SOCIAL MEDIA

Friday, March 30, 2018

Friday Favorites and Happenings

*This post contains affiliate links.

It's Friday...and it's Easter weekend. That means today is Good Friday. I can't believe how fast this month has flown by. I feel like March just started, but we already celebrated my sisters bridal shower, my MIL's birthday, Rory's 40th birthday, Rory's birthday party and now we are heading into April and Easter.

I am hoping this weekend is a good one.

Onto Friday Favorites and Happenings.

ONE. I know I said on Wednesday that I wasn't buying much, but I am really wanting a new bathing suit for Mexico. I found the cutest Ted Baker bikini, but they don't have my size in the bottoms. I am thinking about getting the top and pairing it with plain black bottoms that I already have. But I am also contemplating a bathing suit by Isabella Rose. I so want them both, but that won't happen.

What I love about the Ted Baker top is the clasp in the back. It allows you to tighten the top whereas I don't think the Isabella one has that. But I can get the whole bathing suit from Isabella Rose since it comes in my size for the top and bottom. Plus it is floral and just so cute. What do you think?
Ted Baker London Ruffle Bikini
Top  |  Bottom

Isabella Rose Blossoms Bikini
Top  |  Bottom

TWO. Another thing I have been wanting is new sandals. I just went through my shoes and I do have a good amount of sandals, but I feel like I go through them quickly. I found the cutest black sandals and I feel like I can never have enough black sandals. Plus these are only $25.
Mindy Mae's Market Archer Ruffle Sandals

THREE. Since we are having dinner at my parents house for Easter, my mom is making the main dish along with some sides, but asked if we wanted to bring something. I am always going back on forth on things to bring, but I found the perfect side. I am thinking of making a different take on green bean casserole. It is way lighter, no creams or cream of mushroom soup mixes. It is blistered green beans with a brown butter sage bread crumb. Doesn't this look so good?

FOUR. Hanna Andersson is offering 30 to 40% off of everything through Monday. I LOVE Hanna Andersson stuff for my girls. I get their swimsuits, pjs and dresses there. I am going to hit the sale up this morning and buy these things plus more.
Hanna Andersson Short PJs

Hanna Andersson short pjs

Hanna Andersson Tank kini
Hanna Andersson Stripe Bottoms

Hanna Andersson Sunblock Tankkini
Tops  |  Bottoms

Hanna Andersson Terry Cloth Romper

Hanna Andersson Strawberry Shorts

Hanna Andersson Chambray Shorts

FIVE. I found the most perfect skirt for Spring. It would be perfect for my sister's bachelorette weekend, her rehearsal dinner and just so much fun. I love it and seriously need to figure out a way to justify this skirt. How cute is this?
Free People Floral skirt

I am linking up with April, A Little Bit of Everything, Meet @ the Barre and Cup of Tea.

Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, March 28, 2018

What's Up Wednesday

*This post contains affiliate links.
How is it the end of March already? I feel like I am a broken record because it constantly feels like the end of the month. We had a very busy month and I am excited to usher in April, warmer weather and an amazing vacation.
What's Up Wednesday

WHAT WE ARE EATING THIS WEEK...

Sunday: Taco bar at Rory's cousins house for his cousin's birthday
Monday: Instant Pot Spaghetti by Skinny Taste with salad and bread
Tuesday: BLTA's with sweet potato fries
Wednesday: Take-out. I have my lash appointment and won't be home til late.
Thursday: Up in the air as we hope to see my SIL and nephew
Friday: Not sure
Saturday: Not sure. We have a funeral to attend and I am not sure how long that will take.

WHAT I'M REMINISCING ABOUT...

Easter in year's past. I feel like each year that girls haven't been that interested in Easter and egg hunting, but this year they seem to be really into it. We are going to dye our eggs using the cool whip method. I hope it works out and saves us from a big mess. 

WHAT I'M LOVING...

Pretty much the same as last month. I have been trying to be good and not buy all the things. I am dying to buy some Spring and Summer clothes, but I just want to wait for the good sales. Old Navy and Gap had a great sale, but I am waiting for Loft and J Crew to have sales on their shorts, dresses and tees.

