Make Up Wake Up!

I have never been shy about my love of sleep.

If you've been reading here for awhile, you know how much

I value my zzzzzsss

and that I'm often late to work because I'm trying

to catch a few extra minutes in bed.

[luckily my boss is awesome and anything under 30 minutes late is overlooked]

Because of my love of sleep,

my morning routine is as brief as possible,

with very little wasted effort and time.

Non-morning workout days

Alarm goes off at 6:30 snooze till 655-7am, Keurig, shower, lotion&brush teeth, make/grab bfast for car,

pack lunch, get dressed, start car, dry/style hair, grab everything

rush out the door. All in 30 minutes, boom!

Morning workout days

Alarm goes off at 5:15am, snooze till 5:30am, start car, Keurig, start bfast, brush teeth, put on work clothes, finish making bfast, grab lunch, gym bag, purse, drive to gym, workout til 7am, shower and get ready at the gym, leave for work at 730am.

Notice how I said NOTHING about makeup in either example!?!

Yup, that's cause makeup is done....don't kill me...in the car!

STOP YELLING AT ME!

I ONLY do my makeup at red lights, scouts honor.

I SAID STOP YELLING AT ME!

I've become a master at putting on my face in the car,

but sometimes I forget exactly what I have in my makeup bag

and then I'm fumbling around and lose time.

NO BUENO!

ENTER ELF products

and their AWESOME SALES!

I've gone from ALLLLLLLLLLLLL this...

L-R: CVS brand Green eye palette, Artistry eyeliner, ELF primer, Artistry liquid liner, Artistry mascara x2,
Artistry eye cover up, Sephora shadow, blush, lip gloss pack,
ELF mineral shadow,
Artistry 3D powder, Sonia K bronzer, ELF blush whip [similar to benefit shimmer]

To just this....

Is that just a box?!?!?!

OH, did I say JUST....yeah, that's a lot!

Perfect eye combination shadow for moi, blush and bronzer, eye liner,
brushes, eye brow powder, lip gloss

I love all of the color combinations in my new ELF pack,

so so pretty and versatile.

Having a 1 stop shop in my makeup bag is super awesome.

Much less fumbling around at lights.

These are my use everyday products, which won't change. 

New amazing Artistry mascara, ELF eye liner, Artistry primer, Artistryeye cover up
Sonia K Travel makeup brushes

I'm sure I'll occasionally grab my 3D powder

and change up my makeup routine

[I'm a girl, it's what we do]

but I'm pretty sure this lil ELF baby

will be in rotation for a long time!

Any fun new makeup purchases on your end?

I'm waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalkin', you should too!

********If anyone is interested in Artistry products, let me know. My mom sells them and they are amazing. Miss America uses them too, FYI ;)**********

I Pray I'm Strong Enough to Love

Source: weheartit.com via Pinky on Pinterest

Dear Husband...

These are not my vows, but they are my hopes and dreams for US!

I don't have you as my forever and always yet, but I can't wait until I do.

I've always wanted the dream, fairytale wedding and marriage. Since I was a lil girl, I knew I wanted to be a wife and then a mommy. I can't wait to be a family and to have that special bond with you and our children.

Okay, I'm rambling....first things first....

I CAN'T WAIT TO BE YOUR WIFE!

I can't wait to wake up next to you every day.

I can't wait to plan our life out together.

I can't wait for all of the new challenges and experiences we are going to have.

I am thrilled to pieces that I will be YOURS for the rest of my life.

You are the love of my life and I am the luckiest woman in the world.

But, I'm going to be 100% honest with you, I have am nervous about this marriage thing.

I wish I could say I know I'm ready to be a wife, but ehhh, I can't.

I'm still a stubborn DOB [daughter instead of son] and that's not going to change easily.

I like things my way and I often think it's my way or the high way.

Do you promise to still love and forgive me when I'm wrong but think I'm right?

I promise to remember all the little things you do for me, even if I don't always tell you thank you.

I know that marriage is a lot of hard work, but I'm pretty sure I'll forget that at times.

But, I promise you I won't forget that you gave me butterflies.

Or, that you are the most amazing man in the world.

I pray that God grants me the patience and disposition to love you the way you should be loved.

When I say my vows, I mean forever and always times a gobzillion.

