Off to the races!

Good morning sweet friends!!! I am headed off to the Derby this morning!! Thanks to everyone for your input on my dress situation. I really enjoyed reading everyone's opinions. I have decided to go with the black and white dress of course! I can't wait to wear it tomorrow! I think there is an 80% chance of rain and thunderstorms tomorrow but I won't let that ruin my good time. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and share with ya'll my experience. I hope ya'll have a wonderful weekend!!! I'll leave you with a few of my favorite Derby photos.

Photo from Flickr.com

Photo from Migration.Kentucky.gov

Photo from Zimbio.com

Photo from Store.Derbyartgifts.com

Photo from HorseandHound.com

Kentucky Derby or bust!

Tomorrow morning we're leaving on our first ever trip to the Kentucky Derby! I am so so so excited!! It's only going to take us about 7 hours to get there. It's funny how I say ONLY 7 hours which is clearly a long time...but I'm so used to driving between 10 and 13 hours lately that 7 is nothing!! We are staying in Frankfort, KY which is about 45 minutes from Louisville. We were able to get a hotel for much cheaper there. Okay, on to the important stuff...what I'm going to wear! We'll start with the hat because it's a definite. It's a Nine West hat I bought the other day and it's fabulous!

Okay so here's where I need ya'lls help!! I bought a blue floral dress that I absolutely love especially for the Derby. It goes great with the white hat and I was wanting something colorful. BUT the other day I was looking through my closet and found a black and white dress that would look amazing with my hat!!! Now I have no idea which dress to wear. What do ya'll think??



Blue floral??

Or black and white??

Also, those of you who have been to the Kentucky Derby...what are some must-see, must-do things?? I don't want to miss anything! Do ya'll have any tips? I'd appreciate any input!!! Thanks so much and have a wonderful day!!

April Favorites

Well, another month is almost over. Time sure flies when you're enjoying the weather huh?? Actually I'm not enjoying the weather so much this morning. It's cold!! Anyway, since April is coming to a close in a couple of days, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite things from this month! Here they are in no particular order.





1. Avon Glazewear lip gloss - This is one of the best lip glosses I have found. It isn't sticky AT ALL. It glides on nice and smooth and the colors are beautiful. My favorite is Darling Pink. It's a cute girly pink shade that would look nice on any skin tone.

2. Kashi TLC Raspberry Chocolate bars - Yummmmmmmy! I am craving them now just talking about them. They are naturally sweetened with only 120 calories and 3 grams of fat per bar. They are so delicious and such a great little snack.

3. Victoria's Secret Girls' Night Sheer Fragrance Mist - It has hints of pink peony and waterlily. It smells absolutely amazing!! The only gripe I have about it is that it doesn't last very long. I like to be able to smell it all day!

4. Clinique Acne Solutions Foundation and Clinique Almost Bronzer - I am still very much in love with these two products and wear them every day. If you missed my post on them, click HERE!

5. Lady Antebellum's Need You Now Album - I debated on buying this album because I was afraid that the singles would be the only good songs on it. Boy was I wrong! It took a couple of times listening to the CD but now I am officially obsessed! I love every song on it and even after listening to it every day for the last couple of weeks, I am not tired of it one bit!!

6. Forever 21 Grey Vest - Please excuse my crappy picture. I couldn't find a picture of it anywhere on Forever 21's site or Google. Don't you hate when that happens?? It's super comfortable and I want to wear it with everything!!

What are some of ya'lls favorite things from April??

Come on baby light my fire...

This weekend I was feeling very crafty. As usual, I spent about an hour to two hours in Hobby Lobby walking up and down the aisles looking for inspiration for a project. Mother's Day is coming up and I wanted to make my mom a special gift. I had read about decorating plain candles before so I went with that. Here's the finished product!

I found some really pretty scrapbooking paper to wrap them in. I grabbed two similar but different patterns, some contrasting ribbon, tacky glue, stick-on bubble letters and three different sized candles. I couldn't wait to get home and put them all together. It was actually a very easy project to do!

The big candle with the W on it was too big for the scrapbook paper to fit around. I was so upset and didn't know what I was going to do. That's when I had the idea to put the ribbon behind it. I think it turned out pretty well. Actually I like it better than I would if it didn't have the strip of ribbon! I just glued a strip of ribbon to the candle then wrapped the scrapbook paper around and glued it.

