'Fess Sesh

It's that time of the week again, where we can unburden ourselves with our sins and confessions, by linking up with Jess for a good fess sesh!

.....I was a little underwhelmed by the Today show wedding last Thursday. It was done live, and they're whole "ceremony" (if you could call it that) was done while walking through the streets of NY, and within about 30 seconds (they said it was 3 minutes long....ridiculous). The bride was given about 2 seconds to look at herself in the mirror before walking off to meet up with her husband-to-be. The idea was cool but I feel like the emotions of the moment were lost in all of the chaos.

{via} legit, this is the 2 seconds they stopped during the "walking vows"....so weird

....I got a Night Guard last week to replace my retainer that was breaking. Uhh that thing is hideous. It's so big and bulky, I feel like a freak. Not to mention, my teeth hurt for the whole day after I took it out the next day. No bueno. I've gone back to wearing my old retainer instead. #Byebye200bucks

.....bad customer service makes me angry. If a company wrongs you or messes up in some way, they should ALWAYS offer something to try and fix it. That makes people happy. Bad customer service makes me not want to shop with you anymore.

....I haven't had a regular voice since last Tuesday morning. Allergies kicked in Tuesday afternoon and I've fluctuated between sounding like a pubescent boy, and a phone sex operator. I just want my normal voice back!! 

{via}

....I have a bachelorette party this weekend where we're going to a couple different wineries for an entire day-long adventure. My liver is already cringing in anticipation.

{via}

.....a text from Jess, that was suuuuuper sweet, made me tear up this week

.....MG and I are really torn as to whether or not we should go to Aruba next month for our friends' wedding. Zika is scaring us...I dont want to put my life on hold for something (again!), and we desperately need a get-away. But is it worth the risk? #wheresmycrystalball

{via}

....I saw my second cousin for the first time since we were 10 and 13 at my dad's funeral last weekend. It was a total surprise and I didnt even know she was in the area (she used to live in Texas). We've now reconnected and I'm excited about it!

.....I drove about 10 minutes yesterday, extra cautious of my speed because of the big van with police lights on the top of it behind me. Only to later realize that it was animal control. Doh. #bettersafethansorry

.....MG and I had a guy come by to do a quote on replacing our 28 year old windows, just to have an idea of what it would cost. We have 17 windows in the house, and most of them are almost floor to ceiling. Having an end unit townhouse is awesome....until you have to replace the windows. Luckily he gave us a mega discount (and he actually stayed for dinner--really cool guy), but they're still gonna cost a freaking fortune--and we're starting with just the main floor of windows because it's like $7,000. Our kids may not go to college but at least we'll have new windows for them to daydream about the world from? lol #jk #kinda

....Teen Mom 2 After Show taught me something new: if you have diarrhea on birth control, it makes the BC pill less effective. I had NO idea (and clearly, neither did any of the girls when the doctor told them that). #mindblown #themoreyouknow

{via} I don't. But this cracks me up. And it also makes me laugh that there's a someecard about diarrhea.

And on that potty note, I'll leave you. What are your confessions this week?

What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday

It's Wednesday which means it's time for another round of What's Hap-"Pinning" with Jessi and I!

Did you guys see the Loft sale starting Sunday morning? 40% off AND Free shipping! That free shipping with Loft only seems to come around once a year (Christmas-time), so I was mega surprised and hopped onto my computer to make some purchases as soon as I saw that email.

I'll show you what I got, and then I'm gonna rant a little bit about how Loft ticked me off this weekend with their customer service (or lack thereof).

I have a major problem little obsession with tops. Once you have bottoms you have staples. Tops are what change up your outfits the most I think. And this is why my closet is jam-packed, but that's another story :)
Here's what was in my latest Loft haul:
I love the pretty coral color here and see it being a great transitional Spring piece

{via} $26.99

 This one will obviously be more for next season, but I loved the medallion sweater Loft had earlier this year, and if this is anything like that one, it'll have been worth getting it now for next year:

{via} $32.99

I figure this one will be hit or miss for me. I think it could look good paired under a blazer, or stand-alone with cute skinnies and wedges. We'll see how it fits when it arrives:

{via} $17.70

This one I KNOW is going to be gorgeous. I got it last year, when it wasn't on sale (it was $40 something) to bring my order up to get free shipping. I debated keeping it because the lace detail is SO cute, but I couldn't spend $40 on a t-shirt (remember that, Biana?) For $23, I'll take it tho! #cometomama

{via} $23.70

 This is just a standard tee, but I love Loft tees--and I love blush, so this one should be perfect!