But I did receive my Midsummer sandals and they are everything I wanted and more. The leather is soooo soft. Like butter on your feet, ha. I can't wait to wear them. In the mean time, they just sit in my closet while it continues to snow here. Winter go away, you are not welcome anymore.
Midsummer Sandals

I am also wearing my Lush tees pretty much all weekend. Right now, I pair them with a cardigan, sweater or blazer. These tees are so soft, fit beautifully and have the best side slit. I have them in all four colors now. Hushed violet is my current favorite.
Lush side slit tees

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO...

Well I spent the last three months planning my husband's sort of surprise birthday party and it finally happened last weekend. I think he had a great time. It was the first birthday party he has celebrated since he was 12 years old. We usually just celebrate as a family or do a dinner out together, so this was a big deal for him.
90s cookies

90s themed birthday party

We have been prepping for Easter for weeks now. We have the girls Easter baskets all set. They just need to be put together and hidden Saturday night.

WHAT I'M DREADING...

Being away from the girls for over a week. I have gone on work trips away from the girls for well over a week, but Rory was at home with them. I totally trust my family and my in-laws, but it is so hard being away from the girls for even one night.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON...

I am still purging clothes and toys in the girls room. I am also working on my own closet. I went through all of my shoes and threw out a bunch, donated a ton and reorganized the left overs. I haven't gone through my shoes in years. There was a lot of dust in the back of my closet. Now I need to go through all my purses and dresser. 

WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT...

Mexico. While I am sad about leaving the girls, I am excited for a week long vacation with just Rory. We haven't had more than a day away from our girls together since they were born. This is huge. We get to sleep in, go out whenever we want, not share our food, go on adventures and just soak up husband and wife time. I can't wait!!!

WHAT I'M WATCHING/READING...

I am still reading The Wife Between Us. I am not far in, and I am not sure why. Maybe I am saving it for vacation? Speaking of that, I need a few other suggestions for my trip as I am sure I can knock out at least 3 books on vacation. 

As for TV, I have been watching Santa Clarita Diet (season 2 just came out), Riverdale, Jane the Virgin, Grey's Anatomy, Silicon Valley, Life Sentence. 

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO...

The same old, way old.

WHAT I'M WEARING...

Still wearing winter clothes, but I have added in my favorite tees (above) and paired them with over sized sweaters. 

WHAT I'M DOING THIS WEEKEND...

We have a funeral on Saturday for our friend's younger brother. He was one of the people killed in the Hudson River a couple weeks ago. Then on Sunday is Easter, so we are heading down to my parents house in the early afternoon to spend Easter with my mom's side of the family.


WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH...

April brings my mom's birthday, our trip to Mexico and hopefully the real start of Spring with warmer temperatures, more days outside and Springy clothes.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW...

My sisters wedding planning and events are coming up quickly. We just had her bridal shower on St. Patrick's Day and then we have her bachelorette party coming up and the wedding is about two months away. So crazy. 

Other than that, we are working on the the girls spelling their names, learning their address and hopefully getting them into dance class soon. 

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE EASTER TRADITION?

Hunting eggs and finding our Easter baskets. Now I get to do that with my girls and I think this is their year. I think they will be really into it. Last year, they only hunted three eggs and that was at their daycare's party. They had no interest in it last year.
Monday, March 26, 2018

40th Birthday Weekending

What a weekend. Between celebrating Rory and coming down with a cold, I am wiped out. But it was a lot of fun with only a sprinkle of drama.
This was from Thursday's Nevada loss.

But let me back up to Friday. That was Rory's actual birthday. He tried to go snowboarding while I worked, but it was sooo crazy windy up at the resort, that he had to change his plans. After work, I headed back to Reno to grab some lunch and run some errands. I wanted to go to a local shop to get the girls 90s rock tees, but they were all out of 90s shirts. I was going to buy some from amazon, but figured I would support local stores. Since we were out of luck, we had to get the girls florescent shirts from Target the next day.

