A Fresh French Manicure. Love.
And obviously M&Ms.
Hope you're having fabulous weekends!
And obviously M&Ms.
Hope you're having fabulous weekends!
Kaftans for Every Hour of Summer
1 day ago
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Happy 37th Anniversary! ♥
37 years ago, a 23 year old woman walked down the aisle to join hands with a 26 year old man. They said their vows, promising to love each other through thick and thin. They sealed the promise with a kiss and then walked back down the aisle, hands in hands, as husband and wife!
This couple is my role model. The people in my life who have showed me that marriage can be beautiful. They showed me that no matter how hard things can get, that promise is never to be taken lightly. They also taught me that to love your significant other is a choice, a choice that you must make every single day.
I am so glad that God thought me good enough to be brought up in this home.
Happy 37th Mom and Dad! I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate you both.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
I Always Considered Myself To Be Quite Girly...
....until I met blog land.
I have come to the conclusion that I gave myself too much credit.
I follow beauty blogs because I love beautiful things & beautiful people. I am a Libra so that makes up for 95% of it.
I love fashion and I love clothes. I thought I loved makeup until I found out from blog land that I don't have a big collection at all. And hair products? Forget about it.
It was a sad day when I realized that I don't own lipstick. Not one.
How can I accept being called girly if I don't own lipstick? I have tons of lip gloss but no lipstick.
My lips are always the same color. Shiny. But not like I just ate a bucket of fried chicken. Maybe glossy is a better way to describe my lips.
And as much as I love clothes and fashion, I can't imagine taking pictures of what I wear everyday. Or taking pictures of clothes I buy, when I buy them.
I am not as girly as I thought I was. I could take up boxing. I know I love a good fight and after you turn 15, you really don't have any excuse for fist on face action. Hmmm, maybe rugby. No that's OK, I am not insane.
I think I would rather just go shopping for a new pair of hot pink stilettos. I don't know what says girly more than hot pink stilettos!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Chocolate Thunder
Scene: Faith laying on the couch, on her stomach, minding her own business, blogging.
Sean: I'm gonna call you Chocolate Thunder from now on.
Faith: Why? Because of my huge thighs.
Sean smiles.
He is so lucky that I know he likes my thunder thighs. So lucky.
Sean: I'm gonna call you Chocolate Thunder from now on.
Faith: Why? Because of my huge thighs.
Sean smiles.
He is so lucky that I know he likes my thunder thighs. So lucky.
{Dinner} You Name It
I was watching Rachel Ray on the Food Network. I was about 7 minutes late so I never got the name of the recipe. I went on the site but let me tell you how hard it is to search for the recipe you are looking for when you have no idea what it is called.
I was able to remember the ingredients and the recipe though. Don't ask me why, I'm just good like that.
You will need:
Barilla Pasta Plus Rotini
3 tablespoons of EVOO
4 strips of Bacon {I would have used more but I have a husband who eats EVERYTHING!}
1 medium sized Onion
Minced garlic {as much as you want}
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
Fresh mushrooms {as much as you want}
black pepper & salt to taste
mozzarella cheese {as much as you want}
1. Place large pot of water over high heat to boil, to cook the pasta
2. While pasta is coming to a boil, heat skillet to medium high heat with the EVOO
3. To hot EVOO add bacon and crisp for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add mushrooms to bacon. Cook mushrooms about 3-4 minutes on each side.
5. Then add onions, basil and garlic
6. Cook the onions until soft and tender about 7-8 minutes.
7. Add the can of crushed tomatoes and chicken stock to pan and season with black pepper and salt. I used a ton of black pepper and not a lot of salt.
8. Let the sauce reduce while you cook off the pasta.
9. Drain pasta and toss with sauce for 1 minute.
10. Top with the mozzarella cheese you cut.
I absolutely loved this meal. It had a earthy, rustic taste to it. Might have been the pasta which hubby deemed too healthy tasting. He ate it but he said he would love it more with regular pasta. But guess who is taking left overs for work tomorrow?! He only takes food he likes for lunch. Patting my shoulders.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Surprise Mom & Dad!!! ♥
My sisters and I decided to surprise our parents for their birthdays. My dad's birthday was June 17th and my mom's birthday was on June 26th.