No going back, even though there will probably be days we want to run away.

Being almost 30, I'm getting started a lil late in the game, but I STILL want 80 years of marriage with you.

I look at all the old couples out there, and that's what I want us to be like.

NO matter what comes our way, I want to rock life with you by my side.

I like to think I'm stronger than I look, so I HOPE I can be strong enough to love right.

To be the wife YOU need!

The wife God wants me to be.

I want to be THAT couple that people pin on pintrest [or whatever comes next] when we are old and wrinkly.

So, when I'm stubborn or mean, remind me of these words.....and don't forget,

I'm forever yours..... < 3

Make Me Laugh Monday

Today is Monday!

I wanna laugh,

and I bet you do too!

Enjoy!

I'm greener than you

Source: Uploaded by user via Kelley on Pinterest

Oh kids

Source: wannasmile.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Who else played this game?

Source: memebase.com via Ellie on Pinterest

There's a reason I don't like jalapenos

Source: cdn.list25.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Take that teachers ;)

Source: happyplace.com via Kathleen on Pinterest

Disney and Ke$ha oh vey

Source: 25.media.tumblr.com via Susie on Pinterest

Like DUH!

Source: laughingsquid.com via Britni on Pinterest

And I'm out !

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net via Jen on Pinterest

Confessions Family Christmas Tree Style

Today we're gonna do something a lil bit different here.

Don't worry, there will still be confessions, but they WON'T be just mine.

Tuesday night my family decorated the Christmas tree together
and y'all it was a hoot and a half.

We played fun Christmas music,
danced around,
drank some wine
hung some ornaments
and shared some crazy moments.

To spice things up, I'm sharing confessions and letting YOU, the reader
GUESS which crazy B family is responsible for the antics.


1] I confess...after everyone decorates the Christmas tree I move ornaments around.

2] I confess...I spent more time mugging for the iPad camera than hanging ornaments.

3] I confess...I forgot where I hid the wine when family was in town.

4] I confess...I broke an ornament that didn't have my name on it.

5] I confess...I put up an ornament that was not mine and didn't care.

Meet the players:

a} Mama B

b} Daddy

c} Moi

d} Sportyspice

e} Babyspice

Alright Nancy Drews......start your sleuthing and make your guesses.

I'll post the answers with the descriptions later this afternoon,
so come back and see if you were right.

I'm also including a look into B family around the holiday....you're welcome!

Happy Friday and only 2 more Fridays till Christmas...WOOHOO!

New Orleans Day/Night 3

Saturday was SISSY DAY WOOHOO!

Before their plane landed,

C and I had time to grab breakfast.

Oh wow was it delicious. I got the étouffée scramble.....

STOP THE WORLD AMAZING!

Even though their flight was delayed, the sissys were excited

to finally be in NOLA.

Since they were sharing a hotel room with me and C,

making him way out numbered

he stayed in the hotel room

while the three sissys toured part of the city

and the youngin's grabbed some food.

We all had a fun time exploring parts of the city

for a bit, but then we had to head back to the hotel,

because they had to change for practice

and I had to change for a podcast presentation.

As podcast hosts, we were in charge of 

announcing the award winners for the season

and handing out fun swag to the kickballers at the bar. 

It was a lot of fun, but I made a horrible outfit decision

and wore a flowy dress,

while we were announcing from a balcony.

Time to page the fail whale

and sad trombone!

womp wompppppp

I was waaaaaaaaay bummed I couldn't fully participate

[because I didn't want to flash those below eek]

but tried to make the best of it with the free swag

and working behind the scenes.

Around the time the meet up ended

C and the gals were heading back from practice.

Our team had a bbq at their house for dinner that night,

however, since we were in the city 20 minutes away

we all decided to eat dinner somewhere on Bourbon Street.

We weren't the smartest cookies in the crumble

and didn't think to make reservations 

so it became a game of 

who had an opening and the wait time.

After plenty of NOs

we came across a pretty swanky place called 

There was a 20 to 40 minute wait, but as it was getting late 

and we all enjoyed the ambiance in the restuarant, 

we put our names in and went to the bar to enjoy a drink.

We might have been the youngest and most under dressed group in the bar,

but we made the best of it. 