After my errands, I went home and met up with Rory and then we picked the girls up from school. Then we did some scooter and bike riding time before their grandparents got there along with my SIL and nephew. Rory opened some gifts and then we headed out to Centro to celebrate the birthday boy. Centro is a Spanish/Italian tapas place. We started with some Fig Old Fashions and then got two fish dishes.
Centro tapas in Reno
 Snapper with a mustard sauce

Centro tapas in Reno
A white fish crostini

Then we moved onto some lamb meatballs and the filthy fries.
Centro tapas in Reno

Centro tapas in Reno
Filthy fries: bratwurst, jalapenos, potatoes, cheesy sauce, onions, stone ground mustard, bacon and herbs (pure heaven)

I was so full after the fries, but Rory talked me into getting one dish of my choice so I chose the beat dish. This was the perfect ending to our meal.
Centro tapas in Reno

After Centro, we headed to a local ice cream shop (we had never been before) and got two scoops of ice cream in a waffle cone (their special of the day) for $2. Total steal and so good. I had coconut and Rory got butter pecan and chocolate chip.
ice cream shop

After hanging out and enjoying the environment, we headed home just in time to see a surprise guest for Rory's party. His cousin from the Bay Area and her kids were there. After catching up a bit, we helped put the girls down to bed (way late) and then relaxed and called it a night.

Saturday morning we got up and headed to breakfast and then to Target to get the shirts for the party plus a few essentials. 

After we got home, we made some lunch for the girls and then they went down for a two hour nap. This hasn't happened in a long time. They have only been napping for a hour or less. I did some cleaning during this time because I didn't know what we would feel like doing the next day. 

Once the girls got up, I got them ready and then Rory took them and Walter up to his parents house to play with my nephew. I headed out on errands and then checked into the hotel to get ready for Rory's party. He arrived just after 5:30 and finished getting himself ready. Then we headed downstairs to the Bundox Bocce. This is where his party was at. It is a bocce ball facility that has a bar, skee ball, ping pong, huge tvs and a total party place. 

When I went to check in to get our table and bocce ball courts, I was informed that they didn't have a table for me. I had made my reservation in January, so I was stressed. The girl at the front desk said they couldn't do anything, so I asked for a manager. Once I talked to the manager, explained the emails and phone calls I have had over the last three months, they started looking into it. Since there was already 2 other parties going on, they offered to set up banquet tables for my 50 guests, comp a bunch of food, comp the bocce ball courts among other stuff. The GM and managers really stepped it up for me which was awesome. But the person who I worked with for months shouldn't have done this. I didn't get the long tables that I wanted, have a special area for our party (it was right next to another party and cramped), the bar was not equipped to server that many people (long waits) and they didn't have the food order I had requested done. 

Rory had a great time and that is all that matters. I spent a lot of the party talking to the mangers and when I wasn't doing that, I was talking to our guests. I had fun though. I just wish I could have played the games and been more present. The girls were there until almost 8 pm along with some other kids, but they had so much fun. They were crying when it was time for them to go. Broke my heart.

We totally missed out on getting a huge group photo. I wish we had gotten more photos of our guests.
90s themed party
 The girls and I went with the TLC sort of theme with overalls and florescent shirts.

90s style cookies
 Saved By the Bell, Seinfeld, Converse, Boombox, Cheers to 40 and Cassette tape cookies

90s cookies

90s party

90s party

90s party

90s party
 A bunch of our co-workers and former co-workers

90s party

90s party

Around 9 pm, most guests had left and the diehards stayed and we went to St. James Infirmary to continue the party. They had a DJ there so we danced our booties off and had a drink. Rory and I went back to our hotel around midnight and crashed hard. He may have woken up the next day with a massive hangover. That is what happens when you have over 10 drinks and mix alcohols.

Sunday morning we got up, got ready and took all his gifts home before heading to my in-laws house for brunch. I ate, Rory grazed a bit and we hung out with cousins that were in town plus my SIL, nephew and my girls. 

We took the girls home and they went right down for naps for 2 hours and 2 hours 15 minutes. Another amazing nap. After they got up, the girls and I watched some Frozen while we waited for Rory to get back from an appointment. Then we headed over to Rory's cousins house to celebrate her birthday with a taco bar. A bunch of family who was in town for Rory's birthday was there as well. We ate sooo much food and finished it off with cupcakes and tres de leche cake. So good. 

We went home after the girls bedtime and they went down right away. Rory and I crashed not long later.

How was your weekend?
Friday, March 23, 2018

Friday Favorites

*This post contains affiliate links.

Happy Friday to you all! We have a lot going on this weekend. I have been planning this weekend since January and it has finally come to be. I can't wait to enjoy it!

Onto Friday favorites and happenings.

