Book Review - The Paris Wife

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This month I read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. This was a really great book! I love history, so any sort of historical fiction book is usually right up my alley. The books follows the life of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley, during their marriage and time living in Paris. The majority of the novel is in Hadley's point of view, but there are a few sections done in Ernest's. I already knew a little about Ernest Hemingway, so it was interesting to piece together the bits I already knew with the plot of the novel. Their time living in Paris was full of interesting people and a changing culture. I really recommend this book if you enjoy history or the 1920's time period.

Next, I'm reading Quitter by Jon Acuff. I'll let you know what I think next month!

Weekend Update

This weekend was crazy busy! Friday night Mike and I headed to Bradenton to hang out with a bunch of our friends. We had a great time catching up and getting some quality time in with friends we don't always get to see as often as we'd like. Saturday morning we had brunch with Mike's parents and then headed over to my aunt and uncle's house to celebrate my cousin, Kamella's, sixteenth birthday! We had such a fun evening with family!!!

Kamella was beautiful and the party was flawless! I can't even explain how amazing the food was. There was all sorts of barbeque meats, potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw, baked beans, green beans, and (my all time favorite) macaroni and cheese. We chatted, played games, ate cake, and watched Kamella open gifts. It really was a special evening.

After the party, Mike and I drove to Orlando to my parent's house. We woke up early Sunday morning and drove over to the Citrus Bowl to participate in The Color Run. Mike and I did it once before in January of this year. My mom came that time to support us, but decided she really wished she had done it too. So when we heard it was coming again, we talked my dad into joining us and all signed up. The Color Run is a 5k and the proceeds went to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orlando. As you run along volunteers throw powder colors on you. There are four color zones along the run - pink, yellow, blue, and orange. After you finish the race, everyone gathers and throws a color packet into air. The effect is super cool!

 The weekend was a blast, but went by way too quickly! Hope you all had a great weekend too. Happy Monday!

High Five for Friday

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It's Friday again!! This has been a long week at work, so I'm ready for the weekend! I'm linking up with Lauren Elizabeth for High Five for Friday. Below are the top five things that I enjoyed from this week...

1. Monday was my friend Reina's birthday. We had cake at work and then had a spaghetti dinner later that night. So good!!!

2. Tuesday, Mike and I had dinner with our friends, Justin and Latoya, at Tijuana Flats. Yay for Taco Tuedaze...it's one of my most favorites things!

3. You may have noticed a few changes to the appearance of the blog. I'm SO excited about it and hopefully have a few more changes to go.

4. My favorite show of the summer has come to an end. Wednesday night was the finale of Big Brother. I wasn't too happy with the two finalist, so the ending was slightly disappointing, but oh well. I'll have to wait all the way until next summer for the show to come on again.

5. It's finally Friday and our weekend is packed! Tonight we are having dinner with friends, Saturday is my cousin's 16th birthday party, and then Sunday Mike, my mom, my dad, and myself are doing The Color Run in Orlando. Let's get this weekend started :)

I'll have an update on Monday with pictures from our weekend. Hope you all have something fun planned!!!

Birchbox - September Edition

I still can't believe it's already September. This year is just flying by! As usual, I was super excited to find my Birchbox in the mail. It's a fun surprise to look forward to each month and September was no exception. Usually, there is one thing in each box that I'm really excited to use, and the other stuff is just fun to experiment with or give it a try. This month I will use absolutely EVERYTHING in the box. It's awesome.

 1. VOESH New York Lemon Pedicure Scrub - What girl doesn't love a good excuse for a foot rub? I can't wait to try out this scrub. It has a citrusy scent and will hydrate and soften my feet.

2. Ruffian Nail Lacquer in Fox Hunt - I've been thinking about what nail polish colors I would like to try for Fall, but hadn't really decided on any colors yet. This burnt orange color will be the perfect color to get me in the Fall spirit. Bring on those Pumpkin Spice Lattes!!

3. Mally Beauty Volumizing Mascara - I don't usually buy volumizing mascaras so I'm interested to see how this one differs from what I would normally purchase. Plus, it's perfect timing, because I'm running low on the mascara I'm currently using.

4. Serge Normant Meta Luxe Hair Spray - This stuff smells good!! I love getting hair spray in my Birchbox because it's always the perfect size to put in a travel bag. It's easy to grab and go when Mike and I head out for the weekend.

5. Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips - I was so confused when I first read the name of this product! Apparently, it was originally invented to help soothe nursing mothers, but then someone discovered that it also makes a pretty nice lip balm (wonder how they figured out that one?). It also works well on cracked cuticles and skin.

What I Wore Wednesday - USF Edition

I posted earlier this week about the USF game my family and I went to this past Saturday. I thought it fitting to include it as this week's link up with The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday post. I actually made my dress especially for the game, following this tutorial. This is the third dress I've made using this tutorial, and it gets easier and faster each time. The dress is comfortable and super cute (in my opinion). The earrings were a Christmas gift from my mom and dad last Christmas. This was the first opportunity I've gotten to wear them and I was so excited to do so!

USF Game

My alma mater is the University of South Florida, from which I graduated a little over three years ago. Each football season my family and I have made it a point to attend at least one game. This past Saturday's game was USF vs. Florida Atlantic University at our home stadium and we had tickets! My parents, my aunt and uncle, and Mike's parents were all supposed to meet at our apartment and then head over to the stadium to tailgate a little before the game. Well, the day did not go as planned! First, my dad calls me and says my mom is sick and won't be able to make it. My dad wasn't sure if he should stay home with my mom or still come. He had the grill and everything for tailgating, so it was going to be a little challenging to make a new tailgating plan without my parents. Thankfully, my mom was feeling well enough that my dad could still come. Everyone met at our apartment before the game as planned. However, as soon as we loaded up in the car and started driving to the stadium, it starts raining! I just kept praying it would stop soon and we could enjoy tailgating. Well, it didn't stop. It rained the whole time we were "tailgating". Our tailgating ended up being all the girls sitting in the car the entire time talking, while the boys stood in the rain to grill out hot dogs and then join us in the car to eat. While it was not how I imagined our day going, it ended up being a lot of fun! Honestly, any time I get to spend with my family is always a blast (just wish my mom could have been there too). The rain cleared up just in time to head into the stadium before the game started. We didn't win, but we enjoyed each others company and the atmosphere of the game. GO BULLS!!!

The group before the game...rain and all

Game time

My dad and me 

Half time show

BrideBlu Necklace

It was love at first site when I came across this necklace on BrideBlu's shop on Etsy. I have been a strictly silver jewelry wearer for a long time. However, lately I've been drawn to more gold pieces. So I've been trying to incorporate more gold into my everyday wear. When I found the necklace on BrideBlu's shop I knew it had to be mine. I love that the locket is tiny and comes on a delicate chain. Plus, that little surprise on the inside is just sooo cute!! Of course, I got mine done with the letter M for my husband Mike.

The information I've gathered from reading other blogs like LaurenConrad.com, is that it's okay to mix silver and gold nowadays. I've always thought that was a no-no. However, this is good news to me because I have a few silver pieces that I wear everyday (my wedding ring is silver, as well as a bracelet that I wear everyday). Now I can mix in gold without having to change up what I normally wear on a daily basis. Do you mix silver and gold jewelry together? What are some of your styling suggestions?