What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving...my Airwick Freshmatic Air Freshner.

It retails for $7.99, but after my extreme couponing I brought the total down to .99 cents!

And I have it set to only go off when it "detects an odor" in the room. So, not only does it smell good but it's also pretty darn smart.

I'm loving...Pretzel Bread.

Have you ever had a Pretzel Bread sandwich??? Like ham and swiss on pretzel bread??? No??? If you're answer is no, then you need to rethink your sandwich order! It's delicious! CV brought me four pretzels from Servatii's and they were gone in 2 days. Yessss, I average 2 pretzel sandwiches a day.

I'm loving...GROUPON.

Ahhh, so many amazing deals at Groupon lately! My newest purchase was for a paint studio to paint a pretty picture! My friends, Jen & Steve, (who are getting married next week!!) went a few weeks ago and look what they painted! Soooo cute! I can't wait to go!

I'm loving...SKOR Bars.

These are my favorite candy bar ever. Chocolate & Toffee. Enough said.

I'm loving...little notes left on my windshield.
My car, which was parked in the Kroger shopping center, had a note on it that read,
"You have a secret admirer...." Luckily, CV has nothing to worry about
seeing as how HE wrote it and put it there. haha. Sooo cute!

And I'm loving...that I have suite tickets to the Reds game tonight!

Thanks to my banker friends for the tix! Go Reds!

What are you loving today?

Link up with Jamie to play along!

Ryan Reynolds (x2), Scissorhands, And a Weekend

I watched two Ryan Reynolds movies this weekend. And I loved them both!

Anyone a big Ryan Reynolds fan?

I've never really been that crazy about him, but he's starting to grow on me.

The Proposal

I thought this movie was great. (Although, I do love most chick flicks!) The part where Sandra Bullock is singing and dancing in the woods is hilarious. Have you seen it?

Chaos Theory

I had never heard of this movie before, have you? CV and I rented it and I really liked it. Definitely kept me entertained through the whole thing, which I can't really say about alot of his movies.

And speaking of movies, I also rented a classic this weekend.

Edward Scissorhands

Haha. Yes, I rented Edward Scissorhands.

I remember watching it as a child but I didn't remember anything at all from the movie (other than the basics about a guy with scissors for hands!) So, CV and I rewatched it and LOVED it.

There's something about those old movies that I just love....the simplicity of the use of the camera, and ofcourse the outfits, houses, cars, etc. So much fun to watch.

And the rest of the weekend was spent having some fun:

CV & I went to the Reds game with a bunch of friends on Friday night. Then, continued the party at The Holy Grail bar.
On Saturday, we met another couple for brunch, watched movies and grilled pizzas for dinner.

(Mmmmm...Italian Sausage & Green Pepper Grilled Pizza)

And on Sunday, I went out for breakfast, went to the Hyde Park Farmers Market, ran some errands, went shoe shopping ofcourse (but didn't find any shoes).

It was a pretty great weekend....now only five more days until the next one! :)

And the WINNER is...(drum roll please)...

Thanks to everyone who entered my first giveaway of:

A Food Network Cookbook "How To Boil Water"
Cute Cupcakes Liners & Cupcake Toppers
And a Blue Umbra Cup Holder

And...The....Winner...Is...

Congratulations, Brandi!

Please email me your mailing information so I your goodies can be on their way!

It's the weekend! Put on your party shoes!

The week is almost over...did you have a good one?

Here are a few of my highlights:

Sushi dinner with my friend Sara.

We hadn't had dinner in a long time so it was good to catch up with each other, especially over a delish meal. (spicy shrimp roll, boston roll & a ginger salad for me please!) 

New Pierre Dumas shoes.

Yes, if you are wondering by all my shoe postings, I probably do buy a new pair of shoes every other week or so. Is that wrong?

A Professional Massage.

Sweet CV bought me a one hour session at Massage Envy yesterday. Uhm, could my boyfriend be any sweeter??? I was in massage heaven.

