Ladies Night - Handmade Cards

My Sunday School class had Ladies Night recently, and we handmade cards to send out to members of our class.  We all brought supplies we had at home (scrapbook paper, scissors, stickers, paper cutters, stamps, etc.) and got to work!

Here are the cards that I made:

"A Little Hello"

"Psalm 52:8"

 "Thinking Of You"

"Damask Stripes"

Here are some of the other cute cards that were made by the other ladies:

"Count the Happies"

 "Owls"

"Colorful Stripes"

"Hearts"

New Car! Range Rover Sport Supercharged

We bought a new car for me this week! I'm SO excited about it! I've been driving the same car since I was 16, a 2000 Ford Mustang. I'll even post a picture of Old Faithful lol.  That Mustang got me through high school, college, grad school, and my first year of marriage.

Here she is:

I was sad to see it go, but we sold it to a sweet 16 yr old who I know will love it as much as I did.

We wanted an SUV so it would be kid friendly and decided to go with a Range Rover Sport.  My husband wanted it to be quick, so he found one that was supercharged. :)

It has dual temperature controls & heated seats (front and back!).

I just like the gear shifter :)

Leather interior!

Rear entertainment for our future children!

It has a sunroof! 

V8 engine, supercharged!

Some of the other awesome features are:

-Rain sensing windshield wipers

-power washers for the headlights

-Premium navigation system w/4X4 info system

-550-watt Harman/Kardon LOGIC7 audio system-inc: AM/FM stereo, 6-disc CD changer, (14) speakers

-Personal telephone integration system

-20" aluminum alloy wheels

-Cooler box in the center console

So far I LOVE it! It's so nice having 4 doors and so much space.  I have no complaints so far and would recommend this SUV to anyone in the market for one.

-Lindsay

Hologram Effect Nail Polish by Layla

After searching for hologram nail polish for weeks, a store has finally decided to carry some! Ulta recently started carrying Layla Hologram Effect nail polish.  It's a little pricey, $15.50 a bottle, but I think it is totally worth it!  I went with Mercury Twilight, but there are 8 different colors to choose from.

The directions are easy.  I took a flyer from the store which I show you below. You buff and polish your natural nails, then apply a few coats.  I ended up doing 5 coats to get it even.

The picture below is in the shade.

The rest of the shots are in full sun.

It even looks great from far away!

NOTE: The polish start chipping FAST! I'm talking after about 20 minutes.  I decided to give it another shot using Orly Bonder Rubberized Base Coat and so far it's held up 2 days.  I will say that it doesn't go on quite as smooth with a base coat, but it's necessary if you want your holo mani to last more than 30 minutes.

Books Worth Reading

One of my favorite things to do is to curl up on the couch and read a book from start to finish.  I absolutely love to read!  I’ve been reading long novels for literally as long as I can remember.  The first book I remember reading was a Nancy Drew book that I snuck off of my sister’s bookshelf, and soon after I read every Nancy Drew book I could get my hands on.

Well, I’ve moved up from Nancy Drew, but reading is still my favorite past time.  I spend a lot of time on Google trying to find my next book/series to start reading, so I decided to compile my own list for people who are searching.  FYI – my favorite books to read are Romance novels, so if that isn’t something you’re into, go ahead and look somewhere else J

Historical Romance

·         The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn

·         Wicked Angel by Julia London

·         A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James

·         Counterfeit Lady by Dawn MacTavish

·         A Highlander of Her Own by Melissa Mayhue

 Paranormal Romance (Angel, Fairy, Vampire Romance)

·         Hush, Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick (Angel)

·         Fallen series by Lauren Kate (Angel)

·         Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa (Fairy)

·         Dark Swan series by Richelle Mead (Fairy)

·         Grace series by S.L. Naeole (Angel)

·         The Watchers Trilogy by Karice Bolton (Angel)

