2nd Anniversary Trip to Las Vegas!

Hey everyone!

Rick and I headed out to Vegas to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary.  We didn't get to do even half of what we wanted but we sure did have fun!  We met up with a couple of cousins of ours while we were there which made it even better.  We headed downtown one night to Fremont Street so Rick could see the "Fremont Experience" which was really cool and Halloween-themed, we gambled a lot of our money away (and didn't win much in return!), we had drinks galore, we saw our first Cirque du Soleil show, and ate tons of food!  It was a super wonderful trip but very short, and I wish we could have added an additional day.  We've already decided that the next time we head out, we're staying for at least 4 days and 3 nights instead of only 3 days and 2 nights.  Unfortunately for me, Rick has already booked his next flight out there for a 'guys' trip.  I'm insanely jealous but also super excited for him.  He'll get to gamble with the boys instead of the usual gambling with me!  I didn't get a whole bunch of pictures of the two of us while we were out there (I never realized how hard it is to take pictures when there's only two of us on trip!), but here are a few:

Rick & I at the Cosmo

Us enjoying the Fremont Experience

Rick, BJ & Brandy at the Cosmo

The guys being guys downtown

Finally...My Halloween Wreath!

Good evening!!

So, I finally got around to putting the finishing touch on my Halloween wreath today.  The actual wreath has been complete for a couple of weeks now and has been hanging on the door with my tacky clear door hanger.  But today, I finally got around to hanging it with a ribbon.  It looks so much better!!

I stumbled upon the Halloween wreath idea when I found this wreath from Martha Stewart on Pinterest:

Source: marthastewart.com via Kellie on Pinterest

But, I definitely wanted it to have more.  It's cute just the way it is but having a plain black wreath hanging from my front door would have made me feel like it were incomplete.  I like lots of decoration!  I ended up at the Hobby Lobby here in town and found a few wood and felt Halloween figures and cutouts.  I also got the the wreath form, flowers, and spray paint there.  Hobby Lobby is my one-stop shop!

Here's a picture of my set-up:

I made the horrible mistake of working with a straw form!  I've never worked with one before and I'll never work with another one again.  They're messy and they're hard to break through when attaching flower stems.  My fingers hurt so bad the next day from struggling with this form!  I should have stuck with what I know!  Anyway, I cut the stems down on all of the flowers and attached them to the form with hot glue, then sprayed the entire thing with black spray paint.

I let it dry for a few hours then attached the wood cutouts and felt creatures.  And, today, I finally added the black ribbon to hang it.  Here it is...drumroll please...

Ahhhh!  Isn't it adorable?!  I'm so happy with the way it turned out.  I really wanted it to be cutesy Halloween and I think that's exactly what I got!

I'm on a roll with these Pinterest-inspired projects.  First the leopard flats and now my Halloween wreath!  I can't wait to see what will come up next!

Oh, a sidenote: I lurk on TheNest, a lot, and was indirectly introduced to Birchbox.  I recently received my first Birchbox and am trying out all of the products they sent me.  Once I'm done testing the products I'll write about them.  :-)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  Have a GREAT Sunday night!!

Yay! I Found...

My camera!!  I guess I didn't do that great of a job of checking all of my clutches because I found my camera safe and sound sitting in one.  My memory has gone down the freakin' drain!  I'm just happy I found it.

I got the grand idea to make my Halloween costume this year.  I get so tired of spending anywhere from $30 to $40 on a new costumes every year (actually, multiply those numbers by 2 because there are two of us that dress up).  Anyway, I decided that I was going to be a Flapper this year and I was going to make this costume myself.  I haven't sewed a huge project in years but I knew I had scrap material somewhere.  Low and behold, I find tons of awesome hot pink satin material.  Score!!  Then it dawned on me that it's already the 9th of October (when I found the material), I'm out of town next weekend, I don't want to be stressed the day of a Halloween celebration finishing a costume, and if I push myself to do it all this weekend then I will, for sure, mess it up; so, I canned the whole idea.  So, my new costume and inspiration is...

Flashdance!  Rick and I watched the movie Take Me Home Tonight this past weekend and that movie actually sold me on dressing up 80's style for Halloween...along with the fact that my best friend is doing it too!  The movie was awesome and hilarious with the crazy clothes and hair, and I've wanted to dress 80's style for a while now so this is what I'm doing for Halloween.  I'm even having a sweatshirt like the one above made so I don't have to answer possible questions about what I am for Halloween (not that I should receive any because this "look" is pretty well-known).  Now I just need to find leg warmers, a leotard, and leggings (there's no way I'm wearing JUST a leotard!).  I'll make a head band from t-shirt/sweatshirt scraps and I'm a pro at teasing my hair!  I'm pretty excited about this!