My parents and my older sister live in NYC so my older sister told my parents that she and her husband wanted to take them out for a birthday dinner. The thing she left out was that my other 2 sisters, nephew, Sean and I were going to travel for the dinner and surprise them.
Sean couldn't make it because of his new work schedule, {lame} but seeing my hometown 2 weekends in a row AND surprising my parents was really exciting to me.
Also, my mom was celebrating her 60th birthday so that's a huge milestone in itself. If you are curious my dad turned 63.
My sisters and I arrived at my sister and husband's apartment early Saturday that way we could wrap presents and hang out. It isn't often that we are all in one place. There is always someone missing so it was nice for the 4 of us to be together and talk. It is so strange to see that we are all grown up because I can still remember so much from our childhood.
It is also nice to get together and talk in a way that no one understands because we get it and no one else does. :)
My brother in law {Brian} reading to my nephew. It was so cute to see how Zach was so into the book. Handy Manny is so exciting to little boys, haha.
I liked the flower in my hair. My older sister {Emma} let me wear it. Note to self, buy more accessories for hair.
The youngest sister {Maryanna}. Isn't she a cutie? :)
Any who, we were all getting ready at Emma's apartment and my parents called Emma to let her know that they had arrived at her apartment a little earlier. Talk about the craziness that occurred after that, haha.
We started freaking out. Why were they so early?! Oh no! We started grabbing our stuff out of Emma's living room because they would be suspicious to see suitcases and a play-pen at Emma's apartment. They have no kids, haha.
Emma told us to put everything in their room, to stay there and keep Zach quiet. Can I tell you how hard it is to keep a 1 1/2 year old quiet. Well, it is. Brian finally decided that this wasn't going to work so he went downstairs to meet my parents in an effort for them not to come upstairs.
The plan was that we were going to be at the restaurant first and when my parents arrived with my sister and BIL that would be the surprise. But things never pan out the way you plan. They turned out better! :)
After Emma and Brian left things were suppose to get easier. Emma told me that she would text me when they wanted us to leave the apartment to head to the restaurant. They were taking my parents to this park that has the water and stuff to buy us some time. I never got that text. Um, hello. I called but of course she was talking all sorts of strange things because she didn't want my parents to know who she was talking to. I finally text her and asked, when are we suppose to leave? She said, I told you as soon as we left. Um, what?! You left 20 minutes ago!!! We are still here. She was like, well you better get a move on it.
We started panicking because we thought we were going to ruin the surprise. My parents were going to arrive at the restaurant before us. We were in my little sister's {Priscilla} car asap. Of course, putting a baby in a car seat is not exactly the quickest feat if your name is Faith. I have NO idea how to work a car seat so my sister had to get out of the car to do it. I'm sorry P, haha.
We get into the car and my sister has no idea how to work her GPS. Her excuse, I never use it. Luckily, I figure out how to use hers and we are on our merry way. When you don't know where you are going, you don't trust anyone. Not even your GPS. After a few wrong turns, we made it to the area of the restaurant. We just needed to find parking. By this time, Emma and Brian can't stall anymore so we get a text that they just found parking and are heading to the restaurant.
Just great! We just found parking so we knew that if we didn't hide they were going to see us. Hahaha. It was hilarious. My sisters, Zach and I were running across the street because if we stayed on the side of the street we were, we were certain our parents were going to see us. We were hiding and ducking behind cars. Seriously, the most funniest thing. If anyone saw us they would have thought we were crazy. I wish someone took a picture, lol.
We see our parents, Emma and Brian walk into the restaurant and we just watched behind a car.
We give it a few minutes that way they would be seated when we walked in. When you walk into the restaurant there are all these windows so even walking into the restaurant we had to duck to ensure they didn't see us.
Well we made it and imagine my parents surprised faces when we walked in. I was so flustered heading to the restaurant so I didn't have my handy camera on hand, but forever I will remember their surprised faces. It was beautiful and I had this tugging on my heart that reminded me just how much I love my parents.
Lots of hugs, kisses, and more hugs later we sat down to eat!
We had the surprise dinner at a Cuban restaurant named Blend. Delicious food. OMG!
Priscilla and Maryanna
Priscilla and I
After we ate, Emma told the servers secretly to get dessert with a candle and of course sing Happy Birthday. The cutest thing happened when the serves came out singing. The whole restaurant joined in. Look at my parents expressions, taking it all in.
