Your Help is Needed!

I've been missing from the blogosphere for the past couple of weeks for two reasons 1. I had a vacation hangover and 2. I've been working on helping my brother raise money for a friend of his.

My brother on the left and Justin on the right

Justin doing his job as a mine sweeper

As many of you know I have two brothers that are in the Army. One is stationed Italy and the other is stationed in North Carolina but is currently in Afghanistan. Four weeks ago one of his team mates took a gunshot to the head while on a combat operation. Emergency brain surgery was performed in Afghanistan and he was then immediately flown to Germany. He was then transferred to ICU in Bethesda, MD. He quickly was released from ICU and had feelings on both sides of his body and was able to complete small tasks when asked. This alone is amazing! He is now in Richmond, VA for physical therapy. The beginning of this week he was actually able to get out of bed by himself and walk with some assistance. The physical therapist says that he should be walking on his own by the end of the month! I am in total shock that all this has happened so quickly! Justin is still not able to speak but everyone is confident that he will recover his speech.

Although Justin's recovery is coming along quickly, no one knows how long it will take and his family wants to be by his side every step of the way. His family has had to leave their home town in Idaho to travel to Germany and now the East Coast to be by their son's side as he recovers from this traumatic injury.

A Facebook page has been created to help Justin's family with their travel expenses. Please take a minute to visit the Facebook page and share it with your friends. If you would like to make a donation, please click the Paypal link.

These guys risk their lives for us everyday and I can't even begin to imagine the things they've seen and gone through. They do this because they can't think of anywhere else they rather be than serving their country and doing what they love. As a sister of a Wounded Warrior I can tell you that this is an extremely stressful and intense time for this family and if we can just give them some sort of relief, I know it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

French Manicure made EASY!

I absolutely love the look of a french manicure. I think it just looks so professional and lady like. I love painting my nails but the polish always chips off in about 3 hours (I'm hard on my hands) and I don't have the patience much less the precision to make that perfect moon shape line of a french manicure. So the other day when I was in Sally's Beauty Supply picking up another bottle of Batiste Dry Shampoo (btw this product is AMAZING as well) I came across this little jewel from Nail Bliss Pro called the French Wrap and thought I would give it a try.

This product is awesome and super easy to apply. I mean if I can do it, it's easy! It comes with everything you need: 13 different sized French Wrap applications, the base seal, top seal, brush on glue and a mini buffer. Essentially you glue on the smile line (as they like to call it) and then apply the base and top coat. These will make you nails strong and super shiny just like a professional manicure. I'm not much for artificial nails because I hate how weak all the filing makes my nails. This process only requires a light buffing and I'm working on day 5 of my flawless manicure.

The best part of this is that this only cost about $12 and the box says that there are about 10 applications in this kit. I'm not so sure there are 10 true applications but even with at least 3 you are definitely getting your money's worth.

I obviously have not tried to remove it yet but according to the directions you can remove it with acetone based remover (keep your fingers crossed). I'd love to hear from you if you have ever tried this product. Please leave a comment below!

Happy Monday!

Shower for Baby Keaton

A couple of months ago I helped plan a baby shower for my dear friend Samantha. I absolutely LOVE planning parties so I was over the moon to help out with this one.

The first part of the planning process, for me at least, is selecting the invitations. I believe they set the tone for the party and also help with tying colors/theme together. For this party I used Em & N Designs again (they also did the killer invites for Jackie's Bachelorette Party) and I was not disappointed. We decided on a yellow and gray damask theme 1. because Sam is crazy about Damask and 2. because they weren't 100% sure if they were having a boy or a girl (Keaton was very shy at his first ultrasound). The custom invitations and wishing tree cards turned out AMAZING!

My friend Linda from Linda Lou Photography in Ft Walton Beach took all these fabulous pictures for the shower. I aimed high and decided to make a photo booth backdrop. This was pretty easy but I decided to make it hard by finding custom fabric instead of a sheet. In my opinion it turned out better but it was a tight squeeze in the picture with more than 2 people. My insanely awesome boyfriend made the fabulous chalk board speech bubbles and they were the hit of the party. I also added a little fun with the mustache and lip props.

The awesome "Baby Mama" and "Baby Daddy" props were done by my fabulous graphic designer friend Jill. {TO DIE FOR!}

Hello Keaton? Are you in there?

The food was fantastic! Suzy and Cindy really did all the work on this part and everything turned out so great.

Overall this was a great party! So good to have everyone in the same state, if only for the weekend.

Happy Friday!

Beer Review Wednesday ~ Stoudt's Pils

The BF and I made a trip to the beer store this weekend and I'm excited to say we got a ton of beers that I am dying to try {YIPEE}! This week I am reviewing a German Style Pilsner from Stoudt's. So the first thing I noticed (after the label) was the spelling of Pilsner, they spelled it Pilsener. This of course drove me nuts and I had to research it. There apparently are two spellings of the word and either is acceptable but I prefer PILSNER so that's the way I'm going to spell it. I know...but some details drive me nuts.

