2.28.2013

utah fun and blog conference

Happy Thursday everyone! 

Over Valentine's Day weekend, I traveled to SLC to attend a blogging convention.  The convention was ran by the wonderful girls at six sister's stuff and I was VERY impressed with the entire experience.  The convention was filled with insightful tips, tricks of the trade, and lots of fun.  I met so many wonderful ladies and I'm so grateful I was able to attend this conference.  

Other than the conference, my gentleman friend and I shopped at the fabulous City Creek, went on some fun drives through the mountains, visited with his cute sister and her family, and pretty much ate our way through the city.  Below are a few snapshots from the trip.

Enjoy!


B and I being the tourists that we are.


First stop, Cafe Rio of course!!


Dinner at Ruth Chris in Park City.
Love me some Pellegrino.
Yummy dessert.

Beautiful Utah.

Park City.


City Creek aka best shopping EVER.


2.26.2013

weekend update



Happy Tuesday everyone! 

I am so so excited to link up with one of my favorite bloggers, Sami, for a weekend recap.  This weekend was a short one for me as Friday was my working Friday.  After traveling to Utah and back last weekend, it was nice to spend a relaxing weekend in town. 

Enjoy!






Spent some time exchanging cuddles with my sweet little man.


Treated myself to some Costa Vida.  This may or may not have been the 3rd time I've ate there this week.

Booked plane tickets to sunny California in April! woohooooo!!

Spent some time shopping with my little guy.

Cried my eyes out during Safe Haven.  One would think that the milkshake and candy (#fatkid) I ate during the movie my comfort my tears, but I was wrong.


and last but not least.... watched the Oscars!  After I spent hours drooling over the beautiful designer gowns, I bring to you my favorite red carpet styles.

Without futher ado:

Kerry Washington in Miu Miu


Zoe Saldana in Alexis Mabille


Jessica Chastain in Armani Prive


Anne Hathaway in Prada.  Okay okay... you may be thinking... Anne was a hot mess during the Oscars, why include her?  Even though the dress is pretty boring, she still was stunning.


It's your turn! How was your weekend? Who were your Oscar faves? I'd love to hear :)

2.25.2013

manners monday: shopping


After spending a few years as a bridal consultant, I can honestly say I’m shocked by some people’s behavior when shopping.  Truth be told, I occasionally gave my brides the benefit of the doubt as I know firsthand how much stress is associated with wedding planning, but still… stress is no excuse for being rude.



After leaving the bridal industry, I can justly say that I’ve seen everything.  That being said, I tip my hat to anyone working in retail.

Enjoy!!

1.       Smile.  First impressions are everything and a simple smile will not only put you in a better mood, it can raise a salesperson’s spirits.
2.       Greet the salesperson if they don’t greet you.  If the salesperson doesn’t greet you, don’t take it personally.  They are most likely distracted or may not know you are there.
3.       If you don’t want help, say ‘I’m just browsing/looking around’.  Not everyone who goes shopping knows exactly what they want.  Sometimes we want to spend a leisurely afternoon just browsing.  I’ve found it odd that the people who in fact just want to browse don’t communicate this to the salesperson.  As a result from not communicating, these browsers end up feeling pressured and have a bad experience at the store.  Back in my bridal days, when I would tell people where I worked, they would ask ‘Why aren’t customers allowed to just look around’ or tell me some bad experience they had while trying to browse. Ugh.  Bottom line:  Communicate with the salesperson if you just want to look around.  This will alleviate stress from both you and the salesperson… and trust me, you will end up with all the uninterrupted browsing time your heart desires.  If you experience a pushy salesperson, the key is letting them know you’ll find them when you need help.
4.       If you have a question, ASK.  This one is pretty dang simple.  If you have a question about a sale, ASK.  If you are unsure of a price, ASK.  If you want a price estimate, ASK.  A lot of shoppers assume the shirt they want is on sale or hope the cashier will honor their expired coupon at checkout. One can alleviate a lot of stress (and embarrassment) at the checkout if questions are brought up early on.
5.       If necessary, make an appointment.  If you plan on shopping at a venue that takes appointments or pairs you up with a personal shopper/consultant and are unsure if you need an appointment or not, I’d highly suggest calling the business and asking.  It’s also important to be respectful to the staff at businesses that require appointments.  Should you be turned away from a bridal shop because you didn’t have an appointment, its bad practice to cause a stir and be mouthy with the staff.  If you have an appointment, it’s disrespectful to show up late or even worse, not show up at all.
6.       Patience is a virtue.  Shopping, especially during the holidays, can be very stressful time for everyone.  Keep in mind that although you can’t stand another minute shimmying through the loud, noisy, cranky holiday crowd, the salegirl probably feels the same way and has another 7 hours left in her shift.  Also, it’s important to remember the first come, first serve rule.  Just because you have a yoga class in 45 doesn’t give you special treatment to cut in front of me in line, sorry.
7.       Complain to the correct person.  Ahh, the complainers…oh how I love them.  I dealt with MANY bridezillas back in my day and I always thought it was funny that they would complain to everyone with a David’s Bridal badge on before speaking to the manager.  Yelling at a salesclerk isn’t going to solve your problem.  If one needs to complain, I highly suggest going straight to the manager.  As tempting as it is to vent to the cashier about the lack of size 7 shoes in stock, that cashier won’t be able to help you.  Lastly, after one has approached the manager, I suggest framing the complaint clearly and simply. No venting, please.
8.       Dress appropriately.  It’s 2013 and by now everyone should have seen Peopleofwalmart.com, right?  Wrong.  Clothing that certain individuals think is socially acceptable for wearing in public still amazes me.  Seriously, if you know you’re going to the mall why not put on a bra?  Just last week I was at Bed Bath and Beyond and saw a girl wearing cotton bootyshorts with ‘lovergirl’ on the behind, a white tank top (that barely covered her tummy) with a hot pink lacy bra peeking out, and boots on a 43 degree day.  Yeah…. You get my point.
9.       Clean up after yourself.  We’ve all been there.  We excitedly rush into the fitting room and not being able to hang our clothes up due to the 5 shirts taking up hanger space, 3 pairs of jeans laying on the ground, and a couple dresses, inside out, strewn across the bench in the room.
10.    Don’t expect a personal shopper.  I’ve witnessed plenty a women get their feathers ruffled after a salesgirl went to help another customer.  It’s common in retail to have 3 or 4 scheduled workers on the sales floor each shift.  Due to weekends, sales, and holidays stores are slightly busier and although the salesgirl assisting you would like to give you one-on-one attention the entire afternoon while you try on everything in the petites section, the salesgirl has other customers to help.  If there is a dire need for one-on-one attention, I suggest shopping during hours where the store is less busy or calling the manager ahead of time to make arrangements.

