Follow Friday / Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

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I began following an amazing blog because of Follow Friday last week and so I was super excited to take part and get involved today! The link they had on their page was broken, but if you are interested in seeing some amazing new blogs to follow, check it out here.

It seems like EVERYONE goes to the beach Memorial Day weekend... it's the official start of summer, woo hoo!!!!! In honor of that, here are even MORE beach photos! (well, of me and Gav, the beach is in there tooYay!) PS for EVEN MORE check out my other blog Lovely Life of Kitty.

New Contest at Work and Top Secret Workout!

So we ended our biggest loser contest at work. I came in 1st place in % weight lost, 2nd place in lbs lost, but only 3rd place for % BMI lost. I went to the beach and looked pretty good so I know that's really what's important (even though winning the $ would have been nice!)

Pic of me at the beach w/ Gav laid all up on me haha)

Anyway so we have a new 12 week competition happening at work.This time instead of lbs lost (because so many people who participated lost a lot and don't have much left to lose) we are going to make the winner be the one who has the most inches lost!  Hard to tell in the above pic (flattering angle) but I could for sure stand to lose inches. We will be measured by our waist and hips. The winner gets.... a weekend at the beach! So I have to win, because the beach is so much fun!

I have a top secret workout plan. If it works I'll post pics for sure! It's a cardio/strength training system I honestly had never heard about before. I learned about it last week on a 'follow me friday' type thing. So I came across a blog that was alllll about this cardio/strength equipment/system (I'm being vague on purpose!) and I was like wow I think i can do that...

So last night I headed out to Play it Again Sports and Dick's to price out this equipment thing. It's not super expensive (like not over $50) but I thought it should have been a little cheaper. ANYHOW so that's all I'm saying for now. Yes!

Free thong from American Apparel?

Yes, it is real! The free thiog giveaway. Everyone wins! Just sign up with American Apparel to receive their e-mail newsletter (I love that store! And great Hello Kitty selection... always!)

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Thanks so much But I had a Coupon for posting this... exciting!

PS have you entered my Lovely Life of Kitty $40 giveaway yet? It's to CSN online stores. The random drawing will be today! At Noon!!!! Enter already!

Giveaway Drawing on Wednesday!

Just a reminder my other blog: Lovely Life of Kitty has an awesome $40 giveaway to CSN stores (online mall, you can get pretty much anything!) so don't forget to enter and/or follow me over there too :)

Ok so back to my beach pics! Only a week and 1/2 until we go to the beach again (another beach this time) yaay fun!

Gav learned how to make sand-drip sand castles. It actually takes a little patience and I was extra proud he could do it!

Apple Cozy!!!

So back to my bday gifts that I love, this is an amazing apple cozy my mom got me! Isn't it the coolest?!? And because I do fruit 'till noon (GREATEST THING EVER! It will change your life. Do it. Do it now, just do it. nike it. Do it do it) this helps me transport my random fruit (works for apple, peach, orange) w/ out it getting too bruised.  Normally I do approx 2 pieces of fruit in the morning (I am not a fan of eating in the morning anyway). But my coworker loves breakfast (yes I have EVERYONE on fruit 'till noon b/c trust me when you do it you will never go back) and she has 2 pieces in the car and 2 pieces before lunch.

Anyhow you can of course find about a zillion variations of these on etsy. My mom ordered this one from Jessica on etsy (I think hers are the best!). This is another one of my honest-girl product reviews, no apple cozy giveaways. Sorry friends :(   BUT I do have a $40 giveaway on my Kitty blog! For CSN onlinestores, so you can get like pretty much whatever (but nothing handmade).

GIVEAWAY!

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Do you follow my other site Lovely Life of Kitty? You should because I have a $40 giveaway that I just posted!!! it is to CSN stores... fabulous! CSN is over 200 online stores and you can get just about ANYTHING from them. I wrote a review about what I purchased (pretty  much the most random thing ever hahah) but check it out! My giveaway will be open for a week. Get on over there aready!

I was a guest blogger!

I am soo thrilled that the fabulous site House of Dolls let me tell my Wedding Day Beauty Don'ts story lol! Are you a follower of House of Dolls blog? it's awesome, racy and hilarious! Here's my very tame post and of course I include my favorite thing ever... (well other than Hello Kitty).. robin's egg lipstick!

Working on a new Template

Remember how when we all had MySpace it was such a blast to make it custom and then the switch to Facebook made you feel so unorigional? But now if you ever check your MySpace page (I don't even remember my password) it looks like such a jumbled mess of colors and clutter? I kinda feel the same way about my blog. I honestly couldn't figure out how to make it white on the sides... and the random template I put over the crazy pink does say "happy new year" on the right (LOL!!) but it's a step in the right direction! I am working on a new header too... interesting I know lol. So 1- if you have some graphic design help (please!!!) hook a sister up so I can make it not say "happy new year" and 2- ok well really it was just the blogging design help I need!

