I loved your fill-in-the-blank responses on my Facebook wall earlier today. Fill-in-the-blanks remind me of Mad Libs! Did you guys ever play those? I think I had at least a dozen all filled out at one point in time. My sister and I used to do them on road trips all the time…until we got road sickness of writing/reading in the car. lol Whatever happened to those Mad Libs books? I really miss them.
Yay carbs!
I had one of my favorite pre-workout snacks today in one of my new bowls
Simple banana oatmeal! I made mine with rice milk, chia seeds, coconut flakes, and sliced almonds.
I tried something new with my makeup to teach Zumba tonight – two toned eye colors!
I haven’t done anything this crazy since probably college…or since the last time I went to class and wore glitter eye liner, if you want to get technical. 
I did a pretty, kelly green on the inside of my lid and then a pinky-purple on the outside. I wore black eye liner and then put some glitter eye liner over that for some sparkle. I wish I had better photos but I just snapped these quickly before class.
As for class, it was wonderful! I’m really loving my new location. The venue is beautiful and the participants are so fun!
My favorite songs tonight were:
- Que Te Pica
- Maria
- Crazy Little Thing Called Love
In the spirit of my Facebook post earlier, let’s do a little game!
Fill in the blank: I love my _____________ because it makes me feel ____________!
I got all Stacy + Clinton on a pair of pants recently.
I’ve always been an off-the-rack shopper.
It wasn’t until I started watching What Not to Wear that I even considered getting clothes tailored.
So, while I’m sure I’m a little more late to the game than most, I’ve finally taken the plunge.
My weight has fluctuated significantly over the last several years and thusly my pants are in various sizes and shapes. Basically, none of them fit just right. I’m going to go through them and get them tailored one by one, but most recently, I purchased a pair of investment pants at J Crew. They weren’t the cheapest, but I’m hoping they’ll last awhile. I got a simple, black, classic-styled pair of pants in a mid weight wool that I can wear year round. I’ve purchased pants at various stores over the years, but the J Crew ones by far fit my body best.
I was torn between two different sizes. The smaller one was a little too tight and the larger one a little too big. I ended up going with the bigger size and having J Crew take them in. They also hemmed the pants to take them up a wee bit.
I wore them to work for the first time today and they fit like a charm. Yay for custom-fit pants!
If you work in a professional environment requiring dressy or business casual attire, I definitely recommend purchasing some investment pants. You’re looking for a classic color (black or gray) that will go with a lot of your other clothes and accessories in a professional (not clubbing-tight or low-cut) style. Get at least one nice pair, and get a tailor to help them fit you juuuuust right.
I purchased my pants at J Crew, but I also really like getting work clothes at:
- Banana Republic
- Ann Taylor LOFT
- Ann Taylor
- Gap
- Limited
- Department Stores (Belk, Nordstrom, etc.)
Where’s your favorite place to get work clothes?
I had some retail therapy at the mall the other day.
When I was younger, I purchased clothes. Now, I purchase random kitchen goodies. I ended up picking up a few random and affordable things at Sur la Table the other day.
A sparkly, pink spatula by Le Creuset – $8.
New napkins – $1.99 each
Mini heart dishes – $1 each
A mini Le Creuset dish with lid – $20 (not super cheap, but compared to the full-size version, a steal!)
Oven thermometer – $8.
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Hubby made dinner tonight.
Earthfare cheeseburgers, Alexia waffle fries, and grilled asparagus. He even got to bust out the grill! I can’t wait till the weather warms up more and we can use the grill all the time.
Bailey says hey guys! He also wants you to visit my Facebook page (click) for exclusive Bailey photos and other fun times.
And check the bloggie around 11am ET on Wednesday for a new Work Chic post about the perfect pair of pants for (business casual) work.
Have you found any cheap-chic kitchen goodies lately? What are they?
This past weekend was extra fun because of some special birthday celebrations.
My friends Erica and Toya celebrated their dirty 30 birthdays!
Erica’s dad whipped up a delicious BBQ-birthday lunch complete with homemade spicy-sweet sauce. Yum!
Of course there was birthday cake. Really great cake!
Then more cake!
Then a night of dancing. I mean like 8-2am dancing. Oh yea!
I left my big camera at home. It didn’t fit in my tiny Coach bag and forgot to take photos during most of the party. So, while I only have a few iPhone photos from the weekend…
…I’ll always have the memories.
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And then we have Monday.
I decided to try something new for dinner – Lundberg Roasted Brown Rice Couscous. I guess this is supposed to be the couscous alternative for those who eat gluten-free. I just bought it because it cooked pretty fast and because there was $1 off coupon for it at Earthfare.
Nutrition facts.
Ingredient list.
Since I was buying dinner groceries around 9pm, I went with easy eats – a chicken roll-up (spinach feta), the couscous, and steamed broccoli.
The meal was simple and tasty. Not so much fast (the chicken took about 35 minutes), but it was cheaper than getting take-out and much more yummy.
As for the cous cous – I think it was more sticky than traditional cous cous. It also wasn’t as fluffy, but maybe that’s because the box directions didn’t have any fluffing steps. I think it was mostly due to the sticky nature of the rice. The texture was really close to regular cous cous, though, and the flavor was nice. I also liked how the cook time was much shorter than that for regular brown rice. I’d definitely eat this again. And I’ll have to. The tiny box made a whole bunch – way more than I needed for just one meal for me! lol
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Happy birthday Toya!
Happy birthday Erica!
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Reader question: Do you try new food products because of coupons?
