High School Flashback...

I want to go ahead and apologize to all of you for what you are about to see, but it is too funny to pass up. The other day at lunch some of the girls that I work with and I were discussing what unfortunate clothing choices we made during high school, which got me thinking about my high school pics. So I went to my parents and started ruffling through piles and piles of old scrapbooks etc. and lucky for you I found some real gems. Why, oh why, did I think it was ok to wear some of the things I did? I found tube tops, backless shirts, highwaisted khaki pants, platform ugly shoes, nasty mousy hair, way too many tops from express, tight black pants or TBP’s if you will (you know what I am talking about from Express, these later turned into gym pants) and apparently my wardrobe staple of choice was the mid drift baring ensemble. Oh.my.word. What was I thinking. Why did the two piece prom dress become popular, and WHY did I wear it in my senior picture? Then there is the other “natural” senior pic. Oh the senior pics. I am sitting on a bridge-because that is what I always did (?) and wearing some cool sketchers and yes, a tube top. I think I also might have on an invisible chain necklace. Do you remember those? They were clear and plastic and oh so cool. One of my favorite pics that I found was this one. The tiger dress. Oh the tiger dress. I remember at the time I thought this dress was to die for. I borrowed it from my cousin and just thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. The tiger dress came quipped with rhinestone’s and a turtle neck. Yep. Exhibit A. I also jazzed this little number up with a rhinestone tramp stamp back tattoo (totally fake friends). For real, see below. There are no words for this……… Then there was this lovely outfit from Spring Break my senior year. The shirt I remember is from express, and that skirt is from Abercrombie. I also remember I got in trouble for wearing this skirt on the last day of school. Please also note our nasty curly/scrunchy hair. Bahaha. Oh High School. I blame the poor fashion choices on our undeveloped brains and the need to “fit in” and “feel cool”. I am so glad NONE of these trends stuck around, and that I can happily say I have no idea where any of these clothes are anymore. I also want to point out that although my mid drift baring tops and short skirts may be deceiving, I was a very, good girl. I had straight A’s and was a very sweet non-slut. I promise. I just was misguided by Seventeen magazine's style influence. And in my defense, my good friend Erin was also misinformed of the coolness about belly shirts. Exhibit B: What other trends to you remember from high school that you would like to forget? Frosty lip gloss? ……? I would LOVE to hear some of your fashion mistakes, or better yet SEE them!

Happy Wednesday Blog friends!

Addendum:

I have gotten several emails/comments about high school favorite’s so here are some additionall items that might just take you back to high school…

-body glitter
-cucumber melon anything from B&BW
-lusting after the boys from NSYNC and their chunky turtlenecks, cargo jeans and spiked hair/frosted tips (Thank you Mo for this, I REALLY wish I could post who inspired this for you, hehe)
-"Tender Heart" lipstick from Clinique
-shirts that said Abercrombie in sparkly letters, or phrases like “sleep on the beach, wake up sandy…” (I totally had this one, it was yellow with purple glitter writing.)
-butterfly clips
-overalls. I.loved.overalls. And I heard someone out there had some SHORT ALLS that she wore.

Oh my my. Thanks for the sweet comments and emails! Love you all!

Sephora Giveway!

Ladies, what a GREAT giveaway! A Sephora gift card! This is the only place I have found in Lexington that I can get my coveted Nars blush. Check out my lovely friend Lauren's blog here. How cute is she!

a word to the wise...

If you do this on Sunday. You will not be happy on Monday. That is all.

My Favorite Celebs

Hello blog friends! Today I wanted to talk about some of my favorite celebs! Ha. I use to have a serious InTouch and USWeekly addiction, but have cut that out. I was spending way too many dollas on gossip mags that would pile up in a corner of my room so now I catch up on my celeb gossip online. I thought a fun post might be to tell you my top fav celebs! I base these assessments not on any sort of admirable or noteworthy characteristics each celeb may have, but just on my sheer love for them. Let’s start with my favorite male actor. That would have to be John Krasinski. Just look at him. He’s adorable. He has that witty, sexy and sweet guy next door vibe going for him. LOVE smart funny boys, and John Krasinski to me is the epitome of perfection. Sigh. You know John most notably from the Office, where he plays adorable Jim Halpert. I do have a Team Halpert T-shirt somewhere…just sayin'. John just recently got engaged to Emily Blunt…and this girl was heartbroken.