Even though we all had a game the next day, 

we chose to indulge in a drink at the bar while waiting.

One of our teammates had come to dinner with us,

so it was a lot of fun getting to know him better

while talking about the tournament the next day.

I spy a sister framer

Drinks!

The wait took a little longer than expected

but once we were seated it was all worth it. 

The food was amazing 

[a tad pricy]

but amaze balls!

I wish I had taken a picture of everything,

but since we had a friend at dinner,

I didn't wanna be a weirdo.

I had duck and it was out of this world.

We also had alligator fritters, baked mushrooms,

halibut, pheasant and steak.

FOODGASMIC!

Everyone was pretty stuffed after their meals,

but we saw another table being served 

banana's foster,

so, duh we had to have some too.

The presentation was fabulous

and it tasted divine!

So happy with her dessert!

We were stuffed and happy when we left,

so we decided to walk Bourbon street

to people watch.

Yeah, that lasted about 5.3 minutes because it was so crowded

and we started to get annoyed with 

all the people bumping into us. 

Before going back to the hotel,

we had to make a very special stop, 

go procure some top secret beauty products.

You'll get to see the result in the 

next recap!

Sunday = GAME DAY!!!!

Ghost Tour and Nola Night 2

After our cemetery tour earlier in the day, it was time to get some food.

A big group of us headed to a famous Po Boy shop for lunch and

it was mmm, mmm, good!

So good, we all needed a nap to recover before our ghost tour.

Yes, that's right, ghost tour. 

The same company that puts on a the cemetery tour,
provides a ghost tour in the evening. 

For the record, I DO NOT believe in ghosts,

but I find people who do intriguing.
[not judging, just don't believe in ghosts]

So, when this tour was suggested by friends

I thought it would a lot of fun

and maybe a lil bit creepy.

I'm normally not one for creepy,

but they promised there would NOT be 

any form of anyone jumping out at us.

No creepers, okay by me!

Our guide was....ummm...interesting. 

I would NOT want to get into an altercation of ANY kind with him.

He was fun though

and enjoyed telling the ghost stories.

I was advised by C to set my camera

to Black & White mode
to try and capture 'unnatural' activities.

This home was the sight of a grisly fire and double murder. An older opera singer killed her lover because he was cheating on her with a younger woman. That same night, the opera house burned and killed her too. People have claimed to see an 'orb' flying from the opera house to this home in the wee hours of the morning. 

There were many stories about this hotel. 

One was about ghost children playing jokes on guests.

Different people have had pictures of themselves

show up on their camera film after staying here.

The kicker, they are pictures from above

while they were sleeping.

EEP!

This home is where a mafia hit went wrong. People see the ghosts of two Italian men on the street dying, as they were shot by the family when they defended themselves. Our tour guide is the guy everyone is looking towards in the picture.

There were two bar stops on our tour. The first one was at the second oldest bar in North America. They served some SERIOUS drinks....super strong y'all. 

Our guide told us a creepy story about the bar. There is a lady ghost that frequents the area. One night, one of the bar tenders was closing up the bar alone and had to use the restroom before she left. Well darn if there wasn't enough TP for her. Apparently, she spoke out loud " I need toilet paper" and someone handed her some under the door.

EEEEEEP!

The last bar we went involved a sad romance. 

Way back in the day, the bar was a brothel and a young girl fell in love with a sailor. 

He had to go on one last trip, and then he promised he would marry her. 

She waited and waited and waited, for over year and nothing.

Then one day his ship came back and she went to meet her love.

Sadly, he had died during the journey, but left her his

wages from the journey, about $62 today.

She was heartbroken and stayed in her room crying for 3 days straight,

before she hung herself on this tree.

Her ghost is said to haunt the bar. She will often play practical jokes on women in the bathroom, locking them in stalls. All you have to do is say 'Mary knock it off' and the lock suddenly works.

People have also randomly found $62 on the bar floor. 

The tour was a lot of fun and I truly enjoyed our guide and the experience. 

If you are ever in NOLA, I highly recommend doing a ghost tour.

After the tour was over, the group headed out to find a fun dinner spot.

The food in NOLA is so amazing, I'm hungry just thinking about all the choices. 

