TGIF, sip sip hooray!

I don't know about you, but things have been a little crazy around here lately! Lots of late nights at work this week, but also lots of fun celebrations to balance things out :) How has your week been?

sip & skimm

I know it sounds like I'm beating a dead horse, but seriously you need to check out the Skimm! With so many things going on in the world right now, and an upcoming presidential campaign, I honestly don't know how anyone can keep up with it all. The Skimm is a great way to feel like you're at least close to knowing everything that's going on, or at the least knowing about everything that's going on. I have been a subscriber to some form of daily news email, whether it be the local paper, the WSJ or Washington Post, and I have to say, the Skimm surpasses them all, by miles. It has the most far-reaching topics, but not so many that it's overwhelming, and they are always on top of the latest news. Plus, one of the best parts is that it only comes to your inbox ONCE/ day, no exceptions, and no weekends. Unlike Gap, who I think can tell when I delete without opening, and sends me another email. I swear it's happened before.
Anyways - seriously, if you haven't checked it out yet you should, and if you are interested you can become a Skimm'bassador and take part in super fun events that are held all over the country. Last night Louisville Skimm'rs hosted a Sip and Skimm at a local restaurant and it was so. much. fun! If that hasn't convinced you yet, then surely this will - you get a shout-out on your birthday!

bachelorette party

My bachelorette party was a couple of weeks ago, and I think I am still recovering! Have you ever had a bushwacker? It might be the #1 reason that I love Nashville so much! It's essentially an alcoholic milkshake, and it can really creep up on you if you have a couple :) I would highly suggest trying one if you ever get the chance - or making one at home. I've done it, and the results actually weren't half bad! We had such a great time that now I really want all of my friends to be engaged so we can go back ASAP!

in the lobby

Despite choosing three other colors as my fall favorites from the Essie collection, I ended up purchasing "In the Lobby" last week, and I could not be more pleased! I will say it is not nearly as purple as their stock photos make it look, but more of a merlot-deep red. If you are looking for a staple fall nail color this is one could not be more perfect! Have any of y'all tried it? What did you think about the stock color vs. the actual color? [I will update with picture! I'd already repainted my nails a different color without thinking]
I swear these fall colors just came out, or maybe I was late to the game, but I'm already seeing and loving the winter colors as well! I wish it was still cool to have each nail painted a different color so I could wear them all at once!

house hunting part 3

Eventually I'm going to stop numbering these because it is just reminding me how long it takes. I know, finding a house is not a fast process. But I am a very impatient person, and when I know what I want, I really want to do what I can when I can to get it accomplished. Maybe I can call myself driven or determined, rather than impatient. That sounds a little better, right?
Well, anyways, we put an offer in last week! It was countered, and then we countered again and they accepted!!! We are still in the inspection/survey/financing stages, but we are planning to close before Christmas and I am so excited!

one year engagediversary

One year ago I got engaged! It is still surreal to think about sometimes, and I have never been happier. We are also exactly three months from getting married (!!!), which is crazy when I know there is still so much to do! The planning has definitely gone in waves of doing absolutely nothing for a month, to having three appointments in one day. But, so far it seems to be working out alright. We are going to dinner at a new restaurant tonight to celebrate, which I am really looking forward to because we've been so busy lately that we haven't had a true date night in what feels like months. Any married friends want to share some advice for these last few months of planning? I am all ears!

Have a great weekend, y'all! Go Cats! 

xoxo

linking up with:

Oh Hey Friday | Five on Friday |  Casual I Friday | xoxo Rebecca | High Five for Friday | Friday Favorites 

Wednesday Showcase | Turn It Up Tuesday

Get Your Skimm On!

It's fun, it's witty, and it's quick. What more could you ask for? Oh, and it's free!