My favorite, most favorite female actress is definitely Rachel McAdams. I.LOVE.HER. I am going to admit that I own the Hot Chic…which she stared in alongside Rob Schneider. Hilarious, but she really caught my heart in the ever classic Notebook. She is beautiful, and SO talented, and I love the nostalgic, romantic roles that she plays. She is perfect for any throw back, vintage movie. Love Rachel! My favorite singer is… ahem… Carrie Underwood. But you all already know that. I could write a book on why I love Carrie, but that would just take too long. I think she is gorgeous, her voice is breathtaking, her legs are to die for, and she always has great hair. Pretty much she is perfection all bottled up in one little blonde bombshell, and if I were ever allowed to meet anyone it would be this girl. She is coming to KY in June and I can’t wait! She is the best concert I have been too. If you haven’t heard her song “What Can I say” you definitely need to. My favorite funny girl is Chelsea Handler. She cracks me up. Although she can be rude and crude, she is hilarious, and I applaud her honesty. I have a friend who played Blackjack with her in Vegas and said she was a firecracker, and I believe it. I just picked up her newest book, Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang and I can’t wait to start reading it. My favorite actor over 50 would hands down be Kevin Costner. I don’t know why, but I have always had a thing for this sexy older man. He is so good looking, and I just loved him in Mr. Brooks, creepy I know, and then there is the ever classic The Bodyguard in which he and Whitney vow “I will always love you…” Classic. My favorite actor under 25, (I wanted to do under 18 as well but that just felt a little creepy somehow) would have to be this fine specimen: Zach Efron. He is dreamy and I am not afraid to say that I am guilty of having a chronic, and sever cougar crush on him. You know you loved his sweetness in High School Musical, and you KNOW you thought inappropriate things about him when you saw him in 17 again. He’s pretty much gorgeous and every 13 years olds (and this 25 year old) dreamy crush. I would have totally had Zach Efron posters on my wall if he had been around when I was in middle school. Instead I had to settle with JTT, ps what was I thinking.

Agree? Or disagree with the chosen above? I would love to hear some of your all’s favorites! I am thinking that one day I will probably meet ONE of these people right? Maybe? Haha. Have a great weekend everyone! TGIF!

I'm on a Boat! (almost..)

Hello ladies! I am SO excited to tell you about my upcoming vacay...to...Ft. Lauderdale! My lovely sorority sister Jennifer, pic below, is having her bachelorette party April 23 and I am SO EXCITED to get away, on her family's boat for three days with 19 of my girlfriends!! I can hardly work/sleep/ do anything but think about how in a month I will be sunning and having margaritas and celebrating Jen's last single ladies cruise. So excited! I am totally lusting after this cute beach bag from J Crew (above)...I have no idea if it is this season but I just found it and I love it! Can't wait for your bachelorette Jennifer!

By Request, The Morning Routine

Hello ladies! This is a request that I got from one of my favorite followers, Mo!

So…here goes! I almost laughed out loud when I read “do you work out?” HA. Absolutely not. I do not work out in the mornings. I did however go through a phase when I had a personal trainer who I saw at 6 AM EVERYDAY but that was short lived. All I lost was 5 pounds, 2 hours of sleep, and about $600. Bummer. So no, I do not work out in the mornings. But I will tell you that I DO have a very routine morning, it is almost scary how groundhog day-esque my mornings are.

I set my alarm for 6:45, but hit snooze twice until 7:15. (I changed my hours at work to 8:30-5:30, because 8:00 simply did not agree with me.) When I do get out of my white fluffy tempurpedic heaven, I get this look from Sadie, saying “ugh, could you keep it down please? I’m trying to sleep.”