He thought it was the greatest thing to wear Brian's sunglasses :)
My sisters and I ♥
Group shot :)
Crazy Sister Love
When we returned back to Emma's apartment we caught Zach putting on Brian's sneakers.
As I get older, I find myself wanting to spend more time with my family. I want to spend hours on the phone with my sisters and want to spend a lot of time with my nephew. I want to travel often to visit my parents because they are such beautiful people and have done some amazing things in their lives. I couldn't have asked for better role models. It was such a great weekend and a reminder of why God blessed me with them. I can't take anymore days with them for granted.
It was a beautiful weekend but if there is one wish I could make that would have made the weekend even more perfect, I wish that the hubster would have been there.
My parents and my older sister live in NYC so my older sister told my parents that she and her husband wanted to take them out for a birthday dinner. The thing she left out was that my other 2 sisters, nephew, Sean and I were going to travel for the dinner and surprise them.
Sean couldn't make it because of his new work schedule, {lame} but seeing my hometown 2 weekends in a row AND surprising my parents was really exciting to me.
Also, my mom was celebrating her 60th birthday so that's a huge milestone in itself. If you are curious my dad turned 63.
My sisters and I arrived at my sister and husband's apartment early Saturday that way we could wrap presents and hang out. It isn't often that we are all in one place. There is always someone missing so it was nice for the 4 of us to be together and talk. It is so strange to see that we are all grown up because I can still remember so much from our childhood.
It is also nice to get together and talk in a way that no one understands because we get it and no one else does. :)
My brother in law {Brian} reading to my nephew. It was so cute to see how Zach was so into the book. Handy Manny is so exciting to little boys, haha.
I liked the flower in my hair. My older sister {Emma} let me wear it. Note to self, buy more accessories for hair.
The youngest sister {Maryanna}. Isn't she a cutie? :)
Any who, we were all getting ready at Emma's apartment and my parents called Emma to let her know that they had arrived at her apartment a little earlier. Talk about the craziness that occurred after that, haha.
We started freaking out. Why were they so early?! Oh no! We started grabbing our stuff out of Emma's living room because they would be suspicious to see suitcases and a play-pen at Emma's apartment. They have no kids, haha.
Emma told us to put everything in their room, to stay there and keep Zach quiet. Can I tell you how hard it is to keep a 1 1/2 year old quiet. Well, it is. Brian finally decided that this wasn't going to work so he went downstairs to meet my parents in an effort for them not to come upstairs.
The plan was that we were going to be at the restaurant first and when my parents arrived with my sister and BIL that would be the surprise. But things never pan out the way you plan. They turned out better! :)
After Emma and Brian left things were suppose to get easier. Emma told me that she would text me when they wanted us to leave the apartment to head to the restaurant. They were taking my parents to this park that has the water and stuff to buy us some time. I never got that text. Um, hello. I called but of course she was talking all sorts of strange things because she didn't want my parents to know who she was talking to. I finally text her and asked, when are we suppose to leave? She said, I told you as soon as we left. Um, what?! You left 20 minutes ago!!! We are still here. She was like, well you better get a move on it.
We started panicking because we thought we were going to ruin the surprise. My parents were going to arrive at the restaurant before us. We were in my little sister's {Priscilla} car asap. Of course, putting a baby in a car seat is not exactly the quickest feat if your name is Faith. I have NO idea how to work a car seat so my sister had to get out of the car to do it. I'm sorry P, haha.
We get into the car and my sister has no idea how to work her GPS. Her excuse, I never use it. Luckily, I figure out how to use hers and we are on our merry way. When you don't know where you are going, you don't trust anyone. Not even your GPS. After a few wrong turns, we made it to the area of the restaurant. We just needed to find parking. By this time, Emma and Brian can't stall anymore so we get a text that they just found parking and are heading to the restaurant.
Just great! We just found parking so we knew that if we didn't hide they were going to see us. Hahaha. It was hilarious. My sisters, Zach and I were running across the street because if we stayed on the side of the street we were, we were certain our parents were going to see us. We were hiding and ducking behind cars. Seriously, the most funniest thing. If anyone saw us they would have thought we were crazy. I wish someone took a picture, lol.
