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6/28/13

My Friday Happies: Notes, Notes, Notes...


Obviously there is a theme today in my Friday Happies - Notes!

First let's start with Nordstrom Notes. 


How I love thee! I recently changed my Nordstrom card to a Nordstrom Visa and I couldn't be happier. At first I liked having a separate card but then I got greedy and wanted to collect as many Nordstrom notes as possible (like my Mom who always has like 5 laying around).  So when I started charging all my trips/expenses for work on my other credit cards, I thought...how nice would it be to earn points towards Nordstrom purchases??

I made the change immediately and the notes just keep flowing in! If you don't know, for every 2,000 points you earn, you get a $20 Nordstrom note. You usually earn one point for every dollar spent but you earn 2 points for every dollar spent at Nordstrom. And then there are double and triple point days. There are even 10x point days a couple times a year!

After my NY and Vegas trips, I got a little something in the mail to add to my collection! I am so saving these for the upcoming Anniversary Sale - which, by the way, I will be in Chicago for. Which also so happens to be the only Louis Vuitton boutique in a Nordies. Yay!!!

Next we have love notes. If you follow me on instagram you might have already seen this. A little while ago, I created these frames as a part of an SPD project (RIP SPD - the link up is no longer active) and we have been using them every once and a while. But yesterday I walked into the room and saw this...


I love my husband!

Lastly, note cards! I was browsing Etsy for some cute shiba items and I came upon these shiba note cards. I have to have them! How cute are they??


I think I am obsessed with Shibas...but seriously...how can you not love this face?


Lastly, it's time to #backthatazzup with Whitney so here is a lovely song back from the early days when one of my best friends and I used to end notes we passed in class with "boom I got your boyfriend" Why? I have no clue. This same friend is going to have a baby any minute now and I cannot wait to tell her daughter all our crazy stories. Oh god...


Happy weekend everyone! Boom I got your boyfriend. I'm out! 

6/27/13

Loving Lush


Have you guys tried Lush before? I don't know why it took me so long but I am in love with this store and these products.

I was never really a bath fan until we moved into our new house with a tub/jacuzzi. Now, I totally understand why people love them. I've done the bubble bath many times but I recently tried a bath bomb and am now hooked.

I knew that Lush is known for their bombs so I ordered some stuff online and went in last weekend to stock up. I ended up with three bath bombs (dragons egg, ickle baby bot, and golden slumbers), three powders and two mini scents.

golden slumbers bath bomb

As of now, I have only used the Golden Slumbers bomb and I was not really impressed. The scent was very faint and it left little flower buds all over my bathtub that kind of looked like bugs. Most of them washed down the drain but I did have to clean the tub afterwards. And I was itchy for a few hours after my bath. I didn't realize it was from the bomb but then I read the negative reviews online, and I realized it was probably from the little flowers. Needless to say I will not buy this one again and I will make sure to read the reviews before buying anything. FYI - Lush does claim that if you don't like the loose leaves/buds, you can put your bath bomb in a nylon stocking. Note to self, but honestly, I have not had a nylon stocking in years so that probably won't help.

Bath Bomb in action...you can even see the little "bugs," I mean buds!

I am excited for the Dragon's Egg because it ends with a glitter bomb. No further explanation necessary. I will take pictures.

Lush Powders and Bath Bombs - isn't the Robot cute?

As for the powders, I have been looking for a gold dusting powder to mix with my lotion. I love using this during the summer on my legs and shoulders. The Lustre powder has the best gold sparkle I have seen and an amazing Jasmine scent. It's actually moisturizing as-is so I have even worn it without lotion! In love...

If you have a gold powder, you need a silver powder, right? Enter Bare Naked Lady. It's a white powder with subtle sparkles The website says they are gold but they are totally silver. I got it because I wanted to try the scent (I love rose). I have not really used it yet but when I tried it I liked it a lot. Unlike the Lustre, which is a very fine fine glitter, these pieces are bigger and more sparkly.

The Coconut powder I bought to use as a dry shampoo. After trying all the dry shampoos out there, I found that baby powder is the best for my hair. I am not a huge baby powder scent fan so I have been looking for other talc powders to use instead. The ladies at Lush told me that a lot of people use the coconut powder (which is labeled as a deodorant) in their hair so I got some. So far so good...it works just as well as baby powder but with an awesome coconut scent.

For the scents, I got Lust and Orange Blossom. I love the idea of Orange Blossom (I wore an orange blossom perfume on my wedding day) but it's hard to find another one that smells good ON me. I am glad I got the $2 version because this one smells horrible on me! The Lust, however, is the same Jasmine scent that is in the Lustre powder so I liked it. Not sure if I will get a big spray yet, but I do like my little sample.

If you have tried Lush before, what are your favorites? What other bath stores do you go to/order from?