I then hop in the shower, and afterwards lotion up with Nivea Quench (the best! It has sparkles in it) and wrap up in this Adpi towel wrap that I stole from my roomie Courtney years ago.

Of course, Saved by the Bell is on and I do my makeup at my little makeup table while re-living the summer of Malibu sands with the gang. Love it.
My daily make up consists of the following products that I can NOT live without. If you want to know color specifics, just let me know, but I didn’t type them all out. But I am currently rocking my signature shade of OPI bubble bath, and wearing Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue-makes me happy for spring.

Anyways, after makeup, I dry my hair and put in my Velcro rollers to set the “poof”. These are the hair products I use and LOVE!

After hair and makeup comes clothes time. I try my hardest to pick out my outfit the night before, because I am a frequent-clothes changer, and I get stressed if my outfit isn’t working and then I start to sweat and can’t get ready. So- I learned I must plan. In the event I do not plan, I have the dreaded-picking-out-an-outfit task which inevitably means I have upwards of 6 or 7 tops and pants/skirts on my bed that I have to put away when I get home at night. All of my clothes are ironed before they go in my closet so this saves time in the morning. However-I for some reason am often ironing last minute, and on my body. Yep. Have burned myself twice. But that is a story for another day. The five items that are with me everyday are:

Ok not specifically THAT shoe, but high heels of course. After I put my clothes on (with rollers still in my hair) I take Sadie outside, and usually pack my lunch and grab a “use to be diet coke, now is water or crystal light”. I had a serious problem with a diet coke addiction, and have been off the juice for almost TWO weeks now! I do feel better… but I do also miss my morning burst of energy. I use to take my diet coke in the shower with me. Sad story. Next I put Sadie up, and finish chi-ing my hair. Hairspray fog ensues and 5 strategic perfume sprays later and I am out the door! So Mo- my secrets would be lots of sleep, some GREAT makeup and hair products, and Saved by the Bell. Oh And the Lilly planner you see above. Keeps me organized! HA.

Being Happy...

Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means you have decided to look beyond the imperfections.

Slowing Down

I am a non-stop go go go girl, and it definitely caught up with me this week. I got some sort of nasty stomach bug from either a. Pazzos or b. my roomie Leah... thanks Lee. Anyhoo, I took Friday off work, and will spare you the details. After re-cooping and feeling better, I decided slowing down is just what I needed. I did not do much all weekend, and it was fabulous! I did get to enjoy the gorgeous weather with these precious babies.

For those of you who do not know, I often refer to these girls as "my babies" haha. It is

probably because i have known them since they were about 4 months old. My Setzer babies (heart, heart). I was these precious girls full time nanny after college before I joined the grown up world. They are a beautiful family and I am so thankful for them. The twins and their three big sisters just have such a special place in my heart. And their momma and daddy are fantastic. I often say Billie Jo is the big sis I never had. Love her. I snapped some pics of the girls this weekend, and I just can't help but think how fast they are growing. They will be FOUR in July and I just can't even believe that.

I am so lucky that I still get to see them as much as I do. Love you babies! (Yes they are still "the babies") he he. Perfectly relaxing weekend.

A Purse full o' Puglets

OK, this is too funny not to share. I was going through and organizing pics on my computer and I found this one:Pug Puppies! My Cousin Ginny's pug Maggie (Sadie's sister) had puppies last spring I believe. How cute are they! I just love them. Brightened my day, maybe it did yours too!

Welcome Back

I have been a little MIA, but I am happy to announce that this little baby will be returning home from the computer store, all fixed and equipped with a brand new hard drive and the newest operating system. Yay! And yes, I am officially a dork.

Weekend Update

I had planned on going to Atlanta this weekend to visit my favorite Sara, but instead I stayed in Lexington. I did some laundry, cleaned, saw my parents, saw my Setzer babies, and made about 30 of these!Love baby bows! I have had some of my first orders and I am super excited. I also made a bunch for some of my friends sweet baby girls on the way. Can't wait to get my website up soon. Here is another pic-of me and Brooks, my little spider monkey. I kept the girls Saturday night, and they were hilarious as always. Brooks put me in time out, and Savannah told me she had been sleeping in the dog cage. HA. Laurel was a sweet angel as always. Love them. That's all I got for ya, tired and ready to snooze with the pug puppy. Night loves!

