Obsession Thursday...Is This A Thing?!

So I have a new-ish obsession.  Actually I have a few…so maybe I'll just grace you all with them!!  It's been a lil while, and my apologies, BUT…you know what…I won't even give you an excuse.  There are none.  Just the usual suspects - so I'll spare you.  Onto "Obsession Thursday" - yep - just made that one up - if you guys like it - I'll stick with it!!

1.  World of Jenks.  Ok so this isn't really "new" per se, but it was new to me this season. 

The season just ended and I'm already in withdrawal.  It's MTV at its finest.  Sydney and I are beyond enamored.  Basically this guy, Andrew Jenks (who I may or may not want to marry) follows 3 different people around for a year and documents their lives/struggles.  I also may or may not have tweeted @AndrewJenks and I'm desprerately waiting for a reply...nbd.  It's soooo good and I highly recommend you all getting involved! 

2.  Face Stuff.  So my sister actually turned me on to this product line.  It's Aveda, which I normally don’t use, but I'm actually really liking it.  It's thier "Outer Peace" line. 

I wound up getting the whole set, because it just made more sense economically, but it is slightly $$.  I think it's worth it thought - so give it a try if you're looking for something new/makes you feel really clean.

3.  Kiehl's.  Again - nothing really "new", but I have 2 new products that I'm totally hearting.  Ultra Facial Moisturizer with 30 SPF and Amino Acid Shampoo. 

The moisturizer is especially good with the summer coming up!  I can't stress enough how important sunscreen is!!  I'm not trying to go all "mom" on you, but PLEASE slather some on before you go outside.  This makes it soooo easy, all you have to do is moisturize (which you should do every morning anyway)!  And the shampoo smells delightful and leaves my hair shiny, bouncy & all together amazing.

4.  Iced Coffee.  That time of year again!!  Loving a big 'ole iced coffee with milk! 

I more recently (over the past year) forced myself off of adding any extra "sugar" or chemical to my coffee.  If you can stomach it - I highly recommend it!! 

5.  Kale & Spinach.  At first they taste like paper shreddings (especially the kale), BUT I've actually grown to like them.  And there's a salad place around here that has kale & cabbage as the "base" and might I add that it's delightful, especially with everything added in.  I made myself (I've apparently been doing a lot of that lately) try it instead of my usually romaine and I've been able to stick to it!  And actually - I've been liking it!  Who knew?!

 

 

Ok - so that's it for now!  I hope all my OK readers and doing alright - my thoughts and prayers are with you all.  Just reminds you how precious life really is - take time EVERY day to tell people you love them and show them how much they mean to you.  XOXO



Oscar Recap!!

Happy Monday!! Why do these days always come so quickly?! I had a great weekend and will be recapping our lil jaunt to AC tomorrow. But for today, I thought I'd do a lil Oscar recap of my fave fashions/moments. I didn't love Seth MacFarlane, and I really thought I would. Some of his jokes I thought were spot on and hilar, but others kinda fell flat and some were just kinda offensive. I also didn't like how LONG the whole night was. Honestly - I fell asleep at 10:30 and in had to watch the rest this morning. It's just too much. They need to cut some things out and seriously get this thing down to 2 hours maybe 3 if we're pushing it. Almost 4 just isn't cutting it for me, and I feel like a lot of people feel the same.


First off my favorite looks of the night. I feel like there were a few that really wowed me, but on a whole, I felt like everyone played it pretty safe.



Reese Witherspoon - She can do no wrong by me.  Just perfection - and that blue...totally makes her eyes pop!



Amy Adams - I really loved this I thought she looked stunning.

Jessica Chastain - Gorg!  That's all I need to say. 

The Tatums - Now this I'm a lil conflicted.  Love him...so so on her choice.  I mean she looks great, but I feel like it could have been better.

Charlize Theron - Could she be any more beautiful?!  She owns that hair adn the dress is just flawless.

George Clooney & Stacy Keibler - such a hot couple.  Perfection - although I could do without his beard.

Kerry Washington - I loved this color on her and the detailing on the top - so pretty.

The Afflecks - BEST COUPLE EVER!!  Obsesed with them.  Her dress was a gorg color and I really loved the back - she wore it well.

Hugh Jackman - a lil shoutout to the boys - he looked so daper and handsome!

Bradley Cooper - should have won!!  Didn't LOVE the hair, but his tux was spot on.

Sandra Bullock - so amazing.  Love the lace and she just looks stunning and effortless.

Naomi Watts - she took a risk and it paid off!  She looked so edgy and amazing.

Jennifer Lawrence - Stunning.  One of the best of the night.  SO gorg!

And here were some that I thought were misses if you will…

Anne Hathaway - so boring and really did nothing for her. Plus the darts on the top are giving a nip sitch that isn't attractive.

Melissa McCarthy - Oh how I love you - but oh how you need to fire your stylist.  Just doesn't do a thing for you and the hair is too out of control.

Jane Fonda - Can't pin point it - prob the color - but just really didn't do it for me.

