May Madness??

No, I am not talking about basketball...I am talking about the last 31 days. To say it's been crazy is an understatement. The only problem is I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

Here is a quick recap my last month...

Cinco de Derby/Derby de Mayo (it's been called both)

We had a total blast that day. It started out as a derby party...

and then turned into a Mexican fiesta...

And then, in true Powell spirit, turned into a poker night with those left standing after all that tequila...

We had about 25 people over that day and went through 3 handles of tequila, a ton of beer and not so much sangria. :) Derby de Mayo= success!

Next up was my work retreat in Napa. It was so nice to take a few days away from work and enjoy my co-workers. A few of the wives put the retreat together and it was a lot of fun!

please don't mind the crazy hair and half done makeup. It was hot/humid and almost 8pm by the time this picture was taken...

all of the ladies and some of the men went on a wine tasting tour while the rest of the guys were off golfing. Our driver/tour guide was wonderful and I loved that we tasted at wineries none of us had been to before.

Next up was Mother's Day. My parents came into town for the brunch that I talked about here. The hub's mom ended up being sick that day, so we had a few people less than we had expected. It was fine though because it meant there were a lot of leftovers! It was nice to spend time with my parents, the hub's dad and his sister's family. So nice in fact that I totally forgot to take photos! :(

Wine Tasting (take 2?)

Earlier this year a friend of ours planned a wine tasting limo ride for a group of us. When the day actually came though the limo ended up being a party bus. Of course we were happy and there turned out to be some ridiculously funny video footage to come out of our wine happy event. Unfortunately I promised that footage would never see the world wide web...

A Heart Attack Scare
My father-in-law suffered a major heart attack on 5/21. The stars were aligned because everything that could have gone wrong went right. Within a few hours of having stints put in he was talking and cracking jokes like normal. It was so scary and the hubs and I were not thrilled to be back at Kaiser, but we were very relieved when we found out he was going to be okay.

Memorial Day Camping

With our cornhole set it tow, we prepared ourselves for another long, drunken weekend.

What started out as a fun trip down to the lake ended up not so fun... We got to the site and setup only for me to start to get sick again. By Saturday afternoon I was so sick that I just went back to the tent and slept...while it was raining. haha. I woke up to the hubs sounding like a pedophile because his allergies were so bad he had no voice. We made the executive decision to pack up and leave early. It was a good thing we did because this is how our Memorial Day ended...

Fun right?? Thank goodness for Kaiser!

So, now you know the craziness that has taken over my life for the last month! 99% of it was a blast, 1 % of it, well...I would have rather been shopping or something fun. :) :) :)

Oh, and I just have to mention to Miss Riss that even though the Giants lost last night, they beat the Dbacks for the series. hehehe. If you have no idea why I just said that, check out the comment section of this post. It should clear it up. :)

Speed Dating

So I waited over an hour for all of my photos from the month to download last night and then started to sift through them. The problem was I didn't have time to go through all of them before I passed out on the sofa, so it looks like my May recap won't be up until tomorrow.

In the meantime, I have decided to participate in another link up from This Little Momma's page. The idea behind it is to get to know the author of the blog since there are so many of us! I love posts like that because I feel like I tend to follow blogs when I think the author is funny, sweet, etc...but what do I really know about them??

Even though I am a married woman... on to the Speed Dating! :)

• I am a Cancer and was born on my grandfather's birthday. I had my name put on the SF Giants Jumbotron years ago for my 21st birthday. It was no surprise when his name was right there too. Even though yesterday marked the 21st anniversary of his death, I still want him included in my birthday festivities. :)

• The SF Giants are my all time favorite team and I will love them no matter what. They were my grandpa's team and have turned into my favorite over the years. GO GIANTS!!

• I love people watching! I could sit at a coffee shop for hours and just gaze at the world around me. People are so different, yet so similar at the same time.
• I love coffee, but can't drink it every day. I may go a week without having a drop of it, but the day I have a cup I tend to have 2-3.
• I am Catholic and Michael had never even been to church. That was a major issue when we first started dating since I enjoy church services and wanted my children raised knowing that Sunday morning's were reserved for church. After too much discussion we agreed that he did not need to go to church with me now, but when we start our family we would go as a family. If our children decide that they do not want to go to church, when they are much older of course, then he could stay home with them. I thought it was the perfect compromise and I love him for it!
• We have 3 dogs and a cat currently. To say our home is filled with the sounds of little feet is a complete understatement.