Spring.Break.

I went to lunch with my dad and sisters yesterday, here they are again:

(we do dad and daughters lunch every couple weeks!) and the main topic of the hour was spring break. Ohh spring break. I remember you. Spring break means only lean cuisines from January to March, buying 576 new bathing suits, and planning every outfit out before you go. My college spring breaks consisted of Florida, Acapulco, Bahamas, and Cabo San Lucas. Sigh. I miss that one week a year when all I had to worry about was being the tannest I could be. I was a good girl on Spring Break, and for some reason I did not worry about myself making poor decisions. I was in control, and I was a smart girl, and I was invincible (so I thought, ha). Now when it comes to my sweet baby sisters (18, and 22) I get complete and utter anxiety about them going on spring break. College spring break is filled with a raucous concoction of tequila, bikinis, late nights, hangovers, and ridiculous crazy behavior. I shutter at my sweet girls being on spring break without me to protect them! I can’t help but think, “Well I would never do that…” etc, but I worry myself sick thinking about all the possible things that could go wrong to my sweet girls. My inner mommy came out yesterday at lunch when I instructed the girls

“Don’t accept a drink from ANYONE!”
“Don’t be by yourself, have a buddy!”
“Wear sunscreen, you don’t want to get skin cancer!”
“Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want dad to know about!”
“Don’t drive fast on the way to the airport”
“Don’t be barefoot in yucky places!”
“Be aware of your surroundings, there are creepos everywhere!”
“Eat and take care of yourself, an apple does not count as food for the day!”

I can’t imagine what it will be like to have a child go on spring break- I flip out when it is my baby sisters! My sweet girls are good girls, and I am not worried about them doing anything wrong, I am worried about all of the other dumb kids that go on spring break, and all of the creepos out there that could take advantage of them. Hannah is going to Ft. Laudy and Becky is going to Jamaica. I am not as worried about Hannah because she is staying IN the country. Something about being out of the country just makes me sleep a little less soundly at night.

Ok- I totally feel like my mother right now. Stop it Allison. They will be fine. They are going to have a wonderful spring break just like you did every year. OK-breathe.

My favorite spring break was my senior year when we went to Cabo.

It.was.goregous.

I fell in love with Cabo, and wish I could go back there with my 50 friends or so that went, and just lay in the sun and have a frozen margarita. Again, sigh. Here are some pics from my most favorite spring break. It was the best week ever, and I have so many many fun memories of this trip. And some pretty funny stories as well. We all look like such babies!

So in conclusion, spring break is fun-but it is also scary for those who are left at home while their young impressionable family members are gallivanting out of the country, or to spring break central in Florida. Ladies, please say a little prayer for my sisters who will be traveling this week on spring break. I will be a little nervous until they both come home-most undeniably with awesome tans. Jealous. Until then, I will be here, not getting anymore tan, and at work-worrying about what they are up to. SIGH. Love you sissies-be careful and HAVE FUN!

Sweet Baby Girl!

Dear Baby Ava,

Welcome to the world tiny girl! You are not my niece, but since you are my BFF Chrissy’s niece, I shall be your Aunt Allie. We are so excited you are here. Your Aunt Chrissy and I have spent many an hour over a bottle of wine discussing how we can’t wait to play with you. We have also burned our fingers on hot glue constructing you presents of grosgrain ribbon and rhinestones. You will be the most fashionista baby ever, thanks to the two of us. I am sure your momma will wonder why her baby looks like a prosti-tot after spending the weekend with us, but I think you will look just fabulous. As your auxiliary Aunt, I thought it was my responsibility to outline some things in life that you should know about your sweet Aunt Chrissy. She has many claim to fame, and here are just a few:

1. she is the best nurse ever.

2. she often gets asked if she has a bump it in her pony tail. Au-contraire. She does not.

