Friday Fancies: Food & Jewelry

This is going to be a shorty, I have a Finance exam on Tuesday so I'm freaking out!

First of all, I've been a smoothie maniac for the last month, averaging one every other day. Smoothies are a great meal filler when, frankly, I have no time to think about making something for myself. I decided to share my favorite thus far with you, I'll call it the Bodacious Banana Smoothie : )

Ingredients:

1 & 1/3 bananas (this is only b/c my daughter had a piece of leftover 'nana)
3 heaping tsp. peanut butter
1 scoop Jillian Michaels' Whey Protein in vanilla
1 handful of crushed ice (sorry no specific measurement, just add enough ice to make the smoothie cold and a little thicker)
Milk (no specifics on this one, I usually use less than a cup of 1% milk because I like a thicker consistency, more like a milkshake; it just depends what thickness you prefer)
Blend!

There was more leftover from after I poured this in the glass. I drank all of it.

Secondly, I have found that I have to force moderation on myself with any "snack" food I buy because I'm a student who munches non-stop when studying, I have zero self control, and I will polish off a container of anything in one sitting. Not good!

Craisins are BOGO @ Publix, making each
bag about $1.25. Thrifty snack alert!

Five servings in ea. bag = 10 snack bags @
$0.25 a pop!

My solution is to split up snack foods immediately so I do not have the chance to keep going, and going, and going... until I have to have my test-proctor-man come and give me my exams at the house because it's too expensive to cut me out of it! 

Finally, the pretties! I've been reaching for these pieces of jewelry that are bargains yet fast becoming staples in my day to day look.

Cupcake earrings from Forever 21: $1.50

These are sweet (haha) and not too bold so the people who would criticize them haven't even noticed and the people who love them have. I love how that works! I looked for them on the site tonight and couldn't find them but I encourage you to look at the rest of the $1.50 earrings on F21's site, they're darling and you can't beat the price!

Crisp White from The Prim Trimmings shop

Not to be cliche but I really do wear this ring quite a bit, it seems to go along with a lot of my wardrobe. I'm also really loving white for the summer, it's so refreshing. 

Well, wish me luck on this mother of an exam and I'll probably post shortly after. Have an awesome weekend!

Hair Fail

I like trying new things with my hair. I get bored very fast with the same "look" so I'm always switching it up. My work is somewhat conservative so the customers get a kick out of anything different. Most of them enjoy seeing what I'm up to, some tend to poke fun... What's life without a little fun though?

Today I attempted something I've never done before: a side swept chignon. I'm usually not a fan of anything having to do with your hair off to the side since you can look off balance or a little to cray-cray... BUT after seeing this tutorial on Pinterest, I just had to get her a whirl because it looks so darn elegant.

Front view

I thought it looked good from the front, especially considering that I've been out of hair spray for a few weeks now! I procrastinate about buying certain things in life and I'm not sure why. They are things that feel like a waste of money but are kind-of essential such as: razors, shaving cream, new toothbrushes, mascara, AND hair spray apparently!

Back view.
Love my coworkers for taking photos of the back
of my head, it's not rare for me to ask.

The problem was the back. I didn't do very well with the placement of my pins so it didn't look as polished as I would've liked. I will say that even sans hairspray this 'do held up all day and even looked better as it dropped lower and a few strands came loose. I think next time I will attempt to achieve the look I got by the end of the day by loosening some strands and going back over them with the curling iron.

Ut-oh.

On a silly side note, I always try to make sure I either take my t-shirt off before I do an up-do and have an outfit I can step into or button up or already be in my outfit but for some reason (I call it Monday morning) I forgot. This is me realizing my mistake : )

Color Palette: Yellow, Navy Blue, & White

Had a happy Sunday with my little family & attended a wedding

Sunnies: Dior
Necklace: Given to me by my father on my wedding day
Blue cardigan: Ross

Yellow racerback: too long ago to remember

Skirt: Gap, forever ago

Ring: Me, mentioned here

Flips: Target

Friday Fancies

In order to get myself more disciplined about posting I wanted to have a weekly post where I can at least check-in and let anyone out there who cares know what I'm into as of lately. If you follow me on Twitter it may not be hard to figure out so if you think I'm being redundant just, click-away...


