I mailed my hair today!

Seriously... I just mailed my hair! I rarely talk about wanting to do something... I just do it! I always follow my heart, and I know exactly what I want. These two mantras led me to...

Have over 10 inches of my hair cut yesterday! I love long hair. I've always had long hair, and it will always be my favorite. I get my hair cut once a year so I usually go big rather than just a trim (but big to me is typically five inches or so). Yesterday my favorite stylist jokingly said, "Are we doing the chop today?" I had her measure, and I said, "Yes, let's go for it!"

So here I am today with my little hair. Do I love short hair? No way! But I am more than happy to rock it for a bit for the greater good. I sent my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths to help women with cancer have fantastic hair again by way of a wig. My donation was over 10 inches! I'm growing my hair back out of course (because that's what I love), and in the future, I plan to donate to Wigs for Kids with a 12 inch donation. Happy Hair Day!

Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice

Hank and I tag team cooked our way to a tropical dinner Monday night:

This was such a fun dish, and you can find this easy & healthy recipe here.

(Definitely pairing this with homemade sangria next time!)

Furbish : )

There's a new shopfurbish.com in town:

Receive 15 percent off now through Saturday with code newfurb.

One BIG Happy

All ready for this day...

I love the excitement I held in this exact moment.

My Everyday Faves

These are my everyday faves that I've really come to rely on, every day!

Philosophy's Hope in a Jar is my favorite facial moisturizer, it's just so darn light.

I think Tarte makes fantastic cosmetic products, not to mention, their product names are fun and their packaging quite glamorous. I use Lights, Camera Lashes! as my mascara along with their Mineral Powder Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess.

For my lips, Burt's Bees Refreshing Lip Balm with Pink Grapefruit. It's very comparable to Blistex's Complete Moisture Lip Protection but with a burst of citrus & a splash of pink.

At my bachelorette party, I was gifted my new favorite style of bra... Exciting! It's by Aerie, and it's their Ella Lightly Lined Bra. It's light & the most comfortable bra I know. Pair it with Hanky Panky, and you'll absolutely be wearing a match made in heaven.

As far as accessories go (beyond jewelry), I love a lightweight scarf around my neck. I think it's such a fun outfit accent piece. I finally found the leopard scarf I've been in search of... It's Old Navy's Leopard-Print Gauze Scarf... The amazing price is just an added bonus.

I'm all for a 24 oz. Tervis Tumbler in one hand - These tumblers never sweat, and they have a lifetime guarantee. In the other hand? Lilly Pulitzer's Carded ID Wristlet. It holds your phone, plenty of cards, coins and cash. It has the perfect ID spot on the outside. It works for me because of my favorite iPhone app, CardStar. I carry no more loyalty program, library cards, etc. They are all scanned and stored in this lifesaver of an app. Love!

Yellow

The beautiful breeziness of today reminds me of a favorite afternoon with Hank,

A tandem bike ride from Santa Monica to Venice Beach... It was right along the water, and Hank led the way. Sometimes I would sneak my feet up just to enjoy while Hank peddled.

Success

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty,

To find the best in others,

To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child,

A garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Date Night (Part Two): Fox Liquor Bar

Fox Liquor Bar is very cool. I really enjoyed the atmosphere. We arrived early enough to grab a couch (whew), because the place filled up right after. I needed to prop up my feet...

... Kick back and relax because there were a lot of drink options to mull over.

Hank chose their Old Fashioned: Bourbon, sugar, Angostura bitters. Stirred and served on the rock. Lemon and orange twists. I really mean on the rock... one. A neat aspect of this place is they hand chisel their ice. The ice is served to best enhance your drink. The most noticeable characteristic is the ice does not melt quickly, so no diluted drinks here... Yes!

I chose the Wonka Fizz: Aged rum, lemon juice, sugar, a whole egg. Fee's chocolate bitters, soda water. Shaken and served long. I mostly chose it because of the name, and it sounded nice, but it wasn't sweet enough for me. Next time I'll choose Pink Lady - Gin, bonded applejack, lemon juice, house-made grenadine, egg white. Shaken and served up. Cheers!

Date Night (Part One): Chuck's

Saturday night, Hank and I had an awesome date night trying two new places - Chuck's (for dinner) & Fox Liquor Bar (for drinks). Chuck's is simple - It's burgers and fries.

Hank ordered The Dirty South, and I had Spirit Animal. I ordered my Spirit Animal as the 5 oz. Little Chuck, and it was the perfect size for me. We shared the Half Pound Belgian Fries with "The Comeback Sauce" (a horseradish aiolo) & Sweet Chili Sauce as our dipping sauces. They were delicious. I'm realizing more and more, who needs ketchup with fries?

Spirit Animal was very good. It had the creaminess from... cream cheese and the freshness from the roasted poblano chilis & tomatoes. My burger was medium rare perfection.

The kicker to this meal was the milkshake. Burgers, fries & a shake... Yes, please! This milkshake was Salty Peanut Butter with Roasted Banana SPIKED with dark rum... Yum!

On the quest to discover our areas best burgers, this place definitely joins the ranks. *No reservations accepted, just make sure the "hostess" sees you, and you are good to go.

(Vegetarian burger options available!)