Plans for the weekend.

So far for the weekend, CV & I are going to the Reds game tonight and going out afterwards with a bunch of his friends who are in town for the weekend. And tomorrow we are planning to do brunch and maybe another Reds game, who knows?! Regardless of what I do, I have a feeling it will be a happy weekend.)

I hope your week was great & the weekend is even better!

P.S. The winner to my giveaway will be posted soon.

The Strangest House On The Street

I live down the street from this house:

(Yes, it is a house!)

It's called the "Mushroom House" and is listed as one of the most strange homes in the world.

Want a closer look?

Only the coolest mushrooms wear sunglasses.

Make that, two pairs of sunglasses. Ya know, because the sun beams down on all angles.

Directions to my house? Well go down Erie, pass the Mushroom house on the right and then....

Pretty strange huh?
I can only imagine the people who live there. I would think they would have to be just as strange.

Do you live by any interesting/strange houses? Or is YOUR house infact strange?
I'd love to see pics!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving...that Target had summer items marked down 75% off!! So, I had to take advantage and buy a striped picnic blanket and 8 striped plastic plates and 8 matching bowls! Total Spent $10.72! (Savings of over $32!) I'm pretty excited because I've been stalking cute plastic plates all summer!

I'm loving...this Creamy Ravioli with Summer Squash Recipe from Keeping up with the Joneses! I made it Monday night and I was so impressed with how light and delicious it turned out! But I guess I should have known, all the recipes I make from Kendall's blog come out spectacular!

I paired it with a caesar salad, baguette and white wine! Yumm!

Into the dinner rotation it goes!

I'm loving...that Mila Kunis accepted the date to the Marine Corps Ball with this stranger marine.

I wonder what she is going to wear...hummmm.

I'm loving...that CV and I had tickets to the "Champions Club" section at the Reds game on Sunday. It was all-you-can-eat-and-drink tickets so you can imagine we did some damage. I ate: a hot dog, grilled chicken salad, shrimp pasta, pretzel, cinnamon pretzel, two bites of a pepperoni pizza and a dreamsicle. And I would have had nachos if CV wasn't grossed out about gooey processed cheese. ha.

And as always, here is my lame attempt to get a picture of us at the ballgame.

(All my ballgame pics kinda look the same, huh?)

I'm loving...that I will be in Memphis to meet my little nephew in four weeks! He's supposed to be here in nine days!

And I'm loving...that my giveaway ends this week and I can send a special blog friend some gifts! Have you entered yet? You better before it's too late. Enter here.

Happy Hump Day to all.

Easy Southern Banana Pudding

If you are from the south, like me, than you probably crave banana pudding on a regular basis. (As well as pulled pork BBQ sandwiches!) This easy recipe will NOT disappoint.

Easy Southern Banana Pudding

Ingredients:
3 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) Jello-O Vanilla (or Banana) Flavor Instant Pudding
30 Nilla Wafers (I used Reduced Fat Nilla Wafers)
3 medium bananas, sliced
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed (I used Sugar Free Cool Whip)

Directions:
1) Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Let stand 5 min. 2) Arrange half of the wafers on bottom and up side of 2-qt. serving bowl; top with layers of half each of the banana slices and pudding. Repeat all layers. Cover with whipped topping. 3) Refrigerate 3 hours. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

I sprinkle a little crushed nilla wafers on top too! Shovel in a bowl and enjoy! :)

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving...I got to spend time with my friend Ashley and her precious little baby this weekend. Little Ryan Andrew was so precious AND he laughed at all my jokes! :)

I'm loving...that my yard sale this weekend was a small success. We all made about $280-ish total. ($110.80 of it went into my pocket!) And I'm loving...that I gave about 100+ of the items that did not sell at the yard sale to charity.

I'm loving...organic pizza. I think I've ordered organic pizza (from Naked Pizza) every week for the past month. What do I get you ask? Half tomato & basil and half peppers & sausage! Yumm!