1. Workouts
To make a long story short, I may come off as a workout fanatic and to an extent I am because I was a fat kid. I started working out in the summer between seventh and eighth grade because I decided I didn't want to be fat anymore. My main motivator was my best friend, we motivated each other because we were around the same size and wanted to be healthy. Before I started working out, the last time I had weighed myself was in sixth grade and I was over 180 pounds. The delightful thing about working out and watching what you eat is that it works... The hard part is that you can never stop (at least I can't, not with this metabolism). So I give you what has been keeping me motivated this week:


Tuesday: 40 Minute, 5 Mile Bike Ride while pulling my 2 year-old in her trailer (pulling over 55 lbs), exhausts me to the core and we make a pit-stop at the park, little does my daughter know: we take the looong way to get there!


Wednesday: My new obsession, the Tone It Up Girls! Their new workout is a killer and I'm pretty sure why it hurts to laugh! You can find more of their info and workouts on YouTube.


Thursday: No matter who else comes along, there will always be Jillian in my routine! I'm on level two of her Yoga Meltdown and will stay there until I master all the moves!

Pretty sure you can get this anywhere:
Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart

2. Beverage

Starbucks has coconut now and after trying it in a frappuccino and most recently in a cappuccino, both of which were topped with whipped cream and toasted coconut I've decided that I cannot choose between them. It just depends if I want something hot or cold.

NOTE: This is not on the "eating well" tip and clearly a splurge!

Coconut cream frappuccino

3. Etsy

Researching supplies, inspiration, and more formal graphics for MY SHOP along with more formal shipping accouterments - I can't get enough and I feel so inspired. I have a list going of what I want to implement and hope it all comes to fruition!

4. Music

I like all music, some of what I'm loving lately... 
Country - "Dirt Road Anthem" Jason Aldean (it's different, not what you hear every day). 
Rap - "6' 7'" Lil Wayne feat. Corey Gunz (explicit) & "Moment for Life" Nicki Minaj & Drake (gets my workouts pumped, inspirational). 
Alternative - "Tighten Up" The Black Keys (just plain funky).

5. Style
I've decided I need more turquoise in my wardrobe, so I've been seeking it out and bought a special little beauty to make a one of a kind piece of jewelry. I can't wait for all the elements to arrive and will be soon to share the finished product!

Beautiful ring from Jewelmint.com

Hope everyone had a great week and hope you have an even better weekend!


XO,


Stacey

Adventures of a Thrift Store Shopper

Shopping at thrift stores has become an obsession for me. I can only compare it to what men feel like when they go hunting, it's the thrill of the kill! Nothing gets me more excited than finding a gem amongst the seemingly endless racks of riff-raff. For example, we have a thrift store in town that has occasional 50% off days and they get hit hard! I find it far too tempting to buy things for $2 and $3 rather than their usual $4 and $6 so I usually make it a point to hit it up with the rest of the thrifty folk. During the last sale I attended I found a perfect L.B.D. How much did I pay? $3!!! AMAZING! 


Usually I have an accomplice to go with me for moral support and to see who can nab the best find. I own a Dior sweater thanks to another 50% day when I was victorious. How much? $5!!! 

Sometimes, I will hit up the thrift store on my lunch break and this happens...

Couldn't quiiiiite get the zipper up myself so I turned that bad boy around to make sure this would be a smart purchase. I think I paid $6 or so, and it is a Dillard's-ish brand that retails between $40-$80. It's in perfect condition and I love it. I wear it to work which means I have to wear it with the correct side in front, paired with a brown cardigan and some flats (in a metallic color like that of the dress) from Target for about $4. 


Stay tuned for more Thrift Store finds. I am currently obsessing over pretty dishes and earrings or other bobbles to make pretty things out of and hope I can feature something soon!