Happy Thanksgiving

 

I'm wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Six Things

I saw this over on Jessica's blog and I thought it was a cute idea. It's a little more insight into who I am and things in my life... Jessica called it the Cliff Notes and I agree.

Six things I'm passionate about:
1. Christmas
2. Recycling
3. Family
4. Traveling
5. Blogging
6. Movies

Six things I want to do before I die:
1. See the pyramids.
2. Hold a koala.
3. Finish my 30 before 30 list.
4. Find someone I want to spend forever with.
5. Rent a cabin for Christmas.
6. Retire at a reasonable age.

Six of my favorite reads: 
1. Choke by Stuart Woods
2. The Hunger Games Triology
3. Stori Telling by Tori Spelling.. I was going through a crazy time and this book was there!
4. Divergent by Veronica Roth
5. The Hardy Boys. All of them are cute reads.
6. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

 Six of my favorite TV shows:
1. Scandal
2. Revolution
3. The Real Housewives
4. Matlock
5. The West Wing
6. Seinfeld

Six things you'll learn from my blog:
1. How to be obsessed with Christmas.
2. How to take a major leap of faith.
3. How to be obsessed with movies and watching a good one each week.
4. What Not to Say or Do on a Date.
5. That Elvis is still the King of Rock n' Roll.
6. That Vintage is awesome.

So let's hear it... what's six things about you?

Weekend Review

This is a short work week and that makes me very excited folks!

On Thursday night, I was among the millions of people who went and saw the premiere showing of Catching Fire. I love, love, loved the books and the first movie.

This movie did not disappoint! The two and a half hours flew by and the stopping point of the story was great. I can't wait till the final movie comes out but I keep hearing that it's going to broken into two movies. Can't wait!!!!

 

I learned this weekend that besides having a slight addiction to In-N-Out, I'm also addicted to Chinese take out. Specifically Crab Rangoon. I swear, the girl at the local Chinese place close to my house knows me by name now.

Seriously. I could eat these things all day. They are so good. Addiction. Speaking about addiction... I also added this little guy to my beach theme tree...

Cause every beach theme tree should have a whale. I also did some major online Christmas shopping so now I'm not feeling too far behind.

 

Now let's talk about how Thanksgiving is literally three days away. Crazy! This year has definitely been flying by. The New Year will be here soon!

Five on Friday

1. Tuesday I went to the Sacramento Kings vs. Phoenix Sun Basketball game.

My friend is a season ticket holder and has really good seats. He's been really nice to let me have tickets to two of the games. This time the Kings pulled out a win! It went down to the wire and was a really good game.

2. I've never been this far behind in Christmas shopping before.... I'm feeling a little panic...

I need to get started. Pronto. I feel like I might have to go Black Friday shopping this year.

3. Speaking of Christmas shopping, why is it you always see great things you want for yourself but never see them during the rest of the year? I seriously want this... The Chloe Foyer Table from Cost World Market. How fabulous!?!

 

4. A few weeks ago Britney (Brit Brit as I like to call her) did an interview with AC Slater (Mario Lopez). I'm still obsessed with this photo. I even have that doll somewhere. I know I do! I love that she geeked out.

5. This has never rang more true for me right now.

Theater Thursday

It's Thursday and that can only mean one thing around here... it's Theater Thursday! This week's featured movie is, This is the End.

This is the End stars James Frano, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson all as themselves. These stars find themselves trapped inside James Franco's mansion after catastrophic events have devastated Los Angeles. They find themselves scared, hungry, thirsty and their egos are in full play. Jay doesn't want to stay there and wishes he would have gone before the events occurred but now him and the rest of the group will have to learn to get along if they hope to survive.

I can honestly say that I had planned to never see this movie. I don't think I've made it a secret but I just can't stand James Franco. I don't know why, it's just something about him. I usually never watch anything with him in it. However, this movie was at entertaining. I don't think I'd watch it over and over again but once was fine. It had it's funny moments but definitely don't expect to think this movie is even remotely possible. It's that far fetched.

So... if you're looking for laughs and you enjoy these actors (I personally love Craig Robinson) then you should be able to enjoy this movie for at least one good watch! It's currently available in most Red Boxes for a dollar. Can't beat that!

Prep Time

I ordered custom made Christmas cards for this year and they came in the mail. I'm pretty excited about that! I can't wait to get them all addressed and ready. Hey... there's nothing better than being prepared.

I can't let you see all of the card! That would take away the mystery to it. You'll just have to wait till one of these beauties comes in the mail. Plus it has a backside to it.

I've got my candy tree up...

and the beach theme tree up...

I've also got a red movie theme tree up as well but it's still in the progress of getting done. Clearly I'm ahead of the game. Does anyone else have their trees up yet? I feel I've got my prep work done.