·         Soul Savers series by Kristie Cook

·         Fallen Eden Trilogy by Nicole Williams

 Science Fiction

·         The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins

·         The Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind (A MUST read if you love sci fiction with romance!)

o   Wizard’s First Rule

o   Stone of Tears

o   Blood of the Fold

o   Temple of the Winds

o   Soul of the Fire

o   Faith of the Fallen

o   The Pillars of Creation

o   Naked Empire

o   Debt of Bones

o   Chainfire

o   Phantom

o   Confessor

o   The Omen Machine (technically this is a separate series, but it is a follow up of the Sword of Truth series)

·         Faery  series by Dennis L. McKiernan

o   Once Upon a Winter’s Night

o   Once Upon a Summer’s Day

o   Once Upon an Autumn Eve

o   Once Upon a Spring Morn

o   Once Upon a Dreadful Time

Free books on iBooks that are decent:

·         Salt Bride by Lucinda Brant (Historical Romance)

·         In the Garden of Temptation by Cynthia Wicklund (Historical Romance)

·         Grey Eyes by Brandon Alston (Paranormal Romance)

·         Eternal Eden by Nicole Williams (Paranormal Romance)

·         Starfire Angels by Melanie Nilles (Science Fiction/Fantasy)

·         Frey by Melissa Wright (Science Fiction/Fantasy)

Happy Birthday! @ Rick's on the Square, Tyler, TX

Yesterday was my 24th birthday, and it was my best birthday to date!

THE MASSAGE

The day started off with a hot stone massage that my husband booked for me from Belladonna Day Spa.  I have always wanted to try a hot stone massage and I wasn't let down! It felt amazing and Taylor at Belladonna did an amazing job!  If you are looking to get any sort of spa treatment in Tyler, I recommend Belladonna.  The staff there is so nice and helpful and you really feel pampered when you go see them.

THE CAKE

My husband had previously told me that he was going to try and get me a cake from the bakery that made our wedding cake.  However, he later found out that they needed more than a few days notice.  I was bummed, but these things happen. Yesterday afternoon we left to go pick out a cake and I noticed him driving me in the direction of the bakery previously mentioned, Village Bakery.  Much to my enjoyment, he surprised me with a custom made birthday cake, the same flavor as our wedding cake - chocolate!  It was PERFECT for me! I am a huge Coach fanatic, so he went with a Coach theme.  It was even his idea to put the Signature C pattern around the sides. :) Absolutely amazing.  I was totally surprised, and so excited about getting another cake from that bakery.  Here are a few pictures:

THE PARTY

We decided to try a new place this year for my birthday, so we gave Rick's on the Square a shot.  It turned out to be a blast! They had a live band and we sat out on the patio.  The service was excellent and so was the food! It is definitly a place that I plan on going again.  Here are a few pictures from Rick's:



My husband made my first birthday as a married woman a success :)  Can't wait to see what he comes up with next year!

Capitol Colours (The Hunger Games) by China Glaze

I am a HUGE Hunger Games fan, so when I saw this collection by China Glaze, I couldn't wait to try out a few of the colors.  The first one that caught my eye was Smoke and Ashes.  I've never been the type to wear black polish, but this black has green glitter flakes in it that I just love.  I took 2 pictures to try and capture the glitter.

The second color I decided to give a try was Riveting.  This is a a fiery orange polish with gold glitter flakes.  It looked great after one coat, but I used two just for better coverage. 

February Nails

I'm starting to gravitate towards nail polish colors that I normally wouldn't try.  My two new favorites are purple and charcoal.

Here are my latest manicures that I loved:

This polish is OPI "Ink".  I took a picture with the flash to try and show the glitter in the polish.  It was really beautiful!

In the picture below I am wearing China Glaze "Awaken", without a top coat.  I loved this by itself, but really wanted to try out my new glitter polish on top :)

Here is what my mani looked like after adding Essie "Set in Stones" glitter polish on top of the China Glaze "Awaken".  I received so many compliments on this shiny manicure!