After I was done decorating them, I thought I can't leave the bottoms just plain and waxy. I wanted my mom to be able to put them on a table and not worry about messing the table up. I decided to cut a circle of the scrapbook paper and glue it to the bottom. I remembered I had some small felt stickers that we used on the bottom of our furniture to keep it from scratching our hardwood floors. I stuck a couple of those on the bottom and voila!

I really love how the candles turned out!! I'm thinking about making some for myself! What crafty projects have ya'll done lately??

Furnace Faith

Happy Monday friends!!! I hope ya'll had a magnificent weekend and I can't wait to hear about them all! Today is my little brother's birthday! He's 22 today and late for work. I guess we can let him slide today. Like promised, brownie cupcakes with cookie dough filling and turtle buttercream icing were made and I can't WAIT to share those pictures and recipes. Ya'll are going to LOVE them. You can only eat maybe a half of one at a time or you will be sick. Trust me...I know this from experience. ;) Today's inspiration is about faith. I struggle with faith as I'm sure we all do at times in our life. It's easy to have faith when everything is going well, but when things get tough having faith is a hard thing to do. I hope that anyone going through some tough times right now will feel better after reading these following paragraphs. They have definitely helped me.  

 

     Facing the fiery furnace, the three Hebrew children refused to compromise their beliefs or change their behavior. They told the King, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand...But even if he does not...we will not serve your gods." With the words, "even if he does not," they took their faith to a higher level. They knew God could prevent it, but not that His plan called for it in this instance. But they'd rather die than deny or disappoint Him. Understand this: God can take you out of your situation or bring you through it. When he leaves you in it longer than you'd like to stay, He's developing furnace faith.

     Furnace faith is dead to doubt and blind to impossibility. It reaches up through the threatening clouds and lays hold of the One who has all power in heaven and on earth. It makes the circumstances bearable and the future hopeful. Furnace faith believes that even if you do have to go through the fire, God will go through it with you. Listen to the words of a heathen king who watched it all happen: "I see four men loose, walking in...the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God" (Da 3:25). Furnace faith makes you as free in the fire of affliction as you are out of it. Furthermore, when your friends see the Lord in there with you, it'll convince them like nothing else.

It's award time again!!

Good morning sweet blogger friends!! I hope you are all doing well today! I had an amazing time at the Bon Jovi concert last night!!!! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera cord so I can't show you the pictures today!!! I'll post them soon though! Here are some awards I've received recently and I want to hand them out!

I received this award from Sweet Southern Prep! She is so lovely and I look forward to reading her blog every morning! She has such beautiful children whose pictures will brighten your day! Check her out!!

I received this award from The Pink Prep and Prissy and Preppy Flamingo. They are both such sweet girls and I'm so thankful to have them as friends. Check out their blogs!! You'll love them, I promise!

This award came to me courtesy of If I Can't Wear Heels...I Don't Want To Go. She is such a classy and beautiful girl! She has the best taste in clothing and she is such a go-getter, so go check out her blog and get inspired!



I'd like to pass these awards on to anyone who hasn't received them. You all deserve them!! Just list 10 things about yourself or that make you happy and pass them along to others! Thank you so much for the awards girls! Love ya'll!!



Here are 10 things about me! :)

1. I have 2 different colored eyes. One is black and one is light brownish hazel. I love when someone notices and the first thing they say is "Did you know your eyes were two different colors?!" I'm always like "No way!!! What?!?!" Hahaha love it!

2. I love to dance!! I have been line dancing for 9 years. I also started west coast swing about 2 years ago. I LOVE it! If you haven't seen it, check it out on youtube! It is such a fun, smooth dance and the songs are always great!

3. I work at my family owned lumber company. I've been working here for 9 years and I can't imagine being anywhere else. I haven't yet decided what I want to be when I grow up...but as long as the lumber company is still around, I will be here supporting my dad!

4. I was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure last year. It has been a long hard road. I still struggle with it every day but it's definitely getting easier. I'll do a post soon explaining what it is for those who are interested.

5. I started a diet on January 10, 2010 and so far I have lost 13 pounds! I am so excited!! It hasn't been easy and it hasn't gone as quickly as I'd like but I'm definitely thankful I have had the willpower to get this far! I only have 5 more pounds to go!