{via} $20.70

*These are NOT affiliate links. This is just me sharing with you some of my finds, in case they intrigue you, too*

And now, here's my rant. I love Loft. I shop there at least once a month, usually, so friends get me gift cards to Loft (and so do kids' parents sometimes too). I went to use a $25 gift card when I checked out Sunday morning, and it was applied to my total. So I go to check out, with my credit card info entered and I get an error message. So then I had to wait until 9am for their customer service lines to open. I called multiple times between 9 and 9:40 and each time I called, I kept getting the message to call back during their "normal business hours" which were listed as 9am on Sundays.

While I was doing that, I was trying to get someone on their Online chat. I started off 3rd in the queue, then moved to 2nd....then back to 3rd.....then back to 2nd. And then for the next 30 minutes I was bounced back and forth between 2nd and 1st place before I finally gave up.

I removed my gift card from my order and lo and behold, it let me check out (even though my gift card was totally valid). 

So I wrote a scathing email to their customer service (since no one actually seemed to be working), and got an email back the next day thanking me for inquiring about the balance of my gift card. Not at ALL what I'd written about. 

I got in touch with customer service on Monday and the only thing they offered me was free shipping the next time I ordered, but I have to call and order it through one of their agents (so, apparently I can't call on the weekend since no one seems to work then). Needless to say, I was pretty ticked off. It was not very good customer service at all, not to mention the time I wasted trying to place this stupid order, and didn't even get to use my gift card. Their customer service has been really good in the past when my order has gotten switched with someone else's (twice!). This time was a big disappointment.

I never thought I'd say this, but I'll think twice before I order from Loft again. Well, after I use my stupid gift card....

Ok, now that that rant is over, it's your turn to link up and share what's hap-"pinning" with you! It doesn't have to be Pinterest related!

Recipe Revisit: Mediterranean Penne with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

As the weather continues to get warmer (and then colder....and then warmer), it prompts me to go through my recipes and find ones that feel more suitable for the warmer temps. This one is a revisit, one I posted a while back, but is still a good one! MG and I made this one again last week and it was super delicious!

Mediterranean Penne with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Shrimp!

This dish is SO good, and makes about 5-6 servings. It's flavorful, healthy and just all around YUM!

The original recipe did not have shrimp in it, so if you don't like/want shrimp, just take out that step!

What You Need:

-1 lb. shrimp (no tail, deveined), fresh or frozen (just make sure it's thawed)

-1 box whole wheat penne
-1 cup feta cheese
-2 tsp. minced garlic, divided (mine was from the jar)
-3/4 C. sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, chopped
-1/2 C. pine nuts
-about 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
-2 Cups baby spinach
-1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-salt to taste, if desired (I omitted this)

What You Do:
1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions in a large pot. Drain and return to pot.

2. While the pasta is cooking, add 1 Tbsp. olive oil to a frying pan along with 1 tsp minced garlic. Let it heat up over low-medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add in the shrimp and cook through. Set aside and keep warm.

3. Using the same pan, add another 1 Tbsp. olive oil to the pan, and another 1 tsp. minced garlic. Let it heat up, and add in the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and the oil from the jar, the black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.

Continue to saute for about 5 minutes, until the tomatoes soften.
*I've since began buying the julienne-cut sun dried tomatoes which work out much better*

4. Add the shrimp back into the frying pan and mix. Cook another minute or so.

5. Add the contents of the frying pan to your cooked and drained noodles in the pot. Turn the heat onto low.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, toss to coat, and heat for another minute or two. Add in the pine nuts, and baby spinach, and mix. Turn off the heat, cover the pot with a lid, and let the spinach wilt a bit, about 2 minutes.

6. Add the feta cheese on top, and mix.

7. Serve it up and enjoy!

I promise, you're going to love this dish! 

Weekending with the Easter Bunny

Ok I didn't exactly hang out with the Easter bunny this weekend, but I did get in a good amount of friend and family time.

My weekend highlights included:

~Getting a fresh cut and color on Thursday afternoon

~Busted out the deck furniture out of Winter storage

~Having MG's family and my best friend come into town Thursday night and grilled out on the deck for dinner

~Finished our taxes and thankfully are getting money back--there was a time we thought we might owe. Phew!