Weekend Review

I spent my entire weekend in Sacramento hanging out and learning more about my city. I went to the Sacramento Zoo and then strolled the wooden streets of Old Sacramento. It was such a nice day out. The sky was blue and the sun was bright. Since the nights have been getting cold, I was glad to see the sun out and appreciate the warm day.

I got a fortune the other day and it said, "Develop an appreciation for the present moment."

I'm trying kids. I'm trying.

Five on Friday

1.Remember how I've said I really want a Pomeranian? Well I've branched out... besides just a pom, I think French bulldogs are the cutest! Look at this guy...

I mean really... look how adorable they are! I want one! I need one! I found one in my area but they wanted $2,000.00 for him. I mean I get that he was a pure breed and a puppy but come on! That's like my mortgage payment plus some! Someone buy this dog!

2. I'm branching out on my cooking. I can make some awesome desserts and some killer breakfast foods but it's the lunch/dinner foods that I'm not so great at making. I can grill out but I'm pretty for sure no one can really mess grilling up. So I've decided to start working on making some new things for dinner. Wish me good luck!

3. I got my November Glam bag and it rocked. I seriously loved every single thing in it. Plus this months bag makes a super cute clutch for the holiday season!

I love the fact that it's only 10.00 and includes the shipping. I got three full size products this month! One of those products alone was worth the ten dollars. I have yet to be disappointed in the bag and this is my 4th month of getting the bags.

4. I got an awesome and unexpected surprise for the upcoming holidays! It totally made my day/week when I found out! I may have even done the happy cry!

5. I made these for the first time and Red Lobster should watch their backs...

Theater Thursday

It's Thursday and that can only mean one thing... it's Theater Thursday! This week's featured movie is, Dutch.

Dutch stars Ed O'Neill as Dutch Dooley, a man who's on a mission to travel from Chicago, Illinois to the heart of Georgia to pick up a kid. He's not picking up any kid either, he's there to pick up his girlfriend Natalie's (Jo Beth Williams) son who's at prep school. Since Thanksgiving is coming she would like her son Doyle (Ethan Embry) to be with her over the holiday and to meet her new man Dutch.

 

What Dutch doesn't know is that he's getting himself a handful. Dutch and Doyle will have to make the drive back from Georgia just in time for the holiday. They'll also have to do it without killing each other. Clearly one of them doesn't want to be there and he's making no secret about it.... Doyle.

 

This is one of my favorite Thanksgiving theme movies. It revolves around the holiday and is hilarious. If you're a big fan of other John Hughes films then you'll probably love this one as well. Check it out!

Getting My Tan On

On Wednesday night I was offered a Groupon for a custom airbrush spray tan. I thought why not! I've never been spray tanned and since my high school/college days of tanning beds I don't go to those salons. I was pretty nervous because I've seen and heard a lot of horror stories about spray tans. I knew this was going to be a little different because instead of going into a booth and being sprayed by a machine, this was going to be an actual person free hand, airbrushing me. I didn't want to look like this...

I took to the internet to get as many tips as possible. I called the salon and asked them tons of questions because I wasn't screwing this up! I even sent tons of texts to friends to ask them all kinds of questions. So the night before I got ready by exfoliating my skin. I wasn't too nervous but the next day when I got to the salon I started to freak out. Friday, I was sitting there waiting for her to finish the person before me and that's when the panic began. I realized in that moment that some girl I had never met in my life was going to see me naked and hose me down! I texted my friends and it was basically this:

Me: The spray tan girl is super pretty and she's going to see me naked!
Friend: She sees people naked all day long. She isn't going to care.
Me: I think I know how dudes now feel when they know a super pretty girl is going to see them naked. AWKWARD and NERVOUS.
Friend: You are crazy.

I get spray tanned and the girl was very friendly. I had told her this was the first time I had been spray tanned so I think she tried to help me not feel nervous. I didn't think that it looked too dark but then after a few hours it was like I got crazy dark. The spray tan girl warned me though that it was the bronzer and that it would wash off in the first shower I took. So needless to say I think I got darker....

Right?! Yeah crazy dark. BUT it doesn't look orange or too dark. It worked out really well with my skin tone and for that I'm grateful. The smell was another one of my concerns but it actually didn't smell too bad and the smell before I could shower wasn't strong. Right now I don't know how long it's really going to last or how it's going to fade off over time but we shall see. So far I'm really liking it but it's only day one so ask me in  a few days what I really think. I know they offered me a second tan so we shall see.

Until then I'm thinking my first spray tan was a success!

Five on Friday

1. I got my hair done yesterday. I went for lots of layers.

Before/After

I get my hair done at the Amithyst Boutique Salon by Amithyst and she's been nothing but amazing. I seriously can't thank Jenn enough for telling me about her!

 



2. I put up my annual Candy theme Christmas tree! I'll post more about it next week.

Still getting the ornaments all on it

 



3. I'm over people who pretend to be one thing but really turn out to be another...

 

4. I have a to-do list about a mile long. Yet... I sit here. Hmm... I can't decide if it's a lack of motivation, the cold weather depression or a mixture of both. Thoughts?

