Braziliant NOTD & recent purchases

This weekend Fiance and I went shopping for his suit for our wedding. First we went to jcrew. He loved the jackets but absolutely hated the pants! They were all super tapered and short on the bottom. I don't care if that is what the recent trend is.. It looks awful! So we went to Brooks Brothers. He ended up with a black suit that looks amazing on him. The best part was that it was 30% off {and made in USA}! While I waited in the fitting room, the salesman told me about the suit that Fiance was trying on, that it was specifically designed for JFK and how they also did the wardrobe for Mad Men. So I thought that was a kind of interesting tid bit.

Anyhow.. I bought Essie's Braziliant {loving this collection!!} and it is quite lovely! I actually walked into the Lush store, and the sales girl asked me what color it was. I told her, and turns out, she had the same color on too! The formula is pretty wonderful too. I only needed 2 coats. It is actually a little lighter than it appears in these pictures as well.





Speaking of Lush, I had never been in this store and decided to get one of their face masks. I ended up with this:



I can't wait to try this. It has to be kept in the refrigerator and used within 3 weeks. Smells pretty great too! What I like best about this brand is that all {or most?} of their products are handmade and preservative free. They also don't do animal testing, which is a HUGE plus in my book. :)

Fiance and I went to the puma store before we started shopping for his suit. He bought me these and he got the matching ones in gray. He spoils me a little too much.



They are frickin adorable. I love the raw edge! ...I think I will wear these today. :)

Lovin' this NOTD..

I bought Essie's Absolutely Shore yesterday and I'm so glad that I did. Very fresh looking and pretty. I feel like these minty colors are everywhere lately! Although, I guess this isn't that minty, more like sea foam.. This comes from their new Brazilant collection. I used 3 coats on fingers and toes. :)




I found a great new hand cream, too. Smells so yummy and is not greasy. :)

La Paz-itively Pink

Over the weekend I wanted something fun and girly to wear, so I decided to give OPI's 'La Paz-itively Hot' a try since I haven't worn a pink polish in a long time. I expected it to be a bit more bright, which it is in some light, but it has some blue undertones in it. I only did 2 coats, and I am thinking it might of needed 3. Overall- not one of my favorites {I'm more of a red kind of girl}, but still very pretty and I would definitely wear it again. :]







My Precious Angel Face Philbert <3

Life is Good.

Yesterday was mine and Fiance's 5 year anniversary. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. We grilled some dinner and had a lazy night together. It was pretty wonderful. :o)

Last weekend I went shopping with my future SIL and got my shower dress. I LOVE it! I got it from jcrew, on sale! It is exactly what I had in mind for my tea party bridal shower. I can't wait to wear it. Now I just need to find some shoes to go with. Thinking white or silver..




I am thinking this for wedding hair {minus bangs}:


Found image here


Fiance and I went to the local pet store to get our little boy some litter. We almost took all 3 of these kitties home! But I don't think Philbert would be too thrilled to have 3 little sisters. Oh, kittens.. Who doesn't love them, really?!!




.. and I found this little guy sleeping! Haha :)




Got these little beauties in the mail a few days ago.. I can't wait to try them.



From L to R:
OPI Midnight in Moscow
Essie Fifth Avenue
OPI La Paz-itively Hot
China Glaze Broken Hearted Crackle
China Glaze For Audrey

Happy Weekend!

Happy Day :D

So this morning I was leaving the salon after getting my hair done.. and Fiance called to tell me that he had been hired direct at Chrysler!! {He is/was a contract employee} YAY!! Literally the best thing that could have happened for us. This means more job security and better benefits {oh, and a raise :D}. Couldn't ask for more. We are truly BLESSED! I am so proud of him.

... And in other exciting news- I got my first Birchbox today! I love this, seriously. What a great idea. Only $10 bucks a month and it came with a full sized product that retails for about $30! Normally these come in the mail around the 10th of every month, but I signed up late so got it late. I wasn't even expecting to get the June box. :)






How gorg is that blush?? :) And it is FULL size!