I went to the Stoudt's website and I must say this isn't just a brewery, these people have a small compound! There's an antique shop, a restaurant, market, event space for weddings and such, oh and of course a brewery. Impressive. But anyway, back to the beer, here we go with the PILSNER review.

 

Stoudt's Brewing Company, Pennsylvania - Stoudt's Pils
Serving type:  Bottle poured into an  ALABAMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS pint glass. I know I should have used a Pilsner glass but I'm working on that.

Appearance: Light gold/straw color. Clear with medium head. It didn't produce as big of a head as I'm used to seeing in a Pils.

Smell: A slight sweet smell with a hint of hops. This Pils doesn't have much of an aroma.

Taste: Light, crisp with a slight hop flavor with a slight bitter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Great carbonation, light body with a dry finish.

Overall: Very easy to drink and a pretty good Pilsner! This is another great beer for the summer and I'm glad I ventured out to try some new brands. This isn't my favorite Pils EVER but I would definitely drink this one again. So far Sam Adams Noble Pils is my fav American Pilsner but I'm looking for new ones to try!

I bought my Stoudt's Pils at Stone River Total Beverages in Murfreesboro, TN. I went to Stoudt's website to find other locations but apparently they haven't updated it lately because it's showing no distribution in TN.

If you find Stoudt's in your area please leave a comment and spread the love! Also let me know of any other great Pilsners I can try!

Happy Wednesday!

Getting Game Day Ready!

It's NEVER too early to think about what you are going to wear on Game Day! Here in the South, getting dressed up for a football game is kinda a big deal, at least it is for the girls. Some schools like to go ALL out and some keep it more casual but the main focus is representing your team colors!

As an Alabama fan I definitely dress according to who we are playing. For instance if we are playing Ole Miss you better believe I am going to go all out! Those girls take their Game Day attire SERIOUSLY. A couple of years ago I went to the Ole Miss/Bama game in Oxford and it was a sight to behold. It was a rainy day and I saw numerous Tory Burch flats and plenty of Jimmy Choo boots being ruined by the mud! 



Ole Miss @ Bama 2008

Then there's some schools that play it casual. FSU is one of those schools. These girls are more of a T-shirt and jeans crowd but they definitely don't have any shortage of team spirit! A couple of years ago when Bama played FSU in Jacksonville, I kept it casual with a jean skirt and a Bama T-shirt.

Bama vs FSU in Jacksonville 2007

Even though it's not really considered the "South" my friends at the University of Oklahoma also like gettin' dressed up for Game Day!

You've got to show your team spirit because you never know who you might run into!

So whether your team gets all gussied up or goes low key, the thing all these school have in common is an immense passion for their teams.

Tell me about your favorite college team! Only 5 more Saturdays with out college football!

Happy Monday!

Feelin' the Bacon Love!

I got the best present last week from my friend Delish Diva, Janeen! Thanks to my sis-in-law, Sam, for transporting it all the way to the Dominican Republic.

This little puppy will be hanging on the rearview mirror by this afternoon. Muchas Gracias Janeen!


Happy Friday!

Beer Review Wednesday ~ #9 Not Quite Pale Ale

I spent last week being lazy on the beaches of the Dominican Republic. Yes, it was HEAVEN, but the DR has much to be desired when it comes to beer selection. I pretty much had two choices, Presidente the local DR brew or Bhrama a Brazilian import. Both beers were typical beach beers like a Corona, etc but ANY BEER was REALLY refreshing lying by the pool and beach.

Anyway, enough of the vacay pics. So need less to say it was nice to come home to the good ole US of A and have a great beer. I've heard a ton about Magic Hat from various people and I thought I would give this one a whirl. Of course the packaging caught my eye and one of the coolest things was that there was a fun saying underneath the bottle cap {LOVE}!

Magic Hat Brewing Company, Vermont - #9 Not Quite Pale Ale
Serving type:  Bottle poured into a chilled ALABAMA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS pint glass

Appearance: Copper/orange color. Clear with small head.

Smell: A little fruity with a hint of hops. I think I might smell a little apricot?

Taste: Bitter hops taste with a very slight sweet flavor. It actually has a slightly spicy taste. This is different from other beers I've tried. I can't put my finger on the exact flavors.

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, medium body with a crisp finish.

Overall: Very easy to drink and again I love the bottle cap thing! Even though this is not the best beer I've ever had I would definitely drink this one again. I can't wait to try some of the other Magic Hat varieties!

{NOTE} I did not realize this was classified as a Fruit/ Vegetable beer until after I did the review. I honestly was shocked to come across that piece of info. Not sure if I would have classified it that way but I guess you'll just have to grab one and judge for yourself.

I bought my #9 at Kroger in Murfreesboro, TN but here's where you can get one in your neck of the woods. http://www.magichat.net/

Have you tried Magic Hat? Let me know which varieties you've tried and what you thought!

Happy Wednesday!