I Cheated!

Right after Christmas I put myself on a spending diet. I decided that I was not going to spend any money on clothing, shoes, or accessories until after the end of March (then I could begin picking up a few pieces for my Spring wardrobe). I have been doing great on my spending diet-that is until today. Today I cheated on my diet, and I have to admit it was so worth it!

Today, I picked up this little beauty!!! A yellow, ruffled wristlet!! Isn't it adorable!!


I seriously tried to talk myself out of buying it, but it just didn't work. How bad did I cheat? Well, it wasn't too bad. I spent just under $20 for this little ray of sunshine in purse form. I got it at the cutest store (with super reasonable prices) named Charming Charlie. This was my first visit to Charming Charlie, but I will certainly go back the next time I am looking for fun accessories or a cute gift for a friend!

My Sweet Valentine

My husband, Michael, really out did himself this Valentine's Day! Friday after work I came home to a beautiful arrangement of lilies and a nice bottle of red wine. He explained that he got me lilies instead of roses because everyone gets roses, but I was special to him so he wanted to get me a special flower. Plus, I really love lilies! They are beautiful and smell so wonderful!

On Sunday, we went to lunch at a new restaurant in Athens called Red's. It was absolutely delicious. We even had some lunch time entertainment. The couple seated at the next table appeared to be on their first date. The guy was so pompous, and he talked (loudly) the entire time. We felt so sorry for his date, but we couldn't help but make fun of him after they left.

After brunch, Michael surprised me with another present. He gave me a beautiful pearl and diamond ring. I told you my Valentine really went overboard this year!


My gift to Michael couldn't touch the sweet gifts he gave me, but I did surprise him with reservations to Woodfire Grill. He has been wanting to eat there since we watched the chef and co-owner of the restaurant, Kevin Gillespie, compete on Top Chef! I couldn't get reservations for actual Valentine's Day, but we are headed to Atlanta in a few weekends for a fun day and a yummy dinner!

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Valentine's Day too! I can't wait to read all about it!!!

Crock Pot Vegetable Beef Soup

With all of this cold weather, I have been craving hearty, warm meals. I love eating soups, stews, and chili during the winter. I also love easy crock pot recipes!

I recently came across a great Vegetable Beef Soup recipe in my Fix-It and Forget-It Lightly (Healthy, Low-Fat Recipes for Your Slow Cooker) cookbook. It took a fair amount of prep time, but it was simple to make and very yummy! Like I always say, if I can make it-anybody can make it! Enjoy!

Vegetable Beef Soup
(for your slow cooker)

1 lb. boneless round steak (well-trimmed and cut into 1/2" cubes)
2 cans of diced or stewed tomatoes (undrained)
3 cups of water
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 medium-sized onions, diced (I used one sweet or vidalia onions)
3 ribs of celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
3 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1.5 cups of frozen mixed vegetables

1. Combine all ingredients, except mixed vegetables in slow cooker.
2. Cover. Cook on high 6 hours.
3. Add frozen vegetables. (I used a frozen vegetable medley, and I also
added frozen butter beans and frozen sliced okra).
4. Cover. Cook on high 2 hours.

*Makes 6-8 servings. 220 Calories per serving.

My Favorite Things

I love to rock a pair of heels, but my feet can’t always handle a full day of wearing heels. I have a pair of fold-up shoes that I adore. I toss them in my purse and when my feet start to ache I trade my heels for my fold-up flats. While I do still love my fold-up flats, I have found a similar product that I love even more.

Introducing Footzyrolls!

Footzyrolls are rollable, foldable shoes. They take up such a tiny space in your purse and are even small enough to fit in your favorite evening bag! Each pair of footzyrolls comes with a shoe bag for your heels and a small bag to use for your footzyrolls.

These wonderful shoes retail for around $25 with the limited edition styles retailing for $30. Do your feet a favor and check them out!

A Shoe Up-date

Hello to all my sweet blog friends! I wanted to write a quick post to let you know that I am still here. The internet has been down at my house, and work has been too busy to allow blogging. Hopefully I will be back full force next week! I can't wait to catch up with all of you!

In the mean time, I wanted to give you a quick up-date on my Reebok EasyTone Shoes. I still adore them! I try to wear them as much as possible when I am on my feet. I don't exercise in them as much as I wear them doing everyday activities.

It may be all in my mind, but I feel like they help me burn a few extra calories each day. I also feel like my legs and butt are getting a little more toned. I keep asking my husband if he thinks my butt feels firmer. He loves his job as the official butt firmness tester. However, I think I might need a new way to determine the firmness of my butt. He always gets this goofy, love struck grin on his face, gives my butt a nice love squeeze, and tells me it feels just perfect to him. He is such a good and sweet husband, but not so reliable when it comes to butt firmness! :)

Have a wonderful weekend!! Michael and I have a weekend full of activities, so hopefully I will have some fun pictures to share when I am back on Monday!

Mr. T Lives Here!

This weekend I realized that I totally forgot to tell you the story of why I have a cardboard cut-out of Mr. T. I would have shared this lovely story yesterday, but my internet was down. Boo internet! This story may not be as entertaining as it sounds, but it has some fun pictures to go along with it!

For my 29th birthday (which was a couple of years ago), I decided to throw myself an 80's themed birthday party! Of course, I went way overboard! I had a "Saved By The Bell" cake with my face photo-shopped into one of the cast photos. See-I'm right there between Slater and Zack!


I turned my basement into a 1980's dance floor and even had a photo area with props.


Of course, no party would be complete without an absurd cardboard cut out, so I purchased Mr. T. My husband kindly pointed that the cardboard cut out wasn't Mr. T, but it was the character that Mr. T played in the Rocky movies. Leave it to a man to point out the difference! :) Regardless, Mr. T was the hit of the party! Katie and Heather enjoyed a little flex time with Mr. T.


Mary Ann thought Mr. T looked a little thirsty, so she offered him a sip of her Carpi Sun. By the way, the Carpi Suns were injected with alcohol.


Eric and Mr. T became fast friends!


Where is Mr. T now? Well, he stayed up for several days after the party, but I finally had to take him down. I kept forgetting he was in the basement, and every time I went down there he would scare the holy goodness out of me. Mr. T is now safely folded up in the basement closet and ready for his next party!