Sunday Manicure (on Monday)

OPI Black Onyx
Essie Jamaica Me Crazy

Also, thanks to whoever got me my Rolling Stone subscription! Actually I think it probably came from the Free Magazine Leprechaun. Now that I have cable and subscribe to People, Rolling Stone, O Magazine (Katrina thinks this is hilarious. I don't know why.), Women's Health (why? I stopped getting Self because it made me feel guilty about not working out. Same with WH), and Glamour... my social life is going down the tubes. No wonder I haven't read an actual BOOK in months - magazines are taking over my life!

And for anyone who no longer lives in their home state - do you get super excited when you see a license plate from your home state (or region)? I don't know about you, but I can spot a Maine or Massachusetts plate from about 100 yards away. And I always honk like a maniac, like I MIGHT know them.

Hope your Monday was fab!

Playoffs?!

I have missed hockey. Oh, how I have missed hockey. Twenty to forty games a season since I was 12, and I've only been to ONE game this season? Unheard of. Luckily, it is playoffs right now so I'm watching at least 3 games a week!

My new friend Courtney (hay girl! She's a Steelers fan too!) and I headed out to a bar to watch the Penguins game on Friday night. First, we were the only girls in there remotely interested in hockey and we were rocking our Pittsburgh garb. Secondly, we were the only people in there remotely interested in hockey. It's so weird for me to be in an area where nobody cares about it.

We sat down next to his hot specimen of a man:

His outfit was complete with running shoes, gym shorts, tshirt, sweatband, and greasy/sweaty hair. I'm sorry sir, but did you JOG here?

And since I've moved to the NASCAR hub of the universe, I'm surprised it's taken me this long to say this, but:

I am no longer a race virgin.

Say what?! You read that right. I went to a race. A DIRT TRACK RACE. (Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like.) And - I HAD FUN! Alexis said to me before we went, "Wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty, and come with an open mind." So I really wasn't sure what to expect.

I didn't know that Mike's Lemonade comes in a can - please heed the warning if you buy these. After one I had to stop. And see that rockin' Shaggin' Wagon? That was our sweet, sweet ride for the night. It was hilarious and awesome at the same time. And? Race guys are hot. (Well. Some. I did not see any mullets or jorts, much to my disappointment, but I did see some awesome beards!)

Food related:

I am trying another iced coffee recipe (it's sitting right now) - will report back. No offense to my homegirl Pioneer Woman, but that recipe I tried before wasn't great. I also attempted to make coffee ice cubes - couldn't get them out of the tray! This one Katrina found on (where else?) Pinterest.

I am also obsessed with Brussels sprouts right now. I'd had them a few times at restaurants before - if you're ever in Springfield, MA you must go to Latitude; theirs are the best - but never made them at home or anything. Last week I decided to get some at the grocery store and see if I could make them even remotely good.

After one okay attempt and one really awful attempt, I made them again today. SUCCESS.

I just halve them, throw them in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and garlic salt, and then bake in the oven at 400* for 25 minutes. (No longer, no shorter. And flip them halfway through.) You can also add a little lemon juice when they're done if you want but be careful not to add too much - it will make them soggy. Be adventurous and try them!

Look at that smush-face. SO DAMN CUTE. Have a great Monday, kids!

Songs of the Week

Just a few jams I'm enjoying right now --

This video is kind of really weird but this song comes on the radio and I crank it up!

Love me some Flo Rida.

And Nicki Minaj, obviously.

Who's ready for the weekend?

Wedding.

A girl at work asked me if I knew anyone who could set up her reception and keep her bridesmaids in line on her wedding day - "I don't have time to put up with their bullshit." I said "duh, me!" This was her second wedding, so she was quite relaxed about the whole thing - she handed me a giant tub of decorative stuff, a box of favors, and said "Just make it look good." That I can do. I was making executive decisions all over the place. "Where do you think she wants the chairs for the ceremony?" "No idea. Put them here."