• I have 4 tattoos, but most people wouldn't know I have any. In fact, it took my boss over a year to realize I have 1 and was shocked when I said I actually have 4.
• The first time I was published I was in the 3rd grade. Since then I have been published over 14 times and the last time was for our city's newspaper. It was an article I wrote about the lack of stable jobs in the area and a few of our friends still talk about it.
• I went to school for English Education and a Minor in Psychology. I worked in a classroom for a year and then realized that I wanted to try other things. Since then I have gone through the Police Academy, graduated from a makeup academy and am currently taking interior design courses. Did I mention I work in HR?
• While I am a huge country music fan, I also enjoy 70's, 80's and 90's. What can I say...I'm eclectic?
• I love to start things but never tend to finish them. I always have the best intentions, but somehow it never works out. This started when I was younger and joined/quit jazz, tap, ballet, gymnastics, piano, cheerleading, softball, etc. Maybe this is where the idea of me being a forever student comes from??
• I have never lived outside of California. If I had my way, however, we would have moved far away from this state a long time ago.

Well there you go. I hope you enjoyed learning a few more random facts about me. I would love to learn more about you all. Join in on the fun and leave me a comment so I know to check out your page!

The Bachelorette Dish

So some of you may know that I love me some Emily Maynard. Yes, I am sure she is not as sweet and innocent as she is portrayed, but really who is? She is very mature and looks to be about and genuine as they come. Usually sweet and genuine comes with a little bit of boring. Unfortunately for America; Emily's season on the Bachelorette has been just that...a little boring.

Here are my thoughts on last night's episode...

Chris received the first 1:1 date this week and while I like him, he is not my favorite. They went to dinner at a restaurant in downtown Charlotte. The catch was they had to scale the side of the building to get there. Chris was stoked and Emily was fine until she got about half way up and then she started freaking out a little bit. Unlike me, she looked super cute and stayed calm and collected. If that were me...well let's just say I'd be one hot mess!

After dinner they walked downtown and ended up at a Luke Bryant concert. It was so cute how Chris asked her if he could kiss her at the end of a song. It reminded me of my hubs because he asked me if it was okay before our first kiss. I think it goes without saying that if there's a kiss...the rose tends to follow...

So next up was the group date. Charlie, Alejandro, Stevie, Ryan, Alessandro, Sean, John, Michael, Doug, Jef, Tony and Travis were the lucky ones. They ended up at a park where they were grilled by some of her closest friends and then the children were let loose to keep them entertained while Emily got the dirt.

I am sure most girls melted when Sean talked about his family, faith and then allowed Emily's friend (that was so obviously hitting on him) to sit on his back while he did push-ups for them. Honestly, if I weren't happily married, I'd probably be looking this guy up because he won me over instantly!

Then there was Ryan... He decided that he wanted to sneak in a little more time with Emily so he interrupted girl time to talk to her. While chatting it up with them, the conversation somehow turned to the fact that a lot of women tend to let themself go after being married for awhile. What was Mr. Narcissist's reaction you ask? "I'll still love you if you gain weight, just won't love on you as much!" HMMMMMMM. Open mouth and insert foot?? I get it. He's a sports trainer and obviously being healthy and fit is important to him...but still. That wasn't the smartest thing to say when you've only hung out with her a few times.

Later that night they all got dressed up and got a chance to talk a little more. Emily let Sean know that he passed the "friends" test. Doug opened up to her about his childhood and it brought tears to her (and my) eyes. While I really like him, I don't see the same connection between them that I see her forming with a few of the other guys.

While everyone else is relishing on how great the day was, Tony was missing his son so much that he was separating himself from the group. While he was also another one of my favorites, I think she made the right choice in sending him home.

I jumped up and down a little in my seat when Emily gave the group date rose to Sean. I see that night as a start to something wonderful. :)

The next day we head on over to Dollywood. I have never been there, but after watching last night's episode it is on my bucket list of places to go. When the hubs and I were in Nashville we were told it wasn't worth seeing. Grrr to the person that told us that. It looks like a blast and yes, I am also a Dolly fanatic (and darn proud of it!).

Arie and Emily walked hand in hand through the park and ended up attempting to write a song on Dolly's concert stage. To Emily's surprise Dolly showed up and starting singing a song that she wrote just for them. It was so cute and Emily looked like a kid in the Wonka candy shop.