I'm loving...that when I googled Naked Pizza to find a picture. This picture was the first image. Haha.

I'm loving...that I started taking vitamins again! Thanks to some of my blogger friends who have posted fabulous things about Biotin, I was convinced and bought a bottle of my own. And also bought a multi-vitamin. It's been two weeks so hopefully I will start seeing the results (strong hair & nails) from the Biotin very soon!

And ofcourse, I'm loving...my little fur baby Paisley.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

And don't forget to enter my giveaway!!

Swing That Kettlebell

Remember my post about how I bought a workout package at the Kettlebell Studio?? Well, I finally went to my first class last night and...woah!

Sore arms.

Sore shoulders.

Sore back.
Sore abs.

Sore legs.
Sore butt.

I started with the "Intro to Kettlebell" class, ofcourse, but it was still pretty hardcore. They started the class out with an 18 pound kettlebell (the lightest one they had) then moved us to a 26 pound kettlebell. (Uhm, helloooo, 26 pounds for my little noodle arms??? I don't think so!!!)

I definitely thought they needed to look at everyone individually and determine what size weight they would need because starting out at 18 pounds was pretty tough.
Regardless, it was a great workout, but I definitely need more practice and perhaps some lighter weights.

Has anyone done kettlebell before? What pound weight did you start at??
(yes, I realize I just ended a sentence with a preposition!) :)

Nine more sessions to go!
I hope I have time to recover before my next session!!

Product Review: Downy Unstoppables

Isn't it a great feeling when you see a package on your front porch?

You quickly think to yourself "Did I order something?" or "Did someone send me a present?"

Either way, there is a lot of excitement about quickly getting to the package to find out!

So. What did I recieve?

A huge bottle of Downy Unstoppables, marked "blogger's edition"!

You mean, you are trusting ME with my opinion for a blogger product review???

I think the word got out that I enjoyed doing laundry!

For those who are unfamiliar with the Unstopables, it is an in-wash scent booster (it does not replace your detergent) that contains 4x more scent enhancing ingredients that Downy liquid fabric softeners & the scent is supposed to keep clothes fresh in your closet until you wear them, up to twelve weeks.

Does it work, you ask?

Let's see.

First, let me say it's easy to use. It's convenient bead form is added directly to the wash and allows the consumer to control how much, or how little they would like. I wanted the full effect, so I added a full cup to each laundry load. I did not use any additional fabric softner or scented detergent.

Now. The moment of truth.

I could definitely tell a huge difference in the smell of my laundry items, but I'm not quite sure it was 4x the smell I get from a regular scented fabric sheet, but perhaps double.

The Unstoppables do not claim to make fabric softer, however, I did feel my sheets were not only smelling amazing, but also a bit softer than usual. (That's always a score for sheets!)

It consumed my house with a fresh scent for a few days, and the scent did stay on my towels for a week until I used them.

Do they last 12 weeks like they claim???

I'm gonna say, no. I used the Unstoppables four weeks ago, and the scent on those towels/clothes is almost gone. It definitely lasted alot longer than other scent-boosters, but I think 12 weeks is a little ambitious.

Regardless, good scents all around. It would be a great purchase if you love that "clean laundry smell"!

(Who doesn't love the clean laundry smell??)

Thanks to Downy for allowing me to share my opinions.

Downy Unstoppables will be available in stores in August.

Enact Caylee's Law

The Caylee's Law petition calls for establishing two new federal offenses: the failure of a parent, legal guardian, or caretaker to notify law enforcement of a missing child within 24 hours, and the failure to report the death of a child within one hour of discovery.

Visit Change.org to sign the petition.

(I have a million thoughts/opinions about this case, but I've decided to keep them to myself. Besides, you guys are all thinking the same thing, right?)

MY FIRST GIVEAWAY!

Welcome to my first

BLOG GIVEAWAY!