The venue was an old rock quarry in the town I work in, and it has been filled with water so it's a big pond/small lake. And it was stunning. The weather was perfect, but it did get freakin' freezing at night so I'm really glad she didn't need me to stay all night.

I even had a few people ask for my card - some guy runs a park in Charlotte and they have a lot of weddings there, and he said that people ask him all the time if he knows anyone who can do set up. I admitted that it's not something I normally do, but he was impressed with my skillzzzz, and so was the guy who owns the place where the wedding was. I wouldn't mind getting into wedding planning (or at least the decorating/set up part), maybe as a part-time weekend gig for some extra cash. I had a lot of fun, and luckily the bridesmaids did not need any wrangling.

Lots of pictures to follow - I did a Sunday Manicure post here. Enjoy!

Not a great picture but LOOK AT THAT CAKE.

Sunday Manicure

OPI Sea? I Told You! with

OPI Gone Gonzo on top

I absolutely love my iPhone, but the camera does not do any glitter justice. This manicure is way sparklier than it looks here.

Wednesday Manicure

Since I didn't do one Sunday, figured I'd share my mid-week manicure with you guys (yes, I end up doing my nails twice a week usually - my paper thin nails keep polish on them for a max of 3 days).

Thumb: Essie's Jamaica Me Crazy
Pointer/Middle: NYC no-name (#111A - creative, NYC. Creative.)
Ring/Pinky: Essie's My Place or Yours

I did the same thing on the other hand - made kind of a cool effect. I won't take full credit for it though, some chick on the Style Network was jib-jabbering on about this while I was making dinner so I decided to try it.

Also? Watched my first episode of SuperNanny today. Full on reinforcement of why I NEVER want to have children. Its the shrieking. I can't do shrieking. Can I just genetically enhance them to stay at a maximum volume of 3? Then I could maybe be convinced. Maybe.

Songs of the Week

I'm not going to do much of an actual post tonight but I wanted to share three songs that I'm loving. Warning: about to go all country on y'all!

Absolutely, absolutely in love with this song right now.

Gabby told me once that this song reminds her of me, so now every time I hear it I just blast it in the car.

Love, love, love.

So you guys remember when I told you about Kelle Hampton a few months ago? Well, she just came out with a book. Bloom. Go get it, and sob through the whole thing, and then pass it on to someone else. (I haven't actually read it yet, but everyone that posts about it is raving about the book.)

How happy are we that Monday is over?! Bailey's happy about it.

(lazy) Easter Sunday

Who's on Instagram? And anyone else playing Draw Something? My username on both is HelenTheFabulous - get followin' people! I'm doing April Photo a Day on Instagram - trying to get into the habit of snapping pictures. Because let's face it, normally I'd rather be the subject of the picture than the one taking it.

Friday night I went to dinner with the Steve's who I spent Thanksgiving with - we went to Zink in Southpark. If you are ever in the Charlotte area, you have to eat there. (Well, you also have to make sure you let me know you're in town, obviously.) It was delicious! 

After an exhausting workweek, this raspberry mojito hit the spot.

Maine Lobster Mac & Cheese. WHAT.

Saturday night Alexis and I went to see a country band with a couple girls I work with - there were no attractive single men there, so we blamed it on it being Easter weekend. You know you're in the South when even the Wendy's sign says "He is Risen." - I would expect it at Chik-Fil-A! 

FINALLY. A picture of the two of us - and we aren't in jumpsuits!

There was also these crazy 80 year old ladies at the bar and they were HILARIOUS. These women come out every weekend to shake their groove thangs, and shake it they do. Evidence:

I want to be like her when I grow up. We had a fun night out at the Mooresville Hootenanny! You know when you go out dancing with the girls and you know all the words to every song and just sing at the top of your lungs and get all sweaty because you're having such a great time? That was last night. (Or is that a White Girls At the Club thing? Whatever.) And we didn't even have to pull The Face. Success.

