It's Spring!

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Since I don't have any spring-like pictures to post, I just thought I'd show you guys a glimpse of my straight hair with the new color.



Yep, I finally flat ironed my hair.  I just needed a quick change, I guess.  I plan to do an outfit post soon, so you will get a better view.  Stay tuned!

Hope you've enjoyed this beautiful spring day!


P.S.  I'm not going to do a "Google Reader is leaving" post--I think others have covered that.  So just...


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Weekend Mentions

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Hey all!  Hope everyone had an awesome weekend/St. Patrick's Day!  

My weekend was pretty chill.  The highlight was being able to have a "date night" with the hubs on Saturday.  We decided to give a new (to us) restaurant a try and were very happy with our choice.  The restaurant is named "Coast" and it's a seafood restaurant and raw bar with a nice little beach-y feel in the heart of Buckhead.

Photos courtesy of Google.com

They have indoor and outdoor seating.  Of course, this being the first weekend of the year with 70+ degree weather--we chose the patio!  




Drinks were great and the food was even better.  We started out with appetizers--I had fried calamari and hubs had peel & eat shrimp.  I forgot to take pictures of those because I was too busy chowing down.


For the main course, I had the Boston Lemon Sole entree.  I'd never had that type of fish (sole) before, and I'm glad I decided to try something new.  It was full of flavor.


Hubs opted for the skirt steak with shrimp.  Let's just say, my fork kept finding it's way over to his plate throughout our dinner.  You can't go wrong with a "surf & turf" kind of meal.

The ambiance was nice and they had live music on the patio as well.  We will definitely be back.  If you're ever in the area--give it a try!

Happy Monday!


Spring has definitely sprung...

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...IN MY CLOSET!

I'm still obsessed with neon colors, yellow to be specific.  I'm really glad to see the trend is hanging in there for another season.






The brand is Boutique 9, and I got mine HERE.  My hubs doesn't think they're practical, so I'm going to prove him wrong by wearing them with EVERYTHING. *giggle*

And just to prove how obsessed with this color I am, here is a pic of my laptop cover...


Happy Hump Day!





Take it down a notch

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This is an outfit I wore almost 2 weeks ago.  Me and the hubs were on our way to a birthday dinner for one of hubs' longtime friends.  I had gotten fully dressed, and just before we were about to walk out of the door--hubs mentioned the restaurant we were headed to. 




I'd assumed we were going somewhere fancy schmancy, but it turned out to be a CASUAL birthday dinner at one of the popular sports bar kind of hot spots.  Right away, I realized I was over dressed.  I initially had on heels with the ensemble that you see, by the way.



So, without even giving it a second thought, I took off the heels and put on my wedge sneakers.  I instantly fell in love with the look.  It gave it a little edge.



I know some would prefer to be over dressed, if they had to choose.  Unlike most people, I prefer to err on the side of dressed down.  It comes from some innate feeling I've always had of not looking like I am trying too hard, I guess.   Trust me, I've stolen the show at plenty of shindigs in my jeans while surrounded by a sea of club dresses.  I enjoy that. haha


Because the weather here in Atlanta has been up and down--and this was a "down" day, I threw on what I like to call my matrix coat and had a splendid night.

Top - Target // Pants - H&M // Sneakers - eBay // Bracelets - LaTra Chivon & F21



Have a Happy Hump Day!  And don't forget to enter the giveaway!  
The winner will be announced on Friday!




Hair Babble

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Let's talk hair, shall we?  Just wanted to update you all on the relationship I'm having with my hair these days.  If you've noticed, in the last several posts on this here blog, my hair has been curly.  I haven't straightened my hair at all this year.  One of my resolutions for 2013 was to not straighten my hair nearly as much as I did last year.  I realize that I was straightening my hair because I was getting exasperated with it in it's natural state, and I still wasn't loving it straight!  I felt when I wore my hair in a braidout, twistout, or wash-n-go that it was just sort of there.  Because my hair was a blunt cut, it made my hair look outstanding straight--however, it was just boring when curly.  So I decided that I would do whatever I needed to do to love my curly look again, because it is actually my favorite way to wear my hair.  For quite some time, I had been resisting changing the cut/shape of my hair for fear of how it would look when straightened, but straight was how I actually wear my hair the least.  It just didn't make sense to let that keep being a factor into how I styled my hair.

