inexhaustible. You can be very sentimental and love photos and family heirlooms. You may have a bit of a hot temper, but you usually wind up laughing at yourself in the end. Life’s too much fun to hold a grudge!

So...what would I wear?  Hmm...I don't know yet but I'm feeling like pink this year and I think I would base my wardrobe around this gorgeous replica of Ginger Roger's {she is after all amongst the Lively Girl Next Door club!} from The Hollywood Collection...

via The Hollywood Collection

I think it would be set off with a lovely blue drapey gown such as this with some fun yet exquisite detailing:

Oscar Night by byourself featuring wedding shoes

~ ~ ~

What would you wear?

Friday Favorites

Well it has been a busy week for me, so as a way of catching you up real quick I thought I would give you some of my favorites from this week. . .

1. 

~  Grapeseed oil ~ 

I have been wanting to try a few luxury face oils as a moisturizer when I had the brilliant idea to just try the Grapeseed oil I use with some of my essential oils on my face.  It's brilliant I tell you!  It is hands down the best moisturizer I have used and it isn't even expensive.  My face feels so soft, the dry patches are completely gone when I use it and best of all my skin looks more radiant! And don't worry, your face soaks in all the oils and doesn't leave you looking oily and greasy  I am in love! ! 

2.  

~ doTerra's Slim & Sassy ~ 

Last week I tried a few drops of this essential oil blend in a glass of water at a friends house and became hooked!  It smells divine!  It's a fruity~citrusy~minty smell that my daughter thinks smells like a minty skittle.  It sounds weird but it smells sooo good!  Best of all, the special blend of therapeutic grade essential oils helps boost your metabolism and also acts as an appetite suppressant.  Plus it makes drinking your water a special experience!  It tastes so good you will want to drink water all the time now!  {If you want some I can now hook you up btw!}

3.  

~ This fabulous cuff bracelet ~ 

It was about $16 at Target's jewelery counter {not just on the regular wall shelves you walk up to}.  I think it is so fresh and pretty!  I love the blues and greens in it!

~ ~ ~

What were some of your favorites this week?

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Phew!  The sugar~fest known as Valentine's Day is over!
I ate more sugar than I care to admit yesterday!
But it turned out to be a fabulous day!
Let's review:

Let's start with the ugly first:

This is why I usually let my husband bbq instead of me!
I was trying my hand at some Brazillian barbecue!
Don't worry, dinner was rescued and not completely ruined!

The bad:

I kept comparing myself to all the other amazing moms around me who were doing cute things.  I live near some pretty amazing {and adorable!} people! I kept eating fabulous treats our friends gave us!

The bad part is not that we have nice friends who love us, but that I couldn't stop myself from eating all that yumminess!!!  I mean, look at that fabulousness!!!  That's some pretty awesome {and tasty!} popcorn!

The good:

Fortunately, the good outweighed all the bad!

I pulled through at the last minute {I'm talking literally the last minute!} with a cute love bug theme for our dinner table using things I already had.  And since it was turning kind of picnic-y, I used paper plates so that cleanup was a breeze!

I also found and bought a new pair of jeans ~ in the next size down!  Yes!!!  Sweet!!!  Doing the happy weightloss dance!!!

And I wore some adorable pink boots a DYT friend gave me!

Most importantly, 

everyone seemed happy last night!  

That was the biggest win!

I love my family!

How was your Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day

Ah, Valentine's Day!  What a day!  I woke up feeling a little down today, not because I don't have loves in my life, but because I was feeling like a bad mom.  You know, not the crafty, super cute mom who goes all out and does a cute Valentine activity every single day leading up to the big day with her kids, makes amazing homemade Valentine cards and teacher gifts, and then decorates their rooms all cutesy while they are either sleeping the night before, or while they're away at school.  And then!  I didn't have a cute pink breakfast planned and bla, bla, bla. 

I used to try to be that mom when my first child was young but all it did was stress.me.out.  Big time!  I just don't have the energy for all of that.  And that's ok.  That's when I remember that I don't have to try and mold myself into an image that I think I am supposed to be.  I don't have to be super woman.  Letting go of those expectations of myself is such a relief!  I laugh, giggle, and have a good time with my kids without all that extraneous stuff and we are all pretty happy! 

So tonight we will be having a lovely homemade dinner {guaranteed to hit the spot with my husband because it includes bacon} and a lovely strawberry shortcake I bought from the bakery because that's about all I have the oompf for this year.  The kids are each getting a small gift and I think I'll just make a trail of skittles leading up to my bedroom for my husband!  It's his favorite candy you know!

There!  

Valentine's Day at my house this year! 

Nothing too fancy this year.

But it's good enough for me!

~ ~ ~

Listening to this song today!

~ ~ ~

I hope your day has been filled with

love and laughter today!

image via sxc

New Draperies?

So since the fabric of my dreams is a little out of reach, I have been trying to find something else a little more affordable in the colors I wanted.  I found these at Pier1 the other day and thought I would try them out.  These seem to help lighten the space and even bring in some of the blues I wanted to add to the color scheme.

They even had pillows that I fell in love with.  The pillows have different tones of green that seem to go well with the olivey green of the couches.  The drapes on the other hand do not.  They feature a brighter green that we were iffy about, however, in person {and during daylight} they seem to coordinate well with them.