Are you excited?

One lucky blog follower will win:

A Food Network Cookbook "How To Boil Water"

Cute Cupcakes Liners & Cupcake Toppers

And a Blue Umbra Cup Holder (I have one and LOVE IT, as seen here)

*The cookbook is fantastic, especially for beginners who are learning their way around the kitchen. But don't worry, it has alot of delicious recipes for my advanced cooking blog friends, as well.

*Cute Cupcakes. Need I say more? Who doesn't want to tear off a polka dot cupcake wrapper with a matching cupcake topper before indulging in a mouth-watering cupcake??? I wouldn't want to eat my cupcake any other way. Would you?

*Cup holder. It definitely makes drinking out of paper cups more fun. About as fun as drinking through a curly straw, but you don't get as many weird looks.

Are you excited NOW???

TWO ENTRY RULES:

1. You MUST be a public follower of my blog.

See the "Join My Party" on the right hand side? Go there. If you are a subscriber through Reader, that will not count. Sorry subscribers, you must be a follower too!

2. You MUST leave me a comment on this blog posting to be entered.

And feel free to tell me a story or a funny joke while you are at it!

(U.S. Residents Only)

THATS IT! Easy, right???

WANT TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES:

Blog about my giveaway (3 more entries)

Tweet about my giveaway (2 more entries)

Be sure to leave a seperate comment for each entry and provide the link to the blog or tweet.

Giveaway Ends two weeks from today, July 21st. And I'll annouce the winner on July 22nd.

Good luck everyone! It's 7-7-11...anyone feeling lucky?

What I'm Loving Wednesday

It's Wednesday...so you know what that means:

Another edition of What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Ready. Set. Go.

I'm loving...the long after-dinner walks CV and I just started going on. We average about 2-3 miles which is just enough to work off some of our meal. (Although last night was a challenge after consuming a few tacos and a few dozen chips! Oops!)

I'm loving...that I am having my first ever Yard Sale this weekend! The thought of getting rid of all my junk and getting a few bills in my pocket at the same time makes me smile ear-to-ear!

I'm loving...my new Nine West pumps. They are leather/suade/alligator/patchwork/peeptoes with six inch heels. Ahh, I can't wait to strut around in these beauties soon!

*I bought them at the Piperlime (Gap) Outlet for only $39. Not sure the retail price, but I figured $39 was an amazing deal!

(Cincinnati Readers - if you are a shoe lover like me, you must go to this outlet...they always have great deals on name brand shoes...as seen here.)

Speaking of shoes, I'm also loving...my new Nine West Shiny Nude Wedges. Obviously, I am a fan of Nine West Shoes! They are great for work...or any other time.
*They are on sale right now for 40% off at Nine West! Which makes them a great deal at around $50!

I'm loving...that this is my first week of NO STUDYING! Ahh, it feels good to be done with the test, but I am not loving the waiting game.

And...I'm loving all you you fellow bloggers & friends!

What are YOU loving today?

The Fourth Weekend

CV & I kicked off our Fourth of July weekend with hot dogs,beers and a major league baseball game.

What's more American than baseball, right?

It was a sold out game, so with 40,000 people around you would think I could find 1 person to bother with the request to take our picture....but I opted to just do it myself.

It worked...eventually.

Take One:

Take Two:

Take Three:

The rest of our weekend was pretty fun too:

Saw amazing fireworks.

We went to Dutches Wine Bar & played bochee ball. (The girls team lost, boo!)

Ate a delicious Mexican dinner followed by drinks at the bar.

Spent an afternoon at the pool.

Grilled out hamburgers & shared with friends.

Snuggled on the couch and watched movies.

Afternoon Naps.

Played wiffle ball in the middle of the street.

And went over a friends to have a delicious breakfast, complete with blackberry/blueberry french toast casserole, sausage, more fruit, and mimosas! YUMM!

A perfect little July weekend.

Hope everyone had a fabulous fourth!