#OurProject52: Eyes

My eyes have been busy reading lately. I got this Andy Cohen's latest book for my birthday and I'm loving it. I'm currently reading several different books right now but his is my favorite. It's a page turner.

taken with my iPhone6. Chrome filter.

I am a huge fan of his show. The book reads like an extended version of WWHL. This book is like his reality show. I'm also reading The Modern Girl's Guide to Bible Study, THP and a parenting book (It's a long title - can't remember the name but it's been eye opening. I'll share it in a Thought Bubbles post this weekend). 

If you would like to link up with Our Project 52 visit Lipgloss & Binky or Everyday Eyecandy for more info.

What have your eyes been watching or reading lately?

Birthday Part Two: Date Night

Ugh. My computer has run out of memory and has been tripping. I apologize for the infrequency of posts but I hope to have my little situation resolved soon. Jesus be a terabyte.

Anyway. My birthday celebration continued on Saturday. My Mom and I (with the kids) went shopping during the day. We had a blast. I don't get girlfriend time like that often and I thoroughly enjoyed going from store to store and out to lunch. There's something about beautiful weather, a clean car with a full tank of gas and time out and about that makes me happy.

After shoe shopping the day away we headed back home. I opened all of my gifts before getting ready for our night out. Savannah and Little Mike gave me a card with a single one dollar bill in it, so sweet.

Since I didn't know exactly what my husband had planned for the evening I decided to wear a tuxedo blouse that I scored on sale years ago from Black House White Market. I paired it with some leather leggings and some of those strappy lace up booties that are in style right now.


We started off at dinner. I had been wanting to try out a japanese restaurant here so we headed there first. The food was okay and the service was slow. Luckily, my date was handsome and full of fun conversation.

Our next stop was to the SoHo Wine & Martini bar. There aren't enough good things to say about that place. There was live music, attentive and talented bartenders and pretty drinks. The drink below tasted just like a spiked Oreo cookie, yum!


I also really liked their mojito and the chocolate strawberry shortcake martini. I would go back there in a heartbeat. We ended the night dancing at a riverwalk hotspot before grabbing cake and more drinks at another popular place downtown. 
I had so much fun. I'm looking forward to our next adventure out. We already have a couple places in mind that we want to visit.
Happy Birthday to me. Cheers to 31!

Birthday Part One: Chuck E. Cheese

The weekend is over and I'm 31. It was a blast. I can't wait to share more about my birthday weekend with you. We got things started on Friday with a little family fun at Chuck E. Cheese. Savannah said she wanted to throw me a party so after school we headed to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch.

We played games, learned how to Do the Chuck E. and ate pizza. Here is Savannah (with a brief Little Mike cameo) going through the new dance. She was so cute!

CEC is one of our favorite places to hit up during the week. You get so much access to Chuck and all the fun. It was the perfect way to kick off my birthday weekend. 

It was so sweet of her to "throw" me a party. If you're looking for something fun to do with your kiddos during the week remember Chuck E. Cheese is an awesome choice. Has your child tried to Do the Chuck E.? 

#OurProject52: Motion

Savannah has gotten into the habit of asking to be photographed before school in the morning. This is funny to me because she never stands still for a picture. Lately she's gotten into picking out her own clothes for school. I think that's the reason behind her sudden interest in being photographed.


She is the perfect subject for this week's theme of motion. The girl is hardly ever still when a camera is in front of her. In the above pic she kept dropping her leg up and down. In the pic below she was doing twirls while holding a basketball.

If you want to join the #OurProject52 photo challenge please visit Mimi at Lipgloss & Binky or Lashawn at Everyday Eyecandy. 

Chic Mom Style: Leather Leggings

A while back I did a post about Fall Fashion that included some of my fashion staples. One of the items included in that post was faux leather leggings. I could never quite bring myself to take the plunge and buy them. Mainly because I was afraid that they would look more like pleather and less like faux leather.

There is a big difference between the two.

leather pants by stacy-gustin featuring black gloves

I am drawn to them because they can be dressed up or down. You can go from day to night in these by changing your shoes and accessories and I love that. Not that my life requires me to go from day to night on a whim BUT  if it did these would be the perfect pants for that.

Olivia Palermo! by cheymbabe featuring a leather trousers

Yesterday I received an early birthday present in the mail from one of my favorite stores. After doing a bit of looking around online I see that their faux leather leggings have great reviews. Today I'm going to finally take my butt to the actual mall (I shop online) and try on these pants. 

I have so many plans for them thanks to Pinterest. Visions of outfits are dancing in my head and I am beyond excited. I think I'll wear them for my birthday this weekend if the fit is as good as I expect it to be. Have you tried the faux leather legging trend?

31 Things To Do Before 32

This time last year I was preparing for my 30th birthday and a trip to Vegas. I'll be 31 on Saturday and I cannot help but think about where I was last year. I remember being so excited about entering my 30s. Now that I'm entering the 31st chapter of my personal book I can say that everything I was told about 30 was true.

I feel more confident and inspired. I'm more open to the idea of new things. During my Flirty30 I accepted a lot of things that I resisted in my 20s. I decided to be more fearless and positive. Last year I experienced a freedom of peace knowing that I cannot always control everything. I spent my entire 20s trying to be in control and I plan to spend all of my 30s letting go.

In the blog world I saw many people doing the 30 Before 30 challenge. I thought it would be fun to give myself a list of things to experience this year. I'll call it my 31 Before 32. My goal here was to keep my list realistic and fun. You won't see any international trips for my family of four but you will see some little things that would make all the difference to me.

I love Birthdays because they are like your own personal New Year. (that's kind of exactly what they are actually...) I'm looking forward to completing the things on this list. Who knows, if I finish this with time to spare I might make another list. I have always wanted to become fluent in another language and I forgot to add my personal training certification to this list too. 

What do you think of this list? Have you tried one of these challenges? What would be on your list?

Thought Bubbles...

I completely forgot that my daughter needed a bandana for school until this morning...

It's Rodeo week at her school...

John Legend will be performing at the Rodeo this year. Let that sink in for a second...

Love his music. Wish he was performing on a day I could go. I'm going to work on that...

I found out about a barre class. Barre is a fusion of ballet and pilates. Can't wait...

I can't believe our Vegas trip was a year ago. I want to go back...

The view from our room was perfect...

Today is hair day for Savannah. I finally found authentic Jamaican Black Castor Oil for her hair...

I ordered Andy Cohen's latest book. Looking forward to reading it. I think he's funny...

The baby keeps pulling on my braids...

Empire has turned out to be a good show. It's right up there with Scandal...

Nothing beats HTGAWM though. It's the best...

I'm still trying to think of the perfect vacation spot for us. Disney would be nice but...

I would love to have the couple from Fixer Upper or Jeff Lewis from Flipping Out design a home for us when we're ready to buy...

I better start saving my money or play the lottery...

This big boy melts me heart when he sleeps...

I'm not excited for the Super Bowl or the halftime show...

A glimpse of Lenny Kravitz isn't enough for me to sit through the game...

I wish Missy Elliott was the headliner. Or Lenny. Then I'd watch...

My husband is keeping the plans for my birthday a surprise. He said to dress comfortable but sexy...

Spoken like a true man...

I'm thinking a jumpsuit might work...

What's been on your mind lately? Share something random with me...