Spread the Love!

Well I am officially one lucky girl! This year I not only had one amazing Valentine (the hubs) but I also was paired with the amazing Jessica for the amazing Spread the Love Valentine's Day Sawp.

I signed up for the swap hosted by Erin & Megan back in the middle of January and I couldn't be happier that I did. The idea behind it gave bloggers, like myself, the chance to meet other ladies and share in the fun of the holiday. 

Well I can HONESTLY say that I was spoiled and Jessica went waaaaaay above and beyond!

At first we had problems getting in touch with each other because her email went to my spam box. I usually check my email from my phone so I don't even glance at the spam box. One night I happened to login using my computer and realized she had reached out to me a few times. Of course I appoligized numerous times, but she said it was no big deal and responded like we had been friends for years! Really, this girl is awesome!

So even though I caused us to have a delayed start, she still managed to get me my package ahead of schedule. It wasn't just any package either...it had some of the coolest goodies in it ever. It put the package that I sent to Hannah to shame.

Here's what I received...

 I never bought this movie because I thought it looked corney but Michael & I watched this last night for Valentine's Day and it was actually really good! I am so glad she got me this!

Look at these colors. They are SOOOO my shades!

Such a pretty bracelet. LOVE it!

So like I said above; I am one lucky girl! Thank you Jessica!! XOXO

America's Week Recap

Well I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! Ours was a blast and it started with camping this past weekend. We packed up Thursday night and drove over to the campsite around 1pm Friday afternoon. We always love camping at this location because it is never too crowded, very shaded, near water and {normally} they have a Freedom/"White Trash" Parade for the 4th. This year the campers that usually do it must have taken the weekend off because there was nothing scheduled...so what do we do? We have our own parade! Below is a short video that should sum up our camping trip. :)

Then yesterday we went over to Pat and Jess's house for a fun-filled celebration. Jessica never skimps on the decorations and I think it's impossible to leave her house hungry! She is such an awesome host!

My scary attempt at a 4th of July jell-o mold is above. It looks pathetic compared to Jess's beautifully {and festively} prepared food.

We enjoyed hanging out by the fire with some of our favorite people in the world. :)

And of course it wouldn't be the 4th if I couldn't cuddle up with someone. This year Mara one the honor!

After a little while Pat, Jessica and Tyler decided they wanted in on the fun, so we all decided to cuddle for a photo.

The boys decided they wanted to be festive...how do they do that? Drink American Flag Budweiser of course!

And finally...it wouldn't be our group unless we ended it with a bon fire in the middle of the street using all of the used firework containers. I guess they just really missed camping?


Our week really has been a blast, but after looking at these photos I am ready for a nap! The thing I love about his country is no matter your race, political view or religious view...we always manage to come together to celebrate this wonderful country. July 4th is one of my favorite holidays and I just wanted to thank the men and women that defend this country for allowing me the opportunity to celebrate the way I do.

What did you all do for the 4th?

Also...just a reminder that my blog sale is still going on. You can check it out here.

Weekend Recap... on a Wednesday

Well this post is going up a little later than I had hoped, but it's going up so I can't complain to much! :) This last weekend I drove down to my hometown, AKA Stepford, for my bestie's baby shower. She is due in August and I couldn't wait for some Katie time. She lives in San Diego so phone/email dates are the extent of our "quality time" lately.

I went down Friday night after a doctor's appointment. I stayed at the Hilton and it was awkward strange. You see, my parents moved to Arizona a few years ago. While I have been back to see Faith Hill and all of the other perfect women since, I realized I hadn't stayed the night since they moved.

The hotel was nice.  That's nothing out of the ordinary though because most Hiltons are...I mean for the price they should be! Well, we went to dinner at our FAVORITE Benni Hana style restaurant for and then turned in for the evening. I passed out while reading and woke up to my alarm barking *literally barking* the next morning. It's a good thing my alarm on my phone is set to go off every morning because I could have totally slept through my shower time!

I got ready and drove over to pick her up. I was in charge of bringing her to the shower because it was at this fancy smancy victorian house that we all admired growing up. I had never been there before, but I totally could have lived there!

The shower was a blast, the food was out of this world and the company was some of the best!

I left that evening and went home. It was a good thing I did because I couldn't get off the sofa on Sunday. I woke up sicker than a dog and even I know you shouldn't be sick around a preggers! Darn doctor's offices...

Well there you have it, my midweek weekend recap. I haven't had a chance to watch the Bachelorette yet either, so I think I may just skip this week's recap. What can I say...I had a worldwind of a weekend and I am still recovering days later. :)

Congrats Bestie!!

Is It Normal & Guest Post- A Look into Taylor’s Life :)

Happy Hump Day everyone! You have no idea how happy I am that the week is half over and the weekend is fast approaching! Well to celebrate, I'm linking up to the funniest link-up post ever AND have asked the fabulous Taylor from The Daily Tay to tell you a little but about her life. Aren't you excited??I have a feeling that by the end of this post you will be as addicted to her blog as I am. :) Enjoy!