I really like Arie, but something about him just seems too perfect and off. He reminds me a lot of Brad from the aspect that he is trying really, really hard to win Emily over and it just doesn't seem as natural and genuine as some of the other guys. For right now he is still one of my top favs, but I reserve the right to change my opinion at any time. :)

With all rose ceremonies there will be a few thorns... and this week was no exception. Kalon showed how big of a control freak he truly is by telling Emily in a roundabout way not to interrupt him and Allesandro had the nerve to say that he would be compromising if he married Emily because she already had a daughter. Honestly, I don't know who I would have smacked first. Thankfully Emily sent Allesandro packing right away and had a momentary laps in judgment when she kept Kalon. While Stevie was sooooo not the one for her, I would have kicked Kalon to the curb on principal. If he is okay with talking to a girl like that after only a few dates, and on NATIONAL television, then how will he treat her when they're married??

So now that I've written a complete novel, I will leave you with this...

My favorites as of 5/28

Sean: I think he is the total package. Smart, well spoken, family/faith orientated, funny respectful, gorgeous...

 

Charlie: He hasn't said much so far...but there is just something about him that I just like. I really hope he opens up soon because he is one of my favorites and I don't want to see him go...

 

Jef: There is just something about him that intrigues me.

The guys that are still there, but need to gooooo

 

Kalon: Ick # 1

 

Ryan: Ick #2. While I understand why he said what he said, it was still out of line. Plus his comment at the end about how he will beat Arie in this competition doesn't sit well with me. It's about Emily, not beating the other guys. Ugh.

Fill In The Blank Friday

Want to link up? This is where you go!

1. The best surprise ever would be finding out Michael planned a vacation to Italy for us! :)

2. Our wedding trip is my favorite memory!

3. The hardest, but most worthwhile thing, I've ever done was end a very toxic relationship. I found Michael shortly after and realized how someone is actually supposed to be treated in a healthy relationship!

4. The best part of my day is coming home and seeing the hubs playing with our dogs in the front yard. :)

5. Something I like that most people don't is school. I could be a student in a classroom for the rest of my life.

6. Something I am willing to fight for is my marriage.

7. Something you might not know about me is I don't give up on things that I truly want. I don't care who tells me it's impossible or how hard it is. If I want it, it's going to happen.

I hope you all have a great *and safe* Memorial Day weekend! If my doctor releases me today, we are off to enjoy the weekend with our dogs, and friends, at the lake. Yay for camping!!

Thursday Thoughts

So, I am officially horrible. I told myself I would catch up on posts, spring cleaning straightening up, and would download the ten dozen photos that are waiting to be posted. Instead of keeping my promise, this is what the last few weeks have been like: Cinco de Derby party, my 2-day work retreat, Mother's Day, doctor's appointments up the wazoo, the wine trip with friends, my FIL having a heart attack, getting ready for Memorial Day... I mean I am getting worn out just rereading what has happened in May! My friend calls me the energizer bunny and sometimes I want to say that these Duracell batteries are about to die.

Now it's Thursday and it's been over 2 weeks since my last attempt at a post. Really? I want a refund on those darn batteries!!

Okay, I am done blaming a brand of batteries that I don't even use. On with my Thursday Thoughts!

1. As I've said before, I am OBSESSED with RHONJ. It's horrible to admit it, but it's really one of my guilty pleasures. Honestly though, I think I watch it for the fashion. Between the Jersey ladies and Emily, I am in fashion heaven. Ebay loves me right now and my husband is pulling out his hair.

2. I have instantly become a fan of acupuncture. My mom had a friend when I was growing up that was hooked on different pain medications and I refuse to ever go there. In an attempt to still feel great normal, I started looking into other treatment forms. I really do think my doctor has my best interest at heart, but I am the kind of person that doesn't even like taking Benadryl for my allergies. I went into my first appointment somewhat skeptical, but was converted instantly!

3. I really should have gone with my gut, but as I said above, I love RHONJ. Some of the housewives promote BLK water....and let me tell you, it's NASTY. I could get past the fact that I am drinking black water, which is wrong on so many levels, but it is gritty and has the worst after taste. I had to drink coffee afterwards to get the taste out of my mouth.  Ick!



4. I am really loving Tiffany over at The Coffeehouse. She is is so stinking funny and consistently posts *gives myself a swift kick in the butt*.

5. I am beyond excited to be going camping this weekend for Memorial Day. I really need to get away and just relax. While a lot of people may not think camping is relaxing; I happen to think there isn't much out there that is more relaxing. Hurry up Friday!!