We see our parents, Emma and Brian walk into the restaurant and we just watched behind a car.
We give it a few minutes that way they would be seated when we walked in. When you walk into the restaurant there are all these windows so even walking into the restaurant we had to duck to ensure they didn't see us.
Well we made it and imagine my parents surprised faces when we walked in. I was so flustered heading to the restaurant so I didn't have my handy camera on hand, but forever I will remember their surprised faces. It was beautiful and I had this tugging on my heart that reminded me just how much I love my parents.
Lots of hugs, kisses, and more hugs later we sat down to eat!
We had the surprise dinner at a Cuban restaurant named Blend. Delicious food. OMG!
Priscilla and Maryanna
Priscilla and I
After we ate, Emma told the servers secretly to get dessert with a candle and of course sing Happy Birthday. The cutest thing happened when the serves came out singing. The whole restaurant joined in. Look at my parents expressions, taking it all in.
He thought it was the greatest thing to wear Brian's sunglasses :)
My sisters and I ♥
Group shot :)
Crazy Sister Love
When we returned back to Emma's apartment we caught Zach putting on Brian's sneakers.
As I get older, I find myself wanting to spend more time with my family. I want to spend hours on the phone with my sisters and want to spend a lot of time with my nephew. I want to travel often to visit my parents because they are such beautiful people and have done some amazing things in their lives. I couldn't have asked for better role models. It was such a great weekend and a reminder of why God blessed me with them. I can't take anymore days with them for granted.
It was a beautiful weekend but if there is one wish I could make that would have made the weekend even more perfect, I wish that the hubster would have been there.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Put Your Dancing Shoes On!
When hubs and I started dating we went out dancing a lot. If it wasn't every weekend, it was every other weekend. When we got engaged we had to save money so that was one of the things we cut back on.
This weekend was the first time in 3 years that the hubs and I went out dancing and it was a blast! It felt just like the good ole days!
My booty shorts made an appearance.
Hubs was stoked to go dancing, if you can't tell, haha.
We went with two of our friends.
Hubs busting a move. It makes me giggle.
Look at the couple in the picture. I have a bunch of pictures like this. Random strangers kissing in my pictures.
Now this gentleman was always out dancing when hubs and I use to go. It was really surprising to see that he was still doing his thing. He dances like no one is watching and to be honest I kind of find it refreshing. A few years back, I found it creepy.
Sometimes I wonder about his sanity, but then again he is married to me.
He doesn't dance normally. But he saw Sean having so much fun, haha.
Taking a break from all the dancing. I need to find friends who like taking pictures more than I do. I would have loved to have some silly pictures of me dancing too. Ahh, the sacrifice of the "photographer". I use quotations because I know I am not a photographer.
I found about ten of these types of pictures in our camera this morning. No comment.
We ended our fun filled night with some pizza. My favorite is a slice of cheese pizza with cold cheese on top! So delish. It was the only way, one ate pizza in my college. It has stuck with me since!
Hope you all had fabulous weekends too! ♥
This weekend was the first time in 3 years that the hubs and I went out dancing and it was a blast! It felt just like the good ole days!
My booty shorts made an appearance.
Hubs was stoked to go dancing, if you can't tell, haha.
We went with two of our friends.
Hubs busting a move. It makes me giggle.
Look at the couple in the picture. I have a bunch of pictures like this. Random strangers kissing in my pictures.
Now this gentleman was always out dancing when hubs and I use to go. It was really surprising to see that he was still doing his thing. He dances like no one is watching and to be honest I kind of find it refreshing. A few years back, I found it creepy.
Sometimes I wonder about his sanity, but then again he is married to me.
He doesn't dance normally. But he saw Sean having so much fun, haha.
Taking a break from all the dancing. I need to find friends who like taking pictures more than I do. I would have loved to have some silly pictures of me dancing too. Ahh, the sacrifice of the "photographer". I use quotations because I know I am not a photographer.
I found about ten of these types of pictures in our camera this morning. No comment.
We ended our fun filled night with some pizza. My favorite is a slice of cheese pizza with cold cheese on top! So delish. It was the only way, one ate pizza in my college. It has stuck with me since!
Hope you all had fabulous weekends too! ♥