I've gotta run and finish my Halloween wreath but before I do, here's a picture of Rick & I dancing after a night out celebrating his Birthday.  Disclaimer: He's NOT a dancer and we were both pretty tipsy but I think it's an adorable picture!

Totally Forgot To...

Wish Rick a Happy Birthday somewhere in the last couple of posts.  Tsk, tsk!  Happy Birthday, love!!  Rick's birthday was last Thursday, the 29th, but we went out and celebrated with friends on Friday.  It was a super awesome time, as always!

Honestly, I'm happy we (or I) got the partying out of my way on Friday instead of Saturday.  Doing so allowed me to go to Hobby Lobby on Saturday and start on a Halloween wreath, then lay around and be lazy all day Sunday.  I don't know why I've never used Friday as my 'going out' night.  It's so much easier that way!  Get off work, go home and relax for a while, get dressed, head out, have lots of fun, go home, and relax on Saturday AND Sunday.  Genius!

So, on Saturday I started working on a Halloween wreath that I found on Martha Stewart's website.  I also posted it on Pinterest.  The basic idea came from her but I've added some elements to dress it up a little.  I wanted it to be a little more cutesy Halloween rather than just a black wreath hanging on my door.  I've finished the actual wreath but I'm still looking for a ribbon to hang it.  The Halloween-inspired ribbons that I found at Hobby Lobby weren't all that great.  Most of them were wire ribbons and I hate working with wire ribbons.  They always bend at the wrong places and it really irks me!  I think I'm just going to go with a plain black ribbon and be done with the project so I can finally hang it on the front door.  I'll take and post pictures when it's done! :)

Speaking of pictures, I've misplaced my camera!!!!  I can't find it anywhere.  Not that I've look all that hard...but I can't seem to find it where I would normally put it: purse, tv stand, shelf, nightstand drawer, etc.  I know where the battery charger is, but no camera.  I'm kind of freaking out a little and I'm kind of thinking that I lost it for good.  That may just be me thinking the worst of the situation though.  I must find this little guy!  We have 17 days (yes, I'm counting down!) until we leave for Vegas and I must have my camera with me.  "What happens in Vegas" WILL come back with me in the form of pictures.  I'm just going to have to think like a camera and ask myself "If I were a camera, where would my irresponsible owner have left me?"  I plan on canvasing the entire house this week to find my little companion.  Wish me luck!!

My First Pinterest Inspired Purchase!

I discovered Pinterest on Monday and it has completely taken over me!  I'm obsessed with finding new websites with things that I deem pin-able.  I've found so many new blogs and websites I never knew existed, and I've filled up tons of 'bookmark' space with these new sites!  My wardrobe, walls, furniture, decorations, EVERYTHING will be seeing some changes soon.  I've LOVING this!

I believe myself to be a super thrifty, bargain shopper.  I don't like to pay full price for anything.  I feel like if I'm paying full price for something then I'm somehow being cheated.  Honestly and truthfully, I'm just cheap.  With all the above said, my cheapness always seems to work out for the better for me.  Let's take yesterday for example.  It was raining (yes, rain in TEXAS!!) and the rain totally ruined my motivation for the gym.  Instead of finding myself at the gym yesterday for the 5:30 class, I found myself at Ross.  I wasn't there for anything in particular.  I honestly don't even know why I went there.  A Thursday isn't even a normal day for me to visit Ross.  My normal days to visit Ross are Tuesday, Friday, or Saturday morning.  Anyway, I fight the drizzle and windy conditions, make my way inside, and head straight for the shoes.  I'm just looking and browsing the shelves when I find these bad girls...

leopard-print flats!!!  And, they were only $12.99!  They're not name-brand and they were cheap, but they're super comfortable, they seem to be a good-quality flat, and, most importantly, they're my first Pinterest inspired purchase!  I HAD to have these!  These flats will allow me to re-create these cute and comfty looks:

Source: polyvore.com via Kellie on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Kellie on Pinterest

Source: vivafashionblog.com via Kellie on Pinterest

As you can see, I totally needed these flats so I snatched them up and never put them down!  I'm officially calling my first Pinterest inspired purchase a success!!

