SPLURGE v STEAL

If you are anything like me, then lipgloss can be a real pain in the ass to find that perfect one. Some are too goopy, others dry the hell out of my lips and then some are just plain gross tasting. And once you do find the perfect one, it is hard to go back to anything else. Well, I have come to love three in particular! And while none of them are necessarily considered a, "splurge" per say, there is definitely a difference in price while not much difference in quality.

E.L.F. $2
Essential Super Glossy Lip Shine

Victoria's Secret $10, 2/$15, 4/$20
Beauty Rush Flavored Gloss

Burt's Bees $7
Lip Shine

All three come in various shades, some being barely there and others extremely dark. Victoria's Secret used to be my end-all-be-all until recently I decided to give E.L.F. a shot. And, it is amazing, cheap and stocked at several stores that I frequent (got mine at the grocery!). Same with Burt's Bees: easily accessible and great quality! But, being the bargain shopper that I am, I have a feeling I am going to be using E.L.F. more than the others! 


xoxo MaryBeth

AHHH... FRIDAY

Oh Friday, I didn't think you would come soon enough! We have been SLAMMED at work lately and this week has exhausted me! The hubs was nice enough to make me dinner the other night and it.was.good. Russet potatoes, green beans and Salmon. Mmm....

My other meals this week have mostly consisted of soup because I was feeling a bit under the weather. On my soup run after work last night I came across this beauty at Earth Fare and decided that after passing it up on Wednesday that I had to try it out. Pumpkin Salsa!! I know it sounds a little strange, but it's worth a shot! Some ideas I have in store for this magic in a jar is on top of eggs, scooped up with traditional chips, scooped up with some sweet potato chips and lastly, plopping some on top of a sweet potato. We shall see. Earth Fare was selling some special pumpkin corn chips next to them as a match, but I passed on those. 

The hubs and I went to the UofL home opener for football on Sunday and man was it a scorcher! Holy Heck! A beer and lots of water got us through, ha! It was a great game though, and everyone in the stands were pumped up!

Some goodies from our local sports shop! 

The team coming out on to the field!

Love

Some other looks from the week: Victoria's Secret Pink top from the clearance rack (score), jean shorts from Forever21 from about three years ago and my awesome Birkenstock knock off's. They are so old I honestly can't even remember where I got them from! The great thing about jean shorts and these kind of sandals, in my opinion, is that the older they are the better looking and better fitting they get!

Girl's Dinner night! First week of every month we are setting aside one night to get together and take turns hosting dinner. It has been amazing so far! 

This Forever21 dress is about five years old and I.love.it. It has stood the test of time and is gorgeous! Added my Christina Link Bracelet to add just a touch of glam.

I used my CHI Waver for this look. Super easy and super cute! And luckily Ulta is having a 20% off promo right now, which can be used online too! It ends tomorrow so hurry up and take advantage of it if you are in need of any beauty products. They run this promo repeatedly, I just have no idea when the next one will be. Any bit helps when buying CHI products. I do love them to death, but they can be pricey!

source

What are your plans for this fabulous weekend?! 

xoxo MaryBeth

SUNDAYS OF SUMMER

 First things first: Oikos vanilla greek yogurt, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, an apple and some cinnamon. Good stuff!

I decided to try out a new recipe tonight. Pineapple turkey burgers! 1/2 C chopped green onion, 1/2 C bread crumbs, 1/2 C diced red pepper, 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce and 1 lb ground turkey.

Topped with grilled pineapple and some pepper jack cheese with a side of sweet potato chips! The burgers turned out really good even though grilling them was almost a disaster! They did NOT want to stick together, but eventually I got it to work!

Some looks from the week: White blazer and tank from Forever 21, Charlotte Russe jeans and wedges with some Stella & Dot jewels.

Target swim suit cover up and hat for a day at the pool

The other day the birthday boy scarfed down his treat! Soo damn cute!

