Five on Friday

I'm so glad Five on Friday is back! I've found so many fun blogs and good products and tips this way, so here's to sharing some more!

1. Milani Baked Blush

I first read of this over on Ealy Nation. After researching (as I always do) and reading 23 rave reviews, I decided after surviving Stomach Flu 2014 I needed a few happies. This made me happy, and made me look like I hadn't just survived babies first stomach flu (where's that entry in the baby book?). I went with Luminoso, and I love the color and the lasting power is pretty great too. Love a good drugstore find!

2. Fall Drinks

Cliche, but cliche for a reason. They are so good! I enjoyed half of this moments before I got a call that Wright had the stomach bug. The caffeine served me well the next two days.

3. NYX Butter Gloss

I meant to blog about how much I liked this before Wright was born. In fact, it wouldn't do to have a baby without getting every shade possible to take to the hospital. That's normal, right?
These are just enough color for me and are a steal at $5. Creme Brulee is a favorite, with Tiramisu and Eclair following close behind. These were only found at Ulta, but this weekend I discovered them at my local CVS.

4. Arts and Crafts

Oh my. Have you seen anything cuter than baby leaf painting? Doubtful.






































5. This Dessert

If you live in Birmingham, run, don't walk to the Tavern and try this out. You will need to run as it's essentially two giant desserts melded together to form one. Fork for size gauging purposes.

Five on Friday

At some point I would love to have a theme to some of these posts, but for now, I'm just thought dumping a few items that tickle my fancy. I hope you enjoy.

1. CND Vinylux

Saw this on Instagram, and when they said it lasted a whole week without chipping, I had to give it a try. It's a bonus that shipping is free on Amazon, there are tons of colors, and it's available on Amazon. I pink puffy heart Amazon. I've found this stuff dries super fast, which is great if you're of the 99.9% who don't enjoy being without your hands for 45 minutes. The top coat is vital in making it last 7-10 days. I really love the Rubble and Rock Royalty colors.

2. Old Faithful
Sometimes I am strayed from a favorite by packaging or sales. I admit, I digressed from my favorite eyeliner. I'm a sucker for marketing and went with a different brand (admitting it is the first step). I recently returned to the Almay Liquid Liner and it was a sweet reunion. The applicator is firm and makes it so.much.easier to apply.

3. Cookie Euphoria
I referenced these cookies in this post and have made it a point to not leave you hanging, because they are SO GOOD. Nestle double chocolate chip. Run, don't walk to find them in the cookie dough section. Running is also helpful, because I think I ate 6 in one sitting. It's like cookies and brownies got married, invited you to the wedding, and gave you a gift.

4. Valentine's Best
After you find the cookies, be sure to pick up some conversation hearts. They are my most favorite Valentine candy, and BREAKING NEWS - this year Brach's came to their senses and went back to the original flavors. That means BANANA instead of lemon. MS and I were seriously questioning their judgment and were overly excited to see they made the research. I'm not convinced MS didn't do some letter writing to Brach's. I would be appreciative.

5. Cha-cha-changes

We've said all along we don't think Namath will struggle with the baby, but the gear. We were recently proven correct. There's been a lot of anger towards Rock n' Plays, car seats and strollers.

But he's taken the opportunity to milk it. Note: he's not allowed on the furniture, and I'm not even sure how he achieved it, but kudos to you buddy. I was too impressed to tell him no. He thought he could and he did. A true tale of triumph over gravity.

Five on Friday

Between work and the holidays, the blog has taken an unintentional back seat. But I can't resist popping in for a few Friday Favorites!

1. Stuffed Pepper Soup

I found this recipe over at Forever Young and couldn't wait to try it! It did not disappoint. It had a great flavor, and it's low cal. Perfect for a cold winter night, and it leaves some calories for my next obsession...

2. Eggnog

I usually start craving this about 9 a.m. every morning. So far, I've been able to hold off until an appropriate eggnog hour. The creaminess, the nutmeg taste....can you blame me? There's also an ice cream. I have a problem.

3. Christmas Music

While you're drinking your Christmas cocktail of choice, you've gotta have some Christmas music in the background. Laura sent me this CD as a Christmas happy, and I've enjoyed it every morning on the way to work!

