Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Not So Memorable Memorial Day

Usually I spend all Memorial Day weekend by a pool or at D's parents lake house. This year....not so much. For starters, D's parents sold their lake house over the winter (tragic I know!) so that was out. We only spent one day by the pool. The rest of the weekend was spent doing lots of activities absolutely nothing.

Friday, we went and saw Hangover 2. It was definitely funny, and if you enjoyed the first one I would recommend going to see it. However, in my opinion, the first one was funnier. There were some great one-liners in this movie, but it basically follows the same storyline as the first one.


Saturday D was gone most of the day at his soon-to-be brother-in-law's Bachelor Party. I spent the day watching Redbox movies and doing laundry (try not to be too jealous!)

Sunday started fairly lazy; however, we decided to make a trip to Home Depot to pick up some planting accessories. We had some plants out front that were dying dead. I also needed new hanging baskets because mine died awhile ago.

I clearly was not born with a green thumb. I definitely have to work hard to keep my plants alive.

That night, D and I got some sushi for dinner and stayed around the house.

Yesterday was our most exciting day of the whole weekend. We went over to my aunt's pool and laid out, had a few cocktails, did some swimming, and got a TAD sunburned.

Sorry I don't have any pictures from the weekend, BUT as you can see it was so thrilling I didn't have time to take pictures. :)

Hope everyone had a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!

xoxo,

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Vanishing Act

So sorry I've been MIA for the last few days. This week has been a little crazy but good. A lot of exciting things have been happening around here.

Last Saturday (not yesterday) we threw a birthday party for my mom to celebrate her turning the big 5-0 (sorry mom don't ground me for posting that on here)! It was good to see a lot of our family and friends. After some people had left, we ended up getting D's cornhole boards out and playing in the yard. Such a good time. Here are some pictures I took during the party:

My mother and I

Since the party was at my house, Scooter was invited.

My uncle's two little girls, Bella and Sophie.

Time for the cornhole boards to come out in the front yard.
Scooter came outside and watched from his bed. 

We had a blast at the party, so much so that D asked me if we could have a party like this every weekend. I think he liked being able to party at home and just walk down the hall to go to bed instead of the hassle of cabbing it home all the way from downtown. 


In other exciting news....D got a new job! While it's bittersweet for him to leave the company he's been with for so long, this is an amazing opportunity! He put in his two weeks notice, so he will start in a couple weeks. 

I promise I'll try not to disappear again! 

xoxo,

Friday, May 20, 2011

Country Strong

This movie has been on my "Need to See" check list for awhile. After a quick trip to Redbox, I was finally going to be able to check it off.



Let me start by saying overall, I really liked this movie.

All of the actors did their own singing. Gwyneth Paltrow (Kelly Canter) was great, Leighton Meester (Chiles Stanton) surprised me with her country twang, Garrett Hedlund (Beau Hutton) stood out for me--in a good way, and Tim McGraw (James Canter) who is the most established singer in the bunch didn't sing a note.

I thought overall the acting was well-done. However, in my opinion Hedlund was out acting everyone. The issue I had with Paltrow, while convincing as a recovering alcoholic, was not her acting (she did a great job as usual), but it was with her character. Kind of predictable. That was my only issue with her. Meester did a good job as beauty queen turned country singer. This was her "Look I can do something besides play Blair Waldorf and be good at it" role. McGraw on the other hand, well he left me a little confused. I don't know if it's because I'm used to seeing him play the nice guy, or what. (In this movie he is a butthead anything but nice)

This movie could have very easily fallen into the been there done that category. Main character has a problem, they reach their low point, and then somehow everything magically works out in the end. However, (and I won't give away the ending in case some of you still haven't seen it) the movie navigates itself away from the typical Hollywood fairytale ending.

