Link-up: Friday Favorites!

So we meet again! What a week it has been. Work has been busy for me and as I type that I am reminded of a link-up idea I have been tossing around in my head so I think now is as good of time as any to bounce my idea off of y'all.

While bloggers typically blog about anything and everything under the sun, we rarely talk about what we do to to fund our lavish lifestyles.  In my case, I'm clearly joking about the "lavish" part.

What do we think about a "How I make my money honey" linkup? And I'm not talking about disclosing company names or addresses. I'm certainly not trying to get fired or worse, assaulted in my work parking lot by a wanna be Ted Bundy. But we could totally talk about our line of work without revealing any incriminating or potentially dangerous information.

Let me know if the comments if this is something that would interest you and I'll host a link-up.  I for one would LOVE to know what everyone does for their "real job" because I can probably count on one hand the number of bloggers I actually know what they do for a living.  Plus, I'm nosy.

Without further adieu, here are my Friday Faves for the week!

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I mentioned this Garnier Nutritioniste Ultra Lift Anti-Wrinkle Eye Roller when I blogged about the 3 hair products I can't believe I ever lived without.  I said I'd tell you about at a later date and today is that day.  I have been using this at night under my eyes before putting a serum all-over my face and it's phenom.  My favorite thing about it is the cooling sensation you get from the metal roller ball, which is super relaxing for the end of your day. 
I'm deathly afraid of wrinkles on my face especially around the eye area so I love that this protects the most sensitive part of your face with pro-retinol.  I bought mine at Target and it was around $11. 

Champneys is a U.K. spa that launched their luxury spa line in March 2012 at Target stores in the U.S.  I had never heard of Champneys so I checked their line out while at Target recently.  I smelled this bubble bath and I had to have it.



This "Exotic Retreat Bubble Heaven" is just that — heavenly. Not only does it smell delicious, but is so thick and moisturizing.  All of the Champneys products range from $7.99 to $12.99 and you can find them at Target.  They have several products, but what I want to try next is their Shimmering Body Oil, which is a dry body oil that claims to condition your skin and leave you with a subtle gold shimmer. Yes, please.  Hopefully it will bring all the boys to the yard.  

Some of you know this about me and some of you don't, but Big Brother is my favorite TV show in the history of ever.  I anxiously countdown until it's return every Summer and yesterday all of the new houseguests' pics and interviews were released.  Next Thursday, season 14 premieres and I could pee my pants with excitement already.  I've already bought my live feeds, so it's go time people. 



If you are a BB fanatic like me, then check out all the new houseguest info here on BBDish! (my favorite and the ONLY Big Brother blog I'll read).  Also, if you want the live feeds, buy them through the link at the top of her blog! 

Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte, where have you been all my life?  Cinnamon, butter and brown sugar flavors. Need I say more?  I've always stuck to my usual vanilla latte at Starbucks but I've seriously been missing out.  I just tried the Cinnamon Dolce Latte for the first time yesterday and it's love at first sip.  Just order it non fat and skip out on the whip cream/sugar topping to save cals. 

This week on The Bachelorette we saw Emily visit her boys in their hometowns.  While in Dallas (holl-er!) at Sean's parents, Emily was wearing the Rebel Pendent Necklace by Stella & Dot.  



Click HERE to purchase your own celebrity coveted Stella and Dot style from your personal stylist a.k.a. me. The rebel pendent has also been spotted on Tiffani Theissan, Kelly Clarkson and Selena Gomez. I lurve it. 
P.S. The Fall Stella and Dot line DEBUTS TODAY!!! So excited!!! Get a sneak peek here! 
P.P.S. I'll be posting pics of the new line as they become available on my Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  Make sure you follow me!


Grab my button at the top of this post and link-up to share your favorites from the week!  And if you're interested in the link-up I mentioned at the beginning of this post, let me know in the comments.  TGIF. 

My 4th of July via what else? Instagram.

I'm going to make this post quick, but I wanted to share some pictures from my 4th of July for those of you that don't have Instagram.

Tomorrow I will be hosting my Friday Favorites link-up, so be sure to link up!  I'm setting it to post at 7 a.m. EST ... I better see all your pretty faces linked-up. Mmmmkay?

The flag flying in my yard!

Melt my heart.

I honestly did nothing for the first half of my day but watch TV, do laundry and paint my nails.  That gold is "Golden Ticket" from the Sonia Kashuk summer line at Target (I blogged about her lipstick here) and I'm pretty obsessed with it.  The other color that looks red is actually a pink and it's an Ulta color I've had forever called "Shocking". 

I tried out this bloody mary mix I hauled back from Charleston and it was legit, Reese had the cutest 4th of July outfit on and we brought BBQ home from Rudy's BBQ for dinner.  

Reese and Bear taking a dip at the pool.

We could see our city firework display from our house, so we brought chairs and an ottoman out to sit and wait for the show to start.

Bear was excited for his first 4th of July ever!  Ruff.

Father and son. Hash tag presh.

I hope you all enjoyed your time off! I totally thought it was Saturday all day yesterday.  The 4th falling in the middle of the week is unconstitutional if you ask me. 

