November's Favorite Things

We are a two weeks into November and I am just getting around to posting about my favorite things this month! It amazes me that we are so close to Christmas already!! Some of these favorites are under $20 and be great gift ideas :) Click on the blue words to send you to the website and see more on each item.

Big Knitted Scarf- Thank you SC weather for never being able to plan a week ahead of you. Monday of this week I was wearing a short dress with no leggings, and now today its a whopping 41 degrees outside! These fluffy knitted scarfs add a little something extra to any outfit and also keep you fashionable and warm!!! You can find them in many stores today for under $30, but check out websites online like Zulilly or H&M and score them for under $15 :)

Rodan+Fields Amp Roller & Night Renewing Serum- This interesting little tool has been called "Spanx for your face" by Ellen DeGeneres. The amp roller looks like a mini paint roller and contains tiny needles that open your pores so that your skincare can really sink into your skin! Most people who use the Amp Roller on top of their favorite R+F regimen see results faster. The Night Renewing Serum is applied after you roll and will leave your face feeling like velvet! I used the Amp Roller 6 nights of the week along with the Reverse to get these amazing results! AMP ROLLER

Dark Lipstick- There is something about wearing lipstick that makes me feel better about myself. Maybe just because my teeth appear a little more white or my smile looks a little bigger, but I love it! I often switch between nude colors and bright red, but I have found a love for this dark red recently. I am not brand loyal when it comes to lipstick, but I bought Make Up Forever things for my wedding day and it worked perfect! MakeUp Forever Rouge Lipstick

Zoya Nail Polish- I change my nail color weekly! I don't know what it when I pick a color, but I find one better the following week and then have to paint them over again! This brand is comparable to OPI or Essie in colors and price. I found the color called Madeline a few weeks ago and automatically loved it! It's just enough pink but neutral for me :)

Philosophy Bubble Bath/Shampoo/Showergel- This stuff is so good, I would eat it if I could! Their 3-in-1 shampoo, shower gel & bubble baths offer a head-to-toe cleansing experience that lets you treat yourself without the calories. The irresistible scents are hard to choose a favorite, but I personally love their Eggnog during this time of year. They even include the recipe for each scent on the front of the bottle :) They have so many scents including cinnamon bun, vanilla birthday cake, pink frosted animal cracker & Christmas cookie! Their 16 oz bottle is $17.00, but you can score smaller sizes for as low as $6.

Fun print fleece lined leggings- I used to judge girls that wore leggings as pants. Now I do it every day I can! During the colder months, my favorites outfits are leggings and oversized sweaters with a fun scarf. These fun leggings now come in more colors and prints! And many of them are lined with fleece inside to keep you every warmer in these cold months. You can find most for under $30 in department stores. Altar'd State is one of my favorite store and has them for $29.95 Tribal Print Legging

Floppy Hat- Love Love Love! I kept seeing girls wear these hats, but I didn't think I could pull it off. Finally I came across this one at Altar'd State. I have worn it multiple times a week since I got it and always get complements :)  Altar'd State Floppy Hat for $20.

Tom's Leopard Wedges- Leopard is the new neutral! This fun print goes with most anything. I especially love these because I feel good when I buy from Toms because of their One for One trade which gives a pair of shoes to children in need. Leopard Toms These specific shoes were $99 but they have the same print in a lace up bootie for $89.

Stretchy Bangles- Of course I had to include some of the stretchy bangles I have been making! I make them in all colors and most include three small crosses or a large pearl. I have been stacking them along with all my other bangles and they all look great together :) Check them on Facebook, Instagram or the blog. All are only $12. A Southern Touch Blog

My Hubby's Easter Basket

Easter will be our first holiday as a married couple so I wanted to do something for Stu! I decided I would get together a little basket full of goodies, but I was having trouble thinking of things to put in it other than the same things I have put in his stockings and stuff before. My typical go-to goodies are beef jerky, beef sticks, snack sizes of gold fish or crackers, candy, and maybe some golf tees or golf balls.

Went I got off work one day this past week, I thought about stopping by World Market since it was on the way home, and I know they have unique candy that might be different to throw in his basket. We'll I hit the jackpot! Not only did I find some fun candy go throw in the basket, but I grabbed quite a few other goodies too.