And lastly, we headed to Great American Ballpark for the Reds v Cardinals game this weekend. MLB top from Victoria's Secret, Forever 21 tank and American Eagle wide leg white jeans from TJ Maxx. Love!

 

Gotta love baseball!!

xoxo MaryBeth

HAVE YOU FED WITH FEED?

Happy hump day!! Can't wait for the 4th and to grill some food and see some fireworks! Unfortunately, they are calling for 60% chance of rain.. boo. Hopefully the sun will make some appearances tomorrow.

A food trend I've noticed in myself lately- yogurt and fruit! I usually buy the individually packed greek or regular yogurt, but I realized the other day how much more cost effective it is to buy the tubs. I have been plopping out a cup of yogurt and topping it as desired. 

Organic french vanilla yogurt with a diced up peach. Yum!

The same french vanilla yogurt mixed with blueberries, strawberries and blackberries. Then topped with some cinnamon for added flavor. This was VERY good!

So today I swung by Target for some essentials, i.e. mascara and foundation, and decided to make my FEED purchase. I chose a comfy grey tank. My $15 purchase will now provide twelve meals to those in need. Score! 

Look for today? All about the comfort:

V-neck top from Target (got this a couple years ago but they always bring them back), velour pants from Victoria's Secret and my cute $5 flats from Target. Love!

What are your 4th of July plans?

xoxo MaryBeth

JACKPOT JOY

Hey Hey! How has every one's holiday weekend been going? The other night we had a patio dinner (garage door style) and some drinks. Just a relaxing night out with the hubs :)

Forever21 dress, wedges from LuLu's and a TJ Maxx cardigan with some faux leather paneling. Love!  

I bought this dress almost three years ago when we were getting ready for our honeymoon. I probably paid $15 for it, it is still in perfect condition and will always be in style. Love, love, love!

New addition to the pantry. This stuff is very good! Gotta love Target!

Just a few of my new purchases from yesterday. I hit the fashion sale jackpot! Everything I felt that I was missing for my summer wardrobe, I found. Skinny jeans for $16, silk tops for $10 and even a pair of high end designer dress slacks with a tuxedo stripe down the side for... drum roll please... $10. Needless to say, I rocked. Still so happy! My winning stores were Kohl's, TJ Maxx, Victoria's Secret and Versona. And, of course I wore some of my new finds that same day, lol.

I definitely do not go shopping everyday, so when it is time to stock up I try to do it as cost effectively as possible! Most of what I blog about are items that I already own. Adding odds and ends in here and there can give you that extra spice that you need to get inspired within your own closet. One new top or one new pair of pants can create an entire new set of options that you never even realized! After my summer overhaul that I did yesterday, I now have a gazillion new outfit combos that I cannot wait to play with! Remember, it's not about looking fab 24-7 or spending tons of money. It is about looking fab when you want, and in an affordable way! 

High bun love! I had worked out that afternoon and then went straight to shopping, so when I got home I needed to get ready, QUICKLY and the high bun it was. So quick and  so simple IF you use the sock bun by Con Air. LOVE.IT. I do not get any kind of perks by mentioning any of this stuff. Just truly things I love and use all.the.time.

Kind of blurry, but this was hilarious. Promo girls for Jim Beam where giving out samples of a new clear whiskey to everyone along with a pic. It's called, Jacob's Ghost, hence the ghost they placed in the pic. Too funny!

Not sure what we are going to be getting in to today, but I'm sure it will be fun! 


What are your Memorial Day Weekend plans?


Is it annoying that 98% of my blog photos are done with my iPhone? Responses (good and bad) welcome!! 



xoxo MaryBeth




 

FLOWERS, FASHION & FRIDAY

First and foremost, I still cannot believe what happened at the Boston Marathon- so senseless and inhumane. It is scary that people capable of such things exist in our world. The things I blog about seem so trivial when an event like that is fresh on every one's mind, but nonetheless, I will blog away true to form.