2.21.2013

things i don’t understand thursday: the female edition




Happy Thursday everyone!  A couple weeks ago I posted a few things that puzzle me about the male species.  I’m going to flip the script this week as this post is aimed towards to female side of things.  If you have ever been in a sorority, on an all-girls team, or been in an environment with tons of women you are bound to meet LOTS of different personalities.

Diversity is a wonderful, fabulous thing…but occasionally you may encounter gals that make you take a step back and think to yourself ‘Seriously!! What is her deal?’

Contrary to popular belief, not all girls fit into the ‘sugar and spice and everything nice’ camp.  Not all women have tact and know what’s appropriate.  Not all ladies actually know how to act like ladies.

Here we go!! Enjoy!


Frenemies. Call me crazy, but I’ve never understood the dynamic of having a ‘frenemy’.  The whole idea is just so unhealthy.  I’m a competitive person by nature, but I’ve never ever ever ever had the need to want to compete with a friend.


Workout wear.  As glamorous as I try to be, I seriously don’t understand why some girls doll themselves up the way they do.  The whole shebang consisting of a face full of make-up, perfectly curled hair, and a perfectly matched outfit is a tad too much in my opinion.  You’ve probably seen them, glistening gently, while attempting to read their Glamour mag, take a drink of water (from a bottle that coincidently matches their outfit), and text while going half the normal speed on the elliptical.


Checking boyfriend/husband’s phone.  I know MANY of girls who are prone to checking their boyfriend’s phone on occasion. I’ve seen it all, everything from the simple run to the bathroom with his phone for a quick peak into who he’s been texting to actually checking his phone, nightly, after he goes to sleep.  It’s understandable that different girls have different relationship dynamics and they are probably used to this type of thing, but it still makes me think that they need to be looking at why they need to do this.  What do they think they’ll find?  If they feel their man is keeping things from them and the only way they’ll find out is through being sneaky and checking his phone, there is definitely a big problem.



The Mark Zuckerberg effect.  Facebook, Facebook, Facebook….where shall I start?  Facebook does great things.  It connects people and gives you the opportunity to keep in touch with family, friends, and loved ones.  Facebook gives you the opportunity to share personal milestones and expose new chapters in life in real time.  That being said, some gals see where others are in life and start to feel a bit bad.  The 20s are a tough time for everyone, so seeing Jane’s status update about her new corporate job in a high rise can be a tad unsettling if you are still shuffling papers at your (unpaid) internship.  Tuning in over Christmas break and seeing shiny rocks and happy engagement posts can really put life in perspective for someone who has struggled dating.  I’ve had a few friends come to me while they were in major slumps in life.  At first they couldn’t identify why they were in such a slump, but after breaking things down a bit they discovered it was triggered by a couple Facebook posts.  Long story short, no matter how secure a woman is, Facebook does have a weird way of making us think ‘Wow, she has a hot husband/clean house/big house/Louboutins/better figure/kids/better job than me/more friends/more money/better hair…What am I doing wrong?’