6/26/13

{WIOW} Peachy Goodness & Two Miles/Day


To hold myself accountable for all the working out I am planning on doing, I am going to try to do weekly posts on working out/eating healthy. If it's not your thang...feel free to skip these posts! :)

For my workouts this month, I committed to a 2 miles per day plan based on this TIU challenge. If you have not checked out the Tone It Up ladies, do it! They are not only gorgeous with amazing bodies but they have great workout videos and recipes that anyone can follow.

The 2 miles can be anything...running, elliptical, walking - whatever. Of course, you can take days off but then you have to tack on some extra mileage during other workouts to keep up with the average. This is actually my motivation to go a bit longer each day...to add up enough miles to take days off. Is that sad?


As you can see above, two days down and I am already ahead of myself! #overachiever #isitmydayoffyet??

In addition to all the working out, I am also committing to one fresh juice per day since we bought a juicer. I am trying to do green drinks as much as possible but yesterday I had an amazing salad for lunch so I kept my drink strictly fruity and yummy. We bought these perfect white peaches over the weekend and they were so ripe, I knew I needed to juice them sooner rather than later.

Here's what I concocted - I call it Peachy Goodness, because well, it is!


What you need:

  • 3 ripe peaches
  • 1 lemon - peel removed but pith (white part) still on
  • 10 baby carrots

Throw it all in the juicer and juice it up!

I am not a nutritionist but I know this is packed with vitamins & antioxidants. The carrots add a bit of sweetness without overpowering the peach/lemon flavor and you get extra beta carotene! If you are juicing and want a yummy drink, you need to try this!! Honestly, you could throw some vodka in there and make it a cocktail!

What are your favorite juices? Do you think you could commit to two miles per day?

6/25/13

Splurge vs Steal: Gold Bar Belts


I think I may have spent the best $17.95 (plus tax) I have ever spent. Here's the story...

I've been searching desperately for a gold belt. I've had my eye on this Tory Burch one but am still waiting until Nordies has triple or 10x points to buy it (a couple more Nordies notes won't hurt either).

I have also been loving this St John's version for who knows how long. As much as I adore it, spending a lot of money on a belt that is not an everyday belt is not really for me. Purses, I totally get, but not belts. Because of this, I have been actively looking for copycat versions for MONTHS now.

And then I saw it...just hanging out among the mess of belts during a quick stop in H&M a couple weeks ago. It flashed at me - literally, there was an actual flash. Here it was...a knock off of my precious St John belt for about $150 less!


In about 10 seconds total, I had the belt in hand and was in line to make sure no one else got it. I am not afraid to admit that I have been living in it ever since. It makes me feel like a superhero with special powers. I once wore it around the house with sweats and I swear I could have totally gone to a black tie event or gone out and saved the world. I love, love, love this belt! And for less than $18...how can you not!

Here's how I wore it over the weekend...

j. crew factory shorts // kate spade clutch (old but love this new gold one)


TB gold belt...I am still holding out for you. Hang in there...I will buy you soon enough. Unless H&M gets a similar version...then you are out of luck, my friend!

Would you wear a gold bar belt? What knockoffs have you found recently??

6/24/13

Insta Weekend & 6 Years of True Love


Hi everyone. Happy Monday!

Hope you all had a great weekend. For once, I feel well rested and ready to start the week! I think it's because we had such a fun/chill weekend. Here's what went down...

Friday


1. View from my conference on Friday - back in the old 'hood - Downtown SD! 2. Even though I loved being downtown, my heart still lies in Cardiff . I mean, how cute is this sign?? 3. Dinner at Jakes in Del Mar - One glass of wine and I was done for. I am a cheap date! 4. WIW on Friday night...my gold "superhero" belt...more on this later!

Saturday


Another stop at True Food Kitchen. It's official; I'm addicted. Do you not love this sign at the bar (bottom left)? My favorite quote is "If it came from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don't!" So true! I had my usual...edamame dumplings, kale salad and homemade ginger ale. Yum!

Sunday


1. Shoesies from J. Crew...both on sale so I had to get them. I totally needed striped wedges and neon pink flats, right? 2. Ms. Kona after her haircut...doesn't she look beautiful?? 3. My battle with the white shiba and the furminator. This was just round 1. Gotta love shedding season! 4. One of my favorite salads at Lotus Cafe = spinach, veggie bacon bits, artichokes, radishes, olives, carrots and sprouts. Oh and vegetarian caesar dressing. So good!

Enough about the weekend...let's get to the good stuff! Today is an extra special day because my baby boy is turning 6.