Happy Friday!  I was going through my pics so I could fill everyone in on what I have been up to this week (haven't blogged since last Friday...eek! Bad blogger, bad..) and have noticed a trend....

Apparently, I really like overnight oats!! And the best overnight oats of all are the ones that take up the last of the nut butter jar... Mmmmmmm! 

The hubs and I went to one of my bestie's house for a cookout last weekend, and I rocked some denim and some stella. Love!

Denim top from Target, faux leather pants by Rock & Republic for Kohl's, blue heels by Candie's for Kohl's, Bahari Necklace by Stella & Dot, Emerson Bangle by Stella & Dot and the Christina Link Bracelet by Stella & Dot. Love!

Fox Ring sold out

With the fabulous weather this week (aside from today, boo), I was able to get a couple runs in at the park and also threw in a couple classes at the gym. Top knot is a standard hairstyle of mine. Yes, it is true, I don't run around every day in heels and my hair and makeup perfectly done. :)

And another top knot...

This AM was a spin class. Gosh, I love spin!! (being totally serious...seriously). Definitely too cold today, for me at least, to work out outside. This Gap hooded zip-up is one of my absolute favorite jackets. My sister and I got them at a Gap outlet and I am so mad at myself for not getting it in both colors. Such is life! 

This past weekend we got a lot of landscaping done. Such a tough job, but also very rewarding. And the nice thing is that every year it gets easier and easier because we have been adding things little by little. We transplanted our Asiatic Lilies to a more optimal area of our backyard and digging them up was like Christmas. There were SO MANY bulbs, big and small, under the ground. These suckers spread a lot! I'm pretty sure I was quoted saying, "OMG nature is sooo cool". Nerd alert!! But it is SO cool! Now we have a ton of these lilies, and at the price of $0.  Love!

Also purchased a few new ones to add to our collection. We bought these ones before I realized how many bulbs had been produced. But, we probably would have still gotten them anyways because we wanted some that were fully mature for an instant effect.

Some new Annuals for out hanging baskets. Pretty!

Gorg!

Needed some plants for the inside too! Notice my hummingbird feeder in the background? This is my first time having one, so hopefully they find it!

All the outdoorsness wore Charlie out. When I took this pic Winston was probably still running circles in the backyard. Ha!! Charlie is a little more... dainty.

Yesterday we added a few more to our flower bed (pics to come) and it is crazy to think that I was in shorts and a tank, even got a sunburn (oops!) and that today it is FREEZING! We actually covered all our new plants with plastic just in case. I would literally cry if they died and all our hard work would go to waste. 

After all that, we took two of our nephews to a movie. It was fun, and an excuse to go see a children's movie!

Femme Fatale Necklace by Stella & Dot. Love love love!!!

Comfy look for the movies. Rider boots by Payless, thick stretchy leggings by Apt 9 at Kohl's, flowy tank from TJ Maxx and my awesome Micheal Kors sweater steal from TJ Maxx. Love! Also, wet hair in a side braid. Ha! Rockin' it!

Too cute with their 3D glasses on!

And lastly, after my spin class I went for an overdue massage. The hubs got me a gift card for a massage at the salon I get my hair cut at and I finally used it! It has been, literally, almost a year ago when he gave it to me. Victoria's Secret velour sweats are the best. And again, the top knot! Oh man, I gotta get a new look. :)

After running a million and one errands today, I made my way to Target to check out the new collection by Kate Young that I mentioned before. Verdict: Cute! I didn't have time to try anything on, but I did check it all out, and so should you!



Just heard Suspect 2 has been captured and taken to a nearby hospital. Thank goodness. I am going to sit on my couch with the hubs and our dog children and count my blessings. 


xoxo MaryBeth




+Kohl's 
+Victorias Secret Angels 
+The Home Depot 
+GAP MAYFAIR 
+Target Coupons 
+Tj Max 

+Earth Fare 
+Organic Farmers & Growers