6. I am officially going back to scheduling my posts ahead of time so I never *crosses fingers* go back to missing 2 weeks again. Next week I will have posts that cover the entire month or May and maybe even another room update.



Go Away Chicken!

Good Morning!

I wanted to hop on here really quick and let you know that I haven't forgotten about you all! I have been so incredibly busy the last week that I haven't been able to get on here to schedule new blogs. *slaps own hand*

We had about 25 people over on Saturday and then I spent all of Sunday cleaning up. I took lots of pictures so I promise I will post on it shortly! Somehow it went from horses and margaritas to wine and poker? Goodness, I love our friends!!

Work has also been crazy and it's a short week for me because we are leaving for a retreat to Napa tomorrow. This weekend is Mother's Day so I will have my family coming into town and all of Michael's family over...the term "running around like a chicken with its head cut-off" is an understatement right now!

Anyway, once I can get the darn chicken to calm down I will be back to my regularly posting schedule. Can't wait to fill you all in. If you couldn't tell...there's lots to update you all on! :)

Questions...Answered!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I am so beyond excited that today is Friday. You really have no idea. This week has been so long and I am just ready for a break!

In other news, I've had a lot of questions come in via email or via the comments section the last month or so and I haven't addressed them yet because they were sporadic. I think I finally have enough questions to turn this into an actual blog post. I mean I didn't want to bore you with a post here and a post there when there were only 1 here and 1 there. Who would really read that anyway??

1. My bridal shower dress came from Nordstrom Rack. I knew I wanted to have a cute, white, modest dress because grandparent's would be there and they needed to match my white w/ pink polkadot shoes! :)
2. We got married at the beautiful Hotel Cozumel & Resort. They were beyond amazing and I have never regretted our choice! The cruise was our mode of transportation to get there, we didn't actually go through Carnival to get married.
3. The red pitcher came from a little shop from the downtown area of my town. The store sells a bunch of country/vintage items and I tend to go wild when I walk through the door.
4. This wasn't really a question, but someone mentioned my chairs. They are from Cost Plus and were on sale recently. If you are looking for new chairs you should really check that store out. Soooo comfy!

I realized when rereading my post that I didn't take a photo of the front side of my sofa *shakes head and blushes because that was a total blonde moment*. I will have that added tomorrow after work because I want to show it off, in all of its linen glory, in the daylight. So... if you want to see the front of my super comfy, very cute sofa, go check it out again! :)

The last thing I want to address came via email from someone commenting on where my clothes come from. I guess it is "offensive" that I put the stores I buy my clothes from because they are on the more expensive side. To that I say I'm sorry I offended you, but that is where I shop and so therefor that's where my clothes tend to be from. I use a layout a fellow blogger created because I loved the fact that it shared where the items were from. I loved it for the simple fact that it made it easy if I wanted to run out to buy it. I love clothes and I love accessories...it just is who I am and I won't apologize for that.

Anyway! The hubs and I have a crazy busy weekend ahead of us. We have dinner with friends tonight and the remainder of our spring cleaning on Sunday. Tomorrow, however, is going to be a blast because we are throwing a Cinco de Derby party. It's a good thing I work well under pressure because I still need to prep for it! I found a dozen or so ideas from Pinterest that I can't wait to use! I mean how did I ever plan a party before that wonderful site?!?

Home Tour- Living/Dining

Well, I mentioned in my post on Monday about doing a house tour and a few of you said you'd like to see it. Even though my home is still a huge work in progress, I figured I would start slowly and work my way through the house. I am thinking I should start with the room that I am least happy/finished with so that way you will get to see my changes when I am done.

My living room and dining room have probably come the furthest, but also have the furthest to go. I still need to find curtains, two area rugs (one for under the table and one for under the sofa/chairs.), a side table and a surprise piece that I am having designed on Etsy for behind my hutch. With that said, about 6 months ago there was ugly wall to wall carpeting in this room (ick), an empty space where the table is and an uncomfortable sofa (according to Michael) with two hand-me-down chairs randomly scattered throughout. Honestly, it was slightly embarrassing because it is the first room you see when you walk into our home. Plus, our house is about as open of a layout as you can get, so I could never get away from it.

After we got married I told Michael that I was redecorating and that he needed to give me a budget. He did, and this is what I've created (so far)...

This is the view of my dining room from the entry table. Keep in mind that I am having a special piece created on Etsy to go behind the hutch. I can't wait until it comes in!!

