What I'm Loving Friday (on a Saturday) #7

I started writing this blog post on Friday (Hence the title) but as I was writing how busy this month has been, I was unable to finish it! Luckily, I have some time today to finish my post! Second time's a charm right?? Ok, let's get into what I was saying yesterday (haha):


This morning I definitely needed some caffeine to say the least! Life at work has been SO busy..being in HR, we're busy all year round but for some reason every October just flies by and I'm so exhausted due to the extra things we have to do.

Technically, today is my Thursday. I am working tomorrow because next Wednesday Benson and I are heading to Baltimore to visit Alecia and Nick, and then Haymarket, VA to visit Casey and Jakob! To say Benson and I are excited is an understatement. We are most definitely looking forward to our road trip because to be honest, I don't remember the last trip we took? AKA this is waaaay overdue. 

Let's dive on into what I've been loooooving this past week!

1.) Ipsy Glam Bag

I've been a subscriber to Ipsy for about 3 years now and every month I look forward to my glam bag. This month however was probably my most favorite bag yet! I love the nail polish! When I looked up the nail polish online, I found out that they are $20....A BOTTLE. Ipsy is $10 per month so just that nail polish makes it worth it. I'm also excited to try the Make Up Forever foundation. I've always wanted to try their foundation but since it is pricey I just haven't ever bought it. Now I can!

2.) Pumpkin Pie Latte from Wegmans

You know me and my pumpkin drinks. This one from Wegmans is deeeelicious. Seriously, I don't even know how I would function not living near a Wegmans. Want to know what made this latte even better? It was FREE. I had gone to Wegmans to get flowers for one of my co-workers birthdays and I paid for those at the coffee shop. When I paid the cashier never told me a total so I walked out and it wasn't until I got to work that I realized I was only charged for the flowers! That definitely made my Friday!

3.) This Is Us

OMG...this show! I fell in love the first episode and now it's one of my fall favorite tv shows. If you haven't watched it, go on Hulu ASAP and watch! Such a good show!

4.) Sunglasses

I know summer is over, but I wanted to order new sunglasses for our road trip next week. These ones from Nordstrom's are so cute and affordable. My cousin Kelsey has them and I fell in love with them over the summer so I figured I should buy them for myself too :)

That concludes my favorites from this week! I'm sorry my blogging has been lacking lately! I promise to get back into the groove of things! Once we get back from our trip to MD & VA I'll be sure to blog all about our travels. Benson and I are super excited for this trip. Plus, I hear there are lots of wineries in VA...right up my alley!  ;)

What I'm Loving Friday #6

It's that time of the week again! I love doing these posts every Friday and being able to share what I'm loving at the moment. This week flew by so let's just jump right into today's "What I'm Loving Friday!"

1.) Madison & Mallory Online Boutique....again.

You guys...this online boutique is so awesome. It's super affordable and cute! I ordered a shirt and sweater on Tuesday and received them YESTERDAY in the mail!! I ordered two items. The first being the olive criss cross sweater. So cute right!? The second item was the distressed t-shirt, but I ordered mine in olive green. These are going to look so cute with my black LuLa Roe leggings and booties. I love olive green clothing in the fall because I feel like it looks good with my dark hair.

                                                        www.madisonandmallory.com

2.) Homemade Caramel Apple Poptarts

I'll be sharing this recipe next week! I wanted to make another fall recipe and since I already made a pumpkin one, I wanted to do an apple one. This was my first time making homemade pop tarts. I grew up on the good 'ol box kind which I'll admit are still delicious. These were pretty easy to make and the frosting is homemade as well. Be on the lookout for more on these scrumptious treats!

3.) Birthday Celebrations at Work

Ok, how cool are these cupcakes my co-worker made for me!? On Monday I was surprised with gifts and treats at work. The HR shirt is spot on and perfect. I love working with such fun and caring co-workers. This definitely made my Monday!

4.) Cake Stand

Again, I know I shared this in my birthday post but I was so excited to be able to use my cake stand right away with the leftover cupcakes from work. They looked so pretty in my cake stand I almost didn't even want to eat them because they looked so neat in the cake stand (I said almost....these cupcake are long gone by now). 

5.) "Uninvited" By Sophie Jordan

I borrowed this book from the library on Tuesday and I'm almost finished with it. It's such a quick and easy read but it's really good! I don't want to give too many details or spoilers, but it's basically about a girl who found out she has the "kill" gene, and her life is changed upside down when the government decides that all who have this gene need to be quarantined. She however is one of fifty who get to go to a special training camp to be taught how to deal with this and hopefully live with the general population again. Go read it! Like I said, super fast and easy read but SO interesting. 

