I love looking on the bright side of life and trying to take even challenging experiences as life lessons. In my quest to see the positive in every situation I have decided to embrace Mondays.
A fresh start, a new week to conquer my to do list and take new risks in life are all reasons to celebrate every Monday. So, every Monday I am going to post a Monday Mantra – a positive quote to start off the week that is always full of endless possibilities…
Working out is my thing…sometimes. I recently got a treadmill after years of indecisiveness and I couldn’t be happier about my decision to do so. I love working out in clothes that I normally wouldn’t be seen in public wearing and getting a good workout in whenever I can. One of the best ways to get me on the treadmill is to have something good to watch – and only allowing myself to watch these guilty pleasures while working out. Here are some of my favorites that I love watching – some will make you laugh, some will make you cry and some are just good ole fashioned entertainment…
- Videos with surprise homecomings from our troops. Wow…where to begin…I am unbelievably grateful for the the sacrifices that our armed forces give. These videos show what it means to actually have a loved one go off to to serve our country and the joy that comes when they are welcomed home by their loved ones.
Pet Videos – I am an animal lover. Is there anything cuter then puppies, or dogs and babies? Do you love watching cats fly through the air or do mean things to their owners? If you answered, “no” to either of these questions, please skip to the next set of videos. If not, click through to two of my favorite YouTube videos. The first highlighting funny animals and the second where pets play with babies.
Beauty Videos: I am a certified beauty junkie and I love me some YouTube beauty videos. My favorite types of beauty videos include monthly favorites, “empties” (where girls tell you about products they have used up and let you know if they would buy them again) and tutorials (these include everything from how to apply false eyelashes to how to do a pro manicure). Some of my favorite gurus include:
Cooking Videos: The only drawback to these is they make me really, really hungry on the treadmill. Some of my favorite YouTube cooking stars include:
So there it is, my favorite way to get me on the treadmill. Do you have any secrets to get you motivated and exercising?
XOXO,
Catherine
I love parties and holidays are the time for them! I also know that throwing parties is a ton of work – especially around this time of year. I love to show my gratitude with an amazing hostess gift and I love to put some thought into these little tokens of appreciation.
I have to admit that often times I forget to get a hostess gift until a day or two prior to the big day. Now let’s face it – who has the time or inclination to head out looking for that perfect gift. If it’s right there in front of me great, but countless times a party has come up and the week of I can’t think of anything clever to give. Well I have just the answer – Amazon Prime! Now Amazon Prime is my lifesaver all year long, but during the holidays it is my life line. I love it, can’t live without it and I have found some pretty darn amazing hostess gifts on there.
Soo….without further ado here are some of my favorite hostess gifts that can be delivered to you in 1-2 days guaranteed (as long as you are a Prime member)…
1. The Big Betty XL Premium Jumbo Wine Glass – Holds a Whole Bottle of Wine! I can thing of a few friends that would love this…
2. Table Topics – Have you ever played these? There are several varieties such as Family Table Topics, Not Your Mother’s Dinner Party Table Topics, Family Gathering Table Topics and many more.
3. Barbuda Spin the Shot – I thought this was a cute, conversation starting gift. You could fill it with wine as opposed to shots to make everyone last a little longer. 🙂
4. Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook – This is Ina Garten’s latest cookbook and would make a lovely hostess gift for the cookbook lover in your life.
5. Burt’s Bees Essential Everyday Beauty Kit: I love this affordable set of trial size goodies from Burt’s Bees. This gift set featuring all natural products contains items to pamper one from head to toe.
6. Mommy Tonic (Every Mom Edition) Voted #1 Game for Moms: I bought one of these for me. Enough said.
Do you have any go to hostess gifts? I would love to know what they are…
My friend Cindy came over on Halloween for some pre trick-or-treating festivities. She came with a scrumptious option for an adult hot apple cider. Now I like Apple Cider but I don’t love it and often times will forgo the calories for something else – such as, chocolate…. In any event, she convinced me to take a sip from her mug and I was ruined. This was one delicious and super easy cocktail.
The secret ingredient is cinnamon whiskey such as Fireball or Sinfire. There is something so soothing about having a warm cocktail that I was never able to relate to since I can’t stand whiskey so I have never thoroughly enjoyed a hot toddy.
I feel so lucky to finally have a warm cocktail recipe that I love and have Cindy to thank. This recipe is delicious, inviting and so simple to make. While drinking this I felt like I was being wrapped in a warm, cinnamon-y hug. I definitely plan on making this for the holidays!
Delicious Cinnamon Spiked Hot Apple Cider
Ingredients
Hot Cider (any variety will work)
Cinnamon Whiskey (suggested Fireball or Sinfire)
Directions
Gently warm the cider in a saucepan over medium heat. Pour a shot or two into a mug and pour in warm cider. Enjoy!
Ahhhh, perusing the internet I found some fun articles that I wanted to share. None of these are life changing – just fun articles that are great to peruse when you have a few spare moments…
- Why Does Kourtney Kardashian Drink Butter?: Is there something that I missed? Personally I love eating butter on my toast or potato, but drinking it – this I had to read.
- 30 Things You Should Never Wear If You Are Over 30: I love fashion and I think I have a relatively good pulse on what is/isn’t appropriate as a woman over 30, however it was a funny reminder of what not to do reading this.
- 5 Classic Shades of Lipstick Every Woman Should Own: Who doesn’t love a classic?
- Horribly Awkward Prom Photos: Cringe worthy and funny!
- 8 Little Things That Cost You Big Money: I was surprised by some of these tips, definitely worth reading
- 29 Gifts For Your Wine Loving Friend: With the holidays coming up (and with wine loving friends) I had to include this gem of an article. Note, some of the gifts are for beer/alcohol as well.