Kirin, my handsome white shiba, is the love of my life (besides my husband, of course). He is my first child and has shown me that I can love a pet unconditionally. This little monster can make me so mad and then melt my heart seconds later. When he was a puppy, he was incredibly wild. At his first vet appointment, the vet had to pin him. I asked him when he would start to calm down and the vet said at 6...YEARS old. I didn't think we could make that long but I am sure glad we did. He is my little monkey bear, baby bubbles, Mr. K, etc. The vet was right, he has definitely calmed down in the past year but he still has enough craziness left in him to make us nuts. I love him more and more every day and even though gives me little heart attacks daily when he does something crazy like hanging out on our neighbors ROOF last week - let's not talk about that one right now, though. I am still not over it.

Anyway...Happy Birthday Mr. Kirin! I love you to the moon and back - times infinity!

Linking up with Sami today!
Sami's Shenanigans

6/21/13

My Happies: Fur Babies, Spinach & Sunsets

Clockwise from top right:

My little monkeys waiting to eat some of my banana. In the end, they weren't happy since they realized they both hate bananas. All that waiting for nothing!

My new favorite drink now that we have a juicer - Pineapple, cucumber, spinach and lemon. I sometimes throw in strawberries or carrots and somehow it's always good! I have had a juice every day and I swear I feel better.

The salad I could eat every day for lunch. It's very possible since we have so much spinach laying around for juicing. Tomatoes, fresh mozz, green and kalmata olives, olive oil, and balsamic glaze = perfection!

This view/sunset never gets old. And since the days are getting longer, we can actually eat outside and watch the sun go down. BTW, our neighbor is renting his house...if you want this view too, it could be yours! Just sayin'...

The babies again...this time wanting some of my yogurt. They hate yogurt too.  Dogs - 0  Jill - 2!

I'm off at conference today so I will leave you with this gem...


Sometimes you just need a little Batdance to get the day going! Linking up with Whitney today for #backthatazzup friday! Have a great weekend, everyone!


6/20/13

Must Haves and Must Dos: Pop Sugar June Box & Won Ton Chips


This might be one of the most random posts I have ever done because it mixes two things that really should not go together. But I loved them both and couldn't decide what to post so I combined the two.


First, because it's SPD day and I am linking up with Stephanie and Katie,  I have to tell you about my new obsession. Won Ton Chips. OMG, these are amazing and so much better for you than real potato or even pita chips. And because you make them yourself, you can add whatever seasonings you want!

After seeing this pin, I was inspired and picked up some won ton skins at the store on Sunday. All you need for this snack is:

Won Ton Skins
Cooking Spray - I used Coconut Oil Spray
Seasonings - I used a random mixture of spices but you can do just salt, salt and pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, etc. I even tried a small batch of cinnamon and sugar!


Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Spray your pan (really well). Lay down the won ton skins. Spray them well with the cooking spray and add seasonings. Bake for about 10 minutes. Be careful, as these babies can turn brown in seconds. So I usually check them around 7 mins and then watch them. I actually like the more browned ones anyway so I don't care if they are a bit burnt.


That's it. Try them...you will LOVE them! :)

Speaking of love...I have to brag a bit about the latest Pop Sugar Must Have Box. I mean the other boxes were good but this one was AWESOME! From what I have seen the value was over $200. For $35, that is an amazing deal.


Here's what was included:

Revenge Wears Prada Hard Cover Book - I can't even remember when I last read a paperback book let alone a hard cover book but this was something I had bookmarked on my Kindle anyway so I am so excited to read it. It will be a bedside/deckside book since I am spoiled and refuse to travel with anything but my Kindle (books take up so much room!). I loved the first book so so much, I can't wait to read the sequel!

Addicted to Sweat Workout DVD - Ha ha...this was a weird item. I am all about workout DVDS. I still love Tae Bo, do Jillian Michaels from time to time and am starting to LOVE the Tone it Up ladies, but this DVD was too strange with it's cover straight out of the 80's. It stayed on our counter for a few days only because it bugged my husband so much and I liked torturing him. Maybe the Jill from 1987 would have done this but this snobby 2013 Jill is probably going to throw this away. :)

Gorjana & Griffin Zuma Scarf - Seriously, for a free item, this scarf is too cute. It has my favorite neon peach color and has stripes...I mean, what else do you need in a scarf?? The material is light and the scarf itself is actually really big so you can do a lot with it. I love it and will totally wear it. From what I have seen, everyone got the same color/pattern so there will probably be a few scarf twin sightings out there. That's ok...it will be like we are in a secret little Pop Sugar Club! :)


Gorjana & Griffin $25 Gift Certificate - On top of the scarf...this was an added little bonus. I have already browsed the site multiple times and I think I am going to get these cute rings. I am planning on getting at least my two initials (J&J which is great because if I lose one, I still have another!) but might get my middle initial too. I liked almost everything so this was tough...


Juice Beauty Moisturizer and CC Creams - I am a La Mer face cream addict so I rarely use anything else. But I tried this moisturizer and really liked it. I love that it is organic and smells fruity. I will probably try it for a week and see if it does anything different than my La Mer. If not, I will keep it in our guestroom so all my house guests can try it. The CC cream was just OK but I am more of a tinted moisturizer gal anyway.