My only concern is whether I am all of a sudden getting too matchy~matchy with the pillows and drapes.  What do you think?

~ ~ ~

Here is a semi-before shot.  I'm trying to figure my way around on my new Mac ~ I'm converting over from a PC and I'm having a little technical difficulty.   One of these days I will have to dig out a real before shot before we ever knocked the wall out!  Linking up to Sugar and Spice's Drab to Fab party! 

Thank You!

Rebekah over at Cupcake Caramel recently bestowed upon me the Versatile Blogger award and I am honored that she chose to include me with some other fabulous ladies.  Last spring Rebekah and I almost met by accident out in Texas Hill Country ~ we missed each other by one day apparently, neither one of us knowing the other was going to be there ~ it would have been fun to actually meet her.  The blog world is such a fun place and I have "met" some amazing women that I would love to meet in real life someday.

For my acceptance speech I must now tell you seven things about myself, so I thought I would tell you about seven of my favorite things, so here we go  . . . .

1.  

I have extremely dry skin and the have tried many, many products supposedly formulated for dry skin that all left my skin still...well, dry!  The product I have found to be the most effective has been Ponds Cold Cream.

Now I just need to find a moisturizer I love.  Still trying to find one of those because aging skin and dry skin makes skin look older even faster if you ask me.  I recently heard of an esthetician in Hollywood that uses only essential oils on her clients faces~ I might investigate that and give it a shot.

2.  

I am seriously old school {and drugstore chic} because I love Aquanet hairspray!

It's the best hairspray I have tried that gives my hair the lift and hold that it needs ~ even better than some of the salon brands I have tried.  Whatever works!  :)

3.  

I don't live near too many high end stores.  I shop mostly at places near me like JCPenney, Kohls and Target.

via

But I would love to shop brands like Kate Spade or Lilly Pulitzer.  They both have such fun, happy selections most of the time!

4.  

I love good music but prefer to listen to things that uplift me.  I don't like songs that have questionable lyrics, suggestions, inuendos, or bad words in them etc.  Currently I am still pretty obsessed with The Piano Guys.  They make the piano and cello cool again!

5.  

I love green and white.

When this trio showed up beneath a blog post one day it seriously made my heart so happy!  There is just something calming to me about green and white whether in a natural landscape, or in home decor.

6.  

My favorite flowers are lillies and gardenias.  I prefer them over any other flower.And that's what I put in my wedding bouquet nearly 18 years ago.

All white though, see?  In fact, now that I think about it, my wedding colors were white, green and gold.  Apparently I've loved white and green for a long, long time!

7.

I love fresh, healthy foods.  And apparently I love colorful foods too.  Check out some of the foods I have pinned on pinterest. 





Yum! That's how I like to eat!

~ ~ ~ 

 

 

Thank you for the award Rebekah!

 

 

 

I am thinking of who to pass this fabulous award on to next.  A lot of the blogs I like to read have already received it.  I think I may be passing it onto some of my friends with more private blogs that I appreciate so much!  I love the blogging community, friendships and inspiration I find out here on the ol' world wide web!  Cheers!

Running Around

This week has been filled with a lot of running around, errands and appointments.  I've been busy attending some continuing education classes to keep my professional credentials up so that I can renew my license.  And then for fun we also attended a really interesting seminar on body language.   It reminded me a lot of one of my favorite shows:

While the tv show focused on using these skills to help law enforcement, the presenter at the one I attended uses his in mentoring situations to help you become a better parent, spouse, communicator or business person.  I think there are valuable things to learn about non verbal communication.  I love learning new things.  The world sure is a fascinating place. 

But while running around today, we noticed that the end of Civilizzation is here.  Yes, you heard it was coming in 2012, but apparently our final day is on Monday.  Hurry!  Hug your children!  And get ready! ~wink~wink~

And so since we're speaking about running around, this is also the time of year I always seem to get the urge to run away.  To run away somewhere sunny.  I think a cruise or lounging on a sunny beach somewhere sounds heavenly about now.  I told my husband we should make it a yearly tradition to escape together somewhere warm.  Either that or send me to the spa because I could also use a nice pampering massage right about now too.

On a side note, I think I freaked my body out today by taking some allergy medicine that about knocked me out!  I could not keep my eyes open!  So then I decided to drink an energy drink...don't worry, it was a healthy version without carbonation, artificial sweeteners or mega doses of caffeine!

It was a natural one made from yumminess like goji berries, other superfruits and cacao that gets its energy kick from yerba mate and guarana, which by the way, we used to drink guarana soft drinks in Brazil all the time!  {Ahhhh!  Brazil!!!  I could definitely run away there today and be happy too!!!} You can get guarana over there either carbonated, or not.  I like it both ways.  The non carbonated version of guarana tastes somewhat like apple juice...sort of!  Anyway, I'm not sure my body knows what to think!  And I'm not sure if I will be able to sleep tonight now. 

If I end up not being able to sleep, I think I will try finishing this book while giving myself a clay facial and manicure.  At least that's a little spa-like pampering, {though the massage is what I really, really want right now.  And a nice sunny beach}!

All right, that's about it for now!  We are running off to a friends house for dinner and games!  Hope you all are having a fabulous weekend!