I've mentioned it before, and I'll mention it again. Y'all, if you're not reading the Skimm in the morning (or whenever you wake up), you are missing out. I think one of the best things about the Skimm is that you only receive ONE email per day, and only on weekdays. As most of you do, I feel like my inbox is constantly flooded with more or less spam emails from various companies. I was a little hesitant about voluntarily adding another one to the list. But this is different, it is not intrusive, and unlike most of those other emails, I actually read this one! Ha!

In hopes to spark your interest a little more, here are some of my favorite stories from the last week or so. // These snippets come with the disclaimer that the Skimm reports on the good and the bad, but I didn't see any reason to rehash the bad news for the purpose of persuading you :)  //

the Skimm 

Every Skimm starts with a Quote of the Day and they are almost always funny, and on a lighter note than a lot of the news for the day. And it always leaves me wanting to read more into what was actually happening. (any of the green text in the Skimm is a link to a longer article, or articles about that particular piece of news)

the Skimm 

This was so exciting because I am recently obsessed with Amy Schumer and JLaw is a Kentucky girl! What better combination could there be!

the Skimm 

I am finally starting to have more time to read for pleasure now that I am out of school, but since it has been so long, I am constantly looking for recommendations. Sometime in the early spring (late winter?) one of the "Skimm Reads" was a book called Big Little Lies, and I took a chance to pick it up for the beach and it was so good! I am sure the others will not disappoint and I am looking forward to taking a few more suggestions from the Skimm.

the Skimm 

 With the impending election, the Skimm has taken on interviewing all of the candidates and it has been quite enjoyable. I mean y'all, the republican candidates are currently in double digits. I cannot imagine trying to track down the relevant information about every single one of them to really understand their platform and plan. Enter - "Skimm Your Candidate." Plus, apparently most of them don't hit the snooze button, who knew?

the Skimm 

This is just another example of the broad, and random (but relevant!) news you'll be presented with. I honestly feel like I have zero time in the morning to watch or read the news and the Skimm works as a perfect supplement to my need to know what's going on in the world. Plus, its a bonus when I can tell my friends or family something interesting that I read and that they haven't even heard about yet because we are all. so. busy.

Do you Skimm?

Have a great day, y'all! It's almost Friday!!

xoxo

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Wednesday Showcase

TGIF, Back to Work

I have officially been back at work for a week and I am honestly so glad. My boss was generous enough to give me a full month of to study for the bar, so it has been a while since I've been at the office, but it has been a pretty seamless transition getting back into my work schedule. Although, it has made for a longggg week. How has your week been?

one - getting organized

I may end up doing a full post on this later, but I just wanted to share with y'all a quick before & after of my bathroom. As I mentioned last week, I have officially moved out of my apartment and moved in with my fiancé. I already had quite a few things here, so adding everything that was also at my apartment made for a lot of stuff. Getting organized is one of my favorite things (I know, weird), so aside from the time that it takes I've been really enjoying getting settled and giving everything a place. The bathroom is always a big struggle for me because I like to think that I need almost everything everyday. Obviously, that's not true. As you can see in the pictures below, I made an effort to keep a clear counter because I think that makes the biggest difference - kind of like how making the bed seems to make your bedroom look 10x cleaner. It's only been about a week, but I've been good so far about making sure it still looks this way, hopefully I can keep it up! 

two - relax

Last weekend we spent almost all day Saturday at the pool and it was so nice. I spent a lot of Thursday and Friday finishing up my move, so Saturday was the first day all summer that we were finally able to just lay by the pool and not feel guilty at all! I am looking forward to a few more weekends spending the days by the pool while it's still open.

three - Fitbit Challenge

I did my best to stay active while studying all summer, and I think I did a pretty decent job. We were in the habit of working out every morning before we went to class or started studying so that we wouldn't have any excuses. Most of my friends, on the other hand, became rather sedentary. I get it, we all deal with stress differently, and I personally feel better when I can work out, but I realize thats not the case for everyone. Anyways, we're all back and active and in a "Workweek Hustle" challenge this week and it is all I can do to keep up! I've been getting 10,000 to 12,000 steps each day and I am still barely between 2nd and 3rd place. It is so nice to have this kind of competition though because it keeps us all very active and accountable!