Let me know of any must read books you recommend. Since it's fall, I love darker themed mysteries and thrillers. 

Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend! See you back here on Monday!

Weekend Recap: Birthday Edition!

The struggle is real coming back to work after your birthday weekend! I had a great birthday and spent the weekend celebrating.

Saturday:

I started the day off by working out and then making a toasted English muffin with PB, chia seeds, and pumpkin pie spice. I was starving after my total body cardio workout so this definitely hit the spot. 

After breakfast I showered and got ready for the day. I had a couple errands to do quick and as soon as I was walking out the door, Benson was coming back from fishing so I asked if he would like to go with me. I think since it was my birthday weekend he felt as though he "had" to ;) 

First errand of course was DD to grab a pumpkin iced coffee. Next we stopped by CVS and then went to Target to return something I bought offline. Props to me for just going to Target to return the one thing I needed to and ONLY doing that. I don't think I've ever walked into Target without buying anything!

Once we finished our my errands we headed to the New York Wine & Culinary Center to do a tasting or two! Benson and I started off with the Harvest Flight.

I liked this flight because it had a little bit of everything. Wine, beer, cider and moonshine! I loved all except the beer (Empire Brewing Deep Purple). It tasted just like concord grapes with a subtle beer flavor which I liked. What I didn't like was how it wasn't that carbonated at all. The little carbonation just didn't taste good to me. The moonshine was very good! I liked the cinnamon spice to it which made it easier to drink in my opinion. 

After the Harvest Flight, Benson and I decided to split the Mu tasting flight. 

I had the cappuccino and chocolate chai and Benson had the vanilla late and espresso macchiato. We took sips of each others and I think the espresso and cappuccino were my favorites. Although they were all delicious, don't get me wrong!

Once we were done with the tastings, we headed back home to get ready for dinner. We had reservations at Black & Blue so needless to say I was SO excited. (Fun fact: That's actually where Benson proposed to me! #tbt)

They sat us down and gave me a cute little card for my birthday. We looked over the menu but I already knew what I was ordering because I order the same thing every time! For an appetizer, we ordered the kobe beef meatballs.

These meatballs are incredible. Whatever sauce they come in is absolutely outstanding! I highly recommend trying these bad boys out if you go to Black & Blue. You get 4 meatballs served on skewers. These probably lasted a minute tops. 

For dinner, I ordered the sirloin steak cooked medium with the Gorgonzola sauce and a side of their orzo mac and cheese....HEAVEN!

I was able to eat my entire steak because left over steak just does not taste as good as the day of, and ate about half of the mac and cheese and took the rest of it home.

Because we went for my birthday, they gave me a free dessert which was flourless chocolate cake! Benson and I polished this off in no time.

PSA: The reason we went to Black & Blue for dinner was because I signed up for their Executive Club (basically a rewards program) and on your birthday you get a $25 gift card!! Not coupon, gift card! I don't know about you but that's definitely the best birthday reward from a restaurant I've ever received. Go sign up!

After dinner we were full to say the least. We went back home and hung out while John and Shayna stopped by to hang out for a little bit later on. 

Sunday:

My 26th birthday!!! I woke up to Benson giving me breakfast in bed which was the same thing I had Saturday but with sprinkles on it too. I don't know about you but on my birthday I want sprinkles on everything. It just makes it that more festive!

He had a soccer game so the first part of my birthday was pretty relaxing. I received texts and calls from my friends and family which always makes me happy :) 

Once Benson got home we went to Deer Run for a free birthday tasting...just kidding it's free all the time ;) 

For dinner we headed to my parents where my mom made shrimp scampi, bread, asparagus, and salad. Of course she made my triple layer funfetti cake as shown above...YUM!

We had a great time with my parents, aunt Susie, and grandma and grandpa. It's always a good time with family! After dinner and cake I opened my presents. My parents got me items from the Pioneer Woman's new collection! 

I'm so excited to use it all! How cute are those mugs!? And the cake stand!? Not to mention the new cookbook that you bet I'll be reading through to pick out which recipes to make first ASAP. Talk about a hard decision! 

Needless to say I had an eventful birthday weekend and I couldn't have spent it better. Here's to 26 and seeing what this new year has in store for me. Hope you all had a fun weekend too!!