5. I plan on seeing Last Vegas this weekend. I'm also getting my very first spray tan. It's a custom tan so a person will literally hose me down. Awkward.......

Everyone Loves a Good Theme

I love Christmas.
I love Christmas trees.
I love Christmas decorations.

Christmas gets closer each day.
I have a candy theme Christmas tree.
I have a movie theme Christmas tree.

Now I have a beach theme Christmas tree.

I got this tree from Treetopia. When I knew I wanted to start a beach theme Christmas tree, I started looking for the perfect blue tree. Since I was familiar with them, I went to their website and scoured it looking for the perfect shade. When I was scrolling through their site I saw this one. I knew instantly it would look perfect! It's called the Smurftastic blue tree. I got the slim five foot. It came pre-lit with white lights. I of course added the sea shell, flamingo and hula girl lights. I also used white, glitter netting that looks like it's fish netting. I finished it off with a burlap tree skirt.

Then came the hardest part. Finding all of the ornaments. When I first moved here, my mom discovered a Christmas store over in Folsom for me. I've been there numerous times now and they had a great selection of beach/sea ornaments. Plus there's the ever great Hobby Lobby. I also used my favorite Christmas store in Tennessee via the website... A Christmas Place. Now I have a good bit of ornaments on it but of course I feel I could add more. There is always room for more...

So there you have it! My new theme tree is up! It's here to stay!



Halloween 2013

Before this place becomes all Christmas all the time. Let's talk about Halloween!

 Note that vintage coat....
 

I ended up hanging out with a group of friends. We all gathered to watch some Halloween movies and pass out candy to trick or treaters. Once that was done for the evening we ended up going downtown to a place that's fun and I had never been to called Faces.

Faces has multiple rooms that all play different times of music. They have a hip hop room, salsa room etc. They also have a downstairs and an upstairs. They also had a costume contest taking place for Halloween. Someone in our group entered and ended up placing 4th as Wonder Woman.

 

Clearly I rocked some vintage 1970s clothing... It was a good time but it reminded me that sometimes I'd rather just lay in bed and watch television. I did see some great costumes though! Hope everyone else had a Happy Halloween!

Weekend Review

This weekend was packed out! This year since Halloween was on a Thursday the weekend started early. For Halloween I went head to toe in vintage 1970s clothing. It was pretty awesome and I even rocked a fur coat. I also rocked the Peace sign all night long.

 

I also saw Enders Game in IMAX.

I know that it was based on a book but I didn't read it before going to the movie. I thought the movie was pretty good but I don't think I'll ever read the book. I don't think that's my kind of reading.

I also treated myself to something new this week...

I mean really. How awesome is this dress? And it was from Forever 21 so it was cheap! I'm thinking it would be a great dress for New Years Eve but that would also mean I have to find a date to be hanging out with. Hmm....

I also went to a Sacramento Kings game! It was the first time I'd been to an NBA game. I think? I know I've been to football and baseball. So this was new and fun! They were passing out glow sticks for people to wave around. Clearly I was having too much fun....

You can see my happy glee in this too! Ha!

Happy Monday!

Rent Back

Options!

When I was in college, I can remember always budgeting out how my student loans/grants were going to get me through the semester. It would have been great to have some extra money to play around with. That's why I want to let all of today's college goers know that they've got options! I sure wish I would have had these kind of options when I was in college....

 

CampusBookRentals is bringing students books that are 40-90% off of bookstore prices. There is no pesky shipping fees both ways and you can even highlight in the textbooks. They even have flexible renting periods. So if you've got to keep that book a little longer than you thought... it's flexible! You can find out all of their perks at their website! One thing I want to mention is their new program, RentBack!

RentBack is a new initiative that allows students to rent the textbooks they own to other students. That means that students can make 2-4 times more money compared to what they'd make through other buyback options! I can remember taking my books back to the bookstore at the end of each semester and being so disappointed in what they'd buy them back for. Now you can get more! Isn't that awesome?! I think so!

I haven't mentioned the greatest part about all of this.....Campus Book Rentals donates to Operation Smile with each textbook rented! So in turn, buy using them to rent your books, you're helping save lives!

 

So what are you waiting for? Go check them out and start saving yourself money and making money!

*Disclosure: I was compensated for this post.

Five on Friday

1. Department stores are all about customer service. Want to give me some good customer service while I'm shopping in your store? Have some decent toilet paper that's not single ply. I mean no one really wants to go in a public restroom but sometimes you just have to go.

2. Allegiant. Totally loving this book. Not as much as I loved the first two in the series. I haven't finished it yet.

3. The mornings are getting really cold here. That makes it so hard to get up out of my warm bed and get dressed for work. I pretty much feel like this 4 days of the week.

4.  I'm so excited it's November! The holidays are coming! Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are the best!

5.

amen