four - the Skimm

I've mentioned it before and I'm sure I'll mention it again, but y'all. the Skimm is one of the greatest discoveries I ever made. It is a quick, free, and easy way to catch up on the most recent and pressing news around the country. I have never had the patience to read a newspaper for more than twenty minutes, and I am very guilty of just skipping the parts that don't seem interesting to me, which is pretty much everything. Ooops. But, with the Skimm I can get everything I need to know in under five minutes and in language that makes sense to me! Plus, right now they've got a series going with interviews of all of the presidential candidates. This has been really helpful especially since there are like a million to keep track of. If you have any of the same issues, but want to stay informed, I would highly recommend signing up for the Skimm. It comes to your inbox around 6:30am every weekday and that's it. No emails on the weekend, no extra afternoon emails, just plain and simple, once a day. You can either click here, or on the button on the side. Skimm on!

five - Ruth's Chris

We're going to Ruth's Chris for dinner tonight and I cannot wait! The food is SO good, the cocktails are always a lot of fun, and in Louisville its at the very top of a building so you can see the entire city while you're dining. I'm still trying to decide what I can wear that will give me enough room to breathe when we're done! What are your weekend plans?

Have a Great Weekend, y'all!!

xoxo 

linking up with:

Oh Hey Friday | Five on Friday |  Casual I Friday | xoxo Rebecca | High Five for Friday | Friday Favorites | Merry Monday

Creative Corner | Wednesday Showcase | Weekending | Turn It Up Tuesday

TGIF, bye February

It is February 27 - one day, ONE day away from March. I get that February is a short month so technically it does go by faster, but I truly feel like this February has flown by. Of course part of that could be the fact that what seems like the entire eastern United States has had at least a solid week of being snowed in.
Here are a few things I've been up to this week - how has your week been?

1. DietBet

Have y'all ever heard of DietBet? I feel like for a while it was popping up in a lot of fitness magazines as one of the "great ways to motivate yourself" options. I had personally ignored it because I wasn't sure I trusted actually betting money on the internet, and conceitedly thought I didn't need to lose enough weight to warrant the risk. I. Was. Wrong.

I have this friend who is on and off a new diet every other week, not in an unhealthy way, but more in an "I love food" kind of way. I get her. But, recently she's decided to really take things under control so she signed up for DietBet and was telling me all about it, and after the aforementioned week long snowday spend mostly eating and drinking, I thought maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. So I signed up, for two different bets. They have the option for you to lose 4% in 4 weeks or 10% in 6 months. I thought to jump start the process, I'd do the 6 month one as well as the 4 week one. I am so excited! My official start date on the 4 week one was February 24, so I have until March 24 to lose 4% of my body weight. I am so looking forward to feeling better (and lighter) and will be happy to share any information about this with any of you who might be interested. Honestly, I was a little skeptical at first, but I am really hopeful in the end results. [not sponsored, I'm just legitimately this excited that I had to share it with y'all!]

2. Composites

So we had law school composites this week. Let me just say that sorority and high school senior pictures were way easier. You just had to show up in a tank top, put the cape on, and make sure your hair, makeup, and pearls were in place. Law school composites comparatively were such a hassle having to actually wear a suit jacket and blouse. I know it probably looks nicer, but after four years of something four times easier, it was just slightly on the annoying side. Okay, end rant.

3. Registry

So you know how last Friday I mentioned we were going to register at Belk on Sunday? Well, thanks to all of the snow that came last week, and the fact that the South is sorely unprepared for more than a few inches of snow, the roof caved in. I didn't even know that was possible, except that one time it happened to an NFL dome. But seriously? When my friend called to tell me I almost didn't believe her.
Luckily there is another one about 45 minutes away and since I was so determined to get the process started we headed up there and luckily were able to at least get our feet wet. I had no idea there were so. many. thing to decide. Not only do you have to decide how plush you want your towels to be, but also what color, and how many. Then, in addition to regular dinnerware and china, there are serving dishes and platters to choose from. I am looking so forward to this because it means we are planning what our future home will be. However, next time we head out to mark a few things off the list we're definitely going to do some research before we get to the store. Do y'all have any registry tips?

