I mustache you a question..

Weekends always go by way to fast, and while this was true of this weekend at least it was an exciting one! 

I started Saturday by meeting a friend for brunch at a new local place we had on our list for a while. It used to be this super cute place called Native, but that shutdown for "renovations" and reopened as La Bodega 47. I thought they did a nice job with the new place, the food was tasty, the layout was well thought out. I plan to brunch there again soon.

After brunch I went to Target to pick up some much needed toilet paper for my apartment, apparently I am the only on capable of doing this. It is what it is, I found some books for yesterday's baby shower and a cute hat for my nephew and only walked out with one thing not on my list. win!

In the afternoon I left for Hoboken to spend some much needed family time. My sister hosted a mini belated Hanukkah party. I enjoyed some tasty latkes, a nephew who has grown way too much, and some sister time. And bonus..... I booked a trip to Prague! I have a week off in February and it occurred to me last Friday that I didn't just have to sit on my butt or go to Florida that week, but that I could go visit a new city. So I am. I will be there for about 4 days and am ready to explore someplace different.  Friday was a great day as well- I bought tickets to go see Kinky Boots, Matilda and Book of Mormon on Broadway! The next few months should be pretty great.

Sunday was my sister's baby shower for nephew number two! He is about a month away from arriving and I cannot wait to meet him. For this shower we went with the mustache theme. My sister R is a master party planner- and knows how to cover every detail. We had mustache balloons, straws, water bottles and games (did you know there are at least 12 different types of mustaches and names for all of them?!) She bought mustache cookies, chocolates, and cupcakes. Everything was in hues of blues and greens. Our special treat was a Polaroid camera for all the guests to use to take photos and hang on a canvas to be hung in the baby's room.

Overall the party was a hit, everyone had a wonderful time, the food was delicious, we laughed with the games, and my sister received some new goodies for munchkin number two. A fun weekend for sure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

all filled up!

cutie nephew in an adorable outfit..

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Life Lessons from Rebekah

I can only laugh as I write this post because as serious as it is (oh, it's super serious) it is also really just a laugh.

 A little back story on how they appeared- Friday night I went to a holiday party a friend and his roommates were hosting at their apartment. I was, by far, one of the oldest - if not the oldest, person at the party. And not that I'm old, 27, but when you are in a room with 22,23,24 year olds- you kind of feel old. I had a great time, no doubt, the room was packed with very enthusiastic people, great music. Heineken had even sponsored the party, due to a well timed tweet of a party-goer. But as a I sat on the couch at 1:30 am, with a few delicious drinks under my belt, I turned to my friend and decided I would give her some well-meaning life lessons, things I've learned in my old age.

- Don't pre-game before going to a club with a table and/or open bar. You will get horribly drunk, vomit and still be hung-over to the max the next day.

- Don't take a gypsy cab from the meat-packing district. They will try to rip you off and/or kidnap you.

- Say no to drugs on the street (and in general). It's not cool. Give hugs instead.

 

- Always listen to what T-Swift has to say, as well as her music. That lady gets us.

-If at anytime someone suggests going to Chipotle or buying you Chipotle, the answer is always YES

- When someone is too tall for you to see, kick them until the keel over and stop blocking your view (something I have never done but at 1:30 am sounded like prime advice)

And there you have it- life lessons from an intoxicated Rebekah. Some of which are really not too shabby... maybe there is something to learn from the whole write when you're drunk and edit sober thing..

Craft Like You Mean It

This weekend I discovered crafting skills I never knew I possessed.

Friday evening took me to Philadelphia with my sister to help our other sister with some last minute wedding planning. She is getting married in two weeks!! It's totally crazy..

Basically I spent all of Saturday covered in glitter from head to toe and learning new skills. The glitter was serious, I'm going to be finding it on my things for months and I can't even imagine what my sister will do- it's literally in every crack of her place. The projects were super fun and creative but I can't show anything yet. After the wedding for sure. Not going to lie- I'm pretty impressed with myself!

I came back on Saturday evening to celebrate a friends birthday. We had fondue, an ice luge and chocolate cake shots. If you have never had one you are completely missing out on life. I should do a recipe post about them soon- your mind will be blown!!

On Sunday I met up with some peeps for brunch and then spent a relaxing afternoon finally getting a much needed massage. Groupon is such a great site for this. This past Thursday I found a deal at a place I've been to before for $35, a 50 minute massage and a mani-pedi. Sha-bam. Everything I wanted.

My Sunday evening  was then spent catching up on some TV, plus Chipotle,  which made for an excellent night. 

What were you up to this weekend?

Linking up with Bella today!

Fall Photo- Halloween 2013

Halloween has always been a favorite holiday of mine- I mean what's better than going door to door and collecting candy?