Erika's Little Drummer Boy post also made me feel led to post about my most favorite Christmas song for the third year in a row.

If this doesn't give you chills...well, I'll reserve my judgment in the spirit of the season.

4. Holiday Grooming

Just in time for all the holiday parties and junk food I've been eating...Dixie on My Mind suggested this face mask and I've loved it! I've been fighting my skin since, oh, June, and my weapons are limited until February. This has helped clear some breakouts, and it's so refreshing!

I found it at Ulta and you can't beat the price.

5. Homemade Cleaner

Your face is clean, might as well keep the streak alive with your house. I found this homemade granite cleaner on Pinterest and it has worked so well on our hard to clean black granite.

That's about as exciting as life is right now. Hope you and yours are able to slow down and enjoy the season. With clear skin and clean counters.

Five on Friday

 Life's gotten in the way of my blogging, but I'm back with lots of sugary favorites to share. I'll start with the one treat that doesn't spike your insulin levels...

1. OPI's Boris and Natasha

Found this little gem from the Russian collection at my Veteran's Day pedicure. It seems all the dark colors I've picked lately have been more on the black side when they actually go on, so this was a welcome change. Love the way it looks! 

2. No-Bake Cake Batter Cookie Bars

Is there anything about the name of this recipe that isn't appealing? I saw this over at Lambert's Lately and had to try it. I had no idea they made birthday cake Oreos, but they do. It was the perfect celebration after Alabama beat LSU.

3. Hot Chocolate by the Fire
I've been craving some hot chocolate lately. We've also enjoyed many a night by the fireplace. I plan to marry the two this weekend...it should be lovely. Will a 2 hour documentary on the assassination of JFK dampen this winter scene? I'll report back next week.

4. Pumpkin Spice Smores
You read that right. When I discovered there were Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows on the shelf, it only seemed natural two of my favorite fall flavors should mingle. It was very successful. You will want some more. Namath just wanted some. 

5. Winner, Winner Chili Dinner
These guys winged a chili recipe for our church's chili cook off Monday night and came in second! I was pretty impressed. So I made them take this dorky picture.

It is cold and dark and rainy here and with next weekend being jam packed, I'm hoping for a lot of family time and maybe a date night this weekend. Soak up all this free time while we can - that's my current state of mind. Happy Friday to you and yours!

Five on Friday

Fall is for real in the air now - even though I tried to force it weeks ago. We can sleep with a window open and let in some cool air and it's now feasible to run after work without dying of heat exhaustion. Cue the boots and scarves.

1. Wax On, Wax Off
In celebration, my house needs to smell like pumpkin or cinnamon or crisp fall leaves. Fortunately, I stumbled across this wax warmer at a friends baby shower and couldn't believe how great it was at filling your house with whatever fragrance your heart desires. We are currently enjoying the Better Homes & Garden refill you can pick up at Wal-Mart - spiced pumpkin pie. The warmer was about $15 and refills are $2-$3 for 8 wax cubes.

2. The Great Pumpkin
About the time it cooled off, I got a bee in my bonnet about actually decorating for Fall this year, since we were still getting settled this time last year. A quick trip to Garden Ridge and the farmers market, and here we are. I'm just thrilled Namath hasn't peed on the pumpkins yet. Although he does like to pretend to smell the pumpkins, and grab a fireplace rock and run off to eat it. You can see quite a chunk missing. Snakes in the head...

3. Soups On
I don't think I'm alone in the soup boat. It's easy, delicious and makes enough for leftovers. I believe we are going to start implementing Soup Sundays to take full advantage of soup season. We pushed to Monday this week and started with one of my favorites - white chicken chili. 

4. Mark Your Calendar
In an attempt to get organized before bebe rocks our worlds, I decided we needed a calendar app. Cozi came highly rated, so we are giving it a whirl. Anyone else have a shared calendar app you love?

5. Sparkle
Speaking of boats, I'm the last person on this one. LOVE this nice break from plain water without having to venture to diet drinks all the time.

Five on Friday

Another week come and gone - and it was a busy one. The weekend doesn't seem to slow down either, so let me take a quick minute for the Friday Five....