So the first change I made was to lighten my hair up some.  I'd been wearing black hair for a while, but I actually think curly hair looks better lighter (or highlighted).  Black hair tends to look like one big mass, whereas if the hair is lighter or has highlights, you can see some of the curl pattern and it gives the whole look more definition.  Second, I slightly layered my hair--nothing dramatic at all, but it makes a difference in the look.  Finally, I just recently cut "bangs" again.  I put bangs in quotes because if straightened they are below my chin, but while curly it makes my hair frame my face really nicely.

So now I'm back to feeling like me again.  The pics above are before I added the bangs, but I will be posting an outfit post shortly that shows them.  They are still fairly long while curly too, so maybe I shouldn't call them bangs, and instead call them face-framing-layers.  Tomato, tom-ah-to.  Either way, I'm a lot happier.

BTW, don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Nails of the Weekend & Giveaway!

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Gosh, it's been ages since my last post!  I'm sorry--just been super busy.  I feel like I have my schedule down pat now, so blogging shall resume!

I just thought I'd share with you all my NOTW (Nails of the week).  Yes, I am still using my Ulta Red Carpet Nails gel kit.  I am still in love with it.  I've also come up with another way to make use of it.  Because there are still other nail polishes that I like that aren't "gel", I've been doing a combo of both at times.  By combo, I mean that I will do the gel nails in just clear--basically just the base coat and then the top coat.  I then later on, when I have time, go ahead and use the regular nail polish of my choice.  Because the gel polish gives a better "base" (like fake nails), the regular nail polish stays on my nail for as long as the gel polish lasts.  So instead of 2 days that normal polish usually lasts--it lasts for a week or more.  The only con--regular nail polish does have some drying time, which I'd gotten spoiled with not having thanks to the gel polishes.  Either way, it's a great way to still get use out of those regular polishes.








This color is "Rockstar Pink" by Sally Hansen.  It's all glitter, and the glitter deposits REALLY well.  I only had to do 2 coats to get my nails totally covered in the glitter.  I'm in love


Now....

My first GIVEAWAY!!!

I have a friend who makes awesome jewelry (amongst other things like clothes & scarves, etc.).  She is really talented and sent me one of her amazing "Healing Bracelets".  Now let me say, I know that there are lots of versions of these kinds of bracelets out there.  I know, because I've bought a couple--only to have them fall apart within weeks.  I even had the color fade off of the beads because they weren't TRUE solid stones!  I definitely got what I paid for.  When I received this bracelet, I immediately noticed the weight.  These stones were definitely solid.  The elasticity felt strong and solid as well.  I've been wearing this bracelet religiously for weeks now, and the elasticity is just as strong as when I first got it.


Definitely checkout my friend's jewelry at LatraChivon.com.  She makes lots of gorgeous stuff!  She even sends information on what type of stone that you chose and it's healing properties.

So as a gift to my loyal readers, I'm going to give away one of her healing bracelets.  I'm still deciding if I'm going to give this one away, and (in support of my friend) buy myself another one--or if I will simply buy one to give away.  Either way, this is what you have to do to enter.

1.  You must already be a follower, or become a follower of this blog on Google Friend Connect.

2.  You must like my blog's FB Page and LaTra's FB Page!

3.  You must go to LatraChivon.com and tell me which bracelet is your favorite in the comments below!

Winner will be chosen randomly using one of those automated apps.  I will announce the winner in one week!!  Good luck!!