6. I am currently obsessed with making cupcakes! I try to only taste a small piece of each kind I make so it doesn't interfere with my diet. It's rather hard though I must admit.

7. My four year wedding anniversary is in July!! I love my husband so much and he is my very best friend. We have been through some trying times in the past and they have only made us stronger. He supports me in anything I do and is always there for me. I love him more now than ever. :)

8. I am a beauty school dropout! I went to cosmetology school about 4 years ago. I love hair and makeup so of course that's what I should be doing right?! Nope. Let me tell you, it was so much fun learning how to do things and learning color and cuts...but once I started having to do clients I was over it. I love it as a hobby, but as a job every day...not for me. I still enjoy doing friend's and family's hair and makeup and I learned a lot so it wasn't a complete waste!

9. I am currently struggling with my purpose. I pray every day and night for God to show me what my purpose is and what He wants me to be doing. I pray for the peace to be able to hear when He does speak to me. I thought I knew what I would do with my life, I thought I had it figured out all along. How silly was I? Things have happened recently that led me to really realize that I can't plan my own future. I am working very hard to turn my problems over to God and stop trying to do it all myself.

10. One of my many dreams is to own a house right on the lake with a pier and a boat. We would eat dinner by the lake every night and in the summer I would spend my days in a hammock on the pier or out on the boat getting a tan. Ahhh...sounds nice right?

I hope ya'll have a magnificent day today! I love each and every one of you and I thank you so much for taking the time to read my little ol' blog. I can't wait to learn new things about you!

Livin' on a prayer!!

Take my hand and we'll make it I swear! OHHHHHH!!! Livin' on a prayer! Don't ya'll just love that song?? It's one of my favorite karaoke songs to do! I have quite a busy weekend ahead of me! Tonight I will be attending the Bon Jovi concert!! I am so excited. We are about as high up as we can go without sitting on the roof but hey, as long as I can hear the music I'll be good! The way I look at it is if there isn't as many people up there, the more room I have to dance! Just look at these hotties!!! Hahaha!

This weekend my husband, my dad, my brother and his friend are all going to Tunica, MS for MANCATION! I know, that word is extremely corny, but that's what it is called for real. They are watching a mixed martial arts fight, participating in a Texas Hold 'em poker tournament and a golf tournament, AND skeet shooting. Cigars and beer are included. That ought to be interesting. I will miss my sweet husband. I think it's the first time he has been away for more than 2 nights at a time. He will have a lot of fun though I'm sure of it. I've got some birthday celebrations to go to this weekend and a trip to the gym on Saturday morning! I'm thinking about doing a class of some sort. I love doing aerobic dance classes. They are so much fun and don't feel like exercise!


Tomorrow night I'll be attending a relay for cancer survivors with a friend from work. She has just beat her lung cancer and we are all so very happy for her. She is so strong and her faith has really pulled her through.

During my walk around the track with a good friend, I'll not only be thinking about her and all of the survivors that I've known and met, but I'll also be thinking about the ones who didn't make it. The reason we all need to do everything in our power to help make awareness and raise money for a cure. I know everyone has either been affected or knows someone who has been affected by cancer. I plan to buy a couple of luminaries to carry with me on the walk. If anyone would like me to make it in someone's name, please let me know!! I would be MORE than happy to do it.

Monday is my little brother's 22nd birthday!!! You all know good and well what that means right? Cupcakes!!! Leave it to my brother to pick an outrageous cupcake for me to make him. It will be brownie cupcakes with cookie dough filling and turtle buttercream frosting. I personally think it will be too much going on for one little cupcake...but what he wants, he gets! I can't wait to share the pictures and recipes with ya'll!

Last but not least, Happy Earth Day!!! I have always loved this day because I am very passionate about taking care of the things God has given us. This Earth is a beautiful gift from God and we should all be very adamant about keeping it beautiful. Here is a list of some small things we can all do today to do our part.


1. I will use one bottle for water today instead of wasting many.

2. I will take shorter showers.

3. I will not leave the water running while I brush my teeth.

4. I will not litter and I will gladly pick up litter that others have thrown.

5. I will wash my clothes with cold water instead of hot.

6. I will not print something from the computer unless I absolutely have to.



What are some other things ya'll do to save the enviroment??