I bought the basket at Hobby Lobby and all the stuff inside is from World Market. There are two different kinds of beer, one made in SC and one made in NC. Different from just some Bud Light! There are multiple kinds of chocolate in there including maple bacon covered, pretzels covered in dark chocolate, and sea salt and caramel filled! Instead of  buying some paper or something to put in the bottom of the basket, I got some salt water taffy to fill in the extra space.

I couldn't wait till Easter and gave it to him on Saturday night, and he loved it :)

1 point towards the Great Wife Award :)

Christmas Jammies

If you haven't seen the "Xmas Jammies" video, you are missing you!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kjoUjOHjPI

This viral video took over social media and tv talkshows! I bought Stu and I matching Christmas Jammies to wear, but he wasn't playing along with it! I thought I had a genius idea to sing to the Holderness family (makers of the video) and ask them to come video our wedding day for us! Well unfortunately, I never got around to making a full video, or getting Stu in the pjs, but here is my short rap :)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152320740761934&l=7579468968137717159 

Valentines Day came early

Finally a Saturday where we didn't have to travel or run errands all day!  Stu and I had planned to sleep in late and just hang out around the house today before cooking dinner and watching Back To The Future tonight. I have been mentioning I needed to new wallet and that there was a Michael Kors one that I wanted, so he said he would get it for me for Valentines day. I bought him the Back To The Future trilogy a few weeks ago and told him he was going to have to wait till Valentines day to get it. So looks like today was our Valentines day :) 

We left the house around lunch time and headed to McAlisters for some grub. The mall is right down from there, and I knew that Belks had the wallet that I wanted!!!

I couldn't wait to get home and clean out my purse and current wallet to restock everything in my new one :)

 I love my MK purse! I am the type of person that switches out purses with the season, so I'd like to think this one is my fall and winter purse. I got it at TJ Maxx for $120. 

I can't name one girl who doesn't loose things in their purse. It always seems that I can't find what I am looking for in there because it a black hole!

 I love my new wallet! I wanted one that opened all the way up like this :)

So as I emptied out my purse, I realized I carry a lot of lip color. I couldn't break myself from not putting them back in their little pocket though. 

I am a huge fan of Ulta makeup products! I use their shampoo too! I keep an extra mascara tube in my purse at all time. 

 These are two of the colors that I used to use often. I used to 216 more because it isn't as bright as the 201. These are both lipstick from Ulta for $8. 

 This is my favorite lip stain! This stuff is serious at doing it's job. I can wear it for hours at a time and the color doesn't come off with food or on cups. It's Make Up For Ever - Lip Stain- #15 Pink $24

 I just bought this lipstick for the wedding! Stu picked it out ... It's Make Up For Ever-Satin Soft Pink $20

New Years Eve

 I am not someone who particularly likes to celebrate New Years Eve at a big event. I would much rather be hanging out at home with friends, drinking our own cheap alcohol and possibly be in pjs. Watching the ball drop, shooting off some fireworks, and then going to bed. Nothing fancy. Just fun.

 

This year we ended up going to the Southern Skyline party at the Hyatt in downtown Greenville. It was a huge event and the first ever party for this company. Our radio station, MY 1025, was one of the host for the event, and helped advertise for the party a few weeks ahead of time. When we run commercials for events, it usually means there are tickets involved for employees :) I ended up scoring Stu and I tickets to the even and Taylor & Amber were also able to go with us! We were not short of friends at the event. There was over 1,000 people there to celebrate kick off 2014 with us!

 

 

                

NYE Flashbacks

In honor of today being New Years Eve, I started to think about NYE's in past. Today marks two years since Brian Y was hit by a car, 3 years since I spent my NYE with a parrot, and 5 years since Angela hit someone's little dog.