Kelly Rowland - Don't mind the dress - she wore it well - but that hair.  She needs to get those bangs out of her eyes!!

Kelly Osbourne - So much wrong.  The hair, the dress,  it just did nothing for her at all.

Kristen Stewart - Does this girl ever not look pissed at the world?! Just being her makes this unattractive, but the dress was just not a good choice.

Halle Berry - I find her to be gorg and stunning, but I just couldn't get on board with this dress.

As for my fave moments…

1. Argo winning "Best Picture". Amaze - well deserved and I feel like Ben Affleck finally gets credit for his work after being snubbed "Best Director".

2. Jennifer Lawrence falling while heading to receive her award. I mean poor girl - it's like everyone's worst nightmare.

BUT I put it as my fave, because she dealt with it with such grace. Making a joke of it and just moving along. I love her for that.

3. Adele singing "Skyfall" and then winning. Amazing - she can do no wrong.

4. Bradley Cooper bringing his mom as his date and her just owning the red carpet. She was answering questions, joking around, just awesome.

5. Knowing that we won't have to see Anne Hathaway for a little while - soooo over her. I used to like her, but lately - she's just been really annoying for some reason. Maybe because she's just all over the place…I need a break.

So there you have it - my 2 cents. Tune into tomorrow for a lil AC recap!!

Some Housekeeping Items

Ok so a few quick things that need to be discussed…

1.  I saw  "Pitch Perfect" and I'm completely obsessed.  Here are some takeaways:

- I want to marry the lead actor/character - his name is Skylar Astin.  

I've never really seen him before this, apparently he had a cameo on "Girls" (HBO).  Umm it's not normal how obsessed I am with him - I'm like a love struck teen.  And it's not even like he's the hottest thing around - his personality in this movie is just perfect.

- I love Rebel Wilson.  

She is a comedic genius and is really going places.  I think she's completely hilar and I want to be her friend.

- I awkwardly admitted afterwards that I wanted to watch it again and write down all the songs they performed so I can go buy the ones I don’t have.  It was like a blast from the past that I thoroughly enjoyed.

- I can't wait to see this again.  I need to watch a second time to capture things that I missed while I was laughing.

- Why are you still reading this and not running to your theatre to see it?!

2.  Is it weird that I didn't watch the debates last night (expect 10 minutes) and instead thought that "Giuliana & Bill" would be more important?!  I’m kinda over all this political stuff - I just want November to be here so I don’t have to deal anymore!  I mean you all know I'm overly obsessed with America - but all this back and forth and lying/not lying craziness is driving me nuts!

3.  My sister is getting married next weekend!!  AHHHHH!!! I can't believe it's almost here!!  I have a backless dress (I know major scandy) and I'm thinking of wearing my hair like so…how do we feel about it??

4.  I had another annoying "people don’t understand special issues" the other day.  I was on the bus and there were open seats everywhere.  I sat down on the end seat, so there were 2 seats to my right.  This woman gets on and sits directly next to me.  And then puts her bag on the seat next to her.  

Umm really?!  Why are you on top of me?!?!  I was like heavy breathing mad.

5.  The Real Housewives reunions were hella nuts!  NJ and NY are two of my faves and both just wrapped this past week.  I don’t even know where to go!  All I can say is - omg Joe Gorga was a stripper - dying.  Teresa needs to check herself.  Ramona is still Ramona.  I love Heather.  Jacqueline needs to stay awake.  I wish Kathy didn't get a nose job - she didn't need it!  Caroline - preach is sista.  Andy - you are a saint. 

Ok so that's all for now.  One more thing - I'm back on the exercise circuit.  Don’t worry the desk person at the gym gave me a "judgy" look when I checked in yesterday.  You don’t know my life - stand back!

Working for the Weekend

Ugh - so here we are again.  Monday.  You are my Everest. 

 I hope you all enjoyed your weekends.  I managed to squeeze some fun out of mine!  Friday was another ridiculous co-worker extravaganza.  Once again I found myself out until 2:30 am with some work peeps.   So that happened.  I don’t even know - so ridiculous.  Saturday I wasn't as bad as last week, but managed to be a complete POS until about 1 pm when I actually decided to get off my couch and embrace the day!

I had a day of "me" on Saturday.  Honestly - I think it's so important and every girl should have one, at least every few months.  I knew I was having my lil bday swaray (by swaray I mean I told friends to meet me the Rusty Knot on Saturday night), so I wanted to get myself dolled up and ready to go.  my first stop was Denim Habit on the UES.  I know I've discussed this place before, but I'm so obsessed.  I literally stood in the doorway pathetic and said "dress me".  Well challenge accepted - I walked out with a bagful of new clothes!  Including an outfit for the night and a new pair of jeans that I'm obsessed with.  This never happens.  Jeans shopping for me is up there with bathing suite shopping - actually I might even think its worse. But these girls know their shiz…they nailed the style and size in the first shot!  Here's what I got…

Henry & Belle's Super Skinny Ankle

Luxe Junkie camis - UNREAL

Zoa shirt - you can see the look better with the pic below - but i got this color

