Courtney's "Cupcakes & Cocktails" Bridal Shower

Ello bargainistas!  So we meet again.  This weekend we hosted a bridal shower for one of my oldest friends, Courtney.  Read about her engagement story to her finance Tanner here. 

The theme of the shower was "Cupcakes and Cocktails".  And you guessed it, we had cupcakes and cocktails a plenty.  The cupcakes were delicately hand crafted by me (I'm lieing).  We ordered them from a bakery using a Groupon.  Lemon and yellow cupcakes:


For the cocktails, I made a Raspberry Champagne Spritzer adapted from a Padma Lakshmi recipe and we had "Cupcake" wine in red and white varieties. I bedazzled the "bride-to-be" wine glass (97 cents) using scrapbook stickers found at Wal-Mart. Total cost = $5

Of course we had way more wine than spritzer, but everyone kept drinking the spritzer.  The recipe was designed to individually serve in glasses, so I winged it to create a self-serve bowl of the spritzer.

What you need: 

3 bottles extra dry champagne

About 9 scoops of Raspberry sherbert (3 per bottle)

5 to 7 fresh mint leaves

Garnish with strawberries

Place mint leaves and sherbert in bottom of serving bowl.  Pour champagne over the top, mix and serve.

As for the food table, we made these DIY floral centerpieces out of wine bottles.  Instructions here. 

I painted the "Eat, Drink and Be Married" sign for the food table using acrylic paint and wood ($2.99)  from Hobby Lobby.

The shower was from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. so we had light snacks including my 3 ingredient sausage balls, dill dip and veggies, fruit kabobs, antipasto kabobs, Gouda dip w/ pita chips and spinach dip & chips (not pictured). Yumm-o.


Floating candles in mason jars for some easy DIY coffee table decor:

We had each guest fill out these cards for her memory book:

Before she opened gifts, we played a game where Courtney had to guess what answers Tanner had given to 15 questions.  Questions were like "What is one thing Courtney would throw out of Tanner's closet?" and "What does Tanner love most about Courtney?" [Answer = boobs for inquiring minds. Typical man.]  Each question that their answers didn't match up, she had to put a piece a gum in her mouth.  It was pretty comical:

Then it was present time:

And lastly we had a photo shoot with the bride-to-be:

Court + Me /  Erin (co-hostess) + Court / Court's flower girl / Court, her sister Kaleena (co-hostess) & step-sister Lindsay (my freshman roomie in the dorms)

Megan who is due any day now!  And Janice and baby Wyatt.  He is so, so presh!

Despite some people who clearly never learned how to RSVP "no" (All 10 or so of you. Yes, I'm calling you out because it's so rude.), the shower was a success! 

I can't wait for the big day Courtney.  You are going to be a beautiful bride and I'm honored to stand by your side.  XOXO

Why I currently feel like a fat, frumpy freak

Other than the obscene amount of extra poundage I've currently got taking up residence on my body (#weightwatchersdropout), the reason I've felt like a fat, frumpy freak is because I've been forced to flaunt these flats all week thanks to my little ankle injury courtesy of my buddy Bourbon Street. 

Target - $14.99

I don't do flats.  I wear flips.  I didn't even own flats until I realized on Sunday that I couldn't go to work in flip-flops and had to hobble out to Target to by those flats above.  High heels were obviously out of the question.  And kitten heels are against my religion.

I read a quote in Cosmo once by my celebrity doppelgänger Lauren Conrad that said it best:

Couldn't have said it better myself Lauren.  So I'm stuck with these flats until my ankle recovers.  Don't get me wrong, I totally think flats are super adorbs on the right body type and in an appropriate setting/outfit:

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They look so cutie. On me, though?  I wish I could co-sign, but I just can't.  I'm too short and stumpy for flats, which is why they make me feel even larger in charger aka a fat, frumpy freak. 

Anywho ....

I've got a dilemma.  I'm sucking it up and wearing those black patent flats to work every day.  Barf bag. However, Saturday we're throwing my friend Courtney a "Cupcakes & Cocktails" themed bridal shower.  Sneak peak of the invites I designed by the way.  You like?

My apologies. Looks better without all the info blurred out, but the last thing I need in my life is a stalker.