Bentley Lately

Seeing Bentley sneak into that last photo reminds me of a few other photos showing what he's been up to lately... Defeated after learning there is no more valentine's cookie:

It snowed last night! Since Bentley is from Texas, we had to introduce him to the snow. He donned his sweater and off we went. He was a bit confused, and I wish we had more snow.

Olive Outfits

Thanks to a wonderful cupid (my mother-in-love), I've been introduced to an amazing pant cute enough for work and play - J. Crew's Cafe Capri. The skinny cropped leg is fabulous.

Simply Tasty

Avocado Grilled Cheese & After Work Dip are two simple delights I've enjoyed recently.

Avocado Grilled Cheese

Made just like regular grilled cheese! Butter the bread and add lots of sliced avocado, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and sprinkles of Frank's Red Hot. You can certainly make two sandwiches with one avocado, thinly sliced. The more cheese the tastier of course.

After Work Dip

I try to eat an apple everyday - I love Granny Smith apples most. Yesterday I had two apples, one plain, and then I wanted the After Work Dip so I had to have another. It's very simple:

8 oz Nonfat Cream Cheese

1 tbsp Nonfat Milk

3 tbsp Dark Brown Sugar, Packed

1/4 t Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/3 c Craisins

Place cream cheese & milk in food processor or blender. Pulse until creamy; do not over beat. Add brown sugar & pumpkin pie spice. Whirl until blended. Move mixture to small bowl; stir in craisins. Serve with apples! (I'll be adding crushed nuts next time for crunch.)

Shelf Shop: Mr. Rhino

He's currently romping around here.

Cupid is Shufflin'.

Homemade scratch-off valentine paired with sweet treats:

Prettily wrapped valentine presents:

"Chocolate covered strawberry" pup cookie for Bentley:

Pink & coral painted nails with a heart:

Enjoy all things sweet & pink today - Happy Love Day!

"LOVE U MUCH" Cake Pops

I made fun valentines this year. They're LOVE U MUCH Cake Pops! The inside is funfetti, the outside is milk chocolate, the shape is a heart, and they're sprinkled with pink & pearl.

I bagged them with "lingerie" per Melissa & tied with ribbon. You can find the recipe here.

Upstate New York

In between the sads, I found time to enjoy myself a bit this past week in Buffalo, from sponge candy to Bingo. It all began with an 11 hour drive that made way for lots of bonding!

As soon as we arrived, we had to stop at our favorite pizza dive, Maria's. It's amazing.

Their pizza is how I define pizza. Most importantly, pepperonis must be up like a cup!

I'm pretty sure all I did was eat on this trip. I met up with lots of family at Anchor Bar in Downtown Buffalo. It's where wings were born back in 1964. They truly are a treat!

One of my favorite afternoons was spent taking a quick snooze by the fire. Later that night, I roasted marshmallows and made s'mores with family. I'd been craving s'mores for weeks!

The moment tears fell on this trip was when singing, and hearing everyone sing, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound... A beautiful song for a beautiful Grandma. Love you!!

Missing Grandma : (

My grandmother passed away on Saturday.

I recently mailed her a card about how we need to go line dancing soon.

Life is short. Enjoy it. Remember that.

I'm all signed up!

For my next run...

Now it's time to get back into the running groove.

Lucky.

parker and otis

This restaurant is a fabulous lunch spot - It's one of my new favorites. I love when someone recommends a truly great restaurant that also doubles over as an adorable shop.

1. You forget you are hungry as you look around the adorable restaurant that is a shop.

2. You remember why you are here.

3. You order one of the many delicious sandwich, side & drink combinations. I dined on a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and here are the kickers, pepper jelly and a dill cream cheese. Wow! I had a side of curry chicken salad (I know that's really two meals, but I thought it looked too good to be true). For my drink, a diet black cherry soda. Yum.

4. Then once you've ordered, you pick a seat among the pretties & delight. So fun.

5. You can leave your trays, they'll take them for you, we didn't know... Even better : )

Pink Swap

I participated in a Pink Swap. I was paired up with Court from DC, and we each mailed the other a box of pink surprises! It was really fun to pick out items in one of my favorite colors.

Here is what I mailed to Court:

Here is what Court mailed to me:

A great way to start off one of my favorite months, February (short, sweet & pink).

Tomatoes, Biscuits & Lemonades

My friend Cara came over for dinner & zumba last week. Since it was dinner then zumba, I needed to cook light. In comes a delicious soup meal inspired by my friend Kat.

Southern Living's Basil Tomato Soup

This recipe honestly makes soup for many & then some so have a huge soup party! The best part about this soup? It is topped with sprinkles of fried okra, bringing on Southern flair.

I paired this with easy pimento cheese biscuits. I cut raw Pillsbury biscuits in half, spread pimento cheese on the bottom, placed the top back on & cooked according to instructions.

We enjoyed the soup & biscuits with Crystal Light in mason jars & lemonades for dessert. Now... Kat introduced me to these most amazing lemon cookies (i.e. lemonades). These are extra delicious (and easy). Here we go... Mix one box lemon cake mix + one tub of Cool Whip + one egg. Form balls and roll each in powdered sugar, then place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for eight or so minutes. Sticky dough = amazing cookies (so worth it)!

I sent Cara home with some cookies, and I brought some to share at work the next day. I did so by placing a few cookies in a bag, with a striped straw (since they are lemonades), added a citrus bow and voila! A super fun and sweet treat... Especially perfect for summertime.