Favorite moments from the weekend

Another week in the books buuuuuttttt........it's a four-day work week!  It's going to be a great week.  We have some fun stuff going on at work and three days to relax this weekend.
Friday night I took my oldest nephew out for dinner.  Simon was working out of town so it was just Shane and I out for hibatchi.  It's one of his favorite places to dine.  He turns 14 in July.  He is already taller than me and the stuff we discuss is so funny.  Seems like he was just born, time really flies.

Saturday we headed to the lake for some family-tanning-relaxing-boating time.  A few of my other nieces and nephews were staying with my Dad for the weekend so we hung out for the day.

I also managed to sneak in a tasty steak dinner with Simon and we stopped by my sister's work for a drink afterwards.  Weekend perfection!  I can't wait to read about your weekend.  Hope y'all have a great Independence Day celebration.  And don't forget to cheer on the US in Tuesday's World Cup game.

BBL updates - Day 2 thru 7

It's my one-week update after my BBL treatment.  I tried to document my photos around the same time but the lighting was tough to get consistent. It has been one week and my spots have faded a lot since treatment day.  {See my treatment day photo here}

After treatment I noticed more dark spots on my right side.  If  I were to have more on one side, I would have thought it'd be the left side since I drive a lot for work and that is the side closest to the window.  My husband says its because I hold my cell phone on my right side, haha.  Put the phone DOWN! 

I have also changed up skin-care lines.  My esthetician recommended this Retinol-A cream at night and this Vitamin-C serum in the morning.  The retinol has made me peel a touch around my chin so I am going to skip a night until I am used to it a little more.  

If only I could make myself apply sunscreen, I would probably be in great shape for the long run.  I wear a hat to protect my highlights and yet skip the sunscreen, what is the logic?!  Baby steps I guess.  

What are your favorite skincare products?  More updates to come as my skin heals.  Have a great week.     

Career Talk: Job Interview Hair Styles

Summer is here and lots of peeps seem to be in the mood to explore career opportunities.  I have received loads of resumes lately so I wanted to visit some career talk.

The toughest part of the interview planning is probably the outfit.  Need some ideas? Check out my {previous post} for some outfits less than $100.  Once you have the outfit, next comes hair.  This can be tricky.  The necklines on your outfit will give you some guidance and what your hair feels like doing the morning of can be hard to plan for, but let's just say all goes well.....here are some safe choices.

For short hair....nothing too slicked back.  A soft, loose style is sure to appeal.  A 1.25" curling iron will give a loose wave and a couple bobby pins can polish the look.

Medium hair has lots of options.  Down or half up.  Be sure not to have hair covering your eyes.  This can be a distraction for you and the people interviewing you.  You want to eliminate anything that can make you nervous.  For those that can pull off the center-part, this is a polished look.  You want to look put together but not pageant.  

Long hair ladies have great job interview hairstyle options too.  Again, polish is key.  Put together but not too fussy.  Pretty but authoritative.  Here are some great interview (and day-to-day) options.

Want more career tips?  Check out this section {on my blog} 

My BBL journey - Day 1

BBL - have you heard of it?  Broad Band Light treatment.  Today I had my first treatment and took a few photos to monitor my progress over the next week.  For those new to BBL, here is a summary of what it does:

How does BBL work?

The light energy delivered by the BBL will gently heat the upper layers of your skin. The heat absorbed by the targeted areas will stimulate your skin cells to generate new collagen. This will help restore your skin to its natural beauty, blending its natural colors and making it smoother, vibrant and younger looking. In addition the photothermal energy will target and eliminate many of the fine vessels that cause redness and the unwanted melanin responsible for pigmented lesions.

Basically, this Florida girl now has to spend her hard earned money to repair bad decisions made during my 20's.  I tanned indoors, I tanned outdoors, I even did "cocktails" where I hit the tanning bed and followed up with a spray tan.  These days I am a spray-tan only girl but my face is yet to forgive me.     

The BBL treatment is meant to help cell turnover and rid of the dark spots on my face.  I am convinced that taking birth control pills has also contributed to the dark spots but that is just a guess.  My face doesn't normally look like these photos shown but the treatment immediately brought any discoloration to the surface.  

Fast forward to my treatment, it was about 25 minutes total and for the most part, comfortable.  A clear gel was applied to my face and the light was applied in little zaps using a hand-held tool resembling a price scanner.  I some some mild tingling for a couple hours afterwards but it quickly diminished as the night went on.  So, here you go.  A few make-up free (except leftover mascara and eyeliner) shots of the sun spots I am seeking to repair.  By week's end, I am hooping these spots have faded and are a thing of the past.  I will do at least one more treatment in another couple months.  I don't normally have cheeks this rosy, I am guessing it's some irritation from the heat treatment.  (These pictures were about three-hours after)

Luckily, I don't have wrinkles yet and the doctor asked me if I had botox in my forehead.  No botox for me yet but I can probably be talked into in fairly easily. :)  Finally, this big fivehead forehead of mine got a compliment.  I am sure I will be obsessed over these next few days checking the mirror but will report back on the progress.  Have you done anything like this yet?  Please tell!    

  

Finding the perfect summer flats

I finally have a good base tan and am wearing the heck out of shorts and summer dresses.  I have a couple pairs of go-to flats I wear from the lake to dinner and everything in between but they have so much use, I can stand to get a new pair.
I have put the braided Michael Kors (below) in an online cart twice but ended up not buying them. I just saw on ShopBop they finally went on sale but sizes are limited.  Decisions, decisions.
What are your summer faves?

Untitled #40 by eporter-217 featuring platform sandals

5 favorite fashion pins - Red, white & blue

I was on Pinterest looking for ways to coordinate pieces I already have and found some cute options. What are your favorite summer looks?