In every Birchbox a card is included describing all of the items:
Kate Spade Twirl
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Oil Free Lotion {Can't wait to try this. Not even in stores yet!}
Laura Geller Baked Blush n' Brighten
Xen- Tan Deep Bronze Luxe {Tinted self tanner}
Herban Essentials Orange Towelettes

...I thought I'd throw in a NOTD in here, too. :)

Weekend NOTD & New Shoes.. Yay!

Really looking forward to the weekend.. Mostly because Fiance will NOT be working! :)) He normally works 6 days a week, but last week he worked 7 (I try to not complain about this because I am so thankful that he has a great job, as most people don't in this economy.. but it does get to me sometimes!). He is a designer for one of the big 3, and the company he works for is having some sort of family day/open house thing-y. I have always wanted to see where he works, so I am pretty excited about this. For this weekend I have on my favorite OPI ever. I think it is Fiance's favorite too actually.

So here is my yummy NOTD!
{P.S- I think this *might* be a dupe for Essie's French Affair..}



Fiance said it's like cotton candy on my nails. :D

I got these little lovelies in the mail a couple days ago. I think I will wear them today for my shopping trip with the SIL! Hopefully they won't kill my feet..



Sleeping Princess.



...And some pretty poppies from Mom's garden that I had to get a picture of. :)

Summer NOTD

I had on China Glaze Four Leaf Clover the other day for the first time.. OH MY. I LOVE it! So bright and pretty. The formula was very easy to work with too. Every picture I took of it kept coming out more like a teal though.. Which it's not. So here ya go!

Weekend Goodies.

On Thursday I got together with a friend to get the invites stuffed and ready to go! Wedding planning is coming to an end, only the little details left now (aside from getting his suit and ring). My Mom and I also went to the florist that day. We were able to pick out flowers for the tables and my bouquet. They are going to be so amazing! Pale blue hydrangeas, lilies, and freesia. LOVE. <3




I picked up this lip gloss on sale for $9.99. Really pretty berry color for summer. :) My only gripe about this is that it takes like a 1,000 clicks to get any out. Then 10 minutes later it's a gooey mess.



Fiance also bought me some really pretty things from jcrew! He did good picking out. :)

Bday Cupcakes & NOTD :)

Monday was hubs to be 27th birthday and I made some strawberry lime cupcakes for him. They turned out pretty great, even though it took me 3 times to get the frosting right. We both decided that next time I will just make a whipped cream frosting with lime instead. I wanted to take pictures and post them, but they didn't look as pretty as I had hoped. The strawberry stuffed inside made it almost impossible to put the icing on.. So instead I will just post the delish recipe.

Taken from Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk

Icing:

• 1 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Directions

1 drop green food coloring

• 6 large ripe strawberries, hulled
• Green sanding sugar
• Fresh mint leaves or candied leaves

Equipment: 6-cup jumbo muffin tin

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

In another medium bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until light and foamy, about 2 minutes. While beating, gradually pour in the butter and then the vanilla.

While mixing slowly, add half the dry ingredients, then add all the milk, and follow with the rest of the dry ingredients. Take care not to over mix the batter. Divide the batter evenly in the prepared tin.

Bake until a tester inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove. Cool on the rack completely.

For icing: Mix the confectioners' sugar and lime zest in a medium bowl. Add the lime juice and mix with an electric mixer to make a firm but pourable icing. (If needed, add up to 1 teaspoon more juice, but take care if the icing is too loose it doesn't set properly.) Add food color to make a pale pastel green icing.

To assemble: Remove cupcake from its liner. Cut and remove a strawberry (coned) shaped portion of cupcake from the top of each cupcake, leaving about 1/2 to 1-inch of cake in the bottom. Stuff each cake with a strawberry and cover with a little bit of cake. Spoon and spread icing over the top of the cupcakes. Sprinkle with green sanding sugar. Top with small mint leaves or candied leaves.

...And this is what they are supposed to look like.

Now on to my summer-y notd! I really love this color, just not sure if I love it on me. In some light it looks good, others.. not so much. I think this would look best on someone who has a bit darker complexion than me. This color was also pretty streaky, so I had to use 3 coats.