Thanks,

More beach photos (well, us at the beach)!

Do you follow my other blog LLoK? (Lovely Life of Kitty) I have more pictures of the beach, but from a slightly different view lol!

(ok so technically these are of me & gav not the beach but I really like them lol!)

(gav and my mom)

I put this one on FB and everybody was like omg you are so skinny! lol! so I am not really, it's just a really flattering angle/outfit I think!

My fav thing I got for my Bday

  

I got lots of great things... (and a TOMS gift card and I can't wait to get the new wedges when they officially come out.) I LOVE the bag my mom got me off of etsy the most. OMG it's so beyond perfect!

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 ok so it's from etsy (of course) but it is seriously the most perfect bag ever. And no, sorry no giveaway and the seller doesn't know me so no etsy shop pushing... just a real, pure, honest review of a fab item!  Ok more pics and info (if you want a bag like this too because you know you do!)

Ok so MY bag is Lydia in 'moss purple gray' but this same style bag comes in all sorts of fun colors (above, top). And the shape/style is cute and a great size... big but not like 'overly big' anyhow the inside is amazing! Hard to tell in the picture, but the inside had like infinity pockets (at least 6) and a zippered pocket and key holder etc.

Anyhow so the pictures make it look more casual, but the bag has almost like a sheen to it in person so it can be casual or more formal. I bring it to work and it's perfect. Perfect to throw my lunch in, perfect to throw a jacket in. Just perfect!

Ok so here's all the info... the seller is christystudio and her bags are a bargain! Like this one I got (sorry I peeked!) is only $32! But all are under $50 I'm pretty sure and most are in the $30-$40 range.

Christy has so many great bag styles. Check them out! (her baggs all have a gazillion pockets)viavia

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 via Oh I found more colors of my bag. How great is this bag in white/blue??

HK Cupcakes!!!

My friend Lauren at work helped me realize my Hello Kitty cupcake dream!!! I was actually only in the office one day last week before I left for my bday/vacay so I gave up on my cupcake dream on my own. But Lauren suprised me with Hello Kitty cupcakes and came to the rescue! You all know I LOVE funfetti (really, the only kind of cake mix anyone should ever buy). And check out her detail on the HK cupcake toppers. Love it!!!!

Look at poor Gav here. I am taking him to the dr. tomorrow but beyond the cupcake (I brough him one when I picked him up from daycare) his face has a bad rash. it's getting better but I still want to have it looked at because it's almost been a week :/

Earth Friendly Gift!

So I was at the Farmer's Market w/ Gav a few weeks ago and saw these cool shoe-plant-container things. Like, the plants were growing out of shoes! So of course I had to buy some plants and make these for my mom for mother's day. Here are pics and instructions!

Just cut holes in a shoe/boot/etc (Gav called these his 'fast shoes' he outgrew them about a month or so ago).

Get some plants that don't need much care or water.

(I think these are called hens and chicks or something)

Break the plants apart and fill the shoes with dirt and plants.

Cover the tops with rocks, water and you have a unique gift!

Then I got Gav a new pair of the exact same shoes that fit!! I think my mom really liked this gift. She has them outside her house.

Happy Mother's Day! Brunch at The Basics in Wilmington.

We came back from the beach on mother's day and stopped at The Basics, an 'organic soul food' restaurant in Wilmington, NC. It's on Front street in the Cotton Exchange. We randomly found this place, and it was FAB!

Here's my mamma (looking kinda tired after our beach trip) next to an interesting Jimmy poster.

They gave us these cute teeny tiny biscuits when we sat down (gav was looking a little tired too. I'm not even going to post pics of me b/c I was looking a hot mess).

I got the blueberry oatmeal pancakes (no dairy). OMG so good and filling! They gave me another baby biscuit! I actually ended up making a tomato sandwich (I needed something salty) with my biscuit and my mom's rejected tomato haha.

This is my mom's veggie plate

She got mac and cheese, salad and greens. Oh and another baby biscuit (sweet tea too of course!)

Gav got french toast (no dairy) and loved it!

Wilmington is a very cool city on the waterfront. I have been there a few times, but only downtown to the Cotton Exchange once before. It is very alternative and 'groovy' as my mom would say. I got into UNCW but didn't go there because I remember feeling carsick on the ride there from Charlotte (haha) and during the tour there were all these hot, beautiful people laying out and I thought wow I don't fit in here. I visited friends there during college and went to a party where this dude played the guitar and made up songs about my friend Mary and I. Hers went "There's something about Mary..." the movie was REALLY popular then. Mine was like "This is Leah, I don't think she has gonorrhea..." Yeah. At the time we thought it was hilarious.