Vegetarian Lasagna

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 So, I'm sharing with you guys one of the latest Meatless Monday recipes I've tried.  It's a vegetarian lasagna and it came out GREAT.  For some, going meatless (even once a week) can be a challenge, and this recipe is probably the first I would suggest someone to try.  You can't go wrong with lasagna, with meat or without meat!  In this case, what makes a meatless lasagna so great is that you can completely go overboard with the cheese, which kind of makes up for the "no meat" aspect.  It's a great way to ease into meatless, in my opinion.



I got the recipe off of Pinterest (surprise surprise), and made a couple minor tweaks: (1) I sliced up zucchini really thin, and included that in each layer, and (2) of course, I use way more cheese than any recipe calls for.  That's it.  Oh, and I used lasagna noodles that were specifically labeled "no bake" and without the little ridges.  They were just thin flat sheets of dried noodle.  Feel free to use whole wheat noodles as well, for even more health benefits.  I didn't really feel the need since this was already "vegetarian".



By the way, my hubs loved it.  He told me that he's actually been really pleased with our Meatless Monday dishes so far.  *pats self on back*

Recipe found HERE.  Enjoy!!


Cancer--the Good Kind

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So, I'm wearing a sweater covered in crabs.

Look here, my zodiac sign is Cancer--and I'm a Cancer to the core.  Sometimes outgoing--sometimes introverted (in our shell).  That is ME.  Hella emotional?--ME!  All about home and family--that use to confuse me during my single years but who knew?!  It's so me!

So, of course, when I stumbled upon this sweater on Forever21.com, I had to cop it.  You put a crab on it, I'm going to buy it!  You put crab IN it--I'm going to eat it!  Okay, that may not have been the best thing to say. Anyway, I'm in love with this sweater, though it feels more like a sweatshirt.  And no, your eyes aren't deceiving you... yes, I paired it with leopard.  If you haven't figured it out by now, leopard print is almost a neutral these days.  You're wearing stripes?--pair it with leopard.  Polka dots--pair that sh*t with leopard!







Sweater - F21 / Jeans - F21 / Shoes - Aldo


Anyway, last week I'd been sick for DAYS with the flu.  I took these pics as soon as I felt "cute" again.  I know a lot of you have been wanting to see the hair color in natural light.  There it is.  It's red.  I'm going to add more.  I lighten little by little, just so I can control what the hey is going on.  All I can say, is I doubt I'll go back to black for a long time.

Hope you're having a fantastic week!



Meatless Mondays

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I think I've mentioned to all of you before on this blog that I could never be a vegetarian.  I still maintain that sentiment.  I just love meat and seafood too much and would find sticking to vegetarian cuisine full time as too limiting. 

Well, one of my goals for 2013 is to take my healthy eating to an even higher level.  So I decided that me and my family will be partaking in "Meatless Mondays".  I'm sure most of you have heard the term.  If you google it, you'll find that in recent years it has become all the rage.  We all know that a vegetarian diet is a very healthy way of life and eliminates the chances for certain health risks like heart disease, cancers, etc.  Well, most people don't realize that not eating meat even just one day a week also gives you a lot of the same benefits.

So I plan to regularly share with you all some of our "Meatless Mondays" meals.  Don't you worry, I will still post my regular meat-filled dishes as well.  The "Meatless Mondays" dishes will just provide some variety.





Last Monday, I decided to make a vegetarian Indian Korma.  Even though I'm no vegetarian, I have eaten plenty of vegetarian dishes at Indian restaurants.  They have so much variety. 


I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try.  I did make a few tweaks.  Instead of just using all regular yellow curry, I used half regular yellow curry and half guaram masala.  I also added a teaspoon of coriander and cumin.  As you can see from the pics, I also added cauliflower to make it even more hearty.


 I served it up with jasmine rice and naan bread (not shown).  It was pretty tasty!  Of course, Tuesday we ate it again for leftovers, but I threw some chicken in it.  Baby steps. haha  The recipe can be found HERE.
 
Happy Meatless Monday!