3. she once won a beer chugging contest in Cabo. Those who witnessed this are still baffled by her amazing abilities.

4. she often battles with gravity, she has a knack for tripping over NOTHING in 2 seconds flat. It really is remarkable. And she has the scars/bruises to prove it.

5. she has had more cell phones than me. This is a true feat. You never know what kind of phone Aunt Chrissy will have. It may be your grandpas old blue razor, or it may be your grandmas Zack Morris phone. We never know. All we know is that she always manages to loose, drop in toilet, run over with a car, leave in a cab, lose outside in the snow, lose the back of phone at a bar, break in half, her cell phone. So Baby Ava, if you have trouble reaching Aunt Chrissy on her cell, she probably lost it during a hot night with a Latino on her cougar cruise. Just sayin’.

6. she can rock a pair of aviators, or any other piece of “equipment” she might find. Exhibit A&B.

7. she is one of the best people I now, and will be such an amazing aunt to you sweet baby girl!

8. if Aunt Chrissy ever sleeps in after a long night at the hospital, and forgets she is suppose to babysit you, you just call your aunt Allie.

Love, your super excited, sort-of-Aunt Allie

All joking aside, I am SO excited for my roomie Chrissy, who became and aunt this morning. I am so happy for her, and for her sister-the baby momma. Little Ava Marie is 5 lbs. Tiny little girl! I am so happy for the good news, and thankful for a speedy and perfect delivery! Yay for babies. Congratulations Chrissy on your first little niece! Can’t wait to meet her and put big bows on her head. Love you Chrissy Cross.

So I was thinking...

“Even though we've changed, and we're all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever come between true friends.”

I came across this quote today and I just loved it. It got me thinking about friendship, and my amazing friends, and how much too often we don’t take the time to tell each of our dear sweet friends how much they mean to us. I am lucky enough to have the BEST group of girlfriends I could ever ask for. My two best friends from high school and I were blessed enough to all be part of the most amazing group of women when we came to college and joined our sorority. I could never explain to you how amazing our pledge class was, and still is. We all have remained amazingly close. We are spread out ALL over this country, Louisville KY, Chicago, Oxford Mississippi, Denver, Atlanta, South Carolina, Minneapolis, Cincinnati…(there are tons more and I am so sorry if I forgot you!) It amazes me that we all found such strong, smart, beautiful (inside and out) women to share our lives with. I know that no matter where life takes each of us, that we are always in each others hearts, and always only a plane flight away.

I just wanted to take a second to thank each of you for being in my life. You know who you are. You have been there with me through all of the happy moments, and all of the tears and hard times. I could not do it without you- and that is the truth. I am so thankful everyday for your friendships. Even though some of us may not see each other as often as we like, when we do get together it is as if no time has passed-and we are all still living under one roof. I just love that. And I love each one of you girls!

OK ok, sorry for getting sappy on you! I promise it won’t happen again soon! Ha.

The Perfect Mimosa

Hello ladies! A few things first-new blog design... I am still working on fixing some little kinks so bear with me. Secondly, I had a fantastic weekend catching up on some much needed R&R and drinking some of these...The perfect mimosa.

(Actually I had one every morning when I woke up, as well as some throughout the day.) I love mimosas. I could drink them everyday if I didn't think my boss would have a problem with that. Anyways, I would like to share with you all how to make the perfect mimosa. Take notes girls, these will undoubtedly become your favorite weekend morning cocktail. All you need are these ingredients:Champagne of your choice, Simply Orange juice (the kind with Pineapple) and some POM Pomegranate juice. And some strawberries...left those out of the pic. Just mix about 3/4 Champagne, 1/4 Orange juice, and top of with a splash of the POM juice and add a few strawberries! Heavenly.

And since we are talking about my favorites, the only way to make the perfect mimosa any better, is by pairing it with an omelet (lots of hot sauce) and potatoes. Absolute perfection, and my weekend ritual. I hope you all go try the pomegranate mimosa! I promise you will be so happy you did! We will call it PinkLouLou's Pomegranate Mimosa!! Cheers Ladies!