Today has literally been the laziest day I have had in the longest time. I woke up at 11am. ELEVEN. What? When was the last time you slept until 11am? And you weren't drunk the night before? I am going to give credit to my fantastic dark purple Ikea curtains because they keep my bedroom like a tomb in the morning. Okay they keep it like a tomb all day but morning is the most important.

There's a possibility of me having a date this week - will report back. The last guy I went on a date with is dunzo, canceled our last date and apparently just wants to be text buddies because he refuses to make new plans. Thanks pal, but I have plenty of text buds! 

Also, anyone have Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James I can borrow? I've heard rave reviews, and until Miss Ashley is done with her copy of Bloom by Kelle Hampton I need a book to get sucked into - all of the ones in my collection are seriously lacking any excitement.

I'll close out today with an updated countdown --

38 days until Mom & Heidi are here!

52 days until I'm back in Maine for Katie's wedding and an epic Old Port extravaganza!

109 days until I'm back in Maine for HERMIT ISLAND!

SO EXCITED.

Sunday Manicure

OPI Black Onyx with pink glitter

 Remember those light switch plates I made? Well I ended up having a ton of glitter leftover, and I wasn't really sure what to do with it. This morning Katrina was telling me how she was going to buy a Martha Stewart Glitter Set (Google it - you'll need one too), and I had a little brush that I got with one of my ELF eyeshadows so I decided to do a little French. I'm quite pleased with how it came out.

And some random thoughts of mine:

- Who thinks up the serving sizes of Kashi cereal? If they seriously think there's 8 servings in there, they need to come up with a bigger box. I might get four bowls out of one box. This is probably why I have to buy 3 boxes at at time. 

- TJX has some great ideas as a company - "Hey, we'll put this Marshall's here. And then SURPRISE! We'll connect a HomeGoods to it and see how much money these people will spend." Answer? A lot. I went in yesterday for two things and I left with twelve. 

- One of the things I got yesterday was a pair of exfoliating gloves. Holy eff, I had read about these somewhere else but I never knew how amazing they were. I will admit, it did hurt a little at first but my skin is absolutely glowing. Pain is beauty. I got mine for $3.99 at Marshall's, or there's a link below the picture.

via

 - It is dangerous for me to keep sandwich meat & cheese in the house. Literally, I could eat an entire half-pound of salami and not think twice about it.

- Another thing I got at Marshall's/HomeGoods yesterday - 

 Ta da! They were having a big wall hanging event, and I've been on the hunt for one for my bedroom. I saw this and immediately thought, "I NEED THIS." After my bad influence friends told me to "JUST DO IT"...I did it. I need to do a little rearranging (read: move the full length mirror I hung last weekend with that industrial Velcro) before I hang it up though.

- Everyone needs a friend with Finnish connections. My good friend Noora introduced me to some amazing candy from Finland when we were in Springfield together - its black licorice and chocolate in a candy coating. So I requested that she have her mom send some for me when she got hers, and look what showed up in my mailbox yesterday!

There were 3 bags. I am trying really hard to not eat another bag today.

- Has anyone tried anything from Target's Up&Up brand? Seriously, I love everything they put out. Yesterday I grabbed some acne wash with salicylic acid and some benzoyl peroxide acne gel - because, surprise, my face is freaking the hell out again. And both of those products were half the price of the name brand ones, and they have exactly the same ingredients. (But I have to say my skin is doing a lot better since Noora told me about getting some face wipes - if you think your face wash is doing it's job, use a face wipe after you're done. It'll be evident immediately whether your skin is actually getting clean or not.)

- I just have the cutest dog ever. What a good little scoop-a-loop. (I know. "Scoop-a-loop? WTF." is exactly what you're thinking. You know you have stupid little nicknames for your pets too. Don't deny it.)

- In closing, because sometimes we all need a little reminder -

Have a great week, bloggies!