We have 5 chairs and a bench that is hiding on the other side of the table that seats 3 people. We went with a bench/chair combo because I want my dinning room to feel a little country and a little shabby chic. The size is perfect and holds a group of us for poker nights or family dinners. I absolutely love my set and can't wait to use it when we host our first annual Mother's Day Brunch next weekend.

This is the view from the kitchen/family room. The door you see is our front door...

There's our bench. :)

Our living room/dinning room is one large room, so this is the view you see from our master bedroom hallway. It gives you a better idea of how bare it looked when there was just a sofa and two small chairs.

Our sofa is a sleeper sofa and so comfortable. The fabric is a cream colored linen and I couldn't love it anymore than I already do. Now if only I could find a rug and end table to complete the look...

 Would you believe that we bought this table for $30 at a garage sale? Michael sanded it down and re-stained it so it matched the other furniture, but I fell in love with it when I saw it. He thought I was crazy (probably because he saw work in his future) but I had a vision! I'm telling you, garage sales are the best!

Here are my fun, punch of color chairs that we got to offset the wood and the linen sofa. I loved the two-toned look when I saw them and thought the pattern was so much fun, yet classy enough that I wouldn't get tired of them in a few years. What do you think?

So that officially wraps up the living room/dining room portion of our tour. I am anxiously awaiting the completion of this room, but refuse to buy things just to buy them. I am taking my time with it because I have a feeling that this room is going to be one of my favorites in the house!

Wardrobe Wednesday

I have to admit, I really do love this kind of post because it makes me think twice before I leave the house in some outfits now. Plus, I joke with my Michael constantly that I want to walk into my closet and love absolutely everything in it. Lately I have, so it makes this kind of post a ton of fun! Anyway, here are my outfits from the past week!

Wednesday

Top: Limited

Jeans: JBrand

Shoes: Cathy Jean

Thursday

Dress: Jessica Simpson

Shoes: Nine West

Friday

Top: Nordstroms

Bottoms: JCrew

Scarf: Nordstroms

Shoes: Alfani

Monday

Top: Nordstroms Tank
Sweater: Nordstroms

Skirt: Black House White Market

Shoes: Nine West

Tuesday

Top: Nordstroms

Jeans: Abercrombie

Jacket: Banana Republic

Shoes: Gianni Bini

My Newest Love- LBB!

I know, I know...I am breaking the blogger rule again. I am only writing this because I came home today to a surprise and I just couldn't help but share my goodies. I found this cool website a few months back and I am seriously obsessed with it! I'm sure most of you have heard about it, but if you haven't, it's called Little Black Bag. You can set it up as a monthly subscription, which is what I do, or try it out one time. It's nothing but designer merchandise that you get for one flat rate.

What I like about it, and why I think it's better than the other million subscription sites that are out there, is you actually get to pick an item. You take a style quiz and then they give you about 100 different options based on your answers. You get to scroll through their extensive list of available items and once you choose one the company gives you two additional items that are revealed once you pay.

I think this next part is the best part of this program. If you don't like what they give you there is a chance to trade with other members for the items that you don't like. Don't be surprised if you see a ton more items that were not part of your original options because not everything will make your initial list to choose from. If for some reason after the trading time is up you are not satisfied with your bag you can cancel your order and you aren't charged a dime!

I know this post is starting to sound like a sales gimmick (sorry!), but I really do love this site!! It totally appeals to the shopper in me and I can't get enough of it. I go on it multiple times a day to see what new things become available because it is such a great deal.

This last month I paid the $49.99 subscription fee and was able to trade for $167.00 worth of items. How can you beat that? If you like sites similar to Hautelook or Birchbox you should really check out LBB!

Here are a few photos of some of the items that I've received over the last 3 months...

Vince Camuto (one of my fav designers!) Snake Skin Bangle

 Vince Camuto Stud Earrings

 Street Level Stripe Canvas Satchel (I thought it would be perfect for summer!)

Nila Anthony Mesh Satchel

RJ Craziano Beaded Necklace

 Case-Mate iPad 2 Versant Case

 Everything that I've already received in the mail

 What's in this months bag already??

BCBG Maxazaria Mint Ribbon Watch

 Vince Camuto Hoop Earrings (Rose Gold)

 Vince Camuto Angular Hoop Earrings (Rhodium)

Can you tell I LOVE Vince Camuto?!?! :)