Plus you get to dress up and be whatever you want to be.. I like to stick with simple, easy costumes. Especially ones that can be handmade. Last year I was a dinosaur and my little munchkins were a pirate and a race car drive.

For our pirate costume we bought an eye patch, a hat and a sword. I painted a white shirt with blue stripes and he wore black yoga pants. The little race care driver wore a hoodie and sweatpants from American Apparel with his name on the arm, checkered flags and felt glued to the hood and down the legs. Easy peasy. They were comfy, I was comfy and candy was collected.

 

One day I will find all my the awesome pictures of me dressed up as a child- like the year I decided to be a sandwich..

Not sure what are doing yet for Halloween this year but right now the ideas of a pumpkin, volcano and train conductor are on the line..

Linking up with the SITS Girls Back to Blogging Challenge!

Whirlwind of a Life

I'm just going to jump back into this thing and say the last few weeks have been quite a whirlwind of travel, stress, family and birthdays.

Let's go back in time to Saturday August 16th- this is where my journey began/ended/started/life got crazy. 

Except really we are going back to Friday the 15th when I went to pick up my first Rent the Runway dress- the blue Kate Spade one. I went to the store after dropping off the kids, they handed me the dress and at the last second I asked if it was okay if I tried it on. Thank goodness I did, in the dressing room I found the zipper was broken. Yikes- panic ensued. 

After trying on several more dresses and being assured a replacement dress would appear before 8 pm, I headed out the door with a beautiful green backup dress, just in case the Kate Spade replacement didn't show. Thankfully it did, but then I had a different dilemma- do I wear the new dress or the original pick? I decided to go with the original just because a) it is what I had originally picked, b) it's what my sister was expecting and c) that's what I had bought new shoes and a necklace for. 

Saturday I woke up bright and early, went down to DryBar and had my hair did for the bridal shower. I then hopped on a train to Philadelphia for the event. 

My eldest sister and one of the other bridesmaids planned the event, and they did an absolutely amazing job.

There were green candy stations (one of the wedding colors), stations to write memories, address thank-you notes, share a recipe and more. They had an engagement photo to sign as well. They also laid out the party favors (super adorable chocolate covered Oreos decorated with lips and a mustache- another theme). We even had super cute lips and mustaches on stick to play dress up with (and were for a game!)

The party was wonderful, everyone looked fantastic and it was so nice to see my family before I left for Europe. I hopped back on a train to head home and officially finish packing- a little last minute but hey, I made it..

good chunk of the bridal party- missing a few gals!

Sunday was one last brunch with friends and then heading to Spain! I watched The Other Woman on the plane, and it was hilarious- definitely recommended. 

The adventure continues tomorrow! Tune in for Spain...

lets talk about your business...

I mean the business that comes out of your back end- that's right, poop. A scary subject I know, but in reality one that is all about your health.

I admit it- I poop. And whether you like to do the same or not, truth is you do it too- perception aside it is how our bodies function.

Now it may not be fun, but I have discovered a product that makes pooping a bit easier, no no- not like your constipated easier but in the fact that it makes your poop smell better. Which then makes it easier to go in public places, or at work. A product that lets you go and no one will know! Amazing!

This beautiful little bottle of magic is called Poo-pourri. It really does wonders.. I had seen it around at boutiques and whatnot and though, hey- what not try it. I poop, and it would be nice to not smell it.. So for the past few months I've kept it in my bathroom and when it's time to go I use it. (is this a weird post or what?)

You spray 4-6 pumps of the product across the top of the water in your toilet.The scent is a kind of a lemon/ginger. And then you go- and no smell! It's a miracle- seriously.

I brought my bottle with me for my sister's bachelorette party weekend, turns out I wasn't the only one with that brilliant idea either- one of her friends brought a bottle of it too. We kept one in each main bathroom, and it definitely kept everyone much happier.

Overall the product is a win! And although pooping may be an awkward subject, there is no reason we need to smell it- check out the product here on amazon! (this is an affiliate link- if you click through and buy the product I will receive compensation)

*I did not receive this product complimentary, but chose to purchase and share it on my own- all thoughts and opinions are mine.*

AND on another note- in honor of my new updated sponsor page, I'm giving 50% off all spots- use code hpforpresident

 

Weekend Schmeekend

Welcome to Monday- where the fun never ends! Blah.

The weekend- let's see- I spent a good chunk of my weekend attending birthday parties for small children.

I started off Friday by getting cancelled on again for my second date with that kid from the other day. He was sick- which is fine, my throat wasn't feeling too great either. I ended up watching X-Men and drinking some wine with a friend.