I can't possibly wear those flats to the shower.  I'll feel so un-Lindsey like and uncomf.  I know I'll be wearing a dress, but I have to find suitable footwear first. What do y'all think of a shorter wedge or is this the kitten heel's cousin?  I will not be caught dead in a mullet shoe. 

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It's not technically summer, although it still feels like it in Texas. So would a "dressy" sandal like this be inapropo?

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I need your opinions stat.  Am I totally missing any other flat alternatives for a whack ankle??

Sincerely,
Your gimpy & frumpy friend The Bargain Blonde

New room = hot mess

SOS!  If you walked into my new room right now, you'd definitely side-eye me.  I'm legit living out of plastic tubs and several suitcases.  It's not right, but try to judge me too harshly because I've only been home a few days since the move.

Yes, I'm living in squalor.

The thing is, I don't even know where to begin.  My current furniture (that's semi-falling apart) is not going to work, but it will have to do for now.  I refuse to put any clothes in my dressers because I don't know where I want them arranged.  Ma-ma, help me!!!

I keep brainstorming what I want to do though.  My old bedroom looked like this:

I'm over it.  I'm going to keep some elements because obviously I don't have the funds to start from scratch. 

So here are my ideas that I'm not married to, but pretty set on. 

1. I want chocolate brown and white as primary colors with a touch of green and/or pink to add a little pizaz. 

2. I want lots of antique elements w/ a smidgen of modern mixed in. 

3. I must have a vanity area. That is final.

4. Room must be cozy.

I'm envisioning something like this (courtesy of Pinterest):

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And this:

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and this:

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I'm not head over heels with any of those rooms, but I love elements from each.  What do y'all think of white furniture?  I'm thinking of painting mine all white, but don't know about that either.  Seeeeee???  There are just so many decisions. 

Who wants to come help me redecorate?  I'll be your best friend forever and ever.  Anyone ever re-done an entire room and how did you accomplish it?  #overwhelmedandneedadrinkjustthinkingaboutit

You know you had a successful NOLA trip when ...

you get rolled through NOLA airport security in a wheelchair on your way home. 

More on that in a second.  Let's rewind and start from the beginning, shall we?

Beth and I booked this New Orleans trip back in June when Southwest Airlines had their 40 year Anniversary flight sale. Prior to ever meeting IRL. Totally normal, right? I think so.

My flight arrived in New Orleans a few hours before hers did, so what's a girl to do? Post up at the airport bar outside her terminal with a new friend I met on the plane, duh. Bloody Mary anyone?

When Beth arrived, I was feeling a little toasty, which is what happens when you spend a few hours at the airport bar with your new friend who offered to buy your drinks.  Oh and it doesn't help when you forget that the only thing you had in your belly all day was a Starbucks Vanilla Latte at 7:30 a.m.

Reunited and feels so good!

For some reason I decided to greet her with a bag of trash.  I. do. not. know.  I blame the airport bar.

No words.

Once Beth landed, we took a cab to our hotel and got freshened up so we could tackle Bourbon Street.  Or in my case, so Bourbon Street could tackle me. The view from our room:

Canal Street:

We decided to grab an early dinner at Acme Oyster House first, and it's a good thing we went early because the rest of the weekend the line outside of it looked like this:

The food was deelish.  Go here if you ever are in NOLA.

After a yummy dinner we headed on our merry way to soak up the sights, sounds and booze on Bourbon.

Get down on it.

A marg for my lady?

Everything was going swimmingly until a few hours later when this happened:

If you follow me on Twitter, I'm sure you've already had the pleasure of seeing this yumminess. 

Yep.  I twisted my ankle on Bourbon. 

Let this be a lesson ladies.  Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT wear 4 inch wedges on Bourbon Street.  No matter how cute you wanna look, I promise you it's not worth it and a trip to New Orleans Urgent Care may get added to your itinerary like it did ours:

Not exactly how we planned spending our Friday in New Orleans.  Beth was a trooper and dealt with me hobbling all around the city.  Everywhere I went people just looked at me, shook there heads and said, "That sucks."  Yes, I know it sucks you idiots.