~A visit from my dad in my dreams for the second time, which made me smile when I woke up

~A beautiful funeral service for my dad at Quantico National Cemetery with full military honors. It was an incredibly emotional, but beautiful day. So many friends showed up to show us love and support, along with family. It was incredible. I think my dad would have approved of the service.

~Celebration of Life memorial and luncheon afterwards where we socialized, shared stories about my dad and read the letters that we'd written to him

~Family left town in the early evening and then MG and I went out to dinner with my best friend and his best friend and fiance and tried out a new restaurant in Old Town which was really delicious

~Back to the house for a sleepover with our best friends

~Saturday morning brunch with our friends followed by some cherry blossoms and a low key afternoon

~Put our new Spring bedding onto the bed--love that the color in the pattern totally matches our walls. Overstock for the win!

still need to find something to go above the bed....

~Early to bed since we were both exhausted from all of the activities from the previous days

~Sunday morning errands and about 9 loads of laundry from all of the towels and sheets used over the weekend.

 ~Went to an Easter brunch at my friends' house with so much delicious food and yummy drinks. It was so fun to celebrate with good friends.

~Mid afternoon walk to work off some of the delicious brunch food and bloody mary's/mimosas #oops

~Finished the book Ive been reading for the last week and started another one (review coming soon!)

~Made dinner and had a low key rest of the night 

Today I'm back to work, but at least it's a teacher workday so I'm easing back into the work week. This weekend was tough, but it was eased by having so many friends and family around to support us and love us. Thank you for your prayers last Friday and during the weekend--they were so appreciated!

I hope you had a nice, fun-filled weekend!

Friday Faves

Happy Friday, friends! I don't know about you, but this week has flown by! Just like that, Spring Break is over and Monday it's back to real world work life. Booooooo!

Let's talk about some faves this week, though.

Friday Favorites // Friday Favorites // Oh Hey Friday// 5 on Friday

{1} Friend Time

This week was filled with lots of time with friends. Coffee dates, lunch dates, shopping dates, and walking dates. I'm glad to be surrounded by friends, doing fun stuff and also staying active.

{2} Purchases

During my shopping date with my friend on Monday, where I was looking for a cute pair of black heels, I found a million things that weren't black heels (of course). My favorite purchases from the day were hands down, this hat and this pair of earrings. I've been looking for a pair of ear jackets since I saw Jamie on Married At First Sight with an adorable pair. Thanks to Nordstrom Rack, I'm now gonna be rocking these this Spring and Summer!

And this hat I found on a whim in JC Penney on sale for $15 and I can totally see it being worn on the beach or poolside in Aruba in a little over a month! #bringonthesunshine

{3} This Article about how Dogs Show You Love

This is totally Cooper. The cuddles, and the eye gazing. That pup shows me lots of love! :)

Check out the article here.

{4} Stuff From The Week
Even though we didn't go away for Spring Break, I still packed in some great things including a massage, a haircut and color, did a manicure on myself with my favorite Essie color (Limo Scene), got in some reading time outside, and got to spend time with friends...and today, with friends and family. 

{5} Funnies

When your coworker says an incredibly insensitive remark, in an attempt to relate to you, that totally falls flat:

{via}

My reaction when Brandi Glanville makes an appearance on RHOBH and she chooses the golden video ho look:

{via}

When your best friend is in town after not seeing her for what seems like a super long time:

{via}

When your nieces and nephew raid all of your snacks and candy in less than 24 hours:

{via}

On a more serious note, today is my dad's funeral. He's being buried at Quantico National Cemetery with full military honors since he was in the air force many moons ago. I'm so proud of my dad's service, and that he's going to receive this honor.

Today isn't going to be an easy day by any means. And probably neither will tomorrow. I'm just so thankful that we'll be surrounded by friends and family today--I know that will help.

If you have any room in your thoughts or prayers today, please add us to it, as it's going to be a really emotional day. One I'm not sure I'm even prepared for.

I hope you have a nice weekend, filled with fun and love!

Thursday Confessions

I confess that....