Umm, yeah! How else are you going to regulate those drunken party photos from making online? Wait, I post those myself . I guess I don't need stalk google anymore...

 I am usually a very punctual person, so if I am late it really is because of traffic!

Unless you are one of my dogs, my husband or my best friend...NO. If you fit into one of those categories...well just brush your teeth 2x a day and chew gum!

Ickus Maximus. Walmart sells panties for $1.00. There really is NO excuse to this one.

I am going to go with no. Even the drugstore sells Dry Shampoo...and it's probably cheaper than baby powder. I wish I owned stock in Johnson Johnson...

Well, I am a firm believer in telling people to their face when I have issues with them instead of talk behind their backs. I am going to go with no on this one because of the word "accidentally."

If I was asked this question a year ago I would say have said yes. Most people exaggerate pain, how often they exercise, or even drink. Problem is I see my dr. so often now that if I lied I would have to write my answers down just to keep them straight and that is just toooooo much work!

If you are my mom, yes. I personally don't like cereal that much, so no.

 *hangs head in shame* yes...I do pull pants out of the dirty laundry sometimes...but NOT my panties.

Ehhh. I just returned the stuff I didn't want. Now Christmas gifts are another story. We throw a party after Christmas just for that reason. :)

*********************************************************************************************************************

Hello readers at It's A Powell Life!

My name is Taylor and I blog over at It's A Taylor Life.

I'm kidding, it's actually called The Daily Tay

but that would have been ironic, huh?

Like Amanda, I am a very loving mother to one fur baby, Harlow.

You know those weird dog people who take 

1,000 photos of their dogs, and take them everywhere,

and even seem to talk about them all of the time? 

Yeah, that's me.

Luckily, my boy Chris, is just as obsessed with Harlow, as well.

I actually surprised him with Harlow for our three year anniversary. 

It was probably one of the best moments

ever watching Chris walk inside and pick him up for the first time.

Although, in all of the excitement he did tinkle just a bit.

Chris tends to do that from time to time.. .

I would have five more Harlows if I could.

Unfortunately, having dogs in the city isn't the easiest thing in the world...

Without being too visual, let's just say I go through

about five poop bags a day. 

And his "yard" is the park a couple blocks away.

But you certainly can't beat all of the dog friendly bars and restaurants Chicago has to offer.

Okay, unintentionally I have rambled on about my dog

for one too many lines.

I promise every one of my posts is not like this.

Stop on by and say hello!

The Daily Tay

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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. :)

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Mine was fun and not nearly long enough! I ended up going back into the doctors on today so it was not the best ending to my weekend, but it was an ending none-the-less.

Friday

Friday was my FIL's birthday so Michael got Kings tickets for him. It is a running joke in our family that in the last 4 years of dating Michael, the Kings have not won a single game that I was sitting in the stands for. Now if you watch the NBA you would know that isn't saying much...but still! I was hoping that night would be different since it we were there for a birthday instead of a just because game. WRONG. They lost by like 10 points and the only time it was close was in the first quarter. I love my husband and FIL, but the Kings really are not that fun to watch.

Saturday

I love Saturday's because it means one thing...garage sales! Michael and I love scoping different garage sales to see what we can find. It is very hit or miss, but when it's a hit...it's a huge hit. This last Saturday we scored holiday decorations, a creeper for working on the vehicles, some pictures for the dining room, 3 vintage barbies for an AMAZING price (I collect vintage barbies) and a coffee table. We are still in the process of redecorating (pictures will be up when we are finished) and the coffee table was exactly what I was looking for. The best part? It's ZGalleries and it was only $40 bucks! Like I said, score! 

Honestly, I don't think there was one thing we bought that I wasn't completly over the moon with. I think I left every garage sale thinking it was that much better than the last. It was crazy and I loved it!

Then I met up with my MIL & SIL for a Stella & Dot party. I love jewerly and found some really amazing pieces.

                               

    via                              via                      via                        via

They ship the orders, so I am excited to receive them.

Later that afternoon we were invited over to a friend's house for the UFC fight. They had a pool going and Michael won it! It was a really fun night full of laughs, drinks and of course, great friends.

Sunday

Sunday we woke up and got ready for church. Michael never had been to church before dating me so it is still a work in progress. He knows it is very important to me to raise our kids knowing that Sunday mornings are reserved for Chuch so he is slowly working into it. I love that he is willing to go with/for me and hopefully, one day, he goes for himself. 

After church we went to a few of the wineries that we are members at and enjoyed a lazy Sunday afternoon. 

Right now I am curled up on the sofa writting this blog while waiting for Michael to finish BBQing the steak. Dinner tonight will consist of a fruit salad, broccoli, steak and garlic bread. YUM.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and even better week!