I have never done anything crazy exciting for New Years Eve. Going to Charleston to kick off 2012 was probably the most exciting thing I've ever done. When I was younger, we used to go to the neighbors house around the corner and watch them set off fire works while everyone ate, drank and watched the ball drop. There was one year specifically that I can remember when Jennifer went with my family. Mom, Jen and I were sitting beside the fire on a little bench when all of a sudden the fire popped and something came flying towards us. Mom jumped off and ran one way, I the other, and poor Jennifer just fell backwards off the bench!! Lucas has thrown some trash in the fire, not realizing that one of the fireworks was still in the box!

I just called Angela because I am sitting here almost in tears laughing so hard thinking about NYE 2009. She was dating Josh at that time and we were all freshman in college at USC Aiken. Josh's friends were all getting together to celebrate at one of their houses in Irmo, and he and Ang decided to hook me up on a blind date. Josh's friend, Danny, was single and was a freshman at USC. We were driving back to my house after leaving the party in two separate cars. I was in my own, and Ang was following me in hers. We were on the road that runs beside Publix in Irmo when all of a sudden a little Chihuahua ran in front of my car. I quickly swerved and missed him, but Angela who was a good 100 feet behind me didn't :( I turned around when I realized that Ang wasn't behind me anymore and ended up pulling over on the side of the road where she was. She said she thought it was a squirrel or something and didn't mean to hit it.  I remember us now calling for that little dog and Josh saying that poor little guy was probably someone Christmas present... This was so not funny while it was happening, but 5 years later, I am getting a little chuckle out of it.
















Next came New Years 2010. LC's birthday is January 31st, so we usually celebrate one way or the other. She is in Orlando with some friends, probably having a blast at Harry Potter World today. On this particular NYE, we had a party at Paul's house downtown Columbia. I was still dating Danny at that time, and we surprised LC with a doughnut instead of a cake for her 20th birthday. It was just your typical party at Paul's with a big group of Chapin/ Irmo people!

 

New Years Eve 2011 was nothing special. Jacob and I went to Joey's house for dinner with the family and then watched the ball drop there with everyone. Kristen and Rocky were going out downtown, so they came by and ate with us before they went out. I spent most of the night playing with Zazu, Joey's parrot!

And then there is NYE 2012!!! Jacob and I went to Charleston with some friends of ours on a party bus owned by one of the guys parents. When I say party bus, it is literally that! There was a group of us going down together, but it was all random people that didn't know each other for the most part. Jacob had invited a friend of his named Justin, and then Justin brought two girls with him. Brian was roommates with Robert, so him and his gf Amy (graduated from Chapin with me) joined in too. There was 3 other guys and 2 other girls. Thinking back now, it was really really random how we all ended up on that bus together!

 We all met at Brian's apt that morning and headed down to Charleston. The plan was to go to Justin's house that we were all staying at and get changed before we headed to Red's for dinner and the party. After the party, the bus was taking us back to Justin's house to stay the night, and then we were getting up early and headed back to Cola. Seems simple right...
On the way down, everyone started talking about friends they had in Charleston and we ended up picking a few more people up at different apartment complexes on the way to Red's. The only two couples that were on the bus were Jacob & myself and Amy & Robert. Problem #1. Everyone else was basically free meat. Problem #2. Boys had been drinking all day.  Problem #3. All girls are not sluts.

The night was coming to an end... blah blah blah and everyone was getting back on the bus. There was a few randos that we didn't know who they were, but hey, the more the merrier right?! It was around 3am and we were headed back to the house. The bus driver turned down a different road and pulled up to an apartment complex to drop a girl off at the end of the road. The random blonde girl who I didn't know (who is also in the picture to the right in the blue dress with a stain) got off and right behind her followed one of the guys that was with us. Brian was in the back of the bus and didn't seem to know what was going on, but as we started going again, he suddenly jumped up from his seat, grabbed the door opening gadget thing, and jumped off the bus. It was all kind of a 30 sec blur because no one really knew what was going on. Next thing I know is that we look over and Brian was running across oncoming traffic and suddenly was hit by a car. (he is still alive today, don't worry) Other guys ran off the bus to go help him and get him back on the bus with us. Our night that seemed to be coming to an end, was now just starting as we headed to the emergency room.