ONE. I wanted to wish my husband a very Happy 40th Birthday. I still can't believe that I am married to a 40 year old and turning 35 this year. Time seriously flies. We have known each other for 11 1/2 years, been together for 8 1/2 years and married for 4 1/2 years.

Last year, I wrote 39 things about Rory. Go check it out to learn more about him. Plus it gives some hints into his party.

I am throwing Rory a 40th birthday party tomorrow. It was supposed to be a semi surprise in that he knew he was having a party, but nothing else. I only told him about the party because he has NEVER wanted to have a birthday party. He said he hasn't had one since he was about 12 years old. So it was way over due. But one of his cousins spoiled where it was at and some of the people who were coming. Boo. But I still have a few tricks up my sleeve and I can't wait to share his party with you next week.


These girls have their daddy wrapped around their fingers. They may be sassy, stubborn and throw their tantrums, but the love they have for their daddy is like nothing I have ever seen.

TWO. I finally did my taxes this week. I have been putting them off because I can't stand doing them. Not only do I hate doing them, but we usually pay every year. We haven't had a refund since the first year we got married. Not even when we had the girls. Even though we pay for daycare, have kids and donate so much stuff (hello growing toddlers), we still pay.

Last year, I filed my taxes 3 days before Tax Day. This year, I knew I couldn't wait because we will be in Mexico when they are due. So I did them this week and prepped myself to pay. But guess what, we are actually getting a refund. It isn't huge like many that I see (I analyze my applicants taxes), but it is a refund instead of money due. I will take it.

This comes at a great time considering we just got the last two bills from Sutton's ER visit back in January. Ouch. We seriously need better insurance where I work.

THREE. So yesterday we had sooooo much rain. When it rains, I put the girls in their snow boots because they still go outside and have play time at daycare. Sutton DID NOT want to wear her snow boots because it wasn't snowing. Then to make matters worse, I wore my Hunter boots to work (casual day in support of the Wolf Pack) and Sutton wanted boots like mine.

I have been searching for rain boots for the girls for awhile now. Always looking for deals because while it does rain here, it doesn't rain much. Except for yesterday when we had 24 hours of non-stop down pour. Anyways, I remembered that Hunter was collaborating with Target and in two weeks their new line comes out. I soo soo hope to pick up the girls a pair each because the $50 ish price tag that Hunter charges is too much when my kids grow out of shoes so quickly.
Hunter Kids Boots

But in the meantime, if you know of cheaper rain boots for kids, please send them my way.

FOUR. Yesterday, Emily mentioned this amazing website called Unroll.me This website allows you to unsubscribe from any and all subscription emails that you currently receive. I used it for both of my email accounts and I love the results. You have to tweet out something about the company to unsubscribe from more than 5 subscriptions, but I had no problem doing that. I embarrassingly had 192 email subscriptions on one account alone. I have about 20 on there now. So easy, simple and worth it.

This wasn't paid or anything. I just wanted to share it with you like Emily did with me because if you are like me and have a shopping problem, you are probably on everyone's email list. 

Have a great weekend!!!

I am linking up with April, A Little Bit of Everything, Meet @ the Barre and Cup of Tea.
Thursday, March 22, 2018

Nevada Wolf Pack

If you have followed my blog for any amount of time (especially recently) then you know I am a huge Nevada Wolf Pack fan. I went to the University of Nevada, Reno and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Information Systems. I have been to every football game (and a season ticket holder) since I started school there in 2001 (and many before that) and was a season ticket holder for the basketball team until I had the girls (too many games to bring the girls too). My wedding colors were even silver and navy. We are die hard fans and love our school.

Today at 4:07 pm PST, Nevada takes on Loyola in Atlanta, Georgia. Rory and I really wanted to be at this game in person, but due to work, sold out seats on almost every flight and his party on Saturday (when the next game would be if we win), we couldn't swing it. BUT if they make it to the Elite 8 and then the Final 4, we will be going. So please, let's cheer on the Pack.

And now a photo dump showing some Wolf Pack pride through the years.
Just me and some of the Pack basketball players (the two on the left are no longer on the team)




 I was super pregnant here (the girls were born a little over a month later)

 Just announced that we were pregnant with twins



 Spring game

Nevada vs. UCLA game

 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl

 Nevada vs. San Jose State

 Rishard Matthews (Titans), myself and Virgil Green (Broncos)


 2012

2008