sleeping beauties

A few weekends ago, I invited some of my fave girls over for an old-fashioned sleep-over, filled with lots of food, movies, popcorn and an adult twist {besides the wine and beer, of course} - spa treatments.

I discovered some great kitchen esthetician recipes for face masks and decided to make two, one for ladies with combo/oily skin, and one for those with dry skin {I bought raw honey, but the recipe actually called for organic honey - which, thankfully, I had in my pantry. Phew!}.

~i picked up this clay at a local farmers. mix with water et voila!

We whipped up the masks, slathered our faces {or hands, in some cases} with the treatments, painted our nails and enjoyed girls-only conversation and fashion and gossip magazines.

We then headed down to the theatre room for popcorn and movies.

The next morning, we enjoyed bagels, coffee and OJ.

As a party favor, each girl left with a homemade, all-natural lavendar vanilla sugar scrub.

a mini Oscars party

To celebrate the Oscars, I invited my mom and dear friend, Diana, over for a little impromptu party - complete with pizza, popcorn, ballots and bingo.

My mom took first place by correctly identifying the winners in 10 of the 24 categories. And she won bingo. I hope she buys a lottery ticket or two and keeps her winning streak alive.


I found the Oscars bingo and ballots via Pinterest at this website. Such a fun idea!

a diy project : anthro-style letters

Have you seen them at Anthropologie? Maybe on Pinterest or maybe in a friend's home. These zinc letters all the rage.

~via~

And I found a way to get a similar look for significantly less thanks to this DIY tutorial {isn't this blog just the cutest?}.

I picked up my papier-mache letters {$2.50 each} and spray paint at Hobby Lobby. They have a weekly coupon you can access from your smart phone and it's usually 40 percent off!

coffee and color-changing straws

Every morning, I make myself a to-go latte before I head off to work. I'm obsessed with these Nespresso machines and they make the most delicious espresso in a snap. 

I also recommend picking up the milk frother. It whips your milk into a frenzy and keeps it cold for iced beverages or makes it hot if you prefer a warm drink.

During a recent trip to Target to pick up a few more of my favorite coffee-to-work cups and mugs, I spotted these swirly color-changing straws. 

Although they're made for the Aladdin tumblers {there is a little nub around the bottom of the straw to keep it from falling out of the tumbler}, I've been using them in regular cups. They change color with cold beverages and totally make you feel like a kid again.

They're such a fun way to dress up your drink.

happy hearts day

Yesterday, my mailman (mailwoman? mailcarrier.) delivered a sweet little package.

And inside, was this sweet little treat from my sweet friend.

It made my heart smile.

I hope you have someone who makes your heart shine - a friend, a significant other, someone special, a child or even a pet.

Happy Valentine's Day

a sweet six months

Today marks six months of marriage for Mark and me. Hooray! To celebrate, I visited our wedding website and watched the save the date video Mark created. I love it and it always makes me smile.

Check it out here.

~photo from our amazing photographers~