a deal on date {or any} night

Have I ever mentioned that I'm obsessed with getting a great deal? If I haven't disclosed this bit of information outright, I'll say it now. I love finding something I want/need/never knew I needed until this very moment for a steal.

Suffice it to say, I'm also obsessed with websites like Groupon, Haute Look and Gilt Groupe. You can buy great stuff, experiences, getaways {I recently picked up rooms at a boutique hotel for a song} at insansely discounted prices.

Today, another website that is growing in popularity - Living Social - is offering a $10 worth of food and beverages at one of Mark's and my favorites : Fuego Taco {remember our recent date night?}.

a little something extra : both Groupon and Living Social have apps for your smart phone. They make it dangerously easy to purchase mindlessly. Just a little word of caution.

a "b" or a "d"

I have very few gold accessories, but lately I've found myself being drawn to gold pieces. An armful of gold bangles, simple gold hoops and this letterpress necklace have recently joined my collection.

I love initial necklaces, too {remember this one?}. I think it has something to do with the fact that I love words and letters in general. So it's perfect - delicate and simple. I've been wearing it non-stop for the past few days. I have a tendancy to play with my jewelry, and when I press the charm into my finger, it makes an impression of the letter "d." {It didn't photograph too well.}

Is it a "b" or a "d"? Properly, the letterpress letter is a "d," but on my neck it looks like a "b." Then I realized it won't matter soon, because in a few short weeks, both will be my initials.

weekend plans

I cannot wait for this weekend.

It's been a loooooooooong week filled with projects for work, less sleep than usual and absolutely no time for new fitness obsession - CrossFit {remember when I mentioned my rowing teammates and I visited a CrossFit gym in Tucson? I thought it looked scary, and the workouts are, but isn't the point of life to do something that scares you so you can grow?}.

So in honor of finishing up the week in one piece, I'm celebrating by doing {almost} nothing. Tonight I get to hang out with this cutie-pie - and her mom, of course - for a low-key, at-home dinner and a movie.

 

Tomorrow, I get to visit with one of my favorite people and celebrate the fact she just learned she's having a little girl of her own. We'll be heading to Caffe Boa for a yummy brunch. Then in the afternoon, I'll be making my way to the spa for a relaxing 90-minute massage.

Sunday, I have absolutely. no. plans. Hooray! Can you feel my excitement?

What are you doing this weekend?

le shower

Saturday, my bridesmaids threw me the most amazing shower. It took exactly three minutes before I was overwhelmed with emotion and got a little misty. Thankfully, I quickly recovered and had an amazing time.

  my very own parisian cafe, complete with french tunes 



each table had an eiffle tower candle and a french phrase related to love and marriage

some of my favorite photos on display

no shower would be complete without bonbons {there was even an amazing selection of macarons!}

pink lemonade, champagne and mimosas

three generations

a big, beautiful bouquet with love notes from my fiance

"french kiss" favors {sorry, no puppies in pink berets}

Thank you to all my wonderful friends and family for making my shower so amazingly special! And a special thanks to the Mills' {especially Chris} for letting a bunch of women take over the house. And to the photographer for the day - Mrs. Stephanie Gillingham - thank you for capturing the moments I'll treasure forever.

Love you all!

breakfast surprise

Mark loves to sleep in on weekends, so imagine my surprise to find him bright-eyed and bush-tailed at 6:45, asking me to join him for breakfast.

before and after | bathroom drawer

I don't know about you, but there is a drawer in my bathroom that is a catch-all. Bobby pins, hair ties, brushes, lipgloss, mini lotions, bandaids - they're all tossed in the drawer haphazardly.

A couple of days ago, I was searching for a lipgloss and was so frustrated when I couldn't find the color I wanted {turns out, it wasn't even in the drawer - woops}. So on a recent trip to Target, I picked up a flatware organizer and decided it would be the perfect way to organize my messy drawer {and, of course, by organizing, help me purge unecessary items}.


What do you think?

before



after

eight glasses a day

Making sure you get eight glasses {that's eight 8-ounce glasses, please} is important. Water is necessary for your organs and makes your skin lovely. It's important to be nice and hydrated for workouts. And it's especially important if you live in the desert in the summer.

They say it's a dry heat, and that's so true - it's like an oven here. But that dry heat sucks all the moisture from the air, and your skin. Not to mention, your body is trying to cool itself down by utilizing its natural air conditioning, aka sweating. Which means more water that is lost and needs to be replaced.

When I was little, I didn't like the taste - or lack thereof - of water. As an adult, I know how imperative it is to be properly hydrated and have learned to love the taste of water; but sometimes it's boring. Sure, you could add lemon or cucumber, but there are times you want a burst of flavor.

That's where MiO comes in. It's a new water enhancer from Kraft. Think Crystal Light meets liquid. You take your bottle of plain water, flip the top of your MiO flavor, squeeze a bit in and enjoy!

~via~

I'm addicted.

sugar fix | cake pops!

Currently dreaming of red velvet cake pops from Amy's bridal shower

designer decor{ating}

I love Groupon. In fact, I'm addicted. I've had the chance to do some really fun activities, like learning to fly on the trapeze.

On Saturday morning I had another chance to indulge my Groupon obsession. Jenny and I headed to a bakery in Glendale to learn how to decorate cookies and cupcakes from professional bakers. After an hour and a half, we had learned some tricks and picked up some tips for prettifying delicious baked goods. {Some turned out better than others; my personal favorite was the Thanksgiving turkey, who was rocking a do-wop curl that doesn't really show up too well in the photo}.

pretty peonies

I love picking up flowers during my weekly trip to Trader Joe's. It's a little indulgence that makes me so happy; they have a great selection at reasonable prices.

My favorite flowers by far are peonies. They are big, beautiful and smell so sweet. They're only available for a short time and I was so excited when I grabbed a five-stem pack of bright pink peonies for only $7.

breakfast of champions

Last week, Mark got up with me and made me a protein smoothie for breakfast. So sweet {both him and the drink}.

date night

One of the things I miss most when Mark is away is date night. Each week, we alternate who plans date night, and this past weekend was my turn to plan. I wanted to go to Fuego Bistro, so we hopped in the car and headed up to the restaurant. We got there right as the restaurant opened, and to our dismay, we weren't able to get in. However, the owner was so pleasant and gave us a VIP card to check out his new restaurant, Fuego Taco.

Since it was just a couple of miles away, we decided to go for it. And I'm so glad we did. It was ah-mazing. The restaurant has only been open for about four months, so it's still under the radar, but believe me, it was so tasty, it won't stay a secret for long.

We shared chips and salsa, the most amazing creamed corn dish ever {it was made with chipotle!}, and a delicious sangria {me} and fruity rum drink {Mark}.

We also shared Cuban sliders

and barbacoa tacos marinated in soy, pineapple and dr. pepper

While Fuego Bistro is still on our list, we really enjoyed our meal at Fuego Taco. And thanks to the attentive owner, we're sure to be regulars.

After dinner, we had planned to catch the new X-Men movie, but neither one of us were up for waiting in line to see the flick, so we ended up stopping by Sam's Club.

we in dc

You can't get much more patriotic than celebrating Memorial Day weekend in D.C. Although it was hot and humid {but absolutely gorgeous in Phoenix - I don't want to talk about it}, we had an amazing time exploring the city and checking out the sites.

union station

prepping for the capital concert

old p.o. boxes

all about the homeland

the first amendment bold and beautiful on the newseum

at the butterfly exhibit

at the american history museum

pizza paradiso in georgetown

super tourists : washington memorial from dc duck tour on the potomac river