Lindsay Lohan syndrome.  Bless her sweet little heart.  What has happened to the sweet Lindsay causing a ruckus in the Parent Trap?  What happened to the Lindsay I was so jealous of because she got to kiss Chad Michael Murray during Freaky Friday?  Somewhere between Georgia Rule and her 1st rehab stint, she went downhill…fast.

Back to my point.  I have always questioned why certain females have a Lindsay Lohan-syndrome where staying out all night partying, getting arrested, and assaulting people is common.  I have known a few girls that execute the Vegas/bachelorette style drinking every weekend.  These weekend warriors live to party.  I’m all for people celebrating what’s important to them, and hey…if you’d rather spend every weekend partying it up, more power to them.  The only problem I have with these pre-funk princesses is their reluctance to enjoy situations that aren’t fuelled with alcohol.  I’ve seen major anxiety and discontent at events where drinking isn’t present.  I’ve seen lots of anger over brunch invitations, who knew suggesting 11:00am on a Saturday was such a big no no?  Ugh.  Another thing I wonder is if these folks are so used to drinking, how in the world do they still lose things, get into altercations, and get sick?  One would think that a seasoned person would know their limit, know NOT to ask another girl at a charity event if her dress is real or a knock off, or for goodness sakes know NOT to leave your TB clutch on the table when you go to the restroom because that shiz will be gone before you know it and you’ll be out $350 dollars.


Kettle black criticism.  Before you start shaking your finger at me, let me retract for a second.  I strongly believe that EVERYONE is beautiful.  No matter what disability, race, creed, gender, height, jean size, hair color/texture, amount of freckles, skin complexion, or what labels your rocking, I see beauty in everyone.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that don’t.  What is even more unfortunate is sometimes people who may be battling an certain vanity/self-esteem issue will target others with the same issue and criticize them.  It happens all the time and it seriously bugs the crap out of me.  Just last week, I heard a women with a stronger build gossip about another, making several comments about her weight and went on to state that her husband should maybe limit her diet because she’s ‘let herself go’. Rude, rude, rude.  I wanted to march over to the gossipy lady and snatch the greasy fried chicken and fries from her just because of the weight comment.

I’ve noticed over time that someone who is unhappy with their looks, will highlight other’s problems instead of working on their own.  In the past, I had a beautiful friend who had very intense vanity/self-confidence issues and went about criticizing others in a very unique way.  At first, instead of being judgmental towards others she would ‘fish’ for negative comments about other girls.  When talking to guys, she would suggest a friend that was definitely not the guy’s type and fish for reasons why he didn’t want to date her.  Normally the reasons would include the gal’s weight, which was interesting as this gal’s main problem was with her weight.  She then would go about setting up a group gathering after telling the friend that the guy was interested.  Normally, the girl’s feelings would be majorly hurt because hey, it would totally suck to think a guy totally digs you and then find out in an embarrassing way in front of both his friends and yours that he doesn’t.  In the end, the gal who set everything up would take conscious effort in comforting her friend who was rejected and act as if she had no clue in the world that this would happen.  The gal that I spoke of was able to feel better about herself, but it was at the cost to others.  Although I don’t have much communication with this gal anymore, I sincerely hope that she will outgrow this pattern and learn that she has so much to offer.


Jealousy.  I don’t mean to be that girl, but Keri Hilson was spot on when she said ‘jealousy is the ugliest trait’.  Jealousy IS ugly and very unproductive.  I heard somewhere that jealousy is essentially counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own.  I love that quote because if you look at everything and covet what they have, you don’t have time to notice what you actually have.  It’s sad how girls will become jealous of someone else and assume that the person is stuck up/mean/rude just because they are pretty.  I don’t like the notion that all ‘pretty girls’ know they are pretty.  It’s true, some girls let the beauty go to their head, but most don’t.  Some of the most beautiful people I’ve met have turned out to be the nicest, most humble girls around.  I’ve also seen jealousy turn a great friendship into a toxic one.  In this day and age, I’m saddened to see that us women can’t be happy for each other.