Saturday I woke up feeling worse (lotion tissues are my jam these days) but my sister came into town, and my mom flew in in the morning and we all went over to Rent The Runway to try on and pick out dresses for the bridal shower next week and rehearsal dinner for the wedding in October. The trip was a success- I picked out a super cute Kate Spade dress for next weekend and this other cute lace dress that I  never normally would have picked for myself for the rehearsal dinner this fall.

kate spade dress

dress for rehearsal dinner from Nha Khanh

After dress shopping we went to Big J's birthday party- on Saturday he turned 5! It was adorable watching all the little munchkins run around, Big J and Little J were super excited to see me there- and my nephew, who came with us, had as much fun as a one-year old can. We had to laugh too because Little J and my nephew (who are a year and a half apart) are almost the same height!

two cuties playing together!

 My sisters, my mom and I went to lunch after and then I did some shopping while continually feeling worse and worse. I finally dragged myself home around 5 where I then spent the rest of the afternoon/evening curled on the couch with some tea and large box of tissues. Just the way I wanted to spend my Saturday! On another fun note, apparently it's okay if a guy cancels because he is sick- but not okay if I cancel because I am sick- needless to say, date #1 maybe our last... whomp whomp.

Sunday I woke up feeling better- which is good, because in just one week we are flying to Europe. (btw- I'm looking for some guest posters for the few weeks I will be gone, if you are interested send me an email!) I started "packing" - meaning I threw a bunch of things I might want to bring into a pile on my floor. This week will be lots of fun- I mean it!

packing- at it's finest!

The afternoon was spent celebrating my nephews first birthday! I seriously can't believe he is already one! He is oh so cute, crawls like a bear, is going to be walking very soon, and already loves cake. Best kid ever. I bought him a handful of the J's favorite stories along with an L.L Bean monogrammed bag (you got start them young with the monograms!).

reading with the birthday boy

The books will be lifelong favorites and the bag will last forever- they are really great bags if you don't have one (I have 3) and L.L Bean has a lifetime guarantee so once it does start to fall apart they will replace it for free. This is one of my favorite things about them, my mom has this one backpack with a leather fastener and I'm pretty sure she has gotten it replaced by them at least 3 times. Customer service is key in a business!

Off track- sorry, Sunday night I did some more packing, noseblowing, and some reading... And if you haven't checked out the first episode of Outlander yet- you totally should. It was amazing, a perfect cast and right on par with the book. I'm so glad it was made into a TV show and not a movie- now they will be able to do it like it should be done.

And on another lovely note- I've totally revamped my sponsor page with the help of Charissa from House of Bliss, check it out!!!

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! 

Party Weekend!

Woo-hoo! I had a wonderful four-day weekend celebrating my sister's bacherlorette party! Myself, along with 13 others sent her off in style.

I planned the weekend, along with my sister's good friend P. We wanted a fun, relaxing, but could get crazy, weekend to celebrate and catch up with friends. A family friend of ours has a travel agency and suggested to us that we look at VRBO.com (vacation rental by owner)- a site that allows you to rent a house from an owner. We first looked at places on the beach but the prices were a bit high and no one allowed for a four-day weekends. We then took our search to the Poconos. It made for a decently central location to everyone that was attending, brought the cost down significantly and made for an amazing vacation.

gifts for the gang!

For one, the weather was amazing. We all met up on Thursday night in perfect cool mountain air. After grilling some burgers and hotdogs we chilled with our excessive amount of alcohol and relaxed in the hot tub (against the rules- whoops!).

Friday we made it to the lake on a great little beach, we laid out for a few hours and then rented kayaks. This made for an exciting adventure around a fabulous lake. We went back to the house tie-dyed t-shirts. Friday night brought on the festive bachelorette activities- yes, I mean we broke out our singles and had a show.

Now let me tell you- this is something I've attended before and have experienced at other parties and with friends but I have never actually had to do the work of finding an entertainer myself... it was quite an experience. First was finding a website/company that didn't look to sketch. Thankfully another bridesmaid help me narrow this down, but I had to do the actual calling. Surprisingly they were all very professional, helpful and listened to exactly what I wanted. Something I can now check off my list?

our "entertainer" knocking down her door!

It was lots of fun, full of ridiculous laughter and added to the weekend.

Saturday we went to the beach again, it was overcast at first but when the sun finally appeared it was a fantabulous day! We played relay races, jumped around in the lake and partook in much chit chat. That evening we went over to a local bar had dinner and danced the night away with all the townies.

part of our relay races- anyone else ever done the toothpick/lifesaver game?

bride to be- with one of many shots!

the fantastic group in our beautiful tie-dye shirts

Sunday led to parting of the ways, with sad faces, full stomachs and heads full of happy memories. After a relaxing drive back to NY, I spent the rest of my Sunday chilling and watching some movies (Vampire Academy and Easy A). Not too happy to be back at work but hey... only 3 more weeks until Europe!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!