Slump

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Hey all! I'm sure you all have noticed a posting slump.  I've been swamped with juggling the kids and school (decided to do something with my spare time), and my blogging is suffering!  Not to mention, I am a casualty of the flu epidemic that's being talked about all over the news.  I've been sick in bed the past 3 days.  I'm the only person in the house who didn't get a flu shot, and I'm the only one who is bedridden with a fever, body aches, etc.  I will not slack on that shot next flu season, trust.  I usually get it and haven't had the flu in YEARS.  I've learned my lesson.

Anyway, I have a bunch of posts to make and I'm going to get back on it as soon as I'm feeling better.  Just thought I'd fill you all in, just in case you noticed.

Hope you're having a great week!


Abstract.

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I snagged this dress off of ASOS, a little while ago.  I was initially attracted to the abstract print and the colors.  Well, I see that it's on sale now for 20 bucks.  It's like a thin sweater material, so fitting for this time of year.  







I almost wasn't going to post this dress, because I didn't like how gloomy the pictures turned out.  It was a really gloomy and rainy day when I took them.  But hey, it's been a minute since my last post, so I thought I'd give you something. :)  By the way, I have since added more highlights to my hair and colored it a more red color, so it's not as bright.  I love it, and plan on posting pics this week.  Stay tuned!

Happy MLK Day!


Still At it

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For those of you who may be wondering.  Yep, I'm still juicing.  I'm still making green (and not so green) smoothies, as well.  This is a pic of juice I made this morning.   It consisted of one apple, two carrots, and a beet.  Healthy stuff.

Oh, and my super affordable Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juice Extractor is STILL getting the job done very well.  It's even cheaper now than when I bought it a year ago.  Can't beat that!






Eye Glasses Review (video)

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Hey all!  So I finally got around to doing a review video on my newest pair of eyeglasses.  I've gotten lots of questions about them, actually.  I also, made this video while in The Bahamas and I give you a little peek of what we're up to there.  Take a look!






Remember, these glasses can be found HERE, they are the Derek Cardigan 7014 style in tortoise shell.  I think they are almost sold out, as they use to have them in black, but I don't see that as an option anymore.    They also have several other styles that to me look almost identical.  Happy shopping!

P.S.  I cut & colored my hair.  I plan to reveal it on Monday or Tuesday.  Stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

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So it's officially 2013.  It is also officially a really gloomy, rainy day in the A(tl).  I'm assuming most of the east is having fairly crummy weather.  To brighten things up a bit--here are a few pics of me and the boys at the beach over the holiday.  













Now, before you begin to curse the day I was born, I must confess that for me it wasn't really beach weather.  The whole time we were in Nassau, the high temps were in the high 70s and a few times touched 80 degrees.  Not to mention, the water this time of year is cold as heck.  I need it to be a good 85 degrees to make me want to get in water.  Nevertheless, it was perfect to layout in and watch Max play in the ocean as if it was as warm as a bath.  Rock on, little man.

Hope 2013 brings all of you plenty of accomplishments, blessings and fun!




Melancholy

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Just like most of you I'm sure, this past weekend had taken on a melancholy tone because of the tragedy that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT.  You know, sometimes tragedies happen in other parts of the country and I'm able to continue on like "business as usual", because it doesn't exactly seem real.  It's like watching another television show.  But then other times, something big happens and it stops me in my tracks, actually hits home or affects me emotionally in some way.  This was definitely one of the latter.  I mean, think about the weather here in Georgia (and other parts of the eastern U.S.) the past 2 days.  It's like the Earth is even mourning those little children (and adults) who lost their lives. It has been nothing but gray skies and nonstop rain.  Touché, Mother Earth.  Touché.

Anyway, I guess this is kind of an outfit post.  Me and hubs were able to be child-free for a few ours on Saturday, so I decided to try to perk up my somber mood with some color.  Who doesn't love pink?  I'm talking a whole lotta' pink.  I really didn't have any intention of making this ensemble into an outfit post, so the pics are somewhat half-assed.




Coat - Nordstrom // Studded Top & Necklace- F21 // Pants - H&M // Booties - Nine West


I have to say, the pink DID actually help my mood some.  How could it not? haha  

Happy Monday, ya'll.