Christmas Time

Hey everyone!
 Wow it seems like the Thanksgiving holiday went by so fast! I worked all last week including Thanksgiving so that may have something to do with it. I got home after work on Thursday to the sight of this:

We had about 20+ people over for Thanksgiving and my mom as always did a great job with the feast! I didn't do any shopping this weekend...I've never been big into Black Friday. I do however keep my eye out for good deals on Cyber Monday! It's so much easier to buy online than push through crowds on black Friday.
On Friday night we put up our Christmas decorations while listening to our favorite Christmas CD and drinking egg nog. Saturday included an afternoon of golf and a barbecue at my aunt's house. Today was church and gym time. We finished the last of the turkey leftovers today too!

I don't know about you but I absolutely love this time of year. I love listening to Christmas music, spending time with family, watching Christmas movies, shopping for gifts, Christmas trees and everything being lit up. The general sense of joy around this season is just so nice. So here's to the best holiday season yet!

Yours Truly,
 Amanda

Guest Post!

Hey everyone!
Wanted to give you a heads up that I did a guest post over at Happily Ever Healthy! It's all about Thanksgiving!

Hope you had a good start to your week!

Yours Truly,
 Amanda

Beauty Round-Up

Hey everyone!
 As promised today's post is all about beauty! A couple weeks ago Sephora was having their friends and family sale which I took advantage of online! Here are some of the things I got.

I've always liked liquid foundation and I'm always on the look out for one that provides coverage without being too thick or goopy. I got a sample of this foundation a couple months ago in a Clinique free gift and after trying this foundation I had to buy the full size! It goes on super smooth and lasts all day but doesn't look or feel too thick!

 Stay Matte Sheer Pressed Powder

To go with my new foundation I wanted a powder to set it. I'm not a fan of loose powders so this one was up my alley. I ended up getting it in invisible matte which works perfectly. It sets my makeup and keeps oil away!

NARS blush in Orgasm

I've always seen this blush in magazines as one of the most popular blushes that works on any skin tone. I decided I had to try it! I really like the color and it's a classic looking blush.

Sephora Collection Classic Powder Brush #48

I was really needing a new powder brush and I have a bunch of Sephora brushes that I really like so I decided to try their powder brush. I like it a lot, however I think the brush head could be a little bigger and fuller.

I think my haul was overall a success! Now on to another beauty topic you all know I love, NAILS! Last week my manicurist brought out a brand new line of OPI gel polishes. As I explained before I like getting what is called a "shellac" manicure which is basically gel polish that is set under UV light. Well OPI just came out with this and theirs are set with an LED light and is super fast! The best part is that they come in all the classic OPI colors I love. I've always wanted to try the color Lincoln Park After Dark so when I saw that bottle at the salon I decided to take the plunge! The result? It's actually a little too dark for my taste, but I do still like it.

Well that's it for this beauty packed post! I hope you all have a great Thursday!

Yours Truly,
 Amanda

So much to write about!

Hey everyone!
 I hope you all had a great weekend! I just got back last night from a reunion with some of my best college friends! You see all 5 of us each live in a different state, so it was awesome that we could all get together! I'll have another post this week with pics and a recap of our weekend! I also will be doing a beauty post this week too, I have some new products to talk about! As for today's post, it's all about BOOKS!
 I just finished The Help last night on my plane ride. It is a great book that I would recommend to anyone. I felt like I identified with the character Skeeter in the book. I don't know if it's her independent or academic facets of her personality that I felt akin to. I really like history and basically all time periods so it was interesting to read about the beginning of the civil rights era in a fictional way. Now since I finished this book I had to go out and get a new book! I decided on Sarah's Key which has been recommended to me by several people so I will be starting that tonight!
I just love going to Barnes and Noble and looking through all they have to offer...I wanted to buy so many books! They had a great sale on their classic books. I picked up 6 of them! I've read some of them but I love the idea of collecting these and obviously reading the ones I haven't read yet.

What book are you reading right now?

Have a great Monday!
Yours Truly,
 Amanda

Can't think of a title

Hey everyone!
 Happy Monday! no? okay I know happy and Monday shouldn't really be in the same sentence. I hope all of you had a nice weekend! Mine started early on Thursday when after work I got on a plane to visit John! I was only there til Saturday evening so it was a very short but sweet trip. We had a really nice relaxing time and also had a celebratory dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant for our 1 year dating anniversary! I like this pic except I can't figure out how to fix our eyes from the flash...

Needless to say the time always goes by way too fast and before I knew it I was on my way back to Florida...at least I got upgraded to first class! I have a full week of work between me and a reunion with some of my best college friends in Louisville! That's definitely going to get me through this week!
Anyway I forgot that I was going to share with you the Halloween dinner I made. I saw these recipes on 30 minute meals with Rachel Ray...it took me more than 30 minutes lol but here's the result!

It was Pumpkin Penne and Spinach/Garlic bread! Yummy!
Now I'm off to training for blood glucose, A1C and cholesterol testing...which I already know how to do AND I really don't like getting finger sticks, fun times!!

Try to have a good Monday everyone!

Yours Truly,
 Amanda