All in all, if you like country music then go see this movie.

xoxo,

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The President Came to Memphis

Yesterday, the President of the United States came to Memphis, TN. He wasn't here to talk about budget deficits, the war on terrorism, or whether or not he plans to run again in 2012. He came to give the commencement speech at Booker T. Washington High School's graduation. BTW won a contest called "Race to the Top." Their improved test scores and graduation rates,  along with a video they submitted led to 44 giving their commencement speech. See their finalist video here.


My favorite part of the graduation ceremony was when one of the graduates, Christopher Dean, took the podium to introduce President Obama. You can see his speech introducing the President here.

The President's speech was full of promise and hope for children graduating from a high school located in one of the poorest and roughest zip codes not only in Tennessee, but the entire country--38126. (His speech here.)

Also, see the Valedictorian, Alexis Wilson's, speech here. Salutatorian, Vashti Taylor's, speech can be found here.

The President was only here for about 3 hours and 45 minutes; however, no matter Republican or Democrat, this was an exciting moment for the city of Memphis.

xoxo,

Monday, May 16, 2011

Naked Palette

Sorry I have disappeared for the last few days! I've been in Charleston, and I didn't have my camera cord to upload any pictures!

I've been meaning to upload my review of Urban Decay's Naked Palette for quite some time (a few weeks); however, I got caught up getting ready to get out of town and honestly forgot (whoops!).

I will start by saying there is a reason this thing keeps selling out in stores. It's amazing! When I ordered mine it was sold out on Sephora's website. Now it says it is back in stock (with limited quantities). I ordered mine from Urban Decay's site. I was so excited when that box showed up on my doorstep. I had to force myself to take pictures before I dug right in.

It can consolidate almost all of your everyday (and even some weekend) eyeshadows into one easily organized palette.

It even comes with a small sample of Urban Decay's
Eyeshadow Primer Potion.

There are so many different looks you can create with this palette. Colors range from nudes to charcoals and grays. 

I'm seriously obsessed. I use it every single day.


The palette contains many different finishes including matte, shimmer, even a little glitter. I urge anyone that is a fan of neutral tone eyeshadows to RUN, not walk, to your closest Sephora store (if you don't have a store near you then go online to either Sephora or Urban Decay's site). 

xoxo,

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." ~Washington Irving

"If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?"  ~Milton Berle

"Mothers are all slightly insane." ~J.D. Salinger 

"I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them." ~Phyllis Diller
The last one especially reminds me of my mother. She always tells me that when I grow up and buy a big house, all she asks is that I build her a guest house in the back. She told me her job would be to lay by the pool and "keep an eye on it." Thanks mom. :)


I can't be there in person to celebrate Mother's Day with her this year because I'm in Charleston, BUT maybe I'll bring her some goodies back? Hope everyone has a great Mother's Day. Don't forget to tell your mothers you love them! 


This is a picture from a few years ago when 
my hair was super short (for me at least!)

Love you Mom! Hope you have a Happy Mother's Day!!

xoxo,

Friday, May 6, 2011

Happy Fri/1 Day until Charleston Day!!

Hope everyone had a great Cinco de Mayo! Here's a couple pics from my "wild" (not so much) but fun night out with my BFFF and D!



Dustin was having trouble taking a regular photo.
I think I had given up by this point.


Today is also the 1 day mark until I leave for Charleston, SC! D is sad he won't be coming on this trip, BUT I'm excited for some girl time! A couple girlfriends and I are going up to see our friend, Patrice, that moved there a few months ago. I was just in Charleston in March, but the weather was still a bit chilly. I'm excited to go back and HOPEFULLY (fingers crossed) enjoy some warm warmer weather! 

Here's some pictures from my last trip to Charleston in March:



 Beautiful cobblestone streets in Downtown Charleston

We had a little too much fun at the aquarium that day!

Can't wait to see what this trip has in store for me and to get out of Memphis for a bit!

xoxo,

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Cinco de Mayo!