Procrastination At It's Best

I can't tell you how many times I've thought to myself, "Hmmm, maybe I should write a blog today," and well, I just didn't do it. Procrastination, or laziness, at it's best right here folks!

It's been almost two and a half months since my last blog entry and not much has changed, but we've kind of had a lot going on: I got to see Katy Perry in concert (she was awesome and gorg!!), we took a Hernandez Family trip to Port Aransas, we celebrated my 26th Birthday, one of my long-time besties visited from Pittsburgh (miss you, Sara!), football season started (my Jets starting off okay this season), and Rick has started traveling for work.

Poor Rick...he's wiring a new apartment complex in the middle of nowhere. Cell service is in and out, they don't have a TV for his first week there, and he didn't take a laptop because he didn't think he'd have internet access. Even though cell service is in and out, they have wifi so we're definitely sending him with a laptop next week! This job will probably last anywhere from 8 to 12 months, yikes!! Oh well, at least it's work, right?!

We're now officially less than a month away from our 2nd anniversary celebration in Vegas!! I cannot wait to be out in the desert with my love for a weekend full of gambling, drinking, eating, and going out! This is the perfect celebration for us! I guess I should get around to booking a hotel soon... LOL

New addiction alert! It seems like I'm a little late on my newest addiction but it's better late than never. I'm in LOVE with Pinterest! It's so neat! There are so many cool ideas for everything I love: decor, recipes, make-up, fashion, hair, landscaping, home design, etc. The coolest thing about Pinterest is I get to keep everything I like or love in one spot. It never gets lost and I can always refer back to it. It'll definitely come in handy when Rick and I get around to buying our home and are able to ultra-customize it (there are so MANY restrictions when renting). I'm on Pinterest overload right now and I'm trying not to "pin" everything I see. My ultra-favorite thing about Pinterest is I can do the majority of everything I'm "pinning" on my own! Tons of DIY projects!!! Love, love, LOVE! Can't wait to get started on some Pinterest-inspired DIY projects. I already have a Halloween project that I want to start on (and hopefully finish) this weekend, and I'll be sure to post pictures!

Oh, and before I leave...Happy Fall!! :D

Too Much Time Has Passed

Here's a little overdue "Hello!" It's been a few weeks, huh? Go figure! What can I say? I've been busy!!...ha, that's what I say every time. Honestly, I don't know why I haven't written sooner. I guess I just haven't thought about it. Shall we play catch-up?! *Warning: Lots of Pictures!*

Well, first things first! Rick & I have been looking and thinking of something we can do to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary in October. Around the same time we really started exploring the idea, good ole' Southwest had an awesome 3-day(ish) sale on airfare. So, we're going to...





Vegas!!! We just went last year, and I've been out there tons of times but Rick has only been once. He didn't really get to experience it the way I wanted him to so we're going again! We're definitely looking forward to being out there again, and we hope to catch a show or two and just be tourists the entire time.

Moving on...my Dad kicked off his political campaign with an All-American Picnic that was held in Seguin on July 2nd. It was super hot but it was a success! Lots of people showed up and the entertainment was awesome. We had Hannah Montana, Justin Beiber, Elvis, and Marilyn Monroe impersonators, as well as great music acts. And somewhere in there I dropped my brand new HTC Thunderbolt in the toilet! I don't like to talk or think about it (people who know me know I LOVE my phone and I was pretty depressed about this), but she's (yes, she!) up and running again, so all is well! Below are a few pictures from the All-American Picnic event. You can also view more at:











Aside from booking anniversary trips and campaign kick-offs, we've been some busy people. Work has picked up and our social life never slows down. Rick is about to start a new project with his company and I'm working more territories now. It's nice to have more work because I'm always busy or on-the-go, which I love. I hate to sit around and be bored, or working on the same things. Aside from our day-to-day work, I've also started working on my own company. I hoped to have had it launched by now but I've had a few hiccups in the road. I'm looking to have everything complete and ready to go by the end of August. "Here's to a quick and stress-free launch! Here, here!!" LOL!

I recently did something I've never done before and I had a great first experience. We went night toobin'!! I was one of the few who had never been so we went all out with tons of glow sticks! It was a little weird at first and I have to admit that I was a little intimated by it, but it turned out to be an awesome time. Below is pic of my BFF and myself lit up with glow sticks.





We've had an awesome few weeks and I hope to continue to have more awesome weeks. I'll try to update more often, or at least think about updating more often! Have a great week, everyone!