....I was a little taken aback when my coworker told me he understood how I felt about my dad's passing, and then went on to tell me that his parents were flying to Hawaii and he wasn't able to get in touch with them for the next 13 hours. I kept waiting for the part that explained why he knew how I was feeling, but apparently that was it. He then followed it up by saying he was flying with his fiance in 2 days to meet up with them in Hawaii. Um, not the same dude, not even close. #shouldajustkeptyourmouthshut

......green donuts (or anything bread-related) is never a good idea. It just LOOKS like mold, even if it's "St Pattys day themed". #barf

.....I had a deep tissue massage on Tuesday which was glorious, and much needed. And I have a haircut appointment today! If I'm not going away on vacation, at least I'm getting pampered.

....I'm slightly obsessive about parking in the same spot in our parking lot and get territorial over it if someone parks there (it's not assigned), but it annoys the hell out of me that it's under a tree. So in Spring time, my car looks like a total sh*t mobile...how do birds crap so much??? Needless to say, I've stopped parking in that spot for the next few weeks.

....weekday walks along the water with a friend are such a nice way to heal, spend quality time, and be healthy.

.....I'm so disappointed and saddened that terror attacks like those in Brussels this week have become the norm. Just like school shootings. Why is this what the world is coming to? It's sickening and overwhelming. 

.....as much as I love Spring, I hate the allergies that come along with it. Especially in the DC/MD/VA area. I've been losing my voice for the last day plus and it's all from allergies. Boo.

.....I locked myself out of the house the other day as I was leaving for my massage. I thought I had my house and car keys in my jacket pocket, but I didn't. Luckily I was able to scrounge up our spare key without too much difficulty. But I definitely panicked for a hot second.

What are you confessing this week?

What's Hap-"Pinning" Wednesday {#33}

Happy Wednesday, friends! I'm surprised at how quickly the week off has been flying by (why don't the work weeks go by as quickly?)

Since it's Wednesday, it's time to link up with Jessi and I to share what's hap-"pinning" with you!

With Easter coming up this weekend, I've been seeing some really adorable (and delicious looking) ideas floating around Pinterest. I'm not sure how much time these would take, but they're super cute!

          {via}                                              {via}                                    {via}-bunny bait

In addition to Easter, it's also Spring, and the weather has finally been catching up to the season. We had low 60s yesterday and supposed to be in the 70s today. I'm so excited for cute Spring clothes!

{via}                                          {via}                                            {via}
Just gimme all the clothes!!!

Now it's your turn to link up and share what's hap-"pinning" with you! It doesn't have to be Pinterest-related, just share what's going on!

Letters

It's been a while since I wrote out some "letters" so, why not?

Dear Spring......Please hurry up and actually start acting like Spring. The 30s and 40s don't count as Spring. Winter is done. So last season!

Dear Trump....Please go away. Seriously, just go.

{via}

Dear House of Cards.....thank you for getting good again. And holy crap did sh*t hit the fan at the end of this season. I'm gonna need you to hurry up and come out with Season 5 like tomorrow. Please and thank you.

{via}

Dear Today Show.....you're my favorite part about not having to go to work. Sipping coffee and watching you is the perfect way to ease into my day.  I love Savannah and Matt.

Dear Cooper.....thank you for being the perfect little snuggle buddy when MG was away for the weekend. And for just being super cute all the time. You're the puppy love of my life :)

Dear Dad.....thank you for visiting me in my dreams on Sunday night. It was so good to see you and hold your hand. I've missed you so much. Please come and visit me more.

Dear YardHouse.....thank you for never being busy during the work week so I can get in without a 2 hour wait and enjoy your delicious food when I have the day off (or meetings where I have free time to go out for lunch). Your menu is amazing and I'm never disappointed.

Dear Annoying Parent....please stop emailing me. Over the weekend, over Spring Break. Just stop. I'm on a break. I need a break. YOU are the reason I need this break, so please just give me some peace.

Dear Hamilton the Musical.....can you make your tickets not so expensive so that us "commoners" can come and see this amazing show? Celebrities and super rich people shouldn't be the only ones to get to enjoy it. $700 per ticket for the "cheap seats" isn't cheap.  I'd like to support the arts, but if I pay $700 for a ticket, I'm moving into the theater for the month.

Dear Ben Affleck....I'm glad your back tat is fake. And I think so is everyone else in the world. Because, let's be real...that shizz was naaaaaasty.

{via}

Dear Coffee....you are the elixir of life and I love that you and I have such a delicious relationship. Thanks for helping to make mornings bright and awake! 

Who would you write a 'letter' to today?