Friday we had dinner at this joint called Felix's Restaurant & Oyster Bar before hitting the bars. I had a shrimp poboy with a side of jambalaya, which I was less than impressed with:

The food wasn't bad, it just wasn't anything to write home about.

While standing in line to be sat at Felix's we came across some seriously strange characters including a homeless man with a little dog in his shirt that he kept tongue kissing (it was so sick) and a man who for no apparent reason had baby powder all over him.  We actually spotted "Powder" the night before and were very perplexed. 

Friday night the streets were filled with Florida college kids in town for the LSU/Florida game, and for the first time in my life, I felt like a cougar.

We had a fabulous time in New Orleans (who dat?) despite me being disabled and we can't wait to book our next trip.  We seriously laughed the entire hour or so we waited at the airport for our flights to leave reminiscing about all the freaks and shenans we encountered. 

Our question now is, what city will meet our acquaintance next?  My only stipulation is that this time, I do not have to be rolled home in a wheelchair.  K?

Hi, I'm Lindsey and I'm a TV addict

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Paging Dr. Drew, I think I need to speak with you about my TV addiction.  If you follow me on Twitter, I'm sure you see me tweet about some of my favorite shows like Most Eligible Dallas (love me some Courtney Kerr one liners), Teen Mom (Don't get me started on Caitlin's Mom's Fantastic Sam's hair situation last night), Real Housewives (Teresa Guidice & her little side kick "Juicy Joe" need to go bye bye), etc.  However, you probably have no idea just how extensive my TV addiction is.

I definitely should not be admitting this, but admitting you have a problem is the first step, right? I wish I was exaggerating or kidding, but here is a list of the shows I watch in no particular order:

Dance Moms

Most Eligible Dallas

Real Housewives (every city)

Watch What Happens Live w/ Andy Cohen

The Voice

Real World
RR/RW Challenges

Dr. Phil

Russian Dolls

Intervention

Rachel Zoe Project

Glee

Parenthood

Sister Wives

19 Kids and Counting
Toddlers & Tiaras

I Used to be Fat

Kendra

KUWTK and all spin offs

The Bachelor/ette

Jersey Shore

Bad Girls Club

Teen Mom
16 and Pregnant

Million Dollar Listing

Millionaire Matchmaker

Big Brother

Shark Tank

Desperate Housewives

American Idol and DWTS (kind-of)

Modern Family

So You Think You Can Dance

Deadliest Catch

Law and Order SVU

20/20

Dateline

Flipping Out

Bethenny Ever After

Celebrity Rehab and Sober House

Guiliana and Bill

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
Antiques Roadshow

And this is why I have 2 DVRs just for myself.  Um, can we say get a life?  In my circle of IRL friends, I get made fun of for my TV viewing habits all the time.  I realize this is not normal, I really do.  But truthfully, I just don't care.  Watching these shows (most of which are admittedly mindless) is entertaining for me and how I relax and unwind.

You may wonder how I find the time.  The answer is I don't and it's stressful.  (see esomeecard above)

And now I'm even more stressed out because the new fall shows just started airing.  Woe is me. There are so many new shows,  I don't know what to watch and I really can't afford to add to my line-up.  Of course I decided to give "The Playboy Club" a shot and then I hear on the radio this morning that it's already canceled.  Damn't Eddie Cibrian, I should have known better than to trust you.  

So here is where you come in.  Not that I have the room, but are there any new shows out that are to-die and I need to add to my line-up? Do you judge me or are there other TV freaks out there just as addicted as me?  Please tell me I'm not the only one.

p.s. I know I've totally been slacking on my usual Bargain Blonde posts. I promise once things slow down from moving and traveling, I will get back on track.  Here are some posts I have coming up, so don't click "unfollow" just yet:

• Cone curling iron review
• Eye make-up tutorial - day and night looks
• Save on sunnies
• Hair how-to: Beach waves minus the beach
• Hidden nail salon dangers
• Shoedazzle review
• Mystic tan how-to
• Hair in the car how-to
• Fall bargain decor
• Updates on the town home

Please, please forgive me!  Life is currently hectic like woah.  Also, if there are any topics or blog posts you would love for me to do, I'm all ears. Just leave me a comment!  Thanks for sticking with me bargainistas! XOXO