After a very entertaining dinner, with two mega hammer time teammates we all headed back out to Bourbon street for another kickball party. Since it was Friday, more teams were in town and it was fun chatting with different people. One of the harder parts of kickball, is figuring out who everyone is outside of their uniforms. Kickballers in real clothes are so weird ;)

Yeah, I see you honey.

Wide angle of Bourbon street from the second party night.

Reppin' those Kent State Golden Flashes, whoop whoop!

C and I were still recovering from the night before, 

so we left the party around midnight. 

Bourbon street was still going strong when we walked home. 

We needed to get our sleep because the next day

SISSYS were in town

and it was the day before game day.

NOLA Night and Day 1 Recap

Here we are friends, it's my 12 day vacation recap!

WOOOOOHOOOO!

Please bear with  me, because there is a lot happening
and lots and lost of pics.

If you want the quick version,
the first night was an awesome plane ride
then drunky times with friends
on Bourbon street!
HAHA!

For the rest of you, this is where you start reading.

We left late Thursday night and were on
'the couples' plane'
which was hysterical.

Basically, all of the kickball couples on our team
booked the same flight unknowingly.
Everyone was hyped before we boarded the plane,
but once we were in the air
everyone passed out.

Well, minus myself, C and one other cool kid ;).

A very uneventful flight later
we were in NOLA and ready to partay.

Most of the kickball kids were staying at a rented home together,
but since I can't sleep with noise
[loser]
C and I got a hotel room at the host hotel.

NOLA cabs make BANK from the airport,
because they charge you out the ying yang.
C, another friend and I decided to do something different
to save $10. We jumped on a bus
with a bunch of random people instead.
Party bus and cheaper....YES PLEASE!

Super fun party bus to the hotel

The bus was awesome, but took a lot longer than a cab since we had to drop off other people. Within a hour we were at our hotel and checking in and unpacking. I was a smarty pants and flew in my going out outfit, because I knew we were going to land pretty late [almost 11pm, 12am eastern time].

Once we freshened up, it was BOURBON STREET TIME!

The Kickerball meet and greet was at Pat O'Brien's
and even though it was late

C and I headed that way to meet people.

And to get a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRICANE!!!!

So much SUGAR but SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!

Special place in my heart now &lt; 3

Well, wouldn't you know everyone had already left Patty O's and headed

to a different place called Bourbon Heat.

Our team had basically taken over the bar, which was awesome.

C and I had to do some MAJOR catching up

drinking wise cause people were HAMMERTIMED out!

And hey, since it was vacation, why not?

New fav picture alert

Me and my cohost for the Kickball podcast

As we left the bar, I saw this RANDO dude with a huge fro and HAD to get

a picture with him. I'm so strange!

[paging drunk pinky ;)]

The night was a blasty and we didn't stumble home
until 3am [4am eastern time].

Bed never felt so gooooooooooood!

The next morning, Friday, we dragged our butt's out of bed early
to get to breakfast

at the historical Cafe Du Monde.

If you've never been to Cafe Du Monde, it is a MUST when you visit NOLA.

Make sure you plan to get there early,

or you will be waiting in line for awhile.

But, the wait is SOOOO worth it!

The beignets are out of this world, for serious!

So light and fluffy and drenched in powdered sugar, yum!

After breakfast, we walked around for a bit before we met up with friends.

Bourbon street is 203483028423 times different during the day than at night.

After some sight seeing, we met up with friends in front of this Voodoo shop for a cemetery tour. I'm all about learning history in new towns, so this was right up my alley.

Our tour guide was exactly what you would expect for a cemetery tour. His mannerisms and figure couldn't have been more spot on.
He was so knowledgeable and funny,
which made learning about the beginnings
of NOLA was so interesting.

Below are different pictures of crypts in the cemetery lot we toured.
If you want to read something interesting,
google NOLA cemetery plots, fascinating stuff I tell you.

This is Nicholas Cage's tomb......what a weirdo!

This guy is missing a head because of Jack Nicholas back in the day.
And, this vandalism is why studios
 CAN NO LONGER film in NOLA cemeteries.

These next two pictures of the voodoo Queen Maria's tomb. People still come to pay tribute to her or ask for her help in matters of the heart.

After the tour we had some time to kill until our GHOST tour later that evening.

That recap will be up tomorrow!