The Perfect Mascara (100 tested)

Happy Friday Eve!  Did you happen to catch this amazing post on Pinterest?  Wow.
100 mascaras tested by Cosmo.  There are a couple brands I haven't heard of before that looked great and was surprised to see some drugstore brands with amazing results.

I am layering at the moment.  I am a long time Dior user.  For everyday, I wear Extase.  For special days when I feel like going a little more bold, I layer on BlackOut.  It's a really rich, glossy black, prob closest to falsies, without falsies.  I can't wear it on days I have soccer, but I love it at night or special outings at work.  Grab a sample size, if you have the chance.

Party at the Produce Aisle

O-M-G........breaking news.  Best.Fruit.Eva.  Have you had the newest grapes? Cotton Candy grapes.
Yes, cotton candy flavored grapes.  I love grapes and a girlfriend shared these little gems with me and I am hooked.
They really do taste just like cotton candy but no mess, no sugar overload.
Our "good" Publix stores (the newer, bigger ones) are carrying them but they sell out quick.  It's so much buzz, friends have resorted to facebook postings when someone spots them back in stock. #FirstWorldProblems

Read more about them here.

Denim jacket looks

Have you ever bought a seemingly simple piece of clothing and never figure out a way to wear it? That's me and my denim jacket.  I got one probably a year or so ago and it's still nestled in my closet waiting to come out.
I hit up good ol' Pinterest and found some possible outfit combos.  I didn't find a magical look to get my confidence up to rock it but I am a little closer. :)

 

Is it really Monday already?

Dang, I missed hopping on last week.  I was on the road for work and the days slipped by.

All the kids went back to school Wednesday.  It is amazing, there are SEVEN cousins attending the SAME elementary school.  We have a Kindergarten student, four first graders, one in third grade and one in fifth grade.  It's the same school I went to and the kids are all buddies so they get to see each other every day.  So sweet.  

Did you notice Payton's cast? Poor baby.  She is the first kid to have a cast.  She was playing outside and had a longboard accident.  The crazy part is it happened on Tuesday night and she never complained one bit.  My sis was worried because the swelling wasn't going down. She took her to the doctor on Saturday and sure enough, wrist fracture.  

Celebratory dinner at Outback for the surviving the first day of school.

Sunday, we dodged the rain and took the soccer team over for some indoor soccer.  They had never played indoors and of course, loved it. They trained for 2.5 hours (yes.....2.5 hours) and the last 30 minutes was coaches versus kids so I made an appearance on the turf to kick around with the kiddos.

  That's a wrap.  I am in town most of this week and am looking forward to catching up around the house and enjoy these last couple weekends of summer.  My birthday is Friday and I race the next two weekends, weather permitting. Hope you are off to a great week! Cheers.

Orlando vacation: Lake Buena Vista Resort & Spa

Hey peeps.  The weekend is almost here!  I wanted to go back a touch and give a little more info from my previous post of our little getaway with the kiddos.

If you are looking for a romantic getaway for two...this is not your spot.  If you are looking for a family spot with more room than a hotel, keep reading.  I did lots of research and decided this was a good spot to try.  It's not at Disney, but it's nearby.

 I believe they said there are seven buildings.  Some have pirate pool views, some have views of Disney fireworks.  We were on the east side of the complex and have a smaller pool as our view.

 

There is a combination of covered parking and pull-up parking outside your building.

It's fairly secure.  You have to have a room key to get into any building.  

Bonus: parking is complimentary.  I didn't see any valet though.

We got a 3/2 with a little more than 1400 square feet.  

These are the resort's online photos but our room was exactly the same.

The main benefit of a resort setup like this is bringing your food and enjoying more of a home/condo getaway with all the home essentials versus a swanky hotel.  We ate dinner out but packed snacks, drinks, breakfast, and some desserts.

 

The sofa in the living room has a pull out bed.  Linens of course are provided.

Bowls, flatware, glasses, coffee maker, tea pitchers, dishwasher (and detergent), and fridge are all there for you in the room.  

Bed #2.  The kids loved the telephones since they are used to only cell phones.

Bed #3 

 

Master bedroom with tub, shower, and walk-in closet

Our balcony

 

The amenity center is where it's at.  The kids were in heaven.  Towels were provided.

 

It's so big, it's almost hard to take in.  The pirate ship is huge.

Full bar and restaurant with covered seating

Lots of areas to rest with many cabanas for the family to hang together.

Upstairs roof deck overlooking the pool

No timeshare tours to make, no upselling at check-in, free parking......it was great.  You gotta check it out next time you (or family) come to Orlando.  If you are looking for nightlife, wrong part of town.  Perhaps you can find some fun at Downtown Disney but you are 20+ minutes from International Drive and 25+ minutes to downtown Orlando.  

Have fun!  We will be back for sure. 

Recipe: 4 ingredient pesto chicken dinner

Hey friends!  We tried a new recipe over the weekend and it is a winner.  I am sad to say I didn't take any photos...#FAIL but the recipe came skinnytaste.com (photo credit: SkinnyTaste.com)

Here ya go:
Chicken breasts (Boneless)
Pesto (I had normal flavor, Simon had Sun-dried tomato flavor)
Tomato slices
Mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 400

Simon butterflied the chicken breasts, topped with pesto, sliced tomatoes and cheese.  It was that simple.  He baked for 15 minutes or so and got the cheese perfectly golden brown.  We combined with some angel hair pasta and were so excited to have a "new" way to serve chicken.