After that I went to Benefit to get some new makeup.  They proceeded to just do my makeup.  The girl was really sweet - a lil bit of a flake/wing nut.  For example when she started doing my eye make up she got pretty far along and then freaked out, wiped it all off and started over.  She was a treat!  But I got a few new things that I really enjoyed using this morning…

Amazing eye primer

Pore-fessional - it's great to put under moisturizer

Amazing concealer - Boi-ing

My last stop was a blow out.  I'd never been to one of those places before - so it was really fun.  I went to Fix Beauty Bar (Vicky did my hair).  It was so nice to just sit back and let them do it for me, but also not have it look "done".  I also had a manicure while I was getting my hair done which was amazing - time saver and you just felt pampered!

I then took myself home and got dressed to go out.  we had dinner at Frankie 570 which was delish, not too $$, but great food/drinks.  Then we proceeded to Rusty Knot and Automatic Slims for a lil dancing action.

Sunday I did my closet - worst task ever!  I hate changing summer/winter stuff.  It's such a process and I dread it every season!  That is one thing I can't even wait to have - a closet big enough that I don’t have to partake in the ritual every season!  I finished my weekend with a fab TV line up of…Big Rich Texas, Revenge & RHONJ Reunion.  Umm can we discuss the reunion - did not disappoint.  Love it - and some people are still continuing to just bring on the cray-zay!

Tiger Hair Is A Great Look For You!

So speaking of hair highlights…don't ever ask me to do yours. I'm not quite sure why I thought of this story - but replaying it in my head made me laugh and it all came flooding back to me. It involves me, my bestie from home, Corey, and a wand of hair dye.

Corey and I grew up together. She is one of my closest, oldest friends. Over the years we've gotten ourselves into a few situations - renting me what should have been condemned house in Radford, VA; nearly getting killed by a mattress that flew off a car in front of us; celebrating my 21st birthday; the list goes on. Now Corey is married with two adorable kids. Even though those crazy days may numbered, we still have the memories and we're still good friends!

So Corey wanted to "touch up" her highlights. She has dirty blond hair and wanted to touch up the blond "streaks". Since we were fresh out of college, our budgets weren't the most abundant! Actually at the time she was tutoring (she's a teacher) and I was nanny-ing - so you can see where I'm going with this. She asked me to come over and help her do this hair treatment. Now please know that I can barely brush my own hair - let along "do" someone else's. I was fully open and honest about my lack of talent in the beauty salon arena. She said it was super easy and wouldn't be an issue at all. I've also never done ANYTHING to my hair - so I have NO CLUE how highlights, low lights, etc. work.

I got to her apartment and she showed me the "kit". It had this little wand in it that you put the hair dye/cream.

She told me to just start at her top part and work my way down to the ends of her hair. The "wand" was designed to give the appearance of perfect highlights - no mess - easy peasey! So we began. She sat on the toilet and we chatted away. I was totally impressed at my hair skills - thinking maybe I'd just do that for a living. She helped me and told me how amazing this was going to look. We were so pleased with ourselves! So then she had to leave it on for 20 minutes and then we'd rinse it out and see our masterpiece.

We went into her living room, sat on the couch and began to go through old photo albums. We were having such a good time and reminiscing. It was a great afternoon. UNTIL we realized that stuff had been in her hair for about an hour. WHOOPS!! We both jumped up, screamed and ran to the bathroom. I through her head in the bathtub and began rinsing. She then flipped her head up and this was my reaction:

I kid you not - she had tiger hair. Like it was bright orange/yellow and blond stripped. Some areas had large "chunks" of orange, some had a tiny streak, some had a circle of orange.

And it wasn't even consistent - it was almost like lines on a road - like the "passing" lines. Totally ridiculous.

So in true Corey & I fashion - we didn't cry - yet - we burst out laughing. She then started to panic a bit because she had to tutor in 2 hours. I quickly called my mom yelling into the phone "WHAT DO WE DO!?!?!" She advised me to call our local hair salon and hope they'd fix it. So I did that - they told me to come in right away and they'd try to squeeze her in. So off we went.

Now this place is pretty snobby - they are the only "game" in town and they think they are just the best of the best. Which I did go there and I did like them, but it's slightly ridiculous. Anyways - you can imagine the looks when Corey and I flew in there.

The first thing they said was "who did this to you?!" I sheepishly raised my hand. Then I got in trouble. But they told her they'd try to help her and get in back to normal. I stayed there with her - I felt like she was in surgery. They are very serious about hair. I paced, I bit my nails, I sighed. Finally she emerged. It looked amazing. You would NEVER be able to tell. I couldn't even believe it. And the best part was - they felt so bad for her - they did it for FREE! So all was good!

Lesson learned - NEVER use those at home products. Or if you do - make sure you know what you're doing. I for one DID NOT. I'm just glad Corey took it in stride and we're still friends! Sooo if anyone is looking for a stylist for Tiger Hair - you know who to call!