Project 7 MintsFit Popcorn - The food items they throw in are always fun. The mints were good for mints and they have a good story behind them. The ones I got say that for every 12 tubes they sell, they provide water for a year for a person in need. Awesome, huh? The popcorn was just OK. Really, I didn't like the flavor I got. I do love this brand of popcorn - especially their Popcorn chips - so I would not be against buying it again. Just a different flavor...

All in all, I am SUPER happy with this box. And I have heard rumors that next month is Pop Sugar Must Have Box's anniversary so there are ramblings that it is going to be a good one! With that said...I highly recommend you try it out and sign up to get the July box! You can even get $5 off with this code "refer5". Use this link and get one. I can almost guarantee you will love it. And if you don't...it's just $30 ($5 off) and you can cancel right away. Do it...you can thank me later. :)

Linking up with Stephanie and Katie for SPD.

6/19/13

Work it Out Wednesday: New Kicks & My Motivation


After a week-long trip of non-stop eating, two weeks off the gym due to a horrible cold and traveling and shorts becoming my staple piece of clothing, it is time to get my butt into gear. No excuses.

I don't know about you guys by my main excuse is always that I am too busy. There is always work left to do, happy hours to attend or naps to take. I always wonder how I can ever get a work out in during a crazy day, but then I think that there are so many people so much busier than I am (kids, daily commutes, long work hours, etc) who still find time to work out. That in itself usually motivates me to get off by butt.

Another thing that motivates me - cute shoes! I know I got new running shoes a few weeks ago, but when I saw these Asics at DSW a couple weeks ago, I knew I had to have them.


I mean, I have a thing for neon peach and put that together with turquoise, black and white and I am sold. Also, Asics are my all time favorite shoes for running (amazing cushion and foot support) so there was no time to waste. One quick order via Zappos and they were on my doorstep when I got home from NY.

I am already putting them to good use...see!


So by posting all of this on the blog, I am holding myself accountable to get back to a good work out schedule. Unless I catch that horrible cold again or injure myself somehow, I WILL be in that gym* at least 4 days per week. *or at least working out (pilates and barre classes count)

You can hold me to it! :)

Please share your workout motivations/motivators below! The cute shoes help but there will be days where neon peach won't totally do it for me and I'll need all the help I can get! 


6/18/13

Bright and Short(s)

groopdealz bubble necklace (similar here)  // gap sweater // michael kors watch // louis vuitton speedy // 
j crew factory shorts // steve madden wedges (similar here)

As you could probably see from my weekend recap, I have a thing for bright shorts. I feel like they are much easier to commit to than bright pants because there is less material. I love that they add a little pop of color instead of an overwhelming shock of color. Don't get me wrong, I still love my colored skinnies but for summer, I am sticking to bright shorts. If you hate bright shorts, you should probably stop reading this blog until late Fall. Consider yourself warned!

j crew sweater  // j crew shorts // groopdealz necklace (similar here) // kate spade purse (old but how cute is this?)  // 
michael kors watch (similar here)  // tory burch sandals

What are your thoughts on bright shorts - yes or no??


6/17/13

Insta Weekend: Happy to be back!


Hey everyone. After a LONG busy week in Vegas and NYC, it's so good to be back home and back to blogging!

My weekend consisted of sleeping, entertaining my Dad who was in town and enjoying the sun & sea air. I love NYC, don't get me wrong, but I am a Cali girl at heart!


On Friday, I pretty much wanted to fall asleep on my head all day but some how I made it though. My dad was in town for Father's Day weekend so we took him to our favorite local spot...the Chart House! I know, we go there a lot but it's so good and the view is amazing. I drank way too much in NYC so just one skinny marg and I was done for. I also got to wear my new J Crew Factory plaid patchwork shorts from my haul the other week. More on that later...


On Saturday, my Dad, Kirin and I chilled on the deck in the sun during the day. We call Kirin our sun lizard because he would sit in the sun ALL day if he could. At night we trekked to our old, old 'hood, Little Italy for what we think is the best pizza in San Diego at Mona Lisa. Yum.


On Sunday, we took my dad to a Jewish Deli here in SD and pretty much gorged ourselves. He went back to Vegas and we ran all our errands and ended our night with a sunset BBQ and some necklace orders. After being out for a week, I had a lot to catch up on including a custom wedding order! Phew! Thank goodness my little Kona bear was supervising the whole process. Quality control at the CWAK factory! :)

So my weekend was not too exciting but that is exactly what I needed after a long week!

**Oh and how funny is this?? Remember my last post when I told you about my favorite SATC episodes? The plane on the way over to NY had Direct TV and look what was on!
So random, right?

How was your weekend? Do anything fun??

Linking up with Sami today!
Sami's Shenanigans

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