1. Dog Guilt
I worked late last night. Matt worked late last night. And I had to go to the grocery. I was speeding home like I had left my non-fur child. Dog Guilt is real, and Namath knows it. He ignored me most of the night. I still feel bad. I don't know what I will do when Sunburst enters the picture. If MS is reading this - I think Namath deserves a happy hour on the porch.

Turn that frown upside down, buddy.

2. Self-Medication - Opa!
Luckily, it's the perfect weekend to assuage my guilt with food. Yes, the Greek Food Festival is this weekend and it's magical. I'm plotting my schedule to see how many servings of pasticho I can get this weekend. It's heaven on a plate. I'm pretty sure they hand you a jar of bechamel at the pearly gates.

3. Do We Sense a Theme?
I did have a good reason for my grocery store run/dog abandonment last night. Tonight is game night, and it's a tailgate theme. My responsibility is dessert, and you know I had to go for the cream cheese two pack for the win. I'm sure everyone's heard of the cream cheese chocolate chip dip - or cookie dough dip on some circles - but it's worth mentioning just in case. 

4. Never Gonna Give You Up...
This was a new one to me at 6 am this morning - has anyone heard of getting Rick Rolled? MS was telling me about it as he was blasting this famous song while we got ready. I know I've said it before, but we are so blessed his fun spirit lives under our roof.

5. Couch Potato
Fall TV is baaaack. Almost with a vengeance - as Grey's Anatomy has been become almost painful to watch. But I can't stop. Looking forward to catching up with Homeland, Parenthood and Modern Family. We're a little behind, but at least there will be cream cheese dip to watch with.Winning.

Happy REAL first weekend of Fall!

Five on Friday

My favorite post of the week!

1. End of a Kill Spree

I believe I've mentioned this show 19 times this season, but this horse deserves to be beaten (sliced up?) again, since Sunday is the SERIES FINALE. We are going to make an evening of it, with a themed dinner and all (not sliced up people, get your mind out of the plastic wrap). Most of my lame jokes have probably gone unappreciated if you don't watch Dexter, or even if you do. Needless to say, I'm excited. In a bittersweet sort of way.

2. Fall Back

It's getting darker earlier on my morning runs, which led me to remember the days are getting shorter. (Thinking about getting my IQ tested soon). Am I the only one who finds this concept confusing? I can never remember how it shakes out every year. Obviously fall back means its dark when I leave work and super depressing, but is it dark in the mornings too? Why do I have no recollection of this from year to year?

3. Rock Me Mama

We are going glider shopping this weekend. Which in a nutshell, shakes out to sitting in a bunch of comfortable chairs to see which is the most comfortable. I can think of worse ways to spend a Saturday.
I'm hoping for something in a gray....

4. On the Hunt

Bargain Hunt recently opened close to our house. It's been taunting us for months - I had chalked it up to a dollar store type store. Oh, no. It's much more fabulous than that. It's like Home Goods/TJ Maxx and Big Lots all combined and this was the product. Everything from clothes to car seats to furniture to sunscreen. My understanding is most items are liquidations or returns from large online stores (overstock.com, amazon.com). So items are still new in box. They are dated when they hit the shelves, and you get a little card when you go in with dates and corresponding percentages off. The longer an item sits on the shelf, the more you save. I should mention the prices are already great to start with. If you have one around you, or live in Birmingham, you should definitely go.

5.Let Me Updgrade Ya...
In case you live under a rock, the iOS 7 was released. I said I was going to let the kinks work out before updating, but I have the patience of a gnat, so I made the move first thing Thursday morning. (spoiler alert: it takes almost 2 hours).

People are complaining it's too bright, but I like the fresh look. I'm all about some change. I feel like I got a whole new phone and all I did was stare at the 'preparing to update' screen for 2 hours. Not a bad trade.

Side Note: Can we all act like grown adults and learn to google? Facebook is not the place to ask software questions. "HEY! Does anyone know how to close open apps in the new iPhone software?? I'm SO confused!" Lest you be tempted to be that person, a quick little tutorial here. 

Rainy weekend ahead. Hopefully this means cooler tips next week - which will lead to full paneled jeans and all things pumpkin. The two things are not entirely unrelated.

Five on Friday

Whew. It's been an exciting week at our house. This will serve as a true brain dump, as I'm also coming off a sugar high and am not firing on all cylinders.