We pulled up to the ER and Justin jumped off quickly and ran inside to get help. He came back to the bus with a wheelchair and was very unhappy with the nurses inside who had just ignored him when he asked for help and were too busy asking if there was someone famous on our bus. By 4:30am we were leaving Brian there, and headed to the house to try to get some sleep.
 I am honestly not sure what happened after that. We got to the house safely and all went to sleep for like a total of 3 hours. I remember one girl called and got someone to come pick her and a friend up so they wouldn't have to deal with the craziness that the next day would bring. When we got up that morning, we got all of our stuff together and had to be in the driveway at 8 am to get on the bus. Needless to say, the bus didn't get there till almost 10 and we didn't have everyone going home with us that we started with. Brian had a couple of his friend pick him up from the hospital and take him home so we never even saw him after the accident. The picture below is us waiting for the bus to come get all everyone. I have no idea who the girls are beside me....

New Years Eve 2013

This was my first NYE with Stu. We met in January of 2012, so New Years was the last of all the holidays that we got to celebrate together. We didn't plan anything big. Just went to dinner with my girls and then to Brian and Ivey's house to watch the Clemson game.

 

Now to New Years 2014...

To Be Determined.... TONIGHT

 

Instagram Obsession

It's day after Christmas and all though the house, Stuart was sleeping while Tipsy played with her mouse. Jessica was up, getting ready for work. Not because she wanted to, but because she doesn't get paid to twerk :)

Ha ha ha! It's pretty bad that the first word that I thought of to rhyme with work was twerk!

The office is so quiet today because the majority of everyone has taken the day off. Literally when I say majority... We have 12 sellers and 4 are here today and 3 managers and 1 is here today. Everyone I have called hasn't answered and I have already swallowed down 2 cups of coffee by lunch time. I was looking back at the home page of my blog and started scrolling through my Instagram photos. I ended up going all the way back to the very first photo that I had posted last April. Here's the thing, I was so anti Instagram because I posted everything on Facebook and Twitter. So many of my friends had kept trying to get me to download it, but I just wasn't interested. Finally come April, Bri and I were getting ready for Ang's wedding, and while she did my hair, I scrolled through her Instagram looking at everyones pictures. I immediately loved it and made my own a few days after!

After looking through all my pictures today, I realized I in love with the whole idea of it. There are so many things that I was able to capture over the past 8 months that I love!! Here are some of my favorites!

I just posted this picture yesterday! Casey gave us this cute chalkboard with a picture frame for our engagement party! Some of our wedding décor is going to be chalkboards so this gift was perfect!!

 

 

 I love taking pictures of my food :)


 

Crème Brule from The Lazy Goat in Downtown Greenville.

Strawberry, spinach and almond salad made by me! I ate this everyday for two weeks straight while working at McDonnell & Associates!

A delicious strawberry cupcake from The Chocolate Moose in downtown Greenville.

These yummy goodies were on the dessert bar at Soby's brunch in downtown Greenville!

 Amber Bryant took this picture of Stu and I walking back to our car one night after having dinner with her and Taylor in Greenville.

This was Stu's first, and sadly probably last time at Uptown Art with me! We had so much fun painting out Clemson sunset pictures together.  

 It's no shocker that I am obsessed with my cat Tipsy!

 I love taking pictures of all her funny expressions! She doesn't always love the camera though!!

  

 If you ask Michael Mae who her favorite person is, she will say Stu. He loves her more than anything <3

 

Now Stu has two girls competing for attention. Anna was born the day before Stuart proposed! She is such a little bundle of joy because she is always laughing and smiling at everyone. This was us before church on 12/23.

 

I believe that a persons coffee mugs tell a lot about them!

And to add to the crazy cat lady mug above... here are my crazy cat lady salt & pepper shakers!

 

I love a good day with arm candy! It brings confidence to my attitude!

I could never turn down a good bloody mary! This scrumptious concoction was from the bloody mary bar at The Roost during a Sunday brunch.

The sky amazes me. Especially when it looks like this. This was a sunset back in October in Greenville!

 



Last but not least, these champagne flutes were the first wedding craft that I made for our wedding. I bought the glasses at a thrift store for .25 cents each and then bought the paint at hobby lobby! I can't wait to use them at our wedding!!