Cinco de Mayo may be one of my favorite holidays. It's one of the few days you could rock a sombrero all day and nobody most people won't think you're insane. So here's to having a few cocktails in honor of Mexico's freedom. Hope everyone gets to shake their maracas a little bit tonight!! 




Happy Cinco de Mayo!

xoxo,

Couponing to the Extreme....

If you haven't seen TLC's new show "Extreme Couponing," you need to. I know this recession has hit many people hard, BUT this takes saving money to a whole new extreme.

These people devote hours every week to clipping coupons, searching the internet, scanning ads, dumpster diving to retrieve thrown out circulars, or keeping their vast pantries organized.


I'm all about a good deal, BUT I just could not see myself hopping in a dumpster looking through old newspapers. That is pure dedication. Some of these people spend 40+ hours every week searching for deals. 

Stacks upon stacks of coupons. 

 A trailer on a Prius to haul away hundreds of boxes of cereal? That's some serious dedication to couponing.




If I were ever to be trapped inside by a natural disaster, I want to be at this person's house. You could be stuck for weeks and never run out of food!

To be perfectly honest, this show freaks me out a little. I can't quite put my finger on why. Although, I'm sure D would appreciate if I clipped a few coupons to save some dollars. But seriously, go check this show out! 

xoxo,

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Jersey Shore

For those of you that, like me, enjoy a dose of terrible reality television once in awhile, you've probably fist-pumped your way through an episode of Jersey Shore before.



I can't help it. I'm well aware that this show probably kills my brain cells as I listen to the cast's mindless chatter. However, according to MTV this is all going to come to an end. Apparently, the cast is going to do one last season of Jersey Shore in Italy and then that's it.

However, the mayor of Florence (where the show will be filmed), isn't too excited about the guidos and guidettes crashing his city. He released a statement regarding some of the rules the cast will have to follow when in Florence. They include:

  • Will not be filmed in bars or clubs (including vineyards) that serve alcohol
  • Will not be filmed drinking on camera in public
  • Will not be filmed to promote Florence as a drinking town
  • Will be filmed in a manner to promote Italy (not Americans visiting Italy) and feature its culture and food
  • Will not be permitted to film inside of any historic building
  • The cast must interact with "authentic" Italians in "authentic" cultural settings

So you're telling me that MTV is going to try to fill an hour-long show each week of these guys soberly not drinking in public. You're also telling me that people are going to WANT to watch this? Sorry MTV but I'm not buying what you're selling. Just stick them back in Seaside, let them get drunk and fight each other, and call it a day.  


xoxo,

Monday, May 2, 2011

Wedding Weekend Recap

One of my best friends, Laura, got married over the weekend. If you saw my post about my trip to "Nashvegas," that was for her bachelorette party!

This may go down as one of the most fun weddings I've ever attended. The people. The environment. The music. The cake. The banana pudding "groom's cake." Everything was pretty much perfect. The only bad part was that D couldn't go, so my friend Thomas stepped in as my "date" for the evening. 

The bride and I at the rehearsal dinner Friday Night

My BFFFF and my wedding date out on Beale 
after the rehearsal dinner

 BFFFF and I before the wedding

First picture after going from Ms. to Mrs.! 

Date and I after the Wedding 

My BFFFF caught the bouquet...Uh Oh!

Then I stole it from her...


Taking a quick break from dancing 

Keeping the party going up on stage

The new Mr. & Mrs. 

Such a great couple!

I'm basically exhausted from all of the festivities of this past weekend, BUT I would do it over again in a heartbeat. 

I tend to ramble a little, so in totally un-wedding related news, the Grizzlies won their series against the Spurs on Friday night and advanced to the next round of the playoffs. They even won their first game against the Thunder yesterday. The city of Memphis has become entranced by this Grizzlies playoff run. Most people said they didn't have a chance of making it out of the first round! 

Tony Allen

On another random note, I really hope it stops raining soon because the city of Memphis and surrounding areas really cannot handle anymore water. We're already having issues of flooding as it is. 

xoxo,