Louis Vuitton Summer 2010

Ahhh...LouisVuitton.com...where my wishlist never gets any smaller... I have been drooling over their Summer 2010 collection and I thought I'd share some of my favorites with ya'll! Well, also just in case any of you are feeling generous and want to buy me a sweet gift! ;)



I'm not real big on shoes with logos all over them so if that's your style you won't find any of them on my favorites list! Check out these beautiful shoes though!!!

I didn't stop at shoes! Ya'll know my obsession with finding a white watch...I had to check and I found a great one!! Definitely out of my price range...but a girl can dream right?

I just purchased some tortoise Rayban Wayfarers in the new style. I adore the classics and always have but the new style looks so much better on my face. I am in absolute head over heels love with these sunglasses.

However, that didn't stop me from checking out some of Louis Vuitton's new shades. I usually steer towards the rectangular styles because they go better with my face shape. If you want to know what style goes best with your face shape, click HERE! It's a great guide for buying new glasses or sunglasses. Check out these Louis Vuitton's. Love at first sight.

What styles are ya'll drooling over for this summer???

Chocolate Toffee Cupcakes

I did not want to keep ya'll in suspense for too long...so here are the recipes for Lady Gaga's going away cupcakes!! We took my sister to the airport this morning. It was a sad morning for sure but once she gets settled over there, I'm sure she will do just fine. She is so great at her job and she will soon fall in love with the children she is teaching. She is made to do that job and we love her so much!

Martha Stewart's Easy Chocolate Cupcakes

3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup of sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup of sour cream



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup standard muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla.
4. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture alternating with sour cream, starting and ending with the flour mixture.
5. Divide batter among cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.




Chocolate Toffee Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup of solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup of butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon of clear vanilla extract
4 cups of sifted confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons of milk
A couple handfuls of Heath toffee bits
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder



1. In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer.
2. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add cocoa powder, Heath bits and the rest of the milk and beat until just mixed.
4. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.




These cupcakes were delicious and 12 did not last long at the party. I should have made more but I wasn't sure how they would turn out. The cupcakes are dense and chocolately. The icing is rich and the Heath bits give it some crunch. Yummy!! Try these out ya'll! You won't regret it. :)

Sue Devitt foundation update PLUS new Clinique obsessions!

Good morning sweet friends! I hope you are all doing well today! About 2 weeks ago I did a post on Sue Devitt's Triple C-Weed Whipped Foundation. If you didn't catch that post, click HERE to check it out first.

The foundation sounded very promising considering it was oil free and made with natural ingredients. When I tried it on my hand it was very smooth and seemed to even out my skin beautifully. I tried it on my face a couple of days later and I wasn't extremely impressed. It wasn't a bad foundation by any means and depending on your skin type, you may love it! Here's why I didn't like it. I am very acne-prone with some acne scarring and discoloration. This foundation is very light which I love but it was too light to really cover these imperfections. It glides on very smooth and feels airy on my face which is a huge plus but I'm all about a light yet full coverage foundation that makes my skin look airbrushed.

The most airbrushed I have ever gotten my skin with a foundation was either Estee Lauder Double Wear or Revlon Photo Ready. The problem with these foundations is that they are heavy and they clog my pores and cause acne breakouts. Boo!
       

I decided to return the Sue Devitt foundation after wearing it for about a week and a half. It felt great on my skin but just wasn't giving me the coverage that I long for. Here is where we cue Clinique!

I have a love/hate relationship with Clinique. I love their fragrances, free gifts, gel makeup remover, and moisturizer. I hate their skin care! I have tried the 3 step and the Acne Solutions and I hated both. They just aren't for my skin I suppose. I was skeptical when I read about Clinique's new Acne Solutions foundation on a fellow blogger's post. Check her out at http://alpha-blonde.blogspot.com/.

She claimed it was wonderful and light and full coverage and oil free and non pore clogging. Well, that got me interested of course! I decided to stop by the mall after work and have the lady at the Clinique counter put it on me and I would decide for myself. Well...I am officially obsessed with this foundation now!! It is soooooo very light and airy but yet it covers extremely well. I don't even have to use a concealer which is absolutely CRAZY for me because I always need a concealer. Also, it dries matte and just looks so beautiful. I am wearing it in this picture where I dressed up as Cher.