4. Free Weekend

This is the first weekend since school started back in January that we have no plans. Zero. And I couldn't be happier. The last two months have been a whirlwind, and I'm so excited to know that we are going to get to sleep in on Saturday and Sunday, and I can finally get some things done around the apartment that I've been dying to tackle. I'm one of those people that needs to have a huge block of time available to complete a big task. I totally see the benefit of just cleaning up 15 minutes a day or whenever you have time, but sometimes I think it's just time for a deep cleaning and I need 6 hours to do that. This might be the first time that I am this excited not to have plans!

5. Contouring

Okay. So I am not trying to look like Kim K., but I would like to figure out how to contour just to make my face look a little brighter and less tired looking. You know what I mean? A few months ago I received the perfect highlighter in a Birchbox and have been obsessed since. Of course when I wasn't looking, it seemed like there were contouring tutorials everywhere I looked. Last weekend I was trying to find one before Barristers to try out and couldn't find anything that I felt comfortable doing - i.e. that was simple. So here's my plea, if y'all come across a relatively easy/well explained tutorial please send it my way!

BONUS: I think I've mentioned it before, but if you don't already, you should seriously consider subscribing to The Skimm. I'm not even sure anymore how I first found out about it, but it's a news outlet of sorts. They send an email to you every morning with the prior day's top stories and the most concise (and witty) explanation you could ask for. It seriously takes less than 10 minutes to read, but you get so much quick news. Plus, it his my inbox no later than 7am, usually earlier, so it is perfect to read on your commute to work (assuming you aren't driving!) or while you're enjoying your morning coffee. Seriously, sign up. You won't regret it!

Just in case you aren't enticed already, here's an excerpt from earlier this week:

The Skimm

Have a great weekend, y'all!
xoxo

linking up with:

|  Oh Hey Friday | Friday Favorites | Five on Friday | Friday Favorites | Casual Friday | xoxo Rebecca
Mix it Up Friday

Election Day

If you haven't voted yet please stop reading this and go vote. As Americans we are are so so so fortunate to have the right to vote. I know that may sound cliche, but it is still true. I registered to vote when I was 17 - this was allowed because there was not going to be an election until after I was 18 - and there has only been one election (including primaries!) that I haven't voted in. And in my defense I missed it because someone on my Freshman hall was supposed to be in charge of absentee ballots and let's just say they dropped the ball.

Sticker Source

Anyways, voting is something I take very seriously and I truly believe that everyone else should too. Not only does it give you a voice, no matter how big or small, in the outcome, but in my opinion it gives you the right to complain. I know that sounds silly, but all the time people are complaining about politicians and their actions. If you didn't take the time out of your day once a year to vote it doesn't make sense that you deserve the right to complain when they are just trying to do their job.

I don't care if you are Republican, Democrat, Independent or whatever else. I don't care if you vote straight ticket or spend an hour deciding on every single office. I don't care if you live in a city with a population of 10,000 or 10,000,000. Please, please, please appreciate your right to vote and go do it!

the Skimm

Also - if you don't already read the Skimm, you should. In case you don't know, the Skimm is a news service that provides quick and to the point daily news right to your email. I discovered the Skimm about seven or eight months ago and I can't remember the last time that I didn't read it first thing in the morning. More importantly, recently they have really been pushing for everyone to get to the polls and "Pop the Campaign", which I obviously whole heartedly agree with. In fact, they have even created an Election Guide, which I would strongly encourage you to check out if you aren't sure who to vote for. I know not every state is covered, but a lot of them are and I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of detail that was provided.

Have you voted yet?

Have a Great Day, Y'all!!
xoxo