God Bless the US! 

Happy Independence Day!

I hope every one is enjoying their holiday!

Just a quick reminder to let you know that today is the last day to shop our extra 20 percent off 4th of July Summer Sale!!

Shop Stella and Dot!!

P.S. Friday our Fall line debuts! I cannot wait!!!

4th of July insipired nails using at home gel system

I love all the patriotic painted nails popping up all over Pinterst and Instagram, but the picture above is by far my favorite take on 4th of July inspired nails.  


It's been a while, but I blogged about my love for gel manicures a long time ago.  The only problem is that sometimes I can't make it into a salon and gel manis can be pricey.  Well, my loves, did you know you can give yourself at-home gel manicures??  You can!  Ulta carries a brand called Red Carpet Manicure, which is an at home LED gel system.  


I'm certainly not a gel nail or nail art expert, so Red Carpet Manicure nail technician Danielle Candido is giving you bargainistas a step-by-step guide to achieve patriotic gel nails at home.

1. Paint the whole nail with Red Carpet Reddy

2. Before curing the second coat of color, take a striping brush and lay down a stripe of Drop Dead Gorgeous. Do not cure this layer.  

3.Clean the brush and  lay down a stripe of White Hot either right next to the first stripe or even down the center of the first stripe. Do not cure this layer.

4. Clean the brush.

5. Next, with the thin edge of the flattened striping brush, pull the tip of the brush through all the lines in a pre-determined pattern and cure.

6. Apply a thin coat of Brilliance Top Coat. Cure and wipe with Purify 

I have wanted to jump on the at home gel nail train for a while, but didn't really know which products to use. I discovered that Red Carpet Manicure has a starter kit with a portable light for $59.99, which I think is a good price if you think how much money you'll be saving in the long run.  I might have to take one of my 20% off Ulta coupons and scoop this bad boy up.

Has anyone bought an at-home gel manicure kit?  What brand did you buy and did you like it?

What do you think about patriotic nails?  Will you be jumping on that trend this 4th of July?

My Weekend via Instagram (Baked Veggie Egg White Recipe included)

I honestly don't ever use my real camera anymore. The only photos I take are on my iPhone and then 99% of the time, they get Instagramed. BTW - I have over 1,000 Instagram followers. How did this happen?  I have no Earthly idea, but it excites me.

Friday night I saw the magical Magic Mike movie.  It was everything I dreamed about and more.  Our theater was so crazy. We were slow clapping, cheering and screaming. I loved it and felt like I was back at Thunder From Down Under.  If you haven't seen it yet, grab your besties and go immed.

The theater now sells booze and I'm not complaining. 

My BFF Liz and my gubby came with!  And my bros gf but she missed the photo sesh before the movie started.

Saturday morning my college gf Amber hosted a Stella and Dot party for me.  She has the cutest studio apartment I've ever seen. I wish I could take y'all for a tour.

Saturday evening I went to HomeGoods (exciting life) and got a new centerpiece for my dining room table. It was a Cynthia Rowley vase I found on clearance for only $10. The arrangement I put in it was also on clearance for only $10.  All in all, I thought my $20 centerpiece looked pretty good.

Then Sunday morning, Bear did this:

Y'all. I was so mad I could have killed him. I took him by the collar and put him outside for punishment.  He knew he was in trouble!  I swear I am living the real life Marley and Me with this dog.  He is so wild.

After my anger subsided, I took him to the pool with me and let him swim while I drank my coffee and caught up on my mags.

Saturday before I went shopping, I stopped at Which Wich for dinner.  To my surprise, they now have bowls aka salads and I got the Mediterranean Turkey Bowl.  It was so good. Yes, the lady went overkill on my pepper.  I love pepper though so I didn't mind.  And can we talk about banana peppers?  They may be my new favorite thing.

I loved it so much, I made my own version of a Greek salad for lunch Sunday. Spring lettuce, cucumbers (how cute are my flower cucumbers?), grape tomatoes, turkey, Kalamata olives (I die), a little bit of crumbled Feta and Parmesan garlic dressing.

I also made this deelish egg white bake on Sunday for breakfast.  I loved it so much that I'm sharing the recipe. I paired it with a toasted piece of 45 cal Sara Lee 100% whole wheat bread and 1/2 C of watermelon. Now that's what I call brunch.

I adapted a recipe I found on SkinnyTaste and here is how I made it.  It's super easy.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Chop about 1/8 C of green and white onion. Spray a small skillet with non-fat cooking spray and heat the onions over med-low heat for a few minutes.

3. Add 1/2 C of baby spinach (large stems removed) to skillet and cook until the spinach wilts. 

4. Spray a small glass baking dish or a skillet with non-fat cooking spray (my preference is the olive oil version) and put the spinach/onion mixture on the bottom.  Next crack 3 eggs whites on top of the spinach and onion.  Add a few tomatoes to the top and salt and pepper.  


5. Bake for 17 minutes and you are done!  A  clean, all-natural and delicious breakfast. Vegetarian friendly, too!

P.S. I'm linking up with S, D and L!