While I was in the chair at the Clinique counter, the lady wanted to do a complete makeup application and of course I didn't mind! She wanted to try out all their new products and all of her favorite ones. I was able to try quite a few things but there is one other thing that I absolutely fell in love with. Their bronzer. It's called Almost Bronzer and the shade I love is the 01 Light/Medium. It has 2 colors side by side that you can use seperately or together. I use them together and it is such a beautiful bronzey brown color that goes just fine with my light skin. It makes me look like I just got back from the beach. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

If ya'll have been looking for a great light on your face but full coverage foundation that won't clog your pores or a new bronzer, you have to try these out!! Let me know how you like them!

**I paid for all of the products mentioned in this post with my own money and I am not affiliated with Clinique or Sue Devitt in any way.**

Practice Courtesy

For today's inspiration I wanted to share a little piece on common courtesy. Unfortunately, it has become very uncommon these days. The Bible says "Be courteous...that you may inherit a blessing."

Sometimes we're not sure how to go about pleasing God. The prophet Micah simplifies it: "What does the Lord require of you....to love kindness" (Mic 6:8). Could language be clearer? Here are ten "not so common" courtesies you should work on every day, and teach your children. After all, if they don't learn common courtesy from you, where are they going to learn it?

1) Go out of your way to speak to people. "Pleasant words are...healing" (Pr 16:24)

2) Try to remember their names - it shows you value them.

3) Smile. It increases your "face value".

4) Be friendly and helpful. If you do, people will return it. (See Pr 18:24)

5) Show genuine interest. You can find something good in almost anybody if you try. (See Php 4:8)

6) Be generous with your praise and cautious with your criticism.

7) Be slow to judge. There are 3 sides to every story - your side, their side, and the right side.

8) Instead of "using" others, serve them: "By love serve one another" (Gal 5:13)

9) Start trusting people - it builds lasting relationships.

10) Be humble. Oswald Chambers said, "When a saint becomes concious of being a saint, something has gone wrong."

Courtesy does two things: a) it speaks well of your parents and b) it determines your level of blessing.


When I first read this paragraph about a year ago, it really spoke to me. I sometimes feel that I don't portray courtesy to others. Not purposely, but I just never think about it so I'm sure I come off rude when I don't even mean to. I think we all need to make a conscious effort to be nicer to others. If everyone was nicer to each other, there would be a lot less stress in this world! What I did, was try to pick one of the things I just listed and concentrate on it for about a week. Then I would move to the next thing and try to do both for the next week and so on. It really makes you feel better and people will take notice. Have a wonderful day and week ya'll!! And remember, be courteous! :)

I got you babe!

Hello darlings!! I hope you are all doing well!! I have been having so much fun this weekend. Friday night was girl's night out. We had a great time downtown. I did not do so hot on my diet that's for sure. It was not my fault that they ordered some amazing jalapeno spinach dip. Yum! I did order grilled shrimp tacos which weren't SO bad for me. I also like to think that walking around downtown for a couple hours counteracted the calories.

We also had a blast at the pop personality party last night! I got to meet Lady Gaga, Toni Braxton, Beethoven, Jennifer Lopez and Olivia Newton John!! I spent about 2 hours doing Lady Gaga's hair and makeup. It was worth it though. Check out the pictures!

It was bittersweet because we had a great time but it was also a farewell party to my sister who is going back to Korea for a year on the 21st. I should be used to it by now, she has been traveling most of my life, but I think it gets harder the older I get because we have gotten so much closer. She is an amazing teacher to the children over there and I truly think that teaching them is her calling. I just want her to be happy! Okay, enough with the mushy stuff. I decided to go with the 70's Cher. My dress was a little shapeless but I think it was the perfect colors.

I don't know that I completely captured the whole Cher essence...but we had an amazing time anyway! I can't wait to spend today relaxing! I was going nonstop yesterday. You know I had to make cupcakes! They were requested by Lady Gaga as her going away cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate toffee buttercream frosting. Of course I'll share the recipes I used very soon!

I also visited my friend in the hospital to see her new baby boy, Brody. He was so very precious. Unfortunately, he slept the whole time I was there but I could tell with the way he smirked at me that he was going to have an awesome personality. Look at this! Isn't he adorable?!

I hope ya'll are having a wonderful weekend so far! I would love to hear about what ya'll did! Enjoy your day!!