Cliquiness and exclusivity.  The hardest part of planning a party/get together for me would be finding people’s addresses.  For some girls, the hardest part is the guest list.  Who knew creating a guest list would be so trying? Personally, I’d be exhausted if I took half the time other’s spend deciding who they should invite, who will be upset if they aren’t invited, how to deal with ones who didn’t make the cut, what to say to the people that aren’t coming, how to respond if someone questions why a person isn’t coming, wondering if people judge them by not inviting said person, and so forth.  Not much ticks me off more than this.  If I have a party, I invite everyone. If there is strife between the girls I’m inviting, I’d suggest they put their big girl panties on and deal with it.  Never in a million years would I let someone talk me out of inviting another friend.  This actually happened to me a couple of years ago where a vacation was planned, the plane tickets were bought, and guess who wasn’t invited…me.  My being an advocate for never excluding people I was more annoyed with the situation than sad.  The funny thing was that the gal who was planning it didn’t really try to keep it private.  I actually didn’t find out about said trip until not 1, but 2 coworkers AND my brother questioned why I wasn’t going.  It gets worse.  To add insult to injury, the following week I was approached by a female acquaintance who alerted me that she was invited, but politely declined because she didn’t know the girls too well.

This seems silly, but this situation really put things in perspective for me.  Despite my girly girl, pageant loving, let’s do our nails while we watch the bachelor nature, I’ve never had too many female friends growing up.  Being pretty naïve and inexperienced in female friendships, I was quick to give the benefit of the doubt, quick to let things slide, and even quicker to forgive.  Sadly, this isn’t the first time things have gotten rocky with this particular group of gals.  Something about this situation just stuck out and made me see things clearly.  As much as I wanted friends, I didn’t need to lose my self-respect in order to keep them.   Bottom line: friends don’t exclude friends.

I apologize for getting SO off track there!  Sometimes we all need to vent, right?  Now it’s your turn!!  What things puzzle you about the wonderful female gender?

Much love!

2.20.2013

an ode to spencer hastings


Over the past few years, I have tuned in weekly to enjoy one of my favorite guilty pleasures formally known as Pretty Little Liars. Despite being aired on ABC Family, the show has kept my attention with its mature plotline and great casting.  My favorite character is Spencer Hastings, played by Troian Bellisario.  I’m hard to please when it comes to fashion, but Spencer definitely wins my vote of best fashionista on TV.



Spencer rocks it each and every episode with her New England prepster style.  She keeps it classy and simple by sticking with muted colors , mixing up masculine and feminine basics, and layering up to add that extra something to a somewhat blah outfit. 


 Take a look at some of my favorite Pretty Little Liars fashions:



 cred



 cred




Does anyone else share my love for Pretty Little Liars?  If so, who is your favorite PLL fashionista?

2.07.2013

things I don’t understand thursday: the ‘man’ edition

For the most part, the male species is great.  But sometimes, you wake up and realize the honeymoon phase is over.  The honeymoon phase is often referenced in relationships when one becomes settled in a relationship and stops the gogo eyes and pet names.  When the honeymoon phase ends, it’s really confusing.  It’s not that the relationship loses its original luster…you just become comfortable.


The same thing happens somewhere down the road when you’re married.  When everything was once sunshine and puppydog tails, you’ll eventually start noticing new lovely ‘man habits’ that you once ignored before.  Listed below are examples of such ‘man habits’ and other manly traits I will never understand.  Enjoy!



Their ability to forget important dates and conversations.
What has always baffled me is that men can sit and appear ‘all there’ when you remind them that they need to drive Sarah to school on Wednesday, but when Wednesday morning comes…the somehow have no clue.  Not only do they forget important things, they somehow seem to recover from their premature dementia and have the knowledge of Rain Man when it comes to sports.

They act shocked when us women don’t understand their manly interests/topics.
Not only do men expect us to be up to date with sports knowledge and what’s all the rage in the workout world, they make things even harder for us by using shortened names or code/slang.  “Durant was on fire in the Boston game last week.”  I’m sorry, but I know a lot of women who’d be very confused by that statement.

Outfit choices.
Most men are clueless when it comes to fashion. I’m still amazed with some of the ensembles they come up with.  Us women have the added joy of redressing our children after daddy thought a red, sleeveless Cars pajama top, tan and plaid pants, and grey slippers go together.

They forget where everything is.
Have you seen the remote? Do you know where my blue shirt is? Can you call my phone for me? I can’t find it.

Man colds.
The funny thing about a ‘man cold’ is that a simple cough or cold mean they have the plague.  A once manly man will end up laid out in bed complaining every 5 minutes (just in case you didn’t notice they were sick) and refuse any medicine.

Insatiable hunger.
Sure men have heart appetites and are built bigger than us dainty women, but do they need to eat everything?  When I say everything, I mean everything.  If you think that your Applebee’s take out will be there in the morning to bring to work, you better think twice.  If you are thinking of going back for seconds, that food is probably gonna be gone before you hit your main course.  Also while we are on the subject of hunger, I’ve never understood men’s fast food choices.  2 big macs, a large fry, a McFlurry, and a diet Coke?  Who does that?


Goodness, I could go on and on but I should really stop now.

How about you guys? Can you think of anything that baffles you about our male counterparts?  Any annoyances?  I’d love to hear!
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