1. Ouch
Before all the fun of the week, Matt had to go in for an emergency root canal. I think the procedure ended up being a lot less painful than having the jacked up tooth, but then again, I wasn't the one sitting in the dental chair. Ironically, I went in the same day for my 6 month visit. Which you should do. Every 6 months. That's all I'll say about that.

2. Cleanliness is Next To...
I've been meaning to blog about this for ages, but haven't for the risk of sounding totally old and boring. But if you have an animal, you deserve to know about any and every tool to help fight the uphill battle of hair, water dripping from the wrinkles (is that just my dog?) and the dirt tracked in from going in and out, in and out. And in and out.

This thing mops your floors and you run it just like a vacuum. It's fantastic. The cleaner smells awesome and leaves your house smelling like a spring day. A spring day where you weren't dripping sweat from mopping with a real mop. Does anyone still do that? It's so easy it makes 'mopping' once a week or so no big deal.

3. Preach

This article. ALL DAY LONG. Amen.

4. This Calls for Popcorn with Extra Butter

I'm not a big scary movie person, but I keep seeing the previews for Prisoners and I'm so intrigued. It just looks like it has some great twist, and would be a great excuse for popcorn and three flavors of sour patch straws.

5. It's a Big Weekend 

Alabama is taking on Texas A&M. Kickoff is at 2:30, the party is at our casa, and I'm contemplating what kind of cream cheese dip will grace my counter. Matt is making some kind of flank steak/jalapeno/bacon heaven, the high is 80 and I've got plenty of stretchy pants. It's going to be a great weekend.

Roll Tide, friends.

A Little Friday Q&A

Today I'm breaking away from the Friday Five brain dump to do a little Q&A with The Williams....

1. What is your favorite recipe?

It's hard to beat a good soup in the crock pot. White Chicken Chili or Taco Soup. I'm just waiting on the slightest change in temperature to take the plunge. Shredding your chicken in the Kitchen Aid mixer makes the White Chicken Chili, if you ask me. Which hey, you did!

A few key ingredients

2. What is your favorite hair product?

I've blogged about this recently, but right now I'm loving the Kenra Blow Dry Spray.

I love this too - and didn't realize how much until I ran out and my roots came running in. Yikes. This stuff is a lifesaver. I'll be picking up a can this weekend to get through to my next highlighting appointment.

3. What is the best vacation you have been on?

Hands down, Greece. Not only was it beautiful, it was the longest vacation I've ever taken, we were iPhone free and able to totally unplug. Plus, the food was amazing.

4. Tell us your favorite meal? 

Mexican, easy! I often take pictures of my Mexican because it's just that good it should be shared with a photo. A Chille Relleno (not fried, which is hard to find) and a quesadilla can make everything ok.

5.  Dream job?

I like my job pretty well right now. But I guess if I was choosing something as a total dream, could I review spas? I would be very thorough.

6. Christmas or Thanksgiving? 

I love them both, but I think overall, I like Christmas better. It's a true season, and I love decorating and all the time with friends and family. Last year was the first year in our house and I loved getting to decorate. 

7. Favorite clothes store? 

TJ Maxx for sure. I love finding a good bargain, and it seems there is always ones to be found, if you're willing to search around. I have to be in the mood, but some of my favorite things are from TJ!

8. What is your favorite Football team and do you have any traditions on game day? 

If you read my blog for any amount of time in the Fall, this is an easy one - Alabama! We are having quite the run right now, so the past few years have been super fun. We love having people over to watch, and make it down a couple times a year to Tuscaloosa to tailgate with friends.

Pivotal moment in last years heart stopper with LSU.

Namath enjoys the festivities too. 

Football season has great food. One of my favorite go to sites for a new dip - Plain Chicken.

9. Favorite TV Show?

I watch entirely too much TV. At least I recognize the problem. But if we're talking about shows I like to watch live and can't stand to miss, I would go with Dexter, Homeland and Parenthood.

10. DIY or buy everything? 

I like to think I'm crafty, and I've made a few DIY items. But for the most part, I buy. A few Pinterest inspired items as of late -

I think that ends this portion of our Q&A, and my brain already feels lighter on this Friday. Happy weekend, friends!