{ 1 } - I recently bought my first chambray top but haven't really found ways to wear it.  A knotted scarf with rolled-up sleeves give me a pretty option to wear this casual look.

{ 2 } - I have some modern straight ankle jeans that I love and a new pair of wedges I am ready to rock.  This look is the perfect mix of polished casual.  Love this.    

{ 3 } - I have a similar chunky chain and a lot of striped tops.  These bold pants would be a great way to update the look.  I haven't purchased any pants like this but I would love to.

{ 4 } - I have this skirt, top and scarf.  These flats are such a clever way to update this and give it a little kick.  I saw some similar flats at Banana Republic that may do the trick.

{ 5 } - USA! USA! USA!  It's World Cup time and this scarf is everything!  I love it.  4th of July is around the corner and this would be the all-american look.  So cute. 

In the kitchen: My new fave food (on almost everything)

I have been such a dare devil lately.  I bought my first pair of black jeans last month, had (and loved) my first mojitos and have a new favorite food.  Food topping, actually.  French Fried Onions.

Yes, the same fried onions used in green bean casserole.  First, let me say I do not like onions.  At all. Somehow these tasty treats have made their way into our pantry and have been on lots of dinner plates lately.  

I first added them when we had friends over for a cook-out.  I had my best dishes out with toppings and took a peek in the pantry for anything to fancy them up.  This did the trick.  Our guests loved adding them to their burgers.

My second experience was with mashed potatoes.  H-e-l-l-o.  Delish.

Most recently I took a hint from Chick-fil-A (they add roasted red pepper strips to salads) and sprinkled some in my side salad.  Just as good.  

If you are like me, these onions only made it in my cart November and December.  Trust me, when walking down the canned veggie isle, grab a container of these and sprinkle away.  Bon appetit!

Weekend Rewind - Lake + Pool Party

Ahhhhhhhhh....gotta love summer weekends.  I don't love the extreme heat here in Central Florida but I do love boating, tanning, relaxing and summer pool parties.  Sunday I pulled a double, hitting up the lake with my Dad in the morning and heading home in the afternoon for a pool party and cook-out with some friends.

I am also happy to report that I hit up Total Wine and got every ingredient possible for mojitos.  A nearly full shopping cart later, we had everything needed for my sis, Jessica to bartend.  This weekend we sipped coconut mojitos but several of our guests suggested strawberry and peach variations.  Simon did a great job working the grill and we had the best time.  Here are a few photo flashbacks.

and the most precious for last.......how cute is this adorable boy?  Our friends, Kassie and Brian are parents to this cutie pie, Dylan.  Too cute.

Adventures in Destin, Florida

Last week we had our annual Adams Homes manager retreat in Destin.  Aside from the seven hour drive (booooooo), it's a really great trip.  The ride up is actually not bad because everyone in the car is chatting and excited to get there.  The ride home, however is a looong trip back.
This year we stayed in a new place and I wanted to share a few snippets from the trip.

The trip started off with a little snafu, once we got to Destin I was in charge of getting liquor for the weekend and my credit card was declined.  My bank, Chase called me right away.  I was still in the store and they explained that it had been declined since I was out of town and had never made an alcohol purchase that big. Too funny.  It was only $300.00 but for Chase it was too much.  Once I explained I was there for a work trip and authorized the charge, my card was turned back on and we were back in business.

Once we were loaded up we headed to our condos.  This year we stayed at Emerald Grande at HarborWalk Village and it was great!  There are some resident owned units there, mixed with vacation rentals.  The condos were top notch and I plan to return with my husband.  These condos are waterfront and the complex has a pool, hot tubs, restaurants and room service.  Love, love, love this place.

Check out the view of the condos from the water.  (We had a half-day boat trip)

There is always one daredevil in every group.  One of my colleagues tried the JetPack adventure.  It was about $200 for the package he chose and he had a blast.  He highly recommends it.  Five of us went out on the boat with him and it was so fun.

Meet the crew!  (Most of them anyways)  I am all the way in the back.  This was a lunch we enjoyed after morning meetings.  They are such a fun group. This trip was the perfect way to start summer.  

A few drink ideas for the non-drinker

I am back from my first summer getaway and brought back a few recipes to share.  I am not much of a drinker.  I am actually barely a drinker.  I was always playing soccer and never really tried enough drinks to find something I like.  What I don't like are the tastes of beer and liquor so my drinks are super fruity and sweet to mask the liquor taste.
If you have a friend like me, you are in luck....I have a few recipes to share.

Drink #1: Pineapple upside down cake -
I found this on Pinterest.  It's super simple with just three ingredients.  Equal parts either vanilla or cake flavored vodka and pineapple juice plus a splash of grenadine.  Serve it chilled.  This seriously tastes just like the name.

Drink #2:  Rumchata shot -
This was recommended by a friend at work.  When I looked online, this can be mixed with Bailey's, Fireball, Caramel Vodka, Goldschlager or Butterscotch Schnapps.  I don't know which of these mixtures I had but the RumChata was easy to drink when it was chilled (shot portion) but some of the guys thought it was too sweet.

Drink #3: Coconut Mojito -
Okay, I didn't make these but I did have a couple at a restaurant, Boshamps that we ate dinner at.  I don't know that this is the exact recipe and the bartender told me you really need some skills for a good Mojito but it's worth a shot.
Squeeze of half a lime 6 mint leaves, 1 oz. Ciroc Coconut Vodka, .5 oz. coconut rum, 1 oz. pineapple juice, .25 oz. cream of coconut, splash of soda, Sprig